Shamrock'n, year four pre-note

Training

Josh would say that I'm revving up my excuse engine, but this one is fair. Since IMAZ, I haven't spent my time training. Family time is busy, work hasn't allowed my lunch time runs, and who wants to wake up at 5am during the cold, rainy winter? It's been mostly by choice, and a lack of motivation, but I don't want to miss Shamrock'n, so I'm running it!

Looking back at my time since late November, I've run a total of twenty-five miles. That used to be my weekly number, not my three month total. So going into this race, I am expecting to perform my worst, but I really don't care. I like the run, I've enjoyed my break, and perhaps this will serve as my springboard back into regular training.

My first DNF - Ironman Arizona Recap

Sport	Time	Pace
Swim	1:40:52	2:40/100m
T1	13:50
Bike	7:58:58	14 mph
T2	10:09
Run	12.6mi completed	15:23 min/mi

Summary

In short, for those of you who don't want to read my novella, I'm disappointed that I DNF'd, my mind is going through a hundred what-ifs, but I'm thankful for the opportunity for doing this, I enjoyed the race itself, and I wish I had trained more and felt better.

Pre-Race

A race so large, long, and complex forces a very different level of organization. Having worked for, and been part of, racing coordination with TBF for a couple of years, I can understand the level of requirements that this takes. Unlike any race I've done, the preparation for this race took days. Friday, checkin, badge pickup, and a mandatory race meeting took place. The information was valuable, but not really required. The following day was the real paradigm change: dropping off my bike and gear a day before the race. So much of what I usually do is determined race-morning, that it felt very odd to be handing over so much of my race paraphernalia so early. That said, it made race morning a pretty relaxed, and simple experience.

The next days were filled with family, friends, and enjoying the local Arizona area. Having been there several times for school, Tempe wasn't a big shock, and so most of the time was just spent in race-day anticipation, eating, and socializing. Two days of pre-attendance just led to way too much free time to kill, and seemed very excessive. It also meant there was plenty of time for problems, like Carrie getting hit by a car in downtown Tempe and being unable to race. Ouch!

Race Start

So race day arrives. Twenty minutes traveling down the freeway in the wee hours of morning got me into transition with more than plenty of time to prepare. Staying warm, chatting with Josh, checking my bike, pre-fueling, getting nervous about the swim, trying to prepare for the freezing cold water. I felt confident in what I had to do: I wasn't here to race, I was here to finish, and so I wasn't really doing much but getting ready for a very long day.

The swim start was massive. 2500 people at the start line, treading in the gross and cold water, waiting for fifteen minutes until the gun fired. I've done two mile swims, and while I knew I was undertrained for swimming, I wasn't worried about this part of the race. As Dory would say, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming."

What struck me as unique and different to this swim was the mass of bodies. Every triathlete has been kicked, hit, elbowed, and more; usually, this subsides a few minutes in to the race. With this large of a group all starting together, this practically never ended. I decided to stick close to the lake edge, instead of in the main channel, and to try and avoid much of the cluster. As I started to get bored with the long swim, I spent my time watching the spectators, and counting the cement balls along the side of the lake, passing my time. The water was gross, really gross, and I wish athletes didn't have to spend so much time in it. I can't even imagine trying to do such a long swim in salt water, it was bad enough in "fresh" water.

All in all, my swim time was about ten minutes slower than I had expected, but it was fine. I relaxed through the swim, didn't work hard, didn't push myself, and was able to swim on course very well. Getting out of the water, I felt fine, no wobbliness, no weakness, and was happy to get into the next stage of the race. If only the wetsuit assistants hadn't "helped" and gotten my zipper stuck in my leg, I would have been up and out of transition in no time.

The Century

At this point, I need to go back and mention the organization of the race. Coming out of the water, athletes have help pulling off their wetsuits. We run to an area where our pre-packed T1 bags are stationed, off into changing tents where athletes have help with whatever they wish, run out of transition to a line of volunteers applying sunblock, then race out to the bike racks where a volunteer is already holding your bike out, waiting for you to get on. It's amazing the amount of extra support offered in a race that takes an entire day. I can't fathom the level of coordination and the numbers of volunteers required to pull this off, but I can understand to some degree why this is by far the most expensive race I've ever competed.

The bike was my most worried segment. Thanks to Foxy, I knew that I could complete by going slowly, and so I was less worried about my capability, and more just about the sheer time and energy it would take to finish. Arizona's course is pretty easy: three there-and-back loops, with a slight uphill all the way out, and a slight downhill all the way back. I found myself going much slower than I expected for the first sixth, but realized on my way back that I had been in slight a headwind, and zoomed back at 20+mph with that wind pushing me along. At this point, I felt fine, though doing the uphill two more times felt a bit daunting.

That's when everything started going downhill for me. Fortunately, the headwind had turned to a tailwind, and I was feeling better about my speed on the next uphill, but my stomach was not settled one bit. I made my first pitstop at the bottom of the hill, and continued to hydrate and eat as I knew fueling to be critical during the entire bike portion. By the second pitstop, my stomach was still not doing well. I felt like I needed to throw up, and had to stop again to use the facilities. From that point on, I hit every single outhouse on the route, wasn't keeping down food, and wasn't keeping down liquids. My pace slowed down, my race went from fine to miserable, but I kept going. I knew that part of finishing an Ironman was just the will to go.

So I finished the bike, enjoying watching for my family along the side, enjoying timing my differential with Josh (which shocked me, he was much faster than me on the first lap, and then seemed to be gaining nothing on my on the next two). I waved to KC, I chatted with a few people in passing, I got frustrated at the number of groupings of bikes (how do they feel okay with cheating like that!), and just kept going, knowing that the run (my best sport), was coming up.

I came in slowly off the bike, nearing the edge of what was allowed, but knowing that I had seven hours to finish a run that would take me much less than that. I still felt awful, but I thought I could finish this, if only I could get in food.

The Yog (soft "J")

I felt strong for the first couple miles on the run. My bike was slow enough that there was no handicap to my readiness to sludge through these next hours on the pavement, my legs were fine, worked out for sure, but fine. My pace was sub-10s, slow for me, but considering I'd just biked 112 miles, fine. I knew that every moment I jogged, I was catching up with Josh, and I was jogging much more than I was walking.

And then came the resurgence of the fueling issues. The chicken broth was a life-saver, I don't think I could have made it as far as I did without it, but I think I relied on it too heavily. I hadn't kept down food, liquid wasn't keeping down either, and by the end of the first 8-mile lap, I wasn't feeling good. Looking forward to seeing my family made those first eight miles great, but coming around on the next loops, my body wasn't allowing me to continue. I started getting light-headed, I had to sit down to keep from passing out, I still was hitting every porto-John, and was still struggling to feel like my body could make it through the next hours.

By mile twelve, being right at transition again, I gave up. The mental battle was weakened by proximity to my exit, my body was telling me I wasn't safe to go on, and my reserves of strength finally gave out. I couldn't bring myself to run by transition and make it past transition, into the next half of the second lap. I was finished.

The Frustration

My family was amazingly supportive, and proud of what I had accomplished, but I wasn't. A plethora of what-ifs still haunt me. If I had trained more, could I have done it? If I hadn't used gatorade and uncrustables (both newish to me), would I have retained better food? If I hadn't gotten very sick the Thursday prior, would I have been able to fuel? If I had kept going, would I have gotten past the mental block of being by transition? If the course wasn't laps, would I have had the desire to run the thirteen miles back versus catching a sag vehicle?

I don't know that I'll be back on an Ironman course any time soon to prove to myself that I can do this or not, but I do know that I can't do this without training much better next time. Maybe after Tripp is 3, not a newborn, I'll plan on going out again and racing an IM. Until then, I'll stick to the shorter distances that I find more fun, and the runs which I enjoy more, and leave the big races to the real Ironmen.

Granite Bay Trail Half Marathon

Div Place	Place	Time	Pace @ 13.1	Pace @ 12.7
6/9	27/62	01:54:19	8:44 min/mi	9:00 min/mi

The Race

Put on by TBF Racing, the Granite Bay Trail Half Marathon is the longest trail run I have ever done. In fact, before that, five or six miles topped my trail running background. So when I hit mile six, I was surprised to feel like I'd already ran ten miles, and by mile eight, I felt like it should be over already. Yet thanks to having Sati with me, keeping me honest, and just my general desire to prep for AZ, I kept going, and enjoyed a pretty decent pace for me on trails.

So how was the race? Mostly, I was treating it as a run, not a race, but even still, I did near to my best performance, and still came near the back of the pack for my age group, and half way back for the race. I've learned that trail running is a great way to work on my hips, gluts, and other secondary muscles. All of the ups and downs, twists and turns, and the sloping ground takes a lot out of the joints and muscles. And I love TBF's runs, obviously enough to work with them for two years on staff. The group feels close-knit, the socialization is great, the trails and locations out at the lake are great, and the post-run beer choices were superb. Oh, did I mention that beer was included in the post-race food?! Black Butte Porter, ftw.

The Distance, and why I have two paces listed

Marking an accurate distance on real trails is tough. If one, say, used a GPS and trusted it, I'm certain the course would be long. Why? 15 foot accuracy, and 1-3 second polling, the GPS will cut off too many of the corners. So your 13.1 per your GPS would be closer to 13.5, maybe. My Garmin told me I ran about 12.4 miles. Someone else had 12.5, and someone with a 310 had 12.7. In fact, 12.7 was the longest I heard off of a Garmin. So if all of them cut it short, then 12.7 could easily be 13.1. The only reason that I think it was short: I was pretty dead on on the mileage except for one mile that cut me .4 miles off, then the rest stayed dead on.

So I think somewhere between 12.7 and 13.1 is the real mileage, because though off, rarely do the Garmins miss by 5%. I think TBF did great, and I think they were dead on for most of the miles,

but I do think somewhere around mile 4, they missed a bit. Regardless, it was close, and better than some other races I've done.

Being Sore

Two days after I finished this race, I was still sore. Running Clarksburg, the camber is so consistent, it hurts. Running a road race, my quads and hams are being punished, and yet they're trained and for this. But running trails like this run, it's a whole new use of muscles. The camber is omnipresent, but changing, such that it doesn't cause pain, but just works my hips and inner thighs a lot. The hills are everywhere, but my road training has my quads and gluts ready for that. So I fortunately came out without any pain from doing any one thing a lot, but with all of my secondary muscles sore from never being worked this hard. Maybe adding trails to my regular training would build my hips and keep my knees from pain, while helping me build my running base.

Top 10 Lessons from Foxy

Time	Pace	Max Speed
07:30	14.0 mph	40.1 mph

I can ride 106 miles

The distance definitely wasn't an issue. Sure, I'm sore. Sure, I've got some chafing in places I've never been chafed before, but 60 miles or 106, there doesn't seem to be much difference.

Not all downhills are equal

The 40 miles per hour on the nice hills felt safer than the 25 miles per hour on the cruddy roads. Downhills are great, nice downhills are better!

Peanut butter and jelly bagels are the best!

I don't think I've enjoyed a food item as much as the bagels. Add in the Fritos for some great saltiness, and I really loved the food they had for fueling.

Road quality matters

See the downhills comment, and make it true everywhere. Regardless of the silent uphills and downhills, the same grade on a bumpy road makes 13mph seem tough, while a beautifully paved road without bumps makes 17mph feel simple. Fortunately, most of the roads were well maintained, but for being a "bike-friendly" city, there were definitely some poorly kept roads in the Davis farmland.

650s+Tri Bike < 700s+Road Bike

Not that this was any new learning, but a hilly, long course is definitely better on a road bike than a tri bike, and 650s are much better at rolling hills than long climbs. I did enjoy the drop bars on the downhills; having that much control while down on the bars felt awesome. The main reason I used my tri bike was to make sure I had more saddle time on it prior to Ironman Arizona, not because it was the right choice for the ride.

The Davis Bike club puts on great events

The food was great, the volunteers friendly, the amount of support fantastic... the Davis bike club was fantastic. It definitely makes me want to join a club.

Route arrows rock

I love the arrows from www.routearrows.com. Having the arrows tied to the color of the wristbands was fantastic, and they were easy to spot, seemed to deteriorate, and were the best road guides I'd seen.

I can ride through cramps

The worst part of the ride was cramping up at a few points on the ride. I had to get off and walk at a few places, because my legs were cramping beyond what I could take. I found I could ride through it on a flat, but definitely not on a hill. Either way, I made it back on after walking and stretching out the cramp, and that was a lesson worth learning.

Social rides are more fun

Talking with Josh for the first thirty miles, with the two gals we met around mile fifteen, with the old guy on cardiac hill... what's really been different for me between running and cycling has been the social aspect. This changed that opinion, and for that, I'm thankful.

I can do Arizona

The most important lesson was that I can do Arizona. I've now done all three pieces of an Ironman separately, and I had no problem walking or jogging after the ride. Undertrained as I am, I'm now confident that I can finish Arizona.

The Route - I love my Garmin!

I love this map, so I'm definitely including it. Not part of the "10 lessons," just something that I want to show off.

Disneyland Half Marathon - Round 3

Div Place	Place	Time	Pace
676/4381	871/11643	01:51:00	8:28

The Race

What can I say, Disneyland is my favorite run of the year. Running through the park before-hours, running around Angel Stadium, participating in a race with over 11,000 participants...

the energy, the support, the thousands of volunteers, the fantastic organization, no run I do beats this. It may not be Boston or New York, but it's amazing.

So when I look back and see that I preferred to socialize over perform, I have no complaints. I spent the first five miles with Harry, took my first ever half marathon bathroom break, and walked with Harry through a couple of water stops. I also spent

the last few miles with a MMA-fighting entrepreneur, running with a brand new eight-inch plate on his tibia, waited for him at the water stops, and enjoyed the time meeting someone new. And after the socializing, I didn't push myself or make any extra efforts, I just ran for fun and training and had a fun time. So if 8:30s wasn't my best run (closer to my worst), I'm still happy. I had a fun run, I came out ready to walk all day long, and complain the least of the family over pain... enjoying the entire trip.

Tri for Fun #1

Div Place	Place	Time	Bike Pace	Run Pace
30/42	159/556	01:36:20	14.5mph	7:47

The Results

Quite the disparity between my division place and my overall, this race attracts a nearly equal proportion of female racers to males, a healthy distribution of ages, and generally, a lot of first time racers getting a taste of triathlons. So seeing myself, only on my third triathlon, but generally well versed with the sport, come in three tenths of the way down the spread isn't surprising. However, I am slightly surprised by how far down my age group that result represents.

The Race

All in all, the race went pretty painlessly. I was out of the water in a reasonable time, feeling fine regardless of my lack of training in the water, and was ready to hit transition. Transition went very smoothly, thanks to a lot more exposure to triathlons, and I saw Josh off on the TBF racks while I readied my bike.

Josh and I took off together on the bikes for a quick hello, but he shortly pulled ahead, and I stayed at my own pace. The whole bike trip, I was feeling good... before the race, I had noticed that my brakes were rubbing slightly, and after the bike tent guys helped me fix it, I realized that my horrible performance on my last two rides was in part due to this! So, feeling like riding was effortless, I focused on one thing: "relax, or you'll kill your run!" And so I did, keeping up with only myself, getting passed, passing a few women, and generally accepting that my bike isn't going to do well, so just keep going.

That said, when I got through T2, and onto the run, I was doing mid-7s. I was probably a little too relaxed on the bike, because I was doing sub 8s on the run! With about a half mile to go, I passed Josh, made my way towards the finish line, and sprinted in. I felt fresh, everything had gone well, and I was ready for the race the next day (that I didn't end up doing :-/ )

The season begins

In two days, the beginning of my tri season begins. I'm entirely untrained and unready, and am prepared for quite the humbling results. Hopefully, back to back triathlons will be the kickstart to full training for IM Arizona!

Shamrock'n, take 3

Div Place	Place	Time	Pace
49/206	467/3603	01:45:50	8:05 min/mi

The Race

I usually like writing these blogs after I've had a day or two to answer people's questions on how my race went. I do this for a very specific reason, the more I talk about it, the more I analyze what I did, how I did, and how I felt. Yet if I wait too long, I run the risk of editing the story in my head of how things went. So as I began to look back at this race on race day, my initial opinion and feelings were poor: two years later, and my time is almost exactly the same! Yet as I began to talk to friends, I began to realize that, though the times may look the same, my running definitely wasn't.

Me at mile 13, thanks Frank

In 2007, when I ran Shamrock'n three months in to running, and as my first half marathon, I ran all-out. I kept my eyes on the back of runners in front of me, focused all my energy on run form and breathing, and ran... and ran... and ran. I remember at mile three being jealous of a few guys in front of me who were able to chat with each other: I don't think I could have gotten out more than a few coherent words in a single sentence. For Shamrock'n 2008, I began the first ten miles of my run at a pace that I found moderately easy, kept my heart rate around 160-165, running 8:15s, and then kept up 7s for the final three miles, brining my pace down to 7:52s. For this race, I was somewhere in between. I was trained less than 2008, and so my 8:15s took me to a ~170 heart rate, my conversation level stayed moderate for the first 7.1 miles, my energy level was great, and I felt natural in the run. Whereas my first run was a mental battle of continuing to push myself, for this race, there was no battle, it just felt natural and normal. For the latter 6 miles, after departing from Harry at the relay point, I pushed myself to a 180bpm heart rate and sped up a little, though without the training as the previous year, not nearly as much as before.

The other difference that I look back to, in slight comparison to last year, is that the route was a little hillier, the wind a bit heavier (though I'm not positive on this, as the "wind-tunnel" of the stadium wasn't as bad, so this may be an excuse and not a fact), and the minor route changes may have been enough to push the heart-rate up a few beats. If that's true, and not an issue of re-building the story in my head, then my run was nearly on-par to last year, and definitely much better than 2007. So, though I was disappointed at first, in retrospect, my running has matured significantly in the last two years of running.

The Course

Shamrock'n 2009 course

Some parts of the course changes were more subtle than others, while others were quite obvious.

Shamrock'n 2008 course

One of my favorite parts of the 2008 course (which was there in 2007, but I didn't like as much), was the Red Bull arch down the there-and-back on Riverbank Road. This year, with the extra two miles running throughout downtown and old town, there was no there-and-back down the road, and apparently no Red Bull sponsorship, either.

Whereas the original course went only to third street, this year, we went down to seventh, ran out to the same point along the river, but instead of running along the river (where there seemed to be more construction than last year), we followed closer to the freeway, then as we progressed under the bridge as before, instead of coming up to the bridge directly, we headed into old town. I was originally worried about how running on the cobblestones might go, but fortunately, we cut back down an alley before we hit first street. The rest of the route, excepting Riverbank Road, was pretty similar. The choice of using one of the square blocks in West Sac to do the relay exchange, whereas runners went on one side of the block, while relayers went on the other, was a great idea. And all-in-all, the route was as good as I remember it, with a few extra hills thanks to the alley and other areas, a lot of opportunities for spectators, and a nice view of varied parts of town.

Oh... and one other comment. If you like almonds, this year's race had the BEST post-race food bag, ever. If you don't like almonds, I'm sorry. The two fig newtons weren't quite enough. Good for me, I love almonds. I just wish they had all six of the bold flavors Blue Diamond offers: the salt and pepper sounds great, as does the lime and chili.

The Comparison

And now, lastly, thanks to my original feelings of inadequacy on my times, I began an analysis of all of my halfs so far. I wanted to see if I really was improving, staying the same, had backslid, or if this was truly business-as-usual. So, without further ado:

Race	Time
Shamrock'n '07	1:46:13
Ave of the Vines '07	1:44:20
Disneyland '07	1:59:34
Four Bridges '07	1:49:36
1st Half CIM '07	1:45:14
Shamrock'n '08	1:43:07
Ave of the Vines '08	1:50:10
Disneyland '08	1:41:34
1st Half CIM '08	1:47:16
Shamrock'n '09	1:45:50

Statistically, my results fell into the 38.6th percentile against average (good!), though if I discount the two >100 degree days as handicapped, then I'm up closer to the 70th percentile (bad!).

So, it's not exactly a bad result, nor is it a good result, but it's an appropriate result for the effort level and training I've done, and is completely consistent with my expectations. I did fine, I felt fine, and I am sure my next race will be just about the same time... again.

CIM 2008 - A Personal Worst, and then some...

Div Place	Place	Time	Pace
376/400	4434/5198	04:53:21	11:13 min/mi

The Race

One problem with doing your second race, is that it's either a PR or a PW, there's no in between. Well, the first half of this race went well, 01:47:16, or about 8:10s, a conservative pace by 10-20 seconds for me. And considering my training has been lacking, and really only gone up to 13 miles, doing well for the first 13 makes sense. Last year, I began to fall behind at this same point, for this same reason. The difference, though, is that this year, I cramped up badly... very badly. Like, walking for the whole last ten miles.

So, at about mile 19, I decided to hit my lap button, just to see how bad the pacing was. By then, my average pace on the front 19 had dropped from the low 8s to 9:08. The last 7 miles? 16:37, or 3.6mph. Not even a brisk walk (4mph), but at least better than a slow stroll, and that includes having to stop and try stretching several times.


So what have I learned? Obviously, training is important, and while I can skate by on a half (and have several times), there's no easy route for me on a marathon. Also, that when it comes down to the mental game of "This sucks, I hurt, I should quit!" I can make it past the mind battle... or at least could this time. And lastly, my friends and family still love and support me, no matter how badly I do.

Disneyland Half-Marathon, take two

Div Place	Place	Time	Pace
43/593	335/10849	01:41:34	7:46 min/mi

The Race

Overcast, 80 degrees, man was this better than last year! I was disappointed a little that we didn't get to run through Angel's stadium again, but the in-park portion of the course was better attended by characters, parade floats were out and turned on, and the run through the park was even better than I remember. With water at ten of the thirteen mile points, thousands of spectators, cheerleaders, scout troups, and more, this is definitely the best of the races I've done, and I look forward to doing it again next year.

The PR

I started out with a 1:45 pace group, and having the support, distraction, and people to talk to kept me at a strong pace, and pushed me a few times that I needed pushing, and kept me happier in times that I needed nothing. Rachel was a great pacer, though a bit of a cynic, and kept me chuckling at her comments on "training the spectators" and her commentary on racing throughout the world. Her helpful comments like "relax on the downhill and stay perpendicular to the ground" or "pump those arms and get yourself up this hill" helped keep us at a steady pace, up and down, and her group seemed to stay strong.

At mile ten, after sprinting through to "high-five" the hands of scores of boy scouts, I decided to keep my break-away lead from the pacers and push the last three miles, as I did in my last PR. And like Shamrock'n, I was able to keep the pace up, knock out a few miles at a 185+ HR, and take a few minutes off my steady pace. I loved it, and am very glad to add this to my results page, especially when I see that I'm in the top 4% of racers and top 8% of my AG. w00t! An average HR of 177 and max of 195 says I really did push myself, but it stayed sub-180 for the first ten miles, and only in the final push did I spike upwards.

The Conclusion

I trained less, and did better. Racing smarter, having help and support to push me, and knowing when and where I can push, cut another two minutes off my PR. Add in a flat race with great weather and fun, and this race was wonderful once again. I hope to be back next year!

Avenue of the Vines - 2008

Overall	Div Place	Time	Pace
90/705	7/33	1:50:10.1	8:25/M

A PW Record

Well, the PW doesn't include Disneyland, but between a lack of training, gross heat, and bad fueling, this race was a personal worst time. And well... that's okay. Listening to other racers, comments like "This isn't a day for a PR" or "I did five minutes worse than normal" says that my results came in just right. So yay?

From Avenue of the Vines

In all honesty, the course was better than I remember, with actual wine fields that I ran by, and only a single dairy farm; the food afterwards was much better (Togo's), the race management significantly improved, the problems of last year well resolved, and everything would have been great, were it not for the 100+ degree day. The end result was a fairly exhausting and miserable race from the heat, but otherwise a good race. Not much else to say, but I will be here next year.

My first first place finish

The "Race"

Not just first in my AG, but first in the race! So there were only 20 racers or so, I was wearing a bib, so it felt official!

USAA, for their employees and family, held a 5k walk/run that was sponsored for their employees' health benefits: race food, bibs, course markings, and everything! While I don't in any way qualify as family, Diane allowed me join her since running is my cup of tea.

About twenty people were on the running circuit, and another twenty were there as walkers. The course was laid out as a four-lap circuit of the USAA campus, part of it along the streets and part along their run track. I wasn't there to push any kind of 5k PR (I'd just been sick in Thailand, and I hadn't really been training at all), so I paced Diane's boss Cherie for the first three laps. Feeling great thereafter, I decided to pick up the pace to a normal 5k pace for me and finish at the front of the pack.

So, my time wasn't great, and the race was small... but hey! I got first place in a race, and I don't think I'll ever get to say that again. So yay!

Shamrock'n 2008

Div Place	Place	Time	Pace
24/112	273/2644	1:43:07.7	7:52/M

The Race

I have to start again with a thank you. Thank you to my friends who support me enough to come out and cheer me on. Thank you to my training buddies who help me get to the race and succeed. And thank you to everyone who supports me in continuing with what has become one of my favorite things in life. I'm sorry you weren't here, Amanda, for this second round and season kickoff, but I know you'll be back running with us soon!

The race, in short, was awesome. The course was a bit different, but not horribly noticably so, the logistics seemed a bit cleaner (at least it took less time to park), and my performance was a PR, so I can't complain!

I started the race pacing Harry. He said when we were starting that he had decided to try and keep up with me, and I was happy for it. I usually start at about a 7:45 and end at an 8:15, averaging 8s. With Harry there (and a bit tired, as he was), we started at 8:15s and kept that steady.

Where I'm normally fairly tired through an entire run, and having to think about my breathing and staying strong, I felt chatty, was smiling, and was generally having a great race! Every race I've done in the past has been a very solitary thing (excepting Clarksburg), so to have someone with me for 10, someone to keep my mind off things, and someone to chat with (or to, most of the time), was fun!

From about 6 on, Harry began struggling, and while he made it all the way out to 10 before he broke off, he just couldn't keep up, and I wanted to keep my 8:15s at least. Let me cut to the end on Harry, he finished keeping up that 8:15 pace, and only had to take 20 steps, twice, at a walking pace to catch his breath, so PR to Harry, too! Now me, at that split point, I decided that I needed to burn through all of my extra stored up energy, and took those last three miles at a 7min pace, or so. I brought my 8:15 average down to 7:52 in three miles! I even got to sprint my last .1 miles, and loved every second of it. And now, I still feel fresh and ready to go! This was an awesome way to take a race.

Training Tidbits

I said earlier that I felt great afterwards. I still do. So looking back, I was interested to see what my effort level was. It felt like I kept a good, steady pace, but I always feel like that. So doing some heartrate comparisons... for CIM, I spent 20.4 miles, or 78% of the race in Zone 5. Something maybe okay for my "A" race, but probably a bit excessive for my overall health. This race, the one I'm feeling great in and did my best performance in, I stayed in Zone 4 for 9.3 miles, or 71% of the run. And did my performance slip? I did better on these 13.1 miles than I did on the first 13.1 at CIM, and I'm not in better shape, so I'd have to say that based on this single datapoint, keeping myself in Z4 seems to work pretty darned well for overall performance, and I know it's better for my overall fitness, too!

California International Marathon

The Best Part

I have to start this with the most amazing part of the race. Diane, Brandon, Mason, Damon, Mom, Kristi, Vincent, Dave, Amanda, Josh, Harry, and Sarah. You were all so amazing. I can't believe how inspiring, supportive, caring, and wonderful you all were. Diane, you and your family, seeing me so many times on the race, and planning out such an amazing amount of support, I have never felt so honored in my life.

Josh and Harry, for making such a creative way of coming out and finding me, and for your impeccable timing. Amanda, for helping me see the finish line, and helping me forget my pain for that last half mile. Kristi, for coming out even when you hadn't planned to, and to Mom, for giving up one of your favorite church days of the year to come support me. Vincent, for supporting all of the runners with water and GU2O, and for supporting me through my gear delivery. Dave, you've done this every year, and your unending support is awesome, thank you for the smile and the cheer. And Sarah, for fighting the traffic to celebrate with us afterwards. Thank you all. This has been a truly awesome experience, and so much of it is thanks to you.

Goals

My half marathon paces have been ~1:45, and I knew I needed to be a bit more conservative, so at the packet pickup, I picked up the 3:45 pacer bracelet, and expected to run with that group. I figured, if I slowed down, from 3:45, I could still beat my goal of sub 4:00, but I wasn't going to be so arrogant to think that my half pace would be my full pace.

Then comes Sunday morning, and I don't see the 3:45 pace team sign. The only one I spot are the 3:20 and the 3:30. Well, with my half pace being the 3:30, I figure I'll run with that team and as I drop back, I'll get passed by the 3:45 and hold on to that pace through the race.

Well, that didn't work so well. Race day excitement kicked in, and I paced the 3:30 folk for the entire front half, and then slowed down to my own pace for the second half. So, long story short (since I'll get into the details next), my goal was sub 4, my stretch goal 3:45, my half pace as a full was 3:30, and I finished with 3:43 and change! Below my stretch goal, and well below my goal. I'm thrilled, excited, and utterly flabbergasted by the time. I'm on such a high right now, I can't even explain it.

Div Place	Place	13.1	Time	Pace
112/120	1494/4743	01:45:14	03:43:39	8:33 min/mi

The race

It's not surprising that the wisdom of those who've gone before you can be so spot on. I have had so many people tell me about marathons, and describing the wall that most runners hit somewhere between mile 18 and 22, that when I found my pace dropping from the low 8s to all over the 9s, I wasn't shocked. However, I never realized what a struggle, both physically and mentally, those last eight miles would be.

Somewhere around mile 13, my pace dropped from 8:00 to 8:30s. Not surprising to me at all, since the majority of my training peaks out at 13 miles. In fact, I've only done two runs exceeding that distance, a 15 mile run in August, and the Clarksburg 20 three weeks ago. So when my joints and muscles, at 13 miles, let themselves be known, it came as no surprise. I expected some of that, and I started out with a slightly aggressive pace, knowing that it was risky, but taking the chance at making my marathon pace the same as my half marathon pace.

At mile 18, as I said, that slight penalty became tremendous. It was like trying to run through water, my breathing hadn't changed, my heartrate stayed steady, but my muscles were no longer cooperating. Every step was an effort. By mile 23, both of my calves and both hamstrings were cramped up. I spent every amount of effort I had trying to keep my muscles relaxed, or at least to prevent them from locking up completely. I was sure I was going to have to walk, but I knew that from the second I did, I would be struggling to make it forward, so I persisted, and never once walked the entire marathon. So I made my first half in ~1:45, and the second half in ~2:00, and I'm very pleased with the results.

The course

I have to say, I loved it. The net downhill, well, who can feel 300 feet in 26 miles? However, the relative flatness, the wide streets, running through areas I grew up in, areas I socialize in, and areas I've lived in, made the course amazing. I hate driving that far, and to think, I ran it. The day was beautiful, slightly windy, and slightly chilled, but I'll take that any day over hot or rainy. The fact that two lanes of every road were given solely to the runners, and that a main artery of Sacramento is shut down to support the race is fantastic. Going through so many cities, supported by people yelling "Welcome to Carmichael!," the local high school bands playing, local cheerleaders serving you water... it was great. I've never felt happier being here, nor more at home in my home town.

Post race

One of the biggest learnings from this, so far, is how impactful a full marathon is to my body. I'm sore. I don't mean my muscles hurt a bit, but sore like I can barely walk up stairs, and hobble for the first fifty steps every time I stand up. Sore like my muscles still have tenseness in them any time I touch them. Sore like I haven't been sore before. The only consolation is that every person at work who ran it is walking the same way I am, so I know I'm not alone.

I also have had a hard time eating. I'd think, after running 26.2 miles, I'd be famished. Instead, I could barely finish half a gardenburger, a few onion rings, and a few chips. I ate six or eight 200 Calorie meals Sunday, trying starches, fruits, veggies, juices... anything after the race. I had the same issue Monday. It wasn't until Monday lunch that I really ate anything substantial, and that was only because I forced myself to eat a calorie dense meal at Panda Express. Nothing I really wanted to do, but I could tell I was at a calorie deficit, and needed something in my body. Even now, I still don't seem to want to take in calories, even though I know I'm still short. I haven't lost any weight, and I've been a drinking a lot of water, but I'm just struggling to get in enough calories.

... Anyway, is more than long enough. But I have to say once again, I loved the race, and look forward to doing it with my friends next year.

Run to Feed the Hungry

Time: 21:35.3 something
Pace: 7:00 min/mi
Place: 143/2871
Age Group: 11/120

Summary

This will be proportionately written to the size of the race... short. The run is primarily a fund raiser, and as a 5k on a day off for most people, it's pretty big. 20k people big, in fact. It's amazing that people can't listen, and don't pay any attention to the signs, like people with strollers and with their little kids lined up in the 7min pace section. For how big the race was, it didn't seem too bad at all, though I was near the front-ish, so that didn't really affect me too much.

Anyway, my race went well. This was actually my first 5k, so I wasn't sure how my pacing would go, but I got 7s, which I'm very happy with. Harry got sub 8s, Mark sub 9s, and Josh sub 10s, so I feel we all did pretty darned well. Other than that, there's not much to say. Three miles is pretty darned short for a run, but we jogged in three miles to get there, and jogged and walked back, so it was altogether a fun way to start Thanksgiving morning, and a lot more worthwhile selflessly donating time and money instead of selfishly eating.

Clarksburg 20

Place: 183/358 Pace: 9:30

The Goal

The triathlete training bible talks a lot about different type of races. "A" races being the big one or two you train for in the year, "B" races being ones you put effort into, but don't push and train to the edge, and "C" races being those that you do, just as part of training, and just to do. No pushing, no risk, you're just there because you love to race. That's what Clarksburg was to me; a chance to do a 20 mile, pre-marathon, typical Sunday training run. In that light, I got exactly what I wanted out of the run, I finished, I had good times with a friend, I accomplished some speed work I never thought myself capable of, and I loved it. As a bellwether to my CIM success, all signs point to positive. Yay me!

The Course

Let me just say, this is what was meant by "Avenue of the Vines," not the "Bovines" event. The course was beautiful, the day was perfect, I couldn't have asked for better run conditions. The course meandered through the streets of Clarksburg, a small town just along the river, south of Sacramento. Parts of the run went through wineries, parts through country roads, parts along the levy above the river tributary. It was amazing, quaint, and perfect. In a heartbeat, I'd do this run again.

The Run

I usually title this part, "The Race," but since I wasn't really racing, I'm just going to call it the run. As a training run, I didn't push myself at all. I told Harry when I was trying to get him to do this (which he had a good excuse for missing, being in Oregon),

that I wouldn't race it, but would rather run alongside him the whole time. Well, Harry didn't show, but Amanda did! So, I extended the same idea over to running with Amanda, and we did the first 15 miles of Clarksburg together, chatting, keeping our minds off of injuries, and just enjoying the beautiful course. Thanks, Amanda! I would rather run with friends any day, and it's friends who've helped me get to where I am today.

So anyway, the first fifteen miles were pretty mild. We paced in the low 9s to start, but as injuries and a week of sickness began to catch up with Amanda (I still can't believe she ran twenty miles after being sick all week long), our pace slowed down to the mid 10s. Around mile ten, I forewarned Amanda that I might take off around mile fifteen, depending on how we were doing. Well, right at fifteen, Amanda's injuries really started to get to her, our pace was down to about 11s, and I felt the need to push myself a little more. So I took off for the last five miles... and it was awesome.

For the last five miles, I was running (depending on headwinds) between 6:50s and 8:20s. I would have never thought that, after fifteen miles (my longest run ever at that point), I could kick it up to run sub 8s. Frank, at mile 18 or so, told my that I could catch up with Hiroshi, and try I did. Just thirty seconds, he said, and at the 400 meter mark, I saw Hiroshi ahead. His pace was slower than mine, and I thought I had him, but that 400m mark put a fire under his feet and he sped up, leaving me to come in just a few seconds behind him. It was a nice push to bump up my speed just a little more, and I had a great time doing it.

Early and Often

If you were to ask TBF coach Dan Foster about fueling, there'd be a quick answer, almost a mantra: early and often. After this week, I can totally agree with that, not even just on the performance of the day, but on its affect on subsequent days.

Sunday, I raced the 7th annual Lake Natoma Four Bridges Half Marathon (see below), and did fine, but raced that as a training run, not as a real race. Two days later, I ran 7.5 miles with Harry, and really struggled. Our pacing was ~9:20, and I was the driver of that. At mile 1, I was already gu'ing (or in my case, Hammer Gel). By mile 3.5, I felt like I'd run 8 already. By mile 6, I was exhausted, and it was taking everything I had to keep going. If I can't do 28 miles in a week, how am I supposed to do 26.2 in one day?!

In retrospect, I believe it to be 100% a fueling issue. Monday night, I did a weights workout, then went to bed. Tuesday morning, I did 30 minutes of cardio on a bike, a weights workout, and then a workout with my PT. Throughout the day, I ate about 1500 calories of food, then went on the 7.5 mile run. I was already in a deficit before I even started the run...

And the big lesson of the week was this: for the two days following it, I was tired, exhausted, and felt ill -- all from exercising on a heavy deficit. So when I think "early and often," I need to think beyond just that day, but realize that failing to do so can knock me out for a couple days. Not only does that undo the work I did by working out unfueled, but it sets me back. So early and often needs to apply to my every day life -- plan out my workouts, eat for success, and stick to the plan.

Four Bridges Half Marathon

Div Place	Place	Time	Pace
22/46	354/1429	1:49:36.0	8:22/M

Summary

Out on the home turf, the course is beautiful, the run lightly challenging, the logistics well executed, and the weather and timing were perfect. While my performance might not have been superb, the course definitely met and exceeded my expectations. Would I do this run again? Absolutely. Will I beat my time next year? I better!

Pre-race

Friday night, I had my first Master's swim class. Now, that's something for my training logs, not here, but it definitely affected my pre-race readiness; my calves cramped up badly in the kicking drills, and by Saturday morning for my warmup jog, they were still hurting. Sunday, as I got ready to run 4B, I could still feel the pain inside my calves. Not the right way to start a run.

Harry told me ahead of time that he wasn't going to be making the run, but I was still expecting Amanda. Looking around, I did run into Mark E, a few STC fellows (Frank, Hiroshi, good to see you both!), and Micki and Paige, but by start time, I was alone. Oh well, I was here to train, and train I shall do!

The Course

Beautiful, scenic, hilly... altogether a great location, which is why it's a great place to train. The mile markers were amazing, 25 foot tall poles with large banners. The new experiences on a course like this? Not being able to see the people beyond right in front of you, and not seeing the mile markers until your on them. And the worst of that, not seeing the next water station... which has big gu timing impact.

Thankfully Micki warned me ahead of time to save some energy for the last mile, or I'm not sure I would have been ready for such a long uphill, but as the announcer said as I sprinted across the finish line, I saved too much. For anyone doing this, the last half mile or so is all uphill, from the lake level up to Natomas St, and not the gradual version that you have during the start. A few switchbacks, and a steeper ascent, and you're quite glad you're done after that.

My Race

I underperformed compared to my last two races, but I didn't taper off in prep (10.5 miles on Tuesday, a Master's swim on Friday, and five miles the day before), and I didn't push myself to the limits, so I'm not disappointed. In fact, I got exactly what I expected out of the race; a little worse than my normal, but not horrible. And considering the knee injury, the hills, and my cramped calves, I probably performed better than previous races.

I tried using Clif Cran-Razz electrolyte drink in my water bottle instead of water, and I believe I'll go back to the basics. Electrolyte tabs, Hammer Gel, and pure water for my personal stock of fuel. I'm still not comfortable sticking to race-supplied water, even though that seems the norm. I like to fuel when I need it, and to take gel, that means having my own water. For this race, not being able to see the water stops ahead, and thus gu in time to finish before the stop, that was probably a good thing.

X-Terra Nevada

XTerra Nevada - Sep 2007

Place: 228/239, 4:45:28
Swim + T1: 0:27:29, Bike + T2: 3:50:35, Run: 0:27:24
Course: 750m swim, 31k MTB, 5k run

Summary

I was not ready for this, it was too cold, and overall not an enjoyable experience. Had I been more than a novice MTB’r, and had the weather been like that of Sunday, I probably would have enjoyed the race. However, between the weather and my poor performance, I’m disappointed in the race for myself. I’m not sure whether I will do this race again next year, but if I do, it’ll only be if I train considerably more than I did this year.

Pre-Race

I got roused from bed at 10pm the night before by Amanda for good reason… it had started to snow (see the pic above). What a great way to start a race. :-/ Fortunately, one of my co-workers had forewarned me of the possibility, and I had stopped at REI on my way to race day and picked up $200 of cold weather gear. If not for this, there would be no way I would have even finished.

The morning of the race was freezing, as expected. Reading race reports and hearing from friends, it was still sub-30 degrees when I got out to the venue (6:30am). The night low was 20 degrees, and the day high was 52. Ugh. Getting ready, my feet and hands were already going numb, which isn’t a good sign. Just look at the ice collecting on my bike seat while waiting.

Venue

The venue, Incline Village NV, was great. It’s close to some perfect MTB trails, the beach access was good, and while the distance from beach to transition was long, for a MTB venue, it’s a great spot. Go figure, since it was picked as a championship venue. Our cabin was only two blocks from the start, so it was perfect for walking to and from the venue as needed.

The Swim

When the water in Lake Tahoe is warmer than the air, and you’d rather stand in the water than on the beach, something’s a bit wrong. It was actually painful standing barefoot on the wet sand, and I was amazed that the warmup swim was more enjoyable than standing around waiting.

The great part about the swim is the water clarity. When diving Tahoe, I’ve seen vis >200ft, the maximum distance possible in water. For swimming, this meant sighting was a breeze; I could see the swimmers 10 feet in front of me. It also meant that an no point in the swim could you not see the lake bottom. A bit eerie at 50 feet, but I really enjoyed that part of the swim!

As far as swim results, the lack of T1 separation, the extra time in T1 to ready myself for cold, and the run up the hill in shoes that didn’t work mean I really don’t know how I did in my swim relative to my expectations. It felt fine, not a great performance, but altitude breathing was a factor, and I think my time was adequate. I’d expect 15 minutes for myself, and add in the run and T1, and I probably did 18 minutes.

The Bike Hike

Here’s where it gets sketchy. For those that don’t know me, understand that this was my fourth mountain bike ride… ever. Lesson 1) road biking does not equate to mountain biking. My legs were far from ready for the constant and persistent climbing from the lake to above the tree line. I rode most of the first climb, but the next three major climbs were more hiking than biking, and one surprise hike after some downhills cramped my quads so badly that I had to stop to stretch them for five minutes. Lesson 2) if you can no longer shift because your fingers are so cold, and you worry about losing finger tips to frostbite, it’s too cold to ride. I bought the most cold-weather gloves Pearl Izumi makes, leg warmers, arm warmers, ear warmers, toe covers, and borrowed a friend’s wind breaker (thanks Harry!). Most of that gear was enough to survive and stay reasonably comfortable, except for my hands, which made me miserable and feeling unsafe. There was snow across almost every inch of the course, except for the final ride down the flume trail, and the area above the tree line.

I did find that I had less problems with my cleats and pedals than most other walkers. I could knock enough stuff off of my cleats in one smack against my pedals to clip in every time. That’s one nice thing in favor of the Candy’s (that and I use them on my road bike, so I didn’t have to learn to clip in/out).

The course was beautiful, the views, amazing (as long as you didn’t get distracted and fall off the cliff). In the picture to the left, you can see the trail we rode across on the far left. The picture was taken the following day, so imagine this same trail covered in snow, and this was the first portion of the ride. Beautiful, scenic, and a bit scary.

In short: I was not ready for this bike, and it shows. I did average on everything else, but was 7th to last in the bike for the recorded finishers. All I can say is that I DID finish, on the course that’s for the pros, in weather that was extreme.

The Run

Not much to say about this. Running is my favorite sport, the course was nice, though quite a tease as they took you near the finish, then off for another half mile before you actually finished, so I really enjoyed this leg. My pacing was not great for me, but okay (just under 9’s), and I enjoyed finally warming up my numb and cold body. I actually threw on my glove liners and ran with them to try and gain feeling back into my fingers as I ran.

It was a fun run, a great short course, and part of me wishes I had done the 10k trail run and just that.

And yes, I did sport STC colors :-)

The Nitty Gritty

Excuse my geekdom here, but I need some relative results, absolute numbers are not enough…

	Swim	Bike	Run	Overall
My Time	0:27:29	3:50:35	0:27:24	4:45:28
Average	0:26:37	2:45:52	0:28:31	3:42:54
St Dev	0:05:20	0:28:02	0:04:42	0:34:24
Stat %	60.4%	97.7%	46.8%	95.37%
Place	175/287	264/270	127/268	228/239