Colorado Came A Calling

Well June and July came and disappeared for me in a blink of an eye. For me, that's not a bad thing, except that I haven't updated this since May. That just means that I have so much to update now in August. I can't just list everything either, because everything I've done since May has been worth writing a whole post about.

June 23:  I boarded Airtran Airways for the oxygen-deprived Colorado Rocky Mountains. My good friend from College, Craig Daigle, moved out there early 2009 to get a taste of skiing that beautiful powdered snow. As you can see, he got hooked. Got a job at the same company as me and just enjoys the Colorado lifestyle to the fullest. He has been asking me to come visit him since he moved out there, and I have always had the intentions to, but never pulled the trigger. So I bit the bullet, and signed up for the Loveland Lake to Lake Olympic Triathlon (update coming later) just 50 miles north of where he lives, just so that I would feel committed to planning the trip.

June 24:  My first full day in Colorado with Craig, and we had a blast! He cooked me some eggs in the morning, and then we loaded into his Jeep Wrangler and sought out the sites of Colorado. He showed me around Boulder, took me to Starbucks (which they have everywhere out there; it's their Dunkin Donuts), and then met up with one of his rock-climbing friends to do some outdoor rock-climbing in Boulder Creek. The place we decided to climb was about 30 minutes through the creek, and I did not hate a single second of the drive. The drive was on a 2-lane road, with a beautiful flowing, windy river running on one side, and an extremely fun looking (for a joy ride) dirt path for casual mountain bikers and joggers. On the far sides of the river and the path were just cliffs of pure bliss for climbing. When we arrived at the spot we were going to park and hike to the climbing location, we got out, started grabbing or things, then Craig and his friend look at each other: "Did you bring rope?" "No, I thought you did." Needless to say, none of us were going to start climbing without any rope! Back down Boulder Creek. But at least the view was amazing! We went to a climbing store on the way back down to boulder, and Craig grabbed a bunch of climbing gear (including rope!). We ended up climbing at this other location closer to where we now where, of which the name is escaping me, and it was amazing. My first time outdoor rock-climbing and it was better than I imagined. The only "downfall" happened during our hike off-road to the climbing location. We had to hike up this hill that was probably only 30 feet high, and at the top I was completely (and I mean completely) winded. I was huffing and puffing and I thought "I am in pretty good shape, I'm doing an Olympic triathlon here in a few days, am I in trouble?!" At the time we were climbing, and the angle of the cliff, the sun was just in view when you approached the top, so the higher you climbed, the brighter it got, and so it was like climbing up to Heaven. After finishing up a few climbs, Craig and I headed to Golden to take a "short" tour of the Coors Brewing Factory. The "short" tour consisted of us cutting the whole tour, and going straight for the bar on site! They gave you a wrist band with 3 holes on it that represented how many free beers you got. We could try any of the beers Coors Brewing Factory brews, and it was delicious! We would wait in line, grab a beer, and go straight for the line again. By the time we were done with our beers, we would be at the front of the line again, genius! After leaving the factory, we stopped over at Clear Creek to cool off a bit. We stripped down to our (Mom close your eyes) underwear, and just jumped in the creek. The water was absolutely freezing because it was coming down from the Rocky Mountains and the melting snow, but it was quite refreshing as it was so hot out. Later that night we went to the Colorado Rockies game, and they just happened to be playing the Boston Red Sox!! I was so excited when I found this out that I had to buy the tickets and incorporate this into our schedules for the trip. Our seats were the 2nd row FROM the top, which was fine for the view, but terrible for climbing all those stairs at elevation! By the time we got to our seats, which were a good 15 rows above the "purple seats" (signifying a mile above sea-level), I was gassed and had to take a few moments to breathe before starting on my beer (Another one? Yes, of course.). The game was incredible, back-and-forth, extra-innings, 3-home runs from Dustin Pedroia, and the Sox pulled off the win. I brought them some luck, because they had lost the first 2 games in the series.

June 25:  This day wasn't as high-intensity "lets do everything" as the day before, but it was a good day for us to enjoy Colorado again and just spend some time together. We drove to Denver to pick up my bike because I decided to rent instead of paying to ship my bike both ways. There was a charity bike race the same day as my race, and so they didn't have any bikes available in my size, and I had to get a bike 1 size to big. I thought this would be okay, and that I was just racing for the experience anyways. We headed up to Loveland to check out the area and check-in for the race. The drive up was amazing, again. The highway was completely straight, but everything on the left hand side of the highway was mountainous and just a beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains. Everything along the left hand side was just gorgeous valleys and beautiful land. Skipping ahead to after Loveland, we headed towards the Rocky Mountains towards Estes Park to find our digs for the night. We decided to camp in Estes Park for the night, and it was a great idea. We found this great road off through the mountains, took us 45 minutes to drive up to our location, and then we set-up camp, ate dinner, and then decided to take the Jeep off for some night-off-roading.

June 26:  Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon - Updates Later. After the race, we headed back towards Denver to drop off the bike, and headed back to the Rocky Mountains, met up with another one of his friends for some serious off-roading (don't worry Mike, you don't have to do anything, I know you are tired from your race, just sit and relax, ha!) and then camping at 14,000 feet elevation. Our off-roading took us through some of the most difficult terrain I have ever seen, and their Jeeps handled it like champs! At one point, snow was blocking our path, and we had to find another way around! Unreal for there to be that much snow in June.

June 27: So tired from the previous few days, I obviously had to get up early enough for us to make our appointment on this day, white water rafting in the Rockies! I'm down. Now, I've been white water rafting several times, but they have all been in Maine, in the wide river of the Kennebec. And although the Kennebec sports a cool Class 5 rapid, I had little knowledge for what was coming at me today. The river we rafter on this day was very narrow, very shallow in some spots, and very windy which meant that it was a technical river to navigate, and those rafts are hard to navigate! As a bonus for visiting, Craig and all his friends let me ride in front (or they knew what was coming). Every dip, every turn, every rapid hit me straight in the face with a rush of cold water. I was slipping and sliding up to the front, back to my position, up to the front, and several times I thought I would just slide right off the front. Then it happened. We hit this gnarly rapid and the raft dipped and then shot straight up and launched me far out of the raft. Luckily, I knew how to get back to the raft and knew to use my paddle to help the others help me back in. I was back in the raft in a short time.

Hitting the rapids like we own the place.

Me after getting tossed from the raft (and the guide!), you can see my face in the water.

June 28:  Back to the bay state, and a week spent on the beaches of West Dennis with the Forrest family. A much needed vacation from my vacation!

Max Performance Season Opener Race Report

So I know I haven't updated this in awhile, but this past weekend was my first triathlon of the season so it is now time to update with a race review. But first, I will be updating on some training races I did throughout the spring since my last update. It's been really difficult to keep up with this blog during the training season because it is so boring at times, not for me, but for writing a blog. How many different ways can you describe a training ride/run/swim that I do mostly solo. Anyways, since my last update in February, I competed in a few races to prepare me for the triathlon season.

Knights of Columbus 5-miler
Raynham, MA, 3/14

This race was during one of those rain streaks that blanketed Massachusetts causing endless basement flooding and transportation via boats favorable to cars. Luckily, most road races are "rain or shine" and this one was no exception. Because it was my first race of the year, and because of the weather, I wasn't expecting too much.

Results - 40:36 (8:07 min/mile pace), 10th in my age group, 65th overall

Coyle Cassidy Scholarship 5-miler
Taunton, MA, 3/28

Having one 5-miler under my belt two weeks earlier, and not having to deal with a down-pour of rain as I did then, I felt much better for this race. This was another local race, and I was excited to get another race in my legs. Starting out strong, I eclipsed the first mile in 7:50, running stride for stride with my 12 year-old brother. I felt really good going into the next mile, I decided to run with him as a pacer to try to get him a PR. His previous PR was 41:15. At the end of the race, we were both able to cross the line together, getting him his new PR.

Results - 40:49 (8:09 min/mile pace), 9th in my age group, 48th overall

Merrimack River Trail Race 10-miler
Andover, MA, 4/10

A week after turning 24, I was geared up for this race. It was going to be the longest race I have ever competed in (as a road run only), and it was going to be a cross-country race which are always fun. This race was once again after one of the rainy weeks we experienced here in the north east, so the course was very muddy. I ended up running off course at one point, which added 8 minutes to my time, and completely covered in cuts and mud. But I can't wait to do it again!

Results - 1:39:49 (9:58 min/mile pace), 66th in my age group, 158th overall

A Cure is Coming 5k
Lexington, MA, 5/1

At this point in the season, my first triathlon is a week away, and all I've done is log longer distance races. I wanted to run a 5k as a speed workout as a last minute prep for my triathlons. Granted, I am no longer 140 pounds and running 18:00 5ks like I was in high school, but I am getting better than last year, I feel. The weather was perfect, sunny, warm and breezy (but not windy). And on the morning of the surprise 50th for my Aunt Karen, I recorded my best 5k in quite some time, so training is a success so far.

Results - 22:55 (7:22 min/mile pace), 3rd in my age group, 31st overall.

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Max Performance Season Opener Sprint Triathlon
Hopkinton, MA, 5/9


Prelude: Last year, this race was very difficult for me. I trained for it, but not as much as I probably should have. I was expecting my natural athleticism to carry me through it no problems, but I realized I am not the same guy I was were I could get up and run for 10 hours no problem. Come race time, a small wind started picking up and eventually led them to altering the length of the swim course because one of the turn buoys blew away. I finished the (slightly shortened) 1/4 mile swim, 15 mile bike, 5k run in time of 1:35:38 (57th percentile overall). Not bad for hardly training at all. Oh, and I was Bib #1 for my first triathlon!

Pre-race: The Saturday before the race (5/8), felt very eerie. It was very dark and cloudy, but the water at the race site was very calm and still. There was no wind, no freezing temperatures, just a nice cool day. Something that would be very manageable to race in. Come race morning, I get up at 5:00am to pack my car, eat some breakfast and head to the race. The outside temperature is 39°F! I get to the Hopkinton State Park around 6:30, get my race number marked on my body, prep my transition area, and start to warm up. Oh yeah, I didn't wear any pants either! It is windy, freezing, and I am very worried about how this is going to turn out. Getting near race time, and the wind really didn't pick up, just stayed a consistent strong breeze at this point.

Swim (1/4 mile): By 7:40am, most of the competitors have made it down to the water to start warming, hoping to get this race over with as fast as possible. It is still a dreadful 40°F at this point. However, the water was at a very deal-able 62°F! Hardly a comfortable temperature to swim in, but quite a break from the air temperature. It felt so warming to dive in and warm up to escape it. Getting out of the water after warming up my swimming muscles was another story; even colder than I remember! This year, being my second year doing triathlons, I am racing as an age grouper (male 20-24) rather than a newbie. This means I am in the first wave of the race. After all has warmed up, the race officials corral all of the waves together, send the first wave in the water to get ready for the start of the race. The wind picks up dramatically, blowing the turn buoys away and causing the race director to alter the length of the course (see prelude). Who can complain about a shortened swim, though! The gun sounds, and the 2010 race season has begun! I'm swimming like I've been training for this moment all winter/spring, and I'm enjoying reaching the halfway point at the turn-around buoy near the front of the pack; then it happened. Mother Nature all of a sudden decides that this is not what she wants, and unleashes a windy beast upon us. Wave after wave pounds over my head, and I can't breathe on either side of my body because they were just coming from everywhere. I am swimming now with my head out of the water, using so much more energy than I did in the first half of the swim. I hear the RD over the load-speaker giving instructions to the remaining waves, but I can't make it out. Two other waves get released while I'm on this dreadful swim back to the shore, and I realize I am going really slow. I am not alone though, because I see so many other of the same swim caps all around me. After taking 2-3 minutes to reach the half-way point of the swim, on a pace faster than any that I've done before, I end up swimming 11 minutes on the second half, doubling my swim time from last year. Things only got worse for the rest of the field, though, and the RD decided to cancel the swim for the last three waves. I found out later, after the race was over, that one of the rescue boats capsized and sunk because of the extreme conditions, other rescue kayaks were blown far away from the field of swimmers, and they needed outside assistance to help other swimmers. The race made headlines on channel 5 news: Chaos at Local Pond.

Swim Result - 14:01 (3:11 min/100 yards), 168th overall

Transition 1: Getting out the water was so difficult for me, not being a strong swimmer like many others, I was completely drained for this point. But I figured I was going to push through it, and I could rest when I was finished. I ran as fast as I could in a wet suit to the transition area, pulled it off, put on my biking gear and was out on my bike in the fastest time I ever did.

T1 Result - 1:26

Bike (10 miles): Knowing quite well that I was low on energy at this point, I decided to take the first few minutes in a recovery zone, trying to get my legs nice and warmed up before I start cranking away the miles. Many people passed me, but I knew I would catch most of them, and I did. About a mile later, I was cruising past people, many that had passed me within the first few minutes, but many more that had been ahead of me since the swim. I felt good, but not too comfortable. It was still freezing, the wind was pushing me all over the place, and my feet (which I didn't completely dry) were starting to go numb on me. The few hills I knew about, combined with the high-intensity wind, gave me a run for my money, and I couldn't pick up my pace any. It was not a good feeling, considering I felt I was miles ahead of last year on the bike, but I did my best in the conditions that were presented to me, and just tried to get to the run as fast as possible.

Bike Result - 36:09 (16.6 mph average), 98th overall

Transition 2: Just like in transition 1, I did my best to not let the easier parts, give me any more additional time. Finishing the bike leg, I sprinted into transition, removed my biking gear, threw on my running shoes, and was out on the run course on another transition PR.

T2 Result - 1:05

Run (5k): Thinking back to my race the week previous, I tried my hardest to push the pace from the start. But when the first thing you encounter out of transition is an endless sloping hill, it's pretty difficult! Not to mention I am running on little energy at this point. I knew this course pretty well from the year before, and I knew there was a very decent downhill right after this initial climb. I thought I would tough it out, stick on someones heals to pace me up the hill, and then coast down the downhill, recovering any bit I can going into mile 2. This worked for the most part, until I ran into mile 2 where I escaped the protection of the trees, into an open parking lot, and the relentlessness of Mother Nature. A pure nasty headwind hit me and the several people around me at this moment, and pushed us backwards for a short second. From this point, until almost mile 3, was completely troubled by this wind. We ended up running across this jeti, right next to the swim location, and it was very difficult dealing with the heavy winds. But I heard the music blaring at the finish line, and I decided I was done dealing with the wind, so I picked it up and pushed myself to finish.

Run Result - 26:04 (8:23 min/mile pace), 130th overall

Post-race: I made a vow with myself that I would never let myself have a DNF (did not finish) next to my name unless I was pulled off the course against my own will. My pride could not deal with that, and that usually gets me through the very difficult times and conditions. When things get too difficult for me, and I realize I can't make a run at the leader board, I just make sure I finish the race the best I can. The after race festivities looked like a lot of fun, but unfortunately the wind did not let up, it was freezing, and I just wanted to warm up. I grabbed my free lunch (which was a delicious BBQ!) and peaced to take a nap and wrap myself in blankets.

Final Result - 1:18:43, 10th in my age group, 109th overall (51st percentile)

Overall, I am extremely glad I got to swim because I got that experience under my belt. Now I know I can handle that situation again, and it should make me even stronger in training going forward.

When In Home

One of the great benefits my employer gives its employees is the 980 schedule. This means that we are scheduled to work 9 hours, 4 days a week (Monday-Thursday), and 8 hours, every other Friday. It's such a great benefit. I really enjoy having 3-day weekends for half the year. It's a great aid not only for the ability to relax, but I am also able to get in longer work-outs that I normally wouldn't be able to fit into my schedule during the week. I am able to spread out my errands that I have to complete on the weekends over three days, and still have time on that Friday to do something for me. This past Friday was an especially productive one for me. I was able to catch up on LOST before the final season premiere on February 2nd (I had 3 episodes left to watch); organize piles of old mail and bills; clean my car (the inside); and get a long brick workout in.

My brick workout started on the bike, with a 5-minute warm-up in a low-gear set. The workout was suppose to simulate riding hills (as it was fairly cold out and didn't want to ride outside) so I rode up and down my small gear set, riding on a certain gear for 2 minutes before switching up or down to the next one. I started on the lowest gear, worked my way up to the highest gear on my smallest gear-set, and then back down again. Did this over and over again until my 45 minutes were up. Final vitals for the workout:

• Total time: 0:45:13
• Average heart rate: 167 bbm
• Maximum heart rate: 188 bbm
• Calories burned: 623 kcal

One of the best parts of having an indoor trainer, is that I can ride all day long indoors, while it's absolutely freezing outside. I love getting up sometimes in the morning before work, and riding for an hour and then heading to work. On a long workout (1:30+ hrs), I just pop in a movie, or check on the On Demand section and watch a movie while working out. Last time I watched Jurassic Park; such a good movie. I set up my bike on it's trainer right in front of the T.V. and just zone out. Or I could ride easy during a show or when the movie is on, but then when a commercial comes on, I crank up my cadence and push it as hard as I can until the show/movie comes back on. Here is what my set-up looks like:

After pumping my legs through a nice indoor hill workout, it was over to the gym for my other half of the brick workout. I could not run outside, because it was hardly 10°F and with the brutal wind, I did not feel like suffering that much on my day off. I went over the the gym that my apartment complex has for all of its tenants, and ran on the treadmill. I started the workout with a 5-minute warm-up again, because my muscles all tightened up from the walk over to the gym (although I ran) because it was so cold out. I then ran for an hour, trying to stay within heart rate zones 1 and 2 while amping up the speed on the treadmill to a near sprint for 20-30 seconds, 4-5 times.This was a relatively easy workout, being that zones 1 and 2 are considered the recovery and aerobic zones. I finished the work-out with the following vitals:

• Total time: 0:59:42
• Average heart rate: 169 bbm
• Maximum heart rate: 185 bbm
• Calories burned: 836 kcal
• Total calories burned (01/29/10): 1,459 kcal

At this point in my day, I felt really good. The last three episodes of LOST were phenomenal, the work-outs were exhilarating and left me feeling very good and motivated. I get back to my apartment, and all those feelings went away. I went to take a shower, and the water was freezing! So I had to deal with my sweat from the gym freezing on my way to my apartment, and then had to take a cold shower; brr! For the rest of the day, our building was out of hot water and heat in the building for some reason. Luckily, they fixed those problems before too long, and we got hot water/heat again before the night was over. 

I finished my night off, watching the 103rd running of the Milrose Games, and catching Bernard Lagat claim his 8th win in the Wanamaker Mile in a time of 3:56! Then watched the Winter X-Games and Shaun White in the super pipe prelims was crazy!

If I can finish this post off with a video I watched, posted on twitter by @TrekBikes as a motivator for anyone. It's a video on Levi Leipheimer, a professional cyclist who is one of my favorites:

Motivation

Nutrition Part 2: The Paleo Diet

1. The Paleo Diet:  Developed by Dr. Cordain, is based on the early nutrition of the caveman during the Paleolithic times. Paleolithic peoples only ate what they could hunt or gather; fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. These foods all fall under the optimal food category, according to Dr. Cordain. Dairy, grains, and legumes are considered non-optimal foods and should not be eaten.

2. The Diet for Serious Athletes:  The Paleo Diet for athletes is designed to: quicken recovery, lead to optimum health and performance, and prevent muscle catabolism. The Paleo Diet's five stages of eating for the serious athlete include

Stage 1: Eating before exercise
Stage 2: Eating during exercise
Stage 3: Eating immediately after exercise
Stage 4: Eating for extended recovery
Stage 5: Eating for long-term recovery

3. Benefits: 

• Increases intake of branched chain amino acids
• Decreases omega 6: omega 3 ratio
• Lowers body acidity
• High in trace nutrients

Check out The Training Bible & The Paleo Diet for more information.

Nutrition Part 1: Fuel for Triathletes

First off, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and welcome back!

The Bay State Team has been a great resource for me in my short triathlon career. Not only do I get to socialize and train with a group of people that all share the same interests, but we also have sponsors and meetings where we have speakers that discuss different triathlon topics with all of us. At the January meeting we just had, we had one of our sponsors and team dietitian discuss with us Fuel for Triathletes.  She discussed with us the proper foods to eat and to avoid, as well as the proper amounts, for endurance athletes.

We were told that the main sources of energy for athletes is in protein, carbohydrates and fat.

Protein: The daily recommendation is 1.2 to 1.7 g/kg body weight (the lower end of the range is appropriate for endurance athletes; the higher end for strength and power athletes at the early stages of training). Multiply recommended intake in grams by 4 to calculate energy intake from protein (there are 4 kcal per gram of protein).

Examples of proteins are animals: fish, shellfish, chicken, turkey, eggs, lean pork, lean ham, buffalo and lean red meat; plants: natural peanut butter, nuts-almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, pistachios-soy, beans, lentils, hummus, tofu, and seeds; dairy: lowfat milk, cottage cheese, string cheese, yogurt, greek yogurt.

• You need protein for muscle growth and to repair muscle damage after exercise. 
• You also need protein to make red blood cells, which move oxygen to muscles, and white blood cells, which help fight infection.
• Your body uses protein to make hormones and enzymes, which help regulate metabolism.

They are many more key points about protein, but I will not be including them in this post. If you would like to learn more, leave me a comment, or wait until I post later about it again.

Carbohydrates: The daily recommendation is 5 to 10 g/kg body weight (the lower end of the range is appropriate for off-season and recreational athletes; the higher end for athletes who train for several hours a day and for ultraendurance athletes). Multiply recommended intake is grams by 4 to calculate energy intake from carbohydrate (there are 4 kcal per gram of carbohydrate).

Examples of carbohydrates are grains: whole grains are good source of fiber and can decrease your risk for heart disease and help you lose weight; fruits and veggies: good for decreasing risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer and help you lose weight; milk and yogurt: helps you build healthy and strong bones and teeth.

• Carbohydrates are the best fuel for working muscles.
• Plan to include carbohydrates in all your meals and snacks.

Fat: The daily recommendation is ≥ 1 g/kg body weight. Multiply recommended intake in grams by 9 to calculate energy intake from fat (there are 9 kcal per gram of fat).

However, there are "good" fats and "bad" fats. Examples of "good" fats include: olive or canola oil, nuts, olives, avocado, peanut butter.

• You need fat for energy.
• Fat also helps your body to use some vitamins as well as plant chemicals known as "phytochemicals."
• Fat helps move substances in and out of cells, and it helps keep your brain and nervous system healthy.

Now that you have a brief synopsis of the main sources of energy needed by endurance athletes, there are other sources of intake that is essential. 

Vitamins and Minerals: Vitamins and minerals do not give you more energy, but they help to unlock the energy stored in food so your body can use it as fuel. Your body needs calcium, magnesium, fluoride, and vitamin D to keep bones strong.

Fluids: Fluids are essential for everyday use for everybody, not just athletes. But here are a few guidelines about fluids for athletes:

• Drink at least 16 oz of water or other fluid 2 hours before an event.
• Top off drinking 8-16 oz of water 15 minutes before an event.
• Drink 5-10 oz every 15-20 min of exercise.
• Use a sport beverage if exercising longer than 60 min.
• Avoid caffeinated beverages.
• Avoid carbonated beverages.
• Drink as much as possible within 15 minutes of the end of an event or training.
• Continue to drink to replace fluids lost through sweat plus more.
• Rule of thumb - one "gulp" equals one ounce.

Nicole Cormier is a registered dietitian and founder of Delicious Living Nutrition. DLN is a nutrition consulting company that comes into your home for nutrition counseling. They offer a variety of services catered to improving your quality of life and creating balance. You can check out her website for information about services, resources and contact info at Delicious Living Nutrition.