Day After Swim

I knew that my friends at the pool would want to know how I did at Superiorman so I got up early and headed down to the Y for an easy swim. I chatted with my friends there, told stories and then did a nice easy swim.

It felt good to both socialize and stretch out the muscles in a low impact sort of way.

Superiorman 41.5 Race Report

Pre-Race

Got up at 4:20, took a shower and I ate my bagel in the car on the drive downtown to transition. We arrived about 5:20am and it was still dark. A flashlight/headlamp is not on my packing list, and I hadn’t needed it until now. I managed well enough with the light from my phone. I found a spot on a bike rack and there wasn’t anyone near me. Temps were nice, in the 60’s and no wind. There was a threat of rain, but so far nothing seemed to be materializing. I turned my running shoes upside down as a precaution and had a spare pair of socks in a zippy bag.

It was too dark to get a swim in before I had to walk over to catch my boat. So I kinda figured I would really need to execute my intended plan when I did get into the water. Melissa and I walked the ¼ mile from transition to the boat launch. We talked to Erik who is a local guy that I did a bunch of open water swims with, and ran into Richard a friend from Masters swimming that was one of the guys that talked me into this whole triathlon thing.

We boarded the boat on time to head out for the swim start.

Swim

The swim begins by jumping off a local sightseeing boat. There were 3 waves of us on the boat. First wave was fast long course athletes, then my wave of slow short course athletes. When I filled out the registration back in February it asked what my predicted swim time and bike pace would be. I had no idea what my bike pace would be so I put what it was the last time I rode outside. However I am 2-3mph faster now. Oops. I spent most the wait on the boat talking with a guy I knew from swimming at the Y. He is a runner that was taking up swimming and this was his first triathlon.

So it was finally our turn. Jumping off from both sides of the boat. It was indeed quite a jump. Probably 4 feet into the water. My goggles immediately filled with water when I got in. I was expecting that because I don’t keep my goggles very tight in OWS. It was also shockingly cold, which I was also expecting. I could feel the panic starting again.

But my plan had me prepared for this. I just kicked a bit away from the boat so nobody would jump on me. I cleared my goggles, got some water down my suit, and just put my face in the water and blew some bubbles while doing a bit of kicking. Then I took a few strokes focusing on my breathing. Stopped, surveyed the area as I was now pretty much the last pink cap by the boat and then headed out for my swim. No issues after that.

I passed A LOT of people on the swim. I got run over by a super fast long course swimmer so I just moved a bit further away from the buoys. My watch buzzes every 500 yards so when I wasn’t even to the first turn buoy and it buzzed I thought it was odd. Then I got a second buzz on the return and I thought that this is REALLY weird. I have a long way to go yet, but I am past 1000 yards in this ½ mile swim? A third buzz while in the boat slip the led to the swim exit. The exit was a boat ramp that had a bunch of rocks and then a slippery concrete/slime surface. I fell down, then just crawled up the ramp to the carpet and then was able to run to transition. My goal time was 17 minutes but I got out and glanced at my watch and it was 24 minutes. So something was up. After the race, I saw that it was a 1600 yard “1/2 mile” swim and I did it in 27 minutes for a 1:40 pace. I was super happy during the swim and the results made me happier after.

Swim time 26:51 35/88 overall, 4/8 in my age group

Melissa said that I was one of the first pink caps out of the water.

T1

I was able to run quickly into transition. Sat down on the ground to take my wetsuit off and put on my socks and shoes. Grabbed my bike and off I went. Time 2:31

Bike

The bike course was a bit shorter this year due to some local construction, but it still started out with some weird twists and turns over the first 3 miles or so. That included some short but super steep hills which I had to get out of the saddle to get up. My goal was to get my heart rate back down to a reasonable level during these early miles and then when we finally got out on London road I would put the hammer down and that’s what I did.

The outbound ride was on the wide shoulder of an expressway. There were big cracks with grass growing out of them and they were really bumpy. My hands were super slippery which I realized a bit later on the bike was probably from the boat ramp. At one point I was drinking my nutrition bottle, hit a bump and bottle fell right out of my hand. Good thing it was nearly empty.

It was also about this point that I realized that I forgot to put my gel in my racing kit. I had tucked the gels in a side pocket of my bag but never took them out during transition. I thought of it while on the boat and hoped I would remember, but nope. So, I grabbed a bottle of Gatorade at the bike aid station.

I made the turn at the halfway point on homestead road and then another on the scenic highway to head back towards transition. My power was a bit below where I wanted it, so I knew I had to pick it up now. I passed quite a few people on the outbound ride, but I passed one guy on the inbound ride and then I didn’t see ANYONE for like 10 miles. I got passed by someone about 2 miles from the end of the bike. It was just weird.

My daughter and mother in law were waiting about 3 miles from the bike finish with signs to cheer me on. I gave a big wave as I rode by.

My goal was to average 20mph and finish in 1:45 and I did that. My legs were really feeling it at the end.

Bike time 1:44:42 20/88 overall, 3/8 in age group

I found out later, that I was the 3^rd bike in overall. The first bike belonged to Erik my ows partner.

T2

Other than the fact that my legs did NOT want to move when I got off the bike this transition went quite well. Just a quick change of shoes, throw the hat on and put my number belt on as I ran out of transition. Time 1:24

Run

The run was “interesting”. My watch was set to 1:45/0:45 and my goal was to do that pace for at least 3 miles. I ended up doing it the entire way. The first mile was fine, just getting the legs all working again. It takes you past the finish line where they announced my name as starting the run course. I saw my masters swim coach who had volunteered that morning and got a high five from him.

The second mile was run partially on a “carriage trail” where horses pull carriages. It was loose sand/gravel and I tried to run off to the side for better footing. At the end of that second mile was a big hill. So mile 2 was a suffer fest.

Mile 3 I seemed to fall into a groove finally. I saw my kid and MIL again on the run course which was nice. I was able to give a high five to the guy manning the turnaround cone. He was everyone’s favorite person that morning. Mile 4 was more of the same. I had settled into a grove and was feeling ok. I took some water and a couple of Gatorades during the run as well.

My legs were tight and my hamstring was sore too but nothing bad enough to slow down (any more than I was) or stop. Mile 5 looped back around transition before heading to the finish line. Ignoring the watch now I just continued my run all the way through the finish.

Run time 57:58 61/88 overall, 3/8 age group?!?! (apparently my age group had a lot of bad runners)

Final time 3:13:24 which was 36/88 overall, 22/48 of men, and 3/8 in age group! I actually podiumed in a triathlon race?!?!?

Unfortunately, they only gave out awards to the top finisher in each age group.

Final Thoughts

I actually really enjoyed this race. I felt very prepared, I went in with a race plan and I executed it perfectly. The swim was long, but I just kept it smooth and steady the whole time. The bike was the suffering that I expected it to be, but had already experienced in training a couple of times. I had family and friends there cheering me on both on the course and at the finish.

I have these thoughts of doing a full IM at some point, and then I do this race and during the run I am saying to myself “why the **** would I want to do that?” Right now I am liking this Olympic type distance, and this race in particular suits my biking strength.

Pre-Race

I got my bike in for a tune up earlier this week and it is smooth, quiet and fast.

Everything is packed up, I head to packet pick up shortly and a good spaghetti dinner planned for tonight

I will have a cheering section tomorrow at the race. Melissa will be my sherpa in transition, and my daughter and mother in law will be watching for me on the bike and run after breakfast.

The weather looked like potential rain tomorrow all week, but the forecast today is looking promising. Hopefully we will have good weather.

Emotions

For the last week or so I have been experiencing a variety of emotions. I am super excited for my A race, I am sad that the season is over, I am tired and I want a break and yet I have goals for the off season.

Good lord, what is wrong with me?

Writing a Race Plan

So my coach asked me to write a race plan for Superiorman. I have never done this before. I have always had some goals in mind but never wrote out what I wanted to do. It was to include logistics, fueling and hydration, pacing and mental strategies to keep me going. Wow! I really haven't given all this much thought.

So I put one together that had important times, especially because there was a walk from transition to the boat to start the race. I discussed my swim start and swim thoughts since I didn't want a repeat of NewBriTri. Then my plans for the bike and run.

It was an interesting exercise, we will see how it all plays out.

Bike Intervals Outside

Well that was the first time I attempted to do  an interval type of workout outside. Not as easy as it looks. I have about 6-8 miles of relatively flat roads that I just went back and forth on.

It is hard to go easy, my bike just wants to go fast. But it was fun and better than being in my basement on a nice day like today.

I wore a new tri kit today on the bike. I wore in when I swam in Hawaii. Not as comfortable on the bike. Oh well.

Feet

My hamstring has been pretty good this summer. I say it is 90%, but it is not completely healed. I talked to my doctor about it and he suggested some more intense hamstring strengthening exercises so I made a couple of PT appointments to ensure I was doing them right.

During that second PT meeting, I mentioned to her that my feet hurt when I run more than 5 miles. Anything up to 5 miles I am fine. I have only run more than that a few times but it is noticeable. She said that she is not a foot specialist but recommended I go back to the PT that I saw for my running analysis back in January. She would be able to tell me if my running gait has changed or if there was more I should be doing.

So I had that appointment this morning with Robin. She won her age group at the Chisago half iron a few weeks ago btw so she probably knows what I am going through. It worked out good that I had a long run yesterday as I was able to describe exactly what I was feeling. She said it was quite common and diagnosed it as metatarsalgia. 

She watched me run on the treadmill and liked what I was doing with my shorter stride, staying on the front of my foot and slight lean forward. So my running form was much better than when I saw her in January and her only comment was to keep focusing on shorter strides. We experimented with a pad under my foot just behind the balls of my feet to add more cushion. I am going to try that. But she said that Hoka shoes is really her best suggestion.

So I will probably do some shoe shopping here. I will try out the pads on my short run Saturday and my easy run next week, but they feel kinda weird I am hesitant to change anything prior to the race. I certainly wont be running in new shoes on race day, and would be saving that for after the race. I can certainly do the race distance without a problem without any pads. It is not debilitating, just annoying.

Another steady pace run

Another attempt at a steady pace run yesterday, this time for a planned 1:10.

Did this workout in the evening. I traveled down and back to Chicago today, so I spent basically from 6am until 5pm sitting. Then I got home, drank some water and went for a run.

So my plan was to do a big loop today but the road was completely shut down and dug up so I couldn't get through. So I went about halfway around the block and then came back the way I came. My goal was to run to the 35 minute mark or to 3.1 miles whichever was further and then turn around. I wanted to complete 10k. Mental milestones.

I hit the 35 minute mark at 3.3 miles so I turned around. I was a bit slower on the way back. Plenty of elevation change on this run too.

I kept the same run/walk paces as last time, and again I was a bit faster than the desired for a few miles, but as time wore on, I got closer to that time as I tired.

Oh, and longest distance at 6.6 miles (and time at 1:12) run to date.

Oh and even doing these paces, I was still faster than the best open 10k race time I had done 20 years ago.

Biking with Adam

So on Saturday night we had a BBQ with some friends and I got talking about biking with Adam. He asked when my next ride was and I said I was supposed to do hills on Tuesday morning. He said he wanted to join me. I kinda thought it was the alcohol talking, but sure enough he texts me on Monday and we set it up to meet at a spot near my house and go from there.

I chose the road that has quite a bit of rolling hills that had kicked my butt on some of my longer rides. So we did an out and back of a planned 28 miles.

The first couple of miles I kept it quite easy and Adam stayed tucked on my wheel. Relatively flat in that section. Next 3 miles had some hills and I looked back and he had fallen behind. I waited for him at the turn.

Then we headed out on Arnold road. This would be the bulk of the hills. It starts with a fairly long steep climb. It turns out that this would be the only time I went into my small gear the whole ride. That's a first for much of this route!

I pushed hard on the hills and ended up stopping every couple of miles and waiting for my friend to catch up. So my legs got some rest there.

The last 2 miles were super easy as well. Served as a nice cool down.

Adam did awesome especially since he wasn't even riding a road bike but rather was on a heavier gravel bike. It was a fun morning.

Swim with Max

So my previous swim coach texted and said he was looking for a swim workout and was going to meet us on Monday morning for a swim. So there were 3 of us bright and early this morning for a swim.

We made up a swim workout on the spot this morning, a mix of 50's, 100's and 200's. I am in no way competitive with Max, and in fact I was just trying to ignore him as the consistently lapped me in the next lane. On top of that I just wasn't feeling it this morning either. Probably still tired from my brick session on Saturday.

But it sure is nice to have some social aspect to the training and just chat in the pool a bit.

Simulated Race

Today my training plan called for a bike/run brick with the bike done at race pace for 1:30 followed by a short run and to set up a transition area in my driveway.

So I grabbed my gear and laid it out on the grass next to the driveway, and leaned my bike against a sawhorse. Melissa suggested that I put my wetsuit on and then get into the hot tub but I decided against that. Instead I ran barefoot from the back yard dodging the dog turds on the way to my transition area and then headed out for my bike.

Miles 15-27 of my bike ride were super hilly and kicked my butt too.  In the end I just tried to push as much as I could in the hills.

Finally on the last 2 mile segment that I was trying to go fast yesterday on, today I wasn't really thinking about it too much, more about transitioning to running at that point, but it was the 2nd fastest ever time on that leg. Go figure.

Then it was time to transition to the run....

OMG that was tough. The legs just.....did....not....want....to....move.

Just shuffling along the best I could trying to get the legs to start moving. I ran down the street for ~7.5 minutes and then turned around. All the while I am thinking about how nice an aquabike race would be. :-)

It took over a mile before my legs were doing anything like a normal feeling stride. On top of it all it was really warm by the time I started running. I am actually quite happy with the run in the end.

70.3 Dream

I had a dream last night that I got an email from my coach saying that I should switch my Superiorman entry from the 41.5 distance to the 70.3 distance because I needed an extra challenge!

What a bizzare dream.

So I shared that with my coach and he replied Ha ha, funny thing is I had a dream a while back, you emailed me telling me you switched to the 70.3. I woke up the next morning and checked TP thinking I better start adding more volume on the bike and run 😂😉. 

Too funny.

We are staying with the 41.5 distance despite what our dreams tell us.

New Fan

So I had a really difficult bike workout on the trainer today, but it was made a bit nicer by the addition of a 2nd fan. I have been riding on the trainer with a single fan that was sitting on a table on my left side next to the iPad. What this meant is that my left side would be dry and my right arm would be dripping in sweat.

I bought another nearly identical fan to put on my right side. However, I didn't have a place to put it. So I improvised with a 2 step paint ladder straddling part of the elliptical. This worked ok for this workout but it is not a good long term solution. We are going to have to do some rearranging here for the off season.

Steady Pace Running

Today my training plan called for a steady state running pace. This is something I have never done before. I have done specific run/walk intervals but never tried to run a specific pace over an amount of time. The whole concept was foreign to me.

So like any good engineer, I did some math and figured that a 1:00/1:30 pace would work for the warm up and a 1:30/1:00 pace would work for the main set.

Well that didn't quite work out the way I had hoped. I ended up being faster than I was supposed to be using those numbers.

Interestingly, I read that when you run it should be at a "conversational pace", or a pace in which you could have a conversation with someone. I have no idea what that is, every run I have ever done I am out of breath and can't talk to anyone. Today was a different story, my heart rate was lower and could have definitely talked to someone today. So maybe there is something to this steady pace thing.

2 Hour Ride

My training plan called for a 2 hour ride. So I scoped out the area to try and find a ride that was roughly 38 miles long. I finally made one that was 37.5 which was perfect.

My plan was to get up at 6am, eat a bagel and be on the road by 7am as I was playing in a charity golf tournament at 10am.

Everything goes according to plan, I eat, put my bottles on my bike and go to top off my bike tires and my front tire is flat. I put air in it and I can hear it coming out. So that takes me 15 minutes (not good at this yet) to change the tire, so now I am quite a bit behind schedule.

I ended up cutting out about 2 miles of the planned route because I was running really late. (I made it just in time to the golf tournament).

The weather for the ride was pretty lousy. It was very wet for the first 20 minutes, then it was totally dry for the next 20 minutes, then it was VERY foggy for the next hour. Like a few hundred feet visibility foggy. I couldn't see the next hill until I was on it. Then it was dry with better visibility again by the time I got close to home.

I had a lot of issues with my glasses. They got wet, then they fogged up and I couldn't keep them clear enough to see very well. I stopped a few times to take them off and wipe them down. I ended up just taking them off for the last 10 miles.

I did not feel like the ride went very well at all. The first hour went good. There are a couple of short but steep hills on that first part and I thought I did those pretty quickly (Strava says a PR on one of them).

When I made the turn back to the south on Arnold road thats where the trouble began. That is a new road to me and it is VERY hilly. It felt entirely uphill without much of a break. My legs were toast by about 3/4 down this road. Part of it was not being able to see the hills until I was actually on them. It was a mental strain.

Then it was just a matter of getting home. The rest of the ride went ok.