TriRock Annapolis Race Report

I thought I would do better in this race than how it turned out.  Such is life.  I make no excuses.

My 4:00 a.m. alarm wasn't required because I woke up at 3:00 a.m. to use the facilities.  I laid back down until 3:26 a.m. to finally get up since sleeping just wasn't happening.  As usual, I dilly dallied around and left a little later than planned.  No big deal because the roads were deserted and I got there with plenty of time to spare.  There was a parking garage about 1/4 mile from the race start so it was perfect.  I rode my bike with all my gear in a mesh swim bag over my shoulder, down to the transition area.  I was one of the only people doing this, everyone else was walking their bikes.  Silly people!

This race was very well run and there were a lot of small things that made the athlete feel "special".  From the race number tattoos, finisher's chute with the red carpet, the carpeted walkway to the swim start, etc.  Anyway, I picked up my race packet as soon as I got there. For those of you that don't know, a packet for a triathlon has a swim cap (color designated), race numbers for your bike, helmet, gear bag, etc.  Normally you go to get "body marked" which means some volunteer writes your race number on your arms and a leg.  It usually looks crappy and rubs off soon thereafter.  This race was different, we got Tritats, serious race number tattoos that look legit.  Everyone loved them and like I said, made us feel special. These numbers aid the race officials in keeping track of you at the finish, if you get in trouble while out on the course and they help the photographers know who you are so they can try to sell you pics of yourself later on.  I checked my bike into transition and talked to a few other age groupers before getting ready for the swim leg.  As prepared as I always think I am, I always forget something.  This time it was a rubber band for my shoe so that they stay horizontal and don't dangle upside down when I'm running out of transition.  It just makes it easier to get on and start pedaling.  Oh well.  I put my wet suit on and headed down the dock to the water.

Just a few people in transition.

Swim -  The swim was short (500m), which is why I wanted to do this race in the first place.  A good tune-up before the race that I really care about.  I was in the first wave of the day which meant no waiting around, bonus!  We had a really big wave in my opinion, maybe 100 people.  Little did I know that these were the fastest swimmers.  When you registered they asked you for your swim time per 100m.  I transferred into this race so they never got my time, whoops.  The horn went off, I got kicked a little bit and swam.  The next time I looked up almost everyone was gone, ha!  These guys were fast!  I'm used to swimming in the back of the pack but I always have a group of guys around me.  This time there were only 4-5 people which was nice, open water, but a little deflating.  The swim was straight into the sun, it was very hard to see where I was going.  I picked it up at the end but it was no record swim for me.  As usual, I stumbled my way out of the water very disoriented.  It was a long walk/jog to transition so that helped make me feel even slower when the times came out.

On the dock before the swim start.

Everyone trying to find some space, heading DIRECTLY toward the low rising sun.

Bike -  My transition from swim to bike was pretty good even though I didn't feel exceptionally fast, 10th fastest.  I hopped on my bike and away I went.  The course was A LOT hillier than I expected.  My heart rate was high from the get go and took a while to become normal.  The course was out 2 miles, then two 4 mile loops and back 2 miles.  There were two 180 degree turnarounds that we passed twice.  That along with a nasty calf cramp, multiple hills to contend without specifically training for them made me feel like this wasn't a great ride for me.  I didn't attack the up or down hills hard enough (even though my cramp would indicate otherwise), just wasn't aggressive enough overall and my time reflected it.  I was 24th in my Age Group on the bike.  I thought I was better than this, we all had the same hills and narrow roads to contend with so it was me.  Disappointed but I learned from it so I won't dwell... past this week.

One day I'll have a tri bike, race wheels and aero helmet!  Needless to say , this ain't me.

Run -  I didn't know where the "Run Out" chute was so I had to ask a volunteer :).  I know, I should have scoped it out before the race.  The first 1/2 mile was uphill, a decent hill, as if my heart rate wasn't high enough already.  I felt like a brick, I felt sadly slow, I felt like walking, quitting.  Sooooooo unlike me too!  Thankfully at the top of the hill when considering packing it in, I looked at my watch.  Okay, so I was averaging a 7:40 pace.  I guess I was moving so I stuck it out.  The run was largely uneventful after that point, two more turnarounds to kill your pace, yay!  I passed a few people in my AG and a guy passed me in the last mile and then dropped the hammer just as I was about to make a move on him.  Good for him, he killed my will and I just cruised in :).  Not really but a 7:25 pace after the swim and bike was good for me and 15th in my AG on the run.

Red carpet and a high five from TriCenter's Ann Wessling.

Ann Wessling and her swim cap skirt.

Overall, I had some good takeaways from this race.

• Check out the course either in-person or online beforehand and train for it.
• You're not an awful swimmer, just keep your head down and suck it up.
• All this breast stroke, side crawl and such is probably wreaking havoc on your biking legs.
• Bike like you stole something.
• If your legs aren't beat on the run then you didn't bike hard enough.
• Keep training, consistently.

NEXT RACE, JULY 8TH, MY "A" RACE FOR THE YEAR!!!

Rumpus in the Bumpass Race Report

The race didn't turn out how I had hoped but it was a spectacular weekend weather wise and from a relaxation stand point.  Let's get to it.

My buddy John and I headed down to Lake Anna on Saturday afternoon.  We have a neighbor/friend/swim buddy who owns a lake house and was kind enough to offer us a place to crash a day early.  This would make the logistics of race day that much more laid back.  We hit up the race site for packet pick-up and to walk down to the water to check things out.  Had to make sure there was really some water down there.  My neighbors lake house was 4.5 miles away and on the same road as the race, MONEY!

After we arrived at the house we unpacked and went to lounge by the lake for a bit before starting dinner.  John likes to cook so I left him in charge while I put the my race numbers on my helmet and bike.  After our steak dinner we watched some "No Country for Old Men" before turning in around 11:00 p.m.  These are important details people!

Race day - Didn't sleep amazingly but felt rested enough.  Finally rolled out of bed at 7:30 a.m.  John is a clown and had already swam in the lake without a wetsuit.  He was yelling at me to go warm-up in the lake.  Yeah right!  After a light breakfast we headed to the race site.

We had plenty of time to set-up, over an hour, which was very nice!

A busy transition area.

 Here's my area almost ready to go.



Anyway, with my transition area set-up it was down to the swim start I went.  It was about a half mile walk down a rocky path through the woods.  It was not pleasant in barefeet as I found out.  I didn't bring flip flops or anything aside from running shoes with me.  Obviously I wasn't about to leave them at the swim start since that would be an issue later on when I went to run.  There were 5 swim waves with between 80-100 people per wave spaced 3 min. apart.  I was in wave 2, fun stuff!  I got in a few minutes early to get acclimated to the cool/cold water.  It really wasn't that bad for 65 degree water. 

Swim - My swim wasn't all that great.  There were a lot of people that got in my way, plenty of people not swimming straight or not paying attention.  Unfortunately for me there were a few guys who were about my speed and my mind wouldn't stop worrying about them and where they were.  This interferred with me getting into a groove and slowed me down.  Whenever I would put in an effort to pass them, it seemed like they did the same.  I need to not worry about other people until I run into them :).  Truly, this is what a lot of people do.  I worry way too much about who I might run into and who's around me.  I learned a good bit from this swim.

Bike - Didn't happen.  I ran out of the water, more like staggered.  I'm always off balance after the swim portion, it takes a few minutes for the blood to get back to where it's supposed to be in the body.  I ditched the wetsuit, put on my helmet, shades, downed a gel and grabbed my bike.  I quickly noticed that my back tire was not rolling but was dragging.  Upon further inspection I found that my back tire was flat, the tube had blown and forced the tire off the rim and it was hung up in the brake caliper.  Since I was being slick today, I had no spare tube nearby.  I was running without an underseat tire repair kit in an effort to save weight / make me 5 seconds faster! :-)  It was in the car and I had difficulty putting the last tube in because the tires are so new and tight.  So, I didn't even attempt to fix it.  It would have added 10-15 minutes onto my time and I was just deflated at this point, just like my tire.  I wandered off to talk to the race director about still running the run leg of the race even though I wouldn't be doing the bike leg.  He said "Of course, just let maybe 10 people start the run first and then jump in".  Cool.

Run - I put on my race number belt, set my watch for running and took off after about 10 guys passed.  Now keep in mind, these are the top 10 guys in the race, they're cooking!  I quickly started out too fast trying to keep up which worked until about mile 1.  The first mile was all over the map 6:07, 6:13, 6:46, 6:33 coming up the hill at the half mile point, etc.  The run course was VERY rolling and varied from all grassy field, gravel, bigger stones, dirt, nothing paved.  Even with the high output I managed to pass a guy in the first half mile and he never caught back up.  He was a big guy, muscular and such.  All that muscle wasn't serving him well at this point, not so tough now are you!?  Poor guy must have spent everything he had out on the bike course.  After about 1.25 miles the guy in front of me started leaving me and two guys passed me.  I thought nothing of it since written on their calves were 21 and 22.  These were young guns and more power to them.  That's another cool thing about triathlons, they write your age on your calf.  So, it's easy to see who you need to keep up with or pass in order to do well in your age group.  It's also easy to say, eh, they're 20 years younger than me and still make yourself feel good like I just did there!  Anyway, I saw my buddy at the half mile mark and I know I gave him added incentive to keep at it.  He finally passed me with about a half mile left in the race.  He went on to win his age group, very impressive stuff.  By the end I was cramping, it was hot, hard, my heart rate was 12 beats from my absolute max the entire time.  It was a sufferfest, just what a 5k is supposed to be.  I finished strong and ran a good race considering the weather and course.

While the race wasn't what I had hoped for it was a learning experience.  Thankfully this was the first race of the season and not my "A" race that I have been building up for.  If this is the worst that happens to me for a few years then I'll take it.  I learned a lot on the swim, I need to keep my head down and do my thing, tune others out, that I will be out of breath no matter what stroke I do so why not stick with freestyle since it will get it all over with faster.  I will showcase my improved biking at the next race! :-)  And my run, it was 10th in my AG (age group) which is right where I want to be.  My next race is in a month and during that time I will continue to follow the training plan and see where I end up.

Thanks for reading!

Off-Season and Race Calendar

Whaaaaaaaat Upppppp!?!  I know I haven't posted in... a long time.  I'm not saying that I'm back but race season is fast approaching so I'll at least blog about my results.  Anyway, I have been training fairly consistently for the past few weeks months.  What's nice about this year is no marathon training!  Last year I ran for about 10 months of the year.  So far this year I'm averaging three runs per week, much more manageable.  This should also ensure that I don't get injured since the training volume is much lower.  My focus this year is on triathlon training.  I'm following a plan from a high-profile triathlon coach named Joel Friel.  His plan/book is entitled, "Your Best Triathlon - Advanced Training for Serious Triathletes". :-)  I think it's kinda funny because this is only my third year, but I figure that I am serious about getting better so I'm giving it a shot.  I should be in the best shape of my life by summer time.  Here's a sample week about a quarter way through the plan, so it will only get more intense.  Not necessarily in terms of volume but in intensity.  Oh joy.

*Light grey means optional.

For the swim, I joined the Alexandria Masters and am supposed going twice a week and then do my own thing on Saturdays.  It has been tough to get motivated enough to go all the time but I'm trying.  I won't bore you to death so here's my race schedule, subject to change.

*Don't mind the green, that just means that I have registered for the race.

And with that, I have nothing else to share at this time.  Thanks for reading!

MCM

So far this year I have done three triathlons and a few 5k's.  Every event I entered I had done in previous years and every event I entered I set a new PR (personal record) in.  It has been a good year.  Anyway, the MCM was to be my "A" race of the year and it was everything I had hoped it would be.  I met my time goal of 3:49 and I am ecstatic!  Previously, I have done one other marathon and it was the MCM in 2009.  I ran that race in 4:32.  I didn't run it to the best of my ability so I was anxious to have another go at it.  In 2009, I had several injuries and unfortunately one on race day itself.  This go around I was mindful of that and wanted to take my time building my mileage so that my tendons, ligaments, bones, etc. would have time to strengthen.  I have trained for it since January, slowly building a base from which to build upon.  I'll shut up, let's get to the race itself.

RACE MORNING

It was cold.  It was windy.  I had heard from the experts the night before, "standing there shivering for an hour before the start will make mile 15 seem like it's mile 21, it takes a lot out of you".  Lovely.  Also, I know from running all year that wind, a head wind can make running a certain pace much more difficult.  So, I wore many layers the morning of, waited in the Metro station beforehand for as long as possible, did whatever I could.  I won't bore you with all of what I had on :-)  It was a long, cold walk to the baggage drop-off / runner's village.  I took off a few layers and checked them with my phone, keys, etc.  They would drive them in UPS trucks to the finish line for me/us.  We (I ran with my friend and running partner Addie and my friend John) then proceeded to wait in the Port-O-John lines.  While waiting in line, off in the distance we heard the National Anthem playing and we were like "Uhh... we better hustle".  We were still a half mile from the start line.  Needless to say, I felt rushed and my bathroom stop wasn't all I had hoped for, so a little worriesome.  We got to the starting corrals with 5 minutes to spare.  We lined up in the 3:20-3:40 corral, one ahead of where we were planning on finishing.  Lots of people do it.  It helps a little with not running up on slower runners but inevitably you still catch people who had no business starting in front of you, whatever!

MILES 1-12

Not much to say really.  The first few miles are hilly, ups and downs.  We felt pretty good for these miles.  We were hitting our splits for the most part.  The uphills were a touch slow but I wasn't stressing since I didn't want to overdo it, "save it for the end" I was thinking.  It was thick at the beginning as well so running a fast pace was impossible, again I wasn't stressing.  Our cheering section was waiting for us at mile 11.  It was great to see some familiar faces and it gave us a much needed boost.  It was also an opportunity to ditch my hat and gloves since I was warming up a bit.  Mile 12 was where the trouble began for me.  Just like in 2009 my foot started hurting.  It never bothered me during training so I was slightly annoyed.  My attention was quickly diverted away from that when "someone" elbowed my arm for the fourth time and my watch went flying.  It broke off from the band and went sliding into some spectators.  It only took a few seconds to find it and get going again but it kind of killed my momentum and now I was fully annoyed.  From there on out I was holding my gel flask in one hand and my watch in the other.  Oh joy!  Not exactly ideal for relaxing your arms, hands and such to keep your heart rate down.

MILES 13-20

The miles went well.  The foot discomfort came and went, until about mile 17 when it really started bothering me.  It got to the point that it was trying to protect itself.  When I'd land on it, the toes would clench.  It was really annoying!  I had no power pushing off my left side.  No matter, I wasn't going to stop unless it fell off.  Problem number two was that I finally ran out of gel in my gel flask around mile 20.  No worries, I had another.  I pulled it out and proceeded to get nothing out of it.  It was so cold that it wouldn't fall fast enough before I passed the water station.  In a panic, I pulled out a spare gel I had in my pocket and swallowed it quickly and then grabbed the last cup of water I saw.  The water station took some time and led to a 9:09 pace for that mile.  Of course as I'd find out later, my watch lies.  It was probably more like a 9:20 mile.  John was hurting and stayed with me.  Addie was off and gained some good time on us at that point, probably a minute.

MILES 21-26.2

Mile 21, this is my least favorite part of the course because it seems so long and like it's uphill the whole way.  I looked back for John early on and he was about 3 feet back.  The next time I looked back he was gone.  I felt bad but everyone's got to run their own race.  There was a girl running a touch faster than me so I moved in near her.  She looked to be running effortlessly.  After a bit I dropped her because either she slowed or I picked it up.  Upon entering Crystal City a water station was coming up, this time I was prepared!  Or so I thought, you see after I had trouble with my gel flask at the previous water station I had flipped it over so that it was upside down.  Gravity would naturally bring the gel to the bottom or now the opening.  This had worked for my previous gel flask so I had no reason to think that it wouldn't work now.  Well, it didn't.  As I went to take in my calories nothing came out.  I was sucking so hard that the flask was collapsing.  This was not good at all.  (I wanted to throw it down violently but I figured out that it has no feelings so it wouldn't care what I did to it and it would take energy from me so I just shook my head.)  It was time to eat and there was nothing I could do.  I took in water at the station and kept moving, stressing the whole time.  By mile 23, I saw a few packs of Sport Beans, which are like jelly beans.  Some runners use them for fuel instead of gels.  I stopped and picked up a full pack and ate them.  Normally, you take fuel and then wash it down.  Oh well no water stations for another mile or two.  The crowd was thick throughout Crystal City and it was giving us a much needed kick to get through the final few miles.  I was shocked to see and hear my old running partner and his daughter cheering me on, loudly and enthusiastically.  I picked it up to look strong for them.  The reality was that I was already running strongly, the mile averages were getting lower and lower.  I was getting faster and faster, I was cutting every corner and running the tangents like you're supposed to.  I was tucking in behind other runners when the wind would gust.  I used everything I had heard and read about to aid me.  Not many, if any people were passing me at this point in the race, most were holding on or slowing down.  However, two people slowly passed me.  One was a woman, my age or slightly older with a Camelbak on her back for hydration.  She was easy to spot and keep track of.  I latched onto the other guy since he was bigger and was eating the headwind that we were running into during this final leg.  It worked out nicely for about a half mile until he decided to pull off and walk.  I ran up next to the woman and said "I'm feeding off you!".  She was hurting and said "Ok, I'll feed off you too!".  She left me a bit on the ramp at mile 25.1, kept looking back for me but I was hung up behind slower runners and to be honest, the downhill corners weren't feeling that great to me or my legs.  I caught her as we both passed the final water station.  I knew we were close and hammered, she got dropped.  Mile 25.5, the crowd is thick, the adrenalyn is high, along with my heart rate.  I see and hear my old running partner and his daughter again.  The are running with me, easily.  I pick it up because I should at least make this hard for them.  They keep up easily.  I'm almost home... one last hill, a steep uphill.  The crowd is going nuts, no not for me, for everyone!  I cross the finish line and my legs are like jello.  I'm still searching for Addie wondering if she waited close to the line.  I'm pretty sure I met my goal time and I start to get a touch emotional but with nobody there to share it with I suppress it :-)  The clock showed 3:52:36 but we started some 2:40 after the "clock time" so my time was lower.  Without being able to do the math after running 26.2 miles I just figured I had it.  This is where my final problem reared it's ugly head... my watch was showing that I ran 26.8 miles and averaged 8:37 whereas I was shooting for an 8:45 average pace.  So, I thought I was killing it.  My watch lied and I finished in 2:49:53 and averaged an 8:47 mile.  I barely made it!  As silly as it might seem, if I had run a 2:50:?? I would have been VERY disappointed.  Stupid, I know.  I owe thanks to a great many people.  There was a sign that we saw a few times during the race, "All it takes is all you got!"  That's true of running a PR.  I said a lot of things to myself during the last few miles and when my foot was bothering me.  Things like "everyone is hurting" and "suck it up", haha.  This is where I think running without music has helped me, I'm good with positive self talk.  Anyway, onto the next challenge...

Sorry, I got a little wordy at the end.  Thanks for reading or skimming!

Giant Acorn Sprint Triathlon Race Report

I think most blog posts have pretty pictures to go along with them and help tell the story.  Well, most of mine don't.  I usually don't have a support crew standing by taking pictures.  Normally, my races start close to sunrise so not the ideal time to expect people to come out and spectate.  In this case who could blame "them".  It was cold, rainy, and breezy.  It was 42 degrees to be exact.  Anyway, let's start at the beginning.

I was going to bag this triathlon because on Saturday it was cold and rainy and I knew the forecast was for much of the same on Sunday.  My trusty sidekick, John, was already down at Lake Anna staying at a friend's house.  He called me on Saturday night to say it hadn't rained a lick and I was a wuss if I didn't show up.  FINE!  So, at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday night I started packing up my gear.  I went to bed around 10:00 p.m.

Sunday morning, I woke up around 6:30 a.m. and got ready.  Ate a little breakfast and headed out.  It was an uneventful drive aside from the fact that it started raining the closer I got to Lake Anna.  If I would have started to really downpour I would have left my stuff in the car and spectated :-).  No such luck.  I got to the race site and picked up my packet.  I lazily set-up my transition area which I loved.  I had a good rack close to the bike in and bike out.  Some athletes were warming up in the lake, both warming up before the swim and warming up from the cold in general.  I waited until 10 minutes before I went off to get in.  I swam out and back to loosen up.  Also, I contributed towards warming up the lake if you catch my drift.  There was a good reason why I wasn't so excited about this Tri aside from the weather.  I'm just in marathon mode.  That's all I do and all I really care about right now.  Therefore, I haven't swam in a month and my biking has been sporadic at best.

Swim-
They call my wave.  I swim out and tread water until the gun goes off.  I have decided to pick the shortest line whereas normally I move out away from people and on the outside.  This probably isn't the greatest idea for a non-swimmer.  In my opinion it's probably smarter for me to swim the shortest distance possible and risk contact with other flounderers.  Spell check is yelling at me because that's not a word but oh well.  So, I make it out to the first buoy with no issues.  The next long straightaway seems like it's taking forever.  My wetsuit is rubbing me raw around my neck.  I keep fidgeting with it.  This guy keeps zig zagging in front of me and it's annoying.    He looks like a rocker dude with his earring and tattoos.  He's just a tad faster than me so I can't pass him unless I want to risk swimming faster than I ever have.  I decide not to risk swimming like a swimmer.  So, I stop every so often and try not to run into him the whole time.  It's a welcome excuse to stop and catch my breath.  Every so often a faster swimmer from another wave comes along and I try to catch their wake and have them pull me along.  It doesn't last long and they're gone.  I'll cut to the end... the finish line... I get out of the water, yay!  I felt like I hadn't swam in a while and my time reflected it.  About 30 seconds slower than last year.  Oh well.

Bike-
Since I forgot to put Body Glide around my calves and ankles my wetsuit was hard to get off.  So, I decided to sit down and take my time.  I had trouble getting my long sleeved thermal shirt on for the bike.  No way was I freezing out there in just a Tri kit.  Ran out, heard a little cheering for me since I was wearing my DC Tri kit.  Started pedaling and working on getting my feet in my shoes on the flat sections after I got some speed up.  I'm sure it was annoying to some people that I passed them with my feet on top of my bike shoes, ha!  My heart rate was high so I tried to slow down and get a drink.  It just would not come down.  Was it the wind, my sprint out of the transition area, did I need to eat something... I don't know.  I didn't feel right and as a result I didn't perform well.  Normally, I can ride 20 mph at 160 bpm heart rate.  I was at 170 bpm and only going 16-17 mph and getting frustrated.  I guess I gave up at some point which may have been a good thing.  Around mile 7-8 my heart rate got back in check and I started averaging some respectable speed.  Unfortunately, I had to sit up and eat and that hurt my average again.  Hopped off the bike and ran into transition feeling fine.

Run-
No issues in transition other than stopping my watch from the bike leg to the run leg and then reconfiguring it to run.  I felt good running out. I passed about 70 people during the run, maybe more.  I feed off passing people, it fuels me.  Only one runner passed me... Ironman tattoo and all.  The good news is that he was a relay runner so of course he was feeling good he didn't have to swim or bike before hand!!!  Hey, I'm not jealous... okay maybe a tad.  I clicked off 7:30, 7:28, 7:52 miles I believe.  I felt great and could have run harder judging by my max. heart rate.  I ran down the finisher's chute by myself and the announcer said my name twice and no one else was around so I soaked it up and posed for the cameras, sorta.

All in all, I'm glad I did it.  I dropped 3 minutes from last year's time.  All of it in transition and run :).  The swim was a touch slower and so was the bike, doesn't bother me in the least at this point in time.  Now, to focus on the marathon.  I'm sure to have pics from that, I promise.

Thanks for reading!

I'm still a blogging bum

I'm not sure if I'll ever post regularly like some people do.  It takes me too long to write up a decent post.  So, often times I don't. 

Anyway, it's not that i haven't been training at all.  I've been training my butt off, literally!  I'm still training for the MCM (Marine Corps Marathon) on October 30th which means that I run and I run.  I'm currently in Week 14 of my 18 Week marathon buildup plan.  Yay!  Although, Week 17 sounds so much nicer - lower miles and that much closer to getting it over with.  I'm growing tired of running.  I've been running since January.  Last year wasn't a particularly heavy running year for me so I figured that I had to establish a "base" before beginning a lofty marathon training plan.  I wasn't trying to get injured.  Therefore, I did a 20 week buildup before beginning the marathon plan :-)  I'm not growing tired of waking up before the birds, it's more the aches and pains.  The worrying if this pain is going to be really serious and prevent me from completing this run or that run.  I've been very consistent and diligent with my stretching and icing.  So, the running is stressful both mentally as well as physically. I just wrapped up my second of three heavy mileage weeks as prescribed by the plan that I'm following.  It was a 50 mile week  that went a little something like this (Mon-Sun) - X-training, 5, 10, 5, REST, 10, 20.  This week the mileage will dive back down to 34 miles for the week. 

In the short term I have a triathlon to contend with this weekend.  I haven't swam in a month and even before that it was pretty bad.  I'll try to look like a triathlete once I get out of the water but until then it's all about survival.  I'll post a race report next week.

Countdown to the MCM!

MAKE COUNTDOWN WIDGET

DC Triathlon - Post Race Report

...I survived.

Race morning -

My alarm went off at 3:45 a.m. I got dressed, packed the car, thought about eating but just wasn't hungry so I brought a Clif bar for the road.  Picked up my two neighbors, Mark and John, that I have sucked into doing triathlons.  The drive into DC was uneventful, we were going to park near a shuttle that would take us right to the transition area.  However, at the last minute I decided to look around Hains Point for parking and found an illegal lot where everyone else was parking.  I figured they wouldn't ticket or tow all of us, right?  Unfortunately, we still had a 3/4 mile walk ahead of us while lugging all of our stuff, water bottles, wetsuits, bike shoes, run shoes, helmet, etc.  Upon arriving in the transition area we had about 45 minutes to set-up our little areas which basically meant spreading out all of our stuff.  We took about 40 of those 45 minutes going back and forth remembering this or that after walking away, getting our timing chips, going to body marking, etc.  The transition area closed at 5:55 a.m. because the Olympic distance triathletes were starting at 6:00 a.m.  The Sprint distance triathletes started at 7:00 a.m., that's me.  So, we had an hour wait.

Swim (800 meters)-

My wave was 3rd to last.  The only people behind me were Men 20-24, Men 30-34, Men 35-39.  Since I'm a notoriously weak swimmer and not wanting to be the last out of the water I started in the front of my age group wave. The swim start was called a "time trial" start.  There were 8 of us lined up and just like we were jumping out of a plane they were like "GO! GO! GO!"  I jumped in and started.  I got about 100m before stopping to pant and look around.  That's an improvement over last year where I felt like I only made it 25m.  There was a lot more contact this year.  People kicking me, me kicking people but overall nobody got hurt or started bleeding so no harm done.  My goggles fogged up for the last 300m but I just followed the orange buoys and made my way to the swim exit ramp out of the water.  Final swim time - 18:48.  Last year I got 25:35 so a very big improvement.  I ran to the transition area, pulling my wetsuit down to my waist before getting to my spot.  Thankfully, the wetsuit slid off my legs easily and I was on my way to the bike without much delay.

Bike (12.4 miles)-

In an attempt to speed up my transition times this year I went without socks for the bike and run legs, thus my shoes were already on my (bike) pedals.  So, I darted out (not really) of the transition area pushing my bike to the mount line on Independence Ave.  I hopped on it and started pedaling until I got up to speed.  On the right-hand side of the two lane road were the runners leaving transition, all Olympic distance triathletes who started an hour earlier.  Just another thing to watch out for on the course.  Having gotten up to speed it was now time to put my feet actually into my shoes.  I worked on the right one first... it didn't feel right.  The Velcro, the latch, it was all wrong.  My shoes were on the wrong sides, the left was on the right and the right was on the left.  I was screwed.  No way to fix this while pedaling down the road.  I had to pull over and up onto the sidewalk.  I remedied the situation as quickly as possible but with the pulling over, putting them on, and getting back up to speed without getting run over by speeding cyclists it cost me about 2 minutes.  Since I was trying to cut 10 minutes off last year's time 2 minutes was a lot.  Once underway I was passing lots of people which is fun for me.  There were 3-4 180 degree turns on the course and a few other normal turns.  I think I excel on turns because I am (crazy) confident and have gained a lot of bike handling skills from mountain biking where it's imperative that you can turn well and keep your tires from washing out from under you.  Anyway, my plan was to keep my heart rate at or below 160 bpm since I know that's right where I'm working hard but not too hard.  I didn't want to expend all of my energy on the bike when I still had a 4.6 mile run ahead of me.  Once I got my shoes squared away and got going again I felt strong.  Everything was going well and I was sipping a sports drink every few miles and an energy GU.  My bike speed averaged 20.3 mph, my goal was 20 mph so mission accomplished!  Even with my shoe screw up I still beat last year's time by 7 seconds, add the 2 minutes I was wasting on the side of the road and I really picked it up on the bike this year.

Having done the race last year I knew when the end was near.  Since I tried a barefoot bike mount technique I was sure going to try a barefoot dismount as well.  I picked up speed coming back over the Memorial Street bridge and started to unclasp my shoes and slipped my feet out of the shoes.  So my feet were out and on top of my shoes when I came flying up to the dismount line.  I hopped off and pushed my bike into transition with no issues.

Run (4.6 miles)-

I racked my bike, took off my helmet, slid on my run shoes and I was off!  It took me a good mile to get my legs back under me.  I'm a runner but you sure don't feel like one after a hard cycling effort.  First mile was an 8:52.  I took in water and ate a gel at the first water station.  Once I hit mile 2 I started to feel like myself again and tried to keep my heart rate below 170 bpm until later in the race. My second mile split was 8:22.  I spotted some friendly faces just past mile 2 which provided me with an extra boost and I felt like I took off from then til the finish.  As with most triathlons they write your age on your calf.  I don't know exactly why but it's helpful during times like this.  A guy passed me but not too bad and he had a 41 on his calf which meant he was in my Age Group.  Knowing that I didn't want to lose another place to anyone in my age group... I latched onto him.  He carried me the last 1.5 miles.  I was waiting and waiting to make my move.  Go too early and they'll kick with you and who knows if they have more in the tank than you.  So, I prefer to wait until the last 100-200m and then annihilate them :-)  But nooo, my neighbor who had just finished was yelling at me "RUNNNNNNNNN!!!!!! GOOOOOOOO!!!!"  So, I blasted the last few hundred meters.  I found the guy after we finished and said "hey, thanks for carrying me to the line".  He said "I couldn't kick with you, I hurt my leg last week".  My side hurt so bad at the finish.  I had been and am usually fighting a cramp, in each of my previous triathlons I have had a cramp during the run portion.  Miles 3 and 4 were 7:47 and 7:36 avg. pace.  I don't have the last .7 miles since I didn't stop my watch for a few minutes after I crossed the line.  I'm sure it was a really low 7 since I sprinted home to the finish.

Last year I did the run course in 37:44, this year I did it in 37:22 and it was a half mile longer this year.  I averaged an 8:02 pace per mile.  My goal was 8:00, close enough I think.

Summary -

Even as my swim time drops it's still a LOT of work for me and I feel the same year after year.  I saw numerous people backstroking, just floating and resting, and even a kayaker yelling at a woman "you're swimming in circles!  you're swimming in circles!"  I guess that tends to happen when you're just backstroking with one arm... I laughed.  The bike leg is always fun for me although I wish I hadn't blown the shoe part.  I wasn't too excited about the run which makes no sense since I am a runner.  I'm very happy overall with my performance.  I dropped over 11 minutes from last year even with an added half mile run and the two minute pit stop.  My goal will remain dropping 10 minutes next year.  That would put me top 5 in my age group based on this year's times.  I kinda like triathlons and think I'll keep doing them.  Thanks for reading.

DC Triathlon - Pre Race Thoughts

AHHH!!!!!!!! Just kidding.

Three days out and I just completed my final workout this morning.  This week has been unusally light, training wise.  I won't bore you with the details but days off and low mileage are making me feel lazy.  Tomorrow is usually a rest day and Saturday will be the same this week with the triathlon on Sunday morning.

Swim -

I have better form than ever.  I have gotten more open water swim practice this year... I should be better off mentally this year since last year was my first year.  The problem is that I'm not a lap after lap after lap type swimmer, yet.  So, I didn't really practice like that this Spring.  I tend to dissect my stroke and try to fix it after a lap or two.  That's the first problem.  The second is that I get caught up in "going fast" that I don't breathe as often as I should and then get into an oxygen deprivation state.  Anyway, I hope to go further than last year without stopping to rest.  I hope to stop less and therefore have a better time, even if it's a small improvement.  I'm not stressing it, I know for me it's going to be the hardest part of the entire day.  Happy Father's Day to me, yay!  NOT! :-)

Bike -

My bike leg last year at the DC Tri wasn't bad at all.  I trained by riding into work sporadically, so not much high intensity there.  My time was good and I averaged 18.7 mph and that's even good by today's standards... I think.  Fast forward to today, I have a new bike, it's lighter, I just threw on some aerobars so I can slip through the wind like a fat ninja, and I have been "training" a lot more.  Mostly run training but some good bike time lately.  I feel stronger than last year but of course I have a horrible memory so who knows.  Also, this year I'm going sockless!  It takes time to put socks on wet or damp feet and then put on the shoes, let alone running in biking shoes.  This year I'm going to run or stumble into transition from the swim, take off my wetsuit, put on my helmet, grab my bike and run out.  When I get the "mount" line (which means you can now get on your bike) I plan on running and jumping on it, pedaling up to speed, and THEN putting my feet in the shoes and velcroing them up.  Just like the pro's!  That's the plan at least.  I have practiced it a few times and haven't hit anything yet.  I do swerve a bit so hopefully the other riders are paying attention.

Run -

My run last year was piss poor by my standards.  Granted this was my first triathlon, I struggle with the swim, I laid down a respectable bike time, so I think I was wiped out, still shocked that I made it out of the water, or just content with the day.  Normally, when triathletes really hammer out a good bike time their run time suffers.  The legs are just too tired to run "normal" run times.  Either way, last year I averaged a 9:05 pace per mile which is bad for me.  This year I'd like to average closer to 8:00 pace per mile which will be much more taxing but this is a race, right?  The run is longer this year and I have dreams of averaging 20 mph on the bike so we'll see if my legs cooperate.

Summary -

The bottom line is that I would like to drop 10 minutes off last year's time.  Since the run is about a half mile longer this year the drop won't be perfectly relational so I'll compare times in all the segments and let you know how I did after the race.

I'm a bum.

I haven't done a real post in a while because they normally take a lot of time.  It's not like I haven't been training because I have been.  And I have had some adventures to write about too...

• Successfully eating my first bug while riding
• Open Water Swim Clinic under the Bay Bridge
• Bike to Work Day
• Nagging Injuries
• Etc.

Tomorrow I might go on a 40 mile bike ride with the DC Tri Club.  I joined a couple weeks ago so that I can attend some of their workouts.  The bike ride will be 30+ people split into different paces, I found this on the DC Tri Club website :

B 12-14 14-16 16-18
BB 14-16 16-18 18-20

 I feel confident that I fall somewhere in that range.  I think at this point I'm in the 16-18 range although if I'm drafting in a pack I could hang onto the fastest group for the duration.  My longest ride to date is maybe 28 miles... 40 miles is uncharted territory so stay tuned.  I'm kind of setting myself up because my three followers might be expecting a follow-up post.  I like how this turned into a post.  Yay!

Friday Randomness!!!

I love this video :)

Friday Randomness!

Dirt Devil-The Exorcist from MrPrice2U on Vimeo.

 

One of my favorites.

Friday Randomness!

Amazing video!



I found many parts of this amusing.

The Triathlon Experience

I recently went to support a friend in a Sprint distance triathlon down at Lake Anna, just south of Fredricksburg.  This was probably the first triathlon of the season for most of these triathletes since its just barely warm enough to be getting in the water for the swim portion.  I didn't participate in this one because I continue to work on my swim stroke.  I know I could have completed it but I want to swim the entire thing and feel confident in it.  I have two more months to work on it before my next triathlon on June 19th.  Anyway, I took some pictures throughout the day and will provide riveting commentary for your enjoyment.

The great thing about this triathlon is the 10:00 a.m. start, not a 7:00 -8:00 a.m. start like most others.  Another great perk is that it is swam, swum... is that you swim in a heated portion of the lake... due to a nuclear power plant nearby.

These people are waiting in line for packet pick-up.  You get a race number for your shirt, bike, helmet, a t-shirt, etc. 

Some amazing machines all around.  The wheels on this bike cost around $1,600 each!

As I was taking this picture a guy said "She's a beaut huh?"  I was like "Definitely!" and he was like "I couldn't resist", turns out it was his bike :-)  I said "Nice wheels!" and he was like "Thanks, they were my tax refund."  I think the rear wheel cost over two grand.  One day...

So, packet pick-up and then transition area set-up.  The transition area is where you set your bike and run stuff up.  You start the triathlon off with the swim, then run in here and drop your cap and goggles while getting your bike and such, after that you leave your bike here and head out on the run portion.  So, having everything organized here can speed up your race quite a bit.

Everyone loosening up for the swim start.  A lot of anxious and cold athletes and spectators.  It was in the mid-50's at the start with a decent breeze.

It looks like a lot of people however this triathlon is relatively small compared to most.

Swimmers warming and loosening up before the start.

Can you tell what's wrong with this picture?


Yep, it's the guy with the forward facing snorkel.  He won't have to worry about a little thing that messes up most swimmers, called breathing.  Cheater! :-)

It's an in water start so no running from the beach into the lake.  Basically, you just tread water until the air horn goes off.

The air horn is blown and they're off!

 

The swim course is basically a triangle of sorts, all right turns.  The yellow and orange buoys are approximately a third of the way, take a right and swim to the next, then another right and swim for home.

 

This poor guy is so out of it he put his helmet on backwards!

Seriously though, the transition from swim to the bike is not easy.  I am usually very dizzy and off-balance so it is difficult to first of all locate your bike, let alone get your wetsuit off and biking shoes on.




This is the exit chute leaving the transition area.  The athletes on the left are headed in to drop-off their bikes and change into their running shoes.  The athlete(s) closest to me are on their way out for the 3.1 mile run.  Get it little man!

Here are some others on their way out for a nice leisurely run.

Another shot of the bikers coming in after the 12 mile bike portion.  You must mount and dismount your bike at the top of the hill in the top right of the picture.  The rest you kind of run with your bike to and from the transition area.

I don't want to hear you say you can't do it.  Get 'em Blue!

Some more finishers bringing it home.

See, it's not that hard :-)