Triathlon Is Not A Race

It is a journey.... Who am I kidding... It is a race.  But should not always be treated as one.  Sometimes the person who is patient and grinds it out can be much better off than the person who is always going absolutely as hard as they can.

This could be YOU!

Triathlon is not about who does the fastest mile repeats.  It is not about who can sprint to the next city limits sign first.  It is about who can put together three different sports in the most efficient way.  It is a balancing act between a job, family, life and sport (three of them actually).  It is about slowly increasing your training load while still making time for sleep.  It is about keeping yourself in control.  It is being at a party with three different girls.  If you don't give each one enough attention you run the risk of getting a drink thrown in your face and going home by yourself.  But if you play your cards right you may go home with all three! (I have not been able to prove this metaphor to be true in real life yet... One day though... one day)

ESA... Its a thing!

It took me quite a long time to figure out I was good at endurance sports.  Throughout high school and college I was very mediocre at a number of team sports.  I lifted weights and viewed running a mile as a competent workout.  Two years out of college at the age of 24 I found running.  Initially it was simply a way for me to get a workout in when I didn't belong to a gym.  Then I got talked into doing a Muddy Buddy Race with a friend.  Finishing the race was my hook.  I had that feeling of accomplishment and pride that is not easy to come by (step one in the path to Endurance Sports Addiction (ESA).  Then I started tracking my runs in a log (Step 2).  I proceeded to buy a Garmin to help me track my workouts more efficiently (Step 3).  Then I did a marathon (Step 8)...  I never said my training made sense.

A month after my marathon I found myself injured.  Unable to run.  I knew about triathlon and decided to give it a whirl.  I progressed as a swimmer and cyclist in a similar way.  Going all in and hoping I land on my feet.  I kept wanting to get faster and faster.  I quickly increased the volume and intensity of my workouts.  Although I saw short term gains, this path led straight to Injuryville - population me.

Here is what I am getting at... There are no shortcuts to speed.  Training to get fast is not a race.  It is a journey.  You can do as much volume, speed work and intervals as you want but it will not get you faster in the long term unless you do it strategically.  Triathlon is not about your biggest week in a specific training block.  It is about putting in as much work as you can in the long term.  Go ahead and listen to Johnny who gloats about putting in 22 hours of training last week.  He will probably put in 6 hours next week.  When Sally invites you to do 8x800s on the track after her long run yesterday and 9 mile tempo run the day before you can comfortably say "no".  She will probably be in a knee brace next month.

One of the most important lessons I have learned in my two years of triathlon is patience.  Getting fast in a sport that requires skill at three different disciplines takes time.  Your maximum training load has to be steadily increased over time over all three disciplines.  I have friends who can put in 16-17 hour weeks every week without fail.  They have been in the sport for 8 years and their bodies are used to the load.  I understand that this is not the case for me.  I know I can comfortably do 10-12 hour weeks for as long as I want.  Every month or so I will increase that (say by 20%) to stress my body.  I will push myself out of this comfort zone.  Slowly my comfort zone will increase.  As I am able to increase my training load, the speed I am able to race at will follow suit.  The trick is find your "comfort zone".  You want to push yourself out of this while not going too far as to get injured.

The trick is to treat triathlon training as a war.  Not a battle.  It takes strategy, patience and perseverance. Find the load that is sustainable for you right now and SLOWY increase that.  You will thank yourself in the long run.  And your competitors will curse the day you ever read this blog.

An Interview With Alex Baron

With a very successful 2011 race season behind me, and an incredibly underwhelming blog season behind me (my masses of fans have been very unhappy)... I thought I'd take some time to sit down for an interview... with myself.

Interviewer:  Thanks for sitting down with us today Alex.  We really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us.

A very fast 8 ton purple elephant

Me:  No problem Alex.  Its my pleasure.

Interviewer:  So we might as well acknowledge the 8 ton purple elephant in the room... Where have you been all year?  You stopped blogging back in April.  What happened?

Me:  To be honest... I took up bowling.  I quit triathlon and was well on my way to becoming a professional bowler.  Ok so not really.  Life has a tendency to get away from you.  In preparation for Ironman Texas I took training very seriously.  As soon as IM was over my real job picked up.  Suddenly you find yourself devoting all your time to sleep, work, training, family and my girlfriend.

Interviewer:  Well that makes sense.  It can't be easy to find time to have a real job and train at the level of an elite triathlete.  I am very impressed that you also find the time to maintain a relationship.  How do you do it?

Me:  Well I am a very lucky guy.  She is very low maintenance.  Incredibly easy on the eyes.  She doesn't weigh much so it is no problem taking her places.  A joy to ride for hours at a time...

Interviewer:  Wait, we aren't talking about a girl are we?

Me:  What?

Interviewer:  Nevermind.  So tell us about 2011.  What were some of your major accomplishments?

Alex Baron's swim stroke circa 2010

Me:  My first order of business this year was to learn how to swim.  I spent a lot of time staring at a black line this year.  I have actually memorized each black line on the pool at the YMCA.  I also learned not to swim near the day camps... those lanes smell like pee.

Interviewer:  So did all this work in the pool pay off?

Me:  It did.  I had a very successful race season due to some major improvements in the water and a little more time on the bike.  I scored 3 AG podium spots, completed IMTX in under 11 hours and went under 2:20 in an olympic triathlon for the first time.

Interviewer:  Those are impressive accomplishments for only your second year in triathlon.  So tell us, what is in store for 2012

Me:  My first order of business is to go under 5:05 for a Half Ironman.  This will qualify me for Long Course Age Group National Championship at Redman in September.  There I hope to score a top 20 AG spot to qualify me to race at 2013 ITU Long Course World Championship in France.  I also hope to race in a few road races this year.  Maybe try and finish the season as a Cat 4.

At least the bike is aero...

Interviewer:  That is quite a lot you hope to get done this year.  Do you have coach to help you achieve these goals?

Me:  I am now being coached by Walt Yarrow of Muddy Waters Racing.  We began working together at the end of last year.  I am very impressed with him and the plans he has for me these next few years.  We are trying to improve my bike by putting in a lot of volume this winter.  Compared to my swim and run, the bike has the most room for improvement.  He intends to take my threshold from that of a 3 year old on a tricycle to an actual triathlete!

Interviewer:  Well we wish you the best of luck this year.  Anything else you'd like to add?

Damn she is HOT!!!

Me:  I'd like to thank my family for their never-ending support of my obsession with this "hobby". Would also like to thank my coach Walt for all he has done and will do, Team in Training for helping me get my triathlon career off the ground and the men of JSC, Houston's newest triathlon team.  Big things planned for us this year!  Oh! and my girlfriend for her strength and stability during those long training days!

Kemah Triathlon 4/3/11 - Race Report

So I know I am way too far behind on updating this blog.  Figure I might as well start with the second to last triathlon I've competed in.  The Kemah Triathlon is an Olympic Distance race located on the Kemah Boardwalk.  Consists of a 1.5KM point to point swim (from a boat almost a mile away from shore), a flat 25 mile bike, and a 6.2 mile run going up and over Kemah Bridge twice.

Leading Up
My "A" Race for the first half of the season is Ironman Texas.  Therefore I've been putting in a lot of longer workouts.  More concerned about increasing my endurance and not focusing as much on speed.  I have also been battling tendonitis in my right ankle.  This nasty little injury flares up every time I run, though is perfectly fine for biking and swimming.  I just started going to Multisport Health Center a week before Kemah.  They were optimistic in getting me entirely better a week or two after this race.  They also gave me the go ahead to compete assuming the pain in my ankle doesn't get too bad on the run.  As annoying as its been not being able to run, which is by far my best sport, it has given me the opportunity to focus on swimming and biking.  If you gave me a grade on each sport I am quite confident my running would get a B, cycling a C, and swimming an Incomplete... its really that bad.  That being said, having the ability to focus on swimming the past few months has really helped my stroke.  I think I am getting a lot faster (or should I simply say less horrible).

Swim - 29:06
As hundreds of triathletes are sitting cramped on this big boat heading out to sea, the captain comes on the loudspeaker... "I hope everyone is ready to swim back in because this ferry is heading to Galveston."
 

Most swims you start treading water next to a buoy.  For this race we started the swim by jumping off a big boat about a mile offshore.  Was a very cool experience.  I was a little concerned about my goggles falling off or my body reacting badly with the cold water, but the swim went off without a glitch.  As I said before, I was really hoping my swim was improving from all the work I'd been putting in.  So, when I hit this big red buoy after what felt like a good amount of time I get really excited.  Figured I must have missed the first 500M buoy and this must be the 1000M buoy.  I held onto this feeling of accomplishment right up until I hit the 1000M buoy a little while later... Damn, maybe I'm not getting faster after all... The swim was actually very choppy.  Made for a tough day in the water.  I came out of the water and got to transition and to my surprise... I saw my friends in transition!  This sounds like no big deal, but everyone I saw is normally WAY ahead of me after the swim.  One of my friends (who ended up to go onto get 3rd in age group) actually came into T1 after me.  We saw each other at the same time and he "what the f are you doing here" look on his face.  Was priceless.

Bike - 1:07:23 - 22.1 MPH

So I got a new toy about 2 months ago...

This was my first race with the new Quintana Roo CD0.1.  I love this bike.  The course for the race is very flat.  I don't think there was one hill.  What we did not have a shortage of was wind.  It was incredibly windy.  The first 15 miles we were battling different levels of cross winds.  This was followed by 5 miles of a very nasty straight headwind.  After those 5 miles of hell were over we got to ride the awesome tailwind back to transition.  I was feeling pretty good on the bike but decided not to press.  I think this was for two reasons.  The first was that this was not an "A" race and I had not been doing much in the realm of speed work (stupid reason, this was me probably rationalizing being lazy).  The second reason (more legitimate) was that I had not run more than 5 miles at one time since Houston Marathon (3 moths ago).  I had no idea how my body and ankle were going to react to 6.2 miles of racing.  I could envision my body simply laughing at this attempt to run, then only allowing me to string together 8 minute miles over the 10k.  All this being said I still put up a good bike time, I just think it could (and should) have been better.

One of the best parts of the day happened at the beginning of the bike course.  About 4 miles in I saw two of the pros I very much look up to: Terenzo Bozzone and Chris Lieto.  They were on their ridiculous bikes just flying by on their way back in.  I definitely say said screw being aero and watched as they went by.  How many sports can you compete in where you literally get to compete with and at the same time as the professionals you emulate?

Run - 42:17 - 6:49 min/miles

So I decided to run without my Garmin.  This is the first time I have run a race without the watch.  The reasoning for this is that if my body was not letting me run the pace I wanted I did not want to freak out, run faster, and blow myself up.  Figured better to just keep as fast a pace as I could for as long as I could and hope for the best.  This worked to perfection.  I think I ran the first 5 miles at or around a 6:30 pace.  All I know that this time off running did not do much damage.  I past one of my friends (who put a lot of time into me on the bike) around mile 4.  At mile 5 I saw another of my buddies.  He had about a minute on me going into the Kemah Bridge (we go over this fairly tall bridge twice).  I slowed down a little, but still held a respectable pace over the bridge the first time, but bad news when I hit the bottom.  With a little less than a mile to go I had not gained more than 5 seconds on my friend.  He surged on the quarter mile section before we went back up the bridge and my legs wouldn't let me respond.  This was where more running may have helped me out a bit more.  I struggled up the bridge the second time at a much slower pace.  Once I hit the bottom I was still able to finish the last quarter mile of the run strong.  I considered this run a huge success considering no pain in my ankle and I was only 20 seconds away from my 10k PR.

Total Time - 2:22:32

Very pleased with the end result.  I know I've greatly improved the swim and my run hasn't suffered much even with the time off.  Ended up coming in 8th in my age group and 32nd overall (out of 516).  Not a bad showing for my first race of the year.

Houston Marathon Race Report

Before I start in on my thoughts from the 2011 Houston Marathon, I'd like to convey my admiration for anyone who has ever ran a marathon.  This is no easy task.  26.2 miles physically destroys your legs and it takes months of training to prepare your body for the punishment that accompanies a marathon.

All of this being said... I failed for the 2011 Houston Marathon.  I set a goal of 3:30 in November and I did not hit it.  Although I was close at 3:31:34 it still comes down to the simple fact that I missed my goal.  I understand a lot of people will want to say "you still did great" or "well, you had so much to overcome".  All this may be true, I know I did well and I know I overcame a lot, but I still missed a goal I had set for myself.  I could make excuses about why I didn't hit my goal, but what is the point.  I know myself and by missing something I set out for will only make me stronger in the long run.  It means I am doing an exceptional job setting challenging goals.  No one should hit 100% of their goals.  If you are hitting every one of your goals it means you can do better.  Give yourself more credit.  Push yourself even further than you thought you could.  I assure you, nine times out of ten you'll surprise yourself.

Prior to the Race:
I started training for the marathon in mid November (about 3 weeks after the last race of my 2010 season).  After 70.3 Austin I took almost a month of mental and physical recovery from my first triathlon season.  Did a few rides and runs but wanted to take the opportunity to put the training log away and focus on my life and things I may have neglected during my season.  Once I started training again I set a goal for the Houston Marathon.  I took the numbers from some recent long runs and based them against my last marathon.  My goal for the race in January was 3:30 (about 8:00 minute miles).  Training was going really well until I had a bike crash in mid December.  This took me out of training for about 3 weeks (when I should have building more base mileage).  I did a few runs in late December after I was cleared to workout again and decided I was still going to try and run the marathon.  I also made the decision not to revise my time goal.  My crash course marathon training went as well as I could have hoped.  I built what I thought was a sufficient base in a relatively short period of time.

Race Day
The weather for a marathon was pretty horrible for that time of year.  About 65 degrees, humid and raining.  This meant a few things:

1) Rain makes running more difficult.  You use more energy to run in the rain.  You also get less power out every stride since your shoes have less traction
2) It was relatively hot and humid.  You have to actively control your body temp.  That means making sure you stay hydrated, consume enough sodium to replace the salt in your sweat, and keep your body temperature down.
3) Did I mention it was raining? This also made it more difficult to judge the amount of water (and sodium) I was losing while racing.  By being wet the entire race I couldn't tell my sweat rate.

The Houston Marathon is a massive race.  I want to take a moment to give the race directors credit for putting on a fantastic race (minus that totally unnecessary hill they threw in around mile 15).  The expo was great and the race and post race support was awesome.

The first sign that this was going to be a long day was when my heart rate sky-rocketed as soon as the race started.  I generally have a slower heart rate (even during races) and it took me a long time to get it under control.  It wasn't until about mile 5 that I seemed to settle into the run.  My race plan consisted of staying at or above an 8:00 minute per mile pace until mile 8 at which time I would speed up to a faster yet still comfortable pace.  During all of my training runs I was able to drop to under a 7:30 pace and hold it for a few miles without a problem.  I think I left this extra gear at home on Sunday.  My body wouldn't let me speed up at all.  I was fine running 7:50 but couldn't hold a faster pace for more than 60 seconds without feeling it drain me.  This kept me from building a substantial time cushion for when I would undoubtedly hit "the wall".  I wanted to be averaging under 7:50 going into mile 18, my average pace was 7:54.

I remember passing an aid station around mile 17 and starting to feel a second wind.  I got really excited when this happened because I thought I should still be able to break 3:30.  As soon as I hit mile 18 I developed a bad stitch in my side.  Every step was excruciating as every muscle along the right side of my abdomen was clenched tight and would not loosen up.  I figured if I could hurry and push through it I could still make my goal... yeah, that didn't happen.  It took 2 incredibly slow and painful miles to push through the cramp.  As soon as it went away I ran smack into "the wall".  I couldn't get my pace back down anywhere near where it needed to be.  The next 6 miles were frustrating to say the least as I could feel 3:30 slipping away.  Then at mile 24 3:30 literally passed me by as the 3:30 pace guy ran past.  I made a valiant effert to keep up with him which lasted all of about 20 seconds.  I had to slow back down again.  It wasn't until the last mile I was finally able to pick up my pace.  I never caught up to that 3:30 pacer.  I finished the Houston Marathon with a time of 3:31:34.

Yes, this was a failure.  I had a goal and missed it.  In doing so I noticed two very important things.  First, I looked back at mile 24 when the 3:30 pacer past me.  When this happened I literally laughed.  Not entirely sure why this was funny, except at a moment like that what else is there to do?  I was out there doing what I loved.  I understood that it simply wasn't my day.  I saw a goal literally slip through my hands and was able to smile about it.

The second important thing that happened was once I got home. I was feeling a little down and decided to put my Houston Marathon medal next to the rest of my medals I'd earned these past 12 months.

I took a moment to look back on what an amazing year this has been.  I have grown so much as both a person and an athlete.  In that one moment looking down at 12 months of accomplishments the disappointment from the race went away and I realized how truly happy I am in my life right now.

Just because I failed to hit a goal doesn't make me, my training, or even my race a failure.  I am extremely happy I competed in the Houston Marathon and am proud I overcame the obstacles set in front of me.  Being an athlete, it is easy for us to get wrapped up in pace, heart rate and race times.  I'd like to suggest you never lose sight of the big picture.  Use these bumps in the road to propel you even higher.  These little "failures" will make the next success even sweeter.

A New Low

About 3 months ago there was one evening which made me begin to question whether I was too committed to triathlon.  I had a party to attend on a Thursday night which started around 7:00.  Naturally, I wanted to get a workout in before the party began so I hit the pool at my local gym after I got off work.  I finished my hour long set, showered and changed ready to head out to the party.  The one thing I didn't account for was dinner.  I didn't want to be late so I needed to pick something relatively fast and healthy.  Decided to stop at the Subway right outside my gym.  I picked up the norm, a foot-long turkey sandwich.  The bar was only about 4 miles away.  I ate the entire thing and a diet coke during my commute.  I parked at the bar, looked down at the empty sandwich bag and crumbs on my pants then proceeded to think to myself... This is really sad... yet I had a sense of pride.  Am not sure what was worse, that I found a time in which it was necessary to demolish a foot long sandwich in 7 minutes while operating a motor vehicle or that I was proud of doing so.

Last night it got worse... Same premise as before.  I had a happy hour that evening and wanted to get a run in before I met my friends.  As I was leaving the gym on my way to the bar I decided I needed to pick something up to eat.  The problem is that I am now on a gluten free diet (more on this in another post).  For those not familiar with gluten free it pretty much rules out all food that can be prepared in less than 10 minutes.  Once again, I was in a hurry and didn't have the time to wait for a proper meal so... I stopped at a gas station (pause for look of disgust).  My dinner last night consisted of a Muscle Milk (chocolate) and a Gatorade.  For some unknown reason this actually sounded like a good idea at the time but, yes... it was just as absolutely disgusting as it sounds.  This definitely goes down in my personal record books as one of the most disgusting meals (I really shouldn't call it a meal) I have ever had!

So next time anyone wants to question my dedication to triathlon, I will accompany them to the nearest gas station, help them find the Muscle Milk and Gatorade, and watch as they will undoubtedly enjoy this fabulous gluten free 2 minute "meal".

And... I'm Back!

On Tuesday 1/3 I had my post surgery follow up appointment and... drumroll please... I'm cleared for all athletic activities!  (Pause for applause).

That being said I've been doing spin classes and running for about a week now... don't tell the doc.  So now that I'm back what has changed?  Whats going on with training?
What has changed?
Two things have changed.  First of all riding a bike is no longer like riding a bike.  I rode for the first time since my crash on Sunday and it was more than a little nerve-racking.  Every turn I took I could feel my bike sliding out from under me.  Very odd compared to how comfortable I was on my bike a month ago.  I understand that it is going to take me a few weeks to get comfortable again and I willing to put the time in.  I intend to go on short rides for the next 3 weeks or so and by Feb 1 I hope to be doing long group rides again. 

Please note: anyone who knows me in no way expects me to wait until February to do another long group ride... they are probably right.  This plan looks awesome on paper but my lack of patience and self preservation will without a doubt have me doing another long ride before February. 

It was kind of funny that at the beginning of my recovery I wanted nothing to do with triathlon or sports.  I knew how long I was going to be out of the game and simply wanted to forget about it all and be a bum for a few weeks.  That sounded great until my co-workers dropped off a gift basket with a copy of Triathlete Magazine... Woops.  Suddenly that fire to train and learn about triathlon was back.  I spent a lot of time on websites researching new ways to train, the 2011 lineup of bikes (I'm buying one in March) and nutrition.  Through the research I stumbled upon a few articles on the gluten free diet.  This sparked the second major change during my recovery.  I decided to give the gluten free diet a try.  Since I started running about 14 months ago I had been battling GI issues on a regular basis.  The gluten free diet has been shown to totally cure this in some cases.  I figure it is worth a try.  I've been on the diet for a little over a week now and will continue to provide updates on how its going.

Whats going on with training?
I am actually having an easier time getting back into it that I thought.  I can tell I've taken a step back, but not near as far as I thought I would.  My muscles are going to take a little time to get used to training everyday but I think I can get there soon.  I'm definitely going to have to ease my way into... the Houston Marathon at the end of the month.  That's right, I am signed up for a marathon in 3 short weeks.  I'm going to see how training goes the next week or so but right now I intend on running it.  Its going to be incredibly challenging to go from no athletic activity for 3 weeks to marathon readiness in less than a month. 

I promise I am smarter about training than it looks like.  I am very good at listening to my body and will not push myself to injury just to run a marathon.  On the note of listening to your body, I am currently reading Brain Training for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald.  So far a great book.  I'll write more about it later but am really enjoying it so far.

A Ride to Remember

I was in a cycling crash a little more than 2 weeks ago.  It was the beginning of a group ride in Brenham, TX.  We had just gone over a hill and were descending towards a metal grated bridge.  The bridge was still wet from morning dew/fog.  The last thing I can remember was approaching the bridge.  Next thing I know I am being lifted up on a backboard onto an ambulance.  As soon as the realization hit of what was going on I was struck by a moment of what can only be described as sheer panic.  I looked down at my feet and have never in my life been so happy to see my toes wiggle.  I don't remember the crash but from what I gather my bike lost traction going over the bridge, and came out from under me.  I fell directly on the left side of my body dislocating my shoulder, breaking a bone in my wrist, severely bruising my left hip, fracturing 3 bones in my cheek and causing a significant concussion.

After the crash, I spent much of the first week in bed on pain meds.  The following weekend I had surgery to fix the three fractured bones in my face.  Although my face is still a little swollen and in some pain I am feeling much better.  My shoulder, hip and wrist seem to be almost entirely recovered from the crash.  It feels like it has been much more than 2.5 weeks since the accident as I have spent much of this time in bed.  Although I am itching to get back to training I understand how lucky I am to be in the condition I am in.  Needless to say it could have been exponentially worse.  A big thanks to my parents for helping to take care of me, friends and family for the get well cards and gifts and my training buddies for getting me a new cycling helmet (the other one is now retired in my garage).

I'd like to leave you all with two things to take away from my experience:

• ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET - You never know when you are going to hit a bump wrong, lose traction, or even worse, have a run in with a car.  No matter how far you're riding or what kind of bike you are on, wear your helmet.  I will still wear mine even though I fully intend on riding a tricycle with a motorcycle helmet for the next month.
• Buy a Road ID - This was my second time riding with this group (Saturdayride.com, they are a fantastic group of people by the way) and most of them probably had no idea who I was.  Thanks to the Road ID the group knew my name and called my parents right after the crash.  The paramedics didn't have to bombard me with questions about who I was or what I was allergic to when my head was in a state of disarray.  This little bracelet is more beneficial than you could know. www.RoadID.com