Richmond Marathon

Since 2011, I have wanted to attempt a marathon again.  My first attempt, successful in crossing the finish line was cut well short of my time goal by a foot injury.  This year in my first Ironman, the marathon portion was a painful walk-run adventure that brought me to one of the highest points in my short triathlon career but left me wanting more.  

While planning this years races, the Richmond Marathon was perfect for allowing me to recover from the Ironman in August and giving me enough time to properly train.  Also, Steve and Adam were also planning to race as well as other Snapple Team mates.

I should note that one of my goals this year was to improve my running.  Thanks to my coach Adam, the year got off to a great start with a 5K result that exceed my expectations.  Excited from that finish, I could not wait to see what the rest of the year would hold.  To my dismay, a lot of issues would plague my run training and the run portion of all my tri races this year regardless of distance were a bit of a disappointment to me.  As such, I had a lot of worry going into this race.

This training block went very well, a few minor overuse injuries popped up but I was able to work through them and slowly build my mileage up.  I normally have been running between 20-30 miles a week and now working into the 40’s.  I also ran a half-marathon a few weeks into this block and got a personal record.  Things were going well.

In conversations with both Adam and my training partner Steve, they helped to keep my mind in the right place.  Pushing that doubt side and helped in keeping my confidence growing.

Race day arrived,  as Steve and I drive over to race site, rain was falling but the temperatures were holding in the low 50’s.  As the start ticked time ticked closer, my nervousness kept building but I had this gut feeling that good things were to come.

For a slower runner among amazing athletes, it was cool to be in corral 1 for the start of a race with over 4700 participants. Progress! LOL.

After the gun went off, I was running much faster than planned and worked to slow it down, also my low back got really tight and I was hoping that was just nerves.  It wasn't and it bothered me most of the race.

Between mile 2-3, I started running closer to my target race pace but faster than the planned pace, since I was was feeling awesome, I went with it.  I started to remind myself that how you feel at mile 2 is much different than mile 22, keep to the plan.  Shortly after, the 3:30 pace group caught up to me and I decided to hang with them or at least keep them insight.

This was working well and even though I was not totally sticking to the plan pace wise my gut was telling me it was ok.  

Running with that group was a huge help, talking with some of the pace leaders gave me some great insight into the course and what to expect.  We talked triathlon racing as well as a few other topics.  Also, as it turned out my M-dot tattoo was a bit of hot topic, many racers as they passed would ask me what race I did or even congratulate me for being an Ironman.  I also came upon others with the M-dot, it provided me with an opportunity to chat and run with some great athletes.  

All of this went on until mile 20, at which point I was feeling good and decided to push the pace up.  I left the group and just ran by feel, for the next six miles I kept telling myself do not look at my Garmin and just run.  I started catching people who passed me early on and it started to hit me that I was going to finish this race, running the entire time.

At mile 22, I saw a friend who was working as a course marshall and it gave me a big pick me up.  Thanks Dixie as well for the great pictures.

Taken by Dixie Daisy

Taken by Dixie Daisy

By mile 24, my left calf started to cramp, it was causing me to limp.  Shortly after, the right started to do the same.  I took a hit of the EFS Liquid shot and kept yelling at my legs to HTFU! No cramps, No cramps! Thankfully my legs listened and the cramps went away.

As I hit mile 25 the adrenaline was kicking in, I felt like I was flying.  

The mile 26 marker came into view and the long downhill to the finish.  I slowed up a bit since the roads were wet, I was worried I would face plant or somehow fall descending.  Then two younger guys that were with the pace group who took off before I did and who I passed a few miles back, caught up to me, they were racing each other.  I literally said, HELL NO! Sorry gents no passbacks!  I took off sprinting with them.  We sprinted the last .2 miles and pretty much crossed the line at the same time.  It was awesome!  I shook bother their hands, congratulated them and thanked them for that push at the end.  What a great way to end an amazing race.

I found Steve very quickly after I left the finishing chute and learned he ran a blistering 3:02, also that Adam finished 6th overall with a 2:27.  Congratulation gentlemen, you both are huge inspirations!

Steve and I after the race.

When it was said and done I finished with a time of 3:27:46, this as it turns out is just shy of an hour PR from the 2011 Marine Corp. Marathon that I finished in 4:27:43.  To say I am excited would be an understatement.

This year started off and ended with running races that well exceeded my expectations.  I can comfortably say that in regards to that goal,  goal crushed!

A big thank you to everyone who supports me, Maggie, Orlando, Addison, my parents and family back in NJ.  Thank you Adam Otstot, your coaching, guidance and words of wisdom are a big reason for all the goals met and crushed this year.  Thank you Steve Smith, it has been an honor to train with you this year and can’t wait to see what we accomplish next year.  Also, thank you to the Snapple Triathlon team and their great sponsors.

My journey to become an Ironman

I have been thinking back to September 2009, in Jacksonville, FL.  My friend and co-worker Melissa and I are going for a run and talking about how she and Alan are getting ready to do their first Ironman.  I remember thinking; I would never be able to do that!  Thanks to many conversations with Melissa and Alan we can fast forward a few years and here I am writing this with my Ironman finisher’s medal hanging next to me.

I feel it is only right to start this race report thanking the people who helped and supported this journey.  First my wife Maggie, step-son Orlando and my granddaughter Addison; who all had to deal with me being away training or missing events because I had a race.  Especially Maggie, who puts up with tall grass, cooking for four when it is only us and a honey-do-list that was barely touched. 

There is the overwhelming support of my parents and family, when you don’t live nearby it sometimes hard to remember the little things, they do.

Steve Smith, my training buddy and good friend, I twisted Steve’s arm to sign up for this race.  We trained and raced side by side this year and I have to say that I am as proud of his success at this race as I am about my own.  Also, to Steve’s family for letting me have a corner of their campsites a few times this year and being so supportive at every race.

My coach Adam Otstot, his advice, guidance and training plans constantly put me over the top and help me crush dreams.  Adam is in his first year as a pro triathlete and is a huge inspiration to me. I also need to send a big Thank You, to Mindy Schulz who told me about Adam and how to connect with him at a Newton event at the Point2 Running store.  

Speaking of Dream Crushers, the Snapple tri team, thank you to Mindy, Bart and all of the amazing athletes I have had the pleasure to meet and race with this year.  Also a very big thank you to the Snapple teams amazing sponsors: Xterra wetsuits, Mizuno, HED, Cliff Bar, Rudy Project; to name a few. 

My Master swim coach Steve Hennessy, every time he’s on deck I get faster and stronger.  He really helps put a lot of this craziness in perspective, in the pool and out.

Mike Shipp at East Coast Bicycles as well as Rod and Chris at Bike Beat thank you for all your help keeping my bike in great shape.  As wells as everyone at Point2 RunningCompany for taking care of my feet.

Not to be forgotten, all my friends and fellow tri nuts, thank you for your support and making this one amazing sport to be a part of.

So, I guess now would be a good time to actually talk about the race in this race report. 

It all started on Thursday, with a 10 hour ride to Kentucky, Steve reached out to a friend of his in the area and we both had a great place to stay.  Thank you so much to Jen McFarland and her three sons for opening their home to us.  The following day Steve and I got in a run, checked-in and attend the athletes meeting.  Saturday arrived with Steve and I heading to the race site to participate in the practice swim.

 

Steve and I before the practice swim

As nothing can seem to go off without some drama. We are preparing the bikes to be dropped off at transition and during a test ride, my baby will not shift right.  Will not go into certain gears and is very jumpy.  We tried to make some changes but it just would not get better.  So, I head over to bike service that Ironman offers and I am told it will be ready after 5, there were 30 bikes ahead of mine.  Problem, bike drop off closes at 5.  Panic is now setting in!  The mechanic is telling me that as long as I have my receipt I will be ok but when I go to drop my gear bags off, no one in transition has a clue what I am talking about.  FREAKING OUT about now.  Long story short, I called the emergency number for Ironman and they take care of it.  Pick up the bike at 6:30 and shortly after it is dropped off at transition.  After a few hours of chaos things are now slowing down to pure calm and I am starting to settle into race mode.  I grabbed dinner with my parents and was in bed early.

Race morning

I woke up a little before 4 A.M., had a bagel and an Ensure followed by the never missed chocolate fudge pop tart 30 minutes later.  Got to make sure I get enough calories taken in.  By 5 A.M., we are heading to transition, there was a little bit of a walk that helped keep the nervous down.  Upon reaching transition, I got the bike set-up; water bottles in place and final checks to make sure everything is working. 

Here is where I think I made rookie mistake #1; I had access to my gear bags and never went to check them, more on this later.  Steve and I meet my parents to hand off some gear and started the walk to the swim start.  That was maybe just shy of a mile walk and as it would turn out this walk will also come into play a little later.  Body marking gets done then off for the ever important last porta john visit.  20 minutes later the line has not moved, we try another line with the same results.  Oh well, better go get on line for the start.

This race is a time trial start which basically means you get in line, it is first come, first swims.  As we start walking towards the end of the line it hits me that I can’t see the end.  We walked some more, a little farther, still no end in sight.  I would swear we walked another mile before we found the end.  Now is a good point to talk about rookie mistake #2 and why all that walking comes into play.  When we get in line (finally) I bend down to stretch my back and I find a nice big blister on my right little toe.  Haven’t even started the race, are you kidding me.  Turns out the sandals I had on were rubbing, they had never done this to me before. Great, good thing I put band aids in my gear bags.

We hear the cannon go off for the start of the Pros.  Ten minutes later a second boom and shortly our line starts moving (slowly).  A few porta johns come into view, Steve and I looked at each other and both decided we better go use them.  Heck, we are already this far back, right!  That done and back on line, it was maybe a 20-30 minute march to the start.

Swim: 1:04:42

Finally reaching the swim start we still had to make our way down to the pier to jump in.  On the way, Steve noticed my parents were there.  What a boost to see them, my nervous really calmed down and my mind just went to game on mode.  

From the swim start (Courtesy of the Tri Lunatics FB page)

It was pretty cool to jog down and jump in, no running/dolphin diving in or treading water and having to fight for position or deal with big crowds.  Silly newbie that changed pretty soon. I found a good rhythm and kept the pace down until I ran (literally) into the first group. Two kicks to the head, one to the chest, made me decided that picking the pace up was not a bad idea.  This type of thing went on for most of the way to the first turn buoy.  After the turn I felt like I was flying.  A few times I would be slowed by small groups or literally swimming over someone but before I knew it there was at the first bridge.  Then the second and next thing I knew I was staring at the transition tent and the swim finish.  This swim was amazing, I was a little faster than expected and I felt awesome coming out of the water.

Transition 1: 6:34

After a short run from the swim finish, I hit the transition area, yelled out my number and was handed my gear bag.  Nice!  Running to the tent I saw a bunch of people outside the tent seated getting their gear changed but I wanted to get inside the tent and to a chair.  Finding a seat, I dumped my gear bag and started changing.  Every freaking time I bent over to grab something, someone running by would hit me in the head.  Bad choice of real estate I guess and very annoying. 

Shoes on, helmet on, race belt/bib on but something is not right.  The belt was twisted (mistake #3), I should of check it when I put the bib on the belt and also why I should have checked my gear bags after setting up my bike.  Lesson learned. 

I ran out of the tent and over to the sunblock tent (So freaking cool!), a nice young lady put a ton of sun block on my shoulders and arms.  Then I was on my way to the mount line.  As I got there I saw my family, hearing them cheering got me so pumped to get moving.

Bike: 5:34:24

My race plan was to start slow and keep the watts low, treat it like a warm-up.  That part of the plan, executed!  Next hydration and nutrition, use bonk breaker bars while I used my first bottle of EFS drink.  Next bottle I would use was an EFS drink/EFS Liquid shot mix, followed by using Ironman Perform and Liquid Shot, using water in between and salt pills every hour.  Executed with minor adjustments.

The first 15 miles were pretty good, other than having to stop to adjust my front brakes which were rubbing.  One thing that stood out to me was how crowded the course was from the start.  It was flat out impossible to keep 4 bike lengths between anyone, hope there are no race officials around!  Another point that stood out, was having a fellow Snapple teammate Eric Retinger, go riding past while saying, Go Snapple, Go Snapple, Go Snapple.

Within the first 20 miles came with it a big concern, an out and back that included a hairy descent and even longer climb.  This hill was mentioned in the athlete meeting to keep it slow and that NO ONE wins the race there.  Seems not too many people listened!  On the way out, there was a rider down from an unfortunate accident with another rider, the medical staff was already attending to him.  What got me, was how riders coming down the hill refused to slow down and also how many almost slammed into the medical crew attending to the downed rider.

Once I finished that spur, there were two loops to complete that would get me just past the 90 mile mark before heading back to transition.  There were some crazy rolling hills and as with the Rev3 race, I was climbing like a champ.  Timing things perfect, spinning up hills and passing people like crazy while climbing (Thank you Steve for the advice to spin up hills).  One highlight from the loops was in the town of La Grange, there was a section lined with gates and banners where spectators were gathered.  They were cheering like crazy as every rider came through, what an amazing cheering section and energy boost.  You could not help but speed up and feel amazing, what a great positive vibe.  The vibe was a little tarnished by two thing shortly after that area.  A jerk who decided today was a good day to tow his big ass boat down the road at 10 miles an hour and a nice police officer who looks directly at me coming down a hill and lets a car go directly in front of me, thanks @$$!  Other than that the ride was going as plan, nutrition and hydration still were spot on, watts in range and feeling good. 

Heading back to T2

About mile 80, I was pleasantly surprised to see Steve had caught up to me.  This was not surprising, he is an amazing climber and we were less than a minute apart out of the water from each other and had close transition times.  The next 25 miles we pretty much rode together, it was like a training day back home.  My plan allowed me to increase the watts and pace if I felt good at mile 80 but after mile 100, the afterburners kicked in.  This was not part of the plan and mistake #4!  I would not realize this mistake until transition 2.

Transition 2: 9:32

Ironman transitions have this awesome feature of volunteers taking your bike after you dismount.  It made running on numb toes a bit easier since I didn't have the bike to worry about tripping on or over.  I got my gear bag, made it to the tent and finally my toes were starting to regain feeling.  Upon grabbing a seat, a MUCH better spot than transition 1.  I quickly noticed two things; one Steve was right across from me and two my upper legs were burning, mistake #4!  Damn, I had pushed those last 15 miles way to hard.  Oh well! 

I tried to get a band aid on the blister on that little toe (remember mistake 2), this did not go so well as the end of the band aid crimped and I could not get it right.  Screw it, I was hoping this decision would not come back to haunt me.  Getting everything else on, I grabbed my flask of Liquid shot, ran out to the sunblock tent then hit the porta john.  All this combined with having to stop to fix my left shoe and roll my compression sleeve up over my timing chip (just to make sure it didn't block the signal and as it turned out to be mistake #5), lead to this ridiculous long transition.

On my way out to the run course

Run: 4:51:00

Now it is time to just run a marathon.  That’s right JUST run, HA!  As I started to run out of transition I could not believe the condition my legs were in.  My coach Adam did mention this and most of our long run were on tired legs, but HOLY CRAP!  Just as I got towards the end of the chute, I heard my wife’s voice boom out “GO FRAGER”.  I looked over to see her, my parents as well as Steve’s family.  His son Gavin yelled, “Go catch my Dad!” I wish I could buddy.  All this gave me a boost and after a half mile I started to feel better and my pace became a little faster than planned.  Last long this will not, into the pain cave I must go. 

So by mile 3.4 exactly, enter that cave I did as my calves started to kill me. I am pretty sure Yoda would tell me; “that place is strong with the dark side of the force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go.”  

In I went, to fight this evil Adam’s words came to mind. “Set goals and adjust as needed”.  Running to the next aid station, worked pretty well at first.  Then my left ankle started to bother me and the calves just go worse. Okay, walk to the next block and run to the next aid station.  Every run would be cut shorter and shorter, run to the next block then walk 2, run to the next light pole then walk to the aid station.  Every time I started to run, new pains would set in and when I started into the pain cave one little bit of info slipped my mind, nutrition.  By mile 7, I was getting dizzy and figured the heat got me.  This was the one time in the run, I was worried I would not finish and it hit me that I was holding a full flask of Liquid shot and it should have been hit twice by now.  Taking a swig and grabbing an orange slice at the next aid station, I started feeling better almost immediately.

The end of the first loop was a bit torturous, passing so close to the finishing line.  I did run the entire time, I didn't want my family to see me walking but I did stop for my special needs bag to re-fill my bottles of EFS drink and grab a new flask of Liquid shot.  The next few miles were a mixed bag of pain and aid stations.  By mile 18, I saw a young lady wearing a DC Tri singlet, a companion club to Snapple.  We walked together talking, she was on her first lap and was worried she would not finish.  I hoped I helped her as much as she helped me.  Shortly after I was able to run a little longer then before and those distances got longer and longer.  At mile 23, a guy stopped next to me saying “man, I am so close to the finish and I can’t physically run”.  Told him I was in the same boat and we agreed to try to go ahead together to the next aid station.  I made it a few hundred feet and had to stop, everything from the hips down hurt and I told him to go on.  Hitting the last aid station I decided it was time to bring this home, I didn't care anymore about pain, I wanted to run and run all the way to finish line.  I shuffled to the mile 25 marker and something clicked or maybe snapped inside me.  The pain went away, my form returned, I shortened my stride and I was back to my planned run pace.

After the turn onto 4^th street I caught the guy who stopped next to me.  We ran together but he encouraged me to go on.  Soon I was right in front of the homeland and tell you what, seeing the lights and the finishing chute, a tidal wave of emotions came over me.  As I crossed onto the rug with all those lovely Ironman logos, I threw my arms up and the crowd erupted.  I am getting chills thinking about it.  I pumped my fist, threw my arms up again, I was only feet from hearing the words I have waited so long to hear. 

Right as I crossed under the timing clock it happened, “Adam Frager, from Newport News, Virginia…. (he freaking paused, LOL)….YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!” I let all that emotion go in one big fist pump, slapped the hand of the volunteer who gave me my medal and the next few minutes are nothing but a blur of joy.

Finished 11:46:12

My original goal for this race was to be under 12 hours. I meet that goal.  My swim goal was 1:07:00, I beat that goal. My bike goal was 5:35:00 - 5:45:00, I meet that goal. My run goal was 3:45:00 - 3:55:00 or under 4 hours, I was nowhere close to this goal and could care less.

Never underestimate the power of seeing friends on the course, it was inspiring to see Rachel, Brian and Shane during the run, congrats to all of you on a great race.  The thought of my granddaughter Addison brought light to some of the darkest parts of the cave.  Remembering my Grandfather Ernie, inspired me to never give up.  To say I could feel all the support from my family and friends sounds silly but I could and it lifted me up.   

From the day I registered until the moment I posted this, I could not have asked for a more memorable and amazing journey.  Now it is time to get my tattoo, enjoy some rest and start focusing and training on the next adventure. Sorry to tell you dear Maggie but this has made me hungrier to do more Ironman’s and go faster!

Colonial Beach

After hearing my buddy Steve talk up the Colonial Beach tri, I decided this year to give it a go.  This race holds a sprint distance race on Saturday and on Sunday an International distance (1500 meter swim, 40K bike and 10K run).  Colonial Beach is a really nice town up along the Potomac River in the Northern neck part of Virginia.  Looking at the map it appears the Maryland boarder is a few feet off shore.  I had to laugh thinking that during the race we could be crossing over into Maryland and back to Virginia. 

Notice the boarder

I drove up with my training partner Steve on Friday, the lodging choice for this race was the Westmoreland State Park camp ground.  Steve and his family were nice enough to let me snag a corner of their camp site (again).  Going up a day earlier provided an opportunity to volunteer on Saturday for the sprint race, then relax the rest of the day and preview the bike course. 

This was my first time volunteering at race and I was lucky enough to pull kayak duty.  The interesting thing here was I had not used a kayak in a really long time and it took a while to get my balance.   I took up a position close the swim exit and sat back and watched.  I was able to get a good preview of what tomorrows swim might be like, similar to Rev3, fighting a current would be in my future.

Let’s cut to the chase, race morning arrived with the always favorite 4:30 AM alarm.  I started the morning by enjoyed my pre-race chocolate fudge pop-tart, loaded the truck and headed off to the race site.  It was a 30 minute drive and luckily the drive helped keep my nerves in check.  Not sure why I get so nervous before a race, regardless of the distance. 

 

Grabbing the bike and gear it was off to set-up transition as well as the other pre-race activities, body marking, timing chips, etc.  Once done, Steve and I headed out for a 15 minute warm-up, I was surprised at the pace I was holding with such minimal effort.  This had me wondering if it was a sign for what was to come.  Next, I grabbed my speed suit and goggles and headed down to the beach to get a little time in the water.  After the first 100 yards, I stopped and looked back at the beach to notice I was already swept down a good ways.  Also noticing that on the swim back it took longer then expected and a lot more effort. 

Swim: 32:39

As with most of my races of late, I started in the third wave. Luckily this time the start was in the water and unlike the James River it became deep after a few feet, thankfully.  The horn sounds, the Garmin is started and I dove in.  It didn't take more than a few stroke before I got smacked right in the back of the head. (Thanks Steve, LOL!) No big deal, until about 30 seconds later when it happen again (this time not Steve). A minute later out of nowhere I get kicked in the chest, move to avoid that from happening again and I get kicked in the stomach.  Really! OK time to get out of this mess, I took off and basically plowed the road.  I pushed my way past a few people and finally got to some open water.  A few minutes later I was already at the first turn buoy, nice, this swim is starting off well.  I made the turn and it felt like I was flying, buoy after buoy went by.  I was navigating well and then it started to feel like time stood still, the next turn buoy was not getting any closer.  Finally reaching it, there was a short 50 yards until the next turn then the leg back to the finish.  This time I expected to be swimming with the current but it sure did not feel that way!  Just keep swimming, making sure to roll with each stroke.  By this point, I can hear my swim coach, “be a sail boat not a tug boat”.  Finally, I came upon the last turn buoy.  This is where it got interesting, the next 300 yards were the hardest I fought through the entire swim.  I was putting out a ton of effort and getting nowhere.  By the time I finally hit the beach I was wiped out, CRAP!  As soon as I stood up and looked at my Garmin, I was pleased with my time especially knowing that I just had to fight over 1000 meters against the current.  Not as pleased though as I tried to run up the beach to transition, it hit me pretty quickly how tired I was.  So, I walked a bit and jogged the rest of the way while working my speed suit off.  Also, the whole time wondering, did Steve beat me out of the water?

T1 2:06

I found the rack with my bike and my first goal of this race was meet, Steve’s bike was there.  Sorry buddy, I know you will catch me on the run so I take my victories where I can get them.  This turned out to be a slow transitions for me.  I was tired and could not balance to get my cycling shoes on, then struggled with the clasp on my helmet.  Finally it buckled and I took off towards the mount line.

Bike: 1:02:32

Once on the bike I built up some momentum, ratcheted down the straps on the shoes and got down to business.  Right away my legs reminded me how much effort I exerted on the swim, shut up legs!  Since this was a shorter race my planned watt range was significantly higher than it was for the Rev3 half and at first it was a real struggle to even reach the range.  It took almost 5 miles before my legs finally came around, on the up side I was averaging over 22 mph and passing a lot of people.  The next 5 miles brought an elevation gain of over 200 feet and I would swear it was all at once, my speed dropped significantly and my legs started to hurt again (SHUT UP LEGS!).  

Shortly after the 10 mile mark came the U-turn and for some reason as soon as I made that turn my second wind kicked in.  My speed jumped back up and I was cranking out enough watts to light my house.  After a few miles came the steepest climb of the course.  It was the second climb of the day but the first was longer and drawn out.  Since Steve and I rode most of the course the day before and I was ready.  Dropped into the small ring before the right turn onto the hill and kept an eye on my cadence.  Once it fell below 85, I changed gears, the easier gear brought the cadence back up.  I flew up that hill or at least it felt that way and once I hit the top I had energy to spare.  Jumping right back into the big ring I feed my need for speed.  The next 12+ miles literally flew by, after the turn onto Ridge Road I was on the home stretch.  Soon came the last turn that lead back to transition.  Just as I was coming up to the turn, the timer on my Garmin goes off, as it does every 15 minutes reminding me it is time to hydrate.  Out of instinct I took a big swig of my EFS drink and realized I just made a huge mistake.  In less than three minutes I would be off the bike and I just gulped down fluids.  I knew right then that this would come back to haunt me.

T2 1:21

Dismounting went perfect and the run back to transition was over carpet strips that were covering rocks, fun!  I got to the rack to find some @$$ racked his bike in my spot.  I was pissed, using my handle bars to move his bike so I could rack mine I  made sure to leave enough room for Steve whose spot was to the left of me.  I threw on my shoes (no socks), hat and I was off.  Still mad, I didn't realizing I was making mistake #2.  This will be explained shortly.

Run 47:16

Coming out of transition a few things became apparent quickly. In my little fit of anger, I forgot to grab my flask of EFS liquid shot and the salt pills from the bike, great! (Mistake #2)  Also, that big gulp of EFS drink I had a few moments earlier was now sitting in my stomach like a rock (Mistake #1). 

The first two miles went well, I was feeling a few side stitches but nothing too bad. The only issue was I had not run in these shoes without socks before and I could feel a few spots where there soon would be blisters. (Mistake #3)

Going into mile 3 those side stitches became full on cramps. I tried to control my breathing, put my hands on top of my head but nothing was helping.  Damn, I am going to have to walk, I hate walking in a race!  Hoping a short 30 seconds walk would help, I slowed but immediately noticed an aid station right ahead.  New plan, walk aid stations until the cramps backed off.  I grabbed a cup of water hoping that maybe it would help my stomach relax (Mistake #4), could I of been more wrong.  Suck it up!  Fighting on the turnaround point came into view.  Making the turn brought some energy, I was halfway home.  After about a quarter mile, I saw Steve flying the other way, he would be passing me soon.  Shortly the next aid station came up, I grabbed an ice soaked towel, put under my hat and grabbed a cup of water to dump down my back.  Wow! That was cold and just what I needed.  Knowing that Steve would be coming up on me soon I speed up hoping I could hold on until about mile 4.  As it turned out I made it to mile 3.87 when he caught me.  Props to Steve, I had about a three minute lead on him off the bike, he is having an amazing run. 

As the next aid station came up I grabbed another towel but was cautious to try to drink any water as the cramps were finally backing off.  My pace was slowly working its way up as I came to the 5^th aid station, this time I grabbed a water to sip.  As I took that sip of what I was told was water I almost vomited, turns out it was Hammer drink.  That stuff is SO FREAKING NASTY!  I had to step across the road to a volunteers on the other side to get a cup of water to wash my mouth out.  This actually had a good side effect as I got a bit pissed off and it motivated me.  My pace was getting faster.  Soon, I realized the final turn was coming up.  Something about getting close to the finish line always has the same effect on me, I am able to find that last gear and was in the finishing chute before I knew it.

 

Turns out after looking at the data that after mile 3, I was able to negative split each mile and finish with a decent time.  A bit slow for that distance for me but I was proud for fighting through the cramps and using what I have learned to minimize the damage.

Overall 2:25:54

After it was all said and done I took second in my age group with Steve taking first.  This was the first time we shared a podium and the Snapple tri club owned the 40-44 age group. 

This day brought a tough swim, a great bike ride and a tortuous run, as well as some of my slowest transitions.  That being said and as with my last race, with a little time to think, reflect and review the race data (since I LOVE numbers) it was a good day. 

Next race, Ironman Louisville, welcome to the big show!

Rev3 Williamsburg

This was my first Rev3 event and I could not be more excited.  I really enjoyed the time spent at the expo on Saturday and after dropping the bike off at transition 1, I learned I got my own assigned spot in transition, which was a first.  Man, I cannot wait to race!  Especially since the field for a race of this size normally attract the best in the area and I was very interested to see where I stacked up.

Race morning arrives with that ever so lovely 3 AM alarm.   This was one of the few times I was wide awake the second the alarm went off.  The first things I did was to put on the temporary tattoos with my race number and age.  Next, I grabbed the ever important chocolate fudge pop-tart and started to move everything out to the truck.  By 3:45, my training buddy Steve had arrived and we were on our way for the 30 minute drive up to Williamsburg.  Right about the time we come off the exit for Williamsburg, it starts to drizzle, ah no big deal right!  A second after that thought entered my mind, the skies opened up.  The rain lasted for a while and once we arrived at the race site all we could do was wait for the rain to stop.  I am not even sure how long the wait was until the rain finally died down. Once it did I got transition 2 set up (running shoes, fuel belt and a hat) and I was off for the shuttle (a school bus, fun!) to take us to the swim start.

After a quick run to warm-up, I put on my new Xterra Velocity speedsuit, think of a short leg and sleeved wetsuit but made of a different material.  HOLY CRAP, this thing is tight.  The good things was that once I got into the water and started to swim the suit became a little more comfortable.

Swim: 0:45:38

As the first wave of pro’s takes off I noticed two things.  The 100+ yards they had to run until the water was deep enough to swim and as they approached the turn buoy to the Olympic distance race the entire pack is being swept to the left.  Great, someone doesn’t know how to read a tide chart in the Rev3 organization.  Oh well, we don’t do this sport because it is easy, right!

My wave was the 4^th to hit the water and was about 12 minutes after the pro men.  Since I had the advantage to watch the previous waves I moved as close to the rocks as I could and tried to line myself up on the buoys. 

The horn sounds and we are off.  Last time I swam a similar course in the James River I tried to dolphin dive through the shallow part and failed miserable, so this time I just stuck to running.  When I finally got to deep enough water I was lined up perfectly on the first buoy.  I sighted more than usually knowing I would be swept left and my plan was working.  It was working until I hit the turn buoy, basically from that point on my swim went to hell pretty fast. 

Starting with the buoy itself getting caught on someone right in front of me and no matter which way I went I could not get around the damn thing.  Next, my navigation went to crap, I kept swimming too far to the right and had to swim back to get the buoys back on my left.  Also, after the first turn there was about a 1 knot current to fight for about ¾ of a mile.  I finally get to the next turn buoy and my navigation was improving, somewhat.  The problem now was that I found myself in a pack of all different colored swim caps and with all that open water I didn’t have a lot of room to move.  Finally, I get to a point where I could not swim any longer and stood up.  Right away I looked at my Garmin, my heart sank! 45 freaking minutes….are you kidding me (for perspective, last race was 32 minutes)!  I was so deflated, any hopes of a sub 5 hour race was out the door.  I am strong on the bike but just not that strong of a runner, yet!

T1: 04:07

After the 100 yard run through the shallows to the beach there was the quarter mile run to T1.  One positive check in the Rev3 column, they had an aid station on that run, water please.  I had no problem finding my bike and got my gear on as fast as possible. Then I noticed it, Steve’s bike was gone.  DAMN! Steve never beats me out of the water; guess there is a first time.  We both have a friendly competition in our training and open water swimming is the one area I HAD an edge in that competition.  But seriously great swim buddy, you kicked ass!

I am not going to lie; I was fighting an internal battle within myself at this time to hurry up, I was just so pissed off about the swim.  Once I buckled the strap to my helmet I just said to myself “suck it buttercup, you some dreams and hills to crush”.

Bike: 2:29:00

I should mention that this is my home court, on the bike.  Steve and I ride much of the route for this race about every week for last few months.  I have been really looking forward to this!

From the start, I was feeling awesome.  I kept an eye on my watts and made sure I was holding back energy for the rollers and climbing that was to come.  I was making a lot of progress on the field and there was a group of three guys that I just seemed to keep playing tag with me.  They would pass and then a short while later there they were and I would pass them.  I never did get into squirrel chasing mode as I have done in the past, but knowing the course helped as I knew the attack points and used them.

This course had a two turn around points so there were a few occasion when you could see exactly who was in front of you and how far of a lead you had on others.  This helped with the internal battles after the swim.  Especially upon the realization that I was putting some distance between me and a few riders that started off strong that I caught.

After tackling the rollers on Richmond Rd, and the long climb on the return route of Diascund Rd, I had two more good climbs left.  First, car wash hill, which for the first time in 5 months of climbing that beast, I crushed.  Gearing was perfect leading up to it, keeping my hands on the aero bars as long as possible to shift, flawless.  It was awesome to get to the top of that hill with gas left in the tank to work up some speed coming down the other side.  Next, the climb on Jolly Pond, I was worried about this road as it has some rough spots prior to this climb.  As expected, when I reached those spots, there were water bottles everywhere.  Shortly after is the climb, it is a bit of a deceiving climb but as with car wash hill, I nailed it!  I do have to mention that by this point I had dropped all of the riders who were playing tag with me, this was a good defiantly a good ride! 

T2: 1:05

I rolled up to the dismount line and my confidence was back. I knew breaking 5 hours would mean the run of my life and with the hills and heat coming on, well, I guess we’ll see what happens. 

I ran into to transition and as I rack my bike, Steve is there racking his. I just about caught him.  Steve and I have similar strengths on the bike so to make up almost 3 minutes on him shocked me.  I found out later he also had a good ride but as it would turn out, today my luck was mostly on two wheels.

Alright enough of that, shoes on, hat on, number turned around. Time to run!

Run: 1:44:04

When I stated in this sport, I was a runner.  Now, two years later and as it turns out the run discipline is my weak spot.  I have lost more podium spots on the run than I care to think about.  So, it was important to me to stick to my plan and hope others blew up on those hills.

Steve and I left T2 seconds apart but Steve is an amazing runner and as expected by mile three he was no longer in sight except at the turn around points.  I have learned to not try to keep up with him and just run my race and over the first 5 miles, I was doing just that.  I was hitting my mile pace marks on the nose, tackled the first trip up the monster S turn hill and was feeling good.

Then came miles 6, my pace dropped more than 15 seconds but was still in range.  I decided to not worry too much about it but the temperatures were starting to rising and the effects were starting to show.  Mile 7, the pace dropped back down and I was feeling ok after walking an entire rest stop but there was the second trip to that monster hill and it was time to try and hold back a bit.  Around the mile 9 point was the top of said hill, I was hurting, mile 10 and 11 would turn out to be my slowest. I walked another aid stations or two trying to get the second gear to kick in.  It did for a bit during mile 12 but to get to the finish there was this steady climb for what seemed to be about a half mile.  It kicked my ass.  I got to the finish chute and my energy shot up, for some stupid reason I decided to high step it across the finish line. (Really bad idea with free finish line photos are coming your way).

Look of death on the hill

Overall: 05:03:54

At first, I was very disappointed with this race.  As time has passed I have gained perspective and my opinion has reversed.  I am not really sure there was anything I could of done differently about the swim, swam hard, did my best to sight an followed my plan.  I had an amazing bike, as far as the run, I did my best and followed the plan. Yes, it was my slowest time in over a year and I faded a bit during the last 5K, similar to what happen in the Kinetic half; but even with that, when I looked at the timing it showed something different.  I actually moved up 2 places in my age group.  I didn’t get passed, I did the passing.  Faster doesn’t always mean stronger, especially with running in the heat.  I finished 10^th in my age group out of 88 and 53^rd out of 573 overall. 

I want to add a huge congratulation to my coach Adam Otstot who took 10th in his professional debut.  Awesome race Adam!

It is easy to blame the conditions, the race staff for not knowing how to read a tide chart, that there was no ice at an aid stations (really people be complaining about that) or even blame your training.  Bottom line, train hard, stick to the plan, adapt and overcome what comes your way and when you look at that finisher medal, you know left everything on that course and should be proud.

Relaxing after the race.

Kinetic Half

The 2013 race season has finally started!  This off-season has been interesting, fighting off a few minor injuries and deciding to do my first Ironman.

The first planned race of the season was to be a half marathon in March, but for the first time in my racing career I had to pull out due to injury.  At the time, I was just starting to recover, I did not have a lot of running volume and I didn't want to risk aggravating it.  Soon after I came across a 5K that fit well with my training plan, this is a distance I had not run in a few years.  The race went awesome, set a personal record of 19:53 and finished 5^th overall and 2^nd in my age group. 

The 5K was a great but the start of tri season is what I have been waiting for and May 11^th, Kinetic Half (70.3) was that race.  This race is held at Lake Anna, VA, with the bike and run course both on rolling hills.

This will be my first tri as a member of the Snapple Tri club and I was hoping to live up to the great times recently put up by some of my new team mates.  I was also racing with my training partner and Snapple Club teammate Steve Smith.  

Since the race is held in a state park, Steve and his family had secured a camp site and were nice enough to let me borrow a tent and a corner of their lot.  This was the first time I had been camping in a very long time.  In true campground fashion, we were graced with a nice thunderstorm Friday night and it rained most of the night and into the morning.  I do have to mention that the best part was the rain force the only camp site (it seemed) who was not racing, to go inside their camper which in turn stopped their game of corn hole (never realized how loud and annoying those bags are hitting the board) and blasting of their country music (which I am not a fan of).

Even with the rain and cooler temperatures, I did not get a good amount of sleep. Mental note: when someone offers you two sleeping mats, take both!  One is not very wide and my large rear end was almost wider than the mat, this made sleeping interesting. 

Race morning has arrived!  Where are my chocolate fudge pop tarts? A race day must, and ironically one of the few things my nerves and stomach will let me eat.  When I first sat up and realized it was still raining I grabbed my phone.  Per the Weather Channel app, thunderstorms were a strong possibility all morning, GREAT!  Oh well, what you can do right.  So I got dressed and got the gear ready, shortly after Steve and I were headed over to the race site.

After setting up my transition area, getting marked up and doing a short warm-up, I got the wetsuit on, eat a package of Sport beans and we started walking down to the swim start.  There was a little time as we were in the second wave (young guys first, old guys next, it makes catching the first group just a little more satisfying. LOL!).

Swim: 32:54

The swim was a beach start, so basically you run until it seems deep enough that your hands will not hit bottom.  The start went well, only a little bumping but I got some space quickly.  Soon as I found a rhythm and my swim coach Steve’s voice quickly started to play in my head, “distance per stroke, body roll, swim efficient!”  Oh wait, there is no blue line, sight, I have to sight.  I learned last year that sighting is an art as much as the other aspects of open water swimming and if I can find someone to pace, I use that person’s feet or bubbles, if not I try to sight on every 6 to 9^th stroke.  No one to pace with so by stroke count it is, this worked well and I was literally bumping the buoys as I passed them. After the first turn we were parallel to shore and I had found a nice grove.  Before I knew it there was the second turn buoy and the finish markers.  This leg went well until I was about 500 yards from shore.  Now, the upside, everyone around me had a red cap on (the first wave, I was wearing white) the down side, everyone crowded together for some reason and every stroke was landing on top someone and someone hitting me.

Finally, I fought my way through until the water was shallow enough to stand up and run to the timing mat.  As soon as my feet hit the bottom, I reached for the zipper and started pulling my arms from the suit, by the time I hit sand, the suit was at my waist (like I planned it!).  Once I crossed the mat, I heard my name and there was one of my riding buddies Steve Keller, pretty cool seeing a friend mid-race. 

Overall I was very pleased with the swim and after seeing the data from my Garmin, I navigated pretty much on straight line.  I shared the data with my swim coach, he was pleased that my time was right in line with the work I have been doing in the pool and on track for my Ironman swim goals.  Got to love it when a plan comes together.

T1 went well, based on rain at the time I decided to not wear my sunglasses or my calf sleeves.  Shoes went on with no issues and I was heading for the mount line in 3 minutes, 14 seconds.

Bike: 2:29:49

The night before the race, Steve and I drove the course and to be honest it is a bit intimidating.  A lot of hills and a few long climbs BUT just as long descents, oh and it was raining, FUN!  Right as you leave transition there is a small but steep hill and I got some insight the night before, have the chain in the small ring to start.  Great advice!  The first few miles of the ride took us out of the park, onto a few rollers than onto one of the long legs of the course.  Since the roads were wet I had to be cautious and this first leg had some really nice descents. Now, this race had a few first for me and my girl: first race with a power meter, first on a new cassette (some shifting issues) and first on new race wheels and tires.  I mention this because on the first long decent the back of the bike got “squirrly”, a little scary at 30 MPH. 

As I mentioned, this was the first race with a power meter and I now know why these are a big deal.  My coach Adam suggested keeping my watts within a range of 250-270 and try to stay under 315 on any climb.  

So, “Whoopty Do, What does it all mean Basil” (in my best Austin Powers accent).  Well, since this tells you how much effort you are exerting while cranking the pedals, you can easily monitor said effort.  Watching these numbers really help me stay in control of my “chase instincts”, (basically any time someone passes me, I must catch them) as well as it really help me “not burn my match sticks” early climbing these hills.

A few guys did pass me and I am proud to say I let them go, figuring I would catch them by end.  Which I am proud to say that I did catch a few of those guys before we got back to the park. 

The middle part of the course (miles 25-35) had a long climb but surprisingly it was not the leg killer as I expected it would be.  Also by the time I got to the top, I had a lot of energy left to really enjoy the long decent and experience some very fun speeds.

On the last part of the course there were a few climbs and one caught me off guard, I burnt a little more of those match sticks than I would have liked.  So I took a few minutes to spin the legs out and luckily recover quickly.  Soon after that, I see the turn back into the park.  The ride back to transition had a few small rollers and I was trying to decide at what time I should pull my feet out of the shoes.  There was a bit of a downhill heading to the dismount line and being barefoot and on wet roads, did worry me a bit.

Dismount went fine and as always it took a moment to get my legs back under me as I ran to rack the bike and grab my shoes.

T2 went ok, out in a minute, nineteen.  Since this run was 13 miles, I wanted to wear socks and at first tried to put them on standing, I realized quickly how stupid that was.  So I plopped my butt down and got the shoes and socks on nice and fast.  Next, I grabbed my hat and fuel belt, spun my race number to the front and took off to the run start.  A little side note; this is only my third year doing triathlons and it is still pretty cool hearing the race announce say your name coming off the bike and then again heading out to the run.  

Run: 1:43:13

I am on the bigger size than the average 6’1” guy.  Why didn't I stay that skinny little kid I was in my early teens, LOL.  I mentioned this as I have learned that as I work to get faster my size works against me on the long runs.  This is relevant as I am a healthy 193 pounds, the 5 guys who all placed ahead of me and 4 of those 5 all caught and passed me on the run including my buddy Steve Smith (still proud it took him until mile 4 to catch me), are all around 150 or less.

Let’ talk about this course, the run is a three loop rolling hill course through the park.  Right out of transition and the start of each loop is the very lovely STEEP hill out of the parking lot.  As I climbed it the first time, I knew I had to keep this in mind for each lap and reserve energy for it.  As I made it to the top and turn onto the course I see one of the lovely race photographers, why are they always in the spots to catch me at my worst!  Oh well, on the upside the next part of the course was pretty flat and about a mile later we hit a nice gradual incline.  I have to say that on the first two laps I did not even feel the incline but I am getting a head of myself so more on that in a minute.

 

Lap 1, looking good

As normal for me, coming off the bike my pace was faster than I like it to be on the first mile but I have learned to let it go and just dial it back to match my race plan.  I thought I had been doing just that but as I got to mile three I notice my average pace was 10 seconds faster than my plan but I was feeling good! 

Meet lap 2, there is that hill again and this time I felt it a little but soon after I was back to form and holding pace again.  At this point, I let the thought enter my head that I might PR this run big time….BAD ADAM, BAD ADAM, BAD! Here is a tip, don’t ever think that at mile 6 of a 13 mile run! (Murphy's Law)  Miles 7 came up and as I just got past the gradual incline, I notice my pace was slowing but my effort felt the same.  Hmmmm, miles 8 slower, mile 9 slower….ah crap!

 

Lap 2, feeling good

Meet lap 3, on this lap that hill got me, oh and there was that friendly photographer! It felt like all my energy was drained and mile 10 was my slowest lap of them all.  As I came up to that gradual incline, I was hurting and to add to the fun, the sun was out and the temp was rising.  At this point, two things really helped, first the HUGE amount of DC Tri club (that is one big group) and Ignite Endurance racers all yelling “go Snapple” or “keep it up Snapple” at me as we passed each other and dumping ice cold water on my head and down my back, WOW, that will wake you up!

 

Lap 3, I HATE THAT HILL!

Coming up to the last three miles, 11 and 12 were tough but also seeing Steve K, and the cheers I received when I past Steve Smiths family really helped, I was started to get some momentum back in my legs.  I negative split those last three miles and got my pace back under 8 mins/mile, I also sprinted the last quarter mile to the finish line as at this point, this run needed to end!

Overall: 4:49:48

I was very pleased with my time, this was my second 70.3 distance race and add that this one was on a rolling hill course to be just over a minute off of my PR was exciting.  My bike time was even faster, thank you Mr. Power meter.  Also, even with all the issues I had on the run, it was the second fastest half marathon time and was also just about a minute off my PR, so overall I could not be happier and I learned a lot.

I finished 6^th in my age group (Steve Smith took 3^rd, congrats bro, you ran a great race) which I was happy with especially based on the times put up by the athletes we raced with, who were amazingly fast.

After some pizza and water, Steve and I head out for a 10 minute cool down run and then enjoyed the after race festivities.

Thank you so much to my coach Adam Otstot, and my Master’s swim coach Steve Hennessy, to the Snapple Tri Club and all of their awesome sponsors, Xterra wetsuits, Rudy Project and HED wheels to name a few.  Thank you to Steve Smith, his wife Kelly and their children for letting me borrow a tent, sleeping bag, a corner of your camp site and thanks for the pasta dinner Friday night.  Most of all thank you to my wife Maggie for putting up with all this and the time commitment it takes for an old guy to kick some ass!  I am starting to really loving my 40’s!