What are you favorite things to do on a rainy Saturday? Do you sleep in and listen to the rain? Drink coffee and read the morning paper? Play games with your kids and post silly pictures of them on Facebook. Read a book or magazine while lying around in your pajamas. Or maybe you like to run on the treadmill or maybe do some strength training. Running out in the rain is always an option too. I have to admit, all of these things sound like a pretty good way to spend a rainy Saturday, but for me, I could not think of too much that is better than what I did this morning.
This morning, I participated in a Pro K Racing team workout. The general plan was to meet at a nearby church and then bike 30 miles to Lake Anna and then swim 1+ miles in the lake to practice open water swimming. As Saturday approached, it seemed like rain could be in the forecast. Karen, our coach, said that if it was raining, we would still meet at the church but then drive to Lake Anna and swim in the rain.
When I awoke on Saturday, it was not raining. But one glance of the radar showed it was on its way. I was not sure what to do. I inspected various weather websites and tried to calculate the speed of the storm. In the end, I decided I could beat the rain to the meeting point. From there, if we drove to the lake, at least I would have gotten in some riding.
It is about 9+ miles from my house to the meeting spot. When I left out of my driveway at about 7:40 AM, it was dry. It was a peaceful morning and there were not many people out and about yet. I started out slow so I could warm up and not tax my system right out of the gate. After about 10 minutes, I started to pick up the pace. It felt good to be out on the bike early in the morning. Riding solo can be kind of peaceful especially when there is not much traffic. And there was not.
I arrived at the meeting spot about 8:15 and to my surprise, everyone was arriving and getting their bikes ready. Some had rain gear so I knew that we were going to give it a go. It was determined and explicitly stated that, YES, we were going to get wet. It was warm enough that the rain would not be too big a deal. It would require extra caution on the road and we would have to me especially mindful of each other. But at least we would not be cold. To me, cold rain is never fun.
When we took off out of the parking lot there were about 6 to 8 of us towards the front of the pack. After a few minutes of riding, I noticed that coach Karen and one other Pro K rider were riding off the front. There was a small gap that had developed between them and the pack I was in. I decided to kick it up a notch and close the gap. It was fun. I had not rode with a group of people that I knew in so long. I could tell the day was going to be fun.
As the rain started to fall, there was a shout from the back of our pack. We were going a little too fast and there were one or two people falling off the back. To me, "falling of the back" is a cycling term that seems slightly nicer than the other term you often here. It was this other term that was uttered. "Someone is getting dropped." We stopped to regroup and once we had everyone together again, we started out on the road again. The rain started picking up and it was at this point in the ride when Karen said that she was going to fall to the back of the pack to ride with the slower people and she asked me to lead.
This was not exactly what I had in mind. The pack I was riding with included several very strong men and women. We are talking about multiple Ironman finishers. I felt like there was pressure on my rear wheel so I did all I could to put the hammer down. Looking at my heart rate data afterwards, I can see exactly when I was given the task of leading the ride. My HR climbed into zone 5 at about 160 beats per minute. I was able to hold on for a while. I attribute being able to hold on for as long as I did to the good people at Richmond Cycling Corporation who have elevated my cycling ability to a new high. At one point during the ride, I heard one woman say, "Here's a hill, let's see what you got Rosen." Of course that put the pressure on even more. I was giving it my all, breathing hard, heart racing, and doing my best.
After a while, someone came up and took the lead and I was able to slide back into the draft. While riding in the draft, I felt like I could ride all day. It felt so good to be riding with a team. There is something special about it and it is hard to explain. I would never have been able to go as fast I did when riding behind the men and women who I rode with today. Not only did I get the physical draft, I got the mental and emotional lift from riding with these exceptional people. Plus it was raining, so there was that added level of adventure.
As we continued to ride, we increased the gab between the lead pack and the slightly slower group behind us. In fact, for me, this was a hammerfest. I was able to hang but I was definitely pushing it. For the rest of the riders, I think they felt pretty darn comfortable while I was slightly out of my comfort zone. But then again, that is what made the ride so great. It was like when I was kid and always played soccer with my older brothers and their friends. The immersion automatically makes one improve. At least in my book.
At some point, one of our guys got a flat and we all stopped while he fixed his flat. Some people took the opportunity to use the facility that is the great outdoors. I took the opportunity to suck down some Hammer Gel and water. After about 10 minutes or so, the other riders caught up to us. We had put a pretty good gap on them but now they had caught up. They decided to keep going while we waited for our guy to finish fixing his flat.
When we got mobile again, my legs felt like they had stiffened up a bit. It would have been nice to ease back into the ride but my fellow teammates had other ideas. Hammer Down! And we were off. My legs complained a little but my heart rate did not spike quite as high. Before you knew it, we had caught up to the other group and passed them. We were in the lead again. And while it was not a race, it was fun to chase, close the gap, draft, fall of the back and climb back to the front, etc, etc.
After about 30 miles of fairly hard riding (for me), we arrived at the lake. Melissa was driving our car as a team support car and followed the riders to the lake. She also had the wetsuits and our other gear. We changed into our wetsuits, donned our swim caps and goggles and waded into the lake. The water was great. It was still raining but the water temperature was actually higher than it is at the pool where we swim.
After a brief float in the water, I started the swim. The water was calm and we all went out at our own pace. There were several kayakers out on the water to support us which was really nice. Swimming in open water is probably my biggest weakness at this point. There are no lane lines and more importantly for me, there is no wall every 25 meters. In the pool, I get the one second break at the 25 meter turn around and the kick off the wall. No walls in the lake. I find that after a while, I am very out of breath and have to take a little break. I continue to kick like a frog and crawl my way forward a bit when I take these breathers so I am making forward progress but it is pretty slow progress and other swimmers pull away from me at this point. I had several breaks along the swim. It was quite peaceful and quiet out there. When I did stop swimming and my breathing slowed down a bit, it seemed so calm and relaxing. Just floating in the lake with the light rain coming down all around me, it was nice.
I am not sure how long it took me to swim the mile. It was pretty long relatively speaking I think. What fun though. I got my first wet suit swim in before my upcoming triathlon in the same lake I will be racing in. This is going to help me immensely. I got to practice sighting and I got to swim a bit with Melissa and watch her swim. She has better form than me for sure. Both the ride and the swim were really great and I can't thank Karen enough for putting the whole training event together.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
The Heat is On
The heat has arrived in Richmond just in time for the 10K. Actually while it is quite warm, it is not quite hot. But the humidity is so high that when exercising, the body has trouble regulating its temperature. Typically when a human sweats, the sweat evaporates and takes the heat away from the body. But in Richmond, the sweat just pours off the body into little puddles. No evaporation, no cooling.
Luckily this summer-like weather has come a week or two before the 10K so we can all get slightly acclimated before the big race. I have done one hard workout in the heat and one easy run in the heat. The temperature makes a big difference in performance when exercising and it was evident in my workouts. When it is very hot, the body diverts more blood to surface areas of the body to assist with cooling. That means there is less blood flow to the muscles. Less blood flow to the muscles means less fuel being delivered to the muscles. The heart has to work harder and the muscles have to work with less.
Who knows what the weather will be like on race day. Right now, they are calling for a high of around 70 with an over night low around 50. Starting the race at 50+ degrees would be perfect for me. I won't need a hat, gloves, or arm warmers. I will likely need something warm and dry to change into after the race. I typically get cold once I cool down after a hard effort. We will be hanging around the finish for quite some time as we meet up with our family and friends and I want to be comfortable. Luckily, I can either check a bag at the bag check or go back to the car real quick after the race and pick up a dry shirt.
I am very much looking forward to the race and hope to PR. Last year I ran a 43. My training has been much different this year. I have been swimming and biking more and my track work this year has been very different from last year. As long as I pace myself well, I should be able to beat 43. Of course, this year will be warmer than last year which could affect my time. Plus both knees are a little gimpy at this point.
I am hoping to write one more blog post before the race but if not, I will certainly return here to give you my race report.
Luckily this summer-like weather has come a week or two before the 10K so we can all get slightly acclimated before the big race. I have done one hard workout in the heat and one easy run in the heat. The temperature makes a big difference in performance when exercising and it was evident in my workouts. When it is very hot, the body diverts more blood to surface areas of the body to assist with cooling. That means there is less blood flow to the muscles. Less blood flow to the muscles means less fuel being delivered to the muscles. The heart has to work harder and the muscles have to work with less.
Who knows what the weather will be like on race day. Right now, they are calling for a high of around 70 with an over night low around 50. Starting the race at 50+ degrees would be perfect for me. I won't need a hat, gloves, or arm warmers. I will likely need something warm and dry to change into after the race. I typically get cold once I cool down after a hard effort. We will be hanging around the finish for quite some time as we meet up with our family and friends and I want to be comfortable. Luckily, I can either check a bag at the bag check or go back to the car real quick after the race and pick up a dry shirt.
I am very much looking forward to the race and hope to PR. Last year I ran a 43. My training has been much different this year. I have been swimming and biking more and my track work this year has been very different from last year. As long as I pace myself well, I should be able to beat 43. Of course, this year will be warmer than last year which could affect my time. Plus both knees are a little gimpy at this point.
I am hoping to write one more blog post before the race but if not, I will certainly return here to give you my race report.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Snow Day
Ah, the joy of the snow day. One of the perks of working for a school system is the occasional surprise school closing. This morning, I got up at my normal 4:45 AM for my early morning swim practice with ProK Racing. There was no snow in sight and everything was open at this point. I drove to the Y and walked in at the same time as my coach. We even got to chat a bit before practice about some of my race goals and my training progress. More on that later.
When I pulled myself out of the water at 6:30AM after an hour of nubby arm kicking (kicking with arms down at your sides and rotating the body left and right as you slowly make your way down the lane), sighting drills (swimming with your eyes closed and only opening them when you lift your head out of the water), swimming with fists, and other various drills, a teammate who was getting ready for the 6:30 class said that the school systems had all decided to go two hours late because it was snowing. I simply smiled and nodded my approval.
I was delighted to hear the news because that meant I would have about 2 and a half hours to myself before I would have to leave for work. I could relax, make a good breakfast and lunch, drink some hot water with lemon and read the news, etc.
When I got home from class, I was home for about 15 minutes when the phone rang. I recognized the number as Henrico County Public Schools. Alas, they had changed their mind and decided to call off school all together. Now, I am not going to complain about a free day off but it seemed odd since there was no snow on the roads at all. Even as I write this at 1:00PM, the snow is still falling but has yet to accumulate on the roads and has only just now started accumulating on the parked cars. In fact, I can still see the grass in my front yard.
So far, I have accomplished a few things on this free day off. I put in some time on our bathroom renovation, took a nap, and had lunch with Melissa which is something we rarely get to do. And now, I have the rest of the day to work on some other projects. My plans include writing my blog, cleaning the house, working the foam roller and doing some other PT exercises. If I get the gumption, I may even continue working on the bathroom renovation. Mostly, I am just going to dilly dally my way through the day. It is nice to have the extra day. Instead of rapidly refocusing in front of a few computers at work, I will just do what I want to do and get some extra relaxation. Like I said, the joys of a snow day.
And now a quick training update. Last week at track practice, I improved my 1 mile time by 2 seconds. I felt pretty good about that and after talking with my coach this morning, she believes that I can PR at Monument and make the Kinetic Half Triathlon my A race. She has faith in me which is reassuring. Since, I have not nailed all my pace runs, I am not sure about hitting the 40 minute 10K mark that I discussed earlier. Right now, I am going to continue to work hard and shoot for beating my last year's time at the very least. As we get closer to the race, I will have a better idea if 40 minutes is really doable.
Well, I got another item on my mental checklist completed. Now I have to work on some PT. I will never reach my race goals if I don't continue to work on my knees. With the extra time today, I should be able to make some good healing progress. That is all for now. Thanks for reading.
When I pulled myself out of the water at 6:30AM after an hour of nubby arm kicking (kicking with arms down at your sides and rotating the body left and right as you slowly make your way down the lane), sighting drills (swimming with your eyes closed and only opening them when you lift your head out of the water), swimming with fists, and other various drills, a teammate who was getting ready for the 6:30 class said that the school systems had all decided to go two hours late because it was snowing. I simply smiled and nodded my approval.
I was delighted to hear the news because that meant I would have about 2 and a half hours to myself before I would have to leave for work. I could relax, make a good breakfast and lunch, drink some hot water with lemon and read the news, etc.
When I got home from class, I was home for about 15 minutes when the phone rang. I recognized the number as Henrico County Public Schools. Alas, they had changed their mind and decided to call off school all together. Now, I am not going to complain about a free day off but it seemed odd since there was no snow on the roads at all. Even as I write this at 1:00PM, the snow is still falling but has yet to accumulate on the roads and has only just now started accumulating on the parked cars. In fact, I can still see the grass in my front yard.
So far, I have accomplished a few things on this free day off. I put in some time on our bathroom renovation, took a nap, and had lunch with Melissa which is something we rarely get to do. And now, I have the rest of the day to work on some other projects. My plans include writing my blog, cleaning the house, working the foam roller and doing some other PT exercises. If I get the gumption, I may even continue working on the bathroom renovation. Mostly, I am just going to dilly dally my way through the day. It is nice to have the extra day. Instead of rapidly refocusing in front of a few computers at work, I will just do what I want to do and get some extra relaxation. Like I said, the joys of a snow day.
And now a quick training update. Last week at track practice, I improved my 1 mile time by 2 seconds. I felt pretty good about that and after talking with my coach this morning, she believes that I can PR at Monument and make the Kinetic Half Triathlon my A race. She has faith in me which is reassuring. Since, I have not nailed all my pace runs, I am not sure about hitting the 40 minute 10K mark that I discussed earlier. Right now, I am going to continue to work hard and shoot for beating my last year's time at the very least. As we get closer to the race, I will have a better idea if 40 minutes is really doable.
Well, I got another item on my mental checklist completed. Now I have to work on some PT. I will never reach my race goals if I don't continue to work on my knees. With the extra time today, I should be able to make some good healing progress. That is all for now. Thanks for reading.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Track Report
My knees are responding well to my treatment of stretching, leg lifts, foam roller and ice. I am still not without some discomfort especially after sitting at work for hours but I am turning the corner. In fact, last Sunday I ran 9 miles and felt pretty good overall. And then on Tuesday, I went to track practice which I had not been to in two weeks due to my knee issues.
Track was great. We ran our 1 mile warm up and then we ran a 1200 followed by a faster 800 followed by a broken 800 (200 fast, 200 recovery, 200 fast, 200 recovery). Then when we were done with that, the coach said that we would be doing 1 mile as fast as we could. For me, she said she wanted me to run a 6 minute mile.
I am sure I have never done a 6 minute mile. I have gotten up to that speed for very short distances but never for a full mile. I was skeptical that I would be able to manage that pace for 4 laps around the track but I said I would try. After 2 laps, I was on track to reach the goal but my breathing was extremely labored and I was struggling to maintain my pace. At around 1000 meters I started thinking about throwing in the towel and just jogging the rest. I often feel this way in races. Despite all my training and my fitness, I start to wonder why I am trying so hard and doubt my abilities. But I can usually push through these moments and at the end of the race, I am super stoked that I gave it my all.
After my brief lapse into doubt, I started to catch up to some of my other teammates who were running slightly slower than me. For me, passing people on the track is a great motivator. As I passed people, I was able to pick things up and know that I could go hard until the end. And after that, I had one more lap to go. I was still struggling and sucking wind. I think I must have sounded like an hyena and I sort of wondered what my teammates must have thought. I gave it my all and in the end was very close to meeting my goal. I had managed a 6:05. I was pretty happy about that.
After everyone finished up and I ran a cool down lap, I told my coach what I had accomplished at last year's Monument Avenue 10K and how I had trained. She told me that if she could run a 40 minute 10K that I could beat 40 minutes. My initial thoughts were "no way." After all, she is an accomplished pro triathlete who won Ironman Canada in 2005. My experience is soccer, not road racing.
I put the idea in the back of my mind but after getting home, I started thinking, "could I really run a 40?" That would be 3 minutes faster than my last year's PR. That is a significant difference in a 10K race. I am going to have to follow up with coach K and see if she really thinks I can pull that off and what it is going to take to get there. For now, I am excited about the possibility and it has given me new motivation to fix my knees.
Track was great. We ran our 1 mile warm up and then we ran a 1200 followed by a faster 800 followed by a broken 800 (200 fast, 200 recovery, 200 fast, 200 recovery). Then when we were done with that, the coach said that we would be doing 1 mile as fast as we could. For me, she said she wanted me to run a 6 minute mile.
I am sure I have never done a 6 minute mile. I have gotten up to that speed for very short distances but never for a full mile. I was skeptical that I would be able to manage that pace for 4 laps around the track but I said I would try. After 2 laps, I was on track to reach the goal but my breathing was extremely labored and I was struggling to maintain my pace. At around 1000 meters I started thinking about throwing in the towel and just jogging the rest. I often feel this way in races. Despite all my training and my fitness, I start to wonder why I am trying so hard and doubt my abilities. But I can usually push through these moments and at the end of the race, I am super stoked that I gave it my all.
After my brief lapse into doubt, I started to catch up to some of my other teammates who were running slightly slower than me. For me, passing people on the track is a great motivator. As I passed people, I was able to pick things up and know that I could go hard until the end. And after that, I had one more lap to go. I was still struggling and sucking wind. I think I must have sounded like an hyena and I sort of wondered what my teammates must have thought. I gave it my all and in the end was very close to meeting my goal. I had managed a 6:05. I was pretty happy about that.
After everyone finished up and I ran a cool down lap, I told my coach what I had accomplished at last year's Monument Avenue 10K and how I had trained. She told me that if she could run a 40 minute 10K that I could beat 40 minutes. My initial thoughts were "no way." After all, she is an accomplished pro triathlete who won Ironman Canada in 2005. My experience is soccer, not road racing.
I put the idea in the back of my mind but after getting home, I started thinking, "could I really run a 40?" That would be 3 minutes faster than my last year's PR. That is a significant difference in a 10K race. I am going to have to follow up with coach K and see if she really thinks I can pull that off and what it is going to take to get there. For now, I am excited about the possibility and it has given me new motivation to fix my knees.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Vegan Pancakes
It has been quite some time since I have sat down to write. And there is a reason. If fact, I can sum it up in one word: depression. Yes, I have been slightly depressed about an injury I sustained. Basically, I over did it which makes it even more depressing. It could have easily been avoided but I was feeling so great and not really paying attention to my training plan. In hindsight, I made a very big mistake.
On January 31st, we had a hard session on the bikes in the AM and then a particularly hard session on the track in the PM. The following day, I woke up early to do a tempo run. So I ended up doing 2 back to back hard running workouts with only about 10 hours rest in between. On my last repeat that Wednesday morning, my left knee started bothering me. Ack! What a bummer. I had been doing so well and feeling so great but now I would have to slow down and skip some workouts.
I continued cycling and swimming as my knee seemed to fare pretty well during these activities. And I started doing more stretching and strength training. In particular, I started doing some leg lifts that a previous PT had told me to do. These exercises immediately paid off and with some rest and lots of foam roller, I was able to travel to run the Virginia is for Lovers 14k with Melissa on February 11th. During the first part of the race, my knee was a little gimpy but as the race went on, the pain went away and I was pain free for most of the race. Granted, I was taking it easy during this race.
I am still gimpy and need to continue to take it easy on the running. Also, long sessions in the saddle tend to aggravate the knee a bit. At this point in my training, I don't think I will be able to beat my last years time in the upcoming Monument Avenue 10K. I am not giving up hope entirely but this race may just have to be a fun race for me. Since I am doing a triathlon two weeks later which will entail a 1500 meter lake swim, a 24 mile bike ride, and a 10K run, I am not too worried about the Monument Avenue race. However, I am still a little down about the whole knee thing.
I thought I was past it but alas, it appears I am not. Worst of all, I know what needs to be done to fix myself up and prevent future occurrences. But more stretching, more warmup, more cool down, more foam roller, more yoga - these are the less than glamorous parts of triathlon training and racing and it is hard to get excited about more injury prevention activities and less actual running. I just don't have the time to do all the necessary injury prevention exercises and put in the volume I would like to put in. That said, I can still compete. My run leg during races is just going to suffer slightly. I will have to walk more and my times will not be as good.
So there you have it. I am still here training but I am also dealing with an injury. So you might not see as many blog postings from me this month. It is just a little depressing. Of course, things could be so much worse and I want to make sure that readers understand where I am coming from. I am blessed by so many things in my life, I really can't complain too much about a gimpy knee. Yes, it brings me down but at the same time, life is good to me. I need not list all the reasons why but here are some: Melissa, Love, Family, Health, Friends, Good Job w/Good Pay, Freedom, Security and of course, Vegan Pancakes.
On January 31st, we had a hard session on the bikes in the AM and then a particularly hard session on the track in the PM. The following day, I woke up early to do a tempo run. So I ended up doing 2 back to back hard running workouts with only about 10 hours rest in between. On my last repeat that Wednesday morning, my left knee started bothering me. Ack! What a bummer. I had been doing so well and feeling so great but now I would have to slow down and skip some workouts.
I continued cycling and swimming as my knee seemed to fare pretty well during these activities. And I started doing more stretching and strength training. In particular, I started doing some leg lifts that a previous PT had told me to do. These exercises immediately paid off and with some rest and lots of foam roller, I was able to travel to run the Virginia is for Lovers 14k with Melissa on February 11th. During the first part of the race, my knee was a little gimpy but as the race went on, the pain went away and I was pain free for most of the race. Granted, I was taking it easy during this race.
I am still gimpy and need to continue to take it easy on the running. Also, long sessions in the saddle tend to aggravate the knee a bit. At this point in my training, I don't think I will be able to beat my last years time in the upcoming Monument Avenue 10K. I am not giving up hope entirely but this race may just have to be a fun race for me. Since I am doing a triathlon two weeks later which will entail a 1500 meter lake swim, a 24 mile bike ride, and a 10K run, I am not too worried about the Monument Avenue race. However, I am still a little down about the whole knee thing.
I thought I was past it but alas, it appears I am not. Worst of all, I know what needs to be done to fix myself up and prevent future occurrences. But more stretching, more warmup, more cool down, more foam roller, more yoga - these are the less than glamorous parts of triathlon training and racing and it is hard to get excited about more injury prevention activities and less actual running. I just don't have the time to do all the necessary injury prevention exercises and put in the volume I would like to put in. That said, I can still compete. My run leg during races is just going to suffer slightly. I will have to walk more and my times will not be as good.
So there you have it. I am still here training but I am also dealing with an injury. So you might not see as many blog postings from me this month. It is just a little depressing. Of course, things could be so much worse and I want to make sure that readers understand where I am coming from. I am blessed by so many things in my life, I really can't complain too much about a gimpy knee. Yes, it brings me down but at the same time, life is good to me. I need not list all the reasons why but here are some: Melissa, Love, Family, Health, Friends, Good Job w/Good Pay, Freedom, Security and of course, Vegan Pancakes.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
For Matthias
After I finished up my first season of Triathlon last Fall, a friend of mine asked me what I had learned. I never did formulate a good reply to his query. With one race under my belt this year and my next races looming on the horizon, I thought I should take a few minutes to answer his question.
Going into Triathlon last year, I knew that I was very weak in the water. I had really just learned to swim a few months before my first race. My form was awful and still not stellar to this day. I also knew that I was pretty strong on the run and that running off the bike seemed to come naturally to me. However, it was my weakness on the bike that really surprised me. I had been mountain biking for many years and while I was not a powerful mountain biker, I thought my experience in the saddle would translate to the road more so than it did.
This fact really became obvious after my second Triathlon. I did much better in this race than I had in my first race. I passed a few people on the bike but also got passed by several people. When I looked at my results and compared them to some other people (arguably not something one should necessarily do), I noticed that there was a 78 year old man whose bike split was 37.56 compared to my 38.45. How was it that this 78 year old man had a faster bike split than me. Sure, I was 30 seconds faster than him on the run, nearly 10 minutes faster on the run, and had faster transitions. But his bike split was faster than mine. After looking at those results, I thought, "Am I really that slow on the bike?"
After a couple more Triathlons, it really sunk in that, yes, I am really that slow on the bike. I was constantly being passed by men and women of all ages. It was interesting and slightly annoying. Not that I am necessarily competing with the entire rest of the field. But I want to perform well and I want to get to the finish line faster than as many people as possible. After all, it is a race. In the end, I know that there will always be people faster than me and always people slower than me. It is not really that big a deal. But it is a goal to work towards.
To remedy my weakness on the bike, I have been doing lots of cycling. Twice a week, Melissa and I meet up with the rest of the gang at Richmond Cycling Corporation for a 1 hour class. We are learning technique as well as gaining fitness. In addition, my training team does a Saturday AM ride also at Richmond Cycling Corporation. I also had a bike fit this year which has helped enormously. I am getting a much more efficient pedal stroke and am more comfortable on the bike.
I am working on my other disciplines as well. I continue to do a coached swim once a week as well as another pool session on my own. Plus I am running 3 times a week including a weekly coached track practice. So far, I am enjoying the training very much and I look forward to seeing some better race results this year. It will only be my second year in Triathlon so I am not expecting to see vast improvements but I do expect some incremental improvement when compared to last year. Plus, this year I will be learning a new skill-racing in a wetsuit.
Finally, there are a few other small things I learned. I prefer bananas to energy bars. My pre-race smoothie should not contain pineapple because it makes me burp a lot during the swim. Vanilla flavored Hammer Gel seems to agree with me and be my food of choice while training and racing. Endurolytes and water seem preferable to other drinks such as Gatorade, etc while on the run. Lemon flavored HEED works well for me on the bike. This year I am going to remember to take a gel a few minutes before the swim start.
One other thing I also learned is that I am having a blast training and racing!
Going into Triathlon last year, I knew that I was very weak in the water. I had really just learned to swim a few months before my first race. My form was awful and still not stellar to this day. I also knew that I was pretty strong on the run and that running off the bike seemed to come naturally to me. However, it was my weakness on the bike that really surprised me. I had been mountain biking for many years and while I was not a powerful mountain biker, I thought my experience in the saddle would translate to the road more so than it did.
This fact really became obvious after my second Triathlon. I did much better in this race than I had in my first race. I passed a few people on the bike but also got passed by several people. When I looked at my results and compared them to some other people (arguably not something one should necessarily do), I noticed that there was a 78 year old man whose bike split was 37.56 compared to my 38.45. How was it that this 78 year old man had a faster bike split than me. Sure, I was 30 seconds faster than him on the run, nearly 10 minutes faster on the run, and had faster transitions. But his bike split was faster than mine. After looking at those results, I thought, "Am I really that slow on the bike?"
After a couple more Triathlons, it really sunk in that, yes, I am really that slow on the bike. I was constantly being passed by men and women of all ages. It was interesting and slightly annoying. Not that I am necessarily competing with the entire rest of the field. But I want to perform well and I want to get to the finish line faster than as many people as possible. After all, it is a race. In the end, I know that there will always be people faster than me and always people slower than me. It is not really that big a deal. But it is a goal to work towards.
To remedy my weakness on the bike, I have been doing lots of cycling. Twice a week, Melissa and I meet up with the rest of the gang at Richmond Cycling Corporation for a 1 hour class. We are learning technique as well as gaining fitness. In addition, my training team does a Saturday AM ride also at Richmond Cycling Corporation. I also had a bike fit this year which has helped enormously. I am getting a much more efficient pedal stroke and am more comfortable on the bike.
I am working on my other disciplines as well. I continue to do a coached swim once a week as well as another pool session on my own. Plus I am running 3 times a week including a weekly coached track practice. So far, I am enjoying the training very much and I look forward to seeing some better race results this year. It will only be my second year in Triathlon so I am not expecting to see vast improvements but I do expect some incremental improvement when compared to last year. Plus, this year I will be learning a new skill-racing in a wetsuit.
Finally, there are a few other small things I learned. I prefer bananas to energy bars. My pre-race smoothie should not contain pineapple because it makes me burp a lot during the swim. Vanilla flavored Hammer Gel seems to agree with me and be my food of choice while training and racing. Endurolytes and water seem preferable to other drinks such as Gatorade, etc while on the run. Lemon flavored HEED works well for me on the bike. This year I am going to remember to take a gel a few minutes before the swim start.
One other thing I also learned is that I am having a blast training and racing!
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Willis River 35K Race Report
I must apologize for the delay in reporting on my last race. I had been waiting for the full results to be posted but that has not happened yet so I am moving forward with my story and will include the preliminary results.
Before I get into the specifics of the race and race results, I have to mention that in the couple of weeks leading up to the race, my right IT band had become very tight. During the winter break, I continued to train but we had a break from our usual weekly yoga class. I think it was the combination of high mileage and lack of yoga that lead to my condition. I worked the foam roller although maybe not as much as I should have. It is hard to make a habit out of finishing each workout with a bout of foam roller action. After all, it is not exactly comfortable nor very exciting.
Based on my issue, I decided to take it extremely easy during race week and I skipped a couple of runs and worked on trying to get my IT band to relax. I also decided that on race day, I would run with an IT band strap to help alleviate any knee pain that can occur when running with a tight IT band. The iliotibial (IT) band is a tough group of fibers that run along the outside of the thigh. During the repetitive motion of running, the fibers can sometimes rub along side the knee and cause pain as a result of the friction.
On race morning, I woke up and had my typical smoothie of almond milk, bananas, frozen berries, Udo's Oil, chia seeds, and a plant based protein powder. On my drive to the race, I also had another banana and a Lara Bar. Finally about 15 minutes before the race started, I had a package of vanilla Hammer Gel.
Based on a quick estimation at the starting line, there were roughly 100 participants lined up to run the race. It was cold and most people were wearing hats, gloves, long sleeves, and most had long pants. I also wore a hat and gloves but went with shorts instead of long pants as I knew I would warm up plenty fast. It was a below freezing start but the temperature would climb into the mid to upper 30s during the race and I knew I would prefer shorts. Plus I can easily stow my gels in the pockets of my shorts and stuff my hat in a pocket once I start to warm up. Most people I saw had either CamelBak Hydration systems or hand held water bottles with little hand holds to make the bottles easy to carry. I went with my Fuel Belt which held about 24 ounces of water total between 4 small bottles. I think I was the only one out there with a Fuel Belt which is something you are more likely to see during a road race. I am not into excessive gear so I use what I got.
I really did not know what to expect other than mud. I had been told that the course was going to be muddy and that streams would be ankle and calf deep. When the gun went off, the pack slowly started trudging through the woods. I passed a number of people at the beginning until I settled in behind a group that seemed like they were going at a pretty good pace for me. I was intent on not going out too fast so I took it easy and simply ran with the folks in front of me.
The course was not excessively hilly. There were hills for sure but there was also lots of mud. In fact there were quite a few sections that were boggy. As I slopped through the cold mud, I could feel the very cold water seeping into my shoes. The cold from the mud surprised me. After a while, I got used to it and it really did not bother me too much.
As I ran through woods hopping over trees, dodging rocks, and roots, and running through the bogs, I was struck by a thought. My friend Chris likes to come up with little nicknames for certain parts of a trail we might be on when riding mountain bikes or running through the woods. The names he comes up with are usually silly but also convey a particular feature of the terrain. Sketchy bridge in Forest Hill Park, Gravel Road and Gravel Road II at Poor Farm Park, Snake Bridge and Clay Hill also at Poor Farm Park. These are just some of the names he has come up with in the past to describe certain parts of a particular trail. For some reason, I thought he would call these muddy parts of the trail, "Downtown Bogdad."
At mile 6 there was an aid station. In trail races, they don't have water stops. Instead they have what are called aid stations. There is usually self serve water, food, and other goodies and many runners will briefly pause and take on fluids, readjust equipment, chat and relax. It is quite a different vibe from a road race. I did not hang out long at the aid stations. I consumed a gel and two cups of water to wash it down but then got on my way. I would follow this pattern at the turnaround and again on my way back.
Since the course was an out and back, at some point in the race, as I got closer to the turnaround, I started seeing runners coming towards me through the woods. For the next half hour or so, it would be two way traffic on the trail. It takes skill to race along a narrow trail with two way traffic and not run into anyone. At this moment in the race, I was still heading towards the turnaround so the people coming at me had the right of way. Once I made the turnaround, those people who were behind me in the race would presumably yield to me if there was a part of the trail that was too narrow to accommodate runners going in both directions. I took a rough estimate of how many people were in front of me before I got to the turnaround. It seemed like I was in the top half of the pack.
At the turnaround, I took a little fall but luckily landed in some soft mud. I was not hurt at all and the little shot of adrenaline and embarrassment had the effect of making me take off out of the aid station a little faster. I distanced myself from most of the guys I had been running with. Up until the turnaround I had been running with a group. Running with a group makes navigating the obstacles much easier because you can see the runner in front of you making his way over trees and other obstacles. Seeing what is coming from that perspective makes running the trail slightly easier. Now however, I was on my own. I decided to kick it up a notch and run slightly harder for the second half of the race. As I ran, I picked off a few runners here and there but mostly I was by myself. It was kind of a nice change of pace really. Occasionally I had to stop and find the trail but overall, I was able to keep moving at my preferred pace.
Around the 3:30 mark, I started to get a little hungry. I consumed another vanilla Hammer Gel and washed it down with water. Gels can get old after a while and sometimes I get tired of them. At this point it is a mental game. I know I need the gel and I know the gel will give me the biggest bang for the buck. They are easily digestible and contain the energy and electrolytes needed. So sometimes you have to use mind over matter and just eat the darn thing. This was my 5th and final gel of the day because around 3:38, I could see the finish line. I had a nice little kick at the end so I could try to beat 3:40. When I crossed the finish line in 3:39, the race organizers asked if I was done. I assured them I was done for the day and the half a dozen volunteers clapped for me. Some people would answer no and continue on to complete the 50K option of the race. 35K was enough for me on that day.
While the final results have not been posted yet that break down everything by age group and gender, the bare bones results have been posted. I was 24th overall out of about 80+ finishers. I was quite pleased with that finish and will likely do the race again next year. I think I can improve on my time and placing. Of course the weather is always a factor in a race like this. The mud definitely slowed us down but not as much as snow would. I have to thank Coach K at ProKRacing.com for helping me be so successful at this race. Also, having the support of Melissa makes it all possible.
Overall, I had a great experience doing this race and will likely do it again next year. Now I just have to work on relaxing my IT Band with ice, stretching, foam roller, and massage. In fact, tomorrow I am going to get a therapeutic massage to help with the situation.
Before I get into the specifics of the race and race results, I have to mention that in the couple of weeks leading up to the race, my right IT band had become very tight. During the winter break, I continued to train but we had a break from our usual weekly yoga class. I think it was the combination of high mileage and lack of yoga that lead to my condition. I worked the foam roller although maybe not as much as I should have. It is hard to make a habit out of finishing each workout with a bout of foam roller action. After all, it is not exactly comfortable nor very exciting.
Based on my issue, I decided to take it extremely easy during race week and I skipped a couple of runs and worked on trying to get my IT band to relax. I also decided that on race day, I would run with an IT band strap to help alleviate any knee pain that can occur when running with a tight IT band. The iliotibial (IT) band is a tough group of fibers that run along the outside of the thigh. During the repetitive motion of running, the fibers can sometimes rub along side the knee and cause pain as a result of the friction.
On race morning, I woke up and had my typical smoothie of almond milk, bananas, frozen berries, Udo's Oil, chia seeds, and a plant based protein powder. On my drive to the race, I also had another banana and a Lara Bar. Finally about 15 minutes before the race started, I had a package of vanilla Hammer Gel.
Based on a quick estimation at the starting line, there were roughly 100 participants lined up to run the race. It was cold and most people were wearing hats, gloves, long sleeves, and most had long pants. I also wore a hat and gloves but went with shorts instead of long pants as I knew I would warm up plenty fast. It was a below freezing start but the temperature would climb into the mid to upper 30s during the race and I knew I would prefer shorts. Plus I can easily stow my gels in the pockets of my shorts and stuff my hat in a pocket once I start to warm up. Most people I saw had either CamelBak Hydration systems or hand held water bottles with little hand holds to make the bottles easy to carry. I went with my Fuel Belt which held about 24 ounces of water total between 4 small bottles. I think I was the only one out there with a Fuel Belt which is something you are more likely to see during a road race. I am not into excessive gear so I use what I got.
I really did not know what to expect other than mud. I had been told that the course was going to be muddy and that streams would be ankle and calf deep. When the gun went off, the pack slowly started trudging through the woods. I passed a number of people at the beginning until I settled in behind a group that seemed like they were going at a pretty good pace for me. I was intent on not going out too fast so I took it easy and simply ran with the folks in front of me.
The course was not excessively hilly. There were hills for sure but there was also lots of mud. In fact there were quite a few sections that were boggy. As I slopped through the cold mud, I could feel the very cold water seeping into my shoes. The cold from the mud surprised me. After a while, I got used to it and it really did not bother me too much.
As I ran through woods hopping over trees, dodging rocks, and roots, and running through the bogs, I was struck by a thought. My friend Chris likes to come up with little nicknames for certain parts of a trail we might be on when riding mountain bikes or running through the woods. The names he comes up with are usually silly but also convey a particular feature of the terrain. Sketchy bridge in Forest Hill Park, Gravel Road and Gravel Road II at Poor Farm Park, Snake Bridge and Clay Hill also at Poor Farm Park. These are just some of the names he has come up with in the past to describe certain parts of a particular trail. For some reason, I thought he would call these muddy parts of the trail, "Downtown Bogdad."
At mile 6 there was an aid station. In trail races, they don't have water stops. Instead they have what are called aid stations. There is usually self serve water, food, and other goodies and many runners will briefly pause and take on fluids, readjust equipment, chat and relax. It is quite a different vibe from a road race. I did not hang out long at the aid stations. I consumed a gel and two cups of water to wash it down but then got on my way. I would follow this pattern at the turnaround and again on my way back.
Since the course was an out and back, at some point in the race, as I got closer to the turnaround, I started seeing runners coming towards me through the woods. For the next half hour or so, it would be two way traffic on the trail. It takes skill to race along a narrow trail with two way traffic and not run into anyone. At this moment in the race, I was still heading towards the turnaround so the people coming at me had the right of way. Once I made the turnaround, those people who were behind me in the race would presumably yield to me if there was a part of the trail that was too narrow to accommodate runners going in both directions. I took a rough estimate of how many people were in front of me before I got to the turnaround. It seemed like I was in the top half of the pack.
At the turnaround, I took a little fall but luckily landed in some soft mud. I was not hurt at all and the little shot of adrenaline and embarrassment had the effect of making me take off out of the aid station a little faster. I distanced myself from most of the guys I had been running with. Up until the turnaround I had been running with a group. Running with a group makes navigating the obstacles much easier because you can see the runner in front of you making his way over trees and other obstacles. Seeing what is coming from that perspective makes running the trail slightly easier. Now however, I was on my own. I decided to kick it up a notch and run slightly harder for the second half of the race. As I ran, I picked off a few runners here and there but mostly I was by myself. It was kind of a nice change of pace really. Occasionally I had to stop and find the trail but overall, I was able to keep moving at my preferred pace.
Around the 3:30 mark, I started to get a little hungry. I consumed another vanilla Hammer Gel and washed it down with water. Gels can get old after a while and sometimes I get tired of them. At this point it is a mental game. I know I need the gel and I know the gel will give me the biggest bang for the buck. They are easily digestible and contain the energy and electrolytes needed. So sometimes you have to use mind over matter and just eat the darn thing. This was my 5th and final gel of the day because around 3:38, I could see the finish line. I had a nice little kick at the end so I could try to beat 3:40. When I crossed the finish line in 3:39, the race organizers asked if I was done. I assured them I was done for the day and the half a dozen volunteers clapped for me. Some people would answer no and continue on to complete the 50K option of the race. 35K was enough for me on that day.
While the final results have not been posted yet that break down everything by age group and gender, the bare bones results have been posted. I was 24th overall out of about 80+ finishers. I was quite pleased with that finish and will likely do the race again next year. I think I can improve on my time and placing. Of course the weather is always a factor in a race like this. The mud definitely slowed us down but not as much as snow would. I have to thank Coach K at ProKRacing.com for helping me be so successful at this race. Also, having the support of Melissa makes it all possible.
Overall, I had a great experience doing this race and will likely do it again next year. Now I just have to work on relaxing my IT Band with ice, stretching, foam roller, and massage. In fact, tomorrow I am going to get a therapeutic massage to help with the situation.
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