I signed up for the White Rock half marathon about two months ago at that point in my prep for Austin 70.3 when all of the hard training was behind me, taper was underway and I was starting to think about what was next.
I'd had success running a half marathon about 5-6 weeks after Austin in 2008, so I figured that model was worth repeating. So I put my money down, along with several of my friends both locally and those from farther away who would travel to Dallas for the race.
My recovery from Austin hasn't gone quite as well as I'd hoped, and I'm carrying a very sore/strained hamstring into this race that despite my best efforts, I haven't been able to get under control.
Training has been spotty at best. I've logged just 2 swims, and 3 rides since the race on Oct 17. I began running after 5 days off, and ramped up to 5 runs (nothing longer than 6 miles) the following week. I did 4 runs the week after that (11/1-7) and was able to get in a semi long run of 9.5 miles, but it, along with the track session that week left my hamstring in shatters.
I scheduled a Dr. appointment to have the hamstring looked at where I was diagnosed with a strained hamstring tendon at the point where the tendon joins the pelvic bone. Essentially right at the bottom of your butt cheek. Doc didn't have much for me other than a steroid prescription and orders to skip my long run and tempo session the following week. I still haven't started the steroid prescription opting to save it for after the race.
I took about 10 days off where I only logged a couple of light runs but it doesn't seem to have helped things much. I have an appointment with a chiropractor next week to get some thoughts from him on ART, any adjustments that might help, and recommended stretches and exercises. I've noticed that I've developed some pretty serious muscular imbalances that I think he might be able to help me fix in the off season.
So I got back to running on Wed this week in hopes of being able to make the best of my race in a few days. I had a decent run today in the cooler temps, but know I'm about 2-3 12 milers short of being prepared. The hammy was pretty barky about 3 miles in.
As I was running today, I was trying to decide what the right pacing strategy should be for next week given I'm not sure what I'm capable and think the opportunity to go for too much too early is very real. I'm still unsure, but think I'm going to treat it like I would any real hard swim set. Break it down in to manageable mental pieces, play it conservative until I know what kind of hand I'll be playing with, then make the best with what I've got.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Ironman AZ
Last weekend I made the trip out to Phoenix to spend some time with my brother Todd, and to take in IMAZ. Our friend Ian who we caught up with in Austin last month was racing his last event of his rookie pro season, and it seemed like as good a reason as any to take in the race.
I landed around 8:45a on Saturday and Todd and I went straight to the race expo (about 5 mins from the airport) to attend the volunteer meeting. Todd was a race day volunteer for this race last year, so the plan was for us to volunteer again, get an early shift, and to be done by the time the race kicked off. After the meeting, we checked out the lay of the land, watched the athletes get into the frigid lake (63 degrees) for their practice swims, and hit the WTC tent to waste a bit of money on gear. We ran in to Ian and caught up for a few minutes, and were on our way back to Todd's house to spend the rest of the day with my sis-in-law Shawna and my niece and nephew.
Come race morning, we ended up working the bike special needs bag drop off from 5a-7a (we might have skipped out a little early, but we still worked our tails off). The highlight of the morning was that Todd got to collect Chrissie Wellington's bag from her, and that we caught up with Ian and his parents. We checked in on Ian's night of sleep which was better than the prior night (something about getting stirred out of bed at 4a by a chick dressed in a cheer leader outfit), and coordinated logistics with Mr. and Mrs Mikelson.
You can't tell, but the entire length of the bridge was lined with people looking down onto the swim
Looking down course to the east just prior to the pro start
The reason this race was so extraordinary to watch was because some changes to how pro athletes qualify for the World Champs in Kona make IMAZ situated 11 months in advance of Kona a great way for the ringer pros to show up and secure a lot of points towards next years qualification, which means they can focus on 70.3s for the remainder of the year keeping them fresh for Kona. The men's field was very deep, and the women's wasn't shabby either. There were a number of subplots going on as well. Jordan Rapp's return to IM 8 months after a near fatal car-on-cyclist accident, Chrissie Wellington's return to action after her surprise withdrawal the morning of Kona, and Matty Reed's first full IM to name a few.
The swim start did give you chills. The played Black Sabath's Ironman just prior to the start, and all of the athletes just went nuts screaming and cheering. I must admit it was pretty cool.
After the start, Todd and I hopped in the car to make our way out to the bike course. With a three loop out and back course, this bike course was very spectator friendly, especially if you go somewhere in the middle as opposed to the turnarounds.
We found a nice 90 degree corner on Alma School Rd and McDowell Rd at about mile 7 out of town, and mile 30 back in to town and pitched our lawn chairs. We brought binoculars to look down the road and spot, were using the iPhone to follow the race updates on www.ironman.com, as well as to take bike splits. We asked Ian the day before what type of splits info he'd like to get out on the course from us, so we had our instructions and were busy getting organized when the athletes began coming through.
Looking south down Alma School Rd
Iron Spectating, this is looking north up Alma School Rd.
I landed around 8:45a on Saturday and Todd and I went straight to the race expo (about 5 mins from the airport) to attend the volunteer meeting. Todd was a race day volunteer for this race last year, so the plan was for us to volunteer again, get an early shift, and to be done by the time the race kicked off. After the meeting, we checked out the lay of the land, watched the athletes get into the frigid lake (63 degrees) for their practice swims, and hit the WTC tent to waste a bit of money on gear. We ran in to Ian and caught up for a few minutes, and were on our way back to Todd's house to spend the rest of the day with my sis-in-law Shawna and my niece and nephew.
Come race morning, we ended up working the bike special needs bag drop off from 5a-7a (we might have skipped out a little early, but we still worked our tails off). The highlight of the morning was that Todd got to collect Chrissie Wellington's bag from her, and that we caught up with Ian and his parents. We checked in on Ian's night of sleep which was better than the prior night (something about getting stirred out of bed at 4a by a chick dressed in a cheer leader outfit), and coordinated logistics with Mr. and Mrs Mikelson.
You can't tell, but the entire length of the bridge was lined with people looking down onto the swim
Looking down course to the east just prior to the pro start
The reason this race was so extraordinary to watch was because some changes to how pro athletes qualify for the World Champs in Kona make IMAZ situated 11 months in advance of Kona a great way for the ringer pros to show up and secure a lot of points towards next years qualification, which means they can focus on 70.3s for the remainder of the year keeping them fresh for Kona. The men's field was very deep, and the women's wasn't shabby either. There were a number of subplots going on as well. Jordan Rapp's return to IM 8 months after a near fatal car-on-cyclist accident, Chrissie Wellington's return to action after her surprise withdrawal the morning of Kona, and Matty Reed's first full IM to name a few.
The swim start did give you chills. The played Black Sabath's Ironman just prior to the start, and all of the athletes just went nuts screaming and cheering. I must admit it was pretty cool.
After the start, Todd and I hopped in the car to make our way out to the bike course. With a three loop out and back course, this bike course was very spectator friendly, especially if you go somewhere in the middle as opposed to the turnarounds.
We found a nice 90 degree corner on Alma School Rd and McDowell Rd at about mile 7 out of town, and mile 30 back in to town and pitched our lawn chairs. We brought binoculars to look down the road and spot, were using the iPhone to follow the race updates on www.ironman.com, as well as to take bike splits. We asked Ian the day before what type of splits info he'd like to get out on the course from us, so we had our instructions and were busy getting organized when the athletes began coming through.
Looking south down Alma School Rd
Iron Spectating, this is looking north up Alma School Rd.It was freezing out there on the bike course. In the high 50s but windy as could be. Easily 25 mph winds.
The first time we saw Ian, he went by in 17th place. We could tell he had a great swim from the text updates, and came out of the water real close to the top guys and in a large group, so things were off to a good start. We saw Ian at mile 7, 30, 44, 67, and 81 and by the second time we saw him, he was into 16th where he would stay each of the remaining times he went by. At mile 81, he went by and we told him he was still 16, but that he was only 4 mins down from 10th place. He was actually also 4 mins down on 9th as those guys were riding together. He was in good shape, and Hillary Biscay who was back doing commentary for the IM coverage texted me a time or two to confirm that Ian was good.
There was action in the front of the race as we could see Lieto, Rapp, and Bracht make their move on the second loop and bring in the 3 guys out front. We also saw Chrissie lay low for the first lap, then drop the hammer and begin distancing herself from Leanda Cave and Rachel Joyce.
After we saw him at the beginning of his final bike loop, we hit the car and headed to a spot I had scouted out on the North side of the Mill Ave bridge on the run course where I thought we could see the athletes twice per loop. The two spots were only about a 2 min walk apart, but as best I could tell, the first spot was around mile 3, and the second spot was around mile 7 on the 3 loop run course.
From the bridge, I could actually see them off to the west as they came off of the lake side trail and up a hill. Then they'd disappear for about 75 seconds before turning into our line of view under the freeway where they'd make their way onto the bridge to cross the lake.
The first time we saw Ian on the run, he had moved up to 10th, and we were pumped. After the race, Mrs. M said he came off the bike in 13th, so since we'd seen him last, he'd caught 3 on he bike, and another 3 in T2 and the first 3 miles of the run. We gave him his place, splits down to the next guy, and some words of encouragement. He was in good spirits and gave us a hang loose.
A few of the guys up the road (namely James Bonney and Kevin Everett) didn't look that good, and Ian looked real strong when he went by, so Todd and I knew it was going to get interesting if Ian hung in there.
There were two people running fast behind Ian, but one of them was Chrissie, so other than risk of getting Chicked, Max Longree was the only guy who Todd and I could tell was running very fast and might be a problem.
At mile 8, Ian was still in 10th and in good spirits. The race ahead of him was coming back to him a bit. Lieto looked much different (like he did on the Kona coverage) by mile 7, James Bonney and Kevin Everett still looked vulnerable, and Ian looked strong.
Back on the bridge at mile 12, Ian ws still 10th but had taken about 4 mins out of James Bonney who was only 2 mins up the road. Lieto was more like 4 mins up the road, but went by and continued to show further decline. Ian had been running about the same pace as Matty Reed who never looked comfortable or all that interested each time he went by, so we wondered if Matty could be had as well. We could tell Ian was heading into some pain, but his pace and cadence still looked good.
While we waited for Ian at mile 16, Lieto came through. We were situated right before an aid station and as Lieto approached, I gave him splits and he stopped running and asked me if I had a jacket or blanket. At this point, it was raining, was still windy and was cold. He spent about 60 seconds walking through the aid station looking for something and finally found a thermal blanket. Ian was through in 9th place just a couple of minutes down on Lieto having passed James Bonney between 12 and 16, but Max Longree had run Ian down and was just seconds behind him. Chrissie had also caught Ian and was on his heels. I gave Ian the Lieto news that he was walking and tried to keep him going.
Todd and I decided we needed to start making our way back to the start line, so we left after seeing Ian for the 2nd time on loop two. Parking at this thing is bad, so we knew we needed the time.
As we waited at the finish line, the leaders came in. Timo Bracht posted an impressive time. When Jordan Rapp came by, he had tears coming down his face. Chrissie came through with a mind boggling time of 8:36. Max Longree came by with a lolli-pop in his mouth.
We hoped that Ian had held it together. Lieto wasn't through, Kevin Everett had lost places and things were looking good.
When Ian came around the corner in 8th, Todd and I went nuts. He saw us immediately, gave us the double point and ran to us for a big awkward high five attempt, ran down the shoot and found Mrs. M who got a kiss, then he took it across the line. 25 minute PR, first Pro paycheck in an IM, big gusty race on a huge stage. It was awesome.
Todd and I were so busy with splits and places, that we never got any photos of Ian. However we did run in to old Jr high and HS swimming bud Hillary at the finish line in between her interviewing duties.
What a thoroughly exhausting, yet exhilarating race to watch. It was a ton of fun, and was very inspirational. These pros are such amazing athletes. They make it look so easy. funny thing was that as much fun as I had, the thought of signing up next year never crossed my mind. I think the hurt from Austin is still fresh, so it was easy to see the forest for the trees.
I look forward to going back next year to volunteer and spectate again.
The first time we saw Ian, he went by in 17th place. We could tell he had a great swim from the text updates, and came out of the water real close to the top guys and in a large group, so things were off to a good start. We saw Ian at mile 7, 30, 44, 67, and 81 and by the second time we saw him, he was into 16th where he would stay each of the remaining times he went by. At mile 81, he went by and we told him he was still 16, but that he was only 4 mins down from 10th place. He was actually also 4 mins down on 9th as those guys were riding together. He was in good shape, and Hillary Biscay who was back doing commentary for the IM coverage texted me a time or two to confirm that Ian was good.
There was action in the front of the race as we could see Lieto, Rapp, and Bracht make their move on the second loop and bring in the 3 guys out front. We also saw Chrissie lay low for the first lap, then drop the hammer and begin distancing herself from Leanda Cave and Rachel Joyce.
After we saw him at the beginning of his final bike loop, we hit the car and headed to a spot I had scouted out on the North side of the Mill Ave bridge on the run course where I thought we could see the athletes twice per loop. The two spots were only about a 2 min walk apart, but as best I could tell, the first spot was around mile 3, and the second spot was around mile 7 on the 3 loop run course.
From the bridge, I could actually see them off to the west as they came off of the lake side trail and up a hill. Then they'd disappear for about 75 seconds before turning into our line of view under the freeway where they'd make their way onto the bridge to cross the lake.
The first time we saw Ian on the run, he had moved up to 10th, and we were pumped. After the race, Mrs. M said he came off the bike in 13th, so since we'd seen him last, he'd caught 3 on he bike, and another 3 in T2 and the first 3 miles of the run. We gave him his place, splits down to the next guy, and some words of encouragement. He was in good spirits and gave us a hang loose.
A few of the guys up the road (namely James Bonney and Kevin Everett) didn't look that good, and Ian looked real strong when he went by, so Todd and I knew it was going to get interesting if Ian hung in there.
There were two people running fast behind Ian, but one of them was Chrissie, so other than risk of getting Chicked, Max Longree was the only guy who Todd and I could tell was running very fast and might be a problem.
At mile 8, Ian was still in 10th and in good spirits. The race ahead of him was coming back to him a bit. Lieto looked much different (like he did on the Kona coverage) by mile 7, James Bonney and Kevin Everett still looked vulnerable, and Ian looked strong.
Back on the bridge at mile 12, Ian ws still 10th but had taken about 4 mins out of James Bonney who was only 2 mins up the road. Lieto was more like 4 mins up the road, but went by and continued to show further decline. Ian had been running about the same pace as Matty Reed who never looked comfortable or all that interested each time he went by, so we wondered if Matty could be had as well. We could tell Ian was heading into some pain, but his pace and cadence still looked good.
While we waited for Ian at mile 16, Lieto came through. We were situated right before an aid station and as Lieto approached, I gave him splits and he stopped running and asked me if I had a jacket or blanket. At this point, it was raining, was still windy and was cold. He spent about 60 seconds walking through the aid station looking for something and finally found a thermal blanket. Ian was through in 9th place just a couple of minutes down on Lieto having passed James Bonney between 12 and 16, but Max Longree had run Ian down and was just seconds behind him. Chrissie had also caught Ian and was on his heels. I gave Ian the Lieto news that he was walking and tried to keep him going.
Todd and I decided we needed to start making our way back to the start line, so we left after seeing Ian for the 2nd time on loop two. Parking at this thing is bad, so we knew we needed the time.
As we waited at the finish line, the leaders came in. Timo Bracht posted an impressive time. When Jordan Rapp came by, he had tears coming down his face. Chrissie came through with a mind boggling time of 8:36. Max Longree came by with a lolli-pop in his mouth.
We hoped that Ian had held it together. Lieto wasn't through, Kevin Everett had lost places and things were looking good.
When Ian came around the corner in 8th, Todd and I went nuts. He saw us immediately, gave us the double point and ran to us for a big awkward high five attempt, ran down the shoot and found Mrs. M who got a kiss, then he took it across the line. 25 minute PR, first Pro paycheck in an IM, big gusty race on a huge stage. It was awesome.
Todd and I were so busy with splits and places, that we never got any photos of Ian. However we did run in to old Jr high and HS swimming bud Hillary at the finish line in between her interviewing duties.
What a thoroughly exhausting, yet exhilarating race to watch. It was a ton of fun, and was very inspirational. These pros are such amazing athletes. They make it look so easy. funny thing was that as much fun as I had, the thought of signing up next year never crossed my mind. I think the hurt from Austin is still fresh, so it was easy to see the forest for the trees.
I look forward to going back next year to volunteer and spectate again.
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