The KodaFit Blog

Sorry folks…  Life has been pretty hectic of late, but here is my official race report on the Layton Triathlon held on July 31th, 2010.

After a rough night, involving a carbon monoxide scare, among other things I woke up and realized that despite plans to have my transition area set up by 6:10, it was now 6:25 and I had yet to pack.

In a flurry of activity, I showered, applied the necessary protective stuff - Body Glide and Chamois Butt’r, grabbed all my stuff and found myself walking my bike over to transition shortly before 7am.

Fortunately I found a spot right where I wanted to be anyway, and got setup.  It turned out that most of the members of the Northern Utah Triathletes Club had similar plans, and so I spent the remainder of the time talking to them, and checking in with a couple of other friend who were racing.

The race kicked off at 8am, with a time trial type start.  The super sprint athletes went first, followed by those of us who were doing the full sprint distance.  I think I started around 8:30, and was 10th or so in the pool.

The first swim went well.  I passed one person midway through, posted a good time.

The run to transition was a little longer than last year and traversed the parking lot.  Everything was well marked, although when you have that many spectators wondering around, it’s hard to get a straight shot.  I shouted “Coming through!!” a couple of times, and generally people were pretty good about moving aside…  There was one gentleman though who simply ignored me, and I made a point of running right by him…  Close enough to brush his skin and freak him out, but not enough to knock him flying!

T1 went well.  My plan was to attempt the entire race sans socks, although biking sockless isn’t totally new to me.  The bike course had changed a little as well since last year.  An out and back along a narrow path had been changed to one way, which made passing some of the slower super sprint folks much easier.  Layton PD did a great job controlling traffic, and it seemed I was done with the 5.5 miles almost as soon as I began.

T2 went well too, and I found myself out on the run…  It was hot, and I struggled a little to get my breathing under control and my form down.  With the course being just 1.5 miles long, there wasn’t much time to get into a rhythm.

The first person to pass me did so half way through the run, and was followed by a second.  I increased my pace, tried to relax, and held on to both of them to the end.

T3 makes this race unique, along with T4 and T5.  Dumped the shoes, grabbed my goggles and it was back across the parking lot to the pool.  I ended up in the pool right with one of the guys who had passed me, and we battled it out for a lap or two.  I also realized I’d forgotten to drop my Garmin off as well - fortunately it’s somewhat water resistant, so it seemed OK.  Finally I pulled away, and actually felt like I finished the swim stronger than the first round.

Back across the parking lot, onto the bike, and off after the other person who passed me on the run.   I caught him midway through, and we traded places a few times as we hurried our way toward the final run.

T5, and my family had arrived as well - Photo’s later! - The sock strategy paid off, as I was able to drop my challenger in transition.  It felt easier to get into my stride now, although the heat and fatigue were starting to make their presence known.

I had a clean run, passed a couple more athletes, and hit the finish line breathless and completely spent.

One nice feature at this race was that a minute after finishing I was handed a card with my time, and current position, with a count of the number of races who could potentially bump me down the order.  I think I was 12th overall with 3rd in my age group… But there were still 9 guys out on the course.

I checked in with the family and friends and set about trying to rehydrate, cool down and get my stuff cleared up.

I was almost completely ready to go at the awards ceremony, and I must admit I was a little bummed when they announced third place in my age group, and it wasn’t me…  The disappointment was short lived however, as my name then got read as the second place finisher…

YEAH BABY!!

Despite a slightly longer transition run, I actually dropped more than a minute off last years time, and I’m currently about 5 pounds heavier than I was last year as well.

All and all it was a great race.  I love the course, and the swim, bike, run, swim, bike, run format add an extra level of excitement to it.  You can push harder than you normally would in each discipline, and then swim midway through actually feels great.

Kudo’s to the Race Director for a job well done, and I’ll be sure to race this one again this year.

Oh…  And one final thing…  It would appear I was the first to sign up for the event when it was opened last year, which made for a nice surprise when I picked up my packet at Roosters the night before…  I got to wear number 1.  Not sure if it made me more of a target, but it felt good.

Perhaps next year I can try and earn the number 1 spot as well!

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It’s time for my tri clubs annual Shark Attack Triathlon.  I raced this for the first time last year, and felt pretty good about my results.  You can read the long and very wordy report here.

I had a good swim last year, but I think I can drop a minute from my time this year… I’ve been hitting my 300 yd swims in about 4:30.

T1 was good, but I think I can beat that time too, by really sprinting and skipping the socks. Hopefully I’ll be clear in 45 seconds or so.

The bike is going to be tough. I’ve only biked 3 times since IronMan, and that was 6 weeks ago. I think I can probably hold 20 is I focus, keep my cadence high and race smart. If I can get this done is 33 minutes I’ll be in good shape.

T2 had a few snafu’s last year. I was awkward coming off the bike, and had stuff in my show. I’m planning on a different dismount technique this year, and I’m toying with the idea of skipping the socks… Going to try and keep this under 45 seconds as well.

If that all goes according to plan, I should have about 21 minutes left to finish in an hour. It’s going to be a tough ask, but I can do it. This is where the pain comes in… Last year the biggest problem was that I ran out of energy. I’m hoping to drink more on the bike, and then grab a trail running bottle in T2.

So with a hydration plan, the last thing is going to be keeping the pace up. I’ve been doing speed work at 6:30/mile pace. I don’t think I can do that, but I do think 7:00 per mile pace is entirely possible. It’s going to be a matter of mind over matter. Keeping my mind in the game, knowing that it’s only 3 miles, and then keeping the pain at bay as well.

The final hill is going to be the killer, but I’ve been running hills all winter.

I CAN DO THIS! THERE IS NO SPOON! BRING ON THE PAIN!!!

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The Clearfield Aquatic center has hosted a mini indoor tri for the last 3 years.  I had a conflict 2 years ago, and last year it was so popular, it was sold out by the time I heard about it.  This year as I left the pool one friday morning, I saw the sign and was signed up an hour later.

I took the extra hour, because I wanted to see if my sweet wife wanted to do it with me, knowing that she would likely laugh in my face, and then using a combination of hand gestures and descriptive language, might inform me as to the best place to put such a crazy idea….

But she said yes, “I’m sorry….  WHAT?!?!”

So off we went to register.

We ended up in the last heat, just a few minutes after our neighbors - who were doing the team thing as well.

I did a couple of laps warm-up in a spare lane and then got ready to go.  We were in the final heat, and there were three of us racing.  The other two guys were in board shorts, and arguing about who would finish last - so much for the added adrenaline from some friendly competition!

BEEP!!!

And I was off.  First lap went well.  I flipped, came home, flipped again, and got to glance back at my lap time.  42 seconds.  Since I’ve been averaging 50s a lap in practice, that may be a little fast, but I got to rest after the swim so I tried to push it.  Each lap got a little slower, until around lap 8, my time finally popped over 50s.

The last lap about killed me.  I had absolutely nothing left…  I could see my wife running along the side of the pool to meet me at the other end.  I hit the wall, reached up to slap her hand (twice, since the first attempt was pretty pathetic), checked my time 7:55 and then collapsed on the side.

I’m not sure how long I was there, but I finally dragged myself out, and check on the kids.  Huge thanks to our other friends who came to watch the little guys.

The nice thing about the team thing was that I got to get changed nice and slow.  I stretched a little, made sure my laces were tights and headed back out to check on Ann.

She was doing well.  The bike portion was on the spinning bikes, and she was already about half-way through, spinning at a nice steady cadence.

We took photo’s, joked around, and before I knew it she was done, and staggering to the door to tag me…

I shot out the pool area, up the steps two at a time, and began my laps.  27 laps around a track about 200 yds long.  With a track that small it’s like step, step, step turn, step, step step turn…  You get the idea.

First lap I came up on a guy in a camel bak.  He heard me come up behind, and sped up.  Finally some competition!!!

Suddenly he came up on another lady, pulled up along side and slowed to her speed…

DUDE!!!!  WTF!!!

It’s a real narrow track, and I had to slam on the brakes to avoid piling into the back of them.  Right then we hit the corner and I saw a gap…  I broke into a sprint, passed them both, and kept going so Mr. camelbak wouldn’t feel tempted to follow and box me in again.  No worries though as he started walking shortly thereafter.

I tried to keep the pace going and did so fairly well.  My only regret was not taking my lap timer in with me, so I could count my laps and check my time.

It may have been my quickest 5k to date, but it’s hard to tell just how fast it was.  Finally I hit the final lap, zipped around, mostly by myself and then headed out the door and down the stairs.

Just so you all know, if I can be a warning to anyone here…  Running a blistering 5k (at least for me, and then hitting the stairs at full gallop - NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!

I made it down the first flight without incident, only by the grace of God though I think, grabbed Ann’s hand before hitting the last flight and crossing the line.

Our time ended up being a hair over an hour.  Good enough for 5th overall in the Novice couple division.

Swim: 7:55

Bike: 28:35

Run: 25ish?!

Not sure on the transition times of any of that, but we had a great time together and that’s what really counts!!

Thanks Hon!  We’ll have to do it again next year, only let’s plan on kicking some serious butt!

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Saturday June 20th, was the Shark Attack Triathlon - a sprint tri, put on by the Desert Sharks Triathlon Club.  It’s my first year as a Shark, so I figured I should probably do it.

I wasn’t really considering this an “A” race for me, but went into it looking to have some fun.

I probably should have posted my goals before hand, so I was accountable to my readership, but I should have done a lot of things before this race!!

Should have driven the course, should have shaved my legs, shaved my head and practiced more speed on each discipline, rather than just endurance.  But no point crying over that now!

Anyway, so the goals were:

300m swim - 5 minutes

T1 - 1 minute

Bike - 30 minutes (Average of about 23 mph, which was waay ambitious)

T2 - 1 minute

Run - 25 minutes

Total Time 1:02 - Fastest Sprint Tri to date!

Day before I loaded up with Crown Burger, and Lucky Charms cereal (I used to try the healthy thing the day before, but this particular approach seems to be yielding better results!)

Night before went to bed about 11 - not good, but on the plus side, my car was packed and ready to go, and I was able to fall asleep quickly, secure in the knowledge that I was good to go.

3:10am - Alarm went off.  Hopped in the shower, dressed in my race kit, drank my Instant Breakfast and was out the door by 4am

5am - Arrived at the venue, amid some hefty winds and ominous looking clouds.

By 5:30, my transition area was setup, I was checked in and marked up, and had met a couple new sharks as well

Over the next hour or so, I helped get stuff ready for the aid stations, carried a bunch of stuff around and blew up a couple of inflatable sharks to help decorate the pool area.

7am - Start time.  I seeded myself right near the front.  I think I was 5th or 6th in the water.  I felt good about my swim, although I did get held up a little on the last lap of the pool.  Felt like a solid swim, exited cleanly and ran up to transition.

As I entered, I was told that only 2 bikes had left already.

Helmet, glasses, shoes, grabbed the bike and sprinted for the exit behind another shark.  That young shark was a young 13 year old girl.  If I may take a wee side trip here…  Her 18 year old brother ultimately won the race.  She came in 4th out of the woman - out of all the woman!!!  They have a younger brother who did well in the kids race as well.  These kids are talented, but perhaps more importantly, they have incredibly supportive parents.  Not the kind who push their kids into everything, but the kind who are involved, help their kids as best they can, and make sure they’re not being overwhelmed.  I hope I can be a parent like that as my kids get older.

Anyway, got out of transition in 5th position (Bear in mind this race had a time trial start, so it’s kind of hard to judge positioning relative to the other athletes.  Almost immediately I passed the person in 4th - the afforementioned 13 year old girl - and I only mention this, because I suspect in a year or 2, she’ll be cleaning the floor with me as well as all the other competitors.

The first part of the course was mostly downhill and into a headwind.  I was having a hard time holding 18mph, and was struggling for breath.  It wasn’t a bad course, but there were spots where the road was in need of repair.

The final mile towards the turn around was pretty rough.  With a half mile to go, the first 2 bikes came back, pushing hard, followed closely by #3, wearing a Shark jersey.  The turn around was dicey, due to some wet roads - It had started raining, and then it was back to the pool…  A couple of dicey places on the way back.  First an intersection where I wasn’t sure if the officer had seen me coming - he had, just waited till the last second to stop traffic.  Then a one way bridge which had been open when I first went under it, but was now on a downhill and had traffic backed up on both sides, as well as oncoming cyclists.

Exiting the bridge I had a downhill and a tail wind.  I topped out around 38mph, while flirting with the bumper of a Mazda 6.   Not sure if I got much of a draft from him, but it was fun to be racing a car!!  Back towards the start, and I managed to catch #3.  I passed quickly and then began a short nasty uphill.  Unfortunately I also caught a Sherrif’s deputy who was patrolling the course, causing me to brake as I hit the hill and cautiously pass.  Right at that point #3 caught me and passed me solidly.  The hill was really slick, and as I crested, I felt my back wheel spin out a little - Uh Oh!!  Kept it in control, and then started to sprint for the finish.

I caught #3 about a mile from the finish - said hi as I passed - Not in a condescending way, but he was a fellow shark - exactly who, I’m not sure, but he had the jersey on!  At this point I was on a small uphill, but with the tail wind was holding 28mph - Nice!!

Hit transition and hopped off the bike, albeit a little awkwardly - Need to learn how to exit my shoes while on the bike I think!!  T2 went well, until I slipped on my left shoe and felt something in the end - Did I forget to remove a Gu?  Pulled it off, and out fell my Garmin Strap…  Doh!!  Shoes on, grabbed the hat, the garmin and sprinted for the run exit.

Within the first half mile I got the Garmin strapped on, and then realized I’d forgotten my number (Shh!  I think it’s against the rules to do so - DOH!!!).  The first half mile was down hill as well, and was the perfect way to start the run, other than the knowledge that I would have to climb back up the hill to finish.  First mile got done in 7:57!!!  I don’t run under 8’s ever!!  Just gotta keep the momentum going and keep my brain from quitting.  The next half mile was rough.  My legs felt great, but I got passed by the fellow Shark again, who was flying on the run, and then came the bugs…  I caught a few in my face, and then got a few in my mouth.  Most I spat out, but one got into my throat, and made it his dying wish to move around as much as possible.

Hit the turn around and grabbed a cup - Dang it!! It was water, and I could really have used some HEED…  Oh well.  I walked a little to drink it down, along with my buggy friend and then started running again.  My time was now around 9 minute miles.  More normal for me, but I was bummed I could hold to the 8 minute pace.  My legs were still feeling good at this point, but my side was aching, and then I ran through another swarm of bugs and got another couple of the buggers in my throat.

Got passed by two more runners as I neared the finish, and walked about 50 ft going up the hill.  Managed to kick my butt though, and got running again for the last half of the hill.  Crossed the finish line feeling strong, and got my foam shark key ring!!

At this point, it was also pointed out to me that my face was covered in bugs.  I wiped ‘em off and headed for the massage tent - one of the bonuses of finishing up front.  Waited a few minutes, and then got a massage.  It wasn’t bad, but I can see the benefit of have a man massage you rather than a woman.  Men (and I’m generalizing here) just have more strength and can dig deeper.

There were a bunch of timing snafu’s after the race, and I felt really bad for a couple of the officials who were trying to straighten it out.  I helped out with the raffles and handing out prizes, which was fun, although with the wind and the rain, few people stayed.

Due to the timing problems, I’m not sure of my exact times.  I’ve been able to make some good guesses, which are below, but it’s hard to say how acurate they are.  I suspect the swim, T1 and the bike may be close, but my bike may have been linked with T2?!?

Anyway without further ado…  My final results:

Swim: 5:45 - good for fastest in my age group.

T1: 1:08 - 3rd fastest in my age group

Bike: 35:52 - 3rd fasted in my age group with an average of 19.1 - Not bad, the weightlifting session 2 nights before factored into it, as well as the wind, the rain and some slick roads, but still not too bad.

T2: 0:54 - Could have been quicker had I cleard out my shoes before the race.

Run: 25:50 - My second fastest 5k to date and fasted 5k after a tri

Final time: 1:09:29

Good enough for 5th in my age group, 12th Overall out of the men and 13th overall for the race!!

Overall, not a bad race, and I left knowing that my run definitely needs some work, but other that, I think the training is going well.

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My last race of the season was on Saturday, November 22nd.  With a marathon, an olympic distance tri and a plethora of sprint distance races under my belt this year, and some recent speed training, I was hoping to do really well.

The race consists of a 2.75 mile run, 12 mile bike and then 250 yd swim.  Probably not quite a full sprint distance race, but close enough.  It’s within about 20 minutes drive of where I live, in Syracuse, and it was cheap - just $25 for a non-student.  What more could I ask for?

Let me preface this by saying that while 2 days before the race I was excited and ready to make some very agressive goals for it, the day before I picked up a little case of flu, and so my goal went from kicking butt and taking names to trying to finish without dying or something equally embarrassing happening.

From what I could tell, the race was a lot bigger this year than in years past.  By the time I arrived at 8:15, the racks were full, and so I set my bike up on the grass right by the entrance to the transition area.  I check in and was pleased to find a decent swag bag.  Swag isn’t the reason I race, but I wear my race shirts with pride, so it’s a bonus.  This year the shirts were long sleeve T’s and Wasatch Therapy had thrown in another shirt as a bonus, and The Bike Shoppe tossed in a nice bike bottle with some kind of valve top, instead of the bite and pull kind - I’m excited to try it.

My bike placement was perfect, the only downside being that with it laying on the grass I couldn’t really use my aero bottle.  Not a big loss, since I still wasn’t feeling much like eating or drinking anything anyway.

The race started shortly after 9, in 5 heats.  I was in heat 4 and it appears like the set each heat up with a distribution of runners speeds, no doubt to help ease congestion in the pool.  The course is twice around the indoor track, out the door, up through a neighborhood on the south end of Campus, around the Dee Events Center and then back to the transition area.  I think I prefer running last, after my legs have had a chance to warm up.  I averaged just under 9 minutes a mile, which is good for me, but not the 8 minute miles I was hoping to do.

Transition went well, probably a little over a minute, but I struggled with my shoes because I was shaking, and my mind wasn’t as focussed as it should have been.

The bike course goes downhill on the south end of campus, and then down the hill on the west end.  It was nice to have downhill to begin with, even though the air was still a little cool.  The road on the west end has two traffic circles.  I hit the first going about 35 mph.  I figured since the road looked straight on the map, that it would just be a little jog, and as long as no cars got in the way, I could probably keep my speed.

THE MAP WAS WRONG!!  The road isn’t perfectly straight, and the road heading out of the circle is a little further around the circle than I was expecting.  With a cyclist right on my rear wheel, passing another as I came into the circle and then realizing that I needed to turn more than expected, I braked.

I had a bad experience with road paint which I was a kid, I came around a corner in the rain, hit the paint and slid out my rear wheel.  I still have the scars.  This was going through my mind as I was braking, trying not to lock my rear wheel, avoid the copious quantities of road paint and make sure I didn’t get in the way of the guy behind me, all the time, no doubt looking like I was staring death in the face.  I made it though.

I took the next circle a little slower, took a nice right hand turn at the bottom of the hill and headed up the hill on the north side.  The hill wasn’t bad to begin with, but it got steaper as it went up.  At the top a lot of people were walking.  I stayed up, and in my 3rd gear from the top, but it wasn’t easy - according to the Garmin, it has a 10% grade at the top, but I’m not sure how much I trust those readings…  Right turn at the top with a few really nasty but short climbs up to the stadium, down a brief hill and then out and around the Dee Events Center and back to transition.

Three laps on the bike course and I pulled into transition with an average speed  of about 17 mph.  Not great for me, but I usually race on flatter courses.  I stripped down, grabbed my shoe (It had my chip on the laces), grabbed my Garmin off the bike, goggles and towel and took off for the pool.

With the sun finally coming over the mountains (Weber State sits on the west slop of the Wasatch mountains, it started to warm up, but my feet were sweaty, the sidewalk was in the shade and the concrete was really cold.

Got to the pool, dumped my stuff and get assigned to the last lane.  I was sharing it was a young lady with nice long limbs.  She was doing breastroke but on her back.  In her defense though, she did try and move out of my way, and was done as I started my second lap.  I had the lane to myself until the last lap when another racer joined me.  I passed him heading down to the far wall, flipped and sprinted back for the finish.

Grabbed my shoes and the rest of my crap, ran across the lines and I was done.

Final time:

1:09:27

Good enough for 26th overall (out of 91) and 20th (out of 51) in the men’s race.

They didn’t do age groups, but if they had, I would have been 5th out of 13.  Not great but considering the circumstances, I’m very pleased with that result.

Overall it was a nice cheap and simple race.  The staff were very helpful, the course challenging by that’s not a bad thing and despite being late November, even the weather was pretty good.

The timing was done by chip, but they were running chips and only did total time, without splits.  I’ve met the guys who did the timing before, and they’re great guys.  They did the Memorial Day 5k which I ran earlier in the year, and invited my daughters and I to stand in their trailer, out of the rain during that race.  I believe they are planning on getting triathlon ready chips, so maybe next year, the timing will be more comprehensive.

According to my own timing - and this is subjective because the actually transition area wasn’t really defined.

Run: 2.4 miles, 21′23″ (8:55 /mile)

T1: 1′50″

Bike: 10.66 miles, 38′44″ (16.5 mph)

T2: 1′31″

Swim: 6′01″

Finally, my only complaint, aside from having flu the day before was that at a couple of points the course crossed over itself.  It was a figure 8 type course, and involved having to cross over the path of other racers several times on each run and bike lap.  If the organizers were to switch the sides of the course on the loop that goes out and around the Dee Events Center, I think it would make the course safer and a little faster too.  Perhaps even closing those roads off to most traffic would be helpful to.

I heard a few volunteers discussing those changes, so hopefully they put them in place next year.  Overall, a great, fun tri to end my season with, and one that I plan on doing next year, even though I will likely be doing the Silverman Half just a week or two before, so any amazing times will be likely out of the question then as well.

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I did the “I Can Tri” triathlon in Sandy, Utah this morning.  It was my first Sprint distance race when I started triathlon last year, and based on recent results I was pretty excited about doing it again.  I haven’t been on my bike much of late which was a little concerning, but I have been working on my running and swimming speed, so figured I could make it up there.

My goals were and 8 minute swim, 27 minute bike (20 mph avg) and 25 minutes run, with 2 minutes for transitions - a time of 1 hour and 2 minutes - enough to get me a 2nd place finish in my age group last year.  To help enhance my luck - I followed the lead of the legendary “Steve in a Speedo” or Speedo Steve as the fam knows him, and requested a smiley face when they numbered my leg - I think it may have worked.

Out on interest, if you aren’t familiar with Steve’s blog, I’d highly recommend a visit.  Tomorrow he will be participating (I’m not sure he’s planning on competing…) in a half ironman race.  The run portion of which he will do dressed as the Grim Reaper.  Just imagine some poor dehydrated, demotivated soul turning around and seeing Steve, complete with sickle, closing quickly…

The results:

The swim went well.  A number of people where in the 8 minute start that shouldn’t have been - perhaps next year, I’ll try and be fast enough to get into the 6 or 7 minute groups.    Not a bad time.   Last year I was a little over 9 minutes, and the timing wire had been moved further from the pool this year.  In reviewing photographic evidence taken by the wife…  It would appear that I walked on air as I exited the pool - perhaps next year if I can just walk on water, the swim may be even easier.

Swim time - 8′37″, good enough for 2nd fastest in my age group.

T1 - went like a breeze…  The whole drive down I was going through it in my head and the whole time I was swimming.  I was on my bike less that a minute after exiting the pool. 56 seconds - Fastest in my age group.

Seconds after getting on the bike I could tell I hadn’t been training.  No need to yell “On yer Right” when you sound like a steam locomotive huffing and puffing up a hill.  Struggled to get the accelerade down, struggled to get a groove, but I did OK.  Average speed was 18.4  mph (According to my Garmin).  Passed a lot of people - didn’t get passed though!!

Bike time - 28′14″ - Hey that’s closer to 19 mph avg, and good enough for 4th fastest in my age group!!

T2 - I didn’t practice this one…  Did remember to take the helmet off, but then I paused, grabbed a 5 hour energy - 57 seconds.  Not bad, but it could have been a lot faster - 9th fastest in my age group.

I struggled after pushing it on the bike, but held my own…  I did get passed by a couple of guys - I think they were all in my age group too - grrrrr….   Finished with my tank pretty much on empty, which is something I’m still learning to do right - gone are the days of holding back till I get to the end, and sprinting to the line…  Today took some effort, which I liked.

Run time -  25′47″ - Now I know that’s not fast, but it’s slightly slower than my 5k PR (I’m not a fast runner, but I am getting faster)  Good enough for 6th fastest in my age group.

Final time - 1 hour 5 minutes and 25 seconds.

For comparison…  That’s 12 minutes faster than last year.  I was 30 seconds faster on the swim, 3 minutes faster on the run, and 8 minutes faster on the bike - having a nice carbon fiber road bike in place of a mountain bike, definitely made a difference.  Finished 5th in my age group, 16 in the overall male standings and 19th overall from a field of well over 200 - Not too shabby at all.

That said though - I intend to place next year - even if it kills me!

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Or how breaking my rules helped me break down some barriers…

August 9th was the second Magnathon Triathlon for the year. They do 2 - one in June, one in August - My June report is here. In that race I finished in 1:14:00 - my quickest Sprint distance to date.

Perhaps let me share some of my “unofficial rules” for my races…

I have pasta for the 2 dinners prior to race day.
On the day before I spend the day hydrating and doing little else.
Before I go to be, my bike rack is on the car, my bag is packed, and my bike has been cleaned, checked and is waiting right by the front door.
Finally I generally have my nutrition written down, my goal times figured out and then I can get on with a good solid sleep.

I don’t remember what I had for dinner on Thursday… It may have been spaghetti, but I wasn’t even thinking about the race, and I think I had half a loaf of garlic bread as well.
Friday, rather than rest and rehydrate, I took the family to the zoo. Nothing like chasing kids around all day in 100 degree heat to deplete your energy and fluid levels.
Getting home, I raced to the running store, when I realized I was out of Gu, and then we finally ate dinner at about 8pm - Breakfast muffins with egg, cheese and Canadian bacon. Mmmmm! Great food, but probably not the best for loading of carbs.

Then on a whim, I went to the track with my night time gym buddy. He usually does a mile or mile and a half while I do speed drills. I figured I’d stay back and take it easy with him. We ended up doing 2 miles at a nice easy pace, but it didn’t do much for my already depleted fluid levels.

You may recall Friday night… It was the opening ceremonies for Beijing 2008!! I’m glad I watched it - that was absolutely amazing, but then I ended up not getting to sleep till well after midnight. I spent the rest of the night having crazy dreams, getting up a couple of times with kids, and dealing with the side effects of trying to hydrate before I went to bed.

The alarm went off at 4:30, and by 5:30 I was almost all ready to go - and then I started remembering things. Skipped breakfast, which I usually have before I raced, and grabbed some instance breakfast thing in the cupboard - It wasn’t half bad. Then I tore around the rest of the house like a mad thing trying to find the strap for my Garmin. After a few other mad crisis I got on the road, remembered my Ibuprofen, got it, and then set off again.

I made good time getting there, got a nice spot for transition and then got my number… 13. Not the multiple of 8 that I usually have good luck with, but 13 has quite a bit of significance for me, so that seemed to be OK. I had a buddy from work join me as well. He did the Spudman a few weeks back, and due to the fatality in that race, he was excited to do a full race that included a swim (His swim heat at Spudman was cancelled following the accident).

My actual race report will be short and sweet….

Ended up sharing a lane with Mike - the guy from work. Had a solid swim - not too fast, but not too slow (400M in 8 minutes). I can do it in a little over 7, but I suspect that my tri top may be slowing me a little.

T1 got done in a little over a minute and with that, I was out on the bike. I haven’t ridden my bike in almost 3 weeks. I did well, but I could tell I was rusty. Lap 1 went well. Lap 2 was good till I got to the big hill. Usually I can get up to about 40 mph on the hill, but as I started a large dump truck pulled out in front of me. It was a little hairy, but I got behind him, pulled up next to him, and then flew by… Speed 43.5 mph… Fastest ever on my bike!!! Got to the bottom and had a lady pull out in front of me, on a long flat through downtown Magna - its like 4 blocks!! Managed to get around her as well, which always makes you feel good.

Final lap went well. I was feeling comfortable, but still like I was pushing as hard as I could - you know that nice balance. Ended up getting caught behind the support van that was waiting for another cyclist, but kept a cool head (kind of) and then was able to get by both of them.

T2 was not my best work. I got through in under a minute, but I caught myself getting a little too relaxed. Headed out after giving up 1 position to number 14… My plan for the run was to run the first part really fast, walk the mega hill, and then run the last part really fast as well. I ran the entire thing last time, but the hill was really tough, and I think overall, it slowed me down.

Set off running, looked down at my watch so I could see how much more I needed to push, and I was already at a 7:30 mile. Just a little perspective here… I’m not fast by any stretch of the imagination… My fastest 5k to date, I average a little over 8 minutes a mile. Longer races I drop to 9 minute miles, and in my marathon training, it been between 9 and 10 - generally closer to 10. Back to the story though… I was moving, and it felt good. I kept it up for the first mile, and then I hit the hill - or at least I thought it was the hill… I pushed until my speed dropped into the 8 minute range and then walked the rest. Getting to the top I realized that the big hill was the next one, and so I ended up walking 2 hills (DOH!!!) Crested the hill, or rather got to the top of the steep part and started running again… 8 minute miles, everything still feeling good. Got within a mile of the finish and I sped it up a little. I even started gaining on the guy who passed me. Turned the final corner with 400 meters to go. My speed was perfect, and I pushed it with everything I had. Didn’t pass the guy in front, but I got close!!

Overall time 1:12:07 - fastest sprint to date. 5th place overall, 4th place in my age group.

I think the speed training I’ve been doing at night is actually paying off. I have 2 more races this year. A sprint triathlon in September and my first marathon in October. I’m thinking I’m going to stick with my current training program for the marathon, including a speed workout on Wednesday nights, and then I’m going to work on speed workouts for swimming and cycling - hopefully doing really well in the Sprint in September.

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I’ve been a little slack in getting this done, but here you go…

Magna is a small city out on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley. It’s not exactly a thriving metropolis, but I like it. The Magnathon is significant for me, in that it was my first ever triathlon. I did the novice distance in August of 2007, and took first in my age group - rather than bask in the glow of that, it’s probably best to also state that there were only 2 of us in the age group, that I can 5th overall out of less than 15 people, and I was beaten by several ladies - not that I have anything against the fairer sex mind you!!

Anyway, so when I found out the Magnathon was happening on a weekend I had free, I jumped at the chance to give it a go. Rather than drag the wife and kids, I went by myself and was there nice and early to get my pick of transition spots and psych up for the race. I didn’t get as much psyching as I wanted to, but it wasn’t too bad. I blame an increase of fibre in my diet, but thats another post for another day.

Since the Magnathon is rather small, there were no timing chips or bibs. I got a big #6 on my leg, and after a brief pool side meeting and a Gu pack, I found myself in the pool, waiting for the start. I was sharing a lane with 3 ladies. 1 on my side and 2 on the other. I offered to let the lady on my side go first, but she declined. They counted down from 10, and on one I went under, coiled my legs and pushed off, as I hit the start button on my watch.

I’ve been focussing on swimming more efficiently and more aerodynamically. Alas all of that went out the window, and I returned to my high school racing style, which is effective over 50 meters, but not so much for longer distances. Within a few strokes as well, I felt hands slapping at my feet. Flipped on the far side and tried to speed it up a little on the return trip (It was a 4 lap deal in the 50 meter pool). Again, hands slapping my heels the whole way, I didn’t flip on the starting end, and ended up with the lady who was chasing me, performing a very nice flip turn against my side. A little shocked and winded, it did however take some pressure off, and I tried to relax for the next 3 laps. Over the last 20 meters I finally found my groove, and could feel my body relaxing and my speed actually increase right as I hit the end.

I climbed out and ran to transition. Looking down at my watch, I realized that the button had not taken and my swim time was just a series of zero’s. This was the first race I had used my Garmin, and having started it on Multisport mode prior to the swim, I hit lap, so I could time my transition. Got the socks and shoes on (I need to learn to race sockless!), pushed the bike out of transition, hopped on and hit lap again. T1 in 1:26. Not my best time ever, but my bike wasn’t racked, and I took some time to remove my watch as well…

The bike route is a 3 loop deal for the sprint distance. It starts with an uphill, then a short rolling hill section and then a huge downhill. Then theres a nice flat section through downtown Magna and then it’s uphill to end the lap.

Lap 1 went well, I tried to use it to settle down, but realized that my heart rate was way above where is should have been. I’m not sure if it was the adrenaline, the rough swim or the Espresso Gu (Haven’t tried that one before) but it was at least 30 bpm higher than it usually is when I’m training on my bike. I finished the lap averaging about 18mph, and as I climbed the hill I was passed by the lady I’d shared the swim lane with. Ignoring the article I read the night before about not letting your pride get the better of you, I increased my cadence, passed her back and tried to push it in lap 2.

I was averaging about 13 mph on the hill section, 16 mph on the rolling hill section, 40mph on the sweet hill and then once I got in a nice aero tuck in the downtown area I was able to get that at about 24 mph. Faster than I’ve been training, but the adrenaline was flowing nicely. Grabbed a shot of Gu on lap 2, and finished out the final lap strongly. Dumped the bike, checked my times - 37:50 on the bike and then 1:08 on T2. A little slow on the transition, but not too bad.

The run started OK. My legs were a little wobbly, but it began with a downhill, and I had 2 guys right with me who were pushing a little as well. We were around an 8 min/mile pace. I’ve been averaging 8:15 on the last couple of 5k’s, so knew I would likely slow down. A mile into it, I’d dropped to 9 min miles and then I hit the hill. 1.5 miles straight up, and it got steeper the further I got. I’ve done some hill training, but obviously not enough. I was able to pass the one guy and kind of keep up with the other. I ran the whole way, although not very fast, and crested the hill with nothing in the tank. My legs were shredded. The last half mile was all flat and downhill. I got it back up around the 9 minutes pace, but it wasn’t comfortable. My goal was to give my all, and I felt like I did. I finished the 5k in just under 25 minutes, and would have felt really good about it, except the Garmin showed I’d only run 2.8 miles. Oh well!!

My total time was 1:14:00 about, and I calculated that my swim was around 8 minutes, slower than I’d trained, but faster than previous races.

Had I run that kind of time last year I would have won the whole thing, the other athletes have however been training and the winner ended up getting done in 57 minutes.

I didn’t place, but I had a great time, and got a new PR for the sprint distance.

For added measure I did another 45 minutes on the bike that night, and averaged well over 19mph. Hopefully that bodes well for my first Olympic distance this weekend!

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Sprint Triathlon #2 for the year was held in St. George this last weekend. Since the weather report looked really good, I was a lot more excited for this one than the last. Although originally called the Kanab Triathlon, this event is run by the City of St. George and takes place in and around the Sand Hollow Aquatic Center.

The Sprint distance race consisted of a 400 yd swim, 10 mile bike and 3 mile run. The bike and run parts were both out and back type courses and required 2 loops of each. I must say that with the exception of my run, it turned out to be a great day for me. Let me give you my results, following which I’ll go through the triathlon by section.

My goal was an hour and 10 minutes and that was based on:

8 minutes swim
2 minute T1 (Transition 1)
33 minutes bike
2 minute T2 (Transition 2)
25 minutes run

The reality was (And you can see this posted at: tri-a-run.com)

7:52 on the swim (Including the run from the pool to the bike area
1:20 on T1 (Woo hoo!!)
32:41 on the bike with an average speed of just under 19 mph
1:37 on T2 (Not bad!!)
33:16 on the run (Noooooooo!!!!)

Total time was 1 hour 16 minutes and 43 seconds.

Overall placing 91/236
Division placing 21/36

And now the race itself… The SHAC is located in Santa Clara, just North West of St. George. It is just south of the Golf Course where High School Musical 2 was filmed. In fact to my daughters delight, I actually cycled right by the main gates to the course.

Start time was 8am. I got there at 7am to set up. It was a little cool, but as soon as the sun came over the beautiful red rock mountains, it warmed up fast. Numbers were assigned in Alphabetical order, and I ended up with 160. The swim was done in heats of 20 with new swimmers starting as soon as another finished. With this done in order of number, I didn’t hit the water till just before 9am. In hind sight I should have held off on the Gu until just before, but like an idiot, I sucked it down right before 8am.

The swim went well. It was my first time in my new tri suit, and that proved to be interesting. I didn’t lose my shorts, but the fact that they do not tie around the waist to cause an interesting sensation as I pushed off from the wall on each turn.

At the end of the 8 laps, I hauled myself out, and ran to the bikes, amidst shouts and cheer from my wife and kids (all exuberant that I had actually started. With the tri suit, I didn’t have to worry about a shirt, just some socks and my cycling shoes. I grabbed the bike and ran. The guy in front of me stopped right as he got to the mounting line, and then crossed into the path of an incomming bike. It made for a bit of an adrenaline rush, but I was able to mount my bike and clip in without incident and head up the hill. The course was not flat by any means, but the hills were all gentle. The down side of the first section was that it was very bumpy. At this point I should mention that I was using a new aero bottle, set nicely between my aero bars. I was able to drink at any point in the race without breaking the aero position, which was nice. The not so nice part is that the bottle is well vented, and the bumpy road resulted in a decent amount of gatorade ending up on my computer, my bike, my pedals, my shoes and me. I ended the race rather sticky, as did my bike.

The ride went well though. Not too many scary situations with cars, but I have learned that all you need to do is look a little unsteady on the bike, and cars back right off. I locked up my rear wheel as I ended the first lap, narrowly avoiding sliding out, and almost hit a lady on lap 2, but she and I survived. My top speed was just over 32 mph, and the average speed just under 19mph. Well within the competitive range.

As I finished the bike, and ran into transition I could feel my knee being a little otherwise. I racked my bike, removed the shoes and slipped on my running shoes. Grabbing my race number and belt I clipped it on and ran out to the running course amidst cheers from my wife and kids. Those cheers turned to yells when my eldest turned to my wife and enquired as to why I needed to where a bike helmet to run in. It must say something for the comfort of the helmet that I didn’t notice it up until that point!

I managed to drop it off at the first aid station and two very nice young ladies said they’d watch it for me. I picked it up later, introducing myself as the idiot who tried to run in his helmet - They got a good laugh out of that one.

My legs did not feel good. I made it about a half mile up when my knee started to hurt as well. Pretty close to the turn around I slowed to a fast walk and tried to walk it out. The rest of the course was terrible. I tried to run and walk a little, but it just really, really hurt. It doesn’t help when old ladies power past you, along with everyone that you were able to pass on the bike course.  It didn’t help matters either that my shirt decided to start riding up as well.  It was nice to have the snug fit on the bike and the swim, but when it came to my stomach poking out as I ran, I didn’t appreciate it as much.

I was able to finish at a good trot, but still in a lot of pain. I don’t think the half ironman is going to be an option this year, and I’m having my doubts about the olympic distance triathlon in June. I haven’t registered for either of those, but I have registered for the half marathon in Ogden 4 weeks from now. I’d be lying is I said I wasn’t scared.

I’m going to see how this week goes, but suspect I may be back at the doctor on Monday, begging for a cortizone shot.

All in all the SHAC triathlon was a terrific event. It was actually my fastest sprint distance triathlon to date, which I was please with, but it could have been so much better.

I’ll be registering for it again next year, and hope to have at least 1 or 2 kids doing the kids race, and maybe even my wife trying the beginner race. Hopefully she’ll catch the bug, and I can have a new training partner!
Have to see how it goes.

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I got a new book last week on Endurance sport nutrition.  I will likely post a full review on this blog in a couple of weeks.

The problem I have been having is that I’ll be fine for a couple of days, and then it just seems that all of a sudden I lose my strength and feel really sluggish for a few days.  I’ve been following an eating plan that is supposed to increase testosterone production, but I think I may have hit on the key problem as I read last night.

 Your muscles use glycogen to fuel your movements.  There are other systems that help with this, but glycogen is the key one in long distance training.  Once you exercise and burn off the glycogen, you then need to replenish these supplies.  My diet has been pretty much a high protein one, with carbs and fats taking an equal share of the remaining calories.  My daily target has typically been in the 2300-2500 calorie range.  This is good, especially since at the beginning of the year, I was lucky to hit 2000.

 Based on what I have been reading, I should probably be pushing 3500-4000 calories on my heavier days.  And my carbohydrate intake should be substantially higher.  What seems to be happening is that I am using my glycogen stores, but they aren’t fully recharging between workouts.  I then reach a point every week or so, when my stores just run out, leaving me weak and powerless for a few days.

 My plan is to plan each week out before I get to it, looking at what workouts are planned, and then base my meal plans around that.  Hopefully I can get my body to fully recharge between workouts, thus allowing me to workout for longer periods at a time, and more frequently, without the negative effects.  I’m hoping to get both these things posted at the beginning of each week.  I missed the training plan this last week, but to be honest with my injury, the pool being closed yesterday, and the cold I’ve been fighting, training really hasn’t featured much at all.

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