This race was my final "tune-up" for the USA National Championships... it went pretty well! I was not expecting to win anything... and stuck to my race plan until the last mile or two, when I thought I had a chance to win...
I came into the race with a specific plan to race to my Olympic race paces for Nationals, but do it on a sprint distance course as a dress rehearsal. After a disappointing early season, I needed a confidence boost going into Nationals. It was a fun and rewarding day to allow my fitness to come through and earn my first win in a while.
There was a great turn-out of local athletes and SnakeBite Team members at the race, which made it more fun.
The race takes place at Mentor Headlands Beach... a wonderful venue, except that it faces into the prevailing winds off Lake Erie, and is often rough. Sadly, last year at the GTC, there was a fatality during the rough swim. This year, there was definitely rough conditions. Ultimately, the swim was cancelled and an additional run would be the first leg. This plays to my strengths.
When the race started, I stuck to my plan. I started off comfortably with the lead group. Within the first mile of the run, two guys attacked the group and pulled ahead. I wanted to go with them, and knew that I could, but I was racing to a plan, and decided to stick to the plan. The Swim (aka early run) went well for me, and I ran a comfortable 6:30/mi average for the first leg
Coming into transition for T1, I could see that I was going to catch and pass one of the two who went in front of me early. One down... two to go.
I started out on the bike feeling good. Again, my objective today was to race my Olympic race paces I was planning for Nationals... so I held back on the bike compared to how I would normally attack a sprint bike course.
About 5 miles into the bike, I caught up to my other competitor... now I'm leading on the road and pushing along at my race pace targets... nothing more.
I felt fine on the bike, fueled well, and was looking forward to the run.
Coming into T2, I knew I was in front of my wave and was ready to see how I felt on the run.
I felt great off the bike. The speed came easy and felt right. 6:20/mi pace for the first mile. Heading to the second mile, which was an out-and-back, I would get a chance to see where everyone else was. My closest competition was about 0:20 back at the turn. I held to my goal pace, despite knowing that I was being hunted down by Bill Marut.
By the time I got to mile 2 of the last leg, Bill pulled up next to me. We talked briefly and I told him that I was holding my goal paces and to go for it. Bill pulled ahead... and I hated to let him go, but I was thinking about Nationals the next weekend and didn't want to push it too hard.
I noticed that Bill stopped pulling ahead of me... and started to yo-yo in front of me...
I held back the entire race, but within a mile of the finish, I could sense blood in the water, and was starting to picture how I would feel losing my wave by 5 seconds... I couldn't take it anymore... I had to RACE!
I surged and closed the gap to Bill quickly. I pulled along side him and tried to talk to him again. It was apparent that he was starting to labor... I made my move.
Laid down a 5:30 mile for the last mile to put a permanent gap on Bill...
When I crossed the finish line, the timekeeper told me my time was the fastest on the day! I was happy and surprised to hear that! I knew I won my wave/age group, but didn't think about the overall!
Again, it was a fun and rewarding day to allow my fitness to come through and earn my first win in a few years.
Showing posts with label triathlon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label triathlon. Show all posts
Monday, October 14, 2013
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Portage Lakes Olympic Triathlon - 4th overall
Pushed it hard from start to finish and never felt "bad". I did get just a couple of hints of hammy cramps during the last 2 miles. Been a couple of years since I've done the race, and the bike course and run course (2-3 miles of pure trail running) were both new to me. I was 4th overall (3rd amateur if you exclude Pro Ryan Bates who crushed us all). All in all, it was a good effort and a good day!
Swim:
I pushed it from the gun and was 2nd to the first turn buoy. Gassed, I backed off a bit and got into a nice rhythm. First race in while where I wasn't getting the shit kicked out of me constantly. It helped me focus on form, turnover and power. Occasionally, I chased some feet, but they were either slow or terrible at sighting. One guy was doing the backstroke - seriously - he was fast (passed me) but then veered way off course and I let him go. No one else passed me that I saw to grab.
Out of the water around 26:00 by my watch... saw my time, shrugged, and ran up the hill to transition. (Last year and all prior years, seeing a time that slow would have upset me, likewise seeing a 21 would get me excited, but I've learned that swim courses are rarely accurate and to stop getting a feeling one way or the other. After the race, everyone said they thought it was a long swim.
Pretty good transition, except I still get my wetsuit stuck on my left ankle/foot... lost a little time there... took a gel in transition and headed out.
That's about the time that the HR monitor (that was working all day yesterday and during warm-up today) decided to stop working and display "lost signal" again... brand new battery. I couldn't get my Garmin before tomorrow... so I shrugged again... nothing I can do now, but I hate to lose the data! Tried a few more times during the first lap to get it to work. No dice. Gave up on it.
BIKE:
Pushed the bike, but not as hard as I usually start because of your advice and race plan. I bounded up the hills (sure I spiked my HR each time) but passed so many people each time. Felt good, so I kept it going. Plowed through all of the sprint people left on the course in the first loop, had to make a couple of borderline dangerous passes to not kill my momentum thanks to some slower people riding 2 abreast and such.
Second lap I pushed harder effort, but honestly wasn't much faster in all likelihood... the good thing was it was only Olympic people now and I was eating up spots. My split showed about 1:09 - and since I've never ridden the course before, I have no benchmark until I see the other splits posted. My speedometer showed 25.5 miles...It was an undulating course, almost never flat. A couple sections were very recently chip-sealed and were covered in loose stone... I stayed in the saddle for all of those climbs to avoid any mishap. I was generally happy with my gear selection throughout. A few times, I was in the small ring for some climbs. Again - nothing was flat. I used every single gear combination at least twice during the bike.
Saw a couple guys from wave before who were riding well and mixed it up with them a bit toward the end of the second lap, which helped us each work harder I'm sure... but some of the second lap was solo / no-man's land... no one to work off of and keep my pace honest.
T2 was uneventful, except a little trouble getting my cold, numb feet into my runners. I followed Mike Schaffer (SSSMT) into T2 and was worried about that. He's 41 also (but I didn't know until after the race he started with elite wave 2 waves in front).
RUN:
I chased Mike up the 1 mile long hill and passed him about 1/2 way up, and put in a kick to make sure he didn't get any ideas about trying to stick with me. Mile 1 was 6:40 by my watch... and was all uphill. At about mile 1.5, the run course took a most interesting route through the woods on a mountain bike path for the next 1.25-1.5 miles. It was a bit slippery/muddy and was riddled with big roots. it was a non-stop tripping hazard to navigate. Mile 2 sign I'm sure was misplaced, because I was about 8:10 for that mile, and about 6:05 for mile 3... so I'm calling both miles about a 7:07, which given the terrain, I was happy with. Only one guy passed me on the run... a BAFF guy I've never seen before. No age or anything on his leg, so no clue which wave or AG.
Started the second lap and was starting to feel the fatigue of the effort, and also was without anyone to chase or keep in front of me. My mile splits were comperable to +0:10/mile. They only had 1-3 miles marked, so mile "4" included the extra .25 (those with Garmins calculated 6.5 for the course)... mile 4 was 8:13 (including the extra distance), Mile 5 (long mile) was 8:15 (vs 8:10 last lap) and Mile 6 was 6:16 (vs 6:05 last lap) and then into the finish chute.
Will get official splits later to see their times and if they mark the distances differently.
Weather: approximately 52F at start. Light wind. Lake was calm. "warmed up" to about 65F by end of race. Wind stayed light and not noticeable.
NUTRITION: breakfast about 3 hours before.
Bottle of sports drink in the car on the way down, as well as a cup of coffee and a bottle of beet juice (about 100 minutes before start of race was scheduled). Sipped on some sports drink before the race, and took 1 caffinated gel 15min before scheduled start per plan.
Nothing during the swim, except the occasional, accidental lake water sip. :)
T1 - took a caffeinated powerbar gel.
Bike - consumed 24oz EFS during the ride. Took second gel start of 2nd lap (about 35 min into bike) per plan.
T2 - Roctane gel (hated the consistency.. won't do that again during a race)
Run:
I consumed 1 gel during the run, about halfway through, and nearly all of 2 x 8oz bottles of EFS on my fuel belt, with a couple of sips of water at 1,4 mile aid station.
Recovery drink, banana, pretzels and water post-race... and a coke on the way home (guilty pleasure).
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Great way to end the season... Deer Creek Fall Challenge 70.3
WOW! Amazing race! Never felt better in a race before! My first true 70.3 attempt and it was 4:37:06 good for 6th overall (5th amateur), 1st AG. Followed the race plan from Coach AJ Baucco (www.baucco.com) pretty closely and had an amazing experience as a result, especially since this is a new distance for me. Never suffered in a bad way, felt I had the strength and power to build and build right through the very end.
After a frustrating start to the 2013 season... August and September were solid. After 10 years in triathlon (including lots Ironman and Olympic races), I finally made a serious attempt at a 70.3 - with only about 6 weeks of "long course" specific training. First 8 months of the season was about road racing crits, and olympic tri.
Below is the detailed recap of the race... it's written mostly for me and my Coach AJ Baucco to review... but provides some insight into the race plan and execution.
Swim 30:38- I started right behind Jim and dolphined right out to the front for a moment... swam hard to the first buoy (200m?), then turned and settled into a good rhythm. Too good. Felt like pool swimming, and when I turned to breathe like in the pool, I inhaled a wave and took a lot into my lungs. about the scariest moment as I couldn't breathe for about 10 seconds, then coughed some out, got some air in, and was able to shake it off and get back into a decent rhythm... but I lost the fast feet. Off and on solo swimming and drafting. Kept focus on turnover and good early pull (and not breathing any more water). Don't have official split yet, but was out just under 30 minutes by my watch. about 1 minute run from beach to T1.
Bike time: 2:30:48
Out on the bike : My HR was about 180 when I started out. Had to work hard (going easy) to bring it down to target rate. That took about 2 miles/6 minutes. The targets were 155bpm for first 28 miles and 157 for last 28mi (156 avg). Actual splits were 156 (21.0avg) for first 28 and 162 (21.7avg) for second 28... a little more aggressive, but also had 2 of the 3 sets of hills in the second 28.
At first I had a really hard time with the low HR target. It felt stupid slow, and I was getting passed (which rarely if ever happens to me on the bike), which pissed me off, but I stuck pretty close to the plan. Glad I did! I passed most of those guys late on the bike or on the run.
Second loop, I worked a bit harder, and my HR followed. At least no one was passing me now... Still felt easy and the nutrition was going in pretty well. (I kind of figured out during the bike that it must be part of why the low HR is so important... so the stomach can process what is in it, and take on more fuel... instead of bloating because I can't proces it, and then shutting down my intake, leading to a bonk later.) Second loop was 156-160 (21.3mph)
Third loop, worked harder still, and this felt more like what I'm used to racing, intensity-wise, and I got to pass back some people, which made my ego happy. 163avg for 3rd loop (22mph)
Rode into transition still feeling pretty good, except the small of my back was getting a bit sore. A combination of the actual cycling and pushing a lower position on downhills and into the wind, but I have also noticed that is worse when I'm pulling my head up in the swim for lots of sighting, which I think I was doing today in the swim. Nutrition plan was pretty close. 4 full bottles over 2.5 hours (so I should have drank a little more... I have to work on that some more) and I took a gel at start of bike and every 40min thereafter on the dot with my timer.
Run 1:33:31:
Starting the run, I felt pretty good. Came off the bike around 12th place from my estimate. Amazingly, I ran so well and used that to move up to 6th overall. I'm so used to running fast off the bike because of the short course racing this year, that I struggled to hold the first 1/2 mile (net uphill) at 6:40/mi pace. I saw this and slowed down to 6:58 (172bpm) for the first mile... I knew I had to keep my HR down, so next mile felt stupid slow, and was 7:15 (175bpm).
The plan was to keep increasing my effort/HR little by little from there, which I successfully did. The miles splits and HR avg were:
3-7:18, 176
4-7:13, 178
5-7:20, 178
6-7:21, 179
7-7:11, 180
8-7:09, 182
9-7:13, 183
10-7:06, 184
11-7:06, 188
12-7:06, 189
13-7:07, 192
Run nutrition: I started with a 2 bottle fuel belt of EFS (16oz total). Sucked on that between aid stations during the first 6.5 mi loop. I kept right on the gels at 40 min which carried over from the bike. Clockwork. Asked for ice, water and Infinit at each aid station (roughly 1 mile between). 2nd loop I went for coke more than Infinit just to keep things mixed up... I had a LOT of sports drink this day! I took a lot of salt caps on the run too. Started as 3 every couple of miles as a preventative... second loop, I could start to feel a few "pings" in my quads. More salt caps. last 4 miles, that was my only concern about letting myself fully fly and sprint the last mile... more 'pings' in both quads, despite another 4-6 caps with about 3 miles to go. Nothing slowed me down or caused a problem, but I just was wary about trying to go bananas and end up with a cramp I'd have to stop and stretch out or something.
Emotionally: Swim was good except for the literal near-drowning. That shook me up for a few minutes... but I soldiered through. (What a different day/outcome if I had put my hand up, or couldn't have even done that!!)
Bike was tough for me at first. Like I said, people I know I could crush on the bike were passing me, and frankly it was embarrassing to my ego. But I trusted in the plan, and didn't want to mis-execute and not learn from the experience of the day. Turning up the heat on the last 15 miles was satisfying... was quite happy to pass a lot of people then and gain some ground and still be fresh for the run.
Run was just plain fun! Who says that about a 1:33 half mary after a swim and a bike?? I do! The way I was able to build and build and keep taking spots from people was just a great feeling! The second loop in particular was great fun as I really got pushing it and the body was able to consistently respond. My speed may not have drastically increased during the run (7:14/mi first loop and 7:09 second loop)... but seeing the others suffer and slow down and get passed while I felt great was something I've not fully experienced before.
Could I have gone faster on the bike? Of course. But could I have held on to the run like this afterwards? Probably not in my current conditioning state. That's next.
After a frustrating start to the 2013 season... August and September were solid. After 10 years in triathlon (including lots Ironman and Olympic races), I finally made a serious attempt at a 70.3 - with only about 6 weeks of "long course" specific training. First 8 months of the season was about road racing crits, and olympic tri.
Below is the detailed recap of the race... it's written mostly for me and my Coach AJ Baucco to review... but provides some insight into the race plan and execution.
Swim 30:38- I started right behind Jim and dolphined right out to the front for a moment... swam hard to the first buoy (200m?), then turned and settled into a good rhythm. Too good. Felt like pool swimming, and when I turned to breathe like in the pool, I inhaled a wave and took a lot into my lungs. about the scariest moment as I couldn't breathe for about 10 seconds, then coughed some out, got some air in, and was able to shake it off and get back into a decent rhythm... but I lost the fast feet. Off and on solo swimming and drafting. Kept focus on turnover and good early pull (and not breathing any more water). Don't have official split yet, but was out just under 30 minutes by my watch. about 1 minute run from beach to T1.Bike time: 2:30:48
Out on the bike : My HR was about 180 when I started out. Had to work hard (going easy) to bring it down to target rate. That took about 2 miles/6 minutes. The targets were 155bpm for first 28 miles and 157 for last 28mi (156 avg). Actual splits were 156 (21.0avg) for first 28 and 162 (21.7avg) for second 28... a little more aggressive, but also had 2 of the 3 sets of hills in the second 28.
Second loop, I worked a bit harder, and my HR followed. At least no one was passing me now... Still felt easy and the nutrition was going in pretty well. (I kind of figured out during the bike that it must be part of why the low HR is so important... so the stomach can process what is in it, and take on more fuel... instead of bloating because I can't proces it, and then shutting down my intake, leading to a bonk later.) Second loop was 156-160 (21.3mph)
Third loop, worked harder still, and this felt more like what I'm used to racing, intensity-wise, and I got to pass back some people, which made my ego happy. 163avg for 3rd loop (22mph)
Rode into transition still feeling pretty good, except the small of my back was getting a bit sore. A combination of the actual cycling and pushing a lower position on downhills and into the wind, but I have also noticed that is worse when I'm pulling my head up in the swim for lots of sighting, which I think I was doing today in the swim. Nutrition plan was pretty close. 4 full bottles over 2.5 hours (so I should have drank a little more... I have to work on that some more) and I took a gel at start of bike and every 40min thereafter on the dot with my timer.
Run 1:33:31:
Starting the run, I felt pretty good. Came off the bike around 12th place from my estimate. Amazingly, I ran so well and used that to move up to 6th overall. I'm so used to running fast off the bike because of the short course racing this year, that I struggled to hold the first 1/2 mile (net uphill) at 6:40/mi pace. I saw this and slowed down to 6:58 (172bpm) for the first mile... I knew I had to keep my HR down, so next mile felt stupid slow, and was 7:15 (175bpm).
The plan was to keep increasing my effort/HR little by little from there, which I successfully did. The miles splits and HR avg were:3-7:18, 176
4-7:13, 178
5-7:20, 178
6-7:21, 179
7-7:11, 180
8-7:09, 182
9-7:13, 183
10-7:06, 184
11-7:06, 188
12-7:06, 189
13-7:07, 192
Run nutrition: I started with a 2 bottle fuel belt of EFS (16oz total). Sucked on that between aid stations during the first 6.5 mi loop. I kept right on the gels at 40 min which carried over from the bike. Clockwork. Asked for ice, water and Infinit at each aid station (roughly 1 mile between). 2nd loop I went for coke more than Infinit just to keep things mixed up... I had a LOT of sports drink this day! I took a lot of salt caps on the run too. Started as 3 every couple of miles as a preventative... second loop, I could start to feel a few "pings" in my quads. More salt caps. last 4 miles, that was my only concern about letting myself fully fly and sprint the last mile... more 'pings' in both quads, despite another 4-6 caps with about 3 miles to go. Nothing slowed me down or caused a problem, but I just was wary about trying to go bananas and end up with a cramp I'd have to stop and stretch out or something.
Emotionally: Swim was good except for the literal near-drowning. That shook me up for a few minutes... but I soldiered through. (What a different day/outcome if I had put my hand up, or couldn't have even done that!!)
Bike was tough for me at first. Like I said, people I know I could crush on the bike were passing me, and frankly it was embarrassing to my ego. But I trusted in the plan, and didn't want to mis-execute and not learn from the experience of the day. Turning up the heat on the last 15 miles was satisfying... was quite happy to pass a lot of people then and gain some ground and still be fresh for the run.
Run was just plain fun! Who says that about a 1:33 half mary after a swim and a bike?? I do! The way I was able to build and build and keep taking spots from people was just a great feeling! The second loop in particular was great fun as I really got pushing it and the body was able to consistently respond. My speed may not have drastically increased during the run (7:14/mi first loop and 7:09 second loop)... but seeing the others suffer and slow down and get passed while I felt great was something I've not fully experienced before.
Could I have gone faster on the bike? Of course. But could I have held on to the run like this afterwards? Probably not in my current conditioning state. That's next.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Battle at West Branch - Olympic Tri - 3rd overall
My first triathlon of the year (and also my first open water swim of the year... yikes). Although, I only did this only as a training race after a hard week of training (including 50 miles on the bike the day before), I ended up taking 3rd overall!! All of the distances were long (per their website and my Garmin both) so my splits were "longer" than usual... swim was >1500m, Bike 26.2mi, run 6.5mi.The swim started well and I settled into a good rhythm. I found some feet that I thought would be good to follow, and pace-wise, they were... however, the guy couldn't navigate to save his life, and I had to go it alone half-way into the first loop until the end. That cost me being with the lead group. I had no idea if I was swimming well or not, and when I got out of the water and saw 28:XX - I thought it was a bad swim, but quickly reminded myself that I've had shorter times and placed worse - that each swim is unique, and it is only time relative to the rest of the field that matters in the race when you are fighting for the podium. Turned out I was about 20% in the swim (which for me is higher- I'm usually 30-35%). I did let this affect me in transition, though... feeling a little frustrated thinking it was a bad swim and losing a little drive for a fast transition.
On to the bike. Legs were definitely feeling tired from the get-go. I just focused on getting into a good rhythm and pushing it. The course did have one out and back section where I could see who was a few minutes in front and behind me. I could see a couple in front for sure, and a bunch behind. Better than the other way around, I suppose. Kept pushing it, but just wasn't feeling super-fast. Some of that was the rolling bike course - didn't "feel" as fast as just hammering along a flat road. I averaged about 23mph (which turned out on this rolling course to be 3rd fastest bike split). As tired as my legs felt, I started worrying about having nothing left on the run, but like always on the bike - I wanted to get all I could on the bike and let what happens next just happen...
Coming into transition, I started to get more excited about my placement, seeing only a few bikes on the rack (5 I think) before me... I was in reach of a podium spot if I had a good run!
Heading out on the run, it was kind of a crazy serpentine through the parking lots, then uphill. I got my legs going under me and the turn-over felt pretty good. Surprisingly good. I caught a couple people and one guy I followed out of transition was pulling away from me (he ended up 2nd overall). First mile split (uphill) was 6:50... good start. But could I hold that for the next 5.5 miles?
All winter and spring, my run has dogged me. 3 months of inactivity after Rev3 Full last fall, followed by starting to quickly and getting plantar fasciitis, then 2 months of hot/cold training with a new coach, my run fitness and confidence was suffering coming into the season. One big problem, was my mental fight and will was nowhere to be found... in training I would stop, rest or walk way too often... and my only race experience this year was the Cleveland Marathon debacle... I was very pessimistic about my ability to fight on - but wanted to find out.
Mile 2 was heading toward a marina, with some out-and-back... I saw a couple guys in front of me. Good sign perhaps. 6:45 mile... so I was holding pace... but not breaking any records. Mile 3 was the return of the out-and-back, but I didn't realize it. I saw like 10 more guys who I thought were in front of me (actually they were heading out while I was heading back)... that got in my head and I thought I was more like 13th place than 3rd place... Mile 3 was about 6:30. Coming back into the main lot, I asked Eric Gibb and Patty Banks (who were watching the race) what place they thought I was in and they said they couldn't tell either... kind of confusing course and all...
I just focused on keeping my run pace going, as I was finally running well... back uphill to do the 2nd lap and I was about 6:45. It was then that I had figured out the pack of guys I saw were behind me and I was truly in a top 3-5 position. That helped provide the drive to keep pushing the legs and not back off or give in to the pain of pushing it - which has been my mental problem all winter/spring.
The last 2 miles it was now clear that I was probably in a podium spot, and I lifted the pace even more... knowing the pain would be over in 12 minutes or so. Mile 5 was about a 6:30... mile 6 was a 6:10 (downhill)... I was flying into the finish! last 0.5 miles of flat, serpentine was also about 6:10 pace.
I finished strong, and after the final results were posted confirming my 3rd place overall - I was happy.
What I was most happy about was the fact that I started the run on tired legs, questioning what position I was in the race, and kept pushing the pace faster and faster on the run, and the mind finally cooperated!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
2012 Season in Review...
To sum my 2012 racing season up in a few words:
"Slow start - strong finish!" (I peaked in September vs June like usual)
"Media Whore" (my pic in 2 newspapers, on TV and in a national e-mail campaign)
"I'm a T'Roadie" (triathlete now racing as CAT4 road cyclist)
The highlights of the season were:
- Overall Winner - Tour of the Valley a three day bike stage race - (CATV - road racing)
- Rev3 Full Ironman Triathlon - 12th overall, 2nd in AG and a new personal best of 10:22...
- 3rd place overall finish at the HFP Vermilion Olympic Triathlon (my highest Olympic overall finish).
- Raced in China, USA and New Zealand
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| Racing in Shanghai, China |
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| Me and 30,000+ Chinese at the start of the Shanghai International Marathon |
My winter training months were mostly work-focused and honestly, my training was not very good.
That was until I started run training with a local professional triathlete. I was preparing for a spring marathon and he was preparing for an early season Ironman and we made for a great pair for run training. We did a 23 mile run together that seemed to only last 20 minutes... and were able to push ourselves rather hard on the track in speed workouts (where Jim would bury me...). The great thing was that it broke me out of my training rut and got me motivated for the season.
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| And... I'm SPENT!!! |
In June, I raced Deer Creek and Maumee Bay Olympic triathlons, which were only so-so for me. Definitely not as fast as the year before, but my plan was to peak a few months later. Patience. But it sucked feeling slow on courses where I know I have gone faster in the past...
While I am a very strong cyclist, and a "student of the sport"... My past Coach kept me from doing road races or crits because of the risk of crashes / injury (which I understand). This year, I was determined to race and see what I could do...
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| SnakeBite Racing - before TOV Road Race |
The 3 day Tour Of the Valley cycling race in July was the pinacle of the bike racing season for me...After a disappointing 3rd place in the Time Trial Friday evening, I took 3rd in the Road Race Saturday morning and then closed out the weekend with a 2nd in the Crit on Sunday. Those points combined together in the "General Classification" and I was the overall winner in CAT5! It was really exciting, and my SnakeBite Racing teammates were a huge help before and of course during the races! Plus, the 3 day race weekend was simply a lot of FUN with friends and teammates. (race report)
I was able to petition USA Cycling for an early upgrade to CAT 4 based on my results. I'm pleased to be racing at the next level in 2013 and can't wait to work with my SnakeBite Racing cycling teammates to find more success for the team!
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| 3rd place overall - Olympic Distance - Vermilion Triathlon |
During July and August, I was focused on preparing for the Ironman distance Rev3 Cedar Point in September. Another professional triathlete was in town for the summer and we did some great long training rides together. In addition to being pushed to grind it out for 120 miles, I learned a LOT about better ways to pace and train on the long rides to finish strong. It must've helped a lot, because I turned in a 5:02 bike split at Rev3, which was the 2nd fastest on the day!!A pleasant surprise was the HFP Vermilion Triathlon in August. It is one of the "local" races and I wanted to do it, even though my body was wrecked from the ironman training. Long story short, I had a solid bike and pushed the run to finish 3rd overall - which has been my highest overall finish in an Olympic distance Triathlon. This also served to qualify me for the 2013 National Championships! (race report)
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| Rev3 Cedar Point - Full Iron... Felt good to finally be done! |
After some more hard weeks of training, it was time for the Rev3 Full Iron triathlon at Cedar Point.
I ended up 2nd in my age group and 12th overall... and more importantly, took about 20 minutes of my prior best time to set my new best of 10 hours 22 minutes!
As you can read in my race report, I had a great day and my best ironman finish, despite having to slow my run down due to some significant "GI" issues during the marathon.
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| Christchurch, New Zealand - Half Marathon |
All-in-all, the "start slower, peak later" strategy paid off. It was just difficult to hit the early races not feeling my very best... but I had my best August and September - so it was so worth it!
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Rev3 Cedar Point Race Report - Full Rev - new PR (10:22)
This was my 6th Ironman distance triathlon, and this one didn't disappoint! This year I set a new PR at 10 hours 22 minutes... which bested my previous PR of 10:40... finished 12th overall and 2nd in my age group in a major iron distance race... and renewed my confidence that I can break 10 hours in the next year or two. I was on track to do so this year, but stomach/GI problems forced me to walk the aid stations and stop in the porta-potties a couple of times. That's all part of the experience!In the spring, I had been doing a lot of my run training with Jim LaMastra as he prepared for his first full season on the Pro circuit and in the summer AJ Baucco (2 years Pro) and I spent some solid time on the bike together. I learned quite a bit about training at the next level from these two successful athletes. I am simply amazed and impressed at the "next level" of dedication, focus, work and sacrifice that these guys have... Much respect!
We hosted an out of town professional, Justin Harris for the days before and after the race. Another hard working and amazing athlete, who was racing his first Ironman distance as a Pro. Justin is a great guy who is going to have a bright future in the sport. I thought his goal of going 9 hours in his first Ironman was "aggressive"... but he came in at 9:02 (finishing just out of the money).
I found this note from Amy tucked into my race bag the night before the race... It meant a lot to me!! : )I have to say, my family (Amy in particular) have always been supportive of what is often a "selfish" sport... especially when it comes to ironman training... many long hours on the road on the 12 weekends before the race... (6 hours bike rides, 3 hour runs). Without their love and support, I could never do this, and certainly not do it successfully!! THANK YOU GUYS!!
The Race: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile marathon... 10:22:36 (12 overall and 2nd in AG)
Swim: 2.4 miles - 1:10 (nothing special - plan was to go super-easy)
The mass start was moved off the beach into the water a bit because of extended shallows (about 400m)... so we did a "knee deep mass start" of about 400 athletes. My plan was to start the day easy, find some feet to folow if possible, and get my day off to a good start. I have enough experience now to know I can drive myself mad trying to save 5 minutes in the swim only to be a head case or tired when I come out of the water and look at my watch...
I stayed extremely calm during the first 1.2 mile loop... conserving energy and emotion... I felt great after the first loop and decided to push the pace just a bit on the second loop. To my luck, I found a "good pair of feet" early in the second lap and jumped on them. I let this guy "carry" me to the end of the swim course and thanked him as I passed him running into Transition. I meant it sincerely, but I don't think he cared for it.
Bike: 112 miles - 5:02 (2nd fastest overall split - 22.2mph - plan was to be 5:10)
This is my strength, the bike, and I know this course well. Much of my long-distance training this summer was along the main loop of the Rev3 course... a definite advantage to know my pacing and gearing and effort and such.
I held my effort back on the first loop, as planned, in order to avoid any kind of "blow up"... this worked well and I was able to sustain my effort the entire bike course. Had I realized how close I would be to the 5:00 mark, I might have pushed the pace a bit more to break that symboic barrier
As I came to transition, knowing I had a good bike leg, Amy and the boys where there screaming and cheering for me - which was awesome. Then Amy blew my mind and said that I was in 7th place overall coming off the bike! I was excited to hear that, but then felt pressure of being so high up in such a large race!!
Run: 26.2 miles - 4:02 (stomach problems slowed me down 8 miles in...)
My head was spinning when I left transition... 7th place overall? Yikes... sad to say, that messed with my head a little at first. I started out on the run feeling quite good, and my first couple of miles were about 7:00/mi pace... a little too quick, but felt good... but I needed to back off and slow down a bit or else die later...
About 5 miles into the marathon, I was averaging 7:27/mi pace when I was hit with a bad feeling in my GI system... it required me to stop at a porta-potty and try to get things out. No dice... so after a few wasted minutes, I started to run again... but the feeling kept hitting me and forcing me to walk from time to time. Very frustrating - as I was on pace to be very near to the 10:00 mark.Carry on, that's what Ironman racing is all about... mind vs body vs luck.
Coming to the half-marathon turn-around, I saw Amy and the boys and some other friends... which was a great lift to my spirits... 127.5 miles down... 13.1 to go!!
I was able to see the Pros at the head of thier race... It was cool since I knew a few of them personally and others just from following the sport. They were finishing up (8:31 won the race) as I was into my second lap... I cheered those guys on and then focused on finishing up my own race.
Unfortunatley, I had to walk each aid station to refuel what my body was begging for, but my stomach was rejecting... UGH... that feeling just sucks...
But then again... that's what Ironman racing is all about... mind vs body vs luck.
Coming into the last couple of miles, I kept an eye on my watch and saw I was close to being under 10:25... a significant milestone... so I pushed myself to make sure I did that. I actually started to run and feel well again (go figure) and had a decent last couple of miles.Amy and the boys were right there to greet my exhausted self as I crossed the finish line, stopping the clock at 10:22:36 - an 18 minute PR for me, and good enough for 12th place overall (out of ~ 400 who did the Full Rev) and 2nd place out of 48 in my age group.
Post Race:
Well, I was exhausted, as you might imagine... all I wanted to do was sit down... and sit I did...
They had a NorTech tent (compression recovery equipment) and I happily took a turn in there. I liked the equipment and the way it helped make me feel as the day began to sink into my mind. I did it... at 40 years old, I got faster yet again, and beat most of the field racing... many (most?) of whom were younger than me. I know I only have a couple years left before I start the inevitable decline... but I am enjoying every minute of it right now!!After getting some needed post-race nutrition and family time in... I collected my gear, said good-by to the family (who drove back earlier because it was a 'school night'). I then stayed for a few more hours cheering in teammates, friends and random strangers who were putting themselves through the mental and physical torture that is an Ironman distance triathlon... 140.6 miles...
What a great event!
It was a pleasure to have to call off work for the next day (Monday) so that I could attend the awards banquet / ceremony to collect my "goodies" for my 2nd place AG finish, and to see the "big checks" being handed out to the Professional Men and Women.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Vermilion Olympic Triathlon - 3rd place overall
This was just supposed to be for fun and a last pre-Ironman race-day rehersal... Vermilion is a "home course" for us West-siders and SnakeBite Racing Team was planning to have a good turn-out. I'd been training like mad for long distance, with no speedwork and dead legs from all of the long rides and runs. My goal for the day was to bike pretty hard, and then run on tired legs to simulate Ironman racing.I had my typical mid-pack swim (30th out of the water) and then went after everyone on the bike. I posted the 3rd fastest split on the bike for the day... I was fine that I wasn't the fastest since my focus for the past month had been all endurance rides of 5-7 hours.
When I hopped off the bike, I expected my legs to be shot from all of the training miles and the effort of the day, and figured after a couple of quick miles (6:20/mi pace) that I'd start to feel the pain. I ran those fast miles, and realized there were only a couple of guys in front of me... Was I in 3rd place? Maybe 2nd (since one of the two ahead of me was in regular running clothes = relay team member)...
Wow - I've been as high as 5th overall in the HFP races, but never top 3. That gave some real motivation to push the run the whole way through and see where I could finish. I gritted my teeth and ran my 3rd mile at about 6:20/mi again... A little faster than I normally run Olympic Distance 10ks... (usually 6:45ish average)... at the 3.1 mile turnaround, I could see that I was defnitely the 3rd runner and while there were some coming behind me, nothing that looked a serious threat (at least in my wave).
The next two miles just sucked. My pace slipped to about 6:30/mi and my legs were SCREAMING! But knowing my position and the fact that another wave could have a faster person, I kept pushing the pace and gutting out the pain.
The last mile was easier mentally - knowing I had made it this far on my tired legs, held pace, and wasn't letting anyone get any closer (that I could see anyhow). The last mile was about 6:25/mi pace and I put together my best 10k pace!I burst across the finish line and finally let off the pressure... The Chronicle-Telegram was there and got a nice photo (which was later used in their story about the race...). At the time, it was beleived I was the 2nd overall (not counting the relay team)... but there was one guy in a later wave that managed to beat me too, which moved me to 3rd overall. Still - I was VERY happy with my performance that day personally (Course Record for me by a big margin) and my highest overall finish in an Olympic Triathlon.
The Chronicle-Telegram did a nice story on the race in the paper the next day, and gave a nice portion of the story to my interview: http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2012/08/20/vermilion-triathlon-avons-hagan-leads-local-pack/
SnakeBite Racing Team had a great showing on the day - lots of team members won or got a top 3 in thier age groups and everyone had a good time!! It is always great to race and see so many of your teammates out there giving it their all!
All-in-all, it was a pleasant surprise to have done so well, given the lack of specific training / preparation for the race. Sometimes the best races come when you least expect them!!
Sunday, January 15, 2012
It's Not Over... The Pyramid of Suck... SnakeBite Indoor Cycling Workout 1/10/12
I tried to mix things up this week... and I like to surprise the class with a little something extra.
This workout had the usual sprints and hill climbs, but the main set was different than in the past. It was the culmination of the past few classes. In past weeks, we started doing sets of Threshold work - varying the resistance/cadence but holding the same Zone 4 heart rate - right at AT / LT. This was to work the critical systems needed for endurance racing - and learning to control our effort at Zone 4, in different conditions (wind/false flats/etc) - important skills for race day. We then began to add some Zone 5 efforts within the Zone 4 sets - again - to simulate the surges in racing (break-aways, chase downs, etc.).
What I put together was the "Pyramid of Suck" - a 30 minute main set in 2:30 intervals of Zone 4/5... Starting with 2:00 Zone 4 / 0:30 Zone 5... then adding 0:15 Zone 5 (and reducing Zone 4) until we were at 0:45 / 1:45 and then worked back down to 2:00/0:30 again. It was really tough!
My favorite little surprise was after the last sprint set... kind of gave the impression that we were done... the next song was Daughtry's "It's Not Over" during our recovery. I asked the group who sang it... got the answer... then I asked for the title... someone yelled it out... then I saw the look of realization spread across faces... We had one last, nasty 7.5 minute hill climb left. I chose Metallica ONE for this last climb. Starts off kind of slow and intense... then builds toward that last 2:30 which is the out-of-the-saddle, all out assault on the body and mind. I turned the class loose to destroy themselves. The last minute was totally all-out effort... and I know left everyone wiped out. It was great!
Only downside was that the group who went out for dinner/drinks afterwards was unusually quiet afterwards...
This workout had the usual sprints and hill climbs, but the main set was different than in the past. It was the culmination of the past few classes. In past weeks, we started doing sets of Threshold work - varying the resistance/cadence but holding the same Zone 4 heart rate - right at AT / LT. This was to work the critical systems needed for endurance racing - and learning to control our effort at Zone 4, in different conditions (wind/false flats/etc) - important skills for race day. We then began to add some Zone 5 efforts within the Zone 4 sets - again - to simulate the surges in racing (break-aways, chase downs, etc.).
What I put together was the "Pyramid of Suck" - a 30 minute main set in 2:30 intervals of Zone 4/5... Starting with 2:00 Zone 4 / 0:30 Zone 5... then adding 0:15 Zone 5 (and reducing Zone 4) until we were at 0:45 / 1:45 and then worked back down to 2:00/0:30 again. It was really tough!
My favorite little surprise was after the last sprint set... kind of gave the impression that we were done... the next song was Daughtry's "It's Not Over" during our recovery. I asked the group who sang it... got the answer... then I asked for the title... someone yelled it out... then I saw the look of realization spread across faces... We had one last, nasty 7.5 minute hill climb left. I chose Metallica ONE for this last climb. Starts off kind of slow and intense... then builds toward that last 2:30 which is the out-of-the-saddle, all out assault on the body and mind. I turned the class loose to destroy themselves. The last minute was totally all-out effort... and I know left everyone wiped out. It was great!
Only downside was that the group who went out for dinner/drinks afterwards was unusually quiet afterwards...
| Pre-ride introduction… start at 6:09 | This is War | |
| WARM UP | 5 minute Warm up | Chutes and Ladders |
| 120rpm sprint | ||
| 1 minutes easy spin | Black Horse and Cherry Tree | |
| 120rpm sprint | ||
| easy spin (START LAP ON START OF KEEP HOPE ALIVE!) | Keep Hope Alive | |
| Speed intervals | 30 / 15 hard effort #1 (0:47-1:17) | Keep Hope Alive |
| Recovery - easy spin (1:17-2:11) | ||
| 30 / 15 hard effort #2 (2:11-2:56) | ||
| Recovery - easy spin (2:56-3:50) | ||
| 30 / 15 hard effort #3 (3:50-4:37) | ||
| Recovery - easy spin (4:37-5:47) | ||
| 30 / 15 hard effort #4 (5:47 - END) | ||
| Recovery - easy spin | ||
| 30 / 30 hard effort #5 (START ON 0:21 NAME OF GAME) | Name of the Game (0:20) | |
| Recovery - easy spin | ||
| 30 / 30 hard effort #6 | ||
| Recovery - easy spin | ||
| 30 / 30 hard effort #7 | ||
| Recovery - easy spin | ||
| 30 / 30 hard effort #8 | ||
| Recovery - easy spin | BulletProof | |
| Hill climb - first half - seated… second half - ATTACK! | Trip Like I do | |
| Recovery | Love the way u lie | |
| Pyramid of Suck | 2:00 / 0:30 | Brass Monkey |
| 1:45 / 45 | Gonna Make you Sweat | |
| 1:30 / 1:00 | Middle Class Rut - New Low | |
| 1:15 / 1:15 | Stereo Love | |
| 1:00/1:30 | Hot in Here | |
| 0:45 / 1:45 | Black Keys - Tighten Up | |
| 1:00/1:30 | BulletProof | |
| 1:15 / 1:15 | Only | |
| 1:30 / 1:00 | Heavy Cross | |
| 1:45 / 45 | ||
| 2:00 / 0:30 | ||
| Easy recovery | Bad Romance | |
| Last Sprints | 30 / 30 hard effort #1 ( 0:22-1:10) | Stronger Faster |
| Recovery - easy spin (1:10-2:14) | ||
| 30 / 30 hard effort #2 (2:14-3:09) | ||
| Recovery - easy spin (3:09-4:05) | ||
| 30 / 30 hard effort #4 - Right at start of Invincible | Invincible | |
| Recovery | Recovery before last climb and all out | It's not over - Daughtry |
| Last song = hard climb, building to all-out at 2:30… go nuts!! | One - Metallica | |
| Cool Down | cool down | Lazy Eye |
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Stiff, Sore and Flat... not the race I wanted today... ;(
I did the Portage Lakes Olympic Triathlon as my last race of the season - and it sucked.
They can't all be great races... and I am OK with that (so I keep telling myself). To be honest, I'm embarrassed about my result today - but there is a reason I raced so badly today.
Just 16 hours before, I did the Alan's Elite Race - a "grand prix" style race set of 3 sprint triathlons back-to-back-to-back with just a few minutes' rest between. I did great on Saturday afternoon... and had nothing left for Sunday morning as a result.
The weather was on the chilly side (about 50F at the start), but brilliantly sunny. There were a lot of people I knew at the race. That was cool - except that I had this bad feeling I was going to race badly in front of them. Oh well - I do this for myself...
I knew right away in the swim that I was going to have a long day. I could just feel it. My warm-ups were OK, but I didn't do anything with high speed or intensity like I normally do, since I was sprinting all afternoon before. I settled into my swimming rhythm and did the best I could to keep going quickly. Never really found any good feet to follow in the swim, so I pretty much expended full energy without a draft. Bummer... but that's how it goes sometimes.
The bike course was brand new for this race - so I had no sense of my speeds / times / etc. It was a good course. Road conditions were good, lots of rolling hills and a few climbs that got you out of your saddle for power. Problem for me was I just wasn't feeling it. But I carried on.
Speaking of not feeling it... my feet were totally numb during the bike (and a good portion of the run). It was rather chilly that morning, and not being acclimated to cold weather yet, and choosing to leave the arm warmers in my transition bag - I lost my feet out there. It isn't that my bike was THAT bad... I did take pleasure in sprinting up the steep hills past people. but I just wasn't into it mentally, which made it hard to push.
I didn't realize how bad my numb feet were until I took them out of my bike shoes coming back into the park for a flying dismount into transition. I was shocked at the numb blocks hanging at the end of my legs. Not good - and I was really worried I'd fall flat on my face jumping off my bike. Luckily I didn't fall over... but running to my bike rack was not easy.
Pulling on my shoes was a real challenge too! I manged to finally get my shoes on, take a deep breath and head out.
My entire body was upset with me for racing so quickly after yesterday's effort. Legs felt depleted and dead like the final miles of an Ironman... and my head just wasn't in it today... My pace felt sluggish, but to my surprise, my first uphill mile was about 6:20... but after running 5:XX miles yesterday - it felt relatively slow anyway.
At mile 3, I was really feeling crappy, and contemplated walking - me walking! Man, I was just not into it today. I actually had to stop and pee along the 3rd mile as well. Ugh...
Then I saw teammates on the out and back and that gave me a lift to try to hang in there and do better... I pushed up the pace and tried to start reeling in more people in front of me.
The second loop I maintained a 7:00-ish pace... but knowing what I should be running... and how I felt, it just wasn't a good experience.
When it was all said and done, I came in a disappointing 16th overall. :( I'm used to being around 5th or 6th overall in the HFP Olympic race... but I did come in 6th overall in the combined 3 race set just 16 hours before...
So, the moral of the story is that my season actually peaked in July (5th at Caesar Creek Olympic and 2nd at Huntington Sprint)... then travel to India and China and family vacation got in the way... and the whole month of August was a training bust. I milked my fitness for USAT Nationals in August... and didn't train again until last week - too late to have a good race today! Oh well - lessons learned.
It was a great season for me overall... from a big PR in Boston Marathon, to my highest finishes in Sprint and Olympic triathlons, a new PR at Olympic triathlon and my first National Championships! Just kinda went out with a tired, flat fizzle.
Gonna use this for motivation to kick ass in 2012!
They can't all be great races... and I am OK with that (so I keep telling myself). To be honest, I'm embarrassed about my result today - but there is a reason I raced so badly today.
Just 16 hours before, I did the Alan's Elite Race - a "grand prix" style race set of 3 sprint triathlons back-to-back-to-back with just a few minutes' rest between. I did great on Saturday afternoon... and had nothing left for Sunday morning as a result.
The weather was on the chilly side (about 50F at the start), but brilliantly sunny. There were a lot of people I knew at the race. That was cool - except that I had this bad feeling I was going to race badly in front of them. Oh well - I do this for myself...
I knew right away in the swim that I was going to have a long day. I could just feel it. My warm-ups were OK, but I didn't do anything with high speed or intensity like I normally do, since I was sprinting all afternoon before. I settled into my swimming rhythm and did the best I could to keep going quickly. Never really found any good feet to follow in the swim, so I pretty much expended full energy without a draft. Bummer... but that's how it goes sometimes.
The bike course was brand new for this race - so I had no sense of my speeds / times / etc. It was a good course. Road conditions were good, lots of rolling hills and a few climbs that got you out of your saddle for power. Problem for me was I just wasn't feeling it. But I carried on.
Speaking of not feeling it... my feet were totally numb during the bike (and a good portion of the run). It was rather chilly that morning, and not being acclimated to cold weather yet, and choosing to leave the arm warmers in my transition bag - I lost my feet out there. It isn't that my bike was THAT bad... I did take pleasure in sprinting up the steep hills past people. but I just wasn't into it mentally, which made it hard to push.
I didn't realize how bad my numb feet were until I took them out of my bike shoes coming back into the park for a flying dismount into transition. I was shocked at the numb blocks hanging at the end of my legs. Not good - and I was really worried I'd fall flat on my face jumping off my bike. Luckily I didn't fall over... but running to my bike rack was not easy.
Pulling on my shoes was a real challenge too! I manged to finally get my shoes on, take a deep breath and head out.
My entire body was upset with me for racing so quickly after yesterday's effort. Legs felt depleted and dead like the final miles of an Ironman... and my head just wasn't in it today... My pace felt sluggish, but to my surprise, my first uphill mile was about 6:20... but after running 5:XX miles yesterday - it felt relatively slow anyway.
At mile 3, I was really feeling crappy, and contemplated walking - me walking! Man, I was just not into it today. I actually had to stop and pee along the 3rd mile as well. Ugh...
Then I saw teammates on the out and back and that gave me a lift to try to hang in there and do better... I pushed up the pace and tried to start reeling in more people in front of me.
The second loop I maintained a 7:00-ish pace... but knowing what I should be running... and how I felt, it just wasn't a good experience.
When it was all said and done, I came in a disappointing 16th overall. :( I'm used to being around 5th or 6th overall in the HFP Olympic race... but I did come in 6th overall in the combined 3 race set just 16 hours before...
So, the moral of the story is that my season actually peaked in July (5th at Caesar Creek Olympic and 2nd at Huntington Sprint)... then travel to India and China and family vacation got in the way... and the whole month of August was a training bust. I milked my fitness for USAT Nationals in August... and didn't train again until last week - too late to have a good race today! Oh well - lessons learned.
It was a great season for me overall... from a big PR in Boston Marathon, to my highest finishes in Sprint and Olympic triathlons, a new PR at Olympic triathlon and my first National Championships! Just kinda went out with a tired, flat fizzle.
Gonna use this for motivation to kick ass in 2012!
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