Bear Lake Sprint Triathlon

Two days after the criterium in Zeeland, it was time for the second triathlon of the season. The day brought us to North Muskegon, MI for the Bear Lake Sprint Tri. In order to drum up some friendly competition amongst teammates, this is the second race in the point series we created. With potential do get on the overall podium, we showed up ready to rock.

Bear Lake Sprint Tri, June 23, 2013
Race morning came very early, after spending most of the previous day traveling to my niece's 1st birthday party. Couldn't miss that, so take the travel fatigue and put it aside. Tim and I had plans of opening up a big gap on the swim and trying to lead the race wire to wire. We were successful, after a few weeks of panic swim training, we were out in front after the first buoy. Unfortunately, the swim is only 750m. We had approximately a 30 second gap out of the water.

My transition was fast, and I was out on the bike in first place. What a cool feeling that is, following the lead motorcycle escort. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. After approximately 3 miles, I was passed by 2 athletes. Soon after, a third. None of these were Tim though, so from a point series perspective, I felt okay. I also recalled that one of the guys was over 60 and had done the same thing last year. He doesn't run well (he told us that last year), but he sure is a strong cyclist! There is one big hill on the bike course that you climb and descend right before the turnaround. You then go right back over. At this point, all four of us were very close. Tim was close behind as well. My hope was that we would get a little relief from the wind on the way back, but it was almost worse. My legs were zapped from training, but I kept my head up and pushed home, coming into T2 in 4th.

After another quick transition, I was out on the run. I had no idea what the gap was to Tim behind me, but I knew if I held him off that I could finish 3rd overall. But, the gap wasn't that big. A half mile in and I heard footsteps. Tim was flying. I would later find out that he ran 6:09 avg/mi, while I struggled to get under 7. That was okay though. I moved back into 4th and cruised home. There are much bigger goals for me this year, and I was relatively satisfied with the race. Given my issues with quad injuries, finishing the run without any pain was a success!

After the race, I would head out for 40 more miles on the bike. Have to keep doing work and keep my short-term goals in check, there's a world championship in Hawaii to qualify for!

(A huge thanks to Jason Lavelle of Absolute Photography for taking pictures for the 2BContinued team!!!)

2BContinued Zeeland Criterium

Okay, I know I may have said that I wouldn't do one of these races again. But when your good friend is a key player in organizing the event and wants the team to have a good showing, you take some risks and go for it.

Downtown Zeeland, MI, June 21, 2013...
I had to rush out of work to make it to the start in time, as this was a Friday evening race. Fortunately, Kristin got out of work early and had all of my stuff ready and a snack prepared. She is the best. We hit the road and made it on time. We delivered the two boxes of PowerBar product to the race table and I headed out to warm up. One of the cool things that PowerBar does for Team Elite is sponsor "small" events in order to grassroots market their products. Pretty cool deal.
 

After a few laps on the course, I had made note of the tight turns and potholes and was ready to go. Since the were several of us racing, I thought we would stick together and work as a group. But, when the race started, a lot of the guys held back and didn't try to make the main group. I saw an opening and stood on the pedals to latch onto the back. The first turn was chaos. It was probably the second tightest turn on the course, and with everyone battling for positioning, there was A LOT of braking (in this type of race,where you ride maybe one or two blocks before turning, you need to. Keep your speed up though the turns). This caused a lot of slinky action on the back of the main group: sprint, brake, sprint, brake, etc. The first lap went by very quickly, I didn't have my garmin, but I was told we were going 26-27 on the straights.

I started to get dropped because I couldn't find space to pass some riders and thought about sitting up and waiting for the rest of the group. Then, CRASH. Not me, thankfully! But ahead in the main group. My groupetto caught back up with the back and at this point most of the braking culprits had fallen off. So, clean riding, which was nice. I decided to go for it and see how long I could last. I didn't last long, but after 3 laps I saw most of my teammates on the sidewalk. I was worried that one of them had crashed, but there wasn't any way I could find out. Turns out they were almost ready to be lapped and had to retire from the race.

So I was out in no-mans land looking for a group to share the work with. Finally I caught up to one and they latched on to my wheel. I wasn't exactly looking to do all of the work, so I sat up and moved over so they would pull ahead. I rode with two or three of them for most of the race, one of them was a big guy and took his turns into the wind, meaning we all got a nice break. Lap after lap, the race coordinators said they would keep us out for as long as possible. With about a tenth of a mile to go on our third to last lap, the group caught us. The race coordinators apparently called the lapped riders off the course, but we were long gone and focused on not getting run over. So, I technically did not finish, but official results say that I finished 18th out of 65 or so. Not bad for a CAT4/5 mixed race on a steel framed bike!

So maybe my crit racing days aren't over...?

Race Report - Ashworth Backyard Triathlon

The second race of the weekend brought us to Steve and Korrie's home in Allendale. An annual tradition on Memorial Day, we swim, bike, and run an unofficial and fun, yet competitive, triathlon. This is the first race in the WMPTWCPS (West Michigan Premier Triathlon World Championship Point Series). In past years, it has been very warm and great weather. I guess we were due for a change. At race start, the air temp was in the 50s. Thankfully I packed a full-zip long sleeve jersey, cap, and gloves for the ride. Turned out to be completely worth it.

Pre-race I tried out one of the new PowerBar products called Performance Energy Blends. Made with real fruit, they are more like an applesauce consistency than gel like. They go down very easy and taste pretty good. These ended up given a decent energy load during the short race.

The swim was the first time I had been in the water since playing water polo in January. Needless to say, it is time to get back at it! The water was cold, my sighting poor, but still managed to have a decent swim. 250ish yards in about 4 minutes.

Out of the water and into T1, the cold air had some bite. I put on all the layers I could, fiddled with my garmin to try to get it to change from swim to bike, and hopped on to try to not fall behind. As we made our way out of the neighborhood, I cold feel every mile of the 3 hour ride I put in on Sunday. But, we managed to form a group (draft legal house rules) and I tried to stay comfortable. When we hit the turnaround, we had averaged over 23mph. We had to do some work to fight back against the wind on the way back, and needed up averaging 22+ for the 14.5mi. Very satisfied with this given the training load and that I left the race wheels at home.

My legs were frozen, tight, and seemingly not ready to run a 5k at the speed necessary to win. Tim was in the group with us and has been running very impressively this year. I wisely conceded to him after the first 1/4 mile and started to cruise. I took too much off the gas though and Phil came flying by. Damage control. My legs felt okay, so I kept my cadence up and stayed on my toes. Once Phil passed, I tried to speed up and keep the gap manageable. I started to count the gap, and kept it under 10 seconds. We hit the turn around and went straight into a headwind. I managed to even things up in the next half mile, and Phil tucked in behind me. Not sure how much advantage it really was to draft, but mentally it was threatening to have him right there. Thankfully, I could also hear his breathing, which helped reassure me that I was feeling a little better. Beware though, guys like Phil are smart racers. We hit the last little rise in the road with .1mi to go and I put in a little kick to gap him, successfully. But then, as we turned to the finish in Steve's yard, he started to sprint and challenged my second place. Another push and I held him off in the closing steps, securing 9 precious points in the WMPTWCPS standings.

Overall, a fun race with a little serious edge. I was hurting most of the race and it felt good to still have a great effort despite the soreness. Thanks again to Steve and Korrie for hosting us!

Back to training...

Race Report - Bayshore 10k

This Saturday started off yet another double race weekend. On Friday, Kristin and I headed off to Traverse City to join our friends JR and Ronda for the Bayshore races (they were running the 13.1, K and I running the 10k). The buildup to this race is such that I hadn't run since the riverbank 25k incident, nervous, tired from a long work week, but ready to put the legs to work running again.

After a beer and a "late night" snack at North Peak brewery, we headed off to our quality motel 6 room to get what sleep we could. JR and Ronda had to be up very early, so we crashed pretty quickly. I shouldn't complain about the hotel, because the place next door looked far worse. The only issue was the lack of coffee before 7am. Thank heaven for 7-11!

Race morning we drove and found relatively close parking. Got coffee, and walked in the very brisk 38 degrees to the start. We recounted how drastically different this weather was from last year, when we ran the Madison half-marathon in 80+ degrees at 7am. Crazy. Anyway, I was pretty stressed out and worried that the run was going to be a disaster. I didn't want the leg cramping to return. My legs were cold and tight, my mental state was weak. So much so that I think at one point I proclaimed to K that "this is going to be a $&@) failure!"

However, once the race started and we dealt with all of the poorly paced runners, things were fine. I recall thinking to myself, run more towards the ball of your feet and up on your toes, over exaggerating your form. It worked! We cruised along the bay and averaged approximately 8:15/mi pace. Nowhere close to a PR, but I was elated. Also very proud that K stuck to it after having several very poor runs after her big Riverbank PR.

Post-race amenities were great. We waited a short time and watched JR and Ronda finish their race. JR with a PR! We quickly cleaned up at the motel and grabbed lunch and celebratory beers at Mackinaw Brewing Co. before heading home. What a huge relief this was. The beginning of being back on track, love it!

Riverbank 25k Race Report - Disappointment...

This report has been hard to type, given the disappointment and time spent reflecting on what went wrong and whether or not I need to be seriously worried about the rest of the season. While I continue to reflect, here's the story...

Race #3 for the season was the Fifth Third Bank Riverbank Run (25k). I had big goals of re-qualifying for the two-hour club, the "gold standard" for the race. I had done so a couple years ago, and felt that given my training and how much better of an athlete I am now from 2 years ago that this would be relatively easy. But, it seems as though my recent trail running race and quad strain issue may derail that goal. I was hopeful, but also realistic and very cautious about running this distance.

Backup to a week pre-race, I found that I would be working in the Boston area all week getting home less than 12 hours before the race. Less than ideal. There's something about being out of town, out of cadence and routine, not eating as well as one should. I was mentally off before I even got home, expecting the recurring cramping/strain to come back in the race. It made the entire week feel miserable and looking back,  I was not at all prepared to run the entire race.

On race morning, I had to opportunity to hand out gels for PowerBar for a couple hours before the race. probably not the best that I was on my feet in the cold for that long, but it perhaps only accelerated what was to come. It was fun to meet some of the PB marketing crew and talk to other racers about nutrition strategies and encourage them to include PB in their plans.

Once the racers started lining up for the 25k, I bid adieu to the PB group and headed out to race. I could already feel that my legs were tight and not ready, but a little jogging in place seemed to temporarily help. The race quickly started and we were on our way. I comfortably ran the first mile, letting the hoards of people lined up behind me fly by. Anything around 7:50 for the first mile was right on pace, and I nailed it. I wanted to progress over the 15.5 miles, and did so. The second mile was right around 7:45 pace. Then the third around 7:45. At this point, the course has made its way onto Indian Mounds, which has a very noticeable crown on both sides. I tried to stay right in the middle to avoid lopsided running but that is almost inevitable. Soon, my left IT band started to become very tense. It wasn't unbearable, I figured I could make it to the next aid station, stretch quickly, and keep running. Then, the tense/tightness started to migrate across my left quad, pinpointing to the exact area of my prior injury/issue. It wasn't unbearable, but since I was already mentally expecting this, I didn't want to do any severe damage by continuing to run. After stepping aside and stretching several times, jogging for a few hundred yards, walking, stretching, etc., it was clear I was done. I limped to the next aid station and hopped a ride on the SAG vehicle back to the start.

Not the day I was hoping for, but after rationalizing it with friends and family, it may have been best. I'm thankful for all of the support, for the volunteers, race coordination and security. This is such a great race and I can't wait to return next year!

As a side note, if you see Kristin, tell her congrats on her huge PR! She must have a good coach....hahaha

Double Race Weekend - Race #2 Queen's Day Criterium

Might make sense to read this post first.

So after nearly bombing my season on a trail race, I went out for a very easy spin on the bike. I had hydrated a lot and got some electrolytes in me. That felt good. I also used a foam roller on my legs. Hurt like hell but does wonders. Back to bed early for yet another race.

Queen's Day Criterium

I signed up for this race as part of the 2BContinued triathlon team. This is a "new" team that formed with the goal to raise funds for cancer programs as well has having fun racing and training together. I had very limited goals for this race. First, stay upright (don't crash!). Second, don't get lapped by the leaders. Third, don't come in last. A criterium is a closed loop course, usually with technical turns, where racers ride for 30 minutes.  This course was pretty tough, with 8 turns per lap, crossing cobblestone sidewalks and lots of potholes.

For those of you who haven't seen a criterium in person, let's take a look at two really quick videos:

The first is the actual race, taken by a teammate and his wife.

The second shows how quickly things can turn south!

The race started quickly and despite my efforts, I couldn't keep up with the leaders. If you're good, you can ride in the middle of the pack, out of the wind, and position yourself at the finish to win in a sprint. If you aren't so good, you fall off the back and drag yourself around for 30 minutes like I did. I finally caught some teammates with a lap to go, but they all wanted a free ride. So I kept breaking the wind for them. Fortunately, only one of them beat me in the sprint, for 35th place! Clearly I'm not a cyclist. Despite averaging 21.4 mph for nearly 30 minutes on a steel Bianchi, 35/50 was the best I could muster. Not to be too disappointed, I'm sure if there was a swim and a run as part of the event I would've done just fine!

For you data geeks out there, here's the garmin file on Strava.

Double Race Weekend - Race #1 Hurt The Dirt (and my legs!)

Time to resurrect this space an start blogging again. It's officially race season!

I raced twice this weekend, a trail run and a criterium (or "crit"). It was structured to be a pretty decent weekend, with the trail run and a few extra warm-up and cool-down miles to take place of my longer training run for the week and the crit to be followed by a longer ride to take place of my longer training ride. This of course, was all planned before I came down with a nasty head and chest cold on Monday. After taking 4 days off of training, I still figured I'd be well rested and ready to at least give a 75-80% race level effort and have fun.

Hurt the Dirt Trail Run 10k "Plus"
I signed up for this race through work, as one of our brands, Patagonia Footwear, was the title sponsor. In addition to a reduced entry fee, the marketing team gave us a free pair of trail running shoes to represent the brand. Loving a great deal, I couldn't turn it down. So I picked these shoes. Laced 'em up, and hoped for a nice morning of training followed by a harder bike ride.

The race started 1.3 miles from the parking lot, so I used the distance as my warm-up. I wanted to run 8-10 miles anyway. This was a comfortable pace and helped me loosen up. But after standing around for 30 minutes waiting for our heat to start, I must have tightened up a bit. I lined up near the front as no one seemed to be interested in doing so, took off at the gun, and found myself running comfortably in 5th or 6th position. This is where the competitive side can take over, and it did. The first mile went down easy, then the second. I passed two people and was in 4th place, pacing on the heels of 3rd place. Mile three went by and still cruising. Somewhere between mile 3-4 my legs started to tighten up. I took a PowerBar gel that I was carrying with me and it seemed to ease things up for a bit.

For anyone who hasn't gone mountain biking or trail running in West Michigan, let me give you an idea of how many twist and turns and small rises and downhills there are on the trails we were running. This will preface the remainder of the race. The green highlighted line is the trail we ran on. Aside from perhaps a mile, the course is never flat nor straight. This is much harder on your legs than running on a road or path!


Back to the run. I hit the second to last straight section and had to stop running to stretch my legs out. I injured myself running through this type of issue last summer and really had that in mind as my legs started to cramp up. Top 3 at a small trail race is not the consolation prize I want in exchange for dealing with another injury. I was clearly dehydrated from being sick, so I decided to back of and jog what I could, walk what I couldn't, and stretch out as much as possible. Surprisingly, I was still in the top ten when we made the last half mile, but at list point all I could do was walk. I got a few hundred yards to the finish and jogged in, went straight to the gatorade and bananas, then off to stretch and compose myself.

After I loosened up, I decided I would try to jog back to my car. I felt okay and thought the flat road might be tolerable. Thank goodness I was right. I made it back at a slow pace, but it was comforting that I could still run. When I got hurt last year, I couldn't even walk. I don't know what place I came in, but I'm glad that I pulled myself out of the running before doing any serious damage.

For you data geeks, here's the garmin file on strava.