I don't think that the holidays could be placed at a worse time on the training schedule. Just when you get all geared up to lay a good base for the following year work gets crazy, holiday parties pop up, and the weather turns south. I already missed a couple workouts this week, so hopefully that's not a sign. My legs ached all over for some reason, too; maybe the 70' run on Sunday was a bad idea. I'm going sllloooowwww on pretty much every run so far to keep my heart rate down, but somehow my knees hurt more than when I go at a faster pace! Something to do with my form? I didn't think it could get much worse than it already is.
The Takoma pool was back to normal operating temperatures on Thursday which was nice. I got two short sessions in on the trainer trying out the new bike. All of the cables need adjustment, it's skipping on a couple gears, and I can't even shift into the big ring right now. Guess it's time to learn how to fix that!
Tomorrow we are running the Celtic Solstice 5 Miler up in Baltimore on our way to BWI for a short weekend in Madison and Liz's brother's graduation. Hopefully we'll actually be able to get out ahead of the weather. No guarantee that we'll be able to get back, though ...
Friday, December 14, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
All your base are belong to us
Week 1 of the spring TNT schedule is behind us. It looks like we're going to have a really good team this year; several participants have been involved with other charity training programs for marathons. The weeks leading up to the New Year are all about building base miles, low intensity workouts designed to get the body used to running and biking again (or at all!). Swimming is a bit of a different animal since it's typically the discipline most people need help with. The workouts are geared towards short drills and building the form that will help develop efficiency in the water. These are mixed in with some longer intervals for those that already have a good swimming base under them. You can always tell the former competitive swimmers in the group: at the beginning of practice they say they're worried about not having taken a stroke in 5 years and then go and blow most of us out of the pool! A powerful message that building muscle memory for an efficient swim stroke is the biggest advantage you can have in the water.
Saturday was the Triathlon 101 clinic. Coaches Jenni and Noah went over gear, basic nutrition, hydration, and a high level overview on what to expect on race day. I saw some worried expressions as they went through all of the "stuff" that you can get to race. I told my team members not to worry about all of it right now. Our bike schedule is pretty light, and that's where 90% of the "stuff" comes in. They will have a bike clinic this Saturday where they will be able to pick up the necessities. It can be a bit overwhelming when you see it all laid out in one place!
Luckily we have most of this gear from last season, but that doesn't prevent the desire for better gear, a disease that seems to be rampant in the triathlon world. To wit, my new bike:
I hadn't planned on picking up a new bike. Honestly! But that's before I signed up for a 1/2 Iron event. Even after being fit on my old bike (but not very well, I fear) I was never comfortable on it. My hands would get tired and numb when I was on the hoods, and my back and shoulders would get sore when I was down in the stubby road aerobars. I wasn't looking forward to 3 hours of that. The folks at Bonzai Sports were having good deals on some 2007 models, so I went in to see what they had. This Felt was on clearance and after a couple hours of adjustments and swapping out some parts I think it fits me pretty well. I'm still planning on getting a professional fitting sometime around the New Year when I have some miles in the saddle, but it already feels leaps and bounds better.
Week 2 (and 3 and 4) is still all about base miles. I'm adding some more run mileage on my own to prep for the 1/2 marathon in March and start laying down some better base to get me through 70.3 in June. It'll take some adjustments to the TNT schedule, but I think I'll be able to fit them in
Saturday was the Triathlon 101 clinic. Coaches Jenni and Noah went over gear, basic nutrition, hydration, and a high level overview on what to expect on race day. I saw some worried expressions as they went through all of the "stuff" that you can get to race. I told my team members not to worry about all of it right now. Our bike schedule is pretty light, and that's where 90% of the "stuff" comes in. They will have a bike clinic this Saturday where they will be able to pick up the necessities. It can be a bit overwhelming when you see it all laid out in one place!
Luckily we have most of this gear from last season, but that doesn't prevent the desire for better gear, a disease that seems to be rampant in the triathlon world. To wit, my new bike:
I hadn't planned on picking up a new bike. Honestly! But that's before I signed up for a 1/2 Iron event. Even after being fit on my old bike (but not very well, I fear) I was never comfortable on it. My hands would get tired and numb when I was on the hoods, and my back and shoulders would get sore when I was down in the stubby road aerobars. I wasn't looking forward to 3 hours of that. The folks at Bonzai Sports were having good deals on some 2007 models, so I went in to see what they had. This Felt was on clearance and after a couple hours of adjustments and swapping out some parts I think it fits me pretty well. I'm still planning on getting a professional fitting sometime around the New Year when I have some miles in the saddle, but it already feels leaps and bounds better.
Week 2 (and 3 and 4) is still all about base miles. I'm adding some more run mileage on my own to prep for the 1/2 marathon in March and start laying down some better base to get me through 70.3 in June. It'll take some adjustments to the TNT schedule, but I think I'll be able to fit them in
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Onwards and upwards
The big ol' TNT training schedule officially kicked off this morning at 5:30 in the pool at the Lab School. Everything was the same as I remembered from last year except for two things: we weren't locked out in the cold waiting for a lifeguard that never showed and I didn't have horrible butterflies in my stomach not knowing what to expect. All in all it was a little .... underwhelming? In the "not overwhelming" sense of word, not the "not exciting" sense. It was interesting to see the faces of the new participants and wonder if I had the same look prior to our first swim practice 12 months ago. I was in the "fast lane" this morning by default, but it looks like we have some former competitive swimmers in this group, so I may demote myself once they get back in the groove. I've kind of plateaued with my swimming ability, and my aim is to keep myself there with maintenance workouts and focus more on my running this winter in prep for the 1/2 marathon ...
... AND the freakin' 1/2 Ironman I just signed up for!
Holy crap. I mean, holy crap!! I've been going back and forth on this for a couple weeks, and after talking to Teen I took the plunge. There will be a group of us going up (and a couple more doing the Olympic the same weekend), so it should be a fun trip. The #1 reason (by far) that I waffled is that Liz may not be able to come up due to end of year school duties. I really, really want her to be there, but will understand if she can't come. #2 reason is the schedule I've now set up for myself:
4/27: St. Anthony's Olympic in St. Petersburg
5/18: Columbia Olympic in MD just north of DC
6/8: Mooseman Half Iron in Bristol, NH
That's 3 weeks from first to second Olympic; I did 2 weeks between North East and Annapolis this year, but that was the end of the season, and I didn't have a 1/2 Iron (!!!!) looming over me in another 3 weeks. I'll definitely need to treat Columbia as one long workout and not "race" it. It's a hilly course and I could easily get myself in trouble if it takes me a few days to recover from that one.
Hopefully the 1/2 marathon will get me in running shape to tackle this, but I have a long way to go. The biking is what I'm more worried about; we won't get to put that many miles in with our St A's captain duties, so I'm going to need to squeeze in what I can. That may mean lots of time in the trainer. Ugh. I'm pretty scared of this one but pretty excited at the same time. If my legs can hold up to the run, I'll at least be able to finish. And, really, that's a good enough goal.
Holy crap!!
... AND the freakin' 1/2 Ironman I just signed up for!
Holy crap. I mean, holy crap!! I've been going back and forth on this for a couple weeks, and after talking to Teen I took the plunge. There will be a group of us going up (and a couple more doing the Olympic the same weekend), so it should be a fun trip. The #1 reason (by far) that I waffled is that Liz may not be able to come up due to end of year school duties. I really, really want her to be there, but will understand if she can't come. #2 reason is the schedule I've now set up for myself:
4/27: St. Anthony's Olympic in St. Petersburg
5/18: Columbia Olympic in MD just north of DC
6/8: Mooseman Half Iron in Bristol, NH
That's 3 weeks from first to second Olympic; I did 2 weeks between North East and Annapolis this year, but that was the end of the season, and I didn't have a 1/2 Iron (!!!!) looming over me in another 3 weeks. I'll definitely need to treat Columbia as one long workout and not "race" it. It's a hilly course and I could easily get myself in trouble if it takes me a few days to recover from that one.
Hopefully the 1/2 marathon will get me in running shape to tackle this, but I have a long way to go. The biking is what I'm more worried about; we won't get to put that many miles in with our St A's captain duties, so I'm going to need to squeeze in what I can. That may mean lots of time in the trainer. Ugh. I'm pretty scared of this one but pretty excited at the same time. If my legs can hold up to the run, I'll at least be able to finish. And, really, that's a good enough goal.
Holy crap!!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Back for more!
Well, it's been a while. Last summer was a busy one, and updating this thing fell off the priority list. Big news, of course, was the wedding. Everything was fantastic, right down to the weather, even after some emergency surgery for Liz 2 weeks before the big day! We couldn't have asked for a better weekend with all of our friends and family.
Next piece of news is that we are back for more with TNT, this time as Team Captains for St. Anthony's. We've suckered some more friends to join in with us. It's going to be a great season! Of course we are fund raising again. That little link on the right will take you to my personal fund raising page. Anything you can do to support this great cause is appreciated. I'm paying my own way down to FLA this year, so every donation goes straight into the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's coffers to help fight blood cancers.
I'm looking mostly to improve my running in the off season as we gear up for a big summer. Prior to St A's we're signed up for our first ever half marathon in Virginia Beach over St Patrick's Day weekend. We'll see how that one goes! Liz and I are planning a big trip for a belated honeymoon sometime after she is out of school, so the rest of the race calendar is up in the air. The only one we are signed up for is Columbia, 3 weeks after St A's. I was hoping to attempt my first 1/2 Ironman, but our travel schedule may make that impossible. I think I can wait another year for that ...
Some race updates from last I typed:
Charlottesville Sprint: 1:31:08, 42/143 Male, 9/26 30-34 Age Group
I was looking forward to this race, but it wasn't all that enjoyable. The swim was super short and kind of weedy (and really muddy). Bike was actually great and scenic, but super hilly. I was not prepared for the run. It was a true trail run, single track up and down steep inclines, over roots and rocks. That was tough. There were more than a couple people carried out of the woods with injuries. I was pretty pleased with my time, but don't know if this was one I'd choose to repeat.
New Jersey State Sprint: 1:15:10, 92/429 Male, 12/44 AG
This one was really fun! We rolled up to the Jerse with a big group of racers and stayed with Teen's family. It was a beautiful day, and a nice flat course. My first tri swim without a wetsuit; it was a learning experience, the lesson being that even tight fitting tri tops produce a lot of drag in the water! I put up a 24:52 5K on the run which was less than 30 seconds off my PR from earlier that summer. That was definitely the highlight of my day. If we are around for it this summer it's on my must do list (maybe the Olympic this year, though)
North East Olympic: 2:44:08, 149/275 Male, 19/38 AG
The USAT Mid-Atlantic Championships this year, so there were a lot of fast people in the field it seemed. Water was really warm so no wetsuits. This time I left the race jersey in transition. It probably cost me 20 seconds or so struggling to get it on, but I'm sure I saved that much time in the water (and some energy fighting the drag). I had planned to take it easy in the water anyway, and my time kind of reflects that. Bike course was hilly and not easy. Run was just boring and brutal, a simple out and back with loooooonnngg hills on the shoulder of a 2 lane highway. Ugh. Plus it was pretty hot. I shaved some time off of my St. A's 10K, but felt even worse doing it. Probably not on the list for next year.
Annapolis Triathlon: 2:36:50, 345/853 Male, 51/120 AG
This was a fantastic race all around. The course was a little odd with two transition areas, but it was really well organized (well, except for the bag drop thing). Despite fears of jellyfish the swim went great, and the bike course was fun. A few challenging hills, and it was a bit crowded, but it was a good course. Run route was changed at the last minute and had us weaving in and out of the Navy/Marine Corps Stadium for the first couple of miles. The rest of the route was pretty flat except for one big hill out and back on a bridge over the river. I had a great run (for me!), and was thrilled with my final time. I'll definitely be back for this one.
Throw in a few running races and it was a busy summer. After the wedding I pretty much stopped real training and have just been running in frequently and swimming a couple times (the bike has been racked since Annapolis). All that changes next week, though!! Back to the big schedule starting 5:30 AM on Tuesday! I can't wait.
Next piece of news is that we are back for more with TNT, this time as Team Captains for St. Anthony's. We've suckered some more friends to join in with us. It's going to be a great season! Of course we are fund raising again. That little link on the right will take you to my personal fund raising page. Anything you can do to support this great cause is appreciated. I'm paying my own way down to FLA this year, so every donation goes straight into the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's coffers to help fight blood cancers.
I'm looking mostly to improve my running in the off season as we gear up for a big summer. Prior to St A's we're signed up for our first ever half marathon in Virginia Beach over St Patrick's Day weekend. We'll see how that one goes! Liz and I are planning a big trip for a belated honeymoon sometime after she is out of school, so the rest of the race calendar is up in the air. The only one we are signed up for is Columbia, 3 weeks after St A's. I was hoping to attempt my first 1/2 Ironman, but our travel schedule may make that impossible. I think I can wait another year for that ...
Some race updates from last I typed:
Charlottesville Sprint: 1:31:08, 42/143 Male, 9/26 30-34 Age Group
I was looking forward to this race, but it wasn't all that enjoyable. The swim was super short and kind of weedy (and really muddy). Bike was actually great and scenic, but super hilly. I was not prepared for the run. It was a true trail run, single track up and down steep inclines, over roots and rocks. That was tough. There were more than a couple people carried out of the woods with injuries. I was pretty pleased with my time, but don't know if this was one I'd choose to repeat.
New Jersey State Sprint: 1:15:10, 92/429 Male, 12/44 AG
This one was really fun! We rolled up to the Jerse with a big group of racers and stayed with Teen's family. It was a beautiful day, and a nice flat course. My first tri swim without a wetsuit; it was a learning experience, the lesson being that even tight fitting tri tops produce a lot of drag in the water! I put up a 24:52 5K on the run which was less than 30 seconds off my PR from earlier that summer. That was definitely the highlight of my day. If we are around for it this summer it's on my must do list (maybe the Olympic this year, though)
North East Olympic: 2:44:08, 149/275 Male, 19/38 AG
The USAT Mid-Atlantic Championships this year, so there were a lot of fast people in the field it seemed. Water was really warm so no wetsuits. This time I left the race jersey in transition. It probably cost me 20 seconds or so struggling to get it on, but I'm sure I saved that much time in the water (and some energy fighting the drag). I had planned to take it easy in the water anyway, and my time kind of reflects that. Bike course was hilly and not easy. Run was just boring and brutal, a simple out and back with loooooonnngg hills on the shoulder of a 2 lane highway. Ugh. Plus it was pretty hot. I shaved some time off of my St. A's 10K, but felt even worse doing it. Probably not on the list for next year.
Annapolis Triathlon: 2:36:50, 345/853 Male, 51/120 AG
This was a fantastic race all around. The course was a little odd with two transition areas, but it was really well organized (well, except for the bag drop thing). Despite fears of jellyfish the swim went great, and the bike course was fun. A few challenging hills, and it was a bit crowded, but it was a good course. Run route was changed at the last minute and had us weaving in and out of the Navy/Marine Corps Stadium for the first couple of miles. The rest of the route was pretty flat except for one big hill out and back on a bridge over the river. I had a great run (for me!), and was thrilled with my final time. I'll definitely be back for this one.
Throw in a few running races and it was a busy summer. After the wedding I pretty much stopped real training and have just been running in frequently and swimming a couple times (the bike has been racked since Annapolis). All that changes next week, though!! Back to the big schedule starting 5:30 AM on Tuesday! I can't wait.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Black Bear
Sunday was the second triathlon of the season, a sprint on a new course up in the Poconos (Black Bear Triathlon). We have some pictures up here (thanks, Liz!). One thing is for sure: I didn't do enough hill training on the bike! There was no in between on this course; you were either grinding up a steep hill in the lowest gear or flying down the other side tucked in as best you could. 7MPH up, 35+ MPH down! Other participants said that it was the most challenging bike leg they've seen, and that included some of the 1/2 Iron racers who had done Lake Placid and Timberman generally considered to be some of the toughest bike legs on the east coast. I'm just glad we were in it for 17.7 miles and not 56!
Saturday morning Steph and I drove up to PA with Noble trailing in his car. After dropping our gear off at Liz's parents we drove the hour up to the race course to check in (no Sunday check in or else we would have just done it the next morning). It did give us a chance to check out the venue and drive the course. We had some idea about what it would look like from the elevation profile, but I don't think any of us realized how relentless the hills would be. It was a dose of reality to see the climbs, but I'm glad I could prepare myself mentally as opposed to going in blind.
After driving the hour back to Wayne we tuned up our bikes, got dinner and went to bed. Liz took the train up from D.C. after her graduation duties and got in sometime after I fell asleep. Up at 4:00 to load up and out the door at 4:45. Traffic was light so we made good time up to the race venue getting there around 5:45. Transition was set to close at 7:00 so we racked bikes and headed down to the beach. The lake was nice and calm, 72 degrees, and clear. The 4 sprint waves went off from 7:30-7:45 and the 1/2 waves started at 8:00. I figured they would have preferred it the other way around since they were out on the course at least 4 times as long as we were, but the logistics of having the shorter swim leg start second prevent that. Noble and I were both in the first wave at 7:30 and headed into the water at about 7:20.
I had some real trouble getting my swim cap on for some reason; it kept flying off my head. Once we were in there was time to warm up for a bit. About 2 minutes before the gun was supposed to go off the race director got on the loudspeaker; the buoy marking the second turn had come loose and was floating off. That would have made it a much longer swim! Since it was so close to the start he told us to scrap that corner and just make it a diagonal between the two closest buoys. It probably cut 150 meters off of an already short swim.
Once the gun went off I started well, but got out of breath really quickly. For some reason when I'm in a wetsuit my legs have a mind of their own.
I've developed a nice 6-beat kick that doesn't tire me out at all in the pool, but in this swim and at St A's I've had to really concentrate on kicking because I was all over the place and out of synch with what the rest of my body wanted to do. At all other times that's become automatic. Anyway, I was reduced to breathing every stroke instead of alternate sides. I slowed down to get my kicking sorted out and catch my breath. By the time that happened I was almost back at the beach! I figure it took me about 600 meters to get to that point at St A's, but I'll need to adapt better for New Jersey or just ditch the suit entirely. About 20 yards out I stood up to wade in; I maybe should have swum a little more, but at that point I was frustrated and just wanted to be out of water. I came out pretty much by myself well behind the lead pack but in front of the main pack.
The run to transition was kind of ridiculous: 1/4 mile uphill from the beach. I got passed by lots of guys trucking up the hill, but I took my time and kept my heartrate down. A few people took their suits off on the beach and ran with them; that might have been a good idea. One guy put his flip flops back on and slapped his way back up the pavement. The timing mat was at the entrance to transition, not the water's edge, so swim times are pretty inflated. I forgot to start my stopwatch in all of the confusion during the buoy fiasco so I have no idea what my out-of-water time was. It worked out to 200/minute with the probably 3 minute run so it couldn't have been horrible, but probably not that great.
Transition was good this time. I had an end spot right near the bike exit and had no trouble gearing up. The wetsuit got stuck on my chip strap and that took me a few seconds to resolve, but otherwise it went well. I decided to put socks on for the bike to give my feet some extra cushioning pushing the pedals on those hills. I would have put them on for the run anyway so there was no net loss there.
The exit from transition was a slight uphill, one little roller, and then a huge climb/descent. I was trying my best to spin out at a higher cadence, but I just didn't have the gearing to do that at my current level. I hit my highest gear in the middle of that hill and just started mashing. I was out of the saddle for a few meters towards the top as my momentum started to die. Over the crest of the hill then clunk, clunk, clunk into 50x12 and push until I started spinning out. I hit 43 on that first downhill with enough momentum to keep myself in the big ring until about 1/3 up the next climb. Mash, tuck, repeat. There was a small section towards the end where it was rolling leading into the biggest descent of the day. I had been trading places with this one guy on the previous couple of hills: he would pass me on the way up, I would hit terminal velocity faster on the way down. As we were heading down the hill the road got a little rough and the handling twitchy. I was building more than enough speed to pass him but didn't want to risk taking both of us out at 40+ MPH for maybe a 10 second advantage. I alternated between sitting up and letting my body act as an air brake and actually hitting the brakes when I got too close. The last hill right after that was the almost vertical line in the elevation profile. It was brief but nasty starting out as a short climb into a 90 degree corner and just kept on going. I was glad I at least knew it was coming from the previous day's ride through. I heard one of the guys behind me say "You've got to be f*@&in' kidding me!!" as he rounded the bend and saw that slope. It was rolling for the last 1.5 into transition. I was off the bike at 1:02 which was good for 17.2 MPH average. Overall I'm thrilled with that; I was expecting much worse.
T2 was again pretty good. I had dropped one gel out of my pocket exiting the watter and had nothing but HEED on the bike. That was a mistake. I downed my only remaining gel while getting my shoes on and headed out on the run. The course was a trail run through the woods alternating between crushed gravel, grass, and actual dirt singletrack. I remembered to start my watch to check my mile splits. I was really hoping to be able to average sub-9:00 miles for the run. I started out mostly downhill, and my quads were aching from the bike. The first mile split came up at it was 8:48. Great! I felt like I could hold that pace until a nasty short little climb in the woods that had me wanting to walk. I didn't, driving my knees up the hill, but I probably would have done it faster it I had just walked! The second mile came right after a long slight downhill and across a concrete section of the dam to the second aid station. Mile 2: 8:15! "Wow", I thought, "I'm cruising pretty well!". I backed off slightly since I knew we had to climb back to through to mile 3. Mile 3 split was 9:38. Not unexpected since I was starting to cramp a bit from lack of fuel, but still on track to hit sub-9:00. I felt I had some kick left in me. There was a sign somewhere announcing 1/2 mile to go, and looking back I didn't give it a second thought; there were different signs for the 1/2 Iron course and maybe I thought that was it. For a 3.3 mile run it was awfully close to the 3 mile sign, though, and it seemed like it was a lot longer. I chalked it up to just being tired and wanting the run to be over.
The last little bit was uphill, crossing an old covered bridge and a jump over a 4 foot wide culvert. They had to make the finish that much more challenging! That last "0.3" miles? 4:58! That's a 15+ minute/mile pace, with a final kick! I think I could have walked that fast if the distance was right. Something was clearly off on the mile splits out on the course; 1 and 2 were short, 3 might have been about right, but the last 0.3 was definitely off. After having seen great splits in my first two miles I held back to conserve myself. I definitely could have pushed harder had I seen the actual, slower pace. Oh, well. I at least felt good on the run. I haven't learned to judge my speed based on perceived effort. I should have guessed by all the guys flying past me!
My final time was 1:51:05 - 95/277 Overall, 72/180 Male, 12/22 30-34 AG. I thought I had a top ten in my AG, but #1 and #3 overall were 30-34 so they didn't count towards our official ranking. Still, pretty pleased with that, although my run obviously didn't do me any good. It was a beautiful course and a perfect overcast morning with little wind. Plus we got shirts with black bear logos on them. Can't complain about that.
Saturday morning Steph and I drove up to PA with Noble trailing in his car. After dropping our gear off at Liz's parents we drove the hour up to the race course to check in (no Sunday check in or else we would have just done it the next morning). It did give us a chance to check out the venue and drive the course. We had some idea about what it would look like from the elevation profile, but I don't think any of us realized how relentless the hills would be. It was a dose of reality to see the climbs, but I'm glad I could prepare myself mentally as opposed to going in blind.
After driving the hour back to Wayne we tuned up our bikes, got dinner and went to bed. Liz took the train up from D.C. after her graduation duties and got in sometime after I fell asleep. Up at 4:00 to load up and out the door at 4:45. Traffic was light so we made good time up to the race venue getting there around 5:45. Transition was set to close at 7:00 so we racked bikes and headed down to the beach. The lake was nice and calm, 72 degrees, and clear. The 4 sprint waves went off from 7:30-7:45 and the 1/2 waves started at 8:00. I figured they would have preferred it the other way around since they were out on the course at least 4 times as long as we were, but the logistics of having the shorter swim leg start second prevent that. Noble and I were both in the first wave at 7:30 and headed into the water at about 7:20.
I had some real trouble getting my swim cap on for some reason; it kept flying off my head. Once we were in there was time to warm up for a bit. About 2 minutes before the gun was supposed to go off the race director got on the loudspeaker; the buoy marking the second turn had come loose and was floating off. That would have made it a much longer swim! Since it was so close to the start he told us to scrap that corner and just make it a diagonal between the two closest buoys. It probably cut 150 meters off of an already short swim.Once the gun went off I started well, but got out of breath really quickly. For some reason when I'm in a wetsuit my legs have a mind of their own.
I've developed a nice 6-beat kick that doesn't tire me out at all in the pool, but in this swim and at St A's I've had to really concentrate on kicking because I was all over the place and out of synch with what the rest of my body wanted to do. At all other times that's become automatic. Anyway, I was reduced to breathing every stroke instead of alternate sides. I slowed down to get my kicking sorted out and catch my breath. By the time that happened I was almost back at the beach! I figure it took me about 600 meters to get to that point at St A's, but I'll need to adapt better for New Jersey or just ditch the suit entirely. About 20 yards out I stood up to wade in; I maybe should have swum a little more, but at that point I was frustrated and just wanted to be out of water. I came out pretty much by myself well behind the lead pack but in front of the main pack.The run to transition was kind of ridiculous: 1/4 mile uphill from the beach. I got passed by lots of guys trucking up the hill, but I took my time and kept my heartrate down. A few people took their suits off on the beach and ran with them; that might have been a good idea. One guy put his flip flops back on and slapped his way back up the pavement. The timing mat was at the entrance to transition, not the water's edge, so swim times are pretty inflated. I forgot to start my stopwatch in all of the confusion during the buoy fiasco so I have no idea what my out-of-water time was. It worked out to 200/minute with the probably 3 minute run so it couldn't have been horrible, but probably not that great.
Transition was good this time. I had an end spot right near the bike exit and had no trouble gearing up. The wetsuit got stuck on my chip strap and that took me a few seconds to resolve, but otherwise it went well. I decided to put socks on for the bike to give my feet some extra cushioning pushing the pedals on those hills. I would have put them on for the run anyway so there was no net loss there.
The exit from transition was a slight uphill, one little roller, and then a huge climb/descent. I was trying my best to spin out at a higher cadence, but I just didn't have the gearing to do that at my current level. I hit my highest gear in the middle of that hill and just started mashing. I was out of the saddle for a few meters towards the top as my momentum started to die. Over the crest of the hill then clunk, clunk, clunk into 50x12 and push until I started spinning out. I hit 43 on that first downhill with enough momentum to keep myself in the big ring until about 1/3 up the next climb. Mash, tuck, repeat. There was a small section towards the end where it was rolling leading into the biggest descent of the day. I had been trading places with this one guy on the previous couple of hills: he would pass me on the way up, I would hit terminal velocity faster on the way down. As we were heading down the hill the road got a little rough and the handling twitchy. I was building more than enough speed to pass him but didn't want to risk taking both of us out at 40+ MPH for maybe a 10 second advantage. I alternated between sitting up and letting my body act as an air brake and actually hitting the brakes when I got too close. The last hill right after that was the almost vertical line in the elevation profile. It was brief but nasty starting out as a short climb into a 90 degree corner and just kept on going. I was glad I at least knew it was coming from the previous day's ride through. I heard one of the guys behind me say "You've got to be f*@&in' kidding me!!" as he rounded the bend and saw that slope. It was rolling for the last 1.5 into transition. I was off the bike at 1:02 which was good for 17.2 MPH average. Overall I'm thrilled with that; I was expecting much worse.
T2 was again pretty good. I had dropped one gel out of my pocket exiting the watter and had nothing but HEED on the bike. That was a mistake. I downed my only remaining gel while getting my shoes on and headed out on the run. The course was a trail run through the woods alternating between crushed gravel, grass, and actual dirt singletrack. I remembered to start my watch to check my mile splits. I was really hoping to be able to average sub-9:00 miles for the run. I started out mostly downhill, and my quads were aching from the bike. The first mile split came up at it was 8:48. Great! I felt like I could hold that pace until a nasty short little climb in the woods that had me wanting to walk. I didn't, driving my knees up the hill, but I probably would have done it faster it I had just walked! The second mile came right after a long slight downhill and across a concrete section of the dam to the second aid station. Mile 2: 8:15! "Wow", I thought, "I'm cruising pretty well!". I backed off slightly since I knew we had to climb back to through to mile 3. Mile 3 split was 9:38. Not unexpected since I was starting to cramp a bit from lack of fuel, but still on track to hit sub-9:00. I felt I had some kick left in me. There was a sign somewhere announcing 1/2 mile to go, and looking back I didn't give it a second thought; there were different signs for the 1/2 Iron course and maybe I thought that was it. For a 3.3 mile run it was awfully close to the 3 mile sign, though, and it seemed like it was a lot longer. I chalked it up to just being tired and wanting the run to be over.
The last little bit was uphill, crossing an old covered bridge and a jump over a 4 foot wide culvert. They had to make the finish that much more challenging! That last "0.3" miles? 4:58! That's a 15+ minute/mile pace, with a final kick! I think I could have walked that fast if the distance was right. Something was clearly off on the mile splits out on the course; 1 and 2 were short, 3 might have been about right, but the last 0.3 was definitely off. After having seen great splits in my first two miles I held back to conserve myself. I definitely could have pushed harder had I seen the actual, slower pace. Oh, well. I at least felt good on the run. I haven't learned to judge my speed based on perceived effort. I should have guessed by all the guys flying past me!My final time was 1:51:05 - 95/277 Overall, 72/180 Male, 12/22 30-34 AG. I thought I had a top ten in my AG, but #1 and #3 overall were 30-34 so they didn't count towards our official ranking. Still, pretty pleased with that, although my run obviously didn't do me any good. It was a beautiful course and a perfect overcast morning with little wind. Plus we got shirts with black bear logos on them. Can't complain about that.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
More Racing
The training hasn't really picked up again, but we're still plugging along getting sessions in when we can. The whole sticking-to-a-schedule thing isn't working out all that well. Part of it is just getting back into the routine; part of it is just finding the time. This past Memorial Day weekend saw a couple of good workouts though. Steph and I joined Teen for a ride down to Mt Vernon on Saturday morning; it was a gorgeous day and we hoped to be out there before the trail got too crowded. It wasn't that bad, but still a lot of folks out riding. In the end we did about 40 miles, which is probably the longest ride I've done this year.
Sunday we were up in Baltimore for an O's game and a 10K in the morning. After success at our last 5K I wanted to see how I was holding up and how my standalone time would compare to what I endured at St A's (I'd never run a timed 10K before). I wanted to at least go under 1:00 (St A's goal time), and would have been happy with a 9:00/mile average, which is about where I thought I should be for this distance. The course covered a lot of the same ground as the St Patrick's 5K we did: nice long downhill on the first mile, then flat to rolling on the main out-and-back leg. The big difference this time was that we had to run back up the hill in the last 1/2 mile or so. I started out way too fast (again) with an 8:00 on the first mile. I slowed back down to just over 9:00 on the next two, but mile 4 at the turnaround was rough. We went out and back across an overpass just before the gates to Fort McHenry and the sun was starting to get to me; it was turning out to be a hot day with not much shade at all on this part. Mile 5 was mostly flat/downhill and I managed sub-9:00 there, but then we climbed one gradual hill back to the Harbor Pavilion and then another steeper one back up to the finish line. Mile 6 was around 10:30, and I was feeling every step. There was a slight downhill to start the last 0.2 which gave me the energy to pick up the pace to the finish. Total time: 56:42, 9:09 average. It's almost 10 minutes faster than my St A's time, so I'll take that.
Sunday we were up in Baltimore for an O's game and a 10K in the morning. After success at our last 5K I wanted to see how I was holding up and how my standalone time would compare to what I endured at St A's (I'd never run a timed 10K before). I wanted to at least go under 1:00 (St A's goal time), and would have been happy with a 9:00/mile average, which is about where I thought I should be for this distance. The course covered a lot of the same ground as the St Patrick's 5K we did: nice long downhill on the first mile, then flat to rolling on the main out-and-back leg. The big difference this time was that we had to run back up the hill in the last 1/2 mile or so. I started out way too fast (again) with an 8:00 on the first mile. I slowed back down to just over 9:00 on the next two, but mile 4 at the turnaround was rough. We went out and back across an overpass just before the gates to Fort McHenry and the sun was starting to get to me; it was turning out to be a hot day with not much shade at all on this part. Mile 5 was mostly flat/downhill and I managed sub-9:00 there, but then we climbed one gradual hill back to the Harbor Pavilion and then another steeper one back up to the finish line. Mile 6 was around 10:30, and I was feeling every step. There was a slight downhill to start the last 0.2 which gave me the energy to pick up the pace to the finish. Total time: 56:42, 9:09 average. It's almost 10 minutes faster than my St A's time, so I'll take that.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Moving Along
It's been two weeks since the race, and it's three weeks until the next one. Kind of hard to get back into training mode when you don't have a plan in front of you. Guess that means I'll need to get a new plan! Liz has drawn one up for the NJ tri, so we're following that but not very well. There's no sense of urgency to the training schedule like there was for TNT. Still, I'm out running and in the pool twice a week; I've only really been out on the bike once for any serious ride. I hope to change that this week. Following a reduced training regimen for the sprints will be nice, but I'll have to pick it back up in July for another Olympic at the end of August. I may add a sprint in Charlottesville a the end of June depending on how I feel.
In the mean time it looks like my running is coming along, but I still feel that I have a lot of work to do in order to put up decent times at the end of a race. St. Anthony's was a painful lesson in conserving some energy for the run. A bunch of us ran a local 5K in Reston on Saturday (which Joe promptly won outright with a 90 second cushion or something ridiculous). My previous 5K best was about 26:30 at the St. Patrick's race in Baltimore on a course with a nice, long downhill for almost the entire first mile and no real hills. I have been feeling stronger on the run and felt I could break 26:00. It was a little humid at the start, but not terribly hot. The course was an out and back on the same trail we rode and ran on during training with some small rolling hills. I went out at a 7:30 pace (yikes!) and slowed down to 8:00 on the second mile and finished with about a 8:10 pace. So, yeah, I went out a little too fast and petered out at the end, but it was still good for a 24:30 finish time. 2:00 off of my PR! That felt good, and I wonder if I can get that to translate to a 27:00 or so sprint finish? Who knows. I'm just glad that I can hold that pace for a standalone 5k for now. We're running a 10K in Baltimore over Memorial Day so we'll see what happens then. After that all that is one the schedule are 2 (possibly 3) sprint tris before the end of July.
In the mean time it looks like my running is coming along, but I still feel that I have a lot of work to do in order to put up decent times at the end of a race. St. Anthony's was a painful lesson in conserving some energy for the run. A bunch of us ran a local 5K in Reston on Saturday (which Joe promptly won outright with a 90 second cushion or something ridiculous). My previous 5K best was about 26:30 at the St. Patrick's race in Baltimore on a course with a nice, long downhill for almost the entire first mile and no real hills. I have been feeling stronger on the run and felt I could break 26:00. It was a little humid at the start, but not terribly hot. The course was an out and back on the same trail we rode and ran on during training with some small rolling hills. I went out at a 7:30 pace (yikes!) and slowed down to 8:00 on the second mile and finished with about a 8:10 pace. So, yeah, I went out a little too fast and petered out at the end, but it was still good for a 24:30 finish time. 2:00 off of my PR! That felt good, and I wonder if I can get that to translate to a 27:00 or so sprint finish? Who knows. I'm just glad that I can hold that pace for a standalone 5k for now. We're running a 10K in Baltimore over Memorial Day so we'll see what happens then. After that all that is one the schedule are 2 (possibly 3) sprint tris before the end of July.
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