After the rain comes sun! Ironman Frankfurt

So, I think its fair to say that preparations for this race was as close to perfect as it will ever get. Legs felt good and rested, mind felt positive and the days before the race I was just confident that the parameters that I could influence in preparations had been optimal. But as you know, this is not always the full equation in Ironman racing - I have all the respect in the world, to the outside parameters. And I am learning to improve how to cope with this in every training and every race i do. Ironman Frankfurt was about to becore a big lesson learned on this!

The swim was amazing - dark clouds lured above us, the lake was hot (almost 24 degrees which is warm in a wetsuit). I started with the pros and 300 age groupers which was definitely an advantage. Not even one fight in the water, but I also had a hard time finding feet to draft on. Hence, ended up swimming most of the time by myself. Exiting the water, I was quite certain that I did not reach the expected goal of sub 60 minutes. Running in to T1 I asked a German about the time and he shouted "FIVE NINE" which made no sense to me until I was a few kilometers into the bike and saw that I had swam in 59.30 minutes - my best ever.

Quickly found a good and planned pace of 218 watts on the bike, legs were on fire and I overtook many athletes going around 42 km/h on the flat first 30 km. Then came the rain ... and the wind. I recall the stings of raindrops hitting my arms, but it was quite "hyggelig" and still had a good time and kept pace well. Hitting the first cobble stones in a small village and had to hold on to everything, bottles and gels which were jumping up and down. Midway through this cobbled village, I realize in horror, that the screeen for my power meter is gone. Break and start to run a few 100 meters back and a nice lady had picked it up. Chain fell off. Shit!  Back on the bike and I started regaining the lost terrain again. Rain now really got bad and for the first time ever, I had to pee badly - and so I did ... 5 times in all on the bike, like a race horse. Not a big issue as the rain quickly washed everything clean. Nutrition went really well and I felt good in stomach and body.

Around 80 km, going fast downhill into a roundabout, a pony-tailed gentleman in front of me, realize that he is coming in too fast - he blocks his breaks, slides and crashes like 2-3 meters in front of me. I have the option to go over him or try to find a "soft" landing, BUM!  Later in the goal area, a German guy called Marcus told me he saw me crash and said "it reminded me of a MotoGP crash" I think I was sliding like 10-12m on the wet asphalt - but to my surprise I had only little pain and only small scratches on the right elbow - pfew, lucky - keep pushing!  Still heavy rain and so, like around km100 I am going at a fairly slow and controlled pace into a turn and my front wheel just disappears, without even touching the breaks. BUM again. Same elbow, but now also the hip and I hear the helmet slamming hard into the asphalt. This time I am in big pain and stay on the ground until some nice spectators come over to help. I am shaking in pain and cant even answer their question "Are you OK?" - wait, I am not OK ... not at all, but 25 years of skateboarding, you slam a lot. So back on the bike. Now the elbow is bleeding badly and its painful to be in the aerobars on the bad asphalt and going over bumps, so I took a painkiller, which relieved  the pain slightly.
Finally, 5 km before T2, the disaster completes itself, as I have a rear wheel flat. I cut up the tubular with a small cutter, but struggle too long to get the tubular off - it´s glued so hard. This was probably the moment where I gave up the fight, be it wrong or be it right. But struggling 5-6 minutes with the tire, I could see that this was just not my day. So rolled down to T2, changed and started the 42 km run.

Andy Raelert Crashing in the same corner at 10 km/H

I can only say I was not too motivated, now this was my 4th Ironman  (St. George, Zurich & Calella) in a row, where I was not doing too good - but at least I wanted to take some lessons on running and nutrition. Must admit it was harder than expected to maintain the planned 4:40 min/km pace, maybe slightly due to pains after the crashes. With 10 km to go, I could see that I could probably sub the 10 hours if I kept a pace just around 5:00 min/km. And so I did, finally finishing in 9:55, around 4 minutes from my personal best.

Good mood though - you win some and you loose some. Motivation is already back!

Cheers - Thomas

Last few weeks before Ironman Frankfurt

So now less than 3 weeks until I am racing Ironman Frankfurt and a few words on what I do differently than other years.

In training: 
I have definitely seen a increase in training volume the 3-4 weeks a I am now close to 20 hours a week. But its not as last year, where 2-3 very long weekly bike rides would dominate and make me dead tired. Along the "Progressive Adoption" methodology, I am still doing harder sets, with higher quality (more watts, higher heart rate), just a slight increase in hours per set and a few more sets. Now close to 14 sets per week or averaging 2 sets a day. Last week the distribution was 3 swim, 4 bike, 4 run and 2 core sets.

Again, planning the week like this, I get less tired overall and recover faster than after the very long runs (above 1.5 hours) or bikes (above 4 hours). It´s easier to fit this into a daily schedule, I normally do one set early morning before works and then another set in the evening, unless its a brick set.

Have agreed the tapering will only really commence about a week before the race - another positive effect of not tiring one-self with load of volumen and dead long sets.

Rest & eat: 
I am almost afraid of putting this on paper, just out of fear of loosing my current good "sleeping mojo", but I am sleeping like a champion at the moment. Goint to bed no later than 22.30 apparently just has a good effect on my sleeping pattern and I easily hit 8-9 hours, which is needed for better recovery. Weekends I even do a little siesta, which of course is important to show my surrounding how well I integrate to Spanish customs :)

As mentioned, I dropped weight by following a strict diet some 2-5 weeks ago and was at steady 69 kg last week.With the volumes I am putting in now, I can still remain at racing weight (70 kg) while eating more carbohydrates (rice, quinoa & some pasta) and just maintaining the engines going in a healthy way that supports fast recovery. I totally cut out alcohol, which is potentially also has a positive effect on my sleep. It´s dead boring to live like a monk like this, but I can feel that it´s worth the sacrifice - so will stick to this until having a well deserved "Weisse" in Germany after the race.

I have decided to opt out of going to Ironman France to cheer for many friends racing there this weekend. Its a tough call, but getting on a 9 hours exhausting tour bus ride there just seems to risky in terms of staying well in above patterns. 

Other:
Not much more going on really. I will race on and in same gear as in Challenge Calella. Will change tires and have a final bike tune-up before it gets sent directly to T1.
Have been discussing potential race plan with Coach Aleksandar. In short I will aim for 215 watts on the bike, which should then get me safely below the 5 hours. And run around 4:35 or 4:40 to finish the marathon (theoretically) below 3h15m.

Cheers and let the count down begin!   Thomas

The Coffee Trick!

Our old friend Ronnie Reagan said: "I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon"

I have very few real dependencies;  one would be that I like a glass of splendid Spanish red wine, but that´s beaten by far, by my addiction for a good, solid coffee in the morning. Not latte, not an espresso shot or any other fancy stuff - just a plain biggish black coffee, like the Americans like it. It´s actually difficult to find a good coffee bar in Barcelona, so I use a french press and have a grinder for the whole Starbucks beans I can get just on the corner. Or just a plain Nescafe can do the trick. 

I am certain that you can find loads of studies on the goods and the bads of Coffee, but for sure coffee has a medical proven positive effect on performance, both mental and physical -  useful in training and racing. That´s why many products that we devour during races, such as gels and energy drinks, holds some amount of caffeine - in short it gives you a good kick to perform better.

However, when you are a coffeholic like me, the effect of the caffeine-based products are somehow lessened, as the body is just too used to getting this little extra kick. 

Now, here is a little trick that will get the coffee and maybe caffeine-pills make you fly on race day:  The week before the race you cut off or dramatically cut down your coffee intake. Now, that is VERY hard in the beginning. I suffered insomnia and headaches, which just again proves that I am highly addicted. You may even feel that your legs are slow and dull the week leading up to a race. But once you get that longed-for coffee on race morning it will fire you up like nothing else! 


Try it before your next race, or even better, try it in training and see if works for you too! 


Happy weekend - wake up and smell the coffee!   Hugs T

New stuff on recovery

This is re-post that I have updated since I learned quite a lot the last 2 years and thought I´d share. 

First, now training along the "progressive adaption" philosophy, I am not even near as beaten up as previous years. My average run session is maybe 45-60 minutes and bike sets tend be 2-3 hours, where I last year had weekends with 10-12 hours on the bike, which obviously leaves you with a much higher need (both time and quality) for recovery. Good news is that I am proving to be faster and stronger, and I feel that my legs are almost always recovered and ready to fire on a new quality session. Here is now 9 things I do to recover faster:

1. Stretch - My good Swedish friend Haakon Weibull once said "Warm-Up and Stretching is gay"... very precise with a good Swedish accent. Some say "nay" and some say "yay", but most people still recognize the benefits of stretching. I spend 15-20 minutes after long trainings, working with some pretty straight forward exercises. Girls digs boys who stretches ;)
2. Shower - may sound pretty obvious, but hit the cold water over the legs for 5-7 minutes, which has some (still unexplained) magic effect. It´s painful and it sucks - but it works.
3. Drink - I have learned that I can drop dramatic amounts of liquid during longer rides or runs, even when hydrating well during the day. So drink well, isotonics, coca cola or whatever works for you. Until your pee goes transparent again!
4. Eat - as soon as possible, preferable within 20 minutes after the training 40% proteins (tuna, chicken and what not) and 60% carbs (pasta, rice og smoothies works for me). You´d need around 1.0 - 1.3 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight and around half of that in protein right after a long training.
5. Supplement?  I used to do this a lot, but this year I am leaving it  out, except for a vitamin pill. If that works for the best Norwegian x-country skiers it works for me too. 
6.  Compex - this electronic muscle simulator works wonders on sore muscles. It´s fairly expensive (I got mine for 300 euros) and hurts a bit - but gets your legs back in shape in 25 minutes. Takes out the feeling of "heavy legs" which means a lot, especially if you do back-to-back quality (short and fast) trainings!
    
7. Trigger Point Ball & Ball Roll
   This one is new to me - I use it mostly on calves and hips, but works anywhere really. Apply pressure and roll over the sore areas and will release any contractures you may come a cross. It´s really simple and takes no more than 3-5 minutes a day.
   
8. Massage - actually this year, I am doing all fine with the Compex & Trigger Point, but will go and see David Serra in Cerdanyola for a pre-race tune up before the Ironman in July.
9. Rest - even though my room mate still laugh at me when I pass out on the couch, this is the best moment of the day. Spanish people got it right with the "Siesta" - it´s next best thing after sliced bread! Hit Mythbusters or whatever on the old telly and sleep until some foolish soul wakes you up.

Hope it´ll work for ya too! Enjoy... Besos - T

The stuff that moves me forward

I have always been an insane gear freak. And triathlon is definitely one of the best (or worst if you want) sports go spending big time, though my affection for snowboards, rock climbing and electric guitars has taken its toll on my bank account too.

Getting into triathlon some years back, I was all over the place, trying practically everything that was advertised to make me faster, stronger, lighter - or alas, just look better!  But this season I have kinda narrowed in - I know my favorites now, no need to experiment. Thought I´d share a few of these with you today:

First - my new Asics Noosa 7 runners
Many may know that I have tried ALL running shoes and at some point I had like 12-15 active shoes (trail, race, training, etc). I got the the Noosas 1 full size smaller than my usual 42, thanks to professional help in Endurance Sport in Copenhagen and suffered no blisters in the last 2 half Ironman races. You may, or may not like the color scheme - the Asics DS Trainer are the same shoes, but in more conservative colors.

The SRM Powermeter. 
It just works (at least now it does after a trip to Germany and back), but at a 4000 euros price tag incl. the Power Control 7 computer, its a big consideration to add it to the arsenal. I can easily say that my improvements on the bike over that last 6 months has largely been due to my ability to train at the right intensities (Thanks Aleksandar) and measure my improvements with power. www.srm.de

The Argon 18 E118:
Not much to add - a picture says more than 1000 words, right? I was speechless the first time I saw it. This is my 4th Argon 18 bike. Really all a bike frame needs to do is:

1. be light, stiff and produce low drag
2. hold wheels, pedals, handlebar and a seat in the most aero position you can maintain during 180km.

But this one is a beast (quoting Jeff Hammond from Argon 18) and it looks mad with Shimano Di2 and Reynolds wheels.  Can´t thank Guillermo Lladó enough for hooking me up with these bikes and for always keeping the machines running. And also thanks to Pedro de Arriba for helping on bike fit. Many ask me these questions, so the bike weighs around 8.2 kg in race shape and would have a retail price tag close to €13.000
Check www.erclanteam.com for Argon 18 sales in Spain and www.fit4bike.com for the best and friendliest bike fit, available in Spain or Denmark.

The White Fusion Tri-Suit:

If you have been to a triathlon race in Denmark for the last few years, you would recognize the White Fusion Suits as the Danish national dress. Danes are VERY aware of product quality and also their style, hence its no wonder why Fusion is doing great. No other suits give me that comfort and quality needed on race day, and then its actually black... where it needs to be black.
www.fusion.dk

Further - I run on Clif Bar and  GU fuel. Blueseventy Helix Wetsuit, Giro Selector Helmut and Oakley Radar Sunglasses.

Those were the safe few. Feel very free to ask questions to above or to any other  gear that I am using in racing or training, either here or on Facebook.

But remember what Lance Armstrong says:  "It´s not about the bike". 

Half Ironman Challenge Calella - Fem un homenatge!

My first ever triathlon was in the Half Ironman Challenge Calella, with my homies Toni & Ferran, back in May 2009 - so many things has happened and I have learned so much and enjoyed every step of it. This day we are all there again, but now with so much more friends - triathlon is really like a nice family and it makes me extremely happy to see friends racing and cheering on the side. And of course racing on home turf is emotional and you want to do good - and so we did!

The morning was sunny and calm - a quick dip and off in the 3rd AG wave in the flat, coldish and salty waters of Costa Brava. Quick found a good pace and cadence. For the first time I was swimming in competition with the Garmin 910XT HRM, which monitors performance in all 3 sports and even times your transitions. First new and very valid data is, that I was swimming at 70 strokes per minute (up from 55 SPM) - which is the fruit of the swim technique work I did with Aleksandar, when he was here in Barcelona a month ago. Now, to me, a higher cadence theoretically makes you faster, but also helps you use stronger muscle groups (shorter stroke) and actually works great in open water. Maybe thats why you always see pros with very high cadence - all the way to 80-90 SPM. The swim was (again) a bit longer - some mentioned 2050m, but made landfall after 31 minutes, which is (again) a personal best - so good to see another good improvement in the swim and I still feel I could push slightly more.

The bike was set to be epic - the main road is N-II which is honestly my favorite training grounds. Except for the bumpy (speed bumps) entry to/from Calella, where people crash and drop bottles, it was to tuck into position and push the agreed 244 watts and enjoy the show. No winds, so flew out at around 39.5 km/m at 244W, turned around and to my surprise now had a slight tail wind, so coming home at speeds above 45 km/h was just amazing. I had a Basque and French guys on my wheel on all flats, who took turns to blow by me on the small hills. I later took over the Basque on the run and I never saw the Frenchie again. Don't push to hard on the hills - it´ll burn your legs and fill them with lactic acid, which you will pay for on the run! Entering T2 after 2h13m on the bike - another PB and 40.4 km/h on average. Turned out to be the 2nd best bike split amongst all age groupers (non-professionals) of the day. Only 16 pros went faster on the bike!

My hope was to go under 1h30m on the run, and felt really good running at the right goal pace of 4:15 min/km until km16. Nutrition worked well and I tried to push as much as I could from km18, but I kept loosing a bit of time, so ended up running 21.6 km in 1h32m, fairly OK after a good effort on the bike. I would still like to run better, as I can see the people I swim and bike with go around 4:00 min/km. Nutrition worked perfect all day and although it got quite warm I never had any stomach issues as I have had in the past on hot days. Finished in 4h20m - new PB on the distance, which I think we can approve, considering very little tapering plus the slightly longer swim and run!
Finished 4th in my age group.  And 12th position across all age groupers!

Now 6 weeks to IM Frankfurt - looking forward to evaluating the race with coach and start really preparing for this seasons A-race!  Cheers T

Tuning Up - Lighter is better

"You Big Heap of Meat" - was the rude outburst from coach Aleksandar, when he saw me in Speedos before a swim training, some 3 weeks back. No offense taken, of course he was joking, but also opening my eyes, that:

1. The heavy sets of strength-swim during the winter had built an above-normal muscle mass on my upper body, arms, shoulders and chest.
2. My racing weight would potentially be way lower than the 72-73 kg that I have always been aiming for - the level where my last belly fat seems to disappear. 

So currently aiming to drop from around 73 kg to approx. 69 kg, which should be feasible in the next 3-4 weeks leading up to the Half Ironman, Challenge Maresme by the end of May.
Various calculators on the web can tell you, that dropping weight will make you faster, except maybe during swimming where the extra body fat makes you float a bit better. But on the bike and on especially on the run, low weight converts into faster races.

For a Marathon I have seen predictions that running 4-5 kg lighter will make you (theoretically) 8-10 mintues faster, which is HUGE in a world where we are basically chasing grams on the bike and minutes on an Ironman.

In the next post I will reveal a few little tricks to manage weight and what I apply to drop weight in a healthy way - It´s simply really. Wish me luck

Macca (left) is or was known to be the heaviest ever Ironman Champion at almost 80 kgs.