johnhirsch.org

Vuelta a Espana to climb Zafarraya Tomorrow visit www.stronglikebulltraining.com for more info.

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(Pic: Team Continuum Capt. Grant after a long run.) Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

This is what I though I though you needed me. This is what I thought so think me knieve. AFI

As I spoke to my coach a month ago while touching stuff inside www.blockislandsport.com and I kinda thought this might be easy. I had just had a great ironman, and defended my local title winning by 4 minutes in an hour long race. I was floating on a cloud.

I kicked back and started to recharge. Then everything came crashing down. Before I even left the island and my vacation my peace and rest was wrecked. Law job, coaching, and some other life stuff just all started pulling at me, and by the end of it, nearly tearing me apart. I got run down, then I got sick, then I filled with doubt and despair about Rev3. The easy days right after Ironman Lake Placid allowed me to forget just how much of a knifes edge I was on after an ironman and with a few things needing my energy and attention and it didn’t take long for me to come undone somewhat.

But I righted the ship a bit and headed to Block Island for a 4 day training bloc. Day 1 was a nice 2 hour run before I left the city with Team Continuum. The next day was a 2 hour strength ride in the pouring rain with a 2k swim. The day after that was a trail run and 2+ hour surf session in the pouring rain, where I never stopped paddling against over head waves. It was very hard. The following day was more pouring rain and 5 hours on the mountain bike and another hard surf session. I felt better and better each day and by the end my despair turned to a touch of hope. My coach said dismissively when I showed up that of course I felt crappy, I just did ironman, you won’t know how Rev3 will go until it comes.

So here I am, tapering for an event I didn’t really train for. Getting stronger daily as I put space between me and the last ironman I did. Honestly, I have no idea how Rev3 will go, and I am making my peace with that. I know this: if I don’t line up and try, I won’t ever know. Sometimes you have to take risks and do what is uncertain. This double ironman hasn’t been easy, of course, isn’t that always the point?

(Pic: Cannondale Mountain Bikes ready themselves for some fun long rides to deal with poor weather and a touch of bordom with regular training)

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I made the New York Daily News! Check it out here: http://bit.ly/bjlsGQ

“The dreams of his crash will pass.” AFI

After cross the line at ironman lake placid I had a few things on my mind. The first was “what’s next” the second was: how am I gonna enjoy my summer vacation!

Its been 4 years since I got any time off during the summer. Summer for me has meant training, hard. Putting in serious hours to get ready for ironman louisville. But with ironman lake placid over I got a few weeks to do what I wanted. I was like a kid in a candy store, moreover, doing fun summer sports was also the best not-training training I could do. It was a win-win.

The first summer time thing was the BI tri. Ok, not exactly a break from tri but a weird and awesome enough event to make me stoked and less burnt out. After that it was surfing. Good for the swim muscles and core. Plus I could do it for hours burning tons of calories. Plus the whole process of checking the surf, hiking to the surf, and then paddling out to the break adds to workout.

When the waves where not breaking I skated. Block Island has a great skate park. Ironic that its the same island where cops gave us tons of grief. Anyways, my buddy got a long board from www.blockislandsport.com and that added a second workout. My heart rate was up and I was sweating through my shirt so its clearly a good workout.

I also love to hike. I did long hikes on Block Island and also did a bunch of shorter hour long ones daily in nyc. Urban hiking isn’t any less good for you. In fact if you add the walking we do in nyc daily its an extra hour. Between the morning hike and the daily walking I was burning an extra 500 calories and keeping my legs loose without even thinking about it. Plus the dog loves me a ton!

I also tried parkour aka free running. Its like running meets skate boarding (without a board) meets being a stunt man. Its a lot of tricks that you do while running around. Silly fun, and uses tons of muscles in new way. Holy moly was I sore after that.

Went to a climbing gym to find out it was closed. Fail.

Did a ton of mt biking and bike commuting. Its amazing how much using a mt bike doesn’t feel like training to me. Did some long fun rides and also some crazy-scary-tight-rocky-roots-mud-iamgonnadie riding with sean of slb. He races the fatty tires in addition to road so he knows how to do it for real.

I also caught up with friends and family. Going ironmonk for 7 months didn’t leave a lot of time socializing. So I used the last three weeks to be super social. I have amazing people in my life and connnecting with them fills my heart.

Ok, 10 days solid of training then a taper for www.rev3tri.com

(Foto: coraline working on her itu starts at a pool party and bbq) Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

I freaking love this site, but now I love it so much more because it has me in it.

http://www.gotham-magazine.com/channels/home-page/insights#run-cancer-out-of

(pic: more love from www.ironmanbobby.com )

If you haven’t seen www.jenvoightfacts.com you must see it. Best find in a long time.

That inspired me to do my own about CREW bad ass miss murder. She does 3+ ironmans (and landed on the podium too), a few marathons, some ultras and a several dozen other races a year. She also has a usa track and field 50k title. Here are some less known facts about her:

Scientists know the universe is expanding at its edge because that’s anna’s turn around for her weekly long run.

To get in all of the races she wanted to do Anna switched to a Hebrew calander because she needed an extra 3000 years.

Once at ironman lake placid anna ran down 6 people in her age group and a bear. That night the CREW ate bear burgers.

Ironman Arizona was moved from spring to fall when Anna out ran summer and winter causing them to give up on racing.

Anna mistook an ultra being 50 miles not 50k and won by 6 minutes.

Anna doesn’t dye her hair punk rock with red streaks, that’s the red shift when she hits the speed of light.

During her winter training at www.stronglikebulltraining.com she created a dirt running path from a concrete road with her sheer running volume.

Anna has to do some of her running at night because her shadow got a knee injury when she ran all her miles during the day.

The ironman bike leg is 112 miles, which is a long way to run carrying a bike.

Anna was born under the USSR which fell trying to keep up with her.

Anna has never lost a race, however several finishlines have been 30-60 miles too short.

Gel makers say have one every 30-45 minutes of running which is why Anna gets the 1000 pack weekly.

Experts say change your running shoes every 400 miles or for Anna each Tuesday and Saturday.

(Foto: anna running at ironman lake placid.) Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Check out the Champion Systems News letter for tips by me.

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Foto: Check out The Champion Systems mechenics shirt.

“Mi gusta punk rock.” Sublime

I love being a coach. When my days of winning races are over I will coach. When my days of even doing races are over I will coach. I have coached soccer since I was 13, and tri since 2002. Its fun. Its rewarding. Its all the love you have for a sport and a person or people, combined. In many ways its more rewarding then ones own playing and racing.

I love “live” coaching. I don’t get to do it much. I don’t get it much as an athlete. In reality nearly all endurance sports athletes get coached remotely including me. Few times do coaches get to be there for swims, bikes and runs. And its understandable from a pratical and logistical point of view. You don’t need a coach on site to tell you to go 150 watts or to run 30 seconds faster on the second half of a work out. But what is great is when I can be on site to give something else, that emotional push. I love www.stronglikebulltraining.com for that. I love leading by example there, but I also love riding with people and encouraging them up a climb or through a swim or run.

I also love www.teamcontinuum.net for the same reason. Twice a week we get together to train. And being there when they finish a long run is fantastic. As is being there with them running for the last miles and helping to will them to the end.

This weekend I made a trip out to weschester to see www.phillavoie.org bc he has his “race simulators” aka death bricks. Final evil hard workouts. You feel awesome when they are over as they are almost full ironman days. Does it change anything for phil that I am here? No. The pace is the same. The fitness gains too. But for me, its the pay off, the reward. Seeing him lean and fast, its why I coach and why I spend my free time handing off bottles to guys on running paths in the middle of no-where. Because that’s when we need that the most. I don’t get to do it often right now, but I do it as much as I can, and each time it fills me up with pride and motivation.

(Pic: phil at mile 6 of 10 tempo getting a bottle before dropping the hammer for the last 4 miles. My man is gonna KILL rev3) Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

“Everytime I run… You cry… so I will be gone, till November.” Wyclef

It wasn’t even 30 minutes after crossing the finish line at IMLP that I was wondering, “who’s got next.” In fact the conversations, mind blenders, chats, feelings and such started at the start of July with the WTC announcing the new point series aimed and taking away pros from indepentant races while at the same time taking away the money from their pockets. Never the less, every pro was once an age-grouper and so its not so surprising to us that the WTC is going to leverage us too, the same way they do age-groupers: by hanging the Kona race out there for us to chase. Who hasn’t gone mad seeking a start on the famed Kona pier?

So I found myself at a cross roads: do I buy into the Ironman Madness? Pay 750 bucks to do WTC races, do the races they push us towards by offering points, racing not when its best for us, but when we “need to race” or do I walk away, and leave a decade of wtc racing behind? Ironman brand is really all I have have ever really known, and like an abusive relationship, there is comfort no matter how much things change for the worse.

Walking away isn’t ideal either. There is to date only fall ironman distance races outside the WTC. If I want to peak twice for ultras I currently can’t without doing a wtc event. There is a “one time” wtc cost for pros of 400. A minor discount but with decreased pro payout its really a double hit: lose 400, don’t earn anything. That’s a 1000+ dollar swing.

Oh and here is the kicker: the wtc point system is new, and likely will be a total mess. Who knows if chasing points will even give me a shot at kona. It might, but again, until we see how it plays out, I suspect like all wtc rule changes this year it will be a total failure. Everything they touch they ruin.

I was really torn between all of these imperfect opitions and needed the big picture stuff to get sorted out before I could plan the next 12-18 months as the season for kona 2011 really starts in 4 weeks.

When my brain is twisted I go to Jim Ortel. Dude is yoda. Sadly for me this meant getting up at 6 am to ride the day after the BI tri. Yoda keeps his own hours. As we road he mentioned that there is another factor that trumps all: I am on great form, my recovery is good, and I am a different athlete then in the passed. So I should line up for rev3 and race asap, because I am peaking and to quote the film The Hangover: “you don’t walk away from the table when your on a heater.” And I am hot right now. What i thought I couldn’t do, needs to be tested. And with the best year of my life already before the calander flipped past July why not venture into new grounds.

He also said that I should do a late fall ironman for the same reason. Maybe 3 ironman in a year is a bad idea, but again, we don’t know what I can do anymore. If it goes well I collect points. Its free this year as I already got robbed by the wtc and since I started the season late if I recover smart between events I might even race ok.

I love this because it allows me to race Rev3 (www.rev3tri.com)  and I want to support a race that puts athletes first. I want to race a race that invites us to come, not one that pushes us into it or holds the history of the sport hostage. I want to be reminded that ironman is a spirit, born from the athletes that push themselves and not a greedy transnation corperation out to squeeze a buck out of anyone regardless of the effect it has on the sport we love. See you in Ohio!

(Pic: me skating on Block Island. Did some nice active recovery of skating, hiking, surfing, ocean rock rodeo and mt biking.)

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