Two Encouraging Things I've Noticed

It’s Wednesday and the skies are clear and blue. That could only mean one thing here in Alabama, it’s hot! There’s no cloud cover and no rain in sight. Due to the current drought, there’s no watering on Wednesdays in my area either. Sorry grass, sorry flowers, so green shrub that I’ve yet to identify. There’s no water for you until tomorrow.

Yeah, it’s hot here. We had a 10 minute shower if you can call it that last night that only served to make it very humid on my ride. I need to invest in some good riding gloves. My hands were so sweaty that they kept slipping on my handlebars. Not good while riding in a pack.

Last night during the ride I passed on some good will to a fellow rider who’d left without a tube. I gave him my tube and pump as I was in the same situation this past weekend before the race. My buddy Brent gave me his extra tube when I discovered I had a flat before the race started. Somehow, I left Birmingham without mine. So given the chance to return the favor to a fellow rider I jumped at the chance. Last thing I needed was having bad karma on my side. Bad thing is due to helping the guy out I got dropped by the group. No worries, I was able to go aero riding on my own and picked off several riders who’d gotten dropped for not being able to keep up. I always get evil stares from the true roadies as I pass them on my TT bike. For some reason triathletes aren’t quite accepted in certain cycling circles. These guys wouldn’t know what to do without a pace line to hide behind.

Back on topic. So, here’s what I noticed today. I made it over to the local Y for a swim during lunch. The pool was packed with youngsters and mamas. They only had 3 lanes open for laps so I spent the better part of my time sharing a lane. No worries. 12X100 in 1:30 or less with 30 second breaks in between then 10X50 in 36-40 seconds with 24-20 second breaks in between. Yeah, I know Coach you want to see me averaging 35, but dang I was spent! But here’s what I noticed – I didn’t hate the swim session today. I didn’t hate it on Monday either. What? Has my love-hate relationship with swimming taking a turn for the better? Maybe. For the last month or so I’ve struggled in the pool. I’ve struggled with motivation and drive. Maybe that’s back now. Who knows?

Here’s the second thing I noticed, and this didn’t strike me until later. While I was changing in the locker which I next to the pool, two little boys came in and used the restroom. They couldn’t have been more than 4. Four years old! And they took the time to get out of the pool to go to the restroom! Wow. That’s so encouraging. Most of the time I just accept the fact that I’m swimming in some kids pee while at the “Y”. Now, I have hope. Now if we can only get the adults to do the same!

Racing Flats

I've recently been introduced to the world of racing flats. Apparently, serious runners train in one shoe, but race in another. This is a strange concept for someone like me who used to show up for a race in the same shoes he wore to school. Well times have changed. I'm currently training and racing in Asics' 2120s. I've been pretty happy with these shoes except for the fact that they are a little narrow for my fat foot. Two callouses on each foot later, I now run in them without pain or discomfort. Yeah, I know, it's not a great way to approach shoes, but I was stuck with them so I made due. Now that I've put my 300+ miles on them, it's time to start considering a new pair.

After talking to a few "people in the know", I was introduced to flats. The ones in particular I'm looking at are the new Brooks Racer ST's. They run around 8.8 ounces, compared to 11.3 ounces you'll get with the Asics. Not a big amount, but in terms of shoes that's a 22% difference. Just think if you could make your bike 22% lighter? For me, that'd take buying some Zipps and losing half of my ass. I'm not that desperate yet. The skinny is that after pounding it out on the bike, any weight I can take off my feet is a bonus. So my question to my fellow Tri folk and expert runners is if you've had any experience with racing flats and are they worth it? What's your take?

Marshall Cty Duathlon Race Report

Alright, today I met up with Huntsville's own Zbuck and his pal Russ in Guntersville, AL for a little Duathlon on the infamous Mountain Lakes Triathlon course. Buck and I picked this race for the very purpose of doing a little reconnaissance on the course so come Aug 11th we'd have a leg up on the competition. Speaking of competition, I knew that this would be a small event so I was really unsure about what kind of talent would show up for the race. It took all of five minutes while I was changing out a bad tube on my bike to see a couple of guys roll by that I knew would be bringing the heat. Both are talented athletes, but one inparticular has been a force in my age group. I knew I had my work cut out for me.
The race was as follows: 5K run/ 16.2 mile bike / 1 mi run. The gun went off as scheduled at 7:30. The temps were already rising, but luckily the run path was fairly shaded. I'd decided to keep my pace around a 6:30 - 6:45 pace. The elites would be running their 5:45 pace, and there was nothing I could do but run my race. I stayed between 4th and 5th place for most of the run. I felt fine overall. My pace, breathing, and form all felt in tune. With about 200 yards to go, a kid comes sprint by me so I jumped on his heels and let him know I was there. I would let him finish in front of me on the run, but the bike portion was next. I knew I could get him there. I finished the 5k in 20:28.
The takeover happened quickly as we headed out of the transition area. He had a small lead on me, but there was a small hill which would do him in just after the start. I've always heard when you pass someone to do it with authority. Do it at a speed that breaks their spirit. I was dying on the inside, but I put on my meanest grimace and sped past him. He dropped pretty quickly. I spent the next 3 miles getting control of my breathing and trying to find a good rhythm. It was about this time that I started noticing something. There was no one around me. I could see any of the other guys in front of me, and there was absolutely no one behind me. I was riding strong, but I realized that there was little chance of me catching anyone in front. I knew without a doubt that no one was going to catch me from behind. So after 3 miles into the bike portion I knew exactly where I would finish in the race. If you haven't been keeping, then that means 5th place. I was only racing against myself at this point.
The one thing I love about this course is that it's fairly flat. It has some rolling hills, but they're manageable. Toward the end of the ride, I got within 250 yards of the next guy. I closed the gap to about 150 yards, but I couldn't get any closer. 16.2 miles went quickly. I finish in just over 42 minutes averaging 23 mph.
The only thing left was the 1 mile run. The guy in front had just enough of a lead on me that I knew I wouldn't be able to catch him. There was still no one close to catching me coming off the bike so this last mile run would be easy. So I thought. My legs felt like they were going to explode. It didn't feel like it, but I did the last mile in 6:43. I could have swore I was running an 8 minute pace. As expected, I finished 5th overall in 1:12:40.
Despite an early potty break and some cramping due to the hot temps, Zbuck put in a solid performance. Admittedly he's taken some time off from training, but don't let him fool you. He's still strong.
We finished up the day with the lunch of champions, burgers and beer, at Boondocks. It wasn't the best burger, but one of the best times I've had post race. A good race, great friends, and cold beer.

Interesting Quote

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us..... And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. - Nelson Mandela

Bathroom Rant

So, it's like this: I don't have too much to update you on right now as far as "Tri-Land" goes. Things are going well. Nothing crazy or out of the ordinary worth putting in print, err on screen. Anyway, just lots of swimming, biking, and running. There's a small Du this weekend that I'm doing, but I'll get to that after the race.

BUT! What I do have to rant about is a little thing I like to call bathroom etiquette. This is a message to all those anonymous guys in my office who obvious don't quite get it when it comes to communal bathrooms and cleanliness. Here are a few rules:

First things first - Wash your freaking hands! - Nothing more to be said.

Second - What's up with all that grunting and sighing? Give it a break before you blow a gasket.

Third - Don't try to have a meaningful conversation with me while I'm in the bathroom. Let's just say "how's it going?" while we're washing our hands (see #1) and go on our merry way. I can't hear you anyway over all of the grunting and sighing.

Fourth - Quit lingering! Wash your hands and get out. Don't hang out. It's just weird.

Fifth and maybe the most important:

This is NOT a urinal!

This is a urinal!

This is NOT your target!

This is your target!

I'm out.

Wasp Stings

This is for anyone who's ever been stung by a wasp. And please God please don't let the people in this last video be from Alabama.

Lip Sting

Rednecks getting what they deserve

The Weekend that Was

Well, the weekend started off perfectly as Friday right about 5:30 we received some much needed rain. B'ham is about 20 inches below the norm in rain fall this year. We've had water restrictions for the better part of a month now, so the small storm that came through was a perfect start to the weekend. Please send more!
We went to see Oceans 13 that night with some friends. I'll have to say it was definitely worth going to see, but it wasn't nearly as good as the first two. It had plenty of funny moments, but lacked realistic opportunities and abilities by the "thieves." I can't describe it any better than a buddy of put it. "It was a lot of cool actors, doing a lot of cool things. That's what everybody wanted to see and that's what they were given."
Training:
Saturday morning, I met "Team Transitions" for a front end brick, a 20 minute swim followed by a 31 mile bike ride.
Sunday - back end brick - 37 mile bike ride then a 5 mile run.
Congrats to Christophe Moreau for winning the Dauphine Libre today. My boy Levi Leipenheimer was robbed of a stage win by a freak crash with a km to go. Hopefully, there's no damage done, and he'll be back in form for Le Tour coming up in just a couple of weeks.

Training & Goals Update

Training and Goals Update –
After Saturday’s race, I found myself back at it with a few small goals in mind. Short Term goal: On the 23rd of this month, I’m heading up to Guntersville, Al to compete in a short Du (3mi/16.2/1mi) on the ever popular Mountain Lakes Course. This is a fast course, so hopefully with a little practice I’ll be able to make it a little faster. The Du ends with a 1 mile run, so my goal is to be able to get off the bike with strong enough legs to finish out on a sprint. During my last two races, I haven’t felt as strong coming off the bike. Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to be concentrating on this.
Just one month later is the ever popular Heart of Dixie Oly in Philadelphia, MS. The run is a 7 mile death march, and I’m looking to make it go by quickly. Building on my short term goal I hope to be able to complete this run for once. I’ve historically had to walk a good portion of the time during this run. Not this time.
Finally, long term goal – I’ve found another ½ Iron to do before the year’s end. If every thing works out ok, then on Sept. 30th I’ll be in Greenwood, SC busting my “ars” to redeem my performance at the Rock N’ Rollman two weeks ago.
As for Training, this week has been productive so far. Yesterday I surprised myself and actually completed an hour run on the dreadmill. Inspired by TriJack completing a 20 MILE RUN on the machine, I thought I’d give it a try. The result was 8.08 miles at a 7:25 pace. I can’t imagine doing 20. Jack, you’re still the man in my book.
Also yesterday, I made it over to Homewood Cycles for the regular Tuesday night ride. We had @ 30 cyclists show up for this terribly hot 29 mile ride. Two other cyclists and I successfully completed a breakaway last night from the peloton for the 8.2 mile section of Ruffner and John Rodgers. I had a blast and learned a lot from the two guys I rode with.
Overall, I’m feeling really good and fairly strong. I still have a lot to work on, but that’s what makes it fun. Hope all is well.

Buster Britton Sprint - Race Report

This morning was Birmingham's own Buster Britton Sprint Triathlon. It takes place during the weekend of the Southeast Regional Xterra Championship at Oak Mtn. St. Park. The Park will see a thousand triathletes come through the gates this weekend so it's an exciting time.

As usual, at 4:30 this morning the alarm goes off. Oatmeal and coffee are the meal of choice. This is just a meal that I'm comfortable with and that brings results. No real stresses this morning. I'm well familiar with this course and won't need a lot of equipment to complete the sprint distance.

I rocked out to U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" on the short drive to the park. People were pointing and starring as I played the air drums going doing the highway. I'm oblivious to all.

The organizers made a few changes to the course, so after setting up my transition area, I made myself familiar with the changes. The biggest change was the location of the transition area. Just like last week's race, there would be a long run from the swim to my bike. What's up with that?

The second change was the run portion would be a bit different than before. No biggee right? Wrong. More on that later.

Alright let's go. Here are the distances: S 400yd, B 13 mi, R 3 mi.

Swim: I hit hard from the start. I wasn't going to be intimidated by other swimmers this time. This time I was the one swimming over people, bumping, and grabbing. I felt great throughout. Spotting was good. Form was great. Out of the water in 6:08. My goal was 6:10.

T1: Man I was breathing hard. The hard swim had pushed me to the limit. I needed every bit of the long run to my bike to catch my breath. No shirt and no socks doesn't gain me entrance to Denny's but it gets me on my bike and on the road. Time 2:34

Bike: I was still breathing hard once I made it on to the bike, but I managed to find my groove and start hitting it hard. I started knocking off the fast swimmers one by one. The hills at Oak Mtn are always ways challenging, but I had experience on my side. I knew when to push it and when to recover, but still the hills were keeping my speed down below my goal. I was avg'ing 20 and I needed 21. I hit the turn around and knew that profile back lost elevation and I would have my chance to make up time. I did just that. I came into T2 with an average of 21.3. Bike time 36:43.

T2 - I took my shoes off on the bike so I ran barefooted to my rack. Helmet off, shoes on. Let's go. Time: 56 seconds. booyah!

Run - Oh snap, this wasn't going to be as easy as I thought. Where were my legs? Where was the energy? The oomph? I ran nonetheless. There was no one in front of me at all. Crazy. I started seeing the pros coming in from their run about a half mile into mine. They were flying! Now for this all important change to the course. This year they included a little used side road back in the woods that had a steep incline before the turn around. What? Oh this sucked. It was killing me. With about a half mile to go, I kicked it in. I wish that I had started the push a little sooner as I think that I may have been able to sustain it, but you live and you learn. Only 3 guys passed me on the run so that was an improvement. I passed one, so I was negative two for the run portion. Run time 22:24 (I think?)

Into the race shoot for a total time of 1:09:03. I finished 46/400 or so overall. No idea about my age group.

Big Picture: Good training race. I was glad to get the monkey off my back after last week's performance. I need to work on speed on the bike if I'm going be able to play with the big boys. I'm back in the saddle again tomorrow for more work. Thanks for reading.

The Way Politics Are Handled in Bama

Yeah, as much as I like to squelch the nationwide perception that Alabama is a backward state, I can't help but pass this along. First of all, it's just funny. Secondly, this jackass needs the recognition he deserves. Here's one of Alabama's Senators taking policy making into his own hands... err fists. Cue the banjo.

Tough Decision

Yesterday I was faced with a tough decision. One that I think if you ponder it, could actually decide how I see myself or how I want others to think of me. I was in CVS yesterday because I needed some shampoo and conditioner. Suave is a great brand: 1. because it's cheap 2. it gets the job done. 3. because it's cheap. (you see Al, other people can be a cheapo too). So the decision came up. Should I buy Cucumber Melon, Ocean Breeze, or Waterfall Mist? Tough decision. Right off the bat, I know I'm not the cucumber type. I like them on a salad, but not in my hair. So, I'm left with the beach or the mountains? Let's cut to the chase, just like my beer decisions, I head for the mountains. So now, my nappy hair is a little softer these days. Now if I can just work on this graying problem.
As for training, it's been pretty light this week. Lots of pool work, which has been good. To simulate an open water swim, I've been swimming with my eyes closed until I come up for air. I'm a little more confident with my swim now. The race this Saturday is just a 400 yard swim, so how off course could I get? The legs are still a little sore and a little weaker than I would like. I rode today, and they still aren't where I'd like them to be. I felt like they were fatiguing quickly. I have 2 more days to work the kinks out.
Hope all is well. Much love to all.

Rock 'N Rollman Half Iron Triathlon Report

"Ouch. Oh. My. God." - Lance Armstrong on finishing the 2006 NY Marathon.

This weekend, Lauren and I went to Macon, Ga for the Rock & Roll Half Ironman. This would be my first race at this distance and my 2nd official race of the year.
The morning started at 4:30 am. Oatmeal and a powerbar for breakfast, then a quick hop back in bed where I literally drank a cup of hotel coffee with my eyes closed.
The short drive to the race sight was in the dark and done so through a light rain. This is the 4th year of the race and the organizers have done an amazing job of putting this race together and making it flow. There were ample volunteers ready to help and point us in the right direction. Kudos to the organizers.
Given that this was my first Half, I expected to be nervous and anxious, but that just didn’t happen for some reason. It didn’t ever become this surreal moment that I thought it would. I was calm and relaxed.
The Swim started in several waves with my wave “34 years and younger” being of course the largest. Great. As you can imagine there was kicking, grabbing, all the good stuff. I stroked along a bit until I got a clear lane. I found it difficult to get into a rhythm, and I started breathing only on my left side. Bad idea. You see, when you do so your right side becomes your strong side, therefore pushing you off to the left. I kept finding myself swimming way off course and having to fight to get back into the group. If I was thinking rationally, I would have realized what I was doing, but I was so afraid of getting off track that it never occurred to me that I was being counter productive. It wasn’t until about ½ way into the swim that I realized this and made the switch. It took a while to get my breath, but after I did it was like I was back in the pool and I started swimming fairly straight and passing people. It was too late to undo the damage. I was at 41:40 coming out of the water. 5 minutes slower than projected, but no worries. I was just glad to be out of the water. Swim rank 194/311 - poor
T1 – From the water, the transition area was about a ¼ mile run up a hill. It was impossibly far. It wasn’t the best situation, but you deal with it. After the run up the hill, I was actually in and out of the transition area fairly quickly although the time doesn’t show it. 3:41. Thanks to the run.
Bike – here’s what I was waiting on. While I don’t claim to be the best swimmer, I’ve actually become quite the cyclist. I was ruthless in the way I started picking people off. Nice $7000 bike, now get out of my way. Oh, those look like the new 808 rims! See ya!
I wish I’d counted everyone that I passed on the bike. I did count the # that pasted me. Two. I felt good about that. Two people over 56 miles is pretty good. The course itself was hillier than expected. I’d studied the profile, but it didn’t do it justice. I was glad that I had been training in Birmingham rather than a flat area. I averaged just less than 21 mph for the course. I think it was 20.86 or something. Total time for 56.67 miles – 2:43. That’s right, I don’t know where the .67 miles came from, but it’s accurate. Bike rank 59/311
T2 – Nothing crazy here, just a quick and out. If the transition area wasn’t so big, it would have been quicker. 1:17.
Run – I could feel the effects of my ride in my calves, but nothing too bad. The first ¼ miles felt ok. I needed to get used to running again. Then it hit. A sharp stick in my side. I tried to run it off, but I couldn’t expand my chest to breathe. Oh it hurt. It hurt bad. Many times while running, I’ve had a similar stitch, but I’ve always been able to just let it pass. Not this time. This had my full attention. I tried to run, but had to stop because I had to clench my abs so hard to keep my chest from moving. I kept moving as I actually contemplated calling it a day. There was no way I could withstand this pain for 12 more miles. I decided I would just start walking briskly until it went away. There was nothing to do but keep moving. I began wondering if I had ingested too much water, but my stomach felt fine. My legs felt strong. I had good energy, but just couldn’t breathe. I was furious as I saw my time adding up and only ending in a disappointing time. Finally at mile 4, yes mile 4, my side felt good enough that I could jog a little, but the stitch was still there.
At this time, I really believe I had been defeated mentally and that translated to my body and energy level. It was odd as I still felt the motivation to finish, but couldn’t muster the will nor the energy to finish strong. The heat started becoming oppressive. Runners started falling out left and right. For the rest of the run, the sound of the heavy breathing and the shuffling feet would be drowned out by ambulances and fire trucks flying by.
Embarrassingly enough, it was all that I could do to keep my miles close to a 10-11 min per mile pace. My PR for a ½ Marathon by itself is a 7:19 pace, so as you can imagine I was beating myself up pretty bad for sucking it up so bad. I knew I was better than this, but I couldn’t answer the call. I finished the race with a 1/2 marathon time of 2:18 (rank 160/311) and total time of 5:49:35 (rank 115/311). Not where I wanted to be. Not where I had trained to be.

The majority of this post was written on the ride home from Macon. Since then, I’ve had some more time to think about the race and my feelings about it. Sunday, I was thinking that I never wanted to do another ½ again. I was miserable during the swim and the run. Was I even cut out for it? Now, just 24 hours later, I know that I’m going to do another ½. I’m going to try to find another one this year. I can’t let this race define my season or leave a black mark on my attitude about distance races.
What do I need to do differently? For starters, I don’t think I took in enough calories to get me through the run. By the time, I realized that I needed something in the gut, it was too late. I couldn’t stomach anything other than fluids on the run. Knowing the amount of calories that I need will just take some time and experience. Secondly, I need to practice more open water swims. Staying focused and on course was a struggle on Sunday. Lastly, I think that I would do some more workouts lasting longer than 4 hours. To date, my longest workout has taken @ 3 hours and 45 minutes. I’d like to add longer bricks. This would give me a chance to work on nutrition and fluid in take.
So where’s my head now? Right now, I’m focusing on a sprint distance race this Saturday. Luckily, I’m not too sore from yesterday. It’s amazing how a 13.1 mile stroll will ease the effects of a 56 mile ride. I’m ready to prove myself again this Saturday.
Thanks for reading.