St. Croix

St. Croix was everything I was told it would be. There was not a cloud in the sky, it was close to 90 degrees, and of course windy. Let’s be honest though, that what we came for right!? I mean how upset would we all be (and internally relieved) if they had to circumvent the Beast because of road construction?

Last month I qualified for Hawaii. I knew I wanted to do that this year but was very surprised and extremely excited it came to me in California. Since then I wanted to skip St. Croix, yet was excited to come down with clients. All the way till the gun went off I was having trouble getting mentally “up” for the event. Please understand this is in NO WAY an excuse. In fact there is a lesson there. Mental outlook is so over looked, and clearly plays a large roll in how we approach the training and race itself. There is no doubt it has a tremendous impact on the event. I am going to start talking with Cheryl Hart again to make sure I have my “Game face” leading into my next big race.

My swim was so-so. I was near the front but felt like I was having the race dictated to me from the beginning. I got caught in a pack, which is nice, but they were just fast enough it was a ton of work to get around them, yet not quite fast enough to keep us in touch with what I felt was the front of the group. I literally could not swim up and through the group. Good for them for holding ground, bad for me to not be able to close the deal.

I exited the swim and for some reason felt like my achilles were going to snap. Never had that happened, and it made me lose focus and before I knew it I had ran to the wrong area on transition. My transitions were both lackadaisical. Again I attribute this to motivation and focus. Got my bike here we go.

On the bike, I was doing OK, but never felt “great”. I had one guy I kept trying to go around, and would get in front, but never be able to hold the position which is odd. On the Beast he rode away from me and it took me the better part of 15 min to TT to get back up to him. I felt he was moving well and if I could stay with him, I would at least be OK. My average watts were about 20 lower then California, confirming I just was not “on” for the day.

I came into T2 next to another guy. He was trying to qualify and had forgotten his salt tabs, etc. I rifled through my bag, gave him all of mine and wished him luck. I told him I was going for a jog, I was not a threat. I was SO RELEIVED I had already qualified, but at the same time was questioning what I was going back to Hawaii for with the same conditions.

The run was steady. I was looking for clients walking aide stations, etc. Nothing to report on this.

I had no stomach issues, I had no cramping, I didn’t even feel as if I was “bonking” too badly, just could not get the body to go today. I think the fact my bike and running shoes were lost for almost 3 days and I was not able to workout did not help me as I proved in California a moderate taper works so much better for me. That being said, I have no excuses. Others were just better then me today. I will also tell you this; my hat is off to everyone who had solid efforts today. There is nowhere to hide on this course. I think Wildflower bike might be a bit easier, but I think Wildflower’s run is harder.

On another note, My 15 year old athlete Jenn Holland won the overall women’s title at Trizou this weekend. Lindsay won the overall Rockford Duathlon! My client Debbie got 5th in her AG out here in St. Croix for her second half IM EVER!!! Russell suffered a flat so his result is a bit misleading.

About are from my Garmin from today’s race.

Training a National champion

With the break in the weather finally happening here in Chicago, I was able to get Ben Kaute out for a ride. He plans on defending his title this year at Nationals. I think he will.

Today I did California 70.3 and things went very well. I decided to have Jim Vance coach me this year as it is always a great idea even as a coach to have an objective opinion to training. We really wanted to focus on my run, which is coming together quite nicely.

My swim was 25 min. I felt strong throughout the swim and new I was holding a good tempo. Only thing was they sent my wave off last and we had to swim through so many people. It was a bit crazy.

On the Bike I was feeling very strong. I averaged 285 watts with a normalized power of 305. the hills made for some variations, but also passing and weaving through so many people did not help one bit either. I was very disappointed to see not only drafters which is cheating, but the people who were doing OWN A COACHING company. So much for integrity I guess.

The run went very well as for me a 1:25 was a new PR for an off the bike run. I was able to get 1st in the Age group, Patrick Baldwin was closing quick and was forcing me to run for my life, luckily he was able to get a Kona spot as well as there were two spots in our age group.

We changed things up quite a bit from a traditional taper this go around, and I am very happy with the results.

Jim and I were talking about what to focus on this year and we think we should still do our best at Wisconsin then take Kona as it comes. Jury is still out there but for now it sounds like a good plan.

first race effort of 2009... done

Today I dropped in a local San Diego race called “Super Seal”. It was a tough go as it really was one of the first race specific efforts I have had for the season. Remarkably the bike let me down a touch here but I tried not to panic. I pedaled more for cadence then I like to and tried not to panic. My plan going in was to run well and attack the first 2 miles and worry about the last 4 later. I did, and was running well, but most of the first 2 miles deep sand which was really tough to run in. By the end of the run I was just a bit out of gas and fell to 5th.

These are times when it is important to not over react. I tell my clients all the time, stay focused on your goals. Super Seal was not a goal of mine this year yet the competitor in me has trouble at times dealing with the results of those efforts.

I have athletes that I swear have the shortest memory of anyone. I will receive emails saying they have incredible workouts followed a couple days later by ones that do not go very well at all. The email that follows is usually something like “what is wrong with me, I feel like I am not making progress”. After a short conversation they remember they ARE, and they realize we do not peak for every workout.

All in all it was a great race today to be a part of and it was nice to see some new faces on the race course. Chicago got 5 inches of snow today so if I were home I think things might have been less fun anyway.

Spring and Power

Spring is finally here and in the Chicago land area it looks like we may actually get one this year! Normally we go from winter to flood season then about 6 weeks of summer then back to winter. Here is hoping for the best.

We had a fantastic camp last week in Arizona. Complete with talks from Joe Friel, underwater analysis from Jim Vance, run technique with Tom Manzi, and Bike handling and other skills from Rob Kelley. All the campers reported learning a tremendous amount of information.

One of the things I still find curious is when we take the time to explain to the participants how to use TrainingPeaks correctly so we can actually grab and analyze their uploaded files correctly how amazed they are with the type of information we can provide them. There are so many cool new things to buy each year as athletes it is easy to get carried away. I believe the best investments you can still make though are power meters and speed distance watches. Every athlete I coach really enjoys seeing the changes they are able to make with these devices. Furthermore, each one that has purchased these has improved hands down.

I just spoke with one of my best friends and training partners yesterday. He wants a new bike but is on the fence about getting a power meter. He currently has but drastically under utilizes a power tap. We spoke about his options for power meters ad I had to spend some time convincing him that he would benefit far more from making every workout count versus having a really cool new bike. It is a tough sale, but I think I got him to come around.

In fact I believe so much in the power devices I have come up with incentives for my athletes that start with me to buy them. In many cases I waive part of my fees so as to free up some of their cash to purchase these. I explain to them we are in this for the long haul together and I am willing to invest in them as athletes if they are. I guess you can say I put my money where mouth is on this subject.

Enjoy your spring training, good luck to everyone starting to race! Be safe out there.
Adam

Still Alive.

Wow time seems to fly. I sometimes wonder how people maintain these very detailed blogs, I just can’t seem to find the time to coach the athletes I coach, train, and oh yea be a husband and father.

With life so crazy it becomes so easy to let things pass we don’t “have to do”. One of those things for me is my annual physical I get from my doctor. One of my close friends went in for the “Heart Check”. He is a triathlete, a bit skinny and could use a bit more muscle :) but he is in general good health. 80% blockage! Next day he was in getting a heart procedure. We could not believe it. Needless to say, it inspired me to get checked out. So I am currently running the gauntlet of medical check ups and exams – fun times. It is worth it though. Even with me they have stumbled on something they want to take a closer look at. Most likely nothing extremely serious but Im glad it is being ruled out. Make time to get a baseline physical once a year. It is probably as important as maintaining a blog at least.

We spent the last 4 weeks at Training Bible being trained by Doctors, Sport psychologists, professional bike fitters, Physical Therapists, Joe Friel, Jim Vance, etc. We take a lot of pride in our coaching staff and require them once a year at a min. to come for a training camp which helps them stay up with the latest theories in the coaching industry. That took a lot of work to put together but was well worth it.


I’m in Tucson for work this weekend and am sneaking in some rides and runs. It is so great to be able to ride outside. The swims outside are nice too. I was able to also try out the trails at Catalina State Park for a nice run.

What an awesome clinic we had!

Check out the clinic we just did for athletes. It was a huge success. http://lindsayzucco-lindsay.blogspot.com/2009/02/pieces-of-puzzle.html

Running out of time today so I will stealt Lindsay's handy work for writting about it.
:)

A