I finally made it to my A race. My wife and I had gone to Hamilton, IN on Friday night to stay at her parents’ lake house since it was her dad’s birthday along with cutting our Saturday driving time down a couple hours. Saturday morning, I woke up and got a short ~2 mile run in at an easy pace to stretch my legs out. I was at my desk all day Friday, then in the car for 3+ hrs, so I wanted to do something active before getting into the car again Saturday to drive the rest of the way. The run was easy, but I could tell my energy levels were high, a good sign.
My family had planned to meet at the Hilton (host hotel) at around 2-3 to check in and go to packet pick-up. Amazingly, with 3 cars coming from different places, (us from Northeast Indiana, parents from Louisville, and sister from St. Louis) we all managed to arrive within 15 minutes at the hotel lobby. The place was a zoo, with hundreds of bikes littering the lobby and people with body markings coming and going. We managed to get checked in and into 1 (of our 2) rooms within an hour. Packet pickup, body marking, expo were all pretty straightforward. We then walked down to the swim start, which was about .5 mile from the hotel, and along the route to the exit, and then to find transition. Transition was much farther from the hotel than the race site had made it sound. After recon we all had dinner and prepared our gear for the next morning. I was ready for bed by 9:30, but wasn’t tired, so watched the Olympics until 11:00.
Sunday morning, woke up at 4:10, got my water/Infinit bottles ready. Dad, sister, and sister’s friend (participants) all met at my room (aka the bike storage room) to pick up the bikes and head down to setup transition. We had found our wave numbers and start times the day before and knew we’d have time to return to the hotel before race, so we weren’t dressed yet, and left our swim gear along with our support crew (my wife and mom) so they could get a little extra sleep. The transition area was super-busy, and we all split up to setup our areas. It only took me 10 minutes or so to set up, but then I ran through my transitions in my head to make sure I had everything about 5 times. I’m real paranoid about that.
Got back to the room about 6AM, my sister’s friend was the first to start at 7:53, so we had some time. I had breakfast consisting of a banana, a protein bar, and lots of water (I usually can’t eat much prior to start). By 7, we were heading out of the hotel to the swim start. I had never been to a race of nearly this size, so it was pretty impressive seeing all the triathletes as well as spectators lined along the harbor. I had a gel at around 7:40ish. My sister’s friend got in the start corral for her wave at around 7:40, she started at 7:53. My sister went off at 8:01, and I was 1 wave behind at 8:05. Unfortunately, my dad didn’t take off for another hour, so he had time to wait for it to get warmer and windier.
The swim: I am not the most confident OW swimmer in the world, but this swim didn’t bother me. You swim parallel to the shore of the harbor only about 20 feet from the wall at the farthest and you can see the bottom for most of the swim. The start was kind of a train-wreck as we were in a pretty narrow “lane” with people everywhere. I did my best to get in a groove, but could only go a few strokes at a time for the first 150m or so without running into multiple people. At 300m or so you hit the turnaround and head back. We had spread some by then, so I got moving better. Then after you pass the start area again, the lane is opened up (not divided) so there is all of a sudden twice as much space to work with. This was easily the best OWS I’ve ever completed. Since I breathe to both sides, I was able to keep an eye on the wall where the spectators were. This allowed me to: 1)Distract myself by watching them and looking for family, and 2) Spot off the wall to stay in a straight line so I didn’t have to pull up so often to see where I was. I got out of the swim and didn’t see the clock, but could tell that since I was with the back of the wave in front of me it must have been pretty good for a not very strong swimmer like myself.
Time: 30:53…Raceplan (from early June) goal time: 32minutes (-1:07)
The run to T1 didn’t seem as long as it looked Saturday when we walked it. Considering how big the transition area was and the fact that my setup was right next to the swim in corner (I had to run my bike all the way across the area), I had a pretty solid T1.
Time: 2:53…Raceplan goal time: 3minutes (-:07, -1:14 total)
The bike: I took off northbound on Lake Shore Drive for the bike leg. I assumed it was going to be in terrible shape considering the talk overheard at the expo and warnings the morning of. It was actually worse than what I was expecting, potholes everywhere and random patches and bumps all over the place. This didn’t bother me as much as the fact that very few of these hazards were marked with spray-paint, and the ones that were probably didn’t need to be. I wanted to try and average around 22mph for the ride, and was spinning along with a slight burn in my legs trying to get my fluids and was only about 15 minutes into the ride, but had only been riding around 19mph. I could tell I was going into the wind, but couldn’t tell how strong it was or how much effect it was having. I just decided to race it by feel instead of speed and hope for the best. Every 5 minutes I would drink, alternating b/w water and Infinit (custom 255 calorie mix). I was consistently passing people, so assumed it wasn’t just me struggling to hold speed. At the turnaround, I got the wind at my back and realized the difference. I cruised back to the 2nd loop turnaround averaging around 24.5-25mph for that leg. On the 2nd loop, the headwind seemed worse, so I just kept my thoughts positive and focused on how nice it would be after the turn. I pushed pretty hard northbound to try and keep my avg speed in the 21s (where it was when I turned). Finally on the home stretch, I geared down and spun, knowing the wind would give me the speed I needed. I focused on getting fluids and staying relaxed for the run as the wind pushed me steadily along at around 24mph.
Time: 1:07:41 (21.9mph counting mounting/dismounting etc…my CPU had me at 22.6mph)…Raceplan goal: 1:08:00 (-:19, -1:33 total)
The run to T2 was awkward as I was trying to adjust my legs to being on the ground again while running downhill across the transition in my bike shoes. I made it w/o mishap, but took longer here than I’d hoped. I switched shoes, got my # belt and hat, and was off.
Time: 2:37…Raceplan goal: 2minutes (+:37, -:56 total)
Run: The run was flat and I took off feeling pretty good, but I was wary since I knew we’d be heading south for the first half or so of the run. This meant the final 2+ miles would be into the headwind once the pain had really start to set in. I went along, carrying my 2 fuel belt bottles in my hand (1 water, 1 Infinit) so I was able to gain time by not having to stop at the aid stations, at least for the first 4 miles. I got some light spasms in my quads early in the run, but just drank more fluids tried to increase my leg motion to work them out a little. I moved steadily along until the turnaround, where the headwind hit me like a punch to the face. From there I just ducked my head and shortened my stride to keep progressing along steadily. My pace slowed noticeably around the 5 mile mark and I was just trying to think “Just 10 more minutes.” I hit the 6 mile mark and was still running, so knew I’d make it. I picked up the pace a little, but didn’t have anything left for a finishing kick. Two guys sprinted past me in the final straight, but I could see the big clock and knew I’d reached my goal so I just coasted in smiling and weakly raised my arms as they announced my name at the finish.
Time: 45:43 (7:22/mile)…Raceplan goal: 45minutes (+:43, -:13 total)
Overall time: 2:29:47 (4 of 49 clydesdale 200-224, 284 of 4089 overall)
I got water and went around to the sidelines to do some spectating. My sister’s friend was already finished (in around 2:23) and was there as well. My sister came across about 25 minutes later in 2:59:04, breaking through the 3 hour wall in her 5th international distance race. Her previous 2 attempts, both this year were completed in 3:00:xx, so that made breaking the mark even more rewarding. My dad came across nearly an hour later at 3:06:00. He wasn’t sure at the time, but later we found out it was a 6+ minute PR for him as well. So, overall it was a great racing weekend for all of us.
In general, I was glad to have participated in this event, since it is the largest triathlon in the world (as far as I know). That being said, I would not want to do this race again. It’s just too large scale and somewhat chaotic. Along with that, it isn’t good for family and friends that came to watch as they really only have a good view on the run course, but with everything being so spread out have a hard time getting to good viewpoints. My wife and mom didn’t see any of us getting out of the water, and so weren’t sure where we were until they caught a glimpse of us passing on the run course. Needless to say, there aren’t any good action shots to post. If I locate some decent pics otherwise, I’ll post them up later.
I don’t race again until the first weekend of October, which is fine since I need time to prepare for my next A race, the Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October as well as time to work on this new house we are officially moving into this week. Hopefully I’ll remember to update this between now and then.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
I haven't forgotten about this place
Well, it’s certainly been a while. I have been busy at the training. Haven’t raced since late June, but I certainly haven’t been wasting my time. July was easily my biggest training month ever and I was surprisingly consistent. To help things, a friend and cyclist just recently moved to the area and got me out on the hills of Cincy along with another UD alum. It opened my eyes to untapped bike potential. Now I can’t wait to get into the fall when I can really start hitting the hills. Also, I’ve been able to push up my run endurance in preparation for October’s marathon without dropping off on the speed as of yet. I’m still pushing sub 8 minute miles for up to 10 miles with hills. Not too shabby. I will finally have another race report coming early next week, and hopefully it’s a positive one considering this is my A triathlon of the season. I’ve never had an A race before, so let’s see how well I tailored my training plan in my first year of periodized self-coaching.
I race Chicago Accenture International Distance triathlon this Sunday. I don’t know my start time as of yet and guess I won’t find out until packet pick-up Saturday afternoon, no big deal though. For those non-triathletes out there (assuming anyone reads this other than myself), the international distance is in km so I will translate (1.5K (a little less than a mile) swim, 40K (24.8mile) bike, and 10K (6.2 mile) run). It’s my first race of this distance in 2 years, but it’s really not a huge leap from sprints so the distance doesn’t bother me. I’m just hoping I’ve gotten as much faster at this triathlon thing as I think I have.
If anyone does read this and is bored Sunday around mid-day…you can track me (or other members of my family) at www.chicagotriathlon.com by going to the race tracker link. From there, if you know me personally you can search by name. Otherwise, my race number is 4760, my sister is number 4468 and my dad is number 7339.
My goal for this race is to finish under or as close to 2:30:00 as possible and to be top 5 in my age group (clyde 200-224). I’m guessing there will be about 70 in my AG, and 2h30min will be a 20+ min drop from my PR at this distance.
That’s what’s up in the world of triathlon…now on to the more exciting stuff.
Obviously training and racing is an important part of my life, but I’ve been busy elsewhere as well. First and foremost, on August 2, 2008, my beautiful and always understanding fiancé, Susan, became my beautiful and understanding wife. The week of the wedding was pretty rough since I had to work long hours while she was in her hometown stressing about all the unfinished odds and ends of wedding planning. However, as things often do, everything worked out great. From the rehearsal on…it was basically smooth sailing. It was great to see so many people come out to celebrate with us, a lot of family and friends I hadn’t seen in a while and it seemed like everyone had a great time. The reception dance floor was very active all night and we haven’t heard a negative review of the weekend as of yet. The Delphos Microtel, which opened just in time to house our college friends, is probably regretting not waiting until after our wedding to open. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures to post at this point, so maybe I’ll add them later.
I learned throughout the wedding weekend why people take honeymoons…weddings are exhausting. The honeymoon went amazingly as well as we ventured to St. Lucia (one of the Windward Islands in the west indies of the Caribbean if you don’t know). The only drawback was getting stuck a day in Atlanta on the way down. However, Sandals was great in their customer service and bumped our reservations back a day, so we still got a full week in all-inclusive paradise. There are a million pictures of the honeymoon, but I don’t have them with me, so sorry again. Highlights included: zip-lining through the rain-forest, snorkeling, learning to captain a catamaran (not difficult), candlelight dinner on the beach, tropical golf, being witnesses in the wedding of a couple we met in the airport on the way down (they were stranded with us), and pina coladas among so much more.
In other exciting news, the new wife and I close on our first home this afternoon, so needless to say my life is not lacking in excitement. We will need to bring the home into the modern age, but working on it will be a lot of fun. I’m already trying to figure out how I’m going to make my half of the garage into a heavenly bike garage/indoor training center (sorry car, you’re parking outside).
I guess that’s it for now. Race Report will be coming sometime next week. Until then…
I race Chicago Accenture International Distance triathlon this Sunday. I don’t know my start time as of yet and guess I won’t find out until packet pick-up Saturday afternoon, no big deal though. For those non-triathletes out there (assuming anyone reads this other than myself), the international distance is in km so I will translate (1.5K (a little less than a mile) swim, 40K (24.8mile) bike, and 10K (6.2 mile) run). It’s my first race of this distance in 2 years, but it’s really not a huge leap from sprints so the distance doesn’t bother me. I’m just hoping I’ve gotten as much faster at this triathlon thing as I think I have.
If anyone does read this and is bored Sunday around mid-day…you can track me (or other members of my family) at www.chicagotriathlon.com by going to the race tracker link. From there, if you know me personally you can search by name. Otherwise, my race number is 4760, my sister is number 4468 and my dad is number 7339.
My goal for this race is to finish under or as close to 2:30:00 as possible and to be top 5 in my age group (clyde 200-224). I’m guessing there will be about 70 in my AG, and 2h30min will be a 20+ min drop from my PR at this distance.
That’s what’s up in the world of triathlon…now on to the more exciting stuff.
Obviously training and racing is an important part of my life, but I’ve been busy elsewhere as well. First and foremost, on August 2, 2008, my beautiful and always understanding fiancé, Susan, became my beautiful and understanding wife. The week of the wedding was pretty rough since I had to work long hours while she was in her hometown stressing about all the unfinished odds and ends of wedding planning. However, as things often do, everything worked out great. From the rehearsal on…it was basically smooth sailing. It was great to see so many people come out to celebrate with us, a lot of family and friends I hadn’t seen in a while and it seemed like everyone had a great time. The reception dance floor was very active all night and we haven’t heard a negative review of the weekend as of yet. The Delphos Microtel, which opened just in time to house our college friends, is probably regretting not waiting until after our wedding to open. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures to post at this point, so maybe I’ll add them later.
I learned throughout the wedding weekend why people take honeymoons…weddings are exhausting. The honeymoon went amazingly as well as we ventured to St. Lucia (one of the Windward Islands in the west indies of the Caribbean if you don’t know). The only drawback was getting stuck a day in Atlanta on the way down. However, Sandals was great in their customer service and bumped our reservations back a day, so we still got a full week in all-inclusive paradise. There are a million pictures of the honeymoon, but I don’t have them with me, so sorry again. Highlights included: zip-lining through the rain-forest, snorkeling, learning to captain a catamaran (not difficult), candlelight dinner on the beach, tropical golf, being witnesses in the wedding of a couple we met in the airport on the way down (they were stranded with us), and pina coladas among so much more.
In other exciting news, the new wife and I close on our first home this afternoon, so needless to say my life is not lacking in excitement. We will need to bring the home into the modern age, but working on it will be a lot of fun. I’m already trying to figure out how I’m going to make my half of the garage into a heavenly bike garage/indoor training center (sorry car, you’re parking outside).
I guess that’s it for now. Race Report will be coming sometime next week. Until then…
Monday, June 30, 2008
Cincy One World Triathlon...scratch that, Duathlon
Me with my medal (35th overall)
Brian receiving his M30-34 medal (4th overall)
Two AG victors after the race
Intense triathlon discussion
Me on run leg 1 
Brian just looks fast on his bike...and he is
Me heading out on the bike
Brian on Run leg 2
Susan catches my attention on Run leg 2Well, this is my last one of these for a little while since I don’t race again until late August (Chicago Accenture Oly). Now I just have to focus on the rest of my build phase and more importantly, my wedding in just over a month. Onto the race report:
The event was the Cincinnati One World Triathlon in its inaugural year. It had the option of either a sprint or an Olympic distance, and I opted for the Oly. I hadn’t heard anything about the race until about a month ago, but wanted to use it to see where I was with my swimming, clearly my limiter thus far. I figured, what better way to see how I am training in regards to swimming a 1.5k than swimming a 1.5k. Unfortunately, there was one small snag in my plan…there was no swim.
Storms moved through Friday evening and all throughout the night into Saturday morning. The race was scheduled for Sunday morning and the Ohio River, being the glorious body of water it is, gathered too much runoff bacteria raising it beyond swimmable levels. There was already a good deal of apprehension to swimming in the Ohio from other competitors, so I’m sure this didn’t raise their confidence for future events. I have swum in the Ohio in Louisville 2x in Oly tris (before IMLou shut them down), so I was fully prepared to make the plunge, but oh well. As disappointing as that was, my money was still sunk in the event, so I decided to show up and compete in the duathlon that was made at the last minute to substitute. A 2 mile run replaced the swim leg (not exactly comparable obviously). Here’s how it went down:
Well, first…I accidentally set my 3 alarms for 5:15, 5:25, and 5:35pm instead of AM, so 6:25AM rolls around and I happen to notice in my sleepy stupor that it’s way too light out to be pre-5:15. I panic, but luckily had prepped most of my stuff the night before and was out the door with the fiancé in less than 10 minutes. Got to the race site at 6:45, still plenty of time since transition closed at 7:15…whew!
Run 1—2 miles
With running being my strength, I had to remind myself that there were 2 legs to go and not to go out like I’m doing a 2 mile time trial. Being in the Clydesdale division and starting in a separate wave along with the 50+ males, I assumed I’d be near the front of my wave, though…so I thought pacing might be tough. Ended up since the first leg was actually a mile loop repeated 2x, so it didn’t matter b/c we got swallowed up by the earlier waves on their 2nd lap. I ran a pace that felt comfortable and definitely held back. My main concern was not injuring myself since the course had been thrown together on a semi trail/slanted cobblestone path that could have been dangerous if you weren’t being careful. Anyways, a couple 50somethings were ahead of me at the end of the run, but I was fairly certain I was the first Clydesdale to hit T1. Time: 15:12.8
T1—Nothing exciting to report, except that it’s much faster of a transition from run to bike than swim to bike. Time: 1:34.9
Bike—40k (24.8miles)
Based off of no actual experience or evidence, I assumed the bike would be flat despite the fact that Cincinnati is a hilly city (as far as the region goes). I guess it was the fact that the majority of the ride was on a 4 lane highway that follows along the river. Either way, I was wrong. The Parkway we were on was basically extended rolling hills the entire time and the on ramp we used to access it was like hitting a wall. The course was a double looped course for the Oly, so we had to do it all twice. The second time I hit the on ramp, I went from 22.5mph to 7.5mph in about 25m or so…however, I passed plenty of people who were struggling worse than me to get up (Yay for road bike geometry I guess). All in all, I was glad the bike was tough since it should make Chicago feel very flat come August. I was passed by one Clydesdale from what I could tell in the last 5 miles. I didn’t try and chase him down, just kept him in eyeshot until the last mile. I figure if it took him that long to pass me I must have had a substantial lead on just a 2 mile run, so catching him on a 10k wouldn’t be an issue as long as I didn’t blow up. So I spun it in and prepped for the run. Time: 1:11:54.1
T2—Nothing exciting again. Time: 1:30.0
Run 2—10k (6.2 miles)
I took off with baby steps to keep the cadence high, and was actually moving pretty well. Soon enough I found my stride and was cruising along. I passed the clyde before the first mile, so was pretty certain I had AG in the bag…now to focus on my time and being consistent. I was moving along pretty good until I rounded a corner under a bridge and realized that a staircase was part of the run course…a steep staircase that climbed up to a bridge to KY. I hit it hard trying to keep going at my pace, then almost tripped, caught myself and realized how badly my legs burned. I walked the rest of the steps. That took a lot out of me and my pace slowed for the entire 2nd loop until I hit the stairs again. I didn’t attempt to be aggressive this time and just walked them. After that it was about .5 miles to the finish so I pushed since I could see the light. I met up with 4 other guys about 200m to go and we all looked pretty beat. I swung around from the back like I was pulling off a slingshot maneuver and took off to start up a dash to the finish. Everyone started coming with me, but 2 backed off pretty quick. I then dueled with the other guy who had longer legs than me and a larger cheering section since he’s part of the local tri club. Needless to say, he won the duel, but it was fun anyways. All done. Time: 47:47.5
Official stats:
Run 1: 15:12.8 (7:36/mile)
T1: 1:34.9
Bike: 1:11:54.1 (20.7mph)
T2: 1:30.0
Run 2: 47:47.5 (7:32.5/mile)
Total: 2:17:59.4 (1 of 9 in AG, 35 of 213 overall)
A friend of mine also competed and took the M30-34 AG victory (and 4th OA, he’s fast), so it was a good day all around.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Indianapolis Sprint Triathlon Race Report...Susan's 2nd tri
This past weekend my fiancé competed in her second tri ever. My sister and I also participated as did one of her (my sister) friends, completing her first ever. The race was a super-sprint distance in Indianapolis (500m swim, 10mile bike, 3 mile run). Here’s my RR plus as detailed a summary of everyone else’s performances as I can give.
The race is part of the Indianapolis Sprint Series…3 identical races held at Eagle Creek Park and Reservoir in June-August. 2 years ago, Susan (fiancé) and I did this same race and it was her first ever triathlon. This year, she decided she would make her triumphant return to the sport after missing last year with a recurring foot injury from an improperly healed broken toe (still an issue, but pain is now controlled through orthotics and more supportive shoes). Either way, we also were able to get my sister to travel from St. Louis over to participate and she convinced her friend to borrow a bike and give it a shot for her first. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect at 65-75 degrees and sunny throughout the entire event. That mixed with heavy shade on much of the course made for an enjoyable racing experience…
My race report:
Swim: Decided to go with the wetsuit even though the swim was short to practice transitioning with it and since I figured most people wouldn’t wear them so I might be able to be further up heading into T1 than usual. Completed the swim of 500m in 10:54. Not bad even though it felt longer and harder than it actually was. I have an Olympic distance this upcoming week and am feeling nervous about the swim after these past 2 race performances. Nothing too out of the ordinary for an OW swim, I did get punched in the face for the first time ever…been kicked plenty of times, but never punched. It spun my goggles all the way around, so there was a stop to adjust worked in too.
T1: 2:20 or so…pretty quick considering I was wetsuited when compared to rest of field
Bike: Course was more difficult than I remembered. With this race being shorter than my training focus, I was hoping to go all out on the bike and see what I had left for the run. Even with aggressive riding my avg was only 21.4mph for the course. After seeing the technical difficulty of the course again I was pretty pleased with it. The course winds and is up and down hills the first 2 miles through the park…then is straight on a bumpy road up and down hills for the next 3 to the turnaround…then repeat backwards.
T2: In and out in a relative hurry…they have a weird system with the way the transition areas are setup so I had to basically wind through the entire area with my bike instead of being able to go directly to my rack…time was 1:40 or so
Run: Just out of the transition area you start up a slight hill to get out to the course, I did not feel well at this point as I expected. I was pleasantly surprised to see I was able to maintain a decent pace, though and felt pretty good again about .5 mile into it. It was an out and back, so I could see the runners ahead of me who were past the turnaround. I counted 4 clydesdales ahead of me, so figured I was in 5th place…a little worse than I was hoping at the time. Luckily, especially for a Clydesdale, I have a strong run leg and was able to pass 2 in the last mile to take 3rd in the AG.
I grabbed water and talked to my parents as we waited for Susan and Liz (sister’s friend) to come in on the bike. Luckily my wave took off 10 min before Susan’s so that mixed with my faster speed led to me being able to be done before she took off on the run. She was hoping I’d be able to do the run (or run/walk) leg with her and this setup allowed me to be able to.
She came in ahead of when I expected her to. She definitely was going to improve her time from 2 yrs ago, awesome. I walked ahead and waited for her on the hill at the beginning of the run course and off we went. We walked sections in the sun and the few up hills we came across. Plus here run pace has improved so even with more walking her run time was about equivalent to her previous race. She was in good spirits the entire time, telling me about different people she had seen on the course and what not. She was also excited her parents were able to come…they’ve never seen a tri before and were a little overwhelmed by all the activity, but seemed to find it interesting and fun. We crossed the finish line and only had 1 more person to wait for on the course (my sister was already in…we passed her on our way out on the run). Liz was about 10 minutes behind Susan to cross the line and had a smile on her face which was good since she had made a comment about dying when we passed her on the run course.
Here are the stats:
Jeff (me):
Swim-10:54
T1-2:20ish
Bike- 28:04 (21.4 mph avg)
T2- 1:40ish
Run- 20:01 (6:40/mile pace)
Total-1:02:56 (3rd of 41 in AG, 71st of 575 overall)--~6min improvement from 2 yrs ago
Susan-1:36:?? (7min better than 2 yrs agos time not counting the penalty she received last time for kick-standing her bike next to her full rack)
Kelley(sister)-1:15:??
Liz-~1:40
I will update the more exact times when I can access the results again as well as post any pics if they turn out well.
I race the Cincy One World Tri Sunday the 29th (this coming weekend) as my last training race for my A race in August…RR to follow.
The race is part of the Indianapolis Sprint Series…3 identical races held at Eagle Creek Park and Reservoir in June-August. 2 years ago, Susan (fiancé) and I did this same race and it was her first ever triathlon. This year, she decided she would make her triumphant return to the sport after missing last year with a recurring foot injury from an improperly healed broken toe (still an issue, but pain is now controlled through orthotics and more supportive shoes). Either way, we also were able to get my sister to travel from St. Louis over to participate and she convinced her friend to borrow a bike and give it a shot for her first. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect at 65-75 degrees and sunny throughout the entire event. That mixed with heavy shade on much of the course made for an enjoyable racing experience…
My race report:
Swim: Decided to go with the wetsuit even though the swim was short to practice transitioning with it and since I figured most people wouldn’t wear them so I might be able to be further up heading into T1 than usual. Completed the swim of 500m in 10:54. Not bad even though it felt longer and harder than it actually was. I have an Olympic distance this upcoming week and am feeling nervous about the swim after these past 2 race performances. Nothing too out of the ordinary for an OW swim, I did get punched in the face for the first time ever…been kicked plenty of times, but never punched. It spun my goggles all the way around, so there was a stop to adjust worked in too.
T1: 2:20 or so…pretty quick considering I was wetsuited when compared to rest of field
Bike: Course was more difficult than I remembered. With this race being shorter than my training focus, I was hoping to go all out on the bike and see what I had left for the run. Even with aggressive riding my avg was only 21.4mph for the course. After seeing the technical difficulty of the course again I was pretty pleased with it. The course winds and is up and down hills the first 2 miles through the park…then is straight on a bumpy road up and down hills for the next 3 to the turnaround…then repeat backwards.
T2: In and out in a relative hurry…they have a weird system with the way the transition areas are setup so I had to basically wind through the entire area with my bike instead of being able to go directly to my rack…time was 1:40 or so
Run: Just out of the transition area you start up a slight hill to get out to the course, I did not feel well at this point as I expected. I was pleasantly surprised to see I was able to maintain a decent pace, though and felt pretty good again about .5 mile into it. It was an out and back, so I could see the runners ahead of me who were past the turnaround. I counted 4 clydesdales ahead of me, so figured I was in 5th place…a little worse than I was hoping at the time. Luckily, especially for a Clydesdale, I have a strong run leg and was able to pass 2 in the last mile to take 3rd in the AG.
I grabbed water and talked to my parents as we waited for Susan and Liz (sister’s friend) to come in on the bike. Luckily my wave took off 10 min before Susan’s so that mixed with my faster speed led to me being able to be done before she took off on the run. She was hoping I’d be able to do the run (or run/walk) leg with her and this setup allowed me to be able to.
She came in ahead of when I expected her to. She definitely was going to improve her time from 2 yrs ago, awesome. I walked ahead and waited for her on the hill at the beginning of the run course and off we went. We walked sections in the sun and the few up hills we came across. Plus here run pace has improved so even with more walking her run time was about equivalent to her previous race. She was in good spirits the entire time, telling me about different people she had seen on the course and what not. She was also excited her parents were able to come…they’ve never seen a tri before and were a little overwhelmed by all the activity, but seemed to find it interesting and fun. We crossed the finish line and only had 1 more person to wait for on the course (my sister was already in…we passed her on our way out on the run). Liz was about 10 minutes behind Susan to cross the line and had a smile on her face which was good since she had made a comment about dying when we passed her on the run course.
Here are the stats:
Jeff (me):
Swim-10:54
T1-2:20ish
Bike- 28:04 (21.4 mph avg)
T2- 1:40ish
Run- 20:01 (6:40/mile pace)
Total-1:02:56 (3rd of 41 in AG, 71st of 575 overall)--~6min improvement from 2 yrs ago
Susan-1:36:?? (7min better than 2 yrs agos time not counting the penalty she received last time for kick-standing her bike next to her full rack)
Kelley(sister)-1:15:??
Liz-~1:40
I will update the more exact times when I can access the results again as well as post any pics if they turn out well.
I race the Cincy One World Tri Sunday the 29th (this coming weekend) as my last training race for my A race in August…RR to follow.
Monday, June 16, 2008
St. Peter's RecPlex Triathlon Race Report
Finally I got to do another race. I know it’s only been a month, but my excitement after the success of my first race had me making more aggressive goals and raised the anticipation level for the upcoming races. However, now I get 3 races in 3 weeks…which should tide me over for a while since I have almost a two month layoff after the third before my first A race in late August. Enough setup…onto the RR.
The St. Peter’s RecPlex Triathlon is a kind of strangely proportioned sprint race just outside St. Louis. It is a non-USAT event that has some weird quirks to it, but is a generally fun event that I have been doing the past 4 years now. It usually consists of a 500m pool swim, 21 mile mostly flat bike, and 4.8 mile park path run. It’s a non-swimmers dream tri. As I mentioned earlier, it is the 4th year I’ve done it as well as the 4th year my dad and sister have participated as well…which has made it a solid father’s day tradition.
Race Morning: We arrive to see the transition area has been moved from previous years to behind the RecPlex…it’s a smaller area which leads to more congestion in a growing event. Due to the move, the pool swim will start on the opposite end and snake the other way leading to a shorter T1 run…not too bad. The bike course has also been changed last minute due to flooding, but the updated map is confusing, so we just decide to go with the flow once we’re out there. The run course was back to the way it was 2 years ago since the construction is complete in the area.
Swim: One of the quirks of this race is that the swim is started on a first come first serve basis from a registration stand-point (the earlier you register the earlier you start). This makes some weird congestion problems at times since there is no speed arrangement. We finally registered properly this year getting an early start time (7:00 AM) and in the correct order based on our relative speeds (my sister first, then me, then my dad). Everything is running smoothly so we start on time. My swim feels awful and I post my worst time here in 3 yrs at 10:44, I was hoping to be 9:30 so obviously I need some work on my swimming. Either way it’s over quickly and I’m into and out of T1 in about a minute.
They don’t do chip timing here so transitions are both added to bike time, I estimated 1 minute for each to get a better idea of my bike time, which would be about correct based on my CPU avg speed.
Bike: In my initial race plan I was hoping to break an hour on the bike (~21.5mph avg), but with the course change wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I figured it was still a reasonable goal. I felt strong once I got over the interstate overpass and used an early downhill to cruise along at 27mph for about 1.5 miles which felt great. I was passing people like crazy which is also fun…especially on my roadie with clip-ons and stock wheels. I got to the farmland area, the bulk of the ride, and was easily pushing 24.5 mph on the flats on the way out…there must be a tailwind. Hit the turn around and it turned against me. I was still able to hold close to 20mph on the way back in (and pass a high end tri-bike with a zipp disk and aero helmet…awesome), got to the next turnaround (since the course was shortened to avoid flooding there was a loop section) and had to come to a complete stop around the cone because it was basically people on their first loop coming thru and people turning for loop 2 merging in…kind of annoying. Second loop same story with the tail/headwind. Came back in noticing my time was already over 1hr so switch to check distance…pulled into T2 at 23.5 miles. They forgot to tell us they added 2.5 miles to the bike course, oops. Average was slower than I wanted but the addition of 3 180 degree turnaround points, one with oncoming traffic was a large contributing factor.
Got into T2 to find that a bike was in my spot on the rack and there was not space for mine to fit in…very annoying. Another quirk of the race is that with a staggered start in the pool they only tell you to get to the course 1hr before your start time to setup and get marked. So a guy who was starting 2hr+ after me saw my spot as open while my bike was gone and took it. I slid bikes along the rack with the help of someone nearby and crammed mine in. Quick shoe change and off on the run
Run: Wanted to make sure to not go out too fast as it was getting hotter and I knew I’d regret it later. Had to hold myself back since I felt very strong. Kept pushing along and before I knew it I was at the turnaround heading for home. I picked up the pace a bit and pushed on. Since it was out and back, I got to see my dad and sister both on there way out on the run as I was coming in, which I always like to do to keep tabs and make passing comments. I think I just yelled “Bike was long” between breaths at my dad as I passed. I had a little pain in the last mile from side stitches but was too close to slow down at that point. Crossed the finish line, found my mom and waited for the rest of the family.
Dad passed my sister on the run and came in about 3mins before her…both were pretty close. We didn’t hang around to see final results since we were pretty sure no AG placings among us and there were people still just getting on the bike course.
The breakdown:
Swim: 500m in 10:44 (bad)
T1: ~1 minute
Bike: 23.5miles @ 1:07:04 (21.0mph avg)
T2: ~1 minute
Run: 4.4 miles at 30:54 (7:01/mile)
Total: 1:50:43 (5th of 17 in M20-24 AG, 30th of 473 overall)
The official results had adjusted to the correct distances. Dad finished in ~2:14 and sister finished in ~2:17. Well done by all. The highlight of my day which I had been looking forward to all year was the Sonic breakfast burritos at the finish. Since I improved, I upped the ante and ate 2 of them this year (and now you know why I’m a Clydesdale).
Next race is a super sprint with the fiancée, my sister and her friend in Indy on Saturday. Race report to follow
The St. Peter’s RecPlex Triathlon is a kind of strangely proportioned sprint race just outside St. Louis. It is a non-USAT event that has some weird quirks to it, but is a generally fun event that I have been doing the past 4 years now. It usually consists of a 500m pool swim, 21 mile mostly flat bike, and 4.8 mile park path run. It’s a non-swimmers dream tri. As I mentioned earlier, it is the 4th year I’ve done it as well as the 4th year my dad and sister have participated as well…which has made it a solid father’s day tradition.
Race Morning: We arrive to see the transition area has been moved from previous years to behind the RecPlex…it’s a smaller area which leads to more congestion in a growing event. Due to the move, the pool swim will start on the opposite end and snake the other way leading to a shorter T1 run…not too bad. The bike course has also been changed last minute due to flooding, but the updated map is confusing, so we just decide to go with the flow once we’re out there. The run course was back to the way it was 2 years ago since the construction is complete in the area.
Swim: One of the quirks of this race is that the swim is started on a first come first serve basis from a registration stand-point (the earlier you register the earlier you start). This makes some weird congestion problems at times since there is no speed arrangement. We finally registered properly this year getting an early start time (7:00 AM) and in the correct order based on our relative speeds (my sister first, then me, then my dad). Everything is running smoothly so we start on time. My swim feels awful and I post my worst time here in 3 yrs at 10:44, I was hoping to be 9:30 so obviously I need some work on my swimming. Either way it’s over quickly and I’m into and out of T1 in about a minute.
They don’t do chip timing here so transitions are both added to bike time, I estimated 1 minute for each to get a better idea of my bike time, which would be about correct based on my CPU avg speed.
Bike: In my initial race plan I was hoping to break an hour on the bike (~21.5mph avg), but with the course change wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. I figured it was still a reasonable goal. I felt strong once I got over the interstate overpass and used an early downhill to cruise along at 27mph for about 1.5 miles which felt great. I was passing people like crazy which is also fun…especially on my roadie with clip-ons and stock wheels. I got to the farmland area, the bulk of the ride, and was easily pushing 24.5 mph on the flats on the way out…there must be a tailwind. Hit the turn around and it turned against me. I was still able to hold close to 20mph on the way back in (and pass a high end tri-bike with a zipp disk and aero helmet…awesome), got to the next turnaround (since the course was shortened to avoid flooding there was a loop section) and had to come to a complete stop around the cone because it was basically people on their first loop coming thru and people turning for loop 2 merging in…kind of annoying. Second loop same story with the tail/headwind. Came back in noticing my time was already over 1hr so switch to check distance…pulled into T2 at 23.5 miles. They forgot to tell us they added 2.5 miles to the bike course, oops. Average was slower than I wanted but the addition of 3 180 degree turnaround points, one with oncoming traffic was a large contributing factor.
Got into T2 to find that a bike was in my spot on the rack and there was not space for mine to fit in…very annoying. Another quirk of the race is that with a staggered start in the pool they only tell you to get to the course 1hr before your start time to setup and get marked. So a guy who was starting 2hr+ after me saw my spot as open while my bike was gone and took it. I slid bikes along the rack with the help of someone nearby and crammed mine in. Quick shoe change and off on the run
Run: Wanted to make sure to not go out too fast as it was getting hotter and I knew I’d regret it later. Had to hold myself back since I felt very strong. Kept pushing along and before I knew it I was at the turnaround heading for home. I picked up the pace a bit and pushed on. Since it was out and back, I got to see my dad and sister both on there way out on the run as I was coming in, which I always like to do to keep tabs and make passing comments. I think I just yelled “Bike was long” between breaths at my dad as I passed. I had a little pain in the last mile from side stitches but was too close to slow down at that point. Crossed the finish line, found my mom and waited for the rest of the family.
Dad passed my sister on the run and came in about 3mins before her…both were pretty close. We didn’t hang around to see final results since we were pretty sure no AG placings among us and there were people still just getting on the bike course.
The breakdown:
Swim: 500m in 10:44 (bad)
T1: ~1 minute
Bike: 23.5miles @ 1:07:04 (21.0mph avg)
T2: ~1 minute
Run: 4.4 miles at 30:54 (7:01/mile)
Total: 1:50:43 (5th of 17 in M20-24 AG, 30th of 473 overall)
The official results had adjusted to the correct distances. Dad finished in ~2:14 and sister finished in ~2:17. Well done by all. The highlight of my day which I had been looking forward to all year was the Sonic breakfast burritos at the finish. Since I improved, I upped the ante and ate 2 of them this year (and now you know why I’m a Clydesdale).
Next race is a super sprint with the fiancée, my sister and her friend in Indy on Saturday. Race report to follow
Monday, May 19, 2008
Tri-For-Joe...first of season
Heading for T1 after the swim
Putting on the Wetsuit Pre-race
Such an intense look as I leave for the run
Me and my little plaque...big smiles
Walking the bike back to the car with dadAfter weeks of anticipation, I finally opened the 2008 triathlon season officially Sunday with my first sprint tri of the summer. It felt like it took forever for the first one to come along, probably since this is the first season I’ve been 100% focused on tri training and not some other athletic endeavor. Also, since my training has been more focused and organized, I was eagerly waiting for a tri to really get a chance to see the progress of my efforts. The race was Tri-for-Joe at the Coney Island fun park in Cincinnati, OH and it basically went as follows…
I woke up at 5:15 AM after only about 5hrs of sleep. To preface, I was attending a wedding my fiancée was in on Saturday afternoon in Northwest Ohio about 2.5 hrs from Cincy…I didn’t get back from that until almost 11 and still had to get my stuff together so I wouldn’t be a wreck in the AM. I had a breakfast of Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal + Cinnamon Cheks cereal (not the best I know, but in desperate need of a grocery run so I improvised). Yes, I like to mix my cereals. Then I packed up and headed out the door. Had to make a stop at Walgreens on the way to the course to pick up Vaseline and got a Clif bar while I was there. I realized the night before I was out of body glide, so I’m sure I looked odd buying those two items at 5:45 AM.
I arrived at the course at 6:15 and picked up my race bag. Then I headed straight back to my car for cover since I thought hell was about to break loose. There was a dark cloud overhead and the winds were wreaking havoc at the course, and I was not dressed for those conditions. Luckily by 7, the clouds were clearing, there was little to no wind, and very little rain had fallen…very lucky. I setup my transition area, getting a prime spot since I arrived early and then waited for my fans (parents) to arrive. I knew I was ready, but still had to convince myself that everything was setup properly in transition and I wasn’t forgetting anything about 5 times as nerves were setting in.
When my parents arrived I joked around with them while hanging out at the pre-race meeting. They initially announced the pool temperature at 54 degrees (brrr!). Apparently that was a premature measurement and the pool was actually a very warm 61 by race start, haha. Even though it was a (open water style) pool-swim, I was glad to have my wetsuit as most participants did. My heat was the last to go, so I got to size up the field and watch the other waves taking off as I hung out in the warm-up area trying to adjust to the water. Finally, the Clydesdales were up to take our turn on the 700m course. We took off into the water and ran in the shallows until I saw the guy in front of me begin dolphin jumping, so I decided to do the same, only to realize I was still in 2-3 ft water. I tried swimming (and pushing off the bottom on my down stroke) until I realized people were walking past me in the water, so I got up and joined them. Soon, the water deepened to a swimmable level. As ridiculous as the course looked, it wasn’t as cluttered as I expected and I was able to move pretty freely. I also got a lot of work in on open water turning. After my second lap, I couldn’t tell where I was compared to my division, but felt I had posted a pretty good time…it ended up being 11:16, 1st one out of the water. I’m not that fast in reality, so the course must have been a little short, but I was moving pretty quick (YAY for wetsuits).
Off to T1 where I was worried having never removed a wetsuit before in race situation. I had the top half off during the run to T1, then I had to sit down to pull the legs off, but had no major issue…1:40 later (also fastest in div), I was off on the bike.
I hadn’t scouted the bike course specifically, but new it was flat and fast from knowing the general area. My real focus was spinning a high cadence and keeping my legs feeling fresh. I also planned to alternate Infinit and water every 3-4 miles throughout the bike. The course was flat and the winds were low and I felt like I was flying…it helped that we were the last heat to take off so I had plenty of people to pass. Unfortunately some were not versed in how to ride in a tri and were socializing with one another blocking the already narrow route, so I had to do some navigating. I finished the ride passing the entire time, having never been passed, so I knew any Clydesdale ahead of me was ahead of me after the swim. My CPU said I averaged just over 22mph on a 17.6 or so mile course. The course was supposed to be 18.6 miles, so my official results have me at 23.1 mph (they flatter me), once again 1st in my division.
T2 was pretty straightforward, rack the bike…switch shoes…grab water…put on race belt as I headed out to the run. In and out in 0:45 (2nd in div).
The run was a 5k through the park and parking lots, not a lot of great scenery, but it was flat and open. Since it wasn’t too hot it was pretty comfortable. I felt a little uneasy the first mile since I drank too much liquid in T2 and it was sitting heavily on me. I took it easy until the discomfort was manageable and then pushed the pace, knowing there wasn’t much left. I had noticed when I racked in T2 there was only 1 bike on the Clydesdale/Athena racks, so I had to be near the front of my division and knowing that running is my strong leg, I wanted to catch that other bike (who apparently I was already ahead of). I continued slightly increasing the pace until the finish…I didn’t have much of a kick left in me so I must have pushed pretty well throughout the race. Finished the 5k in 20:18, which I suspect was also slightly a short course. I felt like I was pacing like 6:50s, not the 6:33 they had me at.
Either way, I finished and got some delicious chocolate milk at the line and waited for results with the family. I knew I had placed, so was already happy. It was only later I found out I won the Clydesdale division…by almost 6 minutes! I assumed there were errors, so waited for the official results to be posted today to write the RR. I took home my plaque very satisfied with the day’s accomplishment.
Final stats:
Swim: 11:16 (1st in AG)
T1: 1:40 (1st in AG)
Bike: 0:48:21—“23.1 mph avg” (1st in AG)
T2: 0:45 (2nd in AG)
Run: 20:18—“6:33/mile” (1st in AG)
Total: 1:22:20 (1st of 21 in AG, 40 of 437 males, 839 total)…only 11min out of 1st place overall, haha.
Sorry for the long RR, I’ve just never won anything athletic individually like this, so I’m ecstatic. Pretty excited to push on in my training. Next tri in 4 weeks, RR to follow. Here are some pics, my mom was on top of things and got the pictures to me right away...
I woke up at 5:15 AM after only about 5hrs of sleep. To preface, I was attending a wedding my fiancée was in on Saturday afternoon in Northwest Ohio about 2.5 hrs from Cincy…I didn’t get back from that until almost 11 and still had to get my stuff together so I wouldn’t be a wreck in the AM. I had a breakfast of Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal + Cinnamon Cheks cereal (not the best I know, but in desperate need of a grocery run so I improvised). Yes, I like to mix my cereals. Then I packed up and headed out the door. Had to make a stop at Walgreens on the way to the course to pick up Vaseline and got a Clif bar while I was there. I realized the night before I was out of body glide, so I’m sure I looked odd buying those two items at 5:45 AM.
I arrived at the course at 6:15 and picked up my race bag. Then I headed straight back to my car for cover since I thought hell was about to break loose. There was a dark cloud overhead and the winds were wreaking havoc at the course, and I was not dressed for those conditions. Luckily by 7, the clouds were clearing, there was little to no wind, and very little rain had fallen…very lucky. I setup my transition area, getting a prime spot since I arrived early and then waited for my fans (parents) to arrive. I knew I was ready, but still had to convince myself that everything was setup properly in transition and I wasn’t forgetting anything about 5 times as nerves were setting in.
When my parents arrived I joked around with them while hanging out at the pre-race meeting. They initially announced the pool temperature at 54 degrees (brrr!). Apparently that was a premature measurement and the pool was actually a very warm 61 by race start, haha. Even though it was a (open water style) pool-swim, I was glad to have my wetsuit as most participants did. My heat was the last to go, so I got to size up the field and watch the other waves taking off as I hung out in the warm-up area trying to adjust to the water. Finally, the Clydesdales were up to take our turn on the 700m course. We took off into the water and ran in the shallows until I saw the guy in front of me begin dolphin jumping, so I decided to do the same, only to realize I was still in 2-3 ft water. I tried swimming (and pushing off the bottom on my down stroke) until I realized people were walking past me in the water, so I got up and joined them. Soon, the water deepened to a swimmable level. As ridiculous as the course looked, it wasn’t as cluttered as I expected and I was able to move pretty freely. I also got a lot of work in on open water turning. After my second lap, I couldn’t tell where I was compared to my division, but felt I had posted a pretty good time…it ended up being 11:16, 1st one out of the water. I’m not that fast in reality, so the course must have been a little short, but I was moving pretty quick (YAY for wetsuits).
Off to T1 where I was worried having never removed a wetsuit before in race situation. I had the top half off during the run to T1, then I had to sit down to pull the legs off, but had no major issue…1:40 later (also fastest in div), I was off on the bike.
I hadn’t scouted the bike course specifically, but new it was flat and fast from knowing the general area. My real focus was spinning a high cadence and keeping my legs feeling fresh. I also planned to alternate Infinit and water every 3-4 miles throughout the bike. The course was flat and the winds were low and I felt like I was flying…it helped that we were the last heat to take off so I had plenty of people to pass. Unfortunately some were not versed in how to ride in a tri and were socializing with one another blocking the already narrow route, so I had to do some navigating. I finished the ride passing the entire time, having never been passed, so I knew any Clydesdale ahead of me was ahead of me after the swim. My CPU said I averaged just over 22mph on a 17.6 or so mile course. The course was supposed to be 18.6 miles, so my official results have me at 23.1 mph (they flatter me), once again 1st in my division.
T2 was pretty straightforward, rack the bike…switch shoes…grab water…put on race belt as I headed out to the run. In and out in 0:45 (2nd in div).
The run was a 5k through the park and parking lots, not a lot of great scenery, but it was flat and open. Since it wasn’t too hot it was pretty comfortable. I felt a little uneasy the first mile since I drank too much liquid in T2 and it was sitting heavily on me. I took it easy until the discomfort was manageable and then pushed the pace, knowing there wasn’t much left. I had noticed when I racked in T2 there was only 1 bike on the Clydesdale/Athena racks, so I had to be near the front of my division and knowing that running is my strong leg, I wanted to catch that other bike (who apparently I was already ahead of). I continued slightly increasing the pace until the finish…I didn’t have much of a kick left in me so I must have pushed pretty well throughout the race. Finished the 5k in 20:18, which I suspect was also slightly a short course. I felt like I was pacing like 6:50s, not the 6:33 they had me at.
Either way, I finished and got some delicious chocolate milk at the line and waited for results with the family. I knew I had placed, so was already happy. It was only later I found out I won the Clydesdale division…by almost 6 minutes! I assumed there were errors, so waited for the official results to be posted today to write the RR. I took home my plaque very satisfied with the day’s accomplishment.
Final stats:
Swim: 11:16 (1st in AG)
T1: 1:40 (1st in AG)
Bike: 0:48:21—“23.1 mph avg” (1st in AG)
T2: 0:45 (2nd in AG)
Run: 20:18—“6:33/mile” (1st in AG)
Total: 1:22:20 (1st of 21 in AG, 40 of 437 males, 839 total)…only 11min out of 1st place overall, haha.
Sorry for the long RR, I’ve just never won anything athletic individually like this, so I’m ecstatic. Pretty excited to push on in my training. Next tri in 4 weeks, RR to follow. Here are some pics, my mom was on top of things and got the pictures to me right away...
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Bike TT and Upcoming First Tri of Season
Well it's been a while since I updated, was supposed to after last weeks testing week, but ended up not doing my tests. It was a bad week for training last week, but I've picked it up again this week and don't feel like I've missed a beat. I got a 31 minute run in monday on a hilly course with a 7:22 mile avg and felt strong (a little sore the next morning from the running layoff). Then yesterday, I competed in a local cycling clubs weekly summer TT. I've never done just a ITT on the bike (although every bike leg of a tri is just a lower intensity version of one I suppose), so thought it would be fun. It would also be good to give me an idea of where I'm at heading into my first sprint tri this weekend.
The race was held by one of the Cincinnati area cycling clubs and is a summer series held every tuesday starting last tuesday (the 6th) until september or so. It's a 10.2 mile course in a small city southwest of Cincy. The aerial view of the course resembles a horseshoe, so it was basically one gradual turn throughout, not too technical which is good for me since I don't have much experience being technical in an aero ride. The basic layout of the course is long, but gradual rollers for the first 7.5 miles, followed by a flat a little less than 2.5 miles and a deceptive and painful uphill .3 mile finish.
I arrived early to meet a friend who told me about the TT. He was running late, so I took off on my own for a warmup. I rode the course backwards, registered when I got to the start, and cruised around a bit as people started showing up. I wasn't sure what to expect from myself so I predicted I'd finish right around 30 minutes, putting me as one of the slower riders. I started 11th out of 37 competitors.
As I started, I slipped a little clipping in (probably should have been held, like was offered), so got away slowly. I wanted to push my pace on the first couple rollers to get my legs burning a little and to get my initial avg up. Plus I figure it's easier to maintain speed than it is to accelerate. After about 2.5 miles, I felt pretty good and was moving on the people in front of me. My goal was to pass more than I was going to be passed. I held off the first person to pass me until about the 6 mile mark where I had already passed 4 or 5 people. I got to the flat and had a pretty significant burn in my legs, but was suprised how easily I was able to convince myself to up the intensity at that point. As I saw the finish hill, I upped my cadence to prepare to downshift without hopefully losing much momentum. Putting an uphill at the finish like that is just mean, the burn was incredible, but you can see the finish so you have to keep pushing to the max. I grunted and groaned as I cranked my way across the finish line. Ends up I passed 8 riders and was passed by 2, I was already very pleased.
I rode it out then waited to see my friend finish (he was seeded third fastest in the race). He finished strong, so it looked like he had a good race as well. I could feel my legs tightening again, so I jogged about 1/2 mile while waiting for the times to be announced. Ends up, I underestimated myself...finished in 27:43 (22.1mph avg) and beat a good deal of people starting after me. Not sure of my actual place since I'm waiting for results to be posted. It was a lot of fun and I'm hoping to do a couple more before the end of the season, maybe monthly or so. If I break 27min I'd be pretty excited. My friend, of course made me look slow with his 25mph+ avg, but that's ok. I'll just say it was the equipment (he rides a P2C w/aero wheels compared to my LeMond roadie with clip-ons), haha.
So anyways, my first tri is this weekend...it's a sprint and I'll get to see what kind of speed I've gained from last year. My focus is going to be on transition times mostly since I have a tri-suit for the first time and a wetsuit too. Race report to come
The race was held by one of the Cincinnati area cycling clubs and is a summer series held every tuesday starting last tuesday (the 6th) until september or so. It's a 10.2 mile course in a small city southwest of Cincy. The aerial view of the course resembles a horseshoe, so it was basically one gradual turn throughout, not too technical which is good for me since I don't have much experience being technical in an aero ride. The basic layout of the course is long, but gradual rollers for the first 7.5 miles, followed by a flat a little less than 2.5 miles and a deceptive and painful uphill .3 mile finish.
I arrived early to meet a friend who told me about the TT. He was running late, so I took off on my own for a warmup. I rode the course backwards, registered when I got to the start, and cruised around a bit as people started showing up. I wasn't sure what to expect from myself so I predicted I'd finish right around 30 minutes, putting me as one of the slower riders. I started 11th out of 37 competitors.
As I started, I slipped a little clipping in (probably should have been held, like was offered), so got away slowly. I wanted to push my pace on the first couple rollers to get my legs burning a little and to get my initial avg up. Plus I figure it's easier to maintain speed than it is to accelerate. After about 2.5 miles, I felt pretty good and was moving on the people in front of me. My goal was to pass more than I was going to be passed. I held off the first person to pass me until about the 6 mile mark where I had already passed 4 or 5 people. I got to the flat and had a pretty significant burn in my legs, but was suprised how easily I was able to convince myself to up the intensity at that point. As I saw the finish hill, I upped my cadence to prepare to downshift without hopefully losing much momentum. Putting an uphill at the finish like that is just mean, the burn was incredible, but you can see the finish so you have to keep pushing to the max. I grunted and groaned as I cranked my way across the finish line. Ends up I passed 8 riders and was passed by 2, I was already very pleased.
I rode it out then waited to see my friend finish (he was seeded third fastest in the race). He finished strong, so it looked like he had a good race as well. I could feel my legs tightening again, so I jogged about 1/2 mile while waiting for the times to be announced. Ends up, I underestimated myself...finished in 27:43 (22.1mph avg) and beat a good deal of people starting after me. Not sure of my actual place since I'm waiting for results to be posted. It was a lot of fun and I'm hoping to do a couple more before the end of the season, maybe monthly or so. If I break 27min I'd be pretty excited. My friend, of course made me look slow with his 25mph+ avg, but that's ok. I'll just say it was the equipment (he rides a P2C w/aero wheels compared to my LeMond roadie with clip-ons), haha.
So anyways, my first tri is this weekend...it's a sprint and I'll get to see what kind of speed I've gained from last year. My focus is going to be on transition times mostly since I have a tri-suit for the first time and a wetsuit too. Race report to come
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