The Coach Buzz ...

The picture above is from 10 YEARS AGO! It was my first season training full time at the National Training Center in Clermont, Florida. Both of the guys to my right, Marc and Justin, are two of the most stand-up guys I have met through sport. So is Graham Partain, the guy who let us/me live with him for several years. Photo bombing is Tim Johnson (Ironman Swim Director), he is also OK! The new year is almost here. That means that I should have my s#*t together and plans in place, especially if I want to do well. More on that below... First, this is a big year for me in terms of dates. My good friend Justin Daerr pointed out that our first season (we starting training full time pretty close together) training full-time, was 10 years ago a week from Monday. A DECADE. Really?!?! A DECADE! Over the last 10 years I have come a long way. I have accomplished a lot of great things, failed at accomplishing a lot of great things, won a few races, not won many more races, met some ama

After a late season injury in September and the first part of October, I have decided to turn my focus to preparing for 2016. I had a glute and low back issue for a number of weeks, including during my race out at Silverman 70.3. It completely hampered my ability to swim and ride hard, though didn't seem to cause issue with my run. While I am now past the problem that was caused by worn cleats on my bike shoes, I don't feel that I have enough to time to properly prepare to be competitive at Ironman Arizona. This season was a bit of a roller coaster, but as I always say, "no training is ever wasted." Next year is going to see some changes in my approach, number of races, as well as a few things throughout the season that I am hoping will help me take my results up to that next level. Stay tuned for my plans soon...

The infamous 2010 sprint finish with Ironman Champion and friend, Max Longree.  The pic from above was from 2010, when Max Longree and I sprinted it out for 5th place at Ironman Wisconsin. For the record, the only reason I beat max on this day was because he started the swim late due to a wetsuit malfunction. Outside of my first, the moment above was probably my most memorable from Ironman Wisconsin. It was my first "successful" race across the Ironman distance. I finally broke the 9hr barrier on this course and finished 5th in 8:55. It was my 9th attempt here in Madison and somewhere around my 20th Ironman. A lot of folks ask me how I feel now that there isn't a Professional Men's race here in Madison for the time being. The race was taken away by the owners of Ironman (World Triathlon Corporation - WTC) in an attempt to consolidate the fields and bring up the level of competition at fewer races. Whether or not it is/has been successful is/has yet

An observation from the last 12 years of coaching is that m any athletes fall off a cliff when it comes to taper. Here is my take on it and some advice to help. TRAINING: Usually, during training, the athlete's mind focuses working hard, being tough and getting it done. The athlete is not being afraid of things feeling a little hard from time to time and views training as fitness in the bank and suffering is sometimes a part of process. TAPER When the athlete gets to taper, sometimes it's like a switch flips inside the athlete's head and the focus then revolves around "am I feeling tired" or "is this feeling too hard" or "I'm not going to have a good race because..." +++ What you will notice is that mentality described in paragraph one during training is process oriented. You will then notice that the second paragraph during taper is largely driven by fear, anxiety and is not at all process oriented. This is w

Since I am sharing my full experience here at Challenge Roth, I thought I would give a more detailed race report than I normally would after a bad race. One thing I can say is that Felix and the Challenge Family do things right; from the treatment of the athletes and volunteers, to the food, to the fireworks and all of the smallest details. I can't say thank you enough to them for going beyond what they "have" to do. It really is all about the athletes. I can assure you that there are as many people as it looks like there are in this picture. The Solar Berg climb was easily one of the most memorable moments in my triathlon racing career. The race itself for me was Challenging to say the least. This was my first experience with major jet lag before a big race and next time I think that I would likely do things a little differently in terms of my arrival. 7 days would be a minimum for me, I was definitely not an exception to the rule of 1 day per hour of t

Time is flying this season, maybe more than any other year. I think that probably should be expected when a person trains full time (24-25hrs) and runs a full-time business at the same time. I love every minute of it, but most days I do wish that I could either slow down time, or create that 30hr day. So let me update you on the racing side of life... +++ RACING I ended up racing a little less than I planned. This wasn't because of fitness or desire, but it was more because it made sense based on my goals ... and sometimes just wanting to sleep in on a Sunday :) That being said I did get out for 2 tune-up races this spring: First up was Chattanooga 70.3 in May (my last post). I finished in a solid 8th place on a challenging course in 4:04. While I did NOT run well at all, it was mostly due to getting a little carried away on the bike. My new shorter 167.5 cranks were great and I just couldn't help myself. Next up I raced Elkhart Lake, which is a competitive l

It's been a while since I have posted, so it's time to come back and hopefully post a bit more going forward. So keep an eye out... First, let me catch you up to speed on all that's been going on. CATCHING UP The plan this year was to start early and race Ironman 70.3 San Juan. The training went great and I got very fit, especially on the bike. I can attribute that to 10-12/week on the trainer from December through February. These were hours that included 2-3 key sessions per week. While I was preparing for SJ703, I was also looking to buy a house. As some of you home owners know, this can be a very time consuming task...especially in this anemic market. 3 weeks before San Juan, I found a great place and with all that was going on, I decided to pass on racing. I just didn't have the focus required. Well, things didn't work out with the house and I was back to square one...and without a race. The next two months went about the same way, 3 more offers, I ev