Tri To Change

It's the final countdown!

2010-09-10T10:36:00.004-04:00

Europe definitely said it best! Two days from now I'll be at the finish line of the Mighty Hamptons olympic triathlon. In 48 hours I will hopefully have completed something I've been working towards for the past 8+ months. I've gone over this day in my head dozens of times, but I imagine it will feel like nothing I could have thought. I will be racing twice as long as I have in my short triathlon career and I'm sure there will be a huge range of emotion I will go through during the race.

I feel very prepared for the race. My training hasn't been as frequent the past few weeks, but I think that will be good because my legs will be fully rested. The two weeks leading up to the race has been very similar to past races where I've felt strong even with fewer training sessions under my belt. I've also driven the course so I know what to expect and where I need to take it easy and where to push myself. I feel very confident with my race plan, and I feel confident that if something goes wrong I will be able to react positively and move past the obstacle.

All that's left to do is stretch and hydrate as much as possible over the next two days! I'll post a race report after the race.

Rain Rain Go Away

2010-08-25T12:04:00.001-04:00

...And don't ever come back! The weather over the past 4 days on Long Island has not been great. It's been cool and overcast since Sunday. I don't mind the cooler temperatures, in fact it's a nice break from the heat, but the rain has not helped one bit. I haven't been on my bike since last Friday! With less than 3 weeks until the race this isn't good. I've also only been in open water once this week, having to move my long swim into the pool. Doing 80 laps in the pool is not fun! The weather has also brought my spirits down and training has been a lot harder this week. This is just one of the many obstacles triathletes must face and I need to just power through it and not let it affect me. The weather should be clearing up by tomorrow and hopefully it will help raise my energy levels because I'm right in the thick of training and I can't afford to miss too many sessions.

Smith Point Race Report

2010-08-11T22:28:00.003-04:00

Swim: My swim could not have gone any better. The swim started out in the water which made things better because it wasn't a mad sprint from the beach. I found myself at the front of the starting line because my friend Louie was there and I started getting a little nervous when I looked behind me and dozens of people were lining up. But I figured why not I'll just go hard to start and find some open water. Which is exactly what I did heading over to the right of the course so I could stay away from the pack. This was the best decision I could have made because I had nice clean water the entire swim and I only bumped into people right at the start. I swam at my pace and kept myself calm throughout the swim. Making the last turn and heading towards the swim exit I saw people getting up and walking in from 20 yards out, but I kept going right until the end and then got up to high knee out of the water. I felt great heading into transition and quickly got out of my wetsuit, into my bike shoes and headed for the bike exit.

Bike: The bike course overall was nice and flat with a slight incline going over and coming back on the bridge and a few short but steep inclines out on the course. I was able to get into a groove right away and keep a high pace. My legs felt great and my mind felt great, I knew I would be able to power through the course at high speeds. A little before the halfway point I passed Louie who had a few minutes on me. This was the same thing that happened when we raced in June and he was able to quickly catch me on the run, but I was going to do everything I could to prevent that this time.

Run: I headed into transition and was out in 40 seconds onto the 5k run course. I felt decent at the start of the run and knew I had to give my legs some time to get going. Unfortunately I left my watch at home so I wasn't too sure how fast or slow my pace was. But I hit the halfway point and Louie hadn't passed me so I knew I was keeping up a pretty good pace. I still felt strong but with a little more than a mile left Louie passed me. I headed over the bridge and down the other side prepared to turn left into the parking lot for the finish but realized the course kept going to a different entrance of the parking lot. This was a brain buster because I was ready to start picking it up for the finish line only to realize I still had a good distance left. But I pushed through and made my way to the finishing straight. With around 100 meters to go someone passed me and as I quickly glanced down at the back of his leg I saw 23 (his age) and I wasn't going to let someone from my age group pass me right at the end. I was able to somehow find a final kick in my legs and sprinted as hard as I could to pass him right before the line. (I found out right after the finish as we congratulated each other that it actually said 33 on his leg!) My run time ended up being 4:30 minutes faster than my last race which was a huge success!

In my short triathlon career, this was easily my best race. I went hard and fast throughout and didn't swim, bike, or run into any problems. Louie beat me by over 5 minutes when we raced in June and this weekend he only beat me by 42 seconds. My 5k time was 10x better than last time, and my bike and swim were solid and consistent. I can also tell there is still a lot of room for improvement for next year. Now it's time to increase my training over the next 5 weeks to prepare for my first olympic race in September!

Smith Point Triathlon: 500 meters/12.4 miles/3.1 miles

Swim: 7:21

T1: 1:19

Bike: 39:11

T2: 0:40

Run: 25:12

Total Time: 1:13:40

Race Week

2010-08-05T22:20:00.002-04:00

This coming Sunday, August 8th, I'm racing in the Smith Point Sprint Triathlon here on Long Island. Since this race is only 5 weeks out from my 'A' race in September I've decided not to taper this week and to train through the race. My reasoning is two-fold. Smith Point is not my main focus at this point in the season and I've had a really good two weeks of training. My taper usually consists of taking the 2-3 days prior to the race off and that would have some negative effects on this training block before the olympic race in September. At the same time, I will still be racing this weekend and taking it very seriously. I've seen huge improvements in my running over the past 2 weeks and I think I can shave a few minutes off my 5k. I also have an open water race swim under my belt and I know how to handle it better now. Even though I'm training through this race, I'm also trying to be smart in my preparation for the race and I have taken down the quantity of my training to a point where it will still help for September but not hurt me for this weekend.

Race report to come...

One Year

2010-08-01T22:05:00.003-04:00

One year ago today my life was changed by triathlon. I started training in January 2009 but my first race wasn't until August 1st; a pool-sprint triathlon with a 400m swim, 6 mile bike, and 2 mile run. While the race was short it was an amazing first experience for me and I probably learned more from that race - about triathlon and about myself - than I will from any other race for the rest of my life. I've learned so much throughout these past 12 months and I will continue to learn, but there is nothing and will never be anything like my first race. After that race I was immediately hooked on triathlon and hooked on pushing myself to levels that I didn't think I could reach. Triathlon has taught me to be more self aware, and more importantly that if I work hard enough I can do anything I want to. My hope is that someday I can return the favor and help other people see the amazing benefits triathlon can provide.

I feel the need...the need for speed!

2010-07-30T18:21:00.004-04:00

My past two days of training were focused on speed. Last night I did a swim speed workout and today I was at the track for the first time in a while. I'm going to try and consistently add these workouts into my training between now and the end of the season. I've done speed workouts in the past but very sporadically. I feel like I'm at the point in my training where I can start to worry about speed. Since I'm mostly doing sprint races I know I have the necessary endurance for this distance, but there is room to lower my time. Even though my 'A' race, the Mighty Hamptons olympic, is 6 weeks away, and my first olympic, I think the inclusion of these workouts will help me overall.

Here's what each workout consisted of...

Swim (yards)

Warm up: 3x100 (swim/kick/pull)

Main Set: 4x400 pyramid (25/50/75/100/75/50/25) with 10 sec. RI between reps and 2-3 min RI between sets

Sprints: 10x25 with 10 sec. RI

Run (meters)

Warm up: 1x1600 @ easy pace

Main Set: 10x400 - 200 @ 8:00/pace, 200 recovery

Sprints: 10x50 (yards)

2x100 (yards)

Portland to San Francisco

2010-07-30T10:54:00.003-04:00

This is only about 2 weeks late but I figured I should post about it. I definitely need to get my act together and get back into blogging. The last week of the trip was a catch 22. Everywhere we went was beautiful but I was starting to get a little burned out from traveling and needed a break that I didn't have time for. The highlight of the trip from Portland to San Fran was the Redwood Forests. I had seen plenty of pictures of Redwoods but it's impossible to appreciate their size unless you see them up close and personal. A huge portion of the Northern California coast is covered with Redwoods so we stopped at a handful of places to walk on the trails and see these behemoths. At one point we drove along a road called The Avenue of The Giants, a road surrounded by redwoods, and this led us to The Drive-Thru Tree, an old redwood that was cut out to fit a car through it. Even though it was a tourist trap it was still cool to drive a car through a tree. The drive through Napa Valley to San Fran was very windy and curvy, so much that I started felling sick. But once we got into the valley and drove through the wineries it was beautiful. I was reminded a lot of the four months I spent in Florence.

San Francisco was a beautiful city, and it was the first place on the west coast I really could have pictured myself living in...for the most part. It reminded me a lot of Boston and New York, just with a lot of hills! You hear about the fog in San Francisco but much like the redwoods, you need to be there to fully experience it. When the fog rolls in it covers the entire city within a matter of a few minutes. At the end of the trip on our way to the airport you could see the fog coming over the mountains into the valleys like someone was pouring it out of a pitcher. We did a lot of the touristy things around the city like going to Alcatraz, riding the cable cars, driving down Lombard Street, and eating at Fisherman's Wharf. We also headed out of the city down to the Monterrey peninsula and drove along the 17-mile Drive through Pebble Beach. After Monterrey we had dinner with our cousins at their home in Menlo Park, which seemed like a really nice suburb of the city. After being in the city for only an hour or so it's easy to see that San Fran is a very active, fit city. I imagine it's filled with triathletes who love climbing hills and swimming in cold water! I had a great time on the trip and I can't wait to go back and explore the rest of the west coast, but I was happy to be home and get back into training!

Seattle to Portland

2010-07-12T11:40:00.001-04:00

A week into our vacation so far and we've made our way down from Seattle to Portland. With stops along the way on the Olympic peninsula we've seen some amazing sites. Mount Rainier was beautiful and surreal at the same time. Being from the east coast the tallest mountain I've ever seen is Mt. Washington which is a little over 5000 ft. Mt. Rainier is over 14000! This was the one day we had bad weather so by the time we got to the visitor center about a mile up visibility was around 20-30 feet and we couldn't see the summit. But anywhere you go in Seattle you can see the mountain and it's really cool to see it in the background of the city skyline. On the Olympic peninsula we drove through the Olympic national park and had some great views of Mount Baker and breathtaking views of the Olympic mountain range. We were staying at the lodge on Lake Quinault which is situated in the Lake Quinault rain forest, and we also took a tour around the forest. Our next stop was Portland which offered great views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Saint Helens and seems like a pretty cool town.

Overall I'm really loving the west coast so far. It is a little weird though to be outside at 10pm and it's still light out. Unfortunately I haven't be able to run at all. I twisted my ankle in Seattle and it was sore for a few days. But it's feeling better now and maybe I'll get a run or two in when we get to San Francisco!

Road Trip!!!!

2010-07-03T23:58:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow morning I'm heading out to Seattle with my twin and our parents for a 2 week graduation vacation! Over those 2 weeks we'll be road tripping down to San Francisco stopping at a bunch of places along the way. It's unfortunate that I'll be missing full training for 2 weeks but I'm going to try and go for a run a couple times a week. It should be a lot of fun and a great experience running in new towns and cities. If all goes well I will try and update a few times about the different stops along the way and maybe post some pictures!

Runner's High

2010-07-01T16:15:00.001-04:00

It's amazing how quickly a few rough training days can be reversed by one great session. Yesterday my brother and I went out for a bike ride. He just started riding about a month ago and has an old school Peugot bike. Since he played lacrosse in college he has the legs to last for a good amount of time and can handle hills very well, but still has to work on keeping it going once getting over the top of a hill. Since he has an old bike and it doesn't have as many gears as mine does he can't crank the speed up on downhills or flats as well as his legs can handle, so I had to go a little slower at times. But the route we went on was fairly hilly, with a couple big ones and I definitely gave my legs a great workout. When we got back, he decided he wanted to try and go for a run to test himself. So we laced up the running shoes and went out for 1.5 miles. I was shocked at how well both of us ran! I was shocked that he wanted to run at all! He hates running and thinks triathletes are crazy. But we kept up around a 7:42 minute pace the whole time, and our legs felt great! I personally haven't run that fast in a long time. In fact, two days ago, as I posted, I ran a horrible 5k and was around a 9:00 minute pace, so even though yesterday's run was only 1.5 miles, I ran it very fast and after riding for just over an hour. I felt so great that 20 minutes after we finished the run I went and played tennis for an hour! My legs still felt great and I was hitting the ball extremely well. I've had runner's high before, but haven't felt it since last fall and I forgot how awesome it is! I felt invincible...like I could do an Ironman! Well…maybe not.

Bonk!

2010-06-29T17:28:00.001-04:00

I woke up yesterday and my legs were still sore from Sundays run. The plan was to go for a ride during the day, see how my legs felt and go for a run early evening when it wasn't so hot. Things did not go according to plan however. I planned my bike route to be almost entirely flat, which isn't so easy to do on the north shore of Long Island. I wanted to push myself and see how I could do on a flat course. Unfortunately I went out way to hard and bonked about 35 minutes in, with half of the route still to go. I thought I've bonked in the past, but after yesterday I realize that was my first true bonk. I could barely move my legs and was moving like a snail. Every time I tried to pick it up there was nothing in my tank to give. Eating an energy gel was out of the question, my stomach was bothering me and I wasn't sure I would be able to keep it down. Without being able to take in any calories I knew I would have to suck it up and slowly make my way home. Those last 8 miles or so were miserable, but I only have myself to blame. My legs just weren't ready for that kind of effort. And boy were my legs sore when I got home. Ice baths usually help me, but yesterday it didn't help at all. Sometimes it's more important to train smart instead of training hard. Fortunately a great nights sleep helps get rid of lactic acid and my legs felt a whole lot better this morning! On to the next training session!

Finito!

2010-06-28T19:07:00.001-04:00

This past week was my final week of my undergrad years at Northeastern University. I had two projects to finish up and had no time to train. Next sunday I'm going out west with my family for two weeks and wont be able to do much more than a few runs while I'm out there, so this week it's very crucial that I have a solid week of training. I went for a run yesterday; my first one in probably two weeks. It wasn't great, but it probably could have been worse. I'm definitely feeling some soreness in my legs this morning though. I ran just over a 5k in 28 minutes. My goal is to train a little heavier on the run over the next 6 weeks before my next sprint race. At the peak of my run training last fall I was around a 25 min. 5k pace and doing that consistently. So I hope that I can get back to that level or better by August 8th.

SHARK! Oh wait...it's just seaweed

2010-06-20T12:37:00.001-04:00

I went for an open water swim yesterday with my uncle Jimmy who has been competing in triathlons for a long time. This was my first "real" open water swim outside of my race two weeks ago. I went once last year, freaked out and only swam like 200 yards. In April, my uncle and I went out but it was so cold we just used it as the first open water day of the year and only swam a few hundred yards. Today however, we ended up swimming for about 30 minutes and my best guess for distance is somewhere around 1400 meters. It was great to get this swim under my belt. I remained calm throughout the swim and was able to get into a good flow. I did get a little freaked once though when I hit a piece of seaweed and stopped quickly before I realized what it was. I'm looking forward to the rest of the summer and swimming in the open water once or twice a week!

Hy-Vee Elite Cup

2010-06-15T22:32:00.005-04:00

Huge shout out to the organizers of the Hy-vee Elite Cup and the ITU for having the race this past weekend streaming live on the internet. After watching two World Cups my day ended perfectly with catching the last 5K of the women's race and the entire men's race. Both events were highlighted by dominating runs. Emma Snowsill came from behind the lead group of six and went straight past them to run the last few miles on her own. Her run split was over a minute faster than the next woman and she made sure everyone knew she was back from her injury and ready for the season ahead. In the men's race Tim Don threw the hammer down right from the start of the run. He separated himself from the pack early and put a huge gap between him and second place and never let up. It was crazy how fast he was running and every step he took you could seen the pain in his face and knew he was giving everything he had to win the $200,000 prize for the winner. Now I'm no triathlon expert but I know a lot of the heavy hitters and I had never heard of Tim Don before so I looked up on Wikipedia. Two years ago at the Beijing Olympics Tim Don had a DNF being pulled out of the race by officials for being too far behind on the bike. Two years later he beat a field full of the big time players; Jan Fredeno, Simon Whitfield, Matty Reed, Jarrod Shoemaker, Bevan Docherty and Courtney Atkinson to name a few. Tim Don and Emma Snowsill absolutely killed it during this race and it was a huge inspiration to watch!

Back In The Saddle

2010-06-13T21:00:00.001-04:00

Today was my first day of training after the race last weekend. I felt good enough to start training after only 1 day of rest but had a busy week and my next race isn't for 6 weeks so I figured it'd be ok to take a week off. For the next few weeks unfortunately, I won't actually be back in the saddle on a regular basis. I have 3 weeks of school left and had to leave my bike at home after the race. So my plan is to focus on the run for the time being since it's my biggest weakness.

The weather wasn't so great in Boston today so I went to the gym for a run. To say the least, things did not go so well. My right shin, which I've had some problems with in the past, swelled up and was causing me so much pain I had to stop after 15 minutes. This pain has always been around on and off for over a year. I think it may be shin splints but I'm not entirely sure. All I know is it hurts like hell and really affects my run training. I wasn't happy with just 15 minutes of exercise so I got onto the spin bike, but that didn't go so well either. Mentally, I couldn't handle riding on a stationary inside and got off after 10 minutes. Overall not a great day of training. But tomorrow is a new day and hopefully things will go better!

Race Photos!

2010-06-08T13:39:00.010-04:00

Exiting the swim

Bike dismount

Finish line

Finish line again

Discussing the race with Warren

Great South Bay Triathlon

2010-06-07T18:48:00.016-04:00

Sunday morning I woke up at 4am to ready my body and mind for the Great South Bay Triathlon. This was my first race with an open water swim and also the longest race I've competed in, so having my mind strong was the most important thing. I knew I was physically capable of handling the distances but mentally I was less sure.

I got to the race site around 5:45AM set up my transition area, got bodymarked, and started stretching for the race. At 6:45 I was in the water waiting for the race to start. I was in the first wave along with over 150 other guys, wading at our knees to start. Once the gun went off everyone headed for that first buoy. I swam the first 100 meters or so with my head out of the water trying to find some open space, but it was no where to be found. The entire 750 meter swim I was constantly surrounded by other swimmers; getting hit with flailing arms, kicks, and the occasional collision. This was probably one of the most uncomfortable feelings I've ever had. It was hard for me to get into any sort of rhythm and the conditions didn't help. The water was pretty choppy and I got plenty mouthfuls of water along the way. Going slightly off course after making the last right turn I headed into shore and ran into transition slowly getting my wetsuit to my waist. After a few minutes in transition I head out onto the bike course. I knew the bike leg would be my best one and I would have to go full throttle for the entire 11 miles. I felt great the entire time and kept my speed around 20mph, which was what I hoped for. The only problems I had on the bike were a bad water bottle transfer to my cage, causing me to stop and get it and when I ate an energy gel around mile 8. After taking the third gulp of gel I gagged and it almost came right back up! Thankfully I was able to keep it down and finish the bike course. Once out of transition and onto the run I realized how hot it was out. My legs felt fairly capable of running a solid 5k but I knew if I pushed it too hard my stomach wouldn't be able to handle it. So I tried being smart about it and kept a slower pace than hoped for. When I hit the water station at the half way point I stopped and took full advantage, dumping 4 cups of water over me to cool down and drinking 2 or 3. Once I hit the last half mile or so I picked up my pace a little bit and was able to muster up enough strength to sprint the last 100 yards into the finish line.

Happy to be done, I recieved my finisher's medal and immediately went for the food and water stations to get some energy back. Overall I was extremely happy about my race. Although the swim was mentally tough, I finished it faster than I thought, telling me that with better conditions and more open water experience I can go even faster. The bike was as close to perfect as I could have gotten, and while my 5k was very slow, I was still able to finish over 6 minutes ahead of my goal. I'll take a few days of from training and get right back into it to get ready for the rest of the season. With races tentatively scheduled for July 31, August 8 and 28, September 12 and October 12 and 24, I've got a long season ahead of me!

Great South Bay Triathlon: 750 meters/11 miles/3.1 miles

Swim: 13:39

T1: 3:09

Bike: 35:12

T2: 1:31

Run: 29:50

Total Time: 1:23:19

Visualization

2010-06-05T11:37:00.008-04:00

Tomorrow (Sunday) morning I will compete in The Great South Bay Triahlon, my first sprint distance triathlon. I have previously done two super-sprint races with pool swims, but this race has an open water swim. For the past few days I have been going through the race over and over in my head and visualizing my tactics. I can see myself running into the water and navigating the swim course then running into transition for the bike. I see the plan I need to take on the bike to ensure I have enough legs for the run and I see my feet pounding the pavement and taking me to the finish line. As long as I can keep my nerves, stay calm and run the race I know I'm capable of, I'll be able to handle any problems that come my way.

I will update tomorrow after the race to let you know how I do!

Welcome to Tri To Change!

2010-06-02T16:30:00.002-04:00

Hello Blogosphere!

My name is Marc and I became involved in the wonderful sport of triathlon in January 2009. I was looking to challenge myself physically and triathlon was something I had wanted to try for a few years. I played soccer and lacrosse from when I was a kid through high school, but left it behind me when I went to college in 2006. For two and a half years I didn't really do anything athletic and started missing sports. My uncle has done triathlons since I was a kid so I've always known about the sport and in 2007 I watched the NBC broadcast of the Ford Ironman World Championships and was inspired by Brian Boyle to try the sport. A little over a year later in January 2009 I started training. I swam, ran and biked as much as possible over the next 7 months and participated in my first super-sprint triathlon in August 2009. I was immediately hooked and competed in two duathlons during the fall of 2009, one in April 2010 and another super-sprint triathlon in April 2010.

This season, my main race is the Mighty Hamptons Olympic Triathlon in September 2010. I've created this blog to chronicle the lead up to this race and share what I go through in preparation. I've decided to do this race in support of an amazing company called BULA. Better Understanding of Life in Africa, is a Long Island based non-profit who strives for providing a better life for children in Africa. They have started a new project of building a school in Uganda and I will be raising money to contribute to this project. If you would like to donate you can click here.

Triathlon is a wonderful sport and through it we all can help those who are less priviledged and TRI TO CHANGE the world!