Eagle Creek Sprint Tri #1

Let me just say - this was a tough race. It all started Friday night...Jarrett and I went to pick-up packets at Runner's Forum in Carmel on Friday evening. Packet pick-up was easy and fast. Then we decided to venture downtown for dinner. I decided we should go someplace new and had read good things about a BBQ place on Fountain Square called Shelby Street Smokehouse. It totally sucked. The food was horrible and cold. I ate a few bites of meat and we left. We managed to get home before the torrential rainstorm started. It started storming at 9:00 pm and didn't stop until almost 5:00 am Saturday morning.

I got up at 4:30 am on Saturday to eat and take care of the critters. I had my stuff already packed and ready to go so the morning was pretty low key. I got to Eagle Creek about 6:30 am and found a great parking spot. I took my stuff down and set-up my transition area. Since I was there so early, I managed to get a prime spot on the end of my rack. The water was too warm (79 F) making the wetsuit I hauled down completely useless. I met up with a few other fellow athletes prior to the race and wished everyone luck. The pre-race meeting was heavily focused on safety and as always, Tuxedo Brothers did an outstanding job of organizing the event. One of my fellow swimmers found me prior to the swim start and I decided to start with her instead of back with my wave. It was a very good decision.

Swim Time: 14:59.6 - That is a no wetsuit PR! I swam the Go Girl last year in a wetsuit slightly faster. Still not where I want to be but it is an improvement.

T1: 1:45.4 - This is most definitely a PR. Not sure what my previous best was but it was well over 2:00.

Bike: 37:24.2 (16 mph) - This was a bittersweet PR. I should have nailed this ride...but instead I wrecked about 1 mile in slipping on mud and crap in the road when I went into aero position. No worries - just some road rash and a very bruised ego. I put my chain back on and got right back on the bike.

T2: 2:54.7 - Ummm- slow. It took me a bit to get my shoes on and I was still a little shaky from the fall.

Run: 30:15 (10.05 pace) - The run was tough. I made it through the first 1.5 miles without walking and then I stopped to walk at a water stop and it all kind of fell apart. I did PR by 3 seconds.

Total Time: 1:27:19
357/519 - I really want to break into the top 50%....one of these days!

Other then the bike incident, the race was good. I have improved and the most frustrating thing about it is I know I could have been faster and SHOULD have been faster. In the end, I just need to remember that this is ultimately about having fun and finishing Augusta.

Sunburst Half-Marathon

Cyndi and I ventured up to South Bend to run our 2nd Sunburst Half-Marathon on Saturday. This was my third time participating in this event. The first year, Jarrett and I ran the 10K. To sum up the race: HOT AND HUMID. When we woke up, it was already 74 and you could feel the humidity just hanging in the air. The race started at 7:30 am from downtown. There were only 1600ish people racing the half so it was not crowded. That meant the crowd thinned rapidly and there was very little weaving during the first mile of the race. About 10 minutes in, I looked down at my watch. I hadn't seen a mile marker yet. In another two-minutes I would encounter Mile Marker 1. WHAT?? I ran a 12:24 first mile? I DON'T THINK SO! At that point I was pretty pissed and frustrated. About 6 minutes later I see another mile marker...Evidently the first mile marker was set for one of the other distances being run, not the half. Crisis over. I didn't hit my watch again until mile 6. I finished the first 6 in 56:18 with a pace of 9:23. At mile 10 I was at 1:35:8 holding in at a 9:33/mile. I finished with a time of 2:08 with a pace of 9:46/mile. Biggest issue was the heat and humidity. There was not enough water on the course. Two of the ten water stops were completely out of water and only one had Gatorade. I dropped my bag of Chomps at mile 6 trying to open them because my hands were too sweaty to operate properly and had to resort to taking a Gu Gel. I only was able to gag down about a quarter of it but I was desperate at that point.

What this race taught me: I'm stronger then I give myself credit for. I did not walk a STEP even though I badly wanted to stop running. It was excellent training for the conditions I will likely experience at Augusta.

I still managed to get myself some lovely blisters on my arches. Luckily they aren't terribly painful, just gross.

Cyndi also did great! She finished in 2:28 - if not her fastest half time then one of her top three. Considering the weather - that is AWESOME!

Sometimes you just need to rest

What a week! We did a "mock" triathlon on Monday. 1.2 mile swim, 20 mile bike, 3 mile run. Very successful training day for everyone who participated. Jarrett was kind enough to kayak for the group and then joined us for the ride. He just upgraded his bike to a Trek Madone. It's super awesome and he can "almost" keep up with me! I had a bit of a breakdown at swimming on Tuesday. After spending some time talking to my coach and reflecting on the last 6 weeks, I realized I was just tired. I needed a day off. Wednesday was the first day in a month that I didn't train or ride Frosty. Trust me here people - riding a 1400# horse is not always easy! I woke up feeling much more alive on Thursday and now I'm actually looking forward to the Sunburst.

Next weekend is my next 40K bike TT race. I've been really working on my cycling and I'm hoping to improve my time by a few minutes. I've reassessed my pre-race plan and will be increasing my calorie intake slightly prior to racing. I just plain ran out of juice for the last race.

Time to back for South Bend! I'll have a race report out next week!