Crowie and Muppet; Brierman Half Lite RR

Crowie and Muppet

Ironman Hawaii (Kona), the annual championship for the Ironman triathlon took place earlier in October. IM distance - Swim 2.4mi, bike 112mi, run 26.2mi.

Chrissie "Muppet" Wellington won last year as a relative unknown and backed up that win with another this year. She came out of the water a few mins behind and shortly rode her way to the lead on the bike before spending 10mins on the roadside dealing with a mechanical and watching other women fly past. Once back on the road she powered back to the sharp end of the field then ran away with a 2:57 marathon. She has never lost an IM distance race. Perhaps the most impressive triathlete alive right now.

Wellington

Swim - 56:20 (11th Wpro)

Bike - 5:08:16 (21.8mph) (2nd WP);

Run - 2:57:44 (6:48) (1st WP, 22nd overall)

Australian Craig "Crowie" Alexander, long time dominator of the Half Iron and shorter distances took the men's win. He finished 2nd in Kona last year in his first visit. This year he executed smartly and moved up to the top of the podium. Stayed near the leaders out of the water, a strong bike but no gambling attempts to break away or catch the uber bikers riding to win it on the bike. He closed the gap to the leaders during the last portion of the bike, then ran through them, taking the lead mid-marathon and holding it.

Alexander

Swim - 51:43 (14);

Bike - 4:37:19 (24.2mph) (16);

Run - 2:45:01 (6:18) (1st pro, 5th overall)

Brierman Half Lite RR
Never too late for a race report, eh?

Brierman Half Lite Tri 10-12-08 - My Final Tri for the year.
.85mi swim; 40mi bike (two 20mi loops); 9.3mi run (out/back course)

As a first yr race the field was small. Under 100 entrants for the Half, maybe 200 for the Sprint distance tri.

Unending hills (course profiles below). Toughest run course of the year, likely ever, for me. Toughest bike course, next to Savageman. The body held up fairly well, for my 3rd race in 5 weeks. Competitively, middlin race results. Nevertheless, a satisfying challenge and a fun 4hr+ day, esp with the ideal weather. One of those spectacular early fall days. ~50F at the start, high of ~70F at noon, no wind, no clouds, no humidity. Scenic country views, which included more McPalin yard signs than I've seen anywhere else.

Def did not have my A game, physically or mentally. The well of race day adrenalin low at this point. Seems I successfully peaked physically and mentally for Nation's Tri back on 9/14. Could not "hold the peak" thereafter. Wouldn't be a "peak" then would it? Racing after Nation's was all gravy anyway. Pure enjoyment of simply being able to do it, racing against the course and myself more than the field.

Lake swim. Nice. No chop or currents to deal with. No chance to loosen the bike legs up, out of T1 it's straight into a steep climb out of the park. Hills all day thereafter on the bike and the esp the run.

The ruthless terrain had me craving a flat-to-rolling course tri with a lake swim. Something I can (comparatively) tear up when fit and fresh. Picture portly Homer Simpson, face plastered against the glass window of Mr. Donuts, drooling over the rows and rows of baked goodness, aaaaaaaaaghha, gaaaaagh. That's me, as I envision Diamondman Half in DE, flat and fast. Must have traced that course a few times over in my mind.

Brierman Details - Greenbrier State Park, MD, ~1hr drive north of DC.

Swim 30:30 (34th/67 overall) (51%)
T1 5:25 (64th out of 67) (96%)
Bike 2:19:18 (~17.2mph) (16th overall) (24%)
T2 2:20 (overall 53rd) (80%)
Run 1:10:35 (7:36) (7th overall) (11%)
Final 4:08:07

14th/67 overall (21%)
13th/54 male (26%)
5th/10 35-39 AG

Splits for the 35-39AG winner (age 39):
S: 26:26
B: 2:00:11
R: 1:14:42
T1+T2: 5:25
Finish - 3:44:11

All ten 35-39 AG finish times:
1. 3:44:11 (39)
2. 3:51:07 (37)
3. 3:53:34 (39)
4. 3:57:48 (37)
5. 4:08:07 (yours truly)
6. 4:26:22 (35)
7. 4:43:09 (39)
8. 4:50:09 (35)
9. 5:05:46 (36)
10. DNF

Run Course Profile

Bike Course Profile
Do this Loop 2x, Twice the Fun

Five and Alive

Glance back at '08. A very good season of racing. Five races + Healthy throughout + Best performance came at my target race = Success. Anything beyond that is bonus.

Breaking it down, the swim (still) sticks out.
Other eyes are generally drawn to the run and bike first, then, "dude, if you could just swim anywhere near that... ." Yeah. I'm working on it in my stubborn Irish way, and having fun. This stuff is my play time after all. The voice in my head just won't shut up - you can be a swimmer.

Like putting up Christmas decorations, it's never too early to start planning the fun for 2009. Entered the Triple T (three days, four races) for 5/08 then deferred to 5/09. Nothing else on my calendar so far, will plan around that monster.

Table Below: Quick Look at 2008 Race Result Numbers - Competitive Angle.



Election day is finally here. Girding for heartbreak, while hope burns bright. I'm not going to buy any Tue. night results.

Wednesday wake up will bring sunshine and roses and yes we can!, or, doom and gloom and mental trench warfare v cynicism and thoughts of Canada. Just hope the races are decided by Wed. morning.

Gas at $2.75 when I filled up this week.

Backyard Burn 10miler

Backyard Burn Trail Run race (10mi)
Wakefield Park, VA

25min drive. gas $3.16 for the cheap reg.

~48F & clear. 9am start.

Ventured into the not-so-red state for my first ever trail race. FUN. I understand why the 5 annual B-Burn trail races sell out.

True trail. Dirt, roots, rocks, forest, log jumps, single track, stream bed (dry) crossings.
One minor ankle roll, one stumble forward, arms flailing almost face-plant (had to be hilarious looking), and one honest to goodness forward sprawling splat with minor palm and knee scrape to prove it.

The 10miles flew. After the first .5mile of open road and wide trail allowing runners to unbunch from the mass start it was mostly single track, all up and down, winding twists and turns, trees whizzing past. All creating the sensation of running at ludicrous speed even when my effort was merely steady with some occassional frisky. Tough to pass on the narrow trails. Not really "racing" it so happy to wait a bit for a widening or to politely pass after a friendly "on your left."

Hung out in the sun after, watching awards and hoping to win some give away schwag (4 Ipods, no luck) before heading to work.

Top 3 in 30-39 AG ran 1hr 3min - 1 hr 6min. And finished 1 - 2 - 3 overall. Two of the three are DCTri studs. Sheeesh.

Me: 1hr 12mins.

one unkempt crispy critter, two captivating chiros

Drs. Anna and Kathy from Positively Chiro were on hand as sponsors and to work on runners post race. PC has been crucial to my health, and thereby my happiness this year. In March I was running just 10-15mins every other day. With their help I had a great season of racing and training, and generally enjoying to my heart's content all this tri stuff I've come to love. It's nice to be limited only by fitness, not injury.

Reconnecting

Another full weekend. Last week NYC with M&D and tour guide extraordinaire B. Oh, and Zoe. Tenement Museum, Candle Cafe, running in Central Park, Shea Stadium. Here for coverage of all the fun.

Out to Odenton Saturday afternoon for a gathering of the old gang and their growing families. Thanks A & S for hosting and providing tasty food.

Great to see everyone and catch up. The ladies look amazing and the fellas are holding up reasonably well. And still fun to hang out with. And, incredible kids, very well behaved. Having seen these fathers in their younger years, I'm giving credit to the women. Fellas, you married well.

Sunday was a quick trip up to Greenbrier State Park to scope out the Brierman Half Lite bike and run courses, might do that race 10/12. Big hills, ugh. The 12-21 gearing was not the way to go.

Earlier in the week a night out a Merriweather to see Phil & Friends and the Allman Bros. Thanks D for nudging the rest of us to join you. It was a good night despite rain for ~3omins. Umbrellas and rain coats came in handy. Seems there are still plenty of hippies, of all shapes, sizes and degrees. Far too many still chain smoke, even in an outdoor venue it was a brutal 2nd hand situation.

On to the pics... lots of pics. I think I managed to include everyone in attendance at least once. Who belongs to who should be self evident.

Merriweather crew.

Greenbrier State Park
Leaves starting to turn.

Savageman 2008

One of the many signs out on the hilly bike course.

EXECUTIVE SUM UP

Savageman Half Iron Triathlon - 9/21/08 - Deep Creek Lake, Western, Maryland

Swim 1.2mi, Bike 55.7mi (1 loop), Run 13.1 (2 loops)

Result - 6:12:37 (6:39:33 last yr)

Overall: 47th out of 223 starters (195 finishers)
Men: 39th out of 182 male starters (162 finishers) (chicked again x8)
AG: 8th out 39th starters; 36 finishers in 35-39AG

No injuries. Did not feel too bad just one week after Nation's Tri. No wind, no humidity, mostly sunny. Lots of aid stations. Shady run. Pretty ideal conditions. Faster (er, not as slow :) across the board in every element this year vs '07. 6hrs was the dream goal. Sub 3hrs 30mins on the bike was one goal hit.

** THE LONG READ **

Foggy swim again this yr. Tough to see buoys on swim course. There were more of them, which helped. Air was warmer in '08, no 38F with ice on the windshield, instead mid-hi 50's at start , hi for the day ~70. Water cooler this year, maybe 65-68F.

I had a weird start. Treaded and stroked around a little for 1-2min waiting for the start gun (~8:30a). But immed felt dizzy when started. Kind like the bedspins (zip it! :). Had to stop and tread, was a mental challenge to stay composed until it (hopefully, and yes) passed, not slip toward panic. Finding a fixed landmark to focus on seemed to help. Been years since I've had any swim start issues roughly like this, maybe since my first open water swim. Started up again slowly, gradually got into a steady rhythm. Never pushed it. Was okay from there on. 5-6 leaky goggle stops didn't help.

Just under 40mins flat when I stood up. 42:02 with run to T1. (47:30 last year)

Hellacious course thereafter. Never ending hills from the start of the bike to the end of the run. I suspect the race organizers would've made the swim uphill if possible. Even having ridden it in August, the ride was more punishing than remembered. Otherwise, fine on the B/R.


Spotted the Mayor an 11min lead before I got on the bike. Passed him around mile 45, got off the bike ~2mins ahead of him, finished 18mins ahead.

Locals and volunteers were more numerous than last year and really got into the spirit. Experienced one ugly bottle exchange (best to be said is I stayed up right), but also one particularly smooth bottle hand up. It' s something of an art to hand an object to cyclist moving at 15-25mph.

At the last bike aid station I shouted ahead my menu selection - "sports drink!" Immediately an arm shot up from the hive crewing the station, bike bottle in hand. I pointed right at him - we locked in as I neared. I kept my arm extended, doing my part, showed all my fingers, palm open. He didn't look too athletic this gent (more like a Korean war VFW happy hr regular, to generalize from appearance). But turned out he was a savvy pro. Started jogging ahead of me along the shoulder before I got to him, getting our relative speeds closer, bottle extended. I slowed almost not at all. He reached toward the road, but not too far in to my path, swinging his arm with me as I grabbed. Voila - smooth, rolling hand up. Had it been a cup of tea not a drop would've spilled. Perfect.

No sympathy.

DATA - 2007 & 2008 Numbers

2008 Savageman

6:12:37 (6:39:33 last yr)

47th out of 223 starters (top 21%); 195 finishers (24th%)
39th out of 182 male starters (22nd%); 162 finishers (24th%) (chicked again, x8)
8th out 39th starters in 35-39AG (21%); 36 finishers (22nd%)

Swim

2007 47:29 (19th in swim/20 AG) (bottom 95th%)

2008 42:02 (30th in swim/39 AG) (77th%) (138/182 men) (76th%)

T1

2007 11:26 (19/20 AG) (bottom 95th%)

2008 10:26 (38/39 in AG) (98th%) (172/182 men) (bottom 95th%)

Bike

2007 3:39:52 (10/20 AG) (15.4mph) (50th%)

2008 3:28:09 (16.1mph) (10/39 AG) (26th%) (44th/182 men) (25th%)

T2

2007 3:06 (16/20 AG) (80th%)

2008 2:43 (20/39 AG) (52%) (88/182 men) (49th%)

Run

2007 1:57:40 (8:59mi pace) (6/20 AG) (top 30th%)

2008 1:49:19 (8:20mi pace) (7/39 AG) (18th%) (23/182 men) (13th%)

Final

2007 6:39:33

2008 6:12:37

(AG -moved from 30th after swim to 16th after bike to 8th (after run))

(Men - from 172 among men after swim to 66th after bike to 39th (after run))

Savage Mtn Challenge

2007:
40:48 (10.29mph)
Overall - 26/158 (men, women, teams) (top 17th%)
Men - 24/133 (men and male teams) (18th%)

2008: (slightly longer climb)
41:07 (10.40mph)
Overall - 23/217 (11th%)
Men - *25/177 (15th%)
AG - 4/36 (12th%)
(teams not included in '08)
*listed as 21st, est'd 25th to include some fast folks among the 177 but who missed the timing mat

Power Geek Info.

Entire workout (176 watts):

Duration: 3:27:19 (3:28:24)

Work: 2188 kJ

TSS: 271.5 (intensity factor 0.887)

Norm Power: 204

VI: 1.16

Pw:HR: 10.86%

Pa:HR: 5.19%

Distance: 55.94 mi

Min Max Avg

Power: 0 438 176 watts

Heart Rate: 101 195 147 bpm

Cadence: 22 114 77 rpm

Speed: 2.4 41.5 16.2 mph

FTP est'd: 225-230w (max 60min ALL out effort)

Peak 1min 362w

Peak 2min 322w

Peak 5min 285w

Peak 10min 275w

Peak 20min 235w

Peak 30min 221w

Peak 60min 213w

Smallwood Oly 6/29 - Peak 20min - 215; Peak 60min - 209w

Northeast Oly 8/17 - Peak 20min - 228; Peak 60min - 221w

Nation's Oly 9/14 - Peak 20min - 219; Peak 60min - 214w

Savageman Half 9/21 - Peak 20min - 235; Peak 60min - 213w

Nation's Tri - short report

Racked and tucked in on race day eve.

RACE Nation's Tri Sun. 9-14-08
Hot. Humid. Really hot and humid.

* 2,393 finishers
* 952 women
* 1,440 men
* avg time 3:10:35

Me - PR at the Oly distance. PR swim. PR bike.

Finish - 2:21:57

Swim 30:52 (66th/225 in AG; top 30%) (394/1440 men; 28%)
T1 2:45
Bike 1:05:03 (22.9mph avg) (13th/225 in AG; 5.6%) (72nd/1440 men; .5%)
T2 1:34
Run 41:45 (6:44) (2nd/225 in AG; 1%) (22/1440; .15%)

Men 35-39: 15/225 ( 7%)

All Men: 67/1440 ( 5%)

Overall: 72/2,388 ( 3%)

*******************

NOTES
70's and 90% humidity at 4:15a. Whoa. Shades of Blackwater 2007.

Swim - 7:20 start in 4th of 20+ waves, 77F water temp, wetsuits legal, generally calm waters, not smelly at all, swam mostly straight lines buoy to buoy, couple leaky goggle stops, 29:4x when climbed out of water.

T1 - loooong, gave up 1min+ here. Fought getting wetsuit off, getting race jersey on.

Bike - Awesome completely closed roads, at times multiple lanes each way closed. Riding the Whitehurst, Rock Crk Pkwy by Kennedy Cntr, Clara Barton, around the monuments, all super fun. Good effort, thinking was to ride with no regard for run. Stayed focused almost all the way, cadence reading wasn't working, probably rode a slightly lower cadence as a result, muscling one gear bigger than optimal... maybe. Guess ~86-88rpm avg. Pedaling at 90-92avg might have given me a bit better run, but tough to say as run was still very good compared to the competition. Flat course cassette, nice tight 12-21 (9 speed). Only 2 folks passed me, after I had caught them they passed me back before T2.

T2 - uneventful.

Run - hot like a Charlize Theron in The Valley. Sun had burned through the haze. Had to force the urgency in my effort, mentally peaked on the bike. Still pushed it pretty good. Was hoping for sub 40min to match my 39:xx effort in other races this yr. Coming out of T2 at 1:40:xx was gunning for 2:19:59 finish.
Passing folks like fence posts. No one passed me. Dude that I slooooowly caught over miles 4-5 turned out to be 38yr old in my AG. We dueled over mile 6. I could not match his surge in the last 200meters.
Didn't go close to sub 40min, but 41:45 was still a good time against the field, so chalk it up to the heat, suspect everyone lost 2 or (many) more mins to the oppressive conditions.

Oly Race 8-17-08

Last weekend I returned to North East, MD, the scene of my first road tri in 2001, then known as the Riverwatch Tri, a sprint distance race.

A few moments from '01 come to mind, in particular being extremely pumped up coming out of the water, (king of the world!) simply having finished the damn swim. Dropping my chain on an uphill. Feeling like I wasn't taking in oxygen on the run. It was warm, overcast and very humid. Rained a bit but the humidity didn't break just hung in the air like, yes, a wet blanket. Seemed like my shirt was superglued to my torso restricting my breathing, highly annoying. So annoying it was memorable. A guy running in a red sleeveless cycling jersey who would speed up every time I tried to pass, finally dropping me like a hot greasy bowling ball.

Post race, a nice meal courtesy of M&D at a seafood joint where a T-shirt and shorts were a bit out of place. (Shove off people, I'm a triathlete! I was thinking. Oy.) Physically, I recall being smoked for nearly a week. Smoked but stoked. Waaaaaaay too high on the whole thing. As soon as race pics were available I ordered three 8x10 shots. Like I had conquered Everest.

Today - more fitness, perhaps less ego. (Now, more about me racing... :).
Run by different folks, the race is now the North East Tri, with sprint and olympic distance options. It was the latter for me. Great weather this time around. No wind to speak of, no clouds, 70's. The brown water was 78F so no wetsuits - or, wear it but your result isn't official. No wetsuit for me.

No injury and 3rd out of 32 finishers in my AG, 25th out of 193 men, 27th out of 286 finishers overall.
Swim is still slower the Dubya doing a crossword, but I've crawled (ha) closer to the top half of the field from the bottom quarter. Happy with my bike, and happier yet with a sub 40min 10K. Not much run training, no speed work, and overall carrying some fatigue from the Savage weekend 7 days prior.

Data Highlights:
Stat of the day - I spotted my two AG betters 9 and 13 mins in the water. Ouch. One had the fastest swim in the entire field (23:45), the other 17th (27:00). Me? 186th.

• 8th fastest run overall, 1st of 32 in my AG.
• 16th fastest bike overall, 2nd in my AG And...
• 186th in the swim overall, 14th in my AG.
  

Full results here.

Swim 1500 36:31 (35:xx coming out of water)
T1 2:01
Bike 1:05:27
T2 1:11
Run 39:09 (6:19)

Total 2:24:19

Place by element:

Overall - Men - 35-39
Sw 140/286 103/193 14/32
T1 186 130 22
B 16 16 2
T2 112 76 11
R 8 8 1

Final 27th 25th 3rd

Bike Geek Data

Ride time pre-dismount:
Duration: 1:04:11
Work: 836 kJ
TSS: 104.9 (intensity factor 0.991)
Norm Power: 228
VI: 1.05
Pw:HR: 0.75%
Pa:HR: 1.11%
Distance: 23.009 mi

Min Max Avg
Power: 0 394 217 watts
Heart Rate: 133 188 156 bpm
Cadence: 34 111 86 rpm
Speed: 2.9 39.3 21.5 mph

Peak 1min 290w
Peak 2mins 267
Peak 5min 230
Peak 10min 234
Peak 20min 228
Peak 30min 224
Peak 60min 221

For phenomenal video of the Beijing Men's Triathlon, click here.
As good as it gets for tri spectating.

You'll be prompted to download a small bit of software and provide zipcode. There is no commentary just the sounds of the race. A little weird at first but, then, nice. Great camera work, esp for the swim. Camera at water level, water sounds of swimmers. Excellent angles to see how these guys line up to draft, the beauty of their long smooth strokes, how fast they're moving. The race finish (10K run) came down to a 4 man battle, undecided down to the final stretch. Again, as good as it gets for tri drama.

August. Good stuff.

Update for early August. A happily busy peak of summer season.

First, reunion weekend 8/3. So many people = great. So little time = not so great. No good deed goes unpunished: Eileen Pulls off a helluva reunion and then suffers an injury. Get well Eileen. Put that foot up and have some cold bev. Better coverage of the reunion here and here.

Then, a killer training weekend 9/10, now a race weekend 9/17. Followed by weekend races in September along with a weekend in NYC. Love it.

Note: If you've missed the pics from his trip out to California, it's well worth jumping over to the 5th kid's blog entry and photo show.

On to a not too geeky report on my jaunt out to Deep Creek 8/9-10. Rode the Savageman Half (9/21 race) course a couple times. Had long been looking fwd to it. Grateful to be healthy enough to do it. Drove 3hrs up Fri. afternoon, back Sun. afternoon.The weather cooperated. No rain, little wind, lows around 50, highs ~72F.

The weekend was bike focused. Lots of riding, lots riding uphill and generally flogging myself silly. A little optional swimming and running. Oh, and much eating (an underrated aspect of the tri life). My road bike with the triple ring was the machine of choice. I spent a lot of time in the granny gear.

They've added a nasty climb to the already evil race course, nasty and evil in a cyclist's heaven kind of way. Saw plenty of racers similarly scoping the course. DC groups, Baltimore folks, Morgantown people.

20mile cruise followed
by 35miles of
suffering

Sat.: Rode the course with some other DC area knuckleheads, Frequent stops and some social riding allowed me to eat plenty, recover some from climbs and enjoy the views. Post ride food, recovered and then hit the clear crisp lake water for a short swim with transition to a 35min easy run.

Total ride time: 4:49
Stoppage time: 46mins
Rolling: 4:03 (hill crest noodling included)

Sun.: Rode the course again with a different mix of folks. Less noodling, chatting. The last 10miles seemed a whole lot lumpier than Sat. Wooden legs. Wet, heavy, blocky, hardwood. Standing in the pedals for the final climbs, I feared I might go rubbery and crack all together. Transition straight into a 35-40min run. Tried to run with some purpose (tried). Clean up, stretch. Drive home.

Total ride time: 3:56
Stoppage time: 23mins

Rolling time: 3:33

Bike time for the 2007 Race - 3hrs 40 for the bike, including 4mins in pit stops.

2008 Race goal: 6hrs
Swim: :35mins
T1: :5mins
Bike: 3:30
T2: 3mins
Run: 1:47
Total - 6hrs

*Gas for $3.55 along 68 on the return drive.

Hazy Lazy Dayz

Sunny days, warm weather, long rides, Olympic Trials & Games, the Tour de France, barbecue dinners with the master cooks and Devereaux garden produce, blueberries ready for picking somewhere up north - July may be my favorite month of the year.

And, the beauty of kicking back in a chilly dark theatre taking in a summer flick after a long day under the July sun. It helps when the movie is good. Tell No One - big thumbs up.

Re the image above, I'm playing around with cut/paste, figuring out how to copy a chart from training log software and turn it into a pic that can be uploaded to a blog post.

The chart shows my weekly (Monday through Sunday) training hours for 2008 , current to today. Line graphs for the total hours each week and for run hours. Bars for the other elements swim, bike, strength. That 16 hr peak a few weeks ago may be the biggest week ever for me, at least since I've started tracking my time consistently.

I'm recovering quite well for the last 6-8 weeks. Not feeling like I'm doing large volume during the bigger weeks. My running mileage/time is relatively low. That may have a lot to do with it. Will see what happens when I up the running.

Hope others are enjoying the summer as it flies by. It should go out with a flurry for me. Family reunion in LV next weekend, mountain riding the next, racing the week after that. Two races in September, along with a trip to NYC. Then a final race in early October. Throw in work and life and my weekends are pretty well booked through late October.

Looking forward to seeing relatives and lots of photos next week. Happy July birthday wishes to Ed and cousins John and Patricia.

Paid $4.15 a gallon for the cheap stuff. Saw lots of $4.19 and up for the same. Spied a $3.91 price at one spot.


***************************

Committed to racing:
8/17 North East Tri (Olympic Distance, small, local MD)
9/14 Nation's Tri (Olympic Distance, huge (3500 yikes!), local DC)
9/21 Savageman Half (Deep Creek, MD)
Yep, returning to take revenge from a rough '07 experience, they've claim to have made the course just a bit tougher. How is that possible? Make the swim uphill?

10/12 Brierman Tri (small, first year, local, MD, "in between" Olympic and Half Iron distance, right up my alley swim 1500m, bike 40mi, run 9.3mi )

Memorial Day Weekend 2009 - American Triple-T (as in triple triathlon, 3 days of racing, OH)

Chillin' at Club Devereaux

Laid back, low key dinner of grilled salmon, brown rice, beans served up this holiday weekend. Spiced up some with the colorful garden, colorful deck, and colorful characters.



4oth fanfare was kept to a minimum. I brought some product from a local Maryland vineyard.

Newly painted chairs. Definitely up the hip factor of the deck.

Dinner came with a tour of the garden and I came home with bags of blueberries (thanks Martha, again !).

Little Valley fern, surviving the move.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

Forty years.

40.

4 x 10.

8 x 5.

Nixon, Ford, Carter...

Wow. Just... Wow. Yet another achievement (?), event (?), milestone worth celebrating.
And still so young, eh?

I'm both proud and thankful, and a little bit in awe if one can be a little bit in awe.

In what is becoming standard practice, almost tradition, the big party will take place a week or two after.

Racing Again. Gen. Smallwood Oly. Yeehah!

Every racer's favorite site.

Raced for the first time since September '07 today.

General Smallwood Oly distance Triathlon
(General Smallwood State Park, Marbury, MD, 70-80min drive)

Raced it hard and came though with no injuries, no knee pain during race. VERY happy about this. Secondary goals were a solid swim and a reasonably quick time overall. Pulled off a 2:24:15, second fastest ever for me at this distance, less than 1min off my PR.

Nice calm swim waters.
Start out of view to the left, swim in the near aspect to the right,
then turn left and head toward the far land along the buoy line.
Hang another left back to the start, then do that lap again.

1500m swim in an inlet of the Potomac ~40mins south of DC.

24.88mi bike on rolling hills

10K run on same

Summary

~296 athletes entered the Oly race, ~30 in men’s 35-39AG.

Up at 4:10, leave ~4:40, arrive at race ~5:50, got a primo parking spot in lot nearest finish and transition.
1 banana, .5 clif bar, coffee, ~90mins prerace
Sipped electrolyte, water, took 2 ecaps, prerace.
Warmups: 7-10min bike, same run, in water early for 2-3 mins swim, then out to wait for wave start.

Oomph short under voler tri shorts. Orca top (not for swim).
Tri shoe on left foot, road on right.

Hazy day turned clear and sunny, humid, hot, mid 80’s at start.

Swim - In water swim start, no wetsuits. Did not get any feet to draft. Did not go hard or sprint at start, sort of a strong steady. Wrestled with seaweed for few hundred yards at end of each of 2 laps, 2 goggle adjust stop moments, otherwise okay and felt good. ~30:30 time. Didn't feel knackered coming out of the water.

Lee from my small Tue/Thur swim group took 2nd in his AG as well. I managed to beat him out of the water by a few seconds. So what if he started in a wave 3mins behind me.

Looooong T1.

Bike - legs felt pretty good. Only a couple guys passed me. Took in entirety of my single bottle of water, 1 clifshot gel (tried a mocha, not tasty), ~80cals, Hed Jet up front, PT wheel no disc cover in back, aero helmet. Lower back aching, tight last half of ride.

T2 pretty quick. Came out at ~1:43:xx total time. Thought I had a shot at breaking 2:30. Didn't really try to do the math, just focused on the moment.

Run - legs not too bad, took water at each of 4 stations. Hot. Hilly. Expect the quads will be feeling the downhills over the next few days. Last mile was mostly downhill on shaded trail.

Special note - Shower tent/canopy set for races only yards after the finish was HUGE. Really great. Nice cold shady shower to stand under and lower the body temp. First ever for any race I've done.

Hot was the word of the day. Not quite as awful as the Blackwater Du in July 2007 in Columbia, MD, but damn hot and humid. Any finisher who was out on the course for 3, 4, 4.5 hrs has my sincere respect.

Total - 2:24:15.

2^nd in 35-39 AG. Love the small local races.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bike DATA for the trigeeks.

Bike leg, 1 bottle water, 1 clifshot gel (mocha- yuck) no stops. mid-hi 80's very little wind.

Entire ride (204 watts):
Duration: 1:07:27
Work: 823 kJ
TSS: 94.9 (intensity factor 0.919)
Norm Power: 211

VI: 1.04
Pw:HR: 2.9%
Pa:HR: -9.24%
Distance: 24.605 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 423 204 watts
Heart Rate: 137 173 158 bpm
Cadence: 41 114 89 rpm
Speed: 2.3 36 21.9 mph

Peak 1min 283
Peak 2mins 248
Peak 5mins 228
Peak 10mins 218
Peak 20mins 215
Peak 30mins 212
Peak 60mins 209

View from the shade.
Blue canopy left of the arch is the amazing cooling shower.
That's my maroon transport on the right. Early bird parking.

Celebrating Parents

Niftiest card.

B came down and we celebrated a combo Mother's and Father's Day.
Henry & Eli could barely contain themselves.

Crockpot pork was a hit as the main course.

Some recently discovered treasures were examined - Gramma C. earned two diplomas. The details of a second diploma are a mystery. Maybe more exploring at the August gathering.


The photographer was lazy and avoiding rain, failed to get shots of a custom automated watering system recently installed in the garden, complete with lines to individual hanging baskets and other plants.

Found gas at $4.13 for the cheap stuff, saw lots of it selling for $4.25 in the pricier zipcodes.

Another solid week of work and exercise. That's three consecutive (14:16, 13:38, 13:38). No knee issues. Woo-hoo! May enter a small local race (tri) at the end of the month.

The Summer of Hope? & Best Training of 2008

Obama enjoying a nice bounce (Sun. 6-8 Rasmussen polling) after reaching the magic number Tuesday, and giving a great speech in St. Paul. Poll shows him with "Obama now attracts 48% of the vote while McCain earns 40%."



And later spoke to his staff and volunteers, with his new title "presumptive nominee."



Hillary certainly drew things out, effectively building the suspense to a crescendo, then nailed the peak with her speech yesterday.

Training!

6/2 – 6/8/08

Second consecutive very nice solid week of healthy activity. 13+ hrs training time this week and last. Nothing long, nothing very intense. Something every day, a little more on weekends. Key word: Healthy.

[timeout to watch the Hughes segment on 60 Minutes]

Bike odometer cracked 20,000mi somewhere along the way.

Mon. 6-2-08
Run 45mins, couple peppy 7:15-7:20miles, ~6mi.

Tue. 6-3
Bike QR trainer in eve, most all aero, with a nice fat ~45 mins stretch at tempo/threshold effort.
Duration: 1:13:12 (1:16:40)
Distance: 23.957 mi

Core – 15mins Lift 15mins - core, waddle, curls at home.

Wed. 6-4
Swim 50mins
Lift – 25mins core and quads

Thur. 6-5-08
Run-Bike in eve.
Run 42 mins steady, ~5.5mi, ~84F muggy, 7-8min trans to run.
Bike trainer QR steady+ after run
Duration: 1:00:26
Distance: 20.451 mi

Fri. 6-6-08
Swim 54mins at MAC in morn, ~2000m
Run 49mins eve, ~6.3mi, knees pretty good, no right knee
Core 15mins

Sat. 6-7-08
Swim 45mins, ~1900m (am)
Lift – 20mins Core & Quads (am after swim)
Bike (pm)
QR Rock Creek, ~90F, humid, Beach Dr nice and shady and few people out. Knees okay. No wind.
Duration: 2:06:15 (2:07:42)
Distance: 38.004 mi

Sun. 6-8 Ride-Run
Bike QR ride out to Seneca store (ice and water refill), back River Rd. Got out early to beat the worst heat. 90+F pretty humid, sunny, not bad when rolling along. 1 banana just before mounting up. During ride ~600-650cals: 2 bananas, 3 Egels, 3 endurolyte caps, most of a bottle of electrolyte, 4-5 bottles water. Drinking early and often. Felt pretty darn good. No heat issues, no cramping, etc. HR never out of whack, responsive, not sticky high or low. Not going hard, just trying to keep cadence up, manage hydration, nutrition; manage effort for run to follow.

Changed small ring from 44 to 40, no doubt helped to manage effort on the hills.
Duration: 2:49:43 (2:59:08)
Distance: 50.094 mi

Run 33mins, ~4mi, 8min trans from ride.
Post run – stretch, fluids, cold shower, HUGE smoothy with lots of LV blueberries – thanks Martha!

***
I've seen $4.2x for the cheap stuff.

Better racing through riser stem?

Recently altered my tri bike position. Jacked the front end up a gigantic 4cm, after already raising it 2cm a couple weeks prior. Seat to arm rest "drop" (ground height differential) is now 10cm, much less "aggressive" than 16cm. Not as aero, but hip angle is more open, and hopefully I'm more powerful while putting less aggravation on the lower back, pelvis and ITBand. I don't feel like a main sail, sitting high and catching wind resistance, but don't feel like a slippery bullet either.

So far so good. Better to be healthy and able to race than aerodynamic but never healthy at the start line, or not there at all. That last 4cm, and some other smaller tweaks came courtesy of Eric, the man behind Principle Fitness (FIST certified). We'll see. I may not be able to resist the temptation to nudge the bars down just a bit in the pursuit of free aero speed. For now, at least my tongue will stay out of the front spokes.

Eric's summary from my 2hrs with him.