Freedom Run 10K Preview

This race is part of the Fun Fourth festivities that are scheduled in downtown Greensboro as part of the July 4th celebration, and one that I have done several times in the past. It usually has a pretty good turnout and a history of being very hot and humid. The course has several rolling hills and one or two bigger hills, so it's anything but flat. My running times recently have not been as fast as they should be so I don't expect to break any records, but I should have a decent showing. I think if my times were better right now I would be more excited about the possibility of setting a new personal record for a 10K, but instead I anticipate being a minute or two off of my record and enduring brutal humidity.

Tidewater Triathlon Race Report

• Distance: 1500 Meter Swim, 21 Mile Bike, 6.2 Mile Run
• Time: 2 hr 28 min 35 sec overall; 31:44 Swim, 4:08 T1, 1:01:59 Bike, 1:13 T2, 49:33 Run
• Place: 15 out of 29 in age group, 91 out of 193 men, 103 out of 271 overall
• Weather: Mostly sunny, 5-10 mph winds, air temps in the upper 70's, water temp of 75 degrees

As the sun was coming up I could tell it was going to be a hot and sunny day. It wasn't supposed to get extremely hot until later in the day, but the humidity was still pretty bad. I was able to get my wetsuit on and warm up a little bit before the start. The waves and salt water taste were about what I expected, and there was no sign of any jellyfish. I was assigned to start in the first of three groups and I positioned myself on the right side of the main field. The temperature of the water was never a factor for me and my breathing felt comfortable except for the occasional wave of water in my mouth. Once I got beyond the breakers I realized I hadn't taken the cross current into consideration. Just my luck the current was moving from left to right which meant I had to keep adjusting my line to stay headed toward the first turn buoy. The back portion of the course which ran parallel to the shore went by fairly quickly due to current, and the final section back to shore had a lot of seaweed that kept getting caught in my fingers and goggles. Once on the beach we had to jog about 100 yards back to the start line to begin our second loop. The second lap felt almost identical to the first with the exception of the congestion. I thought that everyone would be spread out by the second loop, but I was bumping into more people or they were bumping into me more than the start of the race. As I approached the shore and was able to walk out of the water, I started to remove my wetsuit top. While pulling my arm out of the sleeve I inadvertently broke the watchband and the watch remained in the sleeve. I fished it out and began trying to put the pin of the band back together as I walked to the transition area. In hindsight I should have just pocketed the watch immediately and got on the bike as quickly as I could, but my over-analytical nature wanted to fix the watch so I would be able to constantly calculate my pace for the rest of the race. I spent at least two extra minutes in transition trying to put the band back together with no success. At this point I was frustrated and mad at myself for wasting so much time so I put the watch in my jersey pocket, grabbed my bike, and started toward the bike course. I guess I took my frustration out on the course because I was passing people one right after the other for almost the first 5 miles. I don't ever recall passing that many people on the bike in a race before. The course was flat and I was wearing my new aero helmet for the first time, but I just felt a lot faster than I normally do in a race. After completing the first loop and starting the second I knew where to expect the pot holes and breaks in the payment. There were more on the course than I thought there would be and some were pretty jarring. I averaged over 20 mph on the bike so I was happy with that. The run course was mostly in the sun and the section along the boardwalk was quite windy. About halfway through the second loop I could tell that I was starting to tire a little bit. I ran with the watch in my hand for the entire run course so I could keep an eye on my pace. Carrying it in my hand was less of a hassle than I though it would be and I was kicking myself for wasting as much time as I did in the first transition. I was able to break the 2.5 hour mark and I beat my best olympic distance time from two years ago by more than ten minutes, so I can't complain too much.

Tidewater Triathlon Preview

This will be the first year for this race which is held at Buckroe Beach in Hampton, VA and my first and only international distance race of the season. This will also be my first attempt at swimming in salt water, so I'm expecting the unexpected. The swim, bike, and run of this race are all 2 loops which will probably get a little old for me. According to the website the swim will require getting out of the water and running down the beach a little way before getting back in to start the second lap. If the water is colder like the last couple of races I've done then this will make if more difficult for me to get into a rhythm. The bike portion is supposed to be extremely flat so I'm looking for a fast time. I'm also going to be trying out my new aero helmet for the first time so at least I should look fast. The run is almost exclusively on the road and there should be very little shade. Early weather forecasts show that it's going to be hot with a small chance of thunderstorms, but hopefully the earlier 7 am start will get us finished before it gets too bad. The one logistical aspect of this race that I'm curious about is the sprint distance race that they are starting on the same course 30 minutes after the international distance begins. Each of the two races already has about 300 people registered and with each part of the race being two loops there will probably be a lot of congestion.

More Bike Than I Bargained For

I've recently started doing outdoor bike rides with a group of people on the weekends. This weekend I was informed that the group was planning on doing a ride of around 75 miles. My training schedule had me doing a 50 mile bike ride this week, so I knew that anything close to 75 would be going too far too soon. I was emailed the cue sheet for the bike route that gave me all the roads we would be traveling. I had told a few of the people on the ride ahead of time that I was considering riding with them for the first 25 miles and then turning around to come back so I would end up with the mileage I needed to do. Everyone was supposed to meet at one guy's house which was a couple of miles away from mine. I met up with one of my neighbors and we rode our bikes over to the house for the start. A group of eight of us started the ride around 8:45 am on what was predicted to be a hot day (close to 90 degrees). After we completed the first 10 miles, a lot of the roads we were traveling on started to be ones I was not familiar with. We made a brief stop just north of Greensboro at a "ghost bike" memorial on the side of the road for an area cyclist that was killed in a hit-and-run accident last fall. I had heard about the memorial, so it was an interesting experience to be able to see it in person. As we kept traveling from road to road and went further out into the middle of nowhere I started to notice that the department of transportation didn't make it a high priority to install road signs at the intersections. It was at this point that I came to the unsettling realization that even though I was carrying a copy of the cue sheet that told me every turn we needed to make, those directions weren't going to do me much good if there were no road signs to follow on my way back home by myself. So, I was left with the choice of turning around and guessing my way back with the strong possibility of getting lost, or continue along with the group and end up doing more miles than I should or could do. I decided that riding 75 miles was a better option than getting lost on an unknown road in the heat for who knows how long, so I kept pedaling. Around mile 50 we stopped at a small country store to refill our wattle bottles and catch our breath. The brief stop helped me recover enough to feel like I could keep going. Another 10 miles or so later we stopped briefly because a cyclist heading in the opposite direction had crashed in the road after a dog ran into his bike. He was knocked unconscious and had a few cuts on his face and arms. We stayed until paramedics arrived and then headed on down the road. The closer we got to the end of the ride the more I wanted to be off the bike. My legs were tired and my shoulders and neck were very sore. The distance to and from the starting point made the 75 mile ride a total of 78.6 miles and took over 4 hours to complete with stops. It was a humbling feeling knowing that the ironman race was going to require me to ride another 30 plus more miles than I just did and then run a marathon. It seems like there is so much more training needed to get me ready. The one positive note from this ride was that I woke up the next morning with very little soreness at all.

Holiday Weekend Bike Rides

I took the opportunity on this long holiday weekend to put in a lot of miles on the bike. With the exception of the races that I have done this year, my bike miles have been exclusively indoors on the trainer. Since the weather was relatively nice and I was able to ride with several other people on some group rides, I couldn't pass up the chance to finally get outdoors on the bike. The two group rides I went on were both in the 40 mile range. Most of the areas around here have more hills than I will experience in Florida, but it never hurts to gain the extra endurance by training on them. One of the people I rode with on the first day made a comment to me about my seat appearing too low. I had noticed before that I thought it might be lower than it used to be but never gave it too much thought. After the ride I decided to raise it, and during the second day's ride I could tell a big difference. My legs didn't seem as fatigued and I felt like I was moving at a slightly higher speed. Seeing the benefit from the adjustment, I wish I had done it a lot sooner.

Greensboro Triathlon Race Report

• Distance: 750 Meter Swim, 15 Mile Bike, 3.1 Mile Run
• Time: 1 hr 30 min 31 sec overall; 14:53 Swim, 2:32 T1, 47:52 Bike, 0:42 T2, 24:35 Run
  
• Place: 9 out of 17 in age group, 45 out of 133 men, 51 out of 195 overall
  
• Weather: Mostly cloudy, less than 5 mph winds, air temps in the upper 60's, water temp of 75 degrees

A line of thunderstorms moved through the area a couple of hours before the race was scheduled to begin. The result was a soggy, muddy course and lots of humidity to go around. I was assigned to the first of three waves to start the race. They split the waves so the men were in the first, the women in the second, and any men or women in the novice category in the final wave. The first wave was by far the largest having over 100 of the 200 total participants. The swim course was a triangular out and back shape that narrowed substantially into a cove at the furthest point. Knowing that the course was narrow I was a little concerned about how many people were in my swim wave, but I thought it would be good to experience swimming close together to prepare me for the chaos that will take place in the ironman. It took me a long time to get into a comfortable rhythm. There's something about colder water that makes me take irregular breaths. When I reached the turn around point I experienced something I have never experienced in all of my open water races.....the bottom. The cove at the further point was so narrow that the water was only about 2 to 3 feet deep and everyone was having to walk around the turn buoy. Once I made the turn I could still walk for at least another 10 to 15 yards. Between the breathing issues and the walking, it wasn't until the swim was almost over that I finally felt like my swim stroke was normal. I exited the water and had a lengthy jog to reach the transition area. My wetsuit came off without any issues and I started the bike course. The roads were still very wet from the earlier thunderstorms, and I saw several people that either wrecked on the slick roads or hit pot holes that were full of water. I was surprised that I was able to keep my average mph above 18 considering the hills on the course and taking the turns cautiously due to the wetness. When I returned to transition and started the run the trails were just as wet as the roads but not nearly as muddy as I thought they would be. I was able to pass several people and felt fairly comfortable with my pace. Just before the two mile mark I was passed by a guy that was in my age group and I knew I had to stay with him if I had any chance of passing him back at the end. I was able to stay within 10 to 15 yards of him the rest of the way and as we approached the final turn I wasn't sure if I could catch him. As we made the last turn there was a 100 yard straight shot to the finish line. My plan was to sprint this last distance and hope that he didn't have any kick left. As I started my sprint I was able to make up a lot of the ground on him because he continued to run the same pace he had been doing. I thought to myself that as soon as I got close to him he would hear me coming and start his sprint as well. I got within a few feet of him and realized he wasn't going to run any faster than he had been, and I was able to pass him just before the finish line. I felt energized as I crossed the line knowing that I had improved my place in the age group category. In the end it turned out to be a moral victory because the top three in my age group had finished in the top ten overall. So much for thinking I had a chance to place in my age group. Oh well, on to the next workout on the schedule.

Greensboro Triathlon Preview

This will be the first year for the Greensboro Triathlon at Hagan Stone Park. Although the park isn't extremely large, it does have a small lake and excellent running trails. The one advantage I have in this race is that I'm very familiar with the bike and run courses. The bike course is exactly the same as the duathlon race I have participated in the last several years, and the run course incorporates part of that same duathlon as well. Based on that knowledge I can expect some challenging hills on the bike and shaded trails on the run. The swim part is a little bit of an unknown. I'm expecting the swim to be wetsuit legal with the water temp being warmer than my last race. I don't anticipate the water being too choppy, but the swim will start in groups. Also, there appears to be a longer jog to transition than I'm used to experiencing. An early weather forecast shows a 30% chance of rain and a high of 80. I think the rain will probably hold off until after the race is over, and the temps should feel pretty comfortable early in the morning. When I last checked there were around 200 people already registered and 15 were in my age group. I'm really looking to have a good performance in this race because of the training I've done. I don't know how good a lot of the people are in my age group, but my goal is to finish in the top third of the group.