August 31, 2008 / by srhernan / Make A Comment / Filed under Swim Reports
Okay. Perhaps things got a little out of hand this morning. But it’s the last big summer weekend, so we should all expect things to be a bit more rambunctious…
Since I’m officially no longer in training for anything, I was planning to do a very unstructured swim this morning – kind of like a post-triathlon “victory lap.” Also, I was hoping to perhaps borrow an inner tube from the Ochoas or maybe do another leap or two off of their mini trampoline.
So I show up at good old OL#1 only to discover everyone jumping off of a huge freaking ladder. Now I’m a fairly brave fellow, and I even had a stint as a sport skydiver in the 1990′s. But this stuff was harrowing to watch. In fact, some of us actually turned our backs a couple of times rather than watch the Ochoa brothers as they repeatedly sprang off of the top step of the ladder.
So I did my swim, and I came back to check out the festivities from a safe distance. However, I must confess that my curiosity got the better of me, and I did give in to peer pressure and take the “leap of faith.” All I can say is, I have to hand it to the Ochoas – they are absolutely fearless! I could barely do this one time without having a heart attack.
Apparently, though, we must have also given some high rise resident a serious case of tachycardia as well. We were soon visited by the Chicago police who proceeded to shut down the whole show. Diver Dave must have worked some heavy charm on the officer, because he eventually softened his stance and became quite amiable. And, if you can believe it, the whole thing ended up with a group photo (officer included) in front of the police car.
I can’t make this stuff up, folks…
Final August sunrise
Chris, Lake Monster #17 (congrats!)
The infamous “Ladder of Mischief”
One big happy family!
August 31, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Swim Reports, Tips & Techniques
I’m going to try to condense this post since this is primarily a swim site. However, there were a number of key items and “lessons learned” relevant to the bike and run parts that would definitely benefit everyone. So here goes…
Immediately after the swim finish, we had a 2.5 mile “warm up” run from Aquatic Park to the bike transition area at Crissy Field. I kept a slower pace since I didn’t want to “flame out” on the bike or final run leg. This is significant because I had many people pass me during this transition run whom I later caught up with – and passed – prior to finishing the race.
Lesson: Conserve energy early on and don’t get caught up in the frenzy that occurs immediately after each transition.
I reached the bike transition and took a few extra moments to adjust my socks to fit more comfortably. This didn’t really matter much on the bike, but it paid big dividends on the run.
The bike course was a 3-loop, 13 mile route through the Presido, and the racers were greeted with the first of two hellacious hills right out of the chute. I was riding a full-carbon Look with a Dura Ace “triple,” and I spent most of the time in the smallest cog.
My strategy was to avoid “hammering it” on the bike in order to conserve my legs for the run. Fat chance. The second hill had a really steep grade that all but obliterated any chance of sparing your legs from a lactic acid “burn.” Fortunately, what goes up must indeed come down. So I made up for my 7 mph uphill speeds by blazing downhill in the 35mph+ range.
The run mimicked the bike part by starting off with a trot up a ridiculous incline leading up to the Golden Gate Bridge. When we reached the top, we headed south along a trail above Baker Beach. There were some less severe ups and downs along this route, and the course slowly descended to the beach itself giving us a nice long stretch of running alongside the crashing surf.
The route back was identical until we reached to the original beach entrance trail point. The course marshals then directed us past the trail head and up to the infamous “Sand Ladder.”
Regarding the Sand Ladder…you can’t run this, folks. You have to trudge up it and essentially vaporize any glycogen you may have left in your leg muscles at this point. Since I was really starting to feel a burn in my quads, I opted to try something that I learned while hiking in Arizona many years back. I essentially did a “herringbone” walking pattern which entailed taking the steps at a side angle and then switching lead legs at regular intervals. This placed less direct stress on my front quads and allowed me to conserve them for the final running stretch.
This seemed to pay off big dividends, because I picked up the pace shortly after cresting the Sand Ladder and never slowed down until the finish line. Of course, I made darn sure that I had plenty of clearance between me and the other runners. After all, you’ve only got one chance to steal the spotlight!
August 29, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Swim Reports, Tips & Techniques
I arrived at Aquatic Park at 5:15am, and I was 100% ready to jump in the water immediately. One hour before, I had begun my swim preparation with a progressive cold shower ritual, and my body was already in “race mode.” The pre-swim cold water immersion had jump started my core, and I could tell that my body had already shifted the blood away from my extremities.
This made a HUGE difference both physically and mentally.
At 6:55am, we boarded two ferry boats and headed towards “The Rock.” About halfway there we were given the official numbers – the outside air temperature was a crisp 55F, but the water temperature was a surprisingly balmy 60F. I chatted with a number of first-time Bay swimmers on the ride out to the exit point, and they peppered me with questions about what to expect. I gave them some pointers, but I also told them that 60F with a wetsuit was really nothing to worry about. They didn’t seem convinced…
At 7:15am, we all lined up and began jumping three-at-a-time out of the ferry exits. When I came to the front of the line, I spotted an empty patch of gray-green water to the right and leaped in. Much to my surprise (and delight), I had no immersion shock whatsoever. I remember yelling to the others still in the boat that the water was “not bad at all” before letting out a whoop and swimming the 200 yards towards the start area.
At 7:20am, the race director sounded off the starting horn, and the whole pack of swimmers whipped up the water in a mad dash to Aquatic Park. The currents were quite mild at that time of the morning, so we all stayed pretty close together for much of the swim. We had our usual “rugby scrum” moments of close quarters swimming, but there was always a clear patch of sea to dart out to if you wanted your own space.
As mentioned earlier, the cold water really wasn’t an issue for me. I kept a fairly brisk pace throughout the swim and focused on technique. Unlike previous triathlons, I opted to use my legs more and kick out a higher swim pace. I knew this was risky, but I was feeling pretty good. Besides, I had forgotten to set my stopwatch, so I no longer had the option of monitoring my progress accordingly.
I sighted just to the left of Aquatic Park and managed to stay in the middle of the pack for most of the swim. The currents blew the “peloton” apart halfway through the race, but not enough to place anyone off course. Still, I found myself at one point doing a solo stretch with no one near me for 50 yards in either direction. Knowing that marine predators often zero in on “outliers,” I began to experience a rather profound sense of unease at what might be circling underneath me in the murky waters.
This definitely helped me step up the pace…
I reached the narrow aperture at the entrance to Aquatic Park and was quite swiftly rewarded with a sudden mouth/lungful of briny Bay water. I had a perfect record of avoiding this unpleasantry so far, but I knew this was an eventuality. So I went through the normal ritual of stop, tread water, dry heave, adjust goggles, and soldier on that I did in previous Bay swims. But let me tell you something folks – I’ve NEVER gotten used to this experience…
I hit the beach approximately 40 minutes after “jumping ship” and had enough sense to tear off my cap and goggles while still crouched in the water (see photo op post). I then sprinted to the swim transition area and doffed my wetsuit in preparation for the 2.5 mile “warm up” run to the bike transition area.
Overall, it was an excellent swim with fantastic results. Besides my pre-swim preparations, I also had the advantage of having trained in colder, fresh water conditions. This gave me a unique advantage over many of the other swimmers. Given the buoyancy of the salt water, I was able to blaze past other swimmers with much less effort.
Bottom line – if you train in the Great Lakes, you can easily do a swim like this.
So I expect to see a much greater Chicago contingency at future Bay swim events… 
Stay tuned for the bike and run reports. In the interim, here are a few SF shots of the venue taken the day before:
The Rock
Aquatic Park swim finish area (Alcatraz Island is in the background)
August 26, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Cool News
Details to follow…
August 21, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Cool News
August 20, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Extreme!, Fitness & Training
Forget Michael Phelps. If you really want tough, look at Henry Cejudo who took the gold on Tuesday in Olympic freestyle 55-kilogram wrestling.
I’ll admit I’m biased – this is my old sport, after all. But wrestling is in a league way beyond all the other Olympic activities. For one thing, wrestling is not a civil or sanitized sport like swimming or gymnastics. It’s a primal and savage activity which is essentially full-on, hand-to-hand combat between two weaponless opponents.
Bottom line, sport wrestling (as opposed to the trash entertainment “professional wrestling”) is basically you and another human being in a public fight to the death – only the rules prevent you from killing or maiming your adversary. And to get to the level of Cejudo, you have to be stronger, smarter, faster, and much more mentally fierce than the endless stream of opponents constantly looking to vanquish you in the arena and metaphorically end your life.
So hat’s off to Cejudo. He’s a true Spartan and one tough SOB…
August 18, 2008 / by Steve / Make A Comment / Filed under Tips & Techniques
Let’s be candid, here. You want the “big event” to be as memorable as possible. And one way to really accomplish this is to get great race day photos. While you don’t need to overanalyze this, you do need to be cognizant of where the prime opportunities lie so you can fully exploit them. So here’s the skinny:
- When you get your body markings, ask the volunteer to write big and double up on the ink. Tell them you want to make sure your sunscreen doesn’t dissolve it. This will increase your overall visibility to the photographers.
- In smaller events, the photographers tend to linger on the edges of the pack for the swim starts – especially for beach and pier starts. If you see one of them taking some pics, tell him or her to take “one last shot of you for your will.” Everybody else is too nervous to chat, so you’ll get your memorable “right before the race” shot (or two).
- The first major photo op is the swim finish. The photographers are typically getting shots of the swimmers exiting the water and running towards the bike transition area. The key here is to make sure you remove your cap and goggles right before you stand up and start running out of the water. The photographers won’t waste a shot on anyone still kneeling in the water, so use this brief moment to bunch up your cap and goggles in one hand. Then stand up and break into a “champion’s trot” all the way to the bike transition while fully suited. Even if there are several other people in the shot, you’ll stand out like a pro because all the others will still be fiddling with their cap, goggles, and wetsuit lanyards. And don’t worry if your race numbers are covered by a full body wetsuit. You’ll still be able to pick your photo out from the “unidentified” ones, and you won’t look like a disheveled mess with your wetsuit hanging half off of you.
- The “bike out” is another big area for photos. Take a few moments to catch your breath and regain your focus before launching out of the transition area on your “steed.” This is good to do as a general rule, anyway, but it has the added benefit of making you look controlled and energized coming out of the bike transition area. And there are few things worse than race photos of you sporting a “death gasp” look.
- Photographers are stationed at various points along the bike route, so this can be a crapshoot. However, most of them are located at slower speed areas such as big turns, hill tops, or the 100 yards approaching the “bike in” area. Keep this in mind, and make sure you have your best “destroy all in my path” look at those points along the course.
- Another big photo op area is the “run out” section. Again, make sure you take a few moments during your bike-to-run transition to compose yourself and get as relaxed and controlled as possible before embarking on the run. This will put you into a state of confidence which will show up in your race shots.
- The Finish Line – The Ultimate Shot! I mentioned this in a previous post, but it’s definitely worth repeating. Unless you’re going all out for a personal record, take it down a notch during the last 1/3 mile of the run and pay attention to what’s going on around you. Use this time to reflect upon the sheer awesomeness of what you are about to experience, and gauge your pace in relation to any other runners and adjust it so it’s just you crossing the finish line. If you’re running with someone else, tell them to go on ahead or tell them you want to space things out so you can both get an awesome finish line shot. They’ll understand.
I cannot put into words the sheer sense of total glory that you will feel when you cross the finish line. You worked so hard for this, and you deserve to be memorialized as a champion. So feel free to be selfish! This is your time to shine, and you want all the attention on you alone.
August 18, 2008 / by srhernan / Make A Comment / Filed under Fitness & Training
There’s an excellent article in yesterday’s Times Online that provides and in-depth story of Arthur DeVany and the whole idea of how “power law” principles permeate our lives. I recommend you read the whole thing, but here is an excerpt that outlines the essence of this hypothesis:
The obsession with the bell curve and the average has corrupted us. We tend to think of stable models not just of the human world but also of the human body. Almost all dietary and fitness regimes are based on a homeostatic view of the body – meaning it is a self-regulating system that maintains itself in a continuous, stable condition. The average is the ideal. So we are told to eat regular meals consisting of a balance of the food groups and to take regular exercise, dominated by steady aerobic activity like cycling or jogging. This is all wrong.
Bear in mind that power law principles largely run counter to the “conventional wisdom” of today’s health and fitness community/industry. As an example, the U.S. Government’s current “food pyramid” recommends that most adults consume an average of six (6) ounces of grain-based products per day. So, in order to get your daily grain “requirements,” you would have to consume one of the following during a 24-hour period:
- 6 mini-bagels
- 6 slices of bread
- 30 whole wheat crackers
- 6 pancakes
- 18 cups of popped popcorn
- 3 cups of cooked pasta
- 3 cups of cooked rice
Since human beings flourished for over 50,000 years without any grains whatsoever, why are they now something that every adult “needs” in his or her daily diet on a regular basis?
Bottom line – they aren’t.
August 18, 2008 / by srhernan / Make A Comment / Filed under Lake Monsters, Swim Reports
As expected, the Chicago Air & Water Show made things a bit more animated on Sunday morning. People were already staking out their lakefront observation spots at 6:00am, and I had to navigate past a wall of vendor pavilions to get to good old OL#1. But the weather was as splendid as it could get, and the Ochoa clan was already out in force to welcome the OWC regulars as well as several new faces who joined the righteous Lake Monster fleet.
This was a tapering swim for many of us since next weekend is the culmination of several months of very intense training. Indeed, one common observation was that many of us are now swimming at a much different level. What was once seemingly impossible has now become effortless, and this transformation has – in many cases – taken place literally over the course of the weekend.
Remember that feeling.
You didn’t get to where you are now through wishful thinking or whimsical actions. You stepped up and hit it hard every time you jumped in the water, got on your bike, or laced up your running shoes. There were countless times where you could have slept in or given up entirely, but you didn’t – even though you were so exhausted that the trek out to the workout meeting place seemed like a fragment of a dream (and it very well may have been, too!).
So hats off to all of you who dared to take on the impossible only to find out that your actual limits are a lot higher – you just never tested them until now. And good luck to all of you doing the Accenture Chicago Triathlon – especially the Chicago Endurance Sports triathlon team. I’ll be thinking of you while I’m out in San Fran swimming with the sharks.
See you again on the 31st!
Jackie, Lake Monster #12 (congrats!)
Rich, Lake Monster #13 (congrats!)
Chris and family, Lake Monsters #14, #15, and #16 (awesome job – congrats!)
Stepping into The Blue
