Last night, Meredith and I went down to one of our favorite cheap dinners: $4 burger night at a local Irish pub. Now that we're on a tighter budget with her quitting her job, we've got to look for those inexpensive ways to get out once in a while. There were a couple people ahead of us on the waiting list, so the hostess handed us one of those little things that buzz when your table is ready. We found a local paper on a bar shelf, and were reading it while we waited.
Fifteen minutes turned out to be more like two. Our pager never buzzed, but a woman came to show us to the table. She never asked for it, and I didn't see another hostess, so I just carried it with me to the table. After she laid down our menus, she turned around and said she'd be back for our drink orders in a second. I replied with, "Great, and I'll just give you this.", and held out the pager for her.
She jumped back.
I held it out again.
With a tinge of panic in her voice, she held up her hands and said "What is that thing?!"
Okay, now I was really getting confused! I held it out a third time and said, "Umm...it's our pager for the table."
Finally, she realized what was going on. It turned out that it was her first day working there, and in her defense, we were just talking last week about how much their pagers look like stun guns.
Pager:
Stun Gun:
She was (quite deservedly) teased mercilessly by both the staff and other patrons the entire time we were there. Afterward, she said she was ready to hand over all her tips when she saw it.
Hmm...
Maybe we have a way to make a little money on the side after all!
On Saturday, I was working on our photobooth, and had to go to Home Depot for some wood. I got my 1x2s, came home, did a couple test runs on scrap, and got ready for my real cuts.
I measured twice.
I cut once.
I put it all together, and it didn't fit. Why not? Because I apparently needed to do the math three times first.
So I had to take the walk of shame back to Home Depot. (Fortunately, it's maybe half a mile from our house)
Yes, you just saw me.
Yes, I'm buying more of what I just came in for 15 minutes ago.
*sigh*
I haven't done any training of significance since the race, but I think it's about time to get back in the saddle. My knees are feeling much better, I'm walking like a normal person again, and I'd like to find maybe one more race to do this summer. I'm thinking olympic distance, but haven't ruled out another half completely.
Or, "Charlie Brown vs. the Muncie Parks and Rec Department"
So this was it. The culmination of all those hours of training, all the hours in the pool, on the country roads, and around the neighborhood.
We rolled into Muncie around noon on Friday and checked into our hotel after lunch. I'm glad to report that there was no evidence of the "cat pee" report from TripAdvisor. We did, however, get a smoking room. As much as we wanted to light up the day before our race, we wanted more for our room to smell halfway decent. The solution? Our last coconut scented pine tree car air freshener! We hung it off the coat rack, and by Saturday our room smelled like coconut and smoke instead of just smoke.
By order, Meredith (and thus both of us) were to go down to the race site and get in a practice swim, bike, and run. With a little friendly talk, we were able to get into the beach area without paying the admission fee, and walked down to the start location. The only bad part? Only the normal swimming area was open, so our spandex clad warmup swim was in amongst the locals sunning on their inflatable rafts. I'm sure we got a few strange looks. We then got in a 20 minute bike ride down the start of the course, and decided to skip the run because we were starting to feel the sun and needed some water. In the evening, we got some pasta at Olive Garden among flocks of people with numbers on their arms, got our things ready, and got to bed early.
Race day started out fairly uneventfully. The water temperature was 80°, so no wetsuits for us for the first time. We took the back roads in, got all our gear set up, and were about to head back to the car when the director called a meeting in the transition area. The weather, he said, was going to be getting dicey ("special" was his word) in about three hours, and they were going to put the start waves only 3 minutes apart. That meant a quick trip to the car and back, and no time for me to warm up. By the time we got to the beach, the first wave was off, and my fourth wave was lining up. We said our goodbyes and good lucks, and I was down to the beach. This was the most nervous I've probably ever been before a race, both because of the length of the race itself, and the threat of the weather.
I placed myself near the back of my wave, and planned to stay wide at the turns. I still managed to take a kick straight to my goggles (fortunately, it was so direct that they didn't even move), and one to my side (which the other swimmer apologized for - unneeded, but appreciated). The course was a near-triangle, and most of the bumping was just in the first leg. It was also some pretty choppy water thanks to the wind. I took one big wave in the face, which caused the only time I had to flip over and cough it out for a few seconds.
On the middle leg, the wind was at our back, and because I swung wide, I had a really nice clean swim. I really felt like I was moving well here. Because it was such a long stretch, you couldn't see the next buoy at first, so I sighted off the boats that were lined up along the course. I apparently did a really good job of sighting, because at one point I looked up, and I was about 2 yards from a head on collision with a big boat. The captain was standing out on the prow of it (I assume to make sure I was okay if I hit it), and we shared a chuckle as I made my way around the side instead.
At the second turn, I made my only big mistake of the swim. I went too wide, and due to the chop, I caused myself to have to swim against the current most of the way back. I'd sight, think I was going the right way, but then the next time I looked up, I would be off course again. Still, when I finally hit shore, I looked at my watch and saw it at 39 minutes or so! I ran up the long ramp to transition, quite happy and surprised with that time. I'll be a little greedy and wish I had done it 24 seconds faster, so it could start with a 3. :)
Swim: 40:23
As I was running up the ramp, it was drizzling a bit, and during transition, it got heavier. I did a much better job of preparing my things for transition this time, and got in and out probably the best of any race so far.
T1: 2:55
I wasn't on the bike course two minutes before I saw the first lightning bolt of the day. What happened to three hours before the weather hit us? Then, it got worse.
BOOM!
I saw the bolt back and to my right, and the thunder was almost on top of it. All I could think about was Meredith, and that she was probably still in the water since she was a couple waves behind me. I hoped they'd pulled out the swimmers, but I hoped they hadn't, because I didn't want her race day ruined. (Later, we heard secondhand that they did pull people out, but let them continue. Not sure what exactly happened there)
Not knowing what was going on back there, I decided I'd keep on with the ride. However, I felt like I was having trouble getting in the right gear. I was bouncing in the saddle, which usually means I'm in too easy of a gear. I upshifted, and was still bouncing. Tried again...still bouncing. Something wasn't right. My tire didn't look flat, but I pulled over to the side of the trail and dismounted to check it by hand.
Squish.
Uh oh. Number of times I've changed a tire on Charlie Brown: 0 Number of times I've changed a rear tire on any bike: 0
Fortunately, someone had a camera on me.
The other issue compounding matters was that we were on the local rails-to-trails path, which had zero shoulder room - both sides were ditches. I got as far off as I could, and was still trying to figure out how in the world to change my tire in there when I heard a scraping sound and looked back. Another biker hadn't been paying attention, looked up and saw me, swerved, hit the gravel, and went down into the ditch. I went back with a couple other bikers who stopped and tried to help him out. Thank goodness, he seemed mostly okay - a few cuts and scrapes, but nothing broken. I really hope he made it the rest of the day...I felt awful, but I didn't know what I could have done differently.
Finally, I found a place where someone had laid a couple wood planks across one of the ditches where I could get out to the main road. I set up next to a police officer manning an intersection, and proceeded to teach myself how to change a rear tire (in a thunderstorm). Muncie's rules state that you can have zero outside help on mechanical issues, or else be disqualified. Even the race people can't help you. The sag wagon did stop by and let me know to radio them if I couldn't get it fixed, and they'd come and pick me up. So, there were two ways out. Figure out how to fix it, or go home.
After a little trial and error, I got the wheel off, but I didn't have tools with me, and the tire was too tight to get over the rim by hand. I looked around for a stick or anything else to help. The best I could find was a dead turtle. No, I didn't use that. Then I realized I had my sunglasses. I used one of the ends to pry under the tire, and finally got it off the rim. I got the new one on, hit my first CO2 cartridge, and hoped for the best. With a whoosh, it filled, and seemed to be holding air. I tried a second cartridge, but it just blew out its gasket, so the tire was as full as it was going to get.
While I was over there, I saw Meredith go by, which eased my mind that she had made it out of the water. She did her best Mr. Bill ("Ooohhh Noooooo!"). After the first turnaround for her, she saw me again, and handed off the car key in case I didn't make it. At the time, she hadn't realized that I was still going out on the first leg since I was over on the other road. When I hopped back on, my tire held, and my shifters seemed okay.
So. 40+ minutes into the bike leg, and I had made it maybe 5 miles. I had some serious work to do. By now, the lightning was at least more intermittent, but the wind and rain would keep up for almost the whole bike leg. I grabbed a bottle of gatorade (on the fly, thank you very much!) from the next aid station to replace my aerobottle that had spilled out during the change. I wasn't sure exactly what to do with my nutrition plan since I hadn't been riding continuously, and ended up making the executive decision to postpone everything 30 minutes from the original plan.
My challenge now was to stay positive, knowing very well that my 6 hour goal was out the window. I did my best, singing to myself, aiming to catch people ahead of me, and being as friendly and positive as I could to the volunteers and to everyone I passed. I also tried to race as if my delay hadn't happened, and see if I could hit my 3 hour goal minus that time. Because I didn't hit the split on my watch during the flat episode, I'm not sure if I made it, but I think I worked hard and came darn close. One woman out on the course asked me to tow her back, so I must have looked halfway decent. I said yes, if she ran for me, but she declined. :(
Fun fact: I ended up with the slowest bike split of any (non-wetsuit) finisher!
Bike: 3:34:52 (15.6 MPH) Bike Minus Delay Estimate: 3:00-ish? (18.6 MPH)
T2 was pretty uneventful other than a quick bathroom stop. Meredith had given the excellent suggestion of putting my run shoes and socks in a plastic bag, so at least I was starting out with somewhat dry feet.
T2: 4:22
As soon as I hit the run course, my stomach tied in knots. I had a tough time getting as much gel down as I was supposed to, but I think I managed three during the run. My pace started off around 9:00-9:30, which was about right. I walked the water stops, and ran in between, which was a pretty successful strategy. Until mile 9 or so, I held onto that, and then I started walking a few of the rolling uphills and chatting with other runners. I imagine that if I was still challenging the 6 hour goal, I would have pushed a little harder, but as it was, I just decided to enjoy myself. My miles on the way back were closer to an 11 minute pace, for the most part.
One little girl at an aid station, after handing me a cold towel, asked the adults there, "Was he the last one?". I looked back with a chuckle and said "No!". Around mile 11 or 12, I passed the first person from my wave I had seen since the beginning of the bike, so I knew I wasn't going to be last after all...one little win in a long day. Finally, I saw Meredith up ahead cheering for me, and I knew I was almost done. I had resolved to run the last hill up to the finish, and I did. It was even the first race that I got my name announced at the finish line.
More than my first marathon, this finish really impacted me. For that race, I had to walk almost half of it because of knee issues, and so it was a little anticlimactic. In Muncie, I had to fight the elements as well as some rotten luck, and I still persevered through it and met 3 of the 4 goals I had set before the race. The only thing that really frustrated me was that the way things ended up, Meredith and I very well might have gotten to finish together, which would have been unexpected and nice. Still, I'm really proud of myself for getting through it, and despite everything, I enjoyed it.
We're off this morning to make the drive out to Muncie. The plan is to get in a workout on location, and then get some good pasta. (Read: Olive Garden)
My tentative goal is 6 hours, but I totally understand that anything can happen in a race this long, so it's only tentative.
Goals:
1. Have fun! This is a new experience, so make sure to enjoy it. 2. Finish. 3. Finish in 7:00 (0:50 swim, 3:30 bike, 2:30 run) 4. Finish in 6:00 (0:45 swim, 3:00 bike, 2:00 run)
My gut feeling is that the run is the most variable of the three, and it looks like it'll be a hot one. My bottle holder for the bike is as tight as I can get it, so the plan is to have some better hydration and nutrition than in the Deer Creek tri. With any luck, it'll be a fun 13.1 mile victory lap, rather than a death march. :)
So...what do you write about when it's time to cut back the miles?
Meredith and I went out for our last big ride last week - a three hour trip out into the countryside. Fifteen minutes in, my IT band was hurting. For anyone new to the blog, that's been my achilles heel in training ever since my first marathon. In fact, why does Achilles get his own body part? From now on, it's the Dave band.
Anyway, I did complete the ride. The soreness let up for a good portion of it, but came back by the end. I took a couple days off with ice, tried a run on Friday, and had to call it off less than a mile in. If I can't run evenly, I figure it's probably doing more harm than good, and I'm not willing to risk my race to get in one last 4 mile run.
Today, I went up to the lake for a last open water swim. It was my first time up there not in a wetsuit, and I was anxious to see how much difference it made. I was happily surprised not to feel all that much change. Maybe I didn't glide quite as much, maybe I need to concentrate a little more on body position, but now I'm more confident that I can do Saturday's swim.
Of course, now that I check their site, the lake temperature is down to 76°. Maybe the wetsuit is making the trip after all?
My swim was supposed to be a continuous swim. One problem, though? I forgot my goggles at home, a 30 minute drive away. To make the best of the situation, I swam with my eyes closed and practiced swimming in a straight line. I wasn't very good at it, ending up out by the buoys at the edge of the swimming area (or maaayybe beyond them if no local lifeguards are reading this) a couple times. Still, I think I got what I needed to out of the workout, which was more mental than physical.
My hope now is to get in a couple more light workouts before Muncie to make sure I feel okay, and to not make my Dave band feel any worse in the process. I know I'm ready - now I just need to make it to the start line in one piece!
So, I'm starting to look at lodging options for Coeur D'Alene next year to get an idea of what's out there. It looks like there are a lot of options, but I'm not really sure what direction to go.
Anyone have any advice?
1. Hotel vs. House rental 2. How critical/preferable is it to be in walking distance of the transition area? 3. How long before/after race day do you like to stay?
(I'll add on if I think of anything else)
In other news, fencing season is over for a while. My club had our season-ending tournament last night, and I managed to take home a very shaky third place medal. I fenced 11 pool bouts, winning 9 of the 11. However, there were four 5-4 nail biters in those nine wins. It's sometimes a thin line between a good draw and a rough draw in the elimination round, and last night I managed to just squeak into the former category. With as little spare energy as I have in my legs right now (this being peak week for Muncie), I was quickly dispatched when I hit the first fencer ranked higher than me in the semis. Third was actually a little better than expected with as little as I've been able to make it to practice lately.
I went online to book us a hotel for Muncie today. Unfortunately, most in town are booked full at this point, but there were still two choices showing on TripAdvisor. Which to choose?
That doesn't seem so long, right? I completely did the math wrong in my head. Three hours later...
But I'm ahead of myself. I debated where to do this training day, and eventually just settled on putting my bike on the trainer, and transitioning in our foyer. Today, however, was humid. So humid that when I did get on the trainer, my sunglasses fogged up completely (yes, I had my sunglasses on indoors), and my helmet was making me sweat all over the living room. (yes, I had my helmet on indoors)
The point of today was transition practice. And practice it I did. I managed to cut about 30 seconds off from my first transition to my last, and it was changes that can be used on race day. Pretty excited about that.
Since indoors was hot and sweaty, I did the rest of the laps outdoors. Two minutes out one way, hop on the bike for a 3 mile ride around the neighborhood, and then two minutes out the other way on foot. I'm sure the neighbors were wondering what the guy running crazy laps in spandex was up to, but that's their problem. :)
I should also admit that I broke the law. Amidst all the cornering practice and short straightaways of the residential streets, I did see my bike computer hit 25.1 mph at one point. Surprisingly, I'm still a free man.
After I (finally) got done with all those reps, we were off to Meredith's family reunion. Nothing better for a post-race recovery meal than a potluck! And as Meredith will attest, I took full advantage!
What is the one (okay, two) most important thing to remember on a training run?
Shoes? Well, yeah. iPod? Nice to have. Watch? Can do without if needed.
Nope, none of those. These.
Let's just say I went straight from my 90 minute tempo run to the laundry room. You'd think one of these days I'd have the whole checklist of things to remember all in my head. Sigh.
(The return trip. I'm the one in yellow.)
Other than those issues, the run was good. I can tell that I'm not as fast on the run as I am during marathon training, but yesterday was probably the strongest long run I've had this summer so far. It was a 20 minute warmup, 10x (3 min tempo, 2 min recovery), and a 20 minute cooldown. Thanks to going a bit faster than expected, my very last tempo interval came on the only uphill on the return trip. Really had to dig in to get to the end of that one.
I'm getting close to completing another piece of furniture for our house, and I'll be sure to post pics of it when I finish. I had made some desks for our loft, and now I'm making a cabinet to go between them.
In another whole level of training craziness, there might be a major announcement on Monday. Stay tuned!
Or, "Charlie Brown vs. the Internal Combustion Engine"
I was looking forward to this Sunday's race. It's a lot closer than the race we did last week, and it's a much bigger race. That means less time all alone out on the course, and the prospect of actually passing some people, which is always fun. :)
We had the good fortune to be in the very last (or first) rack in transition, which meant plenty of room to set up, and no trouble in finding your spot. You'd think that would make for quick transitions...
The water was noticeably warmer than last time we swam at Alum Creek two weeks ago. Meredith and I were both in the 5th wave of the day, which was the largest of the race. After a kiss for good luck, I lined up a little farther out, in hopes that we wouldn't be running into each other during the swim. Better to be kicking people you don't know, right? Even though this swim was only half the distance of last week's race, it seemed long due to the lack of landmarks along the way. It was just a straight shot down the beach, with only two yellow buoys to guide you. Since there weren't any turns, there wasn't nearly as much contact as last week. Other than one flip to my back when I choked on some water, I stayed in pretty good motion the whole way. The only flaw in the swim was at the end - I thought we had to go out even with the yellow inflatable buoys, then make a 90° turn. Instead, we could cut over to them as soon as we passed the last orange boating buoy. (Green: ideal line, Red: me)
That certainly added a bit to my time, but I was still happy with my watch when I hit the split on the way out.
Swim: 14:44
Okay. The transitions are supposed to be the easy part, right? You come out, you change gear, and you go!
For some reason, I can't seem to do it. First, I couldn't get my wetsuit over the chip on my ankle. I should have taken it off first. Then, I managed to put my new bike jersey on inside out. After pulling it off, turning it around, and putting it back on, it managed to get all rolled up, and I couldn't get it on all the way. By this time, Meredith had entered transition, gotten all ready, and headed off with a "Good luck out there!" All I could manage in return was a sound of frustration. To top it off, I realized on the way out that a sock had gotten bunched under my foot, so I had to stop and pull it out.
T1: 3:13
I decided to push myself on the bike in this race. At the OSU triathlon, I was really just getting used to my bike, and I didn't even put it into the big gear. On Sunday, I only left the big gear to get up the park road to the main road at the start, and then up the big hill at the end.
I got my speed up around 20 mph, and tried to hold it there for the first part of the course. Other than a bit of unwanted headwind, it was a successful effort. As we turned south for the second half of the course, it went through some gentle rolls, and I found myself behind...a car! Some woman had managed to get her car in the middle of all the bikes, and was going about 15 mph. That was bad news for me, going 18+.
Are you allowed to draft off a car during a triathlon? I wasn't sure. Instead, after throwing a hand up in the air at her, I hit the pedals hard, and passed her on the left. After a couple minutes, she decided she would pass me, and others, back, and finally got off the course.
The course at Wendy's ends with a fairly good hill, which I was prepared for after riding it a couple weeks ago. After the hills at Deer Creek, it didn't seem so bad. However, when I turned onto the last road, what did I find in front of me? Another car! This time, I cut around it on the shoulder. I wasn't about to waste the momentum I had built up in preparation just because a car decided to be in the way. The hill was fun this time around, because I found myself passing all sorts of folks on the way up. Once up at the top, it was less than a mile back to transition. I felt like I raced this part well - not too tired, but I definitely pushed myself harder than either race to date. I think the course was long, as both Meredith and my bike computers had a much higher average than was listed in the results.
Bike: 54:00 (18.7 mph chip time, 19.5 mph on bike computer)
I may not be able to get through T1 to save my life, but I'm pretty good at T2. I took an extra swallow of my Nuun water before heading out on the run in hopes of not repeating last week's debacle.
T2: 0:59
The run was a little more cross country than I expected. Probably a full mile of the race was through some muddy and rough trail. I went out a little easier than last time, hesitant to push too hard. My body held up better this time, though. I got a little stitch again, but was able to run through it. I know I got passed by at least a couple guys in my age group, but still, I think I had a decent run. In retrospect, I might have been able to push a little harder and still hold it together.
Run: 27:26 (8:51/mile)
Total: 1:39:21 (18/26 age group)
Though I didn't quite make the top half of my age group, I was only 3 minutes from the 10th place finisher. It's encouraging to think that there's that many people in range of some small improvements. I was in the top half overall though, finishing 142/451. By this time next year, I think I'll have a good shot at getting in that top half.
That is the question, because we're on for the Wendy's triathlon this Sunday!
The swim is an 800m dash down the shoreline, and I'm debating whether to bother with a wetsuit. Will it cost me more time in transition than it'll gain me on the swim? Is it better to practice the transition, even if it's slower?
Two days after the race, it's time to get started again. I'm still debating whether to do the Wendy's triathlon this weekend. It would probably be good experience, but it's pretty expensive.
Today is a fallback week in the training plan for Muncie, but I decided to ride my intervals on the trainer a little harder than I have been in the past. Something about every other bike flying by me on the course makes me think that maybe I'm not riding quite hard enough. Part of that is just because I don't have a lot of experience in knowing where my limits lie on the bike.
Or, "Sunny/95 is a better radio station than weather forecast"
After arriving a little close on time for the OSU race, we made sure to get down to Deer Creek in plenty of time on Sunday. We got down there around 6:30, taking note of how high the water was on the way into the park. You could see side roads blocked off that just went straight down underwater. Once we got signed in and situated in transition, we went down to check out the lake. It was so high that you could see the railings to the stairs down to the beach...but they were just sticking up out of the water. The stairs were completely covered. A couple practice laps out to a buoy, and we were ready to go.
Before the olympic start, there was a sprint triathlon going on as well. The women's wave was a complete debacle. The lead woman sighted off the wrong buoy, and half the field followed her diagonally across the course. I have no idea how many of them corrected course, or how the officials would deal with so many athletes going off course.
My swim wave left before Meredith's, and when the horn went off, we squished down through the muddy grass into the water. This was my first open water race, and there were definitely some anxious moments as I was grabbed, poked, and pushed. I'm pretty sure I did just as much in return, and I tried to stay as calm as I could. I tried to keep my freestyle stroke going as much as possible, but I did find myself having to breaststroke just a bit when I needed an extra moment to find a line. The swim was definitely a mental fight for me. I alternated between running into people, and feeling like I was the last one out there when there was no one around. One other issue I had was getting behind someone who was just a tiny bit slower than me. I didn't know whether to slow down and hang off their feet, or try and go around. I chose the latter, but it took some energy out of me to keep hitting them. The lake was so murky that you had no idea if someone was near you until you hit each other.
Because I felt alone, I figured I was going to come out in the 45 minute range, and decided to be okay with it. When I hit my watch on the way out, I didn't really "get" the number on it, and so I just went on without really thinking about it. It was only after the race that I looked at it and was proud of myself. My time was perfectly competitive with everyone but the fastest couple people in my age group.
Swim: 30:02
I walked a little going up the hill to the transition area as I got my arms out of the wetsuit so I could get my legs back under me. In transition, the girl next to me was also there (who must have rocked her swim), so we chatted as we changed. I tried to be a little more efficient about things this time around. Apparently, I failed, as it was the second slowest transition in my age group. I got out just in time to see someone just getting on their bike topple over much like I did on our ride a couple weeks ago. At least it wasn't me this time!
T1: 3:58
The bike course was two loops of a 12 mile course. I didn't know a whole lot about it going in, so I arbitrarily chose a strategy. I decided to stay in a smallish gear until the first turn so I could get my legs loosened up, and then I'd kick it into a higher gear and go. This seemed to work pretty well, though I have to say it was pretty discouraging to hit 24 mph (probably my fastest flat-ground pace to date) and still get passed like I was standing still.
On the last couple legs of the loop, we had to hit a headwind as well as a couple short but steep hills. As I hit the first hill, I attacked it pretty hard, which may have been a mistake. Though I passed a bunch of people (many walking up, one more falling over), it got my heart pounding pretty hard and I had a hard time getting my speed back up afterward. The second hill was a little longer but not as steep, and basically finished off the loop.
Continuing on to the second loop, I was starting to feel a little fatigued, so I kept the bike in a little smaller gear. That sacrificed a couple mph, but I was trying to stay fresh. For the most part, the second loop was a lonely ride other than getting passed by a few women from the wave behind me.
Then the first big issue of the day hit me. As I was getting my gatorade from the cage behind my seat, I felt the cage come loose, as it had done on our last long ride. That wasn't a big deal, though I knew it would annoy me by bouncing around the rest of the way. But then, maybe a mile later, I hit a little bump, and it felt like the back of my bike exploded. It took a couple seconds to realize what happened, but I looked back and saw the cage bouncing along the road, with one of the bottles heading the other direction. I think it might have hit my wheel as it fell, which is what sent it flying. So, I had to choose between time and money. I chose to go back and get it, but had no way to reattach it. Fortunately, there was a police officer in sight, and I rode it up to him and he agreed to turn it in for me at the finish line when he closed the course. I didn't catch his name, but thanks again!
In retrospect, I made a critical mistake here. My aerobottle was almost empty, but I had one spare water bottle in a cage on my frame. What I should have done was empty that one into the aerobottle, then swap one of my gatorades into my frame cage before handing it off. Instead, I only had water and a gel for the rest of the course. Those who know me know that I am a...how to say it..."profuse" sweater, so this is a big issue for me.
On the bright side, my bike was a little lighter, and I went on to finish the rest of the second loop. I took the hills a little easier this time around, and had more success on the flats immediately following them. I came back into transition starting to feel tired, but still pretty good.
Bike: 1:26:53 (17.1 mph)
The second transition was pretty uneventful - hat for helmet, swap shoes, and go. I was jealous of all the sprint triathletes packing up their things, as the heat was really starting to take effect.
T2: 1:36
As I went out onto the run course, I actually felt pretty good. I decided to just run at whatever pace felt good for the first mile, and reevaluate at that point. When I hit the first mile marker, I was at an 8:10 pace by my watch. Probably a little fast, but I still felt okay. At that point, I had 50 minutes to finish the last 5 miles and get in under 3 hours. No problem, right? I tried to slow my pace a bit to be conservative.
And then it hit me. I got the world's worst stitch in my side, and just could not shake it. I tried breathing as deeply as I could, stretching my arms overhead...everything I could think of. My conservative pace dropped to a jog, and then to a walk. I kept trying to cool off by pouring water on myself, but it wasn't any use. I was overheating, and it was all I could do to just keep one foot in front of the other. They had 4 water stops in the 6 miles, but I could have used one or two more, just to try and stay cool and hydrated. I could feel that I was dehydrated, and ended up showing some symptoms post-race as well. My fingertips were all pruned at the end, which I now read is a sign of dehydration.
I've never seen so many people walking in a race as I did on Sunday. Probably 80% of the field in my sight was walking at any given time. It made me feel a little better, but I was still frustrated that I was so close to my "reach" goal of 3 hours, and wasn't going to make it. Meredith caught me around mile 4, and I wished her good luck on the way back in. Finally, in the last mile, my stitch eased up, and I was able to start running between some of the cones.
It was a pretty sad way to end the race, but I'm honestly not sure what I could have done differently. I might have been able to push myself to run a few more intervals, but I don't think I could have pushed hard enough to do the 10K in an hour without taking risks I don't want to take. We saw two people get carted off in ambulances on the run course, and I didn't want to be a third.
Run: 1:16:52 (12:24/mile, blech)
Total: 3:19:20
All in all, it was a fairly successful first effort at a longer race, and one with an open water swim. In 75 degree weather, I think I could have broken my 3 hour goal, but with my struggles in heat, it just wasn't meant to be yesterday. Still, my swim and bike times were wins for me, and maybe next time I can put the run in that category as well!
We went to dinner with Meredith's family last night, and I was sitting next to our nephew, who's 5. During the meal, he asked me why I had a napkin on my lap. I explained that it was in case I spilled food on my pants, and he followed up by asking what would happen if I spilled on my shirt. Well, I explained, I'd have to wash it. His eyes lit up, and he said:
"With Oxy Clean? It gets the tough stains out."
Umm...maybe they've been watching a few too many commercials...
I also thought through my goals for the race tomorrow. I don't know exactly what the transitions are like, but allowing maybe 5 minutes total based on peoples' times last year, here goes:
1. Finish and have fun 2. 45 minute swim, 1:40 bike, 1:00 run, 5 min transition: 3:30 total 3. 40 minute swim, 1:23 bike, 0:53 run, 4 min transition: 3:00 total
How are we supposed to swim when it's thunderstorming 24/7?
Meredith got kicked out of the pool at the gym yesterday because of lightning. I had hoped to swim before work yesterday (nope), and then again today (double nope). Instead, I settled for a 45 minute spin on the bike trainer, and will probably have to run indoors as well.
I'm pretty sure this has been the longest tornado watch we've ever been under, too. The weather here hasn't gotten threatening enough to be especially worried, but we've pretty much been under a watch for the last 24 hours.
My nerves are starting to get going for the race this weekend. I'm not too concerned about my place or time, but I'm excited to get out there. I officially own a wetsuit as of yesterday, so I'm set on that front. From looking at the pre-registrations, I think Meredith has a real shot at placing this weekend, so I'll be excited to cheer her on if I see her during the race. There's a much more sizable signup for the men's division, so I'll just do my best and see where things shake out.
It's hard to believe, but we're already at the training week with the highest number of hours in our plan, at 10.5. It seems like just yesterday that I was struggling to swim a 400.
This morning was a 3000m swim, broken into 6x500. Once I got through it, I thought it would be a shame to end up 200m short of 2 miles, so I tacked on a 200 meter cooldown, and broke 2 miles for the first time!
I was a little bit of a slacker last week, and took a couple days off in a row. My knee had been a little tight after the race last week, and I wanted to rest it, but the rest ended up being a little excessive. For me, it's tough mentally to get back in the groove once I allow myself an unplanned day off.
Yesterday it was back in the saddle, but before the saddle was the first open water swim. I rented a wetsuit for the weekend, and we drove up to Alum Creek State Park for the day.
Open water swimming is tough!
I had a really hard time keeping a straight line, and the water was choppy from wind and boats. Meredith assured me that the water is usually calmer for races, since they're usually in the early morning. We think we did maybe 1200m or so, but there were quite a few breaks. It's got me a little nervous for the race this weekend - I know I can finish the distance, but I hope I won't have to tread water too much to figure out what direction I'm going!
Following the swim, we hopped on our bikes for a 2-hour tour of the lakes of northeast Columbus. It was a pretty scenic ride, and offered quite a bit of hill work on some of the roads. One hill in particular, though short, hit us pretty well. I think I was down in single digit MPH by the top. After the climb, we got to come down the other side, and I hit my top speed for the day at 30.5 MPH. One more climb back up to the dam where we started, and we put our bikes away in favor of running shoes.
This is the part where we both kicked ourselves afterwards, because we were so hot and tired that we decided to cut down our run from 30 minutes. We aimed for maybe a mile, at least, to get the experience of running right after the bike, but then we opted for the air conditioned car.
Saturday was supposed to be a mock-triathlon triple workout. It started off well, as we got down to the pool and put in a 30 minute swim. Meredith was flying, completing 1600m in the 30 minutes. I was a little slower, coming in around 1400m, I think. At least she was going fast, and I wasn't as slow as I felt seeing her zoom by me.
We then drove out to her parents' house, where we were supposed to begin a 2 hour bike ride. The first street took us into a pretty nasty headwind, and Meredith got a little panicked about how tough it was, and decided to scrap the rest of the day's workouts. We were also going to watch her high school track team in the district meet, so we opted for that instead.
Caught Kremey-Handed!
On our way back from the swim, we stopped by Kroger to pick up some gels for our ride and run. As we left the store, we saw the Krispy Kreme truck parked outside, back door wide open, and full of pallets of sweet, sweet donuts. Sadly, as we sidled closer to get a better look (and sniff), the driver came out of the store with a "Don't think I can't see you guys..." and a smile. No free pallets of donuts for us.
Sunday Bike-Run
Take two.
Sunday began a bit on the chilly side, so we postponed our bike till late morning. Again, we started from Meredith's parents' place, and rode out from there to Croton along the same path I used for my 2:30 ride. When we told our 5-year-old nephew where we were riding, his response? "You should take a car, actually." It's a nice ride for two, since we were able to ride side-by-side for quite a few of the quiet roads. It was a beautiful day, and I'm sure Meredith will post some pictures from the ride.
Because we were running a race the next morning, we shortened the run from 30 minutes down to 1 mile, so we'd still get the brick experience without tiring the legs any more than necessary. Our nephew decided to tag along on his bike and entertain us with his comments.
"And you know what?" (Followed by story after story) "Actually, Uncle Dave is running faster." "Actually, Meredith is running faster." "You guys should try to run a little faster." "I'm faster than you guys are."
Upper Arlington 5-Miler
I mentioned before that I had a faster half-marathon PR pace than 5 mile pace. This race reminded me why that was. It's not a flat course, for what we're used to around here!
Mile 1 - Mostly flat, with a little bit of roll. Dodging around people, being passed by people you'll see again later...the usual small race things.
8:14
Mile 2 - This mile is almost exclusively downhill, and winds through wooded residential areas. There's a loop at the bottom, and I just got to the point where it splits in time to see the leader.
7:52
Mile 3 - "What goes down, must come back up." There's a bit of a false hope in this mile, too. After you climb for a while, it turns and flattens out, only to head back down again. I just tried to take little steps and not burn out too badly.
8:34
Mile 4 - More uphill, and a nice short stretch on a wooded trail. The runners were pretty sparse near me in this part, and the guy I had picked out to tail stopped to walk. :P
8:30
Mile 5 - Some slight uphill, but probably flat to anyone not from the midwest. I was a little disappointed I couldn't bring it in better than I did, as I felt like I ran faster than my split indicated.
8:24
Overall time: 41:34 (8:18/mile) PR by 1:04, or 19s/mile.
I was happy with the way I ran this race. I tried to adjust my strides to the slope, and I think it worked out pretty well. I didn't fall apart on any of the uphill stretches. There wasn't a whole lot in the tank to sprint in to the finish, but that's probably a sign that I ran well. Or at least that I had done a bunch of workouts this weekend. :)
