Hot flakes and mistakes

So...I entered into a gentleman's (and lady's) agreement with Ms. Caitlin Dark. She wagered 100 pesos that I wouldn't eat a tablespoonful of red pepper flakes. I decided that this was essentially taking candy from a demented baby. Naturally I didn't hesitate. I gobbled it up without batting an eye. People were impressed. It barely phased me. I was impressed.... Then my friend Doug said, "let me know how your *radio edit* goes tomorrow".... call it foreshadowing, call it dramatic irony...

Fast Forward

I went for my long run (see the one I missed due to seizure) my insides felt like poison. I did the bad deed about four times in the woods and nothing could make me come right. I stopped at a Bomba (gas station) and drank some coconut water (nature's gatorade) and stumbled home with my tail between my spicy legs. Shame shame forever shame.

Holy Mother of Pearl

Dear Bloggers,

Saturday started in a lovely and very normal way. I woke up, ate a granola cookie, and drank some coffee before heading to the pool. I swam very well and then got outta there. Went shopping with Caitlin for Christmas stuff and we made tons of progress on presents. Spoiler Alert: it's for my family.

I was plotting a big weekend of training and a big run was on the agenda. I set out feeling pretty spritely.... then suddenly................



............



I WOKE UP IN A HOSPITAL BED.


Anyway, apparently I had a seizure during said long run and woke up trying to communicate in Spanish. I had several snafu's where I apparently communicated that I was allergic to ibuprofen so instead they gave me a giant needle to the ass. I was also, in my daze, apparently thrashing about (affectionately termed "aggresivo") and they bound me to the table. This resulted in major bruising.... hopefully pictures to follow.... I also split my skull open on some metal thing which resulted in skull stitches.

They tried to get a phone number out of me (I'm amazed anything came out of me in spanish) to contact Caitlin. I told them I didn't know Caitlin's but I knew mine. They called mine and she came to save me! Also, I was freezing and shirtless (no idea why). Some man gave me literally the shirt off his back. I told him it wasn't necessary... he said it was just a shirt and went to get another for himself. That's why I love this country.

Sincerely,

Me

PS. I think someone stole my watch

Rappstar Interview

Freestyle with the Rappstar

Jordan “Rappstar” Rapp has been scorching hot this season with a solid 4th place at wildflower, several fastest bike splits, and his first Ironman victory at Ironman Canada where he absolutely blitzed the field. He recently backed that up by taking out Ironman Arizona after knocking on the door at that race for several years. With that win, he topped the course record previously held by Andreas Raelert.

JP: So you have had an unreal season so far, what would you say is responsible your breakthrough?

JR: No one thing in particular. I think I learned a lot from the mistakes I made last year, especially in Ironman, but I also just continued to learn and develop as an athlete. The problem with looking at success is a breakthrough is that you tend to see it as a singular moment. Suddenly you are “successful,” which implies that in the prior to that moment you weren’t. But that’s not reality. There is a huge difference between “bursting onto the scene” as the public sees it and the actual progression where a minute here and seconds there add up to the difference between a win and podium spot. I wasn’t really prepared for the attention I received after winning Ironman Canada, simply because it didn’t seem to me to be so different from coming third in Arizona. I just swam a bit faster, biked a bit faster, and ran a bit faster. But the difference in how people saw my performance was massive. There is winning and there is everything else. But of course that is because people only see you on the race course. So things happen in jumps. But it’s actually just a very steady progression day-to-day and week-to-week that ends up manifesting itself as a “breakthrough.”

JP: How has your training changed from years past?

JR: I suppose it depends on how you look at training. If you focus on the differences, then there are certainly a lot since I started with a new coach – Michael Kruger of Denmark – this year when my previous coach – Joel Filliol – took a job with Triathlon Great Britain in February. But the core aspects of my training have remained very consistent – lots of hard training with intelligent structure and purpose. However, I would say that are two definite differences between this year and last year. I have a bigger delta now in training load between my hardest days and my easiest days within a training block. My hardest days seem harder on a per-day basis (though the hardest individual workouts are no more or less hard), but my easiest days seem easier. The overall load within a week is quite similar; it’s just broken up differently. The other difference is that I’ve become more targeted in my training. In the past, the delta of intensity between my easiest workout and my hardest workout was very large, so my easiest individual workout was very easy. Now I think it’s much smaller, so I generally don’t ever do an easy swim, ride or run. I don’t know if it is those two changes that caused my success or if it was simply making *a* change that caused my success or if it was just the natural progression of consistent hard work and dedication. I imagine it’s some combination of the three.

JP: What did it feel like to win your first Ironman?

JR: Unreal. It’s a fleeting moment of pure, unadulterated joy. I almost didn’t want to cross the line. I wished I could just stand in the chute and stop time so that it would never end. Of course, I also want the race to be over. But I felt nothing once I hit the carpet except absolute bliss. And then you step over the line and sit down and are exhausted and it’s gone. But it’s wonderful.

JP: How have things changed in terms of sponsorship after your two huge wins?

JR: I signed a deal with Specialized, which was really exciting, but other than that, I don’t have much news. I am sticking with the companies that stuck by me before I won, since I couldn’t have done it without them. I have taken care of the majority of what I need. And for those things that I don’t have covered – like running shoes, for example – I am exceedingly particular about what I’d use, which can make it hard to find a company to work with. I need to work with them, and they need to work with me, and that’s not always an easy combination. I do hope I can find a non-endemic sponsorship this year, since I think triathlon has a lot to offer to companies outside of the industry, but getting your foot in the door to show those companies the potential ROI of a triathlon sponsorship is very hard. Companies understand Tiger Woods or NASCAR or the Super Bowl. Triathlon is not in their field of view. So you sort of have to do double duty. First you have to convince a company that triathlon has value and then you have to convince them that you are the person to deliver that value. But that’s what I’d like to do this year, so wish me luck.

JP: You come from a competitive rowing background, what made you decide to change to triathlon?

JR: I got injured my first year out of college when I was training with the hopes of making the US National Team. I’d done one year of U23 National Team selection, and two years of Senior National Team selection, and I thought I was really on the cusp of making a boat for what would have been the 2003 World Championships. (Selection means they invite the best rowers from around the country and then select the number that they need to fill the number of spots they have for races. Both existing National Team rowers and non-National Team rowers, such as collegiate athletes, can be invited. National Team athletes are not guaranteed a spot in a boat, but they do receive support from the US Rowing throughout the year and are considered to be a part of the US Team, meaning they are part of the drug testing pool, etc). But I was an idiot training myself without a coach to guide me after four years of very structured and supervised training. I did too much, got injured – intercostal (rib muscle) strain, then did too much as soon as I thought I was healthy again and got injured again, and that pretty much ended my hopes of making a boat for World Champs. So I decided to do something to stay fit that didn’t involve a boat or an oar. I rode my bike for cross training, but I didn’t know anything about bike racing (i.e., I did not understand drafting) and when I asked how fast they rode at the local crit, I thought “there is no way I can do that.” So I decided to look for something else. I had seen the Ironman on TV and thought “triathlon seems cool.” I also knew some rowers who did triathlon, so I thought it would be a good way to stay fit and then I could return to rowing really being truly injury free but still in good shape. Almost seven years later, and I’m still waiting to return to rowing. Maybe in another seven.

JP: You are known for your amazing bike strength, what do you do differently than everyone else that allows you to fly on two wheels?

JR: I don’t really know that I actually go so much faster than other people. I think it’s actually that I slow down less. That’s definitely the case in Ironman. In half-Ironman, I can speed up in the second half, but it needs to be the right course. In terms of what I focus on, I think I take care of the details – good equipment underneath a biomechanically and aerodynamically sound position – and then it’s just a matter of the unglamorous stuff – hard riding day after day, week after week. Train hard. Recover well. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. And of course, I need to thank my parents for good genetics and the opportunity to invest myself wholely in the pursuit of excellence. Without that initial opportunity provided by their genes and their unwavering support, nothing else would matter.

JP: I know you are heavily involved in bike fitting, what would you say are the most important considerations in a good bike fit?

JR: Comfort is king. Of course, I don’t mean comfort in the context of sitting in a LA-Z-BOY, but comfort within the context of racing being inherently uncomfortable in that wow-this-really-hurts-and-I’d-like-to-stop-or-at-least-slow-down sort of context. Your saddle can’t chafe. Your aerobar pads need to be supportive. Your shoes need to fit well. Those are all things that matter. And your muscles need to be able to work well through the range of motion that is required of them. Power is comfortable and vice-versa.

JP: Do you have any tips for your average age grouper to improve their bike fit and improve their bike times?

JR: See a good fitter. There are, unfortunately, not as many good fitters as there should be, but there are more and more every year. It’s like seeing a therapist – you can figure out most things on your own, but it’s easier if you have someone there to guide you. For improving your riding, buy a powermeter and learn how to use it. A powermeter is the best tool there is. It’s the one thing I would never give up. I’d rather ride a road bike with clip ons and training wheels with a powermeter than the fastest/lightest/newest/tech-est/best-est bike out there without one. There is no better way to spend your money than on a good fit and a good powermeter. Both of these things will yield vastly more return on investment than anything else you can spend your money on for cycling. And they also are things that will last a long time if you invest wisely from the start.

JP: Describe your basic training week.

JR: I try not to delve too much into the specifics of how I train for two reasons. One, the actual training program is the intellectual property of my coach, not me. I pay him for my training plan, not for the rights to publish it. And secondly, I’d need to be extremely specific in order for someone to really learn something from what I do. I.e., if I say I ride at X watts for Y time, but you don’t know my FTP, then that is meaningless. And if you don’t know what I did the week before, or what I will do the week after, that is also not very helpful. It also changes quite a bit based on what time of year it is, how close I am to a race, etc. So I don’t really have a typical week in the general sense. Given that preamble, I’ll try to give a rough overview. I don’t have any junk workouts. Every workout that I do has a purpose, which doesn’t mean every workout is hard, just that every workout is designed to be done at a specific level of “hardness.” I don’t ever set out to “just run,” or “just swim,” or “just ride.” Have you ever seen any of Conrad Stoltz’s videos, where he talks about his “organic” training, like where he just gets into a lake and swims for while based off how feels and letting that dictate time and intensity? That is the exact opposite of how I train, which I don’t mean as implying that one is right or wrong, just that we sort of fall at different ends of the spectrum (at least as far as I can tell from reading about his “caveman training,” which I love to do). I know what I need and want to get done when I start a workout, and I do my best to meet that goal. If I don’t achieve that, then I try to figure out why I did not achieve my targets. On the rare occasion when I know I will not (or would not) hit my targets, then I talk to my coach, and we make changes to the training. I guess I could summarize it as “I listen to my coach.”

Time for the lightning round…
Favorite Movie: “Full Metal Jacket” directed by Stanley Kubrick
Favorite Book: Book Five Rings written by Miyamoto Musashi
Favorite Bike Workout: Slowtwitch Mountain Hillclimb (Big Pines Hwy from Valyermo to Wrightwood)

JP: How are you planning on using the well-earned off season?

JR: I got married on Sunday, November 29th to Jill Savege, my girlfriend of three years and fiancé of one. That made an already amazing year even more unbelievable. So nothing could top that. I’m not sure how I’ll cope with a return to normal life after an Ironman win and a wedding to the love of my life within a week (since I finished in AZ less than 168 hours before my wedding). Now I am really just excited to sleep a lot, eat a little bit of bad food, and enjoy the chance to not have to be as focused and targeted in my training as I normally am. This is the time of the year when I will go out and just run or just swim or just ride. Jill and I will go on a honeymoon later in December, and I know that will be really special no matter what we do and will put a punctuation mark on a magical year.

JP: What are your plans for the upcoming season? Will we be seeing you at Kona?

JR: I am planning to focus on the three Rev3 races – the Olympic distance race in Knoxville, TN, the half in Middlebury, CT, and the ultra in Sandusky, OH. I will also do the new race in Abu Dhabi, which I am very excited for. You will see me in Kona, but I am not sure if I will be racing. I will definitely go to be involved with Specialized and some of my other sponsors, but I will not race in Kona if I have a good race at the Rev3. If I had some bad luck at Rev3 ultra – which is about one month before Kona - and was not able to finish or finished poorly, then I would consider racing Kona. So right now, I am viewing it as an “insurance” slot. But if everything went to plan, then you’d see me as a spectator rather than a competitor. Specialized has some very cool projects for the year that I will be a par of, and I could do a lot more work on those projects in Kona if I was not racing, so it will be great either way.

JP: Anything else you would like people to know about you?

JR: I raised money for World Bicycle Relief by selling tickets to a raffle before Ironman Arizona. Thanks to the generosity of a lot of awesome triathletes, who bought the tickets, and many of my sponsors, who donated a lot of fantastic prizes, I was able to raise $24,120 for World Bicycle Relief. This includes personal donations, matching gifts from donor’s companies, some money from the Janus Charity Challenge, and my own personal contributions from a percentage of my prize money at IMAZ. This money will be then further matched by an anonymous donor who has agreed to match all WBR donations in 2009 up to $1,000,000. So we will end up giving $48,240 to the project, which will provide bicycles to at least three entire schools (100 bikes to each school plus the training and equipping of two mechanics costs $15,000) and then some. Each bike gets used by and/or benefits about twenty people, so we’ll end up impacting over 6,000 people with this work. That makes me feel really good. As John F. Kennedy said, “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.”

HIlarious

I just saw a dog eating a diaper... just tearing into the thing like a piece of steak. What a thick animal. This is exactly why I love dogs. How often have you seen a cat eat a diaper?

Mr. Collington

Fireside Chat with Olypic Hopeful, Kevin Collington!!!

Kevin stormed onto the triathlon scene as a recent ITU stud. He has brilliant results to his name such as 13th place at the incredibly competitive Hy-Vee Triathlon. A feat which few can claim, he has outsplit Simon Whitfield on a run course! A member of the USA triathlon team, he is definitely one to watch for in the London Olympics of 2012. He recently smacked it at 70.3 world championships, coming 7th.

Representing the Red White and Blue in ITU

Amazing season so far, how did this season compare with your expectations going into the year?

This year I really just wanted to prove I could race on the international level. I raced well in 2008 in some of the World Cups in Europe but a lot of people questioned those results because those races were not as competitive as they usually are since a lot of the top guys were sitting out waiting for the Olympics. So I really wanted to do well in a couple of competitive races this year and prove I can race at that level. My result at Hy-Vee really exceeded even my highest expectations, and I did OK at a couple of World Championship Series races this year in Hamburg and Gold Coast. The end result is that I should really be able to attack the 2010 World Championship Series next year.

Your run speed has just gone through the roof and your progression has been amazing. What changes have you made from years past that has lead to this development?

My run improvement came from a lot of different changes. The biggest has just been a slow increase in running mileage over the years. I was only running 20 miles a week in 2007, but now I'm up to 50 or 60 per week. I have also been working with a running coach out of Boulder, Bobby McGee, and combining the work I do with him on running form and economy with the increased running mileage has really made my run my biggest weapon. I still have a lot of work to do before I can keep up with the top ranked guys in the WCS, though!

I understand you recently stepped up from ITU and short course racing to 70.3 placing 7th at 70.3 Augusta. How was your first go around at this distance?

Augusta was an interesting experience. Having just returned from the World Champs in Gold Coast, Australia I was really having sleeping and training leading up to the race. But it turns out this was just the taper I needed and I had a great race. I learned a lot about what I need nutritionally for the 70.3 distance and also how to pace myself so I hope to have an even better race in Clearwater in 3 weeks.

Any plans on Ironman in the distant future?

I could see myself doing an ironman but not until my short course career is over. I'm really focused on making the 2012 Olympic team for London right now, and I'll be 35 for the 2020 Olympics so that would be the last Olympic team I would probably be capable of making. I would love the challenge of Ironman so maybe you'll see me racing one in 2021. That's a long way off, though!

Could you roughly describe your weekly training?

I live and train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and this really shapes the way I train. I swim with the triathlon group here 5 to 6 days per week at 4000 to 5500 meters per session. Running this year was 50 to 60 miles per week - during the summer I like to go up into the mountains to do long runs at around 9,500 ft (2900m), and I do my faster runs on a local trail at around 5900 ft. Biking in the springs is great - again I do my longer rides in the local mountains - we have lots of challenging climbs in the Springs. I do some harder rides on the Computrainer just because it's a great way to dial in your workout intensity.

Favorite workout?

My favorite workout is a long run up at the Rampart Reservoir. It's a challenging, technical trail at around 9500ft above sea level. It's a beautiful place to run and also running there makes me appreciate running at 6000ft a lot more, and sea level is a breeze.

As an olympic hopeful, what would going to London mean to you?

Going to London would be amazing. It would be the culmination of a lot of hard work. I don't just want to go, though - I want to be a medal contender! With a few more years of development at my current progression that is certainly a possibility.

How are things in terms of sponsorship?

Things are going great! I'm very lucky to be able to work with some great companies like Shimano, Rudy Project and Kiwami to name a few. My results have improved again this year and I'm talking with a couple of companies now that I will hopefully be working with next year!

Being a pro triathlete sounds very glamorous but the training and travel sound ridiculous. What is one thing you absolutely love about your job and one thing you absolutely could live without?

I love the travel - going to a new race in a new location is always lots of fun. At the same time, though, I need some time at home to unwind. One thing I could live without is traveling with a bike box. Not only is it heavy and cumbersome, but you always have to wonder "is my bike going to arrive when I get there?" or "If it arrives, is it still in one piece?" My favorite part about being a professional triathlete is just getting to swim, ride my bike, and run and call it a job!

Any other things we should know about you? Shout outs, favorite foods, horrible phobias, etc...

My favorite food is Krispy Kreme Donuts and I can eat a dozen in about 2 minutes!

Ironic

Like the alanis morsette song... I almost got hit on my bike today. The offending vehicle: an ambulance. Ironic and almost convenient had anything happened.

Another interesting little bit for those of you who enjoy weird things.

So, I signed up for IM florida as I may or may not have mentioned... and today I was riding and I pulled up on a guy wearing an IM florida jersey. He was affronted by my riding up on him and started smacking it. He was one of those late 30 year olds who has spent the better part of a decade developing those tree trunk legs and could move pretty good. I was staying near and everytime I tried to pass, he would surge hard. Looking at his ass the whole time, it was like I was literally chasing my goal.

I've got a long way to go.

Bryan Rhodes Interview

Fireside Chat With Bryan Rhodes!!!

We're here with Bryan Rhodes aka rhodsey, multiple ironman champion, great guy, and avid liver of the good life. I had the pleasure of meeting Rhodsey at a local socal race where I was guiding Aaron Scheidies, blind triathlete extraordinaire. His season was sadly cut short by an injury and he has been rehabbing in New Zealand, and getting ready to drill everyone next year.

JP: Bryan, seemed like you had a solid season going until the injury at Steelhead 70.3. Can you walk us through what exactly happened?

Rhodsey: Yes. It happened when we were running into the water at Steelhead 70.3. I got landed on by one of the other pro men and got me on my ankle as I was going forward with my left leg. He was coming down with his foot. I thought I had a really bad cramp and rolled over did some backstroke to try and loosen up my leg. I was 2nd to last going around the 1st Bouy and then told myself to harden up and get going. I swam through most of the field to stand up in 5th place but then I knew something was really wrong as I went to put weight on my left leg and I couldn't and had to get 5-6 Guys to help me out of the water and up the beach.

JP: How has the recovery been coming?

Rhodsey: The first coule of months were really hard. I was very fit and couldn't do anything. I was in cast for weeks and had to get around on crutches. You realize how hard it is to just do the little things when you're injured.

JP: What have you been doing with the forced downtime due to the injury?

Rhodsey: I sat on the couch and watched every movie I had. I was pretty upset about missing the rest of my race season especially Worlds in Kona! Since getting back into it from the 1st of October I've been carving it up at the pool and been in the Gym working on getting strength in my left leg so not to come back weak. I want to come back a better Triathlete.

JP: Looking at your resume, I notice a domination of Ironman Malaysia with 2 wins and a 2nd place. What is the appeal of that race for you? Why do you keep going back?

Rhodsey: Ironman Malaysia was were I won my 1st Ironman title and it has been hard to win a 3rd title there. I like that it is super hot, sometimes even hotter than Hawaii. When I won the 1st year it was 42.3deg. This is one reason for me going back and that they really take good care of me year after year.

JP: What are the plans for the upcoming year?

Rhodsey: I'm really wanting to mount a good challenge for Ironman NZ next year as I don't want to be a unknown Triathlete in New Zealand, I'm just hoping I'll be 100% but want to be there one way or another. After that, a number of 70.3's and I will focus on Kona as if I don't place top 10 next year, I'll just do other Ironmans I've never done before.

JP: I think it is fair to say you are an IM guy and many people think that IMers have lost their speed. False. I have witnessed first hand the blitzing 5k speed that is Bryan Rhodes. What is your 5k pr?

Rhodsey: We'll I'm not that fast over 5k my PR is 15.45 and 10k 32.10. I wish I could run like sub 30 of 10k as I wouldn't be doing Ironman. I would be trying for the Olympics.

JP: With that 5k speed, you must be doing some seriously intense training. Would you say you favor volume or intensity in training?

Rhodsey: I'm definitely a volume guy as, if I put too much intensity in my training, I get injured. Once I've built a big base I add strength and track workout once a week.

JP: What does a typical training week look like for you?

Rhodsey: Swim 5 times a week = 25k Ride 6 times = 500 -650k Run 6 times = 80k

JP: I know the economy can be a bit rough on athletes, how is sponsorship going for you?

Rhodsey: I'm really lucky to have a good sponsors and they have been with me for Years : Cervelo 12yrs , Blue70 6 years, Clif Bar 6 years, Saucony 12 years, Profile design 8 years, Computrainer 6 years, a couple of new ones... Coffee's of Hawaii where if you go to there website and enter the promo code "RHODSEY" you get 25% off your order. Also Selle Italia saddles came onboard this year and also Shimano.

Now for the lightning round:

Favorite food? Medium rare Steak with chips and a Salard.
Favorite workout? 10 x 400 in the pool.
Favorite triathlon? Escape from Alcatraz
Favorite movie? Lock stock and two smoking barrels, Also Hangover!!!
And finally, and most importantly, favorite beer? Mac's Gold (NZ Beer) MGD in the U.S.A.


JP: Anything else the people should know about The man, The myth, The legend, Bryan Rhodes?

Rhodsey: I race very hard and party just as hard after!!! My website is : www.rhodsey.com.