For those of you that have not heard, North American Sports (aka Ironman) has announced that they will be having a 70.3 (half ironman) race in Augusta, Ga. in 2009. This will be the first "Ironman" branded race in the NC, SC, GA area. They have chosen the typical weekend of the SC Half as its date.
Why this date??? I'll let you draw your own conclusion. Me?? I'll always race the SC Half. If you race any of the SC series races, then you should too. Don't let the mystique of spending twice as much for a HIM race lure you to Augusta next year. Support your local series! NAS is business first, sport second. They will continue to place races near both the location and time frame as other non-"Ironman" branded races.
Another point...if qualifying for Clearwater is interesting to you, then you may feel inclined to race Augusta. Fine, no problem. I clearly understand. I would also be interested in qualifying for a Word Championship race. One day I dream of racing Kona. But...I'm not interested in the current venue for their 70.3 World Championship. It is well known that this race is a "draft fest". Too flat of a course with too many fast people on the course at the same time. Just my personal opinion and food for thought.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Tri the Midlands Sprint Race
I just took about a week and a half off from working out, as I wanted to take a break before I start my preparation for the fall season. My racing season started in April and ends in November, so I knew that was way too long without finding some break somewhere. I just started back training the week of this race, so luckily I still had some residual fitness from my weeks prior.
This race was all for points in the SCTS. The schedule wasn't the best for me, but I need to take advantage of any series races that would not require an overnight stay for me. This would be one, but the 2 hour drive before the race was a bummer.
First off let me say that this is the first year of the Tri-Midlands, and it was a great race. Set Up Events continues to put on incredible races. Hopefully this race will be here to stay. The race took place in the Lake Carolina Development. It's really nice!!! Very new development that has some very nice houses. Overall a very nice place to race. I'll definitely come back next year.
Swim: A shorter than average open water swim at 500m. The idea here was to stay close to Peter K. I've only been in the pool twice in two weeks, so I know my swim fitness wasn't great. Mission accomplished. The short swim kept me from losing too much time as I exited the water around 20 seconds back.
Bike: Only an 11 mile ride, so I knew I needed to lay down the hammer right from the begining. I wanted to try and put a minute on Peter, as I felt like my run fitness could get me in trouble. We exited T1 together, so I tried to go hard right from the start. Bike course was very nice. Good combination of rollers and flats. I just hammered as best I could, hoping to make a time gap. When I neared T2, I felt pretty good. Time to see if I could run. My lead was a little over a minute.
Run: Exiting T2, I felt good. It's always hard for me to tell what kind of pace I'm running right off the bike. It always feels real slow, but the splits sometimes tells me otherwise. The plan right now was to try and stay out front. I didn't get any splits as I forgot to start my watch. The only splits I did get were times between me and the others after the turnaround. I had about a minute on second place, so I felt confident I could hold him off for one more mile. The run course was pretty cool. Most of the course was on paved bike/jogging trails. It had a pretty serious hill at around a mile and a half.
Was able to finish 1st overall. : )
Overall I'm real happy with my result. The first half of the seaon has gone very well for me. Now it's time to go back into hiding and prepare for the fall season. Just kidding about the hiding part, as I'm happy to train with anyone that wants to. The SC Half and Beach2Battleship will be my "A" races, while doing some of the other series races for points. Time to get in some mileage!!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Racing and Recovery
I just finished my 5th race in 6 weeks. 2 Half Ironmans, 2 Sprints, and 1 Olympic, not in that order. I've had quite a few people comment on the consistency that I've been able to achieve from race to race. I've also had some ask how I recover week after week, without falling apart. So, below is my philosophy on racing often and racing well. Maybe more like some random thoughts that I threw together on this blog.
Let me start by saying I am not the most experienced on this topic. I'm just sharing my experiences from 2 1/2 seasons of racing, I'd get the advice from a coach, which is what I do!! Also, take note that I have not finished any better than 2nd in all of these races. Granted I finished no worse than 3rd, so I have shown consistency. I'm just letting you know I feel I am having a good year, but could be better : )
Recovery is very individual. Each body respods differently to stress, both physical and mental. I have not mastered recovery, but I have learned a lot this year. My body responds better to active recovery. A steady swim and an easy bike ride helps my body recover from a race better than just rest. Nothing too hard, but just hard enough to flush the body and get the heart rate up. But...sometimes my body needs to just kick up the feet and do nothing. This was the case before last weekends Olympic distance race.
This is the first year (out of 3 seasons) that I have been able to race week after week, and be content with my results. In prior years I have been very inconsistent. I'd have a terrible race followed by a great race, and vice versa. Last year was a dissapointing race season all together as I was not able to reach any of my goals. So, what's different?? One big thing!!! Not determination, not desire, not the will to perform, not diet. One word...CONDITIONING. Plain and simple, I'm in better shape this year. I started this season in the best shape of my life. Last winter, I approached Jamie Church to help me with my training for the '08 season. Working with a coach has been the biggest factor in my results this year. Jamie takes all the work out of planning my training schedule. I've read most every tri-related training book written, but I still struggled to write a good training schedule that I would stick to. Now all my efforts can be directed in the workouts, as Jamie keeps me challenged. Honestly, my training hours are not that much different, but my training is now on point. I'm stressing the body when I need, and as often as I need.
So, back to recovery...for me the biggest factor in recovery is conditioning. You simply can't race well week to week and not be in great shape. So, I believe what you do before the races will have a bigger impact on your recovery than what you do after the races. Not to disregard what you do after the race, but I think it takes a distant second to your conditioning leading up to the race. But let's now talk about post race...post race nutrition is very important. I'm not super strict on my diet. I enjoy cookies, ice cream, burgers, and all the like. I am however very strict with "nutrient timing". Eat what your body needs when it needs it. High GI carbs with a 4:1 carb:protein ratio immediately following a hard workout and race. Eat "clean/healthy foods" for a few hours following a hard workout and race. Beyond that I'm pretty loose with my diet. I really like to snack, french fries is my favorite food followed closely by pizza. I also like to have a glass or two of red wine, or a beer or three.
So, my recovery plans are relatively simple. Listen to my body and don't go too hard between races, but go hard enough to keep the body alive and fresh. I consult with Jamie a day or two following a race to get his feedback as well. I tell him how I feel, and he translates that into what I specifically need to do leading up to the next race.
Take care, looking forward to the rest of the season.
Let me start by saying I am not the most experienced on this topic. I'm just sharing my experiences from 2 1/2 seasons of racing, I'd get the advice from a coach, which is what I do!! Also, take note that I have not finished any better than 2nd in all of these races. Granted I finished no worse than 3rd, so I have shown consistency. I'm just letting you know I feel I am having a good year, but could be better : )
Recovery is very individual. Each body respods differently to stress, both physical and mental. I have not mastered recovery, but I have learned a lot this year. My body responds better to active recovery. A steady swim and an easy bike ride helps my body recover from a race better than just rest. Nothing too hard, but just hard enough to flush the body and get the heart rate up. But...sometimes my body needs to just kick up the feet and do nothing. This was the case before last weekends Olympic distance race.
This is the first year (out of 3 seasons) that I have been able to race week after week, and be content with my results. In prior years I have been very inconsistent. I'd have a terrible race followed by a great race, and vice versa. Last year was a dissapointing race season all together as I was not able to reach any of my goals. So, what's different?? One big thing!!! Not determination, not desire, not the will to perform, not diet. One word...CONDITIONING. Plain and simple, I'm in better shape this year. I started this season in the best shape of my life. Last winter, I approached Jamie Church to help me with my training for the '08 season. Working with a coach has been the biggest factor in my results this year. Jamie takes all the work out of planning my training schedule. I've read most every tri-related training book written, but I still struggled to write a good training schedule that I would stick to. Now all my efforts can be directed in the workouts, as Jamie keeps me challenged. Honestly, my training hours are not that much different, but my training is now on point. I'm stressing the body when I need, and as often as I need.
So, back to recovery...for me the biggest factor in recovery is conditioning. You simply can't race well week to week and not be in great shape. So, I believe what you do before the races will have a bigger impact on your recovery than what you do after the races. Not to disregard what you do after the race, but I think it takes a distant second to your conditioning leading up to the race. But let's now talk about post race...post race nutrition is very important. I'm not super strict on my diet. I enjoy cookies, ice cream, burgers, and all the like. I am however very strict with "nutrient timing". Eat what your body needs when it needs it. High GI carbs with a 4:1 carb:protein ratio immediately following a hard workout and race. Eat "clean/healthy foods" for a few hours following a hard workout and race. Beyond that I'm pretty loose with my diet. I really like to snack, french fries is my favorite food followed closely by pizza. I also like to have a glass or two of red wine, or a beer or three.
So, my recovery plans are relatively simple. Listen to my body and don't go too hard between races, but go hard enough to keep the body alive and fresh. I consult with Jamie a day or two following a race to get his feedback as well. I tell him how I feel, and he translates that into what I specifically need to do leading up to the next race.
Take care, looking forward to the rest of the season.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Festival of Flowers Olympic Distance
The last of 5 races in 6 weeks. Well, one more in two weeks. I'm actually looking forward to some weekends where I can get back on the open road for some good runs and rides.
I had low expectations for the race, as I was feeling super tired earlier in the week. I was trying to get in some good workouts in order to recover from Rock n Roll Man, but I was only feeling worse. After consulting with Jamie, we decided to just kick the feet up and chill for a couple of days. Good idea!!!
All the Open field studs were at this race, so I really wanted to have a good race. The points race for 2nd and 3rd will be pretty tight this year, so I knew this race was important. I really want to get 2nd in the points...forget 1st...Dan's got that wrapped up.
Game plan: Swim with the stornger swimmers, hammer the bike like mad, see if I have anything for the run.
Swim: I was able to stick with the lead group of swimmers. A few times I tried to move up to 3rd or 4th, but it was better to sit on Peter's feet as we were all bunched up for most of the swim. Exited out of the water with the lead group. Mark Woody put a little time into us the last 300 meters, but not too much.
T1: As everyone was taking off thier swim skins, I went from 5th to 2nd by just grabbing my bike and helmet and heading out of transition. I put sunscreen on my back before the race, but obviously not enough...ouch. T1 went great...left foot on shoe, right leg over bike, pedal, strap on shoes.
Bike: I felt very good on the bike. I actually felt much better than I hve in the past few races. I knew I needed to put as much time into everyone as possible, soI just hammered the bike for most of the ride. I went a little easier the last 2 miles just to get the legs ready for the run. Overall the ride was good.
T2: Another good transition. Running dismount, take off helmet, put on shoes, grab visor/number belt/shirt. I'm off...
Run: I knew I wasn't going to set any records on the run given I raced a Half last weekend, so I just figured I'd try and hold 6:15 miles for the entire run. First three miles were good: 6:10, 6:10,6:10...then I started to fall apart. The heat was oppressive and I couldn't go any faster than what felt like snail pace. I knew I had a few minutes on Peter at the turn, but I didn't want to totally blow up and get caught. Also at the turn, Dan had already made up all the ground he needed to be in virtual first place. At this point I would be very happy with second.
For the last 2 miles it felt like everyone that I was passing on the way out were flying, but I was jogging. I really struggled. Then, a little past mile 5 I started to feel good again (probably from the shade). I tried to pick up the pace, but had difficulty due to a side stitch that all of a sudden came on. I drank too much water at once and now I was suffering. Oh well, I made it to the finish.
I did get 2nd overall : ) I was happy with my results, although a faster run would have been nice. Now it's time to plan on the fall racing season. I have one more sprint race in 2 weeks, but it's like a c- race as far as priority...just for points. The 2 BIG fall races will be the SC Half and Beach2Battleship, so I'd better get ready to get in some miles on the bike and run.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Rock n Roll Man Half (Macon, Ga.)
My second half ironman of the season. Definitely the tougher of the two. That's Felipe on the left and Dan on the right.
Overall, had a good race. Finished 3rd overall behind Dan Moss and Felipe Bastos. I am now the "USAT Southeast Regional Amateur Long Course Champion". Pretty cool, as I never knew there was such a thing...oh well. I should get that tattooed on my butt or something.
OK here goes...
Swim: This is the first year we had an "Open" wave, so it was nice to go out first in calm water. Beach start, so that was cool too...take off running and dive forward. I just took off for the first buouy. I swam side by side with Felipe all the way to the first buouy. I guess we were giving Dan a good draft that he couldn't miss : ) Anyway, at the first turn I thought, I'd get behind Felipe. Dan was already there, so I just tailed Dan to the second turn. The three of us were still all together making the final turn, but after the final turn buouy Felipe opened a gap on Dan, and Dan opened a gap on me. I think we exited the water all about a minute apart. I was very happy to swim with them, as I wanted to be close to the front at the end of the swim. Mission accomplished. They don't stop the swim split until you get up that ridiculously steep hill, so I was about a minute or so faster than the split. 28:58
T1: The run up the beach and to T1 at RnR Man is the toughest. It's always hard to run fast after being horizontal for 27 minutes or so, but then to have to run up a seriously steep hill to transition is enough to wear me out. All went well. Mounted the bike well, and I was off. No issues with transition.
Bike: The bike course is rolling hills, very similar to the foothills of SC, so very familiar to me. One age grouper caught us on the swim. He was freakin' flyin' on the swim. He went like 24:XX in the water. Crazy fast. Anyway, I caught him in the first few miles of the bike, and he tagged along behind me. Them at around mile 10 or so I caught Felipe. He tagged along behind the guy behind me. Anyway I pushed the pace pretty good. I didn't feel real strong on the bike, and I knew the run was going to be tough as it was supposed to be in the mid 90's, so I didn't kill myself on the bike. I kept the pace up pretty good and put in a few surges to drop the guys behind me. I should have charged them admission after the race for giving them an up and close guided tour of the bike course...anyway. Dropped Felipe at around mile 45, and the other guy hung around enjoying the broken air behind me all the way to T2. Just so you know, I knew this wasn't a draft legal event, not sure everyone else knew that...(sarcasm) Bike Time: 2:21:40
T2: Legs felt good getting off the bike. My family was there to chear me on and give high 5's, which is plenty motivation for me!! I knew I wasn't in any condition to try and catch Dan, who was about 4 minuntes ahead of me. I just wanted to hold onto 2nd.
Run: This can be a lonely run course, as you are away from the race site for the entire run. The out and back sections are out away from transition. Kind of quiet. First few miles I felt good. I was holding 6:40 pace, so I was content knowing I needed to stay in reserve for the "heat fest" yet to come. As I passed miles 5 and 6, I could feel the sun taking its toll on my body. I was unable to hold good pace. I knew Felipe was closing in on me, so I just tried to hold on to around a 7 minute pace. The aid stations felt like they were taking forever to get to. It was hot and I was freakin' tired.
Ok, Felipe caught me at mile 8, and he was cruisin'. I knew I couldn't hold his pace, so I was content with holding onto third at that point. To be honest, I really just wanted to get to the finish line. So a few miles later, I noticed Felipe wasn't going any faster than me. The heat must have been taking a toll on him, too. I thought "What the hell, I'm already near death, I might as well see if I can go faster"...so I picked up the pace to see what would happen.
As I approached mile 12, I noticed I wasn't making up enough ground, so I just settled into a pace that I knew would get me to the finish standing. As I approached the finish, I saw my boys along the side of the road chearing me on, so that made me smile...A couple of high 5's and I tried to hold my best form for the camera. Run Split: 1:34:11 (ouch!!)
Total time was 4:26:49
9 minutes faster than my previous attempts at this race, so I'm happy. It was in much tougher conditions, too.
An IV, 1 Pepsi, 1 Sunkist, 2 Chicken Sandwiches, 1 Gatorade, 3 cookies, and 3 beers later...I felt like a million bucks : )
I was given an award for Top Amateur and received the title that I'm getting tattooed on my behind. I am also getting a cool trophy to add to the collection. Oh yeah, got a check too, but I had to hand that over to my better half. It covered the race fee and some gas $$. Really cool, though : )
Anyway, I'm tired now. Have to try and recover for next weekend's Festival of Flowers Int'l distance race. It has a stacked field, and I have to figure out how to get these dead legs to wake up before then.
Later.
Overall, had a good race. Finished 3rd overall behind Dan Moss and Felipe Bastos. I am now the "USAT Southeast Regional Amateur Long Course Champion". Pretty cool, as I never knew there was such a thing...oh well. I should get that tattooed on my butt or something.
OK here goes...
Swim: This is the first year we had an "Open" wave, so it was nice to go out first in calm water. Beach start, so that was cool too...take off running and dive forward. I just took off for the first buouy. I swam side by side with Felipe all the way to the first buouy. I guess we were giving Dan a good draft that he couldn't miss : ) Anyway, at the first turn I thought, I'd get behind Felipe. Dan was already there, so I just tailed Dan to the second turn. The three of us were still all together making the final turn, but after the final turn buouy Felipe opened a gap on Dan, and Dan opened a gap on me. I think we exited the water all about a minute apart. I was very happy to swim with them, as I wanted to be close to the front at the end of the swim. Mission accomplished. They don't stop the swim split until you get up that ridiculously steep hill, so I was about a minute or so faster than the split. 28:58
T1: The run up the beach and to T1 at RnR Man is the toughest. It's always hard to run fast after being horizontal for 27 minutes or so, but then to have to run up a seriously steep hill to transition is enough to wear me out. All went well. Mounted the bike well, and I was off. No issues with transition.
Bike: The bike course is rolling hills, very similar to the foothills of SC, so very familiar to me. One age grouper caught us on the swim. He was freakin' flyin' on the swim. He went like 24:XX in the water. Crazy fast. Anyway, I caught him in the first few miles of the bike, and he tagged along behind me. Them at around mile 10 or so I caught Felipe. He tagged along behind the guy behind me. Anyway I pushed the pace pretty good. I didn't feel real strong on the bike, and I knew the run was going to be tough as it was supposed to be in the mid 90's, so I didn't kill myself on the bike. I kept the pace up pretty good and put in a few surges to drop the guys behind me. I should have charged them admission after the race for giving them an up and close guided tour of the bike course...anyway. Dropped Felipe at around mile 45, and the other guy hung around enjoying the broken air behind me all the way to T2. Just so you know, I knew this wasn't a draft legal event, not sure everyone else knew that...(sarcasm) Bike Time: 2:21:40
T2: Legs felt good getting off the bike. My family was there to chear me on and give high 5's, which is plenty motivation for me!! I knew I wasn't in any condition to try and catch Dan, who was about 4 minuntes ahead of me. I just wanted to hold onto 2nd.
Run: This can be a lonely run course, as you are away from the race site for the entire run. The out and back sections are out away from transition. Kind of quiet. First few miles I felt good. I was holding 6:40 pace, so I was content knowing I needed to stay in reserve for the "heat fest" yet to come. As I passed miles 5 and 6, I could feel the sun taking its toll on my body. I was unable to hold good pace. I knew Felipe was closing in on me, so I just tried to hold on to around a 7 minute pace. The aid stations felt like they were taking forever to get to. It was hot and I was freakin' tired.
Ok, Felipe caught me at mile 8, and he was cruisin'. I knew I couldn't hold his pace, so I was content with holding onto third at that point. To be honest, I really just wanted to get to the finish line. So a few miles later, I noticed Felipe wasn't going any faster than me. The heat must have been taking a toll on him, too. I thought "What the hell, I'm already near death, I might as well see if I can go faster"...so I picked up the pace to see what would happen.
As I approached mile 12, I noticed I wasn't making up enough ground, so I just settled into a pace that I knew would get me to the finish standing. As I approached the finish, I saw my boys along the side of the road chearing me on, so that made me smile...A couple of high 5's and I tried to hold my best form for the camera. Run Split: 1:34:11 (ouch!!)
Total time was 4:26:49
9 minutes faster than my previous attempts at this race, so I'm happy. It was in much tougher conditions, too.
An IV, 1 Pepsi, 1 Sunkist, 2 Chicken Sandwiches, 1 Gatorade, 3 cookies, and 3 beers later...I felt like a million bucks : )
I was given an award for Top Amateur and received the title that I'm getting tattooed on my behind. I am also getting a cool trophy to add to the collection. Oh yeah, got a check too, but I had to hand that over to my better half. It covered the race fee and some gas $$. Really cool, though : )
Anyway, I'm tired now. Have to try and recover for next weekend's Festival of Flowers Int'l distance race. It has a stacked field, and I have to figure out how to get these dead legs to wake up before then.
Later.
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