race report – Page 5 – an amazing run

2014 Ironman Muncie 70.3 Race Report

Note from me: I originally posted this on a blog site called iamtri.com. Unfortunately, that website is no longer valid, but through some magic performed by my computer knowledgeable college son, he was able to recover my posts. I am sharing them here so that I may preserve my memories from my first Ironman 70.3. Chris

2014 Ironman Muncie 70.3 Race Report

July 12, 2014

My First IM 70.3!

For my third triathlon of 2014 and designated “A” race this year, I decided to pick a 70.3 distance, and since I live near Chicago I had three really popular choices to choose from: Racine, Steelhead and Muncie. After hearing about a horrible swim in Racine in 2013, and seeing Steelhead is in the same Lake Michigan body of water, I opted for a reservoir/lake located in the middle of Indiana – Muncie! The only negatives that people had about this location was that the run course was hilly, and that it was hot. Aren’t they all? Signed up in February and goaded my buddies to join me.

Location

The race is held just south of Muncie in the Prairie Creek Reservoir. It is very rural and peaceful. The lake is pretty large, with a great swim area and a new facilities building for washrooms and showers. After hesitating on booking a hotel in Muncie, we opted to stay at the Hampton Inn in Anderson, which was a popular choice with many of the other racers. It was about a half hour away from the race site, but the town had plenty of dining and other options.

I watched this helicopter fly in and land on Thursday night. I wish I knew there was helicopter parking, I would have flown in myself! (Just kidding – triathletes can’t afford a helicopter.)

Friday/Race Day Eve

I got to Anderson late on Thursday and checked in. My friends and I met up on Friday morning and started planning our day. We opted for a short 20 minute run to settle our nerves and knock the cobwebs off of a rest day on Thursday.

We hopped into our cars and headed to the race expo. We decided to take advantage of the optional bike racking on Friday to avoid one less issue on Saturday/Race day morning. After picking up our packets, we stuck the stickers on our bikes and wheeled them into the transition area.

The KX5 all racked and ready to go.

After checking out the expo, buying the expensive Ironman event merchandise and grabbing something to eat, we sat and listened to the race talk. There were hints that the water temperature may be just cool enough for an unusual for Muncie, wetsuit legal swim.

Race Morning

Wetsuit legal! Just barely, but many of us were relieved. The wetsuit for me has become a security blanket of sorts, although I have done races without one. Anytime I spend time looking at a big body of water, I get nervous. Wetsuits take that anxiety away for me.

We got up at 4am and hit the road at about 5am. I slept well, thanks to taking 1/2 of an Ambien that my physician buddy gave me. But I did wake up twice due to stomach issues. Spent a lot of time in the port-a-potty line, and was able to get things taken care of.

I set up my transition, pumped up my tires to 120 psi, and took some time to visualize the trip from the Swim Out to Bike Out.

It has taken me some time, but I’m starting to see the benefit of not bringing all my junk to transition.

The race started at 7am, but my wave didn’t start until 7:55, so I had plenty of time to watch others and my other racing buddies start the race.

Bride and bridesmaid. I had my buddy Dave help me zip up an obviously too tight for me wetsuit.

Can you tell which triathlete needs prescription goggles to see? That would be me. Dave and I picking our swim line.

1.2 MILE SWIM

The water was a perfect temperature. Usually I don’t do well in cold water, but this water was perfect. I chose to swim the inside of the buoys until the turns and had no issues at all with other swimmers. Zig-zagging was minimal. I did start to get a calf cramp in my legs about 2/3’s of the way into the swim. I just slowed down, kicked a little less and was fine. I started to notice that I was catching the white and pink capped swimmers that had started in waves 5 and 10 minutes ahead of me, respectively. That was a positive sign for me that I was having a good swim. Toward the last four or five buoys to go, I decided to pick up the pace. I could see some athletes were standing, but I swam until my fingers hit bottom.

Out of the water declaring “Piece of Cake!” It really was the most uneventful swim.

After getting out of the water I sat down and the volunteer wetsuit strippers (or peelers, as they prefer) yanked off my suit and it was a slogfest up to T1. It was uphill on a rocky path, which was covered with thin carpet. But everyone seemed to be walking. I was like, “Hey, get out of the way! This IS a race, right?”

SWIM TIME: 42:17

After getting by the field of swim zombies heading to T1, I got to my bike and quickly dried my feet and head off and changed into the cycling gear. Heading to the exit, I spied the toilets and went in. I had to go while I was in the water, but just couldn’t do it while I was swimming.

T1 TIME: 5:48

56 MILE BIKE

Everything I heard about the bike course at Muncie was that it was flat and fast. Nope. I will give you fast, but it wasn’t flat. I guess that I’m just too used to the flat rails-to-trails trail that I constantly ride at home. That is flat. The portion of the course that leads to and from the looped highway is 16 miles of hills, turns and potholes. The race announcer said at the course talk that when prepping the bike course, they normally go through about 3 bags of cold patch asphalt. This course required more than 30! Admittedly, it was a little rough, but easily rideable.

My heart rate monitor started chirping at me right away. I was trying to stay in Z3, but was well into Z4 for the first 45 minutes or so. Finally got it settled down and locked in. The two loops were done on a closed highway, which was new for the course. Two twenty mile loops. The two aid stations rocked, helping me reload my bottles while I used the bathroom again. Peeing was a good sign for me, as I was sweating quite a lot. Since I was in a later start wave, I had a lot of fast riders zipping by me on my first loop as they finished their second loops. It was a lot less crowded on my second loop.

Heading out of T1 for 56 miles of “flat” riding. Yeah, right. My son and daughter are behind me in the green and pink shirts.

Around 40 miles I had an issue. A little before I had taken a drink of Gatorade and got back into an aero position and had a little acid reflux. Nothing too bad, but gave me some discomfort. But the real issue I had was I tried to eat a GU and I swallowed it a little rough, causing some coughing and throat irritation. I dealt with that for at least ten miles. I couldn’t get my throat cleared, and it was to the point I was gagging. Finally got over it, but it was not fun.

The last of the second loop on Highway 35.

The sun had finally made an appearance on an otherwise cloudy day. I knew with the run coming up, having the sun out would not be good. Fortunately, the skies cloudy over again.

My kids watching the action on the bike course. Well, Ashley was watching with her eyes closed.

Coming in to T2 I had that feeling that 56 miles was hard. Even though I had done a full Ironman less than a year before, I couldn’t fathom having to do another 56! Glad I was coming in for the run.

BIKE TIME: 3:01:31

The second transition was quick. I grabbed the water bottle that I had in transition for rinsing my feet off, and used it on my head. A good sweat rinse felt great. I downed another GU, put on the visor, bib belt, and running shoes and I was off to get some sunscreen and run a half marathon.

T2 TIME: 3:16

13.1 MILE RUN

I was concerned I had pushed too hard on the bike and would suffer a little on the run, but in reality I felt great. I got to the first aid station in 7:45 according to my watch. I told my self to back it off. I hit the first of several really great aid stations and hit the water, ice, cola, and pretzels to get me going down the road. The aid stations are about a mile apart, and were well stocked and manned. The volunteers were once again, pretty awesome.

At every aid station I would take ice and shove it into my trisuit to get my temperature down. Seemed to work pretty good. Take some ice water, drink the water and then shove the ice in my clothes. I took a banana a couple of times, but mainly stuck with my eating a GU every half hour, plenty of fluids, and a salt capsule every hour or so.

Around the 5.5 mile area, I spotted my buddy Dave ahead and started to catch up. Just before seeing him go by, his brother John was passing by heading back to the finish. Big boost to seeing him. John started in the wave before us with a 5 minute head start. I knew I had work to do to try to catch him, so I gently started picking up the pace. I passed Dave right around the turn around, and started in on the hills back to the finish.

The hills were brutal. A lot of athletes were walking up them. I just kept my turnover going and powered through. At mile 9, I decided to start pushing. I passed a lot of people those last 4 miles. In all, I can only remember getting passed by one guy on the course, who was younger than me, and he had a good pace going. The only other runner that passed me was a younger girl who outkicked me in the chute after I had already passed her a 1/2 mile earlier.

I had driven to the event site several times on that run course, so I knew I was getting close. The few sprinkles that had started were more of a relief than a bother. I was already soaked. My feet squished when I took a step. I got to the final climb and really pushed through that last hill, feeling relieved to see the tents and finishing chute. I could see my family and hit my watch to see that I had easily broken 6 hours in my first 70.3 attempt.

RUN TIME: 1:53:18

FINISH TIME: 5:46:10 (PR)

RECOVERY AND POST RACE

I knew I was spent and just wanted to walk a little. I met up with my family and sat down in a chair. After a few minutes I decided to head to the medical tent to see if I could get some Perform to drink, and after talking with the staff, I decided to enter and sit down. They got me a wet towel and I put it around my neck, and started drinking the cold Perform. Thank goodness it was Lemon-Lime flavor. Before I knew it they had a blood pressure cuff on me and advised me that I was 100/70. A little low, but not dead. I told them that I had hydrated well, and had taken a salt capsule every hour. The doctor offered an IV, but I turned it down as I was starting to come around.

Once out of the medical tent, I met my buddies who now had all finished. We swapped stories and race recaps and ate a little from the athlete food tent. After laying around for a while, we claimed our bikes from transition and headed back to the hotel in Anderson.

THANKS

Thanks go once again to my great family, who spent their weekend watching me do my thing. It is truly a blessing to have such support. The photos my wife and kids took were awesome.

Thanks also to Carla for setting up our hotel for the weekend and being such a great planner and photographer.

And finally, I know I wouldn’t have as much fun doing these tri’s without my lifelong friends, Dave and John, and also Dave’s son Alex. I love the fun we have, and certainly the friendly competition. Alex, being only 19 and on the U of Iowa Tri-Hawks team, will always come in first. But with the finish order this year – John, me and Dave – we now have each had a race in which we have won. That is pretty cool.

Another awesome triathlon experience, shared with my best buddies and family. I am blessed.

2016 Chicago Marathon Race Report

After getting a personal best and a Boston Marathon qualifying time at the 2015 Chicago Marathon, and then missing the cutoff by a half minute, I felt like I had a score to settle after that disappointment. I knew however, that trying to improve on a marathon best that was ten minutes faster than my previous personal best was not going to be easy. But this year was shaping up to make me well prepared.

TRAINING

Leading up to the marathon I had already had a pretty good training season, thanks to training for and completing Ironman Lake Placid. The training for IMLP started in late 2015 and 30 weeks later got me to the finish line in the third weekend of July. (You can read my IMLP report here: https://anamazingrun.wordpress.com/2016/07/29/2016-ironman-lake-placid-race-report/ )

I usually follow a sixteen week plan for the marathon. The plan I follow was created by Nike and was promoted by the Chicago Marathon. I was already into Week 2 of the training when I finished up the Ironman. So I wasn’t really starting at the beginning, seeing that I just finished a marathon as the plan had just began. But I needed to dial it back a little for a post-IMLP recovery and it was easy to slide in to the plan where I needed to be. (Here is the plan I followed: https://assets-chicagomarathon-com.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014_Advanced_Final.pdf )

So I eased into the plan, adding a few bikes into the mix, and kept checking off the weeks until race day. My longest run was a 22 mile run that I didn’t really want to do, but I got it done. Most of the training was pretty warm, and I struggled to train at a tempo that was near my goal of being under 8 min/miles. But I knew that training and racing were two different things for me, and the summer heat would hopefully be gone by race day.

MARATHON RACE WEEKEND

I went to the expo on Friday midday and found it to be very crowded. I usually buy some race day clothing at the Nike store, but after seeing how long the line was to check out (it actually went outside of their exhibit and wrapped around it!) and being disappointed at the junk they were selling, I almost passed on it. But I ended up buying a white event t-shirt and a new set of red shorts, along with a new visor.

Saturday was busy as usual for my family. I was glad that everyone was around for the weekend though. My son Ben didn’t have a XC meet and ended up coming home from college to watch the race. My daughter Ashley was excited to come home and watch the marching band home show that my youngest daughter Rebecca was involved with. I ate a pasta meal with the family at Gatto’s, and then made the trek into Chicago to the hotel.

My usual plan is to walk to the gate where I enter for the corrals just to make sure nothing has changed. Then I walked around a little, grabbed a muffin for breakfast, and a sub sandwich for dinner and headed to my room.

The Art Institute of Chicago flying the “W”- GO CUBS!

I walked through the lobby and got a glimpse of Joan Benoit Samuelson, which was pretty cool. I made it to my room and tried to find the Cubs playoff game on TV. Very disappointed to find the channel it was on wasn’t carried by the hotel. I tried to find it online, only to find that I could only get simple live updates on some dumb MLB website. So I monitored that while I pulled up the Ironman Championship live stream from Kona.

RACE DAY

My alarm went off at 4:30 am and I got up and got ready. I made a cup of coffee, ate my muffin and started getting myself race ready.

I laid out my options and decided to run in the red shorts. Pretty bold decision for me!

I figured out how to use the timer feature on my iPhone. I texted this picture to my wife so she knew what to look for during the race.

I took my own advice and headed to the corrals at 6 am. In the past I have waited too long and had to stand in line waiting to get in. The wait was minimal this time. I walked to the corral area got in line for the toilets. Took care of that and then found a place to sit on the sidewalk outside of Corral B and just relax. People watching was interesting as usual. I saw actor/comedian Rob Riggle getting escorted to the front of the race even though he was wearing an E Corral bib. Must be nice being a celebrity. At about 7:10 am I ate a gel and drank the last of my Gatorade and then used it to inconspicuously pee into before entering the corral. Once in the corral we listened to the National Anthem, watched a group of geese fly over almost on cue, and started moving forward.

26.2 MILES

My plan had been formed by virtue of not making it into Boston. I would shoot for a sub 3:25 marathon, which meant holding about 7:50 min/mile pace. My strategy was to run even splits until either 5 miles, 5K, or less to go seeing how I felt at those times and then push as hard as I could to the end. Race day was perfect – temperature in the 50’s at the start and rising slowly into the low 60’s. There was a moderate breeze that concerned me a little, but I knew we were going to have a great day to run.

Mile 1: 7:36 split – I was running comfortably and wasn’t surprised at this split.

Mile 2: 7:41 split – Another good split, nothing out of the ordinary at this point except I felt like I had to pee again.

Mile 3: 7:44 split – This is the tempo that felt good and I hoped that I could maintain.

Mile 4: 7:43 split – Locked into that tempo. I was starting to sweat somewhat, which surprised me.

Mile 5: 7:39 split – Into Lincoln Park and moving along well. Could really feel the wind here and it definitely cooled me down with my sweaty shirt.

Mile 6: 7:46 split – Soon after leaving the aid station where volunteers were yelling “Gatorade” and “water,” we were met with a guy yelling “cigars, cigarettes.” Funny.

Mile 7: 7:40 split – Getting as far north as we would be, I was glad to be turning around. But as soon as you do, you get hit with the smell of breakfast. Gets me every year. Smells so good.

Mile 8: 8:20 split – Just before the Mile 8 marker I saw the toilets and saw my chance. I had the need to go since the start and I knew I would have to make one pit stop. As far as pee breaks go, this one was typical, but I think that it cost me the sub-3:25. I didn’t try to make up the time here, I just got back on the pace I had been running. I also took my first salt capsule at the aid station. I wasn’t thinking that I would need them today, but the amount of sweating I was doing made me commit to taking one.

Mile 9: 7:42 split – Somewhere in here I tossed the homemade tube sock arm warmers I had. I had rolled them down, but kept them in case it got cold. I kept my gloves, but just held on to them, mainly for personal memento reasons.

My first Chicago Marathon was the 1999 LaSalle Banks sponsored race. They passed these gloves out at the expo to everyone. I kept them as a souvenir. I accidentally grabbed them for this race, which meant if I tossed them I would wouldn’t have these keepsakes anymore. I ended up carrying them throughout the entire race, occasionally wiping sweat from my brow with them.

Mile 10: 7:49 split – Okay, for some reason the race would be a let down for me if I didn’t see Elvis in this mile. Upon turning onto North Avenue, I could hear the music. Normally he is right next to the roadway, but this time he was up a little higher and I wasn’t sure I would be able to get my fist bump. But I saw an opening and went over and yelled “Hey Elvis!” and he met my fist with his. Made my day.

Mile 11: 7:45 split – Mile 11 is pretty much a straight shot back into the Loop. Kept up my pace.

Mile 12: 7:45 split – Somewhere in here I found myself running with a guy carrying an American flag. He was a very popular guy. The crowd was making noise for him and I got energy from that as well. But after the flag hit me in the face a few times, I knew that Flag Man and me would have to part ways.

Mile 13: 7:44 split – Another very close split time and I got through the 13.1 mile marker in 1:41.49. A quick calculation in my head told me I was doing just fine and looking at possibly being closer to 3:20 than 3:25. I saw Kari, Ben and Ashley for the first time through this mile and it gave me a boost. I could tell Ben was following my splits closely and was cheering me on like I usually do for his races. Made me proud.

Mile 14: 7:42 split – A little faster, probably due to seeing the family and starting to head through the Cheer Zone of the route.

Mile 15: 7:38 split – Another faster split time as I headed into the Dead Zone of the race.

Mile 16: 7:58 split – Not sure why there is a 20 second difference. Maybe I hit the split/lap button too early in the previous mile.

Mile 17: 7:55 split – Okay, now I realize that I’m edging closer to 8 min/mile pace. As long as I kept it under 8’s I felt I’d be okay. I saw my family again and got another lift.

img_5854-version-2 — Running with the masses at Mile 17. Looks like the C Corral was moving up. I ran with that IM Moo guy for a while and was going to talk to him about the race, but he was wearing earphones.

Mile 18: 7:53 split – I wasn’t feeling bad, I just couldn’t get back to the 7:45’s. I was walking a little more in the aid stations, making sure I was getting a good drink of Gatorade.

Mile 19: 7:46 split – Heading into Pilsen and feeling pretty good still. I could really feel the head wind now.

Mile 20: 7:55 split – At 20, I knew I was doing good but chose not to push any harder yet.

I think this must be right around the 20 Mile mark, where Kari snapped this photo.

Mile 21: 8:05 split – Okay, lots of distractions in Chinatown – the music, crowds and of course the photographers distracted me enough that may have made this a slower mile split.

Mile 22: 7:50 split – It was at this point I made a choice to hold off until the last two miles before pushing hard. I made the same decision in 2015.

Mile 23: 8:07 split – (See note below) Just a 5K to go, and I got my last gel in me. Here’s where in your mind you are ready to turn to the finish line, but the course takes you south and then east for a block until you hit Michigan Avenue for the final stretch. I tried picking off runners that were ahead of me, one at a time.

Mile 24: 8:07 split – (Miles 23 and 24 were averaged as I missed the marker for Mile 23 and hit the lap button around 9:20 or so. I added them together and averaged them for the splits.) I felt like I was really pushing, but the effort was all in my head as it was taking that effort physically to maintain what I perceived as a fast pace. With two miles to go, I put my head down and started running.

Last time seeing the family and the last time getting their much needed pick-me-up. For the second year in a row, we finished the last two miles into a head wind. My bib number would not stay down into the wind.

Mile 25: 7:47 split – That’s more like it, although I thought I was running sub-7 at this point. Toward the end of this mile I saw a sign that read “800M”, meaning 800 meters to go. But my mind read it as “BOOM”, a saying my fellow triathletes had in the 2013 Ironman Wisconsin race. Either way, it was a positive for me.

Mile 26: 7:41 split – The fastest mile I had run since about Mile 14. I turned and climbed “Mount Roosevelt” and it seemed like an eternity. A quick left and I was checking my watch to see how close I was to 3:25. I sprinted with all I had left.

Mile 26.2/FINISH: 3:25.08 – Missed being under 3:25 by 9 seconds. But that really didn’t disappoint me at all. I had just gotten my second Boston qualifier, a BQ-4:52 as they say, which should be more than enough to get me into the 2018 Boston Marathon. If that’s not fast enough, I’m not sure what else I can do.

POST RACE

The finishing chute was a blur. I was really having a hard time moving forward, almost staggering and felt really drained. It wasn’t long and they handed us a bottle of water. I started sipping on it and then grabbed another salt capsule out of my fuel belt and downed it. I made my way to some misting fans and just kind of hung out there a little bit until moving on.

I chose an older lady out of all the volunteers to put the medal around my neck and wrestled with my emotions a little bit. Seems strange that after 16 marathon finishes, I still get a little choked up at finishing a race, especially when I set a personal best or have a great race.

I shuffled along picking up a banana, an apple and a bag of goodies and then saw the group of guys handing out the mylar blankets. They were pushing them like they were car salesmen or something. They were trying to get people to laugh and it worked. I got my blanket and headed for the gate. One last picture as I walked out and then I made my way back to the Hilton to meet my family.

After a quick shower it was a two block walk to Devil Dawg’s on State Street for the usual post event lunch. Another successful Chicago Marathon in the books!

It is mandatory to eat at Devil Dawg’s after any Chicago race.

14671112_1232356423451088_4967172277911699422_n — The tracking app was pretty good this year. Above are my 5K splits. Post race results indicated that I finished 3745th overall, 3148th out of the men, and 201st in my M50-54 age group.

RACE EXTRAS

Here’s some of the details of my race that helped me get another personal best and Boston Qualifier.

Running Gear: Nike 2016 Chicago Marathon Event shirt (not the participant shirt – that is a no-no in my book!) and visor, along with Nike Flex running shorts with the built in mid-thigh liner, all purchased at the expo.
Arm warmers made from new tube socks.
Polyester gloves.
Skin Glide lotion for my feet to prevent blisters.
Two Band-Aid flexible fabric bandages to cover my useless nipples.
Louis Garneau Mid Ride cycling socks.
FuelBelt brand bib number belt with pouch.
ASICS Gel-Exalt 3 running shoes. I have been running in some of the cheapest ASICS shoes I can buy. They were great. I had broken them in two weeks prior to the race.
Three Salted Caramel (extra electrolytes, caffeinated), and four Root Beer flavored GU brand gels. I took one Salted Caramel about 15 minutes prior to the start, then one gel every 30 minutes. Two Root Beer, then one Salted Caramel until they were gone.
Four Salt Stik brand salt capsules. I took one at the hotel at about 6 am, and then took one every hour after the first hour.
One cup of Gatorade at every aid station, with an occasional water as well.
Timex Ironman 50 lap watch. I have a Garmin 910XT but don’t trust it. The Timex Ironman has never let me down.

2016 Short Run on a Long Day Race Report

When: 6/15/2016, 7:00pm

Where: Frankfort, Illinois

Distance: 5K

Results: 20:52 Official, 20:45 Garmin watch – 17th overall, 16th Male overall, 3rd place M50-54

I enjoy racing at the Frankfort Park District Short Run on a Long Day 5K for a couple of reasons. First, it’s held on a midweek evening which means most of the day has passed and all you need to do is worry about running and not the million other things you have to do that day. I also enjoy the fact that it brings out some good competition and allows me to race against a higher percentage of my faster peers. At another local race that was run in my town in late April I would have finished second overall, so this race tells me more about myself than placing high in a race that had no competition.

The race day this year was hot – 89 degrees – when I checked the car thermometer. I decided to not let that bother me, and I decided that I would push myself anyway. During warm-up I was jogging shirtless past a couple of moms who were pushing their kids in strollers. One of the kids said “Daddy!” which prompted me to chuckle and say “Daddy must be hairy too.” That seemed to get me in a good mood.

The start was typical, too many slowpokes in the front that I would have to navigate around. One guy asked another what time he was shooting for and the guy said around 21 minutes. That guy I thought had a chance at that. But when he asked the other guy, said he wasn’t sure, “maybe 22 or 23” minutes. I immediately thought of the movie Mr. Mom when he responded 220 / 221 – whatever it takes. This guy looked like he would be over 25 minutes to me.

As usual my son Ben also ran the race. He did his typical college runner thing in warm-ups, and then found an old high school buddy to run the race with. He made his way to the front of the line at the last minute. Must be cool to have the speed to back that up! He finished second overall for the 3rd year in a row I think. He keeps losing to the same guy. Not really fair for Ben, as he is coming off a mandatory 2 week recovery period from track season. And he had a head cold. I’m guessing he’ll beat this guy someday.

The guy that starts the race likes to stand right in the middle of the road and warn people not to run him over when the race starts. I find that to be the dumbest thing, but typical of a race that is run by the park district versus a race that is run by a runner or running club. He hit the siren on the bullhorn, snapped a picture and we all took off. I was hitting Z4 heart rate within the first 1/4 mile. The group spread out pretty quickly and I focused on getting my breathing rhythm under control. The first mile hit and I missed the water stop. I was getting quite a dry mouth, but I didn’t worry about it. For some reason the water stop was positioned on the left hand side of the trail we were running on, and in my opinion it should have been on the right. When running on a trail, all users should stay right, and there were definitely other bikes and trail users on the trail that would force us over. Matter of fact, one kid that passed me around the 1/2 mile mark shouted “BIKER UP!” which startled me somewhat, but had he not yelled that I may have not seen the guy.

When we hit the one mile marker another guy got on my shoulder and asked how I was doing. Apparently he was feeling me out. I said I was doing good. He mentioned that he thought the split on the clock was too fast, and I agreed. My watch split said about 6:15 for the first mile. He tried to talk some more but I zipped it and focused on catching the next guy. I dropped him and never saw him again.

When we made the turn off the trail and onto the side streets I started to catch a lot of guys that had gone out too fast. From that point, about 1.5 miles into the race, I kind of fell into no man’s land again. This happens to me a lot, I end up being the slowest of the faster runners or the faster of the mid-packers. I don’t remember passing or being passed from that point on.

Around the two mile marker I saw a lady by a table that had cups of water on it. Apparently she was the sole worker for that water stop, but it was on the far side of the road on a turn, which meant that I would not be able to take the tangent if I wanted to get some water. Since I was really hot, I decided to make a try at it and she met me halfway. I took the cup and splashed it on me. What happened next was a surprise – I almost felt hotter! Not sure if the temp of the water was an issue, or that I was just too hot for it to do anything. I can remember my tri buddy Alex mentioning this once, and I took note.

I could feel myself starting to fade, but between mile 2 and 3 there are a lot of turns, which meant I could look back and see how close runners were behind me. There was no one around that I was worried about. I came upon a guy who said good job and was spraying a hose for us to stay cool. But again, he was on the side of the street that would require me to move over from the straightest line to get relief. It was too late to take him up on the water anyway, as I was determined to kick to the end.

Once I got to the last tenth of a mile I knew I had no challengers, but I pushed myself anyway. My son was there yelling at me to go all in, a payback in a way for all the times I yelled at him in junior high and high school to push harder. Now that he is a D-III runner, I usually just yell “Good Job!” or “GO Ben!”

My watch said 20:45 at the end, which was a little disappointing seeing that it wasn’t as fast as I thought I could run, nor as fast as I thought I was running. But seeing that it was so hot, I guess it is a pretty respectable time, all things considered.

Race results: http://www.frankfortparks.org/special-events/Short%20Run/2016%20short%20run%20overall.pdf

2016 ET Batavia Triathlon Race Report

Lessons learned, lessons to relearn…

The Experience Triathlon club puts on a good event, and I enjoy racing at the Batavia Triathlon. So I signed up back in March, and set my alarm for 3:40am in order to drive the 45 minutes to Batavia for the 6:30am start on June 12, 2016.

After a very hot Saturday, Sunday race day was blessed with a nice and cool upper 60’s degree morning. Matter of fact, the water temperature of the quarry where the swim takes place was 74.5 degrees and warmer than the air temperature. During the period for swim warm-up, I went to the water and waded in up to my knees. Still felt cold for me, but as I stood there I could tell it wasn’t too bad. I was on the fence about swimming without my wetsuit, but I saw many others putting their’s on, so I somewhat reluctantly pulled mine out of the bag and tried to wrestle it on.

I got in line around the quarry to prepare for the staggered time trial start and realized that I needed to set my new triathlon watch to the multi-sport setting. Only I didn’t know how. I knew I had seen it before, and how could one of the most triathlon dominate sports watches not have that function. I must of pushed fifty different combination of buttons until I realized that I had to go Settings. No kidding. Unlearned Lesson #1: Make sure to have a good understanding of your new device before using it in a race.

I was also thinking how to approach the swim. Last time I did the race the swim did not go well. I figured since I was a newly minted Ironman, I would just go all out for the 400 yards or so, and rock it. I was hyperventilating by the first turn. This time I forced myself to not run into the water and to really hold back. It worked! I swam really efficiently and got through the two lap swim actually swimming. I say actually swimming because on the backside of the swim the water is very shallow and most will stand and walk that portion. That’s what I HAD to do last time. Not this time. Lesson learned.

After exiting the swim area, I found a grassy area where I decided that I would shed my tri suit. It came off very easily this time. I really didn’t lose much time wrangling with the dumb thing. Off to the bike and grab my bike gear. Pretty smooth through that too. When I got to the bike mount line is when the wheels came off – almost literally. When I was driving in I could see that it was pretty breezy out, so I decided to remove the full disc wheel that I had put on the night before and replace it with my FLO 60 aero wheel. Apparently I neglected to get the gears right and the bike was not liking me trying to peddle it that way. People were looking at me. It finally clicked into the correct gear and off I sped. Unlearned Lesson #2: Avoid a total newbie move and make sure that your bike is ready to ride right out of T1.

The wind was from the east and man did it make for a fast ride. I was hitting 25mph easily and passing tons of riders. I think I maxed out at one point at 32mph. About a half mile out of T1 I realized that I didn’t know if I needed to push the Lap button on my watch, so I pushed it. And then pushed it again. After reviewing my watch activity it appears most of my ride was considered a transition. Oops. It was also then that I glanced down at my bike computer and realized it wasn’t on. I got it on and it searched and found the satellites quickly, but I had forgotten to reset it from Saturday. So I was essentially starting out with 85 miles on the odometer. I reset it and reminded myself to get my head in the game. Unlearned Lesson #3: See Unlearned Lesson #2.

Here’s a link to my Garmin Connect race activity: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1209927507

Only one faster rider passed me on the ride, a tall strong looking guy. I was doing 25 or so and he was faster. I figured I would get him on the run. But that was it. Nobody else passed me on the ride. I had a GU early on the ride and another at the back end to help fuel the run. Heading back in was tough as it was a double whammy of some uphills and the wind in my face. But back into town provided some wind buffer and soon I was whipping around the turns and pulling into T2.

The bike to run transition was smooth as silk. I repeated to myself out loud that I needed my shoes, my visor, my bib belt and off I ran to Run Out. Just before getting there I forgot one thing – I had arm warmers on for the ride that I forgot to take off, so I decided at the last minute to toss them in transition just before the exit and figured I would pick them up after the race.

I forgot to hit the lap button again, and truthfully I was pushing it not knowing if I was supposed to, but I remembered about a tenth of a mile into the run. I really just wanted to know my pace, which at that time was a 6:33 mile. Now I didn’t want to know! Not sure how I planned to hold that pace, but I kept it up for about 3.5 miles of the run. The run was different this year as we went south on the trail instead of heading north. This made for some crazy crowded trail. Not only was there runners running in both directions, but there was some sort of bike event going on locally, so that added some crazy to the whole thing. But as I kept charging ahead I realized I was passing a ton of triathletes. I did not get passed by anyone during the run. I just kept picking off one runner and the next. I paid attention to the age group markings on the calves of the runners and found I was passing a lot of my age group peers, which made me feel great.

At the 3.5 mile mark there was some switchback type turns and a little hill and bridge that kind of took the wind out of me and slowed me down. But I knew that I basically had a half mile to go and the race was ahead of me and not behind me. I finished strong into the finishing chute for an unofficial watch time of 1:18:21. This is a 6 minute PR over my 2014 time! I was shocked. Learned Lesson #2: Know the course well and trusting your running ability. Always bet on the runner!

The hard part was post race, being slightly wet on a cool morning – I was uncomfortable. There was quite a wait for the final finishers to wrap up their races, so I ate some banana, pizza, a cookie and downed another water bottle. I approached the tent where the timing guys were hanging out and was told they would be posted soon. About an hour later (!), they posted them. I waited in line to get a look and found my name on the first page, and learned that I had finished 3rd in the M50-54 age group! This race was a USAT Nationals Age Group Qualifier, so by finishing 3rd I should be qualified! I may not be able to go to it, but it is always nice to know that I had qualified. Now I had to wait until the end to get my award.

As I type this, I realized she gave me the wrong award. Oh well, I did actually get 3rd in the M50-54 according to the results. And the guy did call my name. The girl passing out the awards was in the F50-54 and had just won an award herself. I think she was distracted.

I knew that transition was going to close at 11:30am, so I jogged the mile back to transition. All of my stuff was there thankfully, even though the place was mostly cleared out. I grabbed my bag and went into the lockers and took a shower because I was starting to get rank. I packed up my stuff and walked back to the car. I was 5 miles or so away when I realized that my favorite pair of arm warmers were still laying in transition by the Run Out. Unlearned Lesson #3: Don’t ever say to yourself that “I’ll remember” to go back and do something! Now I am out my favorite pair of arm warmers.

So, to sum up the race itself I would say that packet pick-up was a waste of an afternoon driving to Geneva on Friday to get a bib and two stickers, a shirt and a swim cap. Next time use the morning pick-up, I was there in plenty of time to get it. Also, the new run course finishing at the Batavia VFW was way too crowded and busy for the racers, and the finish was way too far from transition. Hopefully they will get some negative feedback on that and move it back to finishing downtown. And if I do finish and get an A/G award, head back to transition, take a shower, pack up all of your junk and then go back to the awards. There will be plenty of time.

Good race, nice day. I’ll be back. That’s a lesson that I have learned.

http://results.bataviatriathlon.org.s3.amazonaws.com/2016/triathlon.html