My RI race, part 1 (not that I want to drag this out...)

...but it was getting lengthy and I'm done for the day.

Triathlon is pretty simple. The gun goes off, you swim, change quickly, bike, change quickly, then run. I don’t know what it is about this simplistic sport that draws me in so much. I’ve pondered this over and over, searching, and maybe even creating some reason. The bottom line is that I love it, simple as that, simple as the sport is. Maybe I’m just simple?

The skinny: I had a big breakfast. I swam 27 something, biked 2:19 something, ran 1:26 something for a 4:16 w/ transitions. I drank my calories on the bike and used water and coke on the run. I loved the course. The race was very well organized. I didn’t think there were any hills in Rhode Island. My Nineteen wetsuit felt great, My Cannondale Slice was amazing, I saw really well through my Oakleys, and the hammer nutrition products were just right. After a year off, it was great to be back on the starting line. I’m going back to race Kona.

If you don’t want to hear any of my personal emotions on this day, then you can stop reading now. Once again, this blog is my personal journal and I want to mark down some things to remember this day.

The last time I raced was Clearwater in 2007. I did the Lake Warmaug sprint and the NYC marathon in 2008 – both great and different races, but they were more spontaneous fun than setting a goal, training specifically, going through the process. I enjoy the process of training towards a goal. So as I drove up to Rhode Island Saturday morning, Big Rocks riding shotgun, I thought about the fact that I’ve had a lot of downtime. I wondered if I had lost that edge.

One thing I knew is that I was going up to this race for a reason – to get a Kona slot. I last raced in Hawaii in 2006. In 2007, I went out to the race to work it for MyAthlete. I remember standing on Palani Hill as the athletes ran by, thinking “man, am I glad I’m not racing this year!” I went back out last year to work it once again for MyAthlete, and standing on Palani Hill, watching the athletes run by, I thought “fuck, I wish I was racing!”. I had the itch again, but also new my priorities in life are way different now. The thing is, I also feel I could race well on limited training. I wouldn’t want to go there if I couldn’t race it. I have no desire to do an Ironman just to cross the finish line. That’s a great goal for your first IM. So I sat down with Lisa and asked what she thought about going back to Hawaii in 2009 if I qualified. I still recall her response clearly of “you better qualify bitch!”.

This Spring has been very busy. I have the tendency to burn the candle a bit too often and found myself run down and sick through a good portion of June. My training for RI wasn’t optimal by any means, yet I still had the sense that I could put it together, and I had confidence in getting a Kona slot. Not cockiness, but confidence. I think that if your goal is to get a slot for Hawaii, you have to show up at the qualifier confident that the slot is yours, and yours to lose. If you go there thinking “I hope I get a slot” then you don’t stand a good chance. Just my opinion, but hope doesn’t show signs of confidence. “Hope” is what you do when something is out of your control.

OK, back to the race. My manager (my dad) and I had a nice day on Saturday. We got up to Providence early, got all the registration and pre race BS done, had some good meals, … Not much relaxing time and it seemed like we walked a ton, but it’s a gift to have the opportunity as an adult to do things like this with your father and I don’t take it for granted. I ran into Bruce Gennari from Nashville in front of our hotel. Bruce is an amazing athlete, a hell of a nice guy, and who I thought would be my biggest competition in my age group on Sunday. Bruce is an amazing swimmer. He’s been first out of the water in Kona overall before in 46 minutes and he can ride and run as well. In fact, he’s been the overall national triathlon champ before. Bruce and I have been racing each other for a long time now. Having a competitor like this certainly brings out the best in you, and our race on Sunday wouldn’t disappoint.

Sunday wake up call was at 3:15am. We had to be in Narraganset for bike check in before 5am. Gus came up to spectate and joined us for the trip to the swim start. It was great having him here as well. It’s always cool to have good energy around pre race. Gus has a little race coming up in two weeks that he’s primed for and I think that being up at this race may give him the extra bit of motivation he needs to have that exceptional day. I ran into a bunch of familiar faces at the swim start including some of my athletes. The wind was really blowing and the water was extremely choppy, leaving most that I ran into very nervous. Most except for Bruce G. who was hoping for tough swim conditions so he could capitalize even more on his strength.

My age group was the 12th wave, going off 50 minutes after the mail pro’s begun. Not the best situation but what are you gonna do? I lined up direct center in the front of my wave start right next to Bruce. The swells looked huge! A friend in my wave spotted me and asked what I’m doing here racing. I asked what he meant? He said “I thought you weren’t racing much nowadays?” I replied “they got some Hawaii slots at this race and I’m getting the itch again.” Bruce mentioned that he wasn’t going for a slot, but I still was racing for first regardless. Then, quickly, the gun fired and we charged into the surf. I ran in through some breaks and watched as most to my sides hit it and began stroking. I continued to take a few dolphin dives since it was shallow and gained a body length on everyone. It was short lived though as Bruce came by. I thought “get on his toes and hold for as long as possible” which lasted for all of five seconds – and that’s being generous. Soon, very soon, he disappeared into the huge surf. I was still all alone out there. No contact from other competitors which is always nice. The ocean was rough though – maybe the roughest open water race swim I’ve ever been in. You’d be sitting high on top of a wave, and then drop deep into the swell before crashing into the next wave. This lasted the whole way out. There was another swimmer swimming parallel to me on the way out. I put in some stronger efforts and he stayed right next to me. I could see I wasn’t going to pull ahead, so instead, I actually dropped back behind him. The pace felt easy although each time I tried to break around him, it felt tough. So I stayed relaxed and let him set the pace. Coming back into shore, if you timed it right, you would get a nice push form the incoming rollers. The rhythm of these rollers was not consistent however. Anyways. After getting tossed around and drinking a lot of salt water, I ended up on shore in 27 minutes. Not bad considering I swam eight times since last October. But pathetic considering Bruce put 6 minutes into me in the swim. Six freakin minutes!!! He had the fastest swim of the day swimming 21 minutes!!! I had my work cut out for me for the next two legs…

mission accomplished

I'm goin back to Kona!

Sport and Rec

Sport, and the recreation that we pursue, be it as children or adults, is a great indicator towards our true personality. Some things can certainly change throughout time, as some stay the same. For example, I hate to lose, always have. I didn't grow until I was a freshman in college and was insecure. Combine that with a late start into athletics and I thought I was always a below average athlete. Once I grew and became smarter and realized that I had some ability, my insecurities disappeared and my confidence grew. Sport taught me how to get along with others. How to adjust and adapt socially. It taught me discipline and how to set and achieve goals. I have learned so much threw sport and recreation that have molded the person I am today. But if you want an accelerated course in learning a person, whether they are timid or bold, adventurous or safe, fun or boring, honest or bullshitters, spend a day training with them. It's something more business people and people getting involved in relationships should do.

Cheers,

EH

Busy times...

Or just not in the blogging mood. Actually a combination of the two. It was a beautiful weekend, I'm feeling healthy, the Tour has begun, ... Life is good.

A bit late now for the remaining LP recap. Let's just say that the camp was challenging, hard, and fun. We rode a lot, we ran a lot, we swam a lot, and we laughed a lot. All the things that a camp should be.

I need to get back on track with this stupid blog this week. because it's been a great personal journal for me and I should be recording some of the stuff that's been taking place as of late.

LP Camp Review - part 1

I really don't know what the term "feeling content" means. I often wish I could feel content about situations and things, but it's tough for me to do. And because I have a hard time feeling content, I also need to learn that this isn't the same for everyone else, and that as a coach, I need to not impose my perspectives on others. Yet at the same time, I can't think of one time that I have pushed someone too far at a camp, to the point where they didn't benefit physically or mentally from it - more so mentally. Some of those who have attended may argue this, but I stand by this statement. After all, aren't we pursuing this whole triath-o-lon thingy looking for self discovery? If we aren't continually searching for more in ourselves, then why are we doing this? And here I go again forcing my viewpoint. Maybe we can "just" participate because we like being active and enjoy being outside? I have to think that this is just a way of justifying, again, giving my viewpoint, but hey, this is my blog. The bottom line though is that I push everyone hard at camp and I do so because I'd like those who attend to come away maybe learning something new about themselves and because I want them to experience something that they may not necessarily experience had they just decided to do their own personal training camp. I feel I was successful in this with those who attended the LP camp 09'.

I arrived early on Tuesday and already described my Tuesday adventure in a previous post. The camp didn't begin until Wednesday evening, so on Wednesday morning, Jeff and I headed back to the base of Whiteface, this time, taking the trail, determined to run to the top. Well, we made it, but saying we ran would be embellishing a bit. The trail was so steep and technical that running wasn't really an option for 2/3rds of it. Yet our heart rates were still up near threshold the whole time. We made it to the peak in just under 2 hrs for 5.6 miles! And the rangers at the top were blown away by this time, pointing out that it's typically an all day occasion for most "hikers". It was a beautiful day, sunny and in the 70's which is odd for the Seattlesque spring we have had. The views from the top of Whiteface were amazing, and after a few ooohs and ahhs, we hitched a ride back down the mountain. After breakfast, we headed out on our bikes for a 3 hr ride. I wanted to check out some new roads that I'd use with the campers on Friday. Jeff nicknamed this section of road "The Land Of The Lost". Lot's of climbing on this ride and it felt comforting to be back on my bike up in LP. Comforting, yet not content. The campers arrived Wednesday afternoon which meant the pre-camp debriefing, an easy social run and then dinner.

Thursday, we awoke to rain drops, however the forecast looked drier in the morning than in the afternoon so I switched the days agenda and we saddled up and headed out for a loop of the LP course. It sprinkled on us for maybe the first 45 minutes and then it was relatively dry the rest of the time. Oh yeah, I was cramming though for swimming, so Jeff and I headed over to mirror lake to get in a swim before the ride. We stopped along certain points of the bike course so I could break down each section and discuss how to ride and race this course. Doug Bell was concerned for the weather and came out in a full gortex, 1980's Frank Shorter looking running suit. I told him it looked as though he was wearing a has mat suit, yet it did earn him the mvp for the day. Some lunch and then we headed over to Mount Marcy for some trail running. I sent over Angela with a group 20 minutes prior to my group - the idea was to get us all to the amazing lookout on this particular trail around the same time. I warned everyone to take some shoes and clothes they didn't mind getting muddy. As I took my group into the trail, about 10 minutes in, Ange's group was coming back. "it's washed out - the trail is washed out." She said. "Look, were all muddy." Someone else said. They looked pretty clean to me considering the trail I knew ahead and the amount of rain we had this spring. They were heading out to run the dirt road. I told them my group was going onward, not giving my group much of an option. We ran single file and soon encountered the swamp which was certainly wet, yet fun. We were running in knee deep mud, slipping and sliding all over, jumping over and through puddles, losing shoes in the mud, a few face plants,... Basically, acting like kids. And it was a blast! Not only were there no complaints, but my group thrived on it. Once out of the swamp, you begin climbing right away, and climbing, and climbing. I was off the front a bit and heard some rustling in the woods to my left and caught something coming at me out of my peripheral vision. I stopped startled to face head on a hawk. It swooped right past me as I yelled at it, then it landed and was hissing at me. I never took my eyes off it yet began moving up the trail, and it took off.

I love taking first timers to the lookout on this particular trail. It's simply stunning, looking over the high peak mountains. You can even see the town of Lake Placid off in the distance and the omnipresent ski jumps popping up out of the woods. We hung out for a bit before the slippery, quick descent. From the trails we headed straight to mirror lake to get in a swim - my second of the day (did you hear that Gus?).

Dinner at Nicolas was a fun time to retell the days stories, laugh a lot, and have a few Lake Placid Brewery beers. A salad and the #5 pizza is tough to beat here. Then our nightly visit to Ben and Jerry's (I highly recommend the triple caramel chunk), and you'd call that a great day.

brief update on LP camp 09'

Sorry I haven't posted each day here at camp. I guess I should be apologizing to myself since I try to write this blog as though I'm keeping a journal for me.

It's been an amazing camp - especially the Friday ride which I found this year, which is top secret, and which all the campers here who have attended some of my other camps claimed as one of, if not, the best ride route they have done.

For all the nasty weather forecasts and predictions, we escaped relatively dry every day! In fact, yesterday (Saturday) was probably the best conditions I've ever witnessed here; overcast and high 60's with no wind. It would have been a record setting day had the race been yesterday.

I will do a more detailed write up, later today or this coming week, on each day and the campers who were once again a lot of fun.

As it turns out, I am dealing with a head cold/virus. It seems that the allergies, combined with my own ignorance of ignoring the need for sleep due to lifes demands has weakened my immunity. It's forced some interesting decisions, at least to me, with my race schedule. Right now, I need to rest up and heal and let my immune system regain it's strength.

More later...

Deliverance

Was taking pictures on the way up here today to do a "guess where i am" but the camera died. I'm back in Lake Placid - I don't need to once again describe how great it is up here and to be back up here. Let's just say that if you aren't here, well, that's a shame.

Jeff met me up here today, a day before camp starts. Our plan was to run up Whiteface. We have ridden up it a few times, and were anxious to tackle the 8+ mile climb by foot. We started the run in sunny 70's weather around 2pm. You start right at it on this sucker, just climbing right from the get go. The pace was comfortable and we were clicking away the miles, solving the worlds problems. Around the 3 mile mark, you encounter the toll booth. There is only one road that climbs up Whiteface and between the hours of 8:30 and 4:30, while cars are allowed up, cyclists and runners aren't allowed on the road. The toll booth kid seemed a bit stoned so Jeff and I persuaded him to let us keep going. About 4.5 miles up the climb, a pick-up pulls over right in front of us and two bearded, wild eyed guys jumped out. One had a shot gun and the other a billy club (why is it called a billy club???). As the guy with the shotgun held me at gun point, the other overall wearing, billy club wielding redneck threw Molson into the back of the pick-up. I heard a lot of squealing and couldn't spot the billy club for a bit... OK, truth be told, (because I know that if there are a few of you out there reading this, you were buying it) The guys did hop out and yelled at us like we were high school kids telling us that we were breaking the law and ordered us to get into the pick-up, where they drove us back down to the toll booth and let us out to run back down the mountain. We did however find a trail that goes to the top of Whiteface and tomorrow morning, we will be there, reaching the peak by foot.

We drove back to LP and stopped at Mirror Lake for a swim. I actually swam! The water was beautiful, and warm, easily in the upper 60's which with a full wetsuit made it more than comfortable. I swam a loop of the IM course and felt pretty good. Maybe all that Vasa trainer training actually worked?. I swam with the new MyAthlete waterproof "Shadow" gps tracking device. I'll post a link tomorrow since I'll be training with the shadow all week at camp. It tracked me swimming in mirror lake with no issues!

The last two weeks have been stressful and tiresome weeks for me. My training hasn't been great at all during these two weeks and I even had some freak virus over the weekend, so to say that it feels great to be here is a serious understatement.

Cheers,

EH

Rev 3

Earlier this year I thought about racing the Rev 3, however, the timeliness of it with my work schedule and the race I want to key in on didn't fit. Then, Cannondale, and Matt Cappiello in particular, asked if I'd be interested in doing the race as a team. Matt would do the swim, Curt Davis, an ex-pro cyclist, engineer for Cannondale, and all around nice guy, would do the ride. I'd be the runner. "Why not?" I told Cappy, and we were signed up. I never really took the race seriously. I've never done a team tri before, and to be honest, I kind of snoottily thought of the team race as a cop out to doing the whole thing. I get the fact that some can't swim, or can't ride, or can't run, but for those that could, why not do all three? However, I knew the full race would leave me flat for my key race and thought this would be a fun way to get in a hard 1/2 marathon run.

There was no taper. In fact, I was on my bike at 4:30am on Saturday morning getting in a hard brick. Again, this was because I was downplaying the whole team thing. Well, I show up at the race this morning and see that there are quite a few teams and quite a few teams taking this very seriously. I thought "Oh shit, maybe I should have taken this a bit more seriously!" Yes, that's exactly what I thought.

The organization of the race was great. They did put on a top notch race. My concern for the race is that first, there were only 700 athletes signed up (including pros) and this was a very expensive race to put on, and second, there weren't many spectators there considering the hype behind the race. The gps tracking company that is a direct competitor with MyAthlete and that hyped the shit out of live tracking for every athlete at this race was basically non-existent. There were a few athletes wearing their clunky devices and they didn't even work. They are brilliant with their marketing though.

The thing about doing the run in a relay is that there is a lot of waiting. I sat around in the sun and actually met a lot of nice people. Quite a few who actually read this blog?! (And I though that Baker and Big Rocks were the only two who read this crap) I was anxious to get running, and knew that I'd have to run hard if I wanted to win the relay division. Greg Pelican had a stellar team including a fast swimmer and a 2:30 marathoner. There was another team who had a female swimmer that came out well under 25 minutes and their cyclist was a pro as well. This team put over 15 minutes into us by the end of the ride, and Cappy and Curt did great, which is a testament to how fast they were moving. Curt built a four minute lead on Greg by the end of the ride, so I left in second place, chasing a ghost and running scared.

My goal was to knock off six minute pace, and the first two miles were downhill so I clicked off 5:45's. You start the run of the relay after sitting around waiting and there is no one around you and you have to start out at an aggressive pace. I significantly underestimated the intensity of this and was awakening to this in the first few miles. I'm having my worst allergy season to date and following the thursday friday rain, my allergies were kicking in strong, and my breathing was compromised. I'm not making excuses here, but rather just stating the facts. At the four mile mark, you begin climbing for the next two miles and half way through, I had a full blown asthma attack. I was gasping for breath and forced to walk for a bit until my breathing settled down, my lungs relaxed, and I gained control. I haven't had too many of these and I have to say that it's a scary and uncontrollable feeling. I began running again at a more relaxed and controlled effort but it still didn't feel great. I plugged along and finally around the seven mile mark, I felt like I could run. In fact, the last five miles were my best. It felt good to finish strong, however, I was bummed about the early miles, especially since I've been training well and running well. I held off Greg's runner and after finishing, realized that the lead relay finished less than a minute in front of me! The course is tough and windy so you can't see who is in front of you. Of course I'm kicking myself with the "if only's" now. The lesson today that being part of a relay can be a serious bitch, with the waiting around and starting with no-one in sight. Honestly, I would have rather raced the whole thing. I don't think my time would have been much different. In know way am I trying to say that the relay is harder than doing the whole thing. Racing the whole race is definitely harder. However, I think my underestimation combined with allergies made today a more challenging endeavor than I would have imagined.

Some side notes - the course is a son of a bitch and is great! This is one tough course. I spoke quite a bit with Luke Bell who dnf'd after snapping his front derailleur five miles into the ride. He's one hell of a nice guy and very down to earth. Matt Reed and Miranda Carfee are studs.

I had quite a few athletes who raced today and raced really well. I think Straz took second in his age group, Gus placed third in his age group and had a great day. Annmarie placed fourth and had an equally great day. These two are keying in on IMLP and I hardly tapered them for this race! Megan, Mandy, Jeff B., Greg P., Jim H., and Tim S. all did really well. They all finished strongly. Chris T. who I've been running with a bunch (or who's been kicking my ass) raced like a pro today. He won the overall amateur race and was only a few minutes off the top pro run splits. Congrats to them and all who finished, and thanks to my team mates for actually a fun day!

Cheers,

EH

random jibberish once again

• If you live in CT and didn't get a chance to get outside and ride, run, or do something this weekend, then that's a shame.
  
• The past three Saturdays, I've been starting my rides at 5am due to busy family commitments taking place throughout the rest of the day. It's tough getting up early, even though I'm up at 4:30am mon through fri, but I am actually really enjoying these rides. They have been hard efforts, with a good portion of them at LT. But the roads are empty and the surroundings are peaceful. It's my time - my sanctuary, and I finish at 8am just when most are waking up.
  
• Lisa and I had a fourteenth wedding anniversary last week. We went out to a great restaurant (Union League Cafe) in New Haven. Of all the anniversary cards out there, we both got each other the same exact one. During our conversations, her 40th birthday which is a few years away came up, and how I have to plan something way out there considering the trip she gave me. I mentioned how "it's going to be a great trip". She was very curious as to "where" I had planned, but it doesn't matter. I asked her to name one bad trip we've been on and she couldn't think of any. The bottom line is that when you find the right person, it doesn't matter where you go.


• Back to the early morning ride - I'm at my daughters 8:30am soccer game and the parents sitting around us are bitching about the early 8:30am game. There something very empowering, and yet peaceful, knowing that you already got in a three hour ride before most were even awake. It just makes the rest of the day that much better, and as you sit there half dazed, listening to many complain about things, it makes the tedious task of viewing u6 soccer that much more tolerable.
  
• My athletes are continuing to kick ass. Peggy C. won her age group at Ridgefield tri today and Matt C. and Matt W. came in 6th and 8th overall, respectively.
  
• It's amazing just exactly how much the weather effects the moods of most.


• This is definitely the worst allergy spring season to date!
  
• After a very busy day, it's hard to beat sushi and a few glasses of good wine.

Cheers,

EH

Guest Blogger David Uri: Remembering Steve Larsen

Below is an email I received from my friend David Uri:

Dear Friends,

I hope this note finds you and your family well. As some of you may be aware, Steve Larsen, one of the most accomplished cyclists and triathletes, tragically died May 19, 2009, at the young age of 39. While the exact cause of death is not yet known, he was in the midst of doing what he loved most, running with a group of athletes. Steve leaves behind his wife Carrie of 16 years and five children – Amalia (13), Massimo (11), Gunnar (4) and twins Marco and Mateo (2). Steve was extremely well respected in the business and athletic communities, and was seemingly able to balance his family, professional and athletic commitments with amazing skill and dedication. Most of all he was a devoted father of five young children. If you are unfamiliar with Steve’s biography take a moment to check out www.rememberstevelarsen.com. I am sure you would agree that someone with his talent, on many levels, is a rare find today.
I have followed Steve’s athletic career for many years and only recently came to know him on a personal level when I moved to Bend, Oregon a few years ago. Steve and I worked on a few business opportunities together and shortly after I arrived in Bend, Steve and his family moved across the street from us.
With the tragic death of Steve, our entire community is mourning his loss. As a father of three young children, I cannot even imagine how difficult it must be for the Larsen Family at this moment. Just imagine you or your spouse vanishing and the enormous void that would be left behind. What do you tell your young children and just imagine how devastating it would be to them. Their tragedy is so “close to home” that I felt compelled to reach out to my network of friends, as well as the broader athletic community, to ask you to join me in supporting Steve’s family.
A few days before Steve’s passing, I was discussing with him an upcoming race that I was contemplating – a 100k ultramarathon. Steve gave me encouragement to participate in the race and with that I entered the event literally the day before he passed away. In recognition of Steve and to support his family, I have set out to raise $100,000 for the Larsens. While this is no way will ease their suffering, it will give the family some financial breathing room for the long road ahead of them.
It is in this spirit of helping those in need, that I personally ask each of you join me in this helping this wonderful cause. Specifically,
Please give generously and help support the Larsen family during their time of need. Checks can made out to the Steve Larsen Memorial Fund and be sent to Umpqua Bank, 390 SW Century Drive, Suite 100, Bend, OR, 97702 or you can donate directly at www.rememberstevelarsen.com. All funds received will be directed to the Larsen Family. If you are so inclined, take a moment to write a short note to the Larsen Family with support and encouragement.
Without any delay, forward this email to 10 friends or colleagues. This is an opportunity to get many people in your community involved. In fact, I am hopeful that some of you will take it upon yourself to lead such a fundraising effort yourself and further expand the reach.
Like you, I typically don’t look forward to receiving monetary requests or chain letters, but this is simply one cause that cannot go overlooked. It is times like this that we need to do the right thing and support someone who offered a tremendous amount to others. Steve was the type of person who always had encouraging words for people and his life should be an example followed by others. Please “pay it forward” and assist this most deserving family during this time of need.
Thank you for your time and I am hopeful you will be supportive.
Best Regards,
David Uri

Tragic News About Steve Larsen

Two days ago, while doing a track workout in his hometown of Bend, Oregon, Steve Larsen, professional cyclist, triathlete, business owner, and father of five, collapsed and died from a heart attack.

I now know what the term flabbergasted actually means. Same with dumbfounded. I really still can't grasp this.

I have been lucky enough to have met and talked with Steve on a few occasions. He came across immediately as a sincere, intelligent, honest guy. On all occasions, he looked me in the eye and actually seemed interested in our conversations. As an athlete, I really admired how he raced. He changed the dynamics of triathlon, taking control of the race on the bike and working his ass off to put time on his fleet footed opponents. He first raced as a professional cyclist, and was part of the motorola professional team. He set the course record at IMLP in 2001 which I was lucky enough to be a spectator at.

I am really saddened by this tragic news, and at the same time, can't help but be narcissistic and equate it to myself. I use to think that if I were to suffer from a heart attack, it would have happened already - based on what I put myself through. I'm irresponsible in regards to my regularly getting physical exams. In fact, I don't even have a general health care practitioner (a doctor). I can't recall the last time I had a physical. Having a family, I have no excuse not to. It's not about me anymore. I have to believe that Steve had some underlying issue. Or maybe I'm just justifying my own lameness. Just because I exercise a lot and eat fairly well doesn't mean I'm out of the woodwork in terms of life threatening illness.

Back to Steve - he appeared to be a very grounded guy who led by example and lived more in his short 39 years than many do in twice this time. I can't help but think about Steve's wife and kids. I have certainly spent the last couple of nights hugging my family a bit more.

I planned on finishing my blog about the CT camp final day, but it seems a bit mundane right now.

One m'fer of a ride!

Yesterdays route was one of the toughest ones I've had at any camp thus far. It was a five hour trek that included multiple tough climbs including Geer Mtn and Carter Hill. The first three hours went nnicely and the group rode well, especially considering what they had done the previous day. We stopped in Kent for some red-eyes and muffins and I sent half the group with Baker on a still challenging, yet easier and more direct route back to Lakeville. The other half came with me up Carter Hill. Carter Hill has three steep parts to it with gradients over 20%. What goes up must come down though and we had a ripper of a descent where I hit 54 mph. As tired as the group was getting, we still managed to motor past another group of cyclists at the four hour 40 minute mark of our ride.

The ride was followed by a one hour brick run, then more stretching and soaking the legs in the lake. Short post today - need to do a long run in a few minutes! More later.

Cheers,

EH

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