tri state tour - day dos

Cyclists and triathletes love numbers. How many miles/kilometers did I ride today? What was my average speed? Where's my heart rate at? How many rpm's am I pedaling? What wattage am I riding at up this climb? The problem with numbers is that A.) they may not reflect what actually took place during the ride (power would however, but not everyone uses a powermeter), and 2.) if you spend all your time looking at and analyzing numbers during a ride, you may miss out on a spectacular experience.

Yesterday started with an almost perfect ride. I'd say perfect, but is their such a thing? If there is, than this ride is it. The air temperature was perfect in the mid 70's. The sun was out. There was a light breeze. We rolled along beautiful country side for the first 75 minutes, where we then regrouped and did the 8 mile time trial. I sent each camper off one at a time, one minute a part. The course is marked each mile and is a straight shot along route 63 with little traffic, nice rollers, and no intersections to worry about. Greg Pelican was the second to last to go, and then one minute later, I headed out. There's nothing to like about a time trial if you do it right. It should just hurt like hell. If you are very fit, it should hurt like hell - you are just going faster. I was impressed by the effort put out by all. In particular, Annmarie posted the fastest woman's time to date on this course. I did look at my power quite a bit during this ride, managing the ride and gathering some data.

We then rolled onwards around twin lakes and then up 41 into Massachusetts. The scenery was really amazing today. We made the left in Egermount and began the five mile climb up over Mt. Everett, and down the descent on the back side into NY, before stopping and having lunch at Bash Bish Falls. Bash Bish Falls is a place that never gets old, and each time there I see something different. Soon, it was back on the bikes and on the rail trail pass that follows route 22 south towards Millerton, NY, then back into CT. Some numbers; We began riding at 8:30am and got off our bikes back at The Interlaken at 3pm. What the numbers don't show are the fact that this was Sue's longest ride ever, or the huge hawks we saw, or the turkey vulture hovering over Annmarie, ... What they do show is that this ride had it all - long stretches of rollers, long climbs, steep climbs, great descents, a time trial, lots of quality. This was just an amazing day and if you love to ride your bike, well, as I said, it doesn't get much better.

We headed out for a brick run in the trails around secret lake, and then walked down to the lake behind Hotchkiss Boarding School and soaked our legs in the cold water. Then, I did some assisted stretching with each camper. The day wasn't done yet though! We headed over to Hotchkiss to swim in their $25 million pool. I kept the swim session on the easy side to let the athletes loosen up. I did some stroke work with each of them and then, the training day was done. Another great meal - I had a nice NY strip steak, and the full day was done. Not bad at all!

CT Camp Day 1

Welcome to Fight Club. The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club.

Oh, wrong camp.

The first rule at all my camps is: no whining.

Not that I'm a hard ass or some tough guy. I just explain that whining gets you no where. When you are out on a ride and it raining and cold and you are miserable, the person next to you is miserable as well. There's no need to voice how miserable you are. My buddy Farber, The Mexican, knows this rule well. He never bitches. We have ridden in some nasty awful conditions and we just get quiet and ride. Because, when it comes right down to it, what are your options?

This camp started with a ride. As we stood in the parking area, discussing the details of the ride, it began to piss on us. This didn't stop through the whole ride. The group didn't bitch at all. Well, Annmarie did for a bit, but I cut her slack because she's honest and her Italian emotion is hard to keep bottled up. Plus, she's tough as nails and I didnt want her to beat the crap out of me.

Even with the rain, the ride was still beautiful. We did a few long gradual climbs and then I had the group do some hill repeats up Music Mountain road. I planted a water bottle and they had to do three repeats to the water bottle up the road, the first at a higher cadence seated, the second at a low cadence seated, and the third standing the whole time. I then moved the bottle back further and had them repeat this sequence of three. Finally, they did it once more with the bottle even further up the road. We ended up riding three hours total.

After a hot shower and some homemade warm chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies, we did the short drive over to the parking area for the Appalachian Trail and headed up. The trail from where we ran winds up hill for over 30 minutes and you reach a peak on a ridge that looks out over Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts. It's an amazing lookout and an amazing run.

The day finished with a nice dinner, a glass or two of wine, and a solid, fun day one. Sue got the mvp award for the day. This is her first camp, and she has yet to even do a triathlon! She was smiling most of the day, albeit nervous, and she performed unbelievably well. I could tell she will fit in great and her first tri is going to be a breeze. She's due to post something on my homepage now.

Until later...

Cheers,

EH

prelude to CT camp

After a one year hiatus, I'm back up in Lakeville, CT for my ninth CT Camp. I came up today, a day early, a bit unmotivated yet with work to do before the camp begins tomorrow. I had a small turnout for this camp, with five cancellations in the last two weeks. On top of the fact that this camp will be a net loss business wise, I have a ton of things going on at home with kids activities, pt clients, ... So, my motivation was a bit lackluster to say the least.

Driving up, it was a perfect weather day and I didn't back up my car with my two expensive bikes on it into anything, so as Bill Murray would say, "at least I got that going for me". I met Jeff Molson up here today who was going to get in some training while I rode and marked some of the courses. Soon into our ride, I began to relax. The weather certainly was perfect today, but more importantly it not only felt great to be back up here, it felt right. This is hard to explain unless you have been here and trained up here. We talked about certain memories over the years on specific roads and it was just a great f'n ride. We then did a nice trail run and followed that up with a great dinner of seared tuna chased with a few local pale ales. I have other camps in more exotic places, but, and again, if you have been here, you'd understand and agree, this camp is the best one out there. Yes, it's better than Tucson, and yes, it's better than LP. Those are both great camps, but this one has everything, and it's as scenic if not more, and definitely more challenging than the other two.

I still remember the first year that Gus E. was considering coming to this camp. His dilemma which he voiced to me was "it's a bit expensive and it's just in CT." When he witnessed first hand what he received, - well, Gus has been back every year since. One year, he would'nt leave - we all left on the last day and he hung around! Hopefully, in the future, some more will take advantage of this experience. And if they don't, it's their loss. Bottom line is that it didn't take long today for me to get charged up for this camp. Also, it didn't take long for this place to de-stress me, and make me realize how cool my life is.

The campers have some serious fun in store, and I'll keep reporting on it here.

Cheers,

EH

Early May Report Card

My first "A" race is in early July, so right now is a great time to do a self analysis of where I'm at and what I need to do to get the results I'm looking for. I suggest that anyone who may be reading this do the same for your own records and awareness - and if you use a coach, share it with them as well. It helps the coach in seeing if they are on the same page as the athlete they are working with. Here's my self-report card:

Swimming D- I haven't been in the water. At all. Although I'm at a point where I'm ready to count the 25 yds I may swim during a swim lesson I'm giving. I'd give myself an F, however, I have been doing my vasa trainer workout religiously a few times each week. Mark my words; I'm in the pool Monday.

Cycling A- My cycling is really strong right now, but more importantly, I feel smooth and efficient, connected with my pedal stroke. I often advise my athletes to focus more on pushing forward and pulling back in their pedal stroke, as though cross country skiing, rather than pumping up and down. But the best analogy I can think of is for those who have baked. When you are stirring a mixture and as it thickens, you can feel the resistance or pressure around the whole stirring stroke. You don't stir clockwise getting resistance on the spatula for the first 2/3rds of the rotation, then feel nothing for the remainder of the circle. When you are feeling your cycling form, you'll get this. Anyways, my wattage for my training rides is up there and my FT is close to where it was at it's peak the past few years. I still have room to improve and my volume has been low, but I'm on the right track. One reason is that I'm finally getting a little wiser and heading my own advice, taking rest days when I need them, not just when scheduled.

Running B- I've been doing well with my base here, getting in consistency. I love running trails and I can get to comfortable in just running, rather than doing some specific work. I need more work at threshold or even slightly above. I started that this week though, heading to the track yesterday to run with Chris Thomas. Once I get through allergy season which is hitting me hard at the moment, I should come around quickly. It feels as though I'm running at altitude the past week with everything blooming.

Sleep D I'm still working on this one. the 4:30 wake up Mon through Fri never gets any easier and getting to bed by 9pm is a challenge in itself.

Nutrition B I'm about 75% here, close to the 80/20 rule I preach, but a bit off where I want to be. Planning is the key, and laying off that extra glass of wine or beer or licorice now and again. I am perplexed though how at my camps, athletes will skip on a glass of wine yet they will have a soda. Listen, I certainly get it if they have an alcohol issue. If they don't have alcohol issues or concerns and think that soda is healthier choice though, they are quite mistaken.

Speaking of camps, my CT Camp is next week beginning either Thursday or Friday depending on which day the attendee signed up to begin. I have a small group so there will be lots of personal attention. We are getting all the rain out of the way this week so it should be great next week. If anyone is still interested in attending, contact me soon. It's a great way to learn a bit more about what you may be capable of.

Cheers,

EH

Want to get faster?

Then occasionally train with people faster than you! The key is to 1.) do this occasionally, like once per week in each discipline, and 2.) bust your ass to stay with the faster person or group.

I too often see athletes hook up with a group ride or run, and as the pace ratches up, instead of going with it, they drift off the back and do their own thing. I see this a bunch in cycling with those who aren't confident in their cycling. You'll see four or five triathletes spaced out by 200 meters or so riding along, when they could be in a group, working harder and also developing bike handling skills. Typically, they'll respond that triathlon is a solo sport and that you can't draft in a tri, so why do it in training. However, the real reason they are spread out is that they are either very nervous riding in a group or they don't like to work really hard. Yes, you can't and shouldn't draft in a race, however, if a stronger cyclist is making you work very hard to stay on their wheel, it's more often better training than if you were working it alone. Many will say that they just worked really hard on their own, but it's not the same. The way to find out what you have is to either race or train with someone faster who will really push you.


When I first began training for triathlon, I trained alone in cycling and running. I thought I was extremely fit until I hooked up with a weekly group ride with a bunch of roadies. I showed up in my cotton t-shirt ready to show these roadies a thing or two only to have my ass handed to me and get spit out the back 5 miles into the ride. It was humbling and an eye opener. I showed up the next week and worked at a level I had never reached in training trying to hang on. This time, I made it 10 miles before being left for dead. I showed up each week and did whatever I could to hang on for as long as I could, each time seeing new max heart rates and feeling burn in muscles I didn't know existed (and I was taking anatomy and physiology). A few months later and I was not only able to hang in there, but do more than my fair share of work at the front. In those few months, I saw my cycling fitness make gains that would have taken me more than a year had I gone at it alone.

I rode with an athlete I coach yesterday. We kept the pace strong for the ride, however, I really made her work the last 45 minutes. I could see and hear her pain, yet she stayed tough. She could have ended the pain very easily by just slowing down and drifting off, yet she didn't. And as much as she may have hated it during those 45 minutes, she was grinning and feeling great as we chatted afterwards in the parking lot. I organize a few group training sessions and myself, the group who show, and those I coach out of state are always amazed that very few take advantage of training with a group.

Cheers,

EH

Giving Props

There has been a lot of race activity amongst EH athletes the past few weeks.

Alan Starbuck Cyberpunk Neo McDougall kicked it off with an overall win at Brian's Offroad Duathlon. Not bad for an old mf'er! You can read about it on his blog which I'd put a link to here if I knew how to do that or if I were a Starbuck Cyberpunk Neo.

Next in line was the Boston Marathon where Jeff M., Pam, Mike B., and Jeff B. ran and they all ran well. Jeff and Jeff both requalified for next year, and social Pam ran with some friends. She's on the Jeff M. plan as of late running a marathon every week it seems! Mike B. had a huge day. His goal was to run between 3:15 and 3:25. Based on his training feedback, I wrote to him telling him he'd do a 3:10, and that's exactly what he did.

We also have a national champion in the ranks! Greg Pelican, owner of Bethel Bike, went down to the national duathlon championships and blasted it, winning his age group. That's huge! Next big goal now for Greg is a podium at worlds duathlon. Greg's work ethic and determination are always impressive and he more than deserved this.

Rob Straz is back racing again and teamed up for a marathon relay up in MA with two of the Team Psycho guys and they won the overall.

Matt W. raced the Brooklyn Biathlon and finished 4th overall. Not bad for a guy with a bum hip!

Annmarie M. raced St. Anthony's tri, er, duathlon. They cancelled the swim due to winds. This little powerhouse averaged over 21mph on the bike on the windy, twisty course, and ran 7:30's!

Mandy B. has been bike racing a bunch as well as many others, to prep for the tri season and she's riding well, but the big news with her is that she is the race director for the Nutmeg State 1/2 marathon and 10K last week and the race had a huge turnout and went off about as flawless as a race can go.

I know I'm probably missing some results from a few of you and I'll get to them.

Cheers,

EH

Links

I admit that Slowtwitch.com's forum can be a huge waste of time, however, every now and then, a discussion presents itself that reveals just how valuable an open forum could be if people used it constructively. In the below link, Dan Emphield poses a question to Dr. Tim Noakes about salt replacement during endurance racing. Dr. Noakes is the author of "Lore of Running" which is a brilliant book.

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=2297723;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

Dave Bunce, the operations commander from ISM Saddles sent me two ISM Adamo saddles to try out and have my athletes try out. I have been riding the same saddles now for over five years, the Fizik Arione. I have them on all my bikes and they work for me. However, I told Dave I'd give the Adamo a try because I was curious and even though it's never really good to fix something that's not broken, it's always fun trying out new things. Mainly though, Dave is a great guy and I love his passion in the industry. So I have now done a few rides on the Adamo racing which I mounted on a TT bike, and I have to say that I'm really impressed thus far. Not only do I find it very comfortable, but I find I've gained some power! Now, I know you think I'm just blowing smoke pumping a product for a friend after that last comment. I mean, how do you gain more power with a different saddle? People will claim anything to sell a product, right? I want to preface right now that Dave never mentioned anything to me about increased power. Here's why I experienced more wattage: I typically ride on the front of the saddle when in an aggressive TT position. Many will say to move the saddle more underneath you instead of sliding to the front, citing that I'm not fitting myself correctly. However, I'm more comfortable and feel more powerful on the nose of the saddle. When you set up the ISM Adamo correctly, it feels as though you are always in this forward, powerful position. The sit bones rest on the two rails and there is really nothing underneath the rest of you - meaning no shifting anything to a side for the guys and no invading for the girls. Anyway, I want to do some longer rides on it before I'm totally sold, but if anyone local would like to try one out, contact me. I will also be bringing these to my camps for athletes to try. I will also be doing a more extensive write up about my experience with this saddle for the sight after getting in some more miles on it.

http://www.ismseat.com/

Mandy is putting on her Nutmeg State 10K and 1/2 marathon races this Sunday morning. Race one - they are on beautiful courses and are great training plus you are supporting a local great race and charity. If you can't race, she needs volunteers - badly! Give back, it's time.

http://www.endureitmultisports.com/

Cheers,

EH

Is this what you've been waiting for?

It was 70 degrees F here in CT today, so for all those that were whining about our weather thus far, quit your bitching! Sorry to be harsh but it seems as though people are more concerned with the weather than the economy presently.

Personally, I have been going well. The last few weeks of training have been challenging, yet fun. I guess the fun is that I've been getting in some solid hours and intensity and it's going well. If it weren't, it wouldn't be much fun, right? I'm at the point were the recovery training is still a bit hard perceived effort wise because I'm beat up from the hard days, even though I'm keeping the heart rate down, yet I'm still moving at a decent clip on these recovery days.

The Hawaii lottery picks took place this week and I have three athletes that I'm working with that were chosen! Congratulations - the amount of triathletes that enter this lottery is staggering, so to get chosen is very exclusive. I also have some that have been playing this lottery for a few years now and have not been chosen. Don't worry, your time will come - and believe in yourselves at your qualifying races this year and make it happen.

Good luck to Jeff M., Pam, Jeff B., Mike, Scott, and anyone else racing Boston this Monday.

I'll try and be better about updating. I actually have a lot of thoughts to post. Just the classic "need more time" excuse is all I've got.

Cheers,

EH

You can do it!

Straz wrote a new article on my home page ( www.hodska.com ). You should check it out. Because, if you are gonna talk the talk, you gotta walk the walk. Besides, it’s time to get out of your comfort zone. You here me? There is no I in Team. If you give it 110%, and fight like cats and dogs, maybe swing for the fence, then you don’t need to dangle a carrot. Just hang tough, and be patient because there is light at the end of the tunnel. Back to Straz though. Sometimes, I think he needs to wake up and smell the roses, however, he went the whole 9 yards with this one, he took the ball and ran with it. OK, time to go to bed – you know, the early bird gets the worm!

Cheers,

EH

Get Outside!!!

Enough bitching about the cold weather here in New England (or if you live in a similar seasonal area). It's spring god damn it and that means it's time to get outside. I don't care if it was only 30 degrees this morning, or if there were snow flurries yesterday, it's time to get outside. So quit milking that bike trainer and/or treadmill and go exploring. I watched an episode of The Biggest Loser in which they had to run up this hill and find a key that would open up the gym. There were only two keys and the two people that found them would receive exclusive access to the gym for a week, meaning that no one else could use the gym. The contestants were really bitching and complaining about this. What really blew me away was that the devil looking female (I think) trainer made the biggest stink, whining that she needed her gym and her toys. Meanwhile, they are in southern California and the weather there looks perfect every episode! They have all these outdoor trails right around there premises, and they run indoors on a treadmill!!! In most cases, we begin exercising to gain or regain control of our health, and the safety of being indoors is appealing. Then, we get a bit more adventurous and venture outside and realize that the senses are much more heightened and thus so is the experience. You see and learn a lot more from a one hour run outdoors than you do running in place watching Oprah. One of the highlights of living in a seasonal state is the unpredictability of the weather each day. Today could be sunny and in the 60's and tomorrow could be rainy and in the 40's, and that's cool - It keeps things interesting. I think I'd take the weather for granted if it were 75 and sunny every day. At least that's what I've convinced myself. In any case, the cold and soggy days make you tougher. I'm still blown away by the amount of people that won't RUN in the rain! In any event, suck it up, bundle up, and get outside. It's spring, regardless of what the weather is telling us today. OK, that's enough of a break. I need to get back to my Hip Hop Abs dvd - training is going well.

One other quick thing first: Sunday night, I met the group of runners that are on my training plan for Megan's "Run Like A Mother 5K" at the Ridgefield High track. There were probably 100 women that showed up with maybe two thirds of them on the "Just Want To Finish" and "Beginner" programs, and it was really inspiring. Talking about taking things for granted, I have been training myself and others since the late 80's. I went from being an athlete in college right into triathlon, so I never had to "start up". Working with "starter uppers" is always incredibly motivating for me. Many of these women were way outside of their comfort zone and you know what, they were still chugging away on the track, smiling (for the most part) and enjoying the camaraderie. Megan has created something really, really cool here and it's the little things like being a part of these athletes (that's right women, you are all athletes now, training for an event!) training session and training plan that can motivate a seasoned veteran like myself to work a bit harder and push a bit more in my own training and goals.

Cheers,

EH

April EH Update

Spring is here! Well, is it? Seems we get here for a day in CT, and then winter returns for three more days. I can tell that the warmer weather is right around the corner. With this begins the race season, and the more intense training, prepping for key “A” races. Here’s what’s happening:

Group Training (For the locals)

Sunday Long Runs: Ken and I are still running long Sunday mornings, meeting at 7am at the trail parking area in Monroe on the corner of Cutlers Farms Road and Pepper Street. Anyone is welcome. There are lots of running route options including trails, hilly routes, flat routes, … So if you don’t want to run with us, but want to join us for coffee afterwards, you can do your own thing.

Wednesday Night TT Training Ride: I will be hosting a weekly Wednesday night ride geared towards improving time trial strength. We will ride out easily to a course or section of road where we will do some interval training and then ride back easily. If you are interested, please contact me. I plan on beginning these on Wednesday, April 22nd, meeting at the trail parking area in Monroe on the corner of Cutlers Farms Road and Pepper Street at 5:30pm. Bring running shoes and we will do an easy brick afterwards.

Rev 3 Tri Course Training Ride and Run: Saturday, April 25th. Contact me if you are interested and I will get you the time. We will meet at Lake Quassapaug.

Lake Placid Saturday Group Training Rides: I have quite a few of you training for IMLP and many of you would benefit by riding together every other Saturday for your long rides, beginning in May. If you are interested in this, again, contact me and Baker will set it up. Hear that Baker?

2009 CT and LP Camps

There is still room in both of these camps. If you really want to propel your fitness, sign up now! Just ask the Tucson campers what it did for them. One thing for sure, you will have a blast, train your ass off and laugh a lot – I promise. Go to www.hodskacamps.com for more information.

Website

We will be updating the Hodska.com home page frequently now that the race season is here. We need race reports and anything else you’d like to contribute! People love to hear from others once in awhile, instead of me just running my mouth. Straz’s articles have been great. Greg Pelican’s tech pieces have been very educational. Maybe this year we’ll get some more words of wisdom from Big Rocks??? Also, if anyone has any ideas for the site, please let myself or Alan ( cyberpunk@mac.com ) know.

Cheers,

EH

Seeing Things In Grey

It's been a very solid week! I'm tired and need to be careful in regards to making sure I get the proper sleep, but it's definitely a good tired at the moment. Through March, I was trying to get out once per week on my 29'er mountain bike, riding mostly the rail trail here in Monroe and through Trumbull, a bit of singletrack, and some road. The "cross training" on this bike has been a blast, and it's also been solid training. I went out this Thursday for a bit over two hours and found that it's easy for me to keep my heart rate steady and at a specific effort, and I have to be cautious because I find myself really working it the majority of the ride. I feel that this form of training is great early season strength specific bike training, however, I think I will keep this MTB session in the schedule throughout the year. One of the best things about this session is that there are no cars, except for the maybe 20 minutes I'm on the roads - only on the roads because there are three steady long climbs I want to attack each ride. As much fun as singletrack is, the rail trail simulates the steady grind of a tt effort better. When I was out there Thursday, I was enjoying the ride so much that I kept pushing harder - I still feel I need to feel some pain to signify a quality session. However, I was spent afterwards and my legs were sore the next day - the fun and enjoyment of this ride masks the pain and hard work while in action.

Speaking of pain, Straz has a new article up on my homepage ( www.hodska.com ) that you'll definitely want to check out. He touches upon pain and how there are basically two camps; those that focus on the pain and accept it, using it as a sign that they are really cranking, and those who distract their mind through singing, counting, whatever. Straz is approaching his first race of the season tomorrow and he's preparing to feel the pain of an Olympic distance effort. He feels as though he falls into the category of accepting and trying to embrace the pain. In regards to pain, I feel that not all pain is equal by any means, and you can handle certain pain extremely well and yet have a difficult time dealing with other types of pain. Personally, I feel that I handle the pain of extreme exertion very well, and I have had my fair share of accidents including having an ear reattached with no anaesthesia and a tooth drilled without Novocaine. I'm certainly not a marter, these things just happened by luck:) However, I wonder how quick I'd cave if Jack Bauer was using a lamp wire from an outlet on me and gauging my eye out with a ball point pen? That type of pain is the real deal! Back to Straz's argument that there are two camps though - I feel that you can fall into both. In short races, I like to focus on dealing with the extreme "burn" and pain associated with short course racing head on. However, in long races, I definitely like to distract. I like to blank out my mind by counting. I have had the stupid commercial jingle and bad song stuck in my head throughout a race though. One year in Hawaii, I had the never ending audio of a Spice Girls song endlessly and painfully looping through my brain. That will make you want to ride your bike into the next oncoming minivan quickly.

Straz also discusses genetics, and how he and his friend have an ongoing debate over whether genetics play a role in achieving great things in triathlon, Straz's friend arguing that they don't - that purely hard work is the key. Most that feel that your genetic makeup doesn't help out are the ones who have achieved quite a bit because of their own work ethic and feel they don't have any athletic genes. They tend to lump Gordo into this category saying because he went from a 12:30 IM guy to an 8:30 IM guy by training his ass off. Straz gives some great examples of exactly why genetics can play a huge role in a triathletes success. Personally, I side with Straz for the most part. I have been coaching for a very long time and have witnessed newbies starting with the same "base", some train extremely hard and do well, and others train not nearly as hard and do better. Don't for a second think that genetically gifted triathletes who have achieved huge things didn't also train their asses off to achieve their results. You think Craig Alexander isn't genetically gifted? Think he also doesn't train incredibly hard, and instead just sits around eating doughnuts because he's so genetically gifted?

Pain, genetics, and life in general - things aren't so black and white.

Cheers,

EH

Run Like A Mother

One of my athletes, Megan Seerfoss, is putting on the second annual "Run Like A Mother 5K" in Ridgefield on Mothers day. Check it out here: http://www.runlikeamother.org/

Megan is doing an amazing job with this charitable women only 5K.

I wrote up (four) six week training plans for the participants, absolute beginner through advanced, that kicked off this week. We have a bunch of women participating and they are meeting on Sunday evenings at the Ridgefield High School track for a weekly workout. I'll be there this Sunday to coach.

This is a great way to spend your mothers day morning, rather than waiting in a brunch line.

Cheers,

EH

Early Spring Saturdays

How great is the NCAA tournament???

I met Ken to run yesterday (Saturday) morning early. This was one of those weekends that brought me back to the things I love - to spring training, so to speak, and the energy around these longer, somewhat warmer days. Ken and I reversed a frequented two hour run loop. Often we get stuck in a pattern of running typical routes in the same direction. Reverse it and you'll be surprised. This route is very challenging in the way that Ken and I usually run it, with a bunch of rolling hills and one two mile steady climb. As challenging as it is in our normal direction, we both found it a son of a bitch in the reverse direction. The hills, though not as long, were quite a bit steeper and came more often. Funny how you don't realize many of the downhills in a two hour run until you run that course in reverse. We finished up this run nice and early, feeling spent yet exhilarated. This is one of my favorite things. I love Saturday mornings - getting out there early and training hard, rolling back in just as most are waking up and getting ready for brunch. I don't know, it just makes me feel very alive and I know my day will be solid. When I first began training for triathlons, I'd wake up early and ride an hour out to Woodbridge to be there by 7am for the weekly Amity Time Trial. This TT was where I developed as a cyclist. In these short TT's, you don't leave anything. If you feel like you can't breathe, or as though your quads are about to combust and you are tasting the previous nights meal, then you are going at the right pace. I'd then spin home and it was still so peaceful out because most were still asleep. The time felt as thought it was my own - as though the roads were mine, and I still embrace these weekend mornings.

Usually Ken and I go for coffee afterwards but I had to shower quick and get my son to his indoor soccer championship game. I try not to discuss my kids to often here but I'll gloat for a second. His team finished the indoor season with one loss and in second in the league, losing only to the top ranked team obviously. The last three weeks consisted of the single elimination tournament and as it should, the #1 ranked team was to play Ryan's team - the # 2 ranked team in the championship. Ryan's team won 6-4 and Ryan played unbelievably amazing. It was a tense game and the place was packed and going nuts. OK, no more gloating here. Ryan was very humble though - probably the thing I was most proud of.

A few birthday parties and NCAA games later and Saturday was done. I love setting the tone of the weekend with the early Saturday morning session. Thinking here now, it not only sets the right tone, but because it was sunny and warmer here, it also signifies to me at least that the season is beginning!

Patience?, spring?, swimming?, ...

Since arriving back from Tucson, I have yet to wear pants, with the exception of a few dinners out. Yes, this may seem stupid, but it's my little stand that warmth is coming, even if it was 27 degrees F this morning when I left my house. My patience in general is definitely waning as I age. I see myself more and more like my father each day (no offense Big Rocks). As I was walking to my car two days ago, in my shorts, a guy yells from his car window "rushing spring a bit, don't ya think?", to which I quickly retorted "What's it to you? It is Spring isn't it?". He sensed my "lack of playfulness" and softly said "it's just that it's only 34 degrees out man, that's all."

I could tell that my training is going well and that I've upped the ante because I'm starving all the time. Maybe some of that is my metabolism trying to keep this dope (the dope being me in my shorts) warm. In any event, I need to shut my mouth after dinner. Girl Scout cookie season can be dangerous. Although angrily, but thankfully, they have significantly reduced the size of the boxes and the quantities in the boxes. I now feel that a sleeve of thin mints is an exceptable one portion size for an endurance athlete in training.

The one missing link in my own training has still been swimming. I have been using my Vasa trainer religiously though and I'm curious to see how this transfers over. If you have a Vasa trainer, try this session: Put two extra resistance bands on the trainer and set at the highest elevation up front. Do 100 double pulls (similar to fly) focusing on catch and follow through, hop off, do 20 push-ups w/ feet on the physioball, then 20 lateral steps w/ resistance band around ankles, then 15 reps of curl/shoulder press combo, then 25 v-ups, then repeat this sequence two to four more times. It's a killer!

Other than that, I'm getting hammered in my NCAA brackets. I am tied with Obama.

Cheers,

EH

More to follow...

Apologies for the lack of posting here. I know that there are a ton of you waiting for the next post (sarcasm). We should post emotions in parentheses from now on so people get it (more sarcasm). Tomorrow I'll try to come up with some idea to post. I don't want to force things. It's been very busy with a ton of great stuff going on. Training is going very well also - I personally feel in better shape this March than I have in the last three March's. Coaching has been very busy and I'm really enjoying the group that I am working with this year. Besides them all being a lot of fun, they are solid individuals in regards to their values. Well, all except Gus and Jeff, but I've been with them so long that they are stuck with me now. Gus was getting a bit tiresome so I sent him on a special training session in Mexican border towns. I don't think he reads here. I guarantee you are going to see some impressive things from this group I work with this year. More tomorrow...

Cheers,

EH

Running Form Analysis

Last night, I assisted Greg Pelican in putting on a running form analysis for a group of the Bethel Triclub members. We met at the shop and all jogged easily over to the Bethel high school track. The group ran a 400 trying to find their desired pace which was supposed to be equivalent with the goal pace they'd be running in their key races. Then, Greg videotaped each person from the side and the front at this pace. We made the easy jog back to the shop and Greg uploaded the video to his computer where we used dartfish software to analyze each persons form. I then made suggestions to each person, based on their specific running form.

This was an interesting project and most of the runners had a few things in common:

• at "10K to 1/2 marathon pace effort" their upper body became more tense, and many shrugged their shoulders, drawing them up around their neck.
• many of the runners overstrided or had too much action out in front of their knees. This creates a negative effect on running progression, slowing the runner down.
• many had tight hip flexors or psoas muscles creating a limited stride and rear leg extension.
• many had weak or 'disengaged" gluteal muscles which throws off hip stability and again, limits hip range.
• many had a lot of wasted lateral motion.

This workshop made me realize that most runners and triathletes would really benefit from doing drills frequently in their weekly schedule. I showed the group a bunch of beneficial running drills, which I plan on videotaping (well, I plan on coercing Baker into videoing) and putting up on my site (well, in which Alan will put up on my site). And to all the athletes I coach out there, guess what you will be doing at least three times per week from now on?

Cheers,

EH

Fairfield St. Patricks Day Race Report

Sunday morning I headed down to the Fairfield 4 mile St. Patricks Day race. My daughter ran the 1/2 mile fun run, my son and my niece and two of my sons friends ran the mile race, my wife, father, sister, nephew, brother in law, and many friends ran the 4 mile race. I didn't race! I was the support crew in this one, keeping an eye on the kids, caring extra clothes, getting water, cheering, waiting at the finish line. it was interesting, being on the other side of the fence so to speak. Some observations:

• The raw honesty and emotion in kids is something that we adults could learn a lot from - in terms of being honest with ourselves.
• Girls vs. boys; my daughter was so expressive pre-race. She voiced her concerns about racing and hoping that she did well. She said "boy, I'm so nervous to race!" to which I replied "how come Kate, you have run much further than this before?", and her response was "yeah, I know I can do it, but I've never been a race before. I don't want to come in last Dad. Look how many kids there are, it's a nice day to run though, I'm hungry, are there snacks after we finish, blah, blah, blah, blah..." She has that female Hodska talking gene. My son was nervous also, however I knew this because he gets quiet and focused. He holds it in. My daughter also loves the accolades after the race where Ryan still doesn't discuss it much.
• The last 100 meters of a neck to neck race will also teach you a hell of a lot. You may not win, but if you gut it out until the end, it shows your competitive nature. There are many who will see that they aren't going to take it and just back off, and then there are those that concede before even starting the sprint. My son was side by side with an 11 year old with 100 meters to go and they both glanced at each other and then sprinted with everything they had. It was so cool to see and had I been racing, I would have missed this.
• When you learn biomechanics as a kid, it's instilled for life. Sure it takes a bit as we age to resurrect the form we once had, but it's in there somewhere. The best evidence of this is in swimming. Lisa ran track through high school and college and has beautiful running form. She's run maybe once in the past three months and hopped in this race with a cold and ran comfortably 8 minute miles.
• A friend of mine who's wife was running was there. He was an incredibly accomplished soccer player and he said to me before the race "To me, I know I won't win. If I don't have a chance to win, then why race? I can just go run four miles back home." There are many that probably feel this way. It's hard to explain that most out there are racing against themselves, the clock, personal demons, ... That there is no way you'd push as hard running four miles alone back home as you would in a race situation. And that there is a unity, a common bond that occurs at races regardless of where you place.
• I saw a few friends and acquaintances who were surprised that I didn't figure out a way to also run. I explained that I was purely there for support and that it was my family's turn.
• As much as I enjoyed being support that day and seeing my family and friends race, I'd much rather be a participant.

Cheers,

EH

minutia

Lisa is always on my case about biting through things that shouldn't be bitten through. For example, I'm a big fan of fireballs. I pass them out at my camps during rides to "spice" things up a bit. After tucking one into my cheek for maybe 3 minutes, I bite through it. Lisa will yell at me saying that I'm going to break a tooth. Well, she was right, I broke a molar. While getting it repaired, I asked the dentist how many people percentage wise that come into his office actually floss regularly, in his estimation. Dental offices are always nagging about flossing and I have to think that this is because not many floss. He said maybe 30% floss daily, and that flossing is actually way more important than brushing. I replied that I need to get on the flossing thing to which he replied "your lazy. You'll run a hundred miles yet you won't take two minutes to floss." You know what? He's right, I am lazy here because I haven't created that habit. As much as I stress balance, I'm an all or nothing type of guy. I'm a five speed car missing gears two through four. So this week, I went from not flossing much at all to flossing five or six times a day. My dentist turned me onto these stick type thingys that are supposedly more effective than floss and easier to use. The problem now is that my gums feel irritated from overflossing - go figure.

Uconn lost to Syracuse last night in six overtimes in the Big East tournament! They had the lead in the first five overtimes only to let Syracuse tie it up each time and then they end up losing by ten points in the sixth overtime?! That's like leading a 1/2 IM by a shoulder length over a competitor through the whole race and then walking in the last 200 meters as your competitor sprints in.

I needed an easy run today so I hit the trails and realized I didn't put my watch on as I walked down my driveway to begin. I headed out anyways and soon realized that I need to do more runs without a watch or heart rate monitor and just enjoy the simplicity of running. Good stuff.

I've had a few people recently tell me that I need to open a Twitter account. Now, I'm still trying to come to grips with blogging. As self-absorbed as blogging is, it doesn't compare at all to Twitter. Similar to facebook (in which, thanks to my wife, I do have an account), I have no interest in knowing that "Leslie is psyched today!" or that "Burt is packing his gym bag to go running later." Give me a F'kin break! Okay, I know I post a lot of bullshit here like my dental habits which is boring and useless, but come on already. Enough time is wasted on useless things like television, slowtwitch, ... Baker or Straz or Molson or anyone, if i ever open a twitter account, please kick me in the groin as hard as your girly legs will allow. No man should have a Twitter account. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go shave my legs.

Cheers,

EH

Quick Thursday Update

It's been five days since returning from Tucson and I'm suffering with camp withdrawal. I'm missing the 6:10am morning coffee run, and the trails that we'd explore soon afterwards. I'm missing the peanut butter moo'd Jamba shake and the goombas. It was great having the time to pedal away for 5+ hours in weather requiring nothing but a jersey and shorts. I miss relaxing at dinner, throwing back some good food, a beer, and fun conversation in a rewardingly tired state. The positive is that I'm planning for the CT camp which will take place in May: http://www.hodskacamps.com/connecticut2009.html

I've kept things pretty easy this week training wise, making sure I recover from the big training of last week. I have to admit, I am feeling a bit fatigued. Although that could also have to do with the fact that two nights ago, Lisa and I watched three episodes of 24 back to back to back. The lesson here is that if you have a few episodes of 24 tivo'd, make sure you block off the time to watch them all, because once you start, ...

I registered for the Providence, RI 70.3 race this week. It feels good to put a goal out there.

That's all for now. I'll try to be more in depth and philosophical next time. As they say back here in CT, Las huevos arroz con playa dirty gringos!

Cheers,

EH

Thu, Fri, Finale

Thursday and Friday

The plan for Thursday was a long ride and a 1 hr run. The weather was in the low 80’s w/ sun and a bit of cloud cover. After the 95 degree temps earlier in the week, the air upon leaving on the bikes felt cool. The weather at this camp could not have been better. Sure it was really hot the first few days but we didn’t experience one drop of rain the whole week, and we never needed even arm warmers or a vest on the bike. I received maybe 30 emails from people beginning with “Arizona sounds great, I’m so jealous!” – and you know what, they should have been jealous because the weather was ideal. I have to say that the campers coming from cold climates really did well handling the heat for the most part. It’s really challenging to come from a winter of sub 30 degree weather and step off a plane into bright, strong sunshine and 95 degrees and be told by your unsympathetic coach that you are riding in this heat up Mt. Lemmon on day two.

Back to Thursday; we rolled out in three groups with the plan of each group riding either more or less than the others so that we all reached the top of Gates Pass, a fun, steep climb, at the same time. My group stayed together and the pace was easy as we spun along two abreast, talking with the rider next to us. About 90 minutes in, we began the two to three mile ascent up Gates Pass and the attacks came. Waiting at the top were the two other groups who had arrived just shortly before us making the timing perfect. We descended down the back side of gates and entered Madera Canyon. I wanted to open it up for a bit and have my group do some threshold intensity, so the pace through this national park was fast and furious. Anyway, enough of the blow by blow description. My group did great. They stayed together during the spin out and the ride back in, and regrouped after the harder tempo efforts. It made for a fun, quality long ride.

I’m constantly observing at camp. I observe each person, what they eat, how they respond to the demands of the weeks workload, how often they are drinking on the bike, how their mood is each day, … Obviously one of the main reasons for observing is to gain insight towards seeing if the campers are adapting or if we need to adjust. The ride today was evidence that this group of campers really took to heart the very initial discussion where I mentioned that they needed to build into the week. Everyone seemed to be getting stronger as the week went on. I’m certainly not saying they weren’t tired. Everyone also walked around in between training like they had just undergone hip and knee replacement, and they all had the glazed eyed look that signifies they’ve been working and are tired. Yet, when they asked their bodies to perform again in a training session, their bodies responded and responded well. That is, until the Thursday night run:)

Around 4 pm, I drove everyone in the van over to Saguaro National Park for a 1 hr run on road and trail. There is a nine mile loop of freshly paved road around this beautiful park, with a trail winding it’s way through the middle and back third. We did this run earlier in the week and ran it clockwise, making the initial paved section mostly downhills. The instructions I gave this time were that we were to do it counterclockwise. As we started, you could not only feel the fatigue from the days long ride, but also the cumulative effect of a busy, long week. Gus and Kerri once again asserted themselves at the front. The three of us ran over the initial couple of rolling miles on pavement not talking, but rather just concentrating on running and trying to relax and take in the scenery around. We hit the trail and I kept the pace steady. We exited the trail back onto the road to take us back to the parking area. Man, this road seemed to go on for ever and it had steep rollers that went mostly up. I was at the van gasping for a breath and downing water, as Kerri ran in yelling “Man, there are going to be a lot of people that hate you after this run!” Everyone finished strong however, and this was, in my opinion, the most solid day of training at the camp.

We walked to the Italian place down the street for dinner that I renamed “Spinner’s” since he loved the place. The food was really good, and the conversation was as well. This was “The Last Supper” at this camp and the group had bonded as though they had known each other for months if not years. Dessert was once again gelato from Frost, the gelato place that Molson, Gus and I hit every single night while at camp after dinner, with the exception of Wednesday.

The plan for Friday morning was to either join the Trifest bike parade as they did part of Lemmon, or, if you had an early flight, join me back at Sabino Canyon for one last 90 min run over the phoneline trail, done in reverse. It was a beautiful morning for running in Sabino, and as we did, I tallied the weekly numbers in my head: Four hours of swimming, 15.5 to 18.5 hrs of riding, and 6 to 7.5 hrs of running done over the six days. Not bad!

This was my third camp in Tucson with Brian, and they keep getting better. Sure, we had a bit of luck with the weather, but the training we did was not only with point, it was on the best courses that we have done to date. The agenda worked out really well although we did miss a few strength and core sessions – there is only so much you can fit in a day. A camp like this is an accelerated learning process of not only physical conditioning, but also individual personalities. Spend a week like this with a group and you will know that persons true personality better than probably many of their long time acquaintances. Training hard all day for a number of days with someone, you can tell an awful lot about how that person handles themselves in life in general. Some of my key memories of the week:

* 6:10 to Yuma red eye runs in the morning (Thanks Annmarie!)
*Watching 64 year old Canadian Steve perform as though he were 34 day in and day out.
*Also watching Steve jump out the restaurant window one night instead of bothering the people seated to his sides to move while they were eating so that he could go use the rest room.
*The first run of the camp over the phoneline trail. Brian (not Grasky) from Tucson has never even done this run. It’s an amazing way to begin the week.
*Riding up Lemmon on day two of camp in 95 degree heat after the two previous years where we needed jackets, full gloves, tights, … It was 90 degrees on top of the mountain!
*Descending the 26 miles of Lemmon – man, what a rush!
*Dinners with the group. This is a key element to camp. They were fun, relaxing, filled with good food and lots of laughs.
*Leo staying in his RV in the hotel parking lot. The RV looked like the one from “Meet The Fockers”, and I thought he was joking when he said that it was his and that’s where he was staying. He lives like a mile and a half away!
*The run up Seven Falls! Sometimes getting lost makes things that much more fun. Plus the switchback trail at the end where you actually get to see the seven falls was unreal. By far, the best run of the camp.
*Soaking in the cold flowing water in Sabino Canyon on a 90+ degree day.
*Molson making me laugh not only every day, but just about every hour.
*Running and chatting in Sabino Canyon with Frosty for the last official camp workout.
*The outdoor pool in Oro Valley with the mountains as it’s backdrop.
*Spinner telling Molson he reminds him of Walter Matheau?! WTF?
*Gelato
*Getting to know all the campers was great. I wish all my athletes would take advantage of a training camp. There is a lot to be gained although I think sometimes people fear of being able to “perform” holds them back from moving ahead. Don’t tell that to my new main man Canada Steve!

Thanks again!!!

See you hopefully at the CT or LP camp.

Cheers,

EH

Days three and four

Camp has been really busy and I'm falling behind on blogging. The unshaven look has become a trend at the camp, due to laziness caused by the training and busy schedule. Lot's of laughs are happening though, as these campers have really gelled.

Let me try and recap quickly the past two days:

Tuesday began with a swim session which ended in some relays. Swim Stud Bill Daniels anchored the winning relay, but big Leo gave him a challenge.

Next, we rode out to Colossal Cave. I had told everyone in the morning that since the previous day we rode Lemmon, we were going to go easy, yet I wanted them to push a bit. Not that I'm deceitful, but if I had told them all that they were going to be pacelining and working hard that morning, it would have freaked them out. Needless to say, they all rose to the challenge even though they climbed Lemmon the day before.

We quickly regrouped at the hotel and headed over to Sabino Canyon where we did an easy 30 to 45 minute brick run, then we all soaked our aching legs in the canyon creek, and had a discussion on nutrition. Of course, I always veer off course and went into the mental side of sport.

Today, we began with a run in Sabino Canyon up the Seven Falls trail. I have run this the past two years but we never went nearly as far as this year and man was it worth it! This trail further up even blew away the Telephone Line trail here in terms of beauty, funness, and sheer coolness. Unfortunately for Gus, Frosty, and Carri, they were following me, and I took a bit of a detour on what I thought was a trail. Long story short, we had to do some actual rock climbing to get out of the canyon and back on the trail. They all kept a great attitude about it and seemed to roll with the challenge and the adventure - this I like. Too often, people are freaked by deviations in their training and it throws off their whole attitude. The pictures Frosty took are amazing - I'll try to get some posted. the run turned out to be just over two hours for most.

We then headed over to a beautiful long course pool that had maybe 20 lanes and sat outdoors right below a mountain. I was even tempted to swim! The group did a solid 4000 to 5000 meters and we finished up video work. Afterwards, we grabbed some lunch and then headed over to trisports so the campers could spend some cash. More bike fits, swim video analysis, and some massage, and it was dinner time.

Dinners are a key part of the training camp. This is where you get to relax, learn more about each person, share war stories from the day, and just socialize. This group has really been a lot of fun and a few leave tomorrow - the end of camp is always a bummer.

Most of the campers have been impressive but I have to commend Dan Frost - he has become stronger each day here. His ego was never a factor, and it appears that he took to heart what I mentioned the first day in that you need to drop the thought of success and failure to truly excel. It's funny, there are many camps out there who's purpose seems as though it's too just destroy the attending athletes. Many of these athletes get too broken down, injured, sick, or fried to the point that they need a week off to recover. What good is that? they try to justify this by saying that you break through boundaries. Trust me, the athletes here are working a lot and hard, yet I want them coming away from here stronger, not trashed. I want them to parlay this experience into a bunch of solid, motivated training weeks upon leaving here. That's how you break through boundaries.

Well, as they say down here in El Tucson; Aguave and sodi por favor.

Cheers,

EH

Day Two - bring on Lemmon!

Day two of camp and we had to make a choice. We had planned on riding Mt. Lemmon later in the week, but the day we planned called for clouds, which could mean interesting weather on top of the mountain, so we scheduled the climb for Monday.

We started the day in Saguaro Park running for an hour on a mix of pavement and trail. The sun was just popping up over the mountains and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Very similar to the weather back in CT yesterday:) The real fun began around 10am. We sent the first group off, then I lead my group out 30 minutes later. Mt. Lemmon is not necessarily steep but it's 26 miles! It wears on you hard. My group split up pretty quick near the bottom and I rode with Carri until about the 11 mile mark and then waited so that I got the chance to ride with most. Steve from Canada, the 64 year old is a stud. As I rode with him, he was telling me he's out of shape currently, yet he was leading the first group! We had the Cannondale demo truck at the hotel and Rick from Alaska took a demo bike and climbed the mountain! Typically, it's about 30 degrees colder at the top of Lemmon, yet today, in the sun on the top, it was still in the 80's. This heat and this mountain is a nice slap in the face on day two of camp, and their salt caked faces at the top showed the effort. Hey, they could have been home shoveling snow! Gus looked dazed and confused as though he'd been tipping back some cocktails - it was great!

We all met up at the cookie corner for some monster size cookies. I had a coke float. No more pie shop at the top of Lemmon for these camps after the witnessing the sloppy fat guy sneezing all over the pies last year. We began to tackle the small ascent out of the little town on top of Lemmon and I jumped out of the saddle on a steeper part of the climb and heard as huge SNAP as my right leg drove down hard and the bike jerked around hard under me. My brand new chain snapped! I was able to not crash somehow, and sat on my ride and let gravity take me back to the cookie corner where Jill was still loading up some bikes from a few who were toasted and concerned about descending. I took Spinners bike and brought the saddle up about two feet and headed off. The descent is amazing, with huge switch backs and sweeping turns overlooking amazing vistas.

Arriving back at the hotel, the campers looked spent but were all in good spirits and dinner was quite fun. Usually it takes three days or so for everyone to loosen up, but not this year! We have a group that is doing exactly what I asked initially of them, to lift their ego's and fears, and embrace each day.

Be sure to check out my home page at http://www.hodska.com/ for the camp mvp write ups, pictures, and a new Straz article.

Heading to the pool now for a swim session and video work so I'll post again later. As they sat down here in Mexico (Arizona is part of Mexico, right?), Vaios Con Dios Mother F'ers!

Cheers,

EH

Day One - Tucson Camp

For all of you on the east coast that are getting hit with the current snow storm, you think you have it bad? It was in the high 80's today and I've got a bit of sunburn - that's what tough is.

I like to start out these camps with something that has some impact. The first session should set the tone of the camp, and that is why we began this week and this day with a 90 minute run in Sabino Canyon on the telephone line trail. It was a perfect morning, weather wise, and this trail is really phenomenal. Everyone embraced the challenge and the atmosphere and I could tell that we were/are going to have a great camp.

We have quite the group this year. We have Steve, the 64 year old who drove down from Pendicton, Canada and kept pace with all the cats that are 20 to 30 years younger. Cindy and Rick, or as they are now called - The Palin's, from Alaska, Dan, the Navy stud from California who races pro, Leo from Arizona who was banging out repeat 100's on the 1:10 interval today at the pool, Jeff from Missouri who's trying to convince me it's hilly in Missouri, Carrie from Maryland who finished third in her division in duathlon worlds last year, Carla from Calgary who smiled through all the sessions today, Mike from Chicago who we'll call Ferris and who will qualify for Kona this year - mark my words, then the CT group of Spinner - the mayor of Newtown and Bethel Bike, Annmarie who's fun and way stronger than I think she knows, Jeff who's been to more of my camps than I can count and who's had me laughing my ass off, and Gus who also has attended a ton of my camps and who thrives in this environment.

We also rode for two and a half hours today, and the swam, followed by some assisted stretching.

The group was cramping quite bad towards the end of the ride and the swim. Most have come from cold climates, and even though they were being smart and pacing right today, the dry heat catches up with you.

The group is already gelling - dinner was fun and I can already tell that this is going to be one fun week.

Steve and Annmarie won the days MVP's. OK, a lot went down today but I'm a bit tired and we have another early start so I'm signing off for now.

Tucson Arrival Day

I’m seated on my flight out to Tucson. Flights can be very productive – I got a lot of work done this morning. In about one hour, I’ll be stepping out into the warm air – hopefully! I still have flashbacks of Palm Springs 2006 where it snowed on the first day. The weather looks amazing though for this coming week – it actually is supposed to be in the high 80’s tomorrow!

Today is travel day, get settled in and get the bikes assembled. We have a 5pm meeting tonight before dinner where we lay out the ground rules and expectations for camp. Anyone that knows me and/or has been to my camps know that I basically have three rules that the campers must adhere to:

1. No whining. Really, what good does whining do? I remind everyone that they signed up for this, and that this and that we are all privileged to be able to do this. If it begins to rain during a long ride, it does know good to bitch about it and to complain to your riding partners.
2. Check your ego at the door. I could care less who is the fastest and strongest. There is always a new person who wants to prove themselves on day 1. Usually, the lesson learned is a hard one as they crawl back after blowing up or when they are spent by day four.
3. Expand your limits, if not for this one week. The campers are all here to train with no other worries for a week, so take advantage of this. I prefer high volume at the camps over intensity. Once the campers get home, they can work back in more quality as their schedule usually allows for maybe a third of the volume that most will do this week. I want them to take some chances here and swing for the fence.

A few other points I’ll touch upon tonight are all about getting the campers in the right mind set. Most are intimidated on the first day, and I try anything I can to alleviate this tension. I want those here to not only make themselves better, but challenge themselves to make everyone around them better. This is something that we should think about each morning – “how exactly can I make myself and those around me better today?”. One of the keys to doing this is to free up ourselves mentally, so that we find a place where success and failure don’t matter. Only than can we take those uncompromising chances and really begin to learn about ourselves.

OK, enough philosophical mumbo jumbo. Some other things I wanted to write about:

Huge new discovery in nutritional science this week. I’m sure that you have all heard or read this in the news: To lose weight, it’s not so much what you eat, but rather it’s more about taking in less calories than you are expending. This is revolutionary! What a breakthrough!!! Finally, we figured out that if you burn more calories than you consume daily, you’ll lose weight.

I’ve been catching up on some movies while riding the computrainer. Keep in mind that trainer movies should be filled with action, and not make you think to much. I know there are scholars out there reading this saying it never hurts to think – if you become to distracted to focus on some quality (a trainer ride should be all about quality), then save it for the sofa. I saw a movie with Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie where they play assassins who can bend the path of bullets. It starts out as a combination of The Matrix, Office Space and Fight Club (yeah, it’s that hoaxy) and almost loses me, but I end up hanging in there for one reason and one reason only; Angelina. Goddamn is she stunning. Funny thing is the movie actually gets a bit entertaining. I recommend it for both sexes as I think just as many women find Angelina unbelievably attractive whether they admit it or not. I also saw Hancock with Will Smith which was surprisingly good - Will Smith plays the role well.

I'll be posting daily hopefully with some pictures and maybe some video as well, so stay tuned.

Cheers,

EH

Polar Bear Run

Sunday morning, I awoke feeling like I should stay in bed for a few more hours. I have a hard time doing this though. I wish I could, but when I'm up, I'm up. I planned on running the Polar Bear Run around Lake Warmaug and wasn't feeling motivated about it. Lisa and the kids were coming up to Lake Warmaug with me to visit Anita, the kids sitter who lives close by to the Lake. Before getting out of Monroe, I get a call from Baker who was planning on running as well. He was in the same boat as me in that he wasn't to keen on racing. I could tell that Baker was just waiting for me to give him the OK sign to bail, but Baker is solid - he would never bail on his own. After hanging up, I said to Lisa "Man, I don't feel like driving all the way up to Lake Warmaug to run an 8 mile race at 11am when I could run from here and be done by 11am." She said "Then why are you going?" I was ready to turn the car around but I always am preaching to my kids that you follow through on things.

After registering, I did an easy warm-up jog which didn't feel easy. I knew it was going to be a tough run. Just before the start, I was trying to decide on going with a singlet or a long sleeve jersey; 95% of the time in a race, I'd go with the "less" scenario, however, for some strange reason I decided on the long sleeves thankfully. As we waited for a bunch of bozo's to tie their shoes right in front of the race start, it begins to rain. It's a cold, freezing rain that's quickly drenching us. Since my hypothermia from Ralph's 1/2 IM in 2006, I have little tolerance to these conditions. By mile two I was shivering. At this point, the hammerheads out of the gate were starting to come back, and the rain was changing to a dense snow. This big guy runs up on me and for the next 4.5 miles, we run side by side. The conditions were so bizarre and by mile six, it was a white out and the road was covered. I was still freezing - i just couldn't warm up, but i was still running:) I felt very stiff and my gate didn't feel fluid, yet I could hear the big guy next to me and his breathing was beginning to sound more labored. I dropped him and went after fifth place who had been about 100 meters in front of us the whole race. I caught him with 1/2 mile to go and then kicked it in.

I didn't hang around to long after the race - in fact, I jogged back towards the campground area at the Lake where I saw Lisa and the kids parked, changed into some dry clothes, and headed out. It took me the rest of the day to warm-up, but you know what, I'm glad I went. Smaller races - there are many times where I think "why bother, just get in your training here early", but the bottom line is that it was great to be in the race atmosphere again - to toe the line. And I may not have run as fast as I would have liked but I still ran close to 8 miles at a sub 6 min pace, something I would not have done if I stayed home and trained. It was also very cool to be in the race scenario with 5th, 6th and 7th at the 6 mile mark. This made it exciting and it really tests what you are made of. So it's all good and re-enforces why it's important to get out there and enter some races, even when you don't feel like it.

Cheers,

EH

TOC

Phil Ligget's and Paul Sherwin's voices bring enjoyment to my ears. Have you ever tried watching a televised bike race with other commentators besides these two? It's painful. Bob Roll is also great and I'm even liking Craig Hummer. The conditions thus far at the Tour Of California have been anything but Californian. Seeing these guys race in these conditions is not only motivating, but it can make you feel soft for opting to RUN inside because it's drizzling out.

I'm currently watching a breakaway on the the fourth stage which contains Tyler Hamilton. Funny, even after his bullshit excuses during his trial for being caught blood doping, I still find myself rooting for him in this stage?. What's strange is that I'm typically a one chance kind of guy. I used to be more forgiving, but age hardens you, or at least washes out some of the naivete. You learn that loyalty needs to work both ways. In regards to A-Rod and pro baseball players, I'm anything but sympathetic. What's the difference you ask? I don't know... These pro baseball players are hardly tested and then getaway with such small penalties, especially considering what they make. I'm by no means excusing the cheats in pro cycling. Maybe it's the amount of work and labor these cyclists put into their sport versus the amount they're paid, along with the amount they are tested and the penalty they serve. All of the athletes in these two sports are under great pressure to perform. If anyone thinks that A-Rod was only on the juice for the three seasons he's confessed to, take a look at pictures of him from his early years and compare them to pictures of him from the past five seasons.

There's a lot of illness going around at the moment. My daughter has a fever and upper respiratory bug as well as my kids sitter. Many of my pt clients or their families have something going on. I have been having a very healthy winter until yesterday where I awoke with nausea and a bad stomach. Seems as though it was just a 24 hr bug though as I'm feeling much better now.

I leave for Tucson a week from Saturday which I'm really looking forward to. We have a fun group that I plan on introducing in my blog and on my site. I'll be posting daily from AZ.

Cheers,

EH

My Zen

Lisa and I ventured into NYC a few days ago for an early Valentines Day getaway. The next morning, I felt the need to work off some of ceviche, duck quesadillas, lobster pot pie, and red wine from the previous evening so I met a client of mine in Central Park to run. It was a beautiful morning for running – in the low 40’s and sunny. Towards the end of the run, Lewis mentioned how he was really looking forward to a cup of coffee, to which I commented that a post run cup of coffee is relaxing. He rebutted that often people comment on how having a cup of coffee is relaxing, and how they have coffee places with a relaxing set up inside and how Sirius has a “Coffee House” channel that plays all soothing and relaxing music, yet coffee amps him up – the caffeine gets him going.

So I was once again pondering this yesterday during a running hill repeat session. This was a vo2 max session and I worked it to the point where I was nauseous. On my last set of three hill repeats, I honestly thought I was going to hurl – it was great! Endurance athletes will understand what I mean here. I had 20 minutes still to run home and they certainly weren’t flat miles, yet the pace was easier. During this time, I felt spent, yet my leg turnover felt easy and my head was in a very cool, relaxed place. I felt this way for much of the afternoon following this run. I was in that haze of exhaustion yet knowing I just busted my ass in a solid session and feeling good about that as well as enjoying my overall fatigue.

I realized that I need to be in motion to relax. Typically, people will relax by lying around, maybe reading a book or watching television. Maybe just catching an afternoon nap. Once I’m awake in the morning, I need to get up. I’m not one to lay there half asleep hitting the snooze. I’ve tried – many times, and I’m anything but relaxed. I often wish I could do this, but it’s just not me. While I advocate taking a nap if you can squeeze one in, I just can’t do this either. Yet, when I’m active, doing things I get a sense of satisfaction from, I find my Zen state. When I’m turning the pedals on a long ride in beautiful country, I feel at peace. I think Lisa finally gets this. It took awhile, but she will now tell me every so often that I need to go out and train. She understands that I’ll return in a calmer state.

The funny thing is that the majority of people – the average Joe, will laugh at the thought of exercise and movement as being relaxing, thinking that the body has to be relaxed. But the real key is the mind. I’m sure that most endurance athletes get it.

Climbing On My Mind

Above is my new Cannondale Supersix that will be carrying me around Tucson in a few weeks!

When you get a sunny 58 degree day in February here in CT, you gotta take advantage. I snuck out this afternoon for a nice hilly ride, taking in what I believe to be every single hill within 20 miles of my house, including 188 from rt. 34, Punkup Rd. from rt. 34, rt. 111 from rt. 34, and rt. 34 from from the damn towards Newtown/Sandy Hook. It felt great to ride outdoors without thirty layers of clothing on - I was actually sweating today. As I rode, I thought about the fact that I'll be climbing Mt. Lemmon in just a few weeks, and then thought about the best climbs I've done on two wheels. I've had the fortune to ride in some pretty cool places and up some pretty cool climbs. Here's my list of my favorite climbs that I have experienced, in descending order based on my favorite climbs, not in order of toughness:

9. Idylwild Climb in Palm Springs, CA. - this climb was my first where I was climbing non-stop for close to an hour. The scenery was cool, although the traffic was a negative.


8. Northwest Corner of CT Route - this corner of CT and parts of MA and NY has some spectacular riding and I have a route that's just a killer including climbs up Greer Mountain Rd. and then soon after up Carter Hill Rd. It's just brutal, but very scenic.

7. Joshua Tree National Park, CA - this park has some nice, long gradual climbs, and the park is just so cool.

6. Whiteface Mountain, Lake Placid New York - a bit over 8 miles, The USA's Alpe D'Huezsince it's supposedly equal in distance and gradient. It's a tough climb, and what makes it more challenging is that the six or so times I've climbed it, the weather has always been shitty!

5. Kitt Peak, near Tucson, AZ -11 mile steady climb at a challenging gradient, winding around a mountain with views of desert valleys. The climb finishes at an observatory on top of the mountain.

4. Mauna Kea Climb in Hawaii - This climbs a son of a bitch! It starts at a road in between Kailua and the airport off the queen K and just climbs and climbs for close to an hour. There are some gradients above 17% thrown in for fun near the top!

3. Mt. Lemmon, Tucson, AZ - Climbing for 26 miles!!! The gradient averages just over 6% for the climb which is tame compared to the other climbs I've mentioned, but it's 26 miles! Amazing views and you start in desert, enter high desert, then you actually go through an evergreen forest.

2. Port D'Bales, France - This has only been in the tour once since until a few years ago, it was a dirt road. This is the most challenging individual climb of my list here. It was long - something like 25 kilometers, and had some killer gradients.

1. Combo big day - Peyressoude, Col D'Aspin, Tourmalet, France - Not much to say here that I already haven't said. This triple climb is nostalgic in Tour history, is incredibly challenging, has amazing scenery and views - it has it all! It'll be tough to top this one.

The best part about these climbs is of course, you get to descend them as well.

Cheers,

EH

Cutting Edge

I've mentioned many times about how I have been involved in endurance sports for quite awhile, and how I believe in cummulative base, reaching, changing things up, and always challenging yourself. This year, I'm taking it to a whole new level. I am doing some radical training with the hopes that I will set some new and solid pr's this season. The training is not easy, although it's very time efficient. I'm not going to the pool (what else is new). I'm not riding my bike (save that for race day). No need to run. According to the infomercial, All that I need to keep doing is Hip Hop Abs.

Cheers,

EH

metaphors

Endurance athletes often use the lessons they learn from sport in life. I guess all athletes do somewhat. Besides teaching us more about ourselves, sport can quickly show others ones true personality. Don't believe me? Go play a sport with someone - any sport, and you'll see many of the persons true personality traits. Back to the metaphor of sport and life;

I've witnessed many different reactions thus far on how people are approaching and dealing with the current state of affairs in our country. It's very reminiscent of what I've seen firsthand on the race course. Let's take last years Lake Placid IM as an example. Athletes trained there little asses off preparing for this huge event and day in their lives. They awoke to a pretty miserable day, with cooler weather and torrential downpours most of the day.

Some dealt with the day with such negativism, doubting themselves from the get go. You could see it on their faces clear as day - well not clear as that day. They had the "woe is me" approach. The "why the hell is this happening to me? I can't believe we were dealt this day! This really sucks!" attitude. I talked with quite a few athletes after the race who gave into the day, letting it get the best of them.


Then there was the middle road approach. These athletes went with the flow of the day, readjusting and racing cautiously and hoping for the best. They didn't give in, but they went with the masses hoping for the best later on. These athletes finished a few hours slower than they wanted to.

There were a group that did seize the day. They realized that most were faltering on this obscure and pathetic weather day, and they took hold and upped the ante. They smiled at the conditions, took an opportunity realizing that most would go conservative or falter, and they persevered big. These are the athletes that nailed their goals and even pr'd! Yes, there were some that set personal bests that day. They certainly weren't reckless, but rather, they were calculated and aggressive and confident and driven. I coached a few of these athletes and it was certainly cool to witness.

In this new, interesting, turbulent year, which path will you be following?

On another note, last nights 30 Rock was hilarious! If you don't watch this show yet, why not?

Cheers,

EH

Self Analyzing Running

There are two treadmills at my gym that are set up directly in front of a mirror. The rest face outdoors, peering through the glass wall. Of the 12 treadmills at the gym, only two now will not skip and will hold speed when it's set above 11mph. I was relegated to the one of these which is facing the mirror. As I ran, I analyzed my form, and thought process and how it affected my effort and gait, and confirmed a few things; first, while running at a fast effort, the more that I focused on turning over from the hip, relaxing my upper body, and kicking up behind me, the more comfortable I was at that speed. What affected it more though were two things - If I smiled it felt easier. that simple. Seems goofy, but it works. As I ran at a hard effort, smiling, it turned my thoughts automatically into the positiveness of just running and training in general. Yes, again, sounds goofy, but try it - what have you got to lose? You already look dweeby in your tight running shorts, matching tri-shirt, compression socks, heart rate monitor, fuel belt, and matching wrist and head band (yeah, you know that's you), so you may as well put a dumb grin on your face. The other was thinking aggressive. If I were running say at 11 mph, instead of thinking "try to keep up with this speed!", I'd aggressively try to outrun that speed crowding the front of the treadmill so that I actually had to back off my own tempo a bit.

Too often we get in the pattern of "hoping" we have a good run and can keep up a specific pace, and thinking too much about whether we are going to hard and if we'll blow. Smile and be aggressive and you'll get that much more out of your next tempo, interval or race session. Simple as that.

Not much going on that's exciting...

Trying to think of something to post for the sake of posting - that's no good. The Superbowl? Great game, what more to say? The Doritos commercial was hands down the best one.

Training is going well. I ran the Stratford Sweetheart Run course on Sunday before the Superbowl - my father, and older sisters ran it also which was cool. That's a bitch of a course - just the way I like it. Most of us are too caught up in times searching for courses where we could pr. I always wanted to break 9 hrs in an IM (and I still will!) but I certainly didn't choose the right IM course to do this. I think in the long run, it'll be the challenge of the courses that I'll remember more and that will have more of an impact than the times I did. Ran tempo on the treadmill today which went well. 2 mile warm-up, 3 X 2 miles at 5:30 to 5:40 pace w/ .5 mi easy in between each, then a 1 mi cooldown. Good stuff.

I'm sucked right back into 24.

My motivation is still running well. I'm certainly looking forward to Arizona in a few weeks, however, considering this winter, I'm quite pleased with my drive at the moment. Why not though? I mean, if you are having motivation issues, it's usually due to something that's pretty clear, right? And although we know usually what's causing motivational issues, we still can search trying to come up with other reasons.

I received a rough cut of my trainer dvd and, although I'm overly critical of myself, it's coming out amazing. The production just blows away spinervals dvd's. Hopefully we'll have it ready for release within the next month. You hear that Sean?!

There are some new things up on my home page ( www.hodska.com ) including an excellent article by Greg P. comparing the latest Shimano, Camp and Sram groups, and also the newest from Rob Straz which is a great read.

Cheers,

EH