I've had alot of good feed back over the years because of this blog. A couple of clubs have even asked to repost the article in their monthy journals. The biggest question I get is... What have you done since finishing the Ironman? Well... here's the answer.
After IMC2007 I took some time to enjoy my freedom from training to catch up with friends and family. I didn't quit traing, I just didn't let training come first when there were other options. Astrid was still motivated to continue with Ironman, so I became her support crew. I still signed up for some races, but I must admit that I started to obtain a bit of an ego for having finished an Ironman. I had signed up for 2 Half Iron Distance races in 2008 (Oliver & Great White North) and I knew I still needed to train for them. But I let my ego falsely lead me to believe that a Half Iron Distance race wasn't worth taking seriously. When Oliver rolled around, I had gained back a fair amount of weight (not too bad, but definately not race ready) and I had barely put in the training distances. The end result was a pathetic race, my worst yet, and the closest I've ever come to quiting. I was baddly dropped on the bike and my running was terrible.
My wife destroyed me. She had stayed focused on the next ironman goal, while I had stayed focused on the next TV show, and I paid the price. I refocused my efforts to get ready for GWN and managed to salvage my race season with a decent result there, though Astrid still crushed me. Astrid went on the finish IMC 2008 with an amazing 12:13:15. Her time the previous year was 13:09:22. She was almost an hour faster, and it wasn't problem free either. If things had gone smoothly, she probably could have gone sub 12. She had crushed my previous time of 12:51:18. I wasn't jealous. I was extremely proud of her, but I was also very curious to see if I could do something similar.
Unfortunately, where Astrid had been able to capitalize on the fitness she had built in 2007 before her 2008 season, I was not in Ironman shape at the end of 2008 and didn't want to sign up again until I was already in great shape and able to make the most of it. A buddy of mine, Todd Houston, had also started taking an interest in Triathlon at that time. He was thinking he'd like to tackle IMC one day and wanted to join me for some training. I agreed to train with him and that our goal was to complete IMC2010. Thus, I had 2009 to get my ass back in shape, and 2010 to see what I could do with it. There was only one small factor complicating things...
Astrid and I wanted a baby.
Originally, our plan was to try for a child after IMC2007, but Astrid really wanted another Ironman shot and so we waited until after IMC2008 to start trying. In early 2009, we found out that we were expecting. Now you might think that this was going to end our triathlon career, but Astrid and I had already commited to continue with the triathlon lifestyle, even post kids, because we knew it was a healthy lifestyle and one we'd want our kids to see us doing. It was just going to mean that we couldn't both do an Ironman in the same year. Thus 2010 was still going to be my next shot at Ironman, and a test for Ironman life with kids.
After the 2008 season I decided to start using a nutritionist. I had a goal to change the way I eat in 2009 and hopefully be a healthier eater. I knew that I might not be able to put in the same training hours I did in
2007, but if I could improve my diet, I might not need to. Astrid was also interested in using a nutritionist and we decided to use Jason Hagen with Fit Metabolism. Jason's goals for me were very aggressive. He figured I could lose 50lbs in 8 months, which would drop me below my Ironman weight by almost 30lbs. I didn't get quite as low as that, but by summertime I was in the best racing shape of my life and lighter than I ever had been. I had PBs in almost every race I did. I was even close to qualifying for Clearwater at Ironman Calgary 70.3 at the begining of August. I was right where I wanted to be going into an Ironman year and Todd Houston and I went to Penticton to sign up for IMC2010.
That was the end of the Aug in 2009. Now, ideally, I would start on the Ironman training and build on the success I had in 2009, but with the impending arrival of our child, which was due Sept 30th, I was a little distracted to say the least. I also stopped using Jason at that point. He was fantastic, but I wanted to see if I could stick with my meal plans without having to be accountable to anyone other than myself.
Greta Isobel Kalmet Arcuri was born on Oct 10th, 2009. It had been a rough pregnancy and delivery for Astrid. I had alot of vacation time saved up and was able to take most Mondays and Fridays off for the rest of the year to help Astrid at home. Unfortunately, my training practically disappeared during this time and I ate poorly(I'd call it sympathetic pregnancy cravings, but it was really a convenient excuse to eat crap). Needless to say, I lost alot of my fitness and gained alot of weight.
Greta is definately one of the best things that ever happened to me, but having an infant in the house made training alot harder than I anticipated. With only one working parent, I dropped alot of the training programs I had been involved with in the past and didn't sign up for any training camps. I also didn't want to deprive Astrid of her own love for training and signed her up for Oliver in June as a training goal to help her lose the baby weight (a goal of hers). This meant I had to share the available training time. Astrid was good about trying to encourage me to get out training, but the reality was that it just wasn't feasable. I accepted that I wasn't going to be able to train as hard as I would have prefered, but I figured if I could focus on my nutrition, I could still lose alot of weight and more than compensate for the lost training volume.
I had an additional goal for 2010. Become a better runner. Running has always been my weakness and I had tried over the years to improve, but never really got better results. In the fall of 2009 I read a book that heavily influenced me... Born to Run, by Chris McDougal. The author really spoke to me. He sounded like he shared my problems and the theories he described sounded well thought out. For those unfamiliar with the book, it has been adopted by many as the barefoot running bible. It's a history of endurance running mixed with science and human evolution inside an interesting quest to find the fastest runners in the world. After reading the book, I quickly bought a pair of Newtons and Vibram 5 Fingers and set off to change my running style. I really had nothing to lose. I was a terrible runner with a slow cadence and little efficiency. Barefoot style running(I say "style" because I'm never truely barefoot) definately helped me. It was an adjustment at first and I suffered from sore achillies for the first few months while my calves adjusted, but soon I was able to run up to an hour at a time, with the vibrams
on, or a couple of hours, with the Newtons, with no problems. Things seemed to work well enough because by the time May hit I was able to run the Vancouver Half Marathon in 1:58:47, a feat I was amazed to accomplish. 21.1km with a pace of 5:38min/km. For the first time in my life, I felt like a runner. I also broke another milestone this summer when I placed in my category at the UCTC Sprint distance race this year. Yes, sprint distance can be seen as triathlon for beginners, and I definately had alot more experience over my competitors, but it gave me some good confidence going into the big training months of June and July. I did have a few knee issues in May while riding, but I had Grant Molyneux (Vitalize) take a look at my set up and make some adjustments that helped considerably.
Astrid completed Oliver in early June. I was very proud of her and excited to have my own training to focus on. I was able to get in a pre-ride of the IMC course(pain free) that weekend as well. Little did I know it would end up being my longest ride of the year. I was looking forward to July and August when I'd be on parental leave and, in theory, able to put in some significant training volume. My long rides and runs were improving, and I competed in the Wasa Lake Oly Tri that month. The race went well, but I was disappointed in my bike performance. I did the same race the previous year, and definately suffered by comparison. I wrote it off as a bad day and tried to focus on my training.
I was looking forward to July. Not just because of the training, or the leave, but because we were going to spend it in Italy. Astrid's family had rented a Villa outside of Venice for her entire family. Astrid and I had been to Italy numerous times before, so this was an opportuniy to live in Italy as opposed to seeing Italy. I was also excited about the training possibilities there. The only thing I wasn't prepared fo
r was the insane heat. Europe was suffering through an incredible heatwave the entire time I was there. Most days were in the high 30s and quite humid, which really limited how long you could train for. I brought all my gear, including my bike, and managed to get in some great rides (including L'Alpe D'Huez during the Tour de France), but I could never ride for more than 2 or 3 hours without being completely drained. Runs were limited to earlier morning jogs, and whether it was from the heat or some other reason, I started suffering from leg cramps. My calf felt like it was going to tear from time to time, and rather than risk an injury so close to IMC, I forced myself to take it easy and hoped to recover.
When we got back, I started seeing a sports therapist right away about my legs. The cramping was getting worse and I was supposed to do Ironman Calgary 70.3 the following weekend. I managed to complete the race, but I was forced to take it easy on the run. I honestly felt like my body was breaking down. This was the worst time to be suffering from injuries. Ironman was only 4 weeks away and my training volume was about half of what it should be. I continued to see the sports therapist a few more times for massage and accupuncture but my legs always felt like they were going to seize up in the evenings.
I still managed to get in some decent training in August, even with my new position as a full time stay-at-home-dad. Ironically, constantly looking after Greta is alot more exercise than I would have thought. I actually lost a fair amount of weight in August and ended up being slightly less than my weight was in 2007. There was definately a bit of fear related to the lack of training I had done. Based on my training logs, I had put in approximately half the effort in 2010 that I did in 2007, but I was starting with a much better base so perhaps the results would be as bad. The longest ride I had done was 200km in 2007, 160km in 2010. I did the Vancouver Marathon in 2007. The longest run I had done this year was 25km, but I was running faster. It would have to be enough. And with that, I set off for Penticton once again.
After IMC2007 I took some time to enjoy my freedom from training to catch up with friends and family. I didn't quit traing, I just didn't let training come first when there were other options. Astrid was still motivated to continue with Ironman, so I became her support crew. I still signed up for some races, but I must admit that I started to obtain a bit of an ego for having finished an Ironman. I had signed up for 2 Half Iron Distance races in 2008 (Oliver & Great White North) and I knew I still needed to train for them. But I let my ego falsely lead me to believe that a Half Iron Distance race wasn't worth taking seriously. When Oliver rolled around, I had gained back a fair amount of weight (not too bad, but definately not race ready) and I had barely put in the training distances. The end result was a pathetic race, my worst yet, and the closest I've ever come to quiting. I was baddly dropped on the bike and my running was terrible.
My wife destroyed me. She had stayed focused on the next ironman goal, while I had stayed focused on the next TV show, and I paid the price. I refocused my efforts to get ready for GWN and managed to salvage my race season with a decent result there, though Astrid still crushed me. Astrid went on the finish IMC 2008 with an amazing 12:13:15. Her time the previous year was 13:09:22. She was almost an hour faster, and it wasn't problem free either. If things had gone smoothly, she probably could have gone sub 12. She had crushed my previous time of 12:51:18. I wasn't jealous. I was extremely proud of her, but I was also very curious to see if I could do something similar.Unfortunately, where Astrid had been able to capitalize on the fitness she had built in 2007 before her 2008 season, I was not in Ironman shape at the end of 2008 and didn't want to sign up again until I was already in great shape and able to make the most of it. A buddy of mine, Todd Houston, had also started taking an interest in Triathlon at that time. He was thinking he'd like to tackle IMC one day and wanted to join me for some training. I agreed to train with him and that our goal was to complete IMC2010. Thus, I had 2009 to get my ass back in shape, and 2010 to see what I could do with it. There was only one small factor complicating things...
Astrid and I wanted a baby.
Originally, our plan was to try for a child after IMC2007, but Astrid really wanted another Ironman shot and so we waited until after IMC2008 to start trying. In early 2009, we found out that we were expecting. Now you might think that this was going to end our triathlon career, but Astrid and I had already commited to continue with the triathlon lifestyle, even post kids, because we knew it was a healthy lifestyle and one we'd want our kids to see us doing. It was just going to mean that we couldn't both do an Ironman in the same year. Thus 2010 was still going to be my next shot at Ironman, and a test for Ironman life with kids.
After the 2008 season I decided to start using a nutritionist. I had a goal to change the way I eat in 2009 and hopefully be a healthier eater. I knew that I might not be able to put in the same training hours I did in
2007, but if I could improve my diet, I might not need to. Astrid was also interested in using a nutritionist and we decided to use Jason Hagen with Fit Metabolism. Jason's goals for me were very aggressive. He figured I could lose 50lbs in 8 months, which would drop me below my Ironman weight by almost 30lbs. I didn't get quite as low as that, but by summertime I was in the best racing shape of my life and lighter than I ever had been. I had PBs in almost every race I did. I was even close to qualifying for Clearwater at Ironman Calgary 70.3 at the begining of August. I was right where I wanted to be going into an Ironman year and Todd Houston and I went to Penticton to sign up for IMC2010.That was the end of the Aug in 2009. Now, ideally, I would start on the Ironman training and build on the success I had in 2009, but with the impending arrival of our child, which was due Sept 30th, I was a little distracted to say the least. I also stopped using Jason at that point. He was fantastic, but I wanted to see if I could stick with my meal plans without having to be accountable to anyone other than myself.
Greta Isobel Kalmet Arcuri was born on Oct 10th, 2009. It had been a rough pregnancy and delivery for Astrid. I had alot of vacation time saved up and was able to take most Mondays and Fridays off for the rest of the year to help Astrid at home. Unfortunately, my training practically disappeared during this time and I ate poorly(I'd call it sympathetic pregnancy cravings, but it was really a convenient excuse to eat crap). Needless to say, I lost alot of my fitness and gained alot of weight.Greta is definately one of the best things that ever happened to me, but having an infant in the house made training alot harder than I anticipated. With only one working parent, I dropped alot of the training programs I had been involved with in the past and didn't sign up for any training camps. I also didn't want to deprive Astrid of her own love for training and signed her up for Oliver in June as a training goal to help her lose the baby weight (a goal of hers). This meant I had to share the available training time. Astrid was good about trying to encourage me to get out training, but the reality was that it just wasn't feasable. I accepted that I wasn't going to be able to train as hard as I would have prefered, but I figured if I could focus on my nutrition, I could still lose alot of weight and more than compensate for the lost training volume.
I had an additional goal for 2010. Become a better runner. Running has always been my weakness and I had tried over the years to improve, but never really got better results. In the fall of 2009 I read a book that heavily influenced me... Born to Run, by Chris McDougal. The author really spoke to me. He sounded like he shared my problems and the theories he described sounded well thought out. For those unfamiliar with the book, it has been adopted by many as the barefoot running bible. It's a history of endurance running mixed with science and human evolution inside an interesting quest to find the fastest runners in the world. After reading the book, I quickly bought a pair of Newtons and Vibram 5 Fingers and set off to change my running style. I really had nothing to lose. I was a terrible runner with a slow cadence and little efficiency. Barefoot style running(I say "style" because I'm never truely barefoot) definately helped me. It was an adjustment at first and I suffered from sore achillies for the first few months while my calves adjusted, but soon I was able to run up to an hour at a time, with the vibrams
on, or a couple of hours, with the Newtons, with no problems. Things seemed to work well enough because by the time May hit I was able to run the Vancouver Half Marathon in 1:58:47, a feat I was amazed to accomplish. 21.1km with a pace of 5:38min/km. For the first time in my life, I felt like a runner. I also broke another milestone this summer when I placed in my category at the UCTC Sprint distance race this year. Yes, sprint distance can be seen as triathlon for beginners, and I definately had alot more experience over my competitors, but it gave me some good confidence going into the big training months of June and July. I did have a few knee issues in May while riding, but I had Grant Molyneux (Vitalize) take a look at my set up and make some adjustments that helped considerably.Astrid completed Oliver in early June. I was very proud of her and excited to have my own training to focus on. I was able to get in a pre-ride of the IMC course(pain free) that weekend as well. Little did I know it would end up being my longest ride of the year. I was looking forward to July and August when I'd be on parental leave and, in theory, able to put in some significant training volume. My long rides and runs were improving, and I competed in the Wasa Lake Oly Tri that month. The race went well, but I was disappointed in my bike performance. I did the same race the previous year, and definately suffered by comparison. I wrote it off as a bad day and tried to focus on my training.
I was looking forward to July. Not just because of the training, or the leave, but because we were going to spend it in Italy. Astrid's family had rented a Villa outside of Venice for her entire family. Astrid and I had been to Italy numerous times before, so this was an opportuniy to live in Italy as opposed to seeing Italy. I was also excited about the training possibilities there. The only thing I wasn't prepared fo
r was the insane heat. Europe was suffering through an incredible heatwave the entire time I was there. Most days were in the high 30s and quite humid, which really limited how long you could train for. I brought all my gear, including my bike, and managed to get in some great rides (including L'Alpe D'Huez during the Tour de France), but I could never ride for more than 2 or 3 hours without being completely drained. Runs were limited to earlier morning jogs, and whether it was from the heat or some other reason, I started suffering from leg cramps. My calf felt like it was going to tear from time to time, and rather than risk an injury so close to IMC, I forced myself to take it easy and hoped to recover.When we got back, I started seeing a sports therapist right away about my legs. The cramping was getting worse and I was supposed to do Ironman Calgary 70.3 the following weekend. I managed to complete the race, but I was forced to take it easy on the run. I honestly felt like my body was breaking down. This was the worst time to be suffering from injuries. Ironman was only 4 weeks away and my training volume was about half of what it should be. I continued to see the sports therapist a few more times for massage and accupuncture but my legs always felt like they were going to seize up in the evenings.
I still managed to get in some decent training in August, even with my new position as a full time stay-at-home-dad. Ironically, constantly looking after Greta is alot more exercise than I would have thought. I actually lost a fair amount of weight in August and ended up being slightly less than my weight was in 2007. There was definately a bit of fear related to the lack of training I had done. Based on my training logs, I had put in approximately half the effort in 2010 that I did in 2007, but I was starting with a much better base so perhaps the results would be as bad. The longest ride I had done was 200km in 2007, 160km in 2010. I did the Vancouver Marathon in 2007. The longest run I had done this year was 25km, but I was running faster. It would have to be enough. And with that, I set off for Penticton once again.
1 comment:
Good Afternoon
Awesome post, just want to say thanks for the share
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