Looking for Some Outdoor Training Buddies

Another sweat filled week of endurance training. I've lost count but I think we're close to 3 months in. This past Sunday was my biggest day of training on record. A 41 mile bike ride through the hills of Fairfield county immediately followed by a quick paced 9 mile mostly hill run. The fact that I was still upright, coherent and even had a little left in the tank afterwards, tells me I've come a LONG way on this journey...During the bike leg I did have to take a short break as I realized my toes had gone numb on both feet. I thought my velcro shoe straps were too tight, but upon a closer inspection they were red and seemingly frozen. At that point the temps had warmed up so it didn't take long to massage them for a few minutes in the sun which seemed to do the trick. 

Another comment is that when riding in the Pacific Swim Bike Run studio it's still hard work but the social element helps to easily pass the time. On the road I love and enjoy seeing the countryside and breathing in the fresh air. However when you're pushing 3 hours with minimal social interaction one may start to experience some level of loneliness (or insanity LOL), at least I do. For these super long sessions, that will only get longer, I think I'm going to try and find a buddy to tag a long...by the way this is an open invite - please feel free to contact me. Anyone...Bueller... Bueller... ;) 

- Mark

Real Progress

Another chockfull week of training. I'm grateful that warm weather is around the corner. The indoor training has become a bit claustrophobic. Although I have to say, after all of this indoor training, I'm literally stunned by the progress Pacific has helped me achieve in just 2 short months. If you asked me to ride for 3 hours and then run for 30 minutes when I first started, I would've laughed and then probably passed out. Now I'm able to bang through these types of workouts with confidence and even ready for more in some cases (yes, I know, careful what you wish for). 

The drills are really starting to intensify. We're also starting to look at the science behind the data and where the training can be tweaked. More to come on this.

Just watched Ironman Kona 2012 - getting pumped!!!

- Mark

Swim Analysis and St. Patty's Day 5k!

This week I finally grabbed a swim lesson with Coach Jason. It was good and bad. Good because he was able to quickly point out my inefficiencies and give me drills to work on.  This is what you would expect and I know in the long term it will help me conserve energy for the bike and run. Now, the 'bad' part was that it totally messed with my psyche. Here I was thinking how efficient my swimming had become, and in reality it had come a long way in two months, however the harsh truth was that I have a tremendous amount of work to do. The really bad part was that my first swim following the lesson was rough. I had all of these thoughts flowing in my head. I felt like I had almost forgot how to swim. I only made it about 1000 yards of what should've been a 3000 yard workout. I was upset and immediately called Jason post workout. He was there for moral support, talked me off the ledge and walked me through a high-level plan to get back in the pool. In my book, these are the characteristics that separate the good coaches from the great ones. The way I see it my swimming can only improve from here.

I also ran in the Pacific Swim Bike Run St. Patty's Day 5k on Sunday. What a blast! I was able to get a PR - even after a brutal week of training. Which leads me to think that my running efficiency is already improving thanks to my run form analysis last month!

- Mark

 

Week 7 here we come!

So things continue to increase. Longer workouts at greater speeds each week. The longest session so far was a 3 hour bike followed by a 30 minute run. The best part was that I not only survived but felt great doing it. I even came in first place out of the group I was riding with (well it was a small group...), but hey who's counting!  It's clear that the bike trainer at home is paying dividends in my ability to ride stronger, more comfortably and for longer periods of time. A few weeks ago it was painful, in many regards, to ride for 60 minutes...now I'm riding for 180 minutes followed by a 30 min 5k run. Wow - I'm thrilled with the progress I'm making!

Diet is becoming critical. Any days I indulge with unhealthy meals and/or booze, I pay for it during the next day's workout. Energy levels are usually down and I don't sleep well...It easily motivates me to only or mostly eat healthy stuff. The Girl Scout cookies came at a bad time this year...

Off to bed, 5am wake up for swim training with coach Jason!!

- Mark

Week 5

I'm finishing up week #5 and feeling like I'm in the best shape that I've been in a long time. The amount of training time each day is already starting to increase. The longest session so far was close to 3 hours (swim/bike). I keep telling myself there aren't enough hours in the day, realizing this is just the beginning. The juggle between family, work and training is starting to become a challenge. Of course this was expected but its hard to plan for until your actually living it. I'm sure there will be more to come on this topic in future blogs.

I finally unwrapped my heart rate monitor (Christmas gift - thanks honey!) and it's very cool. One immediate observation was that my running HR is about 20 BPM more than my cycling HR. I presume, and hope, this is normal...? Also there's an abundance of HR data on my Garmin watch - I need to get with my coaches to understand it all.

I've started running outdoors again which has been awesome to get off the dread-mill...even with a little snow and wind chill it's far better than running indoors IMHO.

- Mark

4 Weeks Down...

Kicking off week #5 and feeling good. Still getting used to the early rises at 5:30 AM...

I purchased a bike trainer last week for my home gym. First of all, it's awesome to be able to train in my own my home at my convenience. Secondly, it's allowing me to train the right muscles while getting familiar with being in aero position. The recumbent bikes at the gym are not even close to the real thing and can even be counter-productive for a triathlete.

During my swims last week I was started to get foot cramps in the pool after about 1000 yards. I quickly figured out that I was dealing with slight dehydration - likely due to the early morning workouts. I've added in some more electrolytes and extra water into my daily intake which seems to have eliminated the cramping.

Last week I also got out for my first outdoor run. I can't tell you how good it felt even at 32 degrees. There's only so much of the treadmill that one can handle... Is it spring yet?

- Mark

Getting The Right Fit

Just finished training week # 3. Slowly getting used to training 6 days / week. Training so far has been on low-med intensity at 90-120 minutes per day. I'm already back to my pre-holiday weight and feeling energized.

This week I had a much overdue bike fitting on my Tri bike. The bike had been fitted when I bought it last year from another LBS. However it was quite obvious they were more interested in the sale and less about ideal fit. At PSBR we scheduled a time and it was quite a formal process. When I say formal it included a methodical checklist of measurements from every angle. It was a collaborated effort with support from several other employees, to  validate each measurement. I think just about everything that could be tweaked was adjusted. The aero bars, the seat, shoe clips, etc.

Prior to the fitting I could barely go 60 minutes without a lot of discomfort. Since the fitting I’ve been on a couple of 2-hour rides  with no issue! In a way it's like having a new bike...highly recommend a bike fitting if you have not had one in a while. Should you get a bike fit, don't forget to wear your bike gear (shorts/shoes). You will be peddling for a while.

-Mark

Running Form Analysis

This week's training focused on my running form. As a runner who's been through two IT band injuries I knew that my form was not ideal. Sure enough Jason's ipad recordings revealed not only that I'm a heal striker but I also have a severe over-stride. No big secrets there really. He did indicate that other than these two glaring issues the rest of my form is pretty good - at least I'm doing something right!

After about an hour of tuning, drills and metronomes, I started to see immediate improvement. For example in the beginning at 8 mph, my feet and the poor treadmill were being punished by my high impact, inefficient form. By the end of the session at 8 mph the treadmill was much quieter and I felt like I was gliding along instead of stampeding along! I know this does not mean I'm cured, and this will take a lot of re-programming . But I definitely see where I need to focus and I'm excited about become a more efficient (and maybe a little bit faster?) of a runner.  

 

- Mark

Meet Mark

My name is Mark Montanaro. I'm absolutely thrilled and honored to have been selected for Pacific's Ironman challenge! I'm still shaking my head wondering what I got myself into...

A little bit about me:  I'm married to an amazing and supportive wife. We have two young daughters (One of which has already competed in two Mossman kid's triathlons!). Grew up in Norwalk and now reside in Weston. I studied business and supply chain management at Northeastern University. I work for, and help manage, an IT consultancy based in Westport. Our primary focus is on what is known as Business Intelligence. We partner closely with companies like SAP, Microsoft, and Qlikview.

I was never a die-hard athlete growing up. Although I think I realized I was a bit of an endurance junkie when I joined the cross country team in high school. I may not have been the fastest or best runner on the team. But on those long runs was where I got my first real glimpse at being "in the zone" and I loved it! I grew up skiing and eventually crossed over to snowboarding. In college I was on the crew team (4-man) and even had a chance to row in the Head of Charles. It wasn't until my early 30s when I did my first sprint triathlon where I fell in love with the sport. On a 15 year old mountain bike I finished the Mossman sprint in Norwalk. Since that first race,  I've been doing about five triathlons per season for the last 3 years. To date, I have not done anything bigger than an Olympic distance tri or 1/2 marathon. I was supposed to run the NY Marathon last year which is now deferred to 2014.

I'm hoping this challenge will ultimately make me a better person both mentally, physically and spiritually. I also hope to inspire others to get involved with the sport of triathlon. As for actual goals and times for the 140.6 I have not had a chance to really think through that yet. To cross the finish line within the allotted 17 hours would have to be goal # 1 . I'll report back on a future blog post with more specifics.

As Eminem once said - "You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow, cause opportunity comes once in a lifetime!" The Ironman challenge will be my Mt Everest climb opportunity for 2013 no question about it.

Kick-Off

Wow! I'm honored and privileged to have have been selected to train with Pacific Swim Bike Run for the Rev 3 Cedar Point full Ironman event. This is going to be an amazing and game changing year for me, no doubt about it.

Tonight was Pacific's Happy Hour party kicking-off 2013. What a blast! It was cool to meet so many new and like minded people. The beer, wine and food was flowing while some big named sponsors demoed and gave away free products! (hey wait a minute - didn't Pacific publish a recent article regarding "Alcohol and its effects on athletes"? LOL - we'll leave that one alone right now...  :)

It's becoming clear that the Pacific team, and their extended network of friends and family, consists of a highly supportive group that puts their athletes front and center.  I also finally got a chance to explore the facility to see where I will be transformed over the next 8 months.  This is the kind of triathlete playground that you never have to leave. All the gym equipment an endurance athlete needs, along with a full nutrition bar and a huge retail store.

Training starts this Saturday with Jason. Looking forward to keeping everyone apprised of my progress. Let the journey begin!!

- Mark