Some Things Never Change

Hey! Final post of the series and for 2019! 

I love the phrase “If it isnt’t broke, don’t fix it”. So, this post will be dedicated to the things I have been doing since day 1.

Avoiding the Trainer and Treadmill

Frost and icicles from my breath

For me, running in place is torture. I have always been anti-treadmill and doubt that will ever change. I will run in sub-zero temperatures to avoid it. The only time I compromise is icy conditions or if safe routes are difficult to find while traveling. The same goes for the trainer, but I tend to stay inside after a recent snowfall or ANY chance of ice. I simply prefer “actual” road miles when I train. I love the outdoors and training allows me to be outside all the time.

Nutrition

Disposable bottle with Gatorade 

One thing I I take pride in is being flexible with using on course nutrition. In an Ironman I start the bike with a disposable bottle. Since my first full, I have used this approach to avoid refilling or carrying more than 1 at a time. Having 1 bottle reduces weight and improves aerodynamics. This works well because I am never more than 15 miles away from fluids. I have always used what is offered on the course for this reason.

I also start the bike with a chocolate chip cliff bar. Although an odd choice, I use it because I always have them in the house. I have yet to experience GI issues on long rides, and I have performed well racing so far. If it isn’t broke…

Need to Improve Cycling

After 3 years in triathlon, cycling still has the most room for improvement. While I still work to improve my run, the largest time impact will come from a faster bike split. Running has been my bread and butter from high school cross county, and a marathon was my first endurance race that got me into Ironman. I never enjoy working on the things I am bad at, so cycling has felt like a thorn in my side since the beginning. I am always open to feedback to improve my bike split and will continue putting the most time towards cycling.  

Key Takeaways:

Try new things but don't force it! A cliff bar is very solid fuel, but it works for me so I stick with it. I have tried all liquid or more gels, but I either bonk or upset my stomach. 

If it works for you, stick with it. I personally perform better and am more motivated training outside. 

Training is a never ending process. There is always room for improvement and ways to drop time. For me, cycling will be the 1 thing I know I can spend more time on. 

Learning From Experience: TRANSITIONS

Let’s transition into the next topic =]

The main focus will be on transitions. When I first started triathlon, I simply wanted to finish and was never concerned with transition times. As I became more competitive, I started to tweak my approach to start saving seconds. I have changed how I end my swim, mount/dismount my bike, and handle nutrition. Even at the full Ironman distance, 10s in transition could cost a podium spot.

Transitions

Swim into T1 – My first approach to saving time was simply running faster. Always gassed from the swim, I decided to test a theory at Muncie. I thought if I saved some energy during last 100 yards, I could make up that time (and then some) running hard through transition. This meant spending more energy in the middle portion of the swim and recovering that last 100. At Muncie, I posted the 4^th fastest overall T1 time. This accomplishment was aided by a flying mount in the next bullet.

Muncie 70.3 T1: Uphill out of the Water

Flying Mount/Dismount – I never understood the importance of a flying mount/dismount until I got smoked in T2 at a local sprint. I hit T2 with a 10s lead and left 10s behind. Instead of stopping to remove my cycling shoes, I could have been doing it on the go. It’s also much faster to run barefoot than in clunky cycling shoes! The next year, I dropped 21s in T1 (fastest on the day) and 34s in T2. For a race that takes just over an hour, 55s was a HUGE improvement from transitions alone.

If you are interested in how I practiced, please drop me a message and I’d love to share!

Flying Mount: Fumbling with my cycling shoe

Nutrition/Equipment – For the first Ironman, my nutrition plan included 1 Gu in both T1 and T2. Eating in transition was a waste of time and I found it difficult to consume the Gu quickly while I was out of breath.  I decided to add more nutrition to my bike and simply delay taking it by 10 minutes. I also started to transfer my salt tube to my pocket at the end of the bike to eliminate an extra item in T2.
A subtle but significant change I made in 2019 was switching from a sleeveless to a sleeved tri kit. Having sleeves protects my shoulders from the sun, and (in my opinion) keeps me slightly cooler with less sun exposure. I still put on sunscreen in T1/T2 to deflect the sun, but I'm less exposed and save time applying it. Depending on the kit, shoulder and upper arm compression will improve cycling aerodynamics as well.

                                                                                                       

Key Takeaways:

Try new things! Pick a local sprint and experiment with transitions/equipment/nutrition. Running sockless could save 5-10 seconds but cause nasty blisters. I only do this in sprints.

Transitions can make or break a race and are worth the investment to practice. In a race like IMWI, I carry my cycling shoes through transition since they don’t allow flying mounts.
Remember your goals. I've seen people eat it trying a flying mount, so I don't do mine at full speed in an Ironman or 70.3 (just not work it).

Next week will be my final topic of the series: “Some Things Never Change”

Learning From Experience - RUNNING

Since my run hasn’t changed much, I’ll share a little history before stepping into this one =) 

Running was my only background prior to triathlon. I ran in high school and learned various training methods from my coaches. After graduating, I quit running to focus on weight lifting. A year later, my friend got a stress fracture 2 weeks before her marathon and I took her registration. I hadn’t run that entire time and trained 12 days for the race. I ran a 3:13, and that has remained my PR… Completing the marathon was my first big step towards an Ironman.

12 vs. 24 Year Old Matt

When I started my official Ironman training 4 years later, I had 2 specific run goals. Run a 20-miler 3 weeks before the race and average under 8:00/mile on every training run.  After gaining some experience, I will hit 20 miles multiple times and no longer target a minimum average pace. My easy runs are usually under 7:30 but heartrate now dictates easy pace.

So what has actually changed?

Multiple Long Runs – For my first triathlon season, I started at zero mileage. This is why I took 8 months to slowly ramp up to one 20 mile run before the race. Now that I have a strong base, I can work up to 20 miles quickly and sustain the higher mileage. While I’m in peak training for Tulsa, I will be running a marathon. This marathon will be treated as another training run without much of a taper. I would like to break 3:00 as a confidence boost and gauge my Ironman run pace, but my main objective is to KQ at Tulsa.

Not Setting an Arbitrary “Slowest” Pace – Why I told myself to not train slower than 8:00/mile is beyond me. I was focused on counting the miles rather than making the miles count! I’ve said it in my last 2 posts and I’ll say it again. Intervals make a huge difference. For running I do: fartleks, mile repeats, tempo/threshold runs, long runs and ACTUAL easy runs. Logging the miles is relatively easy; the real work is done through structured workouts.

Heartrate Training – That first year of training, my body struggled with recovery. This was partly due to starting from scratch, but I also learned something else. A common mistake (guilty) is making easy runs too hard and hard runs too easy. The training gets blurred together and the body isn’t recovering well or being worked enough. When I actually focus on running in Zone 2 (under 155BPM for me), it’s slow but I can hold that pace forever. On the other end, I held an average heartrate of 170bpm in a recent half marathon. This tells me that I should target at least that high when training at threshold pace.

Key Takeaways:

My first Ironman run was a 3:47 (respectable I thought). That time dropped to a 3:15 after increasing mileage and becoming more diligent with my workouts.

Easy runs need to be EASY so the body can recover properly.

For those high intensity workouts, the body needs to be strained enough so it can adapt to the high stress.

Running is my strongest of the 3 disciplines, and I’d love to share more if there are any questions. If you’ve made it this far in my blog post, you may be interested in a book plug. Daniels’ Running Formula is an AWESOME resource for runners. It goes above and beyond anything I could try to teach and dives into doing the minimum work with maximum payoff. Highly recommend. If you’re local, I’d be happy to lend my copy!

Next week will focus on more general changes I have made to my training as races. Nutrition, Transitions, etc… Till next week!

Learning From Experience – CYCLING

Let’s ride...right into it? Ok, I tried…

Specialized Venge (Aero Bike)                                       Cervelo P3 (TT Bike)             

When I started cycling: I bought a new aero bike (Specialized Venge) to complete my first Ironman. The distance was very intimidating, so I decided to make a 120-mile ride my main goal to boost confidence. At this point, I had never changed a flat tire.

Now: I ride a TT bike (Cervelo P3), incorporate interval training, and have changed MANY flats.

Let’s break it down:

Venge to P3 – When I bought the Venge, I wanted to complete an Ironman and ride for fun once reaching my objective. It was supposed to be a one and done (what a joke!), so I didn’t even look at TT bikes. After completing my 2^nd Ironman on the Venge, I decided to set my eyes on Kona and bought a Cervelo P3. Most recently I added a power meter to my bike as well.

Plenty of people understand more about these bikes, but here is what I learned:

1. More Aerodynamic. With aero bars on a TT bike, a smaller body profile is created against the wind. With arms out front, the shoulders tuck in, and the body is stretched out. As you progressively become faster, aerodynamics become increasingly important. Clip on aero bars for a road bike can also help achieve this, but your road bike fit changes and you miss out on frame geometry differences.
2. Bike Geometry. From what Google tells me, the difference in seat tube angle is 78 degrees on a TT bike and 72 on a road bike. This allows the rider to stretch out over the top tube. The steeper angle becomes even more important in a triathlon when jumping off the bike to run. The position forces the hips forward to remove tension from the quads and hammies, sparing strength to hit that marathon.
3. Power Meter. The power meter is still very new to me, and I have yet to see the benefits from training with one. For the sake of this post, I’ll just share what I’ve learned so far.
1. CALIBRATE IT BEFORE EVERY RIDE. I didn’t learn this until after Ironman Louisville and thought I was pushing 50 watts higher. I got caught up in the numbers and fried my legs.
2. Power will be the most consistent measurement. This is very important to me as I track progression and improvement. I used to look at average speed and would think I’m having an off day when wind was a factor.
3. Ever wonder how much faster a set of race wheels are? Or how much does tire pressure/road conditions affect speed? With a power meter you can test this out for yourself! Just set a consistent power output, make the adjustments and compare speeds.

Hitting a Distance vs Intervals – Training in flat Illinois, courses with elevation has been tough. I discovered this when racing Ironman Wisconsin as my first full. At mile 40 I experienced my first real hill. This one even had a name… Barlow. My legs burned out and I suffered for the rest of the ride AND run. I learned to either go train on actual hills or simulate them with intervals. It is recommended to maintain a consistent power output, but this is easier said than done when you run out of gears climbing. Similar to what I mentioned with swimming, you are training your body to become stronger and work more efficiently at a higher intensity during an interval.

Changing Flats – One of my favorite pro triathletes, Lionel Sanders, feared flats while racing. To combat, he would yell “flat tire!” and go change a tire while watching TV. I believe he got it under a minute, and now a flat doesn’t end his day while racing. I am not nearly that fast, but I certainly won’t be waiting for SAG to come help me. PLEASE don’t let a race be the first time you change a flat tire…

Key Takeaways:

A TT bike is a great investment if you plan on racing for multiple years and want to be more competitive. If you are a more leisure athlete, a road bike will work just fine (I completed 2 fulls on mine). A power meter is also a great investment for tracking progress and having a value to target during intervals. It is far from necessary but can be a great training tool.  Riding in a hilly area may provide natural intervals, but Illinois does not have the luxury. I love to utilize intervals and believe they are key to improving speed. And if you haven’t changed a flat, just go do it ;)

Biking is my weakest leg of the triathlon, but Please let me know if you have questions and I’d love to discuss further! Next week I will break down the changes I’ve made with my run game.