My own advice to myself from last year still rings true: "Be a man! Take some Pepto Bismol and ________!" (Fill in the blank with every event I missed last year)
Wow broken record time? Another quote from last year: "No more excuses. This year was lame. Next year will be better." I say that every year. How will this year be different, considering I am already way behind last year, which I said was a bad year?
Last year started out strong but ended poorly. My poor performance in the Federal Escape Olympic forced me to rethink everything. I spent most of August with family trips and other non-training activities to regroup. Then in early September I had a minor setback: I broke my toe just before going on a long ride into Seattle (more to come on that later). Breaking my toe (only a minor break) was just the wind up. When the pitch was actually delivered I struck out big time. That strike out was our back-to-school schedule, which I am still trying to figure out.
In the last 3 months of 2012 I rode my bike a grand total of 10 times. No so impressive when you consider that in the same period in 2011 I did 33 and in 2010 I did 25.
This year I'm starting out slow and just now beginning to see how to coordinate my ride/training schedule with all the personal appointments (i.e. pickups/drop-offs for the kids' classes, swim, sports, etc). The next few months will really tell the tail. It really scares me that I am less than 90 days from the Issaquah Tri (my traditional first race of the year) and my training is horrible.
But I have an ace up my sleeve...
Patrick at the start of the Federal Escape Kids' Tri...Or rather a young man. My son decided that he wanted to do the FULL Issaquah Sprint Tri this year! I promised him that if he trained hard enough he could do it and, not only that, I would stay with him to make sure he finished the race. A sprint tri is a big jump up from the little kids races he has been doing. In 2012 he finished 3 such races and barely broke a sweat. So far this year he has significantly improved his swimming and can do 250 yards in the pool without stopping (a personal best for him). He has a long way to go but is well on his way.
So what happened to the Grand Columbian? I decided top drop this race in July after the Federal Escape and good thing I did! The broken toe incident (ride report coming later) happened less than a week from when I would have been racing in my first half-iron distance race.
Did I do Cycle Oregon 2012? Short version: no, I didn't get off the wait list. My strategy of waiting until it sold out backfired. I was so far down the wait list that there was no chance of getting into the real ride. Too bad, since 2013 appears to be not nearly as exciting (i.e. I most likely will not do it).
Lessons learned:
Broken toes suck. Must join the "protect our toes" society.
I need to find a new way to deal with illnesses and still train. More to come...
Focus earlier in the year on distance running and cardio volume.
My best and more consistent results are still from bike commuting, which I try to do 3-5x per week during the spring/summer and early fall months.
Commuting home on foot on Fridays are a great way to get in an 8+ mile run once a week. That will start in April.
We used to call it the "3 finger salute" in my programming classes: when your code was so bad that you crashed your computer and had to hit ctrl-alt-delete and start over.
Well, I'm doing it already for 2013. But I didn't crash this time...
The Federal Escape Olympic last year really rocked my world. I did so poorly that it forced me to reconsider my plans for the entire year and finally drop my race schedule completely.
And then life happened. And it happened again... and again...
Even though it was 7 months ago I am just now adjusting to our "new" family schedule of school, sports, and other activities which has forced me to limit me to only 17 rides since last Labor Day.
And so I am starting afresh with my goals. In the coming week I will post several new things and something. Expect to see...
My weight loss progess in the right side bar (totally ripping off Fatty)
Training with/during/despite Illnesses
Bike commuting: When?
Bike commuting: Rain, Rain, Go Away!
The True cost of commuting
Bike Thefts and Recovery (i.e. how to get your bike back WITHOUT getting shot)
A new site layout and design
Sounds like a lot, eh? I actually have more than that in store. Even though I haven't updated my site since BEFORE Lance confessed to the big "O" my site is getting more hits than ever.
Triathlon is a great sport. I hope I can contribute even more to it.
So today Lance gave up his fight against the USADA. I can imagine him throwing his hands up in the air shouting, "Fine! Whatever! I'm done!"
He's not gaining a lot of sympathy, being called a liar and a cheat, but the impact of this controversy may actually hit your's truly. Why, you may ask? Because, empowered by the publicity of this campaign, the USADA is greatly expanding their testing of amateur athletes.
I am torn on this issue. My position on professional athletics is that they should all be tested. How they do the testing and the process for appealing and monitoring for corruption is another debate that I will not attempt to address herein. What about amateurs?
Is it OK for someone who competes on an amateur level to abuse testosterone, EPO, HGH, etc.? (Hint: quite a fewactually do) No, they should not but should they be subject to the same rules, guidelines, and procedures as the pros?
Like I said, I'm torn.
Sorry, rant time…
Outside Magazine today published an article that got me thinking more about this...
This quote from the article represents my main problem with amateur testing:
“Millions of amateurs who compete under USADA guidelines as members of organizations like USA Triathlon and USA Track and Field have no idea which medications—even over-the-counter ones—could bring a suspension. Forcing people to follow the same rules as the pros could turn them away simply because of the hassle.”
There are a lot of hobbyists (like me) and weekend-warriors who have no clue about the USADA/WADA guidelines for banned substances (and have no interest in learning). I have frequent sinus and allergy issues and my favorite remedy (pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in Mucinex-D, Sudaphed, Claritin-D, Zyrtec-D, and a host of other drugs) is a banned substance. What other supplements, drinks, or medications do I take that are also banned? I really don’t care.
I have made it clear that the reason I'm racing has nothing to do with the other competitors on the course. I don’t race to in an attempt to beat someone else: I race against myself. If you think that statement is ludicrous I point you to my last race result where it is clear that I had no chance at a podium finish in my age group, let alone the entire race, and probably never will. My personal schedule and commitments do not allow for the level of training necessary for me to be even an AG competitor and certainly not on the overall category. Maybe after my kids are out of the house (8-10 years in the future)?
So here’s the punch line: no one need fear me beating them at a race. If they ask me to be tested I will politely decline and then avoid sanctioned races while I wait out my inevitable suspension in protest. I’m not going to change my diet/nutrition to appease the USADA and their doping policies just so I can compete in a sanctioned race. I don’t need the hassle.
An interesting side note: Why is doping so prevalant? Because it works.
First off, let me say that I really enjoy the Federal Escape. This was my second Sprint distance race back in '08 and my first Olympic distance in '10 so I was very glad to see this race fit into my race/vacation schedule. This race was to serve as my "ramp up" to the half-iron distance in September, the Grand Columbian Super Tri.
Race Morning
Race time was set for 6:30 am with a pre-race meeting at 6:20 am. That means I had pick up my packet, set up my transition area, do a warm up swim, and be ready to race by 6:20. Did I mention Five Mile Lake Park is 45 minutes from my house? That put my departure time at 4:30. Ugg. So I was up at 4am (not my favorite hour of the day). One of my wife's favorite sayings came to mind: "Just because the time exists doesn't mean I have to witness it." I woke up my son (Boy #1, who asked to do the kids tri), cooked up some sausage, eggs, and toast, and off we went.
A note about breakfast: I usuall only eat oatmeal and yogurt with applesauce for breakfast but with a 45-minute drive ahead of us I needed some extra food to tide me over until the start, hence the bigger than normal breakfast.
We arrived with at the park plenty of time, even getting one of the prime parking sports in the park. The weather was perfect for tri racing: overcast and cool. For some reason this swim course always seems bigger than it actually is. When you look at my swim times I pretty much nailed my 1500m time.
Pre-race
The water was pretty warm, somewhere in the neighborhood of 70F. It was so comfortable that I almost took off my wet suit for the race. Boy #1, always the scientist, asked me why I would still wear my wet suit if the water temp was warm. I then demonstrated the buoyancy enhancements provided by my suit: I am at almost zero-buoyancy when wearing my suit.
So, after setting up my transition area, it was off to the lake!
Lee headed toward the water for a warm-up swim before the Federal Escape Olympic Tri.
The reddish-brown water color of Five Mile Lake always amazes me. You can barely see 4 feet. When you come up on a swimmer in front of you it is really hard to see them, especially if they are wearing a black wet suit. Imagine seeing a pair of disembodied feet flailing about in front of you: it can be quite disturbing.
As I walked into the swim area I saw what appeared to be something floating just under the surface of the water. It looked like a small, delicate piece of lace. As I touched it it became obvious what I really was: a piece of galvanized steel pole securely anchored in the lake bed. It had been cut off just below the water line. A guy next to me got the attention of the race director and he put a big buoy on top of it. Apparently the King County Parks folks were supposed to remove it before the race but it didn't happen. To give you an idea of the strength of this pole, this is the same kind of steel pole used in chain link fences.
I found a steel pole as I was wading into the water.
The Goal
For this race I set quite a lofty goal for myself: to finish the swim in 45 minutes and the entire race in under 3 hours. It worked out like this:
The swim start was a water start (up to our waists) with 2 waves, self-selected. I opted for the second wave. The swim was 2-laps around Five Mile Lake, which encompassed almost the entire lake.
One of my favorite pictures from the race, courtesy of Boy #1-
Start of the Olympic Distance Race.
About 8 strokes into the swim something was off. "Why are my eyes so wet? Oh, it helps to put down my goggles." Yes, I started off the swim with my goggles UP on my forehead. Oops. Luckily I was in the back of the pack and was able to easily tread water and put them on the right way.
You know it's going to be a rough day when you get leg cramps in the first 200m of a 1500m swim. That was 1/4 of the way into the first lap. I use a freestyle method where you do a minimal flutter-kick to save your legs for the bike/run so getting leg cramps this early in the race was disconcerting.
The leader of the swim was going at a pretty fast pace, especially compared to me. He and several others passed me about 100m before the end of lap #1.
At the end of the first lap (750m) we had to get out of the water, go around a sign, and back in for another lap. At this point the cramps were gone and I was "in the groove."
About 200m into the second lap, the same place I had cramps earlier, I started getting some serious heartburn and nauseousness. I was able to control it but that really slowed me down for a few minutes. A few more people from my wave passed me. At this point I was swimming essentially alone.
In the last 200m I was able to increase my pace significantly but as I exited the water I still felt a bit nauseous with some lingering leg cramps.
My nutrition plan for the bike leg was simple: drink 24oz of Accelerade, my race drink of choice, before the end of the bike. This was easily accomplished throughout the bike leg.
The bike course is 4 laps around a 6-mile loop of rolling hills that go around Five Mile Lake. The rollers are interesting: you climb up one hill (max grade on one hill was 8%, according to my Garmin) and then zip down the other side. I was able to stay in my aero position for most of the bike course.
The first lap was very strong/fast. I even played tag with a couple of people. These opportunities waned as the race went on. Due to my slow swim the 3rd and 4th laps were a bit lonely.
On the 3rd lap I was feeling a little slower and by the 4th lap I felt like I was out of gas. I seriously considered calling it after 3 laps but I sucked it up and finished.
Bike Result: 1:23:15, OA: 68/90, AG: 12/14 (M30-39)
The run course was 2 x 5K loops around the outside of the lake with rolling hills just like the bike course.
As I exited the park I realized I forgot my gels. There went my nutrition plan (what little I had) for the run.
"Run" is such a strong word: what I did was more like a speed-shuffle. This run ended up being one of the hardest things I have ever done in my entire life.
I did a lot of walking in each mile. My typical pace of 9:30 miles was very optimistic and my goal of 9:00 miles was a pipe dream.
At random points throughout the run I had leg cramps, back spasms, stomach cramps, headaches, a stiff neck, nausea, bicep spasms... I was a wreck!
*Who has bicep spasms during a run?*
One my wife's favorite lines from 101 Dalmatians kept going through my head- "And my nose is cold, and my feet are cold, and my tail is cold..." Yeah, I was complaining a lot to myself.
The first (and only) aid station on the run was at mile 1.5. I picked up some electrolytes and a Hammer Gels. Talk about a life saver...
Almost called it again after the first lap of the run. Somehow I kept moving and did the second lap.
I eagerly found the aid station again and gulped down 2 cups of electrolytes and another gel.
I finally was able to raise Boy #1 on the radio with 1/2 mile to go and he was there to get my picture as I finished.
Run Result: 1:11:44, OA: 86/90, AG: 13/14 (M30-39)
Total Time: 3:40:09, OA: 88/90, AG: 14/14 (M30-39)
Post Race
I am not sure I have EVER been this tired after a race. I was absolutely wiped out. My post-race recovery involved a lot of sitting while we waited for the the kids tri to start. I wasn't that sore so much as physically and mentally drained.
Lessons learned:
Yet another Rerun: TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN. I need to pick up my training to 4-5x per week for at least 1 hour at a shot. I am well below that right now.
Warm up swim was very beneficial but remember to put on your goggles at the start.
Speaking of goggles, wear the non-tinted goggles next time.
T1 continues to be too slow. Longest time suckers: putting on bike jersey and bike shoes/socks. Might be able to shorten it by buying a tri suit or shirt and finally using those tri shoes I have in the garage.
Need to find a pair of shoes I can run in without socks.
Kids Triathlon
Earlier this year I made a deal with Boy #1: if he did a race with a real swim (i.e. in deep water) i would help him train for a real triathlon next year such as the Issaquah Sprint Triathlon. That would be a big step up to 400m from the splash-n-dash type races he has been doing. His first one was around 70m in Ocean Shores 2 weeks before but this one was supposed to be 100m.
The kids swim turned out to be more like 75m but only half of it was in deep water. So what did Boy #1 do? He waded out until the water was up to him shoulders and then swam the rest of the way and then did the opposite on the way back.
The rest of this is easy for him: a 1 bike and 1/4 mile run, which he did without really breaking a sweat.
The Run
The post-race food was his absolute favorite...
Recovery
With a low heart rate and very slow times my muscles really didn't put in the workout I anticipated. Without the workout muscle recovery was very fast: I never really developed muscle soreness. The real problem was the mental and physical fatigue which lasted throughout the day on Saturday. I even went to bed early.
The day after the race was a Sunday. I was so wiped out that day that i almost didn't go to church. With the extreme fatigue and moderate nausea I'm not sure I got much out of church at all.
Now here's the weird part: by Monday morning I was fine but my wife had similar symptoms.
My family doctor said that my difficulties were probably a food-borne bacteria but we were unable to pin-point something that would have been eaten only by me and the wife but not the kids.
What's next?
This race made me seriously reconsider my plans for the rest of the season. My only other race this year is a biggie: the Grand Columbian half-iron distance tri. Will I be ready? Not a chance. I need a good 3 months of solid training with 12-15 hours per week in order to be ready for such a distance. i think I can be ready for another Olympic distance event but that would also require me to step up my training a bit. I'll post again in a couple of weeks with my decision.
My goal was to do 4 races this year but finding a way to fit in that many races into a 3-month timeframe was looking to be nearly impossible.
Then one day my sister-in-law calls up to talk about their planned trip from the Mid-West out to see us in Washington. In going down the list of things to do in our area (which in and of itself turned into a fun brainstorming activity for my boys) her teenage son Sam asked if it were possible to do a triathlon with me during their visit. I was intrigued and went to searching and found the Ocean Shores Tri & Foot Fest which fit neatly into their planned visit.
My nephew Sam (my wife's, actually...) is a tall, slender, natural born athlete, as opposed to me, a tall, not-so-slender, works-really-hard--just-to-finish athlete. I knew right away he would take this sport just like he has just about every other sport he has tried out.
So we did some email-based planning, borrowed a bike from a friend of mine (THANKS Lauren!), and packed up the family for a trip to the beach.
For those of you that have never been to the Washington coast it isn't typically "shorts and sandals" weather. Indeed the most common apparel worn at the beach in Washington is long pants and a parka. Perhaps even a rain slicker but don't bother with an umbrella because the wind will destroy it in a matter of minutes.
...but do bring your kites!
Pre-race
There would be 3 of us racing, Sam, myself, and my oldest son (Boy #1).
We arrived at Ocean Shores the night before and immediately drove to the park to check out the race venue. As expected the park was a very small park at the north end of a inland lake (i.e. we wouldn't be swimming in the ocean or Gray's Harbor). The water temperature was cool but tolerable (low 60's?). With nothing really set up for the race we spent some time on the playground and watched a few people doing practice swims in the lake.
After playing on the local state beach we checked into our hotel and picked up some dinner from Alec's By the Sea, a fabulous little seafood joint not a mile from our hotel. It was at this point that I realized we had almost missed packet pick-up! So off we went to pick up our race packets.
The Goal
This race as a slightly longer swim than my previous sprints (800m as opposed to 400m) so this race would be a bit different. My training this year has not been what I had hoped: consistency remains my biggest weakness. With this in mind I set a somewhat conservative goal for this race-
The morning of the race Sam and I set out early from the hotel on our bikes and rode the short distance to the race venue (about 1.5 miles). We arrived with plenty of time to setup our transition areas and get ready for the race but just as we were about to go "review the course maps one more time" the first wave for the sprint tri went off. Whoops, time to race!
Sam's transition area for the Ocean Shores Sprint Tri.
The Swim
Sam and I were fortunate that there was a second wave. }B^)
We waded out into the water and got set for the start. We didn't have to wait very long. When they sounded the starting horn I turned to Sam and said, "Good luck!" It turns out that I didn't see him again until after I finished.
The water was colder than I expected. When we arrived at the park the air temp was pretty warm and I almost didn't wear wet suit. Boy, was I glad that I did. After a few minutes I was into my swim rhythm and off to the races! As I did so, I passed a few people, a rare occurrence!
Here's something else you don't see during a triathlon: a woman doing the back stroke. Not just for a few yard but the ENTIRE race. With the sky completely cloudy/overcast there were no overhead methods for sighting. Every few minutes she would turn her head sideways to sight off the shoreline of the narrow lake. In the last 50m she turned over and did the crawl stroke. How do I know all this? Because she paced me almost the entire race.
I came out of the water feeling really strong with only a little dizziness.
T1 was uneventful and relatively easy. I looked around but there was no Sam. He was long gone. I told him not to wait for me in T1. Good thing too, because he would have been waiting around for 8+ minutes.
This was the FLATTEST bike/run course EVER, as evident by the GPS elevation profile-
Total elevation gain: fifty (50) feet. That's not an exaggeration or estimation, that is what my GPS recorded. The only "hills," if you can call them that, were a couple of little bridges over the canals. Once I found the right gear I didn't shift for the first half of the race.
Course difficulties for me started around mile 1 where I almost missed a turn. The sign was on the inside of the turn and I missed it completely. If the woman just in front of me had not turned I would have taken a bit of a detour. I passed her shortly thereafter and kept up enough of a pace to pass a lot of other riders along the way.
The ride was nice but very disoriented with no real landmarks to key off. The weather was overcast, so there no sun or clouds overhead. Even the shore was not visible so I really had no idea where I was on the peninsula.
As I headed south and then west there was a slight headwind which shifted to a tailwind on the way back. This helped me keep the last 5 miles right around 20 MPH (3 minute miles).
As the course entered a new-looking subdivision I was a sign announcing "100' to turnaround" with a guy who said something to me that I couldn't hear. A little further was another sign,"50' to turnaround," and then nothing. With no other riders in front of me as far as I could see I had a decision to make. Where was the turn around? Do I turn around now or ride to the next turn and hope for another sign? There was no turn around sign, no chalk-paint in the middle of the road, no sign marking the exact turnaround point. I decided to turn around about 100 yards past the 50' sign.
I looked for Sam during the entire bike ride, expected to see him as he came back on the out-and-back course, but I never did. Perhaps he was fast enough that I missed him along the way? He did beat me by quite a bit on the swim.
Total distance advertised as 12.4 miles, GPS clocked 12.92.
Felt great coming off the bike and my speed/splits combined with HR show it: negative splits in the last five miles and a downward trending HR through the entire ride.
As I entered T2 I immediately looked for Sam's bike but it wasn't in his spot. I guess I didn't miss him on the bike. i changed my shoes and went out on the run.
I felt strong as I left T2 but the run was not easy (running is never easy for me) but it was obvious that I was doing well.
And the stats hold up that assumption: I negative split each mile. I even passed several people on the run, something I rarely do.
The run turn around was WELL marked with a volunteer right there. Why wasn't the bike course similarly marked/manned?
I came back to the finish feeling great! I tried something new this year and purchased a "finish line video" from the race organizers. Was it worth $10? I guess so, since my family missed seeing me at the finish line by only a few seconds. }B^)
My Total Time: 1:40:45, OA: 41/93, AG: 11/12 (30-39)
Finish line!
Post Race
After crossing the finish line I immediately went to the transition area to look for Sam: still no bike. that meant he was still somewhere out on the bike course? I grabbed some food and waited. After about 15 minutes he finally came into T2, big smile and all-
Sam finally arrives in T2 after a LONG bike ride.
It turns out that Sam and 4 others missed the bike turnaround completely and went all the way to the well-marked Olympic Distance turn around point, doubling their bike distance unnecessarily. Whoops. That took Sam out of the running for his AG podium. He would have no doubt picked up at least a 3rd place spot, perhaps even 2nd.
He went out on the run in high spirits and came back barely breathing hard (at least by my standards; I'm usually gasping for breath at the finish line).
Sam getting de-chipped at the finish area.
Sam's Bike Result: 1:34:43, OA: 90/93, AG: 4/4 (<18)
Sam's T2 Result: 2:12, OA: 79/93, AG: 4/4 (<18)
Sam's Run Result: 26:33, OA: 25/93, AG: 3/4 (<18)
Sam's Total Time: 2:21:35, OA: 81/93, AG: 4/4 (<18)
Lessons learned:
Rerun: TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN. At least in a more consistent manner. Will I ever learn?
No warm-up swim, should have arrived earlier to allow for this. I avoided a disaster by wearing my wet suit.
Arrive earlier to allow for a course review. May have helped Sam avoid his bike mess.
T1 continues to be too slow.
Kids Triathlon
Boy #1 decided to try the Kids Tri but this one was not your average splash-and-dash: the swim was at least 50 yards through deep water.
Boy #1 listening to the pre-race instructions and getting set to get wet.
As they got into the water for the start it was obvious that the kids didn't like the cold water. Boy #1 kept saying "It's cold!" but eventually he started swimming.
The kids were supposed to swim across the channel, tough the kayak, and return to shore. More than half the kids turned back at some point without touching the kayak. Boy #1 was slow but he eventually made it, swimming on his back for part of it.
He eventually got a pretty good stroke going and made it back to shore.
According to Boy #1 the bike and run courses were "quite short and easy." He finished strong and in good spirits.
Me, Boy #1, and Sam after our races.
Interesting things seen at Ocean Shores
I have never seen an Ellipticycle until this race (ElliptiGo?). Apparently the race officials let him ride it.
The best place to buy touristy type stuff: SHARKY'S!
Recovery
There's nothing better for race recovery than sitting in a car for several hours. *cough* *cough*
We stopped off overnight in Tacoma to visit the Grandparents and took a nice trip around the Chambers Bay Golf Course. The ride up the hills really helped burn off the lactic acid and kept me from getting overly sore.
Overall recovery was quick and easy due to the relatively easy nature of this race: it was fast and flat which means I could have pushed harder. If I do a race like this again I'll know that I can push harder than I do on other courses.
What's next?
For me: The Federal Escape Olympic is coming up in 2 weeks followed by the Grand Columbian Half-Iron Tri in mid-September.
For Boy #1: He wants to do yet another kids tri at the Federal Escape. This will help judge if he is ready to start training for a real race next year.
For Sam: Not sure yet. I asked him to write up a race report and I'll post it when I can. I think he did exceptionally well and would excel at other races in his home state of Minnesota.
The Issaquah Triathlon remains one of my favorite races and, no, it's not because it was my first (which it was). It gives me a great barometer of my training during the off-season (or lack thereof) and is a very well run and fun race. It's even more fun when the water is warm but that hasn't happened in years.
Beginning with the 2009 race my oldest son (i.e. Boy #1) decided to do the kids triathlon. He did it again in 2010 but we both had to miss the race last year due to family scheduling conflicts. This year we were both "all-in" as it were, not missing it for anything!
Packet pickup was at a hotel virtually across the street from the race venue, Lake Sammamish State Park. When we arrived, all 3 boys in tow, Boy #3 informed me that he wanted to race. I said, "That's nice. Let's talk about it later," as I grabbed my packet and got my race number. At every step along the way Boy #3 reminded me again that he wanted to race. As I finished getting my number marked on my leg/arm he once again asked me if he could get a number. Did I mentioned he was excited about this race? We had a little talk about trying hard things and doing our best and he was very excited. As I filled out the form he kept asking me to hurry up, thinking they might run out of shirts or something. In the end he got his race packet, race number markings, and exited with a HUGE grin on his face.
Boy #3 at packet pickup, getting his first tri number!
Pre-race
The night before the race I was surprisingly calm and slept very well even though my wife was quite sick and unable to do much of anything that weekend. Once again Grandma and Grandpa came to the rescue to transport the boys to the kids Tri so they didn't have to sit unsupervised in the park while I did my race. That would not have ended well.
At the start I found someone else with the Super Grover jersey! The woman on my transition rack said she found it several years ago on eBay and had to have it. I agree, that is one of my favorite jerseys and I wear it to all my races, even though it is a pain to put on in T1.
The Goal
On every race I set a goal time and this one was no different. Several years ago I set a lofty goal to finish this race in under 75 minutes and for some reason I thought this was doable this time around.
For the two weeks leading up to the race Boy #1 was kind enough to give me daily updates on the water temperature at Lake Sammamish, even though I knew it was going to suck.
Water temp on race morning: 62F, 6 degrees warmer than the 2010 race but still quite cold. A quick warm-up swim before the race really helped to acclimate my body to the shockingly cold water. I can't imagine having to start without a warmup.
After the obligatory "mandatory race meeting" I only had to wait for about 15 minutes for my wave to be called. At around 7:15 am they called us into the starting pen but there were too many of us and they split us into 2 packs. I was 2 people short of being in the back of pack #1, where I wanted to be, so there I was standing at the FRONT of the second group. My traditional strategy of "wait for everyone else to go first" kind of went out the window. I'm not exactly sure why but as the horn sounded I positioned myself in the middle of the pack where I stayed for the entire swim. A group of 5 of us stayed together until the last 50m where they pulled away from me. The water temp didn't affect me as bad as I thought it would. What did throw me off was the sand bar near the end. Here I was in deep water swimming away when all of a sudden, in one of my arm down strokes, I come up with a handful of sand. I pushed away from it and was able to swim to the finish. In the end I was able to stay in my crawl stroke for nearly the entire race except for a short time after the second buoy where I did the breaststroke for a few yards to catch my breath.
Did I mentioned the sharp rocks? The swim this year, as well as last year, were at the smaller beach on the south end of the lake. Despite having a sandy beach the lake bottom is strewn about with very sharp little rocks that REALLY HURT. This slowed me down considerably coming out of the water.
I am glad I hit my "lap" button on my Garmin as I exited the water because I was curious just how long it was from the swim back to transition. Wow. A quarter mile from the lake shore to the exit to T1? They recorded the time as you entered transition so my swim time includes a that 1/4 mile jog, which added about 90 seconds to my swim time. I need to find a quicker way to complete T1. I should have been in and out in under 2 minutes, not 4:25.
As I began the ride, after blowing my swim time by almost 4 minutes, it was obvious that I was not going to make my bike goal: I was tired, my legs already hurt, and my attitude was somewhere around "meh?". Overall the ride went well and with little to no issues. After the first decent down the small hill on East Lake Sammamish Parkway my attitude improved dramatically. There is no substitute for a long, sustained push over 30 MPH (max speed of 38.6 MPH). I hit the turn around, climbed the hill again, and did the same push on the other side. As I looked at my watch it was obvious that I wouldn't hit my 40 minute goal but maybe I could do 45? Nope, not this time. By the time I got into T2 it was obvious my legs were cooked. Hey, at least I beat 50 minutes!
One missing thing: there is usually someone who plays leap-frog with my after we settle into the bike. Not this time. I passed a couple of people but it was amazing how many VERY fast riders passed me.
Bike Result: 49:48, OA: 356/527, AG: 47/61 (35-39)
...and then the pain set in. Not cramps, per se, just pretty intense muscle soreness. I didn't push it that hard on the bike, did I? Apparently I did and I had to walk several times just to maintain forward momentum. By the time I hit the finish line I was DONE. Boy, was I done.
Sprint factor: Was I able to sprint at the end? Not a chance, even though my watch recorded me on a 7:29 pace for the last 20 seconds of the race.
Total time: 1:40:32, OA: 428/527, AG: 53/61 (35-39)
Post Race
This race illustrated very well my lack of consistent off-season training. I did a lot of rides and runs, just not strung together into a pattern that would lead to increased fitness or at the intensity I wanted/needed. In the end I can't ask for much more: I finished without incident, and overall I'm happy that my finish time represents the effort I did (or didn't) put into training. Now it does concern me that a little over 3 months away I want to be finishing my first half-iron distance tri, which will require extensive training in July and August, typically my worst months for training.
Lessons learned:
TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN. At least in a more consistent manner. Will I ever learn?
A warm-up swim DOES help! Boy, am I glad I did!
Need to improve T1 time considerably.
Kids Triathlon
My kids arrived just as I was walking over to the transition area after my race. We had to hustle to get them to their race on time, which means I had to skip the brauts for now. We did make it, thanks to the help of the Grandparents!
Getting ready for the start of the kids tri
See how excited they are? Really, they are excited about the race, just not too thrilled about the cold water temps and sharp rocks. Oh, and that the rain was really starting to come down.
Boy #1 said he was going to try to swim the short little course but in the end he waded through it.
Boy #1 coming out of the water after his "swim".
By the time he got to T1 the rain was POURING. I helped him clean off his feet and put his shoes on and he was off.
It was at this point that I heard the crying. Boy #3 was having a terrible race. He went to run into the water and the rocks stopped him cold. He came out of the water very upset and didn't know what to do next. A very kind woman helped him along the shore to the transition area where I found him. I consoled him, helped him dry off, put his coat on him to help warm back up, and he actually continued on the bike, albeit in a bad mood.
Boy #3 recovering in T1 in the pouring rain.
As Boy #3 left on the bike, Boy #1 was coming in, like a rocket. He quickly ditched his bike, helmet, and gloves, and off he went on the run. We was so fast that he beat Grandma and Grandpa to the finish line so we don't actually have a picture of him finishing. He clearly needs to step up to the next level in triathlons after proving that the kids tri was not a challenge to him at all.
Boy #3 eventually made his way around the bike course and was still pretty upset when he came back into transition.
I decided that Boy #3 needed my help on the run so I ran along with him. He calmed down and was able to do pretty well all the way to the finish line. By the time he finished he was actually somewhat happy.
Boy #3 finishing his first kids tri!
To improve attitudes we made sure that both boys found the chocolate milk and bratwurst in the finish line food. By the time we left happy attitudes did in fact abound.
Post race food! Enjoying some bratwursts after the Issaquah Triathlon.
Recovery
My recovery over the next few days started out pretty good but had a weird side effect: my neck was incredibly sore for the next 3 weeks. So much so that I had to make 2 trips to the Chiropractor and apply ice and stretch every night for a month.
What's next?
For me: I need to seriously step up my training, particularly running and swimming, if I want to do the Federal Escape Olympic in late July and the Grand Columbian half-iron in September.
For Boy #1: There are 2 more opportunities this summer for him to actually swimthe swim leg of the kids tri. The Federal Escape has a longer tri for older kids which includes a 100m swim. I told him that if he completes this race I will help him train to compete in the FULL sprint triathlon next year at the Issaquah Tri. I will even race with him, sacrificing my race time to stay with him to make sure he finishes. At this point he is not quite sure this is what he wants but time will tell. He is making great strides in his swimming lessons so we have high hopes.
For Boy #3: He is also taking swim lessons and wants to do the kids tri again next year. This time with water shoes.
If you live in the Seattle area and ride a bike you've probably heard of STP. If you haven't heard about it you have no doubt seen people riding around with an STP Jersey. For 2012 they look something like this...
Some quick facts about the ride, straight from the Cascade website:
Total distance (miles) 202.25
Elevation gain (feet) 4,828
Maximum altitude (feet) 463
Start: University of Washington in Seattle, Washington
Midpoint: Centralia, Washington (Overnight camp location for 2-day riders)
Finish: Holladay Park in Portland, Oregon
Ride options: 1 day (double-century) or 2 days (back-to-back century rides)
Course type: one-way (as opposed to out-and-back or loop courses)
Since registration begins in February (January for Cascade members, which includes me) it is about this time of year that the questions start...
"Oh, you ride a bicycle? Have you ever done STP?"
"I want to ride STP this year. What bike should I buy?"
"I signed up for STP, do you think I can use my _________ bike on that ride?" (fill in the blank with TT, steel, recumbent, trike, mountain, you name it)
...and the questions don't stop after the ride, they keep coming.
Every year it sells out (at 95% capacity as of the time of this writing according to the Cascade website) with a capacity of 10,000 riders. If each rider was given a 10 second start before the next rider it would take them nearly 28 hours to get everyone on the road. If every rider was evenly spaced every 10 feet they would stretch out 19 miles (from UW to the 405 overpass in Renton).
This ride is famous for being one of the longest running, best supported, and best attended rides in all of the U.S. with people coming from all over the world. It is also infamous for HUGE pace lines, large groups of riders of varying abilities, and mile-after-mile of narrow rural roads through some of the least scenic areas of a very beautiful state.
So, let me get this straight...
A 10,000 person cattle-drive down a non-scenic 200+ mile route?
WHERE DO I SIGN UP????
Cycle Oregon 2009. Cruising down highway 96 along the Klamath River on my way to Happy Camp, CA, in the gorgeous state of Jefferson.I appreciate the draw of a popular group ride that is well supported (which this one reportedly is). I have done numerous group rides including Bike MS, the Flying Wheels Century, Cycle Oregon, and Tour de Blast. I have nothing against big group rides but there comes a point where they are just too big. As a comparison Cascade also sponsors RSVP or "Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party", a ride of similar distance but greater elevation gain, which has a MUCH better scenic factor and far fewer people (1400 split between 2 groups).
I would much rather ride RSVP than STP, plain and simple.
I will never do STP no matter how many people ask me if I have ever done it. I would rather ride from Seattle to Portland on I-5 in front of a sleep-deprived trucker while being forced to listen to the Bee Gees greatest hits album.
I’m sure I could exploit this further for comedic purposes but I have better things to do with my time.
Like dream about the Cycle Oregon ride I might not go on…
When I finish a ride I want to be able to say, "That was an amazing ride, can we do it again tomorrow?" The last thing I want to say is, "Wow, what a nightmare. I'm never doing this ride again." I ride for the pure enjoyment of riding, for the views, and for the opportunities to see new countryside. Doing it on a bicycle provides a connection to the road and the earth that you simply can't get with a car.
When was the last time you finished an all-day drive somewhere and said, "That was an amazing drive, can we do it again tomorrow?"
Last month I had the opportunity to practice what I call "an exercise in lateral stabilization." In other words I got to go jogging in the snow! We typically get 1 or 2 snow events every year.
Side bar: Come on, you Northwest folks! Quit calling it "inclement"! It isn't inclement if it happens every year, which it almost always does! Every 10 years or so we get an El Niño year where it doesn't snow (2004?) but this was certainly not that kind of year. Now back to the show...
The snow scenes are really beautiful and tranquil-
View of the marsh south of Allen Lake in Sammamish, WA.I have a few favorite routes for jogging that I use for training. They are all out-and-back routes with moderate hills, except for my "hill climb" route which has a pretty major climb in it. I like the out-and-back routes because I can make them as long or short as I want to tailor to my specific time needs in my training schedule. This particular route has a couple of short climbs that approach 6% but never more than about a 1/4 mile.
The sidewalks and trails were only covered by about 2" of snow and slush which was melting a bit. That made it relatively easy to traverse. I was actually going faster than my training buddy: my 10-year-old son. He decided to accompany me on his mountain bike. The snow and slush made for slow going for him. On the up-hill sections he decided to walk up rather than attemp to stand up on his pedals.
The snow covered sidewalk along 244th Ave. NE in Sammamish just west of Allen Lake.The lateral stabalization came from making sure that my feet were not coming out from under me as I jogged along. Each step would slide just a little bit before settling in, allowing me to push off. The entire course was like this with only a few breaks. Even the pipeline trail was a mess.
The pipeline trail covered in snow in Sammamish, WA.In the end the snow significantly reduced my pace. My average time per mile is usually in the 8:30-9:45 range but in this case it was well above 11:00.
Split
Time
Miles
Minutes per Mile
Summary
39:34.8
3.46
11:27
1
11:15.2
1.00
11:15
2
11:19.0
1.00
11:19
3
11:52.4
1.00
11:52
4
5:08.2
0.46
11:11
Just this past week I was reading one of my favorite Tri blogs, Ray over at DC Rainmaker. He wrote up a great article about jogging in the snow/ice because the "other Washington" gets a lot more snow than we do and it sticks around a lot longer. This one little tidbit would have saved me a lot of slipping, sliding, and near agony...
"For icy conditions, I use Yaktrax. They cost about $20-$35 (for running ‘Pro’ model), and completely and totally rock. And while they work well in snow, they don’t quite work as well in deeper snow. Meaning that while it doesn’t hurt to have them on, I actually don’t find them necessary since fluffy snow has pretty good traction. Their forte is really icy conditions that you can’t get a good grip on. I’ve run countless runs on otherwise nasty icy roads with them and wouldn’t trade them for anything."
Well, you live you learn. Maybe I'll buy a set to use next year.
You may have wondered what I have been doing over the last month? I know I have!
Well, it all started with a snow storm...
Our house after the big dump, just before we got out the snow shovels. That's about 9" of snow in the grass.When it was all said and done we ended up with about 10" of snow, a little more than average. That was followed-up by an ice storm. The one-two punch of snow and ice literally shut down the area for a week starting on January 16th. Luckily our power outage only lasted for a single day but the end result was that my kids didn't go to school for a week.
I took some time and started writing up my ride reports from Cycle Oregon 2011. Eventually I'll add reports from Cycle Oregon 2009 when I have the time.
In the mean time Cycle Oregon announced their route for 2012: Bly, Silver Lake, Ft. Klamath, Crater Lake, Prospect, Ashland, Mt. Ashland, and back to Bly.
Cycle Oregon 2012 RouteThe route covers nearly 500 miles and 40,000 feet of climbing. They did indeed climb add the highest paved road in Oregon (Crater Lake) but they also added the second highest paved road, the Mt. Ashland Ski area access road. So on the 5th day of the ride they essentially do the Mt. Ashland Hill Climb.
I expected the route to sell out quickly but many people were not prepared for it to sell out in *gasp* 40 minutes! I predicted 20 hours but that wasn't even close. My plan from the beginning was to wait for the sellout and be the first to sign up for the wait list. This gives me more time to butter-up the wife and convince her that I need to go. If that doesn't work I have other plans.
So I have some work to do to prepare for whatever this summer ends up being. More to come...
Pro Club Lap PoolTonight I did a quick 30-minute set at the lap pool at the Pro Sports Club in Bellevue, WA, not far from where I work. As I was exiting the pool I heard...
Random guy at the pool: "Dude! You swim fast!"
I did the proverbial look-over-both-shoulders before responding...
Me: "You think I'm fast?"
I have been accused of many things in my life, being fast in the pool is not one of them. I was sharing a lane with this random guy, a lane that was clearly marked "Slow," as opposed to the "Medium" and "Fast" lanes (should be self explanatory).
Random guy: "Yeah, man. You are a lot faster than most folks I see here at the pool."
At this point I'm thinking I'm dealing with one of the many "Resolution Athletes" that turn up at the Club between Jan 1st and Feb 20th every year. This guy has on a speedo, nice goggles, and a blue swim cap (most R.A. N00bs don't bother with swim caps).
Me: "Really? How long have you been coming here?"
RG: "About 15 years. I swim about 3 times a month, that's probably why you haven't seen me. I don't remember seeing you here before."
OK, at this point I am completely flummoxed. This guy claims to be a regular at the pool, doesn't recognize me, and he thinks I'm fast. This does not compute. The fastest folks in the pool can double my speed. What is he smoking?
Me: "A friend of mine said my swim pace resembles a freight barge. I'm just trying to get from one end of the pool to the other."
RG: "Well, you kept catching up to me."
Which was true, he wasn't going very fast. This is where I decide to pump up his ego by inflating my actual performance.
Me: "Yes, but I was doing speed intervals."
This, of course, was a total lie. It was my first time in the pool since last October and I was by no means performing well.
Me: "The times that I caught you I was doing my fast laps. Don't worry, each time I caught up I needed the break."
That part was not a lie. Each time I caught up to him I welcomed the chance to take it slow in his wake.
RG: "Keep it up man! You'll be winning the masters races in no time! You'll certainly beat me! I never win those @#$! things."
At this point he took off on another lap and I called it a night and went home.
Fast, indeed! Maybe I'll break 8 minutes in my 400m Sprint races this June!
FYI- I did about 800m tonight: 100m warm up, 400m with swim paddles and a leg float (stroke workout), and 300m continuous crawl-stroke. Not a long workout, but not bad for my first swim in several months.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 9:53PM 
2012 Year in Review
And you thought 2011 was bad? Straight to the stats...
Biking info (2011 results in parenthesis to compare)
Number of rides: 74 (down from 125)
Miles biked: 734.32 (down from 1690.30)
Elevation gained: 45,902' (down from 108,485')
Total Saddle Time: 57:54:19 (hh:mm:ss) (down from 138:08:35)
Run info
Number of runs: 17 (down from 24)
Miles: 58.34 (down from 91.91)
Elevation gained: 3,574 (down from 8,274')
Total Run Time: 10:11:19 (hh:mm:ss) (down from 17:31:48)
Starting weight: 288.4
Ending weight: 299.6 (net change: +11.2 pounds)
Races/Events finished:
Issaquah Triathlon (Sprint)
Ocean Shores Sprint Triathlon (Sprint)
Federal Escape Triathlon (Olympic)
Overview: (see the race reports for details)
My own advice to myself from last year still rings true: "Be a man! Take some Pepto Bismol and ________!" (Fill in the blank with every event I missed last year)
Wow broken record time? Another quote from last year: "No more excuses. This year was lame. Next year will be better." I say that every year. How will this year be different, considering I am already way behind last year, which I said was a bad year?
Last year started out strong but ended poorly. My poor performance in the Federal Escape Olympic forced me to rethink everything. I spent most of August with family trips and other non-training activities to regroup. Then in early September I had a minor setback: I broke my toe just before going on a long ride into Seattle (more to come on that later). Breaking my toe (only a minor break) was just the wind up. When the pitch was actually delivered I struck out big time. That strike out was our back-to-school schedule, which I am still trying to figure out.
In the last 3 months of 2012 I rode my bike a grand total of 10 times. No so impressive when you consider that in the same period in 2011 I did 33 and in 2010 I did 25.
This year I'm starting out slow and just now beginning to see how to coordinate my ride/training schedule with all the personal appointments (i.e. pickups/drop-offs for the kids' classes, swim, sports, etc). The next few months will really tell the tail. It really scares me that I am less than 90 days from the Issaquah Tri (my traditional first race of the year) and my training is horrible.
But I have an ace up my sleeve...
So what happened to the Grand Columbian? I decided top drop this race in July after the Federal Escape and good thing I did! The broken toe incident (ride report coming later) happened less than a week from when I would have been racing in my first half-iron distance race.
Did I do Cycle Oregon 2012? Short version: no, I didn't get off the wait list. My strategy of waiting until it sold out backfired. I was so far down the wait list that there was no chance of getting into the real ride. Too bad, since 2013 appears to be not nearly as exciting (i.e. I most likely will not do it).
Lessons learned:
Rubber side down...