Inter ROCKIN Triathlon race report...

How not to succeed..... or should it be How to successfully set yourself up for pain! or maybe...
How many ways to push your body....

I think I'll go with the last one. In short I left for the race 2 days early and checked into the state park for a solitary couple of days of training. I kicked it off with an easy 8 mile run on Friday night after setting up camp. Yes you heard that right, CAMP, in the old school terms. Tent, car, me, bike and workout clothes. I got up on Saturday watched a little TDF on the laptop. Well ok, I wasn't totally roughing it, haha. I did have my laptop and broadband internet. Had cooked up some eggs and bacon for breakfast and started giving the bike a once over to make sure it survived the trip ok and prep for a long ride. Crap!!! the back brake is not releasing. 3 hours later, I have completely torn the back brake out. I have cleaned it thoroughly, trouble shot the binding problem and finally found it further up the cable. Problem fixed well enough to ride and race. I just blew half my training day! Maybe a blessing in disguise. I changed and managed roughly a 19 mile ride before race packet pick up and catching up with my wife's cousin who was there to do her first ever triathlon. I wanted to make sure I was there to answer any last minute questions she might have. After she left I went back to camp and changed for an easy 5k run.

After dinner my brother in-law arrived to stay the night in my camp and race the sprint distance race the next morning. I can honestly say it's been cool having him interested in doing some these races together. We did the Port Huron Blue Water tri last summer together and now Interlochen. He's a bit younger than me and just about as competitive and pushes me to work harder. I love it!!

Race morning came way to early on Sunday. I was anything but fresh for this race but I wanted it that way. I wanted to train through this race because I have my "A" race for the year in 3 weeks, Steelhead Half Ironman, and I wanted a little extra stress on my body to adapt to before I start my taper in a week or so. The weather was great, nice and cool in the 50's. We walked up to transition from our camp site at about 7am and got things set up. I caught up with my wife's cousin and one of my team mates who was doing the race as well. Gave my bro in law some last minute ribbing and soon enough it was game on.

Swim - 27:05 (once again placed high in my age group - 4th and 36th/134 overall)
The theme this year for the swim has been relaxed and feeling like I'm not even pushing it. Yet I'm getting faster? Other than swimming an extra 50 yards out wide (is it a good thing when they send a life guard to check on you because you're so far away from everyone else?) the swim went to plan. I, as usual, started in the front row and smacked the first 100 or so meters hard, then I settled into an easy, steady stroke for the rest. Other than going to wide, which in case anyone cares does keep you out of the fray, I swam it to plan. Sighted well and had energy to burn as I headed back to shore. Once again I passed a few souls who stood too soon and started walking while I swam by them until my hands were digging into the bottom. I stood up and that is when it hit me as I almost fell back to my knees. My right hamstring cramped solid and my left felt like it was going to go at any second! I fought the cramps in my hammy's all the way up to transition, walking, running , hobbling along. I tried to figure out how I was going to finish and if I did how LONG was that going to take. This race was taking a quick turn in the wrong direction and I wasn't liking it much.

T1: 3:53
Yup, you read that right. Almost 4 minutes. I hobbled through this transition at lightning speed fo sho. But a plan was forming. Just get my cramping rear end on the bike and we'll see if it works.

Bike: 1:21:02
Ever try and swing your leg over your bike when it's cramping? Not an easy task. I'm sure it was good for some humor to some of the spectators but it was far from funny for me. I made it on the bike and set out on my plan for "active recovery". Here is what I came up with during my hours in transition. A) I need lots of fluids B) I need to keep the workload low until my cramps can subside and C) I need lots of fluids!

I was in luck, I had loaded 2 water bottles with my secret Gatorade, Hornet Juice and water mixture. 48 ounces of blessed amino acid and electrolyte filled liquid. I hoped it would be enough! As I got going in a low gear spinning easily, I started pounding the first bottle down. I set out to finish a bottle and a half before the half way point. Goal 2 was to keep the speed reasonable (around 17ish mph) until that time. By the time I hit the turn around at the half way point my legs were feeling better but vulnerable. I decided to push it a little harder on the way in but not get crazy. I kicked it up to around 20mph avg on the way back. I raced smart hanging just out of the draft zone (3 bike lengths) on a few riders to get a little break here and there and actually started making up some ground by the end of the ride. Maybe just maybe I had persevered through the worst of it. Average speed ended up being 18.4mph. Not bad on gimpy legs, haha

T2: 55 seconds
This has been my greatest improvement this year. I hit it exactly like I wanted.

Run: 1:03:49
This was a tale of 2 distinct halves. The first half of the run I felt pretty alright. I skipped the first aid station and had a water at the second. (yes I walked the aid station for water, I still can't run and drink yet, ugh!) then at the 2.1 mile point I turned the corner and in front of me was the HILL! A .8 mile 12% climb to the turn around. My legs that had finally felt ok now started to complain about this climb. I made a deal with them, run me to the top of that hill and I'd let them coast back down. They weren't buying it. By the time I reached the turn around, my calves were cramping. A short walk at the aid station at the turn around to drink some more fluid and I started running back down the hill. By the time I reached the bottom my hamstrings were cramping once again. The last 2 miles of the race were not a lot of fun but I was shocked to find a 10:17 avg for the run. Even with the issues and a couple of extended walks in that final 2 miles I still managed a decent, for me, pace.

Overall time: 2:56:43
I'm happy with that time. Not quite as fast as I had hoped but close. Given my early on issues, I was ecstatic with that time. I have a suspicion that I was not quite hydrated enough through the weekend. I also know I was not rested at all for this race. Now for the great news. I dropped 2 full minutes from my time last year on this course and I tapered for that race! I will miss this venue if I don't do it again but I think the draw of it has worn off for me. As of right now, I'm not planning on doing this race again next year. Time to try some new races. I have decided to find another Olympic distance race to run in Sept. This time with a taper. I want to find out just how fast I really can go now if I give my body a chance to rest before the race.

Up next Steelhead Half Ironman in 3 weeks.

Until my next post... Keep tri-ing

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Motor City Tri, Race report

Ok, no suspense here. I PR'ed this race! 2:55:08, that's 2 hours 55 minutes and 8 seconds, almost 3 minutes faster than my best previous Olympic distance race. More importantly, I'm starting to manage the race distance better. I honestly felt like I was in control of my race from start to finish. I still know I can go faster but that is a fitness/training issue not capability issue.

The race was held on Belle Isle in Detroit Michigan and it is a flat, fast course with over 750 athletes registered for all the races. I went down to the race the afternoon before and met up with one of my team-mates and his wife at packet pickup. We pre-rode the bike and run course together, talked about strategy and the course. This was very cool. After that we went back to their house where I would be staying with them for the night and relaxed a bit before dinner. Jon, you and your wife were awesome hosts, thanks again for putting me up for the night. For dinner we met up with a couple more teammates at a local Italian restaurant called Sila's. Great pasta! Being on a team is very cool this year. I really feel part of something bigger than myself and feed off the excitement of my team-mates.

Race morning was perfect weather wise. We were up and out the door by about 6am and at the race site around 6:30am. I got T2 set up (this was a 2 transition race, the swim was about a mile from T2) and went back to the car to gather my T1 stuff. I made it down to set up T1 by about 7am and had lots of time to organize and go through my pre-race routine. I saw a few more of my GREYHOUND support crew and team-mates then it was time to start. I was calm and felt ready.

Swim: Goal time: 30 minutes Actual: 29:47
place 9/31 age group 77/214 overall
This is a course with a current. The firs 500 meters and the last 250 meters are into or across the current with the back 750 meters or so with the current. The river current isn't fast but you feel it. I lined up in the front row so I could go out hard and get out of the fray as always. About 100 meters in I settled into a nice groove and found sighting good. At about 500 meters I was coming to the first turn and had already caught the tail end of the wave of swimmers before me. It was at this point I came to the realization that I was feeling really strong in the water! I was actually making an effort to hold back on my pace to conserve some energy. I had some minor issues with the slower swimmers and I cut the turn around the buoy a little close and had some issues with it's tether rope but all in all the turn didn't have too much drama. On the back stretch with the current I felt like I was flying and hardly working at all. I picked a solo line and passed a lot of stragglers along the way. I made the turn back upstream with little issue other than I suddenly was trying to sight into the rising sun! That was quite interesting picking my line to the last turn for home. I generally tried to just use the other swimmers and shore for my bearings. Suddenly there was the last buoy and it was time to turn for home. I can't stress enough how little energy I felt like I had used on this swim. I was feeling much fresher than normal coming out of the water. It may be time to re-adjust my time goals for future races as my swim strength continues to improve again.

T1 - 3:35
This is long for 2 reasons. You had to pack all your stuff in a bag for the race staff to collect and bring to the end of the race. And, my wetsuit wanted no part of being shoved into the bag! what the heck? It was like it had a mind of it's own, lol. No worries though, I knew going in this would be a longer transition and accounted for it in my goal time.

Bike Goal: 1:15:00 Actual: 1:13:13 (hours:minutes:seconds)
The bike went just as I planned. Except for one thing..... I had no speed readout on my computer! I had cadence but no speed. Luckily I train to cadence a lot and had a general idea of speed based on cadence and gearing so I just went with it. I eased into the bike for the first half lap (it was 4 laps around the island) I hammered the next 2 1/2 laps and backed off slightly on the last lap to save on the legs a little. This was also my first race attempt at removing my shoes while still on the bike and leaving them attached to the bike in T2. This went off without a hitch and I felt like a pro hopping off the bike, not stopping or loosing momentum, running the bike into transition holding it by the saddle. haha, I'm sure I didn't look like a pro but man I now know what they feel like.

T2: 1:02!!! (minutes:seconds)
WHAT?? I never go that fast! I think this will get about 15 to 30 seconds faster at my next race as I practice a little more. I screwed up the order of getting putting things on and getting going, so practice is in order. This definitely made up for the slower T1.

Run Goal: 1 hour Actual: 1:07:33
Let give a quick public service announcement. Do NOT, EVER play one on one basket ball with your 12 year old 2 days before an important race. No matter how easy you think you'll go, YOU WON'T! I learned this lesson the hard way this weekend. My legs felt good off the bike. As good as I can ever remember them feeling coming off the bike. There was only one problem. It felt like someone was jamming a knife in my lower back and I was very stiff around the waist. I could run no problem, not fast and not comfortable but I could run. Any incline or downhill momentarily compounded the issue. I had felt the twinges the day before but figured it would go away by race day. No such luck! Fortunately for me this was a fairly flat course. The only hills were in the form of 3 small bridges I had to cross 2 times each. It took about 2 miles into the run to find a stride that was about as pain free as it was going to get and with about 3 miles to go I finally was able to start speeding up to my normal pace. I was averaging around 9 minute miles the last 3 miles. I walked the water stations as I still haven't mastered the art of drinking while running but other than that I was running. I finished strong to hear my name and RACING GREYHOUNDS announced and the announcer commenting on how well represented the GREYHOUNDS were in this race.

Total time 2 hours 55 minutes 8 seconds!! My new personal record for this course and an Olympic distance race. (1500 meter swim, 23 mile bike, 6.6 mile run in this race)

It was awesome to see so many GREYHOUNDS at this race. Between competitors and support crew we had around 20 people out there! It is such a lift to see your team-mates out there on the course.

Next week I'll let everyone in on a little secret that is happening Saturday. It is so cool what I am getting to do but I can't tell you about it quite yet.

So until next time... keep training and don't ever stop tri-ing!

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Curwood 10k race report

Saturday morning was a great day for a race. It was bright, sunny and only about 60 degrees Fahrenheit at race start. This small town race is flat, fast and brings in about 700 attendees. My son Ryan, ran the 5k and I lined up for the 10k. I wanted to use this as pacing practice for my upcoming race at Motor City. I always go out too hard at these things and pay for it in the last half. Saturday, I was determined to change that. As the race was about to start I told Ryan good luck and sent him off to the front row. I on the other hand headed to the back third of the pack. I soon learned a couple of new lessons.

1) this far back in the pack, if you aren't paying attention, the race start might just be a total surprise when you don't hear the starting beep.
2) more people need to learn how to start in the right pace location.

I was looking around soaking in the atmosphere when all of a sudden people were running all around me. I never heard the race start. Whoa, hey Craig, you're slow enough without letting everyone have a head start! I quickly regrouped and took off. It was hard not to sprint off like everyone else. I felt like I was running half as fast I could. Life was good and soon to get even better. I spent the first mile weaving through the crowd. For the first time that I can remember, I was the passer not the passee.... is that really a word? I hit the 1 mile mark at 9:30 and was shocked to only be 30 seconds off my goal pace for the first mile. Over the next mile I slowly caught up with a neighbor and friend going about the pace I was planning for the first half of the race. I then had the pleasure of a nice conversation up to the turn around. We both were running well and slowly catching and passing people as we went. I sensed she was pushing maybe a little harder than she wanted and I felt like I was still holding back. Staying to my plan of negative splitting the race. After mile 1 I was hitting the mile markers pretty darn close to 9 minutes or just a little under. So far so good.

At the turn around I passed 2 people as they stopped to take water and decided to let the horses have their heads a little and see how the next mile felt. My neighbor sensed this wasn't a short term change in pace and wished me well as I slowly worked away from her. I settled in to a good pace and started picking people to pass. (again, not normal for me but what a great feeling, haha) At about the 4.5 mile mark I caught up to a group of three guys and spent the next half mile working my way past them as they were pushing my pace a little more than I really wanted at that point. But, my legs felt good, I wasn't overly winded and the gas tank was feeling pretty full still. Next, it was time to test the mind a bit. I wanted to get a little out of the comfort zone for the last mile. I wanted to turn up the speed a bit and battle my mental demons. Those little buggers always seem to creep into my head at some point and for once, I wanted them on my terms. I wanted to embrace the pain and force the issue at a point where I knew it was almost over and beyond a time when walking would be an option. I got what I wanted and then some. I crossed the 6 mile point with the demons screaming their pain filled song through my body. This time, however, I could see the finish and hear the crowd. Like a horse headed for the barn, nothing was stopping me at this point. I felt a growing urge to purge my pre-race bagel and peanut butter from my stomach and fought that nauseated feeling the rest of the way in, still picking up speed and ignoring the pain.

I did it. I battled the demons on my terms and won! Kind of, lol. I was pretty miserable for the first few minutes after the race, not knowing if I was going to hurl or pass out, but I did it MY way this time. No walking, no going out too fast, continually speeding up as the race unfolded. I passed a lot of people who know me as a triathlete and gave me well wishes on my way by. I PASSED people. That in it self does not usually happen when I run. That felt good, no it felt GREAT!

I set a goal of 54 minutes. I ran a 54:31 and am not in the least disappointed. I know I lost time on the first mile. I, for once, ran a smart race though and that is way better than woulda, shoulda, coulda.

My awesome son Ryan, who I hope some day finds his true potential, ran a PR 21:23 5k. I fully anticipate he'll break 20 minutes by the end of the year at the rate he's going. I actually got to see him mid race after his turn around point and he looked so strong. How cool is it to cheer your son on mid race in the middle of the course? It was mind blowing for me, I even slowed down just a little so I could wish him well at the exact point our courses turned opposite directions.

This weekend brings my next triathlon. The Motor City Triathlon on Belle Isle in Detroit. I'll try and get a quick post up before the race with some goal times.

As always, if you do nothing else in your life. Just keep Tri-ing....

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Steelhead update

Hey all. Just a quick update on my race yesterday. I finished in roughly 6 hours. The water was so rough they canceled the swim and made it a duathlon (2 mile run instead of swim). Not good for me as I'd rather swim than run anyday of the week but hey that's triathlon, you adapt and move on. The weather was great, not to hot and not to humid. I was pretty wiped out after the race for the rest of the day and I don't think I slept a whole lot last night from the muscle soarness in my legs. I'm doing better today. Still walking like an old man and tired but I wouldn't change it for anything. The race was very well organized and even with the change from swim to run at the beginning the organizers handled it with a great deal of class. What an awesome venue.

Ok, off for a nap. I'll write more later and get some pictures up my wife took. Thanks again for all the well wishs and support.

Craig

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The Day before THE Day

If I said I wasn't a bit freaked out at the moment, I'd be lying. Now, I am not a nervous individual by nature but this week I have had a growing pit in my stomach and I can feel the anxiety washing over me with each passing day. So here I am getting the last few things packed and ready to go. Yesterday was a clean and lube the bike day. I hope giving the ol girl a little extra attention makes her want to make my ride a little easier tomorrow, haha.

Today is the shave down and go soak up the expo day. Tomorrow, barring an unforeseen circumstance, I will become a half Ironman. Or would it be half an Ironman? Maybe it's a 70.3man, I actually think I like that one the best, haha. I've decided to only give a short set of goal times as thinking about it too much drives me crazy right now. So, here it is short and sweet.

Swim: 35 minutes
T1: <3 minutes
Bike: 3 hours 15 minutes
T2: <2 minutes
Run: 2 hours 5 minutes

for a total time of 6 hours even.

I've prepared and done everything I could at to be ready at this point. I have to trust in my fitness, not make stupid decisions or mistakes during the race and just keep moving forward. That's all I need to do to break 6 hours tomorrow. Holy cow! that's asking an awful lot, haha

Ok, that's all I have for now. I'm going with my wife to a secret recovery place after the race for a few days. When I get back I'll give a full race report. Until then, I have my laptop and if I get inspired I'll try and leave a quick post.

Have a great weekend and good luck to anyone racing this weekend.

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The week before the week....

And now the anxiety has started to settle in a bit. I have started to work on my Steelhead 70.3 race plan, pacing strategy and equipment prep list. Now, I am not a nervous person by nature but the closer this race gets I suddenly find myself getting nerved up a bit. Yesterday I found out my bib number and starting wave (bib 1754, wave 11). Suddenly it is not about talking, it is real and it is about doing! I know my fitness is there to complete this race, that is not the issue here. I think what it all boils down to is this. Last December after going through my shoulder surgery, I signed up for this event even before I could lift my arm above my head. I wanted a goal in front of me that scared the crap out of me so I would not just go through my physical therapy but I would push my physical therapy and come back stronger than ever. Call me crazy but that is how this guys works, haha. Well, now that big scary goal is almost over and yes my shoulder is fine, yes I am physically fit enough to do it, but I haven't made any major goals beyond this one. It is like this is the end of a great big long journey and I have no idea what lies beyond it. Well all that stuff and this is the biggest freaking race I have ever been in, in my life!!

Once Steelhead is over I have a couple of product reviews I plan to do. One I plan on doing will be about my experiences with a can't live without product called Body Glide. In the interest of full disclosure, I was sent a couple of sticks of it last week to write a review. On a personal note, I already love the product so it won't be hard to write about. If anyone out there has any other products they would like me to try just let me know. I also have another fun project involving work that I will be announcing shortly that everyone here can follow along with. So, I guess I have some things to look forward to after Steelhead after all.

As for my review of the Interlochen race. I have gone back and forth on what to actually say about that event. I love the race venue. I love camping in the State Park which hosts the event. I think the course is a good one and very challenging. Unfortunately I have a lot of negative feelings about the race organizers. I don't want to use this forum to air a bunch of negativeness and I surely want to encourage anyone who has thought about doing this race to go do it. Believe me the positives far outweigh the negatives in this case, for me. I have heard many things I did not witness from this race. The only thing I will say is this. 3 Disciplines as a race company works their rear ends off to put on a quality race. I am, however, tired of excuses and disappointment at everyone of their events. They have been in business long enough to get it right EVERY time they put a race on. Enough excuses. In this case they advertised "tech T's" for anyone registered by a certain date. There were no "tech T's" they had "moisture wicking" tshirt's and not a consistent message from the volunteers. Some people were told there weren't any "tech T's" and some were given the moisture wicking line. Either way most people know the difference who run these races. They ran out of finishers medals long before I even crossed the finish line, we'll see if it show in the mail like they said it would. Lots and lots of other little stuff at every one of their races. If your budget is that tight Kenny, then you need to raise your prices, plan better, cut costs or stop letting so many people sign up the day before or day of a race! You could even put a cap on the day of day before registrations so you don't go over your available capabilities. I could go on and on about the petty things that annoyed me at this and every 3 Disciplines race but I will stop for now. I will continue to do their events but I am thinking that next year I will try a couple of other ones for a better comparison. I have been told there is a huge difference in quality of race organization so we will see. In the mean time, I am already planning my return to Interlochen for next years race.

Until later, happy training and everyone needs to go on over to the Kodafit blog and tell him congrats on his new addition in his family that should be arriving today.

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Interlochen Race Report

Where to begin? I guess I'd like to start by saying I have a great wife and friends. We all arrived on Friday to the race site. Last year we had 4 of our core group racing. This year I thought we would have at least 2 or 3 of us. I knew a couple of our group hadn't really been training but I was sure they would give it a go. As of Saturday afternoon it was decided that I was the only one and my support crew would be awesome! We had about 10 other people from our hometown coming in to race their first ever triathlons and they would need all the support we could give them. Ok, on with the race report.

This was to be my second Olympic distance event of the summer. After my Motor City race, I was anxious to redeem myself and do well in front of my friends and family. Friday evening, after we had camp setup, I took a shakedown ride to preview the Olympic bike course. It was enjoyable to return to the bike course from my first ever triathlon a year ago. The first 10k seemed to fly by, this was my turn around point from last year and all I could think of was "is that it?". Life is good with a heightened fitness level. I enjoyed the rest of the ride and made a lot of mental notes for race day. On Saturday I rode the run course and found out what they were talking about with "the hill". This hill starts when you make a left hand turn from a tree lined, greatly shaded dirt road at about the 2.1 mile marker. Suddenly there it is rising up for the next mile right in front of you. I was instantly dreading the run. I made the climb on the bike and enjoyed the quick decent back. I also threw on the wetsuit Saturday and did a little swim warm up of about 700m. Just enough to get the blood flowing and see how the stroke felt. Mission accomplished on the course preview and race prep it was time to just rest and prep the transition bag/bike. It was also time to lay out my race goals and plans to friends and family. I have to say it's one thing to put my goals here on the blog where it all feels like I'm just writing for myself, it's quite another to make my goals public to my close friends and family where I will be held accountable. Time for the race.

Sunday Morning we wake to blue skies and warm weather. Unfortunately we hear the wind whipping in the trees. It is announced at the pre-race meeting that the wind is expected to be 20mph steady gusting to 30mph. UGH!! on a positive at least it would be a headwind on the way out on the bike and pushing on the way in.

Swim: goal time: <30 minutes Actual: 29:22

PERFECT!! The swim course was a clock-wise triangle. My favorite kind. I am a right side breather and this is the easiest way for me to keep the buoy's sighted without lifting my head much. The only problems I had were that I got stuck in no man's land for most of the swim without a person to draft off and when we made the last turn for home I could have sworn I was feeling like I was swimming into a headwind. The water got pretty choppy for the last 300 or so meters. All in all I felt like I had a good strong stroke the entire way with no real problems. This is my best event and once again I proved it with a 4th in my age group and a 29th out of 200 overall.

T1: goal time: <3 minutes Actual: 3:01

Not bad given the distance from the beach to transition and the fact that I put socks on this time. I'm right on my goal pace at this point.

Bike: goal time: 1hour 20 minutes Actual: 1:23:11

The out on this out and back route was BRUTAL. I don't know how the riders I saw with rear disc wheels stayed up on their bikes. I was almost blown over more than once on the way out. I worked hard to hammer when I could and just hang on when I had to. I knew the course and I knew I'd make up some really good time on the way back in. The ride back was, dare I say it, FUN! The wind made holding 20+ mph feel like I was coasting. I hammered it until I was into the last few kilometers when I finally backed off and let my legs rest a bit before the run. My nutrition and fitness were both finally just right on a hard ride. My legs still felt great as I dismounted for T2.

T2: goal time: <1:30 Actual: 1:40

No issues, just had to get some crap out of my sock. Threw on the number and took off.

Run: goal time: <1hour Actual: 1:01:35

I set a goal of running the entire way, having fresh legs and not pushing the pace too early. I'll take this time. I had NO issues with cramping like Motor City. I even held back a little early on knowing I had "the HILL" to deal with. I went past the first 2 miles thinking I felt really good. Then I turned the corner and could see the trail of ants ahead me climbing that blessed hill. I stuck with my goal of running the entire way, I wasn't fast but I managed to keep running. This was my last real challenge of the day. It would have been so easy to just walk as I watched person after person do on that climb. In case you're wondering it was about a 9% grade and coming back down hurt almost as much as going up. Every step was putting on the brakes coming back down. By the time I got to the bottom I was starting to feel twinges of cramping in my hamstrings. Fortunately, this evened back out again once I was on the flat again. I hit the 4 mile mark seeing my pace was holding steady to break my overall goal of a sub 3 hour race. I felt pretty strong all the way in and with a half mile to go I saw that I could shatter my 3 hour goal with a hard effort. A couple of roller hills with a little bit of cramping starting to set in but at this point nothing was stopping me. I sprinted hard the final 50m down the finish chute.

Overall goal time: 3 hours
Actual: 2:58:47

Overall I was excited to not only run a good race by my standards. I also hit almost every goal time I set and most importantly I beat my overall goal time by over a minute en route to setting a new personal best by over 12 minutes.

Look for my race evaluation and review in the coming days.

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Motor City Race Report

Sunday was my first attempt at an Olympic distance triathlon. The triathlon was on the once very beautiful Belle Isle, right near downtown Detroit. I picked this one specifically because it was a bigger event, I need big event experience this year to prepare me for Steelhead. Besides, nothing and I mean nothing scares me about swim starts so why not go big or go home. One last item of note about this race, I had soft goals and no idea what to expect going in. I didn't taper and if anything upped my training intensity in the past week. Not a great recipe but this was a C- minus race just for the practice.

I made the 2 hour drive down to the race site on Saturday afternoon to preview the course get signed in. Not off to a good start though, I left town an hour later than I planned and had to drive the 5.8 miles around the perimeter of the island twice to find the entrance to the area T2 and race registration were. I arrived with 20 minutes to spare before packet pickup/sign in closed. whew, ok, I hoped we were back on track. After getting signed in and picking up my race packet I took some time to look around and get acquainted with the layout. This was to be a 2 transition location event. T1 was about a mile up the island by the swim location, T2 and the finish line were at the main sign in location. I would need to remember not only to bring everything for the race but also a second transition bag to put my wetsuit and T1 stuff into before taking off on the bike. Once I felt comfortable with the way transitions were laid out and the swim location it was off for a drive around the island. Drive, why drive you say? Well, two reasons mainly, first it was getting later in the day and the island was PACKED with people. Apparently half the population of Detroit was attempting a picnic with loud boom boxes, barbecue and adult beverages. There was no room on the island to ride my bike safely with all the people and traffic. So I drove the bike course and made my mental notes as I went. I was glad I did, there was a section of the road on the back side of the island that had a ton of bike eating pot holes. The race director had obviously been working hard though as almost all of the pot holes in the bike course had bright green paint circling them. I firmly believe that you should ride or drive every course, both bike and run, sometime in the day or two before a race to get your final strategy and mental notes in order so there are no course related surprises come race day. With that done it was time to head in to town and get checked into my Hotel, lay out and pack the transition bags, eat my customary pasta dinner and turn in early. Back on schedule, let hope it stays that way.

Race morning. I wake up in a panic! why is it so light? I look at the clock, it's 5:30am. CRAP!!!! Where was my wake up call!! I need to be at the island in 30 minutes when bike check in an T2 opens for setup. Crap!!! Crap, crap crap!!! Ok, deep breath. this is no time to truly panic. What is triathlon after all, deal with adversity and move on. Luckily I packed everything up the night before. I also shaved and showered the night before I was completely ready. All I had to do was get dressed, down some coffee and check out. Ok, deep breath. We planned for lots of extra time at the race for mental prep, now it would have to be on the fly. I arrive at the island at 6:15am, find a parking spot and start getting my gear around. Everything is moving like clock work now. I finally get to T2 for setup 15 minutes before it closes, I set it up and hop on my bike to ride it over to T1, chip pickup and body marking. I am there at 7:05 am along with 700 of my closest friends who are all trying to get their chips and body markings at the same time. I drop the bike and swim gear in T1 and decide I better get in line before it gets any longer. After waiting and begging my way to the front of the chip pickup line, I move over to body marking and decide it is getting close to race start so I better just jump right up front. I explained my situation to a few wide eyed, obviously first time, sprint people and they let me in. Body marking complete, 10 minutes left to race start. Now I'm not one to panic. This time however, I was beginning to panic, I still had to get my wetsuit and setup T1 AND get mentally right before this race starts. How was that ever going to happen? I head over to T1 set up my spot and get my wetsuit on up to my waist. What's that I hear over the loud speaker? Crap!!! 3 minutes to race start and some instructions I can't understand. I grab my goggles and swim cap and run.
Get to the waters edge, get some assistance getting zipped into the wetsuit, dive into the water just enough to get wet so I can settle the wetsuit a little and run over to the starting chute. "1 minute, until race start." comes over the loudspeaker. Ok, mental prep time now officially cut out, haha. I push my way to the front of the pack. Have I mentioned that swim starts don't scare me any? Now, finally now I am comfortable and relaxed again. The world comes to a screeching halt and time slows to a crawl. This is a beach start, I seem to have forever to jostle for position and pick my line I want to the first buoy. THIS IS COOL!!! Man I love competing in triathlons. Then, time comes back up to full speed. 10, every muscle tenses, 9, 8, I ready my watch to time myself, 7, 6, 5, I dig in my toes, 4,3,2, the horn goes off!

Swim: goal time: 30ish minutes actual time: 30:20
Distance: 1500 meters

The swim felt pretty good. The first 500m were against the current, at times it felt like I was swimming in place but every time I sighted on the buoy's I was getting closer to the turn. The middle 500m were with the current and I felt like I had a jet pack on. Only problem to this point was couple minor elbows and kicks to the body during the first turn, all in all not too bad. I hit the turn back for home and it was like hitting a brick wall. Man am I glad I do a LOT of pull sets during my swim workouts. I dug in, hoped onto the hip of some younger kid that tried to pass me and drafted off him the rest of the way in. I felt pretty good at this point. As I stood up I decided I was walking rather than running out of the water. The extra 10 seconds wouldn't kill me and I'd get my legs back under me quicker. By the time I hit the beach I had my wetsuit down to my waist, cap and goggles off and my legs felt pretty good. Time to jog to T1.

T1: goaltime: none actual time: 2:46

Note, I WALKED through all transitions. I had read somewhere that taking that extra few seconds helped you stay better focused and conserved a small amount of energy for the next stage of the race. This was a new thing I tried at this race and I can say, it sure didn't hurt me any. T1, I had to not only ditch the wetsuit, but I also had to pack it and everything else not going with me on the bike into a bag that the race volunteers would bring to the finish for later pickup. With all that in mind, I'm not too disappointed in this transition time. A little slow but I wasn't putting ANY importance on the transitions here.

Bike: goaltime: 1 hour 15 min give or take actual time: 1:19:23
Distance: 23 miles

The bike was sweet!! pretty much flat, a couple of small rollers and 1 tight corner right at the top of the biggest hill and, of course, in to the teeth of the headwind. I held back big time on the first lap. This was a 4 lap ride and I felt I would be wise to conserve and learn on the first lap then I'd know where and when I could hammer on the last 3. This turned out to be a pretty good strategy. I would fly around 20-22 mph on the flat downwind side and maintain with a high cadence around 16-17 on the headwind, rolling hill side. I knew my bike fitness was lacking coming in and I was surprised I was able to maintain this pace as easily as I was. It kinda bit getting passed by all the $10,000 bikes and people looking like they were working half as hard as I was but I was trying to stay within myself. And I felt like I did a pretty good job of it until I got to the run.

T2: goal time: none Actual time: 1:51

Ok, so maybe I took a little too much time on this one. But, in my defense, uh no. I actually have no excuse for this one. I have new Zoot racing flats so the shoe change is quick. I only had to throw on a hat and my number belt so I have no clue why I seemingly took a nap in this transition. Again though, I'm not too worried here. I really wasn't putting any emphasis on my transitions at this race.

Run: goal time: sub 1 hour Actual time: 1:17:10
Distance 6.6 miles

Ok, I new I was in trouble coming out of T2 and running over a small humped up bridge and both thighs locked almost solid! Not a problem I've had before. Usually I get calve cramps, bricks and nutrition changes have helped this immensly. This hurt!! I figured it was better to be safe than sorry and maybe if I just walked for a minute I re-adjust from coming off the bike. For about 2 seconds I considered calling it a day and quiting. Then I remembered what I always tell my son. At some point during every race it is going to hurt and it is going to hurt bad. But if you just focus on the moment, start micro managing the race so your goals become very small, sooner or later it will start feeling better and if that doesn't work then just remember pain is temporary, finishing is forever. With those thoughts in mind I started running again and with in a few minutes, this time, I was cramping again and when I wasn't cramping I just felt like I had no legs under me at all to run with. I was rapidly learning what blowing up in a race felt like and it sucked! Ok, I have to adapt and figure a way to get through this. I settle on a plan, run 10 minutes, walk 2 minutes. I use this method when I do my trail runs and even when it hurts the most I can usually keep that up for hours. 2 miles down and it's starting to feel a little better. at the turn around, 3.3 miles, I am feeling like ok, this is do-able. I know I'm not setting any speed records but I am at least maintaining a pace and mentally I'm feeling better. Next I start looking for people who look like they are struggling as bad or worse than I am. I start cheering them on and telling them hey, lets just jog to the next sign post. Somehow between my internal struggle and cheering on others in my condition I manage to hobble through the second 3.3 mile lap. As I came to the finish chute both my legs were cramped so bad it felt like I was running stiff legged. But I finished!!! I had pushed myself farther than I have ever gone before in a race and survived. I learned a few things along the way but I finished.

Final time 3 hours 11 minutes 29 seconds

Out of this I take a few things.

1) my fitness on the bike is not where it needs to be. I spent to much of the energy bank on the bike and had nothing left for the run. This will be a focus over the next few weeks before my next race.

2) My nutrition plan was pretty good. I maybe could have used more sodium to help with the cramping but I already have a plan to address this. I just wasn't going to trying it in a race first. More on that later.

3) My over all fitness level is leaps and bounds ahead of last year. After a race last year, all sprint distance, I was toast for the rest of the day. I was so sore I could hardly move for 2 days afterward. Yesterday, not only did I drive home after the race, my wife and kids and I went to my in-laws for a cookout. I even stayed up and watched the US Open and NBA finals game last night. Today? My thighs are a bit sore from all the cramping. I am a little tight all around but nothing slowed me down at all today. I pushed myself for over 3 hours yesterday and today I am fine! I know my fitness is way up there.

Later on I'll lay out my game plan for Interlochen. For now, I'm disappointed with the overall time but hey on a positive note, this was my first Olympic distance so I at least set a PR, lol.

Thats it for now, time to rest and recover.

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Friday mish mash....

Anybody been wondering why no race report from last weekend? Well, the answer is simple. I didn't run. My allergies kicked into overdrive about Wednesday and I barely had the sinuses and itchy eyes back under control by Saturday morning. That coupled with a desire to really focus on my son's potential for this race caused me to skip it. Well, ok all that and I hadn't registered in advance so I wouldn't be out any money either. Besides, I thought it would be fun to actually be there at the finish line to see Ryan cross it. But not to disappoint, I'll give you a race report for his race.

The morning started hot! It was in the high 70's by 8am when we got to the race. It was humid and had a slight breeze blowing. I challenged Ryan to run faster than he had in any of his previous 3 races this year. This was a fast, flat course and I knew from experience That the fastest runners from all over showed up to set PB's here. (The overall winner of the 5k ran a 16:03 and 10k ran a 31:57 if that gives you any idea how fast this course is) I worked him through his stretching and warm ups like a coach, got him to talk a little smack with some of my friends knowing they'd give it right back to him and hoped it would fire him up a little bit. I helped him stay loose and got him positioned in the front row with the fastest of the fast. I challenged him to run 7 minute miles the entire way. I told him he was capable and that when he really needed me for encouragement I'd be there to help him kick it home. Right from the start I was proud of his effort. he jostled and hung with those bigger faster runners at the horn like he'd been doing it for years. He appeared to set off at a good pace and looked relaxed. The next 18 minutes were about the longest 18 minutes of my life I think. Especially the last couple because I knew he had to be coming soon to make his goal. During this time I walked up the course and positioned myself right about the 3 mile mark. That point right where you are rounding the last curve and finally get a good look at the finish. I cheered on the first few runners as they came by. Then I could see him off in the distance. His gate was strong but looking a little haggard. He seemed to be in pretty rough shape mentally and was beginning to fade. I knew he was pretty close to the pace I had wanted him to attempt and I knew it was hurting. That's when I yelled to him, "HEY WEAVER, IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE IN THE TANK TODAY?" immediately I saw him perk up. It was like I woke him from a deep sleep. I yelled again "Come on Weaver, I know you got a little left let's show em how we finish at our house". Almost immediately he smiled and started picking up the pace. I jogged along the side talking him up through the next 50 yards, he kept going faster. In the end he passed 3 people in the last .1 miles. He finished in 21:57 with a 7:05 pace. He dropped almost 2 minutes off his personal best to date. He was the fastest 13 year old there, he was 3 in his 11-14 age group and 25th overall out of 298 total runners. I couldn't have been prouder of his effort. Once he got his final results he was ecstatic. In our post race evaluation the first thing he said was I know I can drop 15 more seconds... I asked why 15 more seconds? He says, "It's only 15 more seconds to get that 7 min average"... Now I know he's a runner, when its only 15 seconds over 3.1 miles. Another cool thing at the race, he's started getting noticed and talked to by some of the local school coaches and better runners both before and after the race. I can't wait to see what comes in the future. I'm not sure I want to run many more of the same races he does after watching this last one. I think its time to just support him at most of those and be there when he needs that pick me up most.

Next up for me? Motor City Triathlon. Not an A race, not a B race, more like a C- race for me. I'm using it as a training test, pacing and strategy test and nutrition test. It's my first time at the Olympic distance so, no matter what it will be PB, lol. I just want to race strong the entire race. If I can swim a sub 30 minute 1500m, ride a 19mph avg and run a 9 min avg I'll be ecstatic. If I go sub 2:30 for an overall time, I'll be whooping it up for sure. But not matter what I'm making a deposit in the mental accomplishment bank. One I'll save to draw off at a later time when I need it. Proving to myself that I can not just do the distance but race it!

Lastly I have a bit of a rant today. In the past week I have heard sprint triathlons referred to as "mini" triathlons by more than a couple of people. This drives me nuts!!! There is nothing "mini" about any triathlon. I read once that the effort level to accomplish a sprint triathlon is somewhere on the level of running a half marathon. Yet you never hear people refer to a half marathon as a "mini" marathon. I politely try and correct people when they call it a "mini" triathlon, I even challenge them to do one with me then if it is "just a mini" triathlon. I have yet to get any takers on that offer.

So, until next week when I finally have a real TRIATHLON race report. Keep training and take a moment to enjoy life.

Craig

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CAC 5k Race Report

Ok, I know this is a little late. I was waiting for the official results to get posted online before I wrote this but I see that's not happening so here we go. Firstly, my motivation for this race was two-fold.

1. My son wanted to run it, he seems to want to be a runner this year and who am I to stop that desire, lol. I can think of a lot worse hobbies for him to have and hey it's nice having some company once in a while on my runs.
   
2. This event was to raise money for a very worthy cause in my community, the Child Advocacy Council, they are a great bunch of people who really get out there and support children from abusive homes.

The course was completely off road in fields, on trails and gravel drive. There was not a flat footing to be had not to mention the hills. All in all a very brutal course. I spent the first half of the race socializing with friends and neighbors (which was kind of fun for a change) and the second half just surviving. I'm not sure what exactly happened to me this race but you'd have thought it was the first race I'd ever run. Maybe I didn't take it serious. I know my training in the past week or two had slacked off a bit but come on it was only a darn 5k. Needless to say my time was horrific even by my standards. I self clocked in at about 29 min 30 sec but never saw an official time. (thus the reason I was waiting for the online posting) I will say this, I had fun and saw a lot of local people I don't get to see too often so that was good. It is also good for a turtles soul to run in small races. This was a race with only 50 or 60 people and somehow even at my turtle pace I got 3rd in my age group. My 13 year old son managed a 24 minute 5k on this brutal course. That impressed the heck out of dad. His continued growth in running is great for a dad to witness. It's fun to take him to these races and have him woop my butt. It was even more fun in this race because I could watch him run quite a bit of it due to the layout. He looked so cool, composed and like he was having the time of his life. What more could a proud parent ask for.

Ok, now for the self reflection. Drinking beer with my bother in law the night before a race is NOT the right way to carb load! Not a mistake I will be making anymore. Too much cotton mouth the first couple of miles. I am not a runner, I run best when I run consistantly. I have always had my best races when I come in with my regular 3-4 days a week of running. Not high volume but I have to have some volume. I know this impacted me as I hardly ran last week before the race. My third reflection was I need to focus, focus, focus. Socializing and watching others is fun but it is no way to "run" a race. I need to either be there to race or be there to watch. This includes pre-race mental prep. My best races have always started with the proper internal mental prep and focus.

Goals for this weeks 5k/10k
a) decide 5k or 10k, I am leaning toward the 10k only to get the longer run in. If I do the 5k I will be trying for a PB because this is a fast fast course.
b) run at least 2 more times between now Saturday
c) once the registration process is done and my son is set, get my head in order and mentally go through my race plan one last time.
d) get rest and proper nutrition the night before the race, such an easily overlooked piece of the puzzle.

and last but not least, I can have all the fun and socialization I want AFTER the race but treat this for what it is, a RACE!

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