Life Interrupted

The 2012 season started out in May with me defending my title at the Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl Tri and managed to podium with a 3rd place overall.  Next on the schedule - Tri the Midlands where my fitness should've been improving but wasn't and I ended up with 2nd place in age group. Training after Tri the Midlands was getting tougher and while I blamed it on the heat, something else was actually going.

Fast forward to 8/15 where the 6 week journey of "what is it, is it Lyme" finally ended.  I received news that will change my life moving forward.  I have been diagnosed with Classic Hodgkins Lymphoma.  From what I hear the cancer to have if you're going to get cancer because it is treatable and curable. No matter how many times I hear that, it doesn't change the fact that it is still cancer.  Already been through denial and why me, the fit 43 year old triathlete and not the overweight, cigarette smoking couch potato??

Looking forward to next spring......

Just call me a Tri Sheep

I'm now one of the herd. One of the mindless sheep who can't make decisions for themselves. Well, the latter statement is definitely not true for me but anyone who buys a Cervelo is viewed as such.

I decided after the Marines Ironman World Championship 70.3 to sell my Scott Plasma and buy a new tri bike that actually fit me. In hindsight, I wanted to buy a Cervelo back in 2009 but the shop I was racing for at the time was not an authorized reseller for Cervelo and they offered me a sweetheart deal on the Scott or so I thought. After removing all of the spacers and adding a very, negative drop stem the Scott was still not the best choice for me. Todd Kenyon at ttbikefit.com helped me out immensely and got me as aero and comfortable as possible. I highly recommend Todd and his fitting service and have referred many triathletes who are much happier and producing higher watts after working with Todd.

Why a tired brand and model like Cervelo when there are other "super" bikes out there? I'm not convinced that the Trek SC or Specialized Shiv TT is that much more aero than a Cervelo P3. Maybe talking a 3' savings over the course of an ironman leg. Really??? There is a reason why Cervelo has dominated the Kona count year after year and continues to produce World TT champions. Let's not forget that the motor has to move the bike and based on my 2011 results, my motor produced numerous podiums on a not so aero bike so moving to the Cervelo P3 should produce faster times and even better results!

Tried to find a P4 on close out but had no luck. Did go with the 2012 P3 as it had a 3T Aura Pro carbon base bar. I did upgrade the crank to the Quarq SRAM 975 powermeter as I can't live without power. Also added a Black Box Ceramic bottom bracket. Decided to switch to the Adamo Road saddle versus staying with the Cobb V-Flow Max and I'm glad I did. Immediate comfort and much better than the Cobb in my opinion. Highly recommend you try this saddle. If you do, make sure you mount the saddle with the rails horizontal and not the top of the saddle. The latter will cause you a lot of pain and discomfort. also, give it 2 weeks or 5 to 6 rides as it will take the skin on your sit bones some time to build up the callouses. Purchased vinyl name labels from Victory Circle Graphics and am very pleased. They provide name labels for some of the top professional teams in the peloton so you won't be disappointed.

For race day, I plan to use my Zipp 900 clincher disk and Zipp 808 clincher front wheel. Could gain a few seconds by switching to a Zipp FC 808 for the front but not worth the investment in my opinion.

Bike rides like it is on rails and is probably one of the best bikes I've ridden for power transfer. Had some issues with the seat post slipping but I think that was due to the bike shop forgetting to add carbon assembly paste and blue Loctite to the threads of the bolts. Did purchase a fixed torque wrench to make sure the seat post in torqued to 4Nm before every ride. Make sure you add the blue Loctite to the bolts for the arm pads as they loosened up pretty quickly without it.

Water Under the Bridge

Total time: 5:14:41 - 537 out of 1505

It's been 84 days since the Marines Ironman World Championship 70.3 which means enough time has passed for me to move on - water under the bridge. We say "water under the bridge" to refer to past experiences and conflicts which we have decided to forget. I know, I should be happy with finishing. I left a lot out on the course that day and no matter how many times I play Monday Morning Quarterback, the outcome stays the same.

In reading Dave Jewel's blog, he posted a pic that gives me hope.


"Failure Leads to Success if you let it. If you let failure get you down you will stay down. But if you learn from your failure you will grow. I can tell you that I hope to fail often in the future."

Dave is right. I learned a lot from the race and the prep before it that will help me in the future, not to mention the next time I qualify/race the World Championship.


Now for the race report.

My training over the last 4 weeks prior to the race were hit and miss. I traveled pretty much every week up to race week and therefore, my bike and swim training really suffered. Was able to recon the bike and run course 2 weeks prior which did help and gave me a taste of what the temperature could be on race day. 2 weeks out, the temperature at 10:00AM was around 105F and 115F at 11:00AM when we finished the run. Living in SC, I'm used to the heat and humidity so I was hoping for a hot race day as this would be a field separator.

We landed on Thursday and headed over to packet pick-up and the race expo. Pretty uneventful but did hook up with the Profile Design rep who hooked me up with some warranty replacement aero carbon bars. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and Suites about 2 miles from the finish which worked out well but if I ever go back, I will get a room at the Green Valley Ranch. Very close to the race finish and the District for shopping, eating, etc. The race host hotel was great for the pre-race meetings/dinner/awards ceremony but not for much else. Over priced and isolated from civilization.

Slept pretty well the night before the race which isn't usually the case. Should've realized this was a sign that I was too relaxed and didn't have my game face on so to speak. A cold front moved in Saturday afternoon/evening which did bring a little rain on the way to the start but did clear out until Monday evening.

With the race being on September 11, the organizers did a great job with scheduling in a moment of silence at the exact time the first plane hit the WTC. I was very impressed that everyone was silent during this time and just shows you what an impact that act of terror had on the world and not just the US.

SWIM



Ok, here is where my frustration starts. I'm at best, a MOP swimmer so going into this race I knew I would come out of the water with a deficit. Didn't realize just how big it would be. The race officials said the water temp was too warm to be wet suit legal so you had the option of the new fabric swim skin or just your race kit. I ended up wearing the new swim skin from Blue Seventy which was OK, as it was too tight around the neck. The luck of being between a S and a M. The 40-44 wave was 4th from the end so I knew I would have a lot of people out on the course ahead of me and very few behind me. A through L's were off first and as soon as the canon went off, they were telling us to get into the water. Man that water was cold. The Europeans were complaining at the water temp and said there was no way it was not wet suit legal. I agreed with them but not much I could do. Over 50% of my wave ended up climbing up on rocks under bridge to get out of the cold water as we had 10' of treading water before they shot the canon.

Mistake #1. Allowing your draft to get away. I decided I would let everyone take off and then start my swim. Wanted clean water or at least that's how I justified my poor decision. Note to self. Never do this again. The large group could've helped drag me along the course with less effort.

1.2 miles - 43:36

Yes, you read that correctly. Should've been 35' or less. Nothing like a leisurely Sunday swim.

T1: 4:14 - About 2' slower than I expected. There was about a 400 yd run around the back of the lake to get into T1 and an uphill bike exit with switchbacks that added some time. I also had difficulty buckling my Garmin, had to remove my swim skin, and had to stop and put on sunscreen.



Bike

The first 2 miles leaving the resort area are uphill. Nothing like burning a match or two a few minutes into the bike ride. Legs felt dead for the first 40 miles. Once out on the main road to Lake Meade Park, the speed and wind started picking up. I hit 46 mph heading into the entrance of the park and this gave me an opportunity to catch my breath. The plan was to keep the wattage at around 208W for the 56 miles. On the first hill, people were blowing past me like I was standing still. I was tempted to follow suit but knew I would pay for it on the run.

Started the bike with (2) 24oz bottles of my home brew. Drank 1.5 bottles by the turn around at which point I ditched my second bottle and grabbed a cold Perform and a bottle of water.

On the bike you are either going up or going down. Probably needed an 11-27 versus the 11-25, especially with standard size cranks. Saw very little drafting - maybe a pack of 4. The last few miles just before the park exit wore on me as I was ready to get back on the main road towards T2.

The last 10 to 12 miles appear to be flat but in reality, you are going up a 2% grade all the way to T2. There were a lot of tired people at this point and many who were drafting and sitting up on their base bars. My legs actually started coming around at this point and I managed to pass quite number of people during this time.

56 miles - 2:42:33 - 20.7 mph (Pavg 212W)

Rolled into T2 and handed my bike off to a volunteer. Grabbed my run bag and headed to the tent.

T2 - 2:05

RUN

When I started the bike, I needed to make a bathroom stop. Unfortunately, this didn't happen and rode the next 56 miles with a full bladder. My only thought starting the run was to hit a bathroom. First aid station and porta potty was at mile 1. Ran the first mile in 7:03 and then took over a minute in the bathroom. Run was pretty uneventful and made the on the spot decision to walk the aid stations to make sure I got the fluids down. Wasn't part of the plan and probably cost me around 4'. The course is 3 laps - 2 miles up and 2 miles down. On the down hills I ran the same pace as the up which didn't register to me as being a mistake until the last 2 miles of the race at which point I ran a pace of 5:53/mile.

13.1 miles - 1:42:14 - 7:48 pace

Total time: 5:14:41 - 537/1505

2011 Tri! Ballantyne Triathlon

Headed up to Charlotte with the family on Friday so the girls could take part in the 2nd Annual Tri! Kids Ballantyne Triathlon on Friday evening. Kids had a great time and the event was well run and we will be back next year.

It rained on and off Friday night and was raining Saturday AM when we headed over to the race start. I dropped the air in my tires to compensate for the rain but as my luck would have it, the rain moved out and the race course was basically dry. I left my pump in the hotel room which had the crack pipe for the rear disk so I was unable to inflate my tires to the right pressure which probably cost me some time. I say this as I was 25" slower this year versus last.

SWIM

Horrible. That pretty much sums it up. The off season this year will be filled with pool time and lessons as I cannot continue to give away time to the other competitors.

300M - 5:36 with run to T1 (2010 - 5:29)

T1 - 0:53 - too long. Almost my entire rack came out within 45" of one another and caused a traffic jam. (2010 - 0:56)

BIKE

Uneventful. Already bummed about under-inflated tires and then I ran up on the SAG vehicle right before a right hand turn. I had to sit up and wait for the vehicle to turn thinking it would either speed up or move to the side. It did neither. I waved my arms and finally yelled for the drive to MOVE IT at which time he/she floored the vehicle and finally got out of my way. This is where I lost the race as this delay easily cost me the 28" I needed to take 1st overall.

12.7 miles - 31:50 @ 24mph (2010 - 31:25 @ 24.25mph)

T2 - 0:29 - Much better. Decided to not wear socks for the bike/run and this helped my time in T1. I also put on my race belt in T1 which may have cost me a few seconds but probably a wash with what I made up in T2. (2010 - 0:39)

RUN

Goal was to break 20:00 for the 5K and I came up short by 1". I felt great during the entire run and was in the zone for the last mile. Didn't wear my Garmin so ran on feel.

5K - 20:00 @ 6:26/mile (2010 - 20:20 @ 6:32/mile)

Overall

58:47 - 2nd Place Overall (out of 425+) (2010 Result - 58:47 - 4th place overall)

2011 Tri the Midlands Race Report

Woke up Saturday morning feeling tired due to lack of sleep - thanks to the University of South Carolina in the CWS and from a long run on Thursday. Expectations were low as I'm starting my build for the Ironman® World Championship 70.3 in September and have been focusing on distance/time in the saddle or on the road versus short course speed. The transition area was moved this year as was the swim start. Swim exit was the same but due to the change in transition location, you had a longer run – 300yds from what they said from swim finish to T1.

SWIM

Haven’t been feeling very strong on the swim and that is concerning as I’m a MOP swimmer. Decided to let everyone go ahead of me when the horn sounded and just swim easy. First buoy was at 175m and after this turn, the field was separated and made for a nice swim to the finish.

500M with 300yd run to T1 – 11:10 (10 out of 28 in age group)

T1

51” – Obviously wasn’t in a hurry here.

BIKE

Finally, a race where the participants followed the rules and stayed right unless they were passing. Not much to say here except there was a nice head wind once you turned right on Kelly Mill Rd and again when you re-entered Lake Carolina on Lake Carolina Dr. Used my new Louis Garneau Vorttice helmet and really enjoyed the visor and not having to crane my neck to see over my glasses. Will look into getting an amber visor to wear in longer races where the sun will be a factor. The helmet was very quiet and air flow was much better than my Giro Advantage 2. The helmet really made you conscience of keeping your head up as looking down and sticking the tail of the helmet in the wind made a loud noise, disturbing the airflow. With transition moving closer to the lake, this gave you a little more time to open things up on the flat to downhill stretch of Long Pointe Lane. Hit 38mph passing by the finishing chute and carried a good bit of speed down to the dismount line.

14.6 miles (14 miles advertised) – 37:25 – 23.4mph (fastest in age group and 11^th overall)

T2

1:00 – Decided to run without socks this race and it cost me 20” in T2. My toe kept getting caught on one of the tongue bands when I tried putting on my shoes. After 3 attempts, I finally got one shoe on.

RUN

Legs still felt dead after Thursday’s long run. Just didn’t have the quick turnover. Got passed by the 10^th OA competitor just before the hill, and then passed again 0.25 miles from the finish by the 15^th OA guy who ran a 17:17 5K.

5K – 21:10 (2^nd in age group and 26^th OA)

1:11.34 was good enough for 1st place in the 40-44 age group and 17th overall.

2011 Turtle Crawl Sprint Triathlon at Jekyll Island

Spent the week touring the Golden Isles with the family and capped off a great time with winning the 2011 Turtle Crawl Sprint Triathlon at Jekyll Island on Saturday.

SWIM

Weather was perfect and the swim conditions were ideal – no chop in the ocean and almost like a lake. Water temp was 76ºF so it was a wetsuit legal race but due to the short distance, I opted for my BlueSeventy speed suit. The 40+ males started 3’ behind the 39- males so I knew there would be some congestion to contend with on the bike course as I’m at best, a MOP swimmer. At any given time, you could stand up during the swim and were only chest deep which is great for new swimmers or people with a fear of water. No excuse during the swim other than only being in the pool 1X during the past 14 days and 7X since Ironman® New Orleans on 4/17.

400M Swim with long run to T1: 8:49

T1: 1:30 – had some difficulty getting my socks on.

BIKE

Bike was originally supposed to be 12 to 13 miles but due to construction on the island, they had to change the course and cut it back to 9.3 miles. Bike was uneventful and had to pass quite a bit of people due to my lousy swimming. No matter how many times you tell people to stay right except to pass they always migrate to the center of the lane and make it difficult for the faster riders passing 2 and 3 wide without crossing over the center line. Also found it amusing to see people on high end bikes and deep dish carbon wheels in long course bike mode – slow and steady with a low cadence. Come on people, this is a Sprint not an Ironman®. Ride like you are in a hurry!

9.3 miles – 22:42 @ 24.6mph and PAvg of 258W – fastest bike split

T2: 0:55

RUN

When I got into transition, I only saw 2 bikes racked and 1 in the process of being racked. It didn’t register that I was in the top 3 or 4 to start the run. I and another racer left T2 at the same time. I quickly passed him and passed another racer at about 0.75 miles. At the turnaround, I estimated I was 250’ behind the leader with 1.6 miles to go. I ended up passing him at mile 2 and surged to keep him from hanging on my heels. Come to find out, he started in the earlier wave so I had at least a 3' lead on him once I passed him. I think I caught everyone by surprise as they were a little frazzled when I came down the finish line as I had to dodge a woman with a baby stroller and a man with a dog in the last 500’. Once I came through, they cleared the path so the other finishers would not have to contend with the obstacles.

5K: 20:37 or 6:38/mile - fastest run split

Total: 54:35 - Overall Individual Male – 1^st Place.

Will definitely be back next year to defend my title and hopefully, will be in better swim shape.

2011 Ochsner Ironman® 70.3 New Orleans Race Report

Correction - 2011 Ochsner Ironman® 69.1 New Orleans

Got into New Orleans just after lunch on Friday and hit the athlete packet pick-up and expo before heading out for 30’ run to open up the legs. The wind was incredible and several gusts actually moved you back a step or two. The packet pickup was one of the best I’ve attended and you moved through the line/process fairly quickly. Dropped the bike off late Saturday afternoon at T1, which was just under 7 miles from the hotel / French Quarter. Did check out the lake and noticed the buoys outlining the course were not set-up. Should’ve realized this probably meant the swim would be canceled on race day. Didn’t get much sleep Saturday night due to the street noise in New Orleans. Probably should’ve requested a room on one of the top floors versus the 2^nd that we were on.

SWIM

Walking into T1 we heard the announcement that the swim had been canceled due to 25mph winds on the lake. Not an issue for those swimming but for those in kayaks trying to keep the swimmers safe. This was probably the best news I could’ve received race morning. See, I’m a MOP swimmer and a FOP biker and runner so this type of scenario suited me just fine.


BIKE

Waves of age groupers lined up 2 x 2 and were set off every 2”. Talk about the possibility of drafting. I was in line for the bathroom when they called my wave. Decided to wait it out as it didn’t make sense starting a 56 mile ride already needing to go.

First 3.6 miles were fast - 28+mph and it was almost impossible not to draft. We made the first turnaround and the wind hit you at a 45º angle. Pace slowed some but didn’t beat you up like a true headwind. Plan was to keep the wattage at around 210W for the race and ended up averaging 218W for the first 28 miles probably due to staying left and passing everyone I could in order to race clean - not draft. There was 1 blatant pace line where the participants actually tried to recruit me as they went by and unfortunately, they didn't get busted for drafting. Their decision beat me by 1'54". I'm OK with this as I know I raced clean. Only saw 2 people in the penalty tent - so much for enforcing the rules.

First 28 miles - 1:16:48 @ 21.8 mph and 218W Pavg

Second 28 miles - 1:06:14 @ 25.2 mph and 207W Pavg

I dropped the wattage for the last 28 miles and focused on holding the 210W. This probably cost me a podium placing but I did set myself up for a great run. Hit 37.4mph in mile 55. Roads were fine for the most part but organizers should’ve marked pot holes or uneven surfaces with paint. Coming over the last bridge to mile 55, you pick up a huge tailwind and must make a sharp right hand turn. Could’ve been better marked but probably a good idea to take this turn sitting up versus aero. Goal for the ride was 2:20.

Time: 2:23:28 - 23.4 mph PAvg – 213W and NP of 219W

T2: 1:55"

RUN

Coming off the bike my legs felt like jello and the run in T1 helped to get me going for the next 13.1 miles. The run course was shaded fairly well and there were numerous aid stations that were well stocked with volunteers, drinks, food, gels, and sponges.

Mile splits were as follows:

Mile 1 - 7:05

Mile 2 - 7:12

Mile 3 - 7:08

Mile 4 - 7:12

Mile 5 - 7:11

Mile 6 - 7:13

Mile 7 - 7:12

Mile 8 - 7:12

Mile 9 - 7:09

Mile 10 - 7:09

Mile 11 - 7:10

Mile 12 - 7:23

Mile 13 - 7:18

Blister came up on the ball of my left foot at mile 6. Wasn’t that big of an issue until I got into the French Quarter where the roads were awful and planting was difficult with the blister. Didn’t have much of a kick at the end which was disappointing.

Time: 1:34:29 - 7:12/mile pace


Total time: 3:59:52 – good enough for 7^th out of 343 in the 40-44 age group and 112 out of 2300+.

Nutrition was spot on as I consumed (2) 24oz bottles of my home brew (500 calories of glucose, 3,176mg of NA, 160mg of K, and a little Kool-aid for flavor) plus 1 gel on the bike. For the run, I did a gel shot with water every odd mile through 9 and a cup of Perform for all of the even miles. No stomach issues whatsoever.

Was fortunate enough to get the first roll down spot for the Ironman® World Championship 70.3 in Las Vegas in September. Should be a course that suits my strengths – bike and run and the temperature should be to my advantage as well.

Will be racing for Team PR or ER® for the rest of the season and will represent them in Vegas at the World Championships.

Tri! Ballantyne - 1st place Masters and 4/380 OA

Headed to Charlotte this morning at 4:40AM to race in the Tri! Ballantyne Sprint. 300M pool swim, 13.2 mile bike, and 5K run. Finished in 1st place for Masters and 4th place overall out of 380 participants. 3rd place beat me by 10" and 2nd place beat me by 23". Numerous places where I could've made up the 10 to 23".

SWIM

Felt pretty good during the swim. I can't tell you the number of people that underestimated their 100M swim time as people were breast stroking, hanging on to the walls, and having to pass 5 and 6 people. There were several times where lanes 4 and 5 were completely empty.

Time: 5:29 - includes 25" run to T1

T1 - 56" - took too much time - had problems getting my socks on my wet feet. Oh well.

BIKE

Bike was rolling and was advertised as 12 miles but my computer had 13.2. It was downhill the first 3 to 4 miles and then a gradual uphill until mile 10. I had the fastest bike leg for the entire race!

Time: 31:25 - 25.22mph

T2: 39"

RUN

I forgot to charge my Garmin and ended up having to leave it in T2 as it was completely dead. Another race without a timing device. My turnover was pretty good for the first 1.5 miles and slowed a bit due to some hills but I ended up picking up the pace again just after mile 2.

Time: 20:20 - 6:32/mile pace

My run times have come down quite a bit and probably due to all of the 3 - 4 x 1 miles @ threshold.

Total time: 58:47

Tri the Midlands Race Report

Made the podium again this past weekend with a 2nd place finish in the 40-44 age group and finished 12th OA out of 387 participants.

SWIM




















The swim is still my weakest event. I was 26 seconds faster over last year but still about 2' slower than where I should be.500M swim with 75 yard run to transition - 10:17 (4th out of 27 in AG)

T1: 1:14

BIKE

Felt pretty good on the bike and ended up taking 1' off my time over last year. Switched to a full carbon disk in the rear and an 80mm deep carbon wheel for the front versus 58mm deep for the front and my PowerTap wheel with wheel cover for the rear. Had the fastest time in my age group and 6th fastest overall. Averaged 24mph for the 14.4 miles.

Time: 36:39

T2: 51 seconds
RUN

The majority of this run is uphill with a long, steep section just before the turnaround. When I crossed the finish line I looked at my Garmin and saw 2.7 miles and not 3.1 miles. Turns out the people setting up the aid station at the turnaround did not go far enough up the hill.

18:33 for the 2.7 miles or 6:52/mile (2nd out of 27 in AG)

Total time: 1:07:33

Go Tri Sports Triathlon at Hilton Head Island

Go Tri Sports Triathlon at Hilton Head Island was my first race of the year and my first mass start swim. I was hoping for a calm ocean swim with a nice current but instead got choppy water. I am definitely not a fan of mass start swims, especially with me not being a strong swimmer. I've finally come to realization that my wetsuit is too small in the top and restricting my stroke. I couldn't do more than 10 strokes without taking a break. In hindsight, I shouldn't have worn the wetsuit and won't next year.

500M swim 10:44

T1: 3:32 - Way too slow. Not sure what happened here except I didn't sprint through the Holiday Inn parking lot, etc like others did.

The bike was flat and fast. Pretty uneventful and finally, a race where the participants stay to the right unless they are passing. Averaged 24mph for the 12.8 miles. Had the fastest bike time in the 40-44 AG and 6th fastest overall.

12.8 miles in 31:53




T2: 0:36 - Very happy with this time

I decided not to wear a timing device for the race and I think it cost me some time on the run. I ended up running the 5K in 22:11 but was hoping for 21' or faster.

Finished 1:08:54 - 3rd AG and 19th OA.

Bike Workout

I blogged yesterday that my workout today would consist of:

15' @ 185W, 40' @ 270W and 5'@ 285W - all continuous

I ended up doing 20' @ 201W, 10 @ 261W, 10 @ 272W, 10 @ 277W, and 10 @ 280W
**All watts listed are PAvg and not NP.

Duration: 1:00:16
TSS: 96.9
NP: 255
19.678 miles

For the 40' of continuous threshold work, my NP was 273W and Pavg was 272W. I feel confident enough to move my FTP in WKO+ from 260W to 270W starting tomorrow.

Getting things going again

Plan for this year is to do all sprint distance events so I'm readjusting my training plan to reflect this change. Gone are the 2+ hour rides and 8+ mile runs. I'm implementing a modified Daniel's 5K to 15K running plan consisting of 2 or 3 quality days/week and will add 1 or 2 easy runs as bricks to get the miles. My body can't handle the abuse of running every day nor do I see a benefit for racing sprints. Goal for running is a 5K time of 19:15 or less.

For the bike, I'm strictly focusing on raising FTP and each workout will be no longer than 1 hour unless I'm doing a group ride. Goal is to be able to ride for 1 hour at 285+W or 20' @ 315+W. Today my HOP consisted of 15' @ 185W, 25' @ 235W, and 20' @ 282W all done as a continuous effort. Tomorrow I'll shoot for 15' @ 185W, 40' @ 270W and 5'@ 285W - again, all continuous.

Swimming distance will be cut back as well but not as much. Early focus will be on 10 x 50's with shorter rest periods between reps as the weeks go by and then move to 10 x 75's, and 5 x 100's as the season progresses.

New Sponsor for 2010

Just received word that I will be a First Endurance sponsored amateur athlete for the 2010 season and am very excited about being associated with the leader in Innovative Racing Nutrients. What a great way to start the 2010 season and my second year in triathlon!

For more info on First Endurance and their innovative products, please click the logo to the right.

Ironman Augusta 70.3 Race Report

When I signed up for this race, my goal was to finish the race under 5 hours. Prior to doing this race, my only other 2 triathlons were of the sprint distance so I was a little concerned with the 1.2 mile swim. As I learned, swimming in a pool is quite different than swimming in the open water. The Savannah River was 68F on race morning and I would shortly learn that it was full of reed grass and river plants that added just another element of "surprise" during the swim.

Swim

I was in the first wave of the 40-44 men and made the mistake of starting first instead of waiting for everyone else to take off in my wave and then follow in behind. In less than 5', I was anaerobic. My breakfast started tickling the back of my throat and the wetsuit of which I only swam 5' in a pool 7 days prior, felt as though it was getting tighter and made it that more difficult to breathe. At this point I flipped over on my back and did the backstroke until my heart rate came down and then flipped back over and tried freestyle again. I did this over and over and finally got into a groove about 2/3 of the way into the swim. I know I swam more than the 1.2 miles as I was zig zagging all over the place, especially when I was on my back. Ironically, it takes me about 400yds to get into a groove in the pool so I shouldn't have been surprised that it took quite a bit longer. Exiting the water my head was throbbing and the headache would not go away until I hit the run.

Time: 30:31 1:36/100m

If I would've swam the average time, I would have made up over 6'. Oh well, time to hit the pool.

T1:2:24

Uneventful. My wetsuit came off with no problem and I probably took my time a little too much as I wanted to make sure I had everything before heading out. Also, I have to ride with socks on so it took a little extra time getting these on wet feet.


Bike

Sitting in my hotel room Saturday night listening to the rain pour down, I knew I would have issues with my Powertap in the morning. Even though I had everything covered up, the change in temp and the moisture/humidity seems to cause problems. I hit the button on my Powertap computer and all I saw was dashes. Then a few seconds later after I hit a bump I would see numbers. This went on for the entire length of the bike ride and made it extremely difficult to pace correctly. I've trained exclusively on this bike since May and not one time did I experience a drop out so I can only attribute it to the rain.

Being the 3rd to the last group to head out, I had plenty of people on the bike course to contend with. People were riding in the middle of the road, would start to pass someone and then slow down and talk to the person they were passing, dropping tubes, bottles, inflators, etc and made for a difficult ride. With my Powertap dropping out and stopping for a bathroom break at mile 36, I ended up riding slower than I planned and left some time out on the course.

Time:2:35:02 21.7mph



T2:

Again, uneventful. Changed socks as I like to run in thin socks and I prelubed the insides with Body Glide so it took me a little extra time to get these on.

Time:2:10

Run

Plan was to start out at 8:10 for the first 3 miles and then drop it down to 7:40 for the next 7 and then 7:30 or faster for the remaining 3.1. I started fine and was running 8:07 until I hit the first aid station. I would slow down to a walk as soon as I grabbed a cup and would continue walking until I finished drinking. I would hit the lap button when I started running again so my pace would be right but for some reason (come to find out when I downloaded the info) my pace was actually slower than what was coming up on my watch. Maybe the buildings, trees, overpasses, etc that caused my Garmin to act strange but I didn't pace the run like I had planned.



Run Split 1: 7 mi 8:26/mi
Run Split 2: 6.1 mi 7:41/mi
Total Run: 13.1 mi 1:45:59 8:05/mi

I was able to negative split the run but would have anyway if I executed according to my plan.

Total time: 4:56:06 Rank 302 Div. POS 49

I met my goal of going under 5 hours. I had a second, unspoken goal of hitting 4:48 and would have if I executed the swim with an average time, didn't have the issues with the Powertap going in and out, and truer pacing #'s from the Garmin.

With this being only my 3rd triathlon and my first HIM, I couldn't be happier. You can always second guess yourself and replay the race over and over and figure out where you could've made up time but that would be a waste of time. I did short myself calories on the bike and only managed to get in about 43oz of carbohydrate drink and 22oz of water. I really should've consumed around 54oz of CHO drink but thankfully, everything went OK. No issues with cramps as I was taking a Succeed S-Cap every 30' on the bike and run and never had any GI issues.

I've got a few take aways that I'll file away for my next long course race but now, time to put the tri bike away and get back on the road bike.

Bike Set-up for Augusta 70.3

Just need to lube the chain (rain in the forecast) and finish packing my gear and I should be ready to head out tomorrow for the race.

Video of entire Augusta 70.3 bike leg

Pretty cool idea. You can view the entire bike leg through the windshield of car/motorcycle.

Video is here. Scroll to the bottom of the page.

400+ men in 40 - 44 for Augusta??

Less Clydesdales:

35-39: 468
40-44: 432
45-49: 283

De Soto First Wave

Tried out my De Soto First Wave wetsuit this morning and all I can say is WOW!! Pushing off the wall and gliding in the water was quite an experience. I have nothing to compare it to as this is my first time wearing a wetsuit but i was quite impressed. I chose this suit because of the 2-piece design so I could dial in the fit, better shoulder movement, and easy removal. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make my legs sink and the body roll was amazing. I didn't time it but I banged out a 300 with very little effort.

Can't wait until Sunday!!

E. Coli in the Savannah River

Nick aka Swimshady tweeted about this earlier today. How many of you have been doing swim training in the Savannah River getting ready for the Augusta race????

I'm not sure which is worse, the E.Coli or the gators.

Read here.

I hope a cold front comes through........

Sunday, Sep 27
High: 86 °F RealFeel®: 105 °F
A shower in the morning; otherwise, times of clouds and sun, warmer and very humid