Arrival St. Croix
The day is almost here. Yesterday Alisha and I arrived in tropical St. Croix after two less than eventful flights from Norfolk. Walking off the plane the first thing greeted us was a warm blanket of sweat humidity. My first thoughts flashed back to my race in FL two years ago. The painful hobbling experience brought on by humidity and dehydration stayed with me as I walked inside to baggage claim. I can’t pick easy race locations can I? I anxiously stood by the baggage carousel waiting for our bags. Unfortunately, my bike never made it. Apparently, the race overloads the airline’s capacity for luggage. They typically have to charter an entire flight just to get them all to the island. (As I am writing this they called to inform me of its arrival.) This morning I awoke, gobbled down a bowl of oatmeal, threw on my swim trunks and walked out the patio door for a morning swim. The turquoise water was bath water warm and crystal clear. I paddled back and forth in front of the resort for 20 minutes working the kinks out from yesterday’s travel. I could really get used to this. After spending the rest of the day reading and relaxing by the beach, Alisha and I wandered into downtown Christiansted for dinner. Walking through the boardwalk afforded a preview of the swim course laid out in the harbor. I also got a preview of the warm-up swim to the island for start. Maybe, tomorrow I’ll get a preview of ‘The Beast.’
Tri-ing Again
It has been along time since I had any noteworthy tri news to post. The last 16 months have been mostly spent consumed by work – figuring a new job out and then shifting to a new ship. The long hours spent working overwhelmed my initial ability to multitask and keep up a training program and racing schedule – not something I am happy about. So, in an effort to take control I signed up for two sprint races in September. Toeing the line over 25 lbs over my previous race weight and and with zero aerobic base I stumbled though each finishing with a big goofy grin. I was reminded of the excitement, pain, joy and calm racing brought.
Before Thanksgiving I signed up with Carmichael Training Systems to get back on the right track. Matt Carnel was assigned as my coach and has been leading the charge to get me ready for my next challenge – the St. Croix half ironman. It has not been easy the last two months working in workouts with my new work schedule, but it is the only thing keeping me sane during the day. And the trip to the Caribbean in a few months helps a little too.
New House Part II : Transformation!
If you would like the complete play-by-play of our house debacle and remodeling efforts thus far check out Alisha’s site (alishabrown.blogspot.com). I just thought I would throw a few pictures of the transformation this little house has undergone in the last couple of weeks. I did have the help of a contractor with much of the heavy lifting, but work has been going non-stop. It’s amazing how several gallons of paint and new carpet will revitalize what was such a dreary and dilapidated dwelling. Sadly, I will not get to see the final results of our new kitchen before I depart for parts unknown next week. I might have seen the new ceramic tile floor had they not delivered precisely the WRONG color last week. Fortunately, Alisha was there to stop the madness before anything was put down. Being the dutiful husband I am, I had completely forgotten what color it was suppose to be and would have happily let them lay it down to be able to stop walking on cardboard boxes and a dusty sub-floor.
Reflections on a Triathlon Season
Totals:
Swim: ~280 miles
Bike: 2500 miles
Run: 730 miles
Time: ~400 hours
Since January these are my accumulated training distances and times. I have a training log from 2007, however, it was not kept in a conducive manner with which to derive these same statistics. But in glancing over the 2008 season appears to be substantially longer in training distance and time than 2007. I think this is due to my focus on two 70.3 races which framed my season (the FL 70.3 in May and Timbermanin August). If you’ve read my previous race reports you might notice a trend - namely my disappointing run splits throughout. A new thought for next year will be to place my long runs the day after long bikes, to ensure that my legs adapt to increased fatigue, yet not getting overworked. The biggest postive lesson gained in running was developing a nutritional plan which could be tweaked for different race conditions. Of course it can always be improved upon, but I feel that I’ve come a long way in developing triathlon’s ’4th discipline.’ A combination of Cytomax and CarboPro has done wonders to alleviate digestion problems in the longer races. Racing in Flordia taught me a valuable lesson in sodium and electrolyte levels. I’ve also learned I was incredibly spoiled racing and training in Northern CA last year. Constant moderate temperatures make for excellent conditions. It almost makes me want to head back (but then there’s the cost of living, which just about kills it for me…).
Other plusses for the year came in an increased swim fitness. Last year I relied solely on my former life and conditioning in collegiate swimming (a career which ended 8 years ago – damn I’m getting old). A renewed focus in the water, coupled with acutally completing workouts (go figure) led to a 27 minute swim over 1.2 miles, which would have been improved upon in August had I not been kicked in the head and swam in circles for 30 minutes. My biking continued to steadily improve and this discipline has quickly become a training favorite.
I owe much of my success this year to the training programs developed on Mark Allen Online (www.markallenonline.com). Luis Vargas provided some much needed advice following my FL debacle and put the season and my training in perspective for me. Short of hiring expensive personal coaching services, theirs is a great product for those looking for the happy medium between self coaching and personal attention. Sharing experiences and results on the forums is also a great way to glean lessons learned from other like-minded athletes. I’m excited to begin implementing his advice into next year’s training.
After so much improvement over the last two years, it’s really hard not to think about racing and training. Although the last few weeks of ‘nothingness’ have been enjoyable, my energies have been turned into finishing Department Head School and remodeling our new house. Sadly, I’m off on another adventure and challenge as I will be reporting on board an U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer (DDG) as the Operations Officer in a few short days. This new career step will not lend itself to the training and racing schedule I have become accustomed to, but that’s why they call these ‘life sports’ : I can easily get back into them when I get back!
Timberman 70.3 – Triathlon becomes a contact sport
In what has become a race weekend ritual, Friday afternoon Alisha and loaded the car and headed out for the last triathlon weekend of the season. The gorgeous lake region of New Hampshire was our destination. This region has become one of my favorite spots in New England. The sparkling lakes, pristine mountains, and crisp air make it the perfect location for a triathlon. We spent Saturday exploring the Castle in the Clouds perched atop the mountains providing spectacular views of Lake Winnepausakee.
The Timberman 70.3 was the last race planned and the second 70.3 event of my season. This race drew a talented pro field which included Andy Potts, reigning World 70.3 champion and Chrissie Wellington the reigning Ironman World Champion. I saw both talented athletes in transition when I arrived Sunday morning. Chrissie looked like a bundle of energy chatting with everyone around her. I love that in the sport of triathlon age groupers and pros mingle in the same transition area, no barriers or seemingly special treatment. Everyone runs the same course under the same circumstances.
So after setting up my transition area I walked down the beach to the swim start to see the “special surprised” promised by the race director. There were grumbling rumors in transition that it would be the Backstreet Boys singing the national anthems (they had performed a concert the night before, much to the dismay of several athletes at the hotel next door to the venue). Thankfully, Keith Jordon, the race director had something else in mind. Two skydivers floated to the ground carrying the American Flag. Shortly thereafter, the pros were off and swimming, starting a full 50 minutes before me.
I felt good swimming a few warmup simulated 25 meter sprints. When my wave was called I walked down into the water for the start. Unknown to me, my day was just about to get interesting. Normally in the swim start, I position myself right in the front. The first 200 meters usually see multiple swimmers sprinting beyond their ability, dying by the time they hit the second buoy. My typical race starts off sprinting ahead of these adrenalin fueled swimmers and staying up front. Well, Sunday I couldn’t quite get to the front. When the gun sound I jumped forward and started fighting with everyone else for the same water space. After about 30 seconds I caught someones foot or elbow squarely in the right ear. All of a sudden I heard church bells in my head and the world underwater was spinning around. Not good, I thought. My ear drum had been ruptured. Staying in the water was extremely painful. For about ten seconds I contemplated wading back to shore and abandoning the race. This thought immediately pissed me off. I didn’t train 8 months and come all this way to quit in the first 30 seconds. My wave was taking off ahead of me, and I quickly decided I’d see how far I could stand the pain. I continued swimming, not always in a straight line, my equilibrium was off a little. I finally exited the water (somehow still in under 30 minutes). I’m convinced I lost at least 3 minutes because of this accident.
I stumbled out of the water and wobbled on unsteady legs into T1. Standing by my bike I took a second to get my bearings, grabbed my gear and figured, what the hell. The ear’s not going to get any better might as well keep going. This bike course had a significant amount of climbing in the first 13 miles. I spun up the climbs to keep my heart rate low and put off the accumulation of lactic acid. After the first hour I finally got into the flat section and dropped the hammer. The climb back up the Marsh Hill Monsta wasn’t nearly as bad on the way back up. I came back into T2 with an average split, nothing spectacular, but most importantly there was no pain in my legs (ala FL 70.3). I shuffled off on the run feeling good. The miles were ticking off at around 8:30 pace – again not spectacular, but I was holding steady. At the turn for lap two I fell off my pace, but was still running (again, not like the trudge it took to finish FL in May). Aid stations came and went as I grabbed gatorade, water, sponges and salt tablets like they were going out of style. The snow handed out by guys at one of the early aid station was a fantastic touch. A couple miles later I got a huge boost on the run when I looked over and saw Team Hoyt running the opposite direction on their first run lap. If you haven’t heard about this father-son team do yourself a favor and do a search on YouTube – they are truly an inspiration in the triathlon community. Finally, the finish line came into view and my race and season came to an end. The final time was 13 minutes faster than my best 70.3 so it’s hard to complain, but I still think I have a sub 5 hour race in me. The swim was extremely upsetting, and I’ve got a better run in me somewhere, I just have to figure out how to unleash it after swimming and biking. If it were easy, everyone would do it, right?
While standing in line for the post race grub, Alisha showed me a fantastic souvenier she had crafted for me. While hanging around waiting for me to come around from each event she sketched out a drawing of the lake, swim course and surrounding mountains. She then managed to get both of men’s and women’s winners, Chrissie Wellington and Andy Potts to sign it. Very cool!
First Annual Naval Station Newport Sprint Triathlon
Today was the first Annual Sprint Triathlon put on by the Naval Station MWR. For a first run of an event, the volunteers and race coordinators put on a great race for over 100 participants. Many were new to triathlon and experiencing multisport racing for the first time. It’s great to see the sport growing and newbies hooked after their first race. I know I sure was.
My plan was to use this race as a tune-up for the Timberman 70.3 in two weeks. The only real goal was to have the fastest swim split. I lined up in the front (sans wetsuit – the water was great) at 0800 for the race start after 30 minutes of warming up. When the horn sounded I took off sprinting for the first bouy in first place. I managed to make the first turn and then took a brief second to site the second bouy. I couldn’t see it. The bouys were small and white making them difficult to see. There was no one in front of me to draft off of….I actually stopped for a brief second to find my line then took off again. There was suppose to be a lead kayaker but she ended up behind me and not offering much help. No worries though, I finally found the second bouy and made the turn for shore still in first place. All the open water in front of me was a new and exciting experience. Usually, I’m swimming over and around age groupers in front of me. This must be what it’s like to be Andy Potts on race day. I exited the water with the fastest swim split of the day and raced through T1. The bike course was two out and back laps on the Defense Highway along the bay. I found the big gears and put the hammer down, too afraid to look back and see second and third place gunning for me. Again, an all new sensation in triathlon racing for me. I made the first turn and started to count the seconds until I passed the pursuit riders. I seemed to have about a 1 minute lead on second place which I mamaged to loose a little of by the end of the bike. However, I blazed into T2 still in first place – I know crazy right? I’m not usually in this position. As I flew out onto the run I noticed second place fly in out of the corner of my eye…maybe 30 seconds back. I tried to quickly find a rythm and didn’t dare look back. I hit the half way point of the out and back run and was forced to see my pursurer right on my heels – 10 seconds back. With about a mile to go I finally heard his footsteps pounding the pavement behind me. As he came up for the pass I tried to keep step with him, but the legs just didn’t have anymore juice. I had led from start to about a mile to go and was finally caught. I finished about 45 seconds behind the winner in second place. When it was all said and done, I finished fourth overall and second in my age group.
My running pace seemed relaxed and undercontrol. Not exactly what I needed to win a sprint race, but the real goal is to finish Timberman strong. Right now I think the legs will be there.
Thanks to MWR, the race coordinators and all the volunteers who turned out a top notch race the first time out. Post Race food included freshly made blueberry pancakes, fruit, bagels, muffins, and plenty of H20. I’m just sorry I won’t be back next year give it another shot.
Swim – 9:28; Bike – 44:28; Run – 24:45; Total – 1:18:40
21st Century Money Pit
Here are a few pictures of the new house. It definitely looks rough…a diamond in the rough, if you use your imagination. It took a long night of visualizing and a quick 10k run in the heat to really see the potential here. And since the name of the game in real estate is to get the most house for the money, I think we’ve definitely managed to do just that. It’s about 2600 sq ft with 5 bedrooms and 3 full bathrooms. You might be wondering, “exactly how does this happen to a house?” Well, there are several variations to the story. Version 1: 70 year old widowed man meets an Ocean View hooker who talks him into marrying her and brings all her druggie friends to the house. Then the hooker gets her senior citizen trophey husband arrested by filing spousel abuse charges – apparently this 80 pound man pushed her down the stairs. (I know, you can’t make up fiction this good). Version 2: the second owner, a contractor, rented it and upon deciding to sell tried to give his tenant “cash for keys.” Well the tenant did’t take to kindly to being kicked out and went a little berserk. Anyway, so far it all appears to be cosmetic and fixable. We’ll know more after the house inspection. Alisha is finally looking forward to getting a fresh canvas on which to let her green thumb and imagination go wild. I’m happy to finally have a garage to keep the vette in and work on my bikes. Max of course, has no idea what new and exciting adventures he’s in for romping around the 2/3 of an acre yard. Hopefully, this fall I’ll have a few more ‘after’ shots to really let the house shine. And if anyone is in the area and happens to be handy with dry wall, give me a ring, I might just have a few cold beers for you 
Taking on the Big Apple – Nautica New York City Triathlon
Last Sunday I took part in the second leg of the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon Series, the Nautica New York City Triathlon. As promised, it lived up to its hype and reputation as a fast and fun romp around one of the world’s most diverse and exciting cities.
Alisha and I arrived on Friday night and much to my surprise, our hotel was smack in the middle of Times Square. Guess I need to pay closer attention to my accommodations next time. Friday night we enjoyed dinner at an quaint American Bistro in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood with my father a few friends. Saturday morning, We met up with an old high school buddy, Mike and his wife for brunch and a tour around the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Central Park. Dinner was at mediocre buffet on the 48th floor revolving restaurant of the Marriott in Times Square. You definitely pay for the view (which was great behind a spectacular sunset) and not the food.
Sunday morning came early, as it always does on race day, and I hopped downstairs to catch a cab to the transition area. Once my gear was in order I trekked 1500 meters up the Hudson River to the swim start and my long, long, wait. Not only did I get to see the pros start and finish…but I also heard the race announcer giving the play by play of them returning to T1 – and I hadn’t even put on my wetsuit yet! After waiting over an hour and a half my wave finally entered the water for the swim start. The swim is billed as “the fastest Olympic distance swim ever” down the Hudson River. When the horn sounded I jumped out and sprinted the first 600 meters. No one was anywhere near me and I quickly caught the two heats in front of me. After passing the 1200 meter mark I slowed down a little and prepared to exit the water in what was indeed my fastest swim split to date. I guess the current had not reached complete slack water after all my waiting. The 400 meter barefoot run into transition seemed to take forever, but I was quickly in-and-out onto the bike course. The bike course was a wonderfully fast course up the Riverside Parkway, across the Hudson River Bridge into the Bronx for the turnaround. I felt strong the whole way through only being passed by two riders in my age group. It was deceptively hilly, not in the overall steepness of the grades, but the long, gradual uphill climbs. I felt pretty good coming into T2 and took off for the run across 72nd Street into Central Park. The first mile of the run was great running through a couple thousand spectators lining 72nd Street…all cheering for me! (Yeah, right). That’s probablly why that was my fastest mile split. After I reached Central Park my body seemed to be out of juice. I settled into a slow steady pace, more like a Saturday morning long run, than a 10k race. I pillaged every aid station to stay hydrated, which was difficult with the heat and humidity. I never had any leg pain or cramps resembling my fiasco in Florida which was good, but the run split was still extremely dissappointing. We’ll chalk it up to the heat this time, but there seems to be a reaccuring them to my race season thus far – Great Swim, Solid bike…piss poor run. Only two races left this season to figure it out. Then it’s back to Norfolk and off on deployment.
Final stats: Place M30-34: 32/413 Time: 2:34:05 Swim: 19:36 T1: 4:55 Bike: 1:12:51 T2: 1:32 Run: 55:13
Motion Based Splits:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6313124
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6313125
Mooseman – Triathlon is a Big Hairy Deal!
http://www.lin-mark.com/mmint08.txt
Friday I finished my Tactical Action Officer (TAO) exam – a four hour affair – and took off for a mental break to Newfound Lake in NH. Most people would relax by the lake and do as little as possible. I on the other hand was looking forward to my first race since the FL 70.3. I did not have any expectations of fireworks or super springy legs at this Olympic distance race, since I only had one real week of heavy training since the half iron race. The week following FL I did very light swim and bike workouts; absolutely no running – unless you count chasing after Max running. The second week I was back to running 30 miles, biking 100+ and swimming 10,000 yards. Most of the miles were at a slow aerobic pace; the goal being to find my form and begin to rebuild the aerobic engine for Timberman the second ‘A’ race of my season. I did a couple of speed workouts last week before heading up to NH, but nothing extreme.
One thing I like about triathlons is getting to see new and visit new places. I think I’ve only repeated one race (the PG Tri in CA) since I’ve started, so I’ve seen many different venues. Newfound was a beautiful setting for a race. However, Saturday morning I couldn’t see much of nature’s splendor as fog settled in over the lake region. It had rained all week (which also had the added effect of chilling the lake from 63 down to 57 degrees). I didn’t really think much of it a paid little attention to the announcer in Transition as I set up my gear and proceeded to warm up. As I donned my wetsuit and headed down to the swim start I noticed that very little was visible on the lake past the first swim buoy (maybe 75-100 meters from shore). I plunged into the icey water and started to swim, getting used to the water and loosening up. I really only had two goals for this race, and one was to dominate the swim. The other was to finish the run without any of the cramping and quad pain I had experienced in FL. As I repeated several simulated 50 meter build-ups and sprints my stroke felt good. As the 0730 start time rolled around the race directors announced they would delay the start until 0745. Apparently there is a safety rule that states swimmers must be able to sight two buoys in front of them in order to start; we could barely see one. As time wore on the fog actually seemed to get worse. There were several attempts at humor as the announcer called out sightings of the Loc Ness Monster. Finally after roughly a 90 minute delay the decision was made to bring in the buoys, cutting the swim short (distance unknown) and parallel the shoreline to the swim exit. I decided that at this point after standing around in the icey water and barely able to see 50 meters in front of me I didn’t want to be first in this swim. When we finally lined up and took off I sprinted to the front and hooked onto the feet of the lead pack. I stayed there trying to sight off of them. After seeing my swim split I think the distance was roughly a third of a mile. I think I was the only one there disappointed about not being in the water longer. As I hit the beach into T1 I noticed that standing around in the cold water made my feet go numb. It was a weird feeling running but not really feeling my feet. I grabbed my bike and headed off onto the course around Newfound Lake. I’m assuming the scenery was spectacular becaue I still couldn’t see much in the fog. The bike course was one 27 mile loop around the lake and southern region on terribly ripped up roads. An announcer said the worst part was the first 4 miles. I kept waiting for it to get smoother but it never did. Throughout the bike my legs felt like they were out for sunday long ride instead of a hammering speed workout. I came into T2 as the fog lifted and took off on the run which was an out and back course along the first 3.1 miles of the bike leg. Most of it was uphill which wasn’t all that fun, but I moved along maintaining a comfortable pace with no leg cramps or pain. My heart rate was a little high and the pace once again felt more like a saturday long run.
As I crossed the finish line a volunteer handed me an ice cold waterbottle which really hit the spot. The post race food was outstanding with volunteers serving up burgers, hotdogs, chili, beef stew and deserts. It was strange to hear the guy in front of me order a veggie burger with bacon, but to each his own. I really enjoyed the well run event, I just don’t envy the half iron racers doing two laps on that bike course. It’s been three weeks since FL and I am starting to feel like really getting back into training. Next up is the New York City Triathlon, part of the Lifetime Fitness series.
First Race of the season: Florida 70.3
The Florida 70.3 opened my triathlon season this past weekend. Since it’s been over a year since my last half and I’ve gotten in much better shape, I was excited to take another crack at the longer distance. Alisha and I hopped a flight from Providence to Orlando on Friday. Saturday, once I was checked in and dropped the bike off in tranisition we took off for Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Following an afternoon of animals, plants, and rollercoasters we retired to our room. Sunday morning came early and I was off to transition at 5am. The sky was overcast and the temps were lower than the previous day’s high of 90. I thought there just might be a triathlon god giving us a good day to race. After getting my gear in order, the waiting began…I had to wait about an hour after the pro start for my wave to be called. Once the gun went off I charged into the water and quickly took to the front of my wave. I settled onto the feet of another guy plowing ahead, and the two of us began to quickly move through the group of age groupers in front of us. I think if I were in an earlier wave I could swim faster – fewer people to swim around. It’s hard to find open water with so many people trying to occupy the same waterspace. The one positive here: everyone else has to swim through the same maze of people. I ended up with the 4th fastest swim split as I exited the water and into T1. While running through T1 with my bike I lost one shoe that was clipped in. I had to stop briefly to put it on and hobbled one shoe on – one shoe clipped in to the mount line. From the start of the bike I felt great. I followed a few guys around me and we moved through the field together. I felt great and was maintaining a 23mph average for the first 40 miles. That’s when things started to get interesting. It turns out the triathlon god has a wicked sense of humor. It started raining around the 40 mile mark and continued for about 30 minutes. And it rained hard. My socks weighed about 4 pounds each, but I continued to put the pressure on the peddals trying to maintain my pace. Then my legs started to tighten up. I put the bike in an easy gear and started to spin, trying to work the knots out just above my knees. This worked and got me into transition feeling strong. Then the sun came out. The temperture quickly soared into the 90s and the humidty went through the roof. As soon as I was off the bike and ran out of tranisition my legs tightened up again. This pain ran from above my knees up into my quads and made it almost impossible to straighten my legs let alone run. I tried to stop and stretch them out but nothing worked. I managed to get into a rythm of running 3 minutes and walking 2 minutes for the first 2 laps of the three lap run course. This was extremely painful and slow going. For the final lap I managed to shuffle most of the way, always walking through the aid stations and pilfering gatorade, ice, and water. I finally finished in a time not worth mentioning, but it felt good to finish nonetheless.
This isn’t the first race my legs have done this, and I still cannot figure out why they do it. I definetly gained valuable racing experience in the swim and bike legs, but the run is still frustrating. You can’t be a true triathlete without the third leg. Next race is a shorter Olympic distance event, the Mooseman in NH on June 7th. Pictures coming soon.
