Tri Kaizen

Remember the Japanese word "kaizen" from the 80s? It was used to refer to how Japan made extraordinary advances in manufacturing productivity. Kaizen means "improvement", and the idea is to make small (or large) improvements every day in our work. The key is one has to do this every day, consistently. Here's how Wikipedia describes kaizen:

Kaizen is a daily process, the purpose of which goes beyond simple productivity improvement. It is also a process that, when done correctly, humanizes the workplace, eliminates overly hard work ("muri"), and teaches people how to perform experiments on their work using the scientific method and how to learn to spot and eliminate waste in business processes. In all, the process suggests a humanized approach to workers and to increasing productivity

 I've really taken a page out of an old classic here. Anthony Robbins, in his book "Awaken the Giant Within", brings the idea of kaizen into the context of purposefully reshaping our belief system and (re)establishing positive convictions about ourselves and our lives to realize our goals and full potential. The compounded effects of all the small and large improvements will have extraordinary effects over time. But we can't do this whenever we just feel like it. It has to be incorporated into how we live every day, we have to do it at all times.

What does this have to do with sports? As many principles of success in life, like the kaizen, they can always be transferred to better training and racing. And that is true the other way around: the processes we incorporate into our training (preparing) and racing (delivering) can be directly applied to how we should live our lives.

"Small improvements are believable, therefore achievable." - Anthony Robbins

If you follow the popular triathlon media, more and more frequently top coaches are quoted saying that their athletes follow a training plan that calls for consistent work at volumes and intensities that they can handle. Rest weeks are eliminated from the athletes' routine, the workouts are designed so they can recover from one sessions to the next, the weekly routine is the same and they have to make small improvements each week.

Want proof? Probably the most notable person is Sami Ikinen, a successful business person and one of the best age group triathletes in the world is coached by Matt Dixon. Ikinen often writes about his training and reveals a system that closely resembles a kaizen approach. In a more recent article Joel Filliol, a famous triathlon coach of some notable athletes like Simon Whitfield and Jordan Rapp, talks about the same idea: constant, steady work to make small improvements will yield higher fitness and skill levels, better and more consistently performing athletes. Interestingly, Filliol mentions that his athletes are stressed just enough to make those small improvements but they avoid overly hard work, which the kaizen also proposes. No muri!

Constantly looking for improvements is not just a physical exercise to make processes more efficient. It is just as much a mental and spiritual exercise. Gradual improvements are achievable, they offer confidence in our work and support in our beliefs that we can do what we set out to achieve. The definition of kaizen says that this process humanizes work, gives meaning to what we do. And once we realize that, we are on the path of happiness : ).

The Kona Experience

Getting into the Ironman World Championships was a total surprise to me. I have always dreamed of one day racing in Kona, but I never planned or even thought of going there anytime soon. Luckily there were 4-5 additional entry slots available at NYC Ironman and I was able to grab the last one in my age group (11 were offered).

Ironman Tourist

I accepted the party invite without hesitation, not really thinking about the timing of the event nor if I was able to prepare properly. I had 2 months to prepare after a grueling NYC Ironman, so the plan was to maintain bike fitness, and work on less time consuming open water swimming and run endurance. After 2 weeks of recovery I started training again. In my plans I had open water swims, lots of frequent but not too long runs, and one more mega miles day on the bike where I would cover 140-150 miles. My training and coaching philosophy is that you can swim and bike all you want, and longer distances are encouraged if you have the time (of course carefully building volume), but when it comes to running I always prefer mostly shorter and frequent runs at varied intensities and only occasionally run 18-20 miles in one shot. This approach has helped me and many of my athletes to avoid injuries and efficiently recover.

 As I started training we entered the busy month of September. The kids' travel soccer schedule kicked in, I got more involved in a work project and next thing you know the training hours started diminishing. It was especially difficult to get long rides in. I did manage to ride 100 miles a couple of times, ran a lot and didn't swim that much, but I thought I was ready when we left for Hawaii.

Race strategy: draft the entire swim, have fun on the bike, go for it on the run.

Pete Jacobs dealing with pre-race tension

I have to say Kona was everything and more of what I imagined it to be during race week. Super looking athletes everywhere, tri businesses flowing onto Alii Drive, great food with lots of healthy choices. Pro sightings and chances to meet some of them was a daily routine. The check in process was a breeze  the expo was amazing, only my bike made some strange noises after picking it up from Tribike Transport. This would be expected so I scheduled a tune up, but that didn't seem to help. The wheels were rolling, pedals turning so I just closed my ears and hoped for the best!



Race day! Finally! I arrived at 5:30am with family in tow and all of us filled with anxious excitement. I got my number (1118) carefully printed on my shoulders then went to get weighed in. 180 lbs. I gained 3 pounds since IM NYC. I felt like the big guy as everyone around me seemed like your uber-triathlete, 150 pound, 0 bodyfat, perfect build human machine. I mean this in a good way. I want to be like that too!

"You will witness Dante's inferno!" not literally...

I checked my bike, topped off the tires and got on the porta potty line... Then off to the beach. As I descended those famous stairs I looked across the bay to see if I can spot my fan club: Michelle, my beloved wife and mental coach, and my two devoted wonderful children all decked out in Formula Tri Club gear. There must have been 2000 people lining the edge of the bay. Just like on TV, helicopters hovering, paddle boarders cruising, and Mike Reilly (the voice of Ironman) getting everybody revved up for the race.

She's ready to fly

The swim. It was friendly and calm while treading water and waiting for the start. At 7am sharp the voice of Ironman yelled GO GO GO! No gun? Weird. 5 seconds later the gun also went off. Technical glitch? Oh well keep swimming! By the time I came back to reality I was getting pounded by swimmers from all angles. I even caught a glimpse of a rescue diver below. Are you also going to kick me in the kidney? It was wild. Very similar to the Lake Placid start. I noticed during my research of the race that every wise person on-line was recommending staying to the left at the swim start. I tried, but somehow ended up on the extreme right where the swim support staff were directing us back to the left. I breathed to my left and saw a mass of people swimming pretty far from where I was with a bunch of still aggressive swimmers around me.

Michelle should get the Pulitzer prize for this picture. Spectators getting hit by waves. We swam in that???

Somebody was way off course, but who?? I sighted a few times to finally spot the orange buoy which was to my left (should have been on my right), but I was swimming straight to the turnaround boats so I kept course. I managed to latch onto someone who seemed just a bit faster than me and stayed with him almost all the way. The turnaround was a bit unusual from what I can remember, as I was just focused on a pair of feet in front of me and not letting anyone in between, I didn't sight much. We made a right turn at the first boat (we had to round 2 of them), and then the course made a left to take us further back out before rounding the 2nd boat. I mostly saw bubbles and the pair of feet so not sure what that was all about. I just followed the happy feet in front of me.

Wait for iiiit!

Wait for IIIIT!!

GO GO GO!!! Where's the cannon? Oh yeah... BOOOOM!

Total time: 1:13. Slow. The feet seemed faster!! Oh well, I saved a lot of energy and was ready to rock the bike course. The transition was comfortable and smooth. My faithful Cervelo was eagerly waiting for me to tear up that Queen K highway.

The bike. Apparently I came out of the water with a lot of people because the first 5-10 miles were very crowded on the bike course. As soon as we got to the Queen K, some people decided to drop the hammer. I was comfortably hard at 26-28mph with a slight tailwind when groups of 5-6 riders kept zooming by. After the 4th such group I decided to up the tempo a bit myself. I was used to going harder than what is conventionally recommended for Ironman (that's the aerobic threshold level) and still be able to recover and run fairly well. I trained this way and had confidence in being able to pull it off. This is how I like to have fun on the bike. So I latched onto a group. Most of us kept the required distance between us, but there was always 1 or 2 riders who kept passing then slowing down immediately and made me and others have to ride harder periodically to retake the lead. This yoyo action went on until we started climbing up to Hawi. There the group and everybody disintegrated.

That 10 mile or so climb to Hawi was brutal. Only a 2-3% incline but the headwinds must have been 30+ mph. I tried to stay in aero and keep a decent pace as I was passing a ton of people. The legs felt fine here, only my lower back started killing me. I couldn't sit up because the winds would have made me come to a halt. It was brutal! I was definitely going too hard. After the turnaround we were flying with the strong tailwind. I mean FLYING. 50 mph! I kept the pressure on the pedals. Legs were loosening though and I was able to eat and drink a lot even at the high speeds. Then the unexpected happened. After a short climb back up to the Queen K highway, my legs gave out. At mile 75(ish) I could not turn the pedals. I started feeling cramps and major fatigue on the climb and once I got on the flat I had 0 left. Now what?

Small chain ring, easy gear. Spin. Drink. And pull over because all those people I passed up to Hawi are now over taking me again. Great job T! The last 30 miles of the bike was torture. By the time I finished I had cramps in every muscle in my lower body.

Total time: 5:24. Still OK despite the bad finish.

But now I couldn't even walk. I destroyed myself. Time for Plan B. What was that again? Make a sharp right turn into the showers and soft pillow in the hotel? When I got to the transition tent my pain must have been written on my face because some massage dude threw me on a table and started working my legs. Then another massage dude joined in on the fun. It didn't help. If anything I was just in more pain. They sat me down and started talking to me but not sure what they were saying, my vision got blurry, sounds muffled, and I couldn't lift my head because I had a cramp in my neck. So friggin weird! I tried to say something but that frontal neck cramp paralyzed me. The friendly masseuse guys gave me some funky tasting drink, it must have been a special electrolyte drink, then while I was hunched over due to neck cramps I managed to put my shoes on. I figured whether I walk straight back to the hotel or onto the run course I needed to have shoes on! Then as I straightened up and started walking out of transition my head cleared, the neck cramp went away so I decided to walk up to where my wife and kids were and figure out together what to do next because I had no clue how to run a marathon in that wreck of a physical and mental condition.

"Don't stop! Keep going! You're doing great!" they yelled as I hobbled up to them. I confessed my mistakes committed on the bike, kissed them each on the forehead and off I went. I did warn them of a very possible late arrival to the finish. Onto the run course. I couldn't disappoint them by pulling out of the race. They were so happy for me and proud of me and I still had about 10 hours at my disposal. OK, something positive to build on!

The marathon. I actually managed to run the first 3 miles. Slowly, but I was running. I still had major pains all over. Some cramps seemed permanent (feet and calves), and some occasional (quads and hammies). At every aid station I took on salt pills or sports drinks. As in most cases when operating under strain, one problem created another. My heart rate spiked to 170 while I was jogging. It should have been 140ish. I knew I couldn't sustain even a slow jog at that intensity. So I decided to walk as long as necessary to get my heart rate down under 150, then got into a jog/run shuffle until it reached 170 again. I pretty much moved forward like this until mile 20. Along the way more weird things happened.

At one point I thought I had rocks in my shoes so I stopped, took off my shoes and socks to find nothing that could have even resembled a rock. Nothing. A little while later I did it again. Then at another point I was looking for spots on the side of the road where I could take just a short little nap. I remember having a conversation with myself, discussing the potential comfort level of different dirt patches. Fortunately I never did lie down for a nap.

A screenshot from the TV

I really do appreciate all the crowds coming out and cheering on. Without them an Ironman would be much harder to accomplish. But sometimes you have to smile at what they are yelling at you. I was clearly not OK and barely holding myself up for most of the run. If you watch the NBC coverage you can get a glimpse of me 1:43 into the show. My distorted facial expression from all the pain is obvious in that shot. So is my contorted body position. As I moved my tired and achy body forward like this there were many who yelled "Great job, you are looking great!!". Looking great? I was not looking great. And that was a fact. Maybe they were referring to the ultra cool looking custom Formula Tri Club gear I was wearing? :)

The hallucinatious run/walk routine combined with lots of electrolytes finally paid off in the Eneregy Lab. My revival from zombie state to half human was a result of this aforementioned routine, cooler air in the sunset and a major psychological boost after having passed the last turnaround to head straight home. It was like somebody found my legs in Hawi and brought them to me in the Energy lab.

Remember the last point: PSYCHOLOGY. It all starts in the head. Even if you do have rocks in your shoes.

During the last 10k I ran most of the way, only slowing down to a walk occasionally to admire one of the most beautiful sunsets on earth and at aid stations for some pretzels and soup. Sounds like I was in a Woody Allen movie! My last mile (mostly downhill) was sub 7 minutes. I entered the finishing chute with full power, in an almost ecstatic state under the lights, surrounded by huge crowds and the welcoming voice of the Ironman. My dear family was cheering on from just before the finish line and I couldn't stop for a kiss this time because I was roaming ahead at 100 miles per hour.  I was never so happy to finish a race. My hapless finish line celebration was more than just putting this painful race behind me. I was putting the entire year behind me to finally get some rest and concentrate on more important things than my triathlon racing.

Total run time: 4:34. Total time: 11:33. Not bad considering, but it seemed like an eternity.

It was an unforgettable experience and I highly recommend every triathlete to go to Kona and experience race week. Whether racing or not, you gotta be there! One day I will return again, hopefully once more as a racer.

Hawaii is full of color and natural beauty

NYC IM From the Inside

Needless to say this was a highly anticipated race, many have been speculating for years about where and when an Ironman would be organized in New York City. Finally it came on August 11, 2012. As you may know the event sold out in just a few minutes last summer, which at the time was an indication of very high demand. As it turns out, and expected by some locals, the demand has dropped quite a bit for the 2013 registration, which at the time of this writing has been suspended. But that is outside the scope of this post. I am writing this post to commemorate the first ever Ironman in the Big Apple and to have it serve as guidance for those looking to participate in future NYC IM events (if it stays the same or similar).

So below is my perspective of this incredible event. I would call it epic but so many events and people are epic these days the word lost its weight. Objectively looking at it however it was epic.

Registration
The setup for the Athlete Village was great. There were old and new brands represented at the expo, it was spacious and easy to walk around. I registered the very first day and it took about 20 minutes total, with about 20-30 people ahead of me on the line when I got there at 10:30am. I think even at the busiest hour the process would have taken no more than 45 minutes. So this part was easy and painless.

Registration was a breeze

Due to some personal business I was not able to attend any of the events on Thursday and Friday at the village but because of a massive sewage leak upriver from the start, the swim portion of the race was in question for a while, so attending the (almost) mandatory athlete briefing was actually useful. The sewage situation was covered fully by the media so no more of that in this post. All I can say is that the organizers kept calm in the face of criticism, didn't rush with any ill advised statements and basically left the decision in the hands of the local governments and officials. In the end we swam.

Bike Check
I opted to drive to transition area to check my bike in. I left at 12:30pm to pick up a friend and team mate downtown. We decided to take the FDR Drive north to the bridge as it is faster than the West side under normal circumstances, but of course there was an accident along the way and we had to navigate through Harlem and get to transition 90 minutes later than expected. There were a bunch of cars parked along River Rd, just up the hill from transition, so we parked there, but the cops didn't like it and ended up closing River Rd all together for later arrivals. I assume next year there will be no car entry at that point and those driving there will end up walking a couple of miles.Those who took the ferry to transition had no complaints. So that was clearly the better choice.

All set!

Race Morning
All the race literature instructed athletes to be on the ferry by 4am (or no race!) to take them to transition. That meant a 2:30am wake up call. The night before we found out that they would allow people to walk into transition from the NJ side on race race morning. So of course I and 3 friends decided we would sleep an extra hour then take a cab to drop us off as close to transition as possible. It worked out great, there was no traffic and we walked about a mile (15 minutes). It was already humid and warm on our walk in the dark, but we all felt the extra hour of sleep was worth it.

Coffee choice of the morning. You never know!

Pre-Race
Once in transition all I had to do was put the bike bottles in the cages and pump the tires. There were lots of floor pumps around, I grabbed one. As I attached the hose to the valve, I notice it was not staying on, air kept coming out on the sides. So I grabbed another pump. Same result. I tried to push the valve deeper. The tire kept deflating and the valve kept going deeper into the rim. I got nervous, and by now was profusely sweating, and yanked at the valve. POP! broken valve! Now I had to change a flat... I went up to the mechanic station to see if they would do it, presumably faster than I could, the line was about 10 people deep. I started asking them what they needed to get done, they all said they needed air. So why stand on the line? You sure know how to pump your own tires?? (Like I am so good at it!) They needed help and didn't get off the line. Fortunately one of the mechanics saw my frustration and came to me with a tube and helped me fix it. His calmness and skill had me with a new tube and inflated tires in under 3 minutes. That was very pleasant. My flat tire changing time is closer to 10 minutes. I need to work on that despite having had tons of flats over the years.

The Swim
There were 5 (if I counted correctly) boats taking all the athletes to the starting barge 2.4 miles upriver. Everything I read about the current that morning indicated that the later we left the stronger the current would be in our favor. So I hung around for a while, and got on the back of the line when I thought there was nobody else waiting. Why rush to front when you get a stronger current later? As the line started moving and loading onto the boats, I turned back and saw about a hundred people behind me! Where did they come from?? Were they hiding in the woods or in portapotties? Didn't matter, I was far enough back and ended up getting on the second to last boat. Eventually the last 2 boats docked at about the same time at the swim start.

The boat ride to the start was slow. We had to be ready to jump in the water as soon as the boat docked so everyone put there wetsuits on early. I was inside where the windows didn't open and it got very steamy, very fast sitting in those wetsuits. As my heart started racing I couldn't help but think of those swimmers who died in the Hudson in prior triathlons. I witnessed one personally and still have a scar from the experience. They must have felt the same way right before getting into the water. I didn't panic, but I did take the wetsuit off 1/2 way. By now the current was visibly strong. Good! The plan was to stay as close to the buoys as possible, closer to the center of the river. That's where the current is the strongest.

When we docked, an image of D-day flashed through my thoughts and for a moment I thought I was one of the soldiers jumping in the water to make it to shore as quickly as possible to save Private Ryan. I guess it's good to think that way in this situation as 'surviving' the swim is always a challenge, especially in the Hudson! They ushered us through a weak little shower where I wet my goggles, then off we went. We had to jump feet first, which was for the better as you do not want to lose your goggles right at the start.

Despite the sewage spill, the quality of the water in the beginning of the swim was tolerable. It wasn't good quality and that was obvious from the taste, but it was better than I thought it would be. Not that I purposely took a swig t0 determine the taste... Upon hearing the news of keeping the swim portion of the race the day before, I started taking probiotic pills to boost my immune system and help neutralize some of the possible negative effects of any leftover sewage. Also, I was consciously trying to not let any water in my mouth, blowing air out, as you should anyway, while my face was in the water.

The buoys were coming up fast. I mean FAST. I sight often in open water as you can lose a lot of time zigzagging. Often when I sighted I saw the buoy 30-40 yards away, then I took 6-7 strokes and when I sighted again the buoy was right in front of me! On one occasion I even slammed into one face first. So basically the swim ended up being a little longer than a 1/2IM swim. My time: 45 mins. WOW!

T1
Coming out of the water was the worst part. The exit ramp was narrow, only 1 or 2 people could fit, and steep. On my approach, 10-15 yards out, I had to stop and stand up as there were a bunch of people ahead of me waiting to get out. At this point the water smelled very much like a public bathroom at Penn Station. I sunk into the sludge that was on the bottom knee deep. This part was really disgusting but I made it our without losing any of my toes.

I grabbed my Bike Gear bag and headed for the Men's tent. I peaked in and it looked and smelled like a men's locker room after a football game with 8 teams in there. I geared up for the bike ride outside the tent. Grabbed my bike and hit the road. My favorite part!

The Bike Course
I trained with my team (Formula Tri Club) on 9W most of the times, so I knew the first 15 miles of the course very well. 9W runs along the Palisades Highway for this portion so the profile is almost exactly the same. My plan was to spin easy up the hill to the Palisades in the beginning, but  there were too many people riding next to each other slowly  so I lost my patience, diverted from my plan, and powered up, passing a bunch of people. Once on the highway I settled into a comfortably hard pace and started eating and drinking. It was humid and I was sweating. I was sweating hard and what made it worse was that I wore a Giro aero helmet that had no vents.

I really enjoyed the course. The downhills were fast but not dangerous as in Lake Placid. The road surface was for the most part good. Here and there there were cracks in the road going across that bumped many people's bottles out of their cages. I assume these lost water bottles were the cause of many crashes I saw along the way. It is really sad to see that, but you have to be on the lookout at all times for any hazard on the road. What surprised me was how many people were riding in big groups, next to and behind each other, not worrying about drafting rules at all. Not sure if they ever got penalized but it was quite a common site especially on the first loop. Every time I ended up in or just behind a group like this I powered ahead to stay clear. I may have paid the price for this later, on the run...

The first loop was humid, roads still a bit wet and even felt some rain here and there. I was praying for a shower I was so hot. I was constantly drinking and I saw sweat pouring down my arms and legs. It was surreal. There was a waterfall coming out of my helmet! My shoes were soaked and vision blurry from sweat going in my eyes. I couldn't wear my shades either for this reason. One of the rules I like to go by for an ironman bike leg is that if you don't have to go to the bathroom by midpoint, you are not drinking enough. Well I didn't have to go but I could not drink anymore than I did either. I felt good otherwise. My heart rate was in check, legs felt fine, lower back felt fine. I kept spinning my legs, ate on the flats, kept pedaling downhill and spun uphills. You can make up a lot of ground by getting in the biggest gear you have on the downhills and keep pedaling to 40+ mph. Not to mention that you get on the next uphill section with a much higher momentum and get over the hill much quicker while expending the same or less amount of energy. Most people coast on the downhills and end up climbing more on courses like this one. They key on this course, as it is on most other courses, was to keep your effort level even through uphills, flats and downhills.

Coming back to T2 under the GW Bridge

The second loop was tough. I finished my first loop in about 2:30. My goal for the bike leg was 5:15 so I was going faster than I had planned. It was probably the result of going over my thresholds to pass the drafting groups. But I still felt fine. At this point it felt like 100 degrees in that aero helmet! I kept drinking and eating but I still didn't have a need to go to the bathroom. I got to the last turnaround quite quickly, only realizing that the wind had picked up from the south when I made the turn. It was like hitting a wall. The 27 miles coming back was brutal. Piercing sun, high humidity, and strong headwinds. Was I in Hawaii? By the way, Kona is my dream destination. I think anybody racing Ironman distances ultimately wants to get there. This was only my second Ironman and I knew I would be in contention for a slot after the bike but my running wasn't there so I never set Kona as my goal.  I am not a fast runner to begin with and  I only started my run training for this race a month and  half before (due to nagging knee injury). I was lacking running strength in a big way. And only the hills on River Rd knew at this point how badly I needed more strength.

T2
It was fun riding down Hudson Terrace. The crowd was awesome. At this point I had no other riders around me and the crowd made me feel like I was in first place. They really gave me an extra boost! Somebody even snapped a photo of me going under the GW Bridge and sent it to me after the race. It's the best picture of me on a bike! (see above)

In T2 they take your bike and all you have to worry about is getting into your run gear. I passed a lot of people on the bike course and there weren't many bikes racked when I got there. When I entered the Men's tent it still smelled like a lion's den but there were just a few athletes in transition and a bunch of volunteers getting ready for the return of the 4 football teams.

The Run (Walk)
I decided to run up the first hill. It's a quarter mile long and about 7% gradient steep. I should have walked it like some others did. My quads almost popped when I got to the top. Clearly my 5:07 time on the bike was great but I went too hard. I got nervous as I had 26 miles ahead of me, 16 of it very hilly. The next section was downhill for about a mile and half. I went easy with lots of small steps and was focusing on loosening up and shaking out some of the sting in my thighs. My friend Steve at mile 1 told me I was in 3rd place after the bike in my age group. Holy smokes! There were 11 Kona slots in my division! I may have a chance! I didn't set that as my goal for the race, but empowered by my high position I changed my goals "on the run". I kept going at a measured pace, 8:30 - 9 minute/mile.  For about 15 miles it felt hard but didn't get worse and I kept pacing myself and eating and drinking a lot. I carried extra salt sticks in a  tic-tac box. The sound of these pills bouncing around in the box visibly annoyed those around me. And me too. Oh well. Focus on the hills instead!

That's me throwing ice cubes at Steve

At mile 15 I was still in 5th place, and Steve made sure I knew that. I was really psyched and threw some ice cubes at him in my excitement. He probably thought I was losing it. And he was right.... So for 15 miles, while running 9 minute miles, only 2 people passed me in my age group. My strong bike leg gave me a huge advantage. As I passed Steve I told him I was slow but feeling great. That was the big jinx. About 2 minutes later I was not feeling great. As soon as I hit the hill going up to Hudson Terrace I started falling apart. This is how far a month and a half of run training could get me. I had 10 miles left, still in 5th position, but now I was reduced to a jog/walk/crawl routine. I crawled across the GW bridge...

But here something good happened. Coming off the bridge I had to go to the bathroom! So I did at the next aid station, in the portapottie, as I do not like to urinate on myself. 7.25 hours into the race I finally went. It must have been at this point when a bunch of people in my age group passed me. For the rest of the way I was jogging and walking. I had never been in so much pain in my life. Since most of the pain was in my quads, I knew my form was totally off. For years I have been working on being more upright, not sitting into my strides, using more of my glutes to propel forward. I can't help it! I grew up a skier: knees falling in, hips lowered and powered through every movement using the quads. Have you seen the legs of the great skiers? They are almost as big as the speedskaters'!

I kept walking and running along. At every aid station I pounded down anything I could get my hands on. Since I didn't go the athlete briefing, I wasn't aware of the fact that the aid stations on the Manhattan side were a bit further apart, not 1 mile apart as on the NJ side. Everything is tougher in NY!! Some aid stations seemed like they were at least 2 miles apart. Fortunately the strong afternoon winds gave way to some cooler air so I didn't have to pack my shorts with handfulls of ice (this is how I cooled my overheated core). And those mile markers were coming up slower and slower. A Manhattan mile is way longer than a NJ mile!

I tried to run more than walk as now my top end speed was about 10 minutes/mile running. Very slow. Fortunately I wasn't alone. During the last few miles I caught some in my age group and then some others passed me. I knew it was going to be close in the end. Running through Riverside park in the 90's was a bit surreal. First of all they found every hill there was and took us up on them several times. Then we were running on the promenade where kids were playing, mothers with strollers walking, people with their dogs playing, so it was a regular Saturday afternoon scene there and the Ironman athletes were running right in the middle of this. In a way it was cool, but some separation, some sort of barrier like they have in the NYC Marathon the entire way would have given the athletes some more respect, some more glow. And we all know respect goes a long way in NY.

Dragging my log-like legs around Riverside Park

I finished the marathon in 4:10. Total time for the race: 10:11. I came in 11th in my division, grabbing the last Kona slot available!! The next slowest runner who qualified was 17 minutes faster on the run, and only 3 people were under 3:40. Two years ago at Lake Placid I was 45 minutes away from a Kona slot with a total time of 10:34. My weakest was the run, as the 8th place (last qualifier) in that age group ran a 3:40 (if I remember correctly). I never thought you could qualify with a run slower than 3:40, so I never expected to be in the mix in the end, unless I could improve to be a 3:30 IM marathoner. At the NYCIM my field was deep, but there were more slots available. And possibly the tougher course took more of a toll on people. I think the slower cyclists ended up suffering more as the wind picked up even more later on. To get to the front of the pack on the bike caused me to expend more energy, but it saved me from  stronger headwinds later on. Such is Ironman racing. It's full of compromises and you really have to pick your battles.

Accepted my 'invitation' to Kona

Finish Area
Just a quick mention about this. They RAN OUT OF PIZZA quite early, and after waiting for 45 minutes for the much anticipated and needed massage I decided to get my stuff, greet my family and leave. It was small, under-served and crowded. But one of the food trucks on Riverside Drive had the best ever philly cheese stake sandwich so my appetite for carbs and protein (and fat) was satisfied after all.

Last Thoughts
All in all it was a great experience. Even though I raced in my own backyard where I train all the the time. The course was very tough as it should be in an Ironman. Like my friend Will said, otherwise they should call it Paperman. The organization was not perfect but it never is. Under the circumstances they did as good a job as any could do. There was yet another fatality in the swim portion but I will not write about that here. It is a terrible tragedy to lose someone while having fun, but we have to understand the inherent risks and live with the consequences. I am sure that unfortunate athlete understood the inherent risks. He was an ex special forces guy. At least he died doing what he loved. If we have to go, isn't that the best way to go?

Is there a future for Ironman in NYC? We have to wait and see. They admittedly were challenged by the logistics, politics and safety of this area. It's not an ideal place for a race of this complexity, but doing it once was a blast, and I'm glad I was part of it.

The motto of this race should be the same as it is for the city: "If you make it here, you'll make it anywhere". It applies as much to the athletes as to WTC!

Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today.
I want to be a part of it Kona, HI!!!!

Ride into the future

Here's my resolution for the New Year: make everything I do meaningful. This covers a lot and will definitely keep me busy.

So let's go for a ride.

Athletinet - yet another web-project

When it comes to sports-talk, one of the most common subjects triathletes, cyclists and runners talk about is their workouts. What worked, what didn't, their timing, etc... There are plenty of books and websites out there where you can find workouts for different periods of a training cycle for any of these sports. But I couldn't really find a way to share them and discuss them. Yes, there is Facebook where all this is possible, but I thought it a good idea to create a site dedicated to just that: sharing workouts. It's a great platform for athletes to get feedback and ideas for their training. It is also a great platform for any coach to market themselves by posting some of their 'secret' weapons that has helped their athletes.

So was born Athletinet.com.

In its current form it's simple and to the point. I also added a 'Book Shelf" to the site where my favorite sports literature can be found and is a way to monetize the traffic a bit.

Hope you like it! A lot!

Triathlon (in)Sanity

2 deaths during the NYC Triathlon this year. Tragic. Should not happen. Now politicians are getting involved. Scott Stringer called for a top to bottom review of the races safety measures. Maybe that's a good thing. I don't know what will end up changing if anything. I am not going to speculate on that. I am also not going to criticize the race organizers. In this case there was literally an army of support personnel all along the swim course.

Before I go any further with my emotion filled "analyses", let me say that the two deaths and what I saw as a spectator that I will write about may have nothing to do with each other. A heart attack is unpredictable and very very hard to react to when in the water.  My point is along the lines of self responsibility.

Yes, the Hudson is filthy, disgusting, choppy, lots of debris, heavy currents, so when you swim with hundreds around you it's not the most pleasant swim of your life. After I saw some of my team mates off at the start I started walking south along the water, watching the swimmers. And I was terrified at what I saw. Shocked.

I was watching the back of the pack "swimmers" struggling through the chop. And struggle is an understatement. In general you don't want to struggle during a triathlon swim, especially in the Hudson. The amount of people I saw who couldn't swim at all was astounding. They clearly entered the race thinking the tide wil get them to the finish. But they even had trouble treading water, staying afloat in a wetsuit!!

Come on now. I respect that people want to prove something for somebody, raise money, be extraordinary. But at the risk of drowning? I'm sorry but that is pathetic. The Hudson is not for beginners. Period.

Once again, I am not talking about the two deaths. Those may have nothing to do with skill level.

But, as I am walking and thinking that these people in the back do not belong in that water no matter what, I see a woman on her back, just floating. There are many who "swim" on their backs, but this woman was not moving at all. In fact her head was bobbed back, submerged. Uh oh. I immediately whistled (loud) at the kayakers and started screaming at them to help the woman. Two "competitors" then stopped swimming and held her up, she was completely out of it. OH NO!

A kayaker finally got there but seemed to not know what to do. He tried to pull her up on the kayak. They flipped over. The woman, the 2 good Samaritan swimmers and the kayaker all went under. After a few seconds they came back up. The woman was not breathing, if anything took on more water. A spectator next to me and I were both yelling 'she needs mouth to mouth, cpr right away!'. By now the life guard on a jet ski was making his way over. They struggled a bit to pull her on the back then they sped off to a nearby boat. Still no CPR. My heart is pounding as the seconds are ticking away and they seem like hours. I keep walking, following the action. Another person gets on the back of the jet ski, off the boat, and starts working on her. Finally! At this point the jet ski is flying downstream towards the docks. But at least CPR has started. To be sure, it took a few minutes from the time I spotted her to the time she was getting CPR. But I'm not sure, time seemed to be dragging miserably. I think the safety people did all they could. It's almost impossible to provide CPR in the water, the kayak is not suitable to lay somebody down on top of.

This poor lady fought for her life for another day or so but unfortunately she passed away the next day. My heart sank when I heard the news. I wish I could have seen her sooner. Or if somebody else saw her sooner.

Later that day I heard about the 2nd death. Apparently also a heart attack. The 64 year old man was a friend of a friend. Having some kind of connection to both people really shook me up. I guess that's why I am writing about it now, have to get it off my chest.

This friend of mine, who has done this race 5 times, had a good point. The kayakers cannot see well who is struggling in the water. There were a few life guards along the walkway, but maybe not enough of them? Maybe next time they should have more spotters on shore, on the walkway that is high up and one can have a better view. I also think if kayakers had the ability to perform CPR effectively, chances of saving somebody's life could go up. Having said that, once a person is in cardiac arrest, help has to arrive whithin seconds. If the person doesn't get immediate help, chances of survival drop dramatically. In an open water swim, I think it's almost impossible to provide immediate help.

But back to my original point. These fatal incidents of course anger people and politicians have to elbow themselves in the middle of it and show "authority". I am assuming they don't know much about triathlons and what it takes to complete one, or race in one. They immediately turn to the organizer to point fingers.

I think we have to take a pause here and consider the situation objectively. Triathlon is still a brand new sport for many, it's the fastest growing sport and besides gold, the only 'bull market' out there at the moment, lot's of people trying to make money off of it. So the growth, the fire, has to be stoked to keep it going, create a massive, social affair out of it that draws just about anyone in. The smell of money blurs people's vision. I know I worked on Wall Street for 15 years. There are no standards as to who enters a triathlon. What are their abilities. Do the organizers have to know? There's that waiver that takes care of this issues. Let them come and sign up. Maximizing profits is definitely a key factor. After all, we are talking about New York! To the NYC Tri's defense, while they let just about anyone enter, they do beef up the security and safety personnel a lot more than I have seen at any other race.

As a coach and triathlete I have always seen beginners entering races. And of course there's nothing wrong with that, in fact I encourage people  to challenge themselves. But setting appropriate goals is very important. Just as in life. Set achievable goals that will challenge your skills. When you reach them, you will reach happiness. No matter what the goals is. So a non-swimmer should NOT set for his or her goal to swim 1500 meters in a very difficult river without preparation. Even if preparation has been done and the person still is not able to complete the distance without difficulty, that person is not ready. As a coach I would not let any athlete enter a race and put their health and lives in danger I don't think they are able to. Be smart, pick a race you can complete. I guarantee you will have a better experience.

By the same token, the person who signs up for the race has to be aware of the demands of the event. Hot, cold, humid, choppy, wet, windy, currents, crowds, whatever the circumstances, each individual has to take responsibility for themselves to prepare for what may come that day. A triathlon club should also make sure their athletes are ready. Race organizers should make sure that people understand what is required of them to finish the race safely. Perhaps triathlon races (in general) do not communicate that well to the participants. But ultimately it is the person's individual responsibility. And this rule can be extended not only to those with little or no skill, but also to those who may have a pre-existing medical condition. And of course all the other parties involved should take their share of responsibility as well.

You have one life. Live responsibly.

Tibor Nemes
Owner at Trioptimal LLC
Director at Formula Tri Club

The Elemental Sport

Triathlon is the most elemental sport I can think of.

It includes the most important habitats the human race has evolved through: water and land. And it also involves the most amazing human invention: the bicycle. Both physical and mental evolution is represented in triathlon. No wonder you get hooked so quick.