2010 Tri Thread

[wtpclc]

Duane - SOunds liek a great race! Can you some up here and help us with our swimming? You've made more progress in one season that we have in 3! Way to go! Ugh on running in the sand. FOr Steelhead, we had to walk 1.2 miles to the start in those conditions and it was the bad angle for my short leg. That was more than enough for me!

 

[tiberius]

Good work, Duane! You deserved that Danish, M&Ms and whatever else you wanted after that. Personally, I don't really care for beach runs other than the scenery.

Yes, Carrie, that was 2 MNSSHPs in 3 days (or 2 really long days if you count Sat/Sun morphing into one super-long day).

 

[tiberius]

Anyone follow the Kona IM? Wow, some great races!

 

[Duanerice]

I did - great race. What was really neat was I watched a quite a bit on Saturday then got up for a ride Sunday morning and they were just finishing up. Saw the last 15 minutes of the race.

So I saw the first finisher and the last finisher. Sweet!

enjoy,
Duane

 

[El&Asmom]

Congrats Richard and Duane on great races.
I was thinking about the wine and dine for next year, but am a bit put off by all the horrible reports about the after party. Sounds like Disney sold tickets to anyone walking by. Not the best way to say congrats to all those that worked hard to finish.

I'm starting to think about next tri season. I want to do the Trek and Danskin sprint, but am having a hard time deciding on where to do my first olympic distance. Anyone have any good recommendations about a fun oly distance races close to IL. (I'm ok driving to a nearby state for it. Within a 6-8 hr drive).

 

[tiberius]

So I saw the first finisher and the last finisher. Sweet!

Now, that is nice!

I've been keeping busy as I am in my last phase of heavy training for my 70.3 in a few weeks. Last weekend included a 62.6 mile bike ride and 10.9 mile run, while this weekend has similar workoputs planned, not to mention the weekday workouts before I start tapering down. I am definitely feeling the fatugue but am also loving the great workouts along the way. Working with a coached group has brought a lot of extra focus on the development of my base far beyond what I had done previously, which leads me to expect my best 70.3 results ever at this coming event.

Keep moving forward, everyone!

 

[Stitch_lover_Sith]

Well as far as the Kona race Dis Sis and I volunteered, too bad about Chrissy getting so sick she had to pull out at 6:30am. Though it made for a great women's race. It was hot, but no worse than 2009. I love Iron spectating this race, has best schwag around.

My palns for 2011 are Honolulu Traithlon Olympic, Hawaii 70.3, Vineman 70.3, and Kona( Hawaii Resident Lottery Dependent). Of course for those who know me I will also be doing run races around Oahu as well.

How is everyone doing?

 

[Duanerice]

Richard,
I have been training with a coached group since I started in March. I would have never done some of this stuff on my own. The biggest benefit is the swimming and the group rides. The structure of the swimming is just what I needed.

I have put in a couple of 100 mile rides because some of my peeps are doing IMAZ so I just ride with them. I think we have done the last 100 so this week it will be 75 then less from there as my HIM is Nov 14.

Ran 12 miles last weekend but will only run 9 this week before I up it to 13 miles on the 30th.

I bought a full sleeve wet suit and tried it for the first time last weekend in the gulf. Wow! Between the salt water and the suit, I couldn't sink! Fit well and I can't wait to use it.

Stitch Lover - what a cool experience. I'd love to be there in person. I haven't decided if I really want to run it. Think so, but not sure. I should just let the lottery gods decide

enjoy,
Duane

 

[tiberius]

I bought a full sleeve wet suit and tried it for the first time last weekend in the gulf. Wow! Between the salt water and the suit, I couldn't sink!

I know what you mean!
When I swam in my April 70.3 in a wetsuit in the Gulf I practically felt like I was swimming on the water.

 

[wtpclc]

S-L-Stitch!!!! SO good to see you! Sounds like great plans for next year! And gratuation too? Awesome!!!! Really miss seeing you & your family!

lol - Saltwater. Holy cow is that bouyancy cool! Just came back from a cruise. (OK,it's been a over a week, but I am trying to black out post-vacation real life. ) Makes me think about trying a westsuit. Maybe a shorty. Sitll, I worry about overheating and/o rnot getting the cooling effects that help me make it through summer races.

So hard to hear that some of you have upcoming tri's. (I know, you put up with me during the summer that was my tri season. Sttill, this marathon training thing just isn't as fun as tri trianing)

E&IA'sMom -Chicago was awesome. Loved it. That was muy first. Three Rivers, MI is supposed ot have a great tri. (A good friend does this every year) Bear Lake, also MI, had an oly too. Inland lake and hills weren't bad. I have only done the sprint, though. Grand Haven is supposed ot be fun, but can change to du if waves are bad. Johan's tri fest is another one that my friend loves. Ludington was good. I did the oly there. Water is very sheltered. HTH!

 

[tiberius]

Hi everyone!
I'm just poking my head in to say I had a great time at the Iron Star (half iron distance) triathlon yesterday. I finished with a 7:07:43, which beat my last time by 44:24 (and proved even slow guys like me can improve themselves).
I have a couple busy days ahead of me at work this week, but a full race report will be coming later this week.

 

[mgsmom]

Hey guys! I'm still here - and sometimes getting on to read posts. I'm so jealous of all you guys training so hard! I have fallen into a knee funk - I guess it started in September - knee started hurting a lot. Got new shoes, changed my routine a bit, lost a week or so of running anyway though. Finally back in the groove and tweaked the stupid thing on the stairs last week! Ugh!!! Not as bad this time, but is keeping me from running today. I'm not training or anything right now - just workin' out. I did manage to lose 5 pounds.
I enjoy reading about all you guys and your adventures!
Can't wait for your report, Richard!

 

[dsnyfan21]

DISboards WISH racing team members....

If you are interested in the order for WISH Racing Team Headsweats hats and or visors please go to the following thread to place your order.
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2537249
I have to have a minimum amount of orders to place an order, so this is usually only done ONCE a year.
If you want a WISH Racing Team hat/visor for the up coming year's races, now is the time to get one.
I need the minimum order placed by November 20th to get everyone's hats/visors to them by WDW January Marathon weekend.

Thanks,
Tracy

 

[tiberius]

Hi Tri Team! It looks like I will be mostly computer-less for 2 - 3 weeks, although I have...ahem...appropriated my younger DD's laptop for a bit this evening to come in to post my race report. This report is a bit overly wordy, as it is copied from my blog. Thanks to everyone for your support!

This past weekend was the Iron Star Triathlon, which is a half iron distance race (i.e. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run).

I went into this race with high expectations of having a good race, though I was a bit unclear of how to quantify those expectations. After a bit of thought during the pre-race taper period, I decided upon a way to put my expectations into numbers for comparison purposes.

I considered what would be a best case scenario race (it pretty assumes that I had the best race possible in each event) and I also considered a secondary scenario in which I assumed a slight improvement in each event from my best previous effort in each event (for reference my best half iron run time was in my first 70.3 race and my best half iron swim and bike times were in my second 70.3 race). From these I calculated a time in the middle of those two to be a reasonable, though still difficult, target goal time.

...........BEST CASE.......SAFE GOAL.......TARGET GOAL
SWIM............42:15..........52:48.............4 7:31
T1..................3:30............5:30.......... ....4:30
BIKE...........3:17:39........3:35:00.........3:26 :20
T2..................3:00............5:00.......... ....4:00
RUN...........2:43:45........3:03:24..........2:53 :34
TOTAL........6:50:09........7:41:42..........7:15: 53

With a PR time of 7:52:07 each of these represented a PR time for me, some of them by a wide and ambitious margin. Still this gave me a starting point for my expectations; and the truth was that while I felt mentally ready to make that goal, I questioned whether I was physically up to that challenge at this point. The good thing is that I do not let the difficulty of a goal get in the way of trying to reach that goal.

When race day arrived, I was also armed with my retooled nutrition strategies: bike bottle of unflavored Perpetuem in between the 2 - 3 hour period before the race and a Hammer Bar about 45 - 60 minutes pre-race, 1 bottle of Heed/Perpetuem mix or a flavored Perpetuem mix for each hour on the bike with 1 Endurolyte capsule each 20 minutes on the bike, and finally a bottle of Heed/Perpetuem mix for run hour #1 and then Heed/Accel Gel for the rest of the run as well as 2 Endurolyte capsules each 2.5 miles. Overall my nutrition worked out well, with 2 small issues which I will get into later.

Race morning proved to be cold (around 40 degrees) and the water was fairly cool as well. The biggest issues on the swim were low lake levels--I had to get up and walk in two areas for a combined total of around 150 - 200 feet (which I don't thin had any significant impact on my time.) and that visibility was low in areas. Due to some fog it was occasionally difficult to see the buoys. After hanging with the bustling crowd for a bit, the pack thinned out and I felt like I had a good, strong swim. In actuality, I had an outstanding swim where I finished in 39:55, which is the fastest long swim I have had.

I started the bike feeling strong and working on keeping my heart rate within a target range to avoid over-doing things on the bike and not having anything left for a decent run later. I had a strong first hour, even working to hold back a bit so I could stay in the right area heart rate-wise. In the second hour I could tell I was working harder and my pace slowed slightly. By the third hour the hills seemed steeper and the wind was definitely a stronger headwind, but I kept going according to plan. Finally, the last half hour was returning back to the starting point, which still had some hills, though less wind. I'd say I probably passed more people in the last 30 minutes on the bike than I did in the 3 hours prior. I expect that this was due to their using up too much energy up front and they were effectively limping back in at that point. My bike time was 3:30:45, which was slower than I'd hoped but still acceptable.

I knew all along the run was the "do or die" segment for me. Each of my last two half iron attempts resulted in much more walking than planned where I effectively only had the energy to just try to finish the race. I opened up with an attempt at a moderate pace and held a 12:02 pace for each of the first two miles. At this point I was holding strong and went into my plan to walk for a minute under 3 circumstances:
a) while I take in 2 Endurolyte capsules every 2.5 miles
b) while I go through aid stations
c) when my heart rate exceeded 165 bpm
This plan seemed to work well for me because, while I did not run fast, I did keep a fairly steady pace throughout as I finished with a 12:54/mile run pace with a time of 2:48:59. This was apparently a new run course (3 loops throughout the La Torretta Resort vs. an out and back course). The run was very-well supported by spectators and had 4 aid stations for each loop.

To wrap up my race, report I enjoyed the course. The bike route was more difficult than I expected, but not more difficult than I was prepared for. Most of the bike was pretty lonely other than the other riders, aid stations and cows, although a few dedicated souls did drive out to spectate the bike ride (like my OutRival Racing coaches!!). I have to believe that the overall success of my run may have partly hinged on not going out too hard on the bike as I followed the heart rate goals mapped out by Coach Michelle, as I had the energy to keep moving pretty consistently throughout the entire run. I found the run well organized and very well supported. All in all, I think this was a great race and would recommend it to others.

As to my time, I finished in 7:07:43, a 44:24 improvement over my previous best time at this race distance last April, easily ahead of my expectations as I capped off an exciting and fulfilling race day.

In looking back at my race experience, I learned a couple good lessons. The first is that I felt really good after the race (tired and exhausted, but still good) where in my previous 70.3 efforts I was run-down and and just happy to be finished and off the course. I feel that between my better preparation and my previous experience that I have learned how to run the race without blowing up before the end. The second was learned during the run. I ran almost 2 of the 3 laps of the run with Carol, a woman wearing a Houston Racing and Triathlon Club jersey (one of the clubs of which I am a member). We ended up next to each other by chance as she started her first lap while I started my second lap and found that we were running the same pace. We kept each other company over that time with occasional conversation. Somewhere in our second lap together Carol told me that so many people were cheering my name that I must know everyone out there. While I certainly did not know anywhere near "everyone", I did realize that there were a lot of people out there that knew me from various local groups (OutRival Racing, Team Strive and Houston Racing Triathlon Club), and their effect was magnified on a looped course. I came to realize that I was truly blessed by the support I receive from my friends.

In the past several months, I've given up a lot of sleep and family time with early morning workouts, though I still feel better for the efforts I have made this past year. Next year I raise the stakes by aiming at the Ironman distance, and I know the personal costs will seem high at time. However, I also know the reward of finishing will be worth it as well.

 

[Duanerice]

Yea Richard! Great report. I can't imagine starting a tri in 40 degree weather. I am worried about Sunday as it will be in the mid 60's at the start. Great swim time or was that a walk time I bet that was funny watching all the folks stop swimming, walk a while then go back to swimming.

I am doing my first HIM this weekend, The Miami Man. A little nervous. I know I am trained, just have never gone this distance before. My goal, as was yours, is to take it a bit easy on the bike so I can save it for the run.

Oh yea, on Sunday I signed up for Ironman Florida. Not until next November but you need to sign up the day it is open.

Mgsmom - you can still swim with a bum knee you know Congrats on the weight loss.

enjoy,
Duane

 

[Duanerice]

Finally - finished my first HIM. Miami Man 2010 is in the books.

What a great race! I started training for triathlons this past March and have done 4 sprints so far. This being my first Half Iron distance I wasn't sure what to expect. Yea I could swim that far but had never done it in a race. Same with the bike, I have ridden century rides but they always had breaks where we get off the bike and stretch, bathroom, etc. The run was the only part I wasn't concerned with and it was the only part I had trouble with. Go figure.

Early wake up on race morning of course. Before I left the hotel I had a bowl of cereal and some coffee. A little different when you are at a hotel and nothing is open. I usually only have a bowl of cereal even on marathon mornings so I guess it wasn't much different. Would have liked something a little more substantial though.

Plenty of time to set up transition. I was wishy washy as to what to wear. Ended up not wearing a shirt for the swim as I didn't try it with my new wetsuit. Nothing new on race day. Once I finally decide such an important issue, I could finish transition It is amazing the little things........

For warm up we had a decent walk to the swim so I loosened up the legs a bit. Went for a 5 minute swim and was glad I did. I don't really do it to warm up as much as to get me mentally prepared. I need to get the face in the water and take a few strokes. Took a Gu about 15 minutes before the start.

Swim was great. Once we started it was a large rectangle. Had to get out at the finish then run across a timing mat then back in for another loop. No issues on the swim once I got about 500 yards or so. Takes me a while to really get comfortable. Same in the pool - the first 500 is the toughest. Once I get past that then I am usually OK. Not real crowded. Very little hitting going on. Tried to grab some fast legs but couldn't hold on. Looking back, I was pretty much beside the same guy for almost the entire first lap. I should have just dropped back and drafted a bit. I could have pushed quite a bit harder. Since I'd never gone this distance I held back a lot more than I needed to. But, who knows maybe that would have made the run even worse.

Bike transition was only about 20 feet from the swim exit (you paid for it on the other end). Wet suit strippers just inside the transition entrance. My bike was on the first rack. Sounds great but I had to run my bike the full length of the transition to get out and run the full length to get back to my spot. Pretty much the worse spot possible. But it might have added a whopping 30 seconds Took a GU immediately when I got on the bike.

We had to walk quite a ways to mount, wore me out. Bike course was great with a few exceptions. The wind! I know it wasn't as bad as last year but holy cow. Great wind at our back going out for I guess 8 miles? But from then on it seemed like there was always wind and not at my back. I'd be cruising along thinking the wind was a little tough then turn a corned and BAM, get blasted right in the face. There must have been a decent wind at our backs somewhere because I averaged a little better than I thought I would. The volunteers were great. Just point and shout an they handed off perfectly. Not an issue at all.

I must have seen 20 - 25 bikes on the side of the road fixing flats. One of our crew ended up with a flat too. Heard a rumor that someone threw thumbtacks out in the road. Pretty disheartening to work that hard then get a flat.

My nutrition on the bike might have contributed to my run difficulties. I seemed to take plenty of water and Gatorade. But, I usually use Cliff Bar pieces every 20 minutes and electrolyte capsules every 60 minutes (kept up with the electrolytes the entire race). We so far I had 2 Gu's which I usually only use on a run. I tried with the Cliff bar but just couldn't get it done so I ended up using 2 of the Hammer gels they were giving out. I usually use Gu but didn't bring enough as I was going to use the Cliff bar.

The run was a great course. A little bit of blacktop trail, some dirt trails then of course running through the zoo. Wish I felt better so I could have enjoyed it more. First lap was pretty sunny but thankfully the second lap was a little overcast.

Starting the run was brutal of course. Always is when we practice bricks but I thought everything would be fine after the first mile. But I never got into sync. Something wasn't right the entire run. My legs were sore but that was to be expected. Thought I'd work it out. But my stomach was feeling pretty bad by this point. Not sure what caused it. First lap wasn't too bad, took a Gu and some water/sports drink. By the start of lap 2 I couldn't stomach water, let alone sports drink so I'd grab a glass of both and mix it so I ended up with a weak mixture. Drank a little and that was about all I could manage.

For pretty much the entire second lap it was run (slowly) for about a quarter mile then walk 30 sec or a minute. It was brutal. Luckily I met up with Chris from Sebring (didn't know him) and he was having IT issues so we finished the last 4 miles together. What a blessing it was to meet up with him and It was so much nicer finishing with someone. We'd pick each other up and although slow we made it. I was never so happing running down a finishers chute. One cool thing is when you cross the line they immediately give you a printout of you race stats. Overall, splits, etc. Very cool. I was shooting for under 6:30 and ended up with a 6:05. Could have broke 6 hours but just didn't have it in me that day. Who knows, if I took it easy on the bike I might have been better on the run but I would have been slower overall.

It was a very well run race and a great race overall. The weather was perfect. Water temp was great. Just a perfect day to suffer I will definitely do it again but just not next year. I have IMFL the preceding weekend so it will probably take a week just to walk again.

Here are my stats:
Total Time: 06:05:47.59
Swim Time: 38:15
T1 Time: 3:20
Bike Time: 2:52:55
T2 Time: 2:15
Run Time: 2:29:22

Thanks,
Duane

 

[mgsmom]

Richard - Sounds like a great race! And you had a lot of support - how awesome! I'm totally impressed with your efforts. I like how you crunched the numbers to come up with your target goals for the race -that is something I would do too.

Duane - You had a great race, too! I can relate to you on the run - that is the part that ALWAYS gets me. And it is so frustrating when you can't get your "rhythm" in a run - it makes the whole thing feel clumsy! Cool that you met someone and had someone to talk with as you went.

Not much to report on me. Knee doing better - running three times a week - 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5. Goal is to make my usual weeks 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 runs. I'm hoping if I just get used to a little longer distance it will help on my little sprint tri this spring.

I am always in awe of how much all you guys do - it takes a lot of discipline and motivation and sacrifice - keep up the hard work!
One of these days I'll get brave and sign up for something bigger!

 

[jmasgat]

Good sale on wetsuits.....

http://www.xterrawetsuits.com/Thanksgiving/

 

[wtpclc]

Richard - Awesome! Way to go!!!! Almost unbelievably great!

Duane - Grat job hanging in there with the nutrition issues! WHne you can say your first HIM was great, you did really well! Way to go!!!!!

So, IMFL filled up by noon MOndya this year. Have the date to register in teh calendar for next year. A long way before I get to where I can sign up and have a chance at finishing, though.

 

[cewait]

Finally - finished my first HIM. Miami Man 2010 is in the books.

Duane

Great Job Duane