Carolina Half Ironman 2014 vs 2013 Splits

Yesterday was the second, or the first, Carolina Half Ironman distance race, depending on how you look at it. I did much better in 2014 than 2013 and I wanted to understand where because, frankly, I didn't feel as ready as I did in 2013. This is a quick comparative analysis of my splits.

In 2013, the race was produced by Setup Events and took place in September. Benji Jones, who was with Setup Events, left to form Jones Racing Company in late 2013 and took several events with him, including the Carolina Half. For 2014, the race was moved to May 4th, which worked out better for the planners and town. 

The swim was 100% the same but the bike and run courses were modified slightly. In 2013 the bike course featured too many turns and short legs; this was corrected for the 2014 event resulting in a much faster course. The run course originally was a one lap out and back which included the cross country course at Davidson College. The 2014 course was changed to mainly streets and paved greenways but still featured some pretty tough hills. 

In 2013, I did not strip my wetsuit off fully until I got to my bike, which was a mistake because the swim to bike run is about a quarter-mile! So in 2014 I made sure to take my suit off completely at the water exit. There is a large concrete driveway at the swim exit so plenty of room to strip. So the best way to see if I improved at all from 2013 to 2014 is to look at both my swim plus T1 times together:

2013: 42:53 vs 2014: 44:01

So I actually lost 1:08 in the 2014 race which makes sense because it felt a little slower. I didn't draft as many people as I did in 2013. I also struggled to get my suit off...did not bring any cooking spray!

In conclusion, most of the difference was on the bike and probably due to the more straight course. However, I think my run strength has also improved. So, I'd attribute half of the better time to the course and take credit for the other half :)

The Rule of 3

There are too many experts publishing advice lists that are just too long.

What good is a list of the top 12 things you can do to be happier, or the top 21.5 questions you should ask a prospective customer, if you can only remember the first handful?

Life is too busy and hectic to be able to truly focus on more than a few things at a time!

You can make consistent, measurable, progress just by focusing on a few things at a time. Do a few things every day, or even several times a day, and you will accomplish a lot more in less time!

Follow the rule of 3! Make a list of the 3 most important things you want to do right now. Fight the urge to make a longer list. Get those 3 things done as fast as you can...then think about making a new list of three. I guarantee you will feel a greater sense of accomplishment than you would by making a list of 20, 30, or 100 urgent things and only getting 1 or 2 of them done.

For example, if you really want to get healthy, remember this list of 3 at restaurants (that is, if you have to eat out at a restaurant).

The 3 things I should eat:
1. Vegetables
2. Fruits
3. Lean meats (substitute if you are a vegetarian/vegan.)

Clear out the distractions! Keep your lists simple! Get more done!

Gmail Contacts Sync to iOS7 Device Problems and Solution

I wasted the better part of yesterday afternoon and evening in frustration. My 2200 or so odd Google GMail contacts stopped updating on my iPhone 5S and iPad (both on iOS7.)

First, let me just state that I have multiple email accounts on my devices. Second, let me state that I've set them up myself. Third, I'm not a programmer, just a middle aged engineer and mobile aficionado with pretty good technical skills, but not an expert at IP lingo and software configuration.

The accounts on my phone are:

• Personal GMail
• Work GMail
• iCloud
• Side business iMap email

I was using my personal GMail to manage all my contacts. I decided to go this route due mainly to GMail's ability to find and merge duplicates. On my work PC, I use Outlook to access my work GMail and it created a separate Contact database...another source of frustration causing some duplicate contacts.

Long story short, let's focus on the problem and solution. My GMail contacts weren't synching. I tried deleting and adding my GMail account multiple times following the instructions on Google's page: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/2753077?hl=en  

Here's what I didn't realize until about 10pm that night - My work GMail was not set up correctly. 

I set it up as a Google type of Account under Settings>Mail,Contacts, Calendars>Add Account

What I should have done is set it up as an Exchange Account using these instructions: 

https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/138740?hl=en

To my surprise, once I set up my work GMail account as an Exchange Account rather than as a Google Account, my personal GMail contacts started synching properly.

No, I don't understand why. I assume there was some kind of conflict inside my devices as a result of having two differently configured GMail accounts set up as Google accounts. All I know is when I fixed the work account, then my personal contacts started synching again. Perhaps the order in which the accounts were added was part of the problem as well. 

Hope this helps!

My Ironman Arizona 2013 Race Report: A dream come true, an amazing day

Ironman Arizona (#IMAZ) 2013

November 17, 2013

12 Hours 37 Minutes 17 Seconds Overall

Ironman Arizona proved to be both easier and harder than I expected but mostly, more fun than I could have imagined! First of all, what an awesome, awesome, experience! The organizers spared no detail, every little thing was planned out from the color-coded special needs bags (each color a different motivational saying) to the numerous themed rest stations staffed by exuberant volunteers. It was not only a really great time for me, but for my family as well. As for the race itself, I thought the swim was much easier than most of my long training swims. However, the bike segment was harder than expected. The run segment was about as I expected and I actually enjoyed it. Even though my only stated goal was to finish, I secretly wanted to beat 13 hours, which I did by about 23 minutes.

My Ironman Arizona journey began nearly a year in advance, though I didn't start training seriously (that is, with a plan) until late January when I signed up with Jamey Yon at TRi-Yon Performance. The very first thing Jamey asked was "Is your wife on board with all this?" as he knew that was the first and most important prerequisite. Fortunately, I had already had "the conversation" with Elizabeth and she was behind me all the way...something I will always appreciate. After an endless summer of long Saturday bike rides and Sunday runs to cap off a week of speedwork, strengthwork, and lots of swims, the weeks wound down to the race. Those last few weeks were pretty excrutiating as I experienced a range of emotions from fear to anxiety to hope. Finally the big day arrived!

Swim: 1 Hour, 16 minutes:

I had no major issues on the swim, just a little nerves when they finally told us to jump in the water. Even though it was 64 degrees, the temperature felt fine after a few seconds of swimming. I treaded water for about 10 minutes and when the cannon finally fired, I started my Garmin, put my head down, and just went. This was a 1 loop swim and it seemed to take forever to get to the turnaround. I ran up on top of a couple of people who stopped (?) and got kicked once in the side of the head but luckily no blows to the face. Once we made the turn back the spacing improved considerably. The finish came relatively quickly and as I exited snuck a quick glance at my time (76  minutes) so I was actually a few minutes ahead of my best case prediction. I found out after the bike that I had some abrasions on my neck from the wetsuit collar so will make a mental note to use some vaseline in the future! 

Bike: 6 Hours, 12 Minutes:

The bike segment was tougher than expected; it was an essentially coast-free loop that we did three times (Coach told me months ago the IM bike is a long steady effort and boy was he right.) I just tried to settle in and spin to avoid any lactic acid buildup in my quads. I set the Virtual Pacer on my Garmin for a 6 hour pace; at the end of the first loop I was dead even with him. By the end of the 2nd loop, he had built up about a 5 minute lead which I thought I could erase on the 3rd loop. However, as the organizers warned, nasty head/crosswinds showed up on the 3rd loop (headwind on the inbound/downhill final 17 miles) and I ended up about 10 minutes off the 6:00 pace. In retrospect, I got passed a lot on the bike and could have gone harder...but the 10 minutes I may have shaved would have probably cost me more than that on the run. TIPS: Set a timer or use a system to take in your calories consistently. Don't banquet on the bike; I only ate 2 NOW bars cut up into 8 bite sized chunks and used Infinit and Hammer gel for the rest of my calories. I was covered in salt when I changed for the run so I probably did not drink enough plain water and could have been a bit dehydrated.  

Run: 4 Hours, 55 Minutes: 

The 2 loop run went as well as possible, considering it was my weakest discipline before working with Jamey. I had some bloating on the first loop and even take the thought of eating anything...not even a gel (I carried one through 4 rest stops before chucking it.) I made sure to take a cup of water or two at each rest stop and chugged them both. I ended up doing the whole run on liquids (water, GU Perform, cola, and 2 cups of chicken broth) with a few bites of banana and 1 or 2 pretzels. My stomach felt much better after mile 13 (along with my left big toe, which I wrapped up in a large bandaid from my special needs bag) and I was able to hold the same 11 minute pace. I was still holding back to see how I would feel at mile 21. I made it past mile 22 and was still feeling great when I hit the (only) hill on the course. For some reason, I decided to attack that hill. I don't know if it was anger, exhaustion, or just insanity but it felt like someone reached into my back and just squeezed my adrenal glands. As I passed dozens of walkers I kept thinking that this must be the #TYDifference; all of those strength and hill workouts was paying off. Many of the volunteers seemed surprised to see this crazy guy running strong on the closing miles of an Ironman...and their reactions fired me up even more! 

I hit the last stop and the final 1.2 miles seemed like the longest of the day; the road was dark and pretty deserted of spectators. However with about half a mile to go, I could hear the cheers and loudspeakers of the finish line crowd. I entered the chute in disbelief, thrilled, relieved, and proud and still not quite believing I was now in a new club...an Ironman finisher.   

Post-Race:

Obviously lots of stretching and/or massage...my hamstrings wanted to seize up once I stopped running. I wasn't really able to walk much after the race but felt surprisingly good the next day. It wasn't until the 2nd day that I really felt soreness in my quads and calves. By Wednesday, I started complaining about where I could have done better during the race (the bike segment) so my wife knew I was back to normal :)

More Tips:

* Rest up a lot the week before even though you will feel like you want to workout more. 

* Stay off your feet as much as possible the day before. 

* Don't eat anything in the 3-4 days before that will upset your stomach at all. I ate penne pasta with roast chicken and olive oil (no cheese) for my final pre-race meal. 

* Wear compression socks whenever you're on your feet and especially afterwards.

* Believe in yourself! You are ready! You're going to be amazed how well you do and you'll want to immediately register for another one. 

* Smear Vaseline on your feet before putting on your socks in T2 if you get blisters. Also, keep a few large band-aids for blisters in your Run special needs bag...which you get at mile 13. 

* Walk through every water station starting at the first one. 

* Cold water dumped on your head or back really helps snap you back to awareness. 

Inspirational post borrowed from another first time Ironman finisher

I read this in a newsletter from TrySports. It was written by one of their employees, a 45 year old who just completed an Ironman event this past August. As I near the end of my training for Ironman AZ, this reminded me of what got me into this endeavor, and what has gotten me through it. 

By Terry Collins, TrySports Wilmington:

"What inspires me?  It seems that these days, I'm asked this proverbial question quite often.  Just to give you a little background, I decided at the age of 45 to complete my first full Ironman this past August in Mont Tremblant after just two years of competing in the sport of triathlon.  What was I thinking? Could I do this?  I took a huge leap of faith and decided that I had to give it a try!  At this point in my life, I didn't want to risk not knowing what I could have done.  This season hasn't been without difficulties as I sustained a broken collarbone from a cycling accident.  As you can imagine, I needed the encouragement of many others to get me through some tough times.  Again, the question beckons, what inspires me?  Here are a few.....

I'm inspired by my training partner who motivates me and holds me accountable, even when I don't want to complete that tough workout!  Before the start of the Ironman, his words, "Be confident - you can do this", gave me the courage to start that incredible day. 

I'm inspired by my fellow TrySports co-worker and good friend who messaged me before the start of the race and said, "We are with you".  Those words kept me going during my lowest points in the race.   

I'm inspired by my coach as she will complete her 9th Ironman this year! Her words of encouragement kept me going through injury and the tough times. It's because of her that I write the words, "Your life is now" on my arm before every race.  

I'm inspired my fellow TrySports co-workers.  You not only encouraged me along the way, you encourage others and embody the spirit of believing in yourself to reach that goal.  

I'm inspired by my fellow athletes that I see on "The Loop" at Wrightsville Beach swimming, biking, and/or running every morning before the sun rises.  While you have may have full time jobs, families, and other commitments, you are out there giving it everything you have.  

Maybe you are thinking about completing your first 5K, marathon, or Ironman.  You might be saying to yourself, "Can I do this?"  In the book Ironstruck, Ray Fauteux writes about the fear of lining up and starting on race day.   He says, "There are hundreds of athletes who will feel the same as you on race morning.  That is one of the things that makes this event so amazing.  You are all on the same journey together."  It could be that you want to get in better shape, improve your overall health, or get a faster time.  Whatever your goal, know that you are not alone.  Many others have overcome adversity to make it to the start line, and you will, too!  Along the way, you will become the inspiration for others to begin that journey and take that leap of faith as I did.   So when I'm asked the question, "What inspires me?" -  I'm inspired by YOU! 




Keep believing and achieving!"












Terri Collins
TrySports Wilmington

Race Report: Carolina Half Ironman 9/29/13

This past Sunday, I competed in the inaugural Setup Events Carolina Half-IM, the first long course race based in (or near) Charlotte, NC. With time to reflect back on it, I've decided I enjoyed it, even though parts of it were pretty darn hard.

My goal was to use this as a training race, to practice and prepare for Ironman Arizona in about six weeks. I intended to just settle in, focus on fueling, and take it easy, without trying to push the pace or hit a time goal. However, after getting on the bike, that old competitive spirit kicked in and I wrestled against pushing myself versus holding back for what I knew was going to be a tough run. I ended up going a bit harder on the bike than I wanted, but still seemed to have enough left to have an OK run. My run was still pretty bad, but I ended up taking 10 minutes off of my previous PR at this distance, which was on a flat course at the 2003 Blackwater Eagleman.

Age Group Results
6:01:05, 15th out of 32

I was surprised to place in the top half of my age group. This is a big improvement over most of my previous events where I was in the lower 40%. I attribute this to following a great coaching program from Jamey Yon. The next guy up was 10 minutes ahead so I'll have my work cut out next year (if I do this one again.)

RECAP:

Taper Week: Went in to see Dr. Bradberry at Greenapple for a mild case of metatarsalgia and a sore hip. Flew out early Tuesday and spent Tuesday through Thursday in Chicago, IL. Swam Tuesday and Wednesday nights at the Buehler YMCA in Palatine. Felt really good all week and concentrated eating clean and not pulling anything.

Friday night we headed up to Boone for Parent's Weekend at Appalachian State and we spent all Saturday on our feet hiking both the campus and some trails. Despite complicating my preparation, I knew where my priorities needed to be. We didn't get home until 10pm and then I had to prep my bike and bags. Didn't get in bed until midnight for a 4:30 wakeup...not good.

RACE DAY:

After 4 hours sleep, we drove to T1, got my packet and racked my bike, then headed to T2. I was definitely feeling the lack of sleep but also the typical pre race nerves and was ready to get it done. Then, a lack of shuttle buses caused me to get separated from Elizabeth and ended up in T1 without cooking oil spray and my whole gear bag.

SWIM:
37:31, 12th out of 32: 

This was my first beach start and I don't know if I prefer it one way or the other over the other kind. Due to the shuttle thing, I didn't get to do a warmup but tried not to think about that.

I felt really good right away from the start and was able to settle my breathing down within a few hundred yards. I didn't feel either fast or slow but kept up with what I thought was the middle of my pack. I stayed with the pack through the two turns, only getting slightly off course twice. After exiting at the boat ramp I glanced at my watch which read 36:34 and immediately thought I must have accidentally paused it. My previous best swim in a half-IM was about 43 minutes.

T1: 

5:22, 14th out of 32

T1 was about 1/4 mile up the road from the water exit and I made the mistake of only peeling my wetsuit top down. It would have been smarter to shed the whole thing. Plus I got a sleeve caught on my watch and that added precious seconds. I could probably shave a minute off next year.

BIKE:
3:00:29, 17th out of 32

I was actually shocked at placing relatively low on the bike leg, normally my best segment. I will say that nobody passed me on training wheels, that is, everyone that passed me had aero race wheels, which I didn't...but I'm not making excuses. The bike is probably the area where my training has lagged the most due to all my mid week traveling.

This was a course with relatively few fast stretches. Lots of turns connected by pretty rough asphalt. Also lots of rolling hills with 2 or 3 out of the saddle climbs, especially in mile 55.

My fueling plan was do the same as on my last few long rides. Lots of Gatorade and Hammer Gel with one or two energy bars. I downed a NOW bar (280 calories) in the first 25 miles then switched to just Gatorade. I need to get a better Bento box and gel flask holder for my bike. Mine didn't work well with all the short segments and turns.  

Eric Banks Carolina Half IM Bike Splits 9/29/13

I finished the bike feeling really strong though and was more than eager to start the run.

T2: 
1:28, 7th place. 

No issues here. Shoes stayed on the bike. Clean dismount. Right out of the traps onto the run.

RUN:
2:16:16, 17th out of 32.

I knew this was going to be tough but didn't preview it so I just mentally approached it as a strong training run. The first two miles around Bailey Park flew by and I was optimistic that I was going to easily break 2 hours. Then the fun started in mile 4.

For the run, I took water and Heed at the first few stops until we entered the Davidson College Cross Country trail system around mile 5. Then my legs started to get heavier and I craved coke and water at the next few stops through mile 7.5, the turnaround point.

Exiting the woods around mile 9, I could sense the finish and was able to crank the pace up a bit. By that point I was taking two water cups and dumping one on my back. Things went well until those last two brutal hills in mile 12 where I had to take a couple of walk breaks.

Eric Banks' Carolina Half IM Run Splits 9/29/13

In summary, I was pretty spent at the end but semi-happy with my results. On the one hand, I was glad to get a PR and to have a really great swim. On the other hand, I was disappointed I still didn't make it into the 5:30 club. Oh well, as they say, there's always next year!

If You Want Success, Follow The System!

I've probably heard this advice over and over hundreds of times in very different contexts, but for some reason, I still mainly try to forge my own path toward whatever goal I've set. Then, I wonder why the path has been so difficult or why I've failed to achieve my goal.

I suppose part of this stems from hearing the Frost poem about "taking the road less traveled" too many times. There is a part of me that believes that I have to "earn" my success through adversity as opposed to taking a tried and true path. In other words, my ego prevented me from "merely" following someone else's system.

But I'm now following a "system" to get me in better shape for triathlons and improving my results and I'm seeing the results of following it.