Race Report - Route 66 Half Iron Triathlon

One of Jordan Rapp's recent race reports talked about the amount of fitness he needed, versus the amount he thought he had, versus the amount he actually had.  The whole report is available here: http://blog.rappstar.com/2013/05/sometimes-bar-eats-you.html.  The little graph he made is obviously why I am a huge fan of his and if I may borrow his concept, it also happens to sum up how I felt about this race.

Handy graph, courtesy of Jordan Rapp.

I wanted to get near the front if possible, but was probably a little overly ambitious with that thinking based on the amount of fitness I came into the race with.  Lots of changes in my life right now- moving cross-country, new career, new house, etc., so I have not been training nearly as much as in prior seasons.  I was registered for Muncie 70.3 after using the discount provided as a result of last years' issues (shortened due to heat), but ended up skipping that race.  However, I still wanted to get in at least one decent event and signed up for a local half-iron in Springfield, IL that would only require a 90 minute drive and one night at Aunt Liz's place. (Thanks Aunt Liz!)

I had done virtually no training at all this spring while student teaching.  In addition, there's a simple formula: NO TRAINING + LIFE STRESS + BAD EATING = WEIGHT GAIN.  I fell victim to this and put on several pounds.  In spite of this (I actually did enjoy student teaching, but that's another topic), I completed teaching at the end of April and built some fitness as I could in May and June.  You can see my progress below in the Performance Management Chart from WKO.  Being the overly analytical type that I am, I use a performance model to track my fitness and fatigue to guide my training.  It takes into account both duration and intensity (for swim, bike, and run) and is not just the number of hours trained.   The blue line, measured in Training Stress Score points (TSS) accumulated per day, is an approximate model of fitness and the yellow bars are a model for fatigue (roughly).

Performance Management Chart - 2nd half 2011 - 2013.

In looking at where my fitness peaked prior to Steelhead in 2012 compared to where I peaked for the Route 66 in 2013, it's not hard to see why my performance was not where it was last year.  I had a much larger base of training to build on in 2012, with a training camp in late February, a whole spring of training, and a nice build into the summer for a peak around ~120 TSS/day prior to Steelhead 70.3 in August.  Then, you can see a few attempts to do some training in the fall of 2012 and early 2013, but there wasn't much progress.  In fact, you can see quite a decline until April, when I was able to start training again.  Compared to 2012, I didn't have nearly the base to build on for my 2013 season.  It was essentially a crash training program to see how fit I could get in ~3 months.  I made it back up to a peak of ~100 TSS/day, but it was a little aggressive and didn't have much (or any) aerobic base behind it.

In addition, I continue to struggle with a weak shoulder from an impingement problem last year.  I've been working on strengthening it with specific exercises and have been diligent in the pool working on fixing it and changing the motor patterns, but it remains an issue.

In spite of this (no excuses, right!), I still felt confident I could get reasonably close to the front of this local, small race and mix it up.  I knew I'd be WAY back coming out of the water, but could get some time back on the bike and see what happened on the run.  Leading into the race, I only had some simple process goals, similar to last year:

• Give all I had on the day and race every swim stroke, pedal stroke, and step
• Use the swim as a long workout and continue working on shoulder strength and not dropping elbows
• Shoot for an approximate norm power of ~250 on the bike
• 3 laps of ~4.36 miles on the run, heart rate below 160 for the first one, about ~160-163 for the 2nd, and give what I had left for the 3rd

I really enjoy local, low-key races that have the grass-roots feel to them.  This race also has a sprint and an olympic distance race and we made it a family affair.  My wife and father decided to relay the sprint!

The family relay team.  Also, the Olympic-distance race is the "Iron-Abe" so they have an Abe on hand!

With my son before the race.

Photo-bomb!  ;-)

My better half prior to racing.

The Swim

Since I mainly just wanted to focus on my shoulder (again) in the swim, I decided once I started feeling a dropped elbow, I would do 5-10 strokes of breast stroke, keep moving forward, reset, and start freestyle again.  I did pretty well for the first 15-20 minutes but on the back half of the swim, I repeated this pattern several times.  I knew I'd be way behind out of the water, but just wanted to keep focused on what I could control, which was continuing to try to correct my weak shoulder and engrain the right motor patterns.  The swim was not wetsuit legal, so I was thinking I'd be out in around 40 minutes or even a little over.  Sure enough, I came out around 43 minutes.  Really slow, but I didn't worry about it and just ran up to transition as fast as I could.  My transition was uneventful and I was off on my ride.

The Ride

I had set my watch to auto-lap every 5.6 miles on the bike and was just mentally planning on 10 repeats of about 13-15 minutes, consuming calories every time my watch lapped.  The process worked quite well.  In the first lap, I tried to get my HR to settle down some.  After that, I just put my head down and got to work. The course was essentially 2 out and backs.  It was really flat, but by no means was it the fastest course I have ridden.  The temperature was perfect and we lucked out with that, but the wind was strong!  On the way out on the first section heading south I was cruising at race power doing around 26-28 mph, but on the way back, race power was about 18-20 mph.  Also the first turnaround gave me a chance to see where I stood in the race.  I guesstimated I was in around 30th place by the first turn.  On the way back, I just kept motoring and moved up to about the top 15 by the time I hit the 2nd out and back section.

Not only was it windy, but some of the roads were not the most pleasant.  Plus, with a smaller race, once you were towards the front of the pack, it was quite sparse and you were out there simply pushing on your own, which definitely makes it harder to keep the effort up, particularly with the wind.  There were a few times when I wondered if I was heading the right way.  Also, I knew we'd be going into a solid headwind on the return trip and tried to keep the work rate up as best I could, maintaining my nutrtion/lap strategy, staying focused on the task at hand for each "lap."  Another challenge was that the aid stations were sparse, so I conserved a bit on the calories, not wanting my gut to get too full and too concentrated.  I had 300 calories of EFS with me and one flask of 300 calories of Liquid Shot with half-a-scoop of pre-race I planned on using in the back half of the bike.  I didn't get all of that down by the end of the ride because I just didn't have enough water to chase it down.  Regardless, I had ridden to somewhere around the top ten at the end of the ride.

In comparing this ride to my ride from Steelhead in 2012, I "only" rode 8 watts less, but ended up 9 minutes slower.  That definitely gives you an idea of the wind.  Also, my average HR was a touch higher this summer than it was last year on the bike --- definite signs of less fitness.

Steelhead 2012 - 250 watts @ average HR = 156
Route 66 2013 - 242 watts @ average HR = 158

After the ride, my legs were tired and I was definitely ready to get off the bike.  Also, over the last several months, I had been dealing with a minor case of plantar fasciitis in my left foot and took a 2-week break from running in early-mid June.  Regardless, I had gotten that under control in the last several weeks prior to the race and still felt like I could run fairly well.

When I come into T1 after the swim, most of the bikes are already gone, so it's a nice confidence boost when there aren't that many other bikes around after the ride.

Coming out the other side of T2 headed up to the run course.

The Run

My plan for the run consisted of 3 laps, with my watch set to auto lap every 4.36 miles.  I wasn't sure how accurate the GPS would be, but knew that this strategy would work well to keep me under 1:30 if things were going well.  Each lap should be 30 minutes or less.

Once out on the run course, I knew there weren't that many people in front of me because I didn't really pass anyone that quickly.  In fact, by mile 3-4 one guy came flying past me!  He was really moving and way too fast for me, so I just wished him well.  I was also chasing another guy for most of the run, but every turn-around he seemed to be putting just a little time into me, which was quite frustrating.  In many races, I run by a lot of people, but this one was not working out that way.

For the first lap, I felt pretty good.  My HR was a little high, so I tried to back it off just a touch while staying as smooth as possible - relaxed, calm, focused, strong.  It's a mantra that definitely works for me and helps me find a rhythm and stay in my little "box."  The weather was great, but there were a few small hills to contend with - a total of ~650 feet total according to the GPS (details here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/349191319).  During my 2nd lap, I was definitely getting more fatigued and noticed my HR was dropping a bit, not having the legs to keep my cardio-vascular system stimulated.  I also started getting a small twinge in my right quad and was worried I was going to cramp.  I knew I had not had as many hard, long efforts in training as last year and cramps were a possibility.  I dialed it back a bit and worked on staying positive.  I stopped for a few steps at each aid station and got some water down, but they did not have Coke --- definitely missed that.  After the 2nd lap, my legs were heavily fatigued and I was running out of gas.  Unfortunately, I still had over 4 miles to run.  I did my best to stick to the process, not give in, and race every step.  You don't get that many opportunities to practice dealing with your own head when your racing in this fatigued state, so I decided to take advantage of it.  I focused on my self talk and my process, keeping the effort level up.  I did pass one other guy, but never made any in-roads to the rabbit I was chasing most of the race.  And the guy that flew past me early on had moved his way up to 2nd (at least in our wave --- there were two waves and the overall winner came from the 2nd wave).  I ended up running a 1:31 and change. Not my best run, but I gave it what I had.

Approaching the finish.

Ouch, that hurt.

Hugging my daughter!  Always brings you back to center.

Faithful support crew after the race.

Overall results are here: http://itsracetime.com/Results.aspx?ID=788.  I was 7th OA and 3rd AG, but one of the guys in my AG ended up with a penalty... not sure how that happened.  Ended up 6th and 2nd, but since the other guy in my AG was in the top 3 OA, they gave me the AG award for first.  In any case, it was a well-organized race and a beautiful day.  A tad windy, but I can't complain.

As far as take-aways, this race really enlightened me on the relationship between building a large aerobic base and the resulting performance.  Consistent training = consistent results.  In 2013, I just didn't have the time and energy to train as much as I usually do.  Not only that, I have a fair amount of life stress at the moment and ended up a few pounds over what I feel to be a good race weight, balancing the ability to generate power with being lean and light.  I really felt it on the back half of that run.  Sure, the run in 2012 at Steelhead felt hard, but I was more in control throughout.  In this run, by 45-60 minutes into it, my legs were shot.

With respect to the competition, I wasn't sure who would show up, but I certainly was hoping to get towards the front of this race.  Sixth is not bad, but I would have enjoyed being in slightly better form.  Haven't come up with a plan for what's next, but I'm looking forward to getting settled in a new house, a new job, and getting back into a good training routine.  I'd love to take the fitness I built in 2012 (or even more fitness) and see how I could do in a full IM sometime.  We shall see...

Race Report - Ironman Steelhead 70.3

The Whirlpool Steelhead 70.3 was my focus for the season.  The timing was perfect in that I had time to train in between school commitments and it was driveable in less than a day.  Plus, I was intrigued by the race and wanted to see what it was like with the swim in Lake Michigan.
Going into race day, I was excited and it was nice to have that feeling before a race again – knowing that you are fit and ready and not really knowing how fast you could go.  My race plan was:

• Swim
• Focus on length and the better feel/form I’ve been working on in the pool
• Maintain that form as long as possible
• T1
• Run as fast as I could up the beach and through T1
• Bike
• ~240-250 watts on the flats, ~300+ on the “hills” or hard parts (any wind); aiming to ride norm of ~250 watts for whole thing
• 400 cals EFS drink, then 300 cals EFS liquid shot with ½ scoop EFS pre-race
• Four 14-mile laps, monitoring power output for each
• T2
• Quick dismount, run as fast as I could through transition
• Run
• 4 x 5K at ~HR 157-160 for first 2 “laps” and ~160+ for last 2 laps.  Then, for last 1K, give it everything I had and stay as strong mentally as I could, leaving it all on the course

With respect to results based on that plan, I really had no idea how fast it would be.  We drove the bike course, which had some rollers, but nothing major.  And given the nice weather forecast, I expected the bike to be fairly fast, but just wasn’t sure.  Based on recent training data, I was, however, confident I could run pretty well after riding for 2+ hours at ~240 watts and so was really just focused on that process.

Race rig ready to roll.

This race does have a reputation for swims getting canceled (2 of the last 4 I believe), but that is “only” twice out of 9 total and the weather forecast was just about perfect, so I was expecting a good swim.  I had been to Lake Michigan before and love the beaches there, but having lived on the West Coast the last 8 years, I hadn’t been back for quite a while.  The park where transition is had an awesome beach and my kids LOVED it.  There was fluffy white sand, comfortable water, and a playground.  Granted, we are still removing sand from everything, but it was a great venue.

Nice beach.

Family fun.

Kids enjoying the beach.

My wave start was almost last, an hour and five minutes after the pro start, so once I got transition set up, it was a matter of just relaxing with the family.  We found a bench and sat for a while while the kids played at the playground.  Then, we started walking down the beach for the start.  They change the swim course depending on the currents, either going 1.2 miles from south to north or vice versa.  Our race had us going south to north so we headed down the beach for the start.  I got my wetsuit on and got in the water to acclimate for just a few minutes.  It felt really, really nice and after several Midwest races over the summer in HOT, bath-water-temperature lakes, I was glad to have found a wetsuit-legal race!  The water was great!

Lance is really there, I swear it's not just his hat!

The water was pretty shallow quite a ways out, so when my wave started I ran probably half-way to the first buoy.  Then I just started cruising and focused my form and just staying relaxed.  Because it was a point-to-point swim, it was fairly easy to site and it didn’t really seem all that crowded.  I had minimal drama.  It felt long to me, but I am not in great swim shape and was simply focusing on trying to maintain good, long form with high-elbows and vertical forearms.  When I could feel myself slipping out of that form, I’d try to bring it back as best I could, but otherwise, I just cruised along in a rhythm.

Power file from ride.

Upon exiting the water, I didn’t even look at my watch; I just booked it as fast as I could through the deep sand up to the transition area.  The transition area was LOOOOOOOONNNNGGGG, so I just ran through it as quick as I could passing lots of people.  Had a little trouble getting my wetsuit off, but otherwise, was on my bike fairly efficiently.  When I started the ride, I think my watch said something like 41:xx, so I knew it was time to get to work and see if I could get myself into the AG race.  Turns out I was 52nd out of 162 AG coming out of the water with a 38:xx swim.  Top third is good progress compared to where I have been coming out of the water.

Once on my bike, I tried to let my HR settle (after that hard run up the beach) --- it was 170 right at the beginning of the ride, so I just relaxed into a rhythm and went about business with my power target.  I felt really, really good through the first lap (14 miles) of the ride and was definitely holding back some to keep it at my target numbers.  2nd lap was more of the same and I was taking in my nutrition on the 15 minute alarms from my watch.  Based on the weather, I knew it had the potential to be a fast day, but when I got to the half-way point and had been through the first half of the bike in ~1:09, I was excited to keep it going and it was game on!  Also at that point, one guy caught me --- the 2nd half of my AG started 5 minutes behind me and he was the only person to catch me on the bike.  At that point, it was great, though, as it served as a shot-in-the-arm and now I had somebody to chase.  It turned out we were fairly evenly matched so we just traded pacing duties (while each doing our best to remain legal) for the remainder of the ride.  By 45-50 miles, I found myself holding back a bit much under my power target so I decided to push a little harder to finish off the ride, coming into transition a little ahead of my riding buddy and a bike split of 2:17.  I didn’t know what my split was at the time, but was excited to work on getting out of T2 in under 3 hours race time.

So my four “laps” look like this:
1 - avg power 246, norm power 251, avg HR 160
2 - avg power 249, norm power 255, avg HR 155
3 - avg power 244, norm power 250, avg HR 155
4 - avg power 235, norm power 245, avg HR 154
entire ride - avg power 243, norm power 250, avg HR 156

I don't think the drop in power for the last lap was from being substantially tired, but more that I was holding back some to stay well-behind my pacing buddy.  After looking back, I think I executed my plan really well and am quite satisfied, hitting my power target and keeping my HR about ~10 bpm below threshold at the same time.  The entire ride felt pretty good and I didn’t find myself really wanting to get off my bike until about 45-50 miles in.  After the bike, I was in 8th place AG, so I had gotten myself into the race with a solid ride, executed my nutrition plan, and was confident and ready to run.

Coming into T2, I took my feet out of my shoes and had a really nice dismount, hardly slowing down.  I booked it down the transition area as quick as I could, racked my bike, took my helmet off, and put my shoes on.  Then it was onto the run!  Glancing at my watch coming out of transition, I saw 3:00:xx for the race time and got really excited knowing that I had ridden myself into a position to PR and move up the AG race higher than I had before.  It just reaffirmed my belief that doing whatever you can to create positive experiences and thoughts during a race has a huge impact on performance and outcome.  I was positive and excited to race the whole time and it had a big effect.

I started out on my first of four 5K “laps” and didn’t worry so much about pace initially, just worked on finding a good rhythm and the right effort level.  The run course was not killer, but it did have some hills to keep things honest.  It’s an out and back with 2 loops at the far end.  I just focused on my effort level and mentally concentrated on form (relaxed shoulders, smooth running) and motored along.  Just like I did on the bike, I was cruising past people quickly and continued moving up the field.  About 2 miles in, my bike pacing buddy came flying past me!!  Turns out, he can run, too!  I just told him “nice work” and went about running my own race.  

I felt really good and quite smooth through about mile 7 or 8 and stuck to my plan.  By the end of the 3rd 5K, I was feeling more labored, but still keeping a good pace.  Mental note, next time I do a race where the swim has a white, sandy beach, take a few more seconds to get the sand off my feet, because running in racing flats with sandy feet is like running on sand paper!

Once I got into my 4th 5K, I still tried to focus on my process mentally sticking to the fact that I was running a 5K and to try to keep it to ~21 minutes or less.  I also took another gel flask with me on the run that had ~150-200 calories of EFS liquid shot in it mixed with a half-scoop of EFS pre-race and water.  I took a swig from that about every 5K.  By the last one, I was tired of it, chucked it, and switched to Coke, still taking about a 5-second count in my head at every aid station to get in water and nutrition.  Around mile 10-11, I noticed my bike pacing buddy up the road just a little ways --- I had my rabbit back!!  So I kept the pressure on and in another ~30 seconds or so, he actually stopped off to the side of the road.  Not sure why, but I just kept going.  I was a little bummed to have lost my pacer so fast, but just stuck to my own plan, keeping the pressure on.  

Going into the race, I had something in my head that I heard recently about “racing every step” so that’s what I focused on.  I made it to the end of my 4th 5K and then hung tough as much as possible, racing every step and using some good mental self-talk to dig just a little deeper.  The 2nd half of my AG started 5 minutes behind me, so I didn’t want to get “virtually” clipped by a few seconds and kept the RPE high through the end, wanting to leave it all out there.

Getting to that finishing chute is always a thrill!  I had the whole thing to myself, so just enjoyed the crowd and looked for my family.  It was a great finishing environment and I knew I had had a great race, so I was really happy/relieved/emotional/etc.  I think putting myself in this physically-depleted-yet-emotional state is why I like racing.  Nothing like a solid-days’ effort to feel alive!!

As for my run split and my 4+1 strategy, here are the details from my Garmin and how it broke down:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/212714003

Overall, it was a 1:26:16 for about a 6:36 min/mile pace and an avg HR of 163.  And I had run my way up to 4th in my AG and (33rd OA), finished in 4:27 (a solid PR) and managed to snag the last slot to Las Vegas next year, a very satisfying result.  With respect to my process goals for the day, I hit them all.  My HR was a little higher than planned on the run, but I felt good with the effort level and decided to roll with it.  Very happy to hit my process goals and let the outcome take care of itself.

We also really enjoyed the area - SW Michigan is really quite nice. Here are some shots of some fun around St. Joseph prior to race day.

Arrrrrrrt around town.

They found a ship!

Next up is Branson 70.3. I won’t have nearly as much time to train, so I’ll just go out and have fun, laying it all out there!

Race Report - IronAbe Olympic Triathlon

When I found out about a local race in Springfield called the IronAbe triathlon, I knew I had to sign up.  After a somewhat disappointing race in the shortened Muncie 37.2, I wanted to get another race under my belt prior to 2 more half-IMs late in the season.  Plus, my sister-in-law lives in Springfield so we got to spend some time with her prior to the race.

It was a low-key, local event and very well-organized.  Having picked up my packet the day before, all I had to do was set up transition and get ready to swim.  I got in the water for a few practice strokes and to see what the water was like – again another “bath-water” like swim in the Midwest with a temp of 87 degrees.  Regardless, my entire goal for the swim was to stay relaxed and consistent, making forward progress the entire time, just to get things moving in the right direction again after Muncie.

After my little practice swim, Abe himself gave the pre-race speech, encouraging us to “continue working to improve ourselves.”  

The kids with "IronAbe"

And with that, we were off.  The swim was uneventful – I basically focused on being relaxed the entire time and attempting to keep my form long, working on the changes I have been making in the pool.  When I felt myself shorten up, I tried to lengthen out and keep focused on “length, pressure, and direction.”  The course felt a little long and I came out with a very slow 33 minute swim.  Regardless, I had made progress, staying relaxed the entire swim and not having the same issues I had in the hot swim in Muncie.

With such a slow swim, I knew I’d be ~10 minutes behind the front-pack-swimmers getting on my bike.  The bike was mostly flat with a few rollers, but there was a swirling wind that kept the effort honest.   I also attempted to get in my bottle of ~300 calories of EFS, but only got down about 100-150 on the bike.  I was too focused on trying to make up ground on the field.  At the bike turnaround, the race leader had 10 minutes on me and I was in ~19^th place overall, at least with respect to the people that started in the first wave.  Throughout the back half of the bike, I just kept working hard trying to make up ground.  About half-way back to transition we merged in with the sprint field so I could no longer tell what position I was in, but a few minutes after that one guy passed me on the bike.  It was the only person who passed me on the bike, but it was good to give me another little jolt of motivation to keep the effort up.  I made it back to transition in about an hour, missing the hour mark by ~24 seconds (avg power 265, norm 268, a little lower than expected, but the course was flat and I still have a harder time keeping the effort up when there are no hills).

On my way back into the park, I saw my family who were enjoying the play structures in the park.  They also had a tour of a helicopter...  pretty cool!

Luci and Lance checking out a helicopter while I rode my bike.

T2 was reasonably quick as I ditched my bike and helmet, put on my shoes and grabbed my hat and race belt, taking off as quick as I could.  The 10K was on a shaded road on the other side of the lake consisting of 2 out and back sections.  After crossing the bridge I passed another guy and made my way to the 1^st turnaround, keeping the effort up, but going by feel, working hard, and not paying a lot of attention to pace.  The sprint race headed back after 1 turnaround, so on the 2^nd out-and-back, I could see who was in front of the Olympic race.  The race leader was still a ways in front of me and had put a minute or two into me on the bike and first part of the run, but not much.  Plus there were more guys I could chase.  Coming back from the 2^nd turnaround, I chased one guy to the finish, but couldn’t quite catch him.  Regardless, it was nice having a rabbit while I closed out the 10K, clocking a 39:07 for the run.

My overall time was 2:15 and change.  I was hoping for a bit quicker, but when you swim 33, a 2:15 is alright.  It was a positive experience in that I didn’t have any issues in the swim.  I had a good bike and run and take it as a positive sign my fitness is coming along well for Steelhead.

I ended up 10^th overall and won my age group.  A little surprising with a 2:15, but I can’t complain.  There were some quick guys and it was good competition for a smaller race (full results here). They also had pretty nice AG awards designed by a local artist - a metal silhouette-cutout.

One of the better AG awards I've seen.

It was a well-organized and really fun race.  Plus, the kids had a good time playing in the park, checking out the helicopter and meeting Abe!  Hoping to come back next year with an improved swim.

Race Report - Ironman Muncie (37.2)

My brother-in-law and cousin-in-law are training for IM Louisville, so they both targeted Muncie 70.3 as a half-ironman race to use for practice.  So I decided to jump in and race too.  After registering, we headed out to the race venue and on the way, we found out they were shortening the race to a 1 mile swim / 30 mile bike / and 10K run.  We were all disappointed, but the conditions were pretty harsh – temps of 100+ with 80+% humidity.  Other races in the past have been that hot, but I suppose there are risks that race directors need to be aware of and the decision was one they made for the safety of all the folks involved.  We couldn’t do anything about it, so we just accepted it and looked forward to a hard race.

Then we went out to the race venue and boy was it a cooker!  We checked in our bikes and headed down to see the swim venue, where we bumped into Greg Bennett – we chatted for a minute and wished him luck... he's a super nice guy and we were all pulling for him.  

Muncie Swim Venue

Emily, Scott (brother-in-law), Catherine (sister-in-law)

Em with Greg Bennett!

We decided to forgo any riding/swimming and just headed to our hotel and went for a bit to eat and got our gear ready to go for the morning.  Everything went smoothly in the AM and we each were off on our way.  

Kendra (cousin) and Josh (cousin-in-law)

Scott and Catherine pre-race

Me and Em.

Coming out of the water...  not happy.

With respect to my race, if they give mulligans for triathlon, I think I’d take one.  I have no excuses – my head just wasn’t in the game.  Rather than a blow-by-blow, here’s my list of process goals prior to the race with scoring and comments for each:

-          Focus on not dropping left elbow during swim

C-  ///  I was focused on my left elbow and trying to keep it from dropping, but I completely imploded, physically and mentally on the swim and ended up doing about 30-40% of it breaststroke.  On the way back, I was alternating – 20-30 strokes freestyle, 20-30 strokes breaststroke.

-          Practice breathing to both sides, but focus on right side (slightly weaker breathing side)

D- /// I started breathing to my right side watching the buoys, but could not get comfortable.  The water was HOT (they measured it at ~88-89), and I just felt like I couldn’t get in enough air or get in a rhythm.  I eventually gave up and started breathing left and knew my form started fading; I was lifting my head way up out of the water and could feel my chest coming up and my hips/legs going down.  Not good.

-          Run hard through T1, but when I get to my transition, stay calm and methodical

B /// It was not a fast transition – since I don’t have a legal swimskin, I chose to swim in tri shorts and just put my jersey on in transition, which slowed me down.  However, I stayed calm and tried to put the swim debacle behind me.

-          On bike, keep effort steady, but mod-high on bike for flat course; Break it into 5 30-minute laps and check avg power at each, taking nutrition in every 15 minutes

B- /// I kept the effort going, but in looking at my average power, it was low for a 30-mile ride and was probably closer to my half-IM power output.  I did get in my nutrition, even with the modified distance.   I am content with the effort, but not overly happy about it.  Could’ve gone harder, but I am not sure I bounced back enough mentally from the poor swim to really crank it out on the bike. 

-          On run, target 3 30-minute laps, avg HR for first ~160, avg HR for 2^nd 163, avg HR for 3^rd ~166.  Pacing my HR in the heat, speed will be what it will be.

C+ /// I decided not to put my HR strap on and go by feel in the shortened race.  I attempted to keep the effort up, but the same as on the bike, I think it was more of a half-IM pace/effort.  I was having a hard time digging deeper and really pushing it, given the circumstances.  It was a flat course, but I should've been able to put out more power for 30 miles (a 1:10 split).

-          Race every step

B- /// I had what I would say is a solid effort, but I think, given the fact that I was a total headcase in the swim, I did not go anywhere near my potential, let alone get anywhere close to "the well."  I practiced managing the hot conditions, but I did not race to what I feel is my potential.

Overall, I’d give myself a C+ on my process goals and clearly need work before Steelhead.  With respect to what went well and what needs improved…

What went well:

• Stayed calm and smooth, yet urgent, during transitions
• Stuck to my nutrition plan on the bike – since the race was shortened, I modified to 1 bottle of 300 calories of EFS drink and some Saltstick caps (with caffeine).  I got all of it in on the ride in just over an hour (~1:10)
• Used my mantras on the run and kept a steady effort with decent rhythm

What needs work:

• Mental toughness in swim
• Swim fitness
• Transition speed
• Getting my head back in the game when things are not going well
• Digging deeper on both the bike and the run
• Expectations - they were likely too high prior to the race given my build up and life-stress in the last couple of months

In spite of my sub-optimal day, I had a lot of fun being out there with my brother-in-law and cousin-in-law and going along the journey with them towards IM Louisville.  Plus, we all had a nice “adult” weekend with none of our kids there!  I was super proud of my brother-in-law and cousin-in-law for finishing in some tough conditions.  My brother-in law had a flat and some navigational issues, but was able to persevere and make it to the finish.  His experience illustrates the fact that you just can't take any finish for granted, no matter what the distance.  You always face adversity, and success is more about how you overcome it and how you approach it.  I was glad to be reminded of this lesson and am really proud of how he responded!

My cousin-in-law had a good day, solid all-around on the swim/bike/run.  Things went well and he motored along, managing his nutrition, pace, mental approach, etc., tweaking his "race process" and practicing it prior to the big dance in KY.

Josh on the run.

With respect to the shortening of the race, I do not know who made the "final" decision, but I believe it was a good one.  I was likely up to the challenge to race in that heat and could've managed myself, but for a relative newbie, it could have been VERY tough.  It would have also been really hard on spectators and volunteers out there for a longer day.  My worst experience on the day was the 88 degree water.  Starting the day off with a high core body temp, swimming in 88 degree water, then riding and running for 4-5+ hours for all of the competitors in the 100+ degree heat with 80% humidity would have been dangerous.  I know many say you need to HTFU, but now-a-days, race directors face tough decisions.  While I was frustrated with the decision, I did not get bent out of shape like some folks.  Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.  However, the way they announced it was sub-optimal.  I only found out on Twitter and otherwise wouldn't have known until they sent an email late in the day.  We were offered a $125 discount to other 70.3 events later in the year, but the way it all went down could've been managed much better.



After the fact, I am glad I went to the race.  Besides the distance change, it was well-organized, well-run and I hope to go back in the future.  Maybe the weather would cooperate and I could get in the entire half-iron distance on that course – the run has some rollers, but otherwise, it is fast and fun.

Race Report - QuarterMax Triathlon

After a cross-country move and starting a somewhat intense, 6-week session of school, my training has been a bit sporadic.  Regardless, now that my shoulder is finally back to (almost) normal, I wanted to get some racing under my belt.  Five years ago, I was visiting my in-laws in Southern Illinois and found a local race to do called the QuarterMax – a 1000 yd swim, 28 mile bike, and 6.5 mile run (at the time).  My parents were also traveling through the area at the time, so I had a substantial support crew there.  That morning, I was standing on the beach waiting for my wave to start and next thing I know I heard a scream from one of the kayakers saying that “somebody went down – we need help!”  The shorter race had some waves before mine and one of the swimmers, on his way back toward the beach about 100 yards out, went under the water.  We all ran from the beach into the water trying to find him and after 5-10 minutes a couple of guys did.  They pulled him up on to the beach and a doctor spectator tried to revive him for what seemed like forever.  In the mean time, they called for help and a helicopter showed up another few minutes later and the life-flighted him out of there.  We found out later he did not survive.

Meanwhile, we were all left on the beach just dumbfounded and gutted.  It was a surreal experience and none of us knew what was going on.  Obviously we were not all that worried about the race.  Eventually, the race director, in tears, gathered us all together and told us the race was going to happen, but the swim would be shortened.  So we all went through the motions.

 

Going back 5 years later was a little unnerving because of what had happened, but it also felt like some closure in some ways.  Nobody mentioned anything at the race, but I had the athlete in my head a large part of the morning.

As far as the race goes, this one is a good one for me with a slight emphasis on the bike/run combo.  Now that I moved to the area, I figured it’d be fun to go back to QuarterMax and get into the local race scene.  And though my wife and kids were in Florida for the week (as I finish school for the summer), my folks have moved to the area also and decided to come out to the race again.  Plus another good friend of mine that lives in St. Louis came out --- it was great to see him out there!

One thing about races in this area is that the water is warm and there are no wetsuits.  This one was no exception – the water was 81.  I decided to swim in my tri shorts and put on my HR monitor and shirt in transition.  Probably not the best decision with respect to having quick transitions, but I did want HR data from the race.  In future events, I’ll need a better solution.

My goals for this race were:

• Focus on not dropping my left elbow during the swim and continue working on correcting that bad habit / motor pattern.
• Impair myself on the bike, as if I didn’t have to run afterwards.
• Get in ~300 cals on the bike to see how my gut would do at that intensity.
• Run in search of the hurt box and crank up the RPE in the 2^nd lap.

The swim went fine.  I attempted to get behind a few people, but it didn’t last long and I was on my own for most of it.  After getting over a shoulder injury (finally), I have just recently started swimming more.  I am not fast, but I at least managed the distance OK (yes, only 1000 meters, but you have to start somewhere) and was able to focus on form and not dropping my left elbow.  I was out of the water somewhere mid-back of my wave. 

Once I got on the bike, I started hard from the beginning trying to make up as much deficit as I could.  I was watching HR/power some, but was mostly focused on keeping the effort up and getting around as many people as possible.  I had forgotten how hilly and technical this course was.  The roads in and out of the park were windy and had some short, steep climbs.  I was hoping to get near my FTP from a power standpoint, but had a hard time keeping the effort up with all the turns, etc.  Once I got out on the country roads, I was able to get into a good rhythm and start getting some calories in.  I had my watch set to auto-lap every 7 miles for 4 laps and was getting some of my EFS down at each lap.  By the end, I had gotten in about 200 of the 300 calories in the bottle and though my avg/norm power was a little lower than expected (avg 261, norm 277), I had a good ride, finishing in 1:07:xx with the 2^nd fastest split in the entire field and the fastest in my AG by over 3 minutes.

A shot of me coming out of transition - compliments of my friend Rob.

Out on the run and the hills started from the beginning.  It was a 2-looper on some gravel roads through the resort, but to get out to the loop, you ran up the park road with a solid “false flat.”  I tried to get the pace up from the beginning and focused on getting into a good rhythm and continuing to pass people.  I had auto lap set for 1.5 miles and was planning on doing each in about 10 minutes or less.  The hills slowed me down some, but I did manage a 39:xx run and really kept the effort up in the 2^nd half.  Avg pace was 6:33 and avg HR was 166, pushing up to 174 by the end of the run.  I was satisfied with the effort on a hard, hot, hilly course and it was good for the fastest run in my AG and 3^rd fastest in the field.   There were ~330 finishers and 52 guys in my AG and it turns out my 2:11 was good for 6^th OA 1st AG be a few minutes. 

With respect to my goals above, I’d say I did fairly well on the first one and kept my left elbow up through most of the swim.  I probably could’ve gone harder on the bike, but am still working on finding that effort level and holding it.  I also didn’t get all my calories down and need to keep improving on that, too.  Finally, on the run, I was satisfied  with my effort.  All in all, good race to kick off 2012.

Race Reports and Early Season Update

I’ve had several things up in the air recently and hadn’t really dialed in my schedule.  I was planning on doing Oceanside and St. George, but I have had some shoulder issues and was not able to do either.  On top of that, I am in the midst of planning a cross-country move, so racing an Ironman was probably a little ambitious in hindsight.  Since I wasn’t able to do either of these races, I changed up my schedule a bit to accommodate.  I decided to do a bike race in March and a half-marathon in April as some early season events, just to keep things interesting and keep me motivated.

The road race was a new experience and I definitely learned a lot!  It came in the middle of March and I had been biking quite a bit in the early season via my previous St. George training and the Endurance Corner camp in Tucson.  My TSS/day was up to ~108, but I had tapered some for the race and was down to about ~95 for the event. 

PMC chart --- decent fitness for early season due to faux-St.George training, Tucson camp, and quitting work.

However, it turns out steady-state bike fitness doesn’t necessarily equate to success in bike racing.  The race was a CAT5 road race consisting of 3 10-mile laps; the route was mostly flat, but it did have one “hill” which we encountered on each lap.  It wasn’t much of a hill, but was enough to play into the tactics/dynamics of the race.  The wind would also be a factor.  I was warned that the CAT5 guys would essentially go “full gas” from the beginning; I think largely out of inexperience (although maybe that’s just my rationalization).  Shortly after we started we turned straight into the wind  so I just hid in the pack as much as possible and tried to stay with my teammates. 

We actually had 4 people in the race, but it didn't work out as planned and Cesar was the only one who made the front group.

However, the 2nd turn took us onto a frontage road with a gnarly cross-wind.  Not much of a draft and we got strung out big time – I barely hung on to the front group and we split the pack.  The next few miles were fast and furious.  Around the back side of the 10 mile loop was the lone hill on the route and the front guys really put the pedal to the metal up the hill.  I was able to hang on and stay with the group, but barely.  Through the 1st lap I averaged 304 watts with a norm of 321.

First lap of Bariani race - avg 304 norm 321.  Ouch.  And to think, some people ride an entire Ironman at this effort!

The frontage road on the 2nd lap really cracked me and I couldn’t hang on, getting yo-yo’d off the back at ~400 watts.  I was simply not prepared for the short, high-intensity efforts, in spite of my fitness level.  I got dropped like a hot-potato and spent most of the 2nd lap and part of the 3rd on my own, bummed that I was not able to help Cesar at all (not that he needed it).  Towards the back of the 3rd lap, I regrouped with 3 other guys and worked with them a little bit up the back side of the loop.  However, I didn’t want a sprint finish for something close to 27th place, so when we got to the hill, I attacked and took off.  Fortunately, none of them went with me.  Then I just kept the effort high until the finish. It was a 90 minute effort with an average of 275 watts and norm of 290, probably just a little below threshold, really stretching me for an hour and a half.

Nice action shot.

It was a fun experience and I definitely need to work on some short, high-intensity riding to hang in a road race.  Even though my power-to-weight ratio at threshold is respectable, I am definitely more of a steady-state athlete on the bike.

After the bike race, I had resigned from my job (in preparation for our move) and did a couple of ~20 hour weeks in a row just because I had the time and wanted to see how I felt doing several solid weeks in a row and got the CTL up to 114, but then started tapering some and just focusing on quality run work to prepare for my 2nd early season event, a half-marathon.  I was still planning on resting my shoulder through about the end of April, so I gave up some work on the bike, continued my swim-hiatus, and focused a bit on some quality run work.  I hit the track a few times and did some quality tempo at just below half-marathon pace.  I was interested to see where my run fitness was at this point and though I might be able to PR.  Last year, I did a 1:22:05 at Davis Stampede and thought that would be within reach.

But before I would run myself, perhaps the best thing about my season so far was another trip to Boston for the marathon!  Emily crushed it at CIM in 2010 doing a 3:29, so she registered for Boston for 2012 when registration first opened.  We had a great trip to Boston, catching up with old friends, seeing the Aquarium, surviving the heat on race day, walking the Freedom trail, catching a game at Fenway, and visiting the Children’s museum.

Here are some pictures/highlights of our adventures…

Emily and our kids as we entered the expo and packet pickup.

Sending Emily off to wait in Hopkinton.

The kids did great walking around the city and handling the heat.

We visted "Make Way for Ducklings" and the Swan Boats as we made our way over to the race!

Proud Husband at the finish ;-)

 We hung around for a few days after the race....

Starting the Freedom Trail at Boston Common.

Fenway Park with Lance!

100 Years Old.

Boston Children's Museum

 

With respect to the actual race, Emily did a great job, staying strong in tough heat.  It was not the hottest Boston Marathon ever, but it did approach 90 degrees, topping out around 88 I think --- really tough to run in, particularly for a race that doesn't start until 10 AM.  Emily started in the wave at 10:20 and would be running until around 2 or even after, so she really had to manage her pace and effort level.  I was really proud of her and the way she approached the race, knowing it was not a day for a PR.  She enjoyed the experience and soaked it all in.  Perhaps one day we’ll go back and do it again; it’s an incredible race and we love visiting Boston.  I got in a few good runs in Boston along the Charles.  It’s a great place to run and we had really good weather most of the time there.  Early morning runs in big cities are hard to beat!

Early AM run along the Charles.

When I got home, I started dialing it back and tapering for the half-marathon.  One of the things I wanted to work on was my mental strategy for racing.  An open half-marathon provides a great opportunity for this as I can get just below my “red-line” and stay there --- in a place that is sufficiently uncomfortable that I have to manage my head.  My strategy was to compartmentalize the race into 3 “laps” plus 1 hard last mile, running 25 minutes at a time right around a 6:15/mile pace.  With that plan, I should have about 1.1 miles to go and ~7 minutes to a PR.  My Garmin over-estimates speed just a touch, so I knew I would need to monitor the mile markers, too.  I had 3 mantras to use for each of the 3 laps, the first 2 were a couple I have used before, but the last lap, I focused on one to keep my form at the front of my mind – “strong core, floppy feet, forward lean.”  I wanted to stay relaxed, but strong and focus on turning the legs over. 

When they sent us off, I started near the front and stayed with some guys for a short time.  However, it was clear pretty quick that I was not going to run with the front or even the chase group.  I ended up in “no-man’s” land for the first 5-6 miles, running somewhere in the top 15.  I was fine with that and just stuck to my mental strategy.  It was basically an out-and-back course and just after the turnaround, one guy caught me.  I ran with him for about 2 miles, but then, when I hit the end of my 2nd lap and switched to my 3rd, I started pulling away from him and just kept rolling.  I could also see 2 guys up the road and just kept chasing.  It definitely got harder and harder and I did have a few fleeting negative thoughts towards the finish and just wishing to be done, but then I’d bring it right back to my mantra.  It hurt, but I did my best to stick with it.  The last 2-3 miles were tough and I did let my pace drop some, but I was working quite hard.  My average HR for the 2nd half of the race was 174, which is probably right at threshold.

Parkway Half Marathon - you can see the pacing was not spot on (see slight downward trend of blue line)  and I declined in the 2nd half, running it ~36 seconds slower than the first half of the race.

With about 1.5 miles to go, I caught another guy and just flew right by him.  That felt good.  It wasn't so much that I was a speed demon at that point --- he had definitely popped.  Then with about a half-mile to go, I caught another guy.  When I passed him, he tried to stay with me, but I kept the effort up (and it was also slightly uphill), and I could hear him really breathing hard and slowly fall back.  I approached the finish and saw the clock around 1:21:45 and knew it was going to be close!  I gave it all I had (new max HR of 185) and got across the line with a 3-second PR at 1:22:02.  Turns out it was 11th overall and 2nd AG.  I had managed my head fairly well and was satisfied with the effort.  I’ll have more work to do to see if I can keep getting closer to 1:20, but this wasn’t bad considering the race was not in my original plan and I only did about 3 weeks of “real” run training.  I had built a decent amount of fitness in the early season (mostly on the bike) and even though I haven’t been able to swim, it was good to “use” the fitness a little bit --- you can never take a PR for granted!

I’ve had fun so far this season with a training camp, a bike race, spectating at the Boston Marathon, and running my own half-marathon.  Up next is a cross-country move; then I’ll have to tackle some races in the Midwest, hopefully of the triathlon variety.  I will miss the local triathlon scene in California, but am also looking forward to experiencing some new events.