As part of this program, the coach and several other USAT selected coaches were lucky enough to be in attendance for part of a 2 week camp that the athletes are attending at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO.  Part of the camp included an invitation only sprint distance, draft legal triathlon.    Brian MacIlvan and the coach have been working together since the beginning of 2010 and this was our first draft legal event.   Quite an experience for both of us.    To excel at draft legal racing, an athlete needs to have a strong swim in order to stay in the first bike pack.  Then hang on and let it rip on the run.   Looking at ITU racers, most of them are strong swim/runners, versus AG racing that requires a strong bike, due to no drafting.

USAT Elite July 2010

This camp had some of the best triathletes in the US right now and was very exciting to watch.   The female race came down to a sprint finish in the last 400 yards.  The men’s race was dominated by a local professional, but most of the campers had great results for their early draft legal careers.    This form of racing is commonly referred to as “splash/mash/dash.” 

This form of racing involves either invitations or professional status.  In doing so, the fields are rather select, but provide a very clean and organized transition area.

There were also youth and juniors participating in portions of the camp.   As a result, the coach is starting the wheels rolling on a youth/junior program for 2011.  More details will follow………….

Overall, it’s always great to go to the OTC.   We got to stay in old dorm room style rooms and it’s a great way to develop a common bond.   As one of the elders of the group, the coach is positive about this group of elite athletes coming up.  They are true professionals and very humble athletes.  Quite refreshing and encouraging to see.  We have a great future in this sport………

Jennifer Murray- In her first ever half Ironman distance race at Steelhead 70.3 finished 6th in AG in 5:08 and garnered a spot for the Ironman 70.3 championship. She also won her AG at the T Rex series.
Chad Stearns- Another Steelhead finish in 5:45. Great work on a rainy, hot day!
John Wilson- In his “comeback” year he took a 2nd place in his AG at Lumberman with a 5 minute PR in the same distance in less than a month of working with the coach.

Chris Turner- a 2:00 finish at the Chicago half marathon in preparation for the full distance this fall.   Great work!

4. Chad Stearns and Eric Buckhave(first time HIM’er) both had great season starts at the Monroe Racing for Recovery HIM, in light of the horrible weather the night before and brutal winds on race day.  

5. Joe Leto- At the end of a big training block in preparation for IMLO, ran the Bayshore Half Marathon in 1:29.  Excellent!

Race Venue

The coach started off the season with of his major races being the White Lake II Half Ironman in White Lake, NC. This is an event run by Set Up events and is part of the qualifying program for USAT’s Half Iron Championship. The goal being to get a qualifying spot for the race in October. The good news is he got in; the less than good news is it wasn’t pretty. However, that’s racing!
The day started with near 80 degree water, so the first open water swim of the season started without a wetsuit. Not that it was an issue, but for me, I always appreciate the comfort that I get from wearing the wetsuit and sense of security. However, my Zoot speedsuit did the trick. One thing I did note is that in past races with a wetsuit, I would experience lower back tension halfway through the bike, but this event didn’t have that issue. I’m starting to rethink the use of a wetsuit since it obviously effects my body swim position.
Bike was pancake flat and fast for the first half, however the wind picked up to 20+mph and it was getting hot quick. Fortunately with the Powertap powermeter on the bike I was able to gauge my efforts and ride according to my plan. Start at 160-180 watts for the first 45 minutes, then work into 200-210 on the remainder of the ride. In review of the PM results, you can clearly see that riding along at 25 mph and 160 watts, we definitely had a tailwind. (Without the meter, it’s hard to gauge). On the back half, you can see speed decline and power go up. I was clearly passing people that were having trouble gauging their efforts, which is typical at the HIM+ distances. Normalized Power=174 watts, kJ=1694, Avg.Spd=20.1 mph, Time=2:47. 
Coming from 40-50 degree weather and racing in 90’s is a challenge that I was less than adequately prepared. Due to the heat, the event had hot water that they were handing out and it was hard to stomach, and I paid for it on the run.
The run was an out and back and also very flat. The event had run out of cold water and towels were getting pretty hot on the second half. I knew I was in for trouble about 2 miles into the run and it became an issue of pushing forward in order to finish in the top 1/3 of my age group. However, it paid off and the mission was accomplished.
Finish time was less than desired at 5:54, but that was good enough for an 18th place out of 65 starters in the 40-44. Funny thing being it would have podiumed in multiple YOUNGER age groups. It’s tough getting old because it doesn’t get any easier. Swim was about 5 minutes off the goal and the bike was right were I anticipated. The run was 30 minutes slower and I’ll attribute that to the heat, since most of my competitors were 2:00+ also.
What’s the takeaway?
1. Have a race plan and goal, but be flexible.
2. Don’t quit, no matter what. Everyone else is suffering and you never know how you are positioned.
3. Have a nutrition/hydration plan
4. Roll with the conditions. Everyone else has to deal with the heat and wind.
5. Thank God that we are able to go out and abuse ourselves.

Post Race Travel Aftermath

Ger Lupini is our first athlete of the season to make TEAM USA at last week’s Duathlon Nationals. She had an awesome race and finished 5th in her age group to make the team heading to Edinburough, Scotland this September. Way to go Ger!
Jen Murray also had a great weekend with an age group win at the Running Fit’s Poto Trail Half Marathon along with a 5:00 PR to boot. This is one heck of a feat on that course. Anyone who has run Poto knows it is one tough course.
Jane Sanders also had an AG win at the Live like Andi 10 miler and RF 5k. She keeps racking up those victories.
Chad Whistler has had a good start to the season at the Willow Du with a 6th place finish on a crazy wet day. He’s right on track for IM LO.
The “ole” coach had a rough day at Steelcase, but rebounded with a 2nd place AG finish at the Willow Du. He takes pride in the fact that only 2 guys older finished ahead of him. I guess priorities change when you get older!
And a shout out to my sister in law, who as a new mom took an AG win at Willow Du. Great job Steph!

We also have to name drop, in that our running partner, Doug Goodhue, recently won OVERALL at a local 10k.  How’d you like to get smoked by a 68 year old at a local 10k with 150+ runners?   Ouch.  
More updates coming on this great season. We think most athletes will confirm having a hands on coach helps set the direction for a positive season.

Adrian Fear:  Adrian was a client of ours last year in her first year of road cycling.  She quickly advanced to the Wolverine Sports Club elite level team and just took two first place finishes at the AAVC Spring Fling (criterium) Series this month.   Quite an advancement, considering she was brand new to the sport last year.

Brian MacIlvain-  Brian is a potential Olympic Trials hopeful in triathlon.   We have been working together as part of the USAT Olympic development program.    He recently posted an OVERALL race win at the Flushing 5k road run, which by Brian’s recap was a tenth of a mile long.  (We all know what that feels like.)  Lightening fast time for April of 16:45.  The modified mile average is about 5:12.   Great Job!

Martian Half Marathon and 10k Results:

Eric Buckhave a personal best of 1:45.  Get this…an improvement of over 10.5 minutes from his fall half marathon time.  (This is a direct result of the coach “making him” do speedwork.  Way to go Eric! 

Jane Sanders ran a respectable 10k in 46:16 after coming off of 3 months of PF in her foot.  3rd in her AG. 

Brad Fear completed his second half marathon in 2:09 and more importantly was happy with his results and was able to run comfortably compared to past efforts.  

Stephanie Bond (my sister in law) ran a 1:53, this is just after having a baby this past November.   (She’s a former smoker too….)  Way to go Steph!   She’s also beat her husband at the Corktown 5k.  First time ever.   Quite a bit of bragging rights in that household! 

The coach ran a Half Marathon PR of 1:34:14.   (7:10 avg) All in all a good day.   9th overall in AG out of 150.  It’s a good start to the season and shows good form for the upcoming HIM in May.

Big Shoes to Fill

I love this picture as a reminder that kids respond to our actions more than our words. The great thing about having kids is they give us a direct reflection on who we are and the message we put out. My caption to this picture is “Them are big shoes to fill.”
Hopefully, by now everyone has had a chance to get their bikes out on the road. If not, why not? And shame on you. I’ve had the opportunity to get 2 back to back weeks of 100 miles in. While I’ve definitely enjoyed it, I’m feeling the fatigue. Thank goodness for recovery weeks. As the coach, I use this time of year to reevaluate everyone’s annual training plan(ATP) and make adjustments based upon planned vs actual hours. This is one of the great things about having a real coach to review your progress. As a general note, training is a relative thing. We all want more hours to train, but it isn’t always practical. So, the key is to make the most of what we have. Have a purpose for every workout.
Big weekend coming up for most of my coached athletes. Most are participating in one of the Martian events, either 10k or half marathon. Weather forecast is good and we may have an age group winner.  I know of a 10k masters winner already; my neighbor and occasional training partner is the Milford “legend”; Doug Goodhue. Doug’s a 17x masters national champion. He’s a young 68 years old and runs just over a 5:20 mile pace. God I hope I’m that fast at that age! I’ve learned alot from him about speedwork.   Doug recently won the USATF Masters Half Marathon for 65-69 age group in 1:24.    He’s faster than most 50 year old guys……I know of at least one, fourty something…..We often talk about what it takes to be a faster runner and the overall conclusion is “speedwork.”  There is no short cut to getting faster.   If you want to be a better athlete, you need a plan and faster training partners.  End of story.