15 Seconds to Spare...

Well, there are so many things to say about this triathlon, where to begin.

1) Basically, I had no business doing a 1/2 ironman based on my current conditioning. I had been out of the water for 2 to 3 months due to tendonitis and only got back in about 4 to 5 weeks ago. I have been dealing with one injury or another in my running (hamstring and then calf) and had not run more than 5 miles on any given day for 5 to 6 weeks. My cycling was going fine, but I had literally done 55 to 60 miles on only 2 occassions since an April 1st ride. Since then, in addition to my 2 day-a-week habit of riding to work, I've done a few 30 to 40 miles rides with no running afterward. My only true brick was 1 week ago: 40/5. Bottom line - I was NOT ready for this race

2) I forgot to prepare in other ways too. I didn't realize until less than a week before that I had to arrive on Saturday to get my race packet. Given the 2-hour drive, I thought that I better figure out arrangements pretty quick. So on Saturday (seriously!), I call a few hotels and got my race gear together. What I didn't know until I got there, is that there was NO changing tent. I had never done a 1/2 and expected due to the length that it would be more like a full. So, my bathing suit plus bibs to change into for cycling didn't really work out as planned. In the end I just pulled the bibs on over my suit for the ride and then took them off for the run. Somehow, I had all of the gear necessary to make it through the race.

3) The night before, I ran in to Catherine Fuss, triathlete extraodinaire. In the 2005 USAT rankings, she made All-American. She even got a sponsor this year - Snickers! During the race, I got out of the water slightly before her and she passed me in the transition. I passed her on the bike and reached the transition a minute or two before her - she passed me again in the transition and that was the last I sawa of her. Except for the run turn around where she was a good mile or two ahead of me.

4) I also had the good fortune of running into a few other people that I knew: Kristin Aziz and family after the event (she actually came into T2 right after me - I heard the announcer call out her name; she says she saw me on the run - uh, walk), Mia during the run and the most important person Chuck Howard. If it weren't for Chuck, the rest of my day could have been a lot worse. I really needed someone to help pass the time and forget the pain for a while and he was the ticket. He could have kept running and that would have been fine - I don't have any expectations of anyone having to hang with me - but I was greatful that he did. We probably completed the last 6 or so miles together.

5) My father-in-law, wife and 3 kids all came to see me as well. They had used their chalk to write encouraging words for me on the pavement. That support is invaluable.

So, how did the race go...

The Swim. I'm usually pretty strong on the swim and so I prefer to get a clear start out front and avoid the fray. So, I was well positioned to start, but I have to say that this start unlike any other start in my many triathlons was rough - I was getting clobered from both sides and I suddenly felt like I put myself in a spot that I should have left to others. But after about 150 or so yards, it seemed to settle down. After the first lap, my HR as around 168 and it took about 16 minutes - not good. I was expecting an easier and faster swim. My second half was much better, less traffic, got my HR down below 160 and finished in about 31:47. But, I was still tired and I could tell it was going to impact the rest of my day more than I had anticipated. I finished 3rd in my age group in the swim.

The Bike. Well, I could tell by about mile 15 that this was going to be a tough day. By mile 40 I was pretty much resigned to NOT running - I don't mean walking, I mean quiting. At about mile 48 I started to get some cramps in my legs. The course was not bad. I had braced for some hills and there were some, but no more than I ride all the time around my home. There was a headwind at times, but no more than 15 miles or so that was tough. One of my biggest issues (besides the fact that I hadn't ridden that long more than a couple of times) is that I spent a lot of time in aero - unlike my training rides - and my lower back and other parts were killing me very early. I thought my bike would be fairly strong, but I was getting smoked. I'd like to say that mentally I let it go and stuck to my race, but I still had too high a HR - averaged about 160.
I finished 25th in my age group (out of 48) which would typically be disappointing for me, but given my level of conditioning and what I believe was a very strong field I can't complain. I did afterall hit my goal time of sub-3 averaging about 19.1 mph.

The Run (Walk). By this time, the pain in my upper hams and glutes was killing me. I was mentally ready to start, but also ready to give in if I was going to have to walk all 13. Fortunately, it didn't take too long to loosen up a bit and actually get my shuffle going. I was able to run the first 2 miles, mostly uphill, in under 20 minutes and at this point I'm thinking there's a good chance I will actually finish the race - a lot of walking, but still finish. I'm already run\walking, but am still able to keep my pace under 10 min/mile for the first 6 miles - almost half way there - walking the rests seems plausible. I think it was a little after mile 4 that I saw Chuck - and I knew he would catch up with me quickly as he's a much faster runner than me. So around mile 7 we began the rest of the race together, conversing about pretty much anything other than what we were doing. I pretty much stopped watching the time and just focused on moving forward trying to run a little here and there. Chuck mentioned with about 4 miles to go that we could break 6 hours if we tried. Checking my watch, I was surprised to find that it was possible - especially with the last 2 miles being mostly downhill. We figured 12 minute miles would get us there. So, we ran where we could. First mile in about 11, second in about the same. So with about 2 miles to go, we still have a good 25 to 26 minutes to finish in under 6.

In fact, we finished in about 5:55:45. Except for one little problem - I got a 4 minute penalty. Still officially 5:59:45 - whew 15 seconds to spare! I averaged 10:50/mile on the run - not bad considering all of the walking - in a total time of 2:20:49

My immediate reaction to the penalty was NO WAY! I had gotten a drafting penalty last year and I was very cognizant of any issues this time - there was no way I got a penalty on the bike. But then my wife mentioned that I took water from my son just as I was starting the run - duh! I know the rules about excepting outside help, I didn't even want the water, but I thought my son would appreciate it if I accepted his offer without even thinking about the rules. Oops.

So overall, I'm glad I did it. While it's hard not to be disappointed about where I finished, I think I did remarkably well considering my level of fitness. Not only did I stay under 6 hours which was my goal, but I avoided re-injuring anything and can get back to training this week. All in all - a good day. Thanks to everyone for all of the support!

Almost Ready???

Well, I don't think I'll be able to run the entire 13.1 of the 1/2 ironman in just 6 days from now, but I'm feeling better about my chances of just finishing injury free. I'm also rethinking my 6-hour personal self-flaggelation objective - It could well take longer, but that's okay.

Yesterday, I did a "real" brick - 40 miles on the bike followed by a 5 mile run. I didn't start until 11:30am - already quite hot, but given that I will be getting off the bike at about 11am on race day, not a bad choice of time. I took the bike easy and it felt pretty good - did not feel nearly as bad as after my 55-60 from the previous weekend (of course, it was shorter, duh). I averaged 18.2 so my goal of 18.6 on race do is well within reach depending of course on conditions and how hard I take it. Frankly, I'll be happy with 18. anything (which is about a 3:07 on the bike course).

The run. I tried to keep my pace at 10min/mile. The legs felt okay and I found myself at a much faster pace at times. My HR was too high though and I conked out after about 4 miles - i.e. the 10 m/m pace became laboring as opposed to comfortable. I did recover fairly quickly though after I was done. It did not ruin the rest of the day for me. I know next weekend will be tough, but I think I can do it - uh, finish that is.

This week, I'll take it easy, but not too easy. Probably still ride to work twice, run and swim a couple of times - just not as long and a little easier. Rest day Saturday and race day Sunday.
Here we go!!

Moto Guzzi...

My mother was born and raised near Brescia Italy. In fact, she is there now and the Giro d' Italia bike race just went by there yesterday I believe. My mom does NOT ride a bike ;-)

Anyway, I'm riding to work today and sitting at a stop light (again!) when a motorcycle pulls up right along side me. He pops his visor up and we start a little conversation. He's riding a Moto Guzzi motorcycle. Big in Italy, but not that popular over here. I told him about my family and the fact that many of them own a Moto Guzzi. He lamented about how hard it is to get parts for it here. Guess so. Green light...

Good ride, actually tried to keep the HR a little lower and was mildly successful.

Meanwhile Basso it absolutely crushing the competition at the Giro - again today leaving all challengers behind him. His win appears to be more dominant than any of Lance's wins at the Tour, but perhaps the Giro is not quite the race that the Tour is???

Swim, Run Brick

Is that really a brick? Let's just say it is!

I actually still have a bit of a cold from this weekend and coughing into the night kept me awake a bit so things aren't going great at the moment. I decided to let my wife sleep in peace so I took my coughing self down to the couch. Of course, getting up at 5:30 for swim practice was probably not going to work at this point. Sure enough, I woke up about 6:30.

So, change of plans. Over lunch, went to the pool and swam 2,000 yards straight (28 minutes), then got out and ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Everything felt good. The swim was at a medium pace, frankly about as fast as I want to go on race day. The run was at my 6mph\10min mile pace and the calf felt okay. I actually modified my running posture a little and it seemed to take a little stress off. I think I might almost be leaning backwards a little when on the treadmill, so I forced myself to lean slightly forward and it felt better. I also bought my inserts (haven't put them in yet 'cuz I have to cut them to size first) and will have those for my next run.

Winds of Change?

Uh oh. My weekend training was good news bad news.

First, my wife and I went out for dinner with some friends on Sat evening. We are both a little bit sick (coughing, throat, etc.) and I had probably 3 beers and a margarita. I had checked the weather forecast the day before and everything looked good except the 15-20mph winds so I wanted to get an early start before the winds kicked into high gear. Well, my cold, the alcohol and a late night made me feel like death at 7am - so I decided to sleep in while my wife got a run in herself.

She reported to me that it "wasn't that windy" knowing full well at 9am that it was going to get a lot worse before I was done. So I set out at about 9:30. The first 2:15 of my planned 3 hour ride went well. I took it fairly easy (for me anyway). The only stats I monitored were my HR, time and cadence. So at about the 2:15 mark I turned a corner to go up a mild incline and hit that 15mph headwind front in and the rest of the ride was horrible. So I checked my other ride stats - I was at a little over 44 miles and averaging 19.1mph. That is a lot faster than I had planned and I still need to slow myself down. By the end of the ride, my average was down to 18.6 - and not because I was taking it easy.

If I feel anything like this in 2 weeks during my 1/2 ironman, I am in big trouble. I'm hoping that the wind, hills, cold, late night, beer, etc. are all to blame. We'll see. The race bike course is advertised as having some hills. It's hard to know what that means and I won't have time to see before hand, but my typical rides are what I would call hilly. Yesterday's ride recorded a total ascent of 2400 ft - even though no single ascent is more than abouut 200ft. It's just rarely flat where I ride.

Anyway, I slogged through it and hopefully a little better prepared. My run was more bad news, but the good news is that I didn't go too far and injure myself. I have chosen to run on a treadmill until I am sure of how far I can go. My plan was for 8. I completed 4 - with a few stops for stretching - before I thought I'd better stop or risk further injury.

So I'm still here! Today is a complete rest day. One day at a time.

Up to 3 miles...

Well, I ran my 3 miles yesterday - again on the treadmill at 6mph. My legs feel good and no calf issues, but I still need to be vigilant. This is the time I have to be most careful because I start to think I can just go out and start to run faster again.

In fact, my training partner (we haven't trained together in months) voiced his "concern" over my participating in the 1/2 ironman given my recent injuries and current level of fitness. Funny thing is, he is right but it goes against my nature. I told him that I was just going to take it easy and enjoy and he reminded me that "take it easy" is not really in my training and racing lexicon. He's right and I'm going to have to do everything in my power to learn otherwise - not just for this race, but in general.

This morning was also my bike-to-work day. The weather is simply AWESOME right now - 60ish degress, sunny and a light breeze. Today's ride was perfect accept for perhaps a bad rash of red lights to start out.

• 13.1 miles
• 47:37 total time
• Red Stop lights encountered: 5
• Longest stop light wait: 2 minutes (no kidding- I timed it)
• Cat 1 climb: 1:52 woohoo.

Swim 2,900

This morning's swim practice:

Warmup	3 x 200	swim, kick, pull choice
Drills	10 x 50	kick down, swim back choice
Main	1000 Free	25 easy, 25 hard, 50 e, 50 h, 75 e, 75 h, 100 e, 100 h - repeat backwards
Breath Control	4 x 100	Kick with fins, 3rd length no breather
Breath Control	4 x 75	Free, 3rd length no breather
Cool Down	100

Felt good, but the elbow feels a bit weird. Not like before, but may be doing too many yards too early. Don't swim again until Tuesday, so I'll monitor.

Also, I confess. I missed Yoga yesterday. I had to rush out of the house to get to work and just forgot my clothes. Oops.

Die another day...

Don't worry readers (i.e. my wife who might actually read this) it's not as bad as it sounds. I have actually had so few scrapes in the 18 months of doing this, that one of these every now and then just reminds me to continue to be vigilant.

While riding to work this morning, a larger truck passed me and then took a right-hand turn - that was okay. But the pickup truck hauling a the landscaping trailer almost did the same thing. He was just passing me - I was about even with his rear wheels - when he started to make the right turn. Then I noticed his trailer. This was NOT good.

I could see by his trajectory and speed along with the curb that I was going to have to do something quick. So first things first - I YELLED!! He slowed down and I was able to roll by safely although it was inches away from me ditching into somebody's front yard.

Interestingly, the guy yelled something back at me. I figured it was an insult of some sort and I was ready to fire back but I couldn't make out what he said. So I asked him (I'm a good 50ft from him at this point and still moving). It sounds like he might have been trying to explain what happened as if he was... sorry. Whatever, just glad my luck hadn't run out.

Today's Stats:

• Miles: 13.1
• Time: 49:30 (lots of bad luck on the lights today)
• Cat 1 climb: 1:53 (not bad, feeling stronger)
• Near misses: 1

It was awesome weather this morning and my legs felt great after a couple of days off!!

Ride on!