Looking at what worked

Had a chance to review some of the data that I could gather from my Garmin.

1.  It appears that in the month of March 2019 I had the highest workout volume over he last 3 years I've been recording. January and February were low-average, but then I really bumped it up last month.

2. A training race before an A race: I did a hard half marathon exactly one month before my A race (Du Nationals). I think that was critical. It gave me a lot of confidence going into DN and I also think it bumped up my fitness beyond what I could have done without an actual race situation as part of my training.

3. More time on my race bike. Despite lousy conditions for riding out side, I put in quite a few longer rides on my racing bike. That helped me to stay in the aero position and push from that position. 

4. Focused on volume over intensity.  I did a small amount of HIIT, but nothing like I did last year.  But I think that actually helped me to not get injured and to save that energy for longer workouts.  The race was a 2 + hour race, so doing HIIT for a race like that isn't going to really help you.     

5. Not getting crazy. What I mean is that  I enjoyed my spring break vacation with the family, went to movies, did all the normal things and didn't get crazed that I had to workout every minute. That kept me from going over the top and having conflicts with my  wife and kids. They will always be my priority! 

3 things I learned (or relearned) about training and racing after this season and winning Du Nationals

#1: Nutrition, nutrition and nutrition!  Its so important.  Back in the 60s and 70s, many important studies were published that showed carbo loading made a positive difference in terms of endurance performance. Those were seminal studies that are still true today. Don't believe the hype that is mainly based on anecdote and "expert opinion" (Everyone thinks they're an expert nutritionist!). Science and research tell a simple and true story. If you stock up on the easily and readily available source of energy (carbs), you will go faster and  farther. There is some evidence that keto and low carb diets may promote weight loss, I'm not disputing that, but those diets may not be optimal for training, and are definitely NOT optimal for racing. For duathlon nationals, I doubled down on carb loading: I ate my pasta the night before and in the morning, in addition to the normal pre-race breakfast, I drank a high calorie nutritional supplement. Then during the 1st run I ate a GU and drank the sports drink handed out at every aide station. On the bike I ate 3 more GUs and drank a full water bottle of sports drink. Yes, this is one of those anecdotal stories, but I ran the last 3 miles of the run-bike-run almost 0.2 min/mile faster than the first 5 miles and dropped a 5:53/mile pace on the 2nd mile of the 2nd run! Pretty good for a  61 year old!

#2: Don't give up! I could easily have called it quits in my quest to win this after last year. I was very discouraged and figured that 3rd was likely the best I could do. But instead, I used that as motivation and worked hard on my biking all through January, February and March. I know it sounds like a corny movie, but I visualized myself finally having that break-through race that I knew was in me but just couldn't be realized.

#3: Don't underestimate the power of music to motivate and inspire you. I have several different race sound tracks, but there are just a handful of songs that really inspire me.  I played one in particular, "Heart Breaker" about a half dozen times the morning of the race. It worked: I sang that song to myself all through the bike and it kept me upbeat and positive.

60-64 Age Group National Champion! 2019

Well, much to my own amazement, I won!  I am a national champion, even if that's only an age group national champion.  In some ways, I'm still in disbelief because I just never though I could win this. There is that logical side that looked at the run and bike split times and said, yes, I can do that. But then there was also my inner monologue/self confidence voice that said, "you will never win!" After last year, I thought: that's my fate, always 2nd, 3rd or 4th place. I'm not that person who wins at a big race like this. I also got psyched out thinking about all these 60 year old guys, just like me, who are very fit and fast, just like me, but who have the self confidence to know they can win. There is also a part of me that wants to say it was a fluke, that the  really fast guys didn't show up this year, etc...

    But now looking back at the race stats, I actually was kind of dominant. My first run was ok, about the same as last year, and my bike was ok (3rd fastest, but way behind Tom Resh in 2nd who was 2 mph faster). I had a panic attack when Tom passed me with 3 or 4 miles to go in the bike, but what stands out is the final run (6:11/mile average and the 2nd mile was 5:51). I averaged a faster pace then the first run and put almost 3 minutes on Tom in 2nd place!  I didn't know I could do that at the end of a hard race like this. I usually cramp up and at least start the second run at a crawl. I have to rethink my lack of self confidence in racing. I also thought a lot about my Mom. There was a mocking bird singing right near my transition spot that I imagined was a sign from my mom, encouraging me!
   The person I most need to thank is my wife. She wouldn't let me come to this race alone. Even though it was a big sacrifice for both of us to be gone this weekend (missing work and with all the kids activities), she insisted that we dive together. That turned out to be a really great because we had a nice time together and really enjoyed Greenville. Had I come alone, I would have likely sat in the hotel watching TV most of the time. Plus, it was really motivating to see her cheering me on at the critical point coming out of T-2. My kids also put up with  all my training and those periods of extreme exhaustion after hard workouts on Sundays. And of course, we couldn't have gone if my brother-in-law, Fo and mother-in-law, Abi, hadn't helped look after the kids.   
   There is still the problem of the post-race depression. Always an issue for me, but particularly bad this time because I put so much time, effort and energy into this race. This has been my focus for more that 3 years. I imagined this race in my mind and thought about the possibility of wining as a carrot dangling in front of me for motivation all year. I had I-heart-radio playlists and YouTube playlists devoted to this race. At other races, I imagined myself in the race as motivation for those races. Now what? I guess I'll do what I always do: start looking for another race. But I've got to try and enjoy this moment, its so fleeting, it will be gone in no time and then back to the grind!         

5 days till DNs

With just 5 days until DNs, I'm feeling pretty good. I got in a lot more outdoor riding and I'm feeling much better about my biking this year compared to last. Running is still my go to sport, but my cycling is in relatively good shape for this time of year (its very difficult to feel great about your cycling in the Spring in the upper Midwest!). Saturday I rode about 53 miles in sh$#*ty conditions with a few hard 10-minute TTs.  Then had a good last longish run yesterday and a final ride on my bike tricked out for racing today (race wheels and stripped down).  Now to just rest up and recover!   

Killer workout

On Sunday, 3/30/19, I did an epic workout for the ages! It was like some of the Ironman training I did back in the 90s.  Now at 61 years old, it all seems a bit harder and its definitely a lot slower, but at least I can still pull a hard workout out of my butt once in a while!
    Started with 35 mile ride to Fermi Lab with Raf. Then 5 mile run at Marywood with some hills (3 x 0.2 mile hill repeat) and a hard mile (6:30 x 1 mile). Then another 15 miles riding, trying to stay on the aero bars, then 2 miles running at Danada horse track, then 4 miles back home. The whole workout took about 5 hours including some time for coffee (hey, you got to stay caffinated!).