Calgary 70.3

Originally this race was not on the schedule. A few friends wanted a shot at qualifying for Vegas 70.3. I didn't get a full bike at Boise 28.5 and this race fit better within the season. We left DuPont early Friday morning. We stopped several times throughout the drive and pulled into Calgary 14 hours later. This was the furthest north I have ever been.

Our home away from was the Hyatt Regency. The best part of using the race hotel was we didn't have to go anywhere to pick up our race packets. This was not an ideal location to stay because T-2 was 5 miles away and T-1 was another 40 miles further. There was also an issue of parking and not being able to watch the Olympics opening ceremonies because cable was not working.

Saturday morning we ate breakfast then hopped into the pool for a short swim. I guesstimated the pool at 15 meters. I quickly whipped through 50 lengths without getting too dizzy. I went down to grab my race packet. They added a $20 fee to register with the ATA (USAT 1 day registration equivalent). My frustration was that it should have been an option online when registering for the race. Particularly since they were taking cash only and the nearest ATM was not working. Finally after getting cash and receiving the packet, I got everything ready to take out to the transition areas.


Saturday was a day of many frustrations. Especially if you aren't willing to pay for roaming and data charges. The navigation system in the car was somewhat unreliable, sometimes it found our destination and other times wanted us to drive several hundred miles away. We eventually found our way to T-2 to drop off our bike to run bags. We rode our bikes along the run course for about 20 minutes to spin out our legs. After cleaning our bikes we drove to the race start and dropped the bikes off. Once we got back to the hotel, we ordered pizza and got everything ready to leave early Sunday morning.


Somehow we managed to be in the car and ready to leave at 5am race morning. This is the first race when arriving early to the race site did not guarantee a close parking spot. The volunteer said he was alternating cars parking close and far. Really? We walked down and set up our transition area. On the way back we stood in line for the port-a-potty and chatted with Magali Tisserye, who ended up as the top female. I put on my XTERRA VENDETTA and warmed up for a few minutes.


Swim - 29:59
It seemed like everyone decided to sprint to the first buoy. I had so many people around me. It thinned after after the first right turn. I felt good throughout the swim until my goggles were pushed into my eyes. UGH!!! I came out of the water second in my age group.


T-1 - 2:06
I used the wetsuit strippers, grabbed my bag, and ran up the hill to my LYNSKEY.


Bike - 2:30.14 (23.1mph for 58 miles)
The course was very scenic. At one point I saw a hawk land on a post on the far side of the road and eyeball me. A few seconds later on the near side I saw another hawk. Pretty cool stuff.


T-2 - 1:26
I quickly dismounted and then tried to lift my bike over the curb. I almost dropped the bike. I racked the bike and put on my NEWTONS. I stopped just before leaving transition to fill up my water bottle.


Run - 2:03.41
I felt good for the first couple kilometers. It seemed like my effort was very high and my stomach did not feel right. I tried to walk off the pain. Nick passed me right after I started walking and ended up having a great race himself. Every time I attempted to run, I would experience pain in my lower left side within 60 seconds. I knew it wasn't going to be my day. I walked/jogged the rest of the race.

Finished 13th in my age group.

I honestly thought I drank plenty during the race until I realized that I did not pee for 7 hours. I consumed 60 ounces on the bike, 20 ounces on the run with coke at several aid stations, and 30 ounces of water/gatorade after the race. I must do a better job of hydrating or Vegas will be the same result.

Boise 28.5 not 70.3

I thought I was prepared to race in almost any weather. I was so grateful that my buddy flew over for the weekend. He drove us to the top of the Lucky Peak Reservoir and we walked for about 10 minutes.  It was in the low 40s and raining. I was actually wearing my helmet to keep my head dry. We arrived into transition around 1100AM. I walked over to my bike and starting setting everything up. My hands were getting cold. My friends were not faring as well. As we were walking down to the car, they announced the bike was going to be cut to 15 miles because of the winds/rain. We sat in car with the heat on full blast for 30 minutes. I think everyone was ready to throw in the towel. I am fairly certain I would not have started if we didn't have a car. There was no shelter near the transition area and it rained the entire time.

 

While warming up, I put on my XTERRA VENDETTA and my swim cap. As we were walking uphill back to transition, several athletes were taking their bikes and pulling out of the race. I decided that as long as I could maintain body heat, I would swim and then go from there. The pros were already half way done. I took off my shoes with 5 minutes before my wave started. It wasn't a lot of fun standing on wet concrete with cold temperatures.

 

SWIM - 29:32 without run up into transition (GARMIN 910XT had it at 1.27 miles)

It was a one loop course, clockwise. I lined up slightly to the left of center. The water was COLD, 57 degrees. We were off. I felt like I had a good line and in no time I caught up to swimmers from the previous wave. It was hard to tell where I was at my age group. After the last turn buoy, I spotted another orange cap. We basically swam side my side until the last 100 meters. He picked up the pace. I ended up 2nd out of the water in my wave. I peeled off the XTERRA off on the way to the bike. I saw wetsuit strippers and used their help to get the wetsuit off. As I stood up, my left hamstring kind of cramped up.

 

T1 - 2:28

I put on my helmet, stuffed all of my swim gear into the bag, grabbed the LYNSKEY, and headed out of transition. I saw Jared and Guy and gave them a quick nod.

 

BIKE - 35:24 (GARMIN had it as 14.07miles)

It was a 1-2 mile descent. I was very conservative. I saw a guy in my age group fly by me on the way down. I passed him back, once I started pedaling and never saw him again. We had to take a bike path for a few hundred feet. Just as I enter the path I pass a guy. He yells, "Hey no passing!" I did not respond. I was thinking really. You started how many minutes before me. On the path we had a hard right turn. There were several athletes from the other waves in front of me. One of them clicks out and stops at the turn, so all the rest of us come to a near stop. I luckily stay upright and finally maneuver my way around the turn. Once off the path, it was time to start riding. It was hard to gauge how hard I should ride knowing that a half marathon was still to come. I decided to ride as if it were still 56 miles. I made sure to drink several times because of the cramping earlier.

 

T2 - 1:41

I racked my bike and ripped open my run bag. I grabbed the NEWTONS and had no problem putting the right shoe on. I could not get my left foot in the shoe. I finally looked down and saw my pinkie toe on top of the shoe with all the other toes in the shoe. My feet were that numb. I finally got my foot in. I grabbed my visor and water bottle and headed out.

 

RUN - 1:26.02 (6:34 per mile)

I felt good at the beginning of the run. A few of the pros were coming through onto their second lap. I settled into a nice pace. A few guys went by me. I had no idea which age group they were in because of the compression gear. After 3 miles I started picking up the effort.  I caught up to a guy wearing a Mark Allen Online (MAO) jersey. I ran behind him for a couple of miles. He picked up the pace on a decline and put 10 feet on me. I stayed in a groove and slowly brought him back. A couple miles later he put on another surge. This time he pulled a few hundred feet away. It was perfect timing on his part because I was starting to hurt. My left foot had a hot spot. It felt like a blister forming. My slowest miles of the race were 8-10. Oddly enough, I started to real MAO back in again. I passed him at the aid station as he went to get nutrition. He tucked in right behind me. I just finished all of the nutrition I was carrying in the bottle. I started thinking about strategy now. I tried to increase the pace slightly. The foot steps were still behind me. I grabbed a cup of Powerbar Perform at miles 11 & 12. He was still there. I decide that I do not want to sprint at the end, so I pick up the pace. The foot steps slowly start to fade and I have broken away. I tell myself I only have a few more minutes. It ended up being my fastest mile of the race, 6:14 and 15 seconds faster than the previous mile. I was running up last few hundred meters toward the finish line and I see Guy cheering me on. I hear foot steps and think MAO is back. Can it be? It ended up being someone else who was charging hard. I tried to match his pace, but it was too much. I crossed the finish line exhausted. I had no idea where I finished or even how fast I ran. I scroll through my watch and see my half marathon. I was shocked. It was my fastest ever half marathon. I hadn't even run that fast in a stand alone run race.

 

FINISH - 2:35.34 5th Age Group/53rd Overall

I qualified for the World 70.3 Championships in Vegas.

Neck pain and sprint tri

My neck started bothering me late Sunday night. I woke up feeling okay. I went to the lake for my first wetsuit swim of the year. My body was tired from the hardest/longest bike of the year. I realized I swim like a snake when I bilateral breath. I swam much straighter breathing every stroke. The neck pain increased over the next couple days. It was so bad on Wednesday that I had to visit JPT pharmacy. I felt better on Thursday. I signed up to race a sprint in issaquah a few weeks earlier. Orinially I had no intentions of racing. I changed my mind Friday night. On the drive up to issaquah I wasn't sure if it was going to rain. It did, but after almost most racers finished. I was glad my little brother picked up the race packets the day before because it made race morning a breeze. I set up all my stuff and waited for the race to begin. It was a short swim (Garmin 910XT had it ad 434meters). A few guys jumped out front at the start. I passed a couple of them after the first buoy. I couldn't tell how many people were in front of me. As I stand up to start running onto shore, I see a blue seventy wetsuit. I yelled, "No, you gotta be kidding me." It was Karen. She stood up at the same time I did. I stripped off my XTERRA VENDETTA, put on my helmet, and grabbed the LYNSKEY. Transition was not set up well. I had to run across other rows of bikes. As I tried to exit, two people were blocking me. The race just started sending the duathletes to begin their race. It was chaos. I finally get out and jump on the bike only to have my shoes flip upside down. I come to a complete stop. Luckily I didn't fall over. I get myself situated and start pedaling. There were lots of turns in the first couple miles. The course was an out and back with a few small rollers. I spun out on the downhills. I was riding with 2 other guys until they picked up the pace on the last hill on the way out. I watched them slowly pull away on the return trip. I quickly rack the bike and put on my NEWTON'S. I head out and hear footsteps behind me. Two guys pass me quickly and I had no response. The course was mostly on grass with uneven terrain and some damp spots. I ended up finishing 6th overall. They had bratwurst post race. They were delicious. I didn't feel great during the race or horrible either. The funny thing was I had no soreness post race. Maybe I didn't go hard enough. Maybe my neck was a factor. Maybe the killer weekend of training the previous week caught up to me. I am not sure. I have felt great the last 2 days. It will be a great race this weekend.

No workouts today

Normally I workout everyday one to two times a day. Every once in awhile I will have day off during the week. Today is a rare day being a Saturday where I have no workouts scheduled. I feel like I am missing something. It doesn't help that is is sunny with blue skies.

Training is been going much better this year. Last year I felt like I would have 1 good workout and several bad workouts. This year it is the opposite. My body needs a low-key workout or two after every 3-4 solid workouts. It doesn't matter how hard you train if you don't allow your body to recover.

My swimming endurance is improving. I am maintaining 5x400s at the same speed with short rest. My power numbers on the bike are up 10-15% from last year. I am running well at almost 40 miles a week. I have a couple of races coming up in the next two weeks. It should be an interesting season.

Flat on trainer

I didn't think it was possible, but I flatted on the trainer yesterday. It was one of those days where things were amiss. I switched the road tire with the trainer tire. I must not have checked it closely. I was in the middle of the workout, when POP. I saw a bulge in the tire where the tube was trying to come out. I thought I could get away with fixing the tube placement and just reinflating. No such luck. I put the bike back on the trainer and it went flat again. I took the wheel off and replace the tube. I then proceeded to finish the workout. It takes the cycle ops a few minutes to warm-up, so I had to push bigger gears for a few intervals. Otherwise training has been going well. I have had several good workouts in all 3 sports for a few weeks. I think they finally caught up with me late last week. My legs started to get heavier and heavier. A few lighter days of training seems to have me back on track. I swam a crazy fast set on Monday. 10x50 on 40. I touched and my 500 was 6:37 short course meters. I attempted to do it twice and only made 6 as my middle toes were going completely numb. Next big race will be Boise 70.3 in June.

Lavaman 2012

We arrived into Kona Saturday afternoon. Originally the flight was supposed to arrive at 11:40AM. The airline changed the flight to depart 3 hours later. This made the afternoon very busy. First we stopped at Bike Works (I highly recommend them for service or if you need to pick up some gear.) and assembled the bikes. After 30 minutes of sweating, we headed north to the Hilton Waikola to pick up our race packets. We made it there before they closed with 1 minute to spare. Back to Kona to pick up our bikes. I realized that I did not pack my nutrition, so I picked up 3 packets of Gu Brew Blueberry Pomegranate (Ben swore this was the best stuff ever, so now was the perfect opportunity to try it.).

Race morning, we were up before 4AM and pulled into the race site by 5. This gave us a parking spot close to transition, less than 100 yards away. We set up our areas and then went back to the minivan to chill. As we were sitting there, they announced the race will be wetsuit legal. I never even thought that was an option. Oh well. Then they announced the swim warm-up would close 25 minutes before the start. I put on my XTERRA SPEEDSUIT and headed over for a short 10 minute dip. While I was swimming, I saw a turtle under water looking up at me. I saw him in the same spot both ways. It was pretty cool. Maybe good luck!

Pre-race with XTERRA Speedsuit

SWIM - 22:10
I am always amazed at how many people start at an all out sprint. I end up passing most of them in 200 meters.I saw another turtle. It was tempting to stop, but I had to finish the race first. I decided to try and breathe less for this race because that is how I swim my laps in the pool. It seemed to work as I came out of the water feeling good.

Transition 1 - 1:32
I ran up to transition jumped through the kiddie pools that were set-up to clean the feet and headed to my LYNSKEY. I overshot it by one row. I quickly turned around and ran to my area. As I was taking my speedsuit off I noticed a button popped off my race belt. I ran over and grabbed it so I wouldn't lose it. I put on my OAKLEY's & new RUDY PROJECT WINGSPAN. 


BIKE - 1:02.38 (23.8mph)
Since I forgot my nutrition, it was going to be an experiment to see how my body was going to hold up. It took me several miles to get into a groove. The miles seemed to go slowly. I saw Chris McCormack (Also known as Macca. He is a World Champion and one of the greatest triathletes ever.) going the other way. He threw me a hang loose and it sent me a burst of energy. I rode stronger and started passing several people the rest of the way. Thanks Macca!!!

Transition 2 - 0:46
I jumped of my bike and quickly ran back thru transition. I put on my NEWTONS, grabbed my visor and water bottle full of Gu Brew.

RUN - 41:08 6:38 per/mile
We start the run on lava rocks, very unstable. I hear footsteps behind me. I focused on my breathing and slowly start to pull away. It was hot out there. I see a few guys up the road and I slowly start to pass them as the run progresses. After 3 miles there are only 4 people within sight. I pass 2 within a half mile. I catch the other 2 at mile 4, right before the run turns to more lava rock and sand. It was narrow, so I patiently sit behind both guys as we are zig zagging our way through the last 2 miles. I pass one of the guys at the aid station (benefit of running with your own bottle). He tucks in behind me as I am right behind the other guy. After 5.5 miles I decide to pick up the pace to see if I can pass the last guy and break them both. No guts no glory. I pass the last guy and hear both of them right behind me. I continue to push as we are getting closer to the finish. The last 100 meters is in thick sand, ugh. I created enough of a gap and get to the line 4 and 7 seconds before the other 2 guys.

This is one of the most challenging run courses I have done for and Olympic Triathlon. I tried something different for nutrition and it seemed to work. I didn't have any cramping and didn't need any salt tabs. I finished up 5th in my age group and 16th overall out of almost 1200 racers. I was even lucky enough to have Macca stand with me for a picture. It was a good day.

Macca and me

Tuscon Training Camp

Last week I spent time in Tuscon, Arizona. The weather started out warmer in the first few days 70-90 degree highs. It changed quickly to a high in the low 60s and lots of wind. I managed to get in 23.5 hours of training (23,300 yards of swimming, 12 hours of cycling, and 37.4 miles of running).

I biked a little too hard Sunday and ran really hard Monday morning. It took me a few days to recover from those efforts. On Friday, I had a strong 5100 yard swim Friday morning. After 2 hours of downtime, we climbed Mt. Lemmon (25 miles 5200+ feet of vertical climbing). It took me a little over 2.5 hours. The hardest part of the climb was trying to figure out what clothing to wear. One minute super cold in a head wind and the next minute warm with a tailwind. After 17 miles, the temperature dropped below 40. At that point, I put on a vest, arm and leg warmers. It was my longest climb on the bike ever beating my previous by 16 miles.

I met several talented athletes, who were fun to be around. I saw a jackalope (bigger than my dogs, but no horns), an eagle eating a rabbit on a cactus, and a hawk fly into the living room window. It was a good experience. Thanks Mark.