#imlp16

[chrisontherun]

All I see is margaritas and coronas in my text message inbox.

Then I remembered that I made one of my biggest mistakes of IMLP15 training on cinco de mayo last year.

I’ll just keep on pedaling.

[chrisontherun]

Supposed to be a recovery week, but decided to go all out on my last max-effort interval. Boom shakalaka!

[chrisontherun]

Build week #2 conclusion initial reaction: L.A. Fitness has it out for me. Missed my swim on Wednesday because the pool was “closed.” I’m pretty sure if the damn thing is still full of water and the filters are running, it’s open. Nope. As a result, I got yelled at by the pointless staff. And why was the pool closed, you ask? Because the pool warmers were broken. BUT I WAS ALREADY SWIMMING! IT OBVIOUSLY DIDN’T BOTHER ME! Nope. Doesn’t matter. Pool is broken. Grrrr. Also, the fire alarm went off in the mall during my Friday swim (the L.A. Fitness is actually in the mall. Why? Not sure.) and, after poolwarmergate on Wednesday, I didn’t get out. I looked up, people were still in the gym, so I kept swimming. The pool is already my own personal hell, why not add real flames.

Random Notes:

-I swam 3000 yards in the pool for the first time EVER. For those counting at home, that’s 120 laps in a 25 yard pool. Yea, fuck me, right? I looked back at my training from last year and the longest pool swim I found was 2500, and it was right around this time. Looking back at my training from last year explained A LOT. I’ll expound on that in a couple months...

-I’ve decided that all of my training runs will be in the afternoon/heat/late at night until race day. No triathlon starts with the run, so there’s no reason for me to have fresh legs, ever, when I go out for a run. And it’s not like it’s a bad thing, I ran in the mid 8s during my brick yesterday, and in the high 8s after my 3000 yard swim today. I feel like I’m better off with a “warm up” anyway.

-I’m in desperate need of a race. It’s getting bad. I feel like I’m going to explode if I don’t toe the line soon. All of my workouts are clicking and I just want to unleash it on a course. But there are no triathlons until June-ish in the Northeast. Grrrrrr.

-Shit talking is approaching epic proportions for the Quassy Half in June, and I am the one leading the charge. Shocker, right? Best part, there’s actually a pool going around on who will win. Among my coworkers, I’m the only one competing in both days of the event, and that hasn’t stopped me from having the biggest mouth (I haven’t met many of you guys in person, but the ones I HAVE met, @elkay723 and @iwatchtheworldoutside, can attest to my ridiculous bets). In my defense, I’m the ONLY one who is actually training for a triathlon. The rest of the guys have been bullshitting. They’re all in decent shape, and 2 of them actually beat me last year at Quassy, but the only reason they got the best of me was because of my swim. Take that away and it would have been REALLY close. This year I’m taking it seriously. I’m going to roast them.

14 weeks to go.

[chrisontherun]

So close to the 10 hour mark. No need to rush, though, it’s coming.

I follow an online group for IMLP and A LOT of people are putting up RIDICULOUS totals so far, and it’s honestly making me anxious. But I’ve seen it before, and know I have to trust my plan. My totals will get there. I have a recovery week on deck, followed by what looks like a 12 hour week, to start my “build” phase. I should probably embrace these easier weeks...

Random notes:

I was ecstatic about breaking the 2:00/100yard pace a few weeks ago, and now it’s becoming the norm. I actually hit a 1:40 pace on Friday when I was helping a friend with his swimming. Yes, you read that correctly. Someone is worse than me in the water.

Cycling is becoming a lot easier over the long haul. Writing posts while attached to the trainer really helped pass the time. I think it’s the most I’ve written, in one week, in a long time. Still need to find a rubik’s cube, though. That and more movie/show suggestions for Netflix. I saw a 3 hour ride in the not so distant future...

My only missed workout was my Friday night run, but I tacked it onto my long run today, so I made it work. 2 hours on the trail today, right after my 2200 yard swim, was just what I needed. I wouldn’t mind never running on a treadmill again, either. Wednesday night speed work can go to hell if it’s on the godforsaken treadmill. Workouts are going to have to start book-ending my work schedule in order to get them in; LA Fitness damn near kicked me out on Wednesday night. What’s the deal? Can’t let me shower in peace? Go back to your desk and text while you ignore the members.

I don’t think I mentioned it, but I signed up for the Full Revolution at Quassy in June. The Quassy Half was voted one of the Top-5 hardest triathlons in the country last year, and I’m stupid, so I signed up for the Olympic triathlon on Saturday AND the Half-Iron on Sunday, aka the Full Rev. The only time I raced 2 days in a row was a 5k on 12/31 and 5k on 1/1, a few years ago. This is a bit different. I’m also considering a super-sprint Tri in May, just because I got 3rd in my age group and I think I can actually win it this year.

I’m not fucking around.

[chrisontherun]

Some people don’t understand the fire.

Sure, You can tell people that you're just trying to "beat your former self" or some other self-righteous bullshit, but there are times that you are out for the kill. And you know others are, too.

You don't talk about it to them. You stay cordial. But you see them working hard. Or completely slacking. You know they want you to do the same. You don't. But you keep mental notes.

You'll probably line up at the start line and halfheartedly wish each other luck, knowing that deep down you just want them to suffer.

These are the people I enjoy having in my life. The people who want to bury me. The people I want to bury. And at the end of the day drink beer with. Because the fire has its limit.

My favorite moment, possibly ever, in actual "racing" was during my first multi-sport race, and it gives me chills when I think about it. I'll try to keep it short, but I know it won't be. It was a duathlon, and 4 of my coworkers were racing it with me. I was only focused on one of them. And I know he was solely focused on me.

Backstory. Because everyone loves a backstory. He and I were both fat. He and I both lost a bunch of weight. Maybe competed for the same girl. We both ran a lot. But he was slightly faster at every race. He ran a marathon before anyone in our circle (albeit he almost DNF'd, he still finished it. Also, I smoked his time at my first 26.2. But it wasn't a goal of mine or anything...). He was also riding a bit more than I was since he got a bike before me. This went on for almost 2 years.

Fast forward to the duathlon. It was a 5k run, 16 mile ride, and 5k run. We were both in good running shape, but I knew he hadn't done any brick workouts (biking followed by running) leading up to the race. But I did.

We lined up next to each other at the start and vaguely discussed our race plan. I noticed he was already wearing his cycling gloves. Why didn't I think of that? The gun went off and we were running. It took all of a half of a mile to realize that we were out for each other. He didn't leave my side, and I didn't try breaking away. I knew pushing it during the first 5k would be extremely stupid. I stayed mindful. We finished the first 5k in 26:19. And then the race turned mental.

Transition 1 would be the last time I'd see him for a while. It was my first time racing where I had to change disciplines, and also the first time I was racing while being clipped into a bike. He, Rafael, didn't have clip in pedals, so he didn't have to switch shoes. He also didn't have to put his gloves on, because he was already wearing them. Seconds matter in transition. He was in and out in a little over a minute, while it took me a little over 3 minutes. He was out of sight by the time I left T1. I didn't care. I was more worried about not falling while being clipped in.

It took a couple miles to be completely ok with going fast while not worrying about cars mowing me down, and it was freeing. I went up and down the hills, but never saw Raf. Towards the end of the ride I was feeling drained, mainly because of dehydration (I was deathly afraid of drinking while riding so I didn't hydrate for an hour), and because I hadn't seen anyone for the better part of 20 minutes. I made the final turn, saw runners starting their second 5k, including one of my other coworkers, and headed for the dismount line. I got off my bike, did a half-assed run towards T2 (it's impossible running in cycling cleats) and saw something that set me on fire. Rafael just racked his bike and was heading for the run. This was my fucking chance.

I put a little pep in my step, threw Sweet Potato onto the rack, tossed my cycling shoes and helmet at my area, guzzled some Gatorade, ate a GU, and took off like a bat out of hell.

I exited T2 sideways. There were two volunteers directing the runners and I'll never forget their reactions. The first one yelled out "Holy shit!" And the second one told me that I "looked amazing!," and to "Give it hell!". That's how badly I wanted it.

I caught Rafael within a quarter of a mile. I ran belong side him, made eye contact, pumped my fist, and dropped the mother fucking hammer.  

The rest was a blur. I never looked back. Literally and figuratively. I beat him by 2 minutes. He beat me in every other prior race, but the duathlon in 2013 was the turning point. He hasn't beaten me since.

Why am I writing this? Well, because my coworkers are all getting serious about training, and they've all expressed that I have a target on my back.

I love it.

I live for it.

I also needed something to do during my hour and fifteen minute training ride tonight. I hope you enjoyed my story.

Time to go eat.

[chrisontherun]

9 weeks until graduation, 11 weeks until Rev3, and 18 weeks until IMLP. It's all coming fast. I had a bit of a low point post-Little Rock, between getting sick for over a week, not being able to train, and some personal reasons, and it had me questioning a lot. But that was put to rest today, when I was following a friend, who's a pro triathlete, race Ironman Puerto Rico 70.3. Seeing his passion, even in defeat, made me remember why I'm doing this. I officially got my mojo back. I saw myself in the mirror before my run/swim today and almost didn't recognize myself. I realized that the training is finally kicking in. My chest/lats were developed, stomach was disappearing, and my quads/hamstrings looked jacked. Maybe they have circus mirrors at LA Fitness. That's probably it. Random notes: Swimming absolutely sucked on Wednesday, due to calf cramping, but today's mile time trial felt absolutely awesome. I swam the mile in 48 minutes, and finished the 2250 set in 1:05. It's almost 20 minutes faster than my Ironman time, and that's sans wetsuit. I'm going to fucking own that swim. Cycling was uneventful, but I kept high averages for my moderate paces and did my best during my max intervals. I can't complain here, since I'm still not over my sickness. Running was running. Nothing spectacular. That's what happens right after a marathon and running streak ends. Shit happens. Heard the song Broken Arrows, by Avicii, during my run today and it kinda made me rethink things. I've been pretty jaded, in regard to relationships, and it made me realize that I shouldn't be. I'm going to make an effort. We'll see how that goes. Next week starts my build weeks. It was nice knowing everyone.

[chrisontherun]

I'm running a marathon in less than 4 days and all I can think about it swimming. What is life? Remember when I was pumped about breaking the 2 minute pace mark? Ha. This is starting to get fun...

[chrisontherun]

10 Truths of No-Bullshit Triathlon Training.

No quick-starts, no “12 Weeks to Ironman” plans. They aren’t easy, they aren’t pretty, but they produce results. You may not like them, you may disagree with them, but history proves these are solid producers for getting better.

"We live in an iThing, instant gratification, One-Click world where almost everything we aspire to can be had quickly and easily. Not here, not in this sport. If you want to have a good race you have to earn it in the months and years before race day. There are no shortcuts. You either have the miles in your legs or you don’t. Before race day, make sure you do. There is no bullshitting the miles or the clock into believing you do."

A few of these hit home.