Ironman Santa Cruz 70.3 Race Report (2017)

This was the last triathlon of 2017 for me. The only race that remains for 2017 is CIM on Dec 3. Overall a fun race today, but not 100% happy with my performance. Also a bit of disappointment since the swim was cut short due to fog and low visibility.

I went into this race underprepared and with a minor hip injury. I was constantly telling myself that I will only do the aqua-bike portion, but deep inside I know how bad I am at self-control and that I will at least start the run leg. Whether I finish it or not was a separate questions. Anyways, I ended up running and and finishing the race which I am super happy about. But kinda disappointed with my performance. In hindsight, it was unlikely I'd have done better since my training after Ironman Santa Rosa (IMSR) on July 29 has been spotty at best.

RESULT:

Shortened Swim (~900yd): 12:03 (@1:20/100yd)

T1: 4:22

Bike: 2:35:51

T2: 2:23

Run: 1:33:43

Total: 4:28:20 (AG 15/213)

[Est. time for full swim distance: 00:30:00 (+18mins)]

[Est. adjusted total time: 4:46:23]

[which in theory could have been an HIM PR, but sadly it doesn't count!]

SWIM (12:03 @1:36/100m)

Disappointing pace considering my performance at IMSR and that I have been swimming somewhat regularly. Could have gone harder since the swim was shorter.

T1: 4:22

Feet hurt a lot running on the asphalt surface! Usually I wear booties at this race, but the water temp was high enough that booties were not race-legal. Still T1 was faster than past years (6:xx), so not complaining.

Bike: 2:35:51

I really pushed on the bike with 186W NP as opposed to 174W NP at Santa Rosa half back in May with the same bike split. If you think of this bike course as flat, you are misled and are in for a big surprise. The hills are rolling but long enough that you need to push. Also there was quite a bit of head-wind on the way back. Mentally and physically I was prepping myself to drop out after the bike by pushing harder. I may have slightly neglected nutrition too, which would come back to haunt me later on the run. I was hurting toward the end on the bike and was barely able to eek out 180W. Flying dismount was smoothly executed. 

T2: 2:23

A bit lazy but OK since I was trying on-the-fly to make up my mind about whether to go for the run or not. I was "in the flow" and knew I was going to do it when I started putting on the vaseline-lined socks.

Run: 1:33:43 (@7:10 min/mi)

A bit disappointing since I went 1:31:xx at Santa Rosa 70.3 back in May and I am supposed to be stronger on the run now. But the past couple of weeks have been pretty bad due to the hip injury and I was not feeling it. I am just happy that I was able to finish the run without my hip dismantling mid way through. I was on the edge of cramping since mile 5. At mile 6 I felt a slight throb in my left quad and I immediately downed the one Hotshot they gave us in the pace packet. It helped at IMSR and it helped today as well! It does indeed work! But my legs were beyond any help and the cramps came back toward the end of the run. The last mile was awful! I haven't hurt so much on a run in a very long time. Let's just say, walking down the stairs is not going to be normal for a couple of days. 

Hip Pain - Suspecting Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome (GTPS)

Slight left hip pain started before IMSR, but it was extremely minor. I'd feel it once in a while, when I'd do unusual movements like side-stepping while rotating through the hips, especially in tight spaces like the shower.

Pain location: Near the bony protrusion of the left hip.

Pain triggered only by certain movements. Pressing/digging my the thumb in the soft area just anterior to the bony protrusion caused a little bit of pain.

I iced and foam rolled as a preventative measure and it mostly went away. It didn't bother me during or after the race. The race went well and I was fine for several weeks after the race.

Still not sure that the current injury is related to the pre-race hip pain or not.

8/27 Sunday - Went for a trail run, my first in a really long time! I have been running 35+ mi/wk very comfortably for a while, so thought a little trail run won't hurt. Was I SO wrong, or what!?

8/28 - The downhill running caused medium soreness in my quads.

8/28-8/30 - Continued cycling and running as planned, but lower intensity due to soreness.

8/30 - Went for an easy 4 mi run in the evening. At mile 3, I started feeling the hip pain considerably when walking, but would go away while running. I was getting worried, and rightly so.

Had trouble walking and sleeping that night and had to take Ibuprofen so I could fall asleep. I was very sensitive to how the pain was developing and shifting and I had already made peace with the fact that I may not be able to bike/run for a week at least, unless some magic happens and I wake up feeling just fine.

8/31 - Woke up in the morning with considerable pain while walking. Surprisingly a hot shower helped reduce the pain to the point where I was at least able to walk with a slight limp.

Spent some time on Google reading up articles and doing self-diagnosis in the hopes of understanding the etiology of this annoying injury. Quickly zeroed in on Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome (GTPS) as the diagnosis with little doubt.

My #1 theory about most sports related (overuse) injuries is that they are caused by tightness in neighboring muscles. So naturally I wanted to apply that theory again to figure out the root cause of the pain. As I was reading articles on GTPS, the notorious ITB came up again and again. My quads and ITB were still sore and probably super tight, which in spite of the situation, infused some hope in me.

My only hope is that the bursa not be involved. There are over 150 bursae in the human body, one of which is in the bony protrusion of the hip bone AKA femur. One if the causes of GTPS is bursitis, and GTPS and Trochanteric Bursitis (TB) are often used interchangeably.

9/1 - Still in pain and unable to bike or run. Continuing to RICE and take it one day at a time. Hoping to hit the pool as often as I can to keep the weight off and not be frustrated because of missing all the workouts.

Ironman Santa Rosa Race Report

What a race! I have to start by saying that IMSR was the most satisfying Ironman I have had to date. I hear about people getting emotional while crossing that finish line, but I had never experienced it until now. It is not that I PR'd, or that I met my run goal, but there was certainly something unique. It is impossible to explain the feeling and even more impossible to imagine it without actually experiencing it.

Race Summary:

Swim: 1:02:45 (1:24/100yd)

T1: 7:56

Bike: 5:36:12 (19.99 mph)

T2: 4:52

Run: 3:49:52

Total: 10:41:35 (AG place: 21/203)

SWIM (1:02:45)

Roughest  swim ever!

It was a mess at the turn buoys

Loop 2 was even worse

Got my leg pulled hard once

Got punched once with a bloody lip

Goggles filled with water twice

Garmin 920XT almost got knocked off from the quick release mount

IM swim PR for me, but still a bit disappointed since I was confident about going under 1HR.

Getting faster:

• Get to the pool consistently
• Do hard sets
• Keep good form towards the end of long workouts
• Better sighting
• Steer clear of cluster-f***s around turn buoys

T1 (7:56)

SLOW as hell! Really need to work on my transitions. On top of that, Coach was watching me in the changing tent as I was rummaging through my transition bag.

Getting faster:

• Practice transitions
• Don't think during transition
• Make transitions second nature

Bike (5:35:12)

Pretty happy with the bike split given where my bike fitness was, which was not great. My bike power has been suffering in the past year. Too much sugary gels caused drowsiness on the bike until I downed a couple of caffeinated gels. After getting some caffeine in the system, power went back up. Unlike past IMs felt good off of the bike. Overall happy given bike fitness, but lots of room for improvement!

Getting Faster:

• Increase FTP
• Improve aerobic power
• Don't skip hard sets
• Do anything else coach tells me to do

T2 (4:52)

Not as fast as I would have liked, but OK.

Run (3:49:52)

Hardest run ever! This is the pace I trained for and I did it, but it was not easy. I have suffered from IT band injuries in all past IMs, triggering progressively later in the run for each subsequent IM. This run was definitely a turning point for me with no cramping, no injuries and meeting my goal. It was a 3-loop run course. 1st loop was, as per plan, a "survey" of the course. Felt quite comfortable on 1st loop, averaging 8:35 min/mi. 2nd loop was painful and I was a tough place mentally. Just took it 1 mile at a time and kept chugging along. Legs weren't feeling great and was worried about cramping, so slowed down a bit. Averaged 9:17 min/mi on 2nd loop. 3rd loop started slow, but I picked it up at the turn around. The last 4 miles were an emotional roller coaster - something I have NEVER experienced before. At mile 25, one of the nasty blisters that were building up, popped! Shooting pain went to my brain but I kept pushing. I had 1 mile to go and was not going to let a measly blister hold me back. I was really pissed off and ran the last mile at 7:19 pace. It was great to have Coach Coady and Andrew cheering us on on the run course less than a mile from finish. Erin drove out 2 hours to cheer us on, which was amazing! It was a winding and narrow 0.5 mi to the finish, but as I entered the finish chute, I could feel the electric environment of the finish line. For the first time after 3 IMs I ACTUALLY heard Mike Reilly say my name (as best as he could) followed by "... You are an IRONMAN!"

Getting Faster:

• Improve aerobic pace by slowly increasing pace for longer runs
• Don't get injured!
• Run a few marathons
• Work on strength

Ironman Santa Rosa 70.3 Race Report

Result at a glance

Swim: 30:35 (1:26/100yd)
T1: 07:44
Bike: 02:36:27 (21.5 mph, 172W NP,  Avg. HR 150bmp, Cadence 85 rpm)
T2: 03:18
Run: 01:31:27 (7:02 min/mi, Avg. HR 164 bpm, Cadence 205 steps/min)
Total: 04:49:31

AG: 21/~240
Overall: 149/~3000

I was doing good weekly run mileage going into this race (40+ mi/wk) for a few weeks. Bike was coming around too, with a few longer (60+ miles) rides under the belt, albeit at lower intensity. So I was a bit worried about being able to push for 56 miles. I had missed a couple of weeks of swimming due to cold, but that has never been an issue for me and I was able to catch up in the week leading up to the race.

Friday was a bit hectic running around for packet pickup, run and bike gear checkin. I had the second Rubio's burrito of the day at 5:30PM (early dinner) and then we hung out with Dennis at LoCoCo Cucina. Finally made it to the hotel at 7:30PM. A final gear check for everything we needed to take with us in the AM was in order, which included quite a bit of thinks that I had forgotten to put in the bike bag. As a part of my pre-race ritual, I started to sip on OSMO at 8PM. The constant chatter on the TF hangout was fun and useful. After some email checking and browsing, I finally hit the sack at 9:30PM.

Slept quite well except for a couple of race nightmares and was woken up at 3AM by 3 alarms going off at the same time. Coffee was had and it did the trick within 10 minutes. Since the hotel did not have microwaves, I couldn't have oatmeal and had to make do with a CLIF bar (230 cals) which tasted like sawdust. There's very little food I can swallow on race morning.

We were packed and loaded and left the hotel at 4AM. The rest of the logistics were super straightforward - part near the shuttle pickup, get in the shuttle line which moved super quick, and ride for 45 mins on a somewhat freezing shuttle. (Glad I had 3 layers on.)

Logistics in T1 (setting up bike gear, port-a-potty, putting on wetsuit, etc.) were straightforward.

SWIM: 30:35 (HIM Swim PR by 3 mins! Whoa!)

I seeded myself in the 27-30 min slot. Since it was a nice and controlled rolling start, there was no need to go out fast. I started at tempo-ish pace and settled in at high-steady. Swim was mostly uneventful. Finished strong and headed into the dreaded long T1.

T1: 07:44

This was definitely one of the longest T1s I have ever had! I jogged up the ramp and wore my flip-flops that I had left at the end of the rubber matting. It was not comfortable running in flip-flops but was way better than running on asphalt. A lot of people were complaining about it. So I'd give myself extra points for preparing for that :-) I walked the very last steep part and jogged the long way around the transition area.

Peeling off the wetsuit legs was a problem as usual and I probably lost a minute there. I need to figure out a solution for this going forward. Put on gloves, ditched the arm warmers praying I won't regret it, stuffed everything in the bike bag and clackity-clacked my way out of transition. Yes, since I was using road bike shoes, I had to wear them in T1 instead of leaving them clipped in.

BIKE: 02:36:27 (HIM Bike PR)

This was my fastest half IM bike split ever and I attribute it to the tail wind! :-) The way I think about it is that the time lost in the long ass transition was compensated for by the minutes saved on the bike due to tail wind. So in the end it was a pretty even race. I felt strong on the bike all along, but had some niggles going on too. After the first 5 miles, my left hip was feeling tight and locking up. I allowed myself to get out of the saddle on short climbs/rollers, which helped loosen it up. I was fairly in the front of the field, so it was not crowded at all. I peed 3x on the bike and each time it was carefree since there was no one behind me. However my confidence was getting crushed ever so slightly every time someone passed me and that happened a LOT! I was still making good time (again, thanks to the tail wind) and tried not to worry too much about people passing me. I just focused on staying aero, and cranking out the wattage I had planned. Followed the nutrition to the plan, taking on 1 e-gel every 30 min and 1 salt tab every 20-25 mins. The miles were chopping away quite quickly. The biggest discomfort for me on the bike was the aero-bars. My whole cockpit assembly needs to be re-done big time.

T2: 03:18

Relatively quick T2 considering I had to jog through the long transition in bike shoes, but not the fastest I could have done. Helmet, bike shoes, gloves, wet socks off, put on run shoes, grabbed visor and bib belt and I was off. 

RUN: 01:31:27 (HIM Run PR)

It was by far my strongest HIM run to date. My weekly run mileage had been better than ever going into this race but it was also the first real race of the season, so I didn't know what to expect. I started a bit on the puicker side (7 min/mi) than I had planned, so dialed it back to 7:15 min/mi after a few miles, just to stay on the safer side. I was passing a lot of people. A few people passed me, but some were way ahead of me on their second loop and others, I caught up with later on in the run. I picked it up after mile 8 and was successfully able to hold sub-7 pace for the rest of the run, with the last mile cranked out at 6 min/mi. I was literally blowing past people, which felt super awesome! Fast HIM runs (by my standards) I have had in the past (1:32:xx and 1:34) were all still plagued by extreme discomfort towards the end of the run. But this time I was feeling super strong till the end.

TOTAL TIME: 04:49:31 (HIM PR)

What worked well?

Swim:

• Felt comfortable throughout even at high-steady/tempo pace. 
• Nice quick stroke rate @ 72 strokes/min

Bike:

• Felt quite strong and consistent till the end
• Was in aero for the whole time except for steep stinger where I'd get out of the saddle
• Peed 3x on the bike, equally down the left and right legs!

Run:

• Finished super strong with last mile @ 6 min/mi
• High cadence of avg. 205 steps/min
• 1 salt tab every 20 mins worked like a charm - no hints of cramps
• Coke and Red Bull after mile 6 helped infuse some extra energy
• First time ever, no soreness after the race. F Yeah!

What didn't work?

Swim:

• Didn't make an effort to draft. It takes more focus and I was just lazy, but I should really do it for the full IM.

Bike:

• Left hip was feeling tight between miles 5 through 15.
• Aero-bars are not fitted properly, so I had to hold on to them in a weird way and as a result my forearms are super sore post-race. This happened at HITS too but I was lazy to fix it. 
• Need to find a better solution to carry more calories. The front X-Lab bento box can barely hold 4 e-gels (150 cals each), so with salt tabs stuffed in the same pouch, it was super hard to get to those. Some salt tabs were stuck in the corner of the bento box which were super hard to get to, especially with gloves.
• Didn't have tri bike shoes, so had to make do with road shoes. Might have lost about 30s in transition, so no big deal.
• I have had a niggle in the right quad for a few months now, so I was constantly worried about that throughout the bike. Luckily nothing flared up!
• The helmet was rotating in the front down the forehead, which was super annoying.
• All in all, a bunch of fit adjustments need to be done ASAP!

Run:

• When I see people go on a run the day after the race I always tell them that they didn't push enough if they are not sore. So maybe I didn't push myself enough!? There's a chance that I may have held back a bit more for the first 7 miles. But it's good! I am super happy with how the run went and glad I finished with more left in the tank. Pretty sure I will be draining the tank at full IMSR.

HITS Napa 70.3 - Battle Report

This was the first race of the season. My proper training started in the last week of January. Here's my TrainingPeaks chart that shows the Chronic Training Load (CTL) since 1/21.

Going into the race, my CTL was 86.1, compared to 86.6 in 2015 just before Oceanside. Roughly similar fitness levels, with higher swim and run fitness this year but lower bike fitness. The comparison has no implications for race performance because the courses are so different and so many other things might have changed over the past 2 years, but it helps me to look at the two numbers to get a sense of how the rest of the year may turn out.

A few days before HITS, I was monitoring the weather forecast as I do for all races. It was not looking good this time but I was not too worried since the forecasts are so flaky that far out. But when the forecast called for rain + thunderstorms even the day before the race, I had reason to worry. I made a run to Sports Basement to buy a space blanket with the idea of wearing a layer of it inside the LG M2 trisuit. I was still praying for good weather, but trying to be prepared for the worst. Turns out I was not prepared well enough.

I was staying at Chablis Inn in Napa, CA, about 50 mins drive from race site. After packet pickup at Putah Canyon Campground on Friday afternoon, we returned to Napa and chilled at the hotel for the rest of the evening, nervously checking the weather every 10 minutes. By 8PM it was pretty clear that we will be seeing some rain and low temperatures the next day.

I couldn't sleep particularly well, but it was better than most races. This was a pretty low key race for me and I was not as stressed out, except about the weather. I woke up at 4AM, made coffee, ate breakfast, took a dump - the usual morning routine - and headed out of the hotel by 5AM. Reached the race site at Putah Canyon at 6AM and headed straight to transition. To everyone's amazement, the sky was clear and just before the start, the sun was even peeking out! Maybe it will be a nice day, we thought, only to be proved so so wrong later. I downed an e-Gel 20 mins before the swim start and headed to the water.

Swim: 30:58

Quite an uneventful swim, which is always a good thing. I managed to draft about 30% of the time, which is better than no drafting at all. Found out at the swim exit that I was swimming next to Li for most of the swim.

T1: 5:17

Super slow T1, attributing it to frozen hands having trouble peeling off the wetsuit. Happy that I partially put on the arm warmers and didn't drop the gloves while running out of transition.

Bike: 3:06:53

This was the most miserable part of the race. The first half went well. I was cold, but wasn't too uncomfortable, thanks to the space blanket inside the trisuit, the arm warmers and the gloves. But at ~ mile 26, it started drizzling and then full on raining, which is when things started going south. It is interesting to look more closely at the 4 quarters of the bike leg to see what effect rain and cold had:

1st quarter - NP: 180W

2nd quarter - NP: 178W

3rd quarter - NP: 179W

4th quarter - NP: 163W

Lack of endurance is definitely NOT the reason for the drastic power drop in the last quarter. The 2 main causes would be:

1. Low on fuel: It was really hard to eat the gels with frozen hands, especially squeezing out all of it.

2. The rain was so piercing cold, that my muscles had started to seize up toward the end. This is not from "hitting the wall", but from sheer cold which was causing my whole body to shiver uncontrollably on the bike!

T2: ~1 HR (!!!)

Longest transition EVER!

• Put on running shoes with frozen hands (5 min)
• Zip up trisuit top which I had unzipped for some reason I can't recall. A kind lady helped me with it eventually (5 min)
• Got coffee to try to warm up, couldn't hold cup with trembling hands, spilt piping hot coffee on arm. The irony of it; got a burn on the arm on a freezing cold day! head out of transition, only to seize up from jaw to toe and be carried to the RV with a space heater (5 min)
• In the RV trying to warm up, teeth chattering the whole time (20 min)
• Stepped out of the RV for attempt #2 at the run, still couldn't stop shivering
• Kind lady lets a bunch of us shivering athletes sit in her car with heater on max and a few thick blankets (15 min)
• Back in transition trying to find something dry to wear, and contemplating whether to go on the run. Wore a cotton T-Shirt I had packed for post-race and headed out on the run! (10 mins)

Run: 1:45:xx

My Interview for Atul Godbole of Motiv8 Coaching

AG:Tell us a bit about yourself.

CG: I have been living in the US for the past 15 years. I am a Software Engineer and I work of Google Inc. in Mountain View, Calif. Family, work and triathlon are the three pillars of my life :)

AG: Since how many years have you being doing running and triathlons?

CG: I was on university's (Utah State University) waterpolo team for 4 years. One of my teammates introduced me to triathlons in 2004, when I did my first sprint triathlon. For several years I was happy with sprint and olympic distance triathlons.

AG: Do you have any background in sports or athletics as a child or teenager? If yes, do you think that is essential to achieve a goal as Boston/Kona Qualification or do you believe that anybody without a background can get there given enough time and training. If no, when did you get into running/cycling/triathlons.

 CG: I did some athletics in school and learned swimming when I was 8. I played a lot of cricket, badminton, soccer while growing up and went on many treks in the Sahyadris and the Himalayas. During engineering (undergrad) I played inter-collegiate waterpolo for 4 years. My active lifestyle while growing up and some background in sports has motivated me to keep up that lifestyle. In fact, I cannot live without it. But I am not sure how much of a role it has played in my triathlon performance. If anything helped at all, I'd say it is swimming. I can get away with little to no swim training and still do decently in a triathlon swim. KQ is super hard. Sure fire way to KQ is to podium at one of the qualifying races. Sometimes you may also win a KQ slot due to roll down, but you still need to be in the top 10 or so in your age-group. There are other ways to get to Kona too, but I think that is "cheating" :) Kona is the holy grail of triathlon for age groupers. Can anyone qualify for Kona given enough time and training? I don't know. It is a tough goal to chase, but a worthy dream to have. The journey is what counts and I guarantee that this one will change your life.

AG: How do you manage this training load from the time management point of view. Any tips you can provide?

CG: I believe it is all about consistency. I try my best to follow the training plan my coach has given me. Some days are super busy when I don't have the time to do the full prescribed workout. But doing something is better than skipping the session altogether. Even if you can go out for a quick 15 min run or hop on the bike for 30 mins, that's good enough. If nothing, get some strength/core work done in front of the TV. A bike trainer has been the best investment I have made. Especially in India where riding on roads is unsafe and unhealthy, a trainer will be your best friend. Because on a trainer there are no downhills and traffic signals, you don't get much rest. So 2 hrs on a trainer are equivalent to 2.5-3 hrs outside. If you are not able to hit the pool often, use some elastic bands to do swim exercises at home. Stroke correction and technique needs to be worked upon in the pool though; there's little substitute for that.

AG: I firmly believe that if you do enough little things right, then eventually BIG things will happen. Do you find this to be true?

CG: It is kind of a philosophical question, but in general I think this is very true. Just don't take it literally - If you want to do a marathon or an Ironman successfully, the training needs to be commensurate. Ask yourself what you believe in, what your goal is, and keep chipping away at it one day at a time.

AG: Diet and nutrition plays a big part in fitness improvements. Do you believe or follow a diet such as Ketogenic, Atkins, etc? What is your general diet like?

CG: A big YES for diet and nutrition. The role it plays is very interesting because it does not directly improve your fitness, but allows you to take your training/racing to the next level while keeping you healthy and injury-free. I have never followed a specific diet "by the book", but I follow two general rules of thumb - 1. Never pig out on any meal, especially the sweet foods. 2. Eat a light dinner. Having said that, diet is a very personalized thing. What works for one may not work for another. Also, every person has their own vice when it comes to food. Mine is sugar! I usually let myself indulge once a week but the rest of the week I try to intake ZERO artificial sugar. Nutrition goes hand-in-hand with diet. I have seen all kinds of athletes - pros/elites who are not all gung-ho about over-analyzing their diet/nutrition but follow some basic rules-of-thumb, or amateurs/age-groupers who are super meticulous and strict about what they eat, recording it, analyzing it and so on. Not that they always get proportional gains by doing it, but for them, it is more about enjoying the process and learning from it. It is important to understand what works for you.

AG: I see a lot of runners and triathletes wanting fast (nay instant) improvements and getting injured in the process. Any thoughts on that? How important is patience when it comes to endurance sports?

CG:  Who doesn't want shortcuts? :) In my opinion, two factors contribute toward this mentality. One, being more enamored by the destination than enjoying the journey, and two, wanting to be better/faster than your fellow athletes. Now, don't get me wrong. Both of these are good things, but only when channeled correctly. They say that visualizing the outcome, be it crossing the finish line, standing on the podium, receiving that KQ certificate, or beating your competition, it gives you a purpose and keeps you headed in the right direction. Ask yourself this question: If there was a perfectly safe, undetectable pill which if taken, would qualify you for Kona or Boston in your next race, would you take it? Some would jump on it, some would be on the fence and some would say no. Your answer will tell a lot about what you are in the sport for!

AG: I always tell athletes I coach that patience, consistency, the right training protocol, right tactics/strategy, etc are much more important than having the right genes. Thoughts on that?

CG:  I second all of that. But I also think that your genetic makeup plays a big role in how you design your training. Not everyone can handle 100 kms/wk on a consistent basis, some may need more recovery than others, etc. What's important is to recognize your limitations and work to overcome them. It is always too soon to quit by blaming it on your genes. Studies have shown that long term exercise can change your DNA. So you may not have the genes to get that coveted KQ yet, but you can one day. If nothing else, your kids will probably get that gift - another reason to start in young age ;)

AG: Sometimes I have a hard time getting some novice athletes to record/measure their workouts. Do you record all your workouts? If so, is it helpful?

CG: Yes, I record all my workouts on Strava and TrainingPeaks. For me, the Garmin 920XT has made it super easy to do that. Any fitness device with WiFi or Bluetooth helps a lot! I also have a WiFi-enabled weighing scale that uploads my weight+BMI everyday so I can see a graph and how my weight is changing over a period of time. More than anything, logging your workouts is critical not only to be able to understand how you are progressing/declining, but also to make on-the-fly decisions about recovery. By the way, recovery is extremely underrated. It is probably one of the most effective tools in improving your performance. It is a part of your workout and should also be logged.

AG: What was your best race moment so far?

CG: Believe it or not, my favorite race distances are Olympic and Half Ironman. In 2015, I raced Ironman Boulder in August. A month later, I had Santa Cruz 70.3 coming up. In that one month, I recovered from Boulder and did minimal maintenance work. I ended up getting my personal best at Santa Cruz 70.3 with a time of 4:52. The run leg in that race was probably my best race moment so far. I was passing tons of people and negative split the run with a time of ~1:32. If I have to generalize, all races where I have a super strong run leg, fall into the bucket of memorable races. The formula to guarantee a fun race - swim comfortably, bike conservatively, run like a madman :))

AG: What was your worst race moment so far?

CG: I'd have to say, the run on my first Iron-distance race at Vineman in 2013. I was prepared for a hot race but it turned out to be overcast and cool that day. Instead of tweaking my hydration, I stuck to the plan and ended up getting hyponatremic on the run. Hyponatremia is a condition where you level of sodium in your body is very low, often caused by low sodium intake combined with excessive water intake. It is a potentially fatal condition. By mile 10 on the run I was feeling dizzy and difficult to focus. I was smart and courageous enough to pull out at mile 15. I was 2.5 kgs heavier after the race than before! I was feeling terrible and took 2 days to recover. I knew I was prepared to finish that course, so I signed up to do Ironman Louisville 1 month later, which I completed cautiously and conservatively in 13:5x:xx.

AG: What are you plans for 2017?

CG: Santa Rosa 70.3 in May CIT Olympic in June Santa Rosa 140.6 in July Santa Cruz 70.3 in Sept I really want to do my first 50K trail run in Dec, but that's TBD.

AG: Any other things you want to mention or tips you want to give to the readers?

CG: Just a few things I strongly believe in that I'd like to share: 

1. Consistency is the key 

2. Do not be afraid to shoot for the moon 

3. Don't let setbacks discourage you 

4. Get a coach who believes in you and your goals 

5. Worship the sport, not people

Interview on Motiv8 Coaching website