Ironman Training - PJohnnyX Whips Out His Banana and Nuts in front of my Wife

After I loaded up my bike, I see John make last circle on the street and coasts to me to talk about the ride that we were on.  He is a lot faster than me and is working hard to hit his goal of 11:15 for Ironman Lake Placid next month.

Later that evening, Irene mentioned how lucky guys are with all the pockets that we have on our shorts, shirts, jackets.  It seems like we have pockets for everything.  She then commented some of the stuff that John was packing.

As John was talking to me and Irene, he pulled out a ziplock sandwich bag full of peanut butter.  He bit the corner of the bag and squeezed out half of the peanut butter and then place the rest back in his short side pocket.   He talked about not taking Gu because of the fast carbs and wanting to have sustaining food for the long distances over the day.  All of the sudden that reminded him to show my wife what else he had.  He had Bacon Jerky, Baby Food in a Pouch, and of course he had to whip out his Banana to eat it.

Not to forget salt tabs and Nuun electrolytes in the water bottle and almonds in the Bento Box!  Now I need a Bento Box too to hold my Nuts with my Banana!

Nutrition for an Ironman is very different from a lot of other races! What are your favorite nutritional tips for Ironman Race Day?

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New Movie - Ironman vs the Hideous Hunger Monster

I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend in honor of those who have served.  After some very unexpected and unusual happenings in 2013, 2014 has been a real blessing!  As a result, I am able to train for my first Ironman Event and very fortunate to dedicated my Race to Fight Hunger.  The following will give you a sneak peak on what I am looking to accomplish and with your help we can End Hunger!

Draw the curtain...

The role of Tony Stark (Ironman) will be played by me, Noah Lam (Ironman Wannabe).  This role will have this Ironman Wannabe swim, bike and run in an effort to fight the Hideous Hunger Monster.  Limited Viewing at Select Theaters on November 16, 2014.

Pan the camera...

My family and I are dedicating our journey to Ironman Arizona 2014 to 110,000 kids who go hungry every night.  In fact 1 in every 10 people who live on Long Island (300,000 Long Islanders) come home to an empty refrigerator and pantry (A.K.A. Hideous Hunger Monster).   

Here is a preview of some actions scenes...

You will see me drink some town water during my 2.4 mile swim!  You will see the obligatory chase scenes during my 112 mile bike ride!  Last but not least, more chase scenes of running 26.2 miles!  And don't forget the bloopers of me falling while getting on my bike, and me having to go to the bathroom behind the cactus.  Most important, the final scene at the finish line where the Hero, that is me, turns from an Ironman Wannabe to becoming an Ironman!

Be part of the Movie's Happily Ever After...

With this Hero Story, YOU have an important role to play and YOU get to help write the final scene!  The final scene shows happy and well nourished children defeat the Hideous Hunger Monster.  It's up to YOU on how many children will raise their hands in victory over the Hideous Hunger Monster.  Of course you will see me ride my bike into the sunset...

This is how you can be part of the Happily Ever After.  Here are some recommended levels that YOU can donate. 

• Ironman =            $5000.00 (Truck Load of food can feed 10 children for 1 year) *Your Logo will Have Top Billing on the Back of the Triathlon Top and web logo link included on www.runwithnoah.com and a Thank you Dinner with Noah and His Family
• Half Ironman =    $2500.00 (Half Truck Load can feed 5 children for a year) *Your Logo will Have a Prominent Position the Back of the Triathlon Top and web logo link included on www.runwithnoah.com and a Thank you Lunch with Noah and His Family
• Olympic  =           $1250.00 (Feed 5 children for 6 months)  *Your Logo will Have a Prominent Position the Back of the Triathlon Top web logo link included on www.runwithnoah.com
• Sprint  =               $625.00 (Feed a child for over a year) *Your Logo will be Shown on the Back of the Triathlon Top web logo link included on www.runwithnoah.com
• Swim  =                $240.00 (Feed a child for 6 months) *Your Logo will be Shown on the Back of the Triathlon Top
• Bike  =                 $112.00 (Feed a child for 3 months)
• Marathon  =         $26.20 (Feed a child for 2 1/2 weeks)
• Extra Miles Off Course = $50.00 (Feed a child for 5 weeks)
• Or donate what your Ironman Heart says ________

* Everyone will receive a unique gift from me!

Also note: You have until 7/31 if you want to ride on my back.  This will give me time to make the Top.

The Goal is to Raise $25,000, that's a lot of meals!

To make things easier, I have decided to use www.crowdrise.com to process your generosity.  All you have to do is Click on the Donate button and fill out the amount that YOU want to Donate, fill out some information, and it's that simple!  
Here is the Secure Link
https://www.crowdrise.com/IronmanvsHunger

Remember to share this soon to be "Movie Favorite" with your friends and family!

Fundraising Websites - Crowdrise

Ironman Training - Chafing and Getting on the Lost on the Bike Makes for a Good Training Day

This morning, before my alarm clock buzzed away at 4:45 AM, I turned over to the green hue showing 4:40 AM.  I closed my eyes and thought 10 minutes passed only to open them again and show 4:44 AM.  Might as well get up.

I walked outside to check the email to see if Coach Danielle made any changes to the scheduled Open Water Swim (OWS) or the Bike ride after.  No emails!   Let's get some electrolytes from the Coconut Water in the fridge, then flip the lights on to waken Irene.  She still did not get up and I eventually had to speak her name to brush off the Sand from her Eyes place there by Mr. Sandman.

Most of our gear was in the truck, just to get dressed and drive down to Corey Beach in Bayport.  It was still misting and as soon as we arrived a little after 6:00am, the mist lifted.  The sky was cloudy.  At the same time, I noticed my Facebook Friend John, also pull up.  It was his first OWS of the season, and part of his training for Ironman Lake Placid.  He's probably the most positive person I have ever met and was itching to get into the anticipated cold water.

Irene and I walked over to some picnic tables and squeezed into our wetsuits.  We walked over to the waters edge and walked right in.  The water was not that terribly that cold, probably the wetsuit kept me warm.  However, my feet did not balk as I got up to waist high and put my face in the water and started to swim toward the first buoy.  What was unexpected was the water was fairly clear.  I could see a few rocks and small crab shells, nothing icky or disgusting.

So, I looked over to about a football field length away a red buoy with a few swim caps swimming towards it and away from it.  I guess that is the direction I needed to swim towards.   I made sure I was calm by taking easy strokes doing my best from what I learned and practiced in the lined bottom concrete fish tank with the addition lay of neoprene rubber on my skin.  It was very easy to do my best to get to the other buoy as fast as I could, but I wanted to make sure my technique as strong and smooth.  As I get stronger over the next several months, my better technique will take ever and I started winding my arms faster and faster.

I finally got to the other side, and it seemed like my sighting was good with minimal amount of course corrections.  In the distance I could see Irene's cap in the water with Coach Danielle paddling along side on her Stand Up Paddleboard.  This time last year, she was just learning to swim and I am so proud of her!  Eventually for this training she did a 1/4 mile and that is enough for Smith Point Sprint Triathlon, next week.

 

I ended up with 3/4 of a mile for my swim session and I was very happy.  It was time to get on our bikes and head out.  As I walked towards the shore, my felt a stick on the back of my neck and I realized it was some chafing from the zipper pull that I wound up so that it would not interfere with my arms.

The group of us headed out east and Irene had an hour of bike riding, so she rode around the area and she had a great workout.  I did my best to keep up, and as the distance between me and the lead group got further apart. I focused on what was in front of me and did my best to respond my gear shifting based on the inclines, decline and my cadence.  As soon as I get my power meter, I will be able to measure how much power I am dishing out and focus on that number.  I think I like that because the gamer in me will focus on that.

I decided to make a left, because I noticed someone from the group who had some derailleur issues make a left.  He was not that far ahead and I followed thinking he knew which way to go.  All of the sudden, my friend came up from behind me and I was like, I definitely made the wrong turn :)  A few minutes later, they were gone.  My schedule had me bike for 45 minutes out and 45 minutes back, but I felt good.  I rode around until, I somehow reached William Floyd Parkway and I turned back. 

One my way back, I latched on to someone who seemed like was going in the right direction and hugged his rear wheel.  Eventually, we came up to some construction, and I asked, "I must have passed Corey Beach?"  The biker said, that's about 3 miles back.  Oh well!

I finally found the rode and Irene patiently waited for me.  She was excited with her workout and was thinking of running as well, however she did not have her running shoes, so she just waited.  I suggested running on the beach, but she opted to say, "Nah, I don't like running on sand."

Overall I biked 34+ miles, the longest bike ride ever! 

Ironman Training - First Swim Bike Brick of the Season

Originally, I was going to swim in the Connetquot River and then go for a bike ride.  Since there was rain all night, the Coach decided for us to do some intervals at Gold Gym, which mean a further bike ride to where I do my time trial to see my progress.  I was really hoping to work on my open water swimming since I have my first triathlon of the season on June 1.  Yikes!  I am sure I will do fine, but swimming zig zag and adding distance to a race is not fun!

So we did a few laps in the Salt Water Filtered Pool and I pulled my bike and biked down Rt 111.  I wasn't expecting to pass my old school, St. Mary's.  It still looks the same only smaller.  I recall the spots were I would talk to school mates, play kickball in the parking lot, run around the parking lot for the Presidential Fitness Challenge.  I tried to remember the people I might still have contact with and it's usually via Facebook, now.   It's been a long time with any face to face with anyone from this school.

Then I thought, "No grass?"  My parents invested a lot to put me in to Catholic School and we are not even Catholic.  Regardless, I got a great education and in fact Mr. Arpino is still the Principal there!

So I rode past and headed towards Hecksher Park.  Around the parking lot that we normally start from, I changed gears and dropped the hammer.  I got to a comfortable 20+ mph down the front stretch and eventually going around and feeling the wind and slight incline slow me down.  Eventually I had to really slow down as there was a lacrosse tournament with kids and parents walking across the lanes to get to both sides of the field.  I saw a few jerseys that were from our town, but no familiar faces.  I did a few laps and then headed back.

On my way back, I decided to visit another school that I attended prior to St. Mary's.  The Hewlett School was located nearby and I looked for the entrance but I almost missed it.  The land has been subdivided.  I rode up to a fence and saw the main school building left standing.  It looked like it was being renovated but still needed a lot of work.  Again, it looked a lot smaller than I remembered.  Too bad it no longer is a school.

Over all it was a good ride and I am glad I was able to get that in! With Helmet Hair!

Ironman Training - Torture on the Bike Trainer

So I woke up knowing that I need to spin.  I had a choice of going outside and ride for 60-75 minutes or stay indoors for a 4x10 minute at 140-145 bpm.  I did not feel like prepping the water and all the stuff for an hour ride, so I got some water and a pair of regular shorts, replace my regular skewer with a training skewer and popped my bike on the traininer and hopped on my bike.  

I tried to find the right gear combo to achieve the 140 bpm, but it took almost 6 minutes to pass 140 and by then I was breathing really hard.  At the end, it was a great workout and I wrote in my comments that it was TORTURE!

Her reply, "If you think it was torture, you did it right!"

Ironman Training - About to Vomit in the River

With 3 weeks away from our first Sprint Triathlon of 2014, the Smiths Point Triathlon, Irene and I braved the waters of the Connetquot River with Bryan Krut and a bunch of brave triathletes for our first Open Water Swim.  After a few miles logged in the pool for me and Irene needed to get her swimming arms going, it was a great change from looking at a line in sometimes clear warm chlorinated water to murky chilly water.

As Irene and I looked at the calm water, Bryan from Open Water Swim Long Island hopped off his paddle board and said, "the water feels like 60 degrees!"  While that was better than the 58 degrees from the water temperature map, I was a little apprehensive and thinking, what did I sign up for?  The water temps were cooler than normal due to our harsh winter a few months back.

Irene and I headed back to the truck and squeezed into our wetsuits.  A few months ago, I got a full sleeved wetsuit in the next size down in anticipation for Ironman Arizona.  Thank goodness for Focus T25 for helping me drop 16 lbs, but I plan on losing another 10 pounds to help slip in the suit a little easier.  With a little help from Irene, I zipped up and I reciprocated the zip up on Irene.  We were ready to swim.

I stepped into the river with a few other veterans and a rookie, there were plenty of rocks before we floated over to the red buoy.  The feeling of pins and needles eventually went away on my feet and I could feel the cold water seep into the seams of the suit, but the suit kept me insulated and next time, I will be wearing booties and gloves.  

Irene was still on the shoreline, hesitating from what I can see, but she moved into the water.  I felt bad because she has a sleeveless suit.  Sleeveless provides a better range of motion.

Enough hanging and floating.  Time to swim, and I put my face down into the water and started.  I did my best to remember my technique, but everything I learned in the pool was tossed out the window.  Since I could not see anything, I had to lift my head up quite often to make sure I was headed to the white buoy located about 160 yards away (as per my GPS watch).  

On my way back, I noticed Bryan giving some tips to Irene.  She's gotten so much better and will get better everyday.  While she did not swim as much as I did, she did enough to build her confidence to continue on.  

During my second loop, I started to get seasick, and I said to myself I need to get into Open Water more often and I felt like VOMITING a little.  Sipping on some river water did not help either.  So I put my face back in and started swimming again back to the red buoy.  I felt my technique completely falling apart and I was swimming all over place.  

I finally reached the starting buoy and when I stopped, I was really getting nauseous.  I saw Irene heading back to shore and Bryan paddled over.  I told him how I felt and he noticed that my head was going back rand forth to much and said we need to work on keeping my head straight and turn my body more.  Doing catch up drills will help with that.

Over all, I know I will get better and better at this!  Time to rinse off the wetsuits!

Happy Mothers Day

Ironman Training - Rain, Ceased Treadmill and Sucked Up Mickey Long Sleeve

So I was about to do my run workout tonight, only to turn around and tell Irene that I was heading to the gym.  Yes, I wimped out at running in the cold rain.

Today was about drills and intervals.  So I started to warm up and did my first set of drills and as a recovery a slow jog.  I hopped on the treadmill and got going on my recovery and I was warming up.  So I pulled off my Disney Marathon Long Sleeve, and put it on the hand rail.  As I ran, the bouncing jostled my Mickey Mouse Shirt with ripped up sleeve from my first bike crash and my eye watched my shirt fall.  It hit the mat and fell behind me.  Then the shirt got sucked up back into the machine and the treadmill ceased up.

I tugged and pulled to get my beloved long sleeve, but it was jammed in there.  I lowered my head and walked to the front desk to tell the clerk what happened.

Well, I got on the next treadmill to finish my workout, and doing intervals seems like a good idea, until I cranked up the treadmill up to 10.5 mph and having the tread wizzing past my legs was treacherous!

Well I walked back and finished my workout. I rarely go to the gym for the treadmill.  Typically, the membership is used for the pool.