Jeff's Zone 2

Ironman Arizona 2008: Mission Accomplished!

My second Ironman! What a great experience.

Here’s how it went...

The water was murky, but actually quite comfortable. I took the time to look around and see all the people lining the bridges and shore cheering set against the deep blue sky-- it was a real sight to behold. It was perfect.

I had been working very hard on my swim this winter and had high hopes to improve my time from IM Wisconsin 2006. The canon sounded and we were off. Whoever said the Ironman swim start is a contact sport was wrong… this whole swim was outright combat. I was hit in the face five times, kicked, pushed under, you name it, all the way to the final turn into the finish. I tried to stay clear at times but wanted to draft so I got back into the mix. I was a little worried that I had burned too much time but when I got out of the water the clock read 1:03!!!! A 10 minute swim PR!!!!! Ok, the work so far had paid off. I was stoked.

The bike… Hot and windy up hill, fast down hill. I was hoping to ride around 6 hours and finished the first loop at just under 2 hours so I was on track but knew I had a lot of work ahead of me.

Loop 2 was tough. The heat picked up (rising to 95 degrees for the afternoon), as did the wind (22 mph sustained winds). Loop 2 was slower than I wanted by about 15 minutes, yikes. Not all of it was from cycling pace (special needs, etc.) but I was possibly a little too cautious on the up hill saving my legs.

Loop 3 was much better, perhaps because I knew I had one more hard effort up and then it was a sprint to the finish. I pushed uphill in the big gear and flew downhill all the way to the finish and it felt great. Loop 3 was about 2 hours for a total time of 6:19. Overall slower than I had hoped but I was ok with it given the conditions.

I got out of T2 in the blazing heat (still 95!). My legs felt decent, but I immediately felt a sharp pain in my left knee and I was very bloated, making it hard to run. For the first 5 miles or so I had to run/walk and hope I could pull it together. At the same time I was doing everything possible to manage the heat… ice in the hat, in the back pocket of my tri jersey, everywhere. I drank plenty of cola and it really seemed to help the stomach and the energy level.

Around mile 6 I was able to run without walking and realized I was going at a pretty decent pace. I used extra time at each aid station trying to get cool. I have asked myself a few times in retrospect whether I spent too much time at the aid stations and probably could have had a faster run, but I can’t second guess the call at the time. I took the time I needed and ran as hard as I could between the aid stations.

With 10 miles left I was really hurting but I also knew that I could go sub-12 if I could just hold it together. With 6 miles left I picked up the pace again and bet that my efforts had kept me cool enough and that I could go through the aid stations much faster.

There was nothing left in the tank when I finished in 11:53, a PR by almost an hour and a half!

I am ecstatic with the result. But, more satisfying in many ways was sharing the whole experience, starting last summer, through the winter, in Training Bible Coaching Tucson training camp, and at the race, with so many friends/teammates from Multisport Madness who supported and encouraged me every step of the way! Thanks of course to my family, friends, and coach Jenny Garrison!

Help me in the fight against MS!

For the last two years I have participated in the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Illinois' MS150 Bike Tour to raise money in the fight against MS and thanks to the support of many of you have been able to raise nearly $4000 to fight the disease. Some of you may know that I have three family members with varying degrees of the disease and that it can strike at any time in our lives, so this is a very important event for me.

This year, like last, I am only able to ride on Day 1 (Saturday, June 23) but I will be going the full 100 miles for the first day's event. Many of you know that this year I am training for mostly shorter events so 100 miles is going to be a long, tough ride! I will earn every penny of your support, trust me. :-)

If you are interested in supporting me, it's easy. Simply click on the link below to go to my personal donation page. From there you can click on the link "Make a Gift" that is just under the thermometer.

http://www.msillinois.org/goto/jeschultz

Every penny counts so please don't hesitate to help at any level.

Thanks everyone for your continued support of my personal and professional endeavors!

Race Season Begins!

Last Sunday was the official start of my race season. I did the ABN AMRO Shamrock Shuffle 8K in Chicago (largest 8K in the world) in 33:22. 481 out of 23,000+ finishers. Not a PR but not bad for a first race of the season.

This weekend is Ironman California 70.3 (Half Ironman). So. we're off to San Diego tomorrow. First time I have ever travelled this far for a race. Should be interesting. Water will be COLD and the ride hilly. Should be fun! :-)

Mission Accomplished

Well, it was cold, it was windy, it was wet, but I finished Ironman Wisconsin on Sunday. I haven't had much time to collect my thoughts. But the bottom line is that the saying "go in with a plan and be ready to change it" was more true than ever. After years of mid-90 degree temps and heat-related drop outs, this year was in the 50's and it rained all day. That makes a big difference in what you wear, how you race, and what you have to deal with all along the way. I guess that's what attracted me to this in the first place... unlike a shorter race, you can't just wing it. Much like the software business I think!

One of my friend's said that I'd have been much faster in better weather but it wouldn't have meant as much. Now that I have warmed up, I know he is right. And believe me, he knows from experience.

Anyway, I am sure I will post more later. But for now, I am just happy that after a year of training, and after the sacrifice and support from friends and family every step of the way, that I was fortunate to have it all fall into place and make it possible for me to finish.

One last thing...  a special thanks to all the volunteers and spectators who came out. What an amazing thing. It was cold, windy, and raining and I still had people running beside me and yelling as I rode up the hills, handing me warm broth and cola to drink on the long run, and cheering every step of the way. Perhaps that is why next year's event sold out in less than an hour yesterday. THANK YOU!   

Twelve nights....

... until I tackle Ironman Wisconsin. What does this have to do with technology and Enterprise 2.0? Not much.

That said...

I was considering ways to be the first blogger to do a post while competing in an Ironman. Of course, I would have no real evidence that I would be the first but I think the odds are in my favor that I would be (if anyone knows differently please do tell!). Then I saw the rule that said that any messaging or audio device on the course would result in an immediate DQ.

All is not lost... I might get someone to try a mobile blog update from a Blackberry. If that works at least I can relay a message from the course when I ride/run by.  It might not change the world of blogging, but it might be fun to read what I actually said the next day!

The Hoyt's

Not a long post today, but just in case anyone needs a little inspiration or is feeling sorry for himself/herself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjPrL3n63yg

Unfinished business

The Spirit of Racine Half Ironman was last Sunday. Last year we experienced a 125 degree heat index, and while I was happy to have survived, I regretted that after a whole season of training I didn't really get to race it-- it was all about survival. This year the weather broke for a day and stayed in the high 70's with practically no clouds or wind. A perfect day.

Last year I finished in 6:09. I went into the race this year hoping to break 5:40 with a stretch goal of 5:30. I came in at 5:18.33.

Needless to say, I was pleased with that. But as always, there were lessons to be learned:

Lesson 1: Sometimes you need to push yourself to see what you can really do. This was a great experience for me because it gave me a lot of confidence that I could still do a decent run even if my legs are tired from the bike. In the past I took it easier. I was glad I didn't this time.  BTW-- I can't neglect to mention that Floyd's impending Tour de France win gave me some MAJOR inspiration during the ride.

Lesson 2: Go in with a plan, but be ready to change the plan. In this case I experienced some stomach discomfort during the swim... rather than go easy on the bike I decided to push myself a tad harder because I knew the stomach issues wouldn't be a problem on the bike but could come back on the run. I was right, and was glad to have made up that extra time on the ride.

Lesson 3: Celebrate success and then get back to business. The Half Ironman was just a stepping stone. The real goal is IM Wisconsin in September. While this race gave me a lot of confidence, I also realize that the full Ironman is going to be a LOT tougher. There is no more time to rest and celebrate. Back to work!

Lesson 4: There is always room to improve. as happy as I am, I am  assessing where I could have done better. Now that I have more confidence on the bike, I realize I could have pushed harder. I definitely went too conservative on the run. Two days after the race I was no longer sore... no question I could have gone harder if that had been my only A race. My stretch goals just got more agressive! :-)

Zone 2

Why name this blog "Zone 2"? The name comes from the heart rate zone training system which typically classifies workouts in one of 5 training zones.  It is a core aspect of my training plan and during many long rides and runs in Zone 2 I was beginning to see a link between that training approach and competing in high tech.

Those of you training for endurance events will recognize Zone 2 as the endurance zone. This is the zone where we train our cardiovascular system for long term endurance and make most efficient use of our energy stores (fat!). Simply put, this is where we spend the most time if we are training for the long haul. And when we are racing this is where we need to be most of the time to prevent the dreaded 'bonk'. 

Other zones have value. Zone 1 is great for recovery, Zone 4 is great for training to go longer without generating too much lactic acid, and Zone 5 is great for increasing the body's ability to absorb oxygen. Both Zone 4 and 5 are hard and require recovery. You cannot do them all the time. Zone 3 is generally considered a transition zone where you are not getting any of the benefits of Zone 2 or Zones 4-5.

Unfortuntaly, when most of us exercise we stay in Zone 3+. We are either in Zone 3 and not getting the benefits of Zone 2 and 4/5 training. Or, we are in zone 4/5 for too long, thinking we are doing ourselves a lot of good but actually burning ourselves out in the process and not seeing all the results we are looking for.

So you might be asking... does this mean that competing in Hi Tech means you need to be slow and steady? By all means no! But I do think that building a company or product in Hi Tech means that you need to attack the opportunity with a balance of activities that work for the long haul (big picture) that are mixed with big doses of high intensity. Zone 2 training doesn't mean no intensity, it means when it is time to be intense.... be intense. No zone 3.

And just in case anyone thinks Zone 2 is slow... go check out the results of an Ironman and check out the marathon splits.... the point of Zone 2 training is not to go slow, but to train the body to go FAST and stay in Zone 2.

Now, the purpose of this blog is not to rate ideas and markets using the zone system. As I go through my training it seems like there is an interesting similarity between what I think makes a company/product successful and how we train for the long haul.  Its really no different from advice we've all heard for years from the management gurus... "sharpen the saw, "focus on the big rocks first," etc. 

And... I just liked the name.

"Don't stop. And if someone is ahead of you..... GO FASTER"

That was the advice my 4 ½ year old daughter gave me when I told her she could help me train for my race. She had just won a kid’s race at Disney and she told me “that’s how I winned (sic) my race.”

It didn’t take long for the pure simplicity of this statement to sink in. It is sound advice for both athletics as well as business. Which brings me to the topic of this blog...

I have been interested in blogging for quite some time now and in fact have helped several people get started. But as any blogger knows, doing one for yourself is a pretty big step. You not only have to take the time to write, but you also have to “find your voice”. The latter challenge is what keeps so many people from starting.

As I write this, I have no idea whether I have found a voice that will resonate. Only time will tell. But my daughter’s words of advice gave me an idea... Use this blog to explore my combined interest in software, gadgets, and athletics and see if there are some common links and philosophies.

My interest in technology spans nearly a lifetime (I wrote my first computer programs in the early 70’s and I am not that old) and my interest in athletics is fairly recent— I started marathon running and triathlons in 2004. This year I am training for Ironman Wisonsin(September 2006) and it occurs to me that what I have learned in training for that event has a lot of parallels to what I have learned about technology marketing and user adoption during my 19 years in this industry.

So, let’s get started.

Next post…. Some thoughts on the title of this blog for anyone who hasn’t already figured it out.