Vibram Five Fingers
I so lust after these shoes! I will have some soon! Apparently, Tim Ferris, along with many others, have seen the light as well. Also, see my paleo pal Keith’s review of the Vibram Five Fingers
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/05/07/vibram-five-fingers-shoes/
http://theorytopractice.wordpress.com/2009/03/12/of-vibrams-and-fossil-records/
What to Expect on a Group Bike Ride — Group Cycling Etiquette
It is getting warm enough now for most people to start cranking up the triathlon training. Part of this routine, for me anyway, has always been the once- or twice-weekly group rides from Inside-Out Sports in Cary, N.C.
The are two rides that leave from the shop at 6 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The A-rides average 22-plus for 30 miles around and through the outskirts of Cary. The B-ride is usually 19-21, so it’s a pretty fast ride. Other rides I have done from bike shops in the area, including Cycling Spoken Here and The Spin Cycle in Cary. The B-rides on these I believe were held to 18 mph, which is perfect for this time of the year. One local shop offers a ride on Sunday mornings that is huge! I think I’ve seen as many as 50 riders on that one.
Check around in your area for bike or triathlon shops. Most offer group rides leaving right from their stores. It makes it mighty convenient for them to sell you bikes, helmets, cycling shoes, tubes, etc., when they do that sort of thing, so it behooves them to make sure the ride is fun and safe.
Anyway, over the years I usually have done one or two fast group rides per week. This, along with one long-ride on the weekends, was essentially my cycling training. I have picked up some tips that I share below on etiquette for riding in a group. Many folks are nervous about group riding because of the close proximity to the other riders. You have to pay attention and you count on your fellow riders to do their part in keeping everyone upright.
In no particular order, below are some tips on how to ride in a group setting. Etiquette, I have found, is usually consistent from group to group on organized rides. But there are group specific gestures and signals, as well, so be sure to pay attention to the ride leader for instruction. Someone is usually designated the ride leader before the ride starts.
There is usually an “A” ride, a “B” ride, and sometimes even a “C” ride. Don’t hesitate to ask either the ride leaders or any of your fellow riders about speeds of groups, skill of riders, etc., as this will vary somewhat.
Here are my tips. If I have forgotten any that you think are relevant, please leave them in Comments.
- Ride in a group that is appropriate for your cycling ability. For instance, if you typically average 16 mph on a training ride, chances are good you will be in either a “C” or a “B” ride. Expect “A” rides to be 20 mph plus. Each bike shop will vary and will let you know beforehand.
- If you are a triathlete and you are going on a group ride with a bunch of road cyclists, typically you will be expected to ride upright, on your bullhorns, rather than down in the aero position. If you are fortunate enough to have a triathlon shop in your town, everyone will likely ride in the aero position. This is nice because it allows you to spend time riding the way you would in actual triathlon. If you happen to have just a road bike, you are still more than welcome to ride with triathletes! Some groups don’t care one way or another, but you should meet the expectation, as some riders get nervous when they don’t know you or your ability to ride. If you tend to weave when you are in the aero position by yourself, it’s best not to try it in a group setting.
- If you are new to the group, just start off easy kind of in the middle of the pack. If you have never ridden with other people before, you will find it much easier to ride in the draft of the riders in front of you. The riders on the front and a few rows back are generally the stronger riders in the group and will maintain the pace, usually, while taking the brunt of the wind. Thus, the group travels much faster as a whole than you would by yourself.
- For your first group ride, stay in the draft the whole way. Do not take any pulls on the front unless you are quite confident in your ability to stay with the group for the duration of the ride. Trust me, when you are barely hanging on at mile 25 of a 30 mile group ride, you will thank me.
- As such, always have directions for your first ride with a particular group. Getting dropped and getting lost, which I’ve done several times, is not fun! I always carry a cell phone and an ID with me regardless of where or with whom I’m riding.
- When you ride behind another rider, the rider in front is expected to let the rider behind know if there are hazards ahead. For example, if I’m in front of you and I see a hole in the road ahead, I would point at it and yell, “Hole!”
- Another gesture that is used often yelled by whomever is on the ball is “Car up!” This indicates that a vehicle is coming from ahead. “Car back!” would be if a car is coming from behind. “Passing” is when one a vehicle is trying to pass the entire group. There is no rule about how many times things are yelled out, so don’t be shy. “Gravel!” is another phrase you hear yelled a lot at intersections, as usually there is debris at intersections and taking a turn on loose gravel can be very tricky.
- Only point out truly hazardous things. Some riders point out every little thing. Then, when something like a big rock or a pot hole that needs to be avoided comes along, nobody is really paying attention anymore.
- When turning right, most people just point to the right. When turning left, you can either make an “L” shape with your left hand, or just point left. Either way, the key is to let people behind you know that a turn is coming up.
- When coming to a stop, just put your hand out behind you and call out, “Stopping.” When the group is slowing, just call out “Slowing.” Most of the things are common sense, so just use your best judgment. No one is going to get mad at you as long as you let them know what you are doing.
- When you are in front of another rider and you want to move over and drop back, always move to your left. Never drop back on the right, ever. You might see some people try it from time to time, especially if you are riding two by two, and the guy on the right decides to just to “slide” to the right to come back, but it’s better for him to move two places to the left, then drop back. That way, everyone can plainly see what you are doing.
- You will likely either be riding as a group in one line or two. On busy roads, groups will usually ride one abreast. On more desolate roads without a lot of traffic or congestion, it is usually two abreast. At other times, you may ride in a pace line, but this is usually done on “A” rides and requires quite a lot of riding skill on the part of the entire group for it to work effectively.
- Don’t worry if you get dropped. Some groups, especially “C” type rides, have “No drop” rules. So, just keep going and you will probably catch up to someone at an intersection. Believe me, everyone gets dropped, even seasoned riders. Some days are better than others!
- In case you have a flat, make sure you’re prepared with a tube and either a small pump or a CO2 cartridge and a connector. Even though the rides are usually only 30 miles or so, you still have flats.
- If you do hear your tube pop, just stay calm and gradually slow down using the brakes of the tire that is still inflated. Easier said than done! Once you are safely on the side of the road, then start assessing the damage. Usually, somebody in the group will stop with you. This is especially true if you ask. Often riders will check to make sure you have everything you need to change the tire. If you are less than spectacular at changing a tire (shame on you), some kind soul might stay behind with you to help you change it.
- As I mentioned above, conserve energy until you have about five miles left. Groups tend to get faster as the ride goes along. On the Inside-Out ride that I do, we cruise about five miles at conversational pace. We then hit it hard for 20 miles, then we cruise back in for five. Each ride is different. On some rides I have done, it’s a sprint right back to the store.
- Have fun! Although you are probably a bit nervous, especially if it is your first time riding in a group situation, just remember that everyone is out there to have fun. Other riders will be happy to let you know everything they can about the ride, what they are training for, etc., so you are sure to make some new friends along the way!
The Triathlon Song
I first saw the video below over at Chuckie V’s blog. This is a pretty good summation of some of the sights you will see on race day if you are new to the sport. Enjoy!
Chuckie V’s blog, by the way, is quite excellent. It is veritable treasure trove of training knowledge, and it’s all free. He is triathlon coach, former Ironman champ, and rode with Lance Armstrong on the U.S. Postal Cycling Team. He’s also hiked the Pacific Coast Trail solo twice. So, yeah, he’s been around a bit. His ideas on nutrition are also spot on!
Become a Slippery Swimmer In Three Months
If you are new to the sport of triathlon, chances are good that you haven’t swam since you were a kid. Chances may also be good that you have never done lap-swimming in a pool, ever. You liked the game of Marco Polo and diving for quarters better than swimming back and forth.
I would also be willing to bet that there were several of you good-spirited folks, like me back in the day, who signed up for your first triathlon at the first of the year. It was only after you hit the payment button that you thought about the swimming part. You perhaps have been to the pool and actually tried to swim the required 300 yards in the particular sprint race and then you promptly found yourself in a calamitous battle with the water that resulted in nothing but splashing and a big-time oxygen debt that is rapidly coming due.
Swimming is a Skill
Well, I’m here to tell you, you can improve your swimming and you can do it very rapidly. You see the human body was not designed to operate well in the water. It is not natural to us and most of us don’t have the natural gifts like Michael Phelps, like a 6-4 frame, gigantic feet, really big hands and long arms to make it come easy.
What you have to realize, however, is that swimming is mostly skill and even a person that appears completely out of shape on the outside can in fact swim laps around you. I’ve seen it time and again in the pool. Little kids leaving you in the dust in the time-trial start of a pool-based sprint triathlon can be particularly disconcerting.
Most experts, and everything I’ve read, would say that swimming is 70-75 percent technique and maybe 25-30 percent aerobic conditioning. Which basically means that you can be a really in shape runner or cyclist or a really good basketball player, but you can also be a really terrible swimmer. The good news is that you can “learn” to swim fast by teaching your body to move in the same optimal way each time you take a stroke.
Technique Is Key
There are many options out there for improving your swimming in a big hurry but none of them skip the first step of learning the proper technique. Going to the pool and swimming without focusing your technique is going to be worthless. It’s going to be hard and you are not going to get any better because of the effort.
After about two years and my first six triathlons (three sprints one year, then two sprints and an international distance the next), I was tired of coming out the water near the back of the pack. In fact, my first triathlon saw me have to stand up in the middle of my 300-yard swim huffing and puffing, wondering just what I had gotten myself into. That’s another story for another post.
During this “learning” phase, I had experimented with Total Immersion. I bought the book Triathlon Swimming Made Easy and started in with drills. I was not dedicated and I was not swimming much, so I never really improved. My technique was terrible and I was taking probably 30 strokes per 25 yards, wearing myself out before I could actually get any real practice in. Muscle memory is huge in swimming, and if you don’t swim, you will lose it, much like you would lose your golf swing when you haven’t played in five years.
Triathlon swim starts can be a bit disconcerting!
So, after a few false starts, I saw a sign for swimming lessons at the on-campus aquatic facility at Duke University, my former place of employment. It turns out the assistant swim coach there, Dawn Chuck, was offering lessons for like $125 per semester. The classes were to be during lunch.
For about the whole semester, I pretty much had one-on-one time with Dawn because nobody else apparently wanted a collegiate coach giving you valuable advice. Simply having someone watching you swim is going to help you a great deal, even if they are not former Olympic swimmers from Jamaica, like Dawn was.
In about two months of consistent swimming, like three or four sessions per week, she had me move from finishing my races in the back of the pack to the front 10 percent of the pack. She gave me lots of drills and she told me what I was doing wrong. She gave me shorter sets, 2000-2500 yards to work on drills, rather than a bunch of yardage swimming intervals.
Surprisingly, the comments were very few, but they were always major flaws that were easy to fix. It was as simple as that. She had my strokes-per-length reduced from about 25 to about 14-15 in about three months.
Lessons are Biggest Bang for Buck
So, if you really want to improve your swimming, probably the easiest thing you can do is hire someone for a few private lessons. If you can’t afford that, I suggest you at least find a friend who is a good swimmer and have them watch you and tell you what you are doing wrong. It can be something as simple as lowering your head in the water or finishing your stroke or setting your catch. Either way, whatever you think you are doing in the water is probably not what you are actually doing, so be sure to follow through with this.
If you would prefer to be a hero and do it all on your own, it can be done, but it will take much longer to become decent. I consider decent a 1:30 100-yards. In a future post, I will give my take on Total Immersion, which I tried, as well as some other thoughts on triathlon-specific swim training. Until next time, give your swim training some thought and decide the best way to approach improvement based on your specific schedule. If you can afford it, hire a coach. If you can’t afford that, at least ask some kind looking fish at the pool to watch you swim 100 yards. You will be surpised at how a simple suggestion will completely change everything for you!
Training Update
Well, to say the previous week has been “active” would be a bit of an understatement. Unless you train more than me … then the statement would be silly. At any rate, I got in some good training over the past few days. My first week back to triathlon training on a schedule saw me going a bit farther and bit harder than I probably should have. I will say, however, that nothing kick-starts a season by getting your ass handed to you on consecutive training days.
The week started innocently enough with an easy 4-mile run at Shelley Lake, my beaten path. I think I could do this run blindfolded if necessary. It is flat and familiar, and I like it. I also swang (swung?) a 45-pound kettlebell for three sets of 20 that evening.
Wednesday was an hour trainer ride at an easy heart rate along with some one-legged drills. I also did snatches with the 35-pound kettlebell for three sets of eight with each arm. Thursday I don’t recall doing anything. Friday was where the proverbial shit hit the fan.
I ran with my friend Nasrin, a 42-year old female who is president of Mobile Reach. I’m doing some marketing for her company so I met her at Panera Bread in Cary (this spot also happens to be the home of Inside-Out Sports, where we do a lot of group rides during the week in the spring and summer). Nasrin and I worked for an hour, despite Panera’s ridiculous policy that you can only surf for 30 minutes! Cafe indeed!
Nas and I then ran rough-shod over a 5.8-mile run on a crazy hilly course around Inside-Out. As usual, I pleaded with Nas that we run slow. She, however, has always had a different definition of what slow and easy is. In fact, there is no running side-by-side with her. She will always be just a bit ahead, no matter what pace you are running and no matter the effort level.
At any rate, pair this with the fact that I’ve only run five times in 2009 and no farther than 4 miles. Nasrin, on the other hand, had been running and was building toward a 30-mile week in prep for her race at the Florida 70.3. Needless to say, this run hurt! This hills and Nasrin were more than enough to reduce me to walk on the final huge grade toward home. As I saw my heart rate hit 170 on the final turn, my shoestring conveniently came untied and had to stop. I told Nas to keep going. I think she was ill with me because she wanted someone to run the hill with her because it sucks so bad. Sorry I was of no help, Nas! Maybe next time when I’m in shape!
On Saturday morning, the family and I headed to downtown Raleigh to watch the Krispy Kreme Challenge. Essentially, you run 2 miles, eat a dozen doughnuts, then run back. The guy who won, a spry 22-year-old named Eric Mack, ran 5:28 miles on the way out and only slowed to 6:05 pace on the way back, when the race was in the bag, so to speak. He won by two minutes over the next nearest guy. I could certainly eat a dozen doughnuts, but there will be no running before, during or after. 5:28 miles at any point is also out of the question for this guy. It was a fun event though, and they raised a ton of money for this charity, like $35,000 for the N.C. Children’s Hospital. The run started three years ago with 11 folks and had more than 5,000 Saturday at the N.C. State Belltower. The Dunkin Donuts right across the street had no comment and refused to be interviewed for this story.
At about noon, I met a group of about 20 for a ride of the Duke 1/2 Ironman course. I had only ridden outside once this year, so 60 miles was probably a bit much for me, but I assumed the group I was going with would want to enjoy a nice, chatty ride while we soaked in the nearly perfect North Carolina weather for February. Much to my innervation, however, I discovered that I had been lulled into a false sense of security by some cyclists who were seemingly in a large hurry all day long!
I think I averaged 18.2 miles per hour for the ride and a few generous souls, Carolyn, Patrick, and Jon, had to come back and kind of tug me along. If there was a picture under the word “Toast” in the dictionary, a candid of me at about mile 50 of that ride would have been ridiculously appropriate.
On Saturday night, my legs were already so sore, I decided to try and endure my first ice bath ever. I should have been less brave and kind of gradually reduced the temperature, but I made it work and none of my boys were injured. I must say that the soreness that I normally would have experienced did not rear its ugly head, so I’m pretty sure ice baths are here to stay at the Cornwright household.
Today is Tuesday and I am recovering from a yoga/pilates class at my old friend’s yoga studio, Albemarle Pilates and Yoga. Cindy led a group of us in what was my first-ever attempt at pilates. It was good and not too tough for me, suprisingly. I would like to practice some more arm-stands. I’m curious to know what percentage of newbie yogis tries this maneuver the first time and fall and break their noses. It seemed like a highly likely scenario as I stared at her hardwood floor while precariously perched on palms.
I’m planning on swinging my 45-pound kettlebell tonight. Actually, I’m going to snatch it a few times, too. Training is good, life is good. I hope to post myt first article in what will be a series on how I use kettlebells to supplement my triathlon training. I’m also planning a post on the best way to approach swimming if you are newcomer to the sport, so be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already!
P.S. I thought, as did Keith, that these pullups were cool.
Why You Don’t Need a Triathlon Specific Bike
If you are new to the sport of triathlon, probably the last thing you need to do is rush right out and buy a brand new triathlon specific bike. I have seen any number of bikes in races, especially shorter races, including mountain bikes and cruisers. Nobody is going to care what you ride in your first race. So, let’s take a look at a few of your options.
When I first got involved in the sport four (or five) years ago, I didn’t have a bike and I didn’t have any money to buy one. Thus, I started trainining for my first race by attending spin classes at my gym. You could also simply ride on the stationary bikes in your gym’s cardio room. This is not exactly like the real thing, obviously, but it will get you used to pedaling and it will build a tough rear-end that will see you through those long rides.
My Cervelo P2SL at Ironman Florida.
For my race, I borrowed a road bike from my brother-in-law. He is a big bike geek, so he had several to spare. I actually ended up buying the bike from him later, but before I bought, I wanted to make sure that triathlon was something I enjoyed and was going to stick with. I would be willing to bet that many garages have a fancy new tri bike sitting there collecting dust. Someone signed up for a race, got talked into buying a triathlon-specific bike, and never used it again after they realized how hard triathlons are!
For my first two years of training, I used a road bike with clip-on aerobars. Only after I decided I was going to stay in the sport for awhile did I go out and by my first tri bike, a Cervelo P2SL.
For now, simply borrow a bike, any kind of bike, from a friend or neighbor. After you finish that first race, you will have a better idea of what kind of time and money you want to invest in the sport. In a future post, I will discuss the benefits of a triathlon specific bike, but for now, stick with something that rolls fairly well and you will be fine!
2008 Ironman Florida Race Report
The family at the finish!
Well, we finally made it back home from Panama City Beach, Florida, via Savannah. The trip, which we had hoped to be a mini-family vacation, actually turned into a full-fledged family vacation. This was aided by the fact that I’ve just resigned from an unfulfilling job in hopes of starting a career that I have some passion for. Thus, I had no job to return to. My wife is a stay-at-home Mommy, so we took our sweet time about returning to Raleigh.
We left early Wednesday of last week with a packed mini-van and visions of bright Florida sunshine in our heads. The drive down was fairly uneventful, fortunately, although neither baby slept much so they were a bit fussy when we got to our condo. This was to be my second Ironman, my first being Ironman Coeur d’Alene in June of last year. I was under the weather for that race, and didn’t have nearly as many cycling miles in my legs, so I had high hopes for the flat, fast Ironman course in Panama City.
On Thursday morning, I took the short walk down the beach to the race site for the Gatorade practice swim. I met my Iron training partners Tony, Jerry, Stephanie and Blake for a little 2000-yard jaunt in what turned out to be a bit rougher water than we expected. I also had time to chat with my pal Sheila who was volunteering for the swim and down for the race in support of Iron-blogger Shelley. After chatting and catching up with everyone, we headed down to the water. I quickly jumped on the feet of Jerry and Tony and was able to stay with them for about half way to the turn. I haven’t been swimming much at all really this year, so just keeping up with them for a while was good enough for me.
With our kids getting more mobile and my lack of swimming motivation, I had only swam once per week for most of this season, opting instead to leave more time for riding, running and recovery. This strategy paid off perfectly for me I think, as I’ll explain later. Anyway, on the practice swim, the way out was very smooth and pretty quick, as the tide was going out. After we turned around, you had to fight the current to get back to shore, which, when swimming by yourself without the benefit of a draft, was difficult. We would not be without a huge draft on race day, so I wasn’t too concerned. An Ironman swim is about as predictable as a broken stopwatch, so it wasn’t worth worrying about until you were actually in the washing machine of 2,200 flailing arms and legs.
After the swim, it was time to register for the race and check out the expo. We took the babies down to the beach for the first time and they loved it. After some apprehension, they played in the water and Bree actually ran toward and tried to jump in several times. I’m hopeful that they will be water kids! So far, so good on that front. The following day, Courtney took the babies to a nearby park so I could pack my transition bags and drop off my bike. I pretty much lay around all afternoon after that, as the time-zone change had the kids getting up at 4:30 am each morning, so afternoon naps were at a premium.
Race morning, I got up at 4 am and downed three Lara Bars and a Coke Zero. Normally, it would have been coffee but I had a bit of a problem with our coffee maker. Oh well, I still had two Red Bulls to sip on before the race started. I headed for the race site right at 5, as our condo was right next-door. I highly recommend staying as close to the race site as possible, as it sure takes the stress out of parking, etc. After dropping my transition bags, I went to put my fluids on my bike. I ran into Sheila and Shelley again, but unfortunately never crossed paths with any of my training crew from N.C.
I waited in line to get my tires pumped up, then stood and around and watched people. There is a lot of nervous energy before an Ironman, but it is also brimming with excitement, so the environment, albeit stressful, can be fun. I eventually said goodbye to my bike and went to get changed into my wet suit. It was dark in the changing tent, but I was in and out pretty quickly. After that, I headed down to the water in hopes of finding Courtney. I walked over the timing mat and into the corral, then went down to the right to try to spot her and the stroller walking up the beach. Eventually, we met up and exchanged hugs and kisses. It is always emotional just before a race, especially an Ironman, so a few tears were shed, just like it was my first one! Apparently, the magnitude of the day comes out no matter what!
I said “bye bye” to the babies and to Courtney, then headed back in the corral to find a starting spot. I ran into training buddy Dave Larson and we decided to start together, about 200 yards outside the buoy line, three or four rows deep. Mercifully, the gun sounded and we headed off on our adventure! The going was rough as usual, and I got swatted a few times right off the bat. Just like at Ironman CDA last year, I had a mild panic attack with so many bodies all around me trying to move forward. After a couple of minutes I calmed down and got down to business. It’s weird how that works, as I always calm down eventually, and I’m very relaxed the rest of the way. I just have to get things under control in my head before I can progress!
The first loop was crowded but fairly uneventful. Rounding the first buoy was hell as usual, then we turned directly into the rising sun, so you really couldn’t see much. Everyone seemed to be going the right way, though, so I just followed along. I tried to stay on feet the whole way and conserve my energy as much as possible, although I did find myself alone a few times caught between groups. I need to avoid that in the future. When I made it back to shore to begin my second loop, the clock read 34 minutes, so I was happy with that, as I had planned on a swim time of somewhere between 1:05 and 1:15 or so. As I mentioned before, I swam only once per week all summer long. I figured I could really train hard and maybe take five minutes off my time, or just cruise the swim training and not worry about the potential small gain.
I really took my time getting back to swimming on the second loop, as there was a huge sand bar you could walk on before having to swim. I pretty much just gathered my composure and rested while wading back to deeper water. I think, on hindsight, that my lollygagging there probably cost me two minutes. However, the rest was more important to me at that point. Anyway, the second loop went pretty well and I came out of the water with a 1:10 swim, just about what I expected. No black eyes, bruises or too much swallowed salt water, so I was pretty happy!
I broke my necklace trying to get my wet suit unfastened, and because it was an engagement present from my wife and I haven’t taken it off in four years, I was concerned that I would lose it. Thus, I was totally unprepared when I got to the wet suit strippers. That probably cost me another two minutes in transition, but I still have my necklace! The changing tent was totally crowded, so, after grabbing my bag, I went to the exit side and changed there on the ground. I put on a cycling jersey and shorts to make the ride a bit more comfortable and I was on my way.
I immediately figured out why IM Florida is always under the microscope for drafting. There were packs everywhere and it was hard not to draft unless you were trying not to. I’m happy to say that I rode totally clean the whole way, despite many opportunities to tag on to the back of someone. My friend Jackie Miller, who was shooting for an elusive Kona spot, and I saw each other many times on the ride and we commiserated over the blatant drafting and the lack of people in the penalty tents. In defense of the race, it is tough because there are no climbs to separate folks, so packs are inevitable. I also heard several people after the race say the ride was windy, then some said it wasn’t. I thought it was very windy in spots, then there were other times when it was at your back. All in all, I think it was a wash.
I thought I paced the bike pretty well, as is evident by my negative split. However, the front part of the ride saw the wind in your face, and most of the second half it was at your back, making a negative split fairly easy to come by. I only saw a few of my peeps on the bike, including Stephanie and Jackie. Tony, Jerry, Dave and Blake all had great swims and smoked me on the bike, so I never saw any of them.
On the bike, I took in about 1500 calories of my special Infinit Nutrition drink, followed by about five or six bottles of Gatorade. I also took in seven gels and about 10 salt tabs. After my misery from cramping at Timberman in August, I was determined not too let lack of sodium foul up this race. I’m a heavy sweater and my sweat is intensely salty, so I require more than most folks. I’m also 210 pounds, so my calorie requirements are higher than the majority of the field. Anyway, I was pretty happy with the way things were going, especially when I checked my time with about four miles to go and saw 5:30. I got a little crazy there and actually took my feet out of my shoes, thinking I would be prepared for transition and my feet would get a little time to un-numb themselves. I think that’s a good strategy with about a mile to go, but probably a stretch for four miles left! Oh well, lesson learned.
When I finally reached the dismount line, though, my feet felt great and I was actually able to run without my feet killing me. My bike clock said 5:45, and that’s about what I was shooting for, so I was happy. I had a pretty good second transition, which included a pee stop, so I was feeling pretty good about things. I set out on about a 9:00/mile pace, my heart rate was just where I wanted it (about 145 or so), so things were rosy for the time being. Little did I know that that 9-minute pace would be about all I was good for the rest of way. At about three miles in, I stopped in for another bathroom break, this one of the No. 2 variety, and that took me about four or five minutes I guess. After that, I didn’t stop again except for brief walks at aid stations. Along the way, I saw several pros I recognized, and I eventually ran into Dave, Tony, Jerry and Blake, all of whom looked strong. I never did see Stephanie or Jackie on the run, which was kind of weird, but I saw everyone else several times.
When I was coming back into the turnaround for my next 13-mile loop, I ran into Sheila, who was the cheering on several folks. She ran with me for a bit, which was big energy boost for me. That, paired with the liquid gold known as Red Bull that I had stowed in my special needs bag, and I was all set. I thought that for sure I would be able to pick it up at mile 20 and finish really strong. At this point, I still had visions of cracking the 11-hour mark. At about mile 18, I was glancing down at my watch when I tripped and fell. Everyone around me I’m sure thought I’d just kicked the bucket, but I was OK, albeit a bit bloody. I cut my hand, my elbow and my knee; it hurt but I wasn’t too bad. I think the embarrassment was the worst part. Anyway, I got back up and kept on going, so it was all good.
At mile 20, I started calculating that I would need to run a 48-minute 10K without stops to break into 10-hour territory, so I immediately wrote that off. My time goal for the race was 11:15, so I knew I had that in the bag barring something ridiculous (like tripping and falling again). The only other goal I had for this race was to break the four-hour marathon mark. I think if you can do that in an Ironman, you are going to have a respectable overall time. At about mile 23, I started to panic as my math was getting fuzzy. One woman asked me if we would make it to the finish before dark. I said of course, it’s only 5:30. However, I got to thinking, did I re-set my watch (the one my friend Amie so graciously let me borrow)? Panama City is an hour behind Eastern Time, so I couldn’t remember. Then I got really down on myself as I thought I had been calculating wrong all day and that I was actually going to have a 12-something finish! I was so bummed. Then, I eventually remembered that I did set the thing after all, so I was back to being a happy camper, although my four-hour marathon goal was slowly drifting away.
Over the last mile, I was literally sprinting for all I was worth, as I wanted that to obtain that goal. I don’t remember much about coming down the line, although I heard several people comment on my frantic pace. I was looking for Courtney and the kids but never spotted them. When I crossed the line, I saw Stephanie sitting down in chair with a shiny blanket over her. She had just come across about a minute or so before me. I told her she should have stopped and we could have crossed together! Anyway, I finally got a big kiss from my wife and congratulations from Jerry, Tony and everyone else that was around. I felt pretty good for having just done an Ironman. I was certainly pooped, but not depleted or anything likes the year before.
My splits were 1:10:52 for the swim, 5:44:35 for the bike and 3:57:35 for the marathon. It turned out that I was fifth-place Clydesdale (males over 200 pounds). However, they only gave awards for the top three. I was 97 of 351 in my age group and 563 of 2,268 overall. Not a bad result!
After the race, I went with Courtney to put the babies to bed. I then showered and walked back down to the race site to watch some of the finishers coming in. All in all, it was a great race and great experience. I must admit that I didn’t train as much as I should have, but that leaves me with hope for further improvement in the future. I averaged about eight hours per week of training this past summer and leading up to Ironman Florida. Obviously, that is far from ideal, but I was willing to sacrifice the outcome for time in other areas. I recently resigned from my job, the twins are keeping us crazy busy, and there was just a lot of stress it seemed over this past summer. I got in all of my key workouts — long run, long rides — but I skimped on everything else.
The good news was that I was very rested and very fresh come race day. Better to be under trained and rested than over trained any day. I think it also helped that I have a fitness base in place from steady, moderate training over the past three years or so. It doesn’t go away, it just needs to be primed every now and then. The marathon training I did over last winter also was very helpful, as most of my “short” training runs were 8-10 miles, rather than 3-4. I did absolutely no speed work, just slow and steady. My long rides were absolutely perfect, aided by my absolutely wonderful training partners. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you have a group of fast friends pushing you. That long ride and the faster, harder rides I did during the week, along with my longer slowish runs were the keys to a pretty good race for me. I hope to build on that in the future. Perhaps when I do decide to actually follow an Ironman plan to a tee, that base fitness will be there and I’ll be able to crack the 11-hour mark at some point.
Thanks very much to all who supported me, especially my wife. She deserves about seven Ironman medals for all of the extra effort she makes everyday taking care of our twins. She is always supportive and encourages me to get out there and do the work, even when I feel that the time would be better spent helping her. She is the true Ironman of this family. A big thanks also goes to my friend Nasrin, who set out a plan for me to follow, even though I didn’t do the best job of following it. I really want to thank all of the Growling Gecko training group – Nas, Jerry, Tony, Amie, Blake, Dave, Denise, Robert, Stephanie, Sophie, Patrick, Carolyn – who consistently made it fun for me to join them on long rides and runs. I’m looking very forward to another training year with you all! Congrats to everyone who raced at Florida and Bridge to Battleship. I think the Triangle area made a strong showing at both of those races!
2008 Timberman Race Report
As my A- race for this season, I was really looking forward to Timberman, a race in the Ironman 70.3 series, as several of my tri buddies were making the trip to New Hampshire to do the race. The Growling Geckos made a strong showing up North, I must say. Pictures are here.
My friend Carolyn and I headed out on a long drive Thursday afternoon. We stopped about half-way and spent the night at Fort Dix Army Base near Trenton, NJ. She is retired military, so we got a room for pretty cheap. After eight quick hours of sleep, we were on the road again to Gilford, NH.
We got in around 5 pm, picked up our packets, and joined some other buddies for dinner. After an excellent steak and seafood chowder, I was sleeping soundly. We did see a skunk in the hotel parking lot on the walk back from dinner … perhaps a bit of foreshadowing?
The next day, we took a short swim in the beautiful lake that was nearby the hotel, then a quick bike and quick run. We dropped our bikes off and pretty much just kept it low key for the day. My race stuff was packed by 5 pm, which must be some sort of record for me.
I didn’t sleep very well the night before the race, which is unusual for me. Oh well … Up at 4 to get some coffee in me and we headed down to the race site at 5. I had a good spot in transition, right on the end and right beside the wet suit strippers and the end of the swim, along with the start of the run. The only negative was that I would have to push my bike a long way through transition twice.
The swim kind of sucked out the outset as my goggles filled with water twice and I had to flip on my back to try to re-suction them. I need some new ones, these are doing this too often of late. Anyway, finally got on some feet and cruised. 36 minutes was slower than normal, but I felt like I hadn’t used much energy, so that was good.
The bike started out with about 10 miles of hills, some of which were steep climbs. I didn’t realize how steep until I actually was huffing up them. Descents were also a key for this race, and unfortunately, because my wave started dead last, over an hour after the start of the race, the folks around me weren’t exactly comfortable flying downhill at 50 MPH.
After the group of the hills, I saw the race leader, Andy Potts come by, and good lord was he flying. It really made me appreciate how fast the pros are going. I was working hard on the bike at this point, as the middle miles were pretty much flat into a cross-wind. When I got to the turnaround, I looked at my bike computer, expecting to see a 20-plus MPH average. Guess I should have checked earlier. It was 19.2 I think. My heart rate was where I wanted though, so I was was still feeling OK about things. I picked it up on the way back and negative split it barely. More hills over the last 10 and I was so glad to get off of that thing, but then it seems I always am at races.
I was still feeling decent when I came of the bike. I started picking people off on the run immediately after transition. After about mile three, my hamstring cramped up and it was downhill from there. I took 6-8 Endurolytes during the bike, but I wasn’t aware that the sodium in them was so low. I normally take Succeed, which has 340 mg of sodium, three times that of Endurolytes, so I screwed myself. Rookie mistake cost me what might have been a decent run. Instead I ran until I cramped, walked and stretched until it went away, repeat. My arms were cramping, which means it was obviously chemical. I think I just have a very high sweat rate and I lose a bunch of sodium.
So, 5:40 or so, when I was hoping for a PR (5:14). I did meet both the second place female after the race, as she was slinging her bag on her back, hopping on her bike to ride back to her car. I was riding back to the hotel. She said hello and I knew immediately she was a pro. Amanda Stevens, a very fast young lady, for those who care about that sort of thing. Also met Chrissie Wellington at the post-race dinner. Also very cool. She smoked the course in 4:11 or something ridiculous.
After a pretty cool meal of lobster and more chowder, I went too bed. Other folks stayed up and had the Growling Gecko awards, won by my pal Tony Mostek who smoked it in 4:57, but I was whooped. We then got up and hit the road from Gilford at 6:30 am and I arrived home at 11:30 pm after dropping the rental off. I drove the whole way, 800 miles, Boston, New York, Trenton, Baltimore, D.C., Richmond. It was an epic drive. We did stop at one of the 5 million Dunkin’ Donuts we saw and bought a value pack of Munchkins, so all was not lost.
IM Florida draws closer. Lots of training, for me, over the next seven weeks. Ran six Saturday, rode 80 Sunday, ran seven today with the kids in the stroller for the first time. I think I have found a new training tool for Ironman. Strength is crucial I think on the run, so adding 50 pounds of babies in a 20 pound stroller seems like a pretty good tactic. The babies are still unsure, but they hung in there until about mile 5, then they were ready for a snack. Two gels and some Fruit Punch Gatorade and they were back in the game.
2008 Triangle Sprint Triathlon
Due to our trip to Indiana and a couple of idiotic maneuvers on my part, I didn’t train much in the week leading up to the Triangle Sprint Triathlon. I ran once and rode once, with no swimming at all unfortunately. The one good thing was that I was rested.
Of course, I did my best to remedy that by playing an ill-fated round of tennis on Saturday following an easy 30-minute ride with my friends Nas and Patrick. I haven’t played tennis in about six years, so it was probably not a good idea to go and try to boom some forehands and serves right off the bat. It was fun to get back out there, though.
However, it turns out I felt great Sunday morning with no soreness from slugging from the baseline (I’m sore as hell today, though). The weather was perfect for this race, which always attracts a ton of fast people, as it tends to be just as much a social event as it is a race.
My swim was very well controlled, albiet slow. I swam fairly easily (that was mistake) and tried to just sight well and keep things in check. I exited the water with a 12:56 for 750 meters, which put me fourth in the Clydesdales, where usually I’m first or second. It turns out it didn’t hurt me much in my category as I passed all of them right off the bat (or so I thought) on the bike.
My bike was pretty decent, considering this course is crazy hilly for 14 miles. 40:27 was good for third Clyde, about 20.3 average mph. I had a hell of a time in transition getting my bike shoes off, so I lost about 30 seconds there I think.
My run was the high point of the race. I saw a Clydesdale who usually places in the sprints not too far behind me after the first turnaround. I figured I’d better get moving or he would catch me. Turns out, he didn’t, as I saw I’d put some time on him after another turnaround. I started to relax, but, then I saw another Clyde right ahead of me.
Shit! I thought I had them all. Anyway, I didn’t take me long to catch this one and I waited till the bottom of a hill to make the pass as I wanted him hurting if he tried to give chase. Fortunately, he didn’t and I was home free. My run turned out to be a 20:40, which is only 10 seconds off my open 5K best, but this course is known to be short, so I’m not buying it.
At any rate, I wound up winning the Clydesdales, making it the first time I have even been on the podium in this race, as I finished fourth here the past two years. I was 99th overall male of out of 538 who started, so not too bad there. My time here last year was 1:18 something, so I bettered that. I still haven’t done a triathlon where my time hasn’t been better than the previous year. My sense is that this trend will end sometime soon.
I’m overjoyed my wife and kids will be back, as they have been in Indiana for the whole week. I can’t even express how much I’ve missed them. This week, it’s back to training hard and doing things right. It’s only 32 days to Timberman!
