World Triathlon Corp (Ironman) and their approach to branding and licensing..

I meant to get this up a long time ago.. Initially I'd thought I have this long, thoughtful bit written that was fair and objective, but it is the blogosphere we're in so I won't worry about that.

The fact is I've been complaining, ranting, etc. over the last couple of years about the strange partnerships (re Event Sponsorship) the inappropriate licensed and IM branded products that have the been the result of their marketing strategy.

Let me first get this out of the way before some comments are posted: Yes, I know IM-branded races sell out in minutes in North America, this is separate and distinct from the marketing strategy, for the most part.

At any rate, as a general rule corporate partnerships (in this case, event sponsors) and opportunities to license your brand to partners to sell product(s) should align with your brand image.

Ironman races are perceived as a premium offering (and have a premium price point), and generally deliver that level of service.

There a variety of things I rant about, here they are in no particular order:

- There isn't much consistency in who sponsors events.

Here's a quick sampling of the industry breadth represented: financial services, automobile manufacturers, Home Appliances (e.g. durable goods), and value-priced eye ware.

-The brand is using confusing labels and diluting the experience: Everyone knows what an Ironman is, folks used to call a shorter version of that a "Half Ironman".

WTC wanted to uniquely brand those shorter events so that only they could use the Ironman label. They are producing Half Ironmans as "70.3" (a full IM is 140.6 miles) events. There are so many "70.3" events on offer it removes any air of special-ness for the competitor.

-The products that are leveraging the Ironman brand under licensing deals sometimes have little relation to the sport, or are entirely inappropriate for the demographic that the brand appeals to given the premium price point/experience.

For example, if you're interested you can buy a premium priced "T2 mattress" from the Ironman store. There are also Ironman-branded value-priced sunglasses offered in the Kroger chain of stores near the checkouts and battery displays. The list of strange product offerings goes on.

Up next... some recommendations about what WTC can do.

Critical Mass Ride in Seattle turns Violent

This video (link below) made the rounds this weekend.. I was so out of it I didn't immediately realize that the incident was in Seattle, over in Capitol Hill...

It's not clear to me what happened, CNN's account is different then other stories that have been circulated. Needless to say, the driver and his car really got roughed up (judging by the images) and folks on bikes were clearly run over.

What is it about the context of people on bicycles and people in cars that seems to be causing so much discord?

A friend suggested that it is simply a matter of more people commuting by bike than ever before in Seattle (and Portland)... Apparently (need a source to confirm) the % of commutes by bike in Pdx is around 6% vs. the national average of 1% or below. That's alot of bikes on the road at rush hour (and growing), it may only be a natural consequence that the conflicts are becoming more prevalent.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/07/27/hahn.car.bike.showdown.king

Week of July 27

This might have the biggest week of all in terms of volume. Knocked out five days in the pool, six days on the bike, four days on the run with both a long run and a super session at the track.

I'm not one to track total hours, but it had to be high and obviously the quality was there.

Monday-

Bike- 2hrs on flats; BG & Lake Samm

Swim- ECMT swim session. 2000yards.. Way too much detail to print!

Tuesday-

Bike- Ride around Lake Samm.. Was planning on 2hr ride, waited for ride partner until waaay past 6pm and had shorter ride than planned. 1hr 20min

Swim- Got back into the Y pool and had a good session after floundering for a week. Mainset 300,200,100,200,100. First 50 of each rep, "fast" e.g. putting self into position faster than race pace, the rest of each rep done at Mod pace.
(4.35, 3.04, 1.27, 3.05, 1.23)

Wednesday-

Bike- 2 hrs out on BG

Track- (sorry ECMT ! ) I got inspired to see if my hip was o.k. and it was...

4x1mile -5.25 to 5.35 was suppossed to be "T" pace- I ran w/out a watch, had to share one watch, so the pace was whatever I started at and felt was sustainable for mile repeats. I knew running was coming along.

Thurs-

Run- 1hr 30min; L1/2. Really rough after track last night.

Swim- Dusk session at the Samena club. Truncated set- 2x400m 1x300m.. about 1.40 per 100m

Friday-

Bike- Mid-day ride- 2hrs 50min(ish) 180w avg.

Swim- Late night at Samena club.. Mainset (lots of pulling prior to this) 3x300m on 30 sec rest. (5.20 or each)

Saturday-

Ironman Simulation workout:

Bike- 5hrs. Over hill and dale around Carnation valley. No problems here, just stayed hydrated, fueled and rode. Felt good and fresh the entire ride; though at mile 80 (where I would have a special needs bag in a race) I did TdF style fueling: Can of ice-cold Coke and a snickers... This works well for me and gives lots of time to digest over 112mi IM racing.

Got back home, threw on clean shorts, shoes, socks.. Had a small shot of get, chocolate milk (a sip), a little more of my on-bike Gatorade and ran..

Run- 1 hour steady at IM Pace. Legs felt good. Took a endurolyte or some such salt tab about 45min prior to the run, finished my bottles, grab shorts and shoes, and I felt pretty good. I'm guessing I did about 3.20 pace or better.. I felt able to raise the tempo (and did) to see how I would hold up, did just fine.. No stomach issues, no soreness, or strong fatigue.

Sunday-

Big Day Protocol:

Swim- 2200y total.. outdoor swim at Samena.. Mainset (300,200,100x2) on 30 sec rest.

Bike- 2hr 50min(ish)... Really pretty tired, it showed on the hills, just couldn't get the watts up in the bigger gears.

Run- 55min run on BG.. Feeling pretty darn good.

Random pic from Seattle to Portland....

I brought my camera, and of course.. Duh, got like, one picture of myself. As you can see in the picture I'm wearing the white jersey or as some Euro chick out there said in a French-ish sounding accent:

The one with the red sleeves.

Yes. The one with the red sleeves indeed.

"More cycling rage hillarity"

What's getting into these people?

My advice:

Guys listen to more Bob Marley.

I like "Three Little Birds" to start my day.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/07/another_driver_another_cyclist.html

Week of 7/20

Focusing the week on swim and run, knocked out five swim days, four run days (with a good long one in there) and four days on the bike. Tweaked my hip, but it's feeling better. I really have no idea why I strained it, I'm guessing that lack of stretching after really long days on the bike is not smart on my part.

Monday

Swim- ECMT Swim squad

Tuesday

Swim- Mainset- 300,200,100

Run- 60min on BG in afternoon sun

Wednesday

Bike- early afternoon 1hr 50min on BG easy

Track- Ended the session early due to some tightness in right hip.. Was meant to be 4x1mile at L pace, (5.40)... Did 1mile at 5.40 and it felt *very* easy but hip flared.. took an easy jog, massaged it came back and things felt o.k. so I attempted another mile.. Got through 800m and it felt funny again, so that was it.

Swim- Mainset 5x200 at Redmond pool. No lane lines, 3.02-3.08, was pretty rough.

Thurs-

Bike- Mid-afternoon bike ride out to Carnation and back; just over 2hrs..

Run- 44min run

Friday

Swim- Swcc, Mainset- 6x400 on 1.25-27, 30 sec rest, 2x200, low 3min; pretty wiped out this week, sure it's STP lingering in there

Run- 2hrs 5min, I'm guessing 16.5 or so miles, almost 17mi. Out to Glacial Erratic (not quite) in the heat of the day at whatever "easy" pace was with visor, sunglasses and fuel belt. Pretty unusual for me, all I was missing was an Ipod. Oh wait, I would never do *that* ! Was on about 3.20 marathon pace which honestly felt slow but doable in 80F heat; it's pace that is highly manageable for me, though if I can get my hip loosened back up and the conditions are good I see reason I couldn't do better given how track has been going.

Saturday-

Swim- Solid hour in the water featuring a ton of paddle work on the front and back-end plus 300,200,100 x2 on 30 sec rest as mainset. (4.45-50, 3.05-3.07, sub 1.30)\

Bike- 2hrs 45min over hill and dale in McMinnville countryside.

Sunday-

Taking today as recovery, sort of. (2hrs)

Bike- Same old ride out to Glacial Erratic & Coleman Winery. Finally ran into another cyclist out there, it's the gray-beard double century doode I've seen a few times since last winter. Gotta love these guys, he motors past me everytime he sees me, usually the wind is at our back and it's the road out of town.. For me, it's the warm up.

Well, we ride together back from Coleman (as I catch him up the hill) and he explains that he doesn't like to ride over Youngsberg Hill (near Youngsberg Winery) because the other side of hwy 18 is nicer to ride, e.g. flat.

Kinda weird. He was a pretty strong cyclist because everytime I looked at the PT the watts were high.

Looking for another job, project, gig, etc.

O.k. I recently finished a project at Microsoft with the UC Product group, I'm looking to pick up another project on campus, or alternatively in Pdx or SF Bay.

Stuff I've been working on:

Product Marketing, SaaS, BI, Web Analytics, Scorecarding/metrics, deployments, partner marketing, slicing and dicing the UC GSI budget.

Stuff I'm interested in:

Product Marketing and/or Program Management in a role that leverages my past experience, and ideally exposes me to some new-ish tasks/roles that I'd successfully add some value to.

Some more deets:

I've been working in global cross-functional environments, managing budgets of up to 2million USD, the program I've been working on most recently was the GSI-level partners who we managed aspects of the UC Product deployments to customers.

Drilling down a bit more:

The primary function involved reviewing financial data submitted by partners. Secondarily, the role required specific technical knowledge of what constituted a deployment of Unified Communications product (mix of telecom software and hardware) for each partner.

This, as you might guess, varied from partner to partner and almost always required continuous triangulation/communication with internal parties as well as direct contact with the partner contact.

Finally, the reporting aspect of the role required communication(s) on my part up to the VP level; most of what I worked on was on a public share that both the VP and Directors in the group would routinely review in a shared scorecard.. On several occasions that info was also re-worked into a PPT presentation.

A video clip giving clues to the Anon Poster...

Another reader suggested the following:

"Could be she's anonymous because she's married - like the fan base of Flight of the Concords."

Seattle to Portland: quick report

Potentially boring stuff. In a nutshell, the ride was really, really hot; I rode with a group of three others, and everyone did a good few turns at the front.

Doing the one day last year was a completely different experience, less riders to mow through, folks were really focused on knocking the ride out. The two day experience is more relaxed, still hard and the second 100 miles is really a nice century when you don't have to ride it in the heat of the day, though this year from Longview (60 miles out) the heat was rough, e.g. mid 90's or so.

I'll get some pictures up soon too.

I figured if I did it I'd pull the group as much as I could at IM watts, turns out I did a bit more.

The Georgia Recumbulator

Fun Missing Saddle video

Week of 7/13

Another massive bike week. Five sessions (two consecutive days of 100 miles each) three swims (one big day in there) and four days of solid running (around an hour each day)..

Monday-

Bike- Two hours up in the Gorge to Crown Point, then a bit up Larch mtn road w/Shanno.. Recov pace. Great weather too.

Tuesday-

Run- 63 min in the afternoon sun on BG, mildly faster than recov pace

Swim- Mainset: 5x200 (3.02-3.07)

Wed-

Swim- Big set: 3000y +/- featuring 1000 TT in there under 16min on pretty tired arms.

Run- 56min recov pace around Greenlake

Thursday-

Run- 42min steady to fast on BG

Bike- 1hr 45min to Bothell and back

Swim- mainset 3x300

Friday

Bike- Carnation, 2hrs 7min

Run- 60min steady on BG in warm sun!

Sat

First Day of STP- 100 miles; My PT went down due to a battery issue... Figure just under 6 hrs w. the group I was with.

Sun

Second day of STP, again 100 miles under 6 hrs..

Ironman Oregon?

This article discuss the possibility (and bids) of an event at either Hagg Lake, Bend or Eugene..

In my opinion I think Hagg Lake is the least appealing of the venues from a logistical pov and from an athlete perspective.

Rumour has it Bend and Eugene are not in the running at this point, which is really too bad.

http://www.forestgrovenewstimes.com/sports/story.php?story_id=121435242102867700

Some interesting chatter about it over on Slowtwitch:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=1868503;search_string=im%20oregon;guest=36235527&t=search_engine#1868503

Sounds like Portland has the same issues as Seattle, Re Multi-use paths

I've commented on this before.. I really don't agree with this kind of behavior from the cyclists:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/foster-powell/2008/07/dont_be_this_guy_o_please_dont.html#comments

Anarchy in Portland.. Cyclists go beserk.. surprise?

Awesome.. Well, not really. It was only a matter of time I guess that a group of cyclists would attack a driver, and not the other way around.

Is it a case of pent up frustration on the part of cyclists? Or just really boorish behavior?

Maybe both?

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/07/angry_bicyclists_gang_up_on_th.html

Week of 7/6

I was good and solidly tired over all this week with five swim sessions, five run sessions, four bike sessions.


Monday

Run- 45 min easy lunch time run.. Ran up Lake Samm & back

Swim- ECMT Workout.. 2000 yards total.. Mix of drills, continous swim.

Tuesday

Swim- Mainset 300,200,100 (easy. mod. fast) 2x25 kick, 50 free 300, 200 (same as first set) - 4.55, 3.04, 1.26 then 4.50, 3.00

Bike- 2hr 5min, 40miles..

Wed

Swim- Mainset 5x200- 3.03-3.04 all on 30 seconds rest

Track- 1000, 800, 600, 800, 800. L pace, 2 min rest. (2.21, 2.42, 1.57, 2.44, 2.45)

Oh man did I ever feel like crap in that work out.. Not a surprise just a few days after a race.

Thurs

Swim- Mainset- 4x300 (4.45-50)

Run- 60 min

Friday-

Bike- 2hr ride w/Shannon & Lauren on Beaverton Hills

Run- 20 min between bike & run... "Epic run" w/Shannon in Forest 1hr 45min

Saturday-

Bike- 100miles on Sauvie, 5hrs. Blustery.. Not an easy 100.. Rode all on my own.. Two bottles, 1 gu, couple of donuts

Swim- Easy swim in late afternoon at SWCC

Sunday-

Bike- 2hrs over hill & dale in Mac

Run- 60min steady around Fairmount loop in Pdx

It's official: Triumph Multisport may actually be the worst bike shop on earth..

Long story that I'll keep short:

I brought an immaculate Giant TCR Aero to have built from a Giant TCR Road frame.

Very simple build.

I have had the bike since April and it's been nothing but problems, to wit:

-When I got the the bike it was missing a bottle cage from the original bike that I had to drive back across town for. Thanks guys. Strike one.

-I was quoted one price for the build, and charged something different, duh, higher when I got it.

-The crankset came loose after a month, it was fine for the two seasons I'd ridden it before. Triumph didn't have the tools to fix it and blamed the problem on the parts.. The cranks are fixed now.

Finally, the bike has had popping noises coming from the headset for awhile. I brought it to bike tech in Boise while I was there for the race, they said it's "bone dry" re-greased and advised me to take it to Triumph.

I brought it back today and they are replacing the bearings in the headset.. But they mentioned that the frame could be "out of round" inside, meaning the noise may never stop due to this problem..

What could have caused it I asked?

"A headset that was loose."

Geez, thanks guys for making sure the bolts were tight and ready to go when I picked up and shelled out $$$ to have it built.

So, let's add some more bad news to the pile:

If the frame is screwed I need a new one before Ironman Canada.

Happy Birthday to me...

Another year has come and gone..

Last year at this time I was coming off a huge personal high of having finished Escape from Alcatraz and USAT Nationals.. I still consider myself lucky to have done both inside of a month.

Leading up to those events I'd taken a long road trip with my then girlfriend. We went wherever we felt like it in California over basically most of May. I will never forget it. We went to Yosemite, SF, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles then back up the coast to SLO again, to Big Sur, Carmel, SF and then back to Seattle.

On the way back she suggested we stop in through Tahoe, we had time so why not?

I was anxious to get back to continue pursuing job stuff and regret it..

How many times can you travel carefree in your lifetime?

I just thought we would get back there and see, do and experience everything we'd meant to but neglected to.

I think the road trip was a microcosm for life, mine anyway. Incredible highs followed by (or tempered by) lows.

On the trip we had stunning 6hr hike in Yosemite, and then hung out in the tent later that night scared and certain bears were circling our tent and figured for sure we'd be eaten alive.

Then we were at Wildflower Triathlon at Lake San Antonio, just as spectators.. Soaking it all in. We both rode the bike course, hard. I don't think either one of us wore sunscreen. Then, later that night when everyone else guzzled beer to celebrate their race (or drown their sorrows) we were in a bad place.

The sunburn was so extreme that I had shivers and cold sweats... It took another week before I could get through a day without alot of pain. I think the same could be said for my ex-gf. She was a trooper, didn't complain as much as me at all.

So, what about a year ago today? I can honestly say it was the worst birthday I've ever had, or that I could remember.

Alot of it has to do with me. I'm to blame mostly. Instead of pointing fingers and engaging in TMI, basically I set myself up for it. I had this idea of how things would be, simple and to my liking.

All I wanted to do was to ride Lake Stevens 70.3 bike course that morning (it was the morning of the race, sorry).. An alarm wasn't set and I had no desire to drive up there (it's a stretch) and ride late.

Needless to say that didn't go over well.. And the rest of the activities for the day, etc. just didn't happen.

That utter disappointment and anger brewed in my heart the rest of the summer.

So, how is it my fault? Well, at issue are my expectations around validation and redemption from my partners. The standards are too high I reckon.

I once decided after my divorce eons ago that if you can remove any expectations from people you will always be pleasantly surprised.

Somewhere along the line I'd forgotten my credo to simply leave hope on the ground and just take what you get. Rely only on yourself for consistency because getting from anybody else is involves pretty cruddy odds.

That is the gift that I'm giving to myself today:

A reminder that hope is for fools. The only support you'll get is from your own steely innards and when all looks like utter sh*t, to look inside yourself and ask, "Is it time to harden the f*ck up?"..

And, of course, the answer is always, "Yes it is Joe Tysoe. Get you ass in gear, and get this nailed."

Pics from Bend, Oregon

In reverse order (gotta love Blogger): finish line, T2, dinner on Saturday night.

Looking at the power file from Bend...

Pac Crest was 29miles... Not sure how they averaged the bike, but I switched the PT on when I was across the timing mat.

21.8 mph avg after I downloaded it tonight.

Unlike Boise I was pedaling down the hills, it was too windy not to, and not knowing exactly where I was I just had to go.

So, other fun details.. I was just off 2nd in my age group by 30 seconds ! :)

That's a water station that took too long or faster transition, or a faster swim.

Man, if I'd seen anybody w/a number on their leg in my age-division, lights out brother.

Also, a woman who raced the Half Iron the day before thought the buoys looked the same as the day before.. well, I was out there the day before and I thought so too. Maybe I'm crazy.

My time relative to others in my age group was just fine in retrospect, yes, I can and should get up near the front of the pack in races like this. Close but, no cigar.

I must be bored.. but this is what happens when you're a single triathlete. Post-bike I eat an huge pot pie to get some kcals, a light beer and hover over the 'net because that's life.

Oh boy, and to think.. Triathlon was initially a distraction.

Speaking of distractions the anonymous secret admirer stopped posting comments..

Come back, the other readers and followers missed you.. And, hey, it was a little female attention, so I'm not turning that down!

Week of 6/29

A race week, and end of a month long build phase. Managed five swim sessions, three bike sessions, three run sessions. Back to the grind next week.

Swim- 5
Bike- 3
Run- 3

Monday

Run- 42min easy. Left achilles a little tight, trying to get good.

Swim- Swam w/ECMT group Warm-up: 200 choice swim, 100 kick, 100 pull, 100 25 Stroke-25 Free (Stroke = non-free) 4 x 25 Kick, evens faster than odds Mainset 4 times through 50 Free, Moderate Pace, 25 Free, Fast,15 seconds rest after each swim. Freestyle Drills and Technique Work Focus: Underwater Catch and Sweeping 16 x 25 (2 rounds of 8) on 0:15 rest, 6 x 50 pull free, breath every 3, 100 easy

Tues

Swim- Mainset- 5x200 (3.03, 3.04, 3.04, 3.05, 3.07)- a bit fatigued from yesterday's sprints

Bike- 40 miles, 2hrs 10min

Wed-

Swim-Paddle work to start, then Mainset- 300, 200, 100 (4.38, 3.00, 1.26)

Track- 2x1000 (2min rest) then 6x110 fast strides. 1k in 3.15, 3.20..

Thurs-

Swim- Good long-ish warm up, then 6x100 1.26's on 30 sec rest

Bike- 1hr 45min to Bothell and back.

Fri- travel/off

Sat-Rest at Sunriver

Sun-

Pac Crest Olympic Tri (see race report)