Blog? What Blog?

Hello Blogosphere,

It has been quite some time since we have had a chance to converse.

How have you been? Same ole, same ole? Good to hear.

Well, things have been busy in my world. Yep, that is why you have been so thoroughly neglected.

Sorry, shit happens.

Okay, since most of you are three or more glasses of wine deep lets get caught up bullet-point style:

• Ironman Mont-Tremblant was a freaking blast. My race sort of sucked but had a great time with all my buddies. Kevin and Jon crushed the course and my friend Dave became an Ironman. Mandy had us all laughing the entire time. AND Annie, Jenn (Dave's wife), Beth and Jennie all had wonderful vacations. The Mont-Tremblant Village is incredible. I've travel all over this Continent and cannot think of a better place to host an Ironman. Lodging, dining, entertainment, and the race all with in walking distance or a short Gondola Ride. I have a gazillion pictures that are going to be my next post (We call that a "teaser" in the blogger biz - yep, still got it).

• IMMT - The Race
• Swim - 1:15:16 - Beautiful lake with excellent visibility. The start was much less violent when compared to Ironman Texas. At least the men were less violent, you women are freaking hardcore at an IM swim start. Every time I got smashed and saw the offender of violent swats it was a SHE. Anyway, other then a few bitch slaps (see what I did there) the swim was rather uneventful.
• T1 - 7:50 - This was one long run from the lake to the changing tent. Like 600m long. 
• Bike - 6:10:49 - Not my best ride. I woke up that morning and my stomach was not good. It wasn't nerves either, something was just not right and I visited the bathroom a few times to many before the race started. This carried over to the bike course. Stop #1 was about 30mi in and it was a very quick stop, no damage done (to me, the porto was wrecked). Stop #2 was around the 60mi mark and this one was not so good. I lost over 10mins in the porto - not good times.  After this stop I was behind on nutrition and it was a battle to get it back so I had to slow down. On the bright side this was probably the best bike course I have ever had the privilege to ride upon. Lots of climbing (between 6500-7000ft) but the road conditions were pristine and fast - well done Canada, well done indeed!
• T2 - 4:19 - A little quicker here as the bike transition area was right next to the tent. Legs felt pretty good and my stomach had settle down. It was warm so I changed into a singlet and took off. Hindsight being 20/20 the singlet was a bad decision.
• Run - 4:22:39 - The first mile started off very well. I saw Annie and Jenn and tossed some high fives. This was at the top of a pretty good climb and when I started down my stomach started grumbling. Luckily a porto was at the bottom of the hill and this is where I spent the next 7 minutes. the good news is that when I was done I was my last porto visit and the stomach felt better. The bad news was that sitting for 7 minutes had allowed my legs to cramp up pretty good. The next three miles really sucked as I tried to work out the tightness in my quads and hamstrings by alternating between a slow jog and an even slower shuffle. By about mile six the legs started to felt better and I settled in to a decent pace. However, with all the fluids "lost" I knew it was going to be a longer than expected run and by about mile 18 I felt the effects and had to really slow down. And to make matters worse it started to pour down rain and got really cold and I had wished I kept on the long sleeve Brooks shirt (stupid singlet). The final 10k was tough fighting the cold, rain, and bonk but I just kept moving forward. It was awesome seeing Kevin, Jon and Dave numerous times on the run course. Not having the chance to run much of the course it was a lot harder than expected. More hill training was needed. After crossing the finish line and hearing Mike Reilly tell me I was an Ironman I vowed that this would be the last time.
• Final Time - 12:00:53
• Despite a difficult race I would highly recommend Ironman Mont-Tremblant. It is an absolutely beautiful venue on an absolutely beautiful course. 

• Sorry for the abbreviated race report but I really just wanted to get it done. It has been the proverbial noose around my blogging neck. Promise to make up for it with the pictures.

• Now the real reason I have been away from the internets for so long: I WAS SICK. Really, Really sick.

• A few days after returning from Quebec I had a low grade fever (99-100*) and really thought nothing of it. By the following weekend that fever was holding steady at 103* and I was in bad shape. After a 4hr visit to the Emergency Room, a couple of bags of saline, and a few blood vials drawn it was determined I had something called the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and Mononucleosis. Long story short: It was miserable. My spleen was enlarged and my immune system was under a vicious attack. The doctors told me the EBV could linger for months. It was amazing that I was fit enough to do an Ironman and a mere 10 days later I could not even walk up stairs unassisted. These symptoms lasted for about 3.5 weeks.

• We are now close to 2 months since I have been sick and am happy to report a clean bill of health. I received the final blood test results last Friday and the Doctor told me I was, "Disgustingly Healthy". 

• I have been running around 15mi and riding 50-60mi per week. It is hard to hold a 9min pace on the run but for some reason I feel great riding. My overall fitness sucks but I have been down before and will build it back up again.

• Over much deliberation I have decided to not run the Boston Marathon in April. The reasons are many but the main one is that I am not physically ready to train for a marathon right now. I could always go and just run slow and treat it as a victory lap but I am just not a victory lap type of guy. Seems to me the Boston Marathon is not going anywhere so I can qualify again.

• According to Internet Rumors, I have become rather plump in my absence. I am here to let you all know that these rumors are completely false and unfounded. Sort of. My race weight is around 155lbs. After I got over being sick I shot up to the mid-160s. However, this was rather short lived as Annie and I have since begun to see a nutritionist and have been following his plan. My weight as of this morning was 149.6lbs and I have lost 4% BodyFat in just 21 days. I am going to be a lean, mean, racing machine.

• He has us eating TONS of veggies. My wheat consumption is almost non-existent. If you want to know why read "Wheat Belly".  Even more amazing is that my energy level is through the roof since we have changed our dining habits.

• Cooking is kind of enjoyable.

• A big Thank You to all of my internet buddies who checked in to see why I was not writing - it is nice to be missed!

• Good Luck to Jason who is racing IMAZ this weekend - go out and crush it dude!

• You know how above you read something about me "vowing" to never race an Ironman again? Yeah that didn't last very long - Ironman Florida is a mere 352 days away!

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Ironman Mont-Tremblant Nutrition and Predicted Times

A much needed vacation with an Ironman thrown in...

The above picture is Mont-Tremblant, where we will be staying for 7 glorious nights and racing on Sunday the 19th. This is the inaugural year for Ironman Mont-Tremblant, which is located about 90 minutes North of Montreal and is one of the premier Ski Resorts in North America.

I get asked quite often about nutrition for Ironman and racing in general. If you have been a follower of this blog you know that I have been a guinea pig for just about every darn nutritional product in the market. Some work, some do not. Over the years I have found that First Endurance products work the best due to the higher amounts of both calories and electrolytes available in the Liquid Shots and EFS Drink. 

Notice I didn't say they, "works the best FOR ME"? First Endurance products are made specifically for Endurance Athletes and are tailored to our nutritional needs. Other products have been designed to provide calories or electrolytes and then as the endurance athlete segment of the market has grown so has the marketing efforts of these other products. Yes, I am looking at you Hammer and GU Energy!

And when I use the term "Best" it does not mean "awesome" or "epic" or even "#awesomeblossom". It means that it keeps you from bonking on raceday and is both field tested and clinically proven to get you across the finish line. 

**Stepping down from soapbox**

Okay here is the nutrition breakdown:

Breakfast: Two bagels with nutella, 2 cups of black coffe, and a 24 ounce bottle of Grape EFS Drink (200calories). This will happen around 430am.

PreRace: Some water and a swig of Liquid Shots (100cals). Also, 3 PreRace Caps - this is a kick to the ass caffeine boost.

Swim: A bunch of lake water due to poor swim mechanics (calories vary depending on number of minnows ingested).

Bike: This is the leg of the race that is most important for nutrition. Under-nourishment will lead to a bonk and a death march of a marathon. Over-nourishment will lead to a bloated belly and a death march of a marathon. Got to get this part right folks!

I will be carrying only two-24oz bottles, one in a torpedo mount and the other on the downtube. To start the downtube bottle will have 300cals of EFS Drink and the torpedo will have 200cals of EFS Drink. I will drink the torpedo bottle of EFS Drink within the first 10mins on the bike. This will help replenish the calories lost during the swim. After that bottle is gone it will be tossed and water will be grabbed at the bottle hand-ups. 

This is my eating plan over the course of the bike ride:

Every :20mins on each hour - Big Swig of EFS Drink from Downtube bottle - Total 300 cals.

Every :40mins on each hour - Big Swig of Mocha Liquid Shots - 2 flasks (400cals ea) @ 800cals.

Every :60mins on each hour - Entire Honey Stinger Waffle - 5 Waffles (160cals ea) @ 800cals.

* My Garmin 310 is set to beep every 20mins to remind me to eat.

** Water is used to wash down the above food - which will be carried on the torpedo mount.

Additional Calories, if needed (will be based on heat/temp and level of exertion used climbing) - PowerBar Perform (on course drink) @ 200cals per bottle. Will carry on down tube once EFS Drink is gone. 

If you add up all the calories on the bike my base calories will be 1900 or 316/hr. When adding in the Perform and initial EFS Drink the total is 2500cals or 416/hr.  During training I have needed over 400cals per hour but the majority of my training has been on 100* days and my sweat rate will be much less in the 50-60* day in Quebec. This means I am expecting to be closer to the 316 number than the 416 number, but am still prepared if more is needed (ie: if it is freezing and I am shivering on the bike - this burns some cals).

Run: I will live off the course for the run. No water belts or hand helds. At each station I will take a swig of Perform and grab a Honey Stinger (on course gel) every half our or so. Once I hit the wall around mile 17-18 I will look for the elixir of life known as flat coca-cola and chase it with the oh-so-glorious chicken broth. With as much heat training as I have been doing my body is not going to know how to react to the cooler weather so decisions will have to be made on course, which is awesome since a buffet is offered ever 1600 or so meters during an Ironman marathon.

Time Goals 

Swim: My swim training has been rather erratic over the course of my 24-week plan. Between the flu, lightening storms shutting down the pool, work, the joy of sleeping past 4am, heat exhaustion, and my overall general apathy towards swimming - I'd rate my swim fitness as average. But it is a wetsuit swim ...

Predicted time - 1:15 to 1:20 (If I can hang on Kevin's feet for the first 1000m then sub-1:10).

T1 - 5:00 (This is a guess, I have no idea how long a run it is from the water to the tent?)

Bike: This course is a two-loop monster. I am expecting to blow up around mile 80 or so as we hit the big climbs for the second time. Here is the profile:

Yes, you're reading it right, it says 12%

The good news is I have been riding a TON of hills on my Computrainer, at Cold Springs, and even in Austin. But I have never been on a course like this before. I hope the fitness I have built holds up but the truth of the matter is I just do not know? My Tri Bike is equipped with a 50/34 Compact Crank and an 11-28 Cassette that will help save the legs as I can spin up the hills. The real time gains are going to be made on the downhills and I hope I have the guts to stay aero and bomb these suckers. Ever since my crash last February I have been a little gun shy bombing hills.

Predicted Time - 5:45 to 6:00

T2 - 5:00

Run: The course is a 2-loop out and back that appears to take you past some beautiful scenery with tons of cheering spectators. I ran a 3:06 stand-alone marathon a mere 5 months ago. The last 3 months have been spent running in the oppressive Houston humidity and because of this I have been having trouble gauging my run fitness as they all feel extremely labored. I've done some shorter runs indoors on the treadmill and have felt extremely strong but then the next run is outside and it feels like I am running with a hippo sitting on my chest. 

Best guess - really beats the shit out of me??? The answer probably depends on how badly I crush myself on the bike.

Predicted Time - 4:00 

Overall Time - 11:30-11:45

Stalking Information:

Ironmanlive.com (click Ironman Mont-Tremblant link)

My Individual Tracking Link

Jeffrey Irvin - #507

Twitter: @JeffIrvin

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Random Thoughts ...

• After yesterday's swim workout I officially entered taper for Ironman Mont-Tremblant which will be happening in 13 days. This means that my mind is pretty much mush so anything written below should be taken with a grain of salt.

• I cannot wait to get to Mont-Tremblant for the vacation. We are going to be there from Wednesday, August 15th to Wednesday, August 22nd. The weather has been ridiculously uncomfortable over the last two months and I am drained. The 72* temps of Quebec are going to be the best thing ever.

• This weekend Jason from CookTrainEatRace.com made the 4 hour drive to Houston from Dallas for what we deemed a mini-training camp. He has a nice write-up about our weekend on his blog (here) and if you want to hear all the details head on over and check it out. We had a most excellent weekend of training and hysterically timed sarcastic one liners (my wife may not agree). 

• So how has Ironman training been going? Overall it has been okay. Aside from last week when I crashed and burned from Heat Exhaustion I have been able to get in every single one of my long runs and long rides over the 24-week training plan. I have missed or modified a few of the weekday rides and runs and have missed quite a few swims. The heat has been the reason for most of my missed workouts as I have found recovery to be very difficult in these extreme temps. The reason it has only been "Okay" is that I am tired. Really tired. And my swim fitness is pretty average BUT my bike and run fitness is much improved over last year going into Ironman Texas.

• Based on this experience it has been determined that as long as we live in South East Texas this will be the last time I train for a late summer Ironman. The Fall and Spring races are going to have to be the focus as training in the winter time is more ideal than sloshing through the summer again.

• Jon and Kevin both finished up the heart of IMMT training this weekend as well and based on their blog posts the three of us are all feeling exactly the same - like we were hit by trucks!

• The Pittsburgh Pirates are 15-games over .500 (61-46) with an 11-game homestand starting tonight. They are 2nd in the Central behind Cincy and first in the Wild Card Race. It has been 19-years since this team has had a winning record and that many years of being irrelevant finds me sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the inevitable collapse. A successful homestand would do a lot to alleviate this sinking feeling - Let Go Bucs!

PNC - Best Ballpark in MLB

• A few weeks ago I made the trip out to Lakeway, Texas to visit blogger Legend Bob Shuler (aka: Mr. OneHourIronman). This is a suburb of Austin butted up against Lake Travis and Bob has recently just moved to the area from Tampa. Bob is training for IMNYC (JerseyMan) which is this weekend. We got in a great ride along the beautiful and hilly Lake Travis Dam area. This place is the Triathlon Mecca - maybe only Boulder is a better place to train! And it is absolutely beautiful - if Annie and I ever move out of Houston this will be where we go. I've known Bob for a few years now and it was a blast catching up with him and getting to see his new home and community. Thanks for being such a gracious host Bob and kick some ass at JerseyMan!

The man, the myth, the legend - IronBob!

Some of the scenic rolling terrain around Lake Travis

• This area is so awesome that Jason and me are talking about putting together a Tri Training/Beer Drinking Camp weekend in February. Jason has found a big 'ole rental house along the shores of Lake Travis that would be the perfect place for a bunch of dudes to s/b/r until our legs fall off.  More details to follow ...

• NEW RACE WHEELS ALERT! Last week I received the much anticipate Flo Cycling Carbon Clincher Wheelset. Pictured below is the Flo 60 Front with the Flo 90 Rear Wheelset. They are the Black Stealth logos. I rode them hard this weekend and they are glorious. Smooth ride and they handle like a dream. If you are in the market for a high quality wheelset but do not want to bust up the bank account check out Flo Cycling.

Flo 60/90 Combo on Kestrel 4000 SL

• For all you cycling purist (and followers of The Rules) this picture is an unfinished view as the bike was going through some cosmetic changes. The bar end tape is now black and the white cable has since been replaced with black and tucked into the tube. The saddle is still white as it matches the paint scheme and seat stay but I am leaning towards getting a black one. I also never wear sleeveless jerseys unless I am racing a Triathlon. 

• Yes, I race Ironman with that amount of drop. The Kestrel 4000 is an extremely comfortable long course frame and because of this I am able to easily "get low" on the bars with great ease.

• I have yet to make up my mind if the saddle bag will make the trip to Quebec? In the past I have been able to tuck a spare tube, 2-CO2s, and a tire lever up under the Adamo saddle with the aid of a some duct tape. BUT ... I have been able to modify the above pictured saddle bag to nicely fit behind the saddle and it is at such an angle that I'd assume that drag would be pretty much negligible. What says you aero-wienies, is it okay or should the spare be taped under the saddle?

• Next post is going to be about my Ironman nutrition plan. This will be a short post (-:

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

I Fought the Heat and the Heat Won ...

Back in the mid-60's Bobby Fuller had a song titled, I Fought the Law and the Law Won. 


We have all heard it a million times. It has probably been covered by God knows how many other bands. Catchy little tune but the message from this song is that The Law is an immovable force. If you try to beat The Law you will lose. Respect must be given or you will pay the consequences.

Flashback to Saturday morning: I was slouched on the pavement of a Starbucks parking lot, pouring cold water over my head, and flashing in and out of consciousness and this song came to mind.

Except my barely coherent brain had replaced the word, "Law" with "Heat"?

Maybe my brain was a little more coherent then it is getting credit for because the slightly less then clever word swap was rather accurate. Right down to the part that gets to the heart of the original lyrics - Respect ... or lack thereof.

Flashback even a little further on Saturday morning. I am three weeks out from Ironman Mont-Tremblant.   Anyone who has ever trained for an Ironman knows this is the last BIG training weekend and then taper starts. My schedule had on tap a 3hr run in the morning and a 4500M swim to follow. Then on Sunday a 6hr 30m ride with a 1hr brick run. I was ready and looking forward to the weekend.

So Saturday morning rolls around and I meet my buddy Dave at the above mentioned Starbucks parking lot at 4:30am sharp. We have three different loops worked out that will allow us to pass our cars twice to refill our bottles. It was perfectly planned right up until the point that it was not.

The plan was to start early to Beat the Heat. For those new to the blog I live in a Northern Suburb of Houston, Texas. What this means is that the term Beat the Heat is something us Houstonians say but it has no real meaning because no such thing really exists here. It is ALWAYS smoldering hot during the summer (But our winters are glorious).

Anyway, it was already 88* and the humidity was at 96% and the dew point was freaking soaking wet.

We started our first loop in the dark and decided to keep a slow pace, to Outsmart the Heat, another phrase we say that is not possible to accomplish (well, unless a treadmill and A/C is brought into the equation). My sweat rate was incredibly high on the first loop but this was to be expected and I prepared. I normally run with a handheld bottle filled with two scoops of EFS Drink. The EFS Drink has close to 1100mg of Electrolytes which is perfect for replenishing a depleted body on a humid morning. However, I figured since it was SO HOT I would use THREE scoops of EFS drink per bottle, that is like a 3rd more electrolytes - genius, I know. This also meant I had 300 calories per bottle and no solid nutrition would be needed (in hindsight, not so genius).

First loop complete. Grab a second EFS bottle. Start second loop.

On the second loop Dave and I decide it is a good idea to do a couple of reps up and down our infamous 5-story parking garage. By the second rep everything started to feel very labored. The legs felt fine but my head and body felt bad. Real bad.

We then headed over the West Lake Houston Bridge and picked up a little breeze, it felt good and gave me a second wind. But then as soon as we got off the bridge and the breeze was blocked I felt horrible. I had pretty much quit sweating, my head was throbbing, and all of a sudden I had some severe side cramps. I could no longer stomach the EFS drink as the three scoops made it too sweet. Dave gave me what little he had left off his water.

At this point were were about 13mi into the run and about a mile out from the cars and I knew I was in some serious trouble.

We made it back and I grabbed some ice water from the cooler and started pouring it over my head and I knew at this point I was suffering from heat exhaustion and needed to get in a cold shower. My legs decided they no longer wanted to work and I ended up slouched over half in my trunk (with the cooler) and half out. Somehow this ended up slouched on the pavement within a few minutes?

Flash Forward to today: I am recovering from a pretty bad bout of Heat Exhaustion. If you click the link and look at the symptoms I experienced every singe one of them and believe me when I tell you it was not pleasant. The rest of Saturday was spent with a 102* fever alternating between rounds of chills and sweats. Sunday was spent on the couch with a discomfort level close to what it would be like if Mike Tyson had a 12-round boxing match with your internal organs. And today was back at work but probably only operating at around 50%.

The good news is that each day has got substantially better from the last and I am hopeful to be back doing some light training by Wednesday.

The morale of the story is to be careful out there. I've lived in Houston for 8 summers and have trained for triathlon through the last four. Due to all this time training I became comfortable and let my guard down. My ego and lack of preparation had led me to believe that a battle with the heat was mine for the taking. The Heat Won ...

Oh, By-the-way, Bobby Fuller was from SE Texas. Coincidence? I think not.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

Where the Heck Have You Been?

It has been a little over 5 weeks since this blog has had an update and I am happy to report all is well ... sort of.

Thanks to everyone who has emailed to check in on me. The fact of the matter is that between the demands of my job and Ironman training the blog has been put on the back burner (and I really prefer the Twitter - @jeffirvin). That will change soon as Ironman Mont-Tremblant is a mere three weeks away.

So what has been going on?

Buffalo Springs 70.3

The beautiful Buffalo Springs Lake

My buddy and training partner, Dave, made the 550mi drive up to Lubbock, TX to race the Half Ironman.  The drive up was long, but we had a blast as we decided on the scenic route and passed through a ton of tiny, historic Texas towns. We even managed to stop at three hole-in-the-wall BBQ joints that were all excellent!

The funny part is that we drove about 10hrs Northwest and were still over 2hrs away from another state. If I still lived in Columbia, MD and started driving the same distance it would have put me in Portland, Maine. Texas is huge!

**Note to Self:  Consult Google Maps before signing up for next race **

It was a Sunday race so we were able to get out on the course for a quick s/b/r on Saturday mid-morning. It was around 100* but felt so much better than what 100* is in Houston. The lack of soul-sucking humidity in Lubbock really makes a huge difference.

On to the race - My goal for the race was to go pretty hard on the swim and bike and then back off just a touch on the run as to not crush the legs too bad and be ready to resume IM training on Tuesday. This has worked for me in the past so I figured why change?

The swim was a running/jogging start from a beach and you would maneuver around a counter-clockwise circle and come out of the water a few hundred yards down. The swim started out well and it had a lot less contact from my age group than I am used to in 70.3 starts.

The swim was going excellent until the last turn buoy heading to the exit. I ended up swimming a good distance off to the right and I was not alone! One of the volunteers who was on a kayak had on a fluorescent orange vest which happened to be the same color as the buoy - I was swimming right at him. I eventually realized it was a dude on a kayak and made the adjustment.  After the race Dave says, "What was up with the kayak guy with the orange vest, thought he was the turn buoy?" We laughed it off. Good race for Dave, he ended up with a PR and feels ready for IMMT!

Anyway, I got out of the water in 36mins. Which is about 90 seconds behind my PR but was about right for my current swim fitness.

The ride was pretty uneventful until I got to the turn around at the top of the spiral staircase and noticed it felt like I was pedaling through mud. Looked back and my rear tire was flat. I jumped off the bike right by the aid station and had a new tube on within a few minutes. This was my first in-race flat and I was happy at how quickly I got it changed.

Back down the spiral staircase and continuing on with the ride - until mile 47. Another flat on the rear wheel. I quickly pulled off along the road and it was at this point the realization that I only carry one spare tube on race day hit. Ouch. I pulled the rear wheel off and searched the inside for whatever was causing the flats without any luck. Within a few minutes a motorcycle with officials pulled up and radioed my location to a bike tech. And I waited. And waited. And waited ....

About 30mins later the bike tech pulled up. He quickly examined the wheel and could not find any damage and put on another tube. I thanked him and jumped on the bike and ....pfffffffsssttttt. Flat #3.

My day was done. The options were to walk the bike in 10miles or catch a ride back with the bike mechanic. The ride back seemed the prudent choice, considering another flat was imminent. I later found out after returning home when my LBS looked at the wheel that the rim was damaged and had a small piece of metal protruding. Good news is they were able to fix the rim the bad new is that I took my first ever DNF. 


The hard part was that I had a decent bike split going (avg 21mph) and my legs felt ready for a good run, but I will never know. If you race long enough you are eventually going to have a mechanical.


I was initially disappointed but quickly got over it and filed it away in my mental folder titled - Shit Happens. 



Over the next few days I am going to post a few more updates and talk about IM training, riding in Austin with a blogger legend, sexy new race wheels (Why? see above), and how I learned the hard way that heat exhaustion is a motherF&*^er and I am not invincible.

Stay tuned ...

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff