GrooveTime!group - CLOSED!!! (Page 185)

Race Report -- ESCAPE THE CAPE TRIATHLON (12 June '10, Onset, MA)

Prologue
I left earlyish Friday morning, taking about nine hours to get from there to here. Not until New Hampshire dis I remember how awful Friday afternoon traffic can be hading in the general direction of Cape Cod, so I scrapped a couple of planned-for stops and just drove as hard as growing congestion would allow to get there in time to pick up my stuff and meet tracey at the pasta feed. It was not fun, but I managed to make it AND have time to drive the run course before heading to the pasta feed. That was sort of disappointing (sorry, Tracey!!!), as the room had about 80% people older than I am who were there for no obvious reason. It was great to spend time with Tracey, however, and when it was done I drove the bike course before heading off to find the campground at Myles Standish State Forest. That was a fiasco, taking about 75 minutes to get there. There were no signs for it, and many locals I asked couldn't give me clear directions. It was almost dark when I got there, and when i finally found my way to my loop (more circuitous roadways), I saw that my assigned site was awful. I finally managed a move, and then settled down and was asleep by about 11. But then I awoke at 3:30, for heaven's sake, and was out of there by 4, hitting a Dunkin' Donuts when it opened at 5 and then getting to the race site by 5:30, close to an hour before it opened! Breakfast: bagel and tea.

Set-up
Easy. Got an end spot on a centrally-located rack. Had loads of time to dither around, yakking to whomever would tolerate me. Helped one of the RDs unload all their stuff from a shed behind the bandstand. Wandered lots. Waited for tracey. Taked to Tracey's sometimes training partner, Donna. Dithered. Yakked. Wandered. Tracey finally showed up, and about 30 minutes before the race we spent some time swimming around, just getting loose. That was good, and it was nice to taste salt water on my tongue for the first time in a couple of years!

Swim
A rare point-to-point swim (1/3 mile), with a slight current at our backs. I was in the third wave, of six. Waiting for the horn to go, we had to backpedal some as the current wanted to take us beyond the two start buoys. The swim was easy, with clear sighting of a large white beach house, plus the Max Performance arch. No real issues othe than not feeling terribly swift. 10:44, 147/433.

T1
Went really well. 1:23.

Bike
10 miles. It is basically an upside-down "V", out and back, with a little add-on in the final mile. The first leg to the apex is on a wide road, and very fast. The only issue I had was getting my feet into my cleats, with no reason for this aside from clutziness. The other leg of the V was potentially fast, but problems came in the form of cars on the road that were going slowly for cysclists in front of them, and required kind of risky passing. There was also the no-passing zone, which Tracey mentioned in her report, and that was a nusiance. As I posted earlier to Tracey, i passed twice in this zone, and later learned that many other people did, too. It was really random as to how people got "stung" in this zone based on how slowly the person in front of them was riding. Although I passed twice, the people I passed were not going too terribly slowly; it could've been worse! It maybe cost me two minutes at most. Wind was a minor issue in places, but mostly behaved itself. I was passed by no one, always sweet! 27:31 (21.97mph), 19/433.

T2
Again, very good. 0:59

Run
A kind of winding course, 3.1 miles, with beautiful bay views and a few climbs. I went out a bit too fast, and it took me a full mile (which included the sneakiest climb) to get my breathing fully reined in. I was passed by one guy in the first 100 yards, and that was it. Overall, I had it together, and for the first time in a triathlon ran at a sub-7 pace. 21:19 (6:52/mile), 64/433.

Overall:
1:01:53
37/433
1/6 in age group, with the #2 guy 5:30 behind me.

This was fun, the shortest tri I have ever done. There was some thought to saving something for the race the next day....but what the heck, might as well live fully in the moment!
I really wanted to see Tracey finish, but must've been wandering when she crossed the line. Damnation! But I caught up with her after, and she was looking great -- no sign of any strain or pain. Yippee! (And speaking of which, waking that morning represented a rare day for me -- no pain or soreness ANYwhere. That literally happens only about four days each year. Seriously!)

For winning the age group, I got a tall glass with the race logo on it, plus a $10 gift certifcate from Boston Running Co., who had a booth there. I promptly redeemed the certificate for two thingies of Body Glide. Happy days!

Good race, beautiful venue......they just need to get rid of the no-passing zone on the bike. And they have to be quicker with the awards ceremony, and not clutter it up with all the raffle prize announcements*. It wasn't until after 12 that I left!


*I thought Tracey, who was #393, might win something (even though she had left by then). The RD didn't pull numbers from a barrel, he just made them up. And he liked making up numbers such as 121 and 252 and 323. I was sure he would get around to 393!










Edited by stevebradley 2010-06-15 8:01 AM

Great report Steve!  Wow, that's a FAST bike and run!!

I enjoyed your race report Steve.   You are a good writer - fun to read.    Amazing placing on the bike.   

I'm not entirely sure if I have the distances correct - is 1/3 mile 500 meters?  I figured the bike out to be 22.5km but that is an odd distance.    And the run was 5km? 

I am really impressed that you were able to race like you did after driving that distance, having a busy evening and getting to bed so late.   Did you put up a tent?  

I am so spoiled that the first couple of years that I raced, Ken would take me to a hotel close to the race site, even when the race was at Milton, a 40 minute drive from home.      I've toughened up since then.  

Great race report Steve. But oh my gosh, I'm so sorry it took you so long to get to Myles Standish!! You should have called me for directions!! I must have put you way off course when I was telling you how to get back to the race in the morning. (I assumed you already had the reverse directions to get to Myles Standish). I feel terrible. I'm sorry about that!

SteveB:

Thanks for checking in! I'm feeling pretty good, thanks for asking. Yesterday I had some soreness in my quads which was totally expected. I'm feeling great today though (other than the neuroma, but more on that in a bit...)

Thanks for the complements on my swim! I feel like the TI techniques I've learned helped me enormously, especially in building my "base." Now my improvements seem to come when I increase my stroke rate, as long as I maintain good TI form. I've improved by about 1 minute per 100 yards since last fall when I started training. The improvements seem to come in bursts. Right now I'm around 2:30/100 yards. I have no goal for next season yet, but it would be great to make it down to 2:00. (By the way, the 11:42 finish I had at my last open water practice before the race was obviously the result of the "marker" buoys being placed way closer to shore than the actual race buoys were. I could tell as soon as I saw the race buoys that the marker buoys were off. Hence the speedy finish at the practice!)

No worries about the Pam thing! I actually didn't seem to have too much trouble getting the suit off the ankles at practice which is why I didn't worry too much about it. Lesson learned for next time.

I think you're right about the country club/golf course having something to do with the extended no passing zone, because it ran the entire side and back perimeter of the country club property once we made that right hand turn.

The neuroma was bothering me quite a bit during the run. I was noticeably limping in the last mile, and that hasn't happened in a while. I happened to read somewhere on the internet that massage for neuromae is contraindicated. Of course these days you never know whether what you read on the internet is accurate, but I wonder if the vigorous massage I did the night before aggravated it. I also found on the internet a UCLA article on neuromae with a description and photos of surgery (can you remind me - I think you had surgery for a neuroma, right?) I've read in various articles that once you have a neruoma that is "established" it's very hard to cure it with non-surgical methods. There's a photo on the web site of an excised neuroma, and it provides quite a visual to prove that point. The nerve is all thickened and sclerotic-looking. I've actually had the neuroma pain for several years now, going way back before I ever started running. So imagine mine is pretty established. And I'm sure the running hasn't helped it. The race on Saturday definitely aggravated it, because now I can feel the pain even being barefoot or wearing flip-flops. (In other words, when my toes are not constricted at all).

So... I've been thinking since the race about my options. Running is the weakest area for me and if I ever want to become a better/faster runner, I obviously need to run more. Which means I have to deal with the neuroma. So far I've tried lifts, wider shoes, massage, two different prescription anti-inflammatories, and cortisone shots. I had high hopes for the cortisone shot because it was a cure for wrist tendonitis I had a while back, but no dice... I'm planning to make another appointment with the podiatrist to see if there are any other non-surgical options I can try (perhaps physical therapy?) If that doesn't help then I'll probably consider surgery after racing season. The good thing is that my podiatrist is supportive of me continuing my running career, as opposed to some docs who would just tell their patients that if running causes this much pain, then they should give it up.

So that's that... I'm registered for a 10k on the 4th of July which I'm afraid I may have to skip. Not just because of the neuroma, but because I really haven't been running much lately. The 5k at the race was the longest I've done in about a month. I had planned on training much more for the 10k but it just didn't happen... But I think I'm going to sign up for the Whaling City tri.

And Zach just loved you. He kept asking me when my friend Steve was going to come back.

Weekend training - lessons learned....

So, had an OK weekend of training. 

Did that new canyon country route with a friend.  Route was good - remote, lots of long, gradual climbing and some heat.  Looking forward to doing it again this weekend, but I learned a lesson the hard way.  I need to go my own speed.  Up until now, I always looked at that in the sense of, "don't try to keep up with someone faster than you."  But, I'm learning that it's equally damaging to go at a deliberately slow pace.  I ended up stopping every 10 miles or so for my friend to catch up and in that time, I'd cool down, lose momentum, and then feel terrible when starting up again.  Plus, I found that I had very little momentum on the climbing because I knew I'd be stopping up ahead.  All in all, I found that without a proper level of aggression on the ride, I was lethargic, and lacked focus - basically I phoned it in.  By the end of 40 miles, I was dying to get off the bike.  I think I just need to do some looping and doubling back to make sure I'm not stopping and starting a lot. 

Run!  Had a decent run yesterday.  Did 20 hard minutes on the trainer, then a 40-minute run off the bike.  Knees felt much better, stride felt much better - probably the best I've felt on a run over 20 minutes since the IM.  Still having some shin issues -  I think it's the anterior tibialis.  It's still very tight off the bike, and I THINK it is what's causing that "flopping foot" feeling, like I'm not flexing properly when pushing off and landing.  I stopped a few times to stretch it out and it was much better for 5-10 minutes or so each time.  Actually looking forward to running tomorrow.  Hopefully, things are starting to turn.

STEVE -

I think as a general rule that the bike is the least beneficial way to join forces with a friend. The swim is definitely the best, because even at a very slow pace, the faster swimmer can play with technique.

The run is slightly better, and for the same reasons, although it is pretty easy to lose sense of one's stride when trying to run slowly. Having said that, though, we bith know that a recommendation for LSD runs is to do them at a pace 2mph below race pace, and while I cannot happily do that, I guess that you can't destroy your stride and mechanics in trying!

For the bike, though, in really just ends up being "saddle time", and your case it was unhappy saddle time. I have spent so many hours playing with gearing, it almost seems as if there is nothing new for me to do when I have to ride slowly. It is beneficial to do one-legged drills, and I guess getting into hard gearing and staying there and just grinding through a ride has some benefits, but beyond that......

Now, having said all that, what do i know, really? I have ridden with other people THREE times is all, and maybe done just two runs. Such is the life of a lone wolf from the sticks of eastern Ontario!

Finally, that's goodgoodgood that the run seems to be coming around; may it continue to improve! Have you been to an ART person, ever? Mandy went to one on Friday, and she had a very successful run at Sunday's race. I cannot recommend ART highly enough for soft-tissue problem, so if you can find someone near you (I'm guessing about 267 to choose from in the greater Sherman Oaks region......) that might help. Maybe even alot! Practicioners are listed at www.activerelease.com.

TRACEY -

The Myles Standish thing was a real fiasco, but it certainly was NOT in any way, shape, or form your fault! I sensed, in looking at maps, that it would be a hassle to find, but I never bothered to google my way through better directions. Historicaly I have a phenomenal sense of directions, but (a) that seems to be declining in recent years, and (b) I could see that the intertwining of 495, 195, 25, 28, and a few other roads might be confusing. It was all my fault having a cavalier attitude towards the problem!

I could tell you just how much I screwed it all up, but that would take paragraphs. I will just say that I backtracked and circled around where I needed to be, about three times. Then, finally, i got there, and was given a site, and the site was about a 10-12 minute drive through roads that dipsydoodled al obver the forest, it seemed. my site was lousy, and noisy, so I just sat there or wandered around for about 30 minutes, thinking about options. Go back to headquarters and ask for a refund, and then drive back to civilization and find a motel? Go back to hq and try for a different spot? Eventually I called hq (sketchy phone service on Lynn's cell) and they gave me a spot that wasn't ideal (too close to the washrooms), but at least it was quieter than the first spot.

I set my alarms for about 4:20, just in case I got lost trying to find my way out in the dark of the early morning, but then ended up coming to at 3:30. It turns out that driving out was not a problem, and that's how the whole morning tuurned out with me being about an hour ahead of myself!

The only plus to the experience (well, aside from it costing only $14) was the raucously exuberant whip-poor-will that greated me upon my arrival, and then re-appeared just as I was packing up the car to leave. That was a joy!

STEVE B - So awesome to meet you! Thanks again for the Milanos!! ha.  Congrats on a great racing weekend!

STEVE A - Seriously, if you can find one, go do some ART work.  I don't mean drawing either.  I swear, my leg is a lot better and if it wasn't so far away I would be back there this week and in all likelihood be back to 100% fairly quickly.  I am going for a short run later today, but THE LEG didn't bother me much until the end of the race.  I iced it and did some of the stuff the ART guy showed me to do and it really really helps.  Well, it really really helped me.  I wish I went at the height of the leg pain and would next time.  I am going back in a few weeks (3hr drive for me) that mixed with PT will have me running distance again I am sure.

Bummer about the ride.  I generally ride alone so I am not sure how that would work for me, but I am sure it would be the same as it was for you...If I don't keep going I lose my oomph. 

TRACEY!  Great RR BTW, and congrats again!

I went for a 25 mile ride this am, plan on a OWS this afternoon (~ .5 mile+?).  I need to work on swimming big time before Timberman HIM.  AND I want to be stronger on the bike, so I am riding lots of hills (Oh yes and drop 10 lbs so it is easier to bike up hills.)  SO I have some 2-adays planned through August!   AND I hope to be running.  I am just going to think about staying running at this point. 

AND I have signed up as a volunteer for IMLP - in hopes of grabbing a spot for IMLP 2011!

STEVE B - On OWS for distance verses pool swimming intervals?  See in a pool I can go and do 6 or 8 x100s or 200s or something and work on speed.  My pool is Wyman Lake, so it is hard to do a "swimming workout" - I generally just swim across the lake and back or something, eventually making sure I can swim the distance of my upcoming race by swimming further than the distance of the race.  SO it is all LSD swimming that I am doing I think....which is not going to help my speed.  Any thoughts?  Swim a fartlek?



Mandy

TRACEY, thanks for the info on the saddle.  Glad to hear that you're recovering well!

STEVE B, great race report.  Sounds like fun!

STEVE A, glad to see you feel like your training is turning around!

LISA

TRACEY again -

Ah, jeez.......the neuroma.

Yes, i have had my worst one removed; that was back in January '06. Mine was as you described the one you saw on the website, and it was quite an eye-opener to realize that it had been living inside my foot. A BT friend of mine, Marianne, had one removed on each foot about 6 weeks ago, and she described hers as looking like pearl onions!

My doctor also told me that the more conservative remedies don't work well when the thing is established, and the frustrating part of all that is that we often don't feel the symptoms UNTIL it is established. So, preventative measures are hard to do, other than things such as not wear tight or tapered shoes, and stay away from high heels, and maybe never go skiing. But who in their right mind even knows about neuromas, anyway? It's not one of those things that is talked about around the kitchen table, and there are no well-known cautionary tales about avoiding doing this or that, or else you'll develop neuromas! (No stories about petting frogs and toads, and ending up with warts, or one from my childhood -- if you eat sand from a sandbox, you'll get polio!)

My surgery was the best thing that happened to me. It was from above (I think this is critically important, and PLEASE let's talk about this if you get closer to having it removed!!!!!), and my recovery went okay. I was on the bike within a week, or less, and back to the pool at about 15 days. I was able to hike/walk lots in Mexico 3 weeks after the surgery, and was running again shortly after that. A friend of mine had his removed from the bottom last winter, and was still on crutches several weeks later. For me, it was just a boot-thing for about five days, and then back to running shoes (whcih I always wore at work anyhow!). I would even go so far as to say that if you talk to one orthopedist and are told that the procedure will be from the bottom, that you should try to find another orthopedist who will do it from the top.

If you move forward on this in the off-season, please keep me in the loop! There is probably more I can say about it, other thanit allowed me to continue being an active runner. That, and Newton shoes. When I began to have neuroma problems on the other (left) foot, it just so happened that I tried a pair of Newtons, and almost immediately the symptoms disappeared. Literally. That was Nov. '07, and it's one of the reasons I have stayed in Newtons since then. (There are other reasons as well, but that's the main one.)

There are some cautions about Newtons, and we can talk about those later, if you are interested in them. But visit www.newtonrunning.com, and what you want to look at is the pictureds that show the "lugs", that protrude from the bottom of the shoe. For me, anyhow, these serve to separate my metatarsals enough so that any neuromatic tendencies are virtaully eliminated. I was really dumb not to think about this on Friday or Saturday, as I could've given you a hands-on demonstration*, with my shoes right there, and no need of photos at all. Grrrr!


*Maybe not a good thing, at least for some pople. I have no qualms about handling the gnarly shoes of soemone else, but many people do. If you are one of the latter.......you are probably best off going to the website and just looking at the photos!

MANDY -

I was just coming over to write you and ask how you were doing post-Pirate.........and there you were, already having reported in this morning!

That must've been a frigid ride this morning -- 24 miles as the sun is just peeking over the hills? You're a trooper! I did a wee swim yesterday, and lifted, and today will be a ride and a longer swim. Which brings us to.......

I would say your only real option is as you say - fartleks. One of my swimming holes is strewn with buoys that are there for the kayakers and canoeists of the Rideau Canoe Club, so it is easy to go hard to one, then ease off to the next, and so on. The other swimming hole, however, is just an out and back, each leg being about 330meters, give or take. For there, all I can do is "bursts", thinking to myself I'm simulating passing someone. So, I guess for me it's fartleks -- when I feel the urge, i speed up.

I try to make those bursts very controlled, with an even more focused attempt to employ good form. Part of this is increased extention, part increased cadence, and part a more forceful final push to my stroke - once past my hip, i really try to push hard and make that last foot or so really count. I think this is one of my perennial drawbacks as a swimmer, that I do not complete the pull phase as forcefully as I should. I spend a lot of time in the gym working the muscles that support such an effort.....and then when actually swimming I consistantly get kind of la-di-da about finishing each strokle forcefully. And even though I can sit here and SAY this to you, remedying it while swimming isn't that easy. Don't know why, it just happens that way.

A visualizing that might help you with fartleking is the passing someone idea -- maybe to the point of "going wide" for a moment and picking up your pace in the process. I have actually done that lots -- veered to the left suddenly, then done my burst, then settel back in to the regular (namby-pamby ) pace. Try that and see how it feels, and if it doesn't seem to help at all, we can brainstorm options.

Of course, the other way to view things for now is that your goal is Timberman, and for that you're just looking to finish the swim comfortably and feel strong for the bike. So, there is a lot to be said for getting real comfortable at doing 1.2 miles in crusise mode, and coming out of the water feeling mostly refreshed. The T-man bike has its first climb about 300 yards out of transition, and then there are a few more in the first six or seven miles before the Marsh Hill Monstah, so it bnehooves one to save their legs for the bike! I never got to see you swim, but if your legs are an important element of whatever speed you can summon in the swim, then de-emphasizing increased swim speed for now might help you have an overall better race at Timberman.

You were in the water when the announcer said this, but as the lead swimmer at Pirate was coming down the home stretch and looking INCREDIBLE in the process, he reminded everyone that a triathlon is rarely won on the swim, that it's usually the bike that will do it. So again -- if you use your legs a lot in swimming, then keep in mine that at T-man you will need them feeling as fresh as possible for the bike. Just a thought!

Fianlly, I forgot to pay you for the HEED, and for that I am sorry! I even had money with me that I had had the good sense to bring along just so I wouldn't have to walk all the way back to the lot for it.......and then I forgot entirely. Opps! Well, you now have full permission to charge me interest between now and when payment actually happens. (Just don't send the kneecap-breakers after me --- those are my running knees!!)

Race Report -- PIRATE TRIATHLON (13 June '10, Point Sebago, ME) - 1/3mile swim, 14mile bike, 3mile run)

Prologue
Left Onset, MA, around noon, drove up to my old childhood stomping grounds of Bedford, MA, got all nostalgic and borderline weepy (awww....... ), then headed up to Maine. This time it was into a pre-booked MOTEL , which I was at by 5:45, and as it was only about 1/8 of a mile from the reataurant where I was meeting Mandy, it was ideal. I had dinner with Mandy and her super-mom, Mary, and had a decent sleep, even! Up at about 4:30, and off to the race site, which was about 35 minutes away. Hit the motel's continental breakfast before leaving and nad the usual pre-race "feed": bagel and tea. As I was approaching Point Sebago it was only about 5:40, so I decided that seeing as how transition wasn't open until 6:30, i might as well drive the bike course. And as I mentioned in a post yesterday, that was the smartest thing I did all weekend!

Set-up
Okay, considering. That means that seeing as how Point Sebago is a gated resort community, you have to park outside the gates and walk quite a ways to get to the transition zone. But once there, it all went smoothly. I walked into the kiosk to pick up my race stuff, and was greeted by two attractive women in pirate hats and so I learned something new --- I like women in pirate regalia!

ANYHOW........headed over to transition, and again was third in line getting in again, and again it was choose your own spot on a designated by number-span racks, and again i got an end post right next to the main alleyway through transition -- perfect. And, again, i had tons of time to kill, so i did my time-honored thing -- yakked and wandered. I was thrilled to find a building beyound the finish line wth toilets, and so that was basically my own private comfort station. The finish line area was a few hundred yards from transition, so it made sense that nobody else discoverd this little treasue. The benefits of pre-race wandering!! I made contact with Mandy several times in the what-seemed-like-about-seven-hours before the race, and cahtted a couple of times with her mom.

The biggest thing of all was to work hard to get myself psyched for the race; the day before seemed to have sapped much of my enthusiasm, and a bit of my energy; I just didn't feel I was going to be very sharp. I was willing to accept that if it happened, and that was good because some of my usual mental tricks didn't seem to be working, anyhow! But I've learned, too, that sometimes not feeling sharp doesn't end up actually coming to pass, so I was hopeful that once the horn sounded, I would be fine.

Swim
Beautiful conditions, a mostly enclosed bay on a demonstrably calm day. I was scolded for going the wrong way getting into my wave's "corral", but I deserved it - I WAS being a bonehead. My wave was the third, and right from the start I felt good -- much better than the day before at Escape the Cape. No problems at all, just felt good --- but it turned out slower than at Escape, probably due to no current at my back! 11:34, 158/393.

T1
Great. 1:07

Bike
I blasted out of T1, like I was shot from a cannon. Sometimes it happens that way, and this was one of them. I had no issues with slipping my feet into the cleats, and I just continued to bomb. along. I knew where the various hills of their varying pitches were, and really ended up executing that almost to perfection (along with spinning small circles on the steepest climbs!!!). Two young guys passed me for good on the first of the two hardest climbs, but othet han that it was just me reeling in rider after rider after rider. On the most advantageous downhill, one with glorious new pavement, I hit my max speed, which was 69.8kmh, or about 43 mph. LOVED that bike course, what a hoot! 41:17 (20.3mph) 26/393.
Note: In general I have felt that one never makes up in downhills what they lose in tough uphills, but after this I'm not too sure!

T2
Flying full-speed dismount caused a sudden mini-cramp in my left calf, and that worried by some. Still, it was another solid transition, at 1:10.

Run
Unlike yesterday, i got into a comfortable groove right away. My breathing was fine, and I just felt in complete control. Well, mostly complete. I was still worried, for the first mile, about whether I had done something to the calf with the dismount, but nothing untoward materialized. Whew! It is a fairlt straightforward course with no hills and mostly just gradual rollers, and was mostly a passfest for me --- although in the final 1/4 mile or so a guy I had passed near the halfway point passed me back. (He must've been playing me all along!!) And I crossed paths with Mandy at about the 2mile mark, and she yelled out soemthing like "Go, groovetimer!", so that was nifty! Finished strong, and was surprised to see the mile 3 marker about 100 yheards from the finish. Was it really 3 miles, or 3.1? Hmmmm. 22:03 (7:21/mile), 52/393.

Overall
1:17:08
39/393 (35/201 male)
1/3 in age group, with the #2 guy 10:30 back

I really loved this event, and can't wait to do it next year. I think that doing Escape trhe day before cost me a few minutes in total time, so i want to have another crack at it fully rested. All my worries about not having it all together, however, did not materialize, and I felt great throughout. Sign me up for next year!!

Very fine post-race feed, and it was fun kicking around until the awards -- which were quite late. HOWEVER, this was the second race I have done in the past year in which the awards didn't start until the last finisher had crossed the line, and I think that is a very respectful way to do things. It certainly doesn't help me personally, facing a long drive home, but I sure approve the practice! But it helped that as they did the age group awards, they started with the older groups, so that was good. It doesn't often happen like that, however! Watching the kids' aquarun events were a blast - very neat event.

Final thought -- NO WIND!!! I was not aware of it at all at any point, but that didn't dawn on me until I was on the way home. No wind in a race is even rarer than starting the awards with the older age groups!! Bonus-bonus!!

Tracey, Mandy and SteveBx2,

Great results guys!!!

Race reports are very enjoyable to read as well!!

Some questions...

What is LSD?
I've heard it was the drug of choice at Haight/Ashbury, San Fran in the 60's. I don't recall any stories of SteveB hanging out there.

Does it help to volunteer for an IM or a HIM race to get a spot? (I am refering to M-Dot races with this question).

A question in regards to Rev3 series. Anyone know anything about it? What is different about Rev3 HIM races vs M-Dot? Other than the no invite to world championships? There are 15-20 people from the Detroit area doing Rev 3 Sandusky.

Furthermore, I am seriously playing around with the idea of my 2011 schedule being Hawk Island as a gage of performance upgrade, Welland HIM and HIM Steelhead in Benton Harbor, MI. Then probably another couple local races after Steelhead. Maybe race Rev3 Sandusky as well...Definitly looking at longer races next year for some unknown reason.

Is there somewhere I can go to get a sort of one page pros/cons of HIM/IM races? I hear people say IMLP is hilly and hard, so is IMW. IMSG was a hard course...What about others? What about the HIM courses?

Edited by smarx 2010-06-15 10:47 AM

SteveB,

You have really piqued my intrest in Triple T. Obviously I don't have the endurance to pull something like that off this year, but this idea is becoming more and more intriguing.

HA! LSD - long slow distance.

At IMLP, which fills up fairly quickly, there is a line the day after the race for volunteers to sign up for the next year before it gets opened online - I think if you race or volunteer the year before you can sign up then.  The hard thing is, it is a lot of $ and a long time off - BUT that said, it is the closest IM to me and in all likelihood the one I would want to do.

STEVE B can answer your questions about REV3 - I know about as much as you do on that.

Off to Fartlek swim for a lunch break (I feel like I should excuse myself) Thanks for the info STEVE B!

Cheers,

Mandy

SHAUN -

In this case, LSD is short for Long Slow Distances, with the reference usually being to running. That's where the notion of doing LSD runs at ~2minutes slower than anticipated race pace comes from.

As for volunteering, yes for M-dot but no for 70.3 -- or at least not yet. The way this works is that volunteers get their own line the morning after; there is one line for people who didn't volunteer, and one for those who did. I THINK that eveyone in the volunteer line is guaranteed a spot, that the race won't close out before the last volunteer is registered.

There is not a list per se that i am aware of, but give me some time and I can tell you what i know! Tbere used to be a set of comparative bike and run profile maps somewhere on the Ironman web pages, but those tell only a small part of the whole story.

I can also tell you lots about M-dot versus non-M-dot races, but the short form for now is that:
-- no qualifying for Kona or Clearwater at non-M-dot or non-70.3
-- no race course congestion at non-M-dot and non-70.3
-- race fees are generally much less at the non- races.........although the Rev3 series is very pricey
-- refund policies at many non- races are very fair, while they are crappy at M-dots
-- more to follow, or at leats more elaboration the above!

As I think I've said to you before, i have been looking at Steelhead for years. The swim and bike are supposed to be awesome, but the run gets some bad press -- most of it is through the industrail park of Whirlpool. I guess there are loads of beautiful lakeside trails and paths to choose from, but for however the race has been around (6 or 7 years?), it has been a beginning to the Whilpool campus, then TWICE through it, then back again. Booooooring........but on the other hand, i've done worse ones!

SHAUN again -

Oops! I see that Amanda beat me to the punch on the long slow distance thing. Harumph!

MANDY -

Happy fartlekking!

ANNE -

Yup! Just me and the tent! Well, and also a mat and a skinny sleeping bag and a sheet. And the whip-poor-will!!

But more importantly -- Getting ready for Guelph? All psyched? That's this Sunday, right?

Details on you with respect to it, please! Like, are you feeling good, and ready to roll??

Timely question.       Am just heading out to Guelph to do a swim/bike brick - swim is the main focus, trying to swim the distance today at a moderate pace.   I will follow the suggestions you gave to Mandy this morning in an earlier post on OWS.  I set my watch intermittent timer for 7 minutes out, turn right and swim for 3'30", then 7 minutes in (should be about a 2.20/100 meter pace)

I will get out of the water and run the length of the beach and then back into the water for a repeat.   This isn't quite the exact same set up as Sunday - the race will have us swim further out into the lake and then about half the distance at the right turn and turn right again back into shore.   The actual running on the beach will be about 75 meters, sort of hard packed sand.

Last year I practiced running hard and got my HR up crazy high and it took me a while to get back into a decent stroke, so in my race, I walked the beach and kept the HR down and getting going again was easier.  Not sure which way cost me the most time.  

We have about a 1.5 minute run (for me) up a steep hill and it kind of bugs me that they have the timing mat at the top of the hill and across a road (really adds to the swim time on the official results).   I will practice the run up the hill and then see how quickly I can get the wet suit off.  

Then I am heading out for a short bike - 5km out and 5km back.   For me, this is the hardest part, because at about 2km? we have a short steep hill which I do fine on, but then it is a steady, gradual climb (99% of the time into the north wind) to 5km on a really bumpy road. 

I am looking forward to Sunday, but not overly excited yet.   Confidence a bit lacking on my swim right now - but that happens alot it seems.   Once I get one race done, think (hope) I will feel better about it.  

I got a sore throat last Wed - worst one I have had in my life, that lasted 3 days and turned into a bit of a cold.   I slept over 11 hours last night and when I bent over this morning, my head didn't feel like it was going to explode so I did a yoga class and managed pretty well.    Tomorrow will be my last yoga class until after the race.    The yoga is really helping keep my hips open and flexible and the hip joints moving nicely.   

Although my right IT seems to get tight if I jump right into the hills on a bike session, I am experiencing nothing like I did last year, so am quite happy about that.    It's weird - if I stand up (off the bike) I'm good to go, but I can't seem to get the same relief while on the bike.   I've tried a bunch of different positions.

The knee is continuing to evolve back to its normal state, I think.   I am taking more Vit C, putting Traumeel on it nightly and have some homeopathic powders that I take morning and night that are supposed to strengthen and heal tendons and ligaments.   Can't hurt it, so why not try it.       Inflammation has been gone for a while and nothing seems to be causing it to return.

It's weird not running - seem to have so much more time and not near the aches and pains.  

I was planning the rest of week as follows, however am open to any changes you might have.   If I didn't have this cold still lingering, I would probably want to do more.  

Wed - yoga
Thursday - swim/bike brick (20km bike)
Friday -  15' easy swim; and 15-20 minute easy bike
Saturday - REST

Lastly, this isn't an important race for me - first one of the season to get the bugs out and see what I need to work on.    That being said, I WOULD like to be faster on the bike than I was last year.   

Hey Anne,

I just read your Grand Tour report on your log.  You should post something here.  Wow - 1500 riders - I hope you were spaced out quite a bit?

Denise

Does anybody use a bike mirror?

Denise

STEVE B -  Yup. It was cold this AM - left @ 4:45am, it was a nice hilly ride.  Saw a moose. I am not worried about the HEED.  Get me an ice cream when we bike Timberman, we'll be even!

So far had a good day today - 25 mile bike in the AM, work, and .9 mile swim @ lunch with my buddy Beth boating safety.  The swim was in pretty good wind gusts and waves (white caps...Beth said, is this a good idea??), and I think they are releasing some water from above because there was a bit of a current (Wyman Lake is really the Kennebec River).  So swimming out across, then upstream, into the wind and current was tough.  But let me tell you I was some kind of hero on the way back.  I saw a tree "monster" that kind of freaked me out at first which I wouldn't mention except to say I screamed like a little girl and then fartleked a little.

Giggle.

Took me @40 min to do that triangle, which is going to be my go-to place for training for Timberman - I have a longer point to point (@ 1.4 miles) I can do in Pleasant Pond that will be a good Fartlek place because there are docks dotting the shore.  The catch is finding someone to go with me on some of these so I don't get whacked by a boat.

Tomorrow - ride and RUN in a brickish fashion (just an easy little run though - behave calf, behave!)

Cheers!

Mandy