Fairhope Grandman Triathlon Results
Prerace: 1 ensure and 1 banana at the house. Tested using glide and no sox for a .5 mile run at 5:30 pace. Rode 7 miles to the race and had one more endure with 4 Hammer Enduralytes.
Swim: Course description states 1/3 mile swim. It seemed like we walked the first 200m, swam 100m, then walked the last 200m. the fastest people did lots of dolphin dives, which I have no practice doing, but I still tried. Guessing I looked like an idiot doing random acts of a belly flop with a jumping jack motion. Finished 22/41 in age group. Not disappointing since I no longer practice swimming.
Bike: Start of the bike is up a slight incline for 25m or so, then up a steep hill. I never got rolling up the incline and had trouble putting my feet in the shoes. Eventually one shoe became unclipped before my foot was in it, so I had to circle around to go pick it up, unclip my other shoe, and do it all over. Only one person that passed me was in my age group. After looking at results, I see that I beat him out of T1, but I remember passing him first. Not long after, he passed me for good. My goal was to keep him in sight so I could pass him on the run, but he didn't stay in sight for long. Somewhere around mile 7 I lost sight of him. Surprised myself by averaging 20.8MPH and being 4th of 41 in age group. Surprised with both my speed, and that more people in my AG were not faster.
Run: Caught up to that guy in my AG that passed me on the bike after 3/4 mile, which made me feel a lot better. Splits were right on my goal. 6:38, 6:30, and 6:40 according to the Garmin. Managed to get 1st in age group for run with 20:08.
The results showed that I was 4th in my age group, and I left my raffle ticket at home. No reason to stick around, so I gathered my stuff and rode my bike 7 miles home feeling upset and promising to increase volume, consistancy, and intensity. The results posted now show I was 3rd in my age group. Guess I should of stuck around for my medal...
Overall: I counted almost 10 penalties in the results! That's surprising in a small sprint triathlon. The race officials were on the back of big Honda Goldwing trikes, which I must of seen 5+ times on the bike course.
Consumed 10 oz of Cytomax and no h20.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
3 Mile Bridge Race Report
There's 2 reasons I wanted to do this race.
1. Each time I drive over this bridge, I think about the race they have each year to swim from one end to the other. Since I drive over it going to and from work, that's a lot of thinking about it.
2. People keep asking how someone can swim that far. It's really not a big deal if you know how to swim. Nearly any adult can walk briskly for 3 hours. Walking fast and swimming slow seem like the same amount of effort to me, so I wanted to prove it.
The swim only field was small (118) and the aquathon was even smaller (32).
Run:
My goal was to take it easy on the run since I didn't know if I was capable of finishing the swim. The start of the race was great. I was talking to someone about how he strapped his Forerunner 305 to his neck for open water swims. He was mid-sentence when someone yelled "Go!" so I turned around and took off. Worst part of the run was after seeing a bumper sticker, I had the song "Jesus Loves Me" in my head. As for pace, I knew I'd go out too hard, so I tried to keep it at what I thought was a 10k pace. Next year I'll treat it like an open 5k. After getting in the water, it's only a little over waist high for 100+ meters. The official start of the swim is about 150m out. Plenty of time to walk and catch your breath. If we were jumping into deep water, then I'd be more concerned about going hard on the run. Finished in 20:21 and feeling good.
Swim:
Took a GU in transition and started swimming for the first time in 11 months. Even though I didn't need to, I took 2 gels while swimming. Luckily the "Jesus Loves Me" song didn't follow me into the water. Zero, by Yeah Yeah Yeahs was circling in my head for well over 2 hours. Finding the end was not fun. If I have to run an extra 200m due to getting lost, that's fine. However, swimming a few extra hundred meters after being in the water 2+ hours was frustrating.
With the exception of putting body glide on underarms and neck, there's nothing I wish I would of done differently, but there's a few small things that I'll probably forget about next year. 2 small stitches in my side that were not bad enough to change my stroke. Wish I would of had some drinking water, but it probably would not of helped the sore throat. Sore throat went away within an hour or two of the finish.
Result:
3/3 in my age group. The award was a beach towel... so much cooler than a medal. The better reward was the great BBQ and kegs of beer. Every race I've done around here ends with beer. I haven't figured out why, but it's nice. Shoulders were sore for over a week, but that's what I get for not training.
Next year:
Run hard.
Bring bike and someone to drive the car home, so I can bike 60 miles home.
Practice with the Garmin strapped to me somehow and use it during the race.
Resist the temptation to do the 10k swim if it's available as they say it will be.
Swim fast instead of swimming to finish.
Do not do the 10k. 2010 motto is "Faster, NOT longer."
1. Each time I drive over this bridge, I think about the race they have each year to swim from one end to the other. Since I drive over it going to and from work, that's a lot of thinking about it.
2. People keep asking how someone can swim that far. It's really not a big deal if you know how to swim. Nearly any adult can walk briskly for 3 hours. Walking fast and swimming slow seem like the same amount of effort to me, so I wanted to prove it.
The swim only field was small (118) and the aquathon was even smaller (32).
Run:
My goal was to take it easy on the run since I didn't know if I was capable of finishing the swim. The start of the race was great. I was talking to someone about how he strapped his Forerunner 305 to his neck for open water swims. He was mid-sentence when someone yelled "Go!" so I turned around and took off. Worst part of the run was after seeing a bumper sticker, I had the song "Jesus Loves Me" in my head. As for pace, I knew I'd go out too hard, so I tried to keep it at what I thought was a 10k pace. Next year I'll treat it like an open 5k. After getting in the water, it's only a little over waist high for 100+ meters. The official start of the swim is about 150m out. Plenty of time to walk and catch your breath. If we were jumping into deep water, then I'd be more concerned about going hard on the run. Finished in 20:21 and feeling good.
Swim:
Took a GU in transition and started swimming for the first time in 11 months. Even though I didn't need to, I took 2 gels while swimming. Luckily the "Jesus Loves Me" song didn't follow me into the water. Zero, by Yeah Yeah Yeahs was circling in my head for well over 2 hours. Finding the end was not fun. If I have to run an extra 200m due to getting lost, that's fine. However, swimming a few extra hundred meters after being in the water 2+ hours was frustrating.
With the exception of putting body glide on underarms and neck, there's nothing I wish I would of done differently, but there's a few small things that I'll probably forget about next year. 2 small stitches in my side that were not bad enough to change my stroke. Wish I would of had some drinking water, but it probably would not of helped the sore throat. Sore throat went away within an hour or two of the finish.
Result:
3/3 in my age group. The award was a beach towel... so much cooler than a medal. The better reward was the great BBQ and kegs of beer. Every race I've done around here ends with beer. I haven't figured out why, but it's nice. Shoulders were sore for over a week, but that's what I get for not training.
Next year:
Run hard.
Bring bike and someone to drive the car home, so I can bike 60 miles home.
Practice with the Garmin strapped to me somehow and use it during the race.
Resist the temptation to do the 10k swim if it's available as they say it will be.
Swim fast instead of swimming to finish.
Do not do the 10k. 2010 motto is "Faster, NOT longer."
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Nutrition Test 1
Numbers:
56 mile bike at 17.8MpH. Ave HR 119.
9 mile run at 8:33/mile. Ave HR 156.
Calories consumed per hour 190.
Weight change:
167.2 pre workout -> 160.2 post workout
Did not track volume of water taken
Pre workout:
2 chocolate chip cookies, Ensure, Banana
During workout:
2 Powerbar Gels (200), 1 GU Roctane (100), 1 PBJ sandwich (300), 30 oz Cytomax (270)
1 Endurolyte during bike, 2 during run
Improvement opportunities:
Use the Endurolytes, don't just toss them in Camelbak
Tape nutrition to bike instead of leaving in Camelbak
No short socks
Run slow after getting off bike
Get enough ice for bath
Setup bike, clothes, and nutrition the night before
Try fig newtons
No stomach issues. Calories per hour was not too high. No soreness or fatigue after the workout.
56 mile bike at 17.8MpH. Ave HR 119.
9 mile run at 8:33/mile. Ave HR 156.
Calories consumed per hour 190.
Weight change:
167.2 pre workout -> 160.2 post workout
Did not track volume of water taken
Pre workout:
2 chocolate chip cookies, Ensure, Banana
During workout:
2 Powerbar Gels (200), 1 GU Roctane (100), 1 PBJ sandwich (300), 30 oz Cytomax (270)
1 Endurolyte during bike, 2 during run
Improvement opportunities:
Use the Endurolytes, don't just toss them in Camelbak
Tape nutrition to bike instead of leaving in Camelbak
No short socks
Run slow after getting off bike
Get enough ice for bath
Setup bike, clothes, and nutrition the night before
Try fig newtons
No stomach issues. Calories per hour was not too high. No soreness or fatigue after the workout.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Good Progress but Need Speed
Nailed my weekly volume goals! Bike mileage was 28 Friday, 25 Saturday, and a tough 33 Sunday since the seat broke and I didn't have tools on me :/ Legs are restless and achy, but not sore at all. Saturday's tempo was cut short at 1.5 miles. Average pace was 6:13. Went out too fast, but I hope to learn from it. Bless my wife for pacing me, but it's tough keeping that speed while going up a hill on a heavy bike into the wind and towing a kid. Partial company is way better than no company! Tuesday's 2 mile tempo was better. 6:20 and 6:25 in the hot and humid air.
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