Race of Grace

This past Saturday I raced in the Race of Grace Triathlon in Philadelphia, MS. I entered at the last minute, thinking this would be more fun than doing the regular long run in the heat back in Jackson. Of course, it was also hot in Philadelphia!

This was the 5th running of this race and featured a new out-and back bike course and a new out-and-back run course. So really, a "new" race this year. The swim was a point-to-point 1/4 mile swim in a private lake, nicely marked with frequent left and right buoys (almost like lane lines at the pool!). The bike course was rolling terrain through the countryside and the run course was a series of short hills....both courses were very reminiscent of the Memphis in May course.




I snapped this photo with the iPhone. I was among the first to arrive. I got a kick out of the transition area located in the hay field.

It wasn't my best day at the races. You think ahead of time....How difficult could it be to swim 400m, bike 17 mi, and run 5k? And I think the same thing afterwards. But, yet....

There were some funny moments at the race. It was a time trial start, according to self-estimated swim times. I was #4....but there were no #1 or #2 (they reserved those #'s for last year's winners who failed to show). We get lined up before the start, in numerical order. The guy who's #5 looks at me (sort of up and down) and asks incredulously, "YOU'RE #4?" I sheepishly said yes. It turned out that he swam past me rather effortlessly. I'm sure he felt like the hero.

Beware the green carpet! The embankment at the swim exit was pretty steep....only 10-15 feet or so, but pretty steep. And the race people decided to have the green indoor-outdoor carpet stretch from in the water to the top of the embankment. Only 2 swimmers got out before me, but the carpet was totally wet for my exit. I started running up the carpet, fell, and slid on my belly back into the water. It created a bit of a stir....and the volunteers did their best to help. Glad no photos were taken.

It was tremendously hot and humid for the race. The first (and only) aid station for the run was at the 1-mile mark, at the top of a hill. By this point, I had already walked up the hill and concluded that I would be unable to eke out the 5k run. The volunteers were handing out water in the sunny street. Even though it was an extra 50 feet to walk, I took refuge under the aid station tent to regroup. Again, much attention from the volunteers....I just wanted to find an air conditioned vehicle to recover fromthe 1st mile of running. Hmmm....

I'm still hoping that one day I'll be able to show up at these races....and have a solid day. It ought to be easier. Next try....the Sunfish Triathlon in Meridian, MS, on July 11th.

Great Chesapeake Bay Swim 2009

Put the 2009 edition of the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim in the record book! I had a great weekend in DC and Annapolis with the family....and a great swim today to boot.

Recall, I did the 2008 race here as well. Immediately after the race, I told my family that I wouldn't make plans to do this again any time soon. But, with the passing of weeks (and eventually, months) you remember the good....and forget the bad. Once again I entered the lottery....and got a spot! Why can't this happen with the Kona lottery?

This year's race comes 2 weeks on the heels of a "crash and burn" performance at Ironman Brazil. There's been little training since then, but I did have a good short swim to lead-off a sprint tri relay with some friends back in Mississippi last Saturday. I didn't quite know what to expect for the 4.4 mile swim this year. Thinking back, my longest swim in the past year was 5200 yards....and I've logged about 40% less swim training than before last year's race. I was hoping to finish.

The weather was great this year....sunny skies, temps in the 70's, tolerable humidity. But there was a stiff breeze and the water was very rough. Not quite like the rough waters at IM Brazil, but close....and certainly rougher than at this race last year. Got off to a good start, settled into an aerobic pace, and tried to cruise from start to finish. Finished the miles (at least as they were marked!) in 19 min, 29 min, 30 min, 30 min, and the last 0.4 miles in 19 min. Not entirely sure things were marked correctly. Finished in 2:07, a few minutes slower than last year....and finished in 151st place, a few places better than last year. A great day in the water, I'd say.

In a 2-hour swim, there's ample time to think. I spent a lot of time thinking about coach Justin who raced yesterday in the Boise 70.3. He had a tough day at the races....mirroring my efforts 2 weeks ago at IM Brazil. He was very kind after my meltdown, finding just the right words....and he sounded so discouraged after his race yesterday. I thought again and again....need to have a good race here to get Team JD back on track. Don't let the team down again! I should talk Gordo into doing an article or blog piece about the aftermath of a bad race.

I had celebration dinner with my sister and folks at Cheesecake Factory, where I couldn't get enough food to eat!

Lori tells me to add that I'm laying now on her living room floor with the laptop while the others are eating dessert (that we took home from the Cheesecake Factory).

Looking forward to getting back to training. Next up....the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon on July 25th.

Heatwave Classic 2009

Great day at the races this past Saturday!

Nice, cool weather and the biggest crowd (athletes and spectators) ever for the 2009 edition of the Heatwave Classic here in Ridgeland, MS. I was recovering from the IM Brazil race the previous weekend and was thinking that I'd just come and cheer....but Bobby S. and Lesley R. talked me into doing the swim leg for their mixed relay team.

I had a great time. Compared to the previous week's race, it was pretty sweet to swim for just a few minutes, get out, and then cheer for our team and my many friends doing the race. We managed a 2nd place finish in the not-so-competitive mixed relay division. I stuck around for the awards after lunch....it was great to applaud the efforts of the friends who ended up on the podium. Congrats to friend and neighbor, Hastings P., for his 2nd consecutive win at the Heatwave! Awesome!

Back to some light training this week. Next up....Chesapeake Bay swim on Sunday!

Long Day at the Races

IM Brazil 2009 is in the record book!

It was a long day at the races, though....and I set new personal bests for slowest IM run and slowest IM race....and came pretty close to slowest IM bike, too! It's always a little sad when the highlight of your Ironman race day was a strong T1!

I truly appreciate all the well-wishes before and after the race. I told coach Justin on race night that it would take a while for my spirit to recover, but having ample encouragement from family and friends has helped.

I've shared some of the race day stories already, and any short account is an over-simplification, but here's how it went down....

The swim went reasonably well. The conditions were very rough, though (the worst I've ever tried to swim in, really). Because of the conditions, the race probably got off to a rather slow start....and this helped to avoid some of the typical fray at the beginning. I made it around the 2 loops in 1:02, thankful I didn't drown, but having spent much more energy than the swim usually takes....and much more energy than I'd like to have spent.

There was intermittent rain on the bike ride, the skies were cloudy, and the temps were in the 60's. It turned out to be a record-setting bike split for the winner, though, so conditions were pretty good. I got off to a rough start with a flat in mile #2....and it took me (and eventually, a mechanic) forever to change the tubular. I had troubles with high HR and low power output for the entire ride. The ride took 6:46 and finished with a 2nd flat. Looking back at the PT and Garmin files, it was a constantly decelerating ride, with ever-lower HR, too. I didn't have specific nutrition problems, but Justin and I were wondering now about dehydration. Who knows?

I set out on the run, determined to run to the finish, but lasted only the first hour or so before having to walk. I really wanted to finish, though, so it was a long (and eventually pretty lonely) evening on the run course. When I spotted the clock at the finish line, I had to sprint the final 50 yards to make it just under 15 hours.

Sometimes after a poor race, it's easy to point at one factor or another that was responsible. I'm not sure that's the case here, though. Training had gone well, I felt well rested at the start, conditions were good, nutrition seemed to work out OK, but somehow it didn't all come together at the race. So....I'm not sure yet what to learn from the IM Brazil experience.


We enjoyed a celebration dinner with the EST group at a Brazilian steakhouse on Monday after the race. Good food and good company....Gerd from Kona and Ron & Dina from Portland.

Looking ahead....

On Saturday, I'm doing the swim leg for a relay with Bobby S. and Lesley R. at the Heatwave Triathlon here in Ridgeland. I haven't been in town for this race the past 2 years, so it should be fun to race AND cheer for my friends as they finish the race.

And next Sunday, I'll be doing the Great Chesapeake Bay 4.4 mile swim. I'm looking forward to the weekend with family in DC/Annapolis and the chance to do a great open water swim on Sunday.

Then it's back to the training routine. I'm planning to do 3 shorter triathlons and finish the season with IM Florida in November.


Onward....

Racing Tomorrow

Race day is tomorrow!

I'm back at the hotel now after doing bike and gear check-in. It's been another rainy day here. The forecast calls for rain off/on through the night and into tomorrow morning. May be a wet start to the race. On the positive side, the daytime high will only be 69 degrees....my kind of weather!

Here's the game plan for tomorrow....I'm aiming for a smooth, efficient, quiet, uneventful swim at a steady pace. I'll be thinking about swim practice warm-up pace. On the bike, again I'll be aiming for a steady effort, with few ups/downs. I'll be looking for average power in the 160-170W range and HR in the 130's. Plan to take in ~400 cal/hour on the bike using Infinit and PowerBars. For the run, I plan to use a 9 min run/1 min walk strategy (with an additional short walk at the aid stations). I'll be looking to settle into a pace that yields a HR of ~135-140 or so. Again, I'll be looking to avoid ups/downs. For me, the whole day will be about pacing the swim and bike so that I have the best chance to run well.

Many thank-you's are due, so I'll do them in advance. Big thanks to the family for traveling to Brazil and for cheering all day tomorrow. Nothing's better on race day. Thanks to the various training partners....the Catfish (this ROCK will make good tomorrow!), the running group, and all the riding partners these past few months. Special thanks to George and Stephanie for the ample encouragement...wish you two were here. Thanks, too, to Michael, Tom, Collin, & the others at the Bike Rack. The new bike is awesome....and much credit to you all for making it happen. Thanks to Gordo and all the folks I've met through Endurance Corner. I have really appreciated the well-wishes along the way. And lastly, heaping thanks to JD, who's been at the coaching helm for the past year....you've been a terrific help.

Follow along at IronmanLive or check in with Lori, who'll have my cell phone during the race tomorrow. Remember, we're 2 hours ahead of CDT.

Back on Monday with a race recap....

Midweek at IM Brazil

It's been a relaxing few days here in Florianopolis. Nothing beats being 6000 miles away from the beeper! We went on an afternoon tour of the island on Tuesday. There are ~400,000 people who live on the island year-round and the population swells to ~1,000,000 in the summertime with tourists. This will clearly be the most urban of the IM races I've done. Parts of the bike course have a Formula One feel.

The training routine has included bike/run on Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday and swim only on Monday/Wednesday/Friday. Planning short SBR on Saturday. Weather's been cool and cloudy, with periods of rain each day, but we've managed to squeeze in the training during the dry spells. Forecast for race day: occasional shower early, winds at 16 mph, 67 degrees high, partly cloudy almost all day.

Visited the expo yesterday and again today. Nice assortment of local vendors. By comparison, very little IM or IM Brazil merchandise. Surprised.

Race registraation was today. I think that, for me, registration day is the most stressful day of IM week. Not entirely sure why, but perhaps patience is lagging....and who wants to stand in line? After registration, we had the English version of the pre-race briefing. Probably 150 people were there--most with our tour group. I think most entrants are Brazilian or S. American.

Planning a 30-min swim at the course tomorrow morning....1 lap around. Water's been much calmer these past couple days. Massage again tomorrow. Pasta party tomorrow night. Saturday includes short SBR for training, then afternoon gear check-in, early dinner, and early to bed!

I'll check in again on Saturday with some thoughts about the race and some thank-you's. Looking forward to the race!

Settling In

It's hard to believe, but we're getting settled into the routine here in Florianopolis, Brazil. It's my first time to S. America. I've never even been as far south as Mexico before!

The travel went well. Met up with my sister and parents in Miami and made the trip south to Brazil on Saturday night. Long day/night of travel, but no mishaps, so we're thankful. All of the luggage/bike/gear made it safely to Florianopolis. Met up with Ken, Greg, Ty, and Stacey from EST at the Florianopolis airport....it was great to see a couple familiar faces. They arrived just about the same time as us, but from Rio instead. We made the ride to the hotels with the EST folks and it was nice to get caught up on how everybody was doing.

Our hotel is great. It's a block from the beach and about 1/2 mile from the start/finish/transition for the race. It's sort of like a Gulf Coast condo building....we're in adjoining 1-bedroom units....a lot of space, nice balcony views of the water. Had dinner in a small group at an Italian restaurant not too far from our hotel. Went to Brazil for Italian food!

Went on a 1-lap bike around the course (~56 mi) yesterday morning in a group of 7 people who had arrived this early. The course is mostly flat, scenic, and mostly good road surface. I suppose no course is as flat as Florida, but the road surface here is better than any of the previous races I've done. I suspect that, if there's good weather, the bike leg will be fast. There are a couple hills that are encountered 4 times on race day. Not too long, but steep enough for the guys to reach 55 mph on the downhill! Went on a short run yesterday after the bike ride. Ran to the transition area and back along a beachside promenade. Other athletes were out doing the same thing.

Had wine & cheese last night and then a group dinner at another hotel. EST has 560 people coming to the race. Amazing.

Went for an open water swim this morning with Gerd Weber, another athlete staying at our hotel. Water's probably 70 degrees, moderate chop, some swells, and about 8-10 feet of visibility. Gulped more sea water than I'd have liked!

Lounging now at the hotel with the family. Nap later. More to come as the week goes along. Can't wait 'til race day!