West Point Lake Triathlon (Olympic) - June 12, 2011

Hi Everyone!

More than a week later than I promised via my twitter feed, but better late than never!  Try to just keep this to the race and I will follow up with some other general shenanigans (including IM training) after Thu (final exam in my Internal Accounting class).

Pre Race

My Roommate Robbie decided he wanted to come and watch a triathlon for the first time, so I decided he could be my tri-sherpa for the weekend.  Got everything packed and ready to go by about 9pm, and I was in bed by 10pm.  I always have trouble sleeping when I go to bed early, but I know with the hour and a half drive, I was gonna need the sleep.  Robbie decided he was going to go out to a show (he saw Lazerbeam Kitty, for any of you who know about that).

I got up at 4am to get some breakfast and get everything loaded into the car.  Robbie rolled in at 4:15am and I told him wheels were up in 15 minutes.  He quickly changed his clothes and grabbed his book bag and was ready.  I was packing the car and filling the cooler.  We got out of there around 4:45 am for our Trek down to West Point.  Still plenty of time, would probably have time for transition, run warm up and swim warm up.  Got about 20 minutes down the road and had the "Oh S!@#" moment.  There are some things that you tell yourself, "if I left it at home then I didn't really need it."

A wallet with your ID and money is not one of those things.

Did a quick turn around, however by the time we got back to the house and then back to where i had the not-so-glorious epiphany, another 40 minutes had passed.  After a quick mental calculation, I did not know if I was gonna make it in time for transition.  I was haulin' down I-85 and at least this time if I was to get pulled over, I had my driver's license on me.  Thankfully there were none of Georgia's finest on the roads (too busy at the coffee shop getting ready for Sunday Church traffic I guess) so I got there with a few minutes to spare.  Then I realized that the parking lot was about half a mile or more away from the transition area.  Robbie was a great help for me and we got there with about 5 minutes to spare.  If there was ever a category for fastest transition setup time, I would have had the award for this race.  After that I headed over to the swim start and saw Wes and Richard there getting ready to hit it with me.  AND....... We're off!

Swim

Let's be brutally honest about this leg.  Have not done much swimming this year.  Prior to this race I had about a dozen swim workouts in the 6 weeks leading up to this race, and most of those workouts were; WU, 3x500 free, CD, and done.  While I am technically covering the distance needed, I was not doing anything longer, I should have been doing AT LEAST 3 swims a week, since that is my weakest sport, and I should have had more variety in my workouts, such as negative splits and intervals.  After the race I did speak with Wes regarding the swim.  He puts his Garmin in his swim cap for a more accurate reading, and he said that the 1500M alert on his watch hit around the time we got to the last buoy.  Also after looking at the swim times of all the participants in our age group, I was very surprised to see that there were not more sub 25 min finishes with the swim than there were (nothing under 27 minutes).  Could have been a weak swim field.  My hair is longer now, so my cap kept coming off, which kept moving my goggles around.  Not necessarily gonna blame that on my poor swim time, but it sure as hell did not help.
Time               37:27
Pace               2:30
AG Place        14/16

T1                 

Was pretty pleased with my time, I did waste a bit of time with getting a bit of nutrition in before leaving T1 because my sponsor's suit is a 2XU suit that does not have any pockets to hold anything.  I had gels in my legs, but I had some Cliff Shot Bloks that I wanted to use in T1 and T2.  Had a fairly clean transition.

Time               1:09
AG Place        7/16

Bike

My first quarter mile/half mile was a bit of a rough start, and this was solely due to the fact that I was having a bit of a problem getting my shoes on.  I put my shoes on my bike before the race so that I would not have to worry about that in transition.  My new bike shoes this year are not really good for walking around in, and furthermore with the Speedplay cleat designed the way it is, trying to walk/jog/run on pavement is not a good idea :)  Overall I felt like I had a pretty solid bike.  There was not too much elevation on the course, but what elevation there is, I did not perform well on.  Chalk that up to training for IMFL, where the only hill is a bridge so there is not really any point of training anywhere hilly.  There were a few people that I went back and forth with throughout the bike leg, however, when I finally got to the last couple miles, they were mostly downhill so I kicked it in.  Getting the shoes off pre-dismount was soooo much easier with a one strap.

Time              1:17:53 (19.1mph)
AG Place       10/16

T2

A bit slower than I would have liked.  I was having a bit of trouble trying to get the rest of the Clif Shot Bloks down, so I did what I could and then just forged on out of T2.  Also had an issue with my socks.  I know, I know, I should be going sock less for any race Olympic and shorter, but I have not really trained sock less, and so I did not want to ruin my feet, not to mention I was still nursing my foot.

Time              1:56
AG Place       15/16
Run

The theme for me here was "slow and steady survives the race."  Overall the run was good.  Not too much shade for the race, and it was sunny and HOT.  Did get some sunscreen on prior to the race so that when I was on the run I would not get burnt.  I did stop and walk a few times when I felt like my foot may not hold out.  I have never DNF'ed a race, but I promised myself if there were any serious issues during the run I would quit.  I saw Wes, Richard, and April on the run, and they all looked really strong.  The net increase in elevation did a bit of a number on me in the last few miles, but I need to keep reminding myself that the race I am training for is Florida, not somewhere in the Colorado Rockies. Good finish and Robbie was there to get some photos of me as I approached the finish line.

Time               1:02:36
AG Place        16/16

Finish!!!

Time               3:00:52
AG Place        16/16

A few seconds slower than Peachtree International Triathlon.  I felt better on the run than I did at PIT, but I still did some walking because I did not want to re-injure my foot.  The big test was how my foot was gonna feel the days following the event, and it held up great.  Hopefully I will be injury free for the rest of the season (fingers crossed).  It was great to get out there and just race.  I also saw April Burkey out there, she passed by me on the way back in from the dam as I was headed out on the dam.  Robbie had a good time watching his first triathlon and although I don't think he wants to attempt a triathlon, I think he will definitely tag along again.

At the time I am finishing up this email, I have 7 weeks till I graduate with my Master's of Professional Accountancy at GSU.  I have 11 weeks till I start my new job at Deloitte in Atlanta.  And in 18 weeks and 6 days, I will be attempting my second Ironman in Florida.  It's been one helluva a year.  Both good times and bad have occurred in my personal and triathlon life, and hey that's life.  Not that I have a particular clock or countdown for 2011, but I would consider this my halfway point of the season.  Things never happen the way we plan, but in most cases, I am pleased where I am at.

Keep it up everyone!  We are halfway there.

2010 Ironman Augusta 70.3 Race Report - Part 3 (Conclusion and thoughts...)

Hello Everyone,

     It's Saturday, just got out of a Federal Tax Accounting Class, and I needed something to do while my lunch was settling before I can get in my afternoon workout.  Missed the morning 8am run with the West Stride Support Group.  Sorry Lee!  Was out at Ormsby's and Waffle House too late last night.  I was planning on being late to class this morning anyways because of the run, so I did not feel guilty getting up late, waiting for Planet Smoothie to open at 9am and then go to class.  So I decided I would complete the last part of this race report, put some thoughts and feelings behind how I felt about the event and my completion of it to tie everything together.

     First off, I think that my attitude and priority towards this race was all out of whack!  I think you may have gathered that from part 1 of this race report.  I signed up for this race in May and did not do enough training for it.  I kinda feel like 2008 and 2010 were lost years with respect to training and racing.  In 2007 I had a huge racing season (not that I was actually good, just a lot of races) and then I guess I was burnt out when I hit 2008.  In 2009 I did IMCDA, so there was the motivation there.  There were a couple times during the season where I slacked off and I admit that, both for being burnt out and trying to keep a relationship in check.  2010 I think was the same result as 2008, though it was due to training really hard for one race rather than multiple races.  There were also other major things that happened in my personal and business life in 2008 and 2010 that had significant impacts on my training and competing in triathlons in general.  In 2011 I am trying to remedy that situation by one, getting back into a year where I am fully training and participating in the sport and two, actually not having another "off" year going into 2012.

     Second, and this is more of a humor related intermission for this post (but still topical to it), I really need to start taking some sort of laxative around 5pm the night before the race.  I mean come on!  I stopped 4 times on the run????  Not to mention I did not go at all BEFORE or during any other portion of the race.  And not only that, it was like 2 days worth of food!  Not cool!  And the fact that I wasted somewhere between 25-30 minutes waiting in line for a porta-john and using them.  I mean, I think I added a 4th discipline to the sport that day so we could call it a quadrathlon.  Swim, Bike, Run, and poop.

     Third, I really need to work on my run.  Not necessarily the time, but the running off the bike.  In most, if not all of my long distance races (HIM + distance events), every time I come off the bike I have to walk at some point due to cramping or leg fatigue (notice I did not say body fatigue, usually when I stop I feel fine, just my legs are trashed).  One of my tri-resolutions for the year is to do lots more bricks, and not all of them are going to be 2-3 hours in the saddle and then 15-30 minutes of running.  My buddy James that I did CDA with and also trained with, his original discipline was duathlons, and he has a few key workouts, similar to bricks, that I am going to employ so that when it comes time to race in another HIM or IM distance race, I am not gonna have trashed legs/cramping all the time.  That's not to say that I won't ever get a cramp again, or that I won't ever walk again, I just know there is a large area of improvement for me in that area.

    Lastly, I think something that will stop the huge roller coaster effect from year to year when I participate in this sport is to have fun and remember not to be so serious about this sport all the time.  Sure you have to have discipline to train, you have to plan out your workouts, you have to schedule your events in advance, etc.  But once that is all over with, we should all be able to cut loose and have a little fun with this sport.  If we forget to do that, then we go down a path where it is not fun anymore, and we decide to cast it by the wayside like some toy we got for last Christmas knowing there is a new present wrapped under the tree right now for this Christmas.

Hope you all have a great, safe training weekend.  Don't know who all of you are rooting for in the Superbowl, but I hope that Pittsburgh gets their butts kicked!  :)

2010 Ironman Augusta 70.3 - Part 2 (The Race - or moreover, how not to train/race)

It Begins...

Swim Leg

I am suddenly awoken from my trance by the loud bang of the referee's race gun.  As I came back to reality, my body had done what it has been always trained to do.  The current was fairly strong.  My last half I completed (I was also a bit slower then than I am now) was in about 48-49 minutes in the ocean, so you would get a little help on the way in, but none on the way out.  This was all one way downstream.  I did attempt to sight, and my sight line was in closer to shore as to stay away from other swimmers, and the fact that we were getting out on the same side as we got in on, so there was no point in swimming all the way out to the buoys.  Swim was 1.2 miles or just over 2100 yards (6 in one, half dozen in the other).  Kinda forgot to do some extra kicking the last couple hundred meters to get the blood flowing back into the legs.  I want to say that my best form was during the middle third of the swim, when I got all my race jitters out from the first third and settled into the race.  The last third I began getting fatigued and got back into my old swim (bad) habits which slowed my time.

Swim Time :          31:24.00
Swim Avg/100:     1:30

Transition 1

Legs felt like two stumps and I was tired.  Remember that almost no training thing I did most of the year.  Yeah it was coming back to me and I had not even gotten on the bike yet.  Oh well, this was just about finishing the race.  I told Mike while yes I would love to beat my time from 5 years ago, I just wanted to finish.  I jogged through transition to my rack position.  Of course (as is always the case) my rack position sucks, the tri-gods have cursed me with horrible rack position for the rest of my life for some reason.  Took my time getting everything on (still lightly raining) and I was trying to dry anything off that was soaking wet.  Ran with my bike past the porta-johns..... Nothing.  Although I did pee in my wetsuit prior to the gun going off.  Man it feels great, especially when the water is cold.

Transition 1 Time:  6:55

Bike Leg

After getting a good look of the bike course the night before on YouTube (thanks to whomever loaded that!) The elevation profile was not as bas as advertised on the Augusta course part of the site.  One thing I do distinctly remember is how crappy the roads got as soon as we hit South Carolina.  See Augusta splits between GA and SC and 90 percent of the course (if not more) was in SC.  Once we got off of the main roads that were heavily traveled, the roads got a bit better, but not much.  It began raining again about halfway through the ride.  I only got water at the 2nd aid station, as I already made sure I had everything I needed on the bike before the ride.  I am gonna re-think that strategy this coming year, since the aid stations at most 1/2 iron distance events are evenly spread through the course and have everything I usually want, the exception being the brands that I consume. On the back half of the course, there were some pretty technical turns and some pretty steep downhills, so I made sure to keep my speed down just to be safe.  I did not want to incur some horrible bike injury due to inclement weather.  After looking back at Mike's speed as well, I am assuming that he did the same thing.  My back was beginning to ache a bit as I got to the last 10K of the bike, so I was out of aero for the remainder of the ride.  I was in and out of aero a lot on the second half of the ride, but I am used to that since I am in group rides and even some of the solo rides I do in Atlanta get pretty technical, so I find myself out of aero more than the average person.  As I got close to the finish I had to pee again, which was good because I knew I hydrated well during the bike despite the wet weather. 

Bike Time:            3:06:52
Bike Avg Speed:  17.98 mph 

Transition 2

Light rain, but the clouds began to look like they were clearing up.  Hmm... "I wonder if it is going to heat up and get really humid if the sun comes out...?"  Once again because the bike to run transition was not the same as the swim to bike transition, my rack position still sucked.  It is like they put me in the one corner out of 4 that has no entrance or exit.  Changed into run gear and once again took my time, and it was wet, but there was nothing I could do about that.  As I was heading out of T2 I went ahead and went pee at the porta-johns, but nothing.  This was going to be the bane of my existence during the run. 

Transition 2 Time:  6:00

Run Leg

The main problem I have in my longer races is that I have issues running off the bike.  I am going to fix that this year, as I have a few things on my tri-list that I want to improve about my races.  It is not that I am not going as fast as I wanna go, it is that I cramp up and my legs are too fatigued.  This is from not doing enough brick training so I get used to the bike/run transition.  I got about a mile down the road before I cramped up and had to walk.  Someone in the crowd yelled for me to pick it up, it was just the first mile, and then he kinda calmed down he he saw me limping in pain from the cramps. 

The run course is a two loop course with multiple back and forth areas, which is cool for spectators, so that they could stay on the same block area and just walk back and forth between streets to see their racers.  Celine had gotten to the race site just in time for me for the run.  I saw her as I was passing through the 2nd mile, trying to look my best even though I felt like crap and my legs hurt.  Just before I saw her I was actually walking again (for the second time).  After I had passed I was kind of in a groove and then it hit me...... Thank goodness mile marker 3 was coming up, and there are porta-johns at each mile marker.  What had been eluding me all day since I woke up had finally come back to haunt me.  There were two people in line in front of me and I thought I was gonna die.  Also I was somewhat in the back third of the pack for the day in general, so there had been close to 2000 people that had passed by this way two times before I got there.  I lost about 5 minutes waiting for my turn, then took another couple in the porta-john.  Phew!  I am sooo glad that was over.

Since I got about 7 minutes of rest out of that so my legs felt fresh enough to go another mile or so before I was going to have to walk.  I was alternating between water and Gatorade at every aid station, I had my endurolytes in my tri jersey pocket, and I was taking in a gel about every 40 minutes.  It started to get warm outside because of the sun, and this also began to make it humid as well.  Began sweating even more.  I got to mile 6 on the backside of the run course where we were about to do our second loop when... Oh no not again!  Twice???  Well I did have quite a bit to eat over the weekend, but come on, I thought the first time was bad enough.  There was only one person in front of me this time, so I only waited 2-3 minutes and then I was in there for another couple minutes before I emerged to begin the second loop of the course.    Now we are up to a 11-12 minute delay in finishing because of bowel issues.  Never fear!  I pushed on (no pun intended)!

Going into the second loop I felt much lighter, however the fatigue and cramping had set into my legs.  I was basically alternating between walking and jogging every quarter mile.  The sun at this point had been out for a good 30-45 minutes, parts of the pavement were steaming.  I was grabbing sponges at every water station and pouring some additional water down my backside to cool off and to wash off from the prior two visits.  On the second loop I stopped not once, not twice, but three times more for the porta-johns (the third time was just to pee, I was two miles away from the finish and I could not hold it)!!!!  I mean I must have been backed up for a couple days, because every time I went throughout the run was serious.  I ended up wasting another 15 minutes in those three visits for a total of 26-27 minutes waiting and using the restroom on the run.  I would normally never talk about bathroom breaks affecting my time during the race because I seldom go and when I do it is usually on myself, unless I have to go #2. 

Run Time:     3:02:53
Run Pace:     13:58

The Finish!!!

I saw Celine a couple more times on the run and I believe that I did see Melissa once or twice on the run.  The sun was out in full force when I was crossing the finish line and the weather was great!  I was jogging the last mile of the course and i tried really hard not to walk.  My jog while crossing the finish line was pitiful.  I have not bought any pictures from the race, but when you look at them online, all of them are horrible, most of them are of me walking and the one at the finish line you can tell I am doing some kind of turkey trot because my stride is next to non-existent.  Celine was there to greet me at the end of the race and a few minutes later I saw Mike and Melissa.  Melissa had already checked them out of their hotel, so whenever Mike got cleaned up he would be ready to go.  We both got some pizza, water, and beer, and then hung out for a few minutes before parting ways.

Final Time:                               6:54:02
Time Spent in Porta-Johns:       26-27 minutes
PR in minutes from last HIM:    31:48

My PR would have been almost an hour if I had not had sooo many stops!  Oh well, that is how the cookie crumbles.  Post race report to come soon!


Murtha...

2010 Ironman Augusta 70.3 Race Report - Part 1 (Prelude)

Let's face it guys and gals,

     This 2010 has been pretty much a busted up season for me.  I know I have re-edited my 2010 race schedule, but if you would have seen the "projected" 2010 race schedule at the beginning of the year, There were double the races, including new ones I wanted to try, "B" races that were training feeders in to my "A" races, and just some others for fun.  Well... Life doesn't always pan out the way you want (why not?).

     The race I completed prior to IM Augusta 70.3 was TRI - PTC Sprint Triathlon.  That was my 6th year competing in the event, and I make a point to doing that race every year because it was the first race I ever completed.  Going from the Chattanooga Riverfront Tri to PTC I got in about a dozen workouts total.  Not a very productive summer tri-wise.  But hey, I am in good enough shape to wake up on any random day and do a sprint tri.  Doesn't mean I should be doing that though, bad idea.  After PTC (late August) I only got in about 10 workouts or so before Augusta (late September).  I thought to myself, "hey I have done an Ironman, and I did a half 5 years ago, so what if I have slacked on my training?  I paid for this damn thing, even if I DNF, I am doing it."

     One of my good friends Celine has family that lives just outside Augusta, and she said that she would come along and be my tri-sherpa for the weekend as well as let us crash at her family's home.  Celine used to date a triathlete who is currently attempting to go pro, so I was a piece of cake to handle compared to him (although she would have to wait longer on me).  We decided to drive up on Friday afternoon.  I took a half day so I could get everything together and then went to pick up Celine after she got off work.  I think we finally got to Augusta around 10pm or so after driving from Atlanta.  I went ahead and unpacked a few things since I had to drop off my bike on Saturday, etc.  We stayed up and watched some TV, she made me one of her famous Bloody Mary's and then it was off to bed. 

     Woke up the Saturday morning and had breakfast and Screwdrivers :) then got everything in the car to go register for the event.  We got down to the hotel (race site) around 11:00 or so, and we called Mike and Melissa, who were already in line.  They said there were hardly and registration volunteers and only one line, which was about an hour long.  Celine and I decided to go ahead and get some lunch while we were in downtown Augusta and let the lines dissipate before we headed in.  We found this great little restaurant at the corner of the street directly down from the hotel, about three blocks away.  Lunch was good (is that a pint of beer at Andy's table?)

     There was about a 20-25 minute wait just to make it to the registration table when we got there.  Celine took this as an opportunity to get a massage from one of the sports massage people while I stood in line and waited.  Once I finally got all of my registration stuff, I headed through the shopping area to see if there was anything that I could get w/ respect to this race.  I found a hoodie that I really liked, and then I got a cowbell for Celine to cheer me on.  Good purchases.  After that we drove down to the transition area to drop off my bike and get a look at the swim exit and then head back to the house.

     I was originally planning on driving the bike course to see what it was like, but someone had been nice enough the prior year to drive the bike course with a camera and then post the videos.  I plowed through those videos while Celine cooked dinner.  Her sister prepared a whole dinner for us, all of it was delicious!  Drinks for dinner, watched some TV and then went to bed for the evening. 

     Sunday Morning!  Race Day!  We got up early (me first).  I always take a quick shower on race morning.  Don't know why, since I am going to get sweaty and dirty during the day, but it makes me feel better in the morning.  Ate my usual breakfast items and got in some water and a bottle of Cytocarb/Accelerade.  Wasn't able to use the restroom, but I figured there would be plenty of porta-johns to take care of business when I got to the race site.  Celine's brother-in-law left his truck at the house for the weekend, so Celine drove his truck, since she cannot drive my car (stick-shift).  She dropped me off and wished me good luck, as she was headed back home to go sleep in.  The night before she asked me what my proposed times were for each leg of the race so she knew where to be on race day. 

After dropping of my gear in transition, it started to rain slightly.  I found Mike and Melissa at the transition site after finishing up my stuff.  Melissa decided to get in a good walk back up to the hotel and swim start, since it was only a mile and change away, and she had nothing to do for the next hour.  As Mike and I were about to get on the bus, I took a look at the porta-johns.... nothing.  Mike and I got on the bus, it took about 5-10 minutes to get to the swim start.  I kinda had a nasty blister from a couple days before that I should not have messed with, and did anyways.  It felt like not matter where I walked, I was stepping on some pebble exactly at my exposed blister.  Mike and I soaked the whole experience in.  This was his first half, my second, albeit my first was 5 years before.  We chatted some more and decided we would get in one more bathroom break before we donned our wetsuits and headed to our respective corrals.  I went in an peed...... but nothing (I hope you have gotten the idea of where this is going...).  Got the suits on, and it started to lightly rain again.   We got into our respective corrals. 

     It was cloudy and rainy, but it was becoming more light out.  The singing of the national anthem was the last point where I was in tune with my surroundings.  The silence of being alone in your head, even with the thousands of people around you, the race director barking orders, the 90's music blasting (thank god they have moved up decades, I have never been much of an 80's person).  I began reflecting on my experiences over the 6 seasons I have participated in triathlon.  The ups, the downs, the highs, and the lows.  Long training hours, meeting new tri-friends, going to places I have never been before, taking my body to limits it has never been before.  Now I am jumping off the dock into the water.  The current is decent, they let some water out of the damn earlier that morning to get the flow up.  Strong enough where I had to swim backwards a bit to stay behind the start line.  The silence in my head drowning out everything........Then...

(to be continued)

Rev3 Knoxville 2010 Race Report - May 9, 2010

It was a good weekend.  A really good weekend :)  Other than the fact I broke a cardinal sin of competing in triathlons, which I will get to later.

I got off work a bit early on Friday and headed home to chill out and pack for the evening.  Patsy was going out for the night with her girlfriends, and I knew this would mean I was going to be driving on Sat morning, which was expected.  This was my weekend, let her go have fun on Friday night and she can sleep in the car.  Woke up about 15 min before my alarm went off, and took a long shower, finished packing, woke Patsy up and ran a couple of errands while she was getting ready.  We left fairly early in the morning because I wanted to make the group practice swim.  Mike and Melissa were along in tow, they were taking their own car because they had to be back in Atlanta as soon as the race was over for Mike.  We arrived into Knoxville just before 11:00am.  I chatted with Wes on the way up there, he was just behind me a few miles in his car, and Sarah's family lives in Knoxville, so she was already hanging out at the Expo (she went up Friday night).  After failing to be able to check in early (Mike and Melissa had the same problem), we decided to head down to the expo to check things out, and then head down to the dock to go for a practice swim.

Wes and I are famous!!!  Slowtwitch.com posted some pre race event photos for Rev3 Knoxville on their site, and we both made it on there!  It is hard to see us at the pic on the left, as we are already in the water and if you look between every one's legs you can see us.  After the OWS, Sarah left to go visit her grandfather at the hospital, and then Wes, Patsy, Mike, Melissa and I all met up at Calhoun's on the River for some lunch.  After lunch, we all went back to our hotels to check in (Wes went to the Expo since he was staying with a friend) and then headed to the Expo to retrieve our packets and check our bikes in for the afternoon.  I forgot my USAT card in the hotel room, not once, but twice! :)  Luckily I have a patient girlfriend.  I kind of feel like the Expo area was not as cool as it could have been, because the vendors were all stacked on top of one another, considering that there were areas of the "lawn" that were void of any tents, etc...  Other than that, the big screen showing you finish the race with your stats, and the finish chute were really cool! 

After hanging out at the hotel for an hour or so, Mike and I met back up to drive the bike course and check it out.  I will say that I think future years at this event will see better sections of the bike course than we did, since there was some construction in the first few miles of the bike (and at the end, since it was an out and back course).  One sizable hill, and you had to go up it on both sides.  Actually with the number of turns I was glad that I had a regular road bike with clip ons rather than a tri bike.  I felt like I had much better handling on the bike course.  After the drive on the bike course, we headed back to our respective hotels, and then got ready for Dinner.  We ate at Oodles Uncorked in the Market square, downtown Knoxville.  I have not had a pasta dinner before a tri in so long.  The food was great!  I got a spinach/walnut/fruit salad, and then chicken afredo for the main course.  After this we all headed back to the hotel and I got all my race day stuff together, packed my transition bag, repacked my wetsuit, and read some more of Superfreakeconomics before I headed to bed around 11pm. 

I woke up around 3:30am and fell right back asleep.  The alarm went off at 5:15am and I hopped out of bed to immediately eat my blueberry muffin and other nutrition, went to the bathroom (only once this race, weird), and took a quick shower.  I don't know why I take a shower before races, I just hate the way I feel after I wake up in the morning without a shower.  Race morning temps were around 50, and I did not bring any long sleeve anything to keep me warm before the race.  Let's just say it was an incentive to get the wetsuit on earlier than normal before the start of the race.

It was pretty cold!  I was looking forward to getting in the water, which was somewhere between 66-68 degrees.  The race directors were not allowing anyone to swim prior to the race (since swimming in the river early would have affected people actually participating in the race).  The pros went off around 7:45am.  Wes and Sarah went off around 8:00am, and then Mike and I went off around 8:10-8:15am.  Jump into the water, "warm" the suit up ;) and then the gun went off.

Swim

I felt really good during the swim.  There was kind of some bumping after the first few hundred yards of the swim, which was weird, because there weren't even 100 of us in my AG that went off.  There were lots of things to sight, so I don't think I was too off course for the majority of the race!  We were in the sunlight for the first quarter mile or so, and then on the turnaround it was much easier.  They said that the river flow would help, I don't think it did, although the wetsuit certainly helped :)  That was the fastest Olympic Swim time I have ever posted.  My last oly distance swim was around 35 min, and it was without a wetsuit.  I think the combination of training and the wetsuit really helped.

Swim Time :  25:10.16, Div 21/36, Overall 163/
T1:                  3:52.00

For some reason I was out of it going through T1.  I felt great during the swim, but I lightly jogged through T1 and didn't even go between the bike racks, I ran around them to my rack position (Sorry James, I know you are going to yell at me!).  I decided that although my goal was to finish in less than three hours, I am not gonna bust it in transition.  Earlier in the day I took my cleats off my bike and left them on the ground to run in.  I also wore socks.  I still don't have all the neat attachment features for my garmin so I took it from my hand (was in my swim cap), and put it on my wrist for the bike.  I sprinted with my bike out of transition and I guess I was the only one at that time, because the announcer yelled my name twice as I got on the bike :)

Bike

I started out in a higher cadence and tried to get my heart rate where I wanted it to be before getting too far down the road.  We headed west and then meandered through UT's campus.  I never got to see the Phi Psi house, but I am sure it looks great.  Around mile marker #4 I was going up (literally up) Cumberland to make a right over the Henley Rd. Bridge, when Bjorn Andersson flies right by me.  Now let's be fair and say that they started around 7:45am, and I began around 8:10am, and they swim faster than I do.  I was surprised that Bjorn had a big lead on everyone, and since this was an Olympic Distance race, I figured that over 6.2 miles he could close the deal. 

Anyways onto my bike ride :)  I was doing pretty well up through mile 7, and then the first sizable hill of two came up.  I decided that since I had not done enough bike/run bricks yet this year I would save my legs and use the granny gear some.  I got over the hill, and had to have the hands on the brakes on the way back down since there were so many turns.  Oh and did I mention that most of the road on the first and last third of the oly bike course, not that good!  Another thing, the whole damn bike leg it seemed as if there was a headwind, no matter which direction you were headed.  Then again, it was really windy all weekend long.  They have my bike times separated by 3 different areas where they had timers and I was not really happy with the last leg, I think that was where the final serious hill of the race was before heading back into downtown Knoxville.  I also think that the hill was steeper and longer, as I used my granny gear for a longer period of time on the way back up the backside of the hill.  I think the hill on the way back was steeper and a longer distance.  Back over the hill and down again to the bridge, and then doubling back through campus I arrived at transition.  People were screaming at all of us, which was good. 

Bike Time : 1:34:12, 16.47mph, Div 22/36, Overall 173/

T2:                 2:11.47

Run

By the time I was headed out of T2, the announcer had stated that Matty Reed had won the men's pro event.... wait huh?  Borjn couldn't hold up the lead he had coming off the bike.  Matt is a beast!  It looks like he ran on average a minute per mile faster than Bjorn on the run to take it.  Anyways... on to my run :)

Remember earlier I told you about that cardinal rule of racing I broke, well here is how it started.  Every year when the season really gets going around April/May, I begin going sock less with both cycling and running, mostly in sprint/oly distance races.  Well I was a bit late in breaking in the sock less so I really began doing it the week of the race.  I figured how bad could it be?  How about blister 2 inches long by 1/2 an inch wide on my right arch, one of those that has to scab up and takes a week or more to heal.  How did that affect my run you ask?  Well despite what my mind wanted to do from Fri-Sun (race day), my body told my foot to walk on the outer edge.  That put a lot of stress on my foot all weekend long and it did not bode well for my run.  I basically ran in pain the entire 6.2 miles.  I walked 5 times for about 45sec-1min each time.  The good thing about all this is somehow I completed the race averaging a 9:23/mi pace.  When I finished I was limping around for the rest of the day.  The bottom/outside of my foot hurt like hell, as well as the tendon that runs from the bottom of my foot, up under and around the back of my ankle to my calf (peroneal tendon), and I stressed it pretty bad.  However, I finished!!!  Hooray!!! First race of the year in the books.  I also finished in (just) under three hours, which was my primary goal.

Run Time:  1:00:20, 9:23/mi  25/36, 184/

Final Time:  2:59:42.39

Post race was great!  A finisher shirt on top of the shirt that they already gave me (instead of a water bottle, thank goodness, I have about two weeks worth in my home), and a boxed lunch, some Mix1 (Tangerine Flavor) and Deer Park Water (because ya know, it tastes like real water oughta ;)  After we watched Mike finish, Melissa and he ran back to their hotel and checked out to head to Atlanta for their other engagements.  Patsy and I headed back to the hotel because our checkout was at 12pm.  Once we checked out, I hobbled back down to transition and picked up my stuff and brought it back to the car to load on top.  We stayed until around 2pm, and decided to head back home (Sorry Wes and Sarah!)  We were exhausted and we both had to work the next day.  I had trouble staying awake in the car but that was nothing a little Coca Cola and music could not cure.

Rev3 Tri series is a great event and well managed.  I think there were some little things that needed to be corrected, but it did not detract from the overall greatness of this race and the series.  I think also that the interaction you get with the pro field is great.  I think I said "hi" to Matt Reed and Chris Leito about 4 times each not realizing who they were at the time (they look different in person).  I stood in line next to Natscha Badmann at the porta johns before the swim on race morning.  I mean, you go to some of these races, Ironman Events, etc, and you see these athletes far off in press conferences, or corralled off in a small area pre race.  That was not the case for this race, and I loved it.  The fact that I was walking around in the presence of pros just as if they were age-groupers was a great experience.

I still don't know what pro got in the bad bike accident on the course, but I hope he is ok.  He was making a left turn coming back in town and swung too wide, slammed right into a car stopped at a stop light.  He was taken to the hospital I was told, hurt pretty bad!  Also would like to give a shout out to Michelle Ford, hope you had a great race, and to Drew Marlar, part of team Dynamo Multisport, who got 1st in his AG in the Half Iron distance event, and 4th overall.  I could be wrong, but I think team Dynamo in the Half Iron event (men's) placed 2nd, 4th, and 9th overall (there were more, but that was the top 10).  I also saw a few people from the Atlanta Tri Club as well, I hope you guys did well!

Day 3 post race my foot is feeling better, I think I will be able to try it out (lightly) beginning on Sunday.  Right now it is trainer and swimming only.  I will make sure the rest of the pics are posted on facebook for those of you who are my friends there!  Hope all of you had a great weekend training/racing, and enjoy the rest of your week!

ING Georgia Half Marathon Race Report, March 21, 2010

Good Afternoon!

Snowflakes again this morning in Georgia.  It was too warm for them to stick or even make it on the ground, but still, crazy nonetheless.  And it is supposed to be in the 70's again by Wednesday.  It is that time of year, where if you want to have a different kind of weather in Georgia, you need just wait a day or two (you might get your wish).

Saturday was in the upper 60's, may have even touched 70 degrees.  Then I wake up Sunday morning to cloudy, possibly rainy conditions and low to mid 50's.  Lee came over to the apartment as she was running in the race (Half Mary) and Patsy took us to the race and dropped us off.  We headed over to the West Stride tent and dropped off our gear.  I said hey to Genie (West Stride's owner) and wished her luck on her race (Half Mary).  Will fill you in on how some of team West Stride did later.  I had to use the restroom and it was getting very close to race time.  Last year I tried to hold it and I ended up waiting 4-5 minutes to use a porta-john @ mile 2.  Granted last year I completed the full marathon, but I still did not want to stop in the first few miles of the race.  I told Lee to go ahead and get into the start corrals and not to wait on me.  I was going to be slower than her anyways, and I did not want a repeat of last year.  The "gun" had gone off before I was done and I jogged up to the corral gates and merged with the group.  Although it was not sunny outside for the race, it did not really get light outside until around mile 2.

After we got started I stayed with the herd, but tried to make sure my pace was around 9 min/mile.  My main goal was to break two hours due to my lack of training lately, with my secondary goal shooting to get close to my PR time of 1:53.  I saw Darcey and Rhonda around mile 2 and slowed down with them for just a minute to chat and wish them well on their half marathon efforts, and then I was off again!  The up and down elevation (mostly up) began between mile 2 and 3, and I tried to maintain good form and stay as efficient as possible while working the hills.  It was great to see so many people out on the streets watching us run and cheer for us.  Between miles 5 and 6 we got out of elevation change for about half a mile so I put it on cruise control to check my time and pace.  I was sitting just under 9 min/mile average, and I knew that I wanted to push it in the second half of the race, so I did not try to blow it out on the first half.  I also wanted to try and push it in the last 3-4 miles to not only make sure I got under two hours, but to shoot for getting near my PR. 

As we got through miles 6 and 7 we flattened out again in elevation and even had a slight downhill most of the way through mile 9 (minus one small hill).  I took this as the time to push it since there would not be any elevation issues and the crowds had long since thinned out.  I was putting in some quater mile splits under 8 min/mile pace.  Looking back at the race, I should have held back until around mile 10 to push it since there were a few small rollers in the midtown area after mile 9 that really took it out of me, and pushed me to possibly not finishing in under two hours.  At this point I was taking water and gatorade at every aid station (about 2 miles between each one) and I was throwing the excess water on me.  Yes it was in the low to mid 50's but I was overheating and and the humidity was not helping at all (it drizzled a few times during the race as well, which felt great).  Once I got to around mile 11, I was beginning to slow down a bit, and I realized I was gonna have to maintain pace as close to 9 min/mile as possible to make sure I came in under 2 hours.  I attempted to pick up the pace again and found a few "rabbits" to chase, keeping me in the game mentally.   One last incline before mile 12 and then I was home free.  I struggled to get up the incline while maintaining pace, but I got up there.  Now headed down the home stretch I was looking at my watch every 15 seconds while trying to find someone to "latch" on to.  Crossed the finish line with 26 seconds to spare :)

Total Time:  1:59:32
Avg Pace:        8:59/mi
Overall Pl:    2924/10481 (top 30%)
Sex Pl:         1971/4618    (top 50%)
Div Pl:           296/676      (top 50%)

I was happy with my time and performace!  Genie got 3rd place in the women's division for the half, and Wil (her manager) got 7th place in the men's division for the half!  Congratulations to them!  Thanks Ashleigh and anyone else out there who volunteered, and congratulations to Lee, Darcey, Rhonda and anyone else who either completed the half or full marathon yesterday!

Now onto my tri season.... :)

Possum Trot 10K June 21st 2009, Roswell, GA

Hi Everyone!

I just did my first race of the year. Granted I am reporting on it two days later, but I don't think that matters. Heck the fact that I posted twice in about a week is amazing! So this was a last minute entry (i.e. Stopped by Big Peach Running because I really needed to do something last Thursday) and then I stopped at James' house Saturday morning 6:15am for the race. His wife Tandy and his two daughters ran the 1 mile fun run, and then at 7:30am the race was on.

The first half

Sooo... I went out like a gazelle. Ok, not that fast, but I was definately pushing just under 8:00 min/mi pace. Did not really feel the humidity until about mile two, as it had rained earlier that morning, and the sun was trying to burn through. Oh did I mention pancake flat, with the exception of two hills? Sweet. As I hit the turnaround, I kinda felt like I was losing gas, so I slowed up just a bit, because I knew that I wanted to have enough in the tank if I wanted to have a good finishing time.

The second half

Annnnd... I came back in like a hippo. As I got to mile three, I realized that I would need a "rabbit" (yes I normally pick the female type, so sue me :P ) so I hooked onto one that was passing me and followed her for about half a mile. At that point she started pulling away and I thought to myself, "Is she speeding up?" No, as it turns out, my Garmin was telling me that I was slowing down. Thanks Garmin, really appreciate it.

As I approached what I thought was the finish, I realized that everyone that was going down the finishing chutes was going in the opposite direction that I was running... What!!! we are not done yet? Awh Crap! As I looked down Garmin once again laughed at me and told me that indeed I had about 1.7 miles left to go.

About that small hill... yes, at this point I was pushing my HR max the second half of the race and if not for the fact that I could take much more punishment, the hill reared its ugly head and laughed. I had to walk part of it. I got up over the hill, to the 2nd turn around, which was the start of the race, and then headed directly back to the hill. At this point I looked at my watch and decided to get this crap over with, so I ran the hill and finished the race.

And the worst part was...

that I did not qualify for the Peachtree Road Race 2009. As my watch said 54:18, my official time ended up being 55.27. While I can understand the 45 seconds due to a mass start and I was at the back of the pack, I cannot fathom the 24 seconds after I crossed the finish line. I mean I crossed at 55.03 right when the clock was in front of my face, and somehow I got 55.27. There were some other people I raced with and they noticed the same problem, so I assume that everyone got that increase. You need sub 55 to prequalify and there is another lower tier of times to get subseeded in the Peachtree Road race. The race organizers (Atlanta Track Club) give preference to those people when then enter the following year, over general entrants.

I had a good time though, and in the end that is all that counted.

Once race in the books for the year.

In other news I signed up for the Tri-PTC triathlon in Peachtree City, GA. Not too far South of Atlanta for those of you who know the area, and moreover, a wannabe Buckhead for those of you who know Peachtree City oh too well. That one's for you Matt ; )

Finally, and I will let you guys guess this one, until I get a new clock up on my blog....

363 days...


Murtha...

2007 Emerald Pointe Triathlon Race Report, October 7th, 2007 (Lake Lanier Islands Beach and Water Park , GA)

The end of a season...


Wow! I sit here this morning at my computer, and it has finally sunk in. A third year under my belt, with many (mental) highs and lows. I think I am going to save most of this talk for my next post though, since it will be my 100th post on my Triathlon Blog.


Lets get down to business...


PRE RACE (LOTS HAPPENED HERE!)


I went to go and pick up my race packet on Saturday afternoon, and sure enough, Transition was bigger! I think that this race might rival the size that Tri-PTC was this year, next year. SWAG bag was pretty good. I did not realize that Hahnsgrohe was a company that sold shower fixtures and other bathroom stuff. What an interesting sponsor. Oh and going to pick up my race packet was between job #1 and job #2 the day before the race. By the time I got in bed Saturday night and fell asleep it was after 1:00am. That means a bit less than 3 hours of sleep.

Oh, and lets take account of how many workouts I did between the 4 weeks between races.
0 Swim workouts
+2 Bike workouts
+4 Run workouts
= Almost no training for a triathlete!


I got up at 4:15am, and got everything in the car. My roommate helped me pack my car since he was still up from the night before. Come to find out many of my friends were partying Saturday night so late that they were either still up or just going to bed when I was waking up. I picked up Jackie and we were off to the race. I was so tired I fell asleep for about 15 minutes or so in the car on the way up there. We arrived about 5:50am, and then I got my gear out of the car and rode my bike to the transition area. The parking lot was further away from the race this year, which was fine, since the previous year the parking lot they used was right next to the run/bike exits, which was bad for everyone.


Brought my headlamp, and began setting everything up. Pre race fuel was a banana nut clif bar, some oatmeal raisin cookie from my swag bag, Orange Burst Gu, and Accelerade. I also had some water as well. Went to the bathroom the first time, and then came out to stretch and take in some more fluids. Then as "the call of nature" hit me, the most horrible thing happened in my triathlon experience thus far...


MY GROSS STORY IS WORSE THAN YOUR GROSS STORY!


So I "answered my call of nature" by going back to the porta johns. Got inside and was about to take care of my business when I kinda slid on the seat. Now I was one of the earlier arriving athletes, so not many people had used the porta johns when I got there. Much to my horror, there was a reason why I slipped on the seat. It seems that someone tried to squat and "missed!" How you miss when the hole is probably 10 inches in diameter is beyond me, but it happened. And what is even worse, is that I still had to go! I am a guy, but that was the most disgusting thing that has ever happened to me in my life! I cleaned up as best I could, used almost the entire sanitizer spray dispenser in the john, and then ran to the lake (the only place where I had lots of water access) to clean up. I am done with this paragraph, I just cannot take it anymore.


Head back up to the transition area to grab my cap and goggles, and a few people commented that I went for an early swim. I half - heartely laughed and then went on about my business. Walked back down to the swim start site to listen to the USAT ref give the essential items out over the speaker phone, and said hey to my fellow Team Javelin race buddy! Swam about 100M to warm up, and then it was to the start line to begin the race.


THE SWIM


I felt really good on the swim. I think that I am getting used to open water swimming, my times are improving, and I am not feeling uncomfortable in the water like I used to, which caused my breathing to be erratic. I started towards the back of the pack, and I regret it. This is a fairly new race (this was the second year), and it is not a USAT gold/silver/bronze event, and is not directly tied to any regional or state championship race. So as you can assume the average swim times were ratched up a bit. I bascially had to change direction and swim sideways to get to the outside, and then swim in the correct direction! People were breast stroking, back stroking, doggy paddling, etc. Now I don't have a problem with this, I just thought it strange happening the first 50M of the event, in the Men's 20-24 and 25-29 wave. I was very happy with my time, out of the water, except that the pad for the swim/T1 line was about 100 yds away from the water, and uphill. So needless to say that my swim time had an additional 30 seconds or so (give or take) of me running up "Mount Transition." Last year they actually had the mats about 10-15 yds away from the water, so although everyone's transition time was longer, it was a more accurate representation of the swim. Well now it is time to climb "Mount T1!"


Swim
Distance: 400yds
Time: 9:59 (it is relative for everyone, but matt location added about 30 sec to my time)
Rank: 28/44 in AG


TRANSITION 1


I actually jogged up the entire hill this year, maxing out my HR, and passing about 10 or more people heading to my rack position. As I got to the top of the hill, I saw my Javelin teammate, Andrew, at his rack position getting his helmet on. My rack position was awsome!!! It was right next to the bike exit, so in both T1 and T2, I spent the majority of the time running without a bike and cleats in tow. Since I was not trying to break any records in this race, I decided to strap my shoes on, especially since the bike exit was a bit treacherous.

T1
Time: 2:19
Rank: 4/44 in AG


BIKE


Lets begin by reminding everyone that this was not an "A" race for me, and that I was here to do this race for fun! (No, I am not trying to have a pity party for myself, just to make a point) This course has short hills, yet there elevation grade is much steeper than almost all of the races I have done this year. Indian Springs had a few steep ones, but not as many as this race does. There are also two long incline grades, and the largest one is coming back into the park from miles 10-12. So there were two times during the ride where I purposefully slowed down because I did not want to overexert myself from lack of training. I was also having issues with the banana nut clif bar during the ride, so that was not helpful. I was supposed to take a Gu on the bike, but all I could get down was the Accelerade. I went a bit light on the mixture with the Accelerade, and I might do that more often, since it tasted lighter.


Oh and Andrew (my race teammate), DNF'ed a mile into the race. As I was riding by, he was about 10 feet away from his bike sitting there, and he saw me ride by. He did not have a happy look on his face. Bike did not look too bad, but he was cut up on his arm and knee really good.


Bike
Distance: 13 miles
Time: 41:35
Avg Spd: 18.8 mph
Rank: 14/44 ppl in AG

TRANSITION 2


Again, taking my time was the theme, since I was not worried about this race. I wore socks this time, so don't worry about my poor feet. I still have not "quick laced" my new shoes, so I was wearing my old Asics. Took water on the run this time, instead of Nuun, so that I could pour water on my body if I wanted, as well as drinking it. I think for shorter races I am just going to work on getting the right nutrition pre race, and then AT MOST taking in one gel and some Accelerade/Gatorade Endurance on the bike. And were off...

T2
Time: 1:21
Rank: 24/44 in AG


RUN


I remember this run from last year. 3-4% grade all the way out to about 1.25 miles and then downhill and flat until about mile 3, and then it goes back uphill into a flat finish. Piece of cake right? Sure, until I got to the uphill portion... I was pushing close to a 10min/mi pace at one point, and then I finally got it together, in addition to taking advantage of the downhill (like i did in my last race). My usual regulars that I see at every race passed me, and I think I just finished before the first female. Literally, like 5-10 seconds before. I finished really strong. My heart rate was getting into upper zone 4 by the second mile, and stayed up there for the remainder of the race. I ignored it. My rate of perceived effort felt a bit easier than what my HR was reading, so I went with it. My pace coming back in was close to 8:00min/mi. I feel like I should have something more to say here, yet I do not, this particular run was fairly straighforward.

Run
Distance: 3.1 mi
Time: 25:49
Pace: 8:20min/mi
Rank: 22/44 in AG


Totals
Time: 1:21:00.00 (BROKE LAST YEAR'S TIME BY 7MIN 50 SEC!!!)
AG Rank: 17/44 ppl (38%)
Mens Rank: 176/404 ppl (43%)
Overall Rank: 210/677 ppl (31%)


Man! If I knew I was going to do that well, I would have shaved my transition times and not let off on the bike portion, and I could have gained 2 minutes. That would have placed me top 15. With that in mind, I am very satisified with my results!

Don't quote me on it, but I will probably post something later this week, as well as update my blog links and such, and begin philosophying and discussing things that may be next year. There have been some new and interesting developments in my life as of late, and it may or may not affect my season next year (I certainly hope not!). As for now, my focus shifts to the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving Day.

When I get pictures, I will post them to the site.


Murtha...

2007 Tri - PTC Race Report, September 8th, 2007 (Peachtree City, GA)

Well,

As much as I want to let you in on my time (for better or worse), I will go through the race report first, and then I will let you see the final time at the bottom... Please note I have been trying to break 1hr 20min for quite some time in a sprint distance event.


PRE RACE

I had to go pick up my race packet first since Friday night pickup ends at 8:00pm. I don't know what they hell that Tri-Peachtree City is thinking when they do this. For those of you who don't know, Atlanta is either somewhere between #1 and #3 with the worst traffic in the US (I think Southern Cal and Chicago make up the other two). Can I say, AWSOME SCHWAG BAG!!!!! It rivals the Tri 101 series. And if you have visited their website, I can honestly say that they have the best schwag bag ever! Afterwards everyone went to Chili's to get there food on! I had a somewhat good meal of mostly protein and a salad, except for that damn skillet queso (I just can't get enough of chips, salsa, and dip). I also had a beer. While consuming said beer (Miller Lite), someone starting talking about Beer Pong. For those of you not familiar with beer pong, please visit this website when you are done. Even if you do not drink, you will fall in love with this game.

www.bpong.com

Well being both a graduate of the University of Georgia, and living the fraternity experience in college, I was well versed in Beer Pong. Needless to say there was no way I could say no to such a challenge. After dinner we went back to Matt's house (about 15 minutes south of the race event, convenient!), and began playing beer pong. My team won a game and then lost a game. Since I carry the team (based on my superior beer pong skills), if I am off, then we will lose, because there is no one to bring up the rear. After a couple of games, I had to stop so I could get my bike together and pack my transition bag. Matt brought home a portable breathalizer from his work, and I was the least intoxicated at .023 (just over 1 beer or some Listerine). Packed, taped, bungee corded, etc, and then it was off to bed at the early hour of 12:30am. Hey as my uncle once said,

"Hey if your parents tell you to be home early, then come home early. I personally think that 7:00am on a weekend is pretty damn early!"

I woke up at 5:45am, about 20 minutes after what I wanted to wake up. I was not too worried though, since I was only 15 minutes away from the race site. For breakfast I had 1 Nature Valley Bar, some Accelerade, and a packet of Jelly Belly Sports Beans. I got out the door ok and headed to the race site. On the drive there I consumed some more Accelerade and some Gu. The new Accelerade flavors are awsome, I got really tired of having the lemon lime all the time until this year. When it was all said and done I did not have too much time to put my stuff together in transition, since I forgot the that this was a championship series race for U23 in the USAT. That meant they started 15 minutes earlier than everyone else. I forgot my sunglasses! Fortunately the roads are shaded early enough that hour of the morning not to cause any problems. I spoke with a few perfectly nice strangers while setting up, just to pass the time. Then I headed over to the seeding site since they were about to begin the swim for everyone, and I met up with Josh Nickell and Robby Sprayberry. We all went to high school together. This was the third race (I think) I have been in with Josh, and this was Robby's first triathlon. Within about 5 minutes, I was next to be in the water (2 person staggered starts every 2 seconds)....

THE SWIM

I think overall you could call this the most chaotic swim that I have ever been in. I cannot tell you how many times that I was either hit/kicked or I hit/kicked someone during the swim. Total melee! Puts Ulitmate Fighting to shame! I had trouble getting rythm since I kept running into people, yet I felt that I was moving through the water pretty quickly. The first leg and the last half of the return leg were not that bad, it was the middle of the race that was horrible (between the two horizontal bouys). After leaving the water I maxed my heart rate out going into T1, I wanted to make sure that I got in and out as fast as I could. By the way, Lake Peachtree was really, really nasty!!!! I cannot even begin to describe to you how nasty it was.

Distance: 600M
Time: 11:49:00
Place: 24/44 in AG

T1

As I stated before, I maxed my heart rate out going into T1, basically sprinting to my rack position. This is pretty much the largest transition I have to go through, save Emerald Pointe (it is a long run from shore to the transition area and a steep uphill to get there). Everything was on ok, and again I wussed out and strapped on my shoes before I got on the bike. Other than the aforementioned factors, I was pleased with my transition time.

Time: 1:12
Place: 4/44 in AG

THE BIKE

Hmmm, I will have to say that I was very happy about this leg of the race. There is a no pass section of the bike that takes up about a bit over half a mile when you calculate both the out and back poritons of the "NO PASS" zone. Once out of that area it was on. There was no such thing that existed on my bike except for the big ring! I passed Josh around mile 2-3 of the bike. He is always faster than me on the swim, but I make up for it on the rest of the race. The first half of the ride was overall slightly downhill with you starting rollers at the top of a hill, whereas coming back you were hitting false flats and rollers beginning at the bottom of the first hill. If there was a hill, I just geared down on my rear cassette, and if I had do, get out of the saddle. I think my max on my bike (which was actually faster than my fastest downhill) was around 35mph. For my bike that was awsome, considering the highest gear I have is 53x12. I had some GI issues during the bike that were due to my breakfast, so I was a bit uncomfortable and was belching alot. The Accelerade I had on the bike in my Aero bottle was awsome, and I did not fell the need to take the Gu I had on my bike, since my stomach was acting up. I only got passed by a handful of people (maybe 6 at the most). I did pass some people, but not as many as I had anticipated. The majority of people I did pass were going uphill though. I think that my hill skills are improving, especially ther rollers. Once I got to about mile ten, I increased my cadence and geared down a bit to save my legs for the run, but not low enough to sacrifice speed. Right as I was about to enter the no pass zone again on the way back in, I got out of my cleats and peadled on top of them until I had to dismount.

Distance: 13.00mi
Time: 38min 1 sec
Avg: 20.8mph
Place: 13/44 people in AG

T2

After the perfect dismount, I hauled ass to my rack position. I almost missed the row, and quickly corrected my problem. I took about an extra 5-7 seconds in wiping my feet off since they were still very wet and covered in grass (the transition area was in a field). As I was about to run out a volunteer stopped me and told me that one of my cleats had fallen off the bike going into transition, and the put it at my rack position. I thanked the guy but I was really pissed that he stopped me, since all he had to do was place it where my stuff was, since he knew my number. I think what had happened was that I felt my bike jump when I was coming into the transition area, and that was my cleat hitting the ground attached to my crank, and then fell off. Shoes, number, sweatband on, water bottle with Nuun in it, and I was off.

Time: 1:20
Place: 19/44 in AG

THE RUN

This was going to be the make it or break it for my race goal, the INFAMOUS 1 hour and 20 minutes that has eluded me for a year and a half now. I got off to a really good pace for the first mile, and although my Garmin was beeping at me for being in and out of zone 5, my RPE at the time was more towards a 6-7. I had a brief "comfort zone slowdown" near the aid station, which was on an out and back section just before (and after) the turnaround of the 5K. When I got to mile 2, I began to crap out and the run kicked up slightly uphill. I needed some motivation, and so I found a rabbit to chase. That lasted all but for a quater mile, but it was what I needed, and it took me throught the steepest portion of any uphill area on the run. Once I got to the final .6 miles, I knew it was the home stretch and kicked it back up again, since it was downhill/flat for the rest of the race. I passed Robby when I was about 100yds from the finish, and he was just going out. I yelled at him, but I don't think that he heard me. Onto the Finish, and the times are below...

Distance: 5K/3.12mi
Time: 24min 29 sec
Avg: 7:54/mi
Place: 20/44 in AG

FINISH TIME

TIME: 1:16:49!!!!!!!!! I BROKE 1HR TWENTY AND I BEAT MY TIME LAST YEAR ON THIS RACE BY 5 MINUTES 56 SECONDS!!!
PLACE: 17/44 IN AG

Excited could nto describe how I felt. I called Wes, James my training partner, who realistically stated I would do a 1:18:30, my parents, friends who care about my triathlon life, etc. Everyone was proud of me, and I was proud of myself. I hung out awhile after the race to check out other results, as well as get my stuff packed and in the car. As I was going to transition, they told everyone to get out of the way, that the last person was coming into transition and that they needed to move out of her way. WHAT!!! I was very proud of this lady for being so determined to complete this event. I had time to finish, veg out, eat a bagel, 2 slices of pizza, and an apple, drink 2 bottles of water and sit down some more before I ran into this person in T2. I guess that is kind of like the pros in Kona who finish, go take a shower, eat and take a nap, then come back to cheer on all the people who finish before the 17hour cutoff time.

There will be some pictures to post in the coming week. For now I am going to get back on Athlete tracker and check out team raceAthlete and see how they are doing at IM Wisconson.


Murtha...

2007 West Pointe Triathlon Race Report, LaGrange GA, 8/26/2007

How to start? From the beginning I suppose.

For those of you who have actually read my blog (about 2 people, just kidding ;), you know that this year has not been my best year. Why? Because life happens. It happens to all of us. How does it concern this race report? Well, let's just say I was a bit worried going into this race. I have trained much more the second half of this season than the first half, but still short of what I set out to do (for the South Carolina Half I wanted to enter). Taper was a bit extreme, I think I completed 5 workouts in the two weeks prior to this race.

I was planning to drive down straight after work on Saturday, pick up my race packet, and scope out the entire course the night before. Needless to say this did not work out as planned, and so James (Badass duathlete and triathlete that is my boss at Wolfgang) and I left at 5pm after he got off of work to head down to LaGrange. We checked in at the hotel (Days Inn), and there was a glitch with the reservation. I find this really amusing since I booked the hotel online directly through Days Inn and not some 3rd party travel website. It was no problem though, and James and I hurriedly put our gear up in the room and headed down to the race site to check out the swim and the bike (we would not have time for the run since it had gotten so dark...).

The swim course had drastically changed due to the extreme low lake level instead of going around the peninsula, it went out and back like a V-shape. Also the last bouy (turn bouy) seemed way too far out, as if getting to the turn bouy in itself was 1500M. We later found out the next morning that it had drifted due to the current. We were very happy with transition, for it satisfied three things I like; small, flat, and direct in and out (there was only one main lane in transition and racks were on either side).

We scoped the bike, and loved it. There were two sections where it was somewhere between 2-3 miles of downhill = BIG GEARS!!! The rest of the course was nothing but rollers, and manageable ones at that. We then headed to some country buffett restaurant and loaded up on nutrition for the next morning.

James and I got back and immediately packed our transition bags and tweaked our bikes a bit (nothing major I swear). Wes called and said that he and his wife Dee Dee were on their way down but would not be there until late. He jokingly told me not to mess with my bike, that I was breaking one of the cardinal rules of racing in triathlons.... he he he:) After that we finally got settled down and went to bed just before 11pm.

Race Morning
Alarm went off at 4:30am. I cannot tell you how good it felt not to have to get up 1-2 hours earlier to drive to an event. I might just do this more often. James and I got our gear together, downed our morning fuel (for me it was two Nature Nalley bars, a handful of gummi bears, 1 GU gel, and lots of water), packed our gear back into the cars, and checked out of the hotel. I think that is the second shortest time I have been in a hotel. We took the freeway (which I had to research the directions, they wanted us to take the back roads through LaGrange on GA Multisport's website) and it took about 20 minutes to get to the race site. We walked in the dark just over half a mile to the transition and check in. James already had his packet, so he went in and I went to number pick up to get my stuff. Sometimes I hate how procedural things are. Think about it. Your hands are already almost full when you get your race number and goodie bag (if you do it the morning of the race), and then you go back to get "numbered." Then with your hands full they tell you that your number needs to be on your helmet, and your bike number needs to be on your bike before you enter transition. Needless to say, my helmet number fell off within half a mile of starting, and my bike number folded up so you could not see it when I was riding my bike.

Pre Race
After setting up in transition, I helped James with his tubulars on his bike (Xentis Mark 1 wheels), and then it was chill out time before the race. More water and what? No bathroom break! C'mon body! Be cooperative with me! Wes got there around 6:30am (I think) and told us that the lady at the hotel gave good directions except for one road she told them to veer off too early! He was kind of in a hurry setting up the bike, however, it seemed that he got everything set up ok. I introduced Wes to James and we talked for a few moments before heading over to the swim start. Got bit by a fire ant on the way over. Great, so this is how my race is going to be. I did a 200 M warmup, and I drafted, off a girl who ended up getting 3rd place (I think in female overall), just for practice. Got out of the water and Wes, James and I talked and waited until the race began.

The Swim
James was in the group behind us, and Wes started right in front of me. Staggered starts, two at a time, every two seconds. This was probably the best feeling swim I had next to Gulf Coast last year. No breast stroking, no stopping, no running out of breath, etc... It was a good feeling all around. Near the turn bouy I saw James pass me in the water, and I could tell by his facial expression that he knew he was passing me. I am ok with that. James' worst day is better than my best day ;) Oh No!!! Now I have to go!!! No problem, I just sped up in the lake for about 24-26 strokes and took care of business. I did not feel guilty since I started towards the back of the race and I was swimming wide to avoid people. My apologies to anyone out there who ended up behind me. Wes, James, and Renee were all ok since they either started before me or passed me. Towards the end of the swim I kicked like I was supposed to and felt good running into T1

T1
Sub 1 minute !!!! Yeah!!! The cooler part is that I wimped out, usually I don't secure my shoes on my feet until I am on the bike, but this time I did it while i was in T1. Dee Dee was there to cheer me on as I was leaving T1 onto the bike course.

The Bike
I felt really ready for this portion, since I knew ahead of time what I was getting myself into. It felt kind of lonely on the bike for this race, due to the number of entrants and the fact I was one of the latter people out of the water. I wasted about 30 seconds (going slower) getting my Garmin on my wrist on the bike. Due to going uphill and not being in the proper gear I was not going to risk falling over for my watch. I paced myself for the first mile or so, and then went to town. The only thing I regret is not pushing harder. My max HR on the bike was only 177bpm and that includes the two small hills on ther ride. I can say for the positive though, I kept my cadence fairly steady and pushed when I needed to push. I think after what has happened in the last couple of races, I wanted to make sure I had some left in me for the run. Between miles 6.5 and 9 there was a nice downhill, and after making the turn from an area where we doubled back there was also another nice downhill. I did not pass too many people on the bike since I started from the rear of the race, however, everyone I passed was going uphill except for three people I passed going downhill. WTF is up with that??? I do admit I got passed once going downhill, but the guy was flying and probably averaged 23mph or more during the bike. Aid station was great, and with the aero bottle that James let me borrow, it was perfect. There were two men on the bike whom I played cat and mouse with and finally beat both of them with about 4 miles to go, only to have one of them pass me on the run. I was out of my shoes with about 100M to go and ready to get off. They were really big on wanting us to slow down before the dismount line (I mean like slow enough to fall off your bike). They also wanted me to dismount off my bike 50 feet before the dismount line, and I was not having any of it. They could try to penalize me for all I care I was staying on until I had to get off. I had a few GI issues with my Accelerade and GU on the ride (I could not finish all my Accelerade because of it). I also waited about an extra 10 minutes to take down my last GU. I really wish I would have finished the rest of my Accelerade, since I had some cramping issues on the latter half of the run.

T2
Just a hair over 1 minute in T2. Was due to having problems getting shoes on damp feet and getting race belt, etc, everything else on. NO SOCKS!!!! More to come on this later...

The Run
After the adjustments I had made to my bike in the weeks preceeding the race and the results I had on brick workouts, I was exicited. No more cramping up within the first half mile of the run, no problems with heavy legs. The great thing about the run course is there was only a small amount of elevation and it was at the very beginning/end of the run (since it was a loop). I think there were 7/8 aid stations over the 10K distance. I averaged 8:45 for the first mile or two, and then I began slowing down. I knew I would not be able to keep up that pace for the entire run, but I had to try. Just after mile 2 I had to give a big shout out to a Tri DAWGS girl. I saw Wes about half a mile from the turn around, and he told me that I better pass him. That was motivation until I got to the turn, where I stopped to walk so I could take in some Gatorade Endurance. I did not take in my GU because of my GI issues earlier on the bike, and that was probably a mistake, since all I had in my bottle I was carrying during the run was 2 tables of NUUN. While good for electrolytes, bad for no calories!!! I began to cramp up in both my quads all the way back in, and I knew I would not be able to dial it up enough to get up and meet with Wes for the finish. I now had to work on finishing myself. There was a second area where I walked for about 60 quick steps and that was up a very short hill that just kicked up in elevation. I knew that I would not be actually running any faster if I jogged up the hill, so I opted to powerwalk instead. For the last two miles there was a female wearing an All3Sports jersey, and I decided that she was running just fast enough to be my "rabbit" for the rest of the race. I really need to thank her, or else I might have not finished as fast (and might not have finished in under three hours either). I finally passed her with about six tenths of a mile to go, and at the finish line she caught back up to me. Wes was walking back to watch me come down the final stretch and told me he had come in about 4-5 minutes before I did. Dee Dee was there to congratulate me at the finish!!! James had gotten done so long ago (finished in around 2 hours 22 min) that he went ahead and took his stuff back to the car and then came back. Wes, Dee Dee and I chatted about the race for a few minutes, got some food/drink, and chatted a few more minutes about their son's soccer tournament that was going on. James met back up with me in transition to help me carry my stuff out and back to the car. After packing the car, we walked back to catch prelimiary results and I was excited to see that I broke 3 hours, and that James finished in the top ten of his AG (7th in 40-44).

Post Race
My hat is also off to Team Sport Factory (and Jen Adley, I think she finished 3rd in her AG) for a strong showing, as well as my Tri DAWGS!!! If they would have been around when I was in college, I would have soo been on the team! Also a shout out goes to Renee, who finished 5th in her AG!!! Congrats to you all! Thanks for the pics Dee Dee! Wes you were awsome! And congratuations to James, although he is not on the blogging scene, he did great!

Only two small blisters on the bottom of my feet when wearing no socks. I will have to admit though, I was still wearing my old shoes, and not my new ones. This was because I had not put my yankz on my new shoes yet.

Times
13th/18 in AG, 215/335(people who actually raced)

Swim: 35:52
T1: :53
Bike: 1:18:26
T2: 1:01
Run: 59:55
______
Tot: 2:56:05

11 days until Tri - PTC!!! Sprint race that was my very first race I ever completed. This will be my third year competing in the event. I think I am going to focus on threshold and speed workouts for the next two weeks since the distances are so short, and I also need to work on maintaining my speed during a race this short.

With respect to completion of my first Olympic Distance Triathlon, I really liked this format a lot. I feel that this gives you a very good gauge of 1/2 and full iron distance races, and you only need to train just a bit more than for a sprint distance event. I think I might change my format to include more of those next year, and be very selective if I do any sprint races at all next year. I loved this course as well!

I am ready to read all the posts from all the races that happened this weekend! I have already read a few, and I am waiting on some peeps that finished IM Louisville.

Murtha...