The Age Group Triathlete

Race Report: Off Road Duathlon Weert

2010-10-30T11:44:00.003-05:00

I completed my first race in the Netherlands today in Weert, a small town about 27 km south of Eindhoven. The course was a 5km trail run (2 laps of 2.5km), a 26km mountain bike ride (4 laps of 6.5km), and a second run of 2.5km. The weather report was for 55 degrees F with a chance of rain. So in typical Dutch fashion it rained all morning and into the afternoon.

I don't have a car, so my plan was to take the train from Eindhoven to Weert and ride my bike from the Weert station to the race site. The trains allow you to travel with your bike if you buy a bike day pass for €6. My race didn't start until 1:00pm, so I got to the station in time for the 11:32 train. The trip is only about 15 minutes, so I was hoping to have over an hour to arrive, check in, get set up, and warm up. When I got to the train platform there was a train, but no one could board. The train pulled away with no one on it. Then another train pulled in and the same thing happened. I saw a group of three women and a man with mountain bikes and asked them if they were also going to Weert. They were, so I just followed them. We finally got onto a train at 12:02. We were pretty crammed on...the bike area isn't huge.

We arrived in Weert close to 12:25. I followed them as they stopped at their hotel and dropped off their overnight bags, then we rode towards the race site. We arrived about 10 minutes later and I went to pick up my number from registration. I finally got to the transition area (parc-ferme) at 12:44. I set up quickly and was ready for the start. A short time later we were off.

The run course was a mixture of surfaces - dirt (mud) trail, crushed gravel, deep sand, and wood chips. The first lap went by without incident. I felt good and felt like I was exerting myself - just a little bit uncomfortable. Throughout the first lap there was passing and repassing...alot of position changes. By the end of lap one I was in a familiar place between groups and running alone.

The second lap was a little more difficult, I developed a stitch in my side and tried to breathe it out and press it out - neither worked. I just pushed through and hoped it would go away on the bike. I got into transition with a 7:35/mile average.

T1 was fairly quick. I got my shoes changed, put my helmet on, and put my CamelBak on for the bike ride.

The very first section of the bike route sent us through a thick sand pit...not great for the transmission. The trail was pretty typical singletrack - similar to my home MTB course - Kickapoo Park near Danville, IL - although this was more flat. There was a mixture of surfaces similar to the run course and a couple of areas of ups and downs, but mostly flat. The rain was a big factor, I was muddy from head to toe. The first lap of the bike was similar to the run with passing, re-passing, etc. but again I rode most of the four laps alone, between groups. Towards the end of my 3rd lap I was passed by some very fast riders...the head of the race, I think. My back started to hurt during lap 3 and lasted through the end of the ride. I finished the ride in about 1:21.

T2 was pretty quick...I didn't time it, but I was in and out pretty quickly.

I was feeling the effects of the ride as usual, but was moving pretty well on the second run. As I went up and down a couple of the small hills on the run course I felt the familiar and unwelcome beginnings of my hated nemesis, the hamstring cramp. I pushed through, but knew I would have to ease up to keep myself from seizing up. Normally it strikes my right leg, but this time I was feeling it in both legs. Towards the end of the run there was an uphill section with a switchback to a downhill section. Just before starting the uphill I felt my legs start to seize. I walked the uphill and half the downhill, hoping to save myself the agony of a full on cramp up. It seemed to work, although I hated losing the time.

I hit the finish just after the clock ticked over 2 hours. Overall I was satisfied with the day. I didn't know the course, the competitive level, or what to expect. So I felt good to get started with racing in a new country.

A few differences from US races:

- No post-race food.

- No shirts.

- No goody bags.

- No splits in the results...you only get your total time, overall place, and age group place.

- Much broader age groups: 18, 20, 24, 40, 50, and 60

- Coed post-race showers

Genneper Parken

2010-08-28T03:50:00.002-05:00

I took an easy run to and through Genneper Parken this morning. The weather was cool and a little bit rainy, but it felt really good.

Since arriving in the Netherlands earlier this week I have had horrible sleeping problems. My body just isn't ready to make a 7 hour change yet. I've woken up between 3 and 5 am the past few nights and just cannot get back to sleep. I'm hoping today's run will knock me out later.

Life Gets in the Way

2010-08-13T14:21:00.004-05:00

Wow. I haven't done a damn thing fitness-wise in too long.

Between working full-days, finishing up projects at the house nights and weekends, getting everything ready to move overseas, I just don't have enough time left to run, bike, or swim.

I'm at the stage where I might get a workout in and then enough time passes until the next one that I have to battle soreness...again and again.

I will be happy to get to our new home and get settled in. I'm looking forward to discovering new routes to run, riding the miles and miles of bike paths that the Netherlands has to offer, and getting into the water of a world-class zwemcentrum.

I long ago found some races to do when I get to the Netherlands. It's part of my strategy to ease the transition into Dutch life - bring along the familiar. I just hope I get back into shape by then.

Iron Abe 2010

2010-07-26T11:44:00.009-05:00

Yesterday morning I got up early and drove to Springfield, IL to take part in the Springfield Tri Fest. There are three races that make up the tri fest - a kids race on Saturday and sprint and Olympic distance events on Sunday. I chose to race the Olympic distance despite my lack of hard training.

I packed my transition bag and got my bike ready to go on Saturday night. I had a load of laundry in the dryer which included my race socks. And in the course of getting everything ready I somehow neglected to get my socks out of the laundry and pack them in my bag...big mistake.

The early morning drive was quick. I was happy to see that the temperature was in the low 70s. We've had weeks of 90+ temperatures with very high humidity, but the forecast for Sunday was overcast with cooler temps...good race conditions.

I arrived, checked in, and got to transition in just a few minutes. Set-up was fast thanks to the numbered racks.

I got to the swim start, watched the first wave go off, and waited for my wave to start. The swim was decent. Lake temperature was 85 and the water felt good. I sighted every few strokes to make sure I was swimming straight for each buoy. This was very helpful and I avoided zigzagging as I've done in longer open water swims in the past. For the first third of the swim I relaxed and went at a moderate pace to let myself get loose. In the middle third I started swimming harder, and when I made the last turn to head back to shore I was swimming strong. During the swim portion of the race the heavily overcast sky transformed and bright sunshine began to heat up the morning air. So much for comfortable racing conditions...
I came out of the water, looked at my watch and saw 28-something minutes for the .9 miles. I'm not a fast swimmer and I was happy with the result. I also felt like I had plenty of energy for the rest of the race. My swim split was officially 29:24 - including the run up to T1.

T1 was quick. I was on my bike in just over a minute. (1:06)

My approach to the bike portion of the race was to push hard, but not my hardest. I'm usually tempted to ride too hard and my run suffers. I felt good heading out onto the course.

The first few miles ticked by and except for my AeroDrink bottle rattling out of its holder on a bumpy section, I got into a nice cadence and held my speed around 20mph. The longest sections of the bike course were U-shaped with a tailwind out and headwind back. I made sure to get as much free speed from the tailwind sections as possible to counter the challenge of the headwinds.

About halfway through the bike section I Schlecked my chain off the big ring and had to stop and put it back on...I probably lost a minute slowing, stopping, fixing, and getting back up to speed. I came into T2 after and hour and fifteen minutes, right at my goal.

T2 was decent. One minute twelve seconds to rack the bike, drop the helmet, race belt, hat, swap shoes, and I was running (minus my socks). I've run a race once before without socks and my feet were not happy about it...that day it was a split-second, but calculated decision. This day it was an oversight.

I exited T2 hoping to hold a steady and "comfortable" pace. In past races this has been right around 8:30/mi. But in past races I had better run fitness coming in. My running has suffered lately as I prepare to move overseas. I have mostly been doing 4 mile runs a couple times a week...basically maintenance - if that. I hit mile 1 in 8:40 and was content with that pace. Miles 2 and 3 were the same pace and I was hoping just to hold on through the second half of the run.

As the run continued the heat became more and more of an issue. Fortunately there were plenty of water stations placed throughout the run. I would take water at each one, walk and drink half the cup and pour the other half over my head or down my back.

At water stop/mile marker 4 I started to really notice the pain from my shoe rubbing on my left achilles. As I walked through the water stop I reached down to run my finger between my shoe and my foot where it was rubbing. As I picked my foot up off the ground my hamstring clenched into a massive cramp. I quickly straightened my leg out to try and stop the cramp, but it persisted. I would straighten, stretch, and as soon as I relaxed it would seize up again. I spent a solid three minutes trying to work that cramp out. Finally it stopped and I walked down the road and around the last turnaround cone to finish the last 2.2 miles of the run.

On mile 5 of the run I split running and walking more evenly. I was hot and tired with a painful blister and a sore hamstring. I knew I was approaching the final mile of the run and I decided to run the whole thing. Strangely, the blister was more painful walking than running. I crossed the finish line at 2:47:35, about 9 minutes slower than I had hoped for.

My shoe post-race:

I already have a permanent pair of socks in my Triathlon bag, just in case.

Photos courtesy of HardyBreed

Xterra Scales Lake

2010-06-26T16:52:00.004-05:00

Wow. This race course really kicked my ass.

Xterra Scales Lake is a sprint distance event - .5 mile swim/11 mile MTB/3.4 mile Trail Run - in Boonville, IN. I've done other off-road races, both triathlons and trail runs, and I've never been so surprised by the difficulty of a course.

The swim was standard enough, a half mile in a lake. I was happy with my swim, my time, and my place coming out of the water. I thought the bike would be my strong event, as it has been in the past - both on and off road. But within a few minutes of starting the bike leg it was clear I was going to struggle.

The course at Scales Lake features many, many short severe uphills. It's a two loop course of 5.5 miles, so at least I knew what to expect the second time around (I didn't have time to try to pre-ride the course). There were some downhill sections, but certainly not enough to match the uphill sections. Many people passed me on the first loop...I felt like I my exertion was through the roof for the first 2.5 miles. The second loop was hard, but I had my effort under control and finally got off the bike...I usually love the MTB.

The run course was a mixture of more up and down hill sections interspersed with some road sections. It was also very difficult terrain (it would have been nearly impossible if wet or muddy). After my effort on the bike I had to walk the hills and try to run the flats...there weren't enough flats so I walked quite a bit.

I finished in 2:23. I don't have my splits yet, official results haven't been posted. But I didn't do anywhere near what I hoped for going into this race...hopefully the next one is better.

Capital City Biathlon

2010-05-30T11:39:00.009-05:00

Saturday May 29th was the Capital City Biathlon in Springfield, IL. Instead of the traditional Run-Bike-Run duathlon, the format for this race is Run-Bike. I'd never raced this format before and I was looking forward to being able to ride all-out on the bike without having to worry about a second run.

I've raced this course before as part of various Springfield races...Iron Horse, Iron Abe, and Stoneman Sprint. The race director is Bill Winberg, same as for the other Springfield events, and he does a very thorough job. I like the professional touches, like assigned spaces on the bike racks. It helps to keep the transition area well organized.

The race started on time at 7:30. We were split into three waves starting on 3 minute intervals. The first wave consisted of teams, clydesdales, and athenas. The second wave was all men, and the last wave was all women.

I started off at what I thought was a comfortable run pace and was very surprised at the one mile mark to see seven minutes just tick over. I normally run slower than that, but have run this pace or faster in shorter duathlon runs. Into the second mile a runner just a ahead of me dropped one of his bike gloves and I stopped to pick it up thinking I would give it back to him if I caught up to him or saw him after the turnaround. I never caught up and didn't recognize him coming back the other way, so I carried the stupid glove with me for the whole run.

My second mile split was 7:35 and I was starting to get pretty hot. I could tell I was slowing a bit and I ran the last 1.1 miles in around 9 minutes. My total for the run was 23:43. I was happy with that as my goal time was 24 minutes for the 5K.

I hit the transition area and was on my bike in under a minute.

The bike course is relatively flat. There are some rolling hills, but we're in Central Illinois, so they don't last long. My goal was to maintain a 20mph pace on the bike and come in around 1:10 for the entire race.

The park road out to the bike course was bumpy and pretty torn up, but I was getting my speed up and shifted up onto the big ring. My legs felt fresh even after the run, so I started to push a little bit harder and my speedometer was showing 22, 23, 24 mph for parts of the first miles of the ride.

I started to pass a few people, then a few more as I got into a good pedaling rhythm.

There was a little bit of a headwind that blew for the last couple of miles before the bike turnaround, but I knew it would help on the return trip.

I was counting down the miles to go as they ticked by on my cycle computer. I tried to give just a little bit more each time I saw my speed. I knew that I could ride as hard as I wanted and when I was done with the ride, I was done with the race.

As I hit the last turn and headed back into the park I could tell that I was well within my goal time. I could see the finish and gave one last extra effort through to the line. I stopped my watch and saw 1:08:06, which I was satisfied with. I was hoping to finish at least in the middle of my age group, and ended up 6th out of 24, and was 32nd overall out of about 200 who started the race.

I bettered my overall goal by almost two minutes, beat my run goal and managed a 20.7mph average on the bike - all in all a satisfying result.

Photos courtesy of HardyBreed

My Xterra Race Map

2010-05-18T10:24:00.001-05:00

View Xterra Race Map in a larger map

Xterra Utah is a goal.

I Bought Some New Feet

2010-05-17T15:07:00.006-05:00

I spent $75 on some new feet.

Lemme 'splain. I wanted to run barefoot, so I got some shoes that look just like feet, except they're blacker and rubber-ier than my permanent feet.

I was just going to take off my shoes and socks and run in my naked feet. But here's the thing. I'm a gear geek, and there's no gear involved in actual barefoot running. Where's the fun in that? I need to buy something to engage in any activity, right?

I've run a few times in my new feet, and I like them a lot. I have gotten some pretty icky blisters though. I have blisters on my feet and sore calves. You're supposed to take it slow when first starting with these things, but I don't do that - so I suffer.

In fact, on my last "barefoot" run I could feel those blister-prone spots heating up, so I stopped and took off the Five Fingers, bared my soles, and ran. It was ok for a bit, but then I started hitting those tiny little sharp pebbles and OUCH. Those little things hurt. I finished up the run with the Five Fingers and continued to blister. I'm hoping my real feet toughen up soon.

I really do like running in these feet. It forces good form, and I run a little faster in them too. I've got a 5 mile trail run this weekend and I'm planning on running it in the Five Fingers. Blisters be damned.

Even Years Only?

2010-04-29T10:33:00.006-05:00

I've discovered a pattern in my behavior. I don't know if it's intentional or just some kind of natural rhythm, but for the past 4 years I only seem to want to commit to triathlon training and racing in even numbered years.

2006 was a season full of tris. That was the year I concentrated on Olympic distance events and also did my first Half Iron distance event. I raced a lot in 2006 - 7 triathlons and 7 running events between January and September.

2007 was the year I first felt this motivational struggle. I "raced" two triathlons and a duathlon and 4 running events and I recall forcing myself to do each one. I wasn't training consistently and my results showed it. Mostly, I spent the summer by the pool enjoying the company of good friends and beer.

In 2008 I recommitted myself and had a big goal in mind - USAT Age Group Nationals. I started training in earnest very early in the year and filled my calendar with events - 6 triathlons, 1 duathlon, and 14 running events including three half marathons. I hit my goal and raced in Portland that September.

Last year I again struggled with motivating myself to get out and train. Job stress was a key factor, and I wasn't training for a specific goal as I had done the previous year. The odd-number year malaise struck again and I did not compete in any triathlons and ran only 3 events.

So here I am in 2010. I've done a 5K, half-marathon and triathlon already with plans for a full racing season of triathlon, Xterra, and running events. I might even throw a couple of open water swimming races into my schedule as well. I hope to carry this enthusiasm thorough to 2011, but I'll just have to see what happens...

Wild, Wild Wilderness

2009-09-28T10:06:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was the Kennekuk Road Runner's Trail Run at Kickapoo - Wild, Wild Wilderness. It's a run I look forward to every year because it seems to be the ideal combination of weather (early fall), conditions (well-established trail), participants (huge variety of enthusiastic trail runners), and race direction (KRR).

I've been running a bit more lately, back on more of a regular schedule. I did not race triathlons at all this season, but with trail running season upon us I am excited for the events.

Race conditions were ideal. The temperature at race time was in the mid 60s and it was overcast and a little foggy. The run started on time at 10am.

There were over 300 runners participating, so the start was very congested and slow. Once the dirt trail started, the line of runners began to stretch out and pace groups began to form. I wasn't sure what to expect from myself. I have been running more, but my longest recent run was 5 miles. I was pleasantly surprised with how I felt throughout the run.

I think the setting really helps with relaxing and just enjoying the experience of running through the woods. I was hoping just to settle into a comfortable cadence and maintain it, and that's what ended up happening. My pace varied quite a bit...there are some significant hill climbs, obstacles, creek crossings, and stairways on the course that affect pace...but my cadence held pretty well.

This ended up being my slowest Wilderness run yet, but I'm viewing it as a starting point, not the usual "near-end of season" point. Next up will be a pair of October trail runs, Fox Ridge and Allerton park.

I am in suck-tastic shape.

2009-05-04T11:16:00.002-05:00

My buddy Hawk and I did a 5K yesterday. It was a contrast in approaches. His worked, mine didn't.

I haven't been very diligent about getting out and running, or biking, or swimming. I've been sporadic at best. It's definitely not a recipe for staying in good cardiovascular shape...I don't think running the bases in softball counts as a good workout - although I do get winded from it.

Anyway, Hawk has been keeping up with his runs, and setting 5K PRs periodically. I have been drinking beer and thinking I should get out and hit the bricks, but not doing it - and it shows.

The 5K was a benefit for Habitat for Humanity, organized through the U of I Business School. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm, and the run was on a nice grass course on the Illinois campus. I think the course might be used for cross-country...there were some signs designating kilometers that didn't make any sense for our run. There was a little bit of water/mud on the course leftover from our wet spring weather, but nothing really uncommon for this time of year in central IL.

I was a little bit tentative about running. I had been to both a wedding and a birthday party the day/night before and partook in a few libations to celebrate each event. I made sure I was moderating, but I was still out until 2am.

The run started just after 10, maybe about 15 minutes late. It was casual, so no problems with a late start. The course was two loops, marked with pink arrows, and staffed by volunteers at each of the turns. There was a big hill at around mile 1.25, which repeated on loop 2...ugh.

As expected, I struggled a bit. Grass is always slower than the pavement, and wet grass slower still. Combine this with my lack of fitness and it's a run/walk 5K....I took a couple of 30 second walk breaks and tried to keep my pace reasonable for the running portions.

Hawk ran a good race, he didn't PR, but ran strong the whole time. I think I may have set a PR for my worst 5K :-)

I had fun and I was glad I got out for a run on such a nice day. I'm looking forward to working myself back into shape and getting back to an acceptable level. I guess now I have a baseline to compare to at the end of the season.

...and we're baaaaack!!!

2009-03-17T16:26:00.002-05:00

Wow. What a crappy winter. Between the freezing, thawing, more freezing, unemployment through December, I got sick again and got way low on the motivation scale.

The new job is intensely crazy, with way too much work and only one person to do it - me. But I'm making money, spring is peeking in, and the sunlight and warmth is a welcome respite from the cold and gloom of another harsh winter.

I'm still finding my legs, having only managed a couple of runs in the month of January and a couple more in February. March has been good so far, and I'm intending to run a half marathon in April...the full marathon will just have to wait.

It's going to be an odd season. After the huge goal I set for myself last year, I really don't have a solid goal set for this year. I'm just going to do the races that look interesting and see how I fare. I'm thinking of getting back to the off-road stuff a little more. My favorite race, Trail Shark has been defunct since the 2006 edition, but there are some Xterra races in Indiana that I have been eyeing for the last couple of years. Maybe this year I'll go do them...of course, I'll want a new bike for that :-)

Cough, cough

2008-11-18T18:31:00.002-06:00

There's some kind of cold going around and I've got it. It just seems to linger and linger. My congestion and runny nose have come and gone; my body aches have come and gone; my energy is slowly coming back; but this cough...this annoying little cough just won't go.

I haven't run since Allerton. I painted my house the week following that race, got sick and haven't done squat since. I feel like a bum, but I don't want to try to get back into it too soon and sabotage my returning health.

On a positive note, this unscheduled break is helping my plantar fasciitis immensely. Hopefully, I'm healed.

Trail Running Weekend

2008-10-27T13:20:00.005-05:00

Fall trail running is in full swing. I did two races this weekend. The Ridge Runner Classic, a 3.75 mile run at Fox Ridge State Park near Charleston on Saturday and the Allerton Trail Run near Monticello on Sunday.

This was my first time running the Ridge Runner Classic. Actually, this is the first year I had heard of it...and this was the 21st running...and I grew up in Charleston...hmmmm. Anyway, although this was my first time running this event I knew what to expect. I spent alot of time in the park in my youth. The park features alot of deep ravines - it's very scenic.

The first mile and a half was on a paved park road with a couple of long downhill sections. I ran the first mile pretty fast...6:46 - too fast. After the on-road section, we headed onto the trail. There had been some rain in the days leading up to the race, but the trails were in good condition. They were covered with a layer of crushed gravel, so there really wasn't any mud to deal with. Just a couple of rutted spots had some standing water in them, and it was easy to see and avoid.

The trail meandered by the Embarass River, through the woods and came to a long stairway with a hill at the top. Due to the shear length of this section and the fact that I had run the first section too fast, I walked up the stairs. I figured I'd either walk the stairs and run at the top, or run the stairs and have to walk at the top. I think I lost less time by walking the stairs.

The rest of the run was up and down park trails, a short section of campground road, then up another long staircase back to the park road and the finish line. I finished the 3.75 mile run in 28:25.

I enjoyed this event. It was small and casual, and the trail was fun. I'll probably run it again in the future.

On Sunday I headed out to Allerton Park near Monticello for my second event of the weekend. The rain that hadn't shown much of an effect at Fox Ridge showed a massive effect on the Allerton Park trails. The run began at the Foo Dog garden - a flat grassy area - then headed into the woods.

Every section of the trail was covered in mud. This was not a deep, shoe-sucking mud, but a thin, slick layer of mud on top of a hard trail. It was very challenging to keep my footing the whole time. Additionally, there were a few sections of the run requiring a run through ankle to knee deep water. The first of these came up in the second mile, so we all ran with heavy, wet shoes for most of the race.

I felt ok for most of the run. I could tell I had run the day before. I had sore muscles in a few different places, but nothing too bad. I finished the 5.5 mile run in 47:24.

Overall it was a nice weekend for running. Both mornings were cool, but the days ended up being sunny and pleasant - a very nice fall weekend.

Charleston Challenge Duathlon/Wild Wild Wilderness Weekend

2008-10-01T19:53:00.007-05:00

I wanted to do both the Charleston Challenge Duathlon and the Wild, Wild Wilderness 7.55 mi trail run. They both happened on the same weekend, so I doubled up.

On Saturday, I returned to Charleston,IL, where I grew up, to compete in the 2008 Charleston Challenge Duathlon. I ran this race in 2007 (1:34/2nd in AG) and hoped to improve significantly at the tail end of a successful season.

I enjoy this race. The course is hilly, and as the name denotes, challenging. There are several hills that are short but steep, requiring significant effort to climb. Having recently ridden in Oregon, I felt very prepared to attack these hills.

The drive from Champaign to Charleston is quick. I was at the race site less than an hour after leaving home. I unloaded my gear, got checked in and headed to the transition area to set up.

Duathlons are nice because the transition setup is so easy. I was done in just a few minutes.

Run 1:

I headed out a little faster than normal due to the relatively short 2 mi distance of this race. I'm used to running longer, so my pace is usually slower. The two miles were over pretty quickly and although the last section of the run is up a long gradual hill, I managed to hold my pace pretty well. I finished the first run and looked at my watch - 13:43...that's really fast for me!

T1:
I was not smooth or fast in T1 and lost some time because of it. For some reason I struggled a little getting my aero helmet on. One of the straps was tangled and I had to take it off and put it back on. (1:04)

Bike:
I told myself heading to the race that I just wanted to kill it on the bike. The previous year I was not prepared for the hills and lost time at the top of each trying to catch my breath and get going again. I knew the course this year and felt very ready for the course. The bike went according to plan. I attacked each hill and felt strong after climbing each one. I was able to quickly get back up to speed and ride an effective race. I ate a couple of Hammer Gels on the course and stayed pretty well hydrated. Coming into transition I still felt strong. I checked my watch and I was right where I wanted to be (56:37)

T2:
This transition was much faster than the first. I was pretty quick and got out of the bike gear and into the run gear in good shape. Coming out I saw a buddy of mine who I was chasing for the AG lead. He was about 30 seconds ahead of me on the road. He had won the AG in 2007, so I was hoping to catch him for the win.

Run 2:
I was running at a pretty uncomfortable pace. I could see my buddy ahead of me, but I wasn't really making up much ground. I could tell I was pretty well at my max, and at this point I had less than 2 miles to work with. I continued on at my redline, but just could close on him. I made up a little time, but in the end finished 29 seconds behind him. I had put in another good run leg - 14:55, and still ended up 2nd in my AG.

I was happy with my performance in this race. The running and biking were good, I just was too slow in T1. This ended up being the difference in the race. I did do much better overall than the prior year, cutting 8 minutes off my time, a significant improvement.

The Wild, Wild, Wilderness trail run is a challenging 7.55 mile trail run put on by the Kennekuk Road Runners club at Kickapoo Park. I have run this before, and meekly attended last year, badly hungover from excessive tailgating. I wanted to return to good form this year, so I was restrained in my evening libations on Saturday night. Illinois lost the football game @ Penn State, so there was no need to celebrate post-game.

Sunday morning my buddy Adam showed up around 9:30 and we headed over to Kickapoo for the 11:00 race start. I wasn't sore from Saturday's duathlon, but I could tell I had exerted myself. I had run four quick miles and killed it on the bike, but still felt pretty good when the gun went off.

I started pretty quickly and completed the first mile in 7:55. This run is entirely off-road except for a very short section on the pavement that connects the grassy start to the trailhead. I love the scenery of Kickapoo and always enjoy racing there (you hear me, Blagojevich?). Miles 1 and 2 are relatively flat, but travel through some grass and meadow-y areas. There is no canopy of trees and the sun was shining brightly. I was getting hot. Mile 2 was slower - 8:24. My legs were starting to feel a bit heavy from Saturday's exertion and I still had 5.55 more miles of hills and trail to run. I think Adam passed me around 2.5 miles into the run. He ran ahead a little and I didn't see him again until just before the finish.

I maintained 8:25 pace through Mile 3 and then the hills started coming around. Mile 4 was 9:03, Mile 5 - 9:15, Mile 6 - 9:17, Mile 7 - 9:17 and the final .55 - 4:48. I finished in 1:06:29. I was pretty happy with my run overall, Adam finished 17 seconds ahead of me.

I grabbed a couple of beers, a little food, and my grand slam award for completing all 4 Kennekuk grand slam events and we headed home.

I really love this park, this event, and this course and hope that the state budget situation can be resolved so that we don't lose out on this valuable resource in Central Illinois.

Oregon Report

2008-09-24T16:02:00.014-05:00

My wife and I headed to Portland on Friday, September 19 so I could compete in the 2008 USAT Age Group National Championships. I had qualified (my season goal) at the Evergreen Triathlon near Bloomington, IL. I worked hard to get to this race, half because it was a championship event, and half because I wanted to go to Portland.

Our trip was easy and uneventful. We left Champaign at 6:40, connected in Dallas, and got to Portland at 11:30 local time. We picked up our rental car, a Toyota Highlander (big enough to transport my bike) and headed off to my friends' house.

I had shipped my bike out the week before and saw online that it arrived and had been signed for the day before I was to get there. (I later learned that I almost didn't get it.) We called our friends to check our directions and got their place quickly. I got my bike out of the garage and started putting it together.

My bike made it to Portland in good shape. The chain was off and my front brake caliper had taken a little bit of a hit, but nothing was broken and except for a sketchy rear brake I was good to go.

We loaded up the rental car and headed for the race site and Friday's mandatory packet pick up and bike check in.

The drive to Hagg Lake from Portland was pretty quick. We drove through a couple of smaller outlying towns and a little bit through some wine country and eventually got to the park where the lake was.

We got to the registration area and I quickly made my way through the line, picked up my schwag bag, my race number sheet, and got a stars and stripes wristband snapped onto me. I took a brief walk around the expo exhibits and headed back to the car to get my bike. As I did this, my wife stayed in the expo and visited each of the exhibits (she got a USAT cowbell for her efforts).

I stopped by bike support to get my rear brake looked at and the mechanic ended up pulling the cable and lubing it and all of the contact points...good as new!

From there I dropped my bike off at its assigned spot and we were done for the day. We headed back around the lake road and when I saw the whole thing I made it my race goal to not die. I heard there were hills, but this road was HILLY!

We went to our hotel to get changed and then met our friends back in Portland for dinner. We ate a cool little place called The Farm Cafe. We had an excellent meal and a couple of drinks and headed back to the hotel in Hillsboro.

Race morning:
Woke up around 5:30. Had a coffee and a pre-race nature call. Ate a little bit and headed to race site...about 25 minutes from the hotel. Parking was off-site with school buses to transport us to race area. Still dark outside. First wave starts at 7:15...mine starts at 8:24. Nature keeps calling, although I am suprisingly at ease. Again my only goal is "don't die."

As I'm returning from the porta-john, my wife says "I think your wave is starting!" I look down to the dock and see what looks like black swim caps on the start line...I run towards the water, but see that they are navy blue. Still on schedule. After a few more waves, I'm in the water waiting for the start. Get ready....GO!

SWIM: The water is a cool, but comfortable 73 degrees. Unlike the brown lakes of the midwest, it is a greyish-green color and somewhat clear. I start out swimming too fast, but calm down and settle in to a good rhythm. Too bad I can't swim in a straight line...I'm pulling to the left. I have to sight often and adjust back to the right. I'm getting a little bit mad at myself. I'm wondering how much longer my route is than the rectangular 1500 meter course that is laid out in the lake. I finally round the last bouy and head for the finish. I start kicking hard to get done faster and my right calf starts to cramp. I slow the kicking and it goes away. I finally hit the boat ramp and the loooooong run up hill to T1. Watch says 27:02...a good swim for me.

T1: I'm winded from the swim and the long run to transition. I fight with the wetsuit a little, get my shoes on, helmet on, glasses on, grab my bike, and head for the exit. Glasses steam up, take off glasses, hop on the bike and start the long climb up towards the bike course. (2:48)

BIKE: The bike course follows the road around the lake. It's a two loop course, loop one is a preview...On loop two I know what to expect; this is good and bad. The first part of the ride is slow. People are passing me, I'm trying to catch my breath and get a good cadence going. Hills, hills, hills. The uphills hurt, but the downhills are fun!

Just after the turn around was a 2KM long climb. I was going about 7 mph up this climb. The second time around I picked it up a little bit and was going 8-9 mph. First loop was really hard, second loop was pretty hard. I finished the bike and headed to T2. (1:16:11)

T2: Transition was pretty quick. I was relaxed and smooth. Rack the bike, helmet off, bike shoes off, running shoes on, grab hat, grab race belt and GO! (1:24)

RUN: Did I mention those hills? The run course went in the opposite direction from the bike course, so the last 3+ miles of the bike course was a preview for the run. I just tried to relax and hold a consistent pace throughout the run. I was passing a few people on the run - but they were older people. I felt pretty good throughout the whole 10K.

I hit most of the water stops on the way out, although the weather was perfect. It was an overcast morning and the temperature was in the 60s. So, I never felt like I was getting too hot or dehydrated. I hit one water stop on the way back and that was all I needed. I started up the last uphill and then headed downhill towards the finish area, and it was over. (52:21) (2:39:45 total time)

Overall I had an excellent experience. I really felt no pressure in this race. My biggest challenge was getting there...qualifying. The level of competition and difficulty of the course were so much greater than any race I had done previously, so I eventually just relaxed and soaked in the experience of being there.

Two Great Days of Riding

2008-09-10T13:27:00.005-05:00

Yesterday and today were absolutely beautiful days. And beautiful days are made for riding a bike. I got a 39 mile ride in yesterday and a 32 miler in today.

Yesterday's ride was south to Pesotum on Duncan road, back north again on Duncan to Old Church, Old Church to CR 500E, 500E north to Kirby Ave, Kirby Ave back to Staley, Staley to Windsor to home. The wind was 8-10 mph blowing out of the north, so I had a nice tailwind for the first half of the ride. Coming back was a bit of a slog, but I kind of like those slogs...working hard means getting stronger, faster, and better.

Today I headed out to Homer Lake. I headed east on Windsor until it curves north and intersects Homer Lake Rd. I continued east on Homer Lake Rd to the lake entrance. I took a few minutes and sat by the lake to enjoy the scenery before heading back.

The wind was blowing a steady 8 mph straight out of the east today, so I had to work to get out and got a really nice push coming home.

Both days were sunny and mild, highs were in the upper 60's/lower 70's with clear blue skies...just perfect cycling weather.

I'm trying to make the most of this time between jobs...so far, so good!

10 Days and Counting...

2008-09-10T08:15:00.002-05:00

I've got 10 days until race day. I've been keeping busy with workouts and other junk. Last Sunday I ran in Peoria with my bud, Adam. We entered the Illinois Valley Striders' half-marathon relay and raced as the Pork Avenue Hustlas. I ran a few minutes slower than I wanted, but no one told me that the course was practically all hills...Adam ran well and we ended up winning the Men's Open Relay category. I was surprised. I don't know if we got a trophy or anything - we didn't stick around for the awards ceremony.

I've been feeling a little bit of pain in my left foot and I seem to be developing a bit of a case of Plantar Fasciitis. I've been icing and rubbing, stretching and rolling, hoping to heal up before it gets too bad. I know that the best thing would be to back off on the training, but I can't do that right now...I've got Nationals on the 20th and then another full race weekend on the 27th and 28th. I'll be racing the Charleston Challenge Duathlon, then the Wild Wild Wilderness trail run. After those events, I could take a little time to heal. I need to get healed up for winter running season and marathon training. I'm planning on running the inaugural Illinois Marathon, which would be my first.

I'm going to be packing my bike up to ship to Portland today. I was going to have my LBS do it for me, but I didn't give myself enough time and they were booked up until the 18th. They did give me the box and the packing materials. So, thank you to Champaign Cycle for that. I'll post my process and results once I've gotten the packing job done...

Awesome Hill Training Day!

2008-09-01T18:29:00.004-05:00

On a scale from one to awesome, today was an awesome training day. I went out to Kickapoo Park, where I have run the Mountain Goat Hill Run 15K a couple of times, to do a ride/run hill brick. I've read that the Hagg Lake course is heavy on the hills, so I want to prepare as best I can here in flat central IL.

The hills on this ride are short, but quite steep. So it's not a long steady slog to get up them, but rather a short, intense effort. I did a nearly 4 mile loop 5 times, then I did a quick transition and 'ran' the Mountain Goat course, which is a 5K (the 10K and 15K are just multiple loops of the course). I had to walk a couple of times on the run...it was 90+ degrees today and I ran out of water. But I felt good the whole time...I'm planning to do this a few more times before Nationals - a couple of times at Kickapoo and a couple of times down in Charleston on the Charleston Challenge Duathlon course (woohoo more hills!).

Save Our Parks!!!

2008-08-29T14:10:00.003-05:00

I just read today that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is shutting down 11 State Parks and 13 State historical sites making them a casualty of the state budget crisis. The parks include Kickapoo State Park in Oakwood, the site of numerous Kennekuk Road Runners' events, and Moraine View State Park near LeRoy, the site of the immensely popular Tri-Shark Classic triathlon. Also included on the list are Lincoln Log Cabin near my childhood home - Charleston.

Kickapoo park is also home to a fantastic series of singletrack mountain bike trails - something sorely lacking throughout central Illinois. It is slated to close November 1.

If you care about our quality of life, our opportunities for relaxation and recreation, our appreciation for the beauty of nature, and our ability to share these resources with our friends and families I encourage you to write to your representatives and senators to tell them that we won't let the Governor lock up our state parks and tell us to "keep out."

You can look up your Congress members and Senators here by zip code+4.

The list of casualties:
STATE HISTORIC SITES
— Dana-Thomas House, Springfield
— Lincoln log cabin near Charleston
— David Davis mansion, Bloomington
— Fort de Chartres, Randolph County
— Vandalia statehouse
— State center at Bishop Hill, Henry County
— Carl Sandburg birthplace, Galesburg
— Cahokia courthouse
— Bryant Cottage, Bement
— Jubilee College, near Peoria
— Apple River Fort, Elizabeth
— Fort Kaskaskia, Randolph County
— Pierre Menard home, Randolph County
STATE PARKS
— Castle Rock State Park, Oregon
— Lowden State Park, Oregon
— Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park, Sheffield
— Illini State Park, Marseilles
— Channahon Parkway State Park, Channahon
— Gebhard Woods State Park, Morris
— Hidden Springs State Forrest, Strasburg
— Kickapoo State Park, Oakwood
— Moraine View State Park, Leroy
— Weldon Springs State Park, Clinton
— Wolf Creek State Park, Windsor

Back in Training...

2008-08-22T11:35:00.004-05:00

So far, so good. I'm getting my runs, bikes, and swims in. And except for a flat tire that cut my ride short the other night, I'm getting in good training volume. I have some hill bricks to do in the next couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to them. Suffering is fun? Yes, suffering is fun when you choose to do it.

Unfortunately, I'm losing my job at the end of the month. But that will give me more time to train. (see that, think positively ;-) I've often wondered what it would be like to have all day to train, and now I get to find out.

It's Official.

2008-08-18T15:10:00.003-05:00

I registered for the USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals today. Time to crank up the workouts and hit the hills. I've taken it a little easier since qualifying. I did run a 10K yesterday, but didn't run it well.

32 days and counting...let's see what we can do...

This is August?

2008-08-12T10:01:00.002-05:00

6.6 miles last night. I had a great run. Weather was beautiful - 75 degrees when I started, mild humidity - just fantastic conditions. I think people in California call this kind of weather "the weather."

It's Not the Heat...

2008-08-04T09:58:00.003-05:00

Got a five mile run in last night after 9pm. When I went outside, it felt a little bit muggy. I walked to the corner where I normally start my run and the bank clock/thermometer said 80. That's not too bad...I was glad I waited until the evening to go running. The day was really hot, I think the heat index was up over 100.

I wasn't running fast...still had quite a bit of dinner in my belly. This was causing some discomfort and some gas, but not enough to make me stop. After the first 3/4 of a mile, I was already feeling a powerful sweat coming over me. I was drenched from that point on.

When I got home and was entering my workout into my log, I checked the weather stats. 90% humidity! Yuck.

I was glad to get the run in. After Evergreen I think I went through a little bit of a post-success hangover. I met my goal and was dealing with the letdown that followed. After work, when I normally workout, I was feeling a lack of motivation - almost feeling depressed. I couldn't get myself going. I've finally gotten a couple of runs and a bike ride done and I think I'm back on track.

Post Race Sushi

2008-07-21T14:48:00.003-05:00

I worked up a big appetite at Evergreen. The post-race feast was sushi from Ko_Fusion and a couple of Asahi beers. We ordered a bunch: Tuna, Shrimp, Salmon, Yellowtail, Unagi, White Tuna, Snapper, Hotategai, Smoked Salmon, Tako, and California roll (center) and added three rolls - Hot Mama (asparagus, snapper, salmon and tuna in a spicy sauce topped with a hot sauce...on the left), Crunch (Spicy tuna roll topped with masago, crushed cashews and tempura crunch flakes...foreground), and Dragon (Baked unaki, avocado, tobiko on top...back). Yum!

Evergreen Lake Race Report

2008-07-20T19:33:00.000-05:00

The 2008 Evergreen Lake International distance triathlon in Hudson, IL was designated as the USAT Regional Championship race for the Mideast. Athletes who finished in the top 5 places of their age group, or in the top 33% (whichever was greater) qualified for the Age Group National Championships to be held in Portland, OR on September 20.

I raced Evergreen in 2006 and 2007 and was excited to learn when I was planning my 2008 season that the race held this designation. Knowing that I would be racing in a Regional Championship event, I set my season goal to earn a qualification and to race in the National Championship.

I analyzed my 2006 results (2007 was kind of a throw-away season for me) to see where I placed that year. I was 13/27, 4 places out of the top 33%. My time was 4 minutes slower than the 9th place finisher. I told myself that to qualify I needed to cut 5 minutes off of my time.

Fast forward to July 19 and Evergreen. Prior to the race I set my time goals to be sub 30 minutes for the swim, sub 1:08 for the bike, and sub 50 minutes for the run. I hoped my overall time would be 2:28:00 or so. This would have bested my 2006 time by nearly 10 minutes, and with that I was confident I would meet my goal of qualifying for Nationals.

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Pre-Race

My alarm went off at 4:15. I didn't really sleep too well due to excitement and anxiousness, so I was up pretty quickly. I had packed everything the night before, so all I had to do was get in and drive to the race site. It was just about an hour away, so my wife and I got in the van and headed off. About 10 minutes into the trip we hit a strong rain storm. I was worried that it might affect the race because the rain was coming from the west...where we were headed. We continued to drive through rain storms until we arrived at the race site. I got checked in quickly and was happy to see that the water temperature had dropped enough to make the race wetsuit legal. I got my bike racked and my transitions setup. (I was hoping to save time in transition by skipping socks in T1, but putting them on in T2 for the run.) It continued to stop and start raining, but there was no lightning or thunder, so we started just a few minutes behind schedule.

Swim
Based on my race a couple of weeks before, I made sure to emphasize sighting during the swim. I didn't want to zigzag around the course and waste time correcting. So I sighted for buoys very frequently. I felt like I was moving along pretty well. I was passing some people from the wave that started 3 minutes before mine and I was feeling smooth and strong. I hit the swim exit and checked my watch. 28 something...Great! (Swim time - 29:19)

T1
It was a long run from the water to transition, but I felt strong...thank you wetsuit! I had counted racks based on the wave numbers they were labelled with, so I found my bike pretty quickly. I struggled getting my leg out of the wetsuit a little, but I was putting my helmet on at the same time, so I didn't really lose any time. I got out of my wetsuit and into my shoes (no socks), grabbed my bike, and headed for the exit. (1:35)

Bike
The rain had continued during the swim, so the roads were wet. I wasn't going to let that slow me. I was riding safe, but I was trying to go fast. I started passing people almost immediately. The collegiate (men and women) and men 34 and under waves had gone before my wave (men 35-44). I was passing alot of riders in other age groups, but wasn't seeing alot of 35-39s on the bike. I wasn't sure if this meant that they were all ahead of me, or if it meant they were all behind me.

I had planned my nutrition strategy to hopefully maintain energy througout the bike and into the run. I was planning on drinking water and using Hammer gels every five miles. I was alternating Tropical (with 25mg caffeine) and Raspberry (no caffeine). I hit 5 miles and took the first gel. I continued on with this plan taking gels at miles 11 and 20. I felt very strong for the entire ride. Around mile 18 I finally passed a rider in my age group, then another shortly after. We yo-yoed back and forth a couple of times, and I finally passed them for good within the last 1.5 miles. I dismounted at the line and headed into transition. (Ride time - 1:09:22)

T2
It had continued to rain on and off (mostly on) for the entire ride. My shoes were soaked and the socks I had planned to wear were soaked as well. I made a split second decision to forget the socks, knowing that my feet would suffer for it. (I had tried running sockless for a training run only to return home after 2 miles to put socks on.) But I didn't care, I was in this race to try and go as fast as I could and I knew that the soaked socks would slow my transition way down. I pulled on my shoes grabbed my hat and race belt and took off for the run exit. (1:17)

Run
I was hoping to average 8 minute miles for the run and to come in under 50 minutes. Leaving transition, I reminded myself to control my breathing, relax, and stay in control. Also, I needed to run my own race and hold my own pace. I hit mile 1 and looked at my watch - 7:44. A little bit fast, but I felt ok. I forgot to hit my lap button right away, so my remaining miles were mistimed. The rain picked up again. I love to run in the rain. I hit mile 2 and my watch said 7 something, which I knew was wrong - it had to be closer to 8 something. Right after mile 2 I started feeling the hot spots on my feet - right in my arches - just like on the training run.

Between miles 2 and 3 I ran with someone from the Tri-Shark club. We were holding the same pace and it felt good to run with someone for a little while. I talked about the rain a little bit, how it was holding off the heat. I did glance at his calf to make sure he wasn't in my age group...Nope, he was younger. The two guys from my age group who I passed on the bike both passed me on the run, but they were clearly strong runners and I wasn't able to match their pace. I watched them run away, one at a time, wondering if I was going to be able to hit the goal that I had worked so hard for.

At the mile 4 water station I ran away from the Tri-Shark guy, trying to pick up my pace a little. I was hurting. My feet were blistered and on fire and the exertion of the race was starting to take its toll on me. I started telling myself, "I am strong. I am strong. I am strong." It became like a little chant to time my foot falls to...I-am-strong. I-am-strong. I-am-strong.

Mile 5 was a welcome site. I knew that the finish was near and I just had to hold on a little while longer. As the road wound around towards the lake I could hear the sounds of the finish line and I just wanted to get there. I looked down at my watch and saw that my goal time was going to slip by while I was still on the road. At this point I had no idea where I was within my age group, and I was just hoping that I had a good push to the finish in me.

We hit the turn onto the road toward the finish and I told myself to pick it up a little. The Tri-Shark guy apparently picked it up too, because he passed my and cruised on towards the finish. I told myself, "Don't hold anything back" and started my finishing kick. I got up the road a little and saw the cones that marked the entry to the finish chute...about 100 more yards to go. The cones were laid out in an s-curve - left then back right and on to the finish line. I hit the left started back to the right and WHAM! my left hamstring just balled up into a massive uncontrollable cramp. I stopped, grabbed the back of my leg and started screaming in pain. People were yelling "Keep going!! Keep going!!" But there was nothing I could do, the pain was horrible. People started rushing by me...other racers pushing to the finish. I started to hobble, then grabbed and squeezed my hamstring as hard as I could. Another runner from my age group passed by. I could feel the cramp start to release a little, and I began to run again. I tried to catch him, but he had momentum and I couldn't catch him in those last yards. I was crushed. I just knew my goal wasn't going to be realized. I was so close. I tried so hard and a stupid cramp just robbed me of what I wanted - right in sight of the finish. (Run time - 51:16) Post Race

I wandered around a little bit. Drank some water. Hobbling. Feet hurt. Leg hurts. Feelings hurt. I did the best I could. I was so close...2:32:50...my best Evergreen finish by over 6 minutes. Was it good enough?

I got some food and started looking for results sheets to be posted. I had to know how close I was. I headed towards the shower building and saw people gathered around. Preliminary results were posted...I scanned the sheet, picking out ages and counting. One, two, three, four...FIVE!!! "I'm fifth! I did it! I'm in! I'm fifth! I should have been fourth! It doesn't matter - I did it!" Yahoo!!! Wow, what a relief. I am happy!

Happy Birthday to me.

2008-07-16T11:46:00.000-05:00

I'm officially at the end of my age group. Next year I move up with the fast 40s.

Three days until race day. I've already done the race about 15 times in my head. I'm getting pretty good at it.

I went for a short, but hard run last night. I really pushed the pace for the first mile, took a walk break, pushed the pace for another mile, took another walk break, etc. It was hot and humid and when I was done running, I felt really crappy. I think that qualifies as a good workout. I feel fine today. I even had a couple of beers last night. This week I'm concentrating on getting plenty of sleep, eating good simple meals, and hydrating. I hope all of my effort pays off.

Great Ride!

2008-07-14T20:27:00.000-05:00

Just finished a 30 miler. I felt great the whole time. I gave myself about 2 miles to spin and warm up, then I just cut loose. I was cruising around 22-22.5 mph...right where I want to be for Saturday's race.

I tried a little bit of new nutrition tonight too. I normally use Raspberry Hammer Gels, but I bought a couple of Tropical flavored ones to try on my ride tonight. They each contain 25 mg of caffeine. I read recently that when combined with water and carbohydrates, caffeine ingestion increases the force of muscular contractions. So, I thought I'd give it a try tonight. I wanted to make sure it wouldn't upset my stomach.

My bike legs feel ready for Saturday. I might spin a little bit later in the week, but this was my last bike workout before the race.

Taper Time

2008-07-14T08:59:00.000-05:00

Saturday the 19th is "A" race day - Evergreen. I'm excited...and a little nervous.

I got a long run of 7+ miles in on Saturday. It was hot, hot, hot and humid, humid, humid. I was completely soaked with sweat when I got home. I did take it a little bit easy and took several water breaks.

Sunday my legs felt good, but I could tell my body needed a little more rest. I was going to go long on the bike, but I have bumped that until today. After work I'll head out for 30 miles or so on the bike - last long workout before race day.

I'm going to go with a taper that maintains intensity but drastically cuts volume. After today's ride, I'll get one more run and possibly two swims in. I do have softball games on Wednesday (my birthday). I'm hoping they don't beat me up too much. The past couple of softball weeks gave me a sore knee, sore muscles, and a huge bruise on my inner thigh from a grounder that took a nasty hop. I contemplated skipping the games this week, but only briefly. I'm playing.

Back With a Vengeance

2008-07-10T21:59:00.000-05:00

Ran and swam tonight. 6 mile run then a 1750 yard swim. I planned to do this workout on Tuesday, but our 60% chance of rain turned into massive thunderstorms. I've been dealing with some motivational issues too. This is supposed to be a big training week leading up to my A race, but other life issues (looking for a new job) have gotten in the way, caused some stress, and made me a little depressed.

I went for a ride last night, but had to force myself to go. I got all dressed and ready and then just felt like sitting. I finally rolled out and felt pretty good afterwards. I only went a little more than half of what I had on my training calendar, but I think it helped a lot.

Tonight's run was hot. The bank clock/thermometer on the corner where I start my run said 87 when I left, and 85 when I got back 46 minutes later. It's in the sun, so it usually reads a couple degrees higher than what weather.com says, but I'm in the sun too. Regardless, I was hot and looking for shade to run in.

My swim felt good. Although, about 300 yards into my second 500 one of my feet started feeling like it was going to cramp. I stopped and tried to stretch it out. Then about 10 minutes later my other foot started to cramp. Then I was getting the beginnings of calf cramps when I pushed off the walls. I cut my swim a little short, hoping to avoid any serious cramps. My right calf did cramp when I got out, but I was able to stretch it and keep it from really balling up.

All in all, I feel like I'm back into my training groove after tonight. Tomorrow's a rest day, but I'm going to get an open water swim in this weekend and a long run and bike before tapering next week. Evergreen in 8 days!

Rodney T. Miller Memorial Lakeside Triathlon

2008-07-07T09:41:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I competed in the Rodney T. Miller Memorial Lakeside Triathlon in Decatur, IL. I wasn't sure what to expect from this race. I added it kind of last minute and didn't know too much about it. It's a tweener distance event, within USAT's range for an intermediate distance event, .7mi/19mi/4.5mi, but not an olympic distance event. This was only the second running of this race.

I have to say...I'm impressed! The race was very well organized, the venue was nice, and the courses were well thought out and challenging. I look forward to doing this event again next year - and not as a warm-up to another race.

Pre-Race:
My morning was not particularly eventful (this is a good thing). I got up and followed my usual pre-race routine: cup of coffee, bathroom, body glide, get dressed, make PB&J for the road, fill water bottles, load gear and bike into the van, write down directions, double-check directions, stand at the front door and try to think of anything I could be forgetting, walk back through the house trying to think of anything I could be forgetting, lock the door, unlock the door to retrieve whatever it was I forgot, re-lock the door, get into van, drive to the race.
Decatur is only about 45 miles from Champaign, so it was a quick road trip.
We got to the venue and my wife dropped me off near transition and went to park the van. I got checked in quickly, got body marked, and set up my gear. They had thought out the details well from a racers point-of-view with simple, yet effective elements like a place to rack bikes at body marking. Also the goodies in the goody bad were actually useful. The water bottle was a real water bottle, not one of those cheapy ones. And the race shirt is a technical t-shirt - good for training. Also, the transition area was well laid-out with bike racks assigned by wave, the swim cap color matched up with a colored rack identifier. (Great idea!)
Swim:
The race was wetsuit-legal. I didn't catch the water temperature from anyone, but all of the volunteers were well informed that wetsuits were allowed. I'm always happy when I hear that. My wave was first and we hit the lake right at 8:00. I could tell I hadn't been in open water for a couple of months. I felt strong enough, but I wasn't sighting well and I was zig zagging back and forth. I took my first turn a little too early and had to backtrack to go around the turn buoy. I was pulling to the left badly...I need them to paint a big line on the bottom of the lake so I can stay on course. I don't know how much extra I added to my swim, but it was probably at least an extra couple of minutes. Swim time for .7 mile - 23:27
T1:
2:04 - Too long...it was a long run from the water to the far end of transition, and my rack was all the way back through transition. I can probably pick up some free time by ditching the socks...so far I haven't been able to, but next race fo' sho'.
Bike:
Right out of transition was a climb up a pretty healthy grade. There were a couple of guys in front of me that I zipped by because they weren't set in the proper gear to get up the hill. The first 2 or 3 miles of the bike followed the road next to the lake - plenty of curves and rolling sections (seemed more uphill than down). After the lake road we hit a section of a large Decatur street which was very bumpy...potholes, some patches, some places in need of patches. All of the pavement defects were well marked with brightly colored spraypaint, so that helped a bit. Once we got out of town and onto the country road, it was smooth and nice. I got into a good cadence and except for a couple of long false flat sections, hovered right around 20 mph for the ride. Those false flats were nice on the way back, much better to ride down than up. I hit 32+ mph on two different sections. It was an out and back bike route, so we hit the same bumpy city street and lake road back to transition. (19 mile bike - 54:49 - 20.8mph) Big uphill a half mile before transition, then downhill into...
T-2:
That uphill section out of T-1 was downhill into T-2. I came screaming in towards transition, but there were plenty of volunteers with flags alerting me to slow down. I got off the bike and made my way to the rack...also downhill (not fun in bike shoes with Look cleats). T-2 was pretty quick in 1:01.
Run:
The run left transition and after a short run down the road and a turn around, headed back onto the lake road we had seen on the bike (the curvy, rolling, hilly parts). There was a challenging hill similar to the one at the exit out of T-1 near the beginning of run...ouch. I didn't feel super strong on the run. I felt like I could have gone a little faster, but my body wasn't really ready for that. It must have been the hills. I hit mile 2 at about 16:50, so I knew I was going too slow, but I wanted to just maintain a steady pace and stay comfortable and in control of my breathing. I walked through the water stop at the turn around point of the run and dumped some very cold water on my head. It felt shockingly good. I remember passing two guys in my A/G on the run and two others passed me, then a third went by within a half mile of the finish. We had to climb the same big uphill from the bike course heading back to the finish. But that ouch uphill from the beginning of the run was there at the end of the run too - downhill - like a ramp to the finish. Another good idea! Let the course help us run strong through the finish chute...I like! Run time for 4.5 miles: 38:26 (8:33/mi). Not great, but it served its purpose...getting me ready for my next race.
Overall:
1:59:47 - I was 7/21 in my A/G, so I hit my season-long goal to finish in the top 33% of my A/G in all of my races. I really enjoyed this event. It has a big event feel to it, even though there were only 218 finishers. Race organization was wonderful, there were plenty of enthusiastic volunteers, and the race course was challenging but fun. I'm hoping that this event will give me the momentum to have a strong race at Evergreen on July 19th.

Gearing Up

2008-07-01T10:15:00.000-05:00

I had a pretty good run last night and a good (short) ride on Sunday. I was forced to take a few days off due to soreness above my right knee. It felt like a sore muscle at first, then more like a contusion when I tried massaging it. I'm not entirely sure of the cause, but I play softball on Wednesdays which puts a different set of strains on my body than endurance training does. I'm thinking that I tweaked something while sprinting, because I don't recall being hit there by anything or anyone.

I just added another race to my calendar, the Rodney T Miller Lakeside Triathlon in Decatur. I'm treating it as a warm-up race for my two "A" races this year: Evergreen and IronAbe. These are both qualifying races for Age Group Nationals. I set my goal early in the year to qualify to go to Portland. After looking back over my previous results in these races and hoping to train harder and get faster, I have hope of hitting this goal. The qualifying standard is a top 33% A/G finish in a qualifying race, or a top 10% A/G finish in any USAT sanctioned event. In my previous races at Evergreen and IronAbe, I was within striking distance of top 33% finishes.

Happy, happy, joy, joy!

2008-06-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Got my goggles back today! It's amazing how I can obsess over something that is seemingly so minor. I purchased new goggles last night...I needed another pair anyway and found a good deal. I actually had a goggle dream last night, or rather this morning.

I set my alarm to go off just before 6:30 this morning. The pool opens then and I wanted to call before anyone got into the locker room. I left my goggles hanging off one of the lockers last night.
Just before the alarm went off, I had this weird dream that I was calling the pool to ask if they had found my goggles. In my dream, the dude I was talking to on the phone was kind of a jerk. I said, "Hi, I was there at lap swim last night and left my goggles in the locker room. I was wondering if anyone found them." He made some comment like, "Yeah, I don't really know." "Do you think you could go and see?" I asked. His strange response: "Yeah, well it's not like we're going to get the stilts out or anything!"

I was making this dream call from my cellphone, which for some reason was attached to a sproingy car charger cord and my car which was at least a block away, so the cord was under considerable tension. After the pool dude said he wasn't going to get the stilts out to look for my goggles I started getting a little testy.

I snarked back at him, "Well, if I see anyone wearing those goggles, I'm going to rip them right off their fa---" at which point my phone slipped out of my hand and shot back towards the car, smashing on the street as it bounced along. Double-whammy! No goggles and now no phone.

Perhaps a minute later my alarm went off. Thankfully my real life call to the pool was pleasant and uneventful. The woman I spoke too was very nice and went and found my goggles immediately. I stopped by about an hour later and picked them up, and all is right with the goggle world.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

2008-06-24T20:46:00.000-05:00

Got a good swim session in tonight. Rather than my normal series of 500s or 400s, I switched it up tonight and swam a 500, 400, 300, 200, 100, 200, 300, 500 series. If I would have had time, I would have stuck the 400 in there on the ascent, but I was happy to get 2500 in tonight.

On a sad note, I realized once I got home that I left my goggles at the pool. Waaaaaah! Those were my favorites. I'd been wearing them for 3 years. I tried calling, but the pool was closed. I'll try again first thing in the am, but I fear my Speedo Sengars are no more.

Relaxed. Comfortable. And. In. Con-trol.

2008-06-23T19:37:00.000-05:00

Had a great 5 miler tonight. It was sunny and hot, but not too bad in the shade. I set out to have a good run...to not push the pace too hard, and to feel good. [SNL Target Lady] Successss![/SNL Target Lady]

I was chanting to myself as I ran: Relaxed. Comfortable. And. In. Con-trol. It worked, I felt good the whole run.

Swim tomorrow...

Ooof.

2008-06-23T10:06:00.001-05:00

I had a long run planned for yesterday. I was hoping to get 8 miles in. We had another early morning rain followed by sun and heat. I headed out around noon and felt OK. I didn't have tons of energy, probably due to the previous day's ride, but I wanted to run.

I got about a mile and a half into the run when my legs started feeling really fatigued. I was acutally happy for a red light so I could stop and rest for a couple of seconds. Sometimes I'll feel a little sluggish early in a run, but once I get into a nice rhythm it gets better. It wasn't getting better...

At mile 3 I had decided the long run wasn't happening on this day. My route is a figure 8 set of squares that intersect near my house, so from mile 3 to mile 4.55 I was having a little mind/body struggle. It's hard when you are used to pushing through pain and fatigue to tell yourself, "OK - I'm just going to stop." But I think it's necessary sometimes...not doing so can lead to injuries...gotta maintain that mind/body balance.

I'll try to get another run in today.

Great Ride

2008-06-21T19:16:00.000-05:00

It's a beautiful day in Champaign. The day started with an early thunderstorm, then cleared up into a sunny, slightly windy warm summer day. I waited for quite a while to ride, putzed around the house, ran some errands, etc. Finally got onto the bike around 4:30.

I headed out on one of my normal routes, but headed north and then west towards Mahomet...the wind was blowing NNW at about 15 mph. Heading out was tough. I equate windy riding to climbing...we have no mountains here in Central Illinois, so the wind is our substitute. I was planning on a ride of about 30 miles, but when I got to the halfway point, I was past 17 miles. I stopped at a gas station in Mahomet to top off my bottle, and bought some vitamin water. I got the biggest bottle of water in the cooler, which filled up my bottle and I stuck the big bottle in one jersey pocket and the bottle with the rest of the vitamin water in another jersey pocket. It kind of felt like I had scuba tanks on my back as I rode the route back.

What was such a hinderance on the way out, was a huge boost on the way back. The wind pushed and I shifted up onto the big ring and cruised back at 24+ mph. Total mileage was 36.4.

Felt great...planning on a long run tomorrow.

Outdoor Swimming Season

2008-06-20T15:10:00.000-05:00

My wife and I hit one of our local pools, Sholem, for lap swim last night (7:00-8:00pm). Aside from a May triathlon in a small lake, this was my first outside swim of the season. It was great (mostly). There was still plenty of sunshine and warmth in the air when we got into the pool, and we still had plenty of light left to get home when we were done.

Most of my swims are done at an indoor facility in Urbana, UIAC. Usually this works out ok, except that a lot of the time in the evening, half of the lanes are in use by the local swim club and there are older ladies doing water aerobics in the deep end and I sometimes have to swim through a slick of their perfume. Seriously, perfume in the pool??? CACK!

Sholem is on our side of town, just a few minutes away on bikes. We rode over and paid our $3 each to lap swim. The lanes are set up in an area of the pool that is 3 ft 6 in deep. One disadvantage to swimming in water this shallow is that the bottom of the pool is clearly visible. This means that every bandaid or other bit of gross debris left over from the day is easily identifiable. I think the net effect of this is that I swam a little faster, so I could get out of the water. I got in a series of 4 500s and felt pretty good. I'd missed my last couple of scheduled swims, so it was very necessary to get back in the water.

I'll keep going back due to the proximity and cost advantages, but I hope they can get all that junk off the bottom of the pool.

Lake Mingo

2008-06-16T12:23:00.000-05:00

The Lake Mingo Trail Run was Saturday June 14. I was looking forward to this since I hadn't raced Tri Shark and needed an organized event.

This event is a Kennekuk (KRR) event and is held in Kennekuk County Park near Danville. I really enjoy the KRR events and try to run all of them.

Saturday morning I got up and did my morning pre-race routine. Had a cup of coffee, made my usual pre-race breakfast (PB&J), filled my water bottle, gathered up all my crap and headed off towards Danville. I usually give myself just enough time to get to a race site, get checked in, and only have to stand around for a few minutes before starting. Today was no different, but I could have used a few extra minutes because my PB&J was sitting a little rough in my stomach. I hoped that this wouldn't require a mad dash off into the woods during the run.

The run started on time (9:00 am) and we were off onto the trail. The course for this run is very nice. There are a couple of short sections that are not under cover, but most of the run is covered by heavy forest - this is one of my favorite run courses in this area. The trail winds through the woods and around Lake Mingo and features numerous bridge crossings and some challenging up and down hill sections.

The effects of all of the recent rain we've had were very evident...the first 300 yards or so were through an open field and the ground was squishy with large puddles of standing water in some spots. My feet were wet in the first minutes of the run. There was thick, sucking mud throughout the course and knee deep water in a few sections.

The first and second halves of the run were great contrasts. Early in the run, I wasn't mentally focused. My stomach was a little upset, my feet were wet and my legs were sore. After the first half, I just settled in, enjoyed the experience, and had a great time slogging through the muck.

I last ran this race in 2006. My time this year was about 8 1/2 minutes slower...likely due to the difficult conditions. When I got home and checked the results, I discovered I had placed 2nd in my age group. Very Surprising.

Post Race Feasting

2008-06-10T09:42:00.000-05:00

After a race, I like to treat myself to a quality meal. Sometimes it's a boatload of sushi; sometimes it's a mess of mexican food; sometimes it's ribs or fried chicken. A good pigout session is justified by the number of calories burned in a race (yes, even a sprint distance race). After Saturday's race was rained on (not out...the race happened, I didn't) my wife and I went for a ride in the afternoon and put in some hard work in the wind (25+ mph gusts). Even though there was no racing on Saturday, there were calories burned that needed to be replenished.

Saturday's quality meal: Tapas and beer at Cafe Luna.

Cafe Luna has been my favorite Champaign restaurant since I first ate there many years ago. They serve very high quality meals in a comfortably classy setting. The restaurant recently moved from its Campustown location at Fourth and Green into the old train station at University and Chestnut in downtown Champaign. My wife and I were anxious to see the new space and see what the menu had to offer...we weren't dissapointed. The old space was "intimate" and by intimate, I mean cramped. It wasn't uncomfortable, just small and easily crowded...not much space between the tables. The new space is very nice with plenty of tables and plenty of room...a nice upgrade.

We did not have reservations, but we intended to sit at the bar anyway, so seating was immediate. I ordered a beer, Schlafly Oatmeal Stout and my wife ordered a sparkling wine. Both were yummy. We each decided to order three items from the tapas menu and share, so were could maximize tasting. I selected Roasted Spring Vegetables, Tuna Tartar Trio (spicy, Shitake, and Herb), and Flank Steak Crostini with Fig Jam, Arugula, and Blue Stilton. My wife picked Ceviche Scallops on Celeriac Root with Orange Filet and Avocado, Sauteed Asparagus with Sundried Tomato and Chive Butter, and Bell Pepper Crabcakes. All of our selections were outstanding. I had another beer and my wife ordered a white sangria. We decided to have one more item from the tapas menu and picked the Strawberry Rhubarb Pork Ribs. Yum-yum! I need to race soon, so I can go back for more.

I highly recommend this Champaign establishment for anyone looking for a delicious high-quality meal.

Tri Shark Rain Report

2008-06-07T10:31:00.001-05:00

I was hoping to post my Tri Shark Race Report here. However, after waking up to a thunderstorm, driving to the race site through a thunderstorm, and waiting for the race to start between thunderstorms, all I have to post is a rain report.

The race was supposed to start at 8:00 am. Due to the thunder, lightning, and heavy rain the race start was initially pushed back to 8:30. Race management kept checking weather reports and when they determined that the weather would not be cleared up at 8:30, they pushed the start back another 30 minutes to 9:00. At this time they also announced that, due to lightning, there was the possibility that they would cancel the swim and just hold a 1.55/13/1.55 duathlon instead. As it approached 9:00 and then another postponed start (9:15) I decided to call it a day.

I didn't feel like risking a potential crash and/or injury on the wet roads to get this race in. It wasn't an easy decision, but it's something my mother would have said was a smart choice, so I'm ok with that. I'll race another day...

A couple of other things:

Thank you to the people who helped push my van out of the mud!!!
I saw a funny shirt. I didn't see the front, but the back said, "If you can read this, you're in last place."
Special thanks to all the volunteers for standing out in the rain waiting for the race to start. Volunteers make races possible and we triathletes really appreciate your willingness to give your time.

Good Brick

2008-06-04T11:27:00.000-05:00

Squeezed in a nice brick workout last night between thunderstorms. My friend Andrew invited me to ride and run with him near his house. He has a good 13 mile bike TT course through country roads, and a choice of 3 mile out and back runs.

After riding a quick 10 mile TT the night before, I wasn't sure how I would feel on the bike. But, I felt good...really good. I had a nice pace and my cadence was fast and strong. I'm hoping this bodes well for this weekend's race. In my last race, May Madness, I just felt like a little power was lacking on the bike. I'm hoping I've timed my bike workouts well going into Tri Shark.

Following the ride, we took off for the run. I chose a route to the west (into the weather) and Andrew headed east. I was planning on running about 3.4 miles, but I had to cut a mile off due to looming dark clouds and flashes of lightning that I was running directly into. I picked a turn-around point and headed back. The run felt good. I tried reminding myself to control my breathing early in the run and get the legs stretched out...

It was great to get a workout in on an unfamiliar course. Often workouts on familiar territory can feel too static..."here's a rise in the road...I can go fast here...need to brake here for the turn...yawn." So, it was nice to ride a course where all I knew was where to turn.

I love this bike!

2008-05-29T16:23:00.000-05:00

For 2006, I bought a Cervelo Dual to race on. I had been using my road bike, a 1999 Specialized Allez. In an effort to find a comfortable aero position, I added a set of Syntace C2 clip-on aero bars to the Allez , but it was clear that if I was going to be serious about doing longer races (1/2 IM and IM distances) that a comfortable and efficient position would require a new ride.

For me, this bike has the right combination of comfort, quality design/components, and price.

Tri Shark

2008-05-28T17:03:00.000-05:00

Next race on the calendar is Tri Shark, Saturday, June 7th at 8:00 am. I last did this race in 2006. I finished in 1:11:51, good for 100th overall and 21st out of 58 in my A/G (36%). As is my goal for all races this year, I hope to finish in the top 33% of my A/G for this race. There are 74 in my A/G this year...here's to a top 24 age group finish!

Intro - What's this blog about?

2008-05-28T16:57:00.000-05:00

I am an age group triathlete. I started entering triathlons in 2004 as a way to focus the training I was doing to stay in shape. Prior to triathlons I biked for fitness and recreation. I joined USA Cycling one year intending to do a race or two, but never did.

This blog will serve as my personal brain space - somewhere to collect and distill my thoughts and bits of information that are useful to me. If someone else gets some benefits from it, that's just gravy...mmmmmmmm, gravy.