Checking In – Early 2014

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Mike Vulanich

This past weekend was Ironman Oceanside 70.3 and if you read my 2014 Preview – and retained any of it – you may recall that it was the first race in a season full of fun and challenging races.

I’m happy to report that I reduced my time by 4h 24min and 10 seconds over last year with a time of 00:00:00. I’m less happy to report that it was because I am still coming back from my running injury discovered in late 2013 and I’m still not fully up and running. Definitely bummed to have missed this incredible race, but my buddies Brett and Pat did well to carry the M2 flag and set a strong tone for the year.

Still, I’m having some awesome training, gaining a lot of fitness and eating the food:

I’ll take all of the Nutella, please.

What is the injury and why has it taken so long?

Standing tall and “straight” for the camera

My left leg has been a problem child since leading up to and through Tahoe. After time off in the fall, it continued to be a problem at Christmas. I went to see Dr. Shepherd in Powell, Ohio while home for the holidays and we found some serious imbalance and misalignment with my hips and spine. This is either because my left leg is longer than my right (by birth or growth patterns), which would be consistent with the 4mm difference in my legs during my bike fit last year, or because my muscular imbalances have thrown this platform out of whack, making my left leg “longer,” but not actually longer.

If that sounds like a bunch of jargon, just know that it means that everything is more injury prone in my left leg and it stinks. I worked with Talitha at Individual Fitness Solutions while in Dublin to develop a strength and flexibility program to try and stabilize the platform. I do this strength program at least twice a week and my attention to post workout stretching and rolling has increased ten-fold (so, so important). I also continue my body work with my main man, Andy Tubbs, who induces eye crossing pain (i.e. massage therapy). Lastly, I run in a bubble:

Shirt off, thumbs up, bro out

The Alter-G at M2 Revolution continues to be an absolutely essential tool for coming back from injury in a controlled, healthy manner. I’ve progress from 75% to 77% and currently 80% of my body weight, while I begin to run at speeds that look much more familiar.

The goal remains the same

It can be easy to have a negative mindset when you miss a race and the road back to health is taking much longer than originally planned. But that’s the thing – you can’t plan it and it’s silly to think you have more control over the circumstances than the hard work you put into it allows. That’s all you can do, work hard to be healthy and the return will hopefully follow.

I entered this year as one of the best triathletes in my age group in America. My goal for this year was to race well at a level that removes that qualifier – I want to be one of the best amateur triathletes, not just in my age group. The goal still remains, and the race calendar has shifted a bit later.

Stay tuned to see how it unfolds!

A big thanks to friends, family, the sports med folks I’ve worked with, M2 Revolution and GU.

2013 Review | 2014 Preview

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Mike Vulanich

Howdy and happy New Year to all! After three months of non-Iron things, I’m looking forward to get crackin’ on 2014. During the off-season, I’ve been dealing with a nagging running injury to my left leg. Looking at the positive, it’s allowed me to get stronger on the bike and spend quality time doing normal human things.

The 2013 season was a great one. I continued my upward trajectory as a triathlete that I started in 2009 and set myself up to keep it rolling in 2014. Here are some highlights, things learned (always plenty) and goals for 2014.

Quick Stats:

6,000 miles swam/biked/ran/stumbled/poked
500 hours staring at black, white or yellow lines on the ground
80 hours of Netflx with Ali
615 coffees/espressos
27 pounds of peanut/almond/Nutella butter (conservative)

Top wins of 2013:

1. Another great year with old and new training buddies. Notable training events:

M2 Amgen Tour of California Stage Ride
M2/Ultra-U Tahoe Training Camp
Mt. Shasta Century (M2 training weekend edition)

2. Raced competitively within a schedule of world renown top-tier races:

USAT Ranking (25-29M): 3rd in California; 17th in US
Age group podiums in every race except IM Tahoe
Top 10 amateur at EFA, Wildflower, IM Boise 70.3

3. Became a more “complete athlete” instead of a runner-triathlete:

Won Boise AG on bike
Dropped swim time at SVIT by over 5 min
2nd and 3rd amateur runs @ EFA and Oceanside respectively

4. The best training block of my life in the “second half” of my season:

Ironman Lake Tahoe build after 70.3s and Olympics.

5. Completed the hardest Ironman I could have chosen for my first:

IM Lake Tahoe – started off calculated, finished gutty.

Top learning moments of 2013:

1. Unforced errors in races. All scenarios that could have been avoided with better planning and patience during the race.

2. Stomach shutting down at Boise 70.3 and IMLT. A lot of variables at play, but closer attention to nutrition will be a good start.

3. More strength, stability and flexibility throughout season. M2 TBT (total body training) at the beginning of the year and I was healthy through mid year. As volume increased and time for training stayed the same, injury prevention took a back seat and I paid for it.

4. I can go faster: Must swim with faster swimmers; bike gets better every day, continue to challenge myself; I can still run faster, goal is to get 10K down to 31 min.

5. Balance: My training was at an all time high this year, but it’s tough as a full-time working person. I learned a lot this year about how I can do this better next year.

2013 Season in Review

Escape From Alcatraz

A race I’ve always wanted to do and finally got in via lottery. The course is one of the most challenging short courses in the world and competition is premier.

Highlights:

Fumbled swim
Took “new watts” into the race, biked well
Ran into podium finish
Great way to start the season

2013 Races, Results	Date	Type	Time	Age Group	Overall	Notes
Escape from Alcatraz	3-Mar	Tri	2:29:17	3	36	2nd Amateur run, Sand Ladder

Ironman 70.3 California – Oceanside

Another race that I’d been chomping at the bit to do, Oceanside is another incredibly competitive race, attracting California’s best. A fun weekend with guys in a house by the ocean, this set up for a fast race and fun times.

Highlights:

Competitive swim
Solid bike, but could have been more aggressive
Ran into an “IM” AG podium (4th)
John and Vince bread eating challenge

2013 Races, Results	Date	Type	Time	Age Group	Overall	Notes
Iron Man 70.3 California (Oceanside)	30-Mar	LC	4:24:10	4	63	PR @ Half, PR Swim, PR Run, 3rd amateur Run

Cruising step for step against the pace plan. Rocky and Apollo, in that order.

Silicon Valley International

USA Productions puts on great races local to the Bay Area that attract a lot of local talent. For perspective, the overall winner was age grouper Yoni Doron-Peters (a stud by any classification).

Highlights:

Swim +5min faster than last year
Biked hard, but couldn’t respond as well to moves as would have liked
Same run as last year (34min), dropped by Vince when we’d planned to turn up the pace

2013 Races, Results

Date

Type

Time

Age Group

Overall

Notes

Silicon Valley Tri

21-Apr

Oly

2:01:53

Woof

Just some dudes goin' to drink beer on a lake. Maybe a little racing.

Wildflower Long Course

One of the most storied and classic races in the world, the Woodstock of Triathlon was true to itself: hot, hilly, naked Cal Poly co-eds and campfire beers.

Highlights:

Swim to be improved
Solid bike that trailed off in the last few miles
Studying course elevation profile pays off en route to running down AG podium and top 10 amateur spots
Congratulating Jesse Thomas on his 3-peat & Virgilio on beating me, shortly before dry heaving by food and being ushered to med-tent

2013 Races, Results	Date	Type	Time	Age Group	Overall	Notes
Wildflower Lake San Antonio	4-May	LC	4:41:48	3	34	10th Amateur

Doing my best Jaws impression into the wind

Ironman 70.3 Boise

Traveled alone to and survived a logistical pickle at this unpredictable western race. Despite a late start (1:00pm) and some killer headwinds, it would be my first AG win at an Ironman race.

Highlights:

Swim through the masses as the last wave of the day
Assert self on bike through headwinds, stomach queasy by end
Fought stomach and poor mojo on run, but strong bike allowed to hold off pursuers

2013 Races, Results	Date	Type	Time	Age Group	Overall	Notes
Iron Man 70.3 Boise	8-Jun	LC	4:32:44	1	30	9th Amateur

Ironman Lake Tahoe

The Bay Area went into a frenzy when California got its first Ironman and it was in Tahoe. I’m sure many people were second guessing their decision on race morning at 30 degrees. A day on a challenging course at altitude had an extra wrinkle on race day.

Highlights:

Swim was warmer than air temperature; swam slower to set up a solid day at altitude
Transition one was a nightmare with a full change in a crowded tent
Biked according to plan, but altitude bells rang in Martis Camp; slowed final 10 miles
Transition two wasn’t much better
Run started off well, wheels fell off at mile 13 and it was all guts to the finish

2013 Races, Results	Date	Type	Time	Age Group	Overall	Notes
Iron Man Lake Tahoe	22-Sep	IM	11:23:12	8	118	Ironman Plus. Wow.

Non-tri races

Berkeley Hills Road Race:

7th

First cycling road race, Cat 5. Played domestique to Virgilio’s podium race and nabbed a 7th place for myself. Very fun change of pace from tri racing.

JP Morgan Corporate Challenge:

8th

Fitbit represented itself well among 11K runners from companies all over the Bay Area.

Competition was stiff and the 3.6 mile race was a good ole-fashioned, elbow bumping road race. I traded surges with the chase group for an 8th place finish in 18:12.

2014 Goals:

Get left leg better, sustain strength to run healthy.
Sport specific goals: swim with faster people, get 100m down; up watts on bike by 10%; get run to 31 min 10K.
Age group podiums are great, but trajectory means overall amateur podiums, higher USAT national ranking
Ironman 70.3 World Championship Mont-Tremblont
Strike balance across training, relationships, work

If all goes according to plan, this is the tentative schedule for this year:

RACE DATE	EVENT	PRODUCTION	CITY	STATE/COUNTRY	Notes
3/29/2014	California 70.3	IRONMAN	Oceanside	CA	Pending run status
4/20/2014	Silicon Valley International Triathlon	USA Productions	Morgan Hill	CA
5/3/2014	Wildflower Long Course	Tri California	Lake San Antonio	CA
5/18/2014	Morgan Hill Sprint Triathlon (23rd Annual)	USA Productions	Morgan Hill	CA
6/1/2014	Escape From Alcatraz	IMC	San Francisco	CA
6/7/2014	Boise 70.3	IRONMAN	Boise	ID
6/8/2014	Folsom International Triathlon	USA Productions	Folsom	CA	If no Boise
6/8/2014	Folsom Long Course Triathlon	USA Productions	Folsom	CA	If no Boise
6/29/2014	California International Triathlon	USA Productions	Pleasanton	CA
7/13/2014	Vineman 70.3	IRONMAN	Santa Rosa	CA
8/10/2014	USAT AG Nat’ls	USAT	Milwaukee	WI	Maybe
9/7/2014	70.3 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP	IRONMAN	Mont-Tremblant	Quebec	Goal
10/5/2014	Rancho Cordova International Triathlon	USA Productions	Rancho Cordova	CA	Maybe
10/20/2014	Oceanside Olympic	Lifetime	Oceanside	CA	Maybe

Thank Yous

Friends and family – Thanks to the Ohio gang, Ali and all my friends and family for your ongoing interest in and support of my progress. It fuels me to keep rippin’!

M2 – I would not have seen the progress I have seen had I not started training with M2 and the crew. Studio sessions and weekend training are all hugely imperative to development and super fun with such a great group.

GU – Thanks to GU for the products to help me to fuel and refuel this successful year. Racing for you in Boise was a great and I was happy to bring home some hardware.

SFTri Club – It was great seeing all of you out at races this year. Being a part of the community is stellar always, but especially on race day!

Fitbit – The crew at Fitbit HQ was very supportive of my racing this year, either in the office, on the after work runs or on the bike (track cycling!). Using our products allowed me to keep on my activity beyond the workouts, monitor my rest and stick to my race weight.

So that’s all for 2013! It’s been a great year and looking forward to training with my buddies and getting better with the M2 group in 2014. Health, happiness and PRs to all!

– MV

2012: The Roller Coaster Year (Part 1)

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Mike Vulanich

Year in review Part 1 (detailed posts for events to follow)

A few days away from raging on some of mom’s sweet potato casserole seems like as good of time as any to reflect on the 2012 season. Personal bests, World Championship appearance, Boston Qualifying! It’s seems like just yesterday that I was under the beautiful Petaluma sun, lying on the side of the road being strapped on a paramedic’s board. Ah yes, how the season started…

Song of 2012

Other songs were bigger for training or for specific races, but this jam was on playlists throughout most of 2012. Enjoy!

January thru March: On Fia’!

I started 2012 with more energy than a kid eating a Skittle covered cake. Finishing 2011 with a podium at Big Kahuna, 4th at the Turkey Trot and 3rd at the North Face EC Championship Half Marathon made it easy to get amped for the new season. It would be the first full year in the studio at M2 Revolution and I knew that meant my biggest gains yet.

The group had formed quite nicely in the fall and throughout January and February we “built character” with some epic rainy season riding.

Warming up in Pescadero. Coffee and folk music!

I was getting stronger by the day and had my eyes set on making noise at Wildflower on May 5th.

A slightly significant challenge loomed in March, however: March 9-April 6, I would be in India and South Africa for work. I had a plan – hotels with pools, running shoes, epic Cape Town ride – and the assurance from my coach, Michael McCormack (M2) that a solid block in Jan/Feb followed by some “sharpening” workouts while traveling, and I wouldn’t lose fitness.

I absolutely hammered myself with a Stinson Beach ride and hill repeat brick and then got on a 20 hour flight to New Delhi by way of Dubai. Totally recommend doing this for long flights, by the way…

The Trip

For all intents and purposes, I did as well as anyone could possibly do training given 90 hours in the air and 6 cities in India and South Africa over a month. Though the pools weren’t always, shall we say, “swimmable,” and the bikes not, we’ll go with, “sophisticated,” I was able to hammer out some great workouts.

While treadmills became my best friends when I needed quality, I was privileged to able to ride and run in some seriously iconic places.

Delhi: 10 miles in the balmy park surrounding the Lotus Temple

: Cape Town: Riding the famous Cape Argus course

But, the truth of the matter is, I was in the air for 90 hours. In 6 cities across the world, working extremely hard, eating extremely mediocrely and becoming more fatigued by the day. By the time I got home, I was a shell of the guy who left in March, physically, mentally and emotionally. Instead of rushing to return to normalcy, I should have respected the weight of what I’d just done more. I did not, and paid for it dearly…

The Crash

Thirty-six hours removed from a thirty-two hour trip home, I was pining to get back on the road with my squad. As we began on the roads to Petaluma, Stefan and Virgilio put the hammer down almost immediately. Knowing I didn’t have it, I watched them go, sitting back with the rest of the group.

The group began to break up on the climbs and Andy Castaldi and I found ourselves in a duo for what would seem to be the rest of the ride. It wasn’t even mile 30 when I started to notice something just did not feel right. Taking a moment to regroup mentally, we hit a turn and started to alternate pulls on a flat.

A bump/pothole took us both by surprise and 28 days of mega-travel and serious jetlag meant I wasn’t regaining control of my bike that day. End-over I went at 25mph, hitting my face on the ground before skidding the rest of the way. Writhing in pain and in borderline shock, I was met by the rest of the group as they rode up. Tommy Nosek used his nursing chops to do an assessment, Pavel kept my mojo up and M2 shedded his termal jersey to cover me while we waited for the paramedics.

Ultimately, I was incredibly lucky as the worst that happened were broken front teeth and the deepest contusion I think possible on my left leg. No broken neck, ribs, limbs, internal ruptures – nothing. After being released from the hospital, Stefan and Pavel were as good of friends a guy could ask for, making sure my bike got to the Petaluma Fire Station and coming to get me from the hospital an hour from the ride finish. I was truly blessed to have the support of such an awesome group that day.

Fun wrinkle to this story, my mom was flying out to SF to spend Easter with me. Not the most fun call to make from the hospital bed while she’s connecting in Denver, but man was I glad to have her here for that week afterwards.

~~Wildflower~~

A busted up left leg, absolute fatigue and fighting some personal battles led me to drop out of my warm up race at the Metro and ultimately Wildflower. I can’t tell you how bummed I was.

I took a hiatus back home to Dublin, OH on the weekend of Wildflower to be with my family as I tried to regroup mentally. Family time + hammering out 80 miles in less than four hours worked wonders as I was rejuvenated to take on 2012. I had some serious goals, after all. Not the least of which was qualifying for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.

Home Brew

MVTri

Mike Vulanich : Triathlete

Tag Archives: m2 revolution

Checking In – Early 2014

2013 Review | 2014 Preview

2012: The Roller Coaster Year (Part 1)