"Don't Stop Believing" Journey to Ironman

Triathlon Race Secrets--More Wetsuit Chat

Necessity, she's a mother! Here are a few additional wetsuit tips I'd like to pass on.

Says Olivia on Endurance Nation:
This certainly wouldn't apply to everyone, but I struggled for 2 seasons trying all sorts of ways to get my wetsuit off over my ginormous feet. I even resorted to asking some of my fellow racers in TA to help by pulling the suit off. Aside from that, which didn't always work out, nothing was solving the problem. I went to a local outdoor gear repair person who does a lot of work on dive wetsuits because I was going to have her add a gusset or something stretchier at the seams to give me something to work with. She suggested these 8 inch zippers at the calf.

Here's what Olivia did. I have so much trouble getting my wetsuit off of my right leg, I think I'm up for finding someone who can give me this fix!

 

Teammate John simply cut ~ 6 inches off from the legs of his wetsuit. He says, "Once the suit is past my waist the suit drops and I lift my legs and feet right out with almost zero resistance. Easy to get on, too."

He said he had no problems at the seam where he made the cut. If you decide to do this, however, you could use a small piece of the wet suit and Aquaseal to put a small, reinforcing patch on the seam.

More tips next time! Post yours in the comments. I'd love to hear what others do!

Triathlon Race Secrets--Wetsuit Chat

Here's some helpful wetsuit chat.

• Putting plastic bags on your feet helps get the wetsuit on really easily! I see people do this all the time, but I forget to do it myself most of the time. Have to remember this for myself. Also, the bags give you something to put nasty clothes in later!

• Spraying myself with a product called TriSlide also helps a ton with getting the wettie on. It doesn't contain the kinds of oils that can hurt the neoprene. There's no scent, and it doesn't leave you feeling covered in a heavy oil like spraying with Pam. I like it.

• Don't forget to lube your neck. You can do 100 triathlons and never have a problem. Then out of the blue in a race swim, you will get the worst neck chafe you can imagine! Ouch, it hurts. It takes five seconds to lube this area, and it can save you a world of pain.

• Here's a pointer that requires a little more Zen. Take a breath after you get your wetsuit on, and make sure it's on perfectly. And I mean perfectly. If there is the teeniest feeling of a twist, fix it. Make sure the crotch is pulled up all the way, and the underarms are in the right place; the neck is comfortable. Only when you stand there and do a head-to-toe scan and everything is exactly where it should be is your wetsuit "on." That little twist or gap in the underarm will come back to haunt you. Trust me.

• Assuming you are wearing a long-sleeve wettie, here's a great tip I had not thought of before! As you exit the water and run towards T1, unzip, then remove goggles and cap. THEN--as you pull your arms out of the top, leave the goggles and cap inside the sleeve! They stay there without falling out, and it's one less thing to deal with in T1. Bonus--after the race, you'll know where your cap and goggles are as you clean up the yard sale that had formerly been your beautifully organized transition area. :)

• From my personal point of view--spend the money, get the Aquaman Bionik. :) After four different long-sleeve wetsuits, this one went beyond my expectations. I don't even need to kick in it, and it comes off like a hot knife through butter. Love it.

Happy race day swimming! It's often my favorite part of the day!

Wearing Three Speedo LZR Suits, and Other Interesting Facts of the 2008 Swimsuit War

I really enjoy reading the Science of Sport Blog. Their #3 sports science story for 2008 involves the controversial Speedo LZR Racer--the space age swimsuit many feel is partly responsible for the 25 world records broken at the Olympic Games in Beijing. The blog does an an interesting review of the ruckus raised by the suit this past year, including the fact that a number of swimmers were wearing up to three suits at a time to enhance buoyancy. Here's the post.

So let's see...if I were to layer three LZR suits, it would cost me about $1,600 to maybe swim fast enough to be beat the 10 year olds on my kids' team!

Breathing Late in Freestyle--Thoughts?

I found this question on the USA Swim page on Face Book. Any thoughts on this issue?

 

Understanding the biomechanical theory behind breathing early in freestyle and returning head position when the anchor is set and the pull begins, I find late breathing to be an issue with even the best distance freestylers. Changing the way you breath takes energy, focus, and faith that it will ACTUALLY be faster/more efficient. Any drill ideas on enforcing/correcting this?

 

Coach Patrick McCrann helped me with this at a swim clinic I did with him last year. To my surprise I found that I was a late breather. Never knew, and didn't think I was. The cue Patrick gave me is to begin the exhalation as soon as the shoulder of the non-breathing side begins its rotation. When I breathe early enough it feels so right, if you know what I mean. I'm able to take in big air. I find I have to stay hyper-vigilant about this issue, or I slip back into the old late-breathing pattern--even after almost a year of working on this. Old habits die hard!

 

I wouldn't mind a few new drills to work on this, just to mix things up.

 

 

Want To See A Cheater at Ironman Florida?

A tri friend of mine sent this shot of the guy going into the IMFL swim with FINS!!!!! My friend Leigh got kicked by those very same fins during the race.

My husband got a shot of the Seadoo speeding to ream out the guy, and take down his number. You can see that he did not have a number on his cap, and word is he gave the race director a number that belonged to someone else. He also put up a good fight denying the fins were his--my husband witnessed that shouting match. I am told he put the fins on the sandbar we had to walk over as he finished the first loop, intending to get them back before loop two. I cannot even imagine how one would manage something like that logistically, not to mention morally.

Haven't heard yet if he was DQ'd. Seem this guy has shaky results from a number of Ironman events, and other major races like the New York City Marathon.

Here's the RD in the Seadoo reaming out the guy. What a creep.

13:51:22!!!! Ironman Florida Race Report! 1 Hour 35 Minute PR!

Linda Patch
13:51:22
Age Group 17th
Swim 14th
Bike 17th
Run 17th

Let me start by saying I never, ever in a hundred million years ever thought I could break 14 hours in an Ironman. No doubt my training with Endurance Nation (EN) is the numero uno reason why. I did the training by the book, and put my complete faith in it. You know what? If you train the EN way, and execute the EN way, not only do you take the EN Koolaid to the start line, you take flippin’ spiked Koolaid! This race is a personal best of 1 hour 35 minutes!

TAPER
It’s been a long year, and I was glad I listened to my body and took closer to a three week taper. I moved my race rehearsals a week earlier than my training plan indicated, and then slowly started taking it down three weeks before the race. Honestly, it took until Tuesday of race week for me to feel rested. On that day, I woke up and thought, "ahhh, there it is." I was good to go.

I had the worst case of taper crazies I ever remember. I think the physical fatigue started messing with my head. I had some serious work to do to get my mental state where it needed to be, as I was unraveling for several weeks. I twisted my ankle the Sunday before the race, and that was almost the last straw. I spent a good part of race week in Panama City Beach (PCB) working on my head space. I used some very simple, but powerful strategies to realign my energy and get inside what I call my “Ironmind.” I actually brought some of what I worked out to the start with me to read before the gun went off. I’m as proud of this accomplishment as anything physical I did in the race, and the mental work I did buoyed me all day. I called on it time and time again.

SWIM
Whereas the swim in ’06 was almost genteel with feet to draft the entire way, this swim was war. I have never been in a triathlon swim like it. I had to swallow a little panic in the first 30” or so. But after a few good strokes, I settled down completely. It also took a self-reminder of those sets of 10 x 150 I swam all summer! No way was I going to cop out now!

It was just a mob scene with every stroke until the final turn to shore. I lost the pack there, and sped up a little to catch it again to ride some feet. I was determined not to let that happen on the second loop, and I didn’t. I decided I would rather be in the mix and try to draft, that be out there in clear water. I love the swim!

Hit the mat in 1:24:02    

T1
Coach Rich and Coach Patrick were at the race to support all us EN athletes. I was living in mortal fear of Rich in my transitions! He would never let me hear the end of it if I hung out like I did last time. I had that volunteer hoppin’!

The day before the race, I had my DH driving all over PCB looking for the Goodwill so I could get a cheap jacket to dump at an aid station. Found one for $4.90. Perfect. I threw it on in T1, and the zipper promptly broke off. Crap. I handed it to a spectator who wanted my number so I could get it back. Coach P said he was wondering why I’m talking to spectators when I should be racing! Coach Rich is screaming all drill-sargent like—“GET ON YOUR BIIIIKE!!!” I’m so rattled I almost fall over. Coach Patrick is laughing, and so am I. Ai yi yi, I had to get out of there. Most interesting transition I’ve ever had.

T1 8:03    

BIKE
Long, somewhat dull and mostly uneventful. ! definitely rode my should bike split, as opposed to my could bike split. The "should" bike split sets up a good run. We have a saying in EN, "there is no such thing as a good bike followed by a bad run." You ride smart so you can run well. I just watched the watts, and did what I was supposed to do. I was definitely holding back and being conservative. I called on each member of my family to get me through each half hour. Keith, Ryan, Grant, Taylor, and Casey—over and over. OK, Grant, get me to 6 hours! Taylor brought me to the finish.

The wind was a factor in the first 50 miles, but nothing like in ’06. So I just kept my head down, and rode my watts. By mile 70, I thought a DVD player between my aerobars would have been a wonderful idea. I was bored. Then Mr. Hertz came into my life. Hertz and I must have passed each other 30 times in those last 40 miles. He kept me from going completely bonkers. (Saw him at the expo the next day and got a huge hug. He was nice.)

Keith, my rock, would pull up every 10 miles or so from about mile 60 on. He’d take a picture, turn up the radio to tease me, say hi, wave, and just move on. It was a nice distraction.

Nutritionally, I had that dialed right in:

• About 275+ calories/hour, mostly Infinit.
• Aerobottle filled with water, and a 4-hour Speedfill bottle.
• Two, small Infinit “slurry” bottles in the singlet pockets. At mile 50 I stopped, dumped the slurry into the Speedfill, added water and I was off—under a minute for sure.
• EFS bar early in the ride, but the stomach said nyet. Switched to Shot Blocks, and ate some mostly for something to do.
• One to two S-caps/hour (salt complex). At the first twinge of a cramp, or nausea, or just feeling “off,” I popped an S-cap. Those things settle things down amazingly for me. I’d be set up just right after taking one.
• Two Advil at mile 80, and one caffeine.

Perfect. With a few miles to go into the wind, I was so looking forward to the run. My legs felt fantastic, my stomach was good, and my mental energy was ready to roll! Let’s go running!

6:30:22
Rolling time 17.6 mph
Clock time 17.2 with a few pit stops

T2
Again, the ghost of Rich hovered over my every move. I was all business with the cute volunteer. Got in, got out.

5:48     

RUN
By the end of the training, I was very confident in my running. I am so speed demon, but I was cranking out the miles really well all summer. My quads don’t much like marathons, but I had no reason to worry. There was no indication of pain on any long run. I was very much looking forward to the challenge of this marathon.

I started out very easy. The aid stations just kept coming quickly. At each station, I’d walk a little at the end, then pick it right up again. By mile 6 I was feeling like I could start to pick up the pace. OMG, it was going so well!

By mile 8, I felt that first glimmer of pain in my quads. Oh crap. By the turn around, it was stabbing pain. I felt like the brain-leg connection was already getting fried. The rest of me, however, was in a super place. I felt like an aerobic King Kong. The pace was easy, my breathing was perfect, I felt like I could go all day—but the legs were screaming. This led to the…

Compression short debacle!

I had compression shorts in my run "special needs" bag. Now where the hell to change???? I slipped into someone’s back yard. There I am, in someone’s yard, trying to wriggle my sweaty butt into these tight shorts before anyone looks out a window or comes outside!  OMG, hurry up! I finally get them on, and hide my running shorts under their gas grill (which I handily retrieve the next day!).

Ahhhh, much better. I believe the shorts would have made a big, big difference if I would have worn them from the beginning. My quads, however, were already too far gone, but I believe they helped things from falling apart completely.

Nutrition was simple. Infinit in Fuel Belt until mile 5, where I dumped it. (Keith got it back.) Coke the rest of the way, with a water chaser. That was it.

By mile 18, my eyes are rolling in pain, but I keep on running absolutely as much as I can. The rest of me feels as strong as an ox. It was all there. All the training, all the taper, all the correct pacing on the bike. There is no doubt that I was ready to pull off a good marathon—if not for all this pain. Man, I was feeling good in every way but that.

Then I meet cute Luis from Mexico City. (He’s 28.) We start running together, walking a little if we have to. “Leenda,” he says, “if we keep up this pace, we can beat 14 hours.” He can do the math? I love this guy. Like Rich and Patrick describe, my Ironman racing "box "got really, really small. OK, Luis, let’s run to that lamp post. Can you keep going? We were like Rain Man out there. We did this kind of thing over, and over, and over. But we never, never let up. By mile 21, I’m telling you I would have paid $1,000 dollars for an iPod!

Hearing Mike Reilly and the crowd is like getting to the Emerald City. I was smiling from ear to ear—so happy! When I pulled up to the finish and saw 13:51, I was stunned. I could not believe it. Really, I couldn’t believe it. I thought sure I would do about an hour longer, and, truthfully, I would have been thrilled with that. EN friend Kathy G caught me, and it was nice to have an EN person right there. I saw Rich and Patrick right away, and Keith a few minutes after. It was done, and I was elated.

A few thoughts on the run…looking back I can see lots of places where I created too much friction, which ate up lots of time (shorts changing aside). I could have lopped off a bunch more time if I would have got out of my own way. Next time (planning on another Ironman in 2010), streamlining tasks during the run is the lesson from this race I’ll put into play.

THE END
So that’s the Linda Patch story of IMFL ’08. For me, race day is a journey of intention. The intention to honor my family’s support, my training, my coaches, my EN compatriots and friends, and most importantly, myself. My intention through Ironman is to wrestle the demons to discover deeper and more profound dimensions of myself that will make me a better wife, mother, friend, citizen. Through Ironman I touch a spirit and power in myself that moves me to my core. I know those of you who have done Ironman know what I mean.

Here is the race in pictures!

Gina, her friend Larry, and me just back from an easy ride.

My $4.90 Goodwill jacket I ran all around PCB to find! Not bad, heh? I had planned to wear it for the first 20 miles or so because it was chilly. The zipper promptly broke before I even got on my bike.

The EN coaches go to every North American Ironman race, and plan a team dinner. It was very fun to meet training buddies for the first time. Felt like meeting old friends.

Coach Patrich and Coach Rich do a pre-race talk at the Gatorade swim for their athletes and anyone else who wants to sit in the day before the race. It was terrific, and just what I needed to hear.

Here's some of the group at the talk. Gina, KathyG, Me, Jennie, Dave, Leigh, and our mascot Gus!

I put "Stay in Your Power" on my bike to remind me to not only ride my watts sensibly, but to stay connected to what I knew I had in me, and what I had to do. Don't get rattled, don't get thrown off my game.

"Flow" was to remind me to find the rhythm, get into the zone, and stay relaxed and easy. Just let it unfold.

DFU is the last thing Rich said to me as I left the restaurant the night before the race--Don't F%#@ It Up! Gotta love it!

I wanted to take my EN chickas with me through the race to draw on their strength and support. Gina, Colleen, Paula, Marianne, Nemo, Kris, Verna, Helen, Heidi, Michelle, Laura and Leigh. Thank you ladies for all your support, advice, encouragement, and friendship!

Me and Gina before the swim start.

Mass swim start. 2,200 athletes in the water at once! It was craaazy!

I kept it aero. Nice and low.

This is IMFL on the bike. Endless miles of the same scenery.

Me on the run. Feeling really good!

Finishing up a great day!

At the finish talking to my son!

Meeting Gina as she finishes!

We are both so happy!

I just finished an Ironman,and all I get is this lousy PBR!!! Sat in the bar with Coach Rich and Coach Patrick and Keith after the race. Perfect.

Is there anything like the day after an Ironman? No pressure,no workouts,a huge sense of accomplishment--it doesn't get any better than that.

Cooling off the legs in the Gulf before we say goodbye. Til next time!

17.5 Hours Last Week--One of My Biggest Training Weeks Yet

With 53 days to go, I am now neck deep in Ironman training. Since I'm feeling so much better physically these days, I am having so much fun with it all! This was the last week of a major three week build, and I went into it with some residual fatigue from what had come before. But I ended up having a great, great week. Here's how it went.

Started with a race rehearsal (RR) swim in Walden pond with two other Endurance Nation athletes on the Labor Day holiday. The 2.4 miles went like clockwork, and I know I'm ready for the race swim. In training I like to get over what I call the "swim hump"--getting to that place where you are certain the swim is in there. All the pool workouts I've been doing so religiously, capped by the RR tells me I'm good to go. I swam 9,000 yards this week all tolled. Here we are getting ready for the swim.

It was a big run week with a total of about 35 miles. My longest run this week was 16 miles in about 2:30. Not bad, and that's a LOT for me. I'm quite sure that nagging injuries kept me from even coming close to that weekly total last time I trained for IMFL. That's reassuring mentally and physically. I still have some work to do in the run training in these final few weeks. Mainly I need to make sure I stay consistent and keep up the frequency.

It was a big bike week too. A total of 9 hours on the bike with a ton of interval work. The EN bike training is incredibly productive, but it is tough. My last four hour ride on Sunday was a major mental challenge. Physically, I was holding up fine, but I think knowing I would get a rest week as soon as I was through with the ride was a big incentive for me to git 'er done. Here is a sample of the four hour ride I did. Trust me, this is a good one! In a few weeks the Functional Threshold intervals go up to 2 x 20'. Ow, that's going to be rough.

Warm Up: 45' @ 65-70% of functional threshold (FT) watts
Main Set: 2 x 40' (5') @ 80-85% FT
10' @ 65-70% FT
3 x 10' (4') @ 95-100% FT
Remainder is 80-85% FT, as you feel.

So all tolled it was:
Swim 3:30
Bike 9:00
Run 5:00

I am entitled, and entirely deserve every single minute of this step down rest week! And I'm taking it!

As my Endurance Nation friend Marianne says, Runnin', Ridin', Swimmin', and having a blast!

Ironman Coeur d'Alene Cold Water Swimming Tips

Lots of talk over at my training place Endurance Nation (EN) about the cold lake waters at Coeur d'Alene. I heard a tip about keeping warm I want to pass on, and add a few of my own.

At past Ironman races, a few of the EN athletes used those chemical warmers in their neoprene caps, and in the toes of the swim booties to help keep warm. I'm not sure what happens when the warmers hit the water (I think they need air to work), but it might be a strategy to pre-warm before diving in.

This tip led me to thinking that you could also put a couple of warmers in your bike shoes in the early morning before the race begins. They'll heat for several hours, so you can just dump them out, and your shoes will be warm as you begin riding. I think I'd dump a handful into my transition bag, wrap my clothes around them, and change into dry, warmed togs before heading out. I notice they sell a large "body warmer" size! Might help stop the shivers a little sooner!

I think I need to buy some stock before the race...

Lake Couer D'Alene Water Temp 49 Degrees

Brrrrrr!!!!! I know all you athletes racing Coeur d'Alene in a few weeks know about the water temps. Here is a recent TV news report confirming the cold temps, and the fact that IMNA will allow neoprene caps and swim socks. They will likely require all athletes to wear a wetsuit. Best go stock up on all the neoprene you can find!

Slow Technique Work, Pull, and Kick = Faster Swimming

The March 20 New York Times ran a great article on swimmer Ryan Lochte, "the best American male swimmer not named Michael." While it was interesting to read about his training, the best part of the piece was how we, mere mortals, can incorporate some of his training techniques to our own advantage. The article cited three things that Ryan does that any swimmer can emulate:

* Slow things WAAAAAY down when working on technique.

* Use a pull buoy to work on body position. (I could kiss this kid for making the pull buoy more than a crutch!)

* Work on kicking. As they said in the article, the top coaches have found that less volume with more kicking = world records.

I know as triathletes we have to balance the ROI in kicking sets vs. exhausted legs for tomorrow's ride or run. But I can tell you that kicking is now a major emphasis on my boys' club team, and it's made a huge difference in my kids' race times.

Here's the link to the article.