Rocketts Landing RR

Rocketts Landing Triathlon Race Report

July 24, 2011

Adam Otstot

Once again, Laurie Mehler and the Richmond Multisports team put on an incredible event.  I am so thankful that the Richmond area has a community that embraces the sport and works to create world class races.

The field this year was extremely competitive, with not only some of the best athletes from the Richmond area competing, but also athletes from clubs all over the Mid-Atlantic region.  It was shaping up to be a tough battle from start to finish.  

The weather was hot, but not nearly as suffocating as the year before, although the water temperature was much worse, a balmy 92F!  For maybe the first time ever, I would be looking forward to cooling down AFTER getting out of the water.

For those interested, I have somewhat unique eating habits pre-race.  I always like to eat a Subway sub the night before, and then the morning of, will eat a chocolate Powerbar, two strawberry frosted Pop-Tarts, a banana, and Gatorade.  Not the most nutritious morning breakfast, but I’ve been doing it since high school, and it seems to work ok from time to time.  

I lined myself up in the James with some of the stronger swimmers, with the strategy of staying in their wake as long as possible.  As the race started, there was a bit of congestion for the first 100 meters or so, but quickly it thinned out, and I was able to stretch out and get into a rhythm.  Luckily the swimming pool at the Williamsburg Rec Center is typically between 84-85F, so having to swim hard in hot water wasn’t too far out of my comfort zone.  I managed to stay with a solid group of about 4 guys for the swim and came out of the water in 19:40.  The swim was probably about 100 yards shorter than last year’s race, but having said that, even with an addition 1:30 added to that time, it would still have been a best time for me by close to 25 seconds.  As Borat would say, “Very Niice!”

I passed three of the guys who came out just before me in the swim on the way to the transition area, and before I pulled my bike off the rack, I made sure to take a couple good swigs from a water bottle I had put conveniently on my helmet before leaving to start the race.  I figured a couple seconds in T1 drinking water was time well spent in the long run.  I still ended up with a pretty fast transition, got on my Orbea and got rolling.

The bike was the best part of the day for me.  This was my first ride with Zipp 808’s, and they were amazing.  My goal was to ride just like I had been riding in training over the past couple of weeks, holding an average power of between 320-325 watts, with an average cadence around 90-93.  That’s pretty much exactly what I did.  I took the lead after about 3 miles into the bike leg, and just stayed at my goal pace.  Although there were a ton of duathletes out before us, I knew who to look out for at the turnaround to gauge my position in the race.  So halfway through I figured I was about 1:15 up on the next guys in my wave, and Dave Luscan (who can absolutely wail on the swim and bike) was about 2:00 ahead of me on chip time (he started 3:00 behind me in the second wave).  Sometimes you just have to trust your race plan regardless of what others are doing in the race.  So I stayed in my power range, continued to pass duathletes, and ended the bike at the same power as I started off on, which is always a great sign that you won’t be cooked on the run.  I managed to come into T2 right before Dave, who was now 3:00 ahead of me.  

I was feeling good, hydrated, and fueled, and ready to rock the run.  The plan was to start at 5:45 and drop the pace from there if necessary.  First mile 5:42.  Second mile 5:44.  I felt smooth and relaxed, and the volunteers at the aid stations did a great job handing me drinks and ice towels to keep my core temperature down.  At the run turnaround I found out that I was now about 1:30 ahead of second place, so I continued to cover ground as effortlessly and lightly as I could.  As I finished I felt proud of my effort, thankful that I stayed safe the entire race, and honored that I represent Richmond Velosport and 3Sports, who have continually helped me in many ways to achieve my goals.  I also could not have been here without the help of First Endurance Nutrition and CORE Fitness.  

My finishing time was 1:55:34, a new personal record for an Olympic Triathlon by about 2 minutes.  I figure that even if the swim was a true 1500m, I would have still pulled out a PR by half a minute or so.  

Congratulations to everyone who finished this grueling event, I am always humbled to watch racers digging deep into the pain cave and realizing their own goals.  See you all out on the course soon.

Adam

IM Texas

I registered for IM Texas yesterday.  I'm very excited.  I believe the long course is where my strengths truly shine through.  I have so many goals for this race, it's ridiculous.  Of course I will share them here, since I am the only one who reads this, and I am prone to forget things form time to time.

1.  Qualify for Kona 2012
2.  Race sub 9 hours  -- this may prove difficult based on the weather conditions, but I want to put myself in a position to be able to do it in Kona, so I'd better try and get close here
3.   First amateur finisher
4.  Sub 3 hour marathon

I want number one at all costs.  Numbers 2-4 would be icing on the cake, but I believe with the correct preparation, focus, and toughness, they are all possible.

Powersprint Triathlon

The Powersprint Triathlon, put on by Richmond Multisports, continues to be one of my favorite races to compete in.  It was my first triathlon ever, and when possible, I like to come back and test myself on the course.  This year I had high expectations for myself, as I'm just now starting to round into some decent form.

I had my best swim ever for a 300m pool swim:  4:15.  I'm fortunate that I am able to just keep chipping time off of that standard.  I still honestly believe that I should be able to swim closer to 4:00 in a distance like that, but as long as I keep getting faster and faster, I can't complain.

I knew Dave Luscan would be tough to race against, as well as Ryan Peterson.  Ryan started way ahead of me, so I figured I wouldn't be seeing him for the entire race.  Dave, however, only started 20 seconds ahead of me, so when I passed a man wearing the same swimsuit as Dave after 150 m in the pool, I though, "could that have been him?"  That odd thought stayed in my mind all the way until I reached my bike.  When I noticed Dave's bike was already gone, I realized I had mistaken the other gentleman whom I passed.

The bike was fine.  I basically went as hard as I could, managing to pass all but Dave and Ryan by the time I got back to T2.  My split was right on par with what I was expecting, about 15 seconds off my best time there.

I felt good, got up and running, and for the first mile, things were going great.  The second mile was pretty awful, and the third wasn't much better, but I pulled myself together enough to keep it moving at a decent speed.  Luckily for me I caught up to Dave with about 200 meters to go, and we had a sprint the the finish.  Without that sprint, I would have finished second, as Ryan ended up finishing just one second behind me in the overall standings.  Dave finished a scant 20 seconds behind me.

Both athletes had super races, and I am very thankful to be able to come out of it healthy.  I believe this was the closest race for the top 3 that the race has ever seen, and probably 3 of the fastest times as well.  I know I've raced in the 50's and 49:xx a couple times, and Michael Harlow and Ryan have been in the 50's, but to have 3 guys do it on the same day was very impressive.

This was a great race for me.  It showed me that races don't always come easy.  Things pop up suddenly and viciously tear at you.  The demons were fighting against me yesterday.  Fortunately I have some demons of my own.  I worked it out and managed to overcome them.

So overall, I got some great things out of this race:
1.  My swim continues to improve.
2.  My bike is on par with where it has been in the past.  Avg 335 watts, for 27 minutes and change is pretty good for me.
3.  I was able to test my resolve and prove to myself that I am still a fighter in the midst of adversity.
4.  I have made some good strides since the Chasing Chics race in April, so my form is progressing, and that bodes well for the summer races.

Things to work on

Saw Sasha this afternoon.  Big issues with flexibility again.

1.  Knee to chest holding for 2 seconds

With rope
1.  Knee to chest, then hamstring extension hold for 2 seconds
2.  Toe up, leg up, then pull rope with straight leg hold for 2 seconds
3.  Leg up, out, and pull with rope for 2 seconds (adduction)
4.  Opposite arm and leg hip flexor stretch

Sumo Squats  (tall posture with hands on toes)
Up and down hamstring stretches

With Band
1.  Clamshells on side
2.  Hip Lifts and then spread knees

Single leg hip lifts

Chair stretch for rectus femoris  (with pillow and something to hold onto)

Foam roll
Stretch
Ice
Repeat.

Goals for 2011

Let's get it done.

1.  Sub 2:30:00 at the Shamrock Marathon/ Sub 1:09:00 at the Shamrock Half
2.  Kona qualifier at IM Arizona
3.  Sub 9 hour IM
4.  Win Patriot Half Iron
5.  Top 5 at Colonial Half Marathon

I'm Back

I've decided two things.


1.  I need to write more.
2.  I need to keep a more detailed account of my training.

Not too many know I even keep this blog, so it's just for me, although if people want to read on, they are by all means welcome.

I'm going to write a short synopsis of my 2010 racing and training season.

It was crap.

That's really all that should be said about it.  After a really solid race at the Ironman World Championships in October of 2009, I thought that the Winter of 2009-2010 would be the springboard for some really great things.  It started off well through December and January, and then right in the middle of February I started suffering from glute/hamstring pain that didn't stop for what seemed like forever.  It was never severely painful, but it was dull and it was always there.  I ended up going through about 3 months of PT to get it settled out, and realized that I had some big limiters, namely my hip flexor and glute flexibility.  They are still things I need to work on daily.  Once it cleared up enough where I could start doing some harder efforts in training, I jumped in a couple low key races... Breezy Point where i finished 2nd (and showed off my lack of fitness pretty well, especially on the bike), Rocketts Landing where I won, and the Nation's Triathlon where I raced well in 2nd, but just got beaten by a better racer on the day in Robbie Wade.  I just did not have the top end necessary to compete at the highest of levels.
I shifted my focus at this point to running.  I planned on racing the Richmond Marathon, and 8 weeks beforehand, I raced the Mulberry Island Half just to test my run fitness.  I won convincingly, but I knew that in order to race under 2:30, I had quite a bit of work to do.  So I carried on for a few weeks, but then came down with a case of chondromalacia.  That took me out of the marathon, and I still am suffering from symptoms.

Yuck.

I guess it really comes down to a couple of things.

1.  I need to train more intelligently.  I am not a machine, and I cannot consistently drill my body into the ground and expect it to hold up month and month.  I might have been able to get away with that in high school and in college, but now, I'm getting older and I need more recovery.

2.  I need to train my limiters.  For some people, their limiters are aerobic fitness, swim form, muscular strength on the bike.  Mine are core strength, flexibility, and muscular power (in the form of strength training)

3.  I need to continue to remind myself to back off and ask for help when I need it.  I don't know everything, although I do know quite a bit.  I wait too long for things to bother me before I go to a professional, and by that time it's too late.

So for 2010-2011, things are going to change.  I AM going to train more intelligently.  I will regularly schedule easy days/ recovery workouts into my schedule.  I AM going to address my limiters more aggressively.  I will go to core fitness 2x per week for strength/mobility training and I will continue my routine of foam rolling and stretching at home.  I will ask for help when it's needed.

Here's to hoping 2010-2011 goes much better!

Overcoming Injury

So I was super sick the last two weeks of January, and I could barely manage to wake up and go to work.  So I missed 9 days of workouts in that span, and when I finally got healthy, I came back into training WAY too aggressively.  Biked 8 hours on the trainer after only 2.5 hours total the previous 2 weeks.  That was not smart.  And I'm paying for it.  I overworked my left hamstring and caught a bout of high hamstring tendonitis.

I hate being hurt.  Exercising makes me happy.  Being fit makes me happy.  Racing makes me happy.  And when I'm injured I can't do any of those things.

I think, though, that every time I get injured, I come out of it a better person and a better athlete.  Like in the summer of 2008 when I messed my right ankle up badly.  I had 11 weeks to prepare for an Ironman, and I became so focused and so on top of things that I was able to get a Kona Q.  I don't know if I'm capable to holding that intensity during all of my training throughout the year, but I do know I can do it for blocks at a time.  And now, I'm taking a serious look at the quality of my training, and I'm realizing that one thing that I am missing is regular core and strength training.  I really think that this element of training will make more so much better, and now that I've had some time to rest and think about how to approach my own training, I know that this is something that needs to be included several times a week.  

I have 9 weeks until USAT Duathlon Nationals, which is not long at all.  But I also prepped for an IM in 11 weeks, so this shouldn't be any harder than that.

Ironman Hawaii Race Report

These Boys Are Fit!

Ironman races always amaze me.

I spend my life teaching children and working with their classroom teachers and parents about the importance of becoming physically fit, staying active, and eating healthfully. Our country in particular is experiencing a continuing increase in its percentage of overweight and obese citizens. You would have no idea if you spent this past week in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The entire week there was a constant stream of people running and cycling up and down the road in front of our house. Everyone was fit, confident, and fast. Unless you recognized someone's face, you couldn't tell the professionals from the amateurs. It was hard NOT to get somewhat intimidated.

My training this Summer and early Fall was splendid. I stayed healthy enough to string together more cycling miles over a 11-week block than I ever have before, continued to progress my swimming workouts from last Fall and Winter, and kept a decent enough level of running fitness. The only hiccup I really had over my 14-week training cycle was getting sick 3 weeks out from the race....everyone in my school caught some nasty bug, and of course my body was on the razor's edge at that point, so I got it too. That week was pretty much shot, but the work had been done, and I just needed to get myself race ready. One great thing that happened to me before I left to get me race ready was a huge send-off from my family at Rawls Byrd Elementary School. I was left almost speechless as they threw a going away assembly for me Friday afternoon. The inspirational words, kind gestures, financial contributions, and rallying support really helped me to get to the starting line with confidence and even a little swagger.

Pre-Race

The atmosphere before the race was just like any other triathlon I've done with a few notable exceptions. I wasn't used to having guys running around with video cameras and lights everywhere. I also wasn't used to having help from so many volunteers. It was crazy, they were just itching to find something to help you with. People sometimes complain about the steep price of IM registration fees, but in my opinion, the volunteer help (before, during, after) was well worth the price of admission. About ten minutes before the start of the pro wave there were a couple Navy Seals that jumped out of a plane and parachuted down into the water by the pier. I wish I had paid attention to whether or not they were actually competing in the race (I know David Goggins did last year), but I was instead too busy visualizing my race plan and pumping myself up with tunes from my iPod.

Swim 2.4 miles

The professionals started at 6:45AM, and amateurs started at 7:00AM. I fortunately ran into my buddy Chris Ganter in the race hotel just a few minutes earlier, so we stuck together and headed into the water. For those that may not know, Chris and I shared a good chunk of the bike leg and just about every step of the marathon in last year's IM Arizona to help each other to breakthrough performances and two slots to this race. We are evenly paired and good friends to boot. We both waited until about 6:55AM to swim out to the starting line, where we ended up still treading water for what seemed like forever. Then Mike Reilly, the voice of the Ironman, said a few inspirational words, all the referees on surf boards steadied themselves, and the cannon went off.

People have tried to explain what it is like in a mass swim start. Even last year at IM Arizona I thought I had experienced what that was all about. I had no idea. I would have been wise to hire Chuck Norris as my personal trainer if I had known what it was really like here. This clip tries valiantly to explain what it's like, but unfortunately, I don't think there's any way to prepare for it besides just doing it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3S0wu4Zbfk

I don't think I took a complete stroke for at least half a mile. I was too busy literally crawling up and over people, hitting people next to me with my arms as I tried to stroke, kicking people behind me, fixing my goggles in mid-sight as I got kicked in the face and half of them got knocked off, etc. It was actually pretty fun! I was sort of expecting that for the start, but I just was not prepared for it to last as long as it did. Every time we reached a buoy, the group would bottleneck and any resemblance of spreading out and finding some swim space disappeared and it was back to UFC-style swim fighting. I didn't look at my watch, but I'm guessing it was maybe about 20:00 into the swim I finally found some space that I could maneuver in, and started moving up through the field. The water is crystal clear, so you could see right down to the bottom of the ocean in addition to being able to see people's feet in front of you. This was helpful as it was much easier to find feet to draft off of, which for me was a huge help. Just after the turnaround, I swam up to the front of the massive pack that I had been working through, and there was about a 30 meter gap until the next large group. I made a decision then and there to put my head down and go for it to see if I could latch on. I worked pretty hard for about 5:00, and I finally caught the tail end of the group. Here I was able to get myself back under control while the group dynamic pulled me through to the end.

My goal time for the swim, 1:00:00. My actual time, 59:57. Can't get too much better than that.

Transition 1

I made pretty quick work out of getting my speedsuit off, washing down with some fresh water to get all the salt off, and getting my cycling gear. One thing I did not do which I regret VERY much is get some sunscreen from the volunteers. It was pretty chaotic, and it's hard to remember everything.

Bike 112 miles

Based on my training, I knew I could average 240 watts on the bike and still put together a great run afterwards. So I told myself that for at least the first 3 hours of the bike, I would pay close attention to my powermeter and not worry about anyone else in the race. I felt phenomenal starting out, and for the first 40 miles I was averaging 245 watts, a little high, but my effort was easy and I was drinking plenty and sticking to my nutrition plan without trouble. The first part of the ride goes through barren lava fields, and there are very few landmarks to distinguish where you are. From about mile 40 to mile 60 is a long gradual uphill to a small town called Hawi. The roads are rolling, but the hills are not what makes this bike course so challenging. The winds and the oppressive heat are much more difficult to deal with. Starting about halfway up the climb to Hawi, the winds really picked up, and the smooth ride I had been on up to that point became real very quickly. Again, I referenced my powermeter to keep myself in check, especially on the uphills. Average power increased to 248 watts at the turnaround.

The descent was much quicker, but again, very dicey with some strong crosswinds. You always had to stay alert. Once I got back to the lava fields, crosswinds turned into a steady headwind. Not only did it reek havoc on my speed, but it also very tough mentally to deal with it for 30 miles. At one point, I crested a climb, got my speed to around 23-24 mph going down, and then was going to take a small break and coast downhill and eat some food. Before I could get anything in my mouth, my speed had dropped to 13 mph. Even gravity wasn't strong enough for the winds on the Big Island! That was pretty humbling. In addition, the temperatures were soaring. It had reached 95F plus humidity, and then in addition to that, we were out in the middle of a lava field with black rock radiating all that heat and making it feel even hotter. I was drinking close to 32oz of fluid every 20:00 on the bike. My legs lost a bit of power in the last 30 miles, and by the time I finished the ride, I had averaged 241 watts, pretty much exactly where I wanted to be. I had thought that that kind of cycling would yield me a much faster split time, but considering the conditions, it was about 15:00 slower than I was hoping for. I rode 5:17:38. However, I was ready to get off the bike and run.

Transition 2

We had to run all the way around the pier to get our transition bags, and coming off the bike my legs were pretty beat up. It took me the entire transition run to loosen up. While I was getting my shoes on a volunteer asked me if I wanted sunscreen. Absolutely I did.

Run

I really thought I could average 7:00/mile in this marathon, and even though the temperature and humidity had reached a ludicrous level, I still planned on "going for it" and starting out at close to 7:00 pace. I had a lot of guys in front of me coming off the bike, and I planned on catching as many as I could. The first few miles are always way too fast no matter how much I'm trying to relax. I hit 6:31, 6:37, and 6:39 for the first 3 miles before I had a little heart to heart with myself and decided that I really needed to make a conscious effort to slow down if I wanted to stay strong at the end. So my next 3 miles were much better 6:59, 6:46, and 6:57. I was comfortable there, and I was able to get into a good smooth rhythm. The first 10 miles of the run are out and back on Ali'i Drive right by the ocean. So there was a warm breeze coming off the water, which was better than no breeze at all, and lots of people were out with sprinklers spraying athletes down. Aid stations were also located about every mile, so I got into a good routine to manage my body temperature. I would get a couple cold water sponges, douse them all over me, then stick them in the front of my jersey. Then I would take water and pour it down my front to get the sponges wet again. Finally I would take a cup of ice, put some in my mouth, then take the rest and pour it inside the back of my jersey. In addition I would drink pretty much whatever I could grab in between doing all that stuff...most of it would be gatorade and water, but occasionally I'd get a cup of coke, and that was a nice treat.

I was definitely moving past tons of people in the first 10 miles of the run, but there were also a couple of guys who were passing me at that point. Right at mile 10 there's a pretty serious climb up Palani Road to the Queen K Highway (out to the lava fields again!) This hill was the breaking point of a lot of athletes. The attrition rate from here on was simply astounding. Guys were blowing up left and right, and I felt like Usain Bolt running past them at 7:00 pace. From miles 10-14, there were quite a few uphills into the wind, and this was a very difficult section for me. I felt like I was toeing the line between maximizing my potential and falling off the edge and losing it. Luckily I was still passing guys so that was a huge motivating factor. Also, even though I was feeling miserable, I was still managing to maintain miles not too far from my goal pace. I hit a 7:45 going up Palani Drive, but then I reeled off 6:31, 7:03, 6:58, 7:07, and 7:27 miles up to the Energy Lab. I can't say the rest of the run was easy, but those miles were actually the most difficult of the day for me. I made my way through the Energy Lab and back out on the Queen K, and now I had a tailwind coming back into town. Tailwinds are great on the bike, but when you're running in 100 degree weather, running with a tailwind makes you feel like you're running in an oven. I made it back into town, continued passing athletes all the way to the end, and finally finished the Ironman with a total time of 9:27:49. My run split was 3:03:57, which I was supremely pleased with. Not only was this the first time in an Ironman that I haven't slowed considerably after about mile 15, I also proved to myself that I can do it in less than ideal conditions. I felt thankful when I finished, thankful for all who helped me get to this point, thankful that I didn't suffer from any serious problems that would have required medical care, and thankful that it was done and I could go and sit down for a while. I was proud as well, for I've been working towards completing this race for a very long time, and I stuck right to my race plan and basically did the best job I thought I could do.

When I finished coming across the line, a volunteer asked me if I needed anything. I then proceeded to go on a drinking rampage. I had 2 cups water, 2 cups of gatorade, and a cup of coke. Then a really nice volunteer had the brilliant idea of cutting a gallon jug open, filling it with ice cold water and giving athletes an ice bath shower. That felt SO good. I then proceeded to the massage tent, drank some more water, and by that time was feeling good enough to head home and clean up.

I ended up placing 94th overall, I was the 37th amateur, and I placed 11th in my age group. Out of my age group, I was the second American finisher. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed with those numbers. I honestly thought that the kind of race I put out would have placed me higher. But there were some extremely fit and tough athletes racing, and they were just flat out better than I was on Saturday. Am I disappointed with my race though? Absolutely not! I stuck right to my race plan from start to finish and executed perfectly. I had a great experience, beat a third of the male professionals that were racing, and learned a lot of things about myself in that 9:27:49 that you can't learn anywhere else but by yourself in the middle of a lava field in the Pacific Ocean.

Stats:

Total Starters- 1776

Total Finishers-1650

Finishing Place- 94

Amateur Place- 37

Age Group Place - 11

HHHunt Powersprint

Well, I've had quite the past couple of months. Since Shamrock, I've managed to get my knee back into good form, but while racing Duathlon Nationals, I crashed and severely sprained my right thumb. I was in a cast for 2 weeks, and a brace for another 3. Training has been subpar to say the least.

Well I had gotten a comp entry to race the Powersprint, so even though I felt like I would be in poor form, I decided to give it a whirl and see for real what kind of fitness I had.

The race is 300m swim, 20k bike, 5k run, and I hold the course record from last year, 50:36. It had been raining last year, but it had also been a superb race for me, so I was thinking that to touch anything close to that would be unrealistic. I was shooting for mid to high 52 minutes.

My best time for a timed 300m swim thus far had been 4:41. Yesterday I swam 4:23. Yeah 18 second PR. That was cool. It felt really pretty good too. Kept nice long strokes the entire time, tried to stay as smooth as I could, and worked on keeping good form. It really couldn't have gone too much better. All those hard swimming weeks throughout the winter paid off big time.

T1 was solid, actually my fastest t1 for this race by a couple seconds. I had a good position for my bike, and that's probably why.

The bike. Hmmmm. I still am shocked to think about how I pulled this one out of my arse. I avg 27.0 for 20k, going 27:31, and setting the bike record for this course by 45 seconds. I just crushed it, and felt great doing so. My legs just had so much to give, and I just kept in in the highest gear I could turnover, and went for it, full blast. I think the next fastest cyclist was 27:50ish, and there was one guy who actually went faster than me, but he didn't run afterwards, and was apparently completely tanked after the bike leg. Yeah, I'm not counting that cause the guy beat me by like 10 seconds, and had the race been over after the bike, I could have taken quite a bit off that time I think.

The run was ok...16:03 for 3 miles (apparently the course was .1 short). That's about 5:21 pace, which is not flying by any means, but it's still pretty solid after a fantastic swim and an even better bike. I was first by about 4 minutes, and even better I'm excited about getting going with my training and getting in even better shape. Bring it on!

Shamrock Half Marathon

For my first race of the season I decided to compete in my first half marathon. I stayed with my buddy Mike and his friend Todd. The morning of the race it was disgusting...rain, huge gusts of wind, about 35 degrees...yuck. But around 6:30 or so the rain stopped and the winds died down a bit. Schoener, Nally , and C. Healey were also running, and the plan was to start with Nally and Chris and see how it felt from there. We went out at what felt like a pedestrian pace. The first 2 miles were in 11:28, and I was working well with a pack of about 10-15 guys. We tried sharing the lead a bit, and mile 3 was a 5:40, hitting 3 miles in 17:08. I felt very comfortable, and my right knee was doing fine. Once we got onto shore drive, we were slightly more protected from the wind, so the pace dropped a bit, going through in 5:30, and then 5:31. These 2 miles strung our pack out a fair amount, and there were only about 5 of us at the 5 mile mark. I decided to keep the pace there or even a little hotter, and Nally was feeling good, so we more of less took off. mile 6 was 5:28, then 5:21 for mile 7. These two miles completely separated us from our pack and we were on our own. I was still feeling decent...legs were a little tired, but otherwise fine. Breathing was good. Mile 8 was a 5:21, and this mile I started developing a side cramp...not severe, but bad enough where it was a discomfort, and required that I work on it to try to alleviate some of the discomfort. Mile 9 was another 5:21, but after this mile, Nally took off, and I could not match his increased pace. I hot mile 10 in 5:27, mile 11 in 5:25, 12 in 5:28, and 13 in 5:23 before finishing in 1:11:58. I was 22nd place overall, and placed 3rd in my age group.
I was also the leading member of the Colonial Road Runner team that won the team competition.
It was a solid first race. I think I'm in shape right now to run about a 1:11:00, perhaps slightly faster (1:10:45ish), but with the cramp, I was not able to showcase my fitness level like I have the capability of. Still, breaking 1:12 for my first time at the distance is satisfying.
I still need to focus on clearing up my knee problem over the next week, and hopefully get into some regular training in the next couple of weeks.

Injury

Last week I was feeling so high on myself....I was training so well, and then BOOM! My knee stopped cooperating. I have had to deal with a case of runner's knee over the past week, but thankfully today it seems to be all but over. I'm still going to increase volume and intensity cautiously, but I should be ready to go for Shamrock in a week and a half.

I almost made it through February without injury. Basically my Base 2 period has pretty much been shot. What I had intended to accomplish has really not happened at all. But that's fine. I've been more consistent with my volume all Winter, so I'll be fine.

I don't like how my personality changes so much when I'm injured. It dangerously consumes all of my thoughts and frustrates me to no end. I need to constantly remind myself that triathlon is not the end all be all. It's a hobby and I need to treat it like so.

That being said-

I'm very excited about Shamrock in a week and a half. I love racing, and I haven't been in a competitive race since October, so I'm pumped.

January

It's been quite a while since I've posted. After the duathlon in October, I took a couple weeks off training, then starting in the middle of November, started to get back into it very slowly. My biggest goal for the month of January was to stay healthy and consistent with my prep phase, then beginning my base1.

Mission accomplished. I was able to put in a very solid month...maybe not as much time on the bike as I would have wanted, but my swimming went great, and I also managed to run around 30-40 miles a week, so that'll be a very solid starting ground for the remainder of the year. The past two January's I've managed to hurt myself, so to be able to go into February healthy is priceless. I'm not in the most incredible shape right now, but I'm a heck of a lot better off than the usual!

I have a really big weekend on training, and now I'm just sitting on my bed waiting for it to come. The weather is great, so it won't really be too bad, but to have so many hours looming in front of you is a little intimidating.

I've had the opportunity to think about my involvement in this sport, and I've come to a coupe of conclusions. I wouldn't say that it's specifically the running, cycling and swimming that excite me to no end, but the act of getting out everyday with a goal to achieve. I've become so passionate about accomplishing so much in this sport that I've realized that I'm missing out on a lot of things. Some of my friends just cannot understand why I do what I do, and even the ones who do understand that can't grasp the commitment it takes to be successful. I don't look at it as missing out, however. A lot of the things I'm missing out on are things that I don't miss anyways.

I do want to try to keep things in perspective though. There has to be a balance every once in a while to keep my sanity. I also need balance to compliment my passion. I just don't know how happy I would be if I just hung out with triathletes all the time. I kind of ran across that with the track team at W@M. I needed to get away from that to get in touch with life after my workout(s).

I don't know how long I'm going to stay really serious about this endeavor, but it will be for a while longer, and my friends are just going to have to accept that the choices I make on a daily basis are grounded in accomplishing the goals I have set for myself. Case closed.

ITU LD World Duathlon Championships

I had qualified for this race way back at the beginning of my season at the Long Course 3Sports Duathlon. In terms of preparation, I was a little shaky.... a couple weeks were weak after IM Louisville, and then two weeks before this race I got really sick for about 4 days, so training for that week was pretty much shot.
I was confident that I could still compete well though. The morning of, it was COLD (well at least colder than it had been all year). The race workers didn't let athletes into the transition area until 630 for a 730 race, so I was already put behind schedule. By the time I got my bike ready, it was 650, and I had to rush my warm up and preparation.
At the start I was in the second row, which was fine with me because I wasn't preparing to sprint right out of the blocks. It was going to be a long morning, and I would have plenty of time to get in the position I needed to get in. The race started, and immediately I felt like I was in a xc race..it was a great feeling with so many guys around me. It sorted out pretty quickly, and after a K I found myself in about 15th position. I stayed very relaxed, running side by side with Corey Scott. Around 3 k, a runner from Great Britain made a strong move and strung everyone out quite a bit. Jeff Miller also made a strong move to the front,and the pace quickened a little bit. I was still in no rush to get to the front, so I stayed steady and kept relative contact with the leaders. Lap one was very relaxed and I came through in around 8th place. Not too much changed for the first half of the second lap, but right around halfway, Ryan Rau made a strong move to the front, and I was able to pick off about half the field as they faded just a bit. I came into T1 in third position with a 52:02 split (5:35 pace for 15k), a great run, especially considering how I felt.

My T1 was awful. I had left mt sunglasses on my helmet because it wasn't that sunny at the start. Turns out there was a ton of dew all over them, and it was very difficult for me to clear them up. Then I fumbled around with my helmet..ahhhh! It was just a mess. T1 was 1:19.

I got out In about 7th or 8th place from T1, and immediately lost my aero bottle sponge. Great. Drink is spilling all over the place and I'm just getting started. Now I also notice that my gel flask holder is a little loose, and the gel flask is slipping to the left side of my top tube. Double great. I tried to fix it up, but I couldn't get t while riding. I figure it will just stay there, so I let it go. The first loop was good, I got passed by a couple guys,but then what do I notice? No gel flask anymore! Crap. There go 4 gels that I was planning on. At last I still have 2 taped to my top tube and some gatorade. On the second loop I finish my aero bottle of gatorade, and try to keep steady. Corey put about 3:00 into me on the first loop, but he seemed to be staying there on the 2nd loop. At the end of the loop I look down to get some gatorade from my down tube and what? It's popped out! Geez. That is NOT good. I ration out my last gel and get some water from the bike aid station. On the third and fourth loops I pick it up a bit and re-pass some of the guys that had passed me earlier on. Of course by this time I had no idea what place I was in because we were lapping tons of cyclists. As I finish, I catch the guy who took the lead on the first run. My bike was 2:09:35, 21.9 mph for 76k

We dismount at the same time, and his bike rams right into my left leg and cuts it up pretty bad. We raced through T2, and he got out 3 sec faster than me. He was zooming on, but I stopped at the aid station because I knew I need some serious nutrition if I was going to thrive in the final run. I down a cup of gatorde and 2 gels, and took another gel on the run, eating that before the 2nd mile. Rau had gained about 50 m on me in that time, and I was not feeling great for the first mile. As I kept going thoug, I started feeling better and better. I had a good rhythm and kept the turnover high. Right around 3k, I noticed I was coming back on Rau hard. Before we got to the canal I caught him and passed him hard. There were two more guys up ahead, one from the US and one from GB. It took me another K to catch both of them, but eventually I got them, pounded another gel, and started thinking about finishing strong. There was no one too close once I passed the guy from the US, so I kept it steady and tried to put a little time between myself and the uS guy. As I was coming up to the finish, I was rolling up on another US guy, but I ran out of room before we reached the finish. My final run was 27:47, top amateur run split. I won my age group and finished 9th overall for amateurs. 33rd overall for pros and amateurs, which I was also happy with.

It feels cool to be able to say that I am a world champion!

This was an unbelievable way to end a spectacular season. Now time for some rest and then on to 2008....

IM Louisville

So I’ve had two days to think about my race, and encapsulate a year-long journey and a day-long experience in a couple paragraphs for your reading enjoyment.

Louisville is a wonderful city, one of the best I’ve ever been to, and I would highly recommend this race to anyone, partly because of the city, and partly because it really was a great course.

I traveled across to Louisville on Friday with Matt Wolak, and we were able to split the driving and keep each other company on the 8 hour trip. Once we got there, I was overwhelmed at how many incredibly fit people there were in one spot. For 6 months I trained with an awesome Master’s group at the JCC rec center three times a week, ran with the Colonial Road Runners group Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and biked with the Bikes Unlimited group Wednesdays and whenever I could with the 3Sports guys up in Richmond. Other than that I was pretty much training solo. It’s cool to think that there are so many people that are going through this journey across the world and they’re all converging on one place at one time!

A huge thank you to everyone that pushed me day in and day out and provided encouragement along the way. Without you, this would not have been possible.

Swim: 1:03:48

The swim took place in the Ohio River, and due to stonger-than-expected currents, they had to change the course at the last minute from an up and back to a J hook. Since the starting spot was only about 30 yards wide, they could not start everyone at once. Instead, they implemented a time trial start (for the first time in IM history I believe), where the pros started at 6:50am, and then at 7:00am, they started the age groupers, one per second. They said it would be first come first serve in terms of where people would start in the swim, and by the time I got to the start line at 6:15am, just about everyone was staked out in line. So I started the race right around 7:31am and had roughly 2000 competitors strung out in the water ahead of me. The first .8 mi. of the swim was against the current at about .4-.5 knots, so it took a while to get to the turn around, but once I turned the corner, it was all downhill from there. I decided to swim a little bit further out into the middle of the Ohio to catch a stronger current, and every once in a while I would pass someone, but there weren’t too many people out where I was swimming. I’m still not sure if that was the best idea, because I don’t know how much stronger the current was out there, but my finishing time was 63:48, less than 20:00 after the first swimmer, so I was REALLY excited about that split. I figure the current helped some, but there were no wetsuits because the water temp was 85 degrees, so I figure they cancelled each other out. I was 217^th after the swim.

T1: 4:19

Not too exciting, just got my bag and my bike, and headed out. There was close to 200 m of running with the bike from the racks to the mount line, so times for T1 were pretty slow all around. Plus I’m an idiot when it comes to running with my bike, so I took my time so I wouldn’t spill any of my food, drink, or God forbid, fall in front of the hundreds of spectators lining the transition area.

Bike: 5:14:17

Well I had a mishap right when I tried getting on my bike. The T1 area was muddy from the T-storm that hit the day before, and I got mud stuck up all in my cleats. When I tried clicking in, I couldn’t so I had to dismount about 50 yds later, pick all the mud out of my shoes, then get back on. The course was extremely honest, with a flat 20 mile section into a slight headwind to start, then a couple decent climbs, then 2 30 mile loops of almost all rolling hills, then a 30 mile flat to downhill to finish. I took it very easy for the first 20 miles, avg just under 20mph. The second (and thankfully last) mishap was a dropped chain when I got to the top of the hardest climb on the course right around 27 miles. It took me a minute or so to get it back on, and then I was rolling again. Did I mention I started out behind about 2000 people? I was passing people nonstop the entire way, and it really did a good job of building my confidence. I felt great on my Orbea. At around mile 50 I started having stomach issues, and I realized my body was not digesting some of the solid bars I had eaten earlier on the course, so I threw the rest of those away and started taking in only gels. That helped my stomach out a lot.

Other than that, the bike provided me with a wonderful continuous line of competitors to hunt down and catch. With 30 miles to go I was feeling great, so I threw the hammer down a little and finished the bike strong. I was 55^th after the bike.

T2: 5:08

Again, long ways to run with bike, and then I had to visit the restrooms. At least I was hydrated.

RUN: 3:20:33

I was really excited about the run. Obviously this has been my bread and butter, and I was hoping to take some good chunks of time out of the guys in front of me. I started off so strong that I had to calm down after the first mile in 5:58. It was starting to really get hot outside, and during that time of the day, there was little shade along 3^rd street where the run course went up and back on twice. I coveted every little piece of shade I could run under, and at every aid station started packing ice in my hat, down my back, in my shorts, sponges everywhere, it didn’t really matter. It was hot. I lucked out on my first loop, as I caught up to Craig McKenzie, the second place overall. He was already on his second loop, but he and I were able to work together from about mile 6 to mile 11. Once he started getting closer to the finish he took off and I let him go. I continued to run about 6:50-7:30ish pace depending on the terrain until mile 16 or 17, then I started having some problems, the biggest being that I didn’t eat nearly as much as I needed to earlier on the run. I was still passing loads of people, but now my pace had slowed to a meager 8:30ish, and I was in a world of pain. I caught Nina Kraft who was also on her second loop, and worked with her from about mile 17-23, but it was about mile 23 when the wheels just fell completely off, and I was reduced to a disgusting realization that I was bonking and there wasn’t a whole lot I could do about it but try to keep moving from aid station to aid station. So Nina took off en route to finishing second overall and I started walk jogging the rest of the way in.

It was about this time that a couple of the aid stations ran out of ice, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so upset at people I didn’t even know. Besides the fact that the last 5k of my run seemed infinitely harder than the previous 137 miles of the race, I persevered and finally made it to 4^th street live, which was an awesome finishing area. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to have accomplished something in my entire life. I know why people do these IM races every year, because that last 100 yards is unbelievable.

I finished and was ok enough where I was able to stagger over to the side where my parents were waiting for me. Because of the TT start I wasn’t quite sure how I had done, even though I knew I had passed just about the entire field throughout the course of the day.

As it turned out, I finished in 25^th place overall, 8^th amateur, and 2^nd in my age group with a finishing time of 9:48:03. I earned a slot for the 2007 Kona IM, but decided to let my slot rolldown to the 3^rd place finisher for a couple reasons. First, I am excited to compete in my hometown in the World Long Course Duathlon Championships in October. Secondly, I’m not sure if I can recover and put forth another great IM in 6 weeks. I certainly want to race in Kona, but I need to schedule my races so that I can qualify and then peak to have my best race in Hawaii. I just didn’t think that would be possible after how my race went on Sunday.

I was extremely happy with how the day went for my first IM, and now I have a gauge for future races. I know what things I need to do differently and I know things that worked well for me. Obviously if I had eaten more on the bike and the beginning of the run, I wouldn’t have bonked quite so hard and may have saved myself upwards of 15-20:00 on my run split. I also was too conservative on the bike I think, and I took the run out too hard in the first 4 miles, which may have cost me several minutes in the last couple miles.

I’m looking forward to representing the USA well in Richmond on October 22^nd.

3Sports Sprint

I did this race more like a workout than anything too serious, just to get some speed in. Obviously I wanted to do well, but I know the bigger picture lies in performing well in IM Louisville and at Worlds in October.
The race was a 300m pool swim, 20k bike, and 5k run. I was starting 8th, and I knew the guy starting behind me in 9th was a faster swimmer than me, so I was a little nervous to get out well for the first 100-150m. As it turned out, I got out very well and caught the guy ahead of me after 75 m. Then the guy behind me caught me right before 125 m, and the initial guy I passed was still relatively close. Other than that, the swim was smooth and fast(well for me at least). I got out at 4:41, which was 1 second faster than I've ever swam 300m, so I was pumped about that. I rolled to T1, hopped on my bike, had a decent time getting my shoes on. Once I was set, I started rolling. My goal was to ride avg 26.4-26.5 mph, as I had done the same course in wet conditions 2 months earlier avg 26.1mph. So I was really pushing it, and I caught everyone besides one person who had started in front of me. I knew the guy ahead was a decent cyclist, but I still figured that I would be able to see him on some of the long stretches of road on the course. However, he had a great ride (and fantastic swim to set it up) and I didn't see him on the road until the last half mile of the ride. I ended up coming in at 28:27, avg 26.05mph, which is ok, but I was still disappointed with that. The run was a very similar story, as I felt good, but just lacked a little of the sharpness I had back in June. I ended up running 16:08 for the win in 51:05. Second was 53:03, third 53:38, so it was an easy win for me, but I still thin I'm in shape to go close to 50:00 (hopefully slightly under!) perhaps next June.

Now it's time to put in a couple more big weeks before my taper begins for IM Louisville.

My First 112

Well, actually it was my first 100 as well. I went out intending to do 100 in around 5 hours, but I felt unbelievable and the course I plotted turned out to be a little long, so it worked out well. Ended up hitting the ride in 5:16 and change, avg 21.2 mph. Very happy with that. I can definitely bike under 5 hours in Louisville comfortably with aero stuff and by actually racing. Nutrition was good too, although it was freaking hot outside and I probably didn't have enough to drink in order to run a marathon afterwards.

The Tour de France started today, which is very exciting for me. A lot f people aren't paying attention to the race because of the absence of Lance, the doping scandals, etc etc, but I like it for the day to day drama. Of course I don't like the fact that most of the peleton is doping, but watching a race unfold is a beautiful thing...like a piece of art.
I'm rooting for Cadel Evans and Levi Leipheimer this year, and I'm also hoping big George wins a stage. If those two are on the podium and George gets his stage win, I'll be a happy camper!

First Post

I've finally decided to make a blog, so hopefully I'll be able to maintain it regularly just in case anyone wants to read it.

Last Sunday, I traveled to Morgantown, WV with my friend Chris to race the Mountaineer Half Distance Triathlon. I was expecting there to be a little more to Morgantown, considering it's the home of WVU, but honestly there wasn't too much there. We checked in at the Waterfront Place Hotel, which was the host hotel, then drove the bike course. The course consisted of 2 28 mile loops. I was very disappointed int he quality of the roads that they decided to use on the course. Very bumpy, filled with holes and cracks...not suitable for a race course in my opinion.

We then checked in at our hotel, a Comfort Inn, I went for a short easy run around the hotel, and then we went to Applebee's for dinner.

Being my first Half Ironman, I was a little apprehensive about what I should be eating, not just the night before, but the morning of and during the race. I figured pasta would be a safe bet, and I stuck with what I usually eat the morning of...powerbar, banana, pop tarts, and gatorade. Yeah, I'm kinda a head case when it comes to that kind of thing. I think I've eaten the same thing since high school. Hey, whatever works I guess.

Speaking of routines, I've always done the same warm up... 20:00 run an hour before the race start. With these triathlons, that whole schedule has changed. I ended up running about 15:00 before this race, which seemed adequate, and then got int he water and got a feel for the water.

The pros started 6:00 ahead of my wave, which was the elite open and elite masters. There were about 20 total in my wave, so the start wasn't too hectic. I got in a smooth rhythm, got on the heels of another dude in my heat, and tried to stay with him for as long as i could. He gapped me about halfway, and i was going solo until the final turn where the swimmers from the heat 3:00 behind me started catching me. I knew this would happen, so it didn't startle me. I just tried to stay with the passing swimmers as long as i could. The last stretch seemed like it lasted forever. When I got out I was about 15th out of the 20 in my heat. I had also expected that, but the time I came out with was much faster than I had expected. I was thinking 31-32 minutes would have been solid, and my swim split was 28:56, much better than I imagined was possible. So I was pleased, even though I had a lot of guys to catch on the bike and the run.

The transition included about a 250 m run on asphalt to the parking garage where the bikes were. I passed about 5 guys who swam faster than me just on that run.

My goal for the bike was to take the first lap very controlled, then if I was feeling good I would negative split the second loop. I ate a powerbar and got some fluid as I headed out, and noticed there was a guy from the heat behind me tat was cruising around 22-22.5 mph. So I decided to key off him for about 10 miles. He was a little weaker on the hills, so I passed him on the first big climb, and stayed in front for the remainder of the first lap. With about 5 miles to go til the end of the first lap I hit a nasty stretch of road and all three, yes all three, of my bottles popped out. grrrrrrr So at the turnaround I had to spend a little time grabbing some bottles at the aid stations. The guy I was keying off of passed me here, and got a sizable gap on me at the start of the second loop. He was probably up about :30 on me at points, but again, at the start of the first climb of the loop, I got back close to him again, and then passed him and put about a minute into him to finish off the bike. I went 2:26:30, avg 22.9 mph, which I was pretty happy about, although I played it very conservative and had a lot left for the run.

I wanted to try to avg in the low 6:10's for the half mary, and I took the run out at what seemed a very conservative pace. My split? 5:52. Yeah, this is gonna be a good one. So I stayed with that rhythm pretty much the entire way, falling off pace only in the last 1.5 miles of each loop where there was a formidable climb. It was really kinda ridiculous, and there was someone dressed like a devil cheering everyone on. On both loops, I was the only one runnign up the hill. Everyone else I was passing was walking. So I ended up running a 1:18:30, avg 6:00, and I had the second fastest run split of the day. I finished 6th overall with a 4:17:28, and I was the first non-pro finisher, which i was pumped about. Just need to be more aggressive on my bike, and I'm sitting right in the middle of the pros. Definitely doable.