All in all it was a good race. The stats
Swim 35:41
Bike 2:57:55
Run 2:23:26
Overall 6:07:11
Marble Falls
Swim 35:22
Bike 3:07:36
Run 2:54:27
Overall 6:47:41
40 minute improvement!
The Swim:
The course was a simple, out quick left and a return. The biggest issue was the wind and cold. The wind produced a bit of a wake. Other than that, the swim was close to text book. I still had trouble holding on to a draft. I was able to pick up one soon after losing one. However I felt that I could do better if I concentrated more on holding a consistent draft.
The Bike:
It was a nice bike course. It had a some tight turns, some hills and some straights. It was a good mix of everything. One the best experiences was that the stretch from mile 40 to 50 was smooth and over quick. In the past I have had some trouble along this stretch. On a couple of past 70.3's the 10 mile stretch from mile 40 to 50 seemed take for ever. It was nice to have a ride during this stretch.
The Run:
As one can tell from the results this is where I made the most improvement. From 2:54 to 2:24. A 30 minute improvement! The run course wound through Clinton State park. There was one significant hill that we ran up and down twice. I was able to run strongly up it both times. It felt great to put in such an improved time. Most of the improved time was due to better management of the bike leg. The bike leg was almost as hilly as Marble Falls. This time however I was able to concentrate and keep the heart rate under better control. This left me much more energy for the run.
Over all:
I was very tired for a week or so after this race. I had Monday off from training but I was back in the pool Tuesday doing a light swim. The week continued with short light workouts. The common trait of all these was a general sluggishness in the legs. Actually I thought that this was a good thing.
If my race strategy was designed to get the most out of me on a particular race that would mean that I left it all out on the course. If it was all left on the course it would then it is only natural to be tired for an extended period of time. So the fact that I was tired means that my race strategy was spot on and I followed it well. That along with a lot of hard work lead to a 40 minute improvement!
"The Run"
"The Run"
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Now race prep! IM Kansas 70.3
I am on my way. Well not really traveling just this second. Tent, sleeping bag etc. is all looked after any thing I have forgotten can be replaced at the local Walmart (The only thing that I have realized that I forgot is a folding chair). So now time to focus on the race preparation.
For me race preparation has three elements. They are:
1.) Logistical
2.) Mental
3.) Emotional
So a few brief notes about each of them:
1.) Logistical. Not much to say here. I have certain gear that needs to be in transition before the race. So it has to be there. Check list control this section. Sounds simple, a list of what you need and check off each item as it is prepared, packed etc. The two main issues are forgetting something and bringing too much stuff. In spite of check lists things may get forgotten. Certain forgotten items can be replaced quickly. Goggles for example; very often you can find someone with a spare set. Some things not so easily. Anyone got a spare wet suit with them.
Oh well a cold swim.
As for the right amount of stuff, I have found that bringing too much stuff is usually worse than too little. With too much stuff you are more likely to loose something that is needed because it is buried among all the unneeded stuff. Or as you start stripping away the useless stuff odds are that you will discard a needed item along with the unneeded.
I keep all my lists from all my races. Each list is slightly different from the previous one. Also the list varies based on type and distance of race. The perfect list is always being refined.
2.) Mental
The biggest step here is to take my race strategy and convert it to a series of tactical actions. For example part of the strategy is how much nutrition to take in during each part of the race. I use a variety of products during the race. Most cliff shot bloks on the bike and honey stingers on the run. My strategy is to consume 200 calories an hour on the bike. Each sleeve of bloks is 200 calories so obviously I consume one entire sleeve an hour. By experimenting during training rides I find that eating every 20 minutes is maximum for me. Each sleeve has 6 bloks so 2 bloks every 20 minutes. The second and third hour I am to consume 300 calories an hour. After all the arithmetic it works out to 3 bloks every 20 minutes. Nutrition strategy tactically becomes 2 bloks every 20 minutes for the first hour and 3 bloks every 20 minutes after that. Total of 4 sleeves.
Tactics enforce the strategy. Race day is to busy and emotional for in depth strategy.
3.) Emotional
Million dollar question; should you be calm and relaxed or tense and edgy? Is it better to be loose and almost indifferent, or better to be poised on the edge? If someone has the answer let me know. So for now I think somewhere in the middle works best. I think to loose would lead to indifference and mental mistakes. However being to focused and keyed up can lead to mental mistakes as well. Being loose may lead to not reacting to a change fast enough where as too edgy can lead to over reactions. For me I definitely gravitate to the edgy side of things. So I do have to spend more time trying to put me into a calmer state. I cut down on the caffeine intake leading up to the race. Today being the day before the race I just finished my only cup of coffee for the day. As for other things to keep calm, taking care of 1 and 2 (Logistical and Mental) is probably the biggest factor. The more confident I can be in these two areas the calmer I usually am.
Note weather forecast is predicting storms for the area tonight. So they are letting us rack our bikes in the morning rather than this afternoon. I can squeeze mine in my Honda Civic for the evening. Oh well so much for my well planned logistics!
For me race preparation has three elements. They are:
1.) Logistical
2.) Mental
3.) Emotional
So a few brief notes about each of them:
1.) Logistical. Not much to say here. I have certain gear that needs to be in transition before the race. So it has to be there. Check list control this section. Sounds simple, a list of what you need and check off each item as it is prepared, packed etc. The two main issues are forgetting something and bringing too much stuff. In spite of check lists things may get forgotten. Certain forgotten items can be replaced quickly. Goggles for example; very often you can find someone with a spare set. Some things not so easily. Anyone got a spare wet suit with them.
Oh well a cold swim.
As for the right amount of stuff, I have found that bringing too much stuff is usually worse than too little. With too much stuff you are more likely to loose something that is needed because it is buried among all the unneeded stuff. Or as you start stripping away the useless stuff odds are that you will discard a needed item along with the unneeded.
I keep all my lists from all my races. Each list is slightly different from the previous one. Also the list varies based on type and distance of race. The perfect list is always being refined.
2.) Mental
The biggest step here is to take my race strategy and convert it to a series of tactical actions. For example part of the strategy is how much nutrition to take in during each part of the race. I use a variety of products during the race. Most cliff shot bloks on the bike and honey stingers on the run. My strategy is to consume 200 calories an hour on the bike. Each sleeve of bloks is 200 calories so obviously I consume one entire sleeve an hour. By experimenting during training rides I find that eating every 20 minutes is maximum for me. Each sleeve has 6 bloks so 2 bloks every 20 minutes. The second and third hour I am to consume 300 calories an hour. After all the arithmetic it works out to 3 bloks every 20 minutes. Nutrition strategy tactically becomes 2 bloks every 20 minutes for the first hour and 3 bloks every 20 minutes after that. Total of 4 sleeves.
Tactics enforce the strategy. Race day is to busy and emotional for in depth strategy.
3.) Emotional
Million dollar question; should you be calm and relaxed or tense and edgy? Is it better to be loose and almost indifferent, or better to be poised on the edge? If someone has the answer let me know. So for now I think somewhere in the middle works best. I think to loose would lead to indifference and mental mistakes. However being to focused and keyed up can lead to mental mistakes as well. Being loose may lead to not reacting to a change fast enough where as too edgy can lead to over reactions. For me I definitely gravitate to the edgy side of things. So I do have to spend more time trying to put me into a calmer state. I cut down on the caffeine intake leading up to the race. Today being the day before the race I just finished my only cup of coffee for the day. As for other things to keep calm, taking care of 1 and 2 (Logistical and Mental) is probably the biggest factor. The more confident I can be in these two areas the calmer I usually am.
Note weather forecast is predicting storms for the area tonight. So they are letting us rack our bikes in the morning rather than this afternoon. I can squeeze mine in my Honda Civic for the evening. Oh well so much for my well planned logistics!
Friday, June 7, 2013
Travel Thoughts.
One of the hidden joys of triathlons is traveling to places you would not normally go to. The impact on a city hosting a triathlon can be large. Road closures, services are all taxed on the day of a race. So needless to say hosting more than one major race a year is not the norm. So if you are like me and you want to participate in more than 1 major race a year you gotta pack up and hit the road. I have yet to fly to a race, something I am hoping to do in the next couple of years. IM Canada in 2014???
These are a few observations about traveling to races. The first one is a general observation and the second 2 are specific to this trip. The fourth one is race specific.
The first observation is the joy in discovering wonderful cities across the United States. All my races have been US based thus far. Not being much of a partier I had little interest in the city of New Orleans. I went to the 70.3 race there and thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience. I did not take in much of the night life but the city is much more than just that. The thing I loved about New Orleans is the pedestrian nature of the city. People are walking everywhere. I left the hotel at 4:00 am to get to the race and there were people out walking. I assume that they were still enjoying the evening.
I do not think that Louisville Kentucky is on most peoples radar when it comes to summer vacations. I found a city that is great to visit even if you are not into horses. They do have lots of them. Fourth street live is a vibrant downtown core. You have to go to "The Toast" for breakfast, the bread pudding pancakes are to die for!
Now Lawrence Kansas. What a great place! The city is beautiful. Tree lined streets old homes and the campus of KU. I am looking forward to seeing more of it.
Skipping to observation 4, there is no better way to get a sense of the topology of the race than on the drive into the area. Right now I am getting a queasy feeling looking at all the hills LOL.
Now 2 specific observations regarding this trip. The first part of the drive was north from Dallas along I35. This is a stretch of road that I am very familiar with. My company has an office in Oklahoma City and I have traveled there a dozen times over the last couple of years. I was anticipating a relatively mindless first leg of the trip. Just past Norman Ok is the town of Moore. This is the town that was hit a couple of weeks ago by an F5 Tornado. The stretch of highway from Norman to Oklahoma City is pretty Generic. A lot of new development mostly stores and restaurants. As rolled past Norman and entered Moore it was the usual grouping of stores; Super Target, Ulta cosmetics, Academy sports, Pet Smart etc.
The traffic then slowed to a crawl. As you inch along you struck by this sudden swath of utter devastation. The tornado destroyed everything in its path. It almost seemed wrong to gawk at something that caused so much heartache in peoples lives. It was just too hard not to look. There were cars piled in ditches several deep. Building made from steel and brick were leveled. Impossible, even after seeing this to imagine the terror this caused.
My last observation is about my favorite part of the trip and it is this that has compelled me to post this. It was the drive through Kansas, and mostly the 60 mile stretch from Wichita to Emporia. What amazing scenery. The 2 main things that struck me the most were first the unspoiled nature of the landscape. Yes there are roads (the one I was on but not many others), cell towers and fences. Other than those I could imagine the vista being exactly the same as the first settlers coming into the area. A very moving image and thought.
The second was that you could see for miles. While not being a perfectly flat prairie, you could still find high ground and see for miles. There must be an aura of peacefulness in being able to see that far ahead. It is what we all would like in our lives. A clear path into our future. I found myself really enjoying this part of the trip. In fact I set the cruise control lower (apologies to all who had to pass me) relaxing and really enjoying this part of the trip.
These are a few observations about traveling to races. The first one is a general observation and the second 2 are specific to this trip. The fourth one is race specific.
The first observation is the joy in discovering wonderful cities across the United States. All my races have been US based thus far. Not being much of a partier I had little interest in the city of New Orleans. I went to the 70.3 race there and thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience. I did not take in much of the night life but the city is much more than just that. The thing I loved about New Orleans is the pedestrian nature of the city. People are walking everywhere. I left the hotel at 4:00 am to get to the race and there were people out walking. I assume that they were still enjoying the evening.
I do not think that Louisville Kentucky is on most peoples radar when it comes to summer vacations. I found a city that is great to visit even if you are not into horses. They do have lots of them. Fourth street live is a vibrant downtown core. You have to go to "The Toast" for breakfast, the bread pudding pancakes are to die for!
Now Lawrence Kansas. What a great place! The city is beautiful. Tree lined streets old homes and the campus of KU. I am looking forward to seeing more of it.
Skipping to observation 4, there is no better way to get a sense of the topology of the race than on the drive into the area. Right now I am getting a queasy feeling looking at all the hills LOL.
Now 2 specific observations regarding this trip. The first part of the drive was north from Dallas along I35. This is a stretch of road that I am very familiar with. My company has an office in Oklahoma City and I have traveled there a dozen times over the last couple of years. I was anticipating a relatively mindless first leg of the trip. Just past Norman Ok is the town of Moore. This is the town that was hit a couple of weeks ago by an F5 Tornado. The stretch of highway from Norman to Oklahoma City is pretty Generic. A lot of new development mostly stores and restaurants. As rolled past Norman and entered Moore it was the usual grouping of stores; Super Target, Ulta cosmetics, Academy sports, Pet Smart etc.
The traffic then slowed to a crawl. As you inch along you struck by this sudden swath of utter devastation. The tornado destroyed everything in its path. It almost seemed wrong to gawk at something that caused so much heartache in peoples lives. It was just too hard not to look. There were cars piled in ditches several deep. Building made from steel and brick were leveled. Impossible, even after seeing this to imagine the terror this caused.
My last observation is about my favorite part of the trip and it is this that has compelled me to post this. It was the drive through Kansas, and mostly the 60 mile stretch from Wichita to Emporia. What amazing scenery. The 2 main things that struck me the most were first the unspoiled nature of the landscape. Yes there are roads (the one I was on but not many others), cell towers and fences. Other than those I could imagine the vista being exactly the same as the first settlers coming into the area. A very moving image and thought.
The second was that you could see for miles. While not being a perfectly flat prairie, you could still find high ground and see for miles. There must be an aura of peacefulness in being able to see that far ahead. It is what we all would like in our lives. A clear path into our future. I found myself really enjoying this part of the trip. In fact I set the cruise control lower (apologies to all who had to pass me) relaxing and really enjoying this part of the trip.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Race #2 IM 70.3 Kansas
This week IM Kansas 70.3
It is race week. Many things to do! So much to do so little time on my!
Preparing for a race has many parts. It is not just the race part as well. I live in the Dallas area and is a 8 hour Drive to Lawrence Kansas. Hotel reservations, travel plans meals etc. are all part of the preparation. Most age groupers do not have assistants or personal managers to make the plans for us. Although I cannot imagine anyone more helpful than my wife at getting things organized.
I am getting ready for IM Kansas 70.3. The race is this Sunday. EEK that is only 5 days away. My main goal is to have this posted before the weekend. I will probably finish it and post it Thursday might from the hotel.
The actual race prep is almost done. I have my race plan set. I will have to review it several times before Sunday. Nutrition plan is set and needs to be reviewed as well. Just a little bike work and pack it up and I am all set.
Now time to put the plan in action. This is the difficult part. You can have a great race plan but if you forget your shoes your plan kind of goes into the crapper.
June 6th, 2013 Wichita Kansas
Hotel room Thursday night so I am getting this finished and posted. I am focusing on the non race part of the preparation. Since this race is out of state there are a number of details to attended to. The first is accommodations. For this race I also needed a mid point hotel as well. hence the stay at the Best Western here in Wichita. As for race accommodations, I decided that since the race is in a state park I will camp in the park. A camp site is significantly cheaper than a hotel. A tent site at Clinton State Park is only $8.00 a night so 3 nights will only cost me $24.00 + $3.00 booking fee. $27.00 all together. I am not planning to "Camp" camp. So I do not need to bring cooking supplies.
I do however need my tent, sleeping mat and sleeping bag. I will still eat meals in restaurants, as if I was staying in a hotel. This has brought about a few challenges.
1.) Digital presence. A lot of last minute info is distributed via various on line channels (twitter FB etc.) I may regret not having a smart phone.
2.) Electronic devices. Before I left I made sure that my cell phone, kindle and Surface were all fully charged before I left this morning. I will probably spend some time this weekend in the local Starbucks or Panera. These should be adequate for internet access but may not give my the access to recharge my electronic devices. I may need to do some rationing of my device usage.
3.) Race morning meal. I have always relied on the hotel fridge and coffee for my race morning meal. This one I am still working on. I brought plastic forks and knives. If I can find a shop that may be able to supply coffee early in the morning I should be ok. This one I will still have to work on.
Next morning breakfast and about a 3 hour drive to the Race site!
It is race week. Many things to do! So much to do so little time on my!
Preparing for a race has many parts. It is not just the race part as well. I live in the Dallas area and is a 8 hour Drive to Lawrence Kansas. Hotel reservations, travel plans meals etc. are all part of the preparation. Most age groupers do not have assistants or personal managers to make the plans for us. Although I cannot imagine anyone more helpful than my wife at getting things organized.
I am getting ready for IM Kansas 70.3. The race is this Sunday. EEK that is only 5 days away. My main goal is to have this posted before the weekend. I will probably finish it and post it Thursday might from the hotel.
The actual race prep is almost done. I have my race plan set. I will have to review it several times before Sunday. Nutrition plan is set and needs to be reviewed as well. Just a little bike work and pack it up and I am all set.
Now time to put the plan in action. This is the difficult part. You can have a great race plan but if you forget your shoes your plan kind of goes into the crapper.
June 6th, 2013 Wichita Kansas
Hotel room Thursday night so I am getting this finished and posted. I am focusing on the non race part of the preparation. Since this race is out of state there are a number of details to attended to. The first is accommodations. For this race I also needed a mid point hotel as well. hence the stay at the Best Western here in Wichita. As for race accommodations, I decided that since the race is in a state park I will camp in the park. A camp site is significantly cheaper than a hotel. A tent site at Clinton State Park is only $8.00 a night so 3 nights will only cost me $24.00 + $3.00 booking fee. $27.00 all together. I am not planning to "Camp" camp. So I do not need to bring cooking supplies.
I do however need my tent, sleeping mat and sleeping bag. I will still eat meals in restaurants, as if I was staying in a hotel. This has brought about a few challenges.
1.) Digital presence. A lot of last minute info is distributed via various on line channels (twitter FB etc.) I may regret not having a smart phone.
2.) Electronic devices. Before I left I made sure that my cell phone, kindle and Surface were all fully charged before I left this morning. I will probably spend some time this weekend in the local Starbucks or Panera. These should be adequate for internet access but may not give my the access to recharge my electronic devices. I may need to do some rationing of my device usage.
3.) Race morning meal. I have always relied on the hotel fridge and coffee for my race morning meal. This one I am still working on. I brought plastic forks and knives. If I can find a shop that may be able to supply coffee early in the morning I should be ok. This one I will still have to work on.
Next morning breakfast and about a 3 hour drive to the Race site!
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