Late fall means marathon racing! Congratulations to Ed Wallis and Frank Smith who raced marathons this past weekend!
Dallas Marathon, TX
Ed Wallis – 5:00
Kiawah Island Marathon, SC
Frank Smith – 5:20 – Frank’s wife, Phyllis also ran and finished fourth in her AG! His nephew also raced and finished in an impressive 3:19!
Joan McGue also raced the Phoenix 10K this past weekend and finished in 1:14. She placed 5th in her AG!
Your just finished an Ironman race, 100 mile run or other major objective of the year. Congratulations! You are still flush with endorphins and sense of accomplishment. The first week after the race feels surreal. You may think, wow, did I really just do that? Your mind might replay different segments of the experience as though you are watching a highlight reel in your head. A couple more weeks go by and then something strange happens, you become depressed. Your energy seems to be low, and life just doesn’t seem very interesting. Welcome to post achievement depression.
Post achievement depression is quite common among anyone who has completed a major achievement in life, especially in endurance sports. For months or even years, you have been focused on achieving a specific goal. The goal has captivated your mind because, not only is it physically and mentally hard, it may even be a bit scary, especially in the case of mountaineering or adventure sports. You have been diligent in waking up every day and executing the training. You don’t dare miss a session because you are so focused on this goal. Every waking moment is spent visualizing what it might actually feel and look like to be doing the event or crossing that finish line. You talk enthusiastically about the challenge ahead with others. People seem interested and intrigued by what you are about to attempt. This can really feed the ego and give you an Olympian view of the pedestrian world below.
Suddenly, in what seem like a blink of an eye, it’s over. This can leave the athlete feeling lost, confused and a bit untethered. The world goes on, nothing has changed, you haven’t achieved rock start status. You are just back at work, dealing with day-to-day issues and shopping for groceries. Back to reality.
Post achievement depression is real and it is totally normal. Almost everyone who has worked with singular purpose towards a goal feels like this once the goal is achieved. So, what to do about it?
First, know that this is a normal feeling and it will soon pass with time. Give yourself freedom to train or exercise in an unstructured, fun manner. This will help you find the joy of just being outside as well as letting your body and mind recover from the hard work you have been putting in. This can be a great time to let your mind wonder and daydream about future objectives. Once you have that future objective solidified, commit to it and, boom, you are right back in the saddle again! Signing up for a big race or committing to a big objective to work towards is the easiest way to get over post achievement depression.
Wow, it has been an eventful two weekends! Special congratulations to Melissa Samuelson who raced in Marbella, Spain at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship. The course was one of the most challenging in recent memory with nearly 6,000′ of climbing on the bike. Melissa finished strong in a time of 6:22.
As we get closer and closer to the last Ironman Arizona, I thought I’d share some of the race strategy and pacing tips that have worked well over the last 21 years. Every Ironman is a test of endurance, fitness and discipline to execute your own personal race plan. As you approach race day keep the following in mind – from the moment you wake up on race morning everything you do has an effect on how well you can run the Ironman marathon.
Warm up
Keep it minimal. Your warmup should consist of mostly stretching. Some light swimming may be possible at some races.
Swim
Seed intelligently. Do not put yourself in a position to be swam over by others. The exception to this is if you need as much time as possible to be the finish line cutoff. In that case, get in the water as soon as possible. This is critical in rolling starts like IMAZ. Divide the swim into thirds. The first third is super easy. Keep it at a lev 1 of 5 effort. The second third is where you hit your stride and can swim a steady lev 2 effort. The last third is where you need to maintain focus and sustain your lev 2 effort. Conserve energy in the swim. That is the name of the game. Sight as necessary and draft if you are comfortable with it.
T1
Have the process flow of transition memorized. Move steadily not hastily. Even if changing into full bike clothing, do not take more than 15 min in T1.
Bike
Respect the marathon! An Ironman is not a bike race. The bike merely a transition from the swim to the marathon. Miles 1-30 should be done at a lev 1-2 effort. You should feel like you are holding back. Start nutrition 20 min into the ride so that your stomach has time to settle after swallowing lake water. Miles 30-60 should be a nice lev 2 effort like most of your long training rides. You can drift as high as lev 3 on any hills. Miles 90-122 are where the race begins. Get to mile 90 of the bike feeling OK and you have a chance! Keep effort at lev 2 with spikes to lev 3 on hills. Stay aero, especially on those last 20 miles back to Tempe!
T2
Consider a flying dismount. Keep moving and be efficient. Do everything while still moving forward. If sick, walk the first 800m instead of sitting in a tent waiting to feel better. Get out in 10 min or less!
Run
Keep this quote in mind, “an Ironman marathon is 20 miles of hope and 6 miles of reality!” Settle into a lev 1-2 effort. Keep executing your nutrition plan. If you plan on run/walking then start executing that strategy right from the start. If you run 2 min then walk 1 min you will run 66% of the marathon! Expect to run about 40-90 sec slower than ½ Ironman run pace. Consider walking through the aid stations. Get to mile 20 and then dig deep with whatever you have left for the last 6.2 miles. Expect cardiac drift if things are going well. Don’t slow down if HR starts hitting lev 3 or higher but you feel like you are still lev 2. Run down the finishing chute and smile for the camera! You are an Ironman!
Joan McGue – Castle Creek Sprint Tri
The fall racing season is well underway! We’ve had some great results so far! We’d like to give our longtime athlete Joan McGue a special shoutout. She competed in her 93rd triathlon at Castle Creek last weekend! Her discipline, dedication, and perseverance are legendary at this point. So proud of you, Joan!
Moab Arches 50K – UT
Craig Conley – 7:49
Castle Creek Olympic Tri – AZ
Jon Byron (pictured) – 2:49 – 3rd in AG and 17th overall!
Castle Creek Sprint Tri – AZ
Joan McGue (pictured) – 2:20 – 1st in AG! This was Joan’s 93rd triathlon!!
Memphis 15K
Ed Wallis – 1:29
Augusta 70.3
Frank Smith – 7:11 – Frank will be racing IM California this month alongside his wife and son!
Jon Byron – Castle Creek Tri (far right)
Congratulations to Matt Johnson who raced the Trick or Tri Sprint triathlon this weekend in AZ. He placed FIRST OVERALL with an impressive time of one hour! Matt is due to race IMAZ next month. Nice job Matt!