In honor of the theme for this weekends Old College Tri event, I seem to have done my best to replicate my old college habits, and somehow did not get registered for the event.
Not sure how it happened. I remember going to active.com, estimating my 300M swim time and everything, but was perplexed when I didn't get any packet pickup info the week leading up to the race. I checked active.com, and there was no record of my transaction.
I'll check my credit card and email confirms tonight when I get home, but I must not have clicked the last submit button or something. Of course, the race is sold out. I rode with the race organizer last Sunday, and overheard him tell someone to email if he wanted to get in the race, so I could probably get in. The swim is in a pool, and I'd likely get put at the back of the pack which would make for a miserable 4 minutes of climbing over bodies, and I'm not sure I'm up for it.
We'll see. I may just go and volunteer instead.
-----UPDATE-----
Turns out I did sign up. Active.com billed me, but did not notify the race director. So I am not crazy. Wish me luck in getting a refund from Active.com.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Movie Recommendation
We watched three movies this weekend. "American Gangster" and "Juno" on DVD courtesy of Blockbuster, and "Horton Hears a Who" at the theatre.
My date to Horton was my 2.5 year old daughter Reagan. This was her first trip to the movies, and she did a great job. In all honesty, Horton is tough for just about anyone because Dr. Seuss' characters are so bazaar, it is hard to figure out what they are supposed to be. And explaining what a "who" is to an adult is a bit of a challenge, so you can imagine we struggled with that one a bit. But Horton was definitely an elephant, and we liked him.
The screen was big, the seats were comfortable, and the pop corn was great. We made it over an hour before we decided to call it an afternoon.
As for the DVD's, Juno pretty much met the hype, but American Gangster was above and beyond my expectations. The fact that it was based on a true story was enough to drive the story home and make for a solid flick.
We watched the director's uncut version, and I'd highly recommend it.
My date to Horton was my 2.5 year old daughter Reagan. This was her first trip to the movies, and she did a great job. In all honesty, Horton is tough for just about anyone because Dr. Seuss' characters are so bazaar, it is hard to figure out what they are supposed to be. And explaining what a "who" is to an adult is a bit of a challenge, so you can imagine we struggled with that one a bit. But Horton was definitely an elephant, and we liked him.
The screen was big, the seats were comfortable, and the pop corn was great. We made it over an hour before we decided to call it an afternoon.
As for the DVD's, Juno pretty much met the hype, but American Gangster was above and beyond my expectations. The fact that it was based on a true story was enough to drive the story home and make for a solid flick.
We watched the director's uncut version, and I'd highly recommend it.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Ramping Up the Training
I feel like I write this post about 4 times a year. So let me clarify this post by saying, this time I mean it! Maybe! Definitely likely! Strong Possibly!
I did my Wed night group ride last night, but for the first time this year, followed it up with a group swim immediately afterwards.
I did this double pretty much weekly last year, and it is a tough double, but certainly a character builder, particularly because the ride is always a bit of a hammer fest.
I chose to let the "Alpha" group roll on ahead, and was hoping to find a nice group that would keep my Watts and HR somewhere south of Z5 which is where it often goes with the fast group.
Unfortunately, there really wasn't much between too fast and not fast enough, so I did alot of the ride on my own.
We had crazy winds in the Dallas area yesterday, and it looks like they are still kicking up today. Pretty par for the course this time of the year.
I've never found this documented anywhere, but have heard that Dallas is one of the windiest big cities in the US only behind Chicago. I believe it. Winds were out of the south at 25mph last night, with gusts up to 31 according to accu weather. It put some hair on my chest.
The swim was my second swim since March 1 (the last being in the Lonestar Qtr, see the race report below) so I felt pretty shaky to say the least in the pool.
We'll see how things go this weekend. My hopes are to get out and do a couple of rides with the tri team again.
Dinger
ps. My fantasy baseball team is out to a 4-0 start, and leads the league. Things are looking rough this week, and I am likely to drop my first game. Keep the faith.
I did my Wed night group ride last night, but for the first time this year, followed it up with a group swim immediately afterwards.
I did this double pretty much weekly last year, and it is a tough double, but certainly a character builder, particularly because the ride is always a bit of a hammer fest.
I chose to let the "Alpha" group roll on ahead, and was hoping to find a nice group that would keep my Watts and HR somewhere south of Z5 which is where it often goes with the fast group.
Unfortunately, there really wasn't much between too fast and not fast enough, so I did alot of the ride on my own.
We had crazy winds in the Dallas area yesterday, and it looks like they are still kicking up today. Pretty par for the course this time of the year.
I've never found this documented anywhere, but have heard that Dallas is one of the windiest big cities in the US only behind Chicago. I believe it. Winds were out of the south at 25mph last night, with gusts up to 31 according to accu weather. It put some hair on my chest.
The swim was my second swim since March 1 (the last being in the Lonestar Qtr, see the race report below) so I felt pretty shaky to say the least in the pool.
We'll see how things go this weekend. My hopes are to get out and do a couple of rides with the tri team again.
Dinger
ps. My fantasy baseball team is out to a 4-0 start, and leads the league. Things are looking rough this week, and I am likely to drop my first game. Keep the faith.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Hillary's Ready for IMAZ
Some of you know that Pro Triathlete and all around insane iron chick Hillary Biscay and I have been friends since we were about 11. We swam together on the same club team for many years in L.A., and have been keeping in touch via email over the past couple of years.
Any how, I typically send her a quick good luck note before her big races of the year, and if you know Hillary, she usually has 5-7 big IM races a year (hence the insane iron chick title).
I got a note from her tonight and she says she is feeling fit for IMAZ this weekend, and is looking forward to a good race on her new home course.
The field will be tough with Michellie Jones and Heather Golnick there, but we're hoping for another spot on the podium for Hillary, which would be great given some of the health setbacks she had early this year.
Go Hill!
Any how, I typically send her a quick good luck note before her big races of the year, and if you know Hillary, she usually has 5-7 big IM races a year (hence the insane iron chick title).
I got a note from her tonight and she says she is feeling fit for IMAZ this weekend, and is looking forward to a good race on her new home course.
The field will be tough with Michellie Jones and Heather Golnick there, but we're hoping for another spot on the podium for Hillary, which would be great given some of the health setbacks she had early this year.
Go Hill!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Close Call?
I am pretty sure I had a close call on the bike today. I'm still trying to sort it all out, and decide what I am going to assume happened or could have happened, but I'll be honest, it has me thinking about my rides a bit differently.
I headed out for a ride this afternoon (Sat). I wasn't sure as I rolled off my driveway where I was headed, but wanted to get in a couple of hours, then come back home and throw in a 30 min brick run. I've been enjoying this less structured approach to training, so deciding to workout on the weekends based on feel has been a fun experiment.
I decided to head south around the lake, through Grapevine and then to head west through Southlake until I hit an hour, then I'd turn around and head back. This is my favorite 3 hour ride route, and I figured I'd give it a go, cut out a 20 minute add on loop I do, and see how far I could make it before I hit an hour and then turn back.
As you make your way along the east side of Lake Grapevine, you actually get up on the dam and ride about 2 miles on a two lane road up on top of the dam. Great views of the lake to the west, and most of the metroplex to the east.
Up on the dam, the lanes are pretty narrow, there is only one each way, no shoulder, but always lots of bikers on the weekends. It is the safest way to get from the north to south side of the lake.
When cars come around bikers, they typically swing into the opposite lane and go around. Traffic is thin enough that passing is usually not a problem.
So here is what happened as best I can tell. It all happened behind me, but I'm certain I know how it all went down.
As I was starting to make the small climb up on to the dam (heading south) there was a stream of maybe 4-5 cars coming in the opposite direction. There was also a group of cars behind me coming up on me. Since the three groups were going to meet at the same time, the first car behind me had to slow (rather than swing into the opposite lane and go around). As this car, a red jeep cherokee slowed, I heard screeching breaks, then a lound smash, the sound of two cars slamming in to each other, then the sound of a car horn stuck "honking."
A white late 80s model buick didn't notice the cherokee had slowed because it couldn't get around me in the opposite lane due to oncoming traffic, and slammed into the back of the red cherokee. The buick hit the cherokee hard. After realizing the screeching tires weren't coming at me, I rode another 20 yards before looking back to see what happened. That is when I first saw the cars involved.
As I slowed my bike to hop off, I saw the red cherokee sputter, then speed away. The car was in drivable shape, but it wasn't a well kept car, and my first thoughts were, they don't have insurance and don't want the police to know they are driving uninsured. I figured it was a classic uninsured motorist fleeing the sceene case. The car was gone before I could get a plate.
The white buick that hit the cherokee was in pretty bad shape. Both airbags deployed, the front end was mangled, and about the time I was able to throw my bike over the gaurd rail to head down to the car, I saw people start piling out of the passenger side.
They were kids. Mexican kids. Three climbed out of the passenger side. I couldn't see who the driver was, but after a few seconds (it seemed like an eternity) a guy in his 40s got out on the driver side.
It looked like everyone was okay and I grabbed my phone to call it in to the cops. The car was clearly not going anywhere, and if nothing else, they'd need a tow.
As I was on the phone with 911 trying to explain where I was over the sounds of the blarring horn, I saw a 5th person, a girl, flop out of the passenger door and onto the ground. I realized someone was hurt and told the dipatcher we were going to need parametics too.
It was confusing. My adrenaline was pumping, it was lound, there were cars around, someone was hurt, and I had been uncomfortably close to this hole thing when it happened. As I was stammoring to give all the info the 911 dispatcher would need, I glimpsed back at the car and saw the man reach into the car, pull out a big brown grocery bag and fling it down into the ditch about 20 feet below the road. As the bag went down, out flew a big bottle of liquor. I couldn't make it out, but it was easily the size of a 1.5 liter handle of bourbon or tequilla.
Just a quarter mile back behind where we had come from was a park on the lake called Rock Ledge Park. There is a parking lot there, a great lake side hiking/mtn biking trail, picnic tables, etc. It is a pretty popular place for families to picnic on the weekend. I'd guess that the family was spending the day over at the park and had probably been doing some drinking.
I finished up with the dispatcher and headed down to see how badly this girl was hurt. She had clearly been drilled by the airbag and as I looked at the passenger side of the car, the windshield was shattered.
I figured she'd hit the windshield, but she wasn't bleeding, and I decided it was the bag deploying that shattered the window. About this time, a woman in one of the cars backed up in the traffic hopped out to attend to the girl. She clearly had a medical background and started checking the girl for head trauma.
It was all surreal. The family (a father and 4 kids, two girls in the 15-17 range, and two boys in the 13-14 range) weren't talking. the father didn't talk, the boys didn't talk, the oldest daughter was hurt, and the other daughter just sobbed quietly.
The parametics showed up, got the girl stabilized on a back board and were preparing to load her into the ambulance.
Around this time, the police showed up and I told them the story of what appeared to have happened, the make of the cherokee fleeing the scene, and the fact that I saw the guy chuck a bottle of booze down into the ditch. They took my contact info, and I was on my way.
I'm summarizing a bit, as it took a while for the parametics and cops to show up. I was probably there for 30 minutes total, and the entire time, it was just strange. I could tell this guy was dreading the cops showing up for one of possibly several reasons. But he couldn't leave. His kids were with him, and one of them was hurt. I was experiencing a guy who had realized he had messed up badly and it not only was going to cost him, but it had caused one of his children harm. He clearly loved his kids, which made the gravity of the situation that much greater.
As I rode off, I tried to make sense of what had happened. Here are questions I have:
It makes me want to do fewer solo rides, but to ride with a group more often. I'm fortunate to have that luxury here. I can do 3 group rides a week if I want to weather permitting.
Like I said, I'm not sure what to think about it all. I realize that riding on the roads comes with risks. I do as much as possible to minimize the risk, but it is still there.
I'm not ready to count my blessings yet for fear of placing some kind of jinx on myelf. So lets just leave it at this. Be careful out there!
I headed out for a ride this afternoon (Sat). I wasn't sure as I rolled off my driveway where I was headed, but wanted to get in a couple of hours, then come back home and throw in a 30 min brick run. I've been enjoying this less structured approach to training, so deciding to workout on the weekends based on feel has been a fun experiment.
I decided to head south around the lake, through Grapevine and then to head west through Southlake until I hit an hour, then I'd turn around and head back. This is my favorite 3 hour ride route, and I figured I'd give it a go, cut out a 20 minute add on loop I do, and see how far I could make it before I hit an hour and then turn back.
As you make your way along the east side of Lake Grapevine, you actually get up on the dam and ride about 2 miles on a two lane road up on top of the dam. Great views of the lake to the west, and most of the metroplex to the east.
Up on the dam, the lanes are pretty narrow, there is only one each way, no shoulder, but always lots of bikers on the weekends. It is the safest way to get from the north to south side of the lake.
When cars come around bikers, they typically swing into the opposite lane and go around. Traffic is thin enough that passing is usually not a problem.
So here is what happened as best I can tell. It all happened behind me, but I'm certain I know how it all went down.
As I was starting to make the small climb up on to the dam (heading south) there was a stream of maybe 4-5 cars coming in the opposite direction. There was also a group of cars behind me coming up on me. Since the three groups were going to meet at the same time, the first car behind me had to slow (rather than swing into the opposite lane and go around). As this car, a red jeep cherokee slowed, I heard screeching breaks, then a lound smash, the sound of two cars slamming in to each other, then the sound of a car horn stuck "honking."
A white late 80s model buick didn't notice the cherokee had slowed because it couldn't get around me in the opposite lane due to oncoming traffic, and slammed into the back of the red cherokee. The buick hit the cherokee hard. After realizing the screeching tires weren't coming at me, I rode another 20 yards before looking back to see what happened. That is when I first saw the cars involved.
As I slowed my bike to hop off, I saw the red cherokee sputter, then speed away. The car was in drivable shape, but it wasn't a well kept car, and my first thoughts were, they don't have insurance and don't want the police to know they are driving uninsured. I figured it was a classic uninsured motorist fleeing the sceene case. The car was gone before I could get a plate.
The white buick that hit the cherokee was in pretty bad shape. Both airbags deployed, the front end was mangled, and about the time I was able to throw my bike over the gaurd rail to head down to the car, I saw people start piling out of the passenger side.
They were kids. Mexican kids. Three climbed out of the passenger side. I couldn't see who the driver was, but after a few seconds (it seemed like an eternity) a guy in his 40s got out on the driver side.
It looked like everyone was okay and I grabbed my phone to call it in to the cops. The car was clearly not going anywhere, and if nothing else, they'd need a tow.
As I was on the phone with 911 trying to explain where I was over the sounds of the blarring horn, I saw a 5th person, a girl, flop out of the passenger door and onto the ground. I realized someone was hurt and told the dipatcher we were going to need parametics too.
It was confusing. My adrenaline was pumping, it was lound, there were cars around, someone was hurt, and I had been uncomfortably close to this hole thing when it happened. As I was stammoring to give all the info the 911 dispatcher would need, I glimpsed back at the car and saw the man reach into the car, pull out a big brown grocery bag and fling it down into the ditch about 20 feet below the road. As the bag went down, out flew a big bottle of liquor. I couldn't make it out, but it was easily the size of a 1.5 liter handle of bourbon or tequilla.
Just a quarter mile back behind where we had come from was a park on the lake called Rock Ledge Park. There is a parking lot there, a great lake side hiking/mtn biking trail, picnic tables, etc. It is a pretty popular place for families to picnic on the weekend. I'd guess that the family was spending the day over at the park and had probably been doing some drinking.
I finished up with the dispatcher and headed down to see how badly this girl was hurt. She had clearly been drilled by the airbag and as I looked at the passenger side of the car, the windshield was shattered.
I figured she'd hit the windshield, but she wasn't bleeding, and I decided it was the bag deploying that shattered the window. About this time, a woman in one of the cars backed up in the traffic hopped out to attend to the girl. She clearly had a medical background and started checking the girl for head trauma.
It was all surreal. The family (a father and 4 kids, two girls in the 15-17 range, and two boys in the 13-14 range) weren't talking. the father didn't talk, the boys didn't talk, the oldest daughter was hurt, and the other daughter just sobbed quietly.
The parametics showed up, got the girl stabilized on a back board and were preparing to load her into the ambulance.
Around this time, the police showed up and I told them the story of what appeared to have happened, the make of the cherokee fleeing the scene, and the fact that I saw the guy chuck a bottle of booze down into the ditch. They took my contact info, and I was on my way.
I'm summarizing a bit, as it took a while for the parametics and cops to show up. I was probably there for 30 minutes total, and the entire time, it was just strange. I could tell this guy was dreading the cops showing up for one of possibly several reasons. But he couldn't leave. His kids were with him, and one of them was hurt. I was experiencing a guy who had realized he had messed up badly and it not only was going to cost him, but it had caused one of his children harm. He clearly loved his kids, which made the gravity of the situation that much greater.
As I rode off, I tried to make sense of what had happened. Here are questions I have:
- Was the father acting strange because he was illegal, he was uninsured, or he was drunk? I feel as if all three were quite possible based on the way he handled himself. Particularly the latter. On a couple of occasions, I thought I smelled booze on him, but there was also a strange smell from the airbags that I was sensing as well.
- Was the red cherokee an innocent victim, uninsured, also drunk? I actually think the cherokee may have been with the buick. I found it strange that this guy was with these kids, and there wasn't a mother there. Perhaps he had weekend custody, but perhaps the rest of his family was in that car. He didn't seem very upset about the hit and run issue, and I sure would have been.
- I rode off before the cops began to check his sobriety, but after I told them that I saw them throw the booze, the officer immediately called for backup. I assume they gave him a field sobriety test, and am not sure how he fared.
It makes me want to do fewer solo rides, but to ride with a group more often. I'm fortunate to have that luxury here. I can do 3 group rides a week if I want to weather permitting.
Like I said, I'm not sure what to think about it all. I realize that riding on the roads comes with risks. I do as much as possible to minimize the risk, but it is still there.
I'm not ready to count my blessings yet for fear of placing some kind of jinx on myelf. So lets just leave it at this. Be careful out there!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Lonestar Qtr Iron Triathlon - Gavleston, TX
Everything about the build up to this race was weird, and then the gun went off and it was very calm. Strange.
I was actually writing this blog post in my head with the title, "What Not to do Before a Race." Except, the race didn't match my expectations, but went surprising smooth. Strange.
I'm going to try to keep it brief, so we're going to jump around a bunch. Stay with me.
We'll start in the 4 weeks leading up to the race. I really haven't been training at all. I have been in the water once (3/1) and logged a total of 1800 yds in the pool, 129 miles on the bike, and 36.5 on the run. About 4 hours of training a week. Not enough.
I decided to drive down to Houston on Sat morning. I was going down by myself and wanted to minimize the time away from my family. I'd jump in the car, make the 310 mile trip to packet pickup, and then head to my brothers where there was a couch waiting for me to sleep on.
As I packed up the car, I realized that I didn't have my shoes or HR monitor. It was in the back of our other car, which my wife had. No problem, figure out where they are, and head over to pick them up. 30 minute set back, but no big deal.
Off I go, but 90 minutes into my trip, I get a frantic call from Ingrid saying I'd left my wet suit, suit case, and tri shorts in the laundry room. I turned around, she jumped in the car, and 45 minutes later, we met in a liquor store parking lot in South Dallas, a rough part of town.
I figured that was 2 mishaps, and one more would be a sign, and I'd turn around and head back home.
I was afraid packet pickup closed at 5p, and according to my GPS, I would arrive at 5:20. I had to make up some time, which meant no time for lunch. Not smart the day before a big race.
So I made it to packet pickup, headed back up to Houston to grab food, and settle in at my brothers. I knew sleeping on a couch the night before a race wasn't conducive to strong performances, but then again, neither is not training.
We played some Wii that night, and I found myself breaking a sweat while playing Tennis on the Wii. This was going to go in the "what not to do the night before a race" section of my blog post.
Off to bed, so-so sleep, and up the next morning to head down to the race venue.
This race is a quarter iron distance race. So .6 mi swim, 28 mi bike, 6.55 mile swim. Similar to an Olympic distance, but a bit longer.
Turns out there were a few well known pros at the race. Simon Lessing, Andrea Fisher, Michael and Amanda Lovato to name a few. I'm a fan of all sports. I follow the teams, the players, etc. Triathlon is no different. I follow these guys like I do my players on the Dodgers. So I still get a kick seeing these guys.
Just prior to the gun going off, my wave (M30-34 + pros and elites) made its way to the end of the peir, but the race director said it might be a while, so we could get in if we wanted. Two people jumped in, me and Simon Lessing. Turned out we waited about 10 minutes before the rest of our wave jumped in the water. So Simon and I talked. It was great, we talked about his race schedule, his health, my goggles. He talked about him doing the new Muskoka 70.3 race, which will be the first time he's raced up there since the ITU World Championships in 1992 (a race Simon won!). This is what is great about Endurance Sports, you are on the same course, sometimes in the same swim wave as the best in the world.
So everyone entered the water, and Andrea Fisher quickly came over to get next to Simon so he could pull her around the course. I think she decided I had a better spot to draft off of Simon than she did, because she was all up in my personal space. I backed off, but it was humorous. She was all business. So it was Simon, Andrea, and some other guy and me in a group waiting for the gun to go off. Simon is telling jokes and stories about racing in France, etc., and I'm just soaking it all in.
The gun goes off, and away we go. I hung with this group to the first turn, but they were moving real fast, and I had 1 workout under my belt in the past month. I was expecting to blow up, but wanted to wait another 5 minutes before doing so if possible.
Another group of 3 moved up and through me, and I let them go. For the rest of the swim there were no feet to be found. I could see people behind me out of the corner of my eye, but didn't feel as if I was pulling more than 1-2 others around the course, and was okay with that.
At the last turn, I see one of my drafters try to come around me. I cut her off as I round the buoy and she drops back for a bit before coming around just yards from the swim finish. We stand up to exit, and I realize the swimmer who benefited from my draft was none other than Amanda Lovato. She ended up being the 2nd woman overall.
Swim 15:15 (1:25/100 pace)
This is the third time I've done this race, and one thing I was banking on was a terrible headwind for the first 14 miles of the out and back bike course along the Galveston Seawall. Last year, the delta between my pace into the wind versus with it was 12 mph. It can be just brutal.
It turns out the wind was shifted a bit, coming in from the SE, which made for a nearly perfect crosswind for both directions of the bike. Still frustrating, but not demoralizing.
The ride was rather uneventful save for me realizing I put my aero bottle on backwards and had to really stretch to reach the straw, and for the plethora of road kill out there, both in terms of quantity and variety. Dog, Cat, Possum, Rabbit, Bird, Raccoon, Miscellaneous. Easily 3 kills per mile. Easily!
Something strange was happening however. I wasn't really too uncomfortable. I was laying down good power, which was equating to decent speed, and I never really faded.
Bike 1:24.11 (avg 20.0 mph)
I haven't run more than 4.5 miles at once since Feb 23rd, so I figured this is where I would unravel. As I hit the transition, my buddy Tim gave me a high five and I was on my way. Didn't feel great, but wasn't hurting too bad. I could go, but just didn't have much speed. I had my Garmin 205 on and was running between 9:05s and 9:30 for most of the way. In the mile 5 range, I started to hurt as the heat was catching up to me, and my legs were starting to feel loaded. I began to slow to around 10:10s and wondered if I was coming apart with 1.5 to go.
One reality about my abilities is that my best discipline is the swim, and my worst is the run. With that combo, I pretty much start off the race near the top of the field, and get passed all day long until I cross the line. It doesn't matter if I finish in the top third or the bottom half of the field, I get passed. So I rarely catch runners on the run, only people who have bonked and are walking.
During my race today, I passed 2 people on the run. The first was someone who had bonked and was walking, the second provided for a decent story.
As I was going through that slow spot around mile 5, I looked ahead and realized someone in a PlayTri jersey (Playtri is a North Dallas Tri Team) was coming back to me, and he was running. I kicked my pace up about 30-40 secs per mile back into 9:20 range and began to bring him in. He was about 100 yards ahead when I first spotted him, so it took a while to close the gap, but I made up about half of it at the last aid station as he took a few steps to drink while I ran through. I ran up to him with about .75 mi to go, and went around him. About .2 miles later, my pace slowed a bit, and he came back around me. I hitched on to the guy and matched him stride for stride for about another .2 mi. We've got about a third of a mile to go, and we passed a spectator who said, "Dallas Athletes vs PlayTri, battle for Dallas, who's it going to be" and I new it was going to be on with this guy. With about a minute to go, I put on a surge and came around him again for good.
My HR was 185 in the finish shute, which is about as high as it gets.
Run 1:00.37 (9:19 pace)
Transitions were pretty fast and uneventful.
Total time was 2:43.47. A 5 minute improvement over my PR on the course. Not sure how I managed to keep it together, but I did, and am glad I made the trip.
I finished:
192 out of 616 overall
150 out of 363 for men
26 out of 69 in my age group
My hopes were that this would motivate me to train a bit more, and I think it will.
I was actually writing this blog post in my head with the title, "What Not to do Before a Race." Except, the race didn't match my expectations, but went surprising smooth. Strange.
I'm going to try to keep it brief, so we're going to jump around a bunch. Stay with me.
We'll start in the 4 weeks leading up to the race. I really haven't been training at all. I have been in the water once (3/1) and logged a total of 1800 yds in the pool, 129 miles on the bike, and 36.5 on the run. About 4 hours of training a week. Not enough.
I decided to drive down to Houston on Sat morning. I was going down by myself and wanted to minimize the time away from my family. I'd jump in the car, make the 310 mile trip to packet pickup, and then head to my brothers where there was a couch waiting for me to sleep on.
As I packed up the car, I realized that I didn't have my shoes or HR monitor. It was in the back of our other car, which my wife had. No problem, figure out where they are, and head over to pick them up. 30 minute set back, but no big deal.
Off I go, but 90 minutes into my trip, I get a frantic call from Ingrid saying I'd left my wet suit, suit case, and tri shorts in the laundry room. I turned around, she jumped in the car, and 45 minutes later, we met in a liquor store parking lot in South Dallas, a rough part of town.
I figured that was 2 mishaps, and one more would be a sign, and I'd turn around and head back home.
I was afraid packet pickup closed at 5p, and according to my GPS, I would arrive at 5:20. I had to make up some time, which meant no time for lunch. Not smart the day before a big race.
So I made it to packet pickup, headed back up to Houston to grab food, and settle in at my brothers. I knew sleeping on a couch the night before a race wasn't conducive to strong performances, but then again, neither is not training.
We played some Wii that night, and I found myself breaking a sweat while playing Tennis on the Wii. This was going to go in the "what not to do the night before a race" section of my blog post.
Off to bed, so-so sleep, and up the next morning to head down to the race venue.
This race is a quarter iron distance race. So .6 mi swim, 28 mi bike, 6.55 mile swim. Similar to an Olympic distance, but a bit longer.
Turns out there were a few well known pros at the race. Simon Lessing, Andrea Fisher, Michael and Amanda Lovato to name a few. I'm a fan of all sports. I follow the teams, the players, etc. Triathlon is no different. I follow these guys like I do my players on the Dodgers. So I still get a kick seeing these guys.
Just prior to the gun going off, my wave (M30-34 + pros and elites) made its way to the end of the peir, but the race director said it might be a while, so we could get in if we wanted. Two people jumped in, me and Simon Lessing. Turned out we waited about 10 minutes before the rest of our wave jumped in the water. So Simon and I talked. It was great, we talked about his race schedule, his health, my goggles. He talked about him doing the new Muskoka 70.3 race, which will be the first time he's raced up there since the ITU World Championships in 1992 (a race Simon won!). This is what is great about Endurance Sports, you are on the same course, sometimes in the same swim wave as the best in the world.
So everyone entered the water, and Andrea Fisher quickly came over to get next to Simon so he could pull her around the course. I think she decided I had a better spot to draft off of Simon than she did, because she was all up in my personal space. I backed off, but it was humorous. She was all business. So it was Simon, Andrea, and some other guy and me in a group waiting for the gun to go off. Simon is telling jokes and stories about racing in France, etc., and I'm just soaking it all in.
The gun goes off, and away we go. I hung with this group to the first turn, but they were moving real fast, and I had 1 workout under my belt in the past month. I was expecting to blow up, but wanted to wait another 5 minutes before doing so if possible.
Another group of 3 moved up and through me, and I let them go. For the rest of the swim there were no feet to be found. I could see people behind me out of the corner of my eye, but didn't feel as if I was pulling more than 1-2 others around the course, and was okay with that.
At the last turn, I see one of my drafters try to come around me. I cut her off as I round the buoy and she drops back for a bit before coming around just yards from the swim finish. We stand up to exit, and I realize the swimmer who benefited from my draft was none other than Amanda Lovato. She ended up being the 2nd woman overall.
Swim 15:15 (1:25/100 pace)
This is the third time I've done this race, and one thing I was banking on was a terrible headwind for the first 14 miles of the out and back bike course along the Galveston Seawall. Last year, the delta between my pace into the wind versus with it was 12 mph. It can be just brutal.
It turns out the wind was shifted a bit, coming in from the SE, which made for a nearly perfect crosswind for both directions of the bike. Still frustrating, but not demoralizing.
The ride was rather uneventful save for me realizing I put my aero bottle on backwards and had to really stretch to reach the straw, and for the plethora of road kill out there, both in terms of quantity and variety. Dog, Cat, Possum, Rabbit, Bird, Raccoon, Miscellaneous. Easily 3 kills per mile. Easily!
Something strange was happening however. I wasn't really too uncomfortable. I was laying down good power, which was equating to decent speed, and I never really faded.
Bike 1:24.11 (avg 20.0 mph)
I haven't run more than 4.5 miles at once since Feb 23rd, so I figured this is where I would unravel. As I hit the transition, my buddy Tim gave me a high five and I was on my way. Didn't feel great, but wasn't hurting too bad. I could go, but just didn't have much speed. I had my Garmin 205 on and was running between 9:05s and 9:30 for most of the way. In the mile 5 range, I started to hurt as the heat was catching up to me, and my legs were starting to feel loaded. I began to slow to around 10:10s and wondered if I was coming apart with 1.5 to go.
One reality about my abilities is that my best discipline is the swim, and my worst is the run. With that combo, I pretty much start off the race near the top of the field, and get passed all day long until I cross the line. It doesn't matter if I finish in the top third or the bottom half of the field, I get passed. So I rarely catch runners on the run, only people who have bonked and are walking.
During my race today, I passed 2 people on the run. The first was someone who had bonked and was walking, the second provided for a decent story.
As I was going through that slow spot around mile 5, I looked ahead and realized someone in a PlayTri jersey (Playtri is a North Dallas Tri Team) was coming back to me, and he was running. I kicked my pace up about 30-40 secs per mile back into 9:20 range and began to bring him in. He was about 100 yards ahead when I first spotted him, so it took a while to close the gap, but I made up about half of it at the last aid station as he took a few steps to drink while I ran through. I ran up to him with about .75 mi to go, and went around him. About .2 miles later, my pace slowed a bit, and he came back around me. I hitched on to the guy and matched him stride for stride for about another .2 mi. We've got about a third of a mile to go, and we passed a spectator who said, "Dallas Athletes vs PlayTri, battle for Dallas, who's it going to be" and I new it was going to be on with this guy. With about a minute to go, I put on a surge and came around him again for good.
My HR was 185 in the finish shute, which is about as high as it gets.
Run 1:00.37 (9:19 pace)
Transitions were pretty fast and uneventful.
Total time was 2:43.47. A 5 minute improvement over my PR on the course. Not sure how I managed to keep it together, but I did, and am glad I made the trip.
I finished:
192 out of 616 overall
150 out of 363 for men
26 out of 69 in my age group
My hopes were that this would motivate me to train a bit more, and I think it will.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Tour of California
So I recorded all of the TOC stages on my tivo I have upstairs in the room I do all of my rides on the trainer in. I'd carefully sequestered myself so that I didn't have a clue as to what the results of the stages were despite the race being over for a couple of weeks now.
The plan was to have some motivational stuff to watch while logging some hours on the trainer this late winter/early spring.
So far I've watched the prologue which Fabian Cancellara won, and stage #1 which J.J. Haedo took in a bunch sprint. As luck would have it, something happened to the DVR and I lost all of the remaining stages I'd recorded.
I'm torn as to whether I just go ahead and see what ultimately happened, or if I hang on a bit longer incase their is a re-airing. I don't think it is likely.
At least I have the stage wrap-ups from the Fredcast that I can listen to. I had been saving those and was listening to them only after watching the stage.
The plan was to have some motivational stuff to watch while logging some hours on the trainer this late winter/early spring.
So far I've watched the prologue which Fabian Cancellara won, and stage #1 which J.J. Haedo took in a bunch sprint. As luck would have it, something happened to the DVR and I lost all of the remaining stages I'd recorded.
I'm torn as to whether I just go ahead and see what ultimately happened, or if I hang on a bit longer incase their is a re-airing. I don't think it is likely.
At least I have the stage wrap-ups from the Fredcast that I can listen to. I had been saving those and was listening to them only after watching the stage.
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