Instead of writing a long boring post with a bunch of random stuff in it like usual I'm breaking this one down a bit.
Last year I remember hanging around my house one February weekend morning and suddenly hearing and seeing a steady stream of people running down the center of Ridge Rd. I had no idea what was going on but just figured it was running group... with a LOT of people, and spread out at some highly variable paces but still a running group.
Turns out it was the 47th Annual Washington's Birthday Marathon which start in Greenbelt and does a few loops around the Beltsville Ag Center and heads back into Greenbelt for the finish. I found that out when I headed out for my own run a bit later and accidentally "won" the marathon in a time of about 2:20 or something... They weren't too pleased when I threw my hands up in a "what is going on here" motion coming upon the finish... Sorry guys, that's my normal running route!
Anyway, I'm hoping they hold the race again this year because now I really want to run it. For one, it's in my backyard, and I train on the very roads it follows. My long run yesterday as a matter of fact I saw this morning was essentially a loop of the marathon coarse. In reading some reviews of the race a lot of people mention how tough the course is with the rollers around the Ag center and the "killer" hill at mile 25 which is where i do most of my hill work so I've got a definite home field advantage on that one.
Because of the fitness level I'm at right now I was recently considering grabbing up a transfer for the Marine Corp Marathon and running that though when I mentioned it to Aimee the additional training time didn't sit too well plus I don't need to pay out another $100+ to jump into another race. So, instead I'll have this to keep myself motivated, give myself plenty of recovery time after the 1/2 IM and most importantly spend some serious time on running specific speed work and endurance so I can really give it my all come February.
Here's to George Washington! Well, and a race start I can run to in under 5 minutes from my doorstep! :)
Friday, August 22, 2008
Been a while on the postings, but right now I'm waiting hours for a few application updates to complete on my historic computer here so I figure now is a decent time to post something. Training has been going very well over the last few weeks/months. Basically since I started using a laid out "plan" with day to day workouts. I like the structure and knowing what to do, not just making something up as I feel like it. Better yet I'm seeing results; my running is improving dramatically while I can see steady improvement in my swimming as well.
Sunday I did probably my longest ride of the year at about 60 miles, an easy spin over the Brian's down through Rock Creek and back and felt great. Wasn't too sure how I was going to fare since my longest rides lately have been in the 30 mile range but I felt great throughout the ride. Pace was pretty steady though I picked it up substantially for the last 20 miles and didn't feel overly tired or anything.
Last night I did my longest run of the year as well, and earlier this week my 3000+ swim was probably my longest as well while we're on the trend. This is my heaviest week training time wise so it makes sense. The run was 14 plus miles easy in about 2 hours and felt really good up until about the last 10 or 20 minutes when I just wanted to be finished. I think it was more mental then physical since when I finished I was heading to Aimee's and I haven't seen her for over a week while she'd been out of town.
All of my long workouts though felt great and lead me to believe I'm in a pretty solid spot for my upcoming races. Next Sunday I'm running the Larry Noel 15k which starts and runs through my backyard aka the Beltsville Ag Center. After that Brian and I head up to our folks' place in the Pocono's for some R&R/concentrated training time before Jenny and Aimee meet us mid week. The Nation's Tri the weekend after we come back and 2 weeks later its on to Jerseyman 1/2 Iron, my season goal!
Sunday I did probably my longest ride of the year at about 60 miles, an easy spin over the Brian's down through Rock Creek and back and felt great. Wasn't too sure how I was going to fare since my longest rides lately have been in the 30 mile range but I felt great throughout the ride. Pace was pretty steady though I picked it up substantially for the last 20 miles and didn't feel overly tired or anything.
Last night I did my longest run of the year as well, and earlier this week my 3000+ swim was probably my longest as well while we're on the trend. This is my heaviest week training time wise so it makes sense. The run was 14 plus miles easy in about 2 hours and felt really good up until about the last 10 or 20 minutes when I just wanted to be finished. I think it was more mental then physical since when I finished I was heading to Aimee's and I haven't seen her for over a week while she'd been out of town.
All of my long workouts though felt great and lead me to believe I'm in a pretty solid spot for my upcoming races. Next Sunday I'm running the Larry Noel 15k which starts and runs through my backyard aka the Beltsville Ag Center. After that Brian and I head up to our folks' place in the Pocono's for some R&R/concentrated training time before Jenny and Aimee meet us mid week. The Nation's Tri the weekend after we come back and 2 weeks later its on to Jerseyman 1/2 Iron, my season goal!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Final results for the August Training Tri
The final results for the DCTri training triathlon were posted today and first off I did manage to run the time I was hoping to pull in. 20:58 for the 3.2 mile run, just barely under my 21 minute goal. Overall I came in 10th, though who knows on the age group/gender bit. I do believe I can do better then that though with how thrashed my legs were on Sunday and even Monday I'm not surprised or disappointed with the final results.
My swim pace was about 15 to 20 seconds off what I probably should be swimming, maybe more which I was excuse simply based on my seeding issues. I'm thinking I could easily have pulled in a 6 to 6:30 swim as opposed to my 7+. T1 was as suspected dreadfully slow at over 2 minutes but that doesn't necessarily bother me too much. I know I can manage a sub-one minute transition there when I want to.
The bike I think got windier as the race went on so an earlier start and faster swim might have given an advantage along with fresh legs. T2 was significantly faster at something like 48 seconds which was a nice surprise, while as I mention before my run was within my initial goal time (barely) of 21 minutes. Once again fresh legs and a little more motivation I feel fairly confident I could pull off a sub-20 minute 3.2 miles, much less my first sub-20 minute 5k.
So, there it is.
In other news I think I need to adjust my cockpit and seat hight on the CAAD9. While I am very comfortable in my aero bars I am probably not in a sufficient enough aero position to garner all the benefits of having them. I also feel, especially on the aero bars in TT mode when I slide forward on my seat a bit I have plenty of play (maybe too much) with my leg extension as it seems my knee is beyond slightly bent. I'll try some things out hopefully this week and next week to see if I can get things dialed in better. Still four and a half weeks to the Nations Tri to get things set correctly.
My swim pace was about 15 to 20 seconds off what I probably should be swimming, maybe more which I was excuse simply based on my seeding issues. I'm thinking I could easily have pulled in a 6 to 6:30 swim as opposed to my 7+. T1 was as suspected dreadfully slow at over 2 minutes but that doesn't necessarily bother me too much. I know I can manage a sub-one minute transition there when I want to.
The bike I think got windier as the race went on so an earlier start and faster swim might have given an advantage along with fresh legs. T2 was significantly faster at something like 48 seconds which was a nice surprise, while as I mention before my run was within my initial goal time (barely) of 21 minutes. Once again fresh legs and a little more motivation I feel fairly confident I could pull off a sub-20 minute 3.2 miles, much less my first sub-20 minute 5k.
So, there it is.
In other news I think I need to adjust my cockpit and seat hight on the CAAD9. While I am very comfortable in my aero bars I am probably not in a sufficient enough aero position to garner all the benefits of having them. I also feel, especially on the aero bars in TT mode when I slide forward on my seat a bit I have plenty of play (maybe too much) with my leg extension as it seems my knee is beyond slightly bent. I'll try some things out hopefully this week and next week to see if I can get things dialed in better. Still four and a half weeks to the Nations Tri to get things set correctly.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Exhaustion
Friday I decided to make up for my missed 90 minute run from Thursday as well as complete my long swim scheduled for Friday. The day was perfect for a run and after staying home sick (more of a mental health day) I got out for my run around 1. The workout called for 75 minutes at an easy pace (perceived exertion around a 3) and the final 15 minutes bumped up to about a 5.
The first 75 was great, I did the beaver dam to springfield to powder mill back in on research and down and around greenbelt lake which got me to about my 75 minute spot and for the final 15 I trucked it a bit through old greenbelt and down northway and around the softball fields and back. I managed right at about 12 miles for the run, probably harder then I should have been going though I want to turn up the training a bit from the plan I'm following so I'm not too worried about it. All in all it was a very good run at a pace of about 7:30. Once again not race winning but solid for me.
The swim went well too, 800 in warm up followed by two 900's at an RPE 3 and a 200 cool down. I swam more like an RPE 5 or 6 for the first and cooled it down for the second more. Unfortunately sometimes if someone is swimming beside me I end to turn things up a bit. Friday night wasn't bad since I feel I got some solid work in and didn't crush myself but I still swam faster then I needed to. I used my new lap counter Aimee got me for the second 900 and was pleasantly surprised by my lap consistency. My fastest and slowest laps were separated by less then 6 seconds and the fastest was lap 1 and slowest was lap 9 (of 18) which I think is pretty promising.
Went to bed Friday night feeling pretty good about the workouts for the day tired but feeling ready for Saturday mornings' DCTri training triathlon...
5:15 came early! The training tri at Haines Point went pretty well. I seeded myself along with the guy in front of me way to low and ended up having to make my way past at least 4 people during the swim. Self timed my swim at about a 7:41 for the 400 meters. Probably could've done a lot better had I been seeded correctly for the start. As it was I'd probably put myself at least a minute behind where I should have been. Out of the pool and to t1 was alright. I felt like I was slow on both transitions but I wasn't too worried about the transitions anyway.
The bike went well but not great. Coming back the far side of the point and especially heading down all the way to the turn around near Independence (?) was extremely windy, especially the second and third laps. I fought hard into the wind but I'm sure it broke my spirit a bit. I passed a bunch of people which is always helpful for the psyche but the ride was tough no matter what. I didn't keep specific bike time, I think I basically had from the end of the swim to the start of the run times which came out to something like 49 minutes. I'm guessing somewhere around 45 minutes for the 16.8 mile bike at an average of about 22 mph.
T2 and out for the run. My legs started to give the tell tale signs of coming cramps in the calves so I started out easy trying to just get a good turnover going without really pushing it too hard. The feelings passed and I worked on staying focused and running a bit out of my comfort level. I think I did alright in that regard as I kept myself pushing a little as opposed to settling into a comfortable pace for the majority of the run. Crossing the line I was a bit disappointed with my run time as I was hoping for at least sub-21 if not a sub-20 but I ended with a 21:21 run time for the 3.2 mile loop at a 6:41 pace.
Can't say I'm too disappointed with my performance considering though at the time I didn't quite see it that way. Afterwards I came home and passed out for a while before helping my brother in law finish his wood flooring. Needless to say I slept well last night and my legs are pretty thrashed today. Luckily today is a rest day, though I do really need to get some lawn work in...
The first 75 was great, I did the beaver dam to springfield to powder mill back in on research and down and around greenbelt lake which got me to about my 75 minute spot and for the final 15 I trucked it a bit through old greenbelt and down northway and around the softball fields and back. I managed right at about 12 miles for the run, probably harder then I should have been going though I want to turn up the training a bit from the plan I'm following so I'm not too worried about it. All in all it was a very good run at a pace of about 7:30. Once again not race winning but solid for me.
The swim went well too, 800 in warm up followed by two 900's at an RPE 3 and a 200 cool down. I swam more like an RPE 5 or 6 for the first and cooled it down for the second more. Unfortunately sometimes if someone is swimming beside me I end to turn things up a bit. Friday night wasn't bad since I feel I got some solid work in and didn't crush myself but I still swam faster then I needed to. I used my new lap counter Aimee got me for the second 900 and was pleasantly surprised by my lap consistency. My fastest and slowest laps were separated by less then 6 seconds and the fastest was lap 1 and slowest was lap 9 (of 18) which I think is pretty promising.
Went to bed Friday night feeling pretty good about the workouts for the day tired but feeling ready for Saturday mornings' DCTri training triathlon...
5:15 came early! The training tri at Haines Point went pretty well. I seeded myself along with the guy in front of me way to low and ended up having to make my way past at least 4 people during the swim. Self timed my swim at about a 7:41 for the 400 meters. Probably could've done a lot better had I been seeded correctly for the start. As it was I'd probably put myself at least a minute behind where I should have been. Out of the pool and to t1 was alright. I felt like I was slow on both transitions but I wasn't too worried about the transitions anyway.
The bike went well but not great. Coming back the far side of the point and especially heading down all the way to the turn around near Independence (?) was extremely windy, especially the second and third laps. I fought hard into the wind but I'm sure it broke my spirit a bit. I passed a bunch of people which is always helpful for the psyche but the ride was tough no matter what. I didn't keep specific bike time, I think I basically had from the end of the swim to the start of the run times which came out to something like 49 minutes. I'm guessing somewhere around 45 minutes for the 16.8 mile bike at an average of about 22 mph.
T2 and out for the run. My legs started to give the tell tale signs of coming cramps in the calves so I started out easy trying to just get a good turnover going without really pushing it too hard. The feelings passed and I worked on staying focused and running a bit out of my comfort level. I think I did alright in that regard as I kept myself pushing a little as opposed to settling into a comfortable pace for the majority of the run. Crossing the line I was a bit disappointed with my run time as I was hoping for at least sub-21 if not a sub-20 but I ended with a 21:21 run time for the 3.2 mile loop at a 6:41 pace.
Can't say I'm too disappointed with my performance considering though at the time I didn't quite see it that way. Afterwards I came home and passed out for a while before helping my brother in law finish his wood flooring. Needless to say I slept well last night and my legs are pretty thrashed today. Luckily today is a rest day, though I do really need to get some lawn work in...
Friday, August 08, 2008
Training Post - Milestone broken
Back in middle school, a couple of times every year the gym coach would get his truck out and drive around the fields back behind the school using the tachometer to measure one mile and placing cones along the route in the grass. No one every really enjoyed these days but I never really hated them since I'd taken up running with my father occasionally starting in elementary school. I knew I could run the distance and even run it fairly quickly compared to everyone else. There were certainly the exceptions, like Michael Della-Russo (who now plays on an MLS developmental team in texas) who ran 6 minute miles in 6th grade, but for the rest of us 7 minutes was FAST.
That was probably the last time I'd ever tested myself in the mile so for the majority of the past 10 or so years I've believed I was a seven minute miler. No longer fast at all and certainly no where near a race winning speed. Recently I've started clocking sub-seven minute miles in some 5k's so now I know I'm faster then I believed for the longest time. A lot of that extra speed I'm positive has been developed just over the past year or so as I've upped mileage and actually started some running speed drills and such.
Last night I was supposed to get out for a long run but after dropping Aimee off at the airport and sitting in traffic getting home for an hour I'd pretty much be running in the pitch black which didn't support a 90 minute run considering the routes I like to run around here. So instead I found the local high school track just a mere 1.2 miles from my front door and then decided to do a mile test. I got about a mile and half warm up then picked it up for my mile. Took it pretty easy the first lap just kept a quick but steady cadence and not trying to kill myself still believing I'd try to do the full 90 minute run. lap 3 I still felt pretty good so I started picking it up a bit and by lap four I'd really turned it up. Held through and gave the rest of what I had for the final 75 or so meters and stopped the clock with my first sub six minute mile.
I know it's no Olympic record breaking speed but going from believing I ran 7 minute miles to below 6 I feel pretty damn good about things. It's also a great baseline to test myself with in the coming months/years as I continue to train. I really feel like had I known that would be my goal for the run I could have given a bit more earlier in the piece which I'm thinking would be another 10 to 20 seconds off but my time last night was 5:54.
I think the biggest boost this will give me is completely mental; I've been wishing lately I could post a sun 20 minute 5k but so far I haven't been able to, and thinking I could just barely break 7 minute miles it didn't seem like I'd officially be able to. but now with the mental edge of knowing I really can I should be able to convince myself otherwise during a race. According to the Runners World pace calculator I should be able to run it in just over 19 minutes which I should clock a marathon in a bit over 3 hours... My only attempt at a marathon was 3:48 though I was running with buddies and we weren't racing as much as we were bs'ing. I know I can only take so much from that but the mental aspect of my running I'm sure holds me back more then any other part. Saturday will be my first test of this hopefully helpful mentality when I do the DCTri Club practice sprint triathlon. We'll see how it goes.
That was probably the last time I'd ever tested myself in the mile so for the majority of the past 10 or so years I've believed I was a seven minute miler. No longer fast at all and certainly no where near a race winning speed. Recently I've started clocking sub-seven minute miles in some 5k's so now I know I'm faster then I believed for the longest time. A lot of that extra speed I'm positive has been developed just over the past year or so as I've upped mileage and actually started some running speed drills and such.
Last night I was supposed to get out for a long run but after dropping Aimee off at the airport and sitting in traffic getting home for an hour I'd pretty much be running in the pitch black which didn't support a 90 minute run considering the routes I like to run around here. So instead I found the local high school track just a mere 1.2 miles from my front door and then decided to do a mile test. I got about a mile and half warm up then picked it up for my mile. Took it pretty easy the first lap just kept a quick but steady cadence and not trying to kill myself still believing I'd try to do the full 90 minute run. lap 3 I still felt pretty good so I started picking it up a bit and by lap four I'd really turned it up. Held through and gave the rest of what I had for the final 75 or so meters and stopped the clock with my first sub six minute mile.
I know it's no Olympic record breaking speed but going from believing I ran 7 minute miles to below 6 I feel pretty damn good about things. It's also a great baseline to test myself with in the coming months/years as I continue to train. I really feel like had I known that would be my goal for the run I could have given a bit more earlier in the piece which I'm thinking would be another 10 to 20 seconds off but my time last night was 5:54.
I think the biggest boost this will give me is completely mental; I've been wishing lately I could post a sun 20 minute 5k but so far I haven't been able to, and thinking I could just barely break 7 minute miles it didn't seem like I'd officially be able to. but now with the mental edge of knowing I really can I should be able to convince myself otherwise during a race. According to the Runners World pace calculator I should be able to run it in just over 19 minutes which I should clock a marathon in a bit over 3 hours... My only attempt at a marathon was 3:48 though I was running with buddies and we weren't racing as much as we were bs'ing. I know I can only take so much from that but the mental aspect of my running I'm sure holds me back more then any other part. Saturday will be my first test of this hopefully helpful mentality when I do the DCTri Club practice sprint triathlon. We'll see how it goes.
Monday, July 28, 2008
NJ State (Sprint) Triathlon
Did the NJ state triathlon on Sunday in and around the very pleasant Mercer County Park. Since the race started at 7:30am and packet pickup was required the previous day I drove and split a hotel room with another DCTri guy, Rudy. I kind of liked the general organization I was forced into because of this, though I'd still prefer my own bed (and free accommodations). After a 5 + hour drive that should have been 3 I made packet pickup with a 1/2 to spare and then hit the DCTri dinner of pasta and salad. Perfect pre-race experience and I got to meet a few more DCTri'ers which is always a good thing.
Got everything set up that night and got to bed around 9:30 or so. Didn't sleep great but that's pretty much my M.O. the night before a race. Woke up to a bagel, cliff bar and headed to the course. Set up my transition area and walked the swim to T1 course, the T1 to bike course and back to T2 and finally the T2 to run. Pretty simple and straightforward so I downed half a banana and headed to the swim start about 300 meters down the shore. Got a nice 250 or so meter warm up in the water to try and get rid of the initial shock of the swim.
My wave started 3rd and I did what I could to tread towards the front of the pack. The start was a bit crazy and the swim was the most aggressive I've done yet. A lot of pulling, scratching and general crap going on in the water by people all over. I felt like I was swimming alright but despite my efforts to go a bit harder then I usually have I still ended up 90th overall on my swim time. I swam up on the group in front of mine but that just made things more difficult since at no time during the swim could I get clear of the rest of the pack. Not sure if that was due to the short distance or what.
500 meter swim: 8:25
Overall Swim Rank: 90
T1: 1:49
T1 felt like it took me forever, though I'm really not sure why. It took too long to put on my helmet glasses and race belt but it shouldn't have. I may have just been a bit winded from the run from the lake since I sprinted past a few people on the way up the hill.
The bike course was a great fast and flat course made for high speeds. It did feel like there was a pretty solid headwind the entire way but I feel like I had a pretty good ride. I continuously passed people on the course, some on mountain bikes and some on sweet tri-specific rigs with aero helmets (or sperm helmets as my girlfriend likes to call them) and zipps. If I had to guess I'd say I rolled up at least 50 riders though I wouldn't be surprised if that were a low ball estimate. The course was packed and I was certainly not surprised to see some drafting penalties issued from what I saw. A couple of times I dolled out some watch the drafting warnings when I'd pass some larger groups of riders. Probably should have ridden the turns a bit more aggressively but with the number of riders that were on the course, and more importantly the number of shaky riders, I stayed a bit more reserved. At the finish of the bike I pulled my feet out of the shoes since there was a longer and somewhat hillier re-entry to t2 which went smoothly though may have taken a bit longer then necessary and a few guys I'd just passed passed me back to the dismount.
11.5 Mile Bike: 29:00
Speed: 23.8 MPH
Overall Rank: 16th
T2: 1:14
T2 was better then T1 though still should have been faster. I had a little trouble getting a hold of the lace to pull it tight with the new lace system but not too serious. Should be solidly under 1 minute in both transitions though, especially t2.
The run portion I wanted to make sure I didn't go out too hard since I didn't know the course at all and at General Smallwood I basically cracked from going out to hard to start. I felt pretty good on the start though didn't get moving too quickly. I still was moving well though and was running down people in front of me pretty regularly. I noticed one guy ahead who was keeping a steady distance between us and made it my goal to pick him off. It took probably 2 and a half miles but I did manage to catch him. During the middle of the run I definitely lost focus as my stomach bloated a bit from trying to throw what I thought was water but was actually heed down my throat. The cold towels at the aid station felt incredible though despite the fact it wasn't nearly as hot as it could have been. When I caught my goal runner I ended up unfocused and just running right behind him for a little bit before waking up mentally and picking up the pace to run by and drop him quickly. My final mile was almost definitely my fastest as I regained my focus a bit more there but still I didn't break the 20 minute mark. The fastest runner on the day ran a 15:59 (overall winner) followed by 17:11 (2nd overall) so I've definitely got some room to improve on my running. The fitness is there though, it's just the mental part that kills me.
5k Run time: 20:47
Pace: 6:42
Overall Rank: 32
Overall another solid race with with strong run and bike and a somewhat less then stellar swim.
Overall Time: 1:01.14
Overall Placement: 15th out of 1020 finishers
Overall Men: 14th out of 549
Division (Men 25-29): 2nd (3rd?) out of 33
The second I assume was out of registered age groupers in my division while the 3rd is overall age group. The first place in my age group was 2nd overall (7+ minutes faster then me) and the 2nd place of my age group was 4th (about 5 mins faster) though so I've got some serious work to do on catching those guys... Once again though I see where the time can come off when I put my mind to it. Mentally I need to get better on both the bike and run (especially the run) and physically I have GOT to work on my swim!
Results Links: Overall
Division
No pics up yet... Brightroom was there though. I was bib 352.
Got everything set up that night and got to bed around 9:30 or so. Didn't sleep great but that's pretty much my M.O. the night before a race. Woke up to a bagel, cliff bar and headed to the course. Set up my transition area and walked the swim to T1 course, the T1 to bike course and back to T2 and finally the T2 to run. Pretty simple and straightforward so I downed half a banana and headed to the swim start about 300 meters down the shore. Got a nice 250 or so meter warm up in the water to try and get rid of the initial shock of the swim.
My wave started 3rd and I did what I could to tread towards the front of the pack. The start was a bit crazy and the swim was the most aggressive I've done yet. A lot of pulling, scratching and general crap going on in the water by people all over. I felt like I was swimming alright but despite my efforts to go a bit harder then I usually have I still ended up 90th overall on my swim time. I swam up on the group in front of mine but that just made things more difficult since at no time during the swim could I get clear of the rest of the pack. Not sure if that was due to the short distance or what.
500 meter swim: 8:25
Overall Swim Rank: 90
T1: 1:49
T1 felt like it took me forever, though I'm really not sure why. It took too long to put on my helmet glasses and race belt but it shouldn't have. I may have just been a bit winded from the run from the lake since I sprinted past a few people on the way up the hill.
The bike course was a great fast and flat course made for high speeds. It did feel like there was a pretty solid headwind the entire way but I feel like I had a pretty good ride. I continuously passed people on the course, some on mountain bikes and some on sweet tri-specific rigs with aero helmets (or sperm helmets as my girlfriend likes to call them) and zipps. If I had to guess I'd say I rolled up at least 50 riders though I wouldn't be surprised if that were a low ball estimate. The course was packed and I was certainly not surprised to see some drafting penalties issued from what I saw. A couple of times I dolled out some watch the drafting warnings when I'd pass some larger groups of riders. Probably should have ridden the turns a bit more aggressively but with the number of riders that were on the course, and more importantly the number of shaky riders, I stayed a bit more reserved. At the finish of the bike I pulled my feet out of the shoes since there was a longer and somewhat hillier re-entry to t2 which went smoothly though may have taken a bit longer then necessary and a few guys I'd just passed passed me back to the dismount.
11.5 Mile Bike: 29:00
Speed: 23.8 MPH
Overall Rank: 16th
T2: 1:14
T2 was better then T1 though still should have been faster. I had a little trouble getting a hold of the lace to pull it tight with the new lace system but not too serious. Should be solidly under 1 minute in both transitions though, especially t2.
The run portion I wanted to make sure I didn't go out too hard since I didn't know the course at all and at General Smallwood I basically cracked from going out to hard to start. I felt pretty good on the start though didn't get moving too quickly. I still was moving well though and was running down people in front of me pretty regularly. I noticed one guy ahead who was keeping a steady distance between us and made it my goal to pick him off. It took probably 2 and a half miles but I did manage to catch him. During the middle of the run I definitely lost focus as my stomach bloated a bit from trying to throw what I thought was water but was actually heed down my throat. The cold towels at the aid station felt incredible though despite the fact it wasn't nearly as hot as it could have been. When I caught my goal runner I ended up unfocused and just running right behind him for a little bit before waking up mentally and picking up the pace to run by and drop him quickly. My final mile was almost definitely my fastest as I regained my focus a bit more there but still I didn't break the 20 minute mark. The fastest runner on the day ran a 15:59 (overall winner) followed by 17:11 (2nd overall) so I've definitely got some room to improve on my running. The fitness is there though, it's just the mental part that kills me.
5k Run time: 20:47
Pace: 6:42
Overall Rank: 32
Overall another solid race with with strong run and bike and a somewhat less then stellar swim.
Overall Time: 1:01.14
Overall Placement: 15th out of 1020 finishers
Overall Men: 14th out of 549
Division (Men 25-29): 2nd (3rd?) out of 33
The second I assume was out of registered age groupers in my division while the 3rd is overall age group. The first place in my age group was 2nd overall (7+ minutes faster then me) and the 2nd place of my age group was 4th (about 5 mins faster) though so I've got some serious work to do on catching those guys... Once again though I see where the time can come off when I put my mind to it. Mentally I need to get better on both the bike and run (especially the run) and physically I have GOT to work on my swim!
Results Links: Overall
Division
No pics up yet... Brightroom was there though. I was bib 352.
Friday, July 11, 2008
A question on crash liability.
I really wanted to comment on one of the Post articles on this accident, but by the time I got there hotter heads had already taken over with comments like "One less obstacle on the road". Once that crap happens any discussion becomes entirely useless. So instead I bring it home to a much less visible location.
First off, I can only imagine what Allison experienced in those last few seconds and what her friends and family are left with. I'm so sorry for their loss; no matter what anyone may say, it is a senseless and heartbreaking loss, accidental or not.
In an attempt at an unbiased look into this situation, I'd like to pose the following question.
My assumption (I know the investigation is underway and nothing has been said about how this happened, this is simply my slightly uneducated, educated guess) is that Allison was riding along in the cross walk, either she or the trash truck came up on the other and she ended up riding beside it in the blind spot. No blame laid here, just as with a car in a trucks blind spot does not entail blame. The truck pulls a right turn while Allison is right next to it leaving her no time to react. We all know where it goes from there.
Assume the case is the same truck on the highway, with a car riding in the lane next to it in the blind spot. The truck moves over to the right lane, hitting the car in the process. The truck had signaled but the driver of the car could not see this since it was in front of the rear lights but still in the blind spot. Where does the blame lie? With the trucker who moved over into the car correct? Criminal blame? Not so much but legally speaking the trucker was responsible for the accident.
Now consider a vehicle driving down a 2 lane, one way street in the left lane. Suddenly they turn right at a street, cutting across the right lane to do so. If they hit a car in that lane (or more likely a car runs into them as they cut across their lane), who is to blame? The vehicle that made the turn. Obviously. Still not generally a criminal offense, though if there was a death, I would guess an involuntary manslaughter ruling would not be out of the question.
So, what would make this case any different. The bike lane should be treated simply as another lane of traffic. Laws, and more importantly legal settlements should represent this. I'm saying there should be criminal charges here but in the case I've assumed, which is something that happens to many cyclists, though not to the extreme outcome of this case, the truck driver would be at fault. The insurance company would be liable for damages in the car on car incident. So should they be in the truck on bike.
Am I just way off base with this? Why do I doubt there will be any liability assigned on this case though?
First off, I can only imagine what Allison experienced in those last few seconds and what her friends and family are left with. I'm so sorry for their loss; no matter what anyone may say, it is a senseless and heartbreaking loss, accidental or not.
In an attempt at an unbiased look into this situation, I'd like to pose the following question.
My assumption (I know the investigation is underway and nothing has been said about how this happened, this is simply my slightly uneducated, educated guess) is that Allison was riding along in the cross walk, either she or the trash truck came up on the other and she ended up riding beside it in the blind spot. No blame laid here, just as with a car in a trucks blind spot does not entail blame. The truck pulls a right turn while Allison is right next to it leaving her no time to react. We all know where it goes from there.
Assume the case is the same truck on the highway, with a car riding in the lane next to it in the blind spot. The truck moves over to the right lane, hitting the car in the process. The truck had signaled but the driver of the car could not see this since it was in front of the rear lights but still in the blind spot. Where does the blame lie? With the trucker who moved over into the car correct? Criminal blame? Not so much but legally speaking the trucker was responsible for the accident.
Now consider a vehicle driving down a 2 lane, one way street in the left lane. Suddenly they turn right at a street, cutting across the right lane to do so. If they hit a car in that lane (or more likely a car runs into them as they cut across their lane), who is to blame? The vehicle that made the turn. Obviously. Still not generally a criminal offense, though if there was a death, I would guess an involuntary manslaughter ruling would not be out of the question.
So, what would make this case any different. The bike lane should be treated simply as another lane of traffic. Laws, and more importantly legal settlements should represent this. I'm saying there should be criminal charges here but in the case I've assumed, which is something that happens to many cyclists, though not to the extreme outcome of this case, the truck driver would be at fault. The insurance company would be liable for damages in the car on car incident. So should they be in the truck on bike.
Am I just way off base with this? Why do I doubt there will be any liability assigned on this case though?
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Sunday I got my first ever "podium" finish in a race (aside from my single greenbelt C race win), though it was only in my age group. I did the General Smallwood Sprint Triathlon down in Indianhead, MD and had a pretty decent time of it. I slept horribly the two nights before (like a grand total of maybe 4 hours) and didn't eat well Saturday but luckily that didn't come back to haunt me too much. I think I felt it, especially in the bike when I was mentally losing my drive a little bit but I managed to get through it.
The swim was pretty fun and interesting. The water was 85 degrees so wetsuits were banned. I'd luckily gone out the day before and picked up a singlet which I liked a lot more then my two piece and it definitely was a lot better for drag in the swim. The grass was filled with a lake sea grass that was thankfully not slimy since I swam through every single tall clump out there on the way back in. Despite my lack of swimming since Nanticoke I did well; not as well as I'd thought but well enough. Swim was 3rd age group and 24th overall.
The run from the swim finish to the transition area was a bit of a trek which I practically sprinted and not pulling off a wetsuit was pretty great. My T1 time was 2nd AG and 5th Overall.
The bike portion could have been a bit better for me this time. I went out pretty solidly but pretty quickly hit some rollers that hit back. I gave a bit more in the swim and the run to transition took a bit out of me as well so the hills which caught me by surprise were a bit of a bear to get through. I was still moving and passing people all over so I didn't feel too bad mentally yet. The turn for the Olympic vs Sprint almost caught me off guard but I noticed the markings at the last second and went the right way. Now after passing one more person I was out alone for a while before someone was in sight behind me. I could tell the guy was catching up and this is where i started losing mentally.
I was pretty physically drained at this point and this started to break me down mentally as well. After he passed I saw a whole slew of guys coming up. When they passed I finally realized they were the leaders from the Olympic distance and not my competition so I relaxed a bit and got my mind back under control. I finished up the bike strong catching a couple of guys who'd caught me previously, dismounted on the fly and ran into transition. Bike was 3rd AG and 11th Overall.
My second transition was also fairly quick, 3rd AG and 10th Overall.
Hitting the run leg I was immediately excited when I realized my calves weren't cramping up like they'd always done previously so I ended up going out pretty hard and passing a few guys. The we hit the hills again and I slowed drastically. One or two of the guys I passed ended up coming around me with one in my sprint race. Hit the turn around and then turned off the main road onto some "off-road" trails which also caught me by surprise. I pretty much coasted through the run, consistently losing time to the guy in front of me but keeping an eye on the guy behind and making sure he didn't catch me.
Came through the finish in 8th overall with 2nd in my age group. Overall pretty satisfying race though I know I can do better. Always room for improvement and this race was certainly no excepption. I'd like to think that with a couple of good nights' rest I'd have been a bit more mentally capable of overcoming things in a couple of places but how much of a difference that would have made in my placement I don't really know.
I stuck around for my first awards ceremony (well over 2 hours after I finished in the blistering sun without knowing anyone there) and got a folding chair for my time. It felt good to get called up though I'm not sure I'd want to stick around that long again for the ceremony. I guess though since I've lost all my chairs before now it was good to get a new one.
Age Group Results
Overall Results
Photos will soon be here
Oh and if you feel like looking:
Pics from Kinetic Sprint
Pics from Nanticoke Sprint
The swim was pretty fun and interesting. The water was 85 degrees so wetsuits were banned. I'd luckily gone out the day before and picked up a singlet which I liked a lot more then my two piece and it definitely was a lot better for drag in the swim. The grass was filled with a lake sea grass that was thankfully not slimy since I swam through every single tall clump out there on the way back in. Despite my lack of swimming since Nanticoke I did well; not as well as I'd thought but well enough. Swim was 3rd age group and 24th overall.
The run from the swim finish to the transition area was a bit of a trek which I practically sprinted and not pulling off a wetsuit was pretty great. My T1 time was 2nd AG and 5th Overall.
The bike portion could have been a bit better for me this time. I went out pretty solidly but pretty quickly hit some rollers that hit back. I gave a bit more in the swim and the run to transition took a bit out of me as well so the hills which caught me by surprise were a bit of a bear to get through. I was still moving and passing people all over so I didn't feel too bad mentally yet. The turn for the Olympic vs Sprint almost caught me off guard but I noticed the markings at the last second and went the right way. Now after passing one more person I was out alone for a while before someone was in sight behind me. I could tell the guy was catching up and this is where i started losing mentally.
I was pretty physically drained at this point and this started to break me down mentally as well. After he passed I saw a whole slew of guys coming up. When they passed I finally realized they were the leaders from the Olympic distance and not my competition so I relaxed a bit and got my mind back under control. I finished up the bike strong catching a couple of guys who'd caught me previously, dismounted on the fly and ran into transition. Bike was 3rd AG and 11th Overall.
My second transition was also fairly quick, 3rd AG and 10th Overall.
Hitting the run leg I was immediately excited when I realized my calves weren't cramping up like they'd always done previously so I ended up going out pretty hard and passing a few guys. The we hit the hills again and I slowed drastically. One or two of the guys I passed ended up coming around me with one in my sprint race. Hit the turn around and then turned off the main road onto some "off-road" trails which also caught me by surprise. I pretty much coasted through the run, consistently losing time to the guy in front of me but keeping an eye on the guy behind and making sure he didn't catch me.
Came through the finish in 8th overall with 2nd in my age group. Overall pretty satisfying race though I know I can do better. Always room for improvement and this race was certainly no excepption. I'd like to think that with a couple of good nights' rest I'd have been a bit more mentally capable of overcoming things in a couple of places but how much of a difference that would have made in my placement I don't really know.
I stuck around for my first awards ceremony (well over 2 hours after I finished in the blistering sun without knowing anyone there) and got a folding chair for my time. It felt good to get called up though I'm not sure I'd want to stick around that long again for the ceremony. I guess though since I've lost all my chairs before now it was good to get a new one.
Age Group Results
Overall Results
Photos will soon be here
Oh and if you feel like looking:
Pics from Kinetic Sprint
Pics from Nanticoke Sprint
Friday, June 20, 2008
Sick day ride
Was feeling pretty bad this morning after a week of allergy /cold build up so I took the day off to stay with Cass who just had her lady loss surgery yesterday. Poor dog. Anyway, by the afternoon I was feeling substantially better and decided to get out for the long ride I've been wanting to do now for a little while. Perfect weather for a ride, not too hot, not too cold; just perfect open jersey cruising. Averaged right around 18.5 miles an hour or so but the only technology I had was a watch and now gmaps pedometer so exact numbers are unknown to me. Not worried about it though.
The route was nice; looking back over things it's funny to see how one little turn would have changed things so dramatically as I was just riding and turning directions that looked promising. Heading down 450, I turned around when I saw signs for 495 and Rt 50 noting that traffic volume was picking up as were reckless speeds. The other way On 450 past Race Track Rd the shoulder completely disappeared and with too many blind turns I quickly turned around and headed back to RT Rd. Spun down into the National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center parking lot and down to look at the lake and realized for the first time just how extensive the area is. Can't wait to get back in there to really check things out.
The route: Gmaps Pedometer
All in all somewhere right around 2:20/30 with stopping time (lake admiration, etc...) and just under 43 miles. First ride significantly over an hour in a while and amazing the backside is in good shape. I guess the many hour long lunch rides and commutes I've been doing have been paying off at least a little bit.
Tomorrow I'll hopefully get in a mountain bike ride at Rosaryville, first since Big Bear. Though that'll be pending a bike repair. Off to Proteus to see what can be done.
The route was nice; looking back over things it's funny to see how one little turn would have changed things so dramatically as I was just riding and turning directions that looked promising. Heading down 450, I turned around when I saw signs for 495 and Rt 50 noting that traffic volume was picking up as were reckless speeds. The other way On 450 past Race Track Rd the shoulder completely disappeared and with too many blind turns I quickly turned around and headed back to RT Rd. Spun down into the National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center parking lot and down to look at the lake and realized for the first time just how extensive the area is. Can't wait to get back in there to really check things out.
The route: Gmaps Pedometer
All in all somewhere right around 2:20/30 with stopping time (lake admiration, etc...) and just under 43 miles. First ride significantly over an hour in a while and amazing the backside is in good shape. I guess the many hour long lunch rides and commutes I've been doing have been paying off at least a little bit.
Tomorrow I'll hopefully get in a mountain bike ride at Rosaryville, first since Big Bear. Though that'll be pending a bike repair. Off to Proteus to see what can be done.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
24 Hours of Big Bear
Wow, talk about an ass kicking time! 24 Hours of Big Bear was this past weekend and I went out with a (supposed) 4 person team to race (ride) in the "just for fun" category with some guys from Proteus, Jim, Ben and Zach, who mysteriously never showed up...
I rode the Jamis Exile 29'er, still rigid single speed and basically had my ass handed to me; at least on the first lap. It's funny how I use my upcoming blog posts to distract myself when riding through the pain and suffering of a race. This course (and my first lap more specifically) was the hardest mountain biking I have ever done. The key tipping point for this? My tires were pumped to 50 PSI... a number a rigid 29'er in my eyes should NEVER see. Wes came out and played mechanic though and really hooked us up with some much needed bike tuneups before and between laps. The one thing we didn't so much get right though was that tire pressure.
During my first lap I should have been able to figure something like that out, but my mind simply was not there and I just took the beating of a lifetime; unable to sit for the majority of the lap due to the rough terrain. The rocky steep downhill sections were terrifying especially when I realized my brakes were set too low after a handlebar adjustment as well. Anyway, despite all this bitching and moaning I did survive my first lap with a reasonable (for me) time of 1 hour 47 minutes and got some rest and adjustments on the bike.
My second lap started off great with my lights on as it was about 10:30 or so. With the tire pressure back down to 30 I was feeling 100 % better and my comfort on the bike was back. For the first three miles things were golden until on a steep climb where I just couldn't quite make it I pulled the right brake lever to keep from rolling back while i dismounted. The brake didn't engage and I was rolling back anyway. When I managed to get off I looked at the brake line and there was a liquid running down it. My brake line had popped off the compression fitting; goodbye rear brake.
This of course was before the horrifyingly steep and rocky downhill section so I kept going, riding the front brake through the majority of downhills to prevent any necessary hard stopping though still endo-ing a couple of times. On the steepest downhill section I managed about halfway but on my 5th or 6th front wheelie I decided to call it quits and walk the rest of the way. Considering there were guys on fully suspended rigs doing the same thing around me in the dark I didn't feel too bad about it, though I really didn't want to be doing it that way.
When I finally made it back in I checked with the mechanics on hand; no dice, the bike, or at least the brake was out of commission for the day. On that note I decided to actually follow through on my desire to ride one of the Ellsworth's being demo'd at the race and managed to score the full squishy 29'er, the Evolve. I've never ridden a full suspension bike before so I didn't have too much to compare it to but WOW! This bike was incredible. From the moment I hit the trail on it I just felt amazing. I could fly over the toughest of sections with ease and comfort and could keep the lines I'd struggled with so much previously. Having gears was pretty cool too, with some pretty serious climbing at the end of the course they certainly came in handy. The downhill sections were a breeze; nothing like before.
In the end I came out with my fastest lap being my last lap; by far. I cut somewhere around 10 minutes from my previous best lap time, and actually I won the contest being put on by Ellsworth. Biggest time improvement by a rider with their demo bike over the riders' own bike. They told me that at about 1:30 and said I could stick around until 2:30 for the awards ceremony to get the prize, a new messenger bag but as my whole team and crew were long gone I figured I'd rather just get my tired ass home.
So, while maybe this is telling me I shouldn't be riding a rigid single speed at this point in my development as a mountain biker, I'm choosing to take it as I shouldn't be riding that kind of a race on one. While I am now dreaming of buying that bike, it is financially out of reach at this point and quite frankly I don't do enough of that kind of serious and technical mountain biking at the moment to justify a full suspension, much less a new mountain bike. For places like Patapsco and Wakefield and Rosaryville I think I've got just the bike I need. A front fork will likely be my next bike part purchase but otherwise I'm happy where I am.
Now, if I were to ever consider that race solo? There is no way in hell I'd even consider riding anything less then a fully suspended 29'er. I think I'll stick to my riding to camp mentality.
Results
My Team: Proteus/Racin Union
My Personal "Scores"
Oh and as you can see from the team page, we "ghost-lapped" the times when Zach should have been riding. None of us had the energy or desire to make up for his laps so we just skipped them. I figure if we had a full team we'd have had a solid 2 more laps (maybe three due to the longer "sleep in" ghost lap time overnight). Good for anywhere from 9th to 18th place as opposed to our 23rd.
I rode the Jamis Exile 29'er, still rigid single speed and basically had my ass handed to me; at least on the first lap. It's funny how I use my upcoming blog posts to distract myself when riding through the pain and suffering of a race. This course (and my first lap more specifically) was the hardest mountain biking I have ever done. The key tipping point for this? My tires were pumped to 50 PSI... a number a rigid 29'er in my eyes should NEVER see. Wes came out and played mechanic though and really hooked us up with some much needed bike tuneups before and between laps. The one thing we didn't so much get right though was that tire pressure.
During my first lap I should have been able to figure something like that out, but my mind simply was not there and I just took the beating of a lifetime; unable to sit for the majority of the lap due to the rough terrain. The rocky steep downhill sections were terrifying especially when I realized my brakes were set too low after a handlebar adjustment as well. Anyway, despite all this bitching and moaning I did survive my first lap with a reasonable (for me) time of 1 hour 47 minutes and got some rest and adjustments on the bike.
My second lap started off great with my lights on as it was about 10:30 or so. With the tire pressure back down to 30 I was feeling 100 % better and my comfort on the bike was back. For the first three miles things were golden until on a steep climb where I just couldn't quite make it I pulled the right brake lever to keep from rolling back while i dismounted. The brake didn't engage and I was rolling back anyway. When I managed to get off I looked at the brake line and there was a liquid running down it. My brake line had popped off the compression fitting; goodbye rear brake.
This of course was before the horrifyingly steep and rocky downhill section so I kept going, riding the front brake through the majority of downhills to prevent any necessary hard stopping though still endo-ing a couple of times. On the steepest downhill section I managed about halfway but on my 5th or 6th front wheelie I decided to call it quits and walk the rest of the way. Considering there were guys on fully suspended rigs doing the same thing around me in the dark I didn't feel too bad about it, though I really didn't want to be doing it that way.
When I finally made it back in I checked with the mechanics on hand; no dice, the bike, or at least the brake was out of commission for the day. On that note I decided to actually follow through on my desire to ride one of the Ellsworth's being demo'd at the race and managed to score the full squishy 29'er, the Evolve. I've never ridden a full suspension bike before so I didn't have too much to compare it to but WOW! This bike was incredible. From the moment I hit the trail on it I just felt amazing. I could fly over the toughest of sections with ease and comfort and could keep the lines I'd struggled with so much previously. Having gears was pretty cool too, with some pretty serious climbing at the end of the course they certainly came in handy. The downhill sections were a breeze; nothing like before.
In the end I came out with my fastest lap being my last lap; by far. I cut somewhere around 10 minutes from my previous best lap time, and actually I won the contest being put on by Ellsworth. Biggest time improvement by a rider with their demo bike over the riders' own bike. They told me that at about 1:30 and said I could stick around until 2:30 for the awards ceremony to get the prize, a new messenger bag but as my whole team and crew were long gone I figured I'd rather just get my tired ass home.
So, while maybe this is telling me I shouldn't be riding a rigid single speed at this point in my development as a mountain biker, I'm choosing to take it as I shouldn't be riding that kind of a race on one. While I am now dreaming of buying that bike, it is financially out of reach at this point and quite frankly I don't do enough of that kind of serious and technical mountain biking at the moment to justify a full suspension, much less a new mountain bike. For places like Patapsco and Wakefield and Rosaryville I think I've got just the bike I need. A front fork will likely be my next bike part purchase but otherwise I'm happy where I am.
Now, if I were to ever consider that race solo? There is no way in hell I'd even consider riding anything less then a fully suspended 29'er. I think I'll stick to my riding to camp mentality.
Results
My Team: Proteus/Racin Union
My Personal "Scores"
Oh and as you can see from the team page, we "ghost-lapped" the times when Zach should have been riding. None of us had the energy or desire to make up for his laps so we just skipped them. I figure if we had a full team we'd have had a solid 2 more laps (maybe three due to the longer "sleep in" ghost lap time overnight). Good for anywhere from 9th to 18th place as opposed to our 23rd.
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