Blog

The New Dad Experiment

In honor of Father’s Day, I’m writing up my training strategy and race report for Escape From Alcatraz, which took place 10 weeks after the birth of my first child! At the outset, it was unclear how much time and energy I would have for training during this period, so my coach Kevin Coady and

The 5-Hour PR

In 2010, I completed my first Ironman at Coeur d’Alene in 15 hours, 35 minutes. In 2016, I finished Ironman Arizona in 10 hours, 33 minutes for a total PR of 5 hours, 3 minutes. Here’s how I did it. Getting a Coach My first Ironman was one of the most painful, memorable, and meaningful

Quantifying Myself

In my obsession with getting faster, I’ve taken a number of tests to assess my athletic potential. In a series of blog posts, I’ll describe these tests and their relative value in “quantifying myself.” In a few decades’ time, assessing (and even enhancing) an athlete’s genetic potential will be quite straightforward. Genetic testing is already

Ironman Santa Rosa 70.3

OVERALL 4:35:04 15th AG, 70th Overall (out of ~3000)  Probably my best-executed race of all time!  I felt good from the start and was only in real pain the last 5 miles of the run (which is kind of the point!). Best-ever splits on the bike and run and was finally really able to push my

Position Changes for Shorter Cranks

The benefits of short cranks, particularly for triathletes, have been debated at length. Studies show that crank length may affect maximal power output and oxygen uptake, though efficiency may be more related to pedal speed (i.e. 2π * crank length / cadence). Thus, if you move to shorter cranks and keep your cadence and power

Admit Your Weaknesses

It’s time to admit it. Running is my biggest weakness in triathlon. I’m 30 years old. I started swimming competitively when I was 5 and continued doing so until I was 18. I started running cross country when I was 12 and continued doing so until I was 18 (As an aside, my method of

Ironman Coeur d’Alene 2010

Standing on the starting line, we are all cowards. –Alberto Salazar When I was in grade school, I was the smart kid with cartoonishly large glasses. I was also the scared, little kid, but I would have ridden my bike off a cliff to prove to you that I wasn’t. Twenty years later, not much