Michael Lovato's Page

That's right, I'm chiming in as Lovato numero dos this week, as Amanda took home top placing for the family. I'm so proud of her efforts, I almost hesitate to mention that my half of Team Lovato was even in the race in Chile, for fear of detracting even one half an ounce from her well-deserved glory. However, I'm sure this won't be able to detract one bit...

My goals for Pucon were to have a great experience at a new event, to find out why everyone was raving about that race, and to jump-start… Continue

Since the first ever running of this race in 2005, I have been to every single Ironman Arizona race. After racing the first three events, I have been on the sidelines for the past two. This week I am here in Tempe again, and I'll be watching the race unfold as a spectator. Before all the action gets underway, I'm hoping to meet with any of the Team 1st Endurance athletes who are in town. If you are here, and you want to drop by Tempe Town Lake between 7:30 and 8:00AM (Friday and Saturday), I wou… Continue

2009 was a tough year for me on the Ironman course, but I did do something right on the day: I nailed my nutrition! How can I tell that I nailed it, if I did not manage to push myself to the competitive limits? Well, that is a tough question, but with the experience I have racing the Ironman distance, I know when I succeed and when I do not.

For the sake of this blog, and of its brevity, I'll use these criteria: Did I execute the plan and adjust where necessary? And did I have GI Distress? Ther… Continue

Every race is different, and the body reacts to things differently throughout the season. I have learned that just because it worked before does not mean it will work every time! I am constantly attending to every detail as I prepare for my races. Nutrition is a key element of success, and the outcome in Rhode Island was determined by who bonked and who did not.

Two days before the race was my travel day. And thus I did not have the luxury of sleeping, resting, or eating, as I normally would do… Continue

After Rev3, I was feeling the need to get back out and race again, so I set my sights on Eagleman 70.3. I had never done two half ironman races within one week of one another, so I did not know how my body would respond to the double. However my recovery during the week seemed to go well, and I attribute much of that to the fact that I did VERY little training, combined with consumption of A LOT of Ultragen. The truth is that I did not bump up my dose of Optygen or MultiV, but I was particularly… Continue