Lungs, you got served.

Whoa. Turns out driving from boulder to flagstaff sucks. Weather made it worse. Northern AZ decided to turn into out a giant sandstorm. 40 mph winds with 70 mph gusts. It was unnerving. Then the DOT thought it was a sweet idea to close the highway about 50 miles away from my destination. I politely disagreed.

I waited for about 30 minutes impatiently then decided to take a detour. It added 1.5 hours to the trip. I got into flagstaff feeling like someone had turned my brain on low power mode. Absolutely ruined. I slept for 13 hours and woke up grumpy and caffeine starved.

I headed out to the trails after about 1 gram of caffeine. The altitude smacked me around a bit but the trails were incredible. Manicured and soft, they extend all over the city. The weather was a bit nasty as major wind turned to snowy wind turned to haily wind.

Next on the docket was a bike that got moved inside on my sick new cycleops powerbeam. This trainer is the future. I will give some more in depth info on it soon. I was looking at some power numbers that couldn't push kate moss up a 1% grade hill and as I was pushing these weak numbers, I was panting like a dog. I decided to go run again after my bike. My lungs have never been that big and I was cramping because I was taking such huge breaths, scrambling for o2. Hilarious run. Lungs got a major workout and pulmonary capillaries were on defcon 5 and begging to go back to sea level.

Every internal organ who thinks they've got it made take one step forward. Not so fast, Lungs. On to Big Bear City. Elevation 6300 to 8500.

Road trip again

So I am writing from flagstaff, az right now. I am at the tail end of a driving endeavor from MI to CA. It will be my 5th time crossing the country in about 2 years. Needless to say, I am getting familiar with I 80 and the finicky cops of Nebraska.

I decided that if I was going to be driving, I was going to stop in some dope places... I chose boulder and flagstaff just to see what all endurance athletes are constantly blabbering about.

Boulder- Imagine a geriatric leg. You are probably picturing vericose veins. Tons of them. This is a metaphor for the trails in boulder where the town is the leg and the veins are the trails. But instead of being pretty unseemly, it is downright mind boggling in a good way. I looked up several trails before hitting the town at about 7 am. Went to one trail head and started plowing up the side of the Rockies. Coors light commercials really don't do this place justice but the condition of the trails were sloppy. I chose to head back down after about 4 miles and find another trail. After driving a few minutes, I found the money trail. Beautiful conditions and amazing views of the city and the rockies. The sun was like butterscotch and the air felt so crisp. I couldn't not run. I went about 7 miles just laughing the whole time. I ran by a river, through a prarie dog field, saw several deer, and blew the doors off a mtn biker going up hill.

Other highlights of the town include public rec centers that have sick pools. I got a day pass and went to town. They also had a vasa trainer... if you don't know what it is, look it up. I was really impressed.

After the swim, I hit a book store and a coffee shop. I got hopped up on caffeine and checked out a triathlon photo album of boulder where I had seen the bennetts running around some trail in Boulder. Random memory but it was pure inspiration. It looked sweet so I headed to the lake in said picture. Another 4 ish mile run with equally impressive scenery.

My legs trashed and my heart reeling from thin air, I slept and headed to flagstaff. Once I am done here, I will let you all know how it is. The drive was hell but that is a story for another time. It includes a sand storm, deer, and 70 mph winds. Off to bike.

Mark Allen Part II

Eagerly Awaited Part II of the Mark Allen interview... Check out part I here if you missed it like a sucker!

JP: On the flipside of your best race ever, walk us through your worst day in Kona.

MA: My worst day was in 1984. I had about a 12-minute lead off the bike and thought there was no way anyone could catch me. I was waving to the crowd as I ran through the town of Kona before heading out onto the Queen K highway and the desolate lava that can sap your energy and confidence in a matter of moments if you are overconfident. And indeed that described how I was racing those opening miles. At the bottom of the hill that leads out onto the Queen K, I felt like a champ. At the top of that hill I felt like all my energy had leaked out of my body.

I knew it would just be a matter of time before I was caught. Dave Scott passed a while later as I was eventually reduced to walking. I looked so bad that the medical team came to me and wanted me to drop out.

JP: Did you do anything unique to prepare for the Ironman World Championships?

MA: We trained all year to get in good enough shape that we could do a short Ironman block of training that was very intense and lasted about 6 weeks. Those six weeks were what took about 9 months of building fitness and fine-tuned it for Kona. That was the physical level, and it included some very long and intense sessions. I won’t go into them because I don’t want people to think that if they did them they would win their age group or set a PR. The amount that we did only worked because of the 9 months of base we put down and also because this was our job and we had all day to do the workouts and recover.

But I also did something that no other person did. I would take part in Brant’s summer retreats right at the point where my training partners were ready to up the ante in the workouts. I would go away for a week or more and do zero swimming, cycling or running and just focus on building that internal strength and calm that would hopefully carry me to victory in a few months time. This is what helped me to be able to deal with that internal chatter than can derail your best efforts, and what gave me the confidence to indeed give everything I had even if victory seemed impossible in the moment.

JP: It seems that people handle the transition out of professional athletics differently. What was it like for you when you had to hang up the racing flats, goggle, and helmet?

MA: The decision and timing for me was absolutely clear. There was not a shred of doubt that I was making the right decision at the right time. So for me it was about as easy as I think it can be. I would not say this is the norm, however. I had planned for this my whole career, though, and knew that whatever came next I would not be as good at it at least initially as I was at the sport of triathlons at the point that I retired from racing. I spoke with a lot of athletes at Nike who had made this transition, and they all commented that the biggest mistake in an athlete’s mindset when they finish their competitive careers is thinking that they will be at the top of whatever they do next right from the start. Many end of at the top eventually in a second or third career, but it is a learning curve that takes time and a bit of humility.

So since then I have expanded my coaching to include my online services at www.markallenonline.com as well as what I do with Brant. We wrote a book titled Fit Soul, Fit Body: 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You and we teach workshops by that same name. That website is www.fitsoulfitbody.com

Our next workshop is in Los Angeles, CA on April 24^th, 2010.

JP: You have been a busy man since your departure from the pro ranks. What led you to start up your coaching business?

MA: I felt like I sifted through the myriad of possible ways to train the body to get race ready and found what really worked and what didn’t, and I wanted to share that info and expertise with athletes in the sport. I partnered up with Luis Vargas who is a software expert and a many time Ironman finisher in Kona. Together we put together our online coaching. It’s now used by athletes in over 50 countries and we have had great success with people of all levels. Our homepage has lots of our recent successes listed.

JP: You are also famously involved in the psychological aspect of sport and have recently written a book dealing with the synergy between the body and mind. What can we expect from this book?

MA: Again the book is titled Fit Soul, Fit Body: 9 Keys to a Healthier, Happier You. In it Brant and I give tools for building overall fitness and health. There are as the title suggests 9 keys that we emphasize. A few that might resonate with athletes are Quiet the Mind, Know and Set Your Quest, Live What You Ask For, Connect With Nature and Manage Stress.

Quieting the mind is something that just about everyone who has raced can relate to. In the tough moments, our thoughts always wander away from those that would strengthen us and find their way to the thoughts that try to get us to give up. I know this personally and had to find a way to deal with it. Some people say just replace those negatives with positives. Well, that may work in your living room, but on the race course forget it! THE best way to deal with it is to learn to quiet your mind, to silence that internal chatter. When you do that, you are then free to just go out and to what you are trained to do, which is to have a great race.

Know and set your quest is a very big one also. If a person just sits for a few minutes and asked themselves what it is about going for a big race that has importance for them in their life, deep in their heart, then when it gets tough in a race, you can reflect back on that thought of why you are out there and then have meaning for the pain or challenge you find yourself it. It really does bring back confidence and a sense of purpose to those tough moments. But this must be followed with that next key, Live What You Ask For. There were many who wanted to be an Ironman Champion, but few who were willing to do the real work to get there.

Then as triathletes we all use that tool of Connecting with Nature. We all feel good when we are outside training and especially with the environment is a trail or a peaceful road. We just feel good when we are in these types of places. In Kona this was so key for me to really feel in the race. Let’s face it, the black barren lava fields can look like a hell, but they can also be seen as a wonderful paradise like nowhere else on the planet. When I saw them that way, then I was so thankful that I got to race surrounded by all that beauty, and it would turn my whole mindset around when I might not be feeling so positive.

Then the final key that I mentioned was Managing Stress. Stress is the number one issue that holds an athlete back from being their best. It doesn’t matter if you are talking about a first timer or a seasoned veteran in the sport. Stress kills athletic performance and inhibits fitness gains. So managing it is critical to peak performance.

Lightning round time.

Favorite Dessert: Plain yogurt with some maple syrup and a few berries.

Favorite Holiday: Thanksgiving. I love the food and the community atmosphere of it.

Favorite Vacation Spot: My hometown of Santa Cruz. I travel all year so that I can take a holiday at my local surf breaks.

Favorite Race: Ironman in Hawaii. It tests you on more levels than any other race. It’s complex, but that is what makes it great.

Favorite Workout: When I raced it was the long riding in the mountains in Colorado. We would do a two-day point to point. Day one was Boulder to Vail. The next day was Vail to Aspen. We covered some high passes and incredible scenery.

Workout in the AM or PM: AM for sure.

JP: A question I have been itching to ask, do you have any plans of competing in triathlon again?

MA: No, it would ruin a great retirement I have going!

JP: What advice would you give to the age grouper who is looking to tackle the Ironman for the first time?

MA: Give yourself time to build up. This can mean taking 2-3 years to build into it. Start with shorter races as your goals to gain fitness and experience. Then each year build into longer and longer races until you are finally ready to go for an Ironman. It is best when you do it this way so that you can actually race the distance rather than just survive it.

JP: What advice would you give to the age grouper who is looking to qualify for Kona?

MA: Find a race that has the course design that you like to do best. You will always race best on that kind of course and also have the best experience on it. I loved hills and that is one reason why I did so well in Nice. I found flats and rolling terrain extremely challenging and that is partially why it took me so long to win in Kona.

JP: Mark, thanks again. Any parting words of wisdom?

MA: Really enjoy the sport, the training and your training partners. See you at the races!

Check out some things Mark has going on right here...

Fit Body Fit Soul

Shaman Chocolates

Last Dominican Blog entry

Today is my last day in the Dirty D for about 3-4 months. Surprisingly, I didn’t succumb to the abuse that this country dished out in droves.

Now bloggers, don’t cry. I will be back to this mystical and disgustingly humid land to teach again. Most likely science. Dry your eyes and wipe your snotty nose, you pathetic goblin.

Anyway, you may ask, “But JP, what ever ARE you going to do with your last day? LOL!”

To which I would respond, “I wish you wouldn’t use LOL ever again but I’ll still answer your question. It all revolved around food.”

Here’s what I did/ am doing… First on the docket was a breakfast with Caitlin. We have a ritual where I get up 15 minutes early, make breakfast and then we sit down to coffee and food together. Today was no different but I just appreciated it a bit more.

After that, I decided to go to my favorite coffee shop, La Cafetera, for one last Cappuccino. They have mind melting coffee. I sat next to an old lady who told me I should be in school at this time. She thought I was 16 and would be a good match for her 17 yr old daughter. I told her I was grown ass man of 24 and to shut the H-E-double hockey sticks UP. JK JK LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!

After that it was time to taxi over to the aeropuerto. I had a taxista who spoke some serious Dominican Spanish. It was sort of a test for me to see how much I had learned in my stay here pertaining to legit Dominican Spanish. I failed. I probably understood 20% of what he said. To be fair, I think this is a success as I don’t know if anyone outside of his wife would have understood him. I got to the airport and topped my last meal with 2 overpriced quipes. For those ignorant bloggers out there, a quipe is similar to a falafel but is stuffed with meat and shaped like a tiny delicious football. My favorite Dominican food by far and the ones I had were probably the best quipe I have had since I have been here. Now I am here, Soon I will be there. To the DR, it’s not goodbye… just see you later. Gracias a Dios. Adios.

ABC's of swimming

My swimming has been shit lately. I basically have been looking for excuses to not swim and do almost anything else. The list of things that come before swimming are biking, running, sitting around and staring at a wall, drinking coffee, watching bootleg movies, and getting water boarded. This is not a comprehensive list but you get the idea.

Time to cut the bull and just get it done as I have a race in about 5 weeks. Crash course swimming started today and I realized how weak I am in the water right now. Anyway, to take my mind off the weakness I decided to do something completely different as I needed to stay in the pool and just bank some time. No lane lines today and no one in the pool so the world was my oyster. I thought for a minute and I decided to swim the alphabet. I don't really know where that came from but...

I spelled every letter in the alphabet by curving and flipping and swimming diagonals. I had to stay on the lines of the letter so that meant retracing some steps to create a proper E and F. It was a continuous effort and I pulled the entire thing. Who knows how far it was or any interval times, but who cares. It was fun which swimming almost never is.

I fell apart at around Q and the resulting W and Y were an absolute mess. My alphabet looked more like an ESL kindergartner's script but it did the trick by keeping me in the water until the job was done. Despite what the arrogant Jackson 5 think, there is nothing easy about the ABC's. Those cocky bastards should try swimming it. Especially H and X.

Got to admit it's gettin better

So I set out to repeat a barely under race pace time trial that I did about two weeks back with good results. It was a bit cooler than last time and after a quick warm up, I started moving. Couldn't really figure the wind out as it was as inconsistent as Al Gore in 2000. I was moving at between 24.5 and 25 for the way out so I was happy with the speed. I was a bit concerned that I would have a major headwind on the way back though. I got to the turn around, took a gu and set off again in the rain. I was pushing pretty hard and the wind started being my friend / dying completely. My speed shot up and I shifted into a major gear and started cranking. 26.5-28 mph was the standard and I was ripping back into town with metallica blaring. I got into the biggest gear and dropped my chain. My deraileur was confused because it isn't used to going fast as I have sucked a bit for the past couple years. The ride was magic and I felt like I was motor pacing.

Here are the stats...
1:08 for something like 30 miles
25.5 mph average and 155 bpm average

check out the previous workout to compare

I think it was something like 24.5 @ 161 bpm

Hopefully a sign of good things to come. I am tired though. Time to sleep. Bye bye.

Snickers Challenge

Today I set up a snickers challenge for myself. Here are the rules.

Complete a pretty damn hard bike ride and you can eat a snickers bar.

Sounds simple. Not that simple.

I ran very hard at 3pm. 7 miles on a hilly route and I charged all the hills. I was pretty smashed. I did my best to get in the pool to get some circulation and recover.

I set my bike up on the trainer at 6:30 pm and got the snickers out. I placed it like a carrot in front of my bike and organized my drinks and gadgets. Now for the fun part sort of- I lifted this workout off slowtwitch.com and I admit I was a bit intimidated.

15 min warm up

2x 30 min @ 90% of LT (about half ironman race pace) with 5 min spin in between

10 min spin

3x8 min @ a bit faster than LT (olympic race pace) with 2 min spin in between

I wasn't sure I was fit enough for this workout but I got it done and pretty well. As I cooled down, I eyed my prey in its sexy dark brown wrapper. As soon as I was done, I gobbled my prize so fast I barely tasted it. GREAT SUCCESS!

Try the snickers challenge for yourself or suggest a new one for me as I want to eat more snickers.

P.S. My stomach feels like a sailboat on stormy seas right now... maybe I'll slow down the victory celebration next time.

Interview with Mark Allen PART 1

The Grip. 10 times Nice Champion, 6 time Ironman World Champion, Winner of the most epic triathlon ever (1989 Ironman Hawaii… if you don’t know, you should), Winner of the inaugural ITU world championships in 1989. I could go on, but you’d probably prefer to hear from the man himself. We are here with a two part interview with absolute legend and pioneer of the sport, Mark Allen

JP: Mark, thanks for taking the time. First things first, will you take us back to your first race. How did you get into the sport and what was your first go around like?

MA: The first time I ever saw anything about triathlons was in 1982. I was watching Wide World of Sports and it was the dramatic finish between Julie Moss and Kathleen McCartney. I was so drawn into the event that I thought I just had to go to Hawaii and see if I could cross that finish line.

Julie Moss crawling to the finish line. An image that defines Ironman

I came from a swimming background so I had the engine, but not skills in cycling or running. But that didn’t worry me too much. I was 24 years old and not really thinking it would be an impossible task to get ready for an IM in about 6 months. But I knew I needed to do some races before then to just get my feet wet and gain experience in the sport. So in June I entered my first race, which was USTS San Diego. It was slightly longer than the current Olympic distance races. I ended up finishing in fourth, which was fantastic. But even more intriguing was that the three guys in front of me just happened to be Dave Scott, Scott Tinley and Scott Molina. Together we ended up being called The Big Four, because for a number of years if we were in a race together chances were that one of us would be the champion.

Anyway, even though I raced well, I was so completely wasted and exhausted for weeks after it that I was really reconsidering if I could possibly do an Ironman in October. But forge ahead I did…fortunately!

JP: When did you realize that this was going to be a legit career for you?

MA: The thought of a career came in November of that first year. As I said I was 4^th in my first race, 3rd in my second, and then I won my third event, which was a half Ironman. I also beat Scott Tinley and Scott Molina in that race, which set the stage for Kona where I would go head to head with Dave.... until my derailleur broke just past the turnaround at Hawi.

But after all of that, I was asked to be on a triathlon team that was being formed in San Diego by the now defunct J David investment company. They gave me a salary and I was on my way. Then, shortly after that, Nike stepped in and became my main sponsor.

JP: What would you have done if not for triathlon?

MA: Well, I have a degree in Biology from UC San Diego. But what I would have ended up doing with that is really a complete unknown. I certainly could not have known that I would become a professional athlete in a sport that I only learned about at age 24, and it will remain an unknown what I would have done otherwise. I am just grateful that the sport fell in my lap and that I pursued it without much logical reasoning behind it. It just felt right to do.

JP: Let’s talk about Nice, which was a race that was as prestigious as Kona back in the day. You dominated that race for an entire decade. Amazing. How were you able to continually defend your title at such a world class event?

MA: One race at a time! I really felt at home in Nice and completely accepted by the people there. For some reason it was just easy for me to put out my best each year there. Well, it was certainly not easy, but it always worked out in the end. I raced it 10 times and won it 10 times, which in many ways is even more incredible when I look back at it than what I did in Kona. There is so much that can go wrong in Nice, especially on the bike where crashing took a number of top athletes out. But I was just always able to muster up the energy it took to win.

JP: Shifting gears to Kona, which race stands out to you as being your absolute best on the big Island?

MA: There were two that really stand out: my first win and my last. The first was so dramatic because of how it unfolded with Dave and I side by side for almost the entire day. It was not until about 8 hours into the race and the final uphill on the run course that I was able to pull away and go on for my first win. It also came after six defeats, so that made it a moment that I still savor.

But perhaps even more satisfying on a deep, deep level was my final victory in 1995. I was 37 years old, which was well beyond what most would consider your prime. I had taken the previous year off from Ironman because I was just really burned out and didn’t have the internal energy to put in the training necessary. And all the young guys were gunning for me. They new it was most likely their last shot at taking me down.

What made the day so incredible was that the challenge as the race unfolded was beyond anything I had ever seen. I was over 13:30 behind the leader off the bike, Thomas Hellriegel. He just blew us all away. No one had made up that much of a time differential, ever. So it looked completely impossible. In fact, from a numbers perspective, it was impossible. I needed something different. But I had that something different, and it was time to use it.

Let me give you some history to explain it. Part of how I ended up turning the race in my favor in 1989 was by a fluke incident that happened a few days before the race. I was looking through a magazine without paying attention to anything. That was until I saw an ad that was speaking about a workshop that was going to be teaching about a way of life from a group of Indians in Central Mexico called the Huichol Indians. But what really caught my attention was the picture of the two shamans or medicine men that were going to be leading the workshop. One was 110-year-old Huichol named Don Jose, and the other was his adopted grandson Brant Secunda. They both had a look on their face that said “I am happy just to be alive!”

Well fast-forward to the half marathon point in that epic battle with Dave. He started surging and dropped his pace down to a 6-minute mile. I was almost ready to give up because that was totally insane, especially because I had a strong sense that he was going to run that fast for the remaining half marathon. It totally blew my mind. Moments before I was going to just give up and toss in the towel, I remembered the pictures of those great shamans, and somehow that feeling of just being happy to be alive permeated my being. Suddenly I was just happy to be in the race next to the best in the world. No shame in that! And suddenly my energy started to come back. And then the whole dynamic began to switch. It was at that moment that I knew I could win it.

Well, shortly after that race I met Brant Secunda and had one of the most incredibly transformative experiences of my life at a retreat he lead in Mexico. I have now studied with Brant for about 20 years, and continue to use his teachings as a source of inspiration and deep learning.

But back to 1995, in the months leading up to the race I could just tell that my body was still tired. I had a blood test done and indeed the results did not bolster my confidence. In fact, from those tests I was told that all my hormone levels were depleted, by body was deeply stressed out and that the only way to correct it was to rest for a few months. Well, I had an Ironman to hopefully win in a few months. No time for a vacation!

Fortunately, Brant did a number of healing ceremonies for me that brought my body back around and really helped charge me up for the task at hand. Then in the race, in the defining moment when I left the transition area from bike to run and was told that Hellriegel was 13:30 ahead, it was one of Brant’s many words of wisdom that gave me hope to continue. He always says, “It’s not over until it’s over” meaning no matter how impossible something might look right now, keep going because in the next moment things could change. Well, that moment of change didn’t come until about mile 20 of the marathon when I could finally see Hellriegel in the distance ahead of me, but it was Brant’s words and his many blessings that gave me the strength to just keep going and give it everything I had even though victory looked totally impossible.

I passed Thomas at mile 23 of the marathon and went on to win by about 2:30. That victory took all I had learned in 15 years of racing and all that Brant could give me to get me across that line as the victor in my sixth and final Ironman.

STAY TUNED FOR PART 2!

The D.R. buries its foot in my groin again!

I am back in business after my most recent groin kick given to me by the Dominican Republic. It actually was E Coli instead of Dengue. 6 days total. 3 days completely in bed. 2 days without food. 1 very unhappy author.

The more I think about why I got sick, the more I hate the place we stayed and the woman who ran it. It was called Rancho Wendy... and let's just say Wendy didn't run the most hygenic institution. Caitlin saw two chicks do their business on the kitchen floor. The hands were not washed thoroughly and the plates were a bit smudgy. The kicker was, upon opening the fridge, I saw a hunk of completely uncovered meat and wad of room temp cheese. The power was intermittent and we went hours without power. I think it is safe to say that frigid witch Wendy served me rotten meat.

I would like to take a baseball bat to every window in the place. SHOCK AND AWE CAMPAIGN!!!!!

The funny thing was, upon figuring out we were leaving, she approached Caitlin and said, in broken english:

"I think you are leaving away cuz you are boring".... She meant bored. No lady. We aren't leaving because of that. We are leaving because you effing poisoned me.

MOVING ON....

Caitlin has been across the road and around the bend, so to speak and she has been dropping some entertaining quotes... I figured I would share.

"you need to stop being a butt licker to me"... Hmmm. Let's get one thing straight, bloggers. I am NO butt licker. She has a foul mouth. Probably bad breeding.

"I'm gonna put this phone up your butthole"... Probably after she didn't get her way in some altercation. Clearly a mature and well pondered solution.

"You know what always came naturally to me? Not getting sick like a Nancy"... After I boasted about how whistling came naturally to me she dropped this gem. She called me a Nancy for getting sick all the time. She chips away at my psyche like a relentless goblin.