Luray Race Report

Going into the Luray International Triathlon, I knew it was going to be a challenging course. Also I knew this would be my B race. What is a B race you might ask? To be honest, I can really only give you a minimal explanation. It is not an A race, that is for sure. It is more of a training race and I suppose the B race is supposed to have less pressure to reach specific goals and is supposed to require slightly less effort than the A race. That said, I am still a newbie so when my coach told me that Luray would be my B race leading up to the Williamsburg A race, I nodded to show my understanding but I don't have precise measurements to differentiate between an A effort and a B effort. Is there a particular pace on the swim, bike, and run for a B race versus my A race? Maybe 20 seconds per mile slower on the run for example? I really have no way to quantify it this early in my triathlon career. I decided my goal for this race would be to not be last in my age group and to feel good at the finish.

Before I get into the blow by blow of the race, I have to tell you a little about our stay in New Market. We had to stay in New Market because all of the hotels in and around Luray were booked when I started looking to make reservations. Our hotel was about 40 minutes from the race venue. When we finally arrived after getting my packet and scoping out the swim, bike, and run course, the lady working the front desk asked us if we were here for the 50-Mile Yard Sale. I told her no. We were here for the Triathlon. Then I said, 'a 50-yard yard sale sounds like fun though.' She corrected me. It was 50 miles of yard sale. Interesting.

She also said there was another event nearby that was causing all the hotels to be booked. There was a Hazzard Reunion. As in "The Dukes of Hazzard." Ah. Now we know why we saw three General Lee's parked at a roadside diner on our way through Sperryville. Who knows what goes on at such an event. One can only imagine. There would be the General Lee cars of course and I am guessing some sort of Daisy Duke contest, lots of rebel flags (we confirmed that when we drove by the event site), and maybe some bluegrass music and fireworks. None of it made much sense to us. Maybe my cousin John can tell me about what goes on at such an event. I am not sure if he has ever heard of it either but if there is anyone that I know who would know, it is him. If you are reading John, please enlighten us city folk.

After we checked in, we decided to order some pasta and have it delivered to the room. Unfortunately, the person taking the order thought I wanted plain pasta with absolutely no sauce. I guess in my efforts to make sure that there was no meat in the sauce, she decided I meant no sauce at all. I am not sure who would eat such a meal but that is what was delivered. So off I went in the car in search of spaghetti sauce. After a trip through town, I found some at a small market, came home and used the in-room microwave to heat up the sub-par meal. It was better than nothing I suppose.

On race morning, I was feeling pretty relaxed. We checked out about 5:30 or so and made our way to the venue. I got my bike racked on the end and started to lay out my stuff and then stood there staring at it for a while to make sure that I had everything to my liking. Here are a few pictures of me in Transition.


After getting all setup, it was time to face the music and head on down to the lake for a swim warmup. I swam out to one of the buoys, tread water for a little bit, and then swam back. The water was quite warm and there was no current to speak of in the little lake. After my warmup, I got out and listened to the pre-race announcements. We had the National Anthem and then it was time to start.

I was in wave 2 with red swim caps. Each wave had a different color swim cap. Right before the 1st wave of green swim cap racers got in the water, I saw the surgeon who operated on my knees. We shook hands and wished each other luck. He was in the first wave and I knew I would not see him on the course. He was 10th overall at this race last year so he would be long done while I was still sweating it out on the run course.

Here are a few pictures of the swimmers mulling about before the race. I am actually in all of these pictures. You may have to click on them to see the bigger versions but I am there.



Notice in the above picture the stairs in the background. After the swim, we had to run all the way up those stairs to transition to get on our bikes.
In the above picture I actually have my hand up in the air and am waving to Melissa who took all these great photos. I am in the last group of 10 guys at the top left part of the picture.

Right before my wave was to start, another red-capped racer said to me, "why do I do this. Right before every race, I ask myself this. Why am I doing this. Swimming is definitely not my best sport. I am not terrible but sometimes I wonder." I assured him that when he got settled on the bike, he would be having fun. Besides almost every swimmer who says they are slow or a terrible swimmer is faster than me.

And then we were off. The mayhem begins. Open water racing is a contact sport. I was punched, kicked, run over and otherwise jostled during much of the race. Here are some pictures showing the beginning of my wave.

Overall, I would have to say the swim was hard. I found myself taking frequent breaks and slowly getting left behind by everyone else in my wave. It was not long before some silver capped racers who started 3 minutes behind me caught up to me and started running over me. After a while, the white capped swimmers caught up to me. They were mostly women who seem to be more polite in general and tended to not run me over. I could see a few red caps in my vicinity but I was afraid I was falling way behind my fellow 40-44-year-old men. Since my goal was to not be last in my age group, I knew I just had to keep one or two red caps in site as I was sure I could make up the time on the run if I stayed somewhat close.

When I exited the water to run up the stairs, I was among a lot of women. The women were at least a couple of waves behind me so I was already fading in the race and it had barely begun. In the end, my swim time was really not all that bad for me. Here is a picture of us running up the stairs. I am in there behind all the women.

Once back in T1, I quickly put on my shoes, socks, and helmet and took off on the bike. The bike course was going to be tough- I knew that. Melissa and I had driven the course the day before and made note of all the hills. As I made my way along the course, I passed a few people at the beginning but after that I was mostly being passed. Occasionally, I would hear what I thought was a car coming up the road behind me. But when the vehicle passed me, I saw that it was not a car at all. It was a biker with aero wheels flying by at breakneck speed. I felt like I was standing still when these guys would speed by with their loud wind-breaking bikes. As the bike portion of the race continued, I continued to mostly get passed by other riders. The course was a lollipop and we had to do the round part twice. No doubt the guys screaming by me were on their second lap.

I was starting to worry about my goal. No doubt I had a blast on the course as it was gorgeous and there was little to no car traffic. And since there was no double yellow line on much of the roads, there was no problem passing other riders. In Triathlon, going over the double yellow line is an automatic disqualification if an official happens to catch you. The rolling farmland made for a beautiful course. But I just could not keep up with these guys.

In the last 10 miles of the bike portion, I had slowed down quite a bit. I was spinning along in a pretty low gear, taking it pretty easy really. I looked at my watch and it said 10 miles an hour. Wow. It seemed like I was going so slow. There were several sections of the course that looked flat. But they were not. They were what we call, "false flats". It looks flat but once you have to shift down to a low gear, you realize there is nothing flat about it. Sure there were some nice downhills. I even got up to 41.88 miles an hour at one point. But they did not last. In the end I think I averaged 15 miles an hour.

I finally approached the final big climb. There were people at the top of the hill with horns and cowbells cheering us on. It was a great motivator and really helped lift my energy levels. I came into T2 feeling pretty pumped up. Melissa got a short video of me coming in.



T2 was a little shorter than T1. I took a shot of Hammer Gel and swished it down with some water, changed my shoes, put on my race belt and hat, and took off. I immediately passed some strollers who were taking their time easing into the run. Here is a picture Melissa got of me passing one guy. Not sure why I tend to make faces when I get my picture taken during a race.


After a few minutes of running, I glanced down at my watch. I was running a 7:10 pace. Pretty fast considering all I had done at that point. Of course, this out and back course was all downhill at the beginning and then all uphill at the end. Here is the elevation profile for the course.

I ran pretty well and I started to realize that while I had been passing lots of people, no one had passed me. I started picking people off one by one. Some of them had started in a wave behind me, caught me on the swim or bike, and now I was catching them on the run. In Triathlon, we all have our ages inked onto our calf. That way, when someone passes you or you come across someone on the course, you know if they are in your age group or not. I started counting whenever I passed someone in my age group. 1, 2, 3, etc. I think by the time the race was over, I had caught 12 people in my age group on the run course. I was hurting on some of the hills but was motivated to keep going to see if I could catch more people in my age group. Melissa snapped this final picture of me running in strong at the end. Yes. I passed that last guy and absolutely no one passed me on the run course.


In the end, I had a great time, did well for my first race at this distance, and felt good about the whole thing. Yes, I am slow in the water, and yes I am slow on the bike. But I have room for improvement and I still have my run as my strength.

My times were as follows:

1500 Meter Swim - 38:55
T1 - 2:38
26 Mile Hilly Bike - 1:41:56
T2 - 1:39
10K Hilly Run - 49:56
Total - 3:15:03

I ended up 272 out of 388 overall and 58 out of 74 in Men 40-44. The most interesting thing to me is that the next fastest run split was the 24th place person. All of the people who beat my total time between my 58th place and the 24th place person had slower run times than me. I am hoping that this trend holds true for my next race. Perhaps I can catch even more people on the 13.1 mile run.

Thanks again to Melissa for supporting me, cheering me on, and taking pictures. I can still see Melissa cheering me on. It is always so uplifting.

Well, I have a 75-minute zone 3 ride followed by a 20-minute zone 3 run to knock out before work tomorrow so I better hit the bed. 4 AM will be here soon. Thanks for reading.

Staying Motivated and Getting the Workouts Done

When the alarm goes off at 4:00 AM, it is quite startling. I am usually very sound asleep at that time; it is dark, and the electronic alarm clock seems piercing and not at all pleasant. Lately I have had to wake up at 4 or 4:15 AM in order to get my workouts in before work. I could wait until after work to workout which is something I used to always do. But the heat in Richmond during the summer is often oppressive. The only solution is to get up early, put on my head lamp (as to not disturb my wife's slumber), fumble around for all the things I need for a workout-pants, socks, shoes, heart rate monitor/watch, and perhaps a shirt and then get moving.

When I get up this early, before I even get out of bed I usually first grab my iPod touch which has its nighttime home on my bed stand, get on Facebook, and announce to all my virtual friends that I am up early to workout. This first step is a physical and mental trick to get me going. The back lit screen burns my eyes with seemingly searing light which wakes me up some. And the affirmation on Facebook commits me to actually getting out of bed and doing the workout. I wrote it down for all to see-I must do it.

Another thing I do to help me get motivated to not go back to sleep is to visualize racing, visualize myself as a triathlete. This is what triathletes do. They get up before the sun and workout. And often these workouts are not simply short runs around the block. For instance, my Tuesday morning workout consists of 45 to 60 minutes of intervals on the bike trainer or 60 minutes of steady riding followed by 30 minutes of fairly fast running. Fast for me anyway.

Staying motivated is the key to being able to continue to workout hard week after week. Again, using self talk and little tricks helps me. For instance, my training day starts on a Monday. It is one of the easiest days because it is a rest day. I sleep until 6 and don't workout. A couple of times I have gone to a yoga class on a Monday but mostly I just wake up, go to work, eat mostly all day, come home, eat dinner, watch 40 minutes of Hulu and go to bed. Then comes the Tuesday workout. Since Wednesday is a rest day, I use that fact to help me stay motivated for the Tuesday morning wake up and subsequent workout. I just tell myself that "tomorrow is a rest day" or "Just one workout and then I get to rest."

On Thursday, I have had a day off and I am ready to roll. And I only have to run. So not only do I not have to get up quite as early, but since I am not doing a brick, I think of it as an easier workout. I tell myself, "just a little run." Forget the fact that my Thursday run calls for mile repeats at zone 4. I try not to think about that part of it. I just get out there an knock it out.

There are other things I do to stay immersed in the proper mindset. I read Runners World magazine, Triathlete Magazine, blogs about Triathlons, and right now I am reading a book about a guy who ran across America in 50 days. I also think of how lucky I am to be able to do what I do. My younger brother gets up every day and goes to work. Each day is a workout for him. Even simple things like putting on his socks and shoes takes some work. But he does it every day. He could collect a social security disability check. But he doesn't. He faces each day's physical challenge as stoically as any John Wayne character ever did. I think about him often when I workout. My brother is another weapon in my motivation arsenal.

This Saturday I will toe the line in the Luray International Triathlon. The course will be hilly on the bike and the run. The swim will be the longest I have ever swum in a race and includes several turns. It will be hard work to stay on course during the swim. But I am confident I will have a blast. I have trained well and look forward to stepping up to the challenge.

Vermont Race Report and Vacation Report

I would like to quickly recap the Vermont race and vacation, and then next time delve into my training, and discuss my upcoming race. As my mileage and training time goes up, I have less time and energy to blog, even though I enjoy it. When I get behind on my writing, I feel like I am not getting to do all the the things I would like. Working 10-hour days during the summer makes it even harder to carve out some time to sit down and write. I find myself with a small amount of time so I will try to be brief and to the point. Yeah right.

The Vermont Sun triathlon was super fun. It was a great venue and turned out to be a beautiful day on race morning. As you may have read in Melissa's posting, we arrived the night before and had a somewhat mediocre dinner. The only thing I could find on the menu was a fried fish sandwich. And as the saying goes, "when in Rome," so I opted for the onion rings as a side. Not the best pre-race food but it would have to do and I was really just planning on taking it easy anyway. Yeah right. Me? Take it easy? I will take it easy when I die. That said, I had no goals other than to have a good time so there was little to no pressure.

On race morning, we were one of the first to arrive as usual. If you want a good spot on the rack, you have to get to transition early. After we got our bikes racked, Melissa and I took a little swim in the lake mostly just to see what it would be like. It was pretty warm and pretty darn shallow and clear. That would prove to make the swim a little less intimidating for the both of us.

I was in the second wave and Melissa was in the 4th wave. When the gun went off and I splashed into the water, I found myself in a bit of a jumble of swimmers. I got punched in the face by one guy but there was no damage done other than to startle me. I moved to the right side of the pack. This may not have been the most strategic move because our first turn was a left turn. But I am not the strongest swimmer and tend to breathe to my right side almost exclusively (something good triathletes DO NOT do). After we rounded the first buoy and swam for a bit, I pulled my head out of the water to survey my position. I had drifted pretty far out into the middle of the lake, definitely off course. I had to swim back towards to the buoy line. I ended up doing this a couple of times which must have tacked on another 50 yards or more. I was zig zagging all over the place.

When I got finished with the swim, my heart was pounding and I was breathing hard. I made my way to the bikes, had a fast transition, and took off. The first part of the course, once I left the parking lot, was uphill. I passed a couple of people on this hill but it took lots of effort and I was definitely not taking it easy. Soon, I was passed by a lady down on her areo bars. I kicked it up a notch to try to stay with her without getting close enough to get a drafting penalty. I ended up passing some more people and then catching and passing her on another small climb. She and I would leap frog that way for the first couple of miles until she found her rhythm and dropped me.

I kept chugging along, passing a few people and getting passed here and there by some others. Mostly I was passing versus being passed. After about half way, I relaxed and enjoyed the beauty that is Vermont. There are no billboards or strip malls in Vermont and there is pretty rolling farmland everywhere. I had a great time taking it all in while keeping my cadence high.

After the bike, I had another fast transition and took off on the 5K run. It was hilly and I was pretty spent by this time. The 600 yard lake swim was the farthest I had ever gone in a race and I think that took its toll. I felt slow on the run. I did pass some people and I did not get passed by anyone. Towards the end of the run, a person was gaining on me just as we crested the last hill before the downhill finish. I put the hammer down and ran a 6:30 pace into the finish line. After all, I could not let this person catch me at the end. Even though I did not have a specific race goal, I was not going to lie down and let someone beat me at the very end. Besides, I always have a good kick and downhill is my specialty so the nature of the course was in my favor at this point. Not that it really matters because after all this was just our vacation right?

I ended up 92 out of 199 so a top half finish overall at 1:24:31. I was 11th out of 15 in the M40-44 age group with the the following splits:

600 Yard Swim - 12:35
14 Mile Bike - 45:42
5K - 23:37

It sure was a fun day of racing in a really great venue.

The rest of our vacation was nice and relaxing. We went to Burlington and checked into a hotel where we watched the Women's World Cup Final. The game went into penalty kicks and the US really lost their composure and lost to a more technical Japan. But it was nice to sit in the AC and relax and watch the game before going down to the waterfront to take in the sights.

The next day we went to Ben and Jerry's factory for a tour and some fresh samples of ice cream. I don't typically eat any kind of dessert but I made an exception for this occasion. Needless to say, the ice cream was quite delicious. It was a small sample which is really all I needed. If you are ever up that way in Vermont, you must check it out.

After our morning stop at Ben and Jerry's we went on to the Northeast Kingdom for some relaxation, nice scenery and 100 miles of single track mountain bike trails. Just because we were on vacation did not mean that we would be couch potatoes.

On the contrary. While Monday was a rest day, on Tuesday we did 2.5 hours on the mountain bikes in the morning. After our ride together, we took a little break, had lunch and then I headed out solo to tackle some more technical trails. I made it about 15 minutes into my ride when everything literally came to a skidding halt. I knew right away that I had a major problem. A stick or a rock must have lodged in my rear wheel or derailleur. As it turns out, it was more than a major problem. My bike was rendered useless. In fact, it would not roll at all. So I did what I had to do and hoisted my bike onto my back and walked about 2.5 miles back to the trailhead. Uphill of course. Luckily, I was able to use my phone to send Melissa a message to meet me with the car so I did not have to walk the additional 2 miles back to our room where I started my ride.




We took the bike to the local shop and after discussing some things with the mechanic decided not to get it fixed but rather rent a hard tail 29er. I got a 3-day rental starting the next day plus daily insurance for only $85. Not too shabby at all.

After we got back from the bike store, I went out on my road bike to do my 2 X [9 z4 +3 Z5] w/5m RI. Basically I rode down to the bottom of the hill on Darling Hill Road and then crunched up the hill for 9 minutes hard and then 3 minutes all-out. Lather, rinse, repeat. I nailed the workout and my heart rate was flying.

Again, since I can rest when I die, after all that, we both entered a local 5 K trail race. After all, we could see the start from our room so why not? It was only $5 a person. It was low key with about 20 runners total. Some of them would be doing one loop which was about 1.5 miles and some would be doing two loops. At the beginning of the race, these two college runners who were running the 1.5 mile loop took off fast and I took off with them. I stayed with them for a few minutes but they were running a sub 6 pace down the hill. I let them go but now found myself in the lead since they were only doing the one loop and I was doing the two. During my second loop, I noticed a guy who was starting to gain on me. I could not let this happen as this could be my one and only chance to win a race. I was probably about 25 to 50 yards in front of him. I decided to put the hammer down after I went around a turn. That way, when he went around the turn and did not see me, I would have a psychological advantage. It is always easier to chase someone when you can see them. Now, he would not know what happened to me. Plus, after I climbed the hills again and I knew it was mostly downhill from there, I really opened it up. There was no fanfare, and not prizes. Nor really an acknowledgement that I had won. But I knew. And the guy who "almost" caught up to me? He asked me after the race if I ran the second loop faster or what. He said that he stopped briefly to tie his shoe and when he looked up, I had vanished. I told him that I usually start out too fast, falter in the middle, and then pick it up at the end. It was surely a great finish to a lovely day of exercise.

Summarizing the rest of our week, on Wednesday, we rode for 3.5 hours. Thursday we did about 40 minutes of swimming in a lake. Friday we rode for 2 hours and 45 minutes and did a 30-minute trail run. In between, we ate a lot and read, and walked around the grounds of the Inn. Unfortunately our room did not have AC so we ended up pretty hot at night and did not get the sleep we needed. So by the end of the week, I was ready to head home. It was a little bit of a downer, not being able to sleep well due to the heat. If we ever go back, we will make sure to get a room with an AC unit like we had last year.

Here are some photos from the trip.

A Good Idea Is Sometimes Stellar

Please sit back, relax, make yourself comfortable for the wit of my guest blogger. Today's race report comes from none other than my partner in crime. Please enjoy something different this time around. Comments are welcome and encouraged. Without further ado, I present the musings of Melissa Rosen:

Sometimes, I have good ideas. These ideas usually come in the form of something small, as in, “I think I'll have a piece of chocolate”, or, “I'm gonna wear jeans today.” Sometimes my ideas occur to me as a matter of course. But mostly, any good idea I ever have enters my brain after much thought and trepidation. After painstaking research and fact checking. After a good night's sleep.

But this time around, my obvious better half had a good idea. His idea: “Let's go to Vermont again for vacation.” Now I must say, this is as good as ideas get. We had gone to East Burke, VT last year, to enjoy a vacation on the beautiful mountain bike single track of the Kingdom Trails Organization. Sporting over 100 miles of single track, plus some wider trails and downhill, the Kingdom Trails has something for everyone, even a beginner like me. But as much as I enjoyed it last year, I kept thinking-- “Do I want 7 days of mountain biking again? I mean, it was fun and all, but. . .”. I kept thinking there ought to be more we could do. And then it occurred to me (undoubtedly after that good night's sleep I mentioned): let's do a Tri while we're in Vermont! Now that would be FUN! Now that's a good idea!

And so, after what amounted to only a small amount of research, I located some triathlon options that we could build our vacation around, and sent an email off to Jim telling him of my good idea. And you know what? He thought it was a good idea too. So, lickety split, we chose to do the Vermont Sun Triathlon held in Branbury State Park: 600 yard swim, 14 mile bike, 5k run.

I've been training for my triathlons this season with what I admit is a bit of an ad hoc approach. January through March I had pushed my training for the Monument 10k pretty hard, and having achieved my goal there (broke an hour for the first time, hooray!), I must say I've found it hard to return to my training regimen with the same intensity. I have been very consistent in the frequency and amount of training I've been doing, but I just can't seem to get to the same level of intensity that I had for the first 12 weeks of the year. Still, I've managed to average a run 2 -3 times a week, swim 2x a week, and bike 2x a week. I work in doubles sometimes, and also some brick workouts because I need to get used to running off the bike (and the initial cramping that comes with it).

We arrived at our motel in Brandon, VT the evening before the race, and had dinner at a local restaurant. We could not have our usual pre-race meal of salmon, greens and potatoes, so we had to settle for what they offered. I ordered the Fisherman's Pasta, and although it was tasty, I was surprised to find bacon in it. The last time I checked (and I check regularly because you never know what creepy weird things are crawling about in the water), pigs don't swim. So, I don't know where the swimming pigs are coming from, or what fishermen are catching them, but apparently they are not smart enough to ignore a worm on a hook. The food was ok, but I kept wondering how it was going to make me feel the next day, and hoped it wouldn't decide to lurch about in my stomach all night. Luckily, that did not happen.

Sunday morning came, and I was more than happy to get up at such an early hour, since I did not sleep too well in the strange and somewhat uncomfortable motel bed. Triathlons usually start early, but this one actually started an hour later than I am used to, so that was nice. Getting to the race site early has the advantage of picking a good spot on the bike rack in transition. It is convenient to be on the end so that when you run into transition, it is easy to find your stuff. And to all those who are better, faster, and more experienced than me, I say-- get there early if you want the end spot, cause if I'm there first, I'm gonna take it. So there. HA!

The race started knee-deep in the lake. It turns out that my wave was last, Women 40+. We waded in and the water was warm- had to be at least 76 degrees. My goals for the race were framed rather loosely, and as this is only my third triathlon ever, I am fine with that for now. My goals were:

1. Finish the 14 mile bike in under an hour.

2. Finish the entire tri in under 2 hours.

3. Shoot for a 30 minute run.

4. Don't be dead last overall.

5. Don't be last in my age group.

And as I looked around me at the starting line, I added one:

6. Don't be last out of the water.

As I waited for the gun to go off, I was nervous. I'd never swum this far in a lake before, and it is quite different than swimming in the pool. In the pool, you have a wall to push off of every 25 meters, and the security of knowing that the wall and bottom aren't far away.

Well, the gun went off, and off I went. Into the fray, trying to hold back but not really succeeding. As was typical, I went out too fast and about 5 minutes into the race, I was breathing harder than I should have been. I kept telling myself, “This is only 600 yards. Seriously. Not hard. Not far. You can do this.”

I kept getting a bit off track, since my sighting isn't very good (the practice of looking where you're going while you swim, ideally without disrupting your form). First I was next to the buoy line. Then to the far right of it. Then a bit to the left of it (oops). Then next to it. Then too far right again. Ugh! As other swimmers pulled away from me, I reminded myself that I should try to enjoy the experience at least a little. I mean after all, wasn't I on vacation? I needed to use the side stroke here and there to catch my breath, and at some point I must have got it together a bit because before I realized it, I was heading toward the last buoy. As I passed the final buoy, I was surprised to see a photographer in the water taking pictures of the athletes as they came around the “corner”. All I could think was, “That better not be Mr. DeMille, because I am truly not ready for my close-up”. Not even a little bit.

I swam into shore and as my hands hit the sandy bottom, I swam a few more strokes and then up I went, ran into transition, and did not look back. Was I last out of the water? I wouldn't know that for sure until much later, when I examined the race results. I was pretty sure there was at least one person behind me and at the time, even though I was really curious, I preferred to remain oblivious to it. I could have easily looked around the transition area to see how many bikes were still there, but that would have only gotten in the way of what I needed to do. Besides, it is counter to a racing mantra I like to adhere to: Run Your Own Race. Sure, my goal might have been to not be last,but I wasn't going to let that thought dominate my mind to the point of distraction. I find Run Your Own Race to be a good Life mantra as well. After all, we've all got to find our own pace in life. We might have some false starts, we might go out too fast, blow out our quads running downhill-- but ultimately we've got to find our racing groove and get in it. Only then can we be our best.

I won't bore you with too many other details, as the hilly 14-mile bike ride, as beautiful as it was (“Am I really on vacation? This is awesome!”) is a bit of a blur to me. It started out on a hill, which for me is not good. But once I found my pace, I passed a few people, including two riders who were struggling up the steep 1-mile hill at mile 10. Passing a sign that said “Camp Cupcake” gave me a chuckle early on, too. Must've been a camp for kids, but all I could think was “ I don't see any cupcakes on this course.” And I don't mean the sweet sugary kind either.

As I've found with the first two triathlons I did, the run ends up being the hardest. It didn't help that the out and back course started on an uphill. And then kept going uphill (mostly) until the turnaround. I had some calf cramps for the first few minutes of my run, so I just kept going since I know from my training they will go away if I just push through. Same with my stomach. If it starts to feel queasy or sloshy (from ingesting liquids), I know that feeling will go away If I can just ignore it. Plus, a 5k isn't that long, so I just tell myself that it will be over soon and I just need to GO. I passed a few folks on the run course (one of them over 70-- I was impressed!), and the downhill helped me pick up speed. I had glanced at my watch when I took off, so I knew I wasn't going to make the 30 minute goal I set, but really, at that point it didn't matter.

As I came to the bottom of the hill and entered the park, I noticed that most of the spectators had cleared out. Ah well, that's how I know I am near the back of the pack. I always manage to have a little kick at the end, though I'm not sure where it comes from-- sometimes during a race, I try to hit the gas pedal but there doesn't seem to be any gas in the tank. So where was it all this time? In the reserve tank? As I neared the finish line, I saw the only spectator that mattered-- there was Jim, cheering me on! Yay! Seeing him always puts a smile on my face and as he high-fived me, I sprinted to the end. Panting, and walking in circles as I tried to catch my breath, I was elated to be finished and felt such a great feeling of satisfaction. Was doing this triathlon good idea? Yes. In fact, it was stellar.

How my goals stacked up:

1. Finish the 14 mile bike in under an hour - check

I finished the bike leg in 58:17

2. Finish the entire tri in under 2 hours - check

   Total finish time: 1:49:53

3. Shoot for a 30 minute run

   Total run time: 33:28

4. Don't be dead last overall - check

   I placed 181 out of 199

5. Don't be last in my age group – check

   I placed 17^th out of 19 women 40-44

6. Don't be last out of the water – check

   There were 3 women who exited the water after me. I completed the swim in 15:01.

   
   

   

   
   

Endorphin Fitness Counsultation

I have been meaning report on my meeting with Michael Harlow at Endorphin Fitness but have been busy following the training plan he created for me. After reading my blog, I encourage you to check out their website by clicking on their logo above.

Meeting Michael one on one was fun and very informative. We talked about my history with the sport of triathlon, my long term goals, races I was interested in, my current training volume, and of course the results from my fitness testing.

Michael already knew a lot about me because I had sent him some background information and race results via email. Michael knew that I was doing a race in July in Vermont and knew that I wanted to do the Patriots Half in September. After we chatted for a bit, he asked me if I had considered any other races. It went something like this.

Coach: Have you thought of any other races you might want to do?

Me: Not really. I was considering a sprint in VA Beach after the Patriots Half that might be fun.

Coach: What about the Luray International?

Me: What's that?

Coach: It is an international distance race on August 13th. I have it on your training plan.

Me: Well, Ok.

And that was that. I now have another race on my schedule. So as it stands right now, this is what my race schedule looks like:

July 17th: Vermont Sun Triathlon, Salisbury Vermont-600 Yard Lake Swim, 14 Mile Bike, 3.1 Mile Run.

August 13th: Luray International Triathlon-Luray, Virginia-1500 Meter Lake Swim, 41K Bike, 10K Run. (in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains-sounds hilly)
September 10th: Patriots Half, Williamsburg, VA - 1.2 Mile Swim, 56 mile Bike, 13.1 mile run.

The plan that I got from Coach Michael Harlow was quite detailed with specific workouts. For instance, here is one of my upcoming bike workouts: 2 x [9 z4 + 3 z5] w/5Ri. This workout is best done on a trainer rather than out on the road. Basically I would warm up for 10 minutes which would include some easy pedaling with some harder efforts to get the engine going followed by 9 minutes at zone 4 and then 3 minutes at zone 5 and then 5 minutes rest. The rest interval would be easy pedaling. Rest does not mean stop. And then I would do it all again. The plan then calls for an intensity run after this bike workout and then some strength training.

The zones refer to heart rate zones. Since I did fitness testing, my zones are all dialed in for my specific fitness level rather than derived from a formula based on my age. My zones for the bike are different from the zones for the run. My swimming zones are based on 100 yard intervals. For instance, for me, zone 4 in the pool is 1:55 for a 100 yard swim.

Now that I have a training plan that is tailor made for me, I just have to do the actual training. On Tuesday morning, I got up at 4 AM to do my 55 minutes on the bike and my 30 minute run afterwards. I really don't like getting up that early but it is necessary. The heat this summer seems particularly brutal with very high humidity. On Thursday I got up a little later, at 4:30 AM, for an intensity run - 3 x 1 mile at 7:10 pace which included a 1 mile warm up. Later that day when I got home from work and stepped out of my car, I thought "I am SO glad I worked out this morning." The heat was oppressive and there was no way I would have been able to work out in that heat.

Well, I better get moving. I don't really have as much time to blog, facebook, etc. Working 10 hour days and getting all my exercise in takes plenty of my time. Plus sitting in front of the computer is not good for my knees so I try to limit it if possible. That is all for now. Thanks for reading.

So What is Next?

It is time to reveal my change in plans. I have alluded to the fact that my race plans have changed a few different times but have yet to detail those changes. During the Xterra weekend, I heard from two different people that if I could do Xterra, I could likely do a Half Ironman on the road. Instead of doing the Shenandoah Mountain 100, I am planning to do the Patriots Half in Williamsburg on Saturday, September 10, 2011. Training and racing triathlon has become very fun for me and I like the variety in training. The SM100 will have to wait for another year.

The Patriots Half consists of a 1.2 mile open water river swim followed by a 56 mile mostly flat bike ride and then finishing up with a 13.1 mile mostly flat run. No doubt this event will take some serious preparation. I decided that instead of trying to wing it and come up with a training plan myself, I would enlist the help of a professional. I reached out to the folks at Endorphin Fitness here in Richmond, VA and decided to get a custom coaching consultation as well as some fitness testing.

Step 1 was VO2 Max testing. Here is the Wikipedia explanation of VO2 Max:

VO2 max (also maximal oxygen consumption, maximal oxygen uptake, peak oxygen uptake or aerobic capacity) is the maximum capacity of an individual's body to transport and use oxygen during incremental exercise, which reflects the physical fitness of the individual. The name is derived from V - volume per time, O2 - oxygen, max - maximum.

VO2 max is expressed either as an absolute rate in liters of oxygen per minute (l/min) or as a relative rate in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min). The latter expression is often used to compare the performance of endurance sports athletes.

And here is a brief explanation of the benefits of getting tested:



I went to Endorphin fitness early in the morning to do my first round of testing on the treadmill. I never run on the treadmill and really cannot stand it but the test requires it. After about 10 minutes of easy jogging, the tester strapped the face mask on my head and I donned a heart rate monitor. The mask looks somewhat like the one in the picture below.



Once strapped in, I started running on the treadmill. Every two minutes we made the speed slightly faster and then after a few rounds, the tester raised the incline on the treadmill a couple of degrees every two minutes. The idea is to run until failure.

The results of my running VO2 Max test were quite good. I hit 70 which is very high. According to what I read on the Internet, the average for college-age cross country runners is around 50. Elite endurance athletes like Lance Armstrong measure out at about 80. Interestingly enough, the people with the best recorded Vo2 Max tend to be Nordic skiers.

I had a feeling that my VO2 Max was high and I was happy with the result of the test. After a couple of days, I went back to get tested on the bike. My bike results were lower-about 59. I knew that would be the case as I am slow on the bike. A 78-year-old man did the bike leg at my last Sprint Tri faster than me after all.

I still don't have the formal results from these tests. Tomorrow I go to meet with Endorphin Fitness's head coach, Michael Harlow, who will put together a detailed training plan based on my test results, race results, current training volume, injury history, and race goals. The detailed plan will include my heart rate zones which I can plug into my Garmin so that I am always in the right zone. The science behind training is very precise and by getting my custom heart rate zones and sticking to them, I will undoubtedly see better results from my training and hopefully get stronger and faster for the races I want to compete in.

Of course, I still have not signed up for the race. I am waiting to talk to Michael to see what his thoughts are about the whole thing. In the meantime, I am going to continue training hard and smart. With my 10-hour work days, it is going to be a challenge. Already I am missing out on one of my favorite workouts-Wednesday morning swims with Pro K swimming. Karen has helped me so much already and I can't wait to get back to class at the end of the summer.

Thanks for reading.

Team X-T.R.E.M.E

As promised in my last blog post, here is the story behind the guy in the gas mask. Team X-T.R.E.M.E is a non-profit support organization working to raise awareness and funds for wounded warriors. They direct focus to wounded service members of the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns through innovation, vigilance and "Xtreme" feats of physical and mental endurance.

These guys are some tough hombres. In the last couple of years, I have seen them at various events including 10Ks, half-marathons, and marathons. They run in gas masks to help bring awareness and attention to their cause. It is hard enough to complete one of these events without adding an Avon C50 gas mask into the mix.

Jeremy Soles founded Team X-T.R.E.M.E. (Train, Rehabilitate, Empower, Motivate and Endure), a non-profit support organization with an ongoing mission to honor, motivate and empower wounded veterans. He wears the gas mask as a way to symbolize perseverance in the face of insurmountable odds and overcoming mental and physical obstacles. Challenges experienced in the mask last for hours, while wounded warriors endure their challenges for a lifetime.

For the Xterra trail marathon which took place on Saturday, June 11th in Richmond, Jeremy and a group of Team X.T.R.E.M.E. runners broke the World Record for fastest trail half marathon while wearing a gas mask. The folks from the Guinness Book of World Records were on hand to present them with the certificate of their great achievement.



The following day after this amazing accomplishment, Jeremy went on to race the Xterra Sport Triathlon which was the same race I did except half the distance in each discipline. And again, he did the whole thing in the gas mask. He was going for another World Record and Guinness was on board in the days leading up to the race but then the folks at Guinness decided it would be too dangerous and they withdrew their support for the event. Of course Jeremy is a warrior and he did the race anyway. My hats off to him and all our service men and women for the sacrifices they make.

After Jeremy finished his race, he gave an interview and Melissa was able to capture some of that on video from our little camera. The video is not super high quality but you can view it on Youtube at the following link.



I encourage you to check out the Team X-T.R.E.M.E website at http://www.teamxtremerunning.org/.