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 Swim
Comments: The gun goes off and I fall into a nice easy rhythm. I am mostly drafting off of a pack of folks at this point and as soon as we hit deep water I am having trouble catching breaths on my right side due to the heavy chop. It was a bit windy, but this is more like boat wakes. Oh well, every gulp of water is more hydration for the ride later on I guess. (The lake is fresh fairly clean water) On the outbound leg, I cannot see the bouy until I am about 100 yards away and I am right on course and feeling strong. I normally breath every other stroke but have switched to every stroke to account for the gulps of water every 4th or 5th breath. This tends to pull me off course a bit but not too much today I guess. As we make the turn, I am now swimming alone and figure I have passed a lot of folks in my wave and am probably in no mans land between the two waves. Lucky for me I can see the turn bouy on the way back toward the beach because there is no one to help sight off of. As I get closer to the turn, I start swimming through the slower folks in the wave in front of me and it starts to get crowded again. As I make the turn for lap 2 I am again alone and I figure most of them are Sprint folks. The outbound leg of lap 2 was a bit of a struggle with more chop and sighting issues and no one to help shape my course. When I finally do spot the bouys, I realize I am about 10 yards inside of the box. No biggie, I am able to adjust and by the turn, and right back on track. As I head back for shore, I finally find someone my speed to draft of of and I just stick is feet in my face and get some good recovery for the run that is about to come. I feel kinda bad about this but hey, this is racing. As I get into about a foot of water, I stand up and start running and realize that my draft horse stood up a lot sooner. We cross the chip mat together (We actually have the same swim splits which is cool) but now I am a lot fresher than he is and quickly pass him on the run up the beach. (He is obviously gassed) Swim was 26:21 or 1:37/100 Yd Pace. I am currently in 24th place overall and 3rd in my Age Group. I don't know this during the race partly because the body markers were not putting Ages on the Calf. Oh well, I just treat everyone like they are in my AG. What would you do differently?: Need to continue to work on my swim fitness. My fastest swim was still Lake Placid last year by a good measure.  Transition 1
Comments: I am totally in a zone through the run up the beach and am able to peel my suit and pull off my goggles and squid lid before I get to Transition. I am feeling pretty good when I get into the transition area and the suit comes off quickly and I get my shoes, bike jersey and helmet and I am off. It is chilly but not too bad so I opt to skip the arm warmers. Total T1 Time was skewed by the .25 mile run: Run Time: 2:22 T1 Time: 1:29 (This is cool) Total: 3:51 (This sucks but that's OK) I exit T1 in 22nd place overall and still 3rd in my Age Group. What would you do differently?: Nothing, I was happy with this Transition  Bike
Comments: I quickly fall into a rhythm and make easy work of the short uphill section before heading out of the park. then it is a bombing run from just above lake level to the bottom of the dam and past the fairgrounds and I am really pushing the pace. But, I am also getting smoked by some folks on very fast bikes. need to get a more aerodynamic bike because this sucks. I know I will see these guys again and I am muttering to myself "Don't Eat the Paste" but it still stings. Then we are out in the town of Perris and it is pancake flat. I am most focused on not getting caught up in a pace line and had to drop back a few times rather than pass folks just to let the pace shake out a bit. I don't want to burn up early trying to get away from the pack. I did not see anyone drafting and I never did see any course marshalls, but I still want to have a clean race. As we wind into town, I am a bit suprised by the pace I am able to hold in the flats. I am a pretty good climber and a fearless decender but the monotany of flats tend to give me highway hypnosis and I have to struggle to keep the pace going evenly. I am able to find a gear to push that keeps me from getting dropped by the folks way in front or passed by the folks behind and am much happier now. My HR and RPE is pretty high but hey, this is Oly Racing after all. As we wind around behind the lake, there is one hill and I can see the top from the bottom and it is about .75 miles long but not too steep. (Just steady) For the first loop, I grab a good gear and get up out of the saddle and start passing tons of folks. As I have commented in earlier race reports, my bike is geared very agressively and I don't have a granny gear to sit and spin up hills like this. I just have to get out of the saddle and grind. I do the hill pushing a 53/21 ratio and even got a few 'Go Get Em" comments from some of the other riders because I am flying passed them. In my head, I know they are gonna suck me back in on the downhill because they have a much higher top speed. When I crest the hill, I am back in 53/11 pushing down the hill as hard as I can to keep that from happening. Much to my suprise, only one or two actually do manage to find me again. Lap one goes by and I am right at a 20 MPH average and I am very pleased. If I can hold this through the 2nd lap, I am gonna be tickled. The downhill runs out all the way to the turn for the transition area and I am able to carry my momentum up the short incline and then it is up and over the ridge and down out of the park again. I just try to focus on even effort and at least this time, there are a lot less folks out here. (Most were Sprinters) The rest of the flat sections through town I am still able to maintain a great pace and am feeling good. I do notice a bit of discomfort (A Common problem for me) where my seat is putting pressure on my piriformis and making my hamstring cramp and my foot fall asleep. I just ignore it for now because I know the out of saddle time climbing the hill again will resolve this issue. Then it is up the hill again only this time I grab a bigger gear and start hammering up the hill. When I get to the top, it is back into 53/11 and start really pushing over the crest and down the hill. Again, most of the folks that I passed stayed passed and this is more than a bit suprising for me. I think I have made up a lot of ground on the folks that smoked me early. I make the turn toward transition and this is really slow going with tight technical turns. I know this is gonna hurt my bike pace a bit but that is OK. I wait until I can see the dismount line to slip out of my shoes and do my best flying dismount yet :) Lap 1: 37:16 Lap 2: 37:03 Total: 1:14:19 I am now in 32nd place overall and 3rd in my AG. What would you do differently?: Need to continue to work on bike fitness. More Threshold paced rides would build speed for this distance, but this is my my current goal so that's gonna have to wait for a while. Transition 2
Comments: Not much happening here. Rack the bike dump the gear and put on my running shoes and hat :) Time: 49 Seconds. By far and away my fastest transition ever owing at least in part to the tiny transition area. Much better than the nearly .5 mile run I had to do at IMCal earlier this year just to get to my rack ;) I passed 2 folks in transition and now I am in 30th place overall, and still 3rd in my AG. What would you do differently?: Nothing, was the fastest T2 I have ever had.  Run
Comments: OK, I just know this is gonna suck but I don't care. I am able to find a steady rhythm and the head is pounding, the hammies and calves are screaming, but the legs are turning over and I just focus on trying to get a bit of recovery for the rest of the run and am so much hoping I don't start cramping up. My nutrition has been casual and I just ate and drank when I felt like it. (And I think it worked very well) I am taking it easy on the uphills and trying to push the pace on the downhill. I get passed by a couple of fast looking folks at this point and the downhills are really hurting here. I know there is just a short section of short little rollers and this will all pass and I can be up on the dam running on the flats. Mile 1: 7:54 Crap, I better start finding some speed soon or this is gonna be a long day. Through mile two the short steep rollers continue but I am recovering quite a bit. My HR and RPE are still up but I don't care. That is gonna get a lot worse later on if things go as planned. (Like drinking hot bubbling lava) My mile 2 I am heading out onto the dam and feeling much better and it is time to start hauling the mail. I start to open up my stride and am quickly able to find another gear. Now I am feeling about the best I am gonna feel for the rest of the run and it is time to race. Mile 2: 7:54 Now we are out on the dam and the Sprinters have already turned back. This is the place to start really working. Just when my HR and RPE started to recover, I started to turn on the heat and passing folks. I drop a few but then get passed by what I think is the first place woman. I chat with her for a moment and ask her if she is in first place. (She has no idea) I suggest that she probably is but she does not look like she feels very good at this point and probably did not want to hear this. She pulls ahead and is running too fast for me to hang on pace wise just yet. I am still passing folks and recognize quite a few of them as folks who passed me out on the bike and early on in the run when I was still wobbling around the course. As mile 3 approaches, I start taking notices of the folks going the other way as I am gonna start picking them off on the way back. It's game on and time to find another gear. The HR and RPE have stabilized and I am still thinking clearly. (But that is gonna change in a big hurry) Mile 3: 7:34 Then I see the first place Woman run by the other way and I cheer her on telling her I am pretty certain that she is in first. She will be able to get a good look at her competition now as she is heading back across the dam. then I make the turn and start pouring it on. I quickly pass a few more runners but then the next guy is mostly matching my pace. By the water stop, I am pretty close to him and I am still feeling pretty good. I can definitely hang with him at least for now. As we head up to mile 4, I figure now the easy part is over. We are heading off of the dam and back into the rollers again. My plan now is to push the pace on the uphill and try to recover on the downhills without dropping pace. Mile 4: 7:16 Now I am right behind my rabbit and he is holding a good pace for me. I see Matt running the other way and cheer him on and it is now that I realize the mind is starting to get a bit fuzzy. He looks strong and is gonna do really well in his first Olympic. I try a couple of times to catch my rabbit but he is matching my pace really well. He totally knows I am there even without looking back. I am working hard now and sound like an old Peterbuilt hauling a load of avocados up over the grapevine. I start feeling bad for him because I know how it feels to be stalked. (I hate it) But I don't have what it takes to drop him yet. Mile 5: 7:13 Now I am really working and trying to find another gear with just about every trick in the book. we both blow past a couple of runners and about here we pass Mixie and Faeron both looking very strong. This is just what I needed right on time. I am right on the edge now and my lungs are searing, my heart is jumping and the legs are burning it I gotta keep the pace going. I am desperately hanging on trying to at least stay with him and searching for the landmarks that I spotted on my warmup run to signal "It's all downhill from here" :) I feel like I am going to puke and am actually thinking that I might try to hurl on the run and start looking for a good spot. then I see Yanti heading the other way and she looks very strong as she is starting out on her run. I cheer her on and I know I cannot puke in front of her and the feeling passes. Mile 6: 7:07 Ok, here it is, mile 6 and just beyond is the last bump in the road. I am heaving now and mentally, my head is telling me all sorts of wacky things but the legs don't need to be told what to do. I find that gear and blow past my rabbit and secretly I am hoping he will tuck in behind me and draft for a bit and we can sprint into the finish. After about 100 meters, I look back and he has not responded at all :( Then I look ahead and there is one more runner up ahead and I am closing fast. I catch up to him just as we make the turn into Lot 9 and tuck in behind for just a second or two before going into an all out dash for the finish. I am hoping he will join me to sprint in and I don't look back hoping that just the possibility he is there is enough to keep me going through to the finish. Then I look back and he is way back there too. Now I am at full speed into the finisher's chute and I don't back off until I hear the beep and the volunteers are telling me to slow down :) Mile .2: 1:19 I finished in 25th place overall, 3rd place in my AG. I did drop one spot during the race to the first place woman. Although I gave up a few spots on the bike, I passed them all again on the run. My AG placing stayed the same through the race although with another mile or so on the run, I would have caught both of the guys in front of me. (I gained a lot of time on them during the run) What would you do differently?: I think I probably could have started to push the pace in the 2nd mile rather than trying to find recovery. I might have been in better position to hang later in the race but who knows. Need to race this distance more often and also open 10k races. Post race
Warm down: After a moment to recover, I de-chipped and get some food. I make a point to find both of my late race rabbits and thank them for a very good race today. They both seemed appreciative but I still feel bad about pacing behind that one guy for so long and not taking my turn in the front. (I just did not have enough to get out there) Also found the Woman I saw out on the course and congratulated her on her strong finish. (She was First Woman) I hung out at the finish and Matt came in just where I thought he would with a very strong finish. We chatted for a bit and then Mixie and Faeron came in and both looked great. As we were talking they started to announce the Oly Awards and first they called my name, (3rd Place in my AG) and then they called Faeron, (1st Place in her AG). We all hung out for just a bit and then I saw Yanti out running by the entrance to the transition area and she looked a bit off course. I had noticed a few other finishers do this and just figured she missed the chalk lines on the path or something. She came in looking strong and happy and we were all in for the day. We packed up and headed into Perris for Lunch and had a great time. Coffee seemed to be the hit of the day since we all woke up super early to drive out here for the race. As it turns out, Yanti was 1st place in her AG. So that is 3 out of 5 folks who ended up on the podium. Not a bad showing at all for the Cool Kids :) This was a new Personal Best time by 10:33. I made up most of that time on the run which does not seem to be a big suprise. My run does not suck as bad as it did back in late 2006. (I had only run 2 marathons at that point and was still finding my run) My run split was only 1:29 slower than my open 10k PB Time. Buyt that was also back in 2006 and so might not be a great comparison :) This is the 2nd race this year where the run was where I really shined. I have always been a good swimmer and my swim times are definitely coming around after my surgery. My bike fitness is improving and I feel like even on an old road bike, I can compete. At the end of the day, everyone has to park their bikes and run on a level playing field and this is where I can make up a lot of time. Now it is time to carry this momentum into Ironman Coeur d'Alene. I still have some work to do especially with bike fitness, but I feel like I have made a lot of progress since IMCal in the end of March. I feel like I need to get back and race this distance more often. I think I can do better with some focused training and a proper taper for an "A" Race. Gonna really put some effort into doing really well at Carpinteria in September. What limited your ability to perform faster: Fitness and race specific training for this distance. Event comments: I love these small races and would return to do this one again next year. I rather like the fact that this race is not USAT sanctioned because I can go do it as a tuneup and not worry about how it will affect my standings. This will make a great followup to Wildflower next year. Profile Album Last updated: 2008-05-02 12:00 AM
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Overall Rank = 25/111
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 3/10
My training plan calls for regular tuneup races and this race came along just at the right time. In the long term plan, I did not schedule any races for the month of April or May because I expected to be doing Boston this year. Yeah, I qualified, but then I could not go this year because my Brother was getting married on the same weekend. Lucky for me my qual time is good for 2 years.
I had contemplated adding the Wildflower Olympic and it would have been cool since 20 other kids from my Tri club were also doing it. Unfortunately, the timing was not quite right and at least this year, that would have been a very pricey option. (Accomodations got a lot more expensive this year) So, when this race popped up on the radar, I was all over it. I remember looking a few times at this race in the past but never considered it because the race distance was funky (1 Mile Swim, 52 Mile Bike, 9 mile Run) and because it was not USAT Sanctioned. Back when this race was running, I was definitely not up for a long course event.
This is the first year back after 4 years of nothing and they changed it to a standard Olympic and a Sprint. The Oly was perfect for a Tuneup and the timing was great being the Saturday before Mother's Day. The only thing that sucked was having to drive up on Friday afternoon to do Packet Pickup. I am really glad that I did because I got some great pre-race knowledge that would pay huge dividends during the race.
As for goals, I have not raced an Oly since September 2006 and am totally out of practice pacing one of these things. I understand the concepts, but since I usually race with the head unwired from the body, knowing and doing are two entirely different concepts. My goal was to go out hard, race at an even pace and get some great race specific training. Time goals were not so important although a new Personal Best would be cool.
This is not an "A" race and it comes at the end of a build week with just over 74 miles of running, 150 miles of biking and a bit over 10,000 yards of swimming. I have no provision for a long post-race recovery period so this is just gonna be a very hard training day. Still, I think the benefits of a Tuneup Race (Especially at this distance) far outweigh any risks.
At packet pickup, I noticed two things about the race: The Transition area was puny and the race was gonna be very small, and also that there was a .25 mile run from the water to the transition area up a long sloping beach and across a big grassy area. yeah, this is gonna be fun. I did figure out that the chip timing folks would be placing a timing mat down at the water so we could get accurate swim splits. (And the run would be added to T1 time)
The small nature of this race meant that no matter how bad things get out on the course, don't ever back off of the pace. This is great advice for any race but especially good for this one since you just never know how high you are in the standings. (And your still very likely to end up on the podium)
Got up at 3:15 AM, ate a big bowl of oatmeal and a peanut butter bagel with a spash of coffee. I filled up a thermos to bring along with me to the transition area and I figured it would come in handy. I got to transition just before dawn (About 5:10 AM) and quickly set up my stuff. No assigned racks meant I could set up anywhere so I picked a spot on the end of a rack on the main fairway about half way between the bike and run exits.
I stretched out a bit and went for a bit of run along the course and was part recon, and part warmup. One thing I noticed on my run was that about .1 miles into the course, we were routed through a planter and two wooden stakes and some chalk on the path were the only thing warning us of the correct path. I also noticed that from
about 5.8 mile to the finish was a gentle down hill and this was where I was gonna start my final kick. (If I still had another gear left that is)
When I got back from my 4 mile run, I bumped into the cool kids. Yanti, Faeron, Mixie and Matt were all getting set up not far from where I was. We chatted a bit and everyone seemed pretty calm, especially given that this was a first for this distance for everyone but Yanti.
We oogled Yanti's new bike for a bit and I passed around the last of my hot coffee. This was gonna be a great day out there. Was a bit dissapointed that I was not better organized and have some way to flag down the rest of the BT peeps doing this race. My BT shirt would have been a good option I guess. (Mental note for next race)
We all suited up and headed down to the water. Matt went off in the first wave and I got a quick warmup before my wave staged. (I was in the 2nd wave) The water was plenty warm but I was still wearing my squid lid. It keeps my ears warm and wards off the dizzy's when I am getting out of the water. It looks a bit silly but I could care less because I won't be stumbling around at the swim exit.