Negative Split… Your Life!

In the world of running, cycling, swimming, etc. we have terminology called a ‘negative split’. It’s when a racer runs the second half or end of a race faster than they ran the first half. The other day, while I was doddling along on just another slow run, I was contemplating a statement that one of my Ironheads teammates, super fast master David Ciaverella, made on his blog (http://try3sports.blogspot.com/). Dave asked if at 43, he could continue to get faster and keep setting PR’s. While it’s a fact that old-man time simply won’t let us continue to get faster as we age, we don’t necessarily have to slow down. That’s when I decided it would be cool to ‘negative split’ my life. No, I don’t really want to age faster in the second half, but I don’t want all my activities, high value experiences and fun to be memories from high school and college. Of course, this brings up a major question… how does one ‘negative split’ their life? What are the ingredients? I would love to hear your opinions, but first, let me also offer some of my own ideas.

One of the first things I thought of is that we can’t stop setting goals. I think many people set goals when they are young or they're making big life and career changes. But even small goals can be huge in terms of the benefit they give life. Some simple ones I’ve thought are setting a goal to learn something new, like a language or playing an instrument or cooking a new meal. I set a goal for myself to read more of the classics… and not for any self improvement, but just for enjoyment. Your goals can be about anything, but a lot of satisfaction can result from taking on new challenges and meeting them. Remember the golden rules about setting goals: start small, make it a stretch, but realistic, and set a time to meet it. As you get older, these goals should change to reflect your new stages of life and how you can maximize your experiences.

Another simple thing I’ve been trying to do is finding joy in the success of my friends, family and others.. Now, I have a huge family (and growing) and I value them immensely. It’s been REALLY rewarding to watch as some of my nieces and nephews took on some similar challenges in fitness that I have been undertaking for years. I’m almost more invested in their success, as measured less by time and more by their enjoyment, than in my own ‘racing’. As you get older and more experienced, pass along and share your knowledge, whatever it is. With the internet, we sometimes forget that our personal experiences, and not just the information, can add value. Helping other people develop their passions is powerful and the relationships will last a lifetime.

So these are just a couple of simple thoughts. Especially for those of us who are amateur athletes. How do you stay passionate as you get older (and probably slower). Shoot me your ideas on how to ‘Negative Split’ you life.

Blue Lake Race Report _ June 15, 2008

Short Version:

I’ve only been really training for running so far this year, but somehow pulled off a decent race (for me).

Swim: 28:32 (slow, but not embarrassing)
T1: 2:12 (blazing fast)
Bike: 1:04:01 (2nd best bike ever for me at Poo)
T2: 1:55 (needed socks for the run because my feet were numb)
Run: 51:00 (less disappointing than it sounds)
Total: 2:27:40, good for 116 out of 436

Long Version:
As many of you know, I’ve really only been training my run this year. I ran the Newport marathon 2 weeks ago in an attempt to build my usually weak run base well in advance of my focus race, Ironman Florida in the fall. So, that means I have been in the pool all of 5 times in prep for Blue Lake and really haven’t put the hours in on my bike that has me setting any records. My lack of training was reinforced by a bout with “Food bourn illness” this week (not, food poisoning) limiting me to a very short radius to the nearest bathroom and leaving me feeling rather depleted by the time the antibiotics kicked in Friday afternoon. This left me totally goal-less. What could I possibly expect?

I made a date with Betty (Tom) to pick him up Sunday morning in the effing-150 and rideshare to Blue Lake. We got there and went through the usual ritual of registering, setting up transition, and glad-handing with all the usual familiar faces like Seth, some of my Ironheads teammates, etc. Good to see so many familiar faces including Dave Campbell, the elite triathlete who handed out the awards at the Newport Marathon (“Get the whey! Go for the whey!”).

Right before entering the water, Tom uttered some useful quotables about “Not being able to get it up” and the “tightness in my crotch”. Luckily, this was all said in relation to his wetsuit, which with a little help, we did manage to get the inconveniently located back zippers up and velcroed in place. I also figured out my only goal, I would, for the first time, capture my mile splits on the run and shoot for averaging a 7:45/mile pace. Of note is the fact that the water in Blue Lake was a bit colder (~65 degrees) and the cloud cover kept the coolness of the morning intact.

Soon, Tom and I were floating in the water with our wave waiting for the gun. I asked one of my fellow Ironheads teammates, Scott Benjamin, what he was planning to swim. “25 or 26” he answered. I thought, hmmm, maybe I can ride his feet to a better time. When the gun went off, I realized that was a pipe dream. I quickly lost Scott’s feet, but when I breathed left, I saw Tom’s green sleeves right next to me. This was the theme of the swim. I’d lose them for a few minutes, and then turn a buoy and see Tom’s green sleeves. I’m betting we weren’t separated by more than a few yards the whole swim and we exited together (with me being slightly more aggressive on the ramp) in 28:32 and 28:33 respectively. I had been giving Tom my opinion on the best wetsuit stripping techniques before the race and in T1, I executed it to perfection, getting in and out in 2:12. I decided to leave my cycling shoes in my pedals due to the long grassy run to the mount area and this worked pretty well, until I tried to pull my shoes on while riding. Oh well!

When I did my cyclocross style mount of my bike, I quickly hit the button on my HRM. Of course, my heart rate came right up, but I got the unfortunate 0.0 on my bike speed. I had forgotten a basic, when you remove the front wheel, check the sensor. So, I decided to ride by heart rate and settled in at 155 bpm… and 0.0 mph. I passed a lot of people and felt pretty good so settled in and focused on drinking my electrolytes. I missed seeing Tom at the turnarounds, but felt like I was moving through the groups pretty good. As I passed the archery range coming back into the park I was surprised to see I was still under 1:05 on my ride time. My ride totaled 1:04:01 (22.87 mph), my second fastest ride at Blue Lake. As I execute another cool, cyclocross style dismount, I realized I couldn’t feel my feet. They were totally numb from cold, so I took the time in transition to pull on socks and set off on the run, hitting my watch to start my split. T2 = 1:55, not bad.

I felt OK running out of the park and even passed a few people. I tried to pick-up my cadence to get the legs loose. As I left the park and hit the bike trail, the race leaders were just coming back in and I saw a bunch of my Ironheads teammates just killing it. Even though I’m not fast, it was great because we were yelling to each other and one of the guys, Bill Thompson was so pumped the high five nearly dislocated my shoulder (of course, Bill was flying, so big mo was in his favor). I got to mile 1 with a 7:50… not bad and not far off. As I went up the only minor incline of the run at 1.5 miles, my quads began screaming and trying their best to seize up. I grabbed a water (probably should have been Gatorade) and just tried to keep up my cadence. I tried changing up my stride a bit, lengthening it to let my quads relax and it worked for a while. I missed the mile 2 marker, but when I reached the turnaround and the mile 3 marker, my split was 15:08 (7:34 pace) and I was pumped. I had actually sped up… me, the Fatrunner… on the run I sped up!! Yeah, this run training was finally paying off!! Mile 4 split was a little slower at 7:43, but still just where I wanted it. Then ½ a mile later, that crappy little incline hit me on the way home and my quads were DONE. And I mean DONE! As I grabbed a Gatorade from the teenage volunteer, she commented, “You thighs are really muscular.”, but instead of appreciating the comment, all I could force our was, “That’s because their cramping” through gritted teeth. The slight downhill did nothing to loosen my legs and the death march was on. Mile 5 split, 8:38. Mile 6 + the .2 slowed to 9:40 average pace and a weirdly disappointing, yet not 51:00 run split. Disappointing because I really felt like I was holding my goal well for 4 miles, yet not disappointing considering that the illness combined with the chilly bike ride make the cramps more probable.

Overall, I performed okay given my lack of training. It gives me some hope for my races in August (not Pac Crest, but that’s going to be a long training day for fun, not speed). Tom finished just 30 seconds back, so those great transition times helped! The race was fun and I appreciated having teammates yell support, that’s always cool.