What I Learned in Louisville

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Here’s what I learned in my first Ironman since 2011…

  • Ironman is HARD – Not to state the obvious, but wow it’s a long day. I pooped out about 8.5 hours into my 10.5ish hour race.  Those last 2 hours were not so much fun.  The corollary to this one is that 112 miles is a LONG way to bike “in race mode.”  I knew my day wasn’t going to unfold the way I had hoped when my power fell off ...
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Race Planning

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“ … plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

Our 34th president said this in regards to planning for battle, but the sentiment applies to many aspects of our lives.  Throughout my career in engineering, product development, and project management, I had first-hand experience with this idea and learned the value of planning.  The plans themselves never pan out the way you expect, but the process of planning itself is invaluable in that it helps ...

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Time vs. Energy: Using your Power Meter in Long-Course Triathlon

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What are you trying to optimize?

Time vs. Energy

In a half-Ironman, or an event in the 4-7 hour timeframe, between glycogen stores and exogenous carbohydrates ingested, most people can race without reaching a fuel-limiter.   Compared to a full-distance Ironman, it is a more forgiving event and you can have a good race without needing to take in a lot of calories.  In a race where you are less fuel-limited, than it pays off to optimize time over energy.

However, for events in ...

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A Pacing Strategy for Running in Heat

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Most running events and races start early in the morning before the heat of the day.  In addition, they are typically scheduled in the spring and fall in areas of the country where it is not a hot time of the year for that particular event.  However, in triathlon, where you have a swim and a bike prior to getting to the run, the weather dynamic is different — you are much more likely to be running in the heat ...

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