Alameda Runners – Get After It!

Moving up from international (Olympic) distance to half Ironman distance triathlons is a big leap.  It can sometimes mean going from 2 ½ to 3 hours for the event up to 6 to 7 hours for the event.

When you are training for a half Ironman or 70.3, you can do an international distance triathlon on Saturday and still have to go do a long training day on Sunday.   To maintain a happy family life, I had to make a deal with my wife that Saturdays would be my training day and Sunday would be my day for her.

The time commitment is huge.  I had to invest a lot of time and effort to finish in 6 ½ hours.  If I want to finish in 5 ½ hours, I would have to make another huge time investment.  Make sure your significant other and family understand the time and dedication required to successfully complete a 70.3 event.

Finishing in 6.5 hours was a big success for me.  I started serious training six months before the triathlon.  When I started training, I could do all of the events individually.  I could not do them back-to-back but I could do them.  I started out by building for three weeks and resting for one week.  The rest week would be about 50% of the total workout time of the training week.

Swimming – A typical week would entail of mornings swims four or five times a week varying between distance and speed work for a total of four swim miles per week.  I would occasionally add a weekend long swim in the bay to keep the open water swimming skills up.

Running – I would run at lunch from Monday to Thursday varying the distances from four-to-eight miles per day.  Some weeks, I would forgo the long run and do a faster tempo run instead.  On Saturdays, I would do a long run of 6-10 miles followed by a short bike ride of less than 50 miles.  Some weeks, I would do a half marathon with no bike ride after.

Cycling – I am a reluctant cyclist, so I always looked for an excuse to get out of riding but I forced myself to do a long bike ride on Saturdays.  I usually did 50-100 miles per week on the bike.  I never did speed work.  I just got on the thing and rode.

There is a lot to training for a half Ironman.  I woke up before 6:00 AM, almost every day of the week.  Some Saturdays, I would leave my house at 8:00 AM and get home at 8:00 PM.  During the week, I was in bed before 10:00 PM.

To learn how to train for a long triathlon, I read a lot of books on training and nutrition.  My physiology likes to stop eating while I am doing long distance training.  Poor nutrition on long training days has bad side effects.

A new report from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission indicates the City of Alameda has roads that need to be repaired after scoring a “fair” rating in 2010.

Our island was given a fair rating when it scored 66 out of 100 — the same rating given to the overall Bay Area — on the 2010 pavement condition index (PCI) charts, which indicated we have roads in need of repair.

The city normally does a decent job of fixing major road issues in Alameda, but there are plenty of roads and bike lanes that can provide a rather bumpy ride for us. At a time when local, regional, state, and national governments face budget issues and political scandals, some roads aren’t going to be changed any time soon.

As someone that has ridden a decent amount around the Bay Area, I still find Alameda’s roads suitable for leisurely rides — and hard training rides around the island. Instead of worrying about roads, I tend to be more concerned about the large number of reckless drivers not paying attention to pedestrians and cyclists.

Editors note:  Some roads are worse than others and some of the jogging trails are in rough shape.  I have no complaints because we have all of the trails with flowers and plants along the way.

Mike’s Followup:  Agreed about some of the jogging trails being in rough shape.  You should always pay attention when running or riding, but the trails help enforce this mentality.

The endurance sports community is a rather tight-knit group of athletes and select companies in a competitive market that still grows. Alameda Runners likes to interview the companies behind products you’re probably already familiar with, and have grown close to a few companies, but always want to reach out to new companies.

I’d like to give kudos to a few different companies that have helped here and over at TrailsEdge.

– Hydrapak – An East Bay company (we especially love the local people) with a focus on hydration storage products. Some initial thoughts and a basic review will be published sometime soon on a Hydrapak product, while we look to learn more about cleaner hydration.

– Specialized – A bike manufacturer giant well known among athletes, it’s great when companies like Specialized want to help. I appreciate when big companies take the time to answer our questions, because it’s obvious Specialized could focus on bigger interviews with publications that have significantly bigger followings. Here is the Specialized Twitter account – (Specialized Twitter)

– Icebreaker – I like when companies I’m not familiar with can step up and help contribute to the community. I’m not familiar with the company — but know three simple things:

1). Icebreaker uses Jam Media Collective for PR representation, and Jam has proven to be a solid PR firm.
2). Review upcoming, but from first glance after ripping open the package, Icebreaker is good quality stuff.
3). Be prepared to spend. Along with Icebreaker’s superior quality comes a higher price tag that will probably scare away many athletes.

– Honey Stinger. I work with GU and Clif on a frequent basis, but it’s nice to show other companies love whenever I can. I recently got in touch (after too long of a time) with the Colorado-based Honey Stinger company, and will have some questions answered for an upcoming series of stories. (Honey Stinger)

– Greenlight Apparel. We previously interviewed Greenlight and learned more about the company’s social efforts overseas. The East Bay-based company also is helping print a few custom tech shirts that we’ll be wearing out and about this summer.

The warmer weather and longer nights helps get more people active, and Alameda Runners hopes to keep introducing companies you may not have worked with. We’re going to mix in the athletic superpowers with smaller niche companies catering to certain outdoor markets.

It’s time to clean off your bike that has collected dust all winter, and get back into the swing of things now that we have warmer weather.

The City of Alameda has miles of amazing streets, bike lanes and trails, and more of you are getting out there, but there is still a major concern that must be addressed (as always). Bike safety is important but is unfortunately overlooked by many people riding on two wheels.

I see adults and kids alike — parents can’t teach children safe riding if they don’t know the laws — riding around Alameda in a dangerous manner.  Careless, speeding drivers on small roads mixed with reckless bike riders can lead to disaster that should be easily avoidable.

A recent post on Alameda Patch discusses the importance of bike safety classes in the SF East Bay. Besides wearing a helmet and bright colors, there is something else that is overlooked that is easy enough to help incorporate into your riding skillset.

“Even more simply said, it’s ‘be predictable and be visible,'” said Bonnie Wehmann, a local Bay Area bike advocacy expert. “If people narrow it down to being predictable and being visible that will be their best defense for avoiding crashes.”

The East Bay Bicycle Coalition and Bike Alameda typically handle the bike classes in the area.  The blog post published on Alameda Patch can be found here.

Just like we have before, Alameda Runners plans to continue preaching safety.  We love the outdoors.  We are fortunate enough to have people love us.  It is our responsibility to return to them safely.

Nutrition is absolutely important for athletes to consider when they’re exercising, adding the proper fuel can help give you the right push towards a new PR.

I recently wrote a story on TrailsEdge that goes into the basics of nutrition for athletes still trying to make sense of things. I’d like to expand on the topic of sports nutrition a bit while also offering some great reading material.

Rather than ramble about different things, hopefully providing a few links to outside sources will generate inspiration that can be used in your own personal workouts.

Nutrition is more than just what you eat and drink while exercising, and it’s easy to overlook. Most athletes carbo load and taper with great care, but ignore other general nutrition guidelines, so I included a few ideas on food choices as well.

Active.com has a list of “8 common mistakes” athletes make and “how to fix them” to ensure you’re properly fueled.

I usually prefer to stick with products aimed specifically at sports nutrition, but the “alternative carb sources” story published at Runner’s World is a good read.

A post on the Umass helps stimulate ideas related to basic post-race foods, “ABCs” of baked potatoes, and some basic food eating tips for people on the road. This marathon site lists the benefits of a ‘good’ diet, and what marathon runners should and shouldn’t eat.

The Tour of California begins from South Lake Tahoe on Sunday, and will feature a field of legitimate ProTour and elite continental riders wanting to leave their mark on the race.

Event organizers hoped a mid-May event would give riders the chance to hit higher elevations with better weather, though it looks like riders will have to wear their cold weather gear.

The race starts tomorrow with a planned 118-mile trip around Tahoe that could include a few inches of fresh snow.

Warmer weather during the week has given way to colder weather and the growing likelihood of a snow-covered stage to kick off the biggest cycling race in the United States. TOC stage 2 — which travels through Donner Pass — may also need to be changed due to snowy weather.

Event organizers do have backup plans in case stages need to be altered due to snow, and will keep monitoring the situation late into the night.

The Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority and North Lake Tahoe Resort Association have been responsible for sponsorship efforts that will have major local impact:

“The Amgen Tour of California is expected to provide one of greatest financial impacts to the Tahoe basin in years. Based on previous races, the annual economic impact to the state of California is estimated to be $100 million with Lake Tahoe organizers anticipating a local impact of $5 – 10 million resulting from 10 days of events leading up to the race start on May 15. For Lake Tahoe, hosting the tour is about telling the world that the area is a remarkable cycling destination.”

Since defending champion Mick Rogers is sidelined with illness, this race will be wide open for a few select potential GC contenders. HTC-Columbia plans to keep fighting for GC glory, even though Rogers won’t be at the race as he recovers.

Even with the Giro heating up in Italy, it’s time to shift focus to the TOC as riders fly across the Golden State.

Alameda Runners is an absolutely fun blog to operate, and I enjoy reaching out to companies, but I also love when we get e-mails and press releases. It can be difficult to pick topics to write about, but it becomes a lot easier when companies reach out to us.

Ted recently chatted with Rob Butner, XTERRA Dry Creek Trail Run co-director, about the XTERRA events and what they meant to athletes. Rob is a first time race director, while “co-director, Enrique Henriquez is the head coach of the Moreau Catholic High School cross country team. He has experience directing invitationals with attendance of over 1,000 runners.”

Although he’s serving as race director for the first time, he has raced XTERRA off-road triathlons for six years. As such, here’s a bit about XTERRA and what you can expect if you race in one of their events:

“XTERRA is a global leader in off-road adventure sports. With both an off-road triathlon and trail run series, they focus on uniting athletes of all levels with nature while promoting a healthy lifestyle.”

The XTERRA race at Garin Park (Hayward) is XTERRA’s newest effort to help bring its well known trail and outdoors events to Northern California. “We are definitely working with the XTERRA Trail Run Series to create a full XTERRA NorCal Trail Run Series. One has existed in the past, and we are trying to bring it back better than ever for 2012.”

The XTERRA events will feature GU and Gatorade products along with water and vocal spectators helping cheer athletes along. These events cater to both experienced trail runners and beginners alike, so don’t be afraid to hit the trails even if the courses do look intense.

If you’re looking for a trail event this summer, there are plenty of choices for you to consider. In addition to XTERRA events in Northern California, the SF Bay Area also has Brazen Racing, EnviroSports, Pacific Coast and other race companies focusing on playing outdoors.

The 2011 Xterra Dry Creek Trail Run takes place on June 4 from Garin Park in Hayward, with 21K and 6K running races available.

Now that I am training for more than five hours just about every Saturday, my nutritional needs have changed. I am all about carrying food that contains a lot of calories that is easily digestible. Many thanks to the nutritionists at Clif and GU for their patience and understanding in helping us with our nutritional needs. I am trying to write an article on nutrition but I keep complicating things and not making any progress. I am making progress in a lot of areas which I will share with you now.

I know that my body can only process (or convert to glycogen) between 200-400 calories per hour while it is burning between 500-1500 calories per hour. I also know that my consumes calories glycogen stores very quickly when I am working hard. The trick is to train your body to burn calories from fat on these long workouts. To do this, you must slow down. The trainers say slow to 70-75% of your max heart rate. I don’t know what that is, so I say slow to 60-80% of max heart rate.

What has been working for me is packing the calories into my sports drink. My current favorite is Clif Lemonade flavor electrolyte drink. I make it about 50% stronger than the instructions say.

I have two 28 ounce bottles on my bike. Each bottle has 6 scoops of electrolyte powder. That gives me close to 500 calories per bottle. I also like to eat a clif bar, marathon bar or energy gel while riding the bike or running.

My stomach is more forgiving on the bike than when I am out running. Practice consuming the calories on the long,  slow workout days.

The better you get at staying well nourished, the lower your chances of crashing when you over do it. Bonking is a bad thing, you want to avoid it, if possible. I have a couple of baskets of training goodies. Variety is best. I favor Clif for a variety of reasons, such as they try to stay as natural as possible, they care about their customers, the stuff tastes good enough to eat and they are local to me.

GU is another small company that is local to me with quality products and they care about their customers too. Of course the top product in my picture is a Snickers Marathon bar but it does taste good and it is loaded with good calories.

Just like many of you, I have a choice between wearing my regular prescription eyeglasses or wearing normal sunglasses. I usually run wearing my sunglasses and will go for long bike rides with my prescription glasses (higher speeds, longer distances) to ensure I don’t end up in too much trouble.

Lately, I have become interested in picking up a pair of prescription sunglasses that will be able to protect my eyes and allow me to see normally. I remember it wasn’t too long ago when prescription sunglasses either were much too for average customers.

More manufacturers now offer “RX” sunglasses that are custom designed for athletes.  Cyclist-friendly Rudy Project has its “Rx-able sunglasses”, while Oakley has a strong catalog of Authentic Prescription Lenses. Ray-Ban also has some models that are Rx-compatible, with the trend only to continue this year.

Alameda Runners recently caught up with sunglasses maker Revo (full interview to be posted soon), but the company had this to say about its prescription sunglasses effort:

“Revo Rx is an important part of the Revo line. Revo has a state-of-the-art, in-house optical lab to be able to provide and fill prescriptions of unsurpassed quality and exceptional clarity. Since every athlete’s eyes are different, the need for custom eye-wear is crucial and without that customization, it can lead to eye fatigue and headaches. Almost every model in Revo’s collection can be customized for each person’s prescription, whether that is single-vision or progressive lenses.”

If you’re an athlete looking for prescription sunglasses, there are a growing number of choices for you to check out. Your local sunglasses store will probably have prescription sunglasses models you can try on. Options are available, so you just have to browse around and see what’s best for you.

I wound up with a CamelBak Groove water bottle for review a few weeks ago.  I am not a fan of CamelBak because I prefer using water bottles and spilling water all over the place and I don’t like having things in my mouth.  I usually have 2 or 3 water bottles on my desk at a time as I drink 2-6 bottles of water a day while at work.

The CamelBak is my most used water bottle.  I don’t know why I use it the most.  I just do.  It is probably because of the removable mouth piece that I can leave out all day and remove it for washing when I refill the bottle.

My young son Teddy’s thoughts on his bottle:

I bought a CamelBak water bottle at a good price. I liked it; the design was good and it’s good quality.  It is has a thick plastic, but it is light as well. The CamelBak bottle has a mouth piece that is disconnect able so you can clean.

It has a measuring tool on the bottle just like a good water bottle should.  The straw connected to the lid is a great part of the bottle is you don’t like to flip the bottle over; like the mouth piece it can also be disconnected. Overall, it is a great bottle and I recommend it…

It is always good to find running buddies to keep you company while out running.  My new best friend Shem from Alibris kept me company the other day while I was out on a recovery run.  We pushed each other’s pace for the whole run.  We did 4.4 miles at a 7:57 pace.  That is a pace we are both happy with.

While I was admiring my CamelBak bottle at work the other day, a coworker came into my office to complain about leg pain.  He explained his symptoms and told me his training routine.  I had him sit down and I put my finger on the exact spot of his pain.  He has the classic center of the calf pain from over exertion by doing too much too fast.

It is fun to go out and push yourself to your limits.  I do it all of the time.  Take it easy and build up your mileage and speed slowly.  Only go fast on distances that you have already done.  The older you get, the longer it takes to recover.  You can still workout while recovering; you just can’t push yourself too hard while you are recovering.  Don’t forget your rest days.