Wow. August flew by and I did not get a chance to sit down and write at all. With all the long summer work hours and the long hours of training, I found myself with little time or energy to blog although I often thought about it. Today I would like to address something I have been meaning to do for a long time.
How many calories to you eat in a day? How do you know? Do you carefully read all the labels on your store bought food? Do you weigh your produce and other foods so you can calculate the calories using one of the many free online tools? If you go out to eat, do you count the calories? Do you keep a food journal so you can write down everything you eat in a day? If you don't do these things then you can't really honestly say how many calories you eat in a day. Studies have shown that most people are way off when told to estimate how many calories a particular meal may contain. There is really no way to be accurate without taking some extra time to write down everything that you eat and then look up the calories for each item and tally them up.
One day last week, I did exactly that. Before work, I weighed all my fruit and calculated the calories with a special scale we have. The scale has a number pad and an accompanying code book that lets you figure out just how many calories an apple has or just about any other food. I also wrote down the calories for everything I ate and drank that day. At the end of the day, I counted it all up and came up with a number that sort of surprised me. Before I get to that number, here is what I had to eat that day.
Breakfast at my desk at work
Banana, Orange, Red Grapes, Lara Bar-all organic of course
10AM Snack
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich on Whole Wheat Bread-Again, all organic
Lunch
Martin's Garden Veggie Sandwich and 1 helping of Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Chips. Not all organic this time.
Afternoon Snack
Banana, Lara Bar- Organic
Drive Home Snack
Apple-Organic
Pre-workout snack
Banana, Honey Stinger Waffle, two servings of Vanilla Hammer Gel-Not all organic
My workout was 1 hour of hill repeats with Pro K Racing.
Dinner
Roasted Vegetables over Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Tomato sauce and Mixed Greens - All organic
After Dinner Snack
Large Glass of Organic Apple Juice not from concentrate. Just apples, no chemicals.
So when I added up all the calories for my day, I came up with 2750. I was surprised because I did not think I was taking in that many calories. The Hammer Gels and Honey Stinger Waffle account for over 300 calories and the apple juice is also high in calories. One thing that was interesting is that I weighed all the vegetables that I cut up before I roasted them. We roast quite a bit of roasted vegetables when we have spaghetti. When I tallied them up, they only came to about 100 calories. There is one thing I did not account for that would have pushed up the calorie count just slightly. I drizzle organic extra virgin olive oil on the veggies before baking them. It is really not much but is one detail I left out of my journal.
I am happy with the results of my experiment. It was a light workout day compared to a long day on the bike so it was easy to account for everything. I am not sure what the magic number is for optimal performance but I think overall, I am doing well with fueling my body. I tend to think of food as fuel rather than a treat or reward. And I have been pretty steady on the scale, holding at 137 lbs. I do want to pick another day and see how one of our other typical meals compares to :Tuesday night Pro K racing and spaghetti night." Hopefully I will get a chance to do that in the near future.
Thanks for reading, comments appreciated.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
And the Beat goes On
It has been quite some time since I have had a chance to sit down and chronicle my ongoing journey. In fact, I almost went the entire month of July without a single blog post. Let's just say I have been busy. Here is the quick summary of what I have been up to. Since I am so far behind, I will not go into too many narrative details.
On June 24th, both Melissa and I participated in the "I Love the Tavern" sprint triathlon here in Richmond. The race consisted of a 650 meter open water river swim, an 18 mile bike, and a 5K run. The river was very warm on race day. I tried my best not to think about the bacteria soup and just concentrate on swimming. I felt good on the swim and was surprised how fast it seemed to go by. I managed the swim in 11:47. Not the speediest but definitely a lot faster than 2 years ago before I knew how to swim. For the 18 mile bike, I squeaked in under 1 hour at 59:54. Finally, for the 5K run which was mostly on trails, I ended up with a 23:17 and my overall place was 148 out of 372. Not too shabby. I even managed to finish a few seconds faster than one of my ProK teammates. He crushed me on the bike but I managed a better swim and a slightly faster run. Not that I was competing with him but beating someone who I know is a very talented triathlete and 15 years younger does make me feel good about training and how I have progressed from last year. Training with Jon has been great for my development and I look forward to continuing to chase his fitness.
After the triathlon, we went to the Outer Banks for a week with my family and some friends. We had a great time. Of course, I did a lot of training including some long, hot bike rides and a couple of grueling runs. It was very hot and humid and there was a massive head wind on all my rides. I enjoyed the trip very much. I even got to watch some Olympic Trials and some of the Tour de France which was also fun. It was good to spend some time with my family.
When I got back from the beach, it was time for the Cul-de-sac 5Ks. The Richmond Road Runners Club puts on an annual series of 5Ks. For three Mondays in a row, I went out to the West End to run the 5Ks. During the first race, I hung back a bit at the start and ended up having a pretty good race. I ran a 21:19 which is pretty good for me.
For the second race, it was super hot. Before the race, the announcer warned us all to run slower than normal because of the hot conditions. I had forgotten my watch and when the gun went off, I went out way too fast. At mile marker 1, the times were being called out and when I heard my time, I knew I was in trouble. When the guy said 6:27, I let out a gasp. Sure enough, I started fading. My fellow ProK teammate caught me and ran off ahead of me. I had nothing in the tank. Of course I had done a 4 hour, 70 mile bike ride the day before but still, I could have run a better race. I ended up with a 22:11 which was nearly a minute slower than the first race.
For the last race, I managed much better. Another teammate who is much faster than me said he would pace myself and Jon. When the gun went off though, they still went out pretty fast. Too fast I think. I hung back and just kept them in site. At mile 1, they were about 20 yards in front of me. By mile 2, their lead may have stretched to 30 yards. But I had a strategy. After we turned onto a street that is a bit busier and requires runners to run in single file, I started to pick up the pace. I would push up to someone in front of me, hang for a few moments and then pass them. Once I passed someone, I would have to keep pushing because it would be rude to pass someone and then slow down. I could see Jon and Bryan coming back towards me and knew I would catch up to them. I passed Jon and then Bryan who then caught back up to me. He was pacing us, trying to help us break 21 minutes. I started to falter a bit but he encouraged me to stick with it. Towards the end, he said, "it's yours if you want it Jim. Now is the time." He was referring to the 21 minute mark. As I made my way around the last turn, I could see the race clock. It said 20:45. I snapped into overdrive because I knew I could beat 21. I passed a few people in that last 20 yards and managed to get in under 21. My official time was 20:53 which is a 6:43 min/mile average pace. My time was good enough for 3rd place in my age group. I was quite happy and grateful to Bryan and Jon for pacing me and helping me PR.
In addition to these races, I have been training a lot. I have been doing lots of swimming, biking, and running. When I am not at work or exercising, I am eating, buying groceries and nutrition, washing my workout gear, cleaning my bike, preparing for the next day's workout and sleeping. It is quite a commitment I have made. Luckily, Melissa is very supportive and helps me out a great deal including doing swim workouts with me. She is an excellent swimmer.
Finally, while I have not completed my first Iron Distance triathlon, nor even ridden 100 miles on my bike in one day, I have already signed up for another Ironman. Next July 28th, I will be racing in Lake Placid, NY at Ironman Lake Placid otherwise known as IMLP. There is a good size group of us doing the race. It will be fun to train with a group for the same race. Plus it is supposed to be a beautiful area and very scenic course. I am not sure if I will enjoy the scenery or not. Take a look at the elevation profile for the bike and run. Looks like fun right?
On June 24th, both Melissa and I participated in the "I Love the Tavern" sprint triathlon here in Richmond. The race consisted of a 650 meter open water river swim, an 18 mile bike, and a 5K run. The river was very warm on race day. I tried my best not to think about the bacteria soup and just concentrate on swimming. I felt good on the swim and was surprised how fast it seemed to go by. I managed the swim in 11:47. Not the speediest but definitely a lot faster than 2 years ago before I knew how to swim. For the 18 mile bike, I squeaked in under 1 hour at 59:54. Finally, for the 5K run which was mostly on trails, I ended up with a 23:17 and my overall place was 148 out of 372. Not too shabby. I even managed to finish a few seconds faster than one of my ProK teammates. He crushed me on the bike but I managed a better swim and a slightly faster run. Not that I was competing with him but beating someone who I know is a very talented triathlete and 15 years younger does make me feel good about training and how I have progressed from last year. Training with Jon has been great for my development and I look forward to continuing to chase his fitness.
After the triathlon, we went to the Outer Banks for a week with my family and some friends. We had a great time. Of course, I did a lot of training including some long, hot bike rides and a couple of grueling runs. It was very hot and humid and there was a massive head wind on all my rides. I enjoyed the trip very much. I even got to watch some Olympic Trials and some of the Tour de France which was also fun. It was good to spend some time with my family.
When I got back from the beach, it was time for the Cul-de-sac 5Ks. The Richmond Road Runners Club puts on an annual series of 5Ks. For three Mondays in a row, I went out to the West End to run the 5Ks. During the first race, I hung back a bit at the start and ended up having a pretty good race. I ran a 21:19 which is pretty good for me.
For the second race, it was super hot. Before the race, the announcer warned us all to run slower than normal because of the hot conditions. I had forgotten my watch and when the gun went off, I went out way too fast. At mile marker 1, the times were being called out and when I heard my time, I knew I was in trouble. When the guy said 6:27, I let out a gasp. Sure enough, I started fading. My fellow ProK teammate caught me and ran off ahead of me. I had nothing in the tank. Of course I had done a 4 hour, 70 mile bike ride the day before but still, I could have run a better race. I ended up with a 22:11 which was nearly a minute slower than the first race.
For the last race, I managed much better. Another teammate who is much faster than me said he would pace myself and Jon. When the gun went off though, they still went out pretty fast. Too fast I think. I hung back and just kept them in site. At mile 1, they were about 20 yards in front of me. By mile 2, their lead may have stretched to 30 yards. But I had a strategy. After we turned onto a street that is a bit busier and requires runners to run in single file, I started to pick up the pace. I would push up to someone in front of me, hang for a few moments and then pass them. Once I passed someone, I would have to keep pushing because it would be rude to pass someone and then slow down. I could see Jon and Bryan coming back towards me and knew I would catch up to them. I passed Jon and then Bryan who then caught back up to me. He was pacing us, trying to help us break 21 minutes. I started to falter a bit but he encouraged me to stick with it. Towards the end, he said, "it's yours if you want it Jim. Now is the time." He was referring to the 21 minute mark. As I made my way around the last turn, I could see the race clock. It said 20:45. I snapped into overdrive because I knew I could beat 21. I passed a few people in that last 20 yards and managed to get in under 21. My official time was 20:53 which is a 6:43 min/mile average pace. My time was good enough for 3rd place in my age group. I was quite happy and grateful to Bryan and Jon for pacing me and helping me PR.
In addition to these races, I have been training a lot. I have been doing lots of swimming, biking, and running. When I am not at work or exercising, I am eating, buying groceries and nutrition, washing my workout gear, cleaning my bike, preparing for the next day's workout and sleeping. It is quite a commitment I have made. Luckily, Melissa is very supportive and helps me out a great deal including doing swim workouts with me. She is an excellent swimmer.
Finally, while I have not completed my first Iron Distance triathlon, nor even ridden 100 miles on my bike in one day, I have already signed up for another Ironman. Next July 28th, I will be racing in Lake Placid, NY at Ironman Lake Placid otherwise known as IMLP. There is a good size group of us doing the race. It will be fun to train with a group for the same race. Plus it is supposed to be a beautiful area and very scenic course. I am not sure if I will enjoy the scenery or not. Take a look at the elevation profile for the bike and run. Looks like fun right?
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Nutrition-Bonk-Rebound
I want to talk briefly about nutrition. Recently my coach has emphasized the importance of my nutrition and hydration during training and racing. She said my biggest challenge will be working out a nutrition plan that works for me and sticking to it. I am a good listener and generally do what she tells me to do. She said I should shoot for at least 250 calories an hour on the bike. Last weekend, we did a 2+ hour ride and I managed almost 1000 calories and felt pretty good. I have a few things still to experiment with but I am getting it dialed in. So far, I am working with Vanilla Hammer Gels, Clif Shot Bloks, Honey Stinger Waffles, Hammer Endurolytes, and HEED. I may add some different things as my training progresses. Of course, I am still keen on the preride smoothy of bananas, frozen berries, almond milk, Udos Oil, Jarrow plant based protein powder and the magic of chia seeds.
As I am learning what works for me, I also know what does not work. After our Saturday ride, I did about 40 minutes in the pool. I was pretty pooped. I think more bananas would have helped. The next day, Melissa and I rode the "I Love the Tavern" triathlon bike course. It was an organized group ride to allow racers the chance to get to know the course. I awoke on Sunday under-bananaed. I had one banana and a HS Waffle and some Shot Bloks. It was not enough. I was hungry for all 18 miles of the ride. After the ride, we dilly dallied a bit and then went to lunch. Lunch was good but as I would later find out, did not fuel me well for my afternoon 1.5 hour run I had planned. At 3:30 I set out to run the downtown trails. My poor nutrition plus the intense heat and humidity lead me to bonk. I ran for about 30 minutes and then walked the rest back to my car.
The bonk really wiped me out. The bonk headache I got lasted through Monday. After work Monday, I skipped my biking interval workout and tried to rest up. When things like this happen, I always worry that I am getting behind on my training. This creates a little anxiety as I worry a bit that I might not be up to the task.
Tuesday after work, we had a team practice as usual. At lunch before practice, I decided to go ahead and eat a lunch of Drunken Noodles with shrimp so that I would have plenty of fuel in my body. It is risky eating a heavy, spicy meal before a hard workout but I have done it in the past and avoided puking although sometimes my stomach was not happy with me. But it never kept me from having a successful workout.
On this particular Tuesday, we were running hills. We had done hill workouts before but this time the hills were longer and it was hot and there was 90 percent humidity. Without going into all the details, I felt like I had a great workout. We ended up with 6 miles total with about 4 miles of hills bookmarked between the warm-up and cool down. I was drenched afterwards but felt great. Sure I almost puked but overall I felt like I had an extremely successful workout. As a bonus, my anxiety about being under trained went away and I feel like I am on track. Bouncing back from a bonk always feels good.
As I am learning what works for me, I also know what does not work. After our Saturday ride, I did about 40 minutes in the pool. I was pretty pooped. I think more bananas would have helped. The next day, Melissa and I rode the "I Love the Tavern" triathlon bike course. It was an organized group ride to allow racers the chance to get to know the course. I awoke on Sunday under-bananaed. I had one banana and a HS Waffle and some Shot Bloks. It was not enough. I was hungry for all 18 miles of the ride. After the ride, we dilly dallied a bit and then went to lunch. Lunch was good but as I would later find out, did not fuel me well for my afternoon 1.5 hour run I had planned. At 3:30 I set out to run the downtown trails. My poor nutrition plus the intense heat and humidity lead me to bonk. I ran for about 30 minutes and then walked the rest back to my car.
The bonk really wiped me out. The bonk headache I got lasted through Monday. After work Monday, I skipped my biking interval workout and tried to rest up. When things like this happen, I always worry that I am getting behind on my training. This creates a little anxiety as I worry a bit that I might not be up to the task.
Tuesday after work, we had a team practice as usual. At lunch before practice, I decided to go ahead and eat a lunch of Drunken Noodles with shrimp so that I would have plenty of fuel in my body. It is risky eating a heavy, spicy meal before a hard workout but I have done it in the past and avoided puking although sometimes my stomach was not happy with me. But it never kept me from having a successful workout.
On this particular Tuesday, we were running hills. We had done hill workouts before but this time the hills were longer and it was hot and there was 90 percent humidity. Without going into all the details, I felt like I had a great workout. We ended up with 6 miles total with about 4 miles of hills bookmarked between the warm-up and cool down. I was drenched afterwards but felt great. Sure I almost puked but overall I felt like I had an extremely successful workout. As a bonus, my anxiety about being under trained went away and I feel like I am on track. Bouncing back from a bonk always feels good.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Now I have done it!
A lot has happened since my last blog post. Melissa and I had a wonderful trip to the beach where we relaxed, trained, ate lots of fresh fish, and really enjoyed being on vacation. We did race a 5K while were down there. I just could not resist and Melissa is such a good sport, she joined in. It was hot but fun.
After our beach trip to the Outer Banks, we went to Philadelphia for the Pro Cycling Tour. We worked registration on Saturday and then rode in the technical directors car during the multi-lap pro cycling race on Sunday. It was a great experience to be behind the scenes and see all the players from Motos and UCI officials to feed station workers to the racers themselves. We saw it all.
Finally, perhaps the most significant thing that I have done since last writing involves a race I signed up for. I signed up for an Ironman. Yes, I will be racing the "Beach to Battleship" in Willmington, North Carolina on October 21st. From what I read, the 2.4 mile swim for this race will be the "easiest" one might find in the Ironman distance. The race is not a Ford Ironman branded race but it is a big race with lots of support that comes close to a Ford Ironman. I heard the 112 mile bike course is relatively flat although wind can play a big factor. The 26.2 mile run course is also mostly flat.
So now the real training begins. Fortunately, many of the folks I am training with are doing Ironman Florida which is roughly the same time of year so I have people with which to train. I have a good base and as long as I stay healthy, I should be successful at the race. Since the race was so expensive, I will not be doing any more races leading up to this one. Although I would not rule out the 2 mile sand dune race in the Outer Banks on the 4th of July.
Needless to say, I am going to be busy. I hope to keep blogging about my training although fitting in all the training, plus work, all the various chores, not to mention the extra rest I will need may find me with less time to write. But I will try to make shorter updates so I can chronicle my training.
So stay tuned for my saga. Thanks for reading.
After our beach trip to the Outer Banks, we went to Philadelphia for the Pro Cycling Tour. We worked registration on Saturday and then rode in the technical directors car during the multi-lap pro cycling race on Sunday. It was a great experience to be behind the scenes and see all the players from Motos and UCI officials to feed station workers to the racers themselves. We saw it all.
Finally, perhaps the most significant thing that I have done since last writing involves a race I signed up for. I signed up for an Ironman. Yes, I will be racing the "Beach to Battleship" in Willmington, North Carolina on October 21st. From what I read, the 2.4 mile swim for this race will be the "easiest" one might find in the Ironman distance. The race is not a Ford Ironman branded race but it is a big race with lots of support that comes close to a Ford Ironman. I heard the 112 mile bike course is relatively flat although wind can play a big factor. The 26.2 mile run course is also mostly flat.
So now the real training begins. Fortunately, many of the folks I am training with are doing Ironman Florida which is roughly the same time of year so I have people with which to train. I have a good base and as long as I stay healthy, I should be successful at the race. Since the race was so expensive, I will not be doing any more races leading up to this one. Although I would not rule out the 2 mile sand dune race in the Outer Banks on the 4th of July.
Needless to say, I am going to be busy. I hope to keep blogging about my training although fitting in all the training, plus work, all the various chores, not to mention the extra rest I will need may find me with less time to write. But I will try to make shorter updates so I can chronicle my training.
So stay tuned for my saga. Thanks for reading.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Kinetic Follow up and Dominion Riverrock
Forty six out of sixty six. That was my age group standings for the Kinetic Half Triathlon. I probably could have gone slightly harder on the run but the person in 45th place was 10 minutes faster than me so it would not have done any good as far as standings go. I am very happy with my performance despite all those folks finishing ahead of me. I feel like I am making progress and learning what I can do with my body.
After the race, it was back to training. Pool workout Monday, hill workout Tuesday, rain out Wednesday, rest Thursday and Friday, and then onto Saturday morning's 50 mile bike ride in 3 hours followed by a 20 minute t-run. Afterwards, I refueled, had a little nap and then went downtown for the Dominion Riverrock 10K Trail Race. I was going to take it easy but found myself at the beginning of my wave when the gun went off so I felt obligated to run off the front.
The scramble is not like most 10Ks. It is my no means flat and includes stairs, the "Mayan Ruins," and lots of trails with roots, rocks, mud, etc. During the first 2 to 3 miles, I rolled my right ankle pretty hard. The guy behind me yelped and said, "ouch!" I just kept running. I knew if I stopped, it would stiffen up and that would be the end of the race. I had to run a little more carefully and could not make the wild leaps down embankments that I had been doing up until that point.
At one point I looked at much watch and I had already gone 4+ miles. Dang, I was almost done. From the beginning of my wave, the two guys that started out with me ran away from me. Besides them, I was passed by only one person. Trail running seems to be my thing. In the end, I ran a 48:49 over a challenging course. I ended up 25th in my age group out of 130 and 156th out of 858 overall. Not too bad especially considering the 50 mile bike ride from earlier in the day.
My ankle is doing pretty well. I manged a Monday ride/t-run and completed Tuesday track practice without too much difficulty. My years of soccer have taught me how to tape up my ankles when necessary. In high school, it seemed like I was taping both ankles nearly every game. After track, I iced and kept my foot elevated but really I had very little pain or swelling.
So now the question is, "What's next?" Besides a sprint triathlon at the end of June, I have not signed up for any more races. I am toying with the Beach to Battleship Full at the end of October and if I do that race, I will likely have to throw in a B Half leading up to the full. Doing a full ironman distance race is a big commitment and right now, I am not sure if I want to make the leap. There is a sprint triathlon at VA Beach in September that also might be fun. For now, I am going to keep training as if I am doing the B2B and will likely decide next month.
Thanks for reading. Comments appreciated.
After the race, it was back to training. Pool workout Monday, hill workout Tuesday, rain out Wednesday, rest Thursday and Friday, and then onto Saturday morning's 50 mile bike ride in 3 hours followed by a 20 minute t-run. Afterwards, I refueled, had a little nap and then went downtown for the Dominion Riverrock 10K Trail Race. I was going to take it easy but found myself at the beginning of my wave when the gun went off so I felt obligated to run off the front.
The scramble is not like most 10Ks. It is my no means flat and includes stairs, the "Mayan Ruins," and lots of trails with roots, rocks, mud, etc. During the first 2 to 3 miles, I rolled my right ankle pretty hard. The guy behind me yelped and said, "ouch!" I just kept running. I knew if I stopped, it would stiffen up and that would be the end of the race. I had to run a little more carefully and could not make the wild leaps down embankments that I had been doing up until that point.
At one point I looked at much watch and I had already gone 4+ miles. Dang, I was almost done. From the beginning of my wave, the two guys that started out with me ran away from me. Besides them, I was passed by only one person. Trail running seems to be my thing. In the end, I ran a 48:49 over a challenging course. I ended up 25th in my age group out of 130 and 156th out of 858 overall. Not too bad especially considering the 50 mile bike ride from earlier in the day.
My ankle is doing pretty well. I manged a Monday ride/t-run and completed Tuesday track practice without too much difficulty. My years of soccer have taught me how to tape up my ankles when necessary. In high school, it seemed like I was taping both ankles nearly every game. After track, I iced and kept my foot elevated but really I had very little pain or swelling.
So now the question is, "What's next?" Besides a sprint triathlon at the end of June, I have not signed up for any more races. I am toying with the Beach to Battleship Full at the end of October and if I do that race, I will likely have to throw in a B Half leading up to the full. Doing a full ironman distance race is a big commitment and right now, I am not sure if I want to make the leap. There is a sprint triathlon at VA Beach in September that also might be fun. For now, I am going to keep training as if I am doing the B2B and will likely decide next month.
Thanks for reading. Comments appreciated.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Kinetic Half Race Report
I have always wanted to have an active birthday. In the past, I have envisioned a gathering of fit friends to engage in a day of biking, running, soccer, and other outdoor activities. Alas, I don't really have too many friends who would commit to this type of thing. There are a few that would find a day of outdoor physical activity fun but getting them all on the same page would be like herding feral cats.
At the end of last year, when I was planning out my race schedule for 2012, I noticed that the Kinetic Half Triathlon fell on May 12th which as many of you know is my birthday. I could not think of a more fitting activity to engage in on my birthday. Doing a Half Iron Distance triathlon seemed like a great way to celebrate and really was a no brainer. I had to do it.
For those who need a quick reminder, a Half refers to the Half Iron Distance triathlon. The race starts with a 1.2 mile swim, and then moves on to a 56 mile bicycle ride, and finishes with at 13.1 mile run. Last year, I did 6 triathlons in total including 3 sprints, 2 internationals, and a half at the end of the season. Since last year, I have come a long way in my training which has including hiring a full time coach, training with a team, and training more consistently. I have found it a lot easier to train with other like minded individuals than going at it all alone. Triathlon is an individual sport but training with a team is the way to go.
The Kinetic takes place in Lake Anna on the warm side of the lake. Why do they call it the warm side of the lake? Lake Anna was built by Dominion Power to provide cool, clean water to cool the North Anna Nuclear Generating Station. The water is taken from the lake, cools the reactors, and then is put back into the lake. Hopefully swimming in the lake won't cause me to end up like this famous Simpsons fish.
Melissa and I took off on Friday afternoon to drive up to Lake Anna to pick up my race packet and setup our campsite. The start time for the race was 7AM so camping at the venue would prove to be quite convenient. We had a nice big campsite for our large tent which you can see in the pictures below.
After packet pickup we went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. I had looked at the menu before leaving Richmond and even called to confirm some things on the menu. The dinner ended up being pretty decent. I had a big spinach salad with apples and walnuts, some coconut shrimp as an appetizer, and a garden veggie burger. It was all pretty decent.
After dinner we drove back to the camp site and settled in for the night. Around 10 PM, I was starting to get worried that it was going to be one of those sleepless nights. The campers a couple of sites down had some pretty loud and annoying young children carrying on. We heard the parents tell them they had to keep it down because people were starting to go to sleep but the kids did not listen and the parents did not do anything about it. In fact, they gave them smores. Now I know that camping is fun for little kids and they get to do things they normally would not do at home. But so much sugar after 10PM? I was sure they would be up all night. But they finally quieted down and I think I was asleep by 10:30 or 11:00. I had a fitful sleep, dreaming odd dreams about waking up late and missing the start of the race. All in all, I did not do too bad and I woke up at 5AM feeling pretty good. I downed my smoothie, had a banana and a Lara Bar, did my other morning things, and then we walked to the race venue about .25 to .5 miles from the campsite.
While setting up transition, I heard the announcer say that since there was fog on the lake, they would delay the start 15 minutes. That extra 15 minutes gave me time to ease into things and take my time getting my wet suit on. Here are a few pictures of me before the race.
After my second lap, I still felt pretty strong. I was pacing well and not hurting at all. I was passing people and having a really good time. The pictures below show me finishing up my second lap. I ended up catching number 380 in this picture.
Once I got to my third lap, I started to realize that my goal was totally attainable. I felt good and felt like there was no stopping me. I had worked my nutrition well, kept my pace up and now just had to hammer out the last few miles. I ended up running my last 1.1 miles at a 7:34 pace. My run split ended up being 1:54 - 6 minutes under my goal! I was very happy.
The birthday race was a huge success and a stellar idea. I am totally pumped after this race. My thanks to Melissa for always supporting me in my training and racing. She makes it very easy for me. And she took all these great pictures, cheered me on at every stage of the race, broke down the tent while I was on the bike and really made me feel like a champion.
So what is next? We shall see. Tune in next time for that topic. Thanks for reading. Comments appreciated.
At the end of last year, when I was planning out my race schedule for 2012, I noticed that the Kinetic Half Triathlon fell on May 12th which as many of you know is my birthday. I could not think of a more fitting activity to engage in on my birthday. Doing a Half Iron Distance triathlon seemed like a great way to celebrate and really was a no brainer. I had to do it.
For those who need a quick reminder, a Half refers to the Half Iron Distance triathlon. The race starts with a 1.2 mile swim, and then moves on to a 56 mile bicycle ride, and finishes with at 13.1 mile run. Last year, I did 6 triathlons in total including 3 sprints, 2 internationals, and a half at the end of the season. Since last year, I have come a long way in my training which has including hiring a full time coach, training with a team, and training more consistently. I have found it a lot easier to train with other like minded individuals than going at it all alone. Triathlon is an individual sport but training with a team is the way to go.
The Kinetic takes place in Lake Anna on the warm side of the lake. Why do they call it the warm side of the lake? Lake Anna was built by Dominion Power to provide cool, clean water to cool the North Anna Nuclear Generating Station. The water is taken from the lake, cools the reactors, and then is put back into the lake. Hopefully swimming in the lake won't cause me to end up like this famous Simpsons fish.
After packet pickup we went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. I had looked at the menu before leaving Richmond and even called to confirm some things on the menu. The dinner ended up being pretty decent. I had a big spinach salad with apples and walnuts, some coconut shrimp as an appetizer, and a garden veggie burger. It was all pretty decent.
After dinner we drove back to the camp site and settled in for the night. Around 10 PM, I was starting to get worried that it was going to be one of those sleepless nights. The campers a couple of sites down had some pretty loud and annoying young children carrying on. We heard the parents tell them they had to keep it down because people were starting to go to sleep but the kids did not listen and the parents did not do anything about it. In fact, they gave them smores. Now I know that camping is fun for little kids and they get to do things they normally would not do at home. But so much sugar after 10PM? I was sure they would be up all night. But they finally quieted down and I think I was asleep by 10:30 or 11:00. I had a fitful sleep, dreaming odd dreams about waking up late and missing the start of the race. All in all, I did not do too bad and I woke up at 5AM feeling pretty good. I downed my smoothie, had a banana and a Lara Bar, did my other morning things, and then we walked to the race venue about .25 to .5 miles from the campsite.
While setting up transition, I heard the announcer say that since there was fog on the lake, they would delay the start 15 minutes. That extra 15 minutes gave me time to ease into things and take my time getting my wet suit on. Here are a few pictures of me before the race.
Getting body marked. I was number 316, a good biblical number
Here I am in transition
Here I am after my warmup swim
I am not sure why I am making this gesture.
There were about 66 finishers in my age group M40-44. We had our own wave, blue swim caps, and went off in wave 3. I took it easy at the beginning and eased my way into the swim. At first I had problems with my goggles and was getting some serious leakage. I shut my left eye and swam like that for a while before I decided to stop and try to correct my goggles. After a few starts and stops, I finally got them to stop leaking and then tried to get into the grove. I felt much better on this swim than I did during the Rumpus. I was still breathing every stroke but my breathing was more calm and smooth and I did manage to thrown in a few breaths here and there to my non-favorite left side. I concentrated on my stroke, trying to apply all the things I have been learning and I think it paid off. After rounding the first turn buoy, it seemed like no time at all before I was at the second and final turn buoy. As I sighted and swam towards the beach, I felt like I was really getting into the groove and I pushed hard to finish strong.
When I got to the beach, I made my way out of the water and started the run towards transition. Typically racers will start to take off their wetsuits during the run from the beach to transition. The idea is to multitask so you don't have as much to do once you get to your bike. Below is an example of a racer pealing off the top half of the wetsuit while running. This is not a picture of me although I have the same wet suit and this was someone in my wave. I too peeled my wetsuit down to my waist before getting to transition. Melissa was on the course cheering me on and told me my swim split. She yelled "41 minutes." Wow. For me, that was really good. I was pretty psyched. So far the race was going quite well.
Once I got to transition, I got the rest of my wetsuit off and put on my bike shoes, helmet, riding glasses, gloves, bike jersey, and Garmin. I stuffed my pockets with some Gel flasks, Clif Shot Blocks, and a Lara bar and then started the run out of transition with my bike. It is illegal to mount the bike in transition and can only be done once you have cleared the mount/dismount line. Here are a couple of pictures of me in transition changing for the bike ride and then running my bike out of transition.
Once I got on the bike, it did not take long for me to get in the groove. After about 5 minutes of riding, I started my nutrition plan. My plan was to eat something about every 20 minutes. Mostly I ate vanilla Hammer Gel, Clif Shot Blocks, and a Lara Bar. I also had two big water bottles with HEED Sports Drink (High Electrolyte Energy Drink). My HEED was fortified with Endurolytes (Electrolyte Replacement Capsules) that I had opened up and poured into my HEED for extra replenishment. As it turned out, it was not really that hot so I ended up not drinking that much HEED. Instead, I really only drank water when I was washing down my other nutrition. I had one bottle of water in addition to the HEED and there was a water bottle hand off on the course every 15 miles or so. Since I was not drinking much HEED, I took more Endurolytes which I carried in my pocket in a Mentos container. The Mentos container worked out quite well.
I was able to keep up my goal pace of 18 miles an hour for the first half of the course. By the last third of the race, I was starting to fade slightly. I was still riding pretty well, but I had definitely slowed. With 10 miles to go, I checked my watch and pace and realized I would not meet my bike time goal of 3 hours and 10 minutes. When it was all said and done, my bike split ended up 3:18 for the 56 miles of biking. I was a lot faster than last year's Patriots Half bike split so I am pleased over all with that time. I felt like I knew what I was doing better than last year and I also did well with my nutrition which could help setup a successful run.
After the bike, I just had to hammer out a 13.1 mile run. I set my PR for the half marathon back in 2007 at the Shamrock Half Marathon. I did not really know what I was doing back then but I did manage my fastest ever Half Marathon time at 1:47. My goal for the Kinetic run was to beat 2 hours. I would have to average better than 9:10 minute miles to beat the arbitrary 2 hours I had set. After I got off the bike, I felt pretty good and felt that my goal was well within my reach.
The Kinetic bike course is a three loop course with 3 sizable hills right out of the transition area. Below you can see the elevation profile for 1 loop. So you can image the profile by stringing the picture together for 3 loops. You can see that the course is by no means flat.
I felt good on the run. My stomach was a little full so I was not able to take in any additional nutrition and stuck to water at the aid stations. I took a few Endurolytes on the course but otherwise I was done with gels and shot blocks. After the first loop, I ditched my gel flask. Here is a picture Melissa took after my first lap. You can see me reaching into my pocket to grab my flask which I then threw to Melissa who scooped it up for me.
After my second lap, I still felt pretty strong. I was pacing well and not hurting at all. I was passing people and having a really good time. The pictures below show me finishing up my second lap. I ended up catching number 380 in this picture.
Once I got to my third lap, I started to realize that my goal was totally attainable. I felt good and felt like there was no stopping me. I had worked my nutrition well, kept my pace up and now just had to hammer out the last few miles. I ended up running my last 1.1 miles at a 7:34 pace. My run split ended up being 1:54 - 6 minutes under my goal! I was very happy.
The birthday race was a huge success and a stellar idea. I am totally pumped after this race. My thanks to Melissa for always supporting me in my training and racing. She makes it very easy for me. And she took all these great pictures, cheered me on at every stage of the race, broke down the tent while I was on the bike and really made me feel like a champion.
So what is next? We shall see. Tune in next time for that topic. Thanks for reading. Comments appreciated.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Kinetic Half Race Week
Race week is here and I am just now getting a chance to sit down and write. Last week, Melissa went to England for a week. Before she left, a few people had asked me what I would do while she was gone. I informed these inquisitive folks that I would be swimming, biking, running, and doing Yoga. Same as always. But I also thought I might get some more rest and have the opportunity to post to my blog. Looking back to last week, while I did get all my swimming, biking, running, and Yoga in, I did not really get lots of rest. In fact, I found myself up late, unable to fall asleep at a decent hour. There are probably many factors that lead to these later nights. Usually we share some of the chores of cooking and cleaning for instance. Doing these things solo is slightly more time consuming. Mostly though, I found it difficult to wind down with Melissa gone. She has been gone before for work trips but for some reason, I felt a little lonely without her this time around. We stayed in touch via text message and email but not speaking to her on a regular basis was something very different.
In addition to Melissa being in England, on Monday I got a text message from my brother Erik that my Dad had to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance. It turns out he had a very bad bladder infection and had to be admitted to the hospital where he was given intravenous antibiotics. It was a scary moment for me when I received the text message. After talking to Erik on the phone however, I was slightly less anxious about it because it sounded like he was going to be ok. They were keeping him overnight in the hospital but thought he would be able to leave the next day. As it turns out, he had to stay another night.
On Wednesday, I took off from work and went to see him in the hospital. Of course, I got my workout in first before I left. In fact, I swam 1.8 miles in the pool, rode 1 hour on the bike, and did a 20-minute run. Once I got up to Fairfax hospital, I was just in time to help him get checked out and drive him home. He looked pretty good although maybe a little tired and the unshaven look does not really work for my Dad. It made him look a little run down. But he was walking around pretty well.
After we got to my parents' house, I went to drop off a prescription for Dad and stopped by Whole Foods. I had decided that I would prepare dinner for everyone so my Mom could take it easy but also so they could get a healthy home cooked meal. I cooked up some catfish, quinoa and vegetables, and some soup. Everyone enjoyed it and my dad seemed back to his normal self. After dinner, I helped clean up and hung out for a while. There was a hockey game on so Dad and John were glued to the TV. I got a chance to chat with my brother Tom and had a few minutes to give my mom a much deserved foot massage. My dad was looking even better by the time I left. A shave, shower, and a home cooked meal can work wonders.
So last week, I made the trip from Richmond to Northern Virginia 3 times. Once to drop off Melissa at Dulles airport, once to visit my family, and then again to pick up Melissa from Dulles Airport. With all that driving, I still managed to get all my workouts in. However, I am paying for it this week I think. I am a little tired. I think that ultimately, I will be just fine but I could use a little more shuteye.
I am very excited about the race. It is going to be a hard race for me but I am looking forward to giving it my all. My goals for this race are as follows:
In addition to Melissa being in England, on Monday I got a text message from my brother Erik that my Dad had to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance. It turns out he had a very bad bladder infection and had to be admitted to the hospital where he was given intravenous antibiotics. It was a scary moment for me when I received the text message. After talking to Erik on the phone however, I was slightly less anxious about it because it sounded like he was going to be ok. They were keeping him overnight in the hospital but thought he would be able to leave the next day. As it turns out, he had to stay another night.
On Wednesday, I took off from work and went to see him in the hospital. Of course, I got my workout in first before I left. In fact, I swam 1.8 miles in the pool, rode 1 hour on the bike, and did a 20-minute run. Once I got up to Fairfax hospital, I was just in time to help him get checked out and drive him home. He looked pretty good although maybe a little tired and the unshaven look does not really work for my Dad. It made him look a little run down. But he was walking around pretty well.
After we got to my parents' house, I went to drop off a prescription for Dad and stopped by Whole Foods. I had decided that I would prepare dinner for everyone so my Mom could take it easy but also so they could get a healthy home cooked meal. I cooked up some catfish, quinoa and vegetables, and some soup. Everyone enjoyed it and my dad seemed back to his normal self. After dinner, I helped clean up and hung out for a while. There was a hockey game on so Dad and John were glued to the TV. I got a chance to chat with my brother Tom and had a few minutes to give my mom a much deserved foot massage. My dad was looking even better by the time I left. A shave, shower, and a home cooked meal can work wonders.
So last week, I made the trip from Richmond to Northern Virginia 3 times. Once to drop off Melissa at Dulles airport, once to visit my family, and then again to pick up Melissa from Dulles Airport. With all that driving, I still managed to get all my workouts in. However, I am paying for it this week I think. I am a little tired. I think that ultimately, I will be just fine but I could use a little more shuteye.
I am very excited about the race. It is going to be a hard race for me but I am looking forward to giving it my all. My goals for this race are as follows:
- Swim the 1.2 miles with less stopping than I did in the Rumpus in Bumpass. There are nearly 100 people in my age group so it will be a very chaotic start. I plan to hang back about 5 or 10 seconds and then just try to go out nice and easy. It will be hard not to get caught up in the frenzy but I will be much better off if I can swim my own pace. If I can control my breathing and stay relaxed, I think I can do the swim in under 45 minutes.
- Improve on my bike split from last year's Patriots Half. I know my body and my bike much better this time around and feel like I can make huge improvements. It is a different course but both the Patriots and Kinetic course are mostly flat. My time goal is to finish under 3:10:00.
- Run the 13.1 miles under 2 hours-even if it is 1:59:59. I will have to take it easy at the beginning and be sure to take in plenty of nutrition.
- Have fun of course!
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