oceanisde ½ 2009 race report:
going into this one a bit differently than I have in the past. I’m going to go hard from the beginning and see if I can make it to the finish line before I detonate. combine this with fewer calories on the bike (900 as opposed to my usual 1200+) and more calories on the run (300 – 400 as opposed to my historic 100 and self detonation), and water to drink.
I woke early, got to the transition area. picked out an end spot and organized my area: bike hung by the hydrotail facing south for a quick exit, shoes clipped into the pedals. towel laid out underneath the bike. helmet by the front wheel straps outside, sunglasses inside. race belt and number in front of the helmet ready to put on. running shoes , by the rear tire.
I walk from my spot in transition to the swim exit paying attention to landmarks to locate my space. I do the same between my bike and the bike out/in. I repeat these exercises several times.
I wander around transition for a while, before sitting in the changing tent to warm up. I wait there until transition is about to close, stuff myself into my wetsuit, and get in line to wait. I’m in the final wave of the day. super, I love working my way up through all those other cyclist, and being on the run with everybody else on the course.
in the water and waiting for the start. I line up wide and in front. the gun goes off, I set out at a good pace and work my way into the center by the buoys. settled into a comfortable rhythm focusing on reaching on the stroke, now I’m looking for feet to settle in behind. no such luck. I wind up doing the swim on my own, but in a mass of people. nobody to lead the way.
before long, I’m out making the turn into the dog leg. almost half way there, and I’m feeling good, a nice relaxed long stroke still lots of gas in the tank. and now it’s time to come back. one problem, the sun is sitting low on the horizon so I can’t see much of anything. I look for the splashing and follow it. mmm is that diesel I taste, must be the fuel doc, which means I’m about 500m from the swim exit, about to start on my 2nd favorite discipline the bike.
I pick up the pace a bit, getting anxious to be on my bike and see how my legs will hold up. I’m out of the water feeling good, strip the wetsuit down to my waist during a solid run up through the maze to find my bike. run into mike kelley there, he’s just finishing getting out of his wetsuit, I sit down, yank of the remainder of my wetsuit, toss it on the rack. don my helmet, sunglasses grab my bike, and I’m off. total swim time 33min 19 secs not a stellar performance, but good for the day. transition 1 took 2min 57 seconds
run by mike kelley, time to start my pursuit of mike drury, with a solid bike, I might see him before the run, otherwise I should see him within the first 3 or 4 miles. legs feel really good on the bike, the first 20 miles go by pretty quickly, I’m making my way up through the hoards of triathletes that started in front of me, and feeling comfortable doing it. the sun is up, a little bit of wind, but nothing significant.
mile 23, and it’s time to get to the real riding. first climb, very relaxed still putting some good power to the pedals, a couple of riders went by me pretty handily, but nothing to really worry about. there’s still the ace in the hole, a nice 13 mile run to be found
along the course numerous people are cheering go pulse. it’s good to hear the encouragement. I round the corner and see the toughest of the climbs, all right, time to separate the pack a bit, this is where the real riding starts, and the digging starts.
the early part of the hill is strictly aero and relaxed about ½ way up, I decide it’s time to put a little more effort and power through the last half. so I alternate between standing and sitting up, and am soon over the top, pushing the bike up to top speed and settling in to let gravity do it’s work.
there is one more climb and the frustrating no pass zone which kills me everytime. it’s a race? how do you have a no passing zone, on a downhill??? I sit up complain to myself and wait for the end of the zone, then I am on it again, hammering away to see how my legs hold up. yep, I’m starting to feel the tiredness building in my legs. keep going, it willl pass, more calories more water. mile 50 and I’m through my allotted bike calories, and who do I come upon besides mike drury.
we chat briefly, and I’m on my way to see how quickly I can speed through the final 6 miles and get to the running. 1 last water bottle at the final aid station and I’m off to finish. there’s a good headwind on the back stretch, but I dig a little and press hard on the pedals, a rider just passed me, and I’m determined to hold him in sight until I get off the bike. hmmm, did I put too much into the climb? I don’t know, what i do know is I run well off a hard bike, so nows the time to do the damage and see where the chips are.
the final stretch in is a fast downhill with a couple 90 degree turns, I wiggle through some cyclists and am out of my shoes ready to dismount. off the bike and running to the rack: excuse me pardon me, coming through on your left. total bike split: 2:32:32 my fastest on the course so far.
rack the bike, shoes on helmet off, out to see how my legs hold up running. total transition 2 time: 1 min 20 seconds.
oh bother, the first steps on the run spell bad news, I know this feeling, and it’s not the one that ends up with a blazing run split. time to see how long I can stave of the pending detonation. I’m not ready to settle into survival mode, there are still some people I’d like to catch, and I’m willing to lay it out a bit. lovely, a bit of sand to help suck the life out of my legs. out of the sand into the first aid station, need calories and water, maybe gatorade. 1 gel, washed down with water. ok, head down lean forward, good form. steady pace, keep building, I’m dog slow on the uphills, but manage to hold a decent pace on the flats and a good effort on the descents.
some water or gatorade at every aid station, but not too much. my legs are threatening to cramp, but I’m not buying it, lets see where they give. I’m not able to push it to a faster gear, but I can hold a decent pace pretty steadily. mile 3.5 and the turn around. time to take status. i don’t remember if there are new faces coming up behind me or if those are the people I’ve been passing, nothing to do except run my race.
back through, another ½ a gel on the way back with 1 orange and a gatorade. legs are complaining, and I still can’t find my high gear. keep ticking off the miles. working my way back to the turnaround to start loop 2, lots of encouragement, I hear me name several times, little boosts, but they don’t make my legs turn over any faster. mental note, more speed work, and longer tempo runs in the coming weeks.
on the way out I see mike drury, still haven’t seen mike kelley (who I promised I’d run through with on his last loop). legs still feel like they did when I got off the bike, no speed, but no real sign of slowing. not sure what to do except keep running.
2 more uphills and I’m at the final turn around, then it’s only 3.5 miles and the glorious finish line some food and recovery then back to find mike kelley. at the final turn around I briefly entertain the thought of laying it all out for the last 3.5 miles, but that thought passes, it’s not the day for it, I’m going to maintain my cruising mode and finish with a decent run. on the way back, mike drury has joined some of the specatators for a beer and raises his can of bud light to cheer me on.
through the sand for the last time on my race and the last ½ mile now I pick up the pace hear some familiar voices that help propel me to the finish chute. final run split 1:38:18; overall time 4:48:23 just over a minute slower than my best time on this course. a good day.
I get some food and liquid then head back out to find the mikes. mike drury is escorting mike kelley, who is having a hell of a time. mike drury finished his second loop and I gave mike kelley some eoncouragement and he wound up shuffling his way through his final lap and to his first ½ ironman finish. Despite not being able to take in any nutrition since mile 30 on the bike, and severe bloating and stomach issues, he suffered through and came out a stronger wiser person for the battle. kudos mike kelley.
photos: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=45839&BIB=2611&S=230&PWD=
results: http://www.ironmancenter.com/results/results.php
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
mission trails 15k
all right, it's been 2 weeks and i'm off to run mission trails 15k. due to some freeway closures or something along those lines, the race start is postponed for another hour and a half.
i wander around waiting to see how this day will pan out. i see a couple people i know, say hello, and continue waiting. once agian, clear skies. how do you have clear skies? wouldn't it be a clear sky? are there really multiple skies? wouldn't that be like haveing multiple earths? regardless, the sun is shining and it's beginning to warm up.
8:30 rolls around and we're off, i work my way up towards the front, hoping for a stronger run than my last go. The pace is a bit aggressive, but i figure i might as well stick around and see where things go wrong, after all, it's a short day. though there is a bit of climbing to come.
i'm feeling pretty good until about 3/4 of the way up the first climb. nice, not even 1/4 of the way and i'm walking. at least it's up hill. should have had more water, and done more hill work. perhaps in the future.
at the top, i resume the running and enjoy a good stretch of downhill to flat and some smaller climbs. i manage to miss 1 turn, but am quickly alerted by the aid station that i needed to go left instead of straight. right, why would i opt for the straight flat route, when i could turn left and climb up a stairway built into the side of the mountain? i'm sure the views are much better at the top, though my legs are tiring of all these great views.
up the stairs, and i'm still doing all right the bright side is at the top, it's all downhill from there, and i typically enjoy those more (my legs seem to be doing a lot better at absorbing the beatings imposed by downhill running, now if i can just get them to do better at climbing).
at the top i take a brief reprieve and look around a bit. yep, lots of stuff to see, back to running. the downhill is pretty sketchy, a fairly steep descent with a combination of ruts, rocks (both loose strewn about on top and solidly rooted). it's a chore to find a good anchor for each step, but i do all right for a bit. then to the last of the harrowing descents, it's hardpack dirt with a thin layer of loose sandy stuff on top, of course i get into this a bit too quickly, and do some slip an sliding action arms flailing, legs flying hoping to keep things semi upright, or at least not wind up in a ball on my way down.
after a bit of that, i'm back under some semblance of control, much speed is sacrificed for safety and desires to stay running instead of tumbling. i think it's a good trade.
onto the most fun and technical section of the course, it's probably 1 - 2 miles of tight wiggly single track with several water crossings and numerous rocks and other obstacles. i try to pick up the pace a bit, and do for a little while before slowing. a couple people pass by me, my legs protest, and i've no choice but to watch them go.
a short while later, it's the last of the run, i manage to quicken the pace a bit, and cross the finish line. sky is still blue, sun is still shining, and i'm still tired. all in all it's a good day.
i wander around waiting to see how this day will pan out. i see a couple people i know, say hello, and continue waiting. once agian, clear skies. how do you have clear skies? wouldn't it be a clear sky? are there really multiple skies? wouldn't that be like haveing multiple earths? regardless, the sun is shining and it's beginning to warm up.
8:30 rolls around and we're off, i work my way up towards the front, hoping for a stronger run than my last go. The pace is a bit aggressive, but i figure i might as well stick around and see where things go wrong, after all, it's a short day. though there is a bit of climbing to come.
i'm feeling pretty good until about 3/4 of the way up the first climb. nice, not even 1/4 of the way and i'm walking. at least it's up hill. should have had more water, and done more hill work. perhaps in the future.
at the top, i resume the running and enjoy a good stretch of downhill to flat and some smaller climbs. i manage to miss 1 turn, but am quickly alerted by the aid station that i needed to go left instead of straight. right, why would i opt for the straight flat route, when i could turn left and climb up a stairway built into the side of the mountain? i'm sure the views are much better at the top, though my legs are tiring of all these great views.
up the stairs, and i'm still doing all right the bright side is at the top, it's all downhill from there, and i typically enjoy those more (my legs seem to be doing a lot better at absorbing the beatings imposed by downhill running, now if i can just get them to do better at climbing).
at the top i take a brief reprieve and look around a bit. yep, lots of stuff to see, back to running. the downhill is pretty sketchy, a fairly steep descent with a combination of ruts, rocks (both loose strewn about on top and solidly rooted). it's a chore to find a good anchor for each step, but i do all right for a bit. then to the last of the harrowing descents, it's hardpack dirt with a thin layer of loose sandy stuff on top, of course i get into this a bit too quickly, and do some slip an sliding action arms flailing, legs flying hoping to keep things semi upright, or at least not wind up in a ball on my way down.
after a bit of that, i'm back under some semblance of control, much speed is sacrificed for safety and desires to stay running instead of tumbling. i think it's a good trade.
onto the most fun and technical section of the course, it's probably 1 - 2 miles of tight wiggly single track with several water crossings and numerous rocks and other obstacles. i try to pick up the pace a bit, and do for a little while before slowing. a couple people pass by me, my legs protest, and i've no choice but to watch them go.
a short while later, it's the last of the run, i manage to quicken the pace a bit, and cross the finish line. sky is still blue, sun is still shining, and i'm still tired. all in all it's a good day.
Avalon 50 mile benefit run
the morning started off well. got up early, had some breakfast grabbed my necessities for the day. then j and i headed down to the start.
it was still dark and a bit chilly, but that would be resolved quickly. the first 15 miles went all right, i was running fairly strong and feeling pretty good, shortly after that, i seem to have run out of jam. no more motivation, and even less energy.
i plodded through the remaining climbs, tried to run the downhills the best i could and did what i could to keep the flats moving forward. my body just wasn't having much of it. i tried eating, drinking, increasing my salt intake, and chewing on some motivators (caffeine); none of this seemed to work.
about the half way point, my legs began to protest in addition to being flat they decided it was time to hurt. at this time, my brain began asking all the wrong questions:
what am i doing?
didn't i learn the last time i did this?
perhaps it's time to stop running so far?
i think i get to the finish line and retire the long runs.
my legs protested more on this run then in any of my previous ventures. i kept plodding along, the sun was up, the sky was clear, i'd been running for 7 or 8 hours, no buffalo, just a bunch of crows and ravens. what's going on? in typical me fashion i ran the last 35 miles or so by myself, despite the fact that there were runners around, i somehow manage to pace myself in such a way that they either pass me by, or i pass them. the later in the race the more the trend goes towards the former.
through the last aid station and up to the top of the final descent, nothing but 3 miles of downhill left and i'm good. i proceeded to let my legs fly as much as i could, and tried to enjoy the views rather than allowing my mind to continue with the incessant questioning.
at the bottom, across the finish line, at this point my legs felt better than they did during my go at the run last year. i grabbed my medal and continued on to the condo for a shower and whatever shananigans j had planned for the evening.
somehow during the days run, i managed to feel far flatter than i'd ever felt, no motivation or drive, as much as i tried to run faster, my legs just wouldn't go. no explanations, no ideas, nothing, just legs that were not willing to cooperate.
back to the drawing boards.
it was still dark and a bit chilly, but that would be resolved quickly. the first 15 miles went all right, i was running fairly strong and feeling pretty good, shortly after that, i seem to have run out of jam. no more motivation, and even less energy.
i plodded through the remaining climbs, tried to run the downhills the best i could and did what i could to keep the flats moving forward. my body just wasn't having much of it. i tried eating, drinking, increasing my salt intake, and chewing on some motivators (caffeine); none of this seemed to work.
about the half way point, my legs began to protest in addition to being flat they decided it was time to hurt. at this time, my brain began asking all the wrong questions:
what am i doing?
didn't i learn the last time i did this?
perhaps it's time to stop running so far?
i think i get to the finish line and retire the long runs.
my legs protested more on this run then in any of my previous ventures. i kept plodding along, the sun was up, the sky was clear, i'd been running for 7 or 8 hours, no buffalo, just a bunch of crows and ravens. what's going on? in typical me fashion i ran the last 35 miles or so by myself, despite the fact that there were runners around, i somehow manage to pace myself in such a way that they either pass me by, or i pass them. the later in the race the more the trend goes towards the former.
through the last aid station and up to the top of the final descent, nothing but 3 miles of downhill left and i'm good. i proceeded to let my legs fly as much as i could, and tried to enjoy the views rather than allowing my mind to continue with the incessant questioning.
at the bottom, across the finish line, at this point my legs felt better than they did during my go at the run last year. i grabbed my medal and continued on to the condo for a shower and whatever shananigans j had planned for the evening.
somehow during the days run, i managed to feel far flatter than i'd ever felt, no motivation or drive, as much as i tried to run faster, my legs just wouldn't go. no explanations, no ideas, nothing, just legs that were not willing to cooperate.
back to the drawing boards.
Monday, December 8, 2008
OTHTC 50k
sunday would turn out to be a long day. i had numerous work obligations on friday which ran through the night and into saturday morning. I had a slight reprieve from the work during which i picked my mom up at the airport to start her visit.
got to sleep fairly early saturday, and we were up at 2:30 for a 3am departure to get to ridgecrest for the 7am race start. There were some issues finding the race start sunday morning. We were able to find the race headquarters, arriving around 6:30 am; however, the race start wasn't there.
it took another 30 minutes to find the race start. Got there and had to use the bathroom. As i was making my way back to the start line, i heard the race start. lovely, guess it really is going to be a training run; i still need to get my registration and number assignments.
i found a volunteer, got my race number and goody bag, put the number on, and handed my mom my goody bag. my race started, a couple minutes behind the rest. i didn't even need a horrible swim to set myself up to work my way through the field.
aid station 1 was feeling good, running very relaxed and conserative through the first 3 aid stations. i took a gel, and banana and orange at each of the 1st 3 stations, refilled my water bottle once. 11 miles down, and i was feeling very good, had worked my way up pretty close to the front of the group. The next 3 miles went well, some easier climbs and nothing but running.
after 14 miles there was a nice 1 or 1.5 mile climb which shut my legs down. i walked up about 1/2 of this, then began running and made my way to aid station 5 and mile 17. At this point, i'm thinking, i should have done that damn 30k. who the hell in their right mind runs 50k? did i race too much the last 6 weeks? this is pretty strange, i'm blowing a gasket at pretty much the exact mileage that i blew up on in arizona 2 weeks ago.
i ate some potatoes salt tablets and gatorade. put my head down and began my shuffle, 5 miles of rolling climbs and then i start the descent into the finish. I did my best to fake it, forcing myself to drink and trying potatoes gels, shot blocks and salt tablets. if my legs are lying to me about being tired, they're doing a very good job of it.
at mile 19.5 or so, i came into aid station 6, had just been passed by 3 people, and was coming back onto the course with indivuduals doing the 30k. ok, time for a whole lot of suck it up and go, all that hurting i'm willing to do, so far i've been talking more than walking.
i had a good come to my senses and make it work time to take my medicine and see how honest my legs are. i fake a pretty pitiful shuffle up the next 3 miles of climbing and all of a sudden, there's a whole lot of down to be had. ok legs, lets do this thing, 1 or 2 more hours of faking and it's going to be in the books. time to start taking back those spots that went by.
head down, lots of food and liquid in a couple gels. see where the wheels fall off next. the really good news is my quads are doing great on these downhills, no more of that exploding feeling i've been privy to in the past. the bad news, my hip flexors are screaming and threating to not lift my legs.
by the next aid station i'm moving pretty well, holding a good pace, and feeling all right. my legs are tired, but more of a late in the 100 miler sort of tired where they kind of give up the rebellion and succumb, realizing the only way to make it better is to get to the finish. i'm telling myself, the faster i run the sooner i'm done.
there's 1 runner ahead, that i'm trying to catch, and 2 runners behind that are probably thinking the same about me. one of them catches up and is sitting on my shoulder. i've played this game before, sit on the shoulder until you get close to the finish, then surge and hope the guy detonates. and i remember how much fun it is to be the guy who causes the other runner to detonate.
ok, there's gotta be 2 or 3 miles left, definitely fakable distance, lets see how deep this other guy is willing to go, he's gotta work to pass me, and i'm about to start hurting more and more until one of us drops off the pace. besides gravity is on my side, so i let things go. it's not long until i'm running off by myself, picking up another 2 runners within 1/2 mile of the finish.
i came into the finish strong and relieved that my body held out. now i'm just confused what happened during my 5ish miles where things went so awry. my calves were pretty tight for some time after the run, i moved like an old man for several hours, but am feeling good this morning.
that run marks my official return to long runs, and the begining of preparation for my avalon 50 mile run, which i'll be sending out requests for donations in the near future.
got to sleep fairly early saturday, and we were up at 2:30 for a 3am departure to get to ridgecrest for the 7am race start. There were some issues finding the race start sunday morning. We were able to find the race headquarters, arriving around 6:30 am; however, the race start wasn't there.
it took another 30 minutes to find the race start. Got there and had to use the bathroom. As i was making my way back to the start line, i heard the race start. lovely, guess it really is going to be a training run; i still need to get my registration and number assignments.
i found a volunteer, got my race number and goody bag, put the number on, and handed my mom my goody bag. my race started, a couple minutes behind the rest. i didn't even need a horrible swim to set myself up to work my way through the field.
aid station 1 was feeling good, running very relaxed and conserative through the first 3 aid stations. i took a gel, and banana and orange at each of the 1st 3 stations, refilled my water bottle once. 11 miles down, and i was feeling very good, had worked my way up pretty close to the front of the group. The next 3 miles went well, some easier climbs and nothing but running.
after 14 miles there was a nice 1 or 1.5 mile climb which shut my legs down. i walked up about 1/2 of this, then began running and made my way to aid station 5 and mile 17. At this point, i'm thinking, i should have done that damn 30k. who the hell in their right mind runs 50k? did i race too much the last 6 weeks? this is pretty strange, i'm blowing a gasket at pretty much the exact mileage that i blew up on in arizona 2 weeks ago.
i ate some potatoes salt tablets and gatorade. put my head down and began my shuffle, 5 miles of rolling climbs and then i start the descent into the finish. I did my best to fake it, forcing myself to drink and trying potatoes gels, shot blocks and salt tablets. if my legs are lying to me about being tired, they're doing a very good job of it.
at mile 19.5 or so, i came into aid station 6, had just been passed by 3 people, and was coming back onto the course with indivuduals doing the 30k. ok, time for a whole lot of suck it up and go, all that hurting i'm willing to do, so far i've been talking more than walking.
i had a good come to my senses and make it work time to take my medicine and see how honest my legs are. i fake a pretty pitiful shuffle up the next 3 miles of climbing and all of a sudden, there's a whole lot of down to be had. ok legs, lets do this thing, 1 or 2 more hours of faking and it's going to be in the books. time to start taking back those spots that went by.
head down, lots of food and liquid in a couple gels. see where the wheels fall off next. the really good news is my quads are doing great on these downhills, no more of that exploding feeling i've been privy to in the past. the bad news, my hip flexors are screaming and threating to not lift my legs.
by the next aid station i'm moving pretty well, holding a good pace, and feeling all right. my legs are tired, but more of a late in the 100 miler sort of tired where they kind of give up the rebellion and succumb, realizing the only way to make it better is to get to the finish. i'm telling myself, the faster i run the sooner i'm done.
there's 1 runner ahead, that i'm trying to catch, and 2 runners behind that are probably thinking the same about me. one of them catches up and is sitting on my shoulder. i've played this game before, sit on the shoulder until you get close to the finish, then surge and hope the guy detonates. and i remember how much fun it is to be the guy who causes the other runner to detonate.
ok, there's gotta be 2 or 3 miles left, definitely fakable distance, lets see how deep this other guy is willing to go, he's gotta work to pass me, and i'm about to start hurting more and more until one of us drops off the pace. besides gravity is on my side, so i let things go. it's not long until i'm running off by myself, picking up another 2 runners within 1/2 mile of the finish.
i came into the finish strong and relieved that my body held out. now i'm just confused what happened during my 5ish miles where things went so awry. my calves were pretty tight for some time after the run, i moved like an old man for several hours, but am feeling good this morning.
that run marks my official return to long runs, and the begining of preparation for my avalon 50 mile run, which i'll be sending out requests for donations in the near future.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Ironman Arizona
the started with a good bagel and waffle breakfast, then we headed over to transition to make final preparations. we got there, entered transition, put my nutrition on my bike, and turned in my special needs bags.
final bathroom break, then into the wetsuit and final preparations for the swim. the pros went off 10 minutes before the age group athletes. shortly after the pro start, the national anthem was sung, then into the water.
it was a bit chilly, and very crowded, now i'm remember some of the hesitance to race ironman races. too many people in the swim. which really just boils down to me being too lazy to swim enough to be ahead of 95% of the field.
i work my way toward the front and try to stay wide to the outside, because this seems like a good option for me. the gun goes off, and slowly the salmon migration ensues. it's all but impossible to find any clear water to swim in for what seems like at least 500meters. my goggles are knocked off, i'm not having a good time. why am i doing this? i work my way to the side, sit on the ledge, adust my goggles, empty the water, reseat them, and plunge back in, once again, it's like being in a washing machine, clear water is difficult to find, people are everywhere.
goggles get knocked off again. what the ??? i roll over, try to adjust them, not much luck = another excuse to work my way over and sit on the ledge to get back into this swim. final adjustment on the goggles, and i'm back in the water. this time it's thinned slightly, and i'm able to find some clear water to swim through, much better, i start working my way back up in the pack, and find more open water. much better, this is what open water swimming is about.
i hit a decent rhythm and find myself at the turn around before long. heading back, i have a couple collisions with other swimmers, but nothing significant. now this isn't so bad. a far cry from my earlier i hate this swim portion attitude. i make the final turn, and have about 100meters to the swim exit. hooray, the bike is soon to be. final swim split 1:06:46 (1:45 min/100meters), a faster pace than either of my previous races, despite it being twice as far. i'm ok with that
out of the water, some minor difficulties getting the wetsuit off, but still ready by the time i get to the strippers, i sit down, bam, it's off. back up and running into t1, now i get to revel in the bonus of being a slower swimmer.
i grab my bike, on the way out jump on, and before long, find myself facing the wrong way, i managed to crash into the fencing lining the bike start. bars are facing one way, and the wheels the other. not a stellar start to my biking day. i stand around trying to figure out whats going on, then trying to line the bars and wheel up. mike rides up, "what happened?, take my bike".
i shake my head no, get my bars and wheels semi aligned and start heading the right direction. there's a bike check area right at the start. i pull in and have htem go through re-adjust hte bars line up the bars and the wheels, make sure everythigns shifting ok. mike is telling me take his bike and do the ride, he'll wait and take mine. i decline, and he is on his way shortly after that.
before too long, i'm on my bike, and making my way out onto the bike course. i come out pretty conservatively. i'm working my way up through the faster swimmers. after nearly 20 miles, i'm consumed by a rahter large pack. it's all but impossible to do anything but draft. i can hear the marshalls coming up, so i try to stay as far right as i can, keeping a good distance between the bike in front of me, and work my way through the pack, i'm not feeling strong enough to put out a strong effort and break off the front, so i take my time and do what i can.
after 10 minutes or so, the pack seems to have dissolved. while this was going on, apparently i passed mike in the group. but i wouldn't find this out until after the race was over. i keep a steady pace on the bike, but don't have the same feel i've been enjoying in the previous races. on top of that, i plan on riding a bit easier through the first 2 loops, and letting a bit more out for the final bike lap. i see josh at the each of the turn arounds, he's putting a little bit of time into me, but not too much. i wouldn't see mike again until the run.
1/2 way through the bike, my back is stiffening up, and i have to go to the bathroom, so i make a stop. after which i feel much better, and i make up some good time on the way back into tempe. the 3rd loop would be a bit slower, and more painful. i just don't have the extra effort i've been giving before. i've consumed a large amount of calories, and salt. i have a slight headach, so i start taking in a lot of water, as much as i can get in, and increase my salt tablets. things start to feel better, but my legs just never really came around. i pretty much blew up around 90 miles on the bike, the good news is it was mostly downhill into t2, so i didn't have to work too hard. the bad news, i saw a fair number of people go by me.
it wasn't so bad, i pull back a bit on the bike, start getting some liquid and the last of my major calories in on the bike, and pull off a stellar run, i've been running strong. i've never looked so forward ot the run as i did during the last 12 miles of arizona. final bike split: 5:16:01 (21.3 mph), a bit slower than i should have split, but things happen.
into t2 and i'm very happy to get off the bike, a quick stop in transition, on with the runners and into the bathroom.
out onto the run, my legs felt phenomenal. so i let things out a bit, i know if i want a chance at a top finish, i need to run very strong, low 3 hours, and that won't happen if i dawdle.
the run is a 3 loop course, each loop being just under 9 miles. i ran the first one very solidly, i caught josh around 5 miles, he was moving slowly, but still going. i'm not sure what my pace was, somewhere around 6:50/mile, and it felt good, every aid station was pretty much the same: sponges wring them out and cool down, 1 cup of water 2 cups of gatorade, sponges again. every other aid station i'd grab a gel for some nutrition. take tablet concoction every 3 or 4 miles. call it good.
lap 2 still feeling good, probably holding a little over 7 minute/mile pace through 1/2 way. i caught mike around 11 miles, he was struggling a bit, but would ralley and come back to pass me. around mile 15 i made another bathroom stop. then back on the run again. still feeling pretty good, then i come through finishing lap 2, and things begin to waiver. mike catches me and tries to encourage me, my legs refuse, and i'm unable to find it in me to hold his pace, i see him pull away, and try to dig for more to hold on, but it's not there.
i don't remember much of the last 8 miles, except i refused to walk, though i was shuffling pretty slowly i know i didn't walk. i knew i needed a stellar marathon, and i came on pace for a 3:10 marathon. i held that through nearly 18 miles, then it all went downhill. over the last 8 miles of the course mike ran 17 minutes and 9 seconds faster than i did. total run split: 3:40:00 (8:23 min/mile). overall time: 10:09:17. mike clocked a 9:52:08, and josh had a solid 10:21:32, 2 weeks after taking 6th place at the silverman full distance triathlon.
todays lesson: somewhere on the run course i blew my nutrition, and likely hydration. 3 cups of water every 1.x miles was insufficient on the day for the conditions. i'm still trying to remember back to the run and where i took gels, if/when i stopped getting them from the aid stations. the last 1 i remember for certain would have been around 15 miles. next time, more nutrition and more water. i laid it out there for the run. despite blowing up on the run, i refused to walk. time to start the work for canada.
photos:
me http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32045&BIB=361
mike: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32045&BIB=699
josh: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32045&BIB=544
results:
http://www.nasports.com/results/results.php
final bathroom break, then into the wetsuit and final preparations for the swim. the pros went off 10 minutes before the age group athletes. shortly after the pro start, the national anthem was sung, then into the water.
it was a bit chilly, and very crowded, now i'm remember some of the hesitance to race ironman races. too many people in the swim. which really just boils down to me being too lazy to swim enough to be ahead of 95% of the field.
i work my way toward the front and try to stay wide to the outside, because this seems like a good option for me. the gun goes off, and slowly the salmon migration ensues. it's all but impossible to find any clear water to swim in for what seems like at least 500meters. my goggles are knocked off, i'm not having a good time. why am i doing this? i work my way to the side, sit on the ledge, adust my goggles, empty the water, reseat them, and plunge back in, once again, it's like being in a washing machine, clear water is difficult to find, people are everywhere.
goggles get knocked off again. what the ??? i roll over, try to adjust them, not much luck = another excuse to work my way over and sit on the ledge to get back into this swim. final adjustment on the goggles, and i'm back in the water. this time it's thinned slightly, and i'm able to find some clear water to swim through, much better, i start working my way back up in the pack, and find more open water. much better, this is what open water swimming is about.
i hit a decent rhythm and find myself at the turn around before long. heading back, i have a couple collisions with other swimmers, but nothing significant. now this isn't so bad. a far cry from my earlier i hate this swim portion attitude. i make the final turn, and have about 100meters to the swim exit. hooray, the bike is soon to be. final swim split 1:06:46 (1:45 min/100meters), a faster pace than either of my previous races, despite it being twice as far. i'm ok with that
out of the water, some minor difficulties getting the wetsuit off, but still ready by the time i get to the strippers, i sit down, bam, it's off. back up and running into t1, now i get to revel in the bonus of being a slower swimmer.
i grab my bike, on the way out jump on, and before long, find myself facing the wrong way, i managed to crash into the fencing lining the bike start. bars are facing one way, and the wheels the other. not a stellar start to my biking day. i stand around trying to figure out whats going on, then trying to line the bars and wheel up. mike rides up, "what happened?, take my bike".
i shake my head no, get my bars and wheels semi aligned and start heading the right direction. there's a bike check area right at the start. i pull in and have htem go through re-adjust hte bars line up the bars and the wheels, make sure everythigns shifting ok. mike is telling me take his bike and do the ride, he'll wait and take mine. i decline, and he is on his way shortly after that.
before too long, i'm on my bike, and making my way out onto the bike course. i come out pretty conservatively. i'm working my way up through the faster swimmers. after nearly 20 miles, i'm consumed by a rahter large pack. it's all but impossible to do anything but draft. i can hear the marshalls coming up, so i try to stay as far right as i can, keeping a good distance between the bike in front of me, and work my way through the pack, i'm not feeling strong enough to put out a strong effort and break off the front, so i take my time and do what i can.
after 10 minutes or so, the pack seems to have dissolved. while this was going on, apparently i passed mike in the group. but i wouldn't find this out until after the race was over. i keep a steady pace on the bike, but don't have the same feel i've been enjoying in the previous races. on top of that, i plan on riding a bit easier through the first 2 loops, and letting a bit more out for the final bike lap. i see josh at the each of the turn arounds, he's putting a little bit of time into me, but not too much. i wouldn't see mike again until the run.
1/2 way through the bike, my back is stiffening up, and i have to go to the bathroom, so i make a stop. after which i feel much better, and i make up some good time on the way back into tempe. the 3rd loop would be a bit slower, and more painful. i just don't have the extra effort i've been giving before. i've consumed a large amount of calories, and salt. i have a slight headach, so i start taking in a lot of water, as much as i can get in, and increase my salt tablets. things start to feel better, but my legs just never really came around. i pretty much blew up around 90 miles on the bike, the good news is it was mostly downhill into t2, so i didn't have to work too hard. the bad news, i saw a fair number of people go by me.
it wasn't so bad, i pull back a bit on the bike, start getting some liquid and the last of my major calories in on the bike, and pull off a stellar run, i've been running strong. i've never looked so forward ot the run as i did during the last 12 miles of arizona. final bike split: 5:16:01 (21.3 mph), a bit slower than i should have split, but things happen.
into t2 and i'm very happy to get off the bike, a quick stop in transition, on with the runners and into the bathroom.
out onto the run, my legs felt phenomenal. so i let things out a bit, i know if i want a chance at a top finish, i need to run very strong, low 3 hours, and that won't happen if i dawdle.
the run is a 3 loop course, each loop being just under 9 miles. i ran the first one very solidly, i caught josh around 5 miles, he was moving slowly, but still going. i'm not sure what my pace was, somewhere around 6:50/mile, and it felt good, every aid station was pretty much the same: sponges wring them out and cool down, 1 cup of water 2 cups of gatorade, sponges again. every other aid station i'd grab a gel for some nutrition. take tablet concoction every 3 or 4 miles. call it good.
lap 2 still feeling good, probably holding a little over 7 minute/mile pace through 1/2 way. i caught mike around 11 miles, he was struggling a bit, but would ralley and come back to pass me. around mile 15 i made another bathroom stop. then back on the run again. still feeling pretty good, then i come through finishing lap 2, and things begin to waiver. mike catches me and tries to encourage me, my legs refuse, and i'm unable to find it in me to hold his pace, i see him pull away, and try to dig for more to hold on, but it's not there.
i don't remember much of the last 8 miles, except i refused to walk, though i was shuffling pretty slowly i know i didn't walk. i knew i needed a stellar marathon, and i came on pace for a 3:10 marathon. i held that through nearly 18 miles, then it all went downhill. over the last 8 miles of the course mike ran 17 minutes and 9 seconds faster than i did. total run split: 3:40:00 (8:23 min/mile). overall time: 10:09:17. mike clocked a 9:52:08, and josh had a solid 10:21:32, 2 weeks after taking 6th place at the silverman full distance triathlon.
todays lesson: somewhere on the run course i blew my nutrition, and likely hydration. 3 cups of water every 1.x miles was insufficient on the day for the conditions. i'm still trying to remember back to the run and where i took gels, if/when i stopped getting them from the aid stations. the last 1 i remember for certain would have been around 15 miles. next time, more nutrition and more water. i laid it out there for the run. despite blowing up on the run, i refused to walk. time to start the work for canada.
photos:
me http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32045&BIB=361
mike: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32045&BIB=699
josh: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32045&BIB=544
results:
http://www.nasports.com/results/results.php
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Silverman 1/2 race report
to keep me a bit honest for the day, i did one good hard, short session on friday. consisting of 4 repeats of 15 minutes on the bike and 1 mile on the treadmill.
race morning started out very slowly. up around 4:30 to catch the shuttle over to the swim start. Got to the start, it was fairly nice weather, a bit windy, but not as cold as it's been in the past.
the full went off at 6:30 am sharp. i sat there and watched them go thinking i should be doing that, and remember i'm saving the long day for ironman arizona in 2 weeks. the 1/2 was scheduled to start at 8am. at 7:00 ish, the wind kicked up something vicious and the lake got incredibly choppy.
around 7:30 it began to rain and they announced the half start would be postponed. i was a bit upset, when the swimmers started coming in from the full, i was thinking i should be getting on my bike now and off riding instead of waiting to get in some windblown lake. then there was lightening, the kayakers were having trouble keeping track of themselves let alone the swimmers. 8:30 roles around, no word yet. finally they determine once the winds die down a bit we'll head out.
at 9 am we are finally in the water and swimming. i decided today was the day to have a decent swim, some redemption from soma. so i went out pretty strong, found a pair of feet, and latched on. after several hundred meters i saw a new pair of feet ahead, and decided to try and bridge the gap. that didn't turn out so well, i went for it, but used a lot of energy, and wound up picking up a pair of feet off to my left instead.
i hung on that pair of feet to the first turn buoy (roughly 1000 yards). then had my goggles 1/2 knocked off and had to adjust them. another surge brought me back onto the feet i had fallen off. i was there and pretty comfortable through the next several hundred yards and the final turn in towards shore. i switched off 2 or 3 pairs of feet on the way in, and came out of the water a bit tired, but feeling good. we'll see what the swim split turns out to be: 35:50 slightly better than my previous effort, 46th fastest on the day (obviously more focus will be put into this over the next 2 weeks.
onto the bike, and i'm thinking this is cold, i'm shivering slightly. better get some calories and start working. i got on the bike and hit it pretty hard from the outset to generate some warmth.
the wind was pretty ferocious in spots, and some spotty sprinkling was to be had as well. i was quickly catching and passing people, thinking make it stick: meaning if i passed someone i had to hold them off through the end of the bike, namely if i went by i had to do it strongly and not look back. this worked for me.
about 6 miles in, i came across Elizabeth Daubner, i slowed a bit to exchange greetings, and she shooed me on: 'don't slow down for me, go'. so off i went. to continue working my way up through the pack. at 11 miles i was feeling good, taking in nutrition and pills well, feeling pretty solid, and putting some good honest hurt into my legs, and more importantly some time into my fellow competitors.
the wind was doing it's best to blow me around, i was enjoying the ride too much to be terribly concerned. i just kept picking people off in the distance and watching them get closer and then passing them. at mile 20, i saw the lead pack coming back from the turn around (chris mccormack) and 2 or 3 other cyclist. they were at mile 25. i was pretty pleased with my positioning, and continued working on the bike.
around mile 35, some guy came by me pretty handily, i'm pretty sure he was a relay based on the days final outcome. the next 21 miles proved to be pretty brutal, a headwind that had me in my small chainring on some slight downhills, and using my smallest gear for the slight uphills. i picked up several more spots on the bike path, and the last 12 miles were a just as much of a bear, with me pulling in 3 or 4 more people. total time on the bike: 2:49:55, 4th fastest bike split on the day.
now the fun begins, the run course which has brutalized me the past 3 years, though this year i had an ace in the hole, i was only doing one loop, and had half the mileage leading up to it. the volunteer in the tent informed me there were 4 people ahead of me on the course. so i set out with a little fire burning.
about 1.5 miles in, some guy came blazing past me (found out after the finish he was a relay). i knew i wasn't holding his pace, so i watched him go. shortly after mile 2 i had my first carrot, i could see about 1 minute ahead was the next runner, so i kicked it up a bit, and started closing the gap. it took almost 2 miles, but i had the same rules as on the bike, all passes are final.
then the real climbing began, 2 miles up, a slight down, then back tracking. my pace slowed to a near shuffle, but i was still making up time, keeping nutrition coming every 2 or 3 miles and drinking every 1 - 2 miles. things were going well. up to the turn around, and i could see a relay runner coming up on me, if i can just hold him until mile 11, i'll be good.
i had a lemon hammer gel or something like that, and that twisted my stomach pretty good, no more lemon hammer gels. then at mile 9.5 things started to slow. i needed more nutrtition, grabbed some gel and water, ate a bit drank a bit, and told myself, it's a 5k, let it go, run strong.
miles 11 and 12 were tough, then a slight uphill. at the top, i picked the pace up and ran strong down through the finish. 3rd place, 5:03:14. if i would have found 2 minutes, i'd have been in 2nd place. if i had any dreams of catching chris mccormack and taking first, i would have had to go under 4:29:??. 34 minutes behind one of the fastest long course triathletes, i'm willing to be here for a bit. even if he didn't go all out, and he is not in peak condition. total run: 1:34:36 - 6th fastest on the day.
todays effort and results give me a bit of a confidence bolster for arizona. i understand a 1/2 is far different than a full, i also understand i am willing to go into a world of hurt to put myself up there in the standings and see what's inside. because when the day's over, it's what's inside that mattes, not what's in front, what's behind, to the left or the right. and i am finding out i've got a lot inside.
photos: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32538&BIB=554&LNSEARCH=1
results: http://www.silvermannv.com/downloads/08_RESULTS/SILVER08A-overall-half.TXT
race morning started out very slowly. up around 4:30 to catch the shuttle over to the swim start. Got to the start, it was fairly nice weather, a bit windy, but not as cold as it's been in the past.
the full went off at 6:30 am sharp. i sat there and watched them go thinking i should be doing that, and remember i'm saving the long day for ironman arizona in 2 weeks. the 1/2 was scheduled to start at 8am. at 7:00 ish, the wind kicked up something vicious and the lake got incredibly choppy.
around 7:30 it began to rain and they announced the half start would be postponed. i was a bit upset, when the swimmers started coming in from the full, i was thinking i should be getting on my bike now and off riding instead of waiting to get in some windblown lake. then there was lightening, the kayakers were having trouble keeping track of themselves let alone the swimmers. 8:30 roles around, no word yet. finally they determine once the winds die down a bit we'll head out.
at 9 am we are finally in the water and swimming. i decided today was the day to have a decent swim, some redemption from soma. so i went out pretty strong, found a pair of feet, and latched on. after several hundred meters i saw a new pair of feet ahead, and decided to try and bridge the gap. that didn't turn out so well, i went for it, but used a lot of energy, and wound up picking up a pair of feet off to my left instead.
i hung on that pair of feet to the first turn buoy (roughly 1000 yards). then had my goggles 1/2 knocked off and had to adjust them. another surge brought me back onto the feet i had fallen off. i was there and pretty comfortable through the next several hundred yards and the final turn in towards shore. i switched off 2 or 3 pairs of feet on the way in, and came out of the water a bit tired, but feeling good. we'll see what the swim split turns out to be: 35:50 slightly better than my previous effort, 46th fastest on the day (obviously more focus will be put into this over the next 2 weeks.
onto the bike, and i'm thinking this is cold, i'm shivering slightly. better get some calories and start working. i got on the bike and hit it pretty hard from the outset to generate some warmth.
the wind was pretty ferocious in spots, and some spotty sprinkling was to be had as well. i was quickly catching and passing people, thinking make it stick: meaning if i passed someone i had to hold them off through the end of the bike, namely if i went by i had to do it strongly and not look back. this worked for me.
about 6 miles in, i came across Elizabeth Daubner, i slowed a bit to exchange greetings, and she shooed me on: 'don't slow down for me, go'. so off i went. to continue working my way up through the pack. at 11 miles i was feeling good, taking in nutrition and pills well, feeling pretty solid, and putting some good honest hurt into my legs, and more importantly some time into my fellow competitors.
the wind was doing it's best to blow me around, i was enjoying the ride too much to be terribly concerned. i just kept picking people off in the distance and watching them get closer and then passing them. at mile 20, i saw the lead pack coming back from the turn around (chris mccormack) and 2 or 3 other cyclist. they were at mile 25. i was pretty pleased with my positioning, and continued working on the bike.
around mile 35, some guy came by me pretty handily, i'm pretty sure he was a relay based on the days final outcome. the next 21 miles proved to be pretty brutal, a headwind that had me in my small chainring on some slight downhills, and using my smallest gear for the slight uphills. i picked up several more spots on the bike path, and the last 12 miles were a just as much of a bear, with me pulling in 3 or 4 more people. total time on the bike: 2:49:55, 4th fastest bike split on the day.
now the fun begins, the run course which has brutalized me the past 3 years, though this year i had an ace in the hole, i was only doing one loop, and had half the mileage leading up to it. the volunteer in the tent informed me there were 4 people ahead of me on the course. so i set out with a little fire burning.
about 1.5 miles in, some guy came blazing past me (found out after the finish he was a relay). i knew i wasn't holding his pace, so i watched him go. shortly after mile 2 i had my first carrot, i could see about 1 minute ahead was the next runner, so i kicked it up a bit, and started closing the gap. it took almost 2 miles, but i had the same rules as on the bike, all passes are final.
then the real climbing began, 2 miles up, a slight down, then back tracking. my pace slowed to a near shuffle, but i was still making up time, keeping nutrition coming every 2 or 3 miles and drinking every 1 - 2 miles. things were going well. up to the turn around, and i could see a relay runner coming up on me, if i can just hold him until mile 11, i'll be good.
i had a lemon hammer gel or something like that, and that twisted my stomach pretty good, no more lemon hammer gels. then at mile 9.5 things started to slow. i needed more nutrtition, grabbed some gel and water, ate a bit drank a bit, and told myself, it's a 5k, let it go, run strong.
miles 11 and 12 were tough, then a slight uphill. at the top, i picked the pace up and ran strong down through the finish. 3rd place, 5:03:14. if i would have found 2 minutes, i'd have been in 2nd place. if i had any dreams of catching chris mccormack and taking first, i would have had to go under 4:29:??. 34 minutes behind one of the fastest long course triathletes, i'm willing to be here for a bit. even if he didn't go all out, and he is not in peak condition. total run: 1:34:36 - 6th fastest on the day.
todays effort and results give me a bit of a confidence bolster for arizona. i understand a 1/2 is far different than a full, i also understand i am willing to go into a world of hurt to put myself up there in the standings and see what's inside. because when the day's over, it's what's inside that mattes, not what's in front, what's behind, to the left or the right. and i am finding out i've got a lot inside.
photos: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32538&BIB=554&LNSEARCH=1
results: http://www.silvermannv.com/downloads/08_RESULTS/SILVER08A-overall-half.TXT
Monday, October 27, 2008
SOMA 1/2 Triathlon race report
Sunday November 26th i was in tempe arizona to race the soma 1/2 triathlon. I got to soma saturday afternoon, and took the opportunity to pre-ride the course. It was a 3 loop bike course, followed by a 2 loop run.
Shortly after i got into tempe, i met up with some friends, J and Summer, and we headed out to do a preview one loop of the bike course. it proved to be a very flat course with a number of u turns (5 per loop). seemed like it would be a fast one. The rest of the day entailed picking up the registration packet, dropping off my bike in transition and getting some food.
saturday night was a bit of a restless night, not much sleep. Sunday morning around 4:00 am the final wake up came, grabbed my usual boost for breakfast, mixed my water and 1000 calories of carbo pro. grabbed my bag of pills: thermolytes (salt tablets), vantage (supposed to help with oxygen uptake and stave off muscle fatigue), and recovery amino power (essential amino acid blends). we headed over to the transtion area.
today's race plan was simple, get through the swim in a decent position(i've been severely neglecting swim training), hammer the bike well beyond comfortable and see how hard i can run after that. soma was to serve as a measuring stick for ironman arizona, coming up november 23.
i was in the 3rd wave, starting 1 minute behind the pros, and 11 minutes behind the best of the US competition (a collection of 80 individuals representing various states in the quarterman, a separate race than the 1/2). so mens 30-34 was essentially the first wave of the soma 1/2.
i got in the water swam to the swim start, and waited for the start. the start was uneventful, i swam with a fair amount of effort, but couldn't seem to find any kind of groove. the good thing is i was relaxed the entire swim. the main pack quickly pulled away from me, and i spent most of the swim all by myself, managing to swim off course several times. i had a poor swim at best, i didn't feel overly tired, i just never really put anything together for that swim. i rounded the final turn and swam the last 50 meters pretty coming out of the water in 0:37:30 (0:01:58 min/100 meters).
had a fairly slow transition (i ran down the wrong row and had some trouble finding my bike). i came in, grabbed my bag o pills, T1 was 0:02:00, and i was off on the bike to test out my new strategy.
the morning was a bit chilly for my tastes (i've grown much more sensitive to cold these days), and i spent much of the first loop of the bike shivering. i was putting in a solid effort, comparable to what i would typically ride the entire bike at; however, today was to be different. i was going to build on each loop, the first would be solid, the 2nd would be hard, and the 3rd would be everything i had left. loop 1 went well, i was making up time (very easy to do when you come out of the swim behind 24 people plus the pros).
through the first loop i had gone through almost exactly 1/3 of my calories, right on schedule, and i was feeling pretty good. loop 2, time to notch up the effort a bit. i reached for my pills to start testing how my body reacted at this effort; however, they were gone, as i would see a few miles later, they had fallen out of my pocket and were laying on the course. it's a bit frustrating to go by a bag you know you dropped, that is full of good stuff, and i did it twice. another draw back of looped courses. though i guess if it was really important i would have stopped and picked it up.
loop 2 the pace quickened, and i started picking up more people. my legs were starting to feel a bit of the heavy training, and the hard effort of the day. but that was the plan, see how they react to a truly hard effort on the bike. by this time the bike course was significantly more crowded as more and more waves were entering. there were several tight spots on the course which offered a brief reprieve from the hard efforts. at the 2nd aid station on loop 2, i decided it would be good to see how i handled gel at this intensity, so i grabbed a strawberry banana power gel and consumed it immediately. it made a couple efforts to come back up, but ultimately stayed down.
loop 3, time to ratchet the effort up another notch. i could feel my legs starting to tighten up, so figured it was time to finish the water bottle i had, and trade it in for a gatorade bottle, at least a little electrolytes should help. i finished my water, disposed of the empty bottle, and grabbed a gatorade. i would sip on that over the next 7 or 8 miles until i got to the next aid station, where i grabbed another gel, ate it, and discarded the gatorade. by now i was hammering the bike, i knew i was close to t2, and was really looking to come of the bike in good standing. i managed to have an incredible bike ride: 2:06:55 (avg speed 26.6 mph)
into T2, legs feel good just getting to the rack. i drop my bike off, slip into my new racing shoes, and am off. i spent most of the last 2 loops on the bike looking for the elusive P, indicating the athlete was in the pro field. generally with a good race, i'll pick up a couple of the Pro women on the bike. even with my blistering bike ride, i didn't see any P's. Onto the run course to see if i could rectify the situation, but first a bathroom break.
the run started pretty comfortably, though a bit odd, everybody on the course was doing the quarterman. it took a couple minutes before i saw the first competitor doing the half. he was a big guy, so i wasn't too concerned about him matching my pace when i went by. i grabbed water through the first 2 aid stations, at the 3rd, i grabbed a gel (not to fall victim to the same blunder i made in oceanside). that went down pretty easy, but i had some water to help anyway.
my legs were feeling good, and my pace was building. i was running people down pretty well, and and things were feeling good. i kept grabbing water at every aid station, and gatorade at every 2nd aid station. this worked well for me. i finished the first loop feeling pretty good, and was ready to pick up the pace and see what i had left in my legs.
loop 2 was a bit tougher. within 1/2 mile, i was passed by a runner, he went by pretty quickly, so i wasn't too interested in holding on to his pace, i kept running my race, and balancing my limits. picking people out and running them down.
there were a couple opportunities where the course came back on itself, allowing me to see if there were any new faces trying to run me down. there were none, all the people were those i'd passed, and were falling further off my pace. at the 11 mile mark, it was time to empty the tank and see how things played out.
i really started to go at that point, only 2 miles, anybody can fake 2 miles, but how fast can i fake it?? that was the question, how deep am i willing to go? so i kept increasing my pace, faster and faster grabbed water for one last splash and cool down. at mile 12, i saw the runner that passed me 5 miles back. i thought no way, but wouldn't it be cool if i did.
so i put my head down, and had my final target for the day. with a 1/2 mile left, i was gaining, it was going to have to hurt a lot if i was planning on catching him. i remembered all those track workouts, the 800m repeats, the 1200m repeats, and smiled. i can hurt pretty damn good. lets see how it plays out.
so i continued picking up the pace, went by him, and held strong, faster and faster, with 200 meters left, my legs were on fire, my lungs hurt, and my body was ready to quite. there was a small grassy incline which was almost my undoing. on my way up, my leg wanted to give out, but it held up. then into the finishing chute. i crossed the line, 100% spent. nothing left (that's what i say now, but next time, i'll manage to find a little more and eak out a little faster performance). run split: 1:28:07 (a 6:43 min/mile pace)
as i was enjoying the hurt of a strong bike and solid run performance, i heard the announcer: 'here comes our first female pro'. somewhere out there on the bike and the run, i'd managed to pass both of the pro women, and one of the pro men. i did get 3 P's, i was just too busy keeping my head down and punishing my legs to notice.
all in all it was a great day, and a strong reminder that i need to start swimming more.
photos: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32532&BIB=665&LNSEARCH=1
results: http://www.ceptiming.com/2008/misc165/08Soma-Half-AllM.txt
Shortly after i got into tempe, i met up with some friends, J and Summer, and we headed out to do a preview one loop of the bike course. it proved to be a very flat course with a number of u turns (5 per loop). seemed like it would be a fast one. The rest of the day entailed picking up the registration packet, dropping off my bike in transition and getting some food.
saturday night was a bit of a restless night, not much sleep. Sunday morning around 4:00 am the final wake up came, grabbed my usual boost for breakfast, mixed my water and 1000 calories of carbo pro. grabbed my bag of pills: thermolytes (salt tablets), vantage (supposed to help with oxygen uptake and stave off muscle fatigue), and recovery amino power (essential amino acid blends). we headed over to the transtion area.
today's race plan was simple, get through the swim in a decent position(i've been severely neglecting swim training), hammer the bike well beyond comfortable and see how hard i can run after that. soma was to serve as a measuring stick for ironman arizona, coming up november 23.
i was in the 3rd wave, starting 1 minute behind the pros, and 11 minutes behind the best of the US competition (a collection of 80 individuals representing various states in the quarterman, a separate race than the 1/2). so mens 30-34 was essentially the first wave of the soma 1/2.
i got in the water swam to the swim start, and waited for the start. the start was uneventful, i swam with a fair amount of effort, but couldn't seem to find any kind of groove. the good thing is i was relaxed the entire swim. the main pack quickly pulled away from me, and i spent most of the swim all by myself, managing to swim off course several times. i had a poor swim at best, i didn't feel overly tired, i just never really put anything together for that swim. i rounded the final turn and swam the last 50 meters pretty coming out of the water in 0:37:30 (0:01:58 min/100 meters).
had a fairly slow transition (i ran down the wrong row and had some trouble finding my bike). i came in, grabbed my bag o pills, T1 was 0:02:00, and i was off on the bike to test out my new strategy.
the morning was a bit chilly for my tastes (i've grown much more sensitive to cold these days), and i spent much of the first loop of the bike shivering. i was putting in a solid effort, comparable to what i would typically ride the entire bike at; however, today was to be different. i was going to build on each loop, the first would be solid, the 2nd would be hard, and the 3rd would be everything i had left. loop 1 went well, i was making up time (very easy to do when you come out of the swim behind 24 people plus the pros).
through the first loop i had gone through almost exactly 1/3 of my calories, right on schedule, and i was feeling pretty good. loop 2, time to notch up the effort a bit. i reached for my pills to start testing how my body reacted at this effort; however, they were gone, as i would see a few miles later, they had fallen out of my pocket and were laying on the course. it's a bit frustrating to go by a bag you know you dropped, that is full of good stuff, and i did it twice. another draw back of looped courses. though i guess if it was really important i would have stopped and picked it up.
loop 2 the pace quickened, and i started picking up more people. my legs were starting to feel a bit of the heavy training, and the hard effort of the day. but that was the plan, see how they react to a truly hard effort on the bike. by this time the bike course was significantly more crowded as more and more waves were entering. there were several tight spots on the course which offered a brief reprieve from the hard efforts. at the 2nd aid station on loop 2, i decided it would be good to see how i handled gel at this intensity, so i grabbed a strawberry banana power gel and consumed it immediately. it made a couple efforts to come back up, but ultimately stayed down.
loop 3, time to ratchet the effort up another notch. i could feel my legs starting to tighten up, so figured it was time to finish the water bottle i had, and trade it in for a gatorade bottle, at least a little electrolytes should help. i finished my water, disposed of the empty bottle, and grabbed a gatorade. i would sip on that over the next 7 or 8 miles until i got to the next aid station, where i grabbed another gel, ate it, and discarded the gatorade. by now i was hammering the bike, i knew i was close to t2, and was really looking to come of the bike in good standing. i managed to have an incredible bike ride: 2:06:55 (avg speed 26.6 mph)
into T2, legs feel good just getting to the rack. i drop my bike off, slip into my new racing shoes, and am off. i spent most of the last 2 loops on the bike looking for the elusive P, indicating the athlete was in the pro field. generally with a good race, i'll pick up a couple of the Pro women on the bike. even with my blistering bike ride, i didn't see any P's. Onto the run course to see if i could rectify the situation, but first a bathroom break.
the run started pretty comfortably, though a bit odd, everybody on the course was doing the quarterman. it took a couple minutes before i saw the first competitor doing the half. he was a big guy, so i wasn't too concerned about him matching my pace when i went by. i grabbed water through the first 2 aid stations, at the 3rd, i grabbed a gel (not to fall victim to the same blunder i made in oceanside). that went down pretty easy, but i had some water to help anyway.
my legs were feeling good, and my pace was building. i was running people down pretty well, and and things were feeling good. i kept grabbing water at every aid station, and gatorade at every 2nd aid station. this worked well for me. i finished the first loop feeling pretty good, and was ready to pick up the pace and see what i had left in my legs.
loop 2 was a bit tougher. within 1/2 mile, i was passed by a runner, he went by pretty quickly, so i wasn't too interested in holding on to his pace, i kept running my race, and balancing my limits. picking people out and running them down.
there were a couple opportunities where the course came back on itself, allowing me to see if there were any new faces trying to run me down. there were none, all the people were those i'd passed, and were falling further off my pace. at the 11 mile mark, it was time to empty the tank and see how things played out.
i really started to go at that point, only 2 miles, anybody can fake 2 miles, but how fast can i fake it?? that was the question, how deep am i willing to go? so i kept increasing my pace, faster and faster grabbed water for one last splash and cool down. at mile 12, i saw the runner that passed me 5 miles back. i thought no way, but wouldn't it be cool if i did.
so i put my head down, and had my final target for the day. with a 1/2 mile left, i was gaining, it was going to have to hurt a lot if i was planning on catching him. i remembered all those track workouts, the 800m repeats, the 1200m repeats, and smiled. i can hurt pretty damn good. lets see how it plays out.
so i continued picking up the pace, went by him, and held strong, faster and faster, with 200 meters left, my legs were on fire, my lungs hurt, and my body was ready to quite. there was a small grassy incline which was almost my undoing. on my way up, my leg wanted to give out, but it held up. then into the finishing chute. i crossed the line, 100% spent. nothing left (that's what i say now, but next time, i'll manage to find a little more and eak out a little faster performance). run split: 1:28:07 (a 6:43 min/mile pace)
as i was enjoying the hurt of a strong bike and solid run performance, i heard the announcer: 'here comes our first female pro'. somewhere out there on the bike and the run, i'd managed to pass both of the pro women, and one of the pro men. i did get 3 P's, i was just too busy keeping my head down and punishing my legs to notice.
all in all it was a great day, and a strong reminder that i need to start swimming more.
photos: http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=32532&BIB=665&LNSEARCH=1
results: http://www.ceptiming.com/2008/misc165/08Soma-Half-AllM.txt
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)