IMWI 2012 -- Race Report (Race Day!)

Welcome back - on to race day...

As expected, 4AM came early, despite getting to bed before 9PM. Got up, enjoyed a cup of coffee (thanks for the good coffee, Kristin!), and got my race gear on. It is a strange feeling to leave and not have any of your normal race gear with you (no bike, jersey, shoes, helmet, sunglasses, etc.). But off we went. We made it downtown quickly, found a very close parking spot, and headed into transition to prepare. Immediately, the energy level in the air is incredible. When you're used to racing 300 other people, sharing transition with 2800 athletes is incredible. Despite the high energy level, I managed to stay focused and calm. Race day. The hay is in the barn, time to reap the harvest. To mentally be ready for 10+ hours of racing is a challenge. Thankfully I found a spot to be surrounded by my family and friends and relax and joke around. There's no reason to be scared at this point, it is just wasted energy. Here are a couple more pictures of pre-race, including my favorite - "suns out, guns out" pose:

 

Once my wetsuit was lubed up for the swim, we relaxed and shared a few laughs and then I headed down to the swim start. With a bit of panic, I realized that the race was to start in 5 minutes. I was still standing in a pack of 250 or so athletes, on land, unable to reach the water. We finally filed in and I reached a decent spot at the front of the mass in the water and waited for the cannon. There is no countdown, so while maintaining a relaxed and prepared mentality, I waited. The mass was pushing forward, the kayakers holding us back. Then...BOOOOOM!!!!

--The Swim (1 really long loop)--

The first 1000 meters were fast. There had to have been a tailwind. I found some open water and cruised, keeping my swim stroke long. Looking back at the efficiency score from my Garmin, it was pretty impressive. As we made the first turn, the water started to get choppy and crowded. I ended up finding some open water again, but soon realized I was inside the buoy and would have to backtrack back out to make the turn. I think the trade-off was worth it. The back 1700 meters of the swim were very choppy and crowded. I finally fought my way into open water again. There were packs of people who were bunched up on each other, which made it difficult to pass. I made a few digs, but didn't want to spike my HR. In IRONMAN, you want to avoid getting close to your anaerobic threshold early in the day. If you do, your body loses its ability to generate power, which is key in the relentlessly hilly bike course. Back to the swim: after making the last turn and angling back towards the Monona Terrace (T1), I found a guy swimming the same speed and stroke cadence as me. We swam together back to shore, and just like that, 60 minutes in the water and out into T1. (GARMIN FILE)

--T1 (including the "Helix")--

Crowd support on the helix!

 Out of the water, I had originally told myself not to run. But, in the excitement of the moment, I jogged, if you can call it that. I found a pair of strippers, ahem...peelers...who helped with my wetsuit and sent me on my way. As I was running towards the helix, my legs showed no signs of cramping. This was a huge relief as I suffered massive cramps at my last race 2 weeks prior. Again, I'll give credit to Dr. Ronda. The helix is a 3 story spiral that climbs the parking structure where the transition area is. On race morning, it is packed with spectators, over 3 to 4 deep on each side. What an incredible feeling to be cheered on my so many people! I saw JR, smiled for the camera, and slowly made my way up. I quickly found my bike gear bag, and headed into the changing room. Let me summarize the 9 minutes I spent in "T1": run up the helix, struggled to put on gear (jersey, arm warmers - it was 52 degrees!, socks, etc.) since I was wet it was frustrating, put on bike shoes, "run" to my bike, "run" my bike all the way across the parking lot, and ride down the helix on the other side. It was amazing that some people completed this in less than 5 minutes!

--The Bike--

The previously mentioned helix is hard to navigate on a bike. Gravity wants to shoot you down at 30mph, but the continuous curve wants to throw you over the edge. Pretty fun though to come shooting out of the helix at 25mph and out onto the road. It was fast going to start. Got some cheers from another PowerBar team elite member, which was nice. After a hairy section of bike path, we finally got out to the roads to Verona. Not without a casualty though, as my water bottle flew out over a bump. Thankfully there was a fully stocked aid station at mile 10, which I hit up for more IM Perform. As we were cruising out to Verona, I started to feel my legs cramp up. This was alarming. Too early but I had prepared myself mentally to back off if I had to. I wanted to race well, but I also wanted to ensure I finished. From this point forward, I took every opportunity to stretch on downhill sections, just to keep loose. The first 35 miles went quickly, but then the wind started to make a statement. It would have been very easy to get upset at the wind, but I kept reminding myself that everyone else was dealing with the same conditions. Somehow this helped. Then the relentless hills started.

IM Wisconsin is known for its challenging and relentless bike course. The hills themselves aren't overwhelming. But they are steep, and keep coming. It is easy to be the tough guy in the beginning and power up the hills, but after 40 miles, you're done. Even if you're a great cyclist and can power through the entire course, you're not going to have a good marathon. You see a lot of guys walking who had great bike splits. But then they walk a 6 hour marathon. The 15-20 extra minutes spent climbing the hills wisely can save you 2.5 hours on the marathon. Decision making is key. Back to the race...

Once you reach Mt. Horeb, the course goes up and down like a roller coaster. The first loop usually feels good. Before I knew it, I had climbed and weaved my way through Cross Plains, had nailed my nutrition plan, and was feeling great. Keeping an eye on my HR, which seemed to be a little higher than I wanted. Nothing to be alarmed about though, I had made sure not to spike over 165, as this is where I arbitrarily set my lactate threshold (as discussed in the swim leg). After the Old Sauk Pass climb, which is always entertaining with its "Tour de France" style crowds (think men in grass skirts, ironmen are sexy signs, and beer drinking shenanigans), the course hits a somewhat downhill strecth. This must have been the only section with a tailwind. For about 4 miles, my garmin didn't drop below 25-27mph, and I hit over 40mph. Pretty crazy on a pedal bike! The last climb before Verona was entertaining as well, and before I knew it, back to Verona. Another tailwind section, (maybe 10 miles of tailwind for 112 miles of riding), I was back into the wind and heading out for loop two. I snatched more nutrition from my special needs bag (6 more PowerBar gels) and took off. When we hit the freshly paved stretch before Mt. Horeb, it became apparent that I might have lost some fitness in my last few weeks of training (which were more like resting - trying to recover from my cramping/injury). I tried to keep that out of my mind and stay positive. Playing the mental game. As I climbed up to Mt. Horeb and reached the aid station there, I reached out to grab a water bottle from one of the volunteers. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in my quad, when I looked down, I realized there was a bee stinging me! I swatted it away, and was uncertain whether to stop and get medical help, or keep going and hope I don't have a reaction. I kept going, and ironically, it was the pain/itching from the sting that took my mind off of my tired legs! Never thought I would say that I was glad to get stung. The next 35 miles were a mental grind, but before I knew it, I was through the last 2 big climbs, through Verona, and back onto the home stretch. This is where the cramping started to worsen. Somehow I managed to average over 20mph in this section, despite the wind, constant stretching, and the sketchy bike path. I downed an entire bottle of IM Perform at the last aid station, and put my mind to the task of just getting back to T2. I can stretch and deal with cramping there. Before I knew it, I was back climbing up the helix, chasing another PowerBar team elite member who I'd later meet on the run. The one MASSIVE complaint I had, was that I wore compression socks on the bike for the first time, never with my bike shoes. My feet are still sore today from being crammed in my shoes for so long! (GARMIN FILE)

--T2--
Let's flashback to 2011 for a minute...85 degrees and humid, 6 hours in a poorly vented aero helmet, 9 minute transition because of the A/C inside. I wasn't falling for that again. I made sure to get in-and-out as fast as possible. It worked. T2 was under 4 minutes. Still room for improvement, but much better than last year! I took some salt pills and ran out of transition.

--The Run--

It doesn't look it, but that's an 8:30 pace!

I knew I didn't want to repeat my mistakes from 2011, so I tried to go slowly. The problem is, the first 2 miles are downhill and fast. It is tough to hold yourself back when all your mind can think is "Thank GOD I'm not on that bike seat anymore!". If you haven't spent 6 hours on a bike seat, you'll just have to trust me! My mindset as I was running out from T2 was simply "each mile you run is one less you have to walk", a reminder to cruise and keep my legs loose. Miraculously, they weren't as tight as they were on the bike. I had a quick highlight of my run when pro Ben Hoffman ran up behind me on his second lap. We held pace for a few strides, I could tell he was roughly 8 minutes up on the 2nd pro, so I said to him "Nice work, Ben, you're buying the beers tonight." He ended up winning. Pretty cool moment. After several miles, I was started to be a little worried. I hadn't seen anyone from "Team Hoogie" all day, and had covered most of the run course. It is interesting what goes through your mind after 7 hours of continuous exercise. Then, when I was really getting concerned, I saw three orange shirts standing on the side of the path. It put a smile on my face, or maybe it was a grimace. At this point I was out of my PowerBar gel and onto the thicker, less pleasant tasting GU. Fortunately I didn't have any stomach issues making the change, but I think I could eat a burger and not have stomach problems. I kept counting down the miles, when I hit mile 11, I chuckled as I thought, "hey, only 1 riverbank run to go!", pretty cynical. But like I said, crazy things go through your mind. I saw Kristin and my folks again near Camp Randall Stadium, and must have looked bad. I found out later that Kristin texted JR and told him I needed a pep-talk. As the run makes it's way back to downtown Madison, you get a huge boost from the crowds on State Street. This is fun. So many people cheering for you, the rush of being so close to the finish shoot. I saw JR, he gave me some splits and told me to keep up my nutrition and focus. Less than 2 hours to go. I can do this. Then, the heartbreak. You're 400 meters from the finish and you have to turn around and run another 13 miles. Ouch.

The second lap was a sufferfest. My legs were nearly cramped, I took more salt and was sure to get electrolytes at each aid station. Finally, with 9 miles to go, I broke down and went for the Coke. It may have been too early, but I needed the boost. As I was walking up Observatory Hill (to keep my HR down and conserve energy), I was passed by Andrew, another PowerBar team elite member. He offered me some salt tabs, wished me good luck, and ran on by. He was having a great run. He'd end up putting 5 minutes in on me in the last 8 miles. Impressive race! I chased him up and down State Street, but he was pulling away. I counted down the miles until there were 4 to go. At this point, I told myself that I can run 4 miles any day, and that I can suffer through and try to get under 10:30. I hit up the 3rd to last aid station for some Coke, a cold sponge, a cup of water, and pulled the trigger. I wouldn't stop or slow down for aid again. 2.5 miles of sheer pain, with a huge smile on my face. I was about to become a two-time IRONMAN. As I turned onto State Street again, I could see the Capitol. The finish line is just on the other side. I put my head down and buried myself. I blew by the aid stations and soaked in all of the cheering. Around the Capitol, and turning down the finish chute. When I reached the carpet, I slowed to take it all in. "Craig Hoogerwerf, 28 years old from Jenison, Michigan, YOU. ARE. AN. IRONMAN!" I stopped at the line, did my best Craig Alexander muscle flex, and smiled. Ten hours, thirty three minutes, and three seconds. (GARMIN FILE)

Team Hoogie quickly found me, snapped some pictures, and soaked it in. I pushed myself beyond my limits for nearly 3.75 hours of running, holding off cramps, and running a marathon PR by 14 minutes and an overall PR by 43 minutes!!! Ecstatic. Given the injury challenges I suffered, the mental stress of the last few weeks, I cannot be happier with my result.

For a full photo album, click here!

Without further ado, a massive thank you to:

Mom and dad- you've been there for me every step of the way. Thank you for listening to me vent, for encourage, supporting, and volunteering your time to my goals and dreams. I could not have had this success without you.
Kristin- what girlfriend says "you should do it", when the question is "should I sign up for another Ironman?"? You do. Incredible. Thank you for your unending support. You enabled me, cheered me on, supported me, fed me, and didn't write me off as crazy the first time I put my feet up on your wall. "HTFU, your girlfriend just lapped you."
JR and Ronda- I know I didn't have the training with JR like last year, but you guys are fantastic and amazing friends. The chiropractic care and ART saved me this year, and your encouragement and support are unbelievable. I won't ever forget it. Thank you.
Jon/Tim/Steve/Phil- thanks for training with me, encouraging me, and talking trash with me. You guys are great. Let's get together, ride bikes, eat wings, and drink some beer.
To PowerBar- thank you for picking me to be on Team Elite. It has been a great opportunity and I hope to build on my 2012 successes in 2013. I consumed more Powergels than I ever envisioned. Thank you.
Everyone else- thanks for supporting me. IRONMAN is an individual sport, but it takes a great support network, and each of you has played a part. Thank you so much. It has been a great season.

IMWI 2012 -- Race Report (pre-race)

Finally getting the time to sit down and write this race report after an incredibly busy week (work, house closing, appointments, etc.). But that's not why you're here. On to yet another race report, this time, for my "A" race, IRONMAN Wisconsin.

I headed to Madison on Wednesday after work after a great adjustment from Dr. Ronda at Dynamic Family Chiropractic. My parents and I finally hit the road close to 7pm. The week leading up to this travel day was incredibly stressful and not at all restful. At this point, I hadn't worked out in 4 days, which isn't ideal for tapering. Thanks to some encouragement from friends, I was somewhat successful in changing my mindset into me being well rested. My parents went above and beyond and handled a lot of logistics leading up to our trip, which took some of the stress away. We were fortunate to find a place to stay in Madison that wasn't shady or $400/night. The place worked out really well for the 3 of us, Kristin, JR, Ronda, and Marley (although little miss Marley didn't want to sleep there). The encouragement and support of my friends and family was overwhelming, with all of the stress built up from moving, work, etc., I cannot come close to being able express the gratitude I have. Thank you all.

Back to the trip...we made it to Madison at a reasonable time and went straight to bed. When we got up in the morning, my dad and I went out to recon the bike course one more time. I wasn't sure that a 40 mile ride this close to race day was a good idea, but it felt great to get out and loosen up a bit. The course recon paid off as well. The course changed from last year and there were some changes to road surfaces (new asphalt, potholes, patches, etc.). My dad and I also got buzzed by pro triathlete Ben Hoffman (more on him later). He was nice and waved as he flew by. I should add that we were on a downhill section doing over 25mph when he cruised by. Impressive. In all, a good ride, and it got me focused back on the race and off of work and other stressors. After the ride, I went downtown to the expo and checked-in. There's usually a fairly long line, but I must have hit at the right time, as I walked right on through. My parents and I enjoyed a nice dinner on State Street, and went back to rest.

Friday started off a bit stressful, but I made it to the pool at Monona High School for a few laps, which helped me loosen up even more. I was hoping the outdoor pool in Monona would be open, but it must close around Labor Day. Bummer. JR, Ronda, and Marley rolled in around dinner time, so we headed into Madison to grab some food before the pre-race meeting. Our restaurant of choice, The Great Dane, was busy. We were told 20-30 minutes by the hostess, which would have worked perfectly. An hour later, we were still waiting for a table. This was less than ideal. In a pre-race nutrition plan for an IM distance race, 2 days prior is the calorie/fueling day. At this point, it was apparent that I wouldn't be getting dinner until after the meeting. When our waiter was incredibly rude, I walked out. It was far too much stress to handle when trying to coordinate all of the moving parts of a pre-race week. I headed down to the pre-race meeting and just found a quiet place to relax and re-focus. After the meeting, I walked to the top of the Monona Terrace and spent a good 15 minutes just trying to get myself focused again and de-stressed. After a call to Kristin, I felt a lot better. Thanks, Kristin :)  We ordered take-out from the same restaurant the night before and went back to the condo we were renting. Much more relaxing. But there's still a lot of work to do pre-race, so rest will be key. Ronda gave me a great adjustment and did some ART work on my legs. This will pay-off on race day. After all that, Kristin arrived and we all went to bed.

Saturday was the last day to prepare. No panic training. DON'T PANIC TRAIN!!!! (Unless you're racing for Kona in the 25-29 age group at IMWI 2013. Then panic train. In fact, do the whole race the day before! I'll thank you later.) Anyway, Saturday was a day of prepping my bike and gear/transition bags. At an IM race, you don't leave everything by your bike. Especially IMWI. The transition areas are inside the Monona Terrace. It is an awesome setup. After prepping everything, it was resting time and mentally focusing for what will be a long day of racing. We headed down to drop off my bikes and bags, Kristin and I went up to the top of the terrace and took in the view of the Capitol and the swim course setup on Lake Monona. We all snuck in an early dinner at the Old Fashioned for my traditional pre-race dinner, that is a burger with a fried egg and 2 beers. (Order the #30 - It is amazing, I promise!) After eating only soft foods and drinking ensure plus all day, I was happy to get some solid food in me. After dinner, it was back to the condo and time to rest up. Race morning will come early (4AM)!

Lesson learned from pre-race: be flexible, stay positive, and don't lose focus. Triathlon, especially IM distance, demands an intense mental focus and preparedness. Surround yourself with people who will support you, encourage you, and keep you in a positive mindset.

My nutrition plan for the weekend was as pretty simple:
Friday - hydrate hydrate hydrate and fuel up on carbohydrates and protein. I got a lot of electrolytes and minerals from Ensure Plus and a few bottles of PowerBar's Ironman Perform (the official electrolyte drink of Ironman). Given my injury issues with cramping, it would be key to be well hydrated.
Saturday - mostly liquid/soft foods today. Yogurt, fruit, more Ensure Plus (yum yum!), and of course, IM Perform.
Race day - Ensure Plus for breakfast and in T1, PowerBar gels every 30 minutes on the bike, along with sips of Perform every 15 minutes, PowerBar gel in a flask on the run as needed (early), and resort to Coke only when necessary. The trick is that the sugars in gels become too complex for your body to process over the duration of the race, so Coke (de-fizzed) is a great energy source. But once you take Coke, your body craves it and doesn't want anything else.
Post Race Day - drink lots of beer....

Race Day Report to Follow!

Update and Fremont "Tri 4 Fun" Race Report

Hi to all THREE of my followers. That's right, a 50% increase in followers from July. I don't want to get a big head, but does that mean I'm kind of a big deal? Just kidding. I know I am...not.

Anyway, to the 3 of you: I apologize for the lack of updates. Most of July was spent either getting crazy amounts of training in, recovering, and having some fun with friends. My mom was an amazing host for the second annual "Hoogie Half" (of a half-iron distance triathlon). A huge thanks to her. No matter how low key you try to make an event like that, there is still a ton of legwork and enabling to be done. She nailed it. Already looking forward to next year, hopefully we can manage to get her to race and enjoy the day.

Injury update: after a long, hard weekend of training over the last weekend in July, I managed to severely dehydrate myself. I drank plenty of fluids, but did not replace enough electrolytes AFTER training. As a result, when I went out to run the following week, I re-aggravated my quad injury from earlier in the year. I scaled back significantly on training for two weeks, which were two of the most frustrating and disappointing weeks of the year. Thankfully, I have some amazing friends, family, and support crew. Thanks to all of you for putting up with me, encouraging me, and enabling me to get back to where I am today. After a few lengthy conversations, I was able to determine that my electrolytes were likely very low. Seems so obvious in hindsight, but I had been ignoring the symptoms as I assumed they were just fatigue. Long story short, after some miracle ART work from Dr. Ronda at Dynamic Chiropractic in Grandville and some significant electrolyte replenishment, I slowly ramped up my training and put in a few test efforts late last week. Which brings me to the race this past weekend up in Fremont.

--Fremont "Tri 4 Fun" Race Report--
I managed to get a transfer spot in the race thanks to a friend (thanks J2!), and decided that I would just race for fun and take it easy. After a decent bike ride in the morning, I felt like it was something I could survive and just enjoy. So, up to Fremont we went. Afternoon sprint triathlons = genius!

The swim: the swim at this race is sort of a joke, 300m of which 100m is running in knee deep water. When my wave started, I was not at all certain where I was supposed to exit the water and run to. The sidewalk that was referenced during the pre-race meeting was blocked by spectators. Failure on my part to do the right amount of recon, but again, this race is supposed to be fun! Into the water we went. Immediately, I was off the front with another guy, Jason (who ended up being a friend of our awesome host for the weekend), and Bill Jones (who I swam with waaaaaaay back in the day). Bill was gone. When I picked my head up to sight, I thought he was someone from another heat just warming up. Not that it mattered. He's on a different level. I think the swim took all of 4 minutes. Bill was out of T1 before Jason and I got there. This again played into my "he was in another heat" thought.

T1: reasonably fast. helps to not have to take off a wetsuit! Also motivated by Kristin's awesome sign.

The bike: again, started out not knowing where I was going...oops. Low key race though and it was okay. This was my first race on my new bike with my new race wheels. Let me just say this...IT IS FAST! Initially I thought about just riding easy and kept my cadence high. But when I looked down a few minutes into the ride, I was averaging over 25mph. I decided I would try to maintain that effort, recognizing that we had a bit of a tailwind at that point. I passed Jason and he said to me "go get him." This was the first time I realized that there really was someone ahead of us. Again, not that it would have mattered. The new bike (2009 Specialized S-Works Transition) and the new wheels (Reynolds DV3K Clinchers) had a great maiden voyage. In the end, after fighting the headwind, I averaged 23.2 mph. (STRAVA FILE)

T2: This was a little choppy. The dismount line was a little blurry (did I mention I had no idea where to go?) and running in bike shoes is less than pleasant. Thankfully I had a spot close to the bike out/in and didn't have to do much of that. I took the PowerBar gel that I forgot to take on the bike and flew out of T2.

The run: again, "am I going the right way?" was a recurring thought. But, thankfully, I ended up picking the right route based on what I vaguely remembered from the race meeting. My legs felt pretty strong and I ended up running 6:50s average and cannot complain at all. Felt good to open it up a little bit. I didn't push too hard though, as I didn't see anyone behind me (I had about 60 seconds out of T2), and the leader was long gone. So, cruising home (Kristin will probably give me crap for this) at that pace felt great. (STRAVA FILE)

The race is done in heats, so I would have to wait 14 minutes before the last heat's "handicap" would equalize my time. No one came in to beat me, so I took 2nd overall. Although, due to the low-key nature of the race (no timing chips), it took forever to do awards and post results. Next year, we'll bring a grill and a cooler full of beer. Live and learn. Overall, this was a really fun race, great location, and great people.

Thanks to the Kosters for their hospitality and to Jill1 for the pictures. Kristin - thanks for the never ending support and for the sign  ------->
Jill2 - thanks for the race entry. PowerBar - thanks for making me part of team elite. Dr Ronda and JR - thanks for the ART and encouragement. Mom and Dad - there's not enough space, you know, thank you and love you both.

24 days until IMWI 2012... KEEP DREAMING!!!

Bear Lake Triathlon Race Report

First, my apologies for making both of you wait for yet another eloquently crafted blog post about yet another triathlon! I know you struggled with the anticipation, for that I am sorry.

On to the race…

Bear Lake is a small local triathlon that the Cross Country Cycle Triathlon Team uses as a “team” race. Essentially, we all try to make this the race we do, so that we can socialize and share stories about our training and racing. Some of us take the race lightly, others very seriously, and a few just sandbag because that’s what they do best. One of the guys on the team is a photographer, as is his wife, and they made this video of the race. I won’t spoil it at all, but watch it. It’s awesome. HERE. They also own Absolute Photography, a team sponsor. Thanks guys! 

The swim:

I had high hopes for getting out into the overall lead on the swim and maintaining if for as long as possible throughout the rest of the race. Timmy had similar plans. After the first buoy (and swimming in knee deep water for the first hundred meters), I was drafting comfortably off of Tim, and we already had a gap into 3^rd place. Either Tim put the hammer down here, or I was dead from playing water polo all weekend, but he gapped me by 10 seconds or so. By the time he hit the beach, he had at least 15 seconds on me. But when I took a quick glance behind, it looked like we had cleared the next racer by a decent margin. At Bear Lake, part of your swim time is a quarter mile of running, uphill, to T1. I narrowed the gap on Tim to a few seconds, likely at the cost of a few more seconds on the run. But it was clear we were both taking it easy as to not burn our legs out.

T1:

SLOW. It’s clear that I need practice in this, but T times aren’t quite as key at the 70.3 distance. I’ll have to practice before IMWI, as I’ll need those precious minutes if I hope to qualify for world’s.

The bike:

The course is relatively flat with the exception of the Blockhouse hill. This was a pretty fast ride with the exception of having to climb up both sides, right at the turnaround. After the hill, everything seemed pretty easy. I could tell that all of my training has been focused on longer course races as the amount of power I could push on the pedals wasn’t very much. Not that I was going slow, but I didn’t have the sprint speed needed for a 12.4mi bike leg. I found myself stuck between gears, not enough power to turn the next gear up, but a very high cadence in the gear I was in. Not ideal, but again, with no speedwork, I was happy with where I was. Strava/Garmin file here.

T2:

SLOW. I’ll have to practice before IMWI, as I’ll need those precious minutes if I hope to qualify for world’s.

The run:

I took off out of T2, having lost another 15 seconds. Tim was just ahead of me. Much to my disappointment, I was just ahead of two guys who were going to drop 18-minute 5ks. At about mile 1, my right shoe came untied and I lost what time I had gained on Tim and the other race leaders. The rest was nice though, and having caught my breath, I took off again in pursuit. I passed the 60 year-old super-biker who crushed us, and made sure to give him props. I hope to be that fast when I’m his age. After I finally caught up to Tim, I was hopeful that he and I could close down the gap on the super-runners that had passed us. After what seemed like a long conversation, but realistically was just a few grunted words, Tim told me it was all me. I told him to put his head down and go, hoping he’d come with me. I tried to put the hammer down and close the gap. After a few hundred yards of going full speed, I looked up and saw that the gap had grown. Remembering that I dropped down for the sprint so that I wouldn’t need as long of a recovery time, I shut it down and let Tim come back up to me. We kept the pace up, and decided with a few hundred yards to go that we’d sort it out in a sprint finish. We were neck and neck when we hit the final straight, but the few seconds of recovery while I waited for him to catch up must have been my saving grace. If you haven’t watched the race video, you should. Strava/Garmin file here.

The results:

4^th overall, 1^st in the 25-29 age group. 1:07:31. Results are here.

 Overall, I was very happy with my race. Nutrition (not hard on a sprint distance race) consisted of a half-bottle of PowerBar IRONMAN perform on the bike, a PowerBar gel right before the swim, and a PowerBar performance energy bar (peanut butter) with coffee for breakfast. I should also note that the decision to drop down to the sprint was a very good one. I ended up hammering out another 35 miles on the bike when I got home. Solid day of training/racing!

Keep dreaming...

IMWI 2012

Most (or all) of you already know this, but I'll be racing IM Wisconsin this year (9/9/12)!!!

83 training days to go.

Keep dreaming...

Race Report - Grand Rapids Tri 70.3

Hey to all 2 of my blog followers! You might already know this, but I raced a half-iron distance triathlon this past weekend. This was originally going to be an "A" race for me when I planned out my season, with a goal of shattering my previous best 70.3 time of 5:03 and change. Being the hometown race, I was excited to attempt to take an age group podium spot. The setback with my quads really hurt my chances, but after the positive result at the Madison Half Marathon, I was feeling positive and very excited to race. Not to mention, some sweet new wheels on my bike meant I was almost guaranteed a PR no matter how fast (and by fast I mean slow) I ran. With no additional delay, here's the race recap...

--PRE RACE--
I've started a new tradition pre-race that sort of came about as a joke last year. My pre-race dinner, which has been met with great success thus far, consists of a burger topped with a fried egg (among other various toppings, like avocado, sauteed onions, etc.), and a couple tasty microbrews. To ensure I didn't break the new tradition, we headed to Bagger Dave's (known for their burgers and selection of Michigan beers on draft). Great decision. The food was delicious and didn't cause any issues on race day. Some might say that is a terrible pre-race dinner, but I like to avoid high-fiber foods (pasta) as they don't always sit well with me the following day during extended periods of exercise. I do most of my carbo-loading leading up to the day before the race, allowing my energy stores to build up and race with a gut full of mom's spaghetti. I also spent the pre-race day hydrating with electrolyte drinks (not just water) as the forecast called for temps in the 90s on race day. I think this paid dividends on the run.

On race morning, after downing a few cups of coffee, I made my way to the race. Transition was set up well and I had no issues with the other guys on my bike rack. Always makes it more enjoyable. I do have the benefit of being able to tell people that I'll be gone before they get to T1. Sometimes people look at me like I'm a egotistical prick, but just explaining that I've swum competitively for 25 years seems to mitigate any issues.

--THE SWIM--

Love the swim. It's like a nice and easy warm up for the next 4.5 hours of pounding my legs into oblivion. No, I'm not an egotistical prick, I'm a swimmer. I won't hate you when you blow by me on your $5,000 bike. I found Timmy and cruised through the swim together. We agreed that a 28-29 minute swim would be perfect, and when the gun went off, we somehow managed to get through the crowd and into open water. Great swim course, though a few more buoys for sighting would have been nice. I almost ran into one when staring into the sun trying to find the next buoy. Guess I deserve it for not having done any open water swims this year. But we made it out of the water and into T1 with no issue. Solid. Tim was maybe 5-10 seconds behind me.

T1 was a bit slow for my liking, but I wanted to make sure I was set. 56 miles is a long way to ride if you forgot something like the 4 PowerBar gels that were in my nutrition plan, sunglasses, etc. Having not practiced transitions this year, I guess a slow transition is to be expected. Tim beat me out so I knew I had some ground to make up.

--THE BIKE--
I was more excited for the bike leg than any other. This is the polar opposite for me. But as I mentioned, my new Reynolds race wheels were ready to be shown off. Initially, I had a hard time getting my heart rate down to my planned range. Not wanting to get passed by everyone and their brother's used car salesmen, I may have pushed the tempo a little too much in the opening miles. After 10 or so miles, I caught Timmy. At this point, I thought about letting off the gas and cruising for a while, but the 5-hour goal rang in my mind. I did let up just a bit, which finally brought my HR down to my goal range, barely.

We hit the one climb on the course, out of Saranac, and I had to sit up and spin. My quads were starting to tighten and I didn't want to have to walk 13.1 miles to finish. Somehow, this seemed to get them to relax enough that I could up the tempo again at the top. Relieved, I stepped up again and pushed the pace, letting my HR be the guide to my effort. Around mile 25, Aaron caught me. And Tim. I hadn't realized Tim was still sitting outside the draft zone following my pace. Aaron sat up and said he wanted to cruise with us. Pretty cool to have company on a ride this long, so thanks Aaron and Tim. Note: we followed USAT drafting rules.

At mile 50, after sitting up several times and slowing down the pace, Aaron dropped back with a sore back. Knowing that 5:00 was still possible, I stepped up and pushed the tempo for the last 6 miles. Secretly, I wanted my bike split under 2:40, and it wasn't going to happen without closing fast. When we rolled into T2, my garmin displayed 2:40. Pretty great, that was 10 minutes faster than last year! (Garmin/Strava file here)

I had a slow T2. I managed to get only 1 foot out of my shoes on the bike, so I ran to the bike rack with one bare foot and one shod foot. Oops.Unfortunately, I don't have quick laces on my running shoes and Timmy passed me in transition, again.

Bike nutrition: 2.5 bottles of gatorade, 3 PowerBar gels (Kona Punch and Tangerine)

--THE RUN--

As I exited T2, one thought ran through my head. It is hot. Very hot. Aaaand you left your cooling sleeves in T2. Ugh. Hate having mental lapses on race-day. Execution is so important in triathlon...it's like this:

Your level of fitness is the size of the engine in a plane. Your execution is the pilot. If you aren't a good pilot, it doesn't matter if you fly an F-16 or a Cessna. You probably aren't going to make it very far.

Back to the race...Timmy probably had a good 30-45 seconds out of T2, and wanting to have some company on the run, I took off after him. Again, execution failure. Mile 1: 6:30 pace. Sustainable in a sprint/oly distance, but not a good idea in a 70.3 in 90 degree heat. I caught up with him though, and we cruised through mile 2 in 7:20ish. Again, too fast. During mile 3 I find myself a step ahead. I stopped to tie my shoes (I need some quick-laces). The course dips down into the river valley and I took off, leaving Tim behind. I intended on letting him catch back up, but when I looked back, I didn't see him. We'd be on our own to run it in. At this point in the run, the heat really started to take it's toll on me. My splits are indicative of this. (Garmin/Strava file here).

After a quick pit stop, I took off again into the heat. Nothing like a porta-jon in the sun to bake you on an already hot day! Cooled down with lots of ice (ingested, in the shirt, down the shorts), I managed to keep myself from overheating. At the turnaround, I saw a lot of familiar faces lining the road, and was given a boost from the support (thanks!). Knowing there were another 6.5 miles of suffering ahead, it was great to hear the encouragement. My recollection of the second lap is a bit foggy. I just focused on encouraging people that I passed and thanking the volunteers on course. This is a good trick when your'e in the pain cave/hurt house. Keeps your mind off of the pain. With 3 miles to go I picked up the pace again and started to push to the finish. I didn't want to pull the trigger too soon, but with a solid "shopping spree" at the aid station, I was ready to finish. Looking ahead and not down, I targeted people I wanted to pass before I finished. This gave me a tangible goal that was closer than the finish line. Had I known that I was so close to breaking 5 hours, I definitely would have pushed harder. But, given the heat and the injury setback, I am very pleased with a PR by 3 minutes. 5 hours 42 seconds and 3rd place in the 25-29 age group!

From a nutrition standpoint on the run, I made sure to take gatorade, water, and ice at every aid station. The course provided hammer gel, but I've never liked the stuff. Way too think, almost like peanut butter. I carried two PowerBar gels with me and took them at mile 4 and 8. I wish I had carried another for the closing miles, lesson learned. What I like most about the Powerbar gels is how fluid they are. I can take them without water in a pinch. By far my favorite gel product.

--THANK YOU--

A huge thanks for the organizers, volunteers, spectators, and fellow competitors for making this a great race. Also thanks to PowerBar for supporting Team Elite. I will be back next year. This is a must-do hometown race.

Until next time, keep dreaming...

Race Report - Madison 13.1

Some quick thoughts on the back-to-back races I did on Memorial Day weekend...


First up, the Madison Half-Marathon. Hopped in the car on Friday afternoon with JR and Ronda for a quick trip to Madison, WI to get a nice training weekend in and for them to run the 13.1 on Sunday morning. I was hoping to get multiple loops in on the IMWI bike course. When we woke up Saturday morning, it was storming. With plans rapidly derailing, we went to the expo to pick up packets at which point I decided to register and get a nice training run in on Sunday morning. Not exactly what I was planning, but I figured it would be a good barometer for where I will be at the Grand Rapids 70.3 in 2 weeks. It was also a test to see if my legs have recovered from injury. By the time we left the expo, the weather had cleared. JR and I got dropped off in Verona and we took a nice spin around the loop portion of the bike course. It was great to see the course again, it brought back some fun memories. I also rode over the infamous "bump" that threw off my last big training block before IMWI 2011. Fortunately, it was intentional this time. I can see why I crashed when not expecting to be jolted like that. Pretty fun course. Strava file: http://app.strava.com/rides/9514415


After a good ride and getting Ronda completely turned around on the way back to the hotel (thanks for driving, Ronda!), we cleaned up and went to watch Ty run the kids race and to get dinner at the "Old-fashioned". It stormed again, which delayed the kids race, but the timing worked perfectly. After Ty finished running and we made it back to the restaurant, the buzzer went off and our table was ready. I only mention the restaurant because it is a MUST when visiting town. Great food, and 50 Wisconsin brewed beers on tap. Perfect night before a race meal: a burger with a fried egg on it, and a couple beers. Winning combination so far this year. We all crashed pretty hard after dinner. The prospect of running 13.1 miles the next day was daunting, given forecasted temps in the 90s.


Race day - after not sleeping well at night (poor Marley was teething all weekend!), we all made our way to the start. I decided to run with JR and Ronda for the first few miles to test out the leg. If it felt good, I would take off, otherwise I'd stick with them. I got to 3mi and felt great. Wished them well, and took off on what ended up being a great progression run (when each mile trends faster than the previous). Looking at the strava file, I couldn't have done much better: http://app.strava.com/runs/9514419  It was hot, but not too hot. I made sure to grab two gatorades each aid station and used a PowerGel at halfway. nailed the nutrition, felt great the whole way, and kept pushing the pace. The only complaint I had was the lack of ice being handed out at aid stations. They had it, but you had to stop and ask for it. Not ideal in a race. The last .5mi is uphill but lined with spectators. In fact, there was a lot of crowd support the entire way. Made it a fun race. Back to the finish, you can see the State Capitol as you turn and it is a good marker of how far you have to run up the hill. Motivated to finish strong, I pushed hard up the hill and ended up in the finish chute by myself. Clocked an open 13.1 PR (half-iron splits are faster) at 1:43. Felt great. Grabbed a free Fat Tire that I convinced the beer tent worker to give me for 2 beer tickets, and went to watch JR and Ronda finish. Great race. Fun city. I'll be back. 


Thanks to JR and Ronda for bringing me along!

5/3 River Bank Run Race Report

Time for a race report from this weekend's 5/3 River Bank 25k run. This event is a lot of fun. At $35, you can't beat the price. Post-race beer tent, over 10,000 runners in the 25k, great crowd support, and even a few crazies in costumes/outfits. One of them being me. Pics at the bottom. No, the mustache is not a permanent fixture. Yes, I realize how terrible it looked.

I've been having issues with my vastus medialis (interior quad muscle group) where they will knot up and prevent me from running. It's really inhibited training for this event, and training at the same intensity that I had been for my next "A" race (GR 70.3). I've been rolling these out with a golf ball and tennis ball and training at a slower pace with some success. What has also helped immensely was some ART (Active Release Technique) from Dr. Ronda at Dynamic Chiropractic. Great to have that resource available to me.

Given the issues I've been dealing with, it was a no-brainer decision to run with my friend Steve rather than attempt to race. We ended up averaging 8:46/mi, I finished with no pain, and we had a lot of fun. For nutrition, I took a PowerBar gel pre-race and at mile 6. Given the light pace (my avg HR was only 133), I didn't feel the need for any more nutrition. Strange feeling, but the gels work well. No stomach issues at all.

The strava file for the run is here: http://app.strava.com/runs/8392897

Also wanted to give my buddy Tim, and his dad Tim, some props on their races. Their story was told in the local press. Pretty cool. Young Tim set a PR at a blazing fast 1:43 and change. His dad ran his first 25k since 1987 (where he still can one up young Tim with a PR of 1:39). Twenty five years later, Tim's return to distance running was a success, running a 2:23. Nice job guys! And not to forget to mention my mom, who ran a PR 2:49! Great runs!

So after a successful long and easy race, I'm happy and looking forward to making a decent push towards GR 70.3 on June 10. I'll be sure to update on my training.

Now for a laugh:

Fisk Knob TT and Easter Sunday Century

Quick race report from Fisk Knob time trial that was on April 15. This race came at the end of a very long training week on the bike, totaling over 230 miles. In April, in Michigan, that's quite the feat. So, considering my mileage, I decided to ride on my friend's fixed gear bike and just enjoy the day. Great idea, medium execution. We put a brake on the bike to control downhill speed as this was a big concern. The TT course starts at the highest point in Kent County and goes straight downhill for a mile, and then has a 90 degree right turn. Was all over the brake on the way down as once I hit 28mph, as my cadence was north of 150. Once off the hill, the rolling course was rough but kept the speed up over 20 and felt pretty good. Then the wheels came off the bus. Or, make that, the chain snapped on the fixie. Day over at 4.5 miles. Strava file here. After I luckily got a ride back to the start, it was fun to watch the Cross Country Cycle guys come in. Everyone had a good race, lots of PRs, and Steve and Tim rocked the tandem. FKTT Results here.

Part of my long training week was a result of this ride. Since my family was out of town for Easter, I decided it would be a good day to get a century in. With the wind blowing 20-25mph out of the NW, it seemed logical to ride the middle 50 against the wind, and take the benefit of the tailwind home. Good decision. The last 25 miles were brutal and it was great to get home. 6 hours is an eternity to be on a bike by yourself, but it was good to get test my mental toughness this early in the year.

As the Grand Rapids 70.3 approaches, I'll be working on some shorter rides and picking up speed. In two weeks, I'll be racing the Fifth Third Riverbank 25k Run. Have some fun planned for the race, I'm looking forward to it. There will be pictures and I'm sure I'll be embarrassed!

Irish Jig 5k Race Report

Last weekend I completed my first race since IM Wisconsin 2011: an early season 5k road race. The 2012 Spectrum Health Irish Jig is a fun and popular race in Grand Rapids. Lots of green-clad runners looking to get some calories banked for a day of shenanigans. This year was even bigger since we've been experiencing this crazy warm weather. Not sure the official temp at the start, but I'm sure it was easily over 60 degrees at 9am. The last time I did this race, it was in the mid-twenties. Official results here.

I didn't have high expectations since I've been focusing on improving my weak bike legs. I did want to break the 20 minute mark again, and had some hopes of setting a PR at 19:12, given that I'd spent the previous week at 9700' in Colorado. I also wanted to get a quality run in the newton mv2's I bought at the end of last year (sweet shoes, but more on these in a minute).

Long story short, I paced myself very well in this race. The middle mile was a little slower than an ideal split, but there was a headwind and the road rolls a bit on this stretch. I picked up the tailwind on the way back for a negative split and crossed the finish line in an 18:44. A PR by 28 seconds! Very happy with how the race went, and only makes me wonder if sub-18 is possible with some track/speed work.

On to the shoes...I knew I was in trouble with these shoes at mile 2. You're supposed to train in these, not just throw them on and race. If you're not familiar with the MV2, they are a "zero-drop" shoe that weighs next to nothing. Needless to say, they are fast and efficient, but I've only been running 5-10 miles per week in my trail runners and other Newtons. Not quite the same. My calves were rocked and I was hobbling around for a few days. I'll have to incorporate some speed-work with these this year so that I can race in them without repeating my foolishness. This didn't stop me from following up the run with a nice 40 mile solo effort on the bike. Heck, if it is 85 degrees in March, you better take advantage of it!

Next race is the 5/3 Riverbank Run 25k on May 12. The biggest 25k in the US. Great race, great price. Can't go wrong with a post-race beer tent!

Giving this a shot...

Earlier this week I was surprised when I received notice from PowerBar that I had been selected to represent their Team Elite for 2012-2013. I'm beyond excited and can't wait for what lies ahead. I'll be using this space to talk about my training and nutrition, to encourage active and healthy lifestyles, and to share race reports.

A quick bit about me: I'm a 27 year-old triathlete from Grand Rapids, MI. I'm more of a distance racer than a sprinter, but that doesn't hold me back from mixing it up. My first Ironman (Wisconsin 2011) was a great accomplishment, but a crash in the weeks leading up to race day prevented me from reaching my initial goals, and subsequently has left me hungry and driven to go back attempt to qualify for Kona. I also race for a LBS, Cross Country Cycle in Holland, MI and am a member of the 616 masters water polo club.