Alex McDonald Pro Triathlete

For New Years my wife, dog and I made a whirlwind tour of New England.  We drove up from Durham, NC to visit various family and friends and while we were in Providence, RI I made a stop by the Tri Fit Lab.  Todd Kenyon has created a top secret new machine that will revolutionize the fit process and I was happy to be a guinea pig…I mean pioneer of this new method.  This new machine is top secret (hence the blurred out picture below), however, I can say that it enabled Todd to independently change various proportions and fit dimensions of the bike I was riding, while I was riding a hard threshold set.  We played around with various methods to determine the best way to determine the best fit with the best power production.  At first I watched my power while Todd told me what changes he was making and I would try to figure out what felt better.  However, I found it very difficult to be objective and honest with what position felt better or was more powerful.  We then decided to try changing parameters while holding a constant power and without giving me any information.  All I had to say was what felt better, “number 1, or number 2.”  Much like the eye doctor asks you which lens lets you see better without giving you any prior information.  I found this method very helpful and after some tweaks we got me into a great position where I was very comfortable and still able to produce optimal power.  This never would have been possible without this new machine.  It may sound cliche, but it is going to revolutionize the way that a rider if fit.  You can find a little more information about this machine at here and find out more about Todd and his fit services at www.ttbikefit.com.

For those of you living in the triangle area here is a great opportunity to learn from a world class swimmer!

chapel-hil-nc-faster-freestyle-w_video.pdf

I was unable to even try to qualify for Kona this year, due to my stress fracture, which was frustrating indeed, but I had a great consolation prize. My wife had already taken the week off from work (scheduled a year ago) just incase I qualified. However, we decided that we should still take a trip, so went to Denver and Telluride, CO for the week, in addition it was to celebrate our anniversary.What a great trip! I got to visit my friends from med school now living in Denver, and see their new baby. He was the person who first got me into triathlon and it was great to reconnect with him. As for Telluride, let’s just say it is a magical place! ☺ My wife and I did lots of hiking (up to almost 13,000 feet) and had a wonderful time. Here are some photos from the trip.

My Trigger Point Technology Massage Balls…why? What were you thinking? I always carry my TP massage balls with me when I travel and find that sitting around the airport is the perfect time to use them. This, however, requires carrying them thru security. On my trip here to Florida 70.3 I forgot to take the Quad Baller out of my bag and when they saw it on x-ray they decided that it was a club and decided to search all my other stuff! I though this was pretty funny, and the TSA officer and I, as well as a few other bystanders, had a good laugh when I got down on the floor and demonstrated it’s use! So the moral of the story is always take your Quad Baller out of your bag and put it in the bin before going thru the x-ray machine. But be prepared for a little demo at any point! ☺ Check out all the great TP products and the new Grid at www.tptherapy.com, use the coupon code MCDONALD09 to get 10% off your order! ☺

With a few weeks of down time and nothing exciting over even remotely interesting happening I thought I would spend my free time being productive; so I decided to give my training bike a long overdue cleaning…man did it need to be cleaned! That’s to Carson and the folks at Inside-Out-Sports I took my Trek in for a overhaul, something I hadn’t done for over a 1.5 years.

After stripping the bike down to it’s frame I realized just how dirty it really was! The parts washer was key in helping to remove all the grease, grim, and who knows what else was stuck in all those hard to reach spots.Also I cleaned out the frame as much as I could, including the inside. After taking the seat post off and turning the frame upside down what seemed like a gallon of water poured out! Like I said this cleaning was long over due, but now my bike is ready to take on the grim of winter riding…and will probably be just as dirty as it was in about a week. Oh well, at least it was clean…and I’m sure that it will work better at least until it needs to be cleaned again!

I told you I had some down time…and nothing exciting is happening!

Ashley and I made it home from HI in one piece and am very happy to be reunited with my coach…my napping coach that is.  Kurt Perham is my triathlon coach, who lives in Brnswick Maine, but my napping coach is right here in North Carolina.  In fact she is right next to be while I write this.  Doing what you ask?  That’s right, napping!  A lot of coaches simply tell their athletes what to do, my napping coach leads by example…so I have to go, my coaching is telling me it’s time to take a nap, besides it’s an important part of recovery.  
 

This Ironman was an epic race and by far the hardest triathlon I have ever done. As my first pro race in Kona I am satisfied with my race and results knowing that I left it all out on the course. However, at the same time it was not exactly the race I wanted or the race I know I was/am capable of. Some of the circumstances were beyond my power, however, I focused on the things I could control and am proud that I pushed through to the finish line.

The swim is really the only part of this race where I am actually disappointed. This leg is the biggest difference between racing as a pro and as an age grouper. There are a lot fewer feet to follow in the pro field and they go out hard, VERY HARD! I was happy with my start and initially caught a good group and swam with it for about the first 3rd of the race.  I found a goo rhythm and felt great in my PointZero 3+.  Then the group surged and before I realized what had happened I was off the back and couldn’t catch up, a rookie mistake. I swam the second 3rd alone, trying to stay positive and expecting to be the dead last pro out of the water. Then a trailing group of pros caught up to me and I swam the last 3rd with them making sure not to lose the feet this time.

Coming out of the water I was very frustrated, but I focused on staying relaxed and wanted to get on the bike as fast as I could. As I was running through transition a volunteer informed me my timing chip had fallen off. I had to get a new, chip which didn’t take too long, but I was one more thing to do and more time lost.

I began riding very hard, which was by design, to try to get my legs going. After coming back down the Kuikini highway around mile 8 I began feeling ok. However, as I was climbing Palani Hill I dropped my chain, however, I was riding so hard that I had wrapped my chain around my cranks twice before I could stop pedaling. I had to get off my bike in the middle of the hill and man-handle my drive chain for a what seemed like an eternity to get it free. “Stay relaxed and calm, these things happen, it’s a long race” I told myself. I managed to get it free and was off again, however, after that my shifting was not quite right and I ended up dropping my chain several times throughout the bike ride. Later in the race I stopped for tech support for a moment to try to get it straightened out.

My bike mechanical issues, my legs inability to ever wake up and the wicked wind made for a very hard ride. I normally an able to find a comfortable steady rhythm for at least the first half of the bike, however, on race day my legs never woke up and I felt like I had to push the effort the whole day, however, I focused on my PowerTap and held my wattage to make sure I didn’t blowup and saved something for the run. Just as an indication of how much harder the bike was this year, my bike leg was 5 minutes slower than last year, yet I held an average power that was 15 watts higher.

I was disappointed getting off the bike and I passed several athletes in T2 who were clearly about to drop out and I really wanted to quit; yet I knew I couldn’t. After all this is Hawaii the most famous and epic triathlon in the world, I couldn’t give up, that’s just not my style.

After a mile or so I began to find a rhythm on the run, I thought at least this was better than the “rhythumless” bike. I didn’t want to push too hard too soon and as a result I may not have run quite as fast as I was capable, but nonetheless, I knew that I needed to save something for the last 10k after the Natural Energy Lab. I focused on a fast light turnover and consuming as much fuel as I could at the aid stations. My FuelBelt is/was perfect to make sure that I was able to get in what I needed due to the congestion at some of the aid stations. After just a few miles I slowly began running my way back through the field. The last 8 miles were mentally tough as I knew I was not going to make it into the top 30 like last year, however, I pushed as much as I could. I was proud of the fact that with a pretty good run of 3:02 I was able to pass about 30 guys, my mental fortitude had paid off.

I crossed the line in a time of 9:10 as the 38th pro. I arrived in Kona, HI fitter and faster than last year where I posted an Ironman PR, yet this was not my day. After dealing with some (more than normal) adversity throughout the race I focused on staying positive and pushed all the way to the finish line. Normally over the course of an Ironman the thought of dropping out crosses my mind 3 or 4 times. However, today at least a dozen times I wanted to quit, at some points it was a serious consideration. A race that was not to my potential leaves me thirsty for redemption; perhaps this is why I am considering racing Ironman Arizona at the end of November… By the way, the last time I feel like I underperformed at an Ironman and sought redemption was Ironman Florida in 2005, the next Ironman I raced I finished 5th overall!Ultimately it was a good race, I learned a lot and very I am proud of myself for staying in the moment, being positive and not giving up, after all the don’t call this Ironman because it is easy.

And for those of you that missed it, my post race treat…a cinnamon bun the size of my HEAD!

Thanks!

What a day in Kona yesterday. In a nutshell I had a great race, not the race I know I am capable of, but none the less I persevered under tough conditions and I was the 38th pro in a time of 9:10. This was by far the most difficult Ironman I have ever done and I’m very proud of myself for pushing through to the finish line. A full race report will follow soon. In the meantime here are some photos from the yesterday and my post race cinnamon bun from lava java today…yum!

It 4:45am in HI on Oct 11, 2008.  This is a day I have been working toward for a year and I am pumped!!  I just wanted to thank you all one more time for the support and encouragement that I have received on the last year and especially over the last week.  I’ll give you all the run down as soon as I am coherent this evening or tomorrow!   Thanks,! 

The day before the race is always a day that I try to have as few obligations as possible. I get in a quick and easy 35-45min workout where I do 10-15 minutes of each sport in succession with a few 30 second pickups and then get off my feet about out of the sun! There is nothing I can do now but relax and keep my attitude focused on the positive. Just like on race day there is very little that I can control at this point, I just stay in the moment and keep my attitude positive.

After a busy day yesterday filled with sponsor obligations, meetings and spending sometime talking with sponsors and going to a friends house for dinner I slept very well last night, which is the most important night to sleep well. I know that I will not sleep well tonight, but that is the norm for me.I am feeling great both mentally and physically, and I ready to leave it all out on the course tomorrow. For those of you interested you can track my progress and follow the whole race at Ironman.com, but remember HI is 6hrs behind East cost time and 3hrs behind West cost time.Oh, one last thing…GO RED SOX!!!