DGTD!!

So, yesterday was a good day. It was a good training day. No, it was a damn good training day... a DGTD if you will. I will tell y'all about it shortly, but first here is the last mind trick!

5)Run: 

I am not a runner as I have said before. This is the hardest leg for me, and not just because it comes last. On the run, I do a combination of the above two tricks. I count my strides to keep my cadence high (I like it to be 90+) and I again imagine I am on TV and the intelligent-sounding British announcers are talking about what a bad-A I am... Again, this is just to keep me motivated and positive. 

The last, most important thing I do on the run is relax. Sam Hewson, who was an awesome swimmer and a great swim coach once told me to "relax" before a swim meet. I know it sounds like simple advice, but that day it really hit home. He didn't mean don't be nervous, because that is impossible, what he meant was physically relax. I tried it in the water that day, just racing without tensing up, not forcing it. Something that simple really made a difference in my racing. Since that day you'll always see me racing with relaxed shoulders, arms and hands, a slack jaw, and a smile.

In the morning I went to pick up my Kangen water and found a high school track to do some speed work. The main set was 6x400's on 2:30 3k pace, I held about 76-77 seconds, followed by 6x400's on 2:00 looking for a little closer to race pace, and I held 85's really easily. I don't know why 10 seconds makes such a difference?

Later in the afternoon I went to Washington Park again for some intervals on my bike. I did 4 rounds of 2 laps fast, holding over 22 MPH, and one lap easy. By the end, my legs were wrecked! Here is a map of the park... I will get a picture of it next time I go but this will have to do for now, click on it to enlarge.

After the intervals I pedaled down to DU's pool for a bit of a cool down and some sprints, just to keep my feel for the water up. It was such a good day because by the end of it I was completely exhausted and couldn't wait to get to bed.

I know I promised a recipe for today, but Libbie isn't here, which is bad for two reasons. First, I don't have her sweet camera to take pictures of the food, and second because she would be upset if I cooked and Sev and I ate it all without her. So, I will hold off on the food till this weekend. Until then, go for a run, its a perfect day for it! Follow the Pace Rabbit.

Bike Trick/Pace Rabbit Pics

Hey guys. So here is my mental trick for the bike. Again, its kinda silly, but I suppose you're used to that by now if you've been reading these...

4)Bike:

The main thing I have to do on a bike is stay positive and focused. This is especially crucial if you don't have a cyclometer on your racing bike, which I didn't for a while. What I always do is imagine that I am in an individual time trial in the Tour de France, and I picture how I would look on the TV, and what the commentators would be saying about me in their awesome British accents. "Sam Holmes is displaying his 'strodn'ry bike skills on the cou'se today" and "Hoames is really feeling the bike on this hiww..." Call me conceited, but it really helps keep my morale up and keeps me motivated and focused, which can be especially difficult on longer races. 

Here are a few pictures Libbie took that we are planning on sending to sponsors to sort of show what I am all about. Let me know what y'all think!

 It turned out a bit small, but you get the idea. Sev touched it up a bit to make me look more jacked.... wait a minute, he didn't do a very good job! I still look scrawny....

I really like this one. Taken at Cherry Creek State Park just before sunset. I wish you could get a better feel for the mountains in the background!

This one was taken at the Omaha Triathlon last year (2010) Is that lady scoping out my butt or is it just me?

I am just getting back into hard training this evening after about a day and a half of recovery workouts consisting of yoga and some swimming. Tonight I am going for a long run with a 15 minute threshold portion in the middle. The whole run will probably be about 75 minutes, and aside from the threshold work I will probably just be working on technique. A 40 minute 10k off of the bike in Omaha is just not acceptable, even though that was a slow course. (Yes, Brian, I did go as slow as a 40... I am sorry...)

Anyway I had better hop to it before it gets too late. Tomorrow I will post my last mental trick, as well as some pictures of me cooking. I have been wanting to post a recipe for a while now... any thoughts on what? Enjoy the rest of your Tuesday!

Go follow that Pace Rabbit!

Omaha Triathlon

Hey guys! Sorry it has been a few days, but with traveling and racing I got a little busy and didn't always have internet. Any way, before I post my next mental trick I would like to share a bit about the Omaha Triathlon which was yesterday. I apologize if this gets a little long, but I want you all to know what I am feeling during a typical race.

First of all, yes, I did win and yes, I did reset my own course record. I didn't realize how much pressure I had put on myself to do that until after I already had finished and suddenly didn't have the pressure anymore.

We arrived there early Sunday morning, around 5:20. It is weird setting up transition in the dark with only a few floodlights to guide your way. I had my favorite pre-race song on my ipod ("Jolene" by Zac Brown Band, it helps calm me down) and I was ready to go! The 39 and under men were in the second wave, so I started at 6:06 am. The water was gorgeously warm, so I didn't even have the restriction of a wetsuit. I loved the swim portion, passing people from the waves ahead of me like they are standing still and putting 4 minutes ahead of the field is always a blast! Coming back into the beach the sun was just starting to come up. It was absolutely gorgeous; pinks and purples and yellows just starting to warm the landscape. I don't know why, but I suddenly was reminded of my good friend David who passed away recently. I knew he was going to be there helping me all day, cheering me along just like he did back at UW, the only guy cheering for my mile.

Transition was easy with no wetsuit to remove, but I did drop my shades on the way out... I wasn't about to stop, I was racing! Fortunately I did find them later. Right at the start of the bike leg there was some dude doing the sprint race who tried to keep up with me on his bike which cost twice what mine did. Now you may know me as a docile guy, but for some reason that started a fire in me. My first thought was, "This guy thinks he can run with me?? The audacity!!" I do not know why, but I decided I would not let this happen. I made an example of him on the next hill, leaving him in the dust. Don't forget, I am a nice guy, unless you're trying to race me, then you're just competition. Anyway, the bike course was different from last year. This year the hills were much more rolling and less steep. It was like a roller coaster on my Cervélo, and I was having a blast! I kept trying to shout out to everyone I would come across. This is both to encourage the other athletes and to make myself feel better. It reminds me that it should be for fun even though it is ultimately a competition.
Being in completely uncontested first place I had a police escort the whole way. It probably looked funny, this big burly cop on a huge motorcycle chatting with a scrawny guy on a 15 pound piece of carbon fiber. But I digress once again, I expanded my lead on the bike by a little bit more, which as it turned out was all I needed.

Coming out of transition 2 was fun. At this point, everyone knew I was the lead Olympic distance guy, so they were cheering loudly. If you have ever done a race of any kind, you know how much it helps to have people cheering you on. The run was hard for me. First of all, it is a very slow course. A lot of sharp turns, narrow, uneven paths, and steep climbs. Second of all, I am not used to this flatland humidity. I was having a heck of a time sucking down this thick, damp oxygen, and sweating like... well, you can insert your own inappropriate simile here, I will keep it G-rated. Anyway, I ran as hard as I had to in order to win, which probably wasn't my best show of effort since I knew I had about 5 minutes on the field. But, a win is a win, and I am proud of myself, thankful for everyone's support, and ready to start working towards my next race.

I have to mention, I did see a rabbit on the run. I was really feeling the heat and the fatigue of the whole race, and he ran along side the road up ahead of me for a ways. I think he knew I needed a pace rabbit to chase.

I will post the next mental trick this evening sometime, as well as my workout for today's recovery. Thanks for checking this out everybody! Now get off the internet and go outside and play.

Swim mental trick

Aside from the compartmentalization I mentioned in my last post, here is another good mind trick for the swim leg of a triathlon. 

3)Swim:

Now you all probably know by now that my background is in swimming, but a pool is a heck of a lot different than open water. I still get panicky sometimes in races (you mean there's no black line to follow??!!) and it is very easy to lose focus. An easy trick I do that helps me focus and keeps me from that weird panicked feeling is counting strokes. I am not looking for anything exact since there is no way to judge, but counting my strokes keeps them consistent and steady. I set up a rhythm of stroke-breathe-stroke-breathe-stroke-sight. Setting up a rhythm like this will help you break the daunting swim down into bite-sized chunks. Best of luck!

Yesterday I went for a ride up in Evergreen. Started in Bergen Park and went up Juniper Pass (one of the passes from the Triple Bypass) and back. It was great to get out of the city for a while. I love riding in the mountains, the heat coming off of the pavement, the smells of earth and hot pine, and a silence so complete that the sound of wind through the pines seems deafening. Next time I go up, I will be sure to get some pics to post for you guys, but keep in mind, this kind of beauty does not want to be captured by camera, you've gotta see it firsthand to feel it!

That ride was about 30 miles, and with a 12 mile round trip to the pool I was just over 40 miles for the day. The swim was really solid, I am feeling very strong in the water lately. I descended a set of 4x200's free on 2:25, starting at 2:06 and got down to a 1:57, all the while below threshold heartrate, which is pretty solid for me right now.

Well today I begin to taper down in preparation for the Omaha Triathlon on Sunday. I am really excited about this race as it was my first win ever when I did it last year. Well thanks for reading everyone, I hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoy writing them.

Its too hot for a run... so go for a swim!

Transitions trick

The trick to a good race is compartmentalizing. On each individual leg of the race, it is crucial to be completely focused on that leg, not thinking about what is to come or what has already happened. Here is an example of a mind trick I use in transitions that helps with compartmentalizing.

2) Transitions;

Again, I use my imagination a lot on this one... but do remember I am a closet nerd. Basically I imagine that in transitions there are machines that change me from a swimmer to a cyclist to a runner. Sort of like in Iron Man, where the machines take off/put on the iron man suit for Robert Downey Jr. 

I know it sounds really weird but for me it really helps me focus on what I am doing. In the water I am a Chip Peterson, on the bike I am a Fabian Cancellara, and on the run I am Usain Bolt... (I know, he is a sprinter, but he is also awesome)... And I have these sweet Iron Man machines to help me through it all!

I had a really solid training day today. This morning I ran a 6 mile tempo run with 12 minutes at threshold in which I held sub-6 pace and felt pretty cruise-y. Then this afternoon I went to Washington Park with Libbie and Sev (my sister and her boyfriend/my roommates) for some interval work on the bike. 

I did 10 laps around the park, which are two miles each, and alternated easy and hard laps. The park is gorgeous, flat, and protected from the wind. Also, there are more attractive women running/walking/cycling around the path than I could shake a stick at... literally, I tried, the stick broke. But I digress, on the hot laps I held around 22-25 mph with a few sprints, and on the easy laps I tried to hold right at 18 mph. If you couldn't tell, I really liked this park!

Well today was hot and busy and I am hoping for another one just like it tomorrow! You stay classy, Denver, and follow that Pace Rabbit!

Mind Games

Hey guys! So obviously triathlon is a very physical sport, but there is also a huge mental aspect that often gets overlooked. It is crucial to prepare your mind for training and racing the same way you train your body.

As I was writing this, it got pretty long. As such, I am breaking it up into a 5-part series which will be posted one a day for the next 5 days. Here is my first set of tricks that I am sharing with you. Enjoy!

1) Turn concepts into concrete objects;
This one is fun for me. It helps me to focus on what I am doing and helps keep things in perspective. I know some of these are kinda cheesy, but keep in mind I was a nerdy kid who loved (and still love!) Star Wars and played with legos until I was 14. That's right, I made the decision between toys and girls a little later than most dudes. That being said, here are a few examples of my concrete-ified ideas and why I bother doing it.
-My Fast is a small black totem to which I must make daily sacrifices in sweat and lactic acid. (I got this idea from a car commercial) This is not a real object that I have... that would be weird... but thinking of "Fast" as an entity that I must work for really helps me to focus.
-My Comfort Zone is an invisible jump suit that I zip off and leave at home before threshold workouts. Doing this reminds me that I am not working out, I am training.
-My Swagger is a flat billed hat like rappers wear that I put on before a race. This is one of the few that is actually a real object. I will be feeling nervous before a race, and then I put that hat on and I feel as confident as Lil' Weezy.
-My Energy is a bonfire. If I am feeling sluggish or unmotivated, I honestly just picture the bonfire roaring, kicking out heat and smoke, and I can fake it like I have energy (a cup of coffee certainly doesn't hurt either :) ) Also, when I need to relax, I let it smolder, and everyone brings out the s'mores stuff.

Again, these are maybe kinda strange concepts, but they really work for me. I would recommend trying them out and see if you like it.

Yesterday was a recovery day for me, so I have nothing to report on the training front. For today, I have a long base run that I am going for, a 10-miler. I will try and keep my cadence high and mostly just focus on keeping my form good rather than going fast. Also, my sister is in photography school, so she and her boyfriend and I are going to Cherry Creek State Park to do a little photo shoot with some action shots, so I will get a little ride in, maybe 25-30 miles, and some open water swimming.

Until tomorrow, follow the Pace Rabbit, and don't forget to make a sacrifice to your Fast!

Laramie!

So, at some point I was going to have to give a shout out to my former city, Laramie, Wyoming. This is where I went to college, where I became a triathlete, and before that where I became a racer. I know that swimming for UW made me who I am today, and I will never forget my team, my coaches, my friends, the university or the city as a whole.

I still go up there once a week for an OEC class. This class will allow me to work as a ski patroller, a forest ranger, or pretty much any job in the outdoors. On my drive up yesterday, looking out at the clear blue skies, green grass, distant snowcaps and complete lack of other people, I couldn't help but think "why did I move away again?"

I unpacked and went for a bike ride on my Cervélo P2 (my time-trial/triathlon bike... pretty much my girlfriend, I call her Sara... she lights up my life!) I was planning on doing one of my old usual rides, a triangular loop called Soldier Springs Road, which is about 8 miles. I would do this 3 times, going moderate out, hard across, and easy back. Biking there and back it wound up being about 32 miles, just like I remembered! I held around 18-19 mph going out (into the wind), about 29 going across (cross-winds, maybe slightly pushing me along) and 27 easy going back (tailwind... yeah, it was that strong)

What I had forgotten was what its actually like to ride in Laramie. The roads are so cracked, you might as well be on the cobblestones in the Tour. The winds that sweep across that godforsaken plain are full of hatred and malevolence. I could literally be down in my aerobars, spit facing down, and my forearms would stay dry. I had forgotten how demoralizing a Laramie headwind is. I hear some of you saying "no way dude, I am a kiteboarder, winds love me!" Not these winds. They hate you. I now thought "oh yeah, this is why I moved!" That being said, there is a different kind of accomplished feeling that comes with completing-and surviving- a ride in Laramie.

I decided to have a recovery day in the pool, just a 1000 easy! But, I did have a great track workout! My friend Mac who is a runner for UW and her dad who is an amazing running coach gave me this workout. It was 2 times through 6x400's on 2:30, I only did it once through (sorry, Mac, I am trying not to push my fins too much until they are actually feet!). I got a little overexcited on the first one and went a 1:10, but then I was able to dial it back and hold consistent 1:14's for the rest of them! Given higher altitude, tired legs, and my first track workout for 3 weeks, I was pretty happy!

My next post will be about the mental aspect of triathlon and a few tricks I use to conquer my own mind. Until then, let the pace rabbit set the pace, get down in your aero's, and HAMMER IT!!

Happy training!