Ayerd{dot}com :: Triathlon

Eagleman Half-Ironman? Check!

Yes, I finished. It felt so great to cross that finish line, I almost cried right there at the finish. I still get kind of choked up thinking about it.

This weekend was the Philly Triathlon. That meant lots of trips to and from Philly. Like, three of them.

Friday Night was a party hosted by Elite and Red Bull. The party was at this over-priced, too-hip for me club, The Denim Lounge. I think the best part of the whole night was finding out that DJ Jazzy Jeff will be there for a post Live8 gig. You won't catch me dead there, but it was nice to know.

Saturday it was drive to Philly to score the race packet.

Sunday, was the race. Up early to get to (back, yet again) to Philly. Hot and humid day for sure, but since this race was so close to Eagleman I was going to skip the race. Instead I got talked into a relay, just the swim. The swim was in the Schuylkill River which I thought, for sure, was a death trap. Instead, the swim was very, very nice. Before the race we saw a turtle or two do turtle-approve activities near the start dock. The water was little warm, but not too hot. The swim was with the current. I completed it in a very average 22.10. Not slow, but I was hoping for just a bit faster.

Doing just the swim (or bike, or run) in a tri is a strange expierence. Setting up was weird. No bike to set up. No Gu to measure out. No sneakers to get ready. No nothing. I almost felt I wasn't really in the race.

After the swim I passed the chip over the Drew who took off on the bike. Then I got to hang out to watch the race unfold. Coach-type person Chris Martin was on fire. This was his third race in three weeks. First up in his three-week race was Eagleman. He was 12th overall with a time of 4:16. Last week was the Escape from Ft. Deleware Olympic race where he came in 1st overall. Then we got talked into doing Philly by Dave at Elite. Result? Yea, first place. His first sub-2-hour race. That is just not right. I'm very impressed. Just doing that well any one of those races would be amazing, doing that well in all three is... words fail me. Many props to Chris.

I also realized I need to swim just a bit more in practice. People I used to be way faster than are starting to catch up. That could have been me not doing well, but I like to think it is them getting better. Only thing for me to do it get moving in the water.

Saw Drew come back on the bike and Deborah took off on her very first 10K, ever. She was all nervous, but did just fine. Overall, it was a very good race for our little relay.

The big event for me this Sunday was talking to Chis about upcoming events. We've been talking about good ways to get ready for Florida and that another fairly long race some time between now and then would be a Good Thing. As a result, I find myself talked into another half-Ironman. It was down to Timberman or Musselman. Musselman would have the advantage of lots of people I know doing it. Timberman falls on a better date in terms of prep for Florida. I was weak and signed up for Timberman. Supposed to be a great, great course but I'm really going to miss hanging out with the gang before/during Musselman.

I also realized that I must be getting better at some parts of this. The half-Ironman now seems pretty reasonable. Maybe not getting faster, but getting better. I just hope I can manage another 6-hour or less event. I think not having the heat and humity in Maryland will be worth 15 or more minutes! Average temp in New Hampshire in August: 65°. Sweet.

Many thanks for the info on race wheels. Now I just need to talk the wife into spending beacoupe dollars on wheels... how hard can that be?

Update

Forgot to mention that Loving Wife™ completed her first Olympic Triathlon at Philly. After two false starts in Columbia (bike mechanical led to DNF) and Lobsterman (bad race day, withdrew on on bike leg) she worked through her bicycle demons and completed the course in 4:03:34. Yea!

Okay, so I'm now sure that Ironman traning does not get you ready to put in a super fast sprint time. Over the weekend we completed the Brigantine Triathlon — 0.25 swim/11 bike/4 run.

The swim went okay. This year I was sans wet suit. It also seemed as if the current in the bay was bit stronger than last year. Total swim time was 7:24. Slow for me — 30 seconds slower than last year. That kind of irked me.

T1 went pretty well. Easy jog to the bike. One of the perks in being in the first wave is that you are usually one of the first few people out of the transition. There was a little kid counting people over the timing mat and as I went past he said, "12". Made me feel good at the time.

Bike was a flat loop around the island. Some twisty roads with just a hint of sand build up in the usual spots going around the corners. Felt pretty strong on the bike. There was a pretty good head wind along the ocean front, but as soon as you dropped between the houses and then along the bay, the wind was gone. Managed 19 in the wind, 24-25 without it. Total bike time was 31:07 for an average speed of 21.2.

Run was pretty good. As you all know, I am not a runner. This year I managed a blazing 9:17/mile. Fast? Only for me. Total run time was 37:07.

So, ye olde clock tells me the race took 1:19. Four minutes faster than last year even with the slower swim. I think the biggest positive I can take away from the race is that I could have kept that pace all day. I was just getting into a groove when I ran out of water. The bike was like a training ride and at the end I felt really strong. The run was tough for the first quarter mile and then it was good. Could have kept that 9:20 pace all afternoon.

In fact, in 12 days there is Timberman. My only goal for that race is to try and run the whole 13.1 miles without stopping. No walking in Timberman! Chris found the perfect quote to hold in my thoughts: 'Like Coach Troy Jacobson says, "You want to slow down, but you don't need to slow down."'

Here's hoping!

Sunday

Sunday was a long-ish bike day. Under cloudy skys I set off for three hours in the hills. Ick. At least the rain held off until about an hour after I got back. Instead of actual rain, the clouds where just spiting enough to make the roads damp. At least I didn't crash. 48 total miles.

Whoa, a great weekend of racing at Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire during the 2005 Timberfest. Loving Wife™ and I drove up on Friday afternoon through the living nightmare that is the Connecticut section of I-95. Once you get past Connecticut, the drive is actually very nice.

There is a pretty amazing rest stop on 91 North in Vermont. They have a little shrine to all things Vermont. It was pretty cool. If you're ever driving up 91 North do stop at the first welcome center in the state.

Saturday Bretta competed in the Timber-sprint — 1/3 mile swim, 15 mile bike, 3 mile run — and I used the pre-race prep and pre-morning stuff on Saturday to get ready for my race on Sunday. First off, she had a great race under cloudy, rainy skies. 10:26 for the swim, 1:00:37 bike, and 35:01 for the run. Personal bests on the swim and run, and the bike distance was actually 15.5 miles, so her pace was slightly over a respectable 15 mph, not the official 14.8, so she is happy with that! Yea!

At the same time her race was ongoing, coach-type person Chris Martin was working his magic in the Best of the US Triathlon. As late as Wednesday he was sticking with the story line of "not going to do that well", "haven't done any speed work", "only getting ready for Ironman"... blah-blah-blah. Lies. He rocked it with a finish time of 1:15:04. Kick ass! Many congrats, Chris. If you check the EMC² web site his race report should show up in a day or two.

Sunday was the Half Ironman. The weather forcast called for clouds and a 50% chance of thunderstorms throughout the day. Highs near 78°. The early morning drive to the lake was made in the rain, so things looked good for a cloudy, rainy, perfect race day. I'll take cold and rain over hot and humid any race day. I set up my transition and covered up the shoes and what-not as best as I could, hoping they'd be somewhat dry by time I got back from the swim and the bike ride.

About 45 minutes before the start I pulled on my wet suit and headed towards the swim finish to get in a warm-up swim. I don't know if you've ever been to Lake Winnipesaukee, but the very fresh water is crystal clear. No messing, even in 15-20 feet of water you can see the bottom. Hardly any plant life and I know I didn't see any fish. The water was also a very comfortable 73°, little to no wave action. Took a leisurely 15 minute swim over to the start area and then BS-ed with other people getting ready to race.

Strangly enough, I ran into the guy who was racked next to me at the 2004 Lobsterman! It was nice to talk to him about that race and what we've done differently to get ready for this one.

As I've stated before, my only real goal for this race was to have a good run. With that in mind, when the race-horn said "swim", off I went with a long slow stroke. It took about 3-4 minutes to get clear of all the kicking and bumping that happens at the start of a swim wave and then I started to look around for someone I could draft off of. I thought I found the right set of feet after 5 or so minutes. Moving at a steady pace and every time I looked up, he was picking a pretty good line. That and the clear water aided in me making the first of many mistakes of the day.

With the water so clear you could easily see bubbles from the dude in front of you. As I was swimming along, I was really just following the bubbles and picking my head up every 20-30 strokes to make sure I was still on course. I was pleased with his pace, it was perfect for me. I looked up after a while to get a look at the guy I was following and to check out the scenery around me, and I was all by myself, a lone green cap in a sea of yellow (the wave 10 minutes ahead of me). At some point, I must have passed the guy I was drafting and didn't realize it. I was following the bubbles... and when you put your arm in the water for a stroke, you make bubbles. I was chasing after my own hand. /sigh

Luckily, with little perceived effort I pulled in a swim time of 29.42 for the 1.2 miles. Not bad, not bad at all. That works out to around a 1:24 pace per 100 yards. Sets the bar kind of high for the next race.

Out of the water was a good 200-300 yard run to where my bike was racked. You had to run the complete length of the back of the transition area, starting on the pebbly soft beachfront before switching to grass. Then I had to run to the front corner of the transition where my bike was racked. Made for a short run with the bike shoes on so I had that going for me.

Jumped on the bike and told myself, "Self, take it easy. It is still raining, the roads are wet, and you want a good run." Easy was the watch word.

The rain had started to slow up some time during the swim and blue sky was peaking out in patches. The roads were still plenty wet and I didn't bring any sunglasses with me. They'd get all mudded up and are impossible to clean off. At the first aid station (mile 8) I had to stop to take a leak. I think I drank a bit too much pre-race. Just after I hopped back on the bike, Webb zipped passed me. Around mile 10 there was a honking 14° uphill that lasted about half a mile. I cranked my way up it and then started the long down hill to the turn around.

Down-hill to the turn around. Mistake number 2 was realized. Down hill is good for me. I was doing a consistent and mostly easy 24-30 mph the whole way. By the time I hit the turn around, the clouds were gone and the sun was coming on full power. Did great things to the road surface, bad things to me physically. See, I still had this great first half of the bike and for reasons that escape me now, wanted to keep at it. I applied myself more than should have to keep a good pace back up hill. It also wasn't the "great pace" it should have been. At the other side of the monster up with 10 miles to go I had a wicked-fast descent. The bike computer claims a top speed of 46.7 mph. The last four miles were bad. Chain slipped off twice and I think my nutrition wasn't all that great over-all. Still, I made it back to the transition with a time of 2:58:08. On such a hilly course, I'm very pleased!

Then run, my old nemisis. I really wanted to run the whole 13.1 miles, something I completely failed to do in Eagleman. In practice/training, this distance is tough, but not unreasonable. By now, my friends the clouds were all gone. It was a bright, sunny day. Great for hanging out on the beach, bad for running. It was also around 85-90°. Because the weatherman had been promising cloud cover, I didn't bring a hat with me to the race. Mistake #3.

I started off at a slow pace and it went downhill from there. The great bike took its toll. The Timberman run was a this rolling-hill affair that under normal circumstances would have been a great run. I made it about 9 miles, working a 10-11-12 minute pace. (Very) slow, but still "jogging". At mile 9, it was all over. I stopped running and started walking. Crap.

At different parts of the two-loop course the race has set up more than enough aid stations. I think I counted 9 over the 6+ mile loop. They also had bands. Could have lived without the bagpipper, but at least the cat-being-crushed-by-a-steam-roller noise that counts as bagpipe music spurred me back into running just so I could get out of ear shot.

My total run time was 2:46:37.

How on earth can it take almost as long to run 13.1 miles as it does to bike 56?!? I just suck at running. At least I have a few months more to get ready for my 26.2 mile walk at Ironman Florida.

I did manage to get my run on for the last mile of the course — and into the finish. Seeing all the people, my friends, and Bretta cheering me on really takes away most of the pain from the previous 6+ hours. The announcer even got my name right as I zipped past him.

Total race time was around 6:19:30. The guys at Lin-Mark have partial results up today and I'm hoping at some point they'll add in transition times so I can see how well that part of the race went.

Not the best race I've ever done, but still a good race. No ambulance, I smiled, and I even managed to finish. I'm happy! For my second Half-Ironman a 6:19 isn't too bad but I think I can do better. I suppose that is why they keep letting us sign up for more.

Good weekend of racing.

Saturday, it was down to Wildwood Crest for the September Splash 2-mile swim. The water was a bit on the warm side — a generous 75° — so I went without with wet suit. The course was a two loop affair. I tagged the lap function on my watch after the first loop and it recorded a time of 21:53. Not bad for a mile. Sadly, the tide switched near the end of the second loop and that caused me to be pulled a bit off course. Nothing too terrible, but it was noticeable. The final finish time was 46.08 (full results at L & M Sports, you'll find me at #14. Not the quickest I could have swam, but the pace felt good. I didn't want to push it, just go with what felt natural and see what would happen. When I got out the water, hoping on the bike for a wee 112 mile ride would have been within the realm of possibility.

I'm hoping this means the sub-hour swim at IM-Florida is within my grasp! Adding a wet suit to that 46-minutes and then tacking on another 10-12 minutes for the additional 0.4 miles seems fairly reasonable.

Sunday, it was just up the road to the Skylands Sprint Triathlon: 0.5 mile swim, 14.1 mile bike, 5K run.

This triathlon was a bit weird. First, it was close to home. No need to find hotel space, get up at 3AM to drive, or any that noise. It even started at a reasonable time: 9:30AM! We got to sleep in until 6:00AM and still made it there with plenty of time.

The swim was a dry-land start so lots of extra kicking as everyone ran into the water, but after 3-4 minutes I started moving past people and found some space. With about 300 yards to go I ran into a problem where these three guys had formed the water equivalent of the Berlin Wall. I tried to go around them, and I swear to God they moved to block me. After two 'go around' attempts, I tried the 'go over' move. By the time I got half way past'em, one guy started to kick and taking an ankle in the arms and ribs messes up your stroke, so I fell back. At that point I made the prick move. I grabbed an ankle and yanked. Bad karma? Probably. It did, however, open a hole up for me to swim through.

Out of the water there was a 100 or so yards run on sand to the timing mat, then another minute or so run to the transition area. Shirt, socks, helmet, and shoes: check! I started clopping toward the bike mount area. The ride at Skylands is fairly hilly. One section was very, very steep, but thankfully very short. Nothing too much can go wrong on a 14 mile ride. My pace was a little slow at 17.7 mph, but for not training for a sprint and not working too many hills in my training, I cannot complain.

I left the 2nd transition just as the first place guy was finishing. $5,000 in prize money brings out some pretty quick dudes.

The run was a semi-shaded out and back. I always have bad time running (compared to everyone else) and this 5K was no exception. I felt pretty good and my watch had me doing 9:15s as everyone and their grandmother cruised past me. The final clock time has the 5K at 29:43. A pace of 9:36! Plenty quick for me on a "C" race. The biggest take-away I have is that I felt like I could have run like for hours and hours.

Hopefully this will be a good confidence booster going into Florida.

Full results posted at Lin-Mark, I'm down there at #140.

Let’s get to it:

Swim: 1:02:07
Bike: 6:31:47
Run: 5:35:27
Total Time: 13:19:06

Long race, very long. Finished and with no ambulance, so I have that going for me.

Ahhhh, welcome back to cold and damp New Jersey! This weekend the Loving Wife™ and I headed down to Disney to run in the Disney World Half Marathon.

It was a pretty cool event: you get to run though the Magic Kingdom and Epcot! It was Bretta's first half marathon and the longest distance she has run to date. I just took the run as a nice, easy training run. My 10:15 pace reflects that. Over the whole distance I managed to keep my heartrate at or under my training rate of 150 so in that respected, I rocked the course.

White Lake Half

Another 'Half in the bag. A good race! Maybe could have been a tad faster, but still a good race.

Whoa, Ironman CDA was very (very) different from Ironman Florida. Florida did kind of prep my system for what to expect, but the atmosphere in Coeur d'Alene was electric. Florida had the feel of a bunch of folks going out for a long day. At Coeur d'Alene you could feel it in the air, this was Ironman! Here's my scorecard for the day:

Check it out, you can see my finish on IronmanLive.com. I hope they keep that up there for a while. It is very cool.