Recipe for a weird feeling run

Recipe for a weird feeling run- After your puppy wakes you up 8 minutes earlier than your alarm was supposed to wake you take note of crackly ears and a running nose. React to those feelings by taking a sudafed and chase it with at least 10 ounces of coffee. Note a slight hungry feeling in your belly and add 2 handfuls of Reese's Puffs cereal to your mouth. Don't drink any water. Tie 2 overly enthusiastic, 1 timid, and 1 very old dogs to your waist. Make sure your gps is working and head out. Stop multiple times in the first mile to allow the dogs a feeling of being in charge. At .76 miles you will start to see fireworks in front of your face. At 1.04 to bring the old and timid dogs back home and stand at the sink to guzzle water and spend a few moments contemplating the meaning of life and ask where did these fireworks come from. After this brief pause you may want to stop and attempt this run later, but the overly enthusiastic dogs would like to run a couple more miles. Let the o.e. dogs drag you around wherever they damn well please until the fireworks subside and you have the feeling that you head is 2 or 3 feet above your body. Stir and enjoy for the next 60 minutes!

A Note From Stu

2 months ago we lost a dear friend, Stewart McCulloch. I've said this before, but if it weren't for coaching Stu I wouldn't be headed to Ironman Hawaii or where I am right now (on a spin bike at 4:30am training my ass off). His wife Charlene, one of the strongest women I've ever met, just forwarded this to me and it feels like he's right here reading it to me. I didn't take enough stock in this as we sat at my kitchen table writing his plan for Ironman. Thank you Stu and Char for sharing! Outlook « Inbox ► Message Fwd: 4 Keys to Ironman Execution Reply ▼ Delete More ▼ Sat Charlene McCullouch Show details Got this off Stu's iPad. You may have already seen or read > > 4 Keys to Ironman Execution > > By Rich Strauss • Endurance Nation > > 1. Mental preparation is crucial. > > Improving your next race can be significantly cheaper than those new wheels you are considering, or easier than that new whizzbang training method you've read about. Master these four keys, focus on what matters, and race to your potential! > > We have a lot of experience with what works, what does not work, and we've honed this message through the results of our athletes, our observations while being ON the course during the race, and the feedback we've received from pre-race talk attendees. Over the years, thousands have used these four keys to set massive PRs, earn Kona slots, place themselves on the podium, and win age groups. > > This is the official Endurance Nation Ironman Kool-Aid, we hope you enjoy it. Help us help you! > > 2. Execution, not Fitness > > All you've done for 9 months is build a vehicle. Ironman racing is about how you DRIVE that vehicle, it is NOT about the vehicle. The majority of athletes on race day are fitness-focused (look at my T-shirt, look at my abs/veins/etc, look at how fast I can go in the first hour of the bike, etc.) > > It's easy to get caught up in the buzz and energy of the day, but creating and sticking to the right plan for you is the only thing that will lead to the best possible day. > > 3. The Line > > Nothing on race day really matters until you reach The Line on the run. The Line is the point at which continuing becomes very, very difficult. You define success as simply not slowing down at The Line. EVERYTHING before The Line is simply about creating conditions for success for when the Line comes to you. Additional Kool-Aid flavored thoughts we'd like to put in your head regarding this point are: > > A successful race = a good run. There is no such thing as a good bike followed by bad run, period. In our world, if you showed up with solid run fitness, had a "good" bike and a poor run, we will ALWAYS assume you messed up your bike pacing, until proven otherwise. > If you think you can ride faster than we're telling you, prove it by running well off the bike. > > Ride your "should" bike split versus your "could" bike split. Your Could split is what you tell your friends you could ride on a good day, when you're out together for your Saturday ride. If you say you "could ride a 5:50," your Should split is likely 6:00 and is defined as the bike split that yields a good run (see above bullets). > > In our experience, 80-90 percent of the Ironman field doesn't know how to race. If you find yourself doing the opposite of everyone else, you're doing the right thing. If Jimmy is "king of this random hill" at mile 46 of the bike...don't join him! Lots of people passing you in the first 40 miles? That's good, don't join in. Going backwards through the field on a hill? Great! > > Think you made the mistake of riding too easy? You now have 26 miles to fix that mistake. Make the mistake of riding too hard? That mistake now has 26 miles to express itself, to the tune of X miles at 17-18′ walking pace vs X miles at 8-12′ running pace. Do the math. How great is that bike split going to look as you are walking/shuffling the last 10 miles of the run? The Ironman run course is littered with fit dudes walking and talking about what a great bike split they had. Don't join them. > > Every time you feel yourself about to roll the dice and race, look at where you are. Are you at The Line / Mile 18? If not, please stick to the plan! > > 4. The Box > > All day long you are going to race inside a box defined by what you can control. Ask yourself "What do I need to do right NOW to create the conditions for success at The Line? Is what I'm doing right now counter to this goal? From what we've seen first hand on the Ironman courses, we believe you should ask yourself "Am I participating in some short-term tactical gratification?" If yes, STOP!! > > On the swim, the Box is the space your body occupies in the water: focus on your form and the rest will come. On the bike, the box is probably about one aid station long. On the run, the box begins as 2-3 aid stations long but often diminishes to "from here to the next lampost/manhole cover/mail box." Regardless: > > Keep the box as big as you can for as long as you can. > Keep in the box only the things you can control. Let go of the rest. > Exercise this decision-making process inside your box: Observe the situation, Orient yourself to a possible course of action, Decide on a course of action, Act (OODA Loop). > > The One Thing > > If you swallowed the Kool-Aid we're serving you here, you will show up at the Line, in your Box, ready to get 'er done and simply not slow down. But we're not done yet. There is still some psychological stuff you need to address. During the course of your race day, expect your body to have a conversation with your mind: > > "Look, Mind, you've had me out here slogging away for 132 miles. This is really starting to get old and very painful. You need to give me a good reason to keep going forward. If you don't have one, I'm gonna slow down and you can't stop me!" > > Before the race ask yourself "Why am I doing Ironman?" Your goal here is to determine what is the One Thing that put you in this race. To finish in the daylight with a smile on your face? To run a 4:10? To honor your family or a loved one? > > Whatever your One Thing is, be absolutely clear and rehearse your mind/body debate beforehand. Be warned: your body can be a helluva good negotiator at mile 18, especially if your mind hasn't prepared its rebuttal arguments beforehand. > > What have we not talked about so far? The things you are likely most torqued about: heart rate, pace, speed, watts, how to eat, what to drink, etc. We believe that if you can keep yourself focused on the Four Keys above, the rest of the day is relatively simple and you don't need to worry about these relatively small details. In other words, all the whizbang guidance in the world can't help you if don't have your mind right about the Four Keys above. > > But because you're a Type A Triathlete and you want the details, here they are: > > The Swim: Swim only as fast as your ability to maintain form. When you feel your form go, slow down. Counting strokes is an excellent technique for bringing your mind out of the race and into the Box of maintaining your form. > The Bike: JRA (Just Ride Along) for about 45-60 miles. Then shift from JRA to Easy (5:45+ should split) to Steady (sub 5:45 should split). Gauge how well you're doing by how well you're NOT doing what everyone else is doing. > > The Run: Jog for 4-6 miles, with a jogging, do-no-harm pace and heart rate cap. Jogging is defined as a pace you could sustain for hours if we kept feeding you. After 4-6 miles, shift from jogging to "running," running comfortably, getting what you need, and preparing yourself for the Line, where things become very uncomfortable. At the Line, just suck it up and get 'er done. > > That's it, that's as complicated as racing Ironman needs to be and we can't say it any more simply. We've basically given you a Vegas betting strategy, having managed and observed many rolls of the dice through our experience as Ironman coaches leading a team of 400 long course athletes. If you can keep a macro-level focus, the little things will fall into place and you will have a good day. But as you stray towards the Ricky Racer side of the execution scale, you begin to rattle the dice. > > > > Sent from Stu's iPad

We lost a great friend and fellow triathlete last night. Stewart McCulloch had a terrible accident on June 25th while training for Ironman Lake Placid. This was my 3rd season coaching Stu. He was an incredible man who made friends with everyone he encountered and worked tirelessly for his church, the Mt. Arab Masonic Lodge, and anyone else who needed a hand. He started triathlon in his early 60's after losing over 100 pounds. Stu had a heart of gold and was a wonderful ambassador for our sport with his enthusiasm and excitement to cross every finish line. Last year he had some nagging injuries that kept him from making the second run cut-off at Ironman Lake Placid. Despite having to pack it up with 13 miles to go Stu still ran into the oval, with his daughter by his side, with such gusto it gave me chills. This year he came back a lean, mean triathlon machine. Stu was determined to fill in the rest of his M dot tattoo and I know if this accident hadn't occurred he would've been doing just that on July 29th. As I have been training over the last couple of weeks I've had a lot of conversations with Stu, God, and the universe trying to figure out why this had to happen to such an amazing, inspiring human being. The only thing I know for sure is that my family and I have been lucky to have this man and his family in our lives as part of our Tupper Lake family. I also know that I wouldn't be where I am athletically if I hadn't started coaching Stu and caught the Ironman bug from him. His examples of kindness and generosity and his vivaciousness were not lost on this triathlete. He will be with me on every swim, bike, and run and I know he will be with me in October as I cross the finish line in Kona. We love and will miss you dearly friend, enjoy Colt and Quenton up there :) Ps that is for that wild thunderstorm last night

Eagleman 70.3

More to come... Amy FARRELL Rank: 1 Overall Rank: 88 BIB: 1400 Division: F35-39 Age: 36 State: Tupper Lake NY Country: USA Profession: Swim: 35:47 Bike: 2:23:25 Run: 1:30:37 Overall: 4:32:44 Congratulations, Amy, on your finish! Swim Details Division Rank: 17 Split Name Distance Split Time Race Time Pace Div. Rank Overall Rank Gender Rank Total 1.2 mi 35:47 35:47 1:51/100m 17 348 101 Bike Details Division Bike Leader | Division Rank: 1 Split Name Distance Split Time Race Time Pace Div. Rank Overall Rank Gender Rank 30 mi 30 mi 1:15:27 1:52:48 23.86 mi/h 56 mi 26 mi 1:07:58 3:00:46 22.95 mi/h Total 56 mi 2:23:25 3:00:46 23.43 mi/h 1 159 14 Run Details Division Run Leader | Division Rank: 1 Split Name Distance Split Time Race Time Pace Div. Rank Overall Rank Gender Rank 6.6 mi 6.6 mi 44:48 3:46:55 6:50/mi 13.1 mi 6.6 mi 45:49 4:32:44 6:59/mi Total 13.1 mi 1:30:37 4:32:44 6:55/mi 1 88 10 Transition T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE 1:34 T2: BIKE-TO-RUN 1:21 Farrell earns return trip to Ironman Worlds By DAVE SHEA SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2013 TUPPER LAKE - Very few athletes, competing at the highest level of their sport, are faster at 36 than they were at 24. Ogdensburg native and longtime Tupper Lake resident Amy Farrell falls in that select company. She also renewed her membership in a very elite circle of athletes who have qualified for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii on Oct. 12. Farrell earned her third trip to the Ironman Worlds last weekend when she led the Women’s 35-39 age group and was the first female amateur finisher at Eagleman Triathlon 70.3 (Half Ironman) at Cambridge, MD. She completed the 1.2 mile swim, the 56-mile bike ride and 13.1 mile run in 4:32.44. “I was very happy with my time. It fits right in the middle of my two previous bests of 4:19 and 4:39. So I’m faster now than I was at 24,” quips Farrell who by age 24 had followed a natural progression to become a professional triathlete after excelling as a swimmer and distance runner at Ogdensburg Free Academy and earning All-American honors as a distance runner at St. Lawrence University. Her career as professional triathlete ended with agonizing experiences at Ironman Worlds in 2001 and 2002. In 2001 she managed to finish, bloodied and severely scraped but undaunted, after being blown off her bike into a deep ravine. In 2002, in the face of an even more ferocious ranging torrent of wind, she was forced to withdraw 30 miles into the bike segment. She put Ironman behind her to concentrate on her career as a coach and teacher at Tupper Lake Central School and being a wife and mother while concentrating on running and skiing. A concentration which included two near misses at qualifying for the USA Olympic Trials in the marathon. After the near misses she was right on target when she returned triathlon in triumph placing first in 30-34 age group in the Triathlon 70.3 (Half Ironman) World Championships in 2009 in Clearwater, Fla. and took fourth in last year’s worlds in Las Vegas. Competing the heat of Las Vegas accentuated a nagging need to fulfill a sense of unfinished business over what she calls that “dreadful DNF” in Kona in 2002. If she could only find the time to train in the face of an expanding business as usual at home. Three years ago, she and her husband Kevin LaDue, a carpenter, bike technician and snowboard instructor, purchased the Faust Motel on the outskirts of Tupper Lake to go along with career duties, managing four dogs and raising a free-spirited and very athletic daughter Ruby who they say is very wise beyond her nine years on the planet. “We are real Adirondack people, we are very busy and we love it,” says Farrell who has also authored a blog “Ruby’s Mom Racing” since 2007. She shares her love for competing with her daughter Ruby, who has already made her mark in the youth classes of road races and summer mini triathlons in Lake Placid. Farrell found the time to train and delivered a time in Cambridge which showed she was “Goin to Kona”. So in October she will return to Kona totally at peace at being very accomplished amateur but still very driven by the desire to take the Ironman challenge to the limit. “It’s really nice to be amateur. You have a lot more people to swim with,” quips Farrell. “I am just going to see how the race goes. If the training works with my life and I hit my goal I would like to stay with it and see how I match up in my age group over the years. I still think my best Ironman is still ahead of me.”

Road To...

I haven't had a real desire to do an Ironman until this year. That's 11 long years away from the long and painful and sometimes bloody event. The heat of 70.3 Worlds in Vegas made me really really miss Kona. High 80s would seem cool compared to 100+, right? After a crash and ok finish my first year and a dnf my second year in Kona I've always had this unfinished business feeling about the race. Now I feel like it's finally time to go back and really see what I've got. Embrace the ocean, the wind, and the heat and see what I can really do at the Ironman distance. While the half Ironman distance is a nice manageable distance to train for, I'm ready to take the plunge and really get back at it! In 2 weeks I will be racing one of my all time favorite races, Blackwater Eagleman in Cambridge, MD to try and qualify for Kona. This flat, fast, hot race has always appealed to me and its actually where I qualified for Kona in 2002 (the year of the dreadful dnf). Coachulio rose to the the challenge and has prepared me better than I think I've ever been for a race. This winter as I was doing my long runs from Whiteface, while my family was enjoying freshies, I realized I may have found the kind of balance I've been striving for and I could probably make this happen! I hope these weeks fly and I can do Coachulio's incredible plan justice!

Those days when you should follow your first instinct...

February 2012-After a late track meet last night my sweet dogs waited until 6:16am to whine at the bedroom door and shake me out of bed. I used their outside time to make coffee and crawled back in until 7:37! Happy to wake up to coffee I poured a second cup before I realized the pack and I probably needed a little fresh air so we headed out in the cold tails a waggin'! We got far enough out on a lonely road that I felt comfortable, except for the voice inside my head whispering-are you sure you want to do that, letting the young pups loose to frolic. It took them exactly 2 and half minutes to find a deer carcass. We ran our out and back, with Chance lagging behind to enjoy a tasty lower leg. The other dogs knew to ignore him, which was fine until it was time to run back out into civilization and put him back on a leash with the rest of them! I knew leashing him up to the others was going to be a scary task, so to start out I tied the 3 dogs to a post across the road from the beast. I knew getting him to join back with the pack after enjoying his tasty leg would be a bad idea, yet didn't listen to that little voice in my head. As soon as I got them all situated Bandit took a sniff and snap! Dogfight! I run with these dogs basically tied around my waist-it requires superhero moves to separate 2 fighting dogs from each other and 2 more scared shitless. We made it home with minimal bloodshed, but completely shot nerves! Within an hour the family was packed up to enjoy another great day at Whiteface. We'd been there a couple days before and conditions were perfect, despite a not so perfect type of winter. Perfection can only last so long and ice covered the mountain. A skier had a fatal crash the day before and people chatting about it on our trip up in the gondola made me feel like vomitting. I suggested a couple of trails to Kevin-one that was challenging but had been overflowing with fresh snow on our previous visit and one that was easy for our rattled minds no matter how much ice we encountered. In my infinite rattledness I went along with the family and chose the challenging trail. when we got to the top of the trail I began to panic! It felt like we were on a frozen lake that had simply been tipped sideways! I couldn't move and did what any good mother would do in the situation, started swearing at my husband. Ruby just put her head down and followed her dad carefully down the ice rink while I swore and swore and swore and didn't budge. Kevin suggested I take my skis of and walk down (did I mention the ice rink we were on). I did that and immediately knew I was making a big mistake and started flailing. A ski patroller stop to see if I need help and just laughed and skied away when they realized it was me losing my shit! I decided to stop listening to Kevin and put my fate in my 8 year old's calm hands. I begged her to get me off the trail. Miss Nerves of Steel saved my life by following her instincts and leading me down the safest possible trail. When we got to the bottom she revealed that she had been a little nervous but kept repeating "stay with it, stay with it" over and over in her head. Instincts, cool and calm decades beyond her 8 years :)

The End Of An Era...

I just returned from a lovely weekend with Ruby and friends running the Philadelphia Marathon. It was a long, happy weekend full of real laughter and a few tears as we drove, ate pizza, drove, ate pizza, walked, ate pizza, ran a marathon, and more ate pizza. As we ate all the pizza and drove and drove I had a lot of time to reflect on saying good bye to a dog who lived the kind of life most dogs dream about. Quenton experienced fun travels to far away places, meaningful work and play, human food galore, and plenty of dumpster diving in his 13 and a half. There are only a couple of people that I have made as many crazy memories with! From the day I picked him up from his fairy dogmother, my sister Kim, he didn't have a normal life. After college I was looking for the kind unconditional positive regard from a male that I always knew I deserved and the moment I locked eyes with him I knew he was going to give it! His first night with me I made the mistake of giving into his puppy whimpers by letting him out of the crate to snuggle and it was all downhill after that! Within a week of joining me he totalled my car and caused more concern for my poor parents! His blonde locks and beautiful eyes won them over, sort of like a bad but charming and gorgeous boyfriend (the kind that Q would chew belongings of to make them go away). We had a wild first year together in our little house in Gouverneur. Without friends close by, Q was my training partner as I undertook the job of turning myself into a fast triathlete. When my boyfriend backed out of a week long trip to a race in Tennessee my father decided the only way I could go was with the big yellow monster! Off we went in my little green pickup, with a camp stove and a very loose plan. Our first night on the road we locked ourselves into the back of the truck in a Days Inn parking lot in Ohio, the second night we met an REI employee/dog owner who invited us to stay at his place, and then we hit a hillbilly filled campground in the hills-thanks to Q I was not afraid in any of these semi sketch situations! The morning of the race I sort of had a plan to find a nice shady parking spot where he could get in and out of the back of the truck and stay cool. If you had the pleasure of meeting my big spaz attack, you know this was a bad bad bad idea! Fortunately, the Boy Scouts were in charge of parking that day and for no money at all they agreed to dog sit during the race! The 4 times I got to run by him that day he barked wildly and almost dragged the boy right out onto the course with me. We finished the week with a stop to a friend who lived in his parents beautiful home near Philly. The idea for this day was Q could play with my friends dogs in the back yard while we trained. We walked into the immaculately landscaped backyard, complete with coy pond and 3 foot fence and I asked, "do you value those fish and how do your dogs stay contained in that fence?" We tried to keep him in the back yard but huskies have serious separation anxiety and the clean, clear doors lining the back of the house were quickly covered in muddy Q paws. I took him to a park and ran the hell out of him and he had to spend the rest of the day in his kennel (the back of the truck). So much shedding that week and so many botched plans, but one of my favorite trips of my life! Too many memories! More to come...