The running I've been able to do in the last 2 weeks has started to pay off... I felt faster throughout the race and fresher once I hit the run. It was a bit of a struggle towards the end of the course, but I still hit a P.R. on this particular bike course... Fastest Swim time, fastest Bike time and fastest run time!
Another Winding Trails Tri race day today... and it's not even raining!
I'm pretty stoked to be racing again, watching the Ironman this weekend has gotten me fired up! I'm all packed up and ready to go after work, hopefully the weather will stay just like it is now, cool but not raining.
It was really a great weekend, I'm planning to write up a report even though I didn't get to race.
Biking was on an out and back course with very few turns. Afterwards I recalled that I didn't need to touch my brakes except for the turn-around and then at the end of the bike. So from that perspective it was a pretty good bike... but other than that, not so much! I ended up getting very cold, it was pretty much pouring almost the entire time. My legs felt pretty good and I managed to stay fairly aero for much of the ride. I passed my brother coming the other way before the turn-around, and noticed that he was in front of my pace (he started 10 minutes ahead) but detailed math was a bit tough at that point. Then, after the turnaround I noticed my uncle also ahead of my pace... making me a bit nervous :) I sure didn't want him to catch me, so I pushed a bit more on the way back. There was a pretty low point for me at about 45 miles as I got pretty cold and was really feeling poorly. The good news was that Eric didn't catch me, and the sun came out when I was a few minutes out from transition. 
I'd long ago resigned myself to have Eric catch me which would ultimately mean pass since he only needed to finish within 10 minutes to beat me... but bit by bit it dawned on me that he must not have been having a very good day either. Miles 8,9 and 10 seemed to take forever... I knew I needed to finish a loop and get back to the place where the run course split but it seemed every step was taking me further from where the road came together and I would have knowledge of the course to the finish. Finally, I turned a corner and saw the intersection which was not where I expected but that was actually pretty buoying to my spirits. At this point I knew the rest of the course and could gauge what I had left. It still hurt a lot, but when I turned one of the last corners and headed downhill towards the finish I decided to see what I had left. Coming into the park area I was stumbling and hurting but as I slowed a bit a spectator yelled at me and I pushed on. I crossed the line gasping and choking... but another race done. Run - 3:01:51 Pace - 13:31 It's official, I've signed up for the Tinman race in June!
http://www.tupperlakeinfo.com/tinman/index.htm
Hope I can remember how to swim, bike and run!
I've been promising to do this for a while as a couple friends have asked me about what they need to do a triathlon. So here's your official, yet completely unscientific, essential triathlon buyer's guide!
Shorts - First thing you need is to get dressed of course! There are a lot of different tri shorts and bike shorts and other combinations out there, but the best ones for me are from Titan Wear. They have a small chamois for a little padding, but most important it doesn't get in your way for swimming and running. They are also cheaper than most! Get the ones with the gripper legs so that they stay in place.
http://www.titanwear.com/
Tri tops - These come in many different shapes and sizes, so get what you want while considering two things. Friction is not your friend! Tight fitting is more aero. While bike jersey are tight and aero, they generally have short sleeves and are painful to run in. Swinging your arms back and forth across a seam on the sleeve leads to serious issues during your run leg.
Swim Leg
Goggles - Get some that don't leak and are comfortable, as long as they work for you.
Wetsuit - Wetsuits help in two ways, they keep you warm, and more importantly they help you swim faster by keeping your legs up higher in the water. Worth the cost in my opinion! For inexpensive budgets, Promotion wetsuits work, I've had one of these for a while. http://www.wetsuit.com/ Make sure you measure carefully and get one that fits. I've also had good luck with xterra suits, they are a bit pricier than promotion, but feel a little more flexible when you're swimming. http://www.xterrawetsuits.com/ (They have coupons a lot, so search the web before you purchase)
Bike Leg
Bike - You need one :) For most Olympic or shorter distance races in New England you don't really need a tri-specific race since there are usually a lot of hills. The geometry of a road bike will help you a lot when climbing and counteract the aero benefits of a tri bike on the flat sections for the most part.
Helmet - You need one of these too! I haven't used an aero helmet since I'm not really fast enough for it to make a huge difference (They help more at higher speeds).
Shoes / Socks - I use my typical bike shoes and socks for longer distance races, anything over a sprint. Most road shoes use Velcro which is easy enough, and I try to roll my socks off my feet and leave them ready to put on easily. Sprint distance, it's probably worth trying to skip socks for both the bike and run, PRACTICE this first though.
Race Belt - I use a race belt since it makes it a lot quicker to put your number on and switch it around. I actually have an extra or two, first person to ask gets one :)
Lots of extra training tools stuff for the bike of course, I use a combination of a heart rate monitor plus the GPS on my phone and a standard bike computer. I'd love to get a power meter sometime, but it's still a bit too pricey at this point.
I try to get in most of my nutrition needs during the bike, since I digest much better than when I'm running. Again, Olympic or longer needs a pretty specific plan and some solid food. Gels, and powerbar type options work pretty well, I tape them to my top tube which lets me rip them off and open in one step.
Run Leg
Running Shoes - Doesn't really matter which brand, whatever works best for you. Get some Yankz though to help you put them on quickly. http://www.yankz.com/ If you're real cool you could try some triathlon specific running shoes. http://www.zootsports.com/race/
Other Stuff
Sunglasses - Almost a must for on the bike, I usually wear them on the run too.
Bodyglide - Apply some of this before racing, helps reduce friction to get the wetsuit off quickly plus eliminates chafing. I usually put in on my ankles and neck. http://www.bodyglide.com/#/products/anti-chafe
I'll update if I think of more stuff, but that's it for now... questions or comments welcomed.
I'm back in that mood again... I took a week or so off from the gym with the intermission of Volleyball league, but I was happy to be back again. I always feel better leaving the gym then I did entering it, although that's sometimes difficult to keep in mind at 4:30 AM!
I need to make up my mind about Mooseman vs Tinman... what do you think guys??
Today's the last night for the Winding Trails race! The party has grown bigger than ever, with up to 8 of my friends and family competing tonight. Hmm... perhaps I should ask the race director for a commission!
I had a good race last week and I'm looking forward to another good result this week. My weight-training regimen has gotten me feeling much better and has resulted in a faster time last week.
Perhaps there's another race out there this season after all, I'll have to do a little checking.
Crazy week at work after the week off...
I did race this week, the knee is feeling much better with the prescribed exercises. It was a fun race, although I did try and take it easy. I finished behind my uncle but ahead of the two young guns, not sure that would have happened if Brendan hadn't cramped up on his run and been unable to keep his usual pace.
Also, interesting quote and reading from another blog that I subscribe to, relating to my day job a bit:
"Architecture, for me anyway, involves intention, game theory, systems thinking and relentless testing and improvement. Fine with me if you want to call it design, just don't forget to do it."
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/08/is-architect-a.html
DNS - Did Not Start - As in no racing last night... why? Because I'm an idiot, that's why!
Last week, when attempting to take my bike of the rack on my truck, I broke the key in the lock and couldn't remove it. I spent a few days looking for the second key and after having finally found it I was relieved to not have to cut off the lock. So I got ready and headed for Winding Trails in order to race last night, but discover 1/2 hour before race time that I didn't bring the good key with me! Thus, I was all dressed up with my bike locked firmly to my truck! I supposed I could have lobbied for using the truck instead of my bike but I was out of the race!
Instead I headed for my uncle's birthday party a bit early and had some cake! Oh well... there's always next week.
From Platt Systems
Matt:
Overall 1:04:35 Place in Division 6/9 Swim 7:37 Bike 28:37 Run 28:21
Dave:
Overall 1:06:14 Place in Division 21/33 Swim 7:51 Bike 28:40 Run 29:43
Eric:
Overall 1:08:39 Place in Division 26/31 Swim 8:01 Bike 31:19 Run 29:19
Brendan:
Overall 1:21:10 Place in Division 5/6 Swim 9:45 Bike 34:14 Run 37:11
Nate:
Overall 1:21:13 Place in Division 6/6 Swim 10:01 Bike 34:01 Run 37:11
Crazy week, so I haven't gotten a chance to write much of a report on the race in New Hampshire, the big remodeling project that we are doing at home, the trip to a Pawtucket Red Sox game, or my planned weekend away with my wife for our anniversary!
Hopefully the suspense is killing everyone and the wait will make it better!
It was really hot!
Read more...
I'm ready to taper again... 5 days till Mooseman weekend!
I had a pretty good weekend, went for a nice swim on Saturday morning, and did a little running. I'll be riding to work a couple of days, including today, and maybe two swim practices. My knee is still not feeling 100 percent, so I'm pretty sure I'm in for some pain this weekend but overall it should still be fun.
My plan is to head to NH sometime on Friday, probably midday with my brother and uncle. We need to set up the camper and pick up race packets and probably check out the race expo a bit. I grabbed some ribs for dinner on Friday night as well, it should be an enjoyable evening. Hopefully it will be relaxing before the carnage to come. As I've mentioned before, I'm racing Saturday and Sunday, about 35 miles total on Sat. and just over 70 miles on Sun. No, I don't have a logical explanation, it just sort of happened.
Stay tuned...
One week to go till I head up to New Hampshire for the Mooseman race weekend. I'm really looking forward to it, it will be fun, but I'm thinking it's going to be a world of pain. I'm racing Saturday and Sunday, and with my knee still aching a bit my training hasn't been all that great, especially the run. I'm sure it will be good pain though :)
I'm planning to borrow my parents camper and head up to the Newfound RV Park again, it was nice and clean and close to the race. I'm thinking my brother, uncle and brother-in-law are going at this point. My cousin and his friend have backed out so it may be just the 4 of us.
Looking forward to it.
Matt and I took a run down the Hockanum river this past Saturday to get our rhythm set in the canoe and scout a bit for the upcoming races. We'll race the Scantic Splash this Saturday and then the Hockanum River Race a week later.
We ran a few rapids similar to the one on the left... well similar but minus about 5 feet of drop! The Hock has a few drops, but mostly it's tricky corners and some sweeping currents which push you into obstacles. It also features a flat section across Union Pond where staying straight and strong paddling are the keys to a fast transit.
We worked on our communication and re-establishing our feel for the boat so we wouldn't be entering this weekend's race cold. The keys for us in the Scantic Race are going to be staying upright and picking our way through the obstacles. The Scantic is much more challenging from a whitewater perspective than the Hock, it has more and larger drops. Last year we went in the water three times and beyond being very cold (it was 32 degrees), falling slows you down quite a bit. We need to focus on slowing down and setting up each drop better and staying back in the boat to keep the bow out of the water.
If anyone is interested in watching the race, there is a really good spectator spot where the finish line is. The largest set of rapids are right before the bridge and the action there will be a lot of fun to watch. Getting there is pretty easy, and there is some on street parking available nearby. Keep in mind that the bridge over the river will be closed to cars, so whichever direction you come from you wont be able to drive to the other side although you can certainly walk. You can check out http://www.scanticspringsplash.com/ for more details, and use the map below to find your way to the finish line area. Hope to see some folks there. Oh, and if you're looking for us, there will be two guys in a green canoe, both wearing wetsuits, and I'll probably have a red shirt on.
View Larger Map
As I wrote about yesterday, my remaining goal for 2007 after finishing the Ironman, was to break 1 hour at the Winding Trails sprint race. Well... I did it, I broke an hour, in fact I crushed my old P.R. (Personal Record) by over 2 minutes, coming in at 58:41.The splits are not yet posted, so I don't know the exact times but I'll post what I recall and then update it when I get the exact numbers.
Updated!
The swim went pretty well, we did two waves as this was a very large group again; in fact Sharon the race director mentioned this was the biggest ever. I had forgotten my goggles, so I needed to borrow my uncle's extra seal mask. I don't like it as well as conventional goggles, but it worked well enough although it got foggy and I wasn't able to sight all that well. The swim finished in 7:3x and I ran up the beach reminding myself to push!
I had decided I was going to spend the whole race going as fast as I could. I tried that on the run last week and did pretty well, but couldn't make up enough time from the bike. Over and over I asked myself if I could be going harder and didn't worry about whether I would blow up or not.
Transition was quick and I started riding well. Right away I could tell that my legs were strong and I was going to have a good ride. The only hiccup was the spot where the tree was down across the trail and I had to slow a bit for the rider ahead of me. I just hopped over it, once again glad for the extra riding I do on harder trails. I find in this race a lot that riders around me will catch me on hills or flats and then I go back up on the downhills and corners. I take this to mean my riding is generally good or better since they have the fitness or speed to out pedal me, but not the technical riding skills to take advantage of the course. This makes me smile generally :)
Coming into transition off the bike, I had a great change. Out of the shoes almost before my feet hit the ground and I was off, having caught a glimpse of the clock showing 32:50 something. I knew I had a chance if I could run strong. I stopped for a real quick slug of Gatorade at the end of transition and then started running. I walked 5 steps up the real steep hill at the start, took a big breath and took off. The whole time I just kept pushing with no regard for later. Every time a racer would come by I would try to follow and just go as hard as I could. I really started to hurt about halfway through, but I could tell that I was making the time and really racing. It was pretty cool. Coming into the final long downhill I could see people ahead of me and decided I was catching at least two. Running all out I caught one but couldn't reel in the other. Then I heard footsteps behind me and started running scared. I was going so fast that I caught a tree root about 15 feet from the finish and did a flying roll! Mad now that the guy behind was going to catch me I scramble to my knees and then my feet trying desperately to keep my momentum. Back up and across the line before I got passed and I saw 58 something on the clock. I was thrilled!
I watched the rest come in... my brother, uncle, cousin and two friends, it's become quite a party. Then off to Whole Foods to gorge on their buffet!
Final Splits were:
Swim - 7:39, Bike - 25:18, Run - 25:44, Total 58:41
Bike, Run, and Total were all records!
Second to last race tonight at Winding Trails, and I'm hoping I'm recovered from the Litchfield Tri on Sunday. I haven't yet him my goal of breaking an hour yet, although I've come close at just 53 seconds over a few weeks ago.
The problem is that I'm just a bit worn down from both Ironman USA and of course the Oly Tri this weekend. There's a fine line between being in peak form and under-recovered. I actually feel okay today, but it's hard to say what my reserves are going to be like when I put the pedal down tonight. I did a good job last week of running on the edge the whole time, something I've struggled with in the past. I kept asking myself... forget 5 minutes from now, can I run harder right now? This worked, but ultimately I didn't have enough speed left in my legs to go fast enough.
An interesting approach may be to skip this week and try to put everything into next week, but I have too much fun racing to take this approach. Hopefully I can put it together either tonight or next week...
Getting There
The weekend didn't start so good, I was feeling pretty sick starting Friday night and spent a lot of time... eh... well... on the toilet Sorry... not a pretty subject, but it ended up having a lot of impact on the race. I was up all night Friday and stayed on the couch most of Saturday and into the night that evening. I wasn't able to hold anything in until Saturday evening, and I ate a bit on Sunday morning. I still decided to go to the race with my uncle Eric, without any expectations and just see how it went.
The Litchfield Hills race is an olympic distance race, .9 mile swim, 23.7 mile bike and 6.2 mile run. I've done a few of this distance so far, and just looking at the distances I should be able to finish in 2:45-3 hours. This day I wasn't really thinking about that though, I knew my reserves were way down and I wasn't going to have a lot of energy.
We got a bit lost on the way there, there was a bridge out and the road was closed. I ended up following another racer who was on her way there as well, but she didn't have much better luck. We finally just followed a sign for a road that I knew was on the course, and managed to find our way there. At this point time was a bit tight, but we didn't really panic at all although I ended up skipping two steps that I wished I had taken. I taped 2 gels to my bike and laid out the transition area, having secured a great rack position right by the aisle.
We starting heading for the swim start, after deciding against taking sneakers as suggested for the long run back to transition from the lake. I rationalized that it couldn't be too bad... a decision Eric and I both regretted later. On the way there... I quickly realized that I needed the porta-potty, another auspicious sign and we made a detour there. After getting out of the toilet, I realized that
A) I forgot to take my pre-race gel, so I was starting with not enough gas in the tank
B) The stones on the path up from the swim finish were going to hurt a lot running to transition and I probably should have brought the shoes
C) There was no time now to go back for either
D) My stomach was already not happy with me... and I could feel the lethargy already
Swim (.9 Miles)
Not a good start, but we headed to the beach and put on our wetsuits. Very quickly we were lined up and headed off, so I didn't get a warmup swim, but with almost a mile to go I didn't think it would matter. Just take it a bit easy at first, then settle into a steady pace. The swim was very rough, especially on the way out I seemed to swallow a lot of water. I think it was just a bit choppy. The water didn't sit real well in my stomach, and I could feel the empty feeling as my body started to call for nutrition but it wasn't available.
Out of the water I yanked off my wetsuit and started the run painful walk to transition. I had bumped into Eric a few times in the swim, and we came out of the water together and ended up walking up the hill next to each other. My transition was a lot quicker than his, which is standard but it would be the only leg that was faster this day!
Bike or at least the Attempt (23.7 miles)
We ran down through a field to the road with our bikes and I jumped on. My next problem... I couldn't clip in. Running through the grass had jammed my pedals with enough crap that they wouldn't engage. I had to stick my foot through the bike frame so that I could reach it with my hand and try to clean it out. It would clip in, then pop out again with any pressure. This slowed me down a lot for the first few miles, but eventually the stuff worked it's way out and I was able to stop worrying about it.
I could tell this was going to be a bad ride... my body was demanding energy and my stomach couldn't provide it. I took the first gel right away, and the second one shortly after to try and get some food in, but my stomach just churned. I couldn't deliver any power on the uphills and just tried to keep a steady cadence on the flats. It was only about 8 miles in when my uncle rolled past, a bit of a surprise although it shouldn't have been. I'm generally a stronger rider, but definitly not on this day. Still, for the first 15 or so miles I managed to do okay since it was downhill. We had been warned about the painful uphill at the end of the bike, and I wasn't looking forward to it. I started to regret not having another gel, thinking it would help a little although I wasn't sure I would be able to digest it. The hill came... and it was painful. I was now in a full-scale bonk and I didn't could hardly find the energy to turn the cranks over. I was mentally debating dropping out of the race as my speed got slower and slower. Finally the hills were over and I got of the bike. I walked slowly back to the rack just trying to compose myself.
Run (6.2 Miles)
Once I got into transition I never really considered stopping, I just grabbed my extra gel and headed off. The run starts pretty convoluted, winding through the park in a clear attempt to add a bit of mileage just so they could get in the 6.2 needed. I grabbed a cup of gatorade immediately and just started jogging. I actually felt okay, my legs were in decent shape I just had no reserves. Out of the park and the hills started. I guess the use of Hills in the name of the race should have been a giveaway, but the course just seemed really brutal.
I walked many of the hills and tried to jog the flats and downhills. I ended up having to stop just a mile or so into the run to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately there were no porta-potties available, an experience I will leave un-elaborated. I managed to catch a young woman who was doing her first olympic distance triathlon and we ran together for much of the last few miles trying to encourage each other. That helped and I managed to finish okay with a total time of 3:19:12, about 4 minutes behind my uncle.
The gruesome aftermath :)
In retrospect it probably wasn't a great idea to do the race, I suspect that it hurt more than helped. But, ultimately it was nice to spend the day with my uncle and it will make him happy to say he beat me in a race :) Plus, the post race food was good... although I still couldn't entirely appreciate it, and the post-race massage felt great.
Final splits
Swim - 35:21, T1 - 4:54, Bike - 1:26:29 (ouch), T2 - 1:18, Run -1:11:12 (Ouch again) - Total 3:19:12
Part 2 of my Report, the actual race is about halfway done... stay tuned.
I did get a couple videos from my brother who was at the race, they make take a minute to come up, but you can check them out here.
http://picasaweb.google.com/david.mangold/IMLP2007/photo#5091665081808304482
http://picasaweb.google.com/david.mangold/IMLP2007/photo#5091665588614445426
http://picasaweb.google.com/david.mangold/IMLP2007/photo#5091665588614445426
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