HOWLS
Howls out to our three Half-Marathoners who all PR'd -- Chris Karalis (M30-34) who ran a (1:33:49 / 7:10 pace) at the Brooklyn Half-Marathon and, at the Jersey City Half-Marathon, to Warhorse (Anthony Booth) who placed 10th M45-49 (1:36:22 / 7:21 pace) and RJ Boergers who took 14th M45-49 (1:39:04 / 7:23 pace). Nice showing guys!!!
Howls out to both Mountain Goat Mary Hoftiezer F55-59) and Chris Kachinsky-Bye F50-54 for taking first in their respective age groups at the Karen Hornbostel Memorial Time Trial outside Denver! I also won M50-54 Cat 4/5. The 9.7 mile TT took place in 37 degree weather with 25+ mph winds which were further complicated by the addition of a hail storm.
Howl out to Jason Smith who, having found out that IronMan Texas wouldn't defer his registration, decided to use Texas as a Training Day. Things didn't go as planned, but, darn, if not Magnum PI is not suddenly ready to get focused on training for IronMan 70.3 Des Moines... :) :)
WEEKLY VOLUME PODIUM
Congratulations to our Weekly Volume Winners. It is time to start cranking up the volume now that it is pleasant outside, so happy to see new Pack members on the podium.
Jimmy Dion (Skeletor) -- 14:07
Kelly Strawbridge -- 13:54
Forrest Dickinson (Robin Hood) -- 12:31
Josh Hoeft -- 11:20
Lisa Rosynski (SheWolf Prime) -- 11:06
COMMENTARY
For racing triathlon, most folks have an A, B, C capability. It is not a relative to others rating, but to yourself: that is, "A" being the discipline that you are really good at and the part of the race you enjoy the most, "B" being the secondary skill that you have that you are not great at, but enjoy doing, and that "C" discipline, the limiter, which we constantly say to ourselves, "if only I could do this, I'd crush everyone..." My goal as a coach is to help you "have your day". You'll often hear me congratulate folks when I see them show-up and execute "their" perfect race as it is great to see folks, after doing all this training, seeing it pay-off and that finish line smile is priceless.
Although many Pack members have key events and races prior (for example, JerseyMan out East and Colorado Tri out West), I am looking at the 2nd weekend in June as "go time" as many folks have their "A" races that weekend, in particular, IronMan 70.3 DesMoines (2 Racers), IronMan 70.3 (3 Racers) and IronMan 70.3 Boulder (11+ racers). (PLEASE UPDATE YOUR RACE CALENDAR IN TRAININGPEAKS AND Wolfpack 2023 Schedule.xlsx so I don't miss something ). As we are about 6 weeks or so out, I am really looking individually at your disciplinary capability and trying to figure out how to basically work through how to set up your weeks to give a discipline a "jolt".
Almost all coaches use pre-baked plans where they provide a workout regimen over a period of time leading up to a race and don't adjust based on schedule, availability, and capability deficit. I had a nice call with Mara "The Girlfriend" Monaco (Note, not mine, but when I first met with Rob, he let me know that he and "The Girlfriend" were thinking of joining. We talked for over an hour and he never told me Mara was her name and just referred to her as the "The Girlfriend". :) ) who fell into a funk and to pull her out shared with me how she thought she could best manage her weeks if we changed when we swam and asked that Yoga and Strength get specifically added. So, a new structure that will help her. Presently, I am working to revise your "Base Weeks" so, for planning purposes, you know what to expect and can be ready for the upcoming "suffering". I have been reaching out to everyone with whom I want to make significant schedule changes, so, don't hesitate to call me or schedule time to talk if calendaring is easier for you -- https://go.oncehub.com/JohnBye . I've seen FTPs and Threshold Paces increase and have gotten really nice feedback from folks who have seen an improvement in a particular area from a volume, frequency, or intensity increase; therefore, dialing this in is critical to being ready for the upcoming big day.
Finally, as you know, I believe that working out with other folks, particularly, Master Swims, Group Rides, and Track Workouts where you are going beyond yourself to "stay" with the Pack provides massive rewards. In particular, out East, amongst other groups, All-On Cycling and Friends in Fitness has rides all the time, Gold Coast Tri has Track Workouts, Tri-Horizons -- www. trihorizons.com -- (Bridgett Sherratt's Group) has Runs and Swims, TMB has Tues/Thurs pm rides, and MAPSO has a Master's on Friday (I believe). Out West, amongst all kinds of other group opportunities, in particular, RMTC, amongst other stuff, has Tuesday Track, Thursday/Friday Master's, and Saturday Rides; and, Team Evergreen, has Wednesday and Sunday rides. Find them and let me know. Personally, I've finally gotten my bike skills back thanks, in addition to some miserable Zwift workouts, super fast Team Evergreen ride and swimming with Boulder Aquatic Master's Group (Note, I swim with the 60+ ex-collegiate ladies as Lane 1 is way too fast. I call them my "lady friends". :) )
The output is the number of times I hear, "I can't believe I stayed with <insert name here>!" always makes me smile. For group riding though, a Pet Peeve of mine that is not directed at anyone in the Pack, but something I've noticed on my rides I go on is folks not working together with the riders around them, but going on group rides where they, essentially, ride by themselves. The value in Group riding is that it forces you to ride "someone else's pace" meaning that you have to pay attention to the grade you are on, who you are with, and when to best allocate effort and recover so you don't get tossed and have to ride home alone. By doing this, you gain, not only a volume reward, but an additional intensity reward and, possibly, a new friend. Eli once asked me, "what does 'stick the wheel' mean", it means to ride at a personal comfortable distance off someone's back tire (looking down through their rear cassette so you can see pace changes and potholes) and leveraging their effort to make your riding easier. In triathlon, although drafting is illegal, the best rides you have are where you pace off someone comparable to you while making your way through the field by dipping in and out of folks as you pass them.
Relentless Forward Motion,
