Swimming and more swimming

First up is a PRP update

Last week I joined the swim squad at Jellie Park under the guidance of Coach Roly. Boy did I get a shock. I like to consider myself a front pack swimmer when I’m going well, and that usually means putting in x4  2.5-3,000 yards each session with the Nitro crew or by myself while in Texas. I received a big wake up call this week with Roly as each session was 5.5km! You do the conversion and that is around a 6,000 yard swim. The volume initially just destroys your arms and I had to focus so hard in executing excellence on all my flip turns, making sure I was as streamlined as possible at all times during my stroke. It took me three sessions to finally adapt to the volume and move up from last place in the lane. Yes, last place. We all have to start from the bottom and work our way up. I’m really hoping this volume with all the speed injected into each session will take my swimming to higher level. It would great to be able to go sub 2 min and sub 5 min for the 200 and 500 free again!
The biking and running have been coming along much more slowly. The biking increased in volume this week, but there was still only three sessions. I completed the week with a FTP test and was rather surprised with my number. I knew the number wasn’t going to be as high because of lack of endurance training the past 10 weeks. However, all the strength work I did with Scott Woolwine at Wild Basin really paid off and I ended  up in the Cat I. cat in the power profile chart. It helped that I lost a bit of weight and gained more strength to get solid power-weight ratio. Now the goal is to be working very closely at, and around FTP levels in the training toward Tauranga Half Ironman! If you are looking for a great read on Power, I suggest “Training and Racing with a Power Meter 2nd edition”. Has given much more insight on how to improve my cycling in 2012.
The riding here is great with long country roads that go for miles and miles with no traffic signals and little traffic. This is old on Old West Coast road. It was overcast on Saturday so the view was not as spectacular, but you can see the long straights on the green Canterbury plains. Having a blast riding my QR here.

Running is the toughest event for me while training here in New Zealand. Running is so simple with just shoes and minimal amounts of clothing. It is easy to get out of the house, get into rhythm, and just feel great. The running here is great with some many parks and trails with soft surfaces, so  you can see how hard it is to hold back.  Coming back from injury is a slow process. Last week I was running 4 min/ walk 1 min for 30 minutes. This week I advanced up to a whopping 5 min run/1min walk for 45 minutes! This weekend I get to advanced to hill work. As you can see in the pick below, there are some very cool running trials in the Port Hills. Can’t wait!



















Keep training hard. Till Next time.

James

New Zealand #1

Firstly,  a quick PRP update for those who may be interested in the treatment or are on the fence. It has been 10 days since I received my PPR (Platelet Rich Plasma) injection and I’m feeling great! Again, I know things may change, but as of know I’m very happy. I have not thought about my knee since the day after. The site was a little tight and sore the next day. I have slowly introduced my knee back into swim, bike, run activities and there has been no pain and the swelling on the knee is down. You may ask, well how long have you been working out then if you have had no pain? Have been swimming 4.5-5km a day, x2 hour rides Z2/3 on my Quintana Roo CD0.1, andx2 runs at 7:45-8:15 pace. Part of me wished I had stayed in Austin to receive one more shot because as of right now I swear by this treatment. If you want to talk with a great team, get a hold of ProloAustin. Dr. Fullerton is a very smart guy who has dealt with many athletes. So 10 days in, and I am very happy.
I also have to give a big shout out to Dr.Weine who is a fantastic Applied Kinesiologist at Infinity Wellness who helped so much with my knee also through acupuncture/adjustment and diet changes.

Well, we finally made it to Christchurch and have been settled for the past 5 days. Really feels good to be back in my old home town and retrace all my old routes with my wife by my side. The first few days were just the normal when settling into a new place. We opened up a bank account, bought a cell phone,setup a wireless network in my mother’s house, and most importantly…….sign up for membership at Jellie Park. This is the swimming pool/gym that Lindsay and I will be spending a fair amount of time at over our three moth stay in Christchurch.
I received a bit of a scare when I registered as I was told the master squad was at full capacity and will not be accepting any new swimmers! I don’t know about any of you readers, but I get SO bored after 2,000m and lose enthusiasm very fast. Due to the February earthquakes, lot of pools have been closed so swimming space is tough to find. I just decided to walk in and talk to Roly, who is the elite head coach for lots of the elite athletes when training down in Christchurch. Looks as if I will be able to join up with their squad which will make things much nicer. Since I have been out for almost 10 weeks with no S/B/R activity I have been swimming solo every day to get the feel back for the water. Lots of IM sets as I always feel my fitness comes together faster when adding lots of Fly and back. Have been knocking out 5km every day. We have been swimming indoors, but we get to move outdoors in the next week! Can’t wait to be outdoors in a 50m pool.



Today was the first “long ride” of three hours today and I faced a stiff headwind which was very Kona like. Was a brutal slog for the 90 minutes out and then you would figure it would be smooth sailing home, right?  Had a wind switch and faced the same headwind coming home! As brutal as it was I still had a great time despite the realization that I’m so unfit! I think 10 weeks was wonderful for recovery/healing, but not good for coming back into things. Two weeks always does the trick. Here is my QR CD0.1 in the garden. Will get more interesting shots around Christchurch, but I’m far too exhausted to do anything right now.

Over the coming weeks the training will be ramped up granted the health of the knee remains good. Lindsay and I will be documenting our journey. The plan is to race a half Ironman in January then IronmanNew Zealand in March.

THE DECISION 2012

After last season I was hoping for big things in 2011. This did not go as I had planned. Have to switch things up, so being a LeBron James fan I thought I'd have some fun in a video order to reveal my plans for 2012.
I grew up in Christchurch, NZ. I plan on heading back to find myself as an athlete again. Will be training hard down there from Novemeber through to March finishing off the trip with Ironman New Zealand.

Cheers,
JC

You WILL get back up

 

So far 2011 has been my enemy and has come very close to winning. I have been pushed down, I have been trampled on, I have been defeated, I have been frustrated, but you know what? I get back up no matter how many times I get knocked down. I have been confronted with failure every race this year but I challenge failure back every time. If you want success in life/sport, it is all about getting up one more time than getting knocked down. I WILL be back, I WILL get stronger, and I WILL win again. Never will we ever be afraid of failure because ultimately it will make us stronger.

So to everyone who has been knocked down, lets stand up again and show the back half of 2011 what's up.

James

Long Road Ahead

Will keep this very brief. Again I was no where near were I think I should be in the pro ranks this year. After Galveston I should have made a very critical assesment of where I was really at and should have gone into a huge training block instead of being to ambitious and reaching for results I was truely not capable of at the time. I felt defeated, but I'm not out and I will be back. It will be a long road in front of me but I will put in the time required.

Only positive for me at Lubbock was my swim. It was my second swim in my FAST Quintana Roo Superfill. I really like this suit! Very flexible in the shoulders and very easy to get the heels outofthe suit quick. It also has a virtual pull buoy (thicker material between the legs) and really keeps the hips nice and high. For me it allows me to get more rotation in my stroke with less kicking. Cruised and really did cruise the swim as we were in wetsuits with 75 degree water temp and 90+ outside air temp. Came into T1 as first professional male out of the water. Then it was just being a spectator of many awesome athletes passing my by. Congrats to QR athlete Kelly Williamson for the overall female win and to Michael and Amanda Lovato for there 2nd and 5th places overall.

Calories from day:

Breakfast: oatmeal w/banana, have been using Lara Bar recently as a snacking and pre- race gluten free calorie bar. Very easy onthe stomachand very delicious. x1 24oz bottle of fruit punch EFS

Bike: x2 bottles all with First Endurance products. x1 bottle 200 calories EFS fruit punch, x1 bottle 400 calories EFS liquid shot

This post is really just a huge thanks to my sponsors who allow to me to pursue my dream of competing in the sport of triathlon as pro. K-Swiss, First Endurance, Profile Design, Quintana Roo, Nuttzo, GT Kombucha.

Thank you for your continued support and motivation during the hard times. The small e-mails of encouragment and even the phone calls. Robert your help the past year with tips and help with my race nutrition.

JC

Orlando 70.3

I’m going to say that Orlando was my first race of the season after my horrible showing at Galveston!
Planning travel to races is always a pain in the butt and a big risk. As you might remember from previous posts, I travel standby and only get on if there is a open seat. With the airlines cutting routes and reducing frequency of  flights to locations it has been interesting to, say the least, getting to races. So when my good buddy and training partner Justin Park said he was driving down from N. Carolina, I quickly hopped on board. It worked out perfectly since I could make the short hop over to him . Justin lives in Chapel Hill, NC and I have made several trips to train with Justin and to also drive to races. It is always a great feeling knowing I will be arriving at races on time despite car travel to Orlando being 8.5 hrs.

North Carolina has made a huge impression on me the past couple of years during my stay with Justin. Beautiful location, awesome training grounds, plenty of trails to run on, and great tri community. Heck, Lindsay and I are even contemplating a move there next year if all our stars align. Just a fantastic place. I have  logged a few hours of porch time, drinking cold beverages, and playing gin in the locations below.


Race morning was very ominous with a huge thunderstorm over head race site. With all the lightening we saw during the drive in, I was certain the swim would be canceled or delayed in order for the storm to dissipate. Eventually the storm fizzled  out and the race was going to be a triathlon! 

The swim was fast with Potts, Kahn, Collington, and Hackett present. With the splits I was putting up in the pool I was certain I would be able to stay with Hackett for the swim. I was wrong. At the half way mark he slowly started pulling away. The gap wasn’t huge and the long transition run was my saving grace as I made up most of my deficit to the leaders in T1.  It took another 5-10 min on the bike to catch them. Guess, I will have to work a little bit harder in the pool.

The bike was where I imploded big time. My Quintana Roo is a great bike and goes very fast, it was just my engine that was faulty today. Once I caught up to Hackett I was still feeling pretty good. It was the uncomfortable comfortable feeling which is always the feeling I get when I know I can hang with the pack for 56 miles so I was a happy boy. Hackett and I were riding well switching off rounds of being pace maker up front and all seemed well. On all the out and back fro first 20-30 min it looked as if we were maintaining out lead over the pack behind us. However after a while it became evident that our pace was slowing and the catch would be made. It was disappointing since that pack that caught us had Kriat with them and he has been in fantastic form with a killer run. Anyways, around mile 43 I was in trouble and my legs were pretty cooked. I was yo-yoing back and forth from the back of the pack. There was a fair amount of disorganization with the pack with guys not wanting to pull and it kept me near for another mile or two and then it was all she wrote. The pack was gone and I was focused like no other to limit my loses. Whenever things don't go as you like, accept the situation straight away. If you sit around soaking up feeling of disappointment, that disappointment can result in you coming into T2 even further behind. I was disappointed but what I limit my loses. That being said it wasn't fun coming in about 5 min to group…yes I was hurting.

Bike Nutrition: Bottle #1 First Endurance Liquid shot (400 cal) mixed into 24oz water. Bottle #2 EFS fruit punch x2 scoops (180cal). Total calories= 580

Looking at past run splits in Orlando indicated it was going to be very hot and humid as most of previous top run splits were in 1:17 range. The plan of attack was to run the first loop at 6’ min pace, second loop at 5:50, and the last at 5:50 or below. I figured this would allow me to pick off a fair amount of guys and get me top 5 spot. First lap went well and I was making up ground and was spot on 6’ min pace. Second loop the pace increased and I  was top 10. Third loop was rough. I was getting very close to 5th and 6th place athletes and thought there was a good chance I would catch them. The gap was 5min at T2 and with a mile left, it was 300m!! However, when you run out of steam you run out of steam. Finished the day with a average 1:20 split for seventh overall.

Literally straight after the race, Park and I packed up and jumped on the road for the 9 hr haul back to Chapel Hill. With all the fast food we ate during the drive home (Wendy's, Taco Bell, Subway) I made sure to have a GTS Kombucha to settle my stomach! You need to try this stuff if you ever get a unsettled stomach. My favorite is Cranberry. I followed it up by getting a healthy dosage of omegas and fats with my NUTTZO fix once we got home. Thank goodness for real food!

I think my little mini camp (camp lone wolf) went well and I received a good boost of fitness but there is a small amount still to go, or just more racing is needed to get that pop back in the legs. I’m going to count Orlando as first race of season and build from here on out.Onwards and upwards!

Ford Ironman 70.3 Florida
Disney World, Florida
May 15, 2011
Results

1. Andy Potts (USA) 3:53:14
2. Maxim Kriat (UKR) 3:57:10
3. David Kahn (USA) 3:58:13
4. Stanislav Krylov (RUS) 3:59:01
5. Andres Castillo (COL) 4:02:01
6. Kirill Kotsegarov (EST) 4:02:24
7. James Cotter (NZL) 4:03:12
8. Andrew Hodges (USA ) 4:07:40
9. Brent Poulsen (USA) 4:07:44
10. Sebastian Pedraza (ITA) 4:08:25

Camp Lone Wolf

Galveston 70.3 was a real wakeup call as I received a good butt kicking. Did I expect that to happen?.....yes, but not really to the level I'm which it happened. So there was only really one thing I could do. I sat my wife down and told her I needed to train Lone Wolf style. There would be no distractions and I would just focus on three things and three things only: Training, Recovery, and Nutrition. She was all for it and gave me her blessing. Camp Lone Wolf for me meant going to my secrete location and isolating myself from everything. I like the solo training style and logging hardyards while being very honest with yourself and the efforts you put in. I still held down my job and showed up for dinner every now and then but for the most part it was me, my bike, my FAVORITE shoe the Konejo II , and my Timex GPS at my secret location hidden in the bush.

After a call to my coach, Matt Dixon, we set up a 10 day plan to get me into some shape to be a competitive athlete.Since my swim was where it needed to be, it would be a very tough ten days with the  focus being on cycling and running. Last year we worked so hard on my cycling and it was tough being left behind. As much as I hate the alpha numeral Z4, we would get to meet and greet again in 2011 and get to become pretty good friends. There was nothing crazy on the camp, just long hard work.

The running in Austin is simply awesome! There are soft trails everywhere that are all so easy on the knees :) Where we live we can walk out of our front door and have access to 20 miles of soft rolling trails. When things start to heat  up trail running tends to be very interesting as the snakes come out to play. Last year I had three rattlesnake kills and a total of seven sightings. Always gets your heart rate going when you hear a rattle! Here are some trails shots from closer to my secret location! I managed to go in a cycle of two day on and one day off which resulted in no pain at all. Came out of this little camp with lots more confidence and faith in the strength of my knee.

Riding in the hill country has to be one of my top three rides I love to do. The other two rides would be the Kohalas loop and the ride Cameron Brown took me on in Auckland, New Zealand.
Riding the hill country, once you get there, is top notch. Very little traffic, rolling terrain, and great views. Perfect roads to do 30-60 min efforts without any interruption. I pretty much spent all my time on Fitzhugh road during this camp. The roads and terrain are just very tough and rugged looking. I love it. For all other specific hill work Riverplace was where I was at.

Camp ended a while back and I had a great time. I achieved all the goals Dixon put out for me and ended up at a good level of fitness. Next up is the Orlando 70.3 on May 15. I hope everything will pay off and I end up executing a near perfect race.

Hope you enjoyed some of the pics of Austin, TX training grounds. Until next time.
-Cotter