Sunday, September 25, 2011

2011 Augusta 70.3 Race Report

In short, there was some good, but lots of bad.  A learning experience to be sure.  I was originally hoping to have a really good race and knock a chunk of time off of last year's race.  Training going along well, losing weight, eating well, getting plenty of sleep, etc., etc....  However, that was not to be the case.

Before delving into the race, a little about the pre-race festivities.

Friday morning, the Sizzler and I woke up, loaded up the truck and hit the road to Augusta.  It is about a 6 hour drive and I wanted to get there in plenty of time to go through registration before it got too crowded.  So 8:30, we load up the dogs, and hit the road.  Drop the dogs off at Robin Hood Kennels, and then really hit the road. 


Lunch in Macon, Ga.  Macon is about half-way, and has plenty of good restaurants to choose from.  I love the Honey Bear, H&H, Satterfield's BBQ, Jim Shaw's Seafood, etc., but had to pass.  Decided to go to Sid's.  Good stuff -- turkey on wheat with baked potato soup.   

After a quick bite to eat, it was back on the road.  Pretty back country roads through Lake Oconee, then a quick jaunt on the interstate to Augusta.  I did this race the year before, so I knew exactly how to get to the hotel, check-in, park and then register.  Our room had a nice view of the swim course.

Sissy had never been to a big race before, so when I exited registration and went through the expo, I found her with her arms full of stuff.  I had to slowly talk her down into getting her a shirt and a bib for Baby Cam.  But we did have some fun anyway...


Later I checked out my gear bag!


Once that was done, it was just cruise control.... We finished unpacking the truck, and were walking around the hotel and ran into Sandy Holt.  She and some of the Tally crowd were going out to dinner (Charlie was running late), and invited us along.  It didn't hurt that Sandy metioned those magic words "Boll Weevil" and "cake".  Holla!!!!

Dinner was great, Andrea, Karen, Sandy, Sandy's friend (whoops, forgot her name, but a first timer at Augusta), the Sizzler and myself.  Had the Habana Chicken, corn chowder and a few bites of the red velvet cake with cream cheese icing Sissy ordered.  De-lish!  Early to bed for plenty of rest.

Saturday, up at 7 and a trip to the hotel's restaurant for some coffee and oatmeal.  Then we headed over to the swim start for a little tune-up.





From there it was off for a little bike tune-up.  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/116702952


Then a little run tune-up....  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/116702956

After that, it was time for R&R and to watch some foosball.  Ok, so FSU got their asses handed to them... again.  Dinner with a larger gang at the Cotton Patch (food was ok, kinda greasy), then back to bed for Sunday am.

So, what you have been waiting for:  the Race Report!  Woke up at 4AM, had some Perform, powerbar and a salt-stick pill.  Made it to the buses by 4:45 to be on the first bus.  Next time, I may sleep in more, since my wave did not start until 8:04 (race started at 7:30).  After waiting a few minutes for the bus to fill up, were were off to transition. 

I guess I should clarify that at Ironman Augusta 70.3, Transition is about 1.5 miles from the host hotel, and has limited parking.  Swim start is about .5 or so past the hotel.  So the way around that is that buses are provided to drive athletes from the hotel, to transition, to the swim start.

So we arrive at transition and get body marked (#1028), set up the bikes/transition gear and drink another Perform.  After wasting enought time, I get on the bus to go to the swim start.  Bus starts driving, driving, past the swim start and back to the hotel.  WTF? Bus driver is lost or... well, other choice words that I won't repeat here.  Whatever.  Get off the bus and start walking down the riverwalk to swim start.  It is a pretty walk and we have plenty of time so it is no big deal.

.5 miles later arrive.  Dang my toes on both feet are a little tender, must not be used to wearing my Crocks.  It has been awhile since I've worn them.  Chill around, watching people.  Eat a bag of GU Chomps.  See several of the Tallahassee crew, which is nice to see the home crowd up in Augusta, and scouted out the sim start.

Finally about 10 minutes before the pros go off, I start putting my wetsuit on and realize that the second toe on both feet has a blister.  Damn Crocs!  Double-damn the freaking bus driver who didn't know his head from his ass!!!!!  Whatever, I'm not going to let a couple of blisters on my toes mess up my day.  Then the pros go off!


Finally our wave goes off.  It is a wet start, the staring line is about 10 yards downstream from this floating dock out in the river. 



Horn goes off, and off we go. I didn't push too hard; rather, just focused on stroke and found a decent set of feet to draft behind.


I wasn't wearing a watch so didn't know my swim time; however, it felt like a good swim.  I felt strong and seemed to be moving along at a good clip.  After the first bridge, the pack broke up some and I found myself swimming with another guy.  So I slowed down and touch and tucked in behind him.  Man, it was like I wasn't even trying anymore.  It wasn't until after I got back to the hotel after the race before I learned my time.  I was hoping to break 25 min, and came in at 25:35, which if you count the loooong run to the timing mat at T1, the swim itself was well under 25.  So mission accomplished.

For the bike, I haven't been riding any hills, doing flats getting ready for Florida.  But, wasn't too worried b/c the course has hills, but nothing that bad.  My goal.... well it was to cruise along at a hr avg of 150 (I go anerobic at 154). 

Well, that worked for about the first three miles.  Then, I got tired of all the guys passing me, so I picked it up some (ended up with an avg hr of 158).  Originally I figured I would only push for a few minutes.  Then I stretched it out for another few minutes.  Then I got to the point that I kept wanting to pass the guy/gal in front of me.  So I pretty much pushed the whole bike.   Once I started picking up the pace, I thought I was going to come in at 2:30, nine minutes faster than last year.  However, about 20 miles from T2 (the mile 37 aid station), I could compare the times/distance and knew that wasn't going to happen. 

Sidenote -- during the bike ride, one thing that stood out at me was that none of the aid sations had powerbars.  They had the gels, but not the bars.  I was shocked.  Last year they had the bars at all stations, and the info said there would be powerbars -- but at all three stations, I didn't see a single bar.  Luckily I happened to grab 3 gels at the first aid station (with a bottle of perform), and 2 gels (and a bottle of perform) at the next two aid stations.  So I did get nutrition, but not what Ironman promised, and not what I had been using during training.  Not a good thing. 

Even looking back now, I can't figure out what happened on the bike re my time. I know I pushed harder -- ended up with an average hr of 158 (last year 152), and weighed 9 pounds less. I just can't figure out why I was 3 minutes slower. Same rims, stronger bike frame, same type of tires. Last year I had a speedfil, this year a bottle holder on the aerobars. Maybe it was the weather -- last year rain/cooler, this year warmer w/some sun? No idea. Still that shouldn't have messed up my bike ride. 

To make matters worse, or I guess more accurately stated as what goes around comes around -- about at mile 50 I could feel my legs running out of energy.  I had to fight/focus to finish the ride.  I knew that the run was going to suck b/c I had spent all of my stores on the bike, rather than burning fat on the bike and sugars on the run.  Crap.  Well, T2 came and went.  Again, my plan had been to spend the last 5 miles slowing down and lowering my hr.  Didn't do that.  So I came out of T2 with a hr in the 160's, rather than in 145-150.   I could tell within the first mile that I was toast on the bike.  Hammys twinging, hr in the 160-170 range, running slow.  It was all over but the crying.  It was hot, damn hot.  Humid.  And the aid stations were few and far in between. 

Could I have pushed on? Maybe, but I'd say 60/40 that I'd have: (1) injured myself; or (2) gotten heat exhaustion. So, I decided to implement damage control and focus on staying healthy for Florida.  So, by mile 3, I had decided to shut it down and try to just finish. 



However, even that was almost impossible.  I was pouring water over my head at the aid stations, drinking coke, and pouring a cup of ice in the front of my jersey and another cup of ice in the back of my jersey.  The ice would be melted 1/2 way to the next aid station.


I didn't have any energy, most of the run it was all I could do to walk.  Anytime my hr went above 155, my breathing went ragged and a couple of times I started to get dizzy/blurred vision.  So I just walked, and walked and walked, then jogged for 100 yards or so, then walked some more. 


My run time was horrible, but in all honestly I was happy to even finish.  There were several times when I just thought about quitting -- DNFing -- or forcing myself to run that extra minute or two in the hopes that I would just pass out and wake up in the back of an ambulance.  Man, I really thought about that latter a lot.  So, I guess there is good news that I sucked it up and finished the run.  Lesson learned -- next time hold back on the bike, or else run goes to shit.


After the race was over, I walked around long enough to find Sissy, then we went back to the hotel.  I would have liked to have visited the gang, but was so spend that I just wanted to get off the clothes and soak in a cold tub of water.  Got back to the hotel and took off my shoes -- and noticed a huuuge red blister on my right pinky toe.  OMG it is freaking disgusting.  My right foot has three blisters and left foot has one.  Funny thing, the blisters from the Crocs aren't that bad.

Afterwards, Sissy and I ate a mid-afternoon lunch at Boll Weevil Cafe, then I had to go pick up my bike.  Long story short, security wouldn't let us drive to transition so I had to walk.... in the rain... in lightning... on a dyke... with steel light-poles... to get my bike.  Thanks for that.  Then ride my bike (wearing a helmet) a mile back to my truck, load it up and go back to the hotel. 

Had the shivers all night, hoping that was just the sun.  Mon am, woke up and drove back down to Tallahassee.  Stopped several times along the way, loaded up on gummi bears, chips, stripling's sausage, and when I got back to Tallahassee had some sausage & pepperoni pizza. 

So, although it is difficult to compare times from different years, here are my times for 2011 and 2010:

2011
Swim -- 25:35 (Div 61, Overall 328)
T1 -- 4:01
Bike -- 2:42:02 (Div 109, Overall 495)  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/117088555
T2 -- 2:09
Run -- 2:57:41 (Div 269, Overall 1605)  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/117088578
Total -- -- 6:11:28

2010
Swim -- 28:10 (Div 125, Overall 813)
T1 --  4:10
Bike -- 2:39:30 (Div 116, Overall 632)  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50663469
T2 -- 1:27
Run -- 2:13:55 (Div 168, Overall 1002)  http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50663476
Total -- 5:27:12

Peace out.

Friday, September 23, 2011

gusta here we come.

gusta here we come.

A year ago today i

A year ago today i weighed 202. Today..193. One pound away from alt goal weight. And i am healthier, stronger, and a year wiser. Au

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Countdown to Ironman Augusta 70.3 -- draft

One week from now (I mean right now as I sit here typing these very letters), I expect to be 5 miles from T2.  My goal will be to bring my hr down from about an avg of 152 to about 135, keep it steady and ready for T2, so I can hit the run and knock out the first two miles with an avg hr of 150.  Try to maintain that until mile 7, then decide if I am going to drop the hammer and race hard or shut it down and cruise in.  That will largely depend on two things: (1) heat; and (2) how my achilles tendon feels.

Last year I finished the race in 5:27:xx.  It was my first 70.3, and in all honestly I was "running scared" for the whole race.  I didn't know what to expect.  I desperately wanted to finish under 6 hours, and that was about all I knew.  Had done a beginner training plan to a 70.3 I had downloaded from free off the internet, but the wheels had fallen off from weeks 12-17. 

This year, is a differnt story Training has been going along pretty well, as good as it can be considering my sprained ankle and tendency to eat junk food and overeat non-junk food. But I can't complain. The so-called wheels have not fallen of.  I am here today based on my own action (and inaction). I've had good coaching during this training cycle, and it has really helped. 

I know I am faster, stronger, more prepared this year.  What I don't know is what the weather will do.  Right now, weather channel says it will be mostly sunny, low in the am of 60 and high of 89.  I wilt in sun/heat, so this will be interesting b/c last year's rain and clouds saved my ass.

So I am expecting (ok, so I expect to be a few minutes slower, and these are ballpark/approximates times, but this is meant to compare/evaluate temperature ranges):
8:04 Swim -- 61 degrees -- no worries
8:30 Bike -- 63 degrees -- gonna be cooold on the bike the first hour, especially b/c wet.
11:00 Run -- 71 degrees -- if it is in the 70's, I should be ok.  over 80, and oh shit.
1:00 Finish -- 77 degrees...  this is gonna be interesting.....

Winter Cycling Clothing -- work in progress

For the last two winters, this has been my default for what to wear.  Thought I would share it with you all.  I borrowed this from http://kbcyclewerks.hubpages.com/hub/What-to-Wear-when-Cycling-in-Cold-Weather--bicycling, just reorganized it to make more sense and tweaked the language for Florida.  There are alternatives, but I didn't list those that most people wouldn't have (i.e., under cool, for legs, you could wear non-insulated full-length tights, but I don't think most people in Florida at least have a pair of those..  at least those with padding in them)

Slightly Cool:  70 to 64
Head:  Nothing
Arms/Body:  Short Sleeve Jersey.  Maybe short sleeve base layer (under armor heat gear if you are cold natured).  Maybe long sleeve moisture wicking jersey?
Hands:  fingerless gloves
Legs:  shorts w/ knee warmers.  I don't like to wear knee-warmers at this temp range, but from what I hear you are supposed to in order to prevent damage to knees.
Feet:  moisture wicking socks

Cool: 64 to 54 degrees
Head: non-insulated/moisture wicking skull cap (i.e., under armor skull cap)
Arms/Body: short sleeve base layer (i.e., under armor heat gear), short sleeve cycling jersey, arm warmers
Hands: fingerless gloves
Legs: shorts w/ knee warmers
Feet: moisture wicking socks

Cold: 53 to 43 degrees
Head: insulated skull cap or non-insulated skull cap & insulated earband (I prefer the latter, as it provides more options if the temp warms up)
Arms/Body: full sleeve base layer (i.e, under armor heat gear), full sleeve jersey, lightweight wind jacket/vest
Hands: thin full finger gloves, or fingerless gloves w/glove liner (the glove liner can be those .99 stretchy thin gloves every drug store has)
Legs: insulated tights/bibs (full length)
Feet: moisture wicking socks with insulated toe covers  (wool socks if your toes get cold easy)

Freezing: 42 and below
Head:  insulated skull cap (windproof).  You could also add an insulated neck gaiter, or just use an  insulated balaclava. I like to have something to pull over my mouth/nose if lungs hurting from cold.
Arms/Body: full sleeve base layer (i.e., under armor heat or cold gear), jersey (long or short sleeve) and an insulated cycling jacket.  The quality/warmth of the jacket will dicate whether you wear insulated/non-insulated base layer and long/short sleeve jersey (i.e., you could also add an extra layer and lightweight windbreaker jacket if you don't have an insulated cycling jacket)
Hands:  insulated, windproof gloves (perferably lobster-claw style.  Maybe chemical hand warmers as well)
Legs:insultated bibs/tights & insulated base layer (under armor cold gear)  (both full length)
Feet:  wool socks and insulated booties

Thoughts/Ideas?  Ways to make this better?  What works for you?

Friday, September 9, 2011

Friday, September 9, 2011

Left shoulder is a little tender every now and then.  I'll sometimes notice a slight pop during the day when I reach across my body.  Going to a stretch clinic this weekend, so that will be good (of course, this will be after my first 3700y/m swim on Sunday).

Had my second Ironman Florida dream.  The first dream was a nightmare.  This dream was pretty cool.  I did a pretty good race, raced within my limits so I didn't blow up and had a pretty good time.  Since it was a dream, there were some strange things (I had to sign a sheet and answer a math questions at the halfway point in the run to prove I was coherent), but it was a overall really good dream. 

I think one reason for the good vibes is that my running has finally come around this week.  Last Sat, I ran 12 miles on a trail w/o any issues, then last night I did 8 on the St. Marks Trail in brand new shoes (K-Swiss Blade Lights -- a neutral cushioned shoe, as opposed to the stability K-ona and Quicky Blade Lights).  I really liked the quicky's, but they just had too much stability and hurt my legs.  If you wear stability shoes, I highly recommend looking at quickys.  If you wear a men's 12, give me a call and I'll give you mine.  Only run 15 miles in them.

Also, my weight has finally come back down to 196 after the Labor Day weekend fisasco, so I am still within acceptable parameters for being under 190 for IMFL (i.e, goal 185, although my true race weight is probably more like 175).  Last year at this time I was 198, but had been trending up from 190 since May '10 to a high of 208 in Jan '11.  This year I am trending down and much more focused.

I've been comparing my 1/2 marathon run times, and it has been really interesting.  For example:

For reference, my AeT (where I go from burning fat to burning sugar, i.e., going aerobic) is 154 and AT (i.e. going anerobic) is 185.

Redfish 1/2, 12/5/09 -- 1:58 min.  My hr was prety much was between 166-169 the entire race.  Squarely w/in my sub-2hr endurance zone.  Mile splits were about 9:05, and pretty consistent with that +/- aa few seconds.  This was a straight road race, I probably weighed 205.

Augusta 70.3 -- 9/26/10 -- 2:13.  My hr was the same 166-169 the entire race.  Mile splits started at 8:27 and blew up to 12:11 -- basically 3 categories -- first 4 miles 8-9 min, next 2 were 9-10 min, last 7 were 11-12 min.  I think part of this was that my bike hr was 152, and was high 150s the last 4 miles coming into transition, and the other part was that I just went out way too fast.  Very interesting to see hr remain the same but splits blow up.

Mick Greenway Trail Run -- 9/3/11 -- 2:10.  I deliberately took this run slow and easy, b/c I didn't know how my body would respond to its first long run.  First 8 miles my hr was 140-150, last 4 were 165+/-.  Times for the first 8 miles were about 11 min, last 4 were about 9:30-10 min.  This was an eye opener for me b/c it was sooo easy to run the first 8 miles, and left me with juice to pick it up the last 4.  Very interesting and thought provoking.

St. Marks Run -- 9/8/11 -- 1:20, 8 miles.  I tried to mimic the greenway run -- first 6 miles hr was avg 145, last 3 was 161 and 175.  Times for the first 6 were 9:30-10:30, last two were 9:08 and 8:15.

So, my thinking is that for Augusta, I might stay under AeT on the bike and for half of the run and see how I feel.  That is definately going to slow down my bike (last year my avg hr was 152 and time wsa 2:39, this year would be about 128 (bike AeT is 132), but I keep reminding myself this is a three sport discipline -- not how fast I can ride the bike.  And if I want to have a good run and not blow up a 2:15 like last year, I need to pace myself on the bike and first half of the run so I can have a strong second half.

 I may take it too conservatively, but think it is worth trying.  Then again, I may just say screw it and go for a sub-5hr race.  I'll have to think more about this as we get close to race day.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Weight for it....

As most of you know, I continually struggle with my weight.  Depending on the time of year, I could be 195 or 208.  I guess the good news is that I have avoided going above 210, but the contrary is that I can't seem to get under 190 (I did once last year, celebrated and never saw it again).

Well a brief  recap of this year -- last year I got down to 189, and became complacent.  Slowly gained weight and raced Augusta at 202.  After Augusta, I blew up to 208.  Got back down to 194 the week before Gulf Coast 2011 and sprained my ankle.  In the 6 weeks of pouting after that I blew up back to 204.  Got my shit together, but getting under, and staying under 200 had been a real bitch.

About three weeks ago, I finally got to where I would drop under 200 during the week (to 197, never could get under that), but would binge eat on the weekend and Mon am be 202.  Finally realizing my mistake, I really focused on eating proper last weekend, and it was the first weekend where when Monday came around I was under 200 (well, 199.2).  Mentally a huge relief.  By Tue, I was back to 197, Wed 197, Th 197.... finally Friday -- 196.4!  Whew, another mental barrier.  Just when I need it most, b/c we are rolling into Labor Day Weekend.

This weekend -- any 3 day weeked is going to be a real test for me, but I am at the point now where I do not have any time to waste.  Every time I binge now I am hurting my times for Augusta and Florida.  I know that and have to remind myself of that every time I get bored and look for food.

So, I am happy but going to stay focused.  No celebrating for me, lest the wheels come off again.  I have to balance healthy eating for strength/endurance but little enough to lose 1-2 lbs per week for the next couple of months.  I think I have found that ratio, just gotta stick with it.

Happy Labor Day Weekend everybody.

Tue Am Update -- Epic Fail!!!  197 Fri am, 199 Mon am, 201 Tue am.  Did great Sat and most of Sun, but the wheels came off at the lake sunday pm and stayed off monday.  I can just feel the junk food sitting in my stomach this morning still.  Yuk, I just want to puke.