After nearly 2 decades of being a pro triathlete, the Caveman finally stumbles out of his grotto, knuckles dragging, to discover the wonders of training technology!

I know I’ll get a lot of flack for this one.  (Ga Von Twitt– give me the best you’ve got!) Especially after this blog post about how backward the Caveman really is about training technology.

I used to rely on roughly on Time, Heart rate and Feel. Using my trusty Suunto t6 for swim, bike and run.

Now things have changed radically: From now on, technology will play an integral part in my training. Does that mean my admitted “loafing” and fun days of being “self coached” is over? No, to me, using this amazing new invention (ha ha) is a new challenge to rise up to. For all you techno geeks, stay tuned if you like numbers, watts, repeats, resting heart rate, calories burned, power to weight ratio and all the things the Old School Caveman shunned before.

Here we go:

– Power

Barely 2 weeks after resuming “training,” I was subjected to a lab test by Ian “Numbers” Rodger– my new trainer.

I reached out to Ian via FaceBook in a panic  2 weeks before XTERRA Nationals 09. I somehow conned him into a bad situation of injury and under training, only 6 weeks before XTERRA Worlds. For such a clever guy, you’d think he’d know better.  I met Ian where he lab tested me before the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. I was impressed by his extensive knowledge for Wattage numbers which, very importantly, he combined really well with the non scientific aspects of racing. (pacing strategy etc) Successfully combining the Science of Physiology and Art of Training is a rare gift and I look forward to exploring new frontiers of performance and cleverderness with Ian.

The good photos are by Gary Perkin. The bad ones are by me!

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2009 XTERRA World Champs podium by Rich Cruse

From L to R: Olivier Marceau (4th), Micheal Weiss (3rd), Eneko Llanos (1st), Nico Lebrun (2nd), Conrad Stoltz (5th)

Yes, I am disappointed. (Thanks for the nice e-mails. True friends are the ones who cares no matter the result) I did everything in my power to get to this race in top form and win a 4th World title. My equipment was faultless. But I was 5th best that day. I gave 100% in preparation and execution. I am content with that knowledge.

Winners look great and when you win a race it feels easy.(ok, relatively easy) Winning means you’re in control, within your limits. Losing is hard, physically. It means you gave 110%, played all your cards and lost. I gave it all, as can be seen here in my rare “Rocky Balboa on the ropes” look…

Pics by Rich Cruse, visit his album here

Too much:

The 2nd half of this season was just too much.

That cut in my foot was too deep, too long and too dirty.

Yes that cut: (Late June at XTERRA Richmond- read race report and surgery report) Dr Moose Herring in Richmond, VA is the coolest surgeon/triathlete you’ll ever come across- have your next surgery with Moose Herring…

Too much hospital time.

Too hard nosed to not race 2.5 weeks later: (with hardly any training, but it helped me win my 7th USA Series title)

The day before XTERRA Vermont. “My foot is fine”

– Too many injuries. When I resumed training early August, the injuries started. Typical Caveman, I thought “once the hole closes, I can carry on as if nothing happened”. This time I was wrong. It feels like I spent more time (and a small fortune) getting massage/ rehab/acupuncture than I spent training. I would fear running sessions, not knowing what was going to hurt next. I havent had a training related injury in ages, and I was reminded about the head games injury plays with an athlete on a deadline.

– Too little time. 3 weeks before USA Champs (7 weeks before Worlds) I realized I was in trouble. I was self coached this year, and knew how to get to Worlds in the right shape if everything went right. But everything was going wrong. I started panicking and needed someone to help me with a quick fix.  Like anyone else would, I reached for Facebook. Ian Rodger was a sport scientist at the Sport Science Institute in Cape Town where he did lab tests on my preparation for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. I didnt know him well and it took me a while to track him down on Facebook. (I knew I had the right Ian Rodger when I saw the Ian with the profile pic of a cyclist riding  a slimy cobblestone “road” somewhere in Belguim) I havent seen him in over 5 years, but I remember being impressed at how he combined the science of sport with the practical aspect of sport, especially cycling, and how he could look at wattage numbers and get a ton of information form it. First thing he did was to put me on 180mm cranks. A 6ft 3 guy with a 33inch saddle height warrants long levers. The 2nd thing was to  lower my saddle to alleviate the lower back pain that has been bothering me for many years. (Was great in training, but in the race it showed up again- so if you see me riding sitting up, with no hands, bouncing through loose lava- its to relieve my QL pain.)

He very much liked the numbers he saw in those tests back in 2000 which instilled confidence in me. (512W Peak power and 430W for 20km) His knowledge of numbers also meant we could to some extent overcome the 12 000mi geographical coach/athlete problem. Ian did damage control during a really tough time for him personally- his mom was dying from cancer.

We only had a handful of sessions “to count” between racing USA Champs and traveling to Kona where I trained in the heat and did some appearances for Specialized and Avia. I knocked out a few good sessions- the last recorded one being 5x 10min hill climbs at an average of 451W. Of course I did too much faffing around at Ironman and subsequently missed a few days fighting a cold.  Not much fun spending 3 days in a hotel bed on a tropical island.

I know its a cliche amongst athletes, but I really needed at least 4 more weeks of prep…

Too much of a road race.  I dont mean to whine, but this course technically, gets easier every year. Apart from a few patches of loose pebbles, 2 turns and a few steep climbs, its really a road ride with 3000ft of climbing. What happened to laying awake the night before the race, trying to remember which gnarly root section came after the 3ft drop off? Its cool to have 500 people in the same race at the same time, but if the course gets any easier we’ll have to start calling it “Ironman.”

Too bad bad luck strikes all too often: 2 Days before Worlds Ruben Ruzafa (last years champion) crashed on the practice course and got 40 stitches, Brent McMahon was injured last minute and DNSed. Dan Hugo’s season was similar to mine- got hit by an apple truck in the spring, struggled with subsequent injuries and then finally H1N1 finished his season off-  bad things happen to great athletes– its the nature of the game. Especially this one.

I fought them on the landings, I fought them in the trenches and I fought them on the beaches, but I was seeing so many stars, I cant even remember on which beach Olivier Marceau passed me for 4th.

Hindsight. After a long, hard and stressful season with seemingly more time on the massage table than in training, a $45k hospital bill (thankfully USAT took care of that), it was nice to wash away the dirt, stress and bad memories of a good season turned bad.  And temporary respite from the heavy burden of being the guy who has to win.

Excited about the upgrade to the new Avia AVI Stoltz we have been testing. Firmer midsole

All pictures by Nils Nilsen

My dad is right- one can count a humans’ age like a tree- by the number of rings it has.  My dad says he is at the age where you can count the rings around his knees. One can count the number of USA XTERRA Titles I have won by the number of rings I have when smiling and squinting into the sun… (its 7, if you cant bother to count)

Seriously, check out why my dad will kick your dads ass HERE.

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