Race Recap - Presque Isle Triathlon 2012

Presque Isle Triathlon 2012
Date: 08/25/2012
Distance: Sprint
Swim:     0.35 mi
Bike:     13 mi
Run:     3.5 mi

Goal: Finish, standing up and with out having to stop or walk
Stretch goal: finish in 1hr 30min or less. 

Swim:     17:10.20
T1:         03:38.55
Bike:      38:35.20
T2:         00:48.60
Run:       31:11.45
Total Time:     01:31:24

I was Very anxious to get started.  I wouldn't say nervous so much just anxious.  I could feel the adrenalin pumping through my veins. We showed up on time, got checked in, inked up and chipped. We were ready to go.  I knew 11 other people at the race so it was pretty exciting to have everyone around.

The water looked pretty choppy that morning.  The evening before, we came out to the lake to take a swim and check things out.  The water was smooth as glass.  Not the next morning. Once we stepped out of the hotel I was a little worried of what it was going to be like at the lake. The wind had picked up over night and was blowing pretty good in the morning.  Of course being a novice racer I was too ignorant of open water swimming to really be afraid.

One last minute change by the organizers and we were ready to go. On race day, they announced a change to the starting format from age group waves to a time trial start.  I had never heard of a time trial start.  Apparently, it's when everyone gets into a single file line and starts the race one at a time.

Time to Race!!

Swim
Water temperature was comfortable, in the mid 70s.  I was able to run a good 20 meters or so before swimming was the faster way to go. ...Wow! I was not prepared for the chop. I had done all my swim training in a pool.  I guess there is a good reason that everyone is always saying to practice open water swimming.
The swim course was set up as a triangle.  The back leg was by far the hardest for me.  We were swimming parallel to the shore and across the chop.  At one point, I took three consecutive breaths where a wave crashed directly into my face.  That was it; I had to stop and regroup.  I knew I could swim the distance but I had to get my breath back first.  Luckily, I was near one of the lifeguards in a kayak.  A 30 second break holding into the end and I was good to continue.  Finally got out of the water and in just over 17 minutes.  That was a lot longer than I had anticipated and a lot longer than I trained for. 

Transition 1
A quick jog up the beach to T1 to get my bike.  All my pre-race research said "set up your transition area so you are good to go when you get there".  So I had my transition area laid out ahead of time and I was glad I did.  It definitely made the transition go smoothly.  The only struggle was the shirt (I was wet OK..)  I had the race bib pre-pinned to the shirt and that got a little caught up when pulling on my shit.  Shoes on - helmet on - heart rate monitor on - a quick power gel and I was good to go.. I grabbed my bike and started jogging out of the transition area. 

Bike
No pedal clips or toe straps on Big Red.  Just jump on the bike and go.  "Make sure you are out of the transition area and your helmet is strapped on before you get on the bike" is all I kept hearing in my head as I got ready to go.  I think they said that 10 times in the pre-race meeting. 
I am happiest with my performance on the bike.  Considering that I was riding a mountain bike, I think that a pace of 2:58/mile is pretty decent.  My average pace in training was only 3.28min/mile.  That's about 20MPH.  Of course, it helps that the course was very flat and the wind wasn't much of a factor on the road.  One quick loop around the park and that was it.  It was fun and reassuring to catch up to and pass some people who had clearly passed me in the swim.  At the same time it was humbling to be passed by someone nearly twice my age who started minutes behind me.  Over all it think it was a good ride.

Transition 2
T2 was a pretty quick turn.  No shoes to change.  No cloths to change.  Just jump off the bike run into T2 and rack it, take a quick drink and head out of T2 to the run. 

Run
I was actually feeling pretty good at the beginning start of the run.  My adrenaline was pretty high and I was happy after what felt like a good ride.  I settled into a nice steady pace and just ran it out.  It was awesome to hear people cheering each other on as the runners on the return leg were passing those of us going out.  What a great bunch of folks.  The end of the run course lead through a small wooded area that opened up for the last 50 meters or so to a crowd of people cheering every finisher on.  What a relief I could see the end!  Awesome!  I did it!  Triathlon Complete, check that one of the bucket list. 

Lessons learned
1. Practice open water swims  
- Everyone said I should do it and I didn't.  ...I really should have.  Swimming in the open water with waves and currents is a completely different beast than lane swimming in the pool.  If you have never done it, make sure you practice it a few times before you race. 

2. Learn to recognize wave direction and turn my head the other way when breathing
 - This sounds easy enough, but it took me a while to figure out.  I really wanted to breath on my right side and every time I did there was a wave there to hit me in the face.  Once I calmed down and figured this out, things got a lot easier. 

3. Transition zone setup is good
 - I am glad I took this advice.  I had my transition area laid out before the race.  I think the biggest benefit was T1 where I needed to get all my gear ready to go.  I had my shoes, shirt, helmet and fuel all laid out ready to go when I got in from the swim. 

4. Get a race bib belt
 - This would have been very helpful, especially in T1.  I had a minor wardrobe malfunction because I had pre-attached my bib number to my shirt.  When putting my shirt on I was worried about ripping the bib.  With a belt, I could have just snapped it on and been done. 

5. I need a road bike
 - Big Red did good for me and I am happy with my performance.  But she is just not built for the road.  I was consistently being passed by people just cruising along at a moderate cadence, while I was pedaling as fast as I could in top gear the whole time.  

Wrap Up
All-in-all the race went well for me.  I am happy with my accomplishments.  I did what I set out to do, I completed a triathlon! - How could I not be happy?  During my training, it came apparent to me that I would probably make it through the race, so I set a stretch goal of 1hr 30min completion time.  I just missed that mark by 1min 24sec.  I'm very OK with that. I learned some valuable lessons during this race and I plan on applying them to my training, and future races.  Now that it is all over, I can say that I want to do it again.  I lost a lot of weight this past year, and got into the best shape I have been in a long time.  Perhaps longer distance races are in my future.... we'll see where that goes.

...Back to The Swing of Things

Hey I back... well I'm still here anyways. 

It has been a month since my first triathlon..... Aaaannnnnd I've been kind of taking a break.  As a matter of fact I really haven't been working out much at all.  I trained nearly a year for that one race and I am very happy with my results.  I just needed some time to do something else for a little while.  And well it was a nice break, its time to get back at it.  I believe I can say I have officially been bitten by the race bug and I fully intend on racing again in the future.

In the works right now:
A recap of my first Triathlon (Presque Isle Triathlon 2012). 
A new race schedule. - That's right I said schedule.  Meaning I intend to do more than one race in the next year.
A set of updated goals.
A new workout schedule.
And of course updates on gear, workouts, motivation and all the other good stuff I like to blog about. 

Check back soon for more updates.

Until then, stay Awesome and keep training!

Hitting The Bricks

So, what are brick workouts?
Brick workouts are the combination of two or more separate workouts back to back creating one extended workout.  For the triathlete, this usually means a swim then a bike, or a bike then a run, or even perhaps all three.  It is generally recommended that brick workouts are completed in the order of the race but that is not necessary.  

Here are some of the Bricks Ive been running to train for my sprint.  I have mainly been focusing on the bike to run transition because I find this to be the hardest for my body to adapt.  I usually try to run at least one brick a week because they tend to take longer than my normal workout schedule and that's when I have time to fit them in. 

Timed Brick
I keep the time somewhat shorter but I try to go as fast as possible for both portions.  My focus is mostly on the transition between from bike to run so I really focus on getting my legs tired during the ride first and then getting them to adapt to running as quickly as possible
Bike 30 mins
Run 30 mins

Full distance Brick Bike/Run
Full triathlon distances for both the bike and the run
Bike 13 miles
Run 3.15 miles

Full Sprint Brick
Simulated full sprint triathlon distances (I built several of these into my training schedule)
Swim 0.35 miles
Bike 13 Miles
Run 3.15 Miles

Have you been running any bricks lately?  How do you like to mix them up?

Stop Procrastinating!

There is an ancient Chinese proverb that says:

"The best time to plant a tree is 25 years ago, the second best time is now."

Basically, it's saying that it's never too late to start.  If you want something different in your life then get started.  You want to lose weight, you want to save for retirement, you want to start a business.  Sure things might be easier if you had started earlier in life but, those kinds if thoughts are useless.  You cant travel back in time to change your history.

Who cares what you should have started years ago.  If you have a goal for your life then get started now!

What are you waiting for? 

Plateau Breaker Running Workout

I've officially started my first official running workout.  Up until now I have just been..... well, just running.  When I started, I could barely run a mile and it was taking me 12-15 minutes.  Over time I have improved both my pace and distance,  But now I'm starting to reach a plateau.  At a three mile distance, I can't seem to break the 9 minute/mile barrier without feeling completely wiped out afterwards.  Mentally, I feel that I should be able to run faster.  I just can't convince my legs to do it.  The pace I would really like to get to is around 8min/mile or better. 

So, while I was complaining to my friend, a former collegiate track runner, he says "If you never change the way you are running, you will never run any differently"  Wow!  that almost seems obvious.... But what the heck does that really mean?  Basically, what is likely keeping you back is muscle memory and mental cadence.  Your legs and body get used to running in a certain way all the time and your mind gets used to seeing things move by at about the same speed.  To get faster you need to break the old routine and teach your legs how to run faster.     

To get started you will need to know your normal running pace.  This shouldn't be hard to figure out if you have been jogging for a while.  Hopefully you have been tracking your progress.  I listed some helpful tools in this Resources post.  Just remember, a normal pace should be a pace that when you are finished, you can still carry on a conversation.

So here is the workout I'm starting to get beyond my 9 minute barrier.  Its a 4 day cycle workout. 

Basic:  Run 3-4 miles at normal pace. 
Tempo:  Warm up, Run one "Quick" mile, run one mile at normal pace, run one "Quick" mile, cool down
Workout: Warm up, Run 3-4 cycles of two minutes fast, two minutes 80% normal, cool down
Easy: Run: 3-5 miles at about 80%-90% normal pace. 

Of course "Quick" and "Fast" are very generic terms.  That's OK.  The main point of the exercise is to break up the routine of running the same way every day.  It's about getting your body and mind used to moving at a faster pace.  Its also about building up your strength and endurance. 

But if you are set on having a more specific target here is a quick reference:

Quick = about 10%-15% faster than normal
Fast = 40%-50% faster than normal

Here is an example using my current numbers:
Normal: 9:00 min/mile
Quick: 7:30 - 8:00 min/mile
Fast: 5:00-5:30 min/mile

So, I'm going to try this out for the next two weeks and see how it goes. 

Do you have an suggestions for getting beyond the plateau?

Do you have what it takes to be awesome?

The dictionary defines Awesome as something awe-inspiring, breathtaking, excellent or very impressive. Basically something that makes you say WOW!

I like to think of being awesome a little differently. Awesomeness is a state of mind. Being awesome is about having a positive mental attitude. Being awesome is knowing that there isn't anything life can throw at you that can keep you down. Sure you may get knocked down from time to time, but being awesome is getting back up brushing yourself off and moving forward again. It's about being able to look at any situation and find that silver lining.

Here is an awesome quote from Elanor Roosevelt:

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

I would also say that nothing can defeat you without your consent.  If you refuse to let non-awesome things bring you down, you will always be able to see the awesome in everything.

I believe that feeling awesome, and having an awesome life, starts with your attitude and your actions. If you want to be awesome, you need to think awesome thoughts and do awesome things. You need to look at things with the innocent eyes of a child - as though you are seeing them for the first time all over again.

So do you have what it takes to be awesome?

Until next time – Be Awesome!

A Dose of Inspiration

This weekend I watched a recap of the 2011 Ironman World Triathlon Championships in Kona Hawaii.  What an amazing collection of stories.  From the super-athletes that can complete the entire race in eight or nine hours to the 81 year old man who didn't learn to swim until he was in his 50's to the paraplegic war veteran; it was truly an inspirational thing to watch. 
I also enjoyed the stories of all the people who were running for a cause.  Some were running because they had fought back cancer, others because they lost 250 pounds, others to raise money and awareness for starving children. 
All of these amazing people summoning every last drop of strength and determination to finish the race really makes one wonder why anyone would give up on anything. 
Simply Amazing!!