my favorite races this weekend. Can't wait.

muddy!

Master 35+ multisport race.

Every time I took my rain cape off, it started to pour, so of course when I got my call to the line and removed my cape it began to pour. With nary a word, the official started us on our mad sprint up the road to the first turn. I was in the wrong gear, and it took a second to get the cranks turning, I was in the middle of the scrum when; Screech, crunch, crash from behind me, I put my head down and sprinted away from the mayhem. I was feeling strong and moving up one rider at a time, I finished the first lap in about 8^th place and saw Kelly Cline in front of me and went chasing. I caught him at the 2 trees zig zag just after the start and took the inside line. As I stood to power past, my bike went sideways and I heard the BURP!!! Stan’s Juice and air had been expelled, but just how much? I hopped back on, hoping there was enough left to keep riding, but alas, I was completely flat. Now what. I has almost a full lap to go to the pit, so not being too bright, or really stubborn,(you decide) I picked up my now untrusty steed and started the long run to the pit. (2:04 - 2:15 of video)It did not take long for the entire field to pass me, including the 45+ and 55+ fields. I am not sure, but I was close to the last guy in the race, when I got to my pit bike.

Now what to do? Let’s turn this into a workout and see how many people we can chase down before the race ends. So off I go, throwing the bike into turns with reckless abandon, trying new things on the barrier dismounts, and generally having a good time. Into the last lap and I am chasing another rider, trying to find the best place to pass, when he hits the ground. I use the opportunity and push hard thru the back by the playground, out onto the gravel road and I felt a hard hit in the back, but kept the gas on . As I was rolling into the mulchy downhill, the back tube was flat. “Darn you all to heck!” I said, then shouldered my now untrusty 2^nd steed and off I went on my 2nd x-country run of the day. This time, with no prospect of a nice rolling bike in the pit, I settled into a comfortable pace and just ticked off the miles, just me and my bike, out for a run. Everyone I passed back after the first flat came back past me and I was the last rider to finish without being lapped. No DNF for this psycho.

Several things I learned today.

Sidi shoes are great for riding and not bad for short runs, but when you have to run the entire cross course almost 2 times, they start to show a bit of weakness.

Tubeless or tubes, it doesn’t matter, flats happen! (sew-ups aren’t immune either)

A bad day of cross racing is bound to happen, make the best of it, and smile, wave to the crowd and by all means have fun!

I had a great time, enjoyed the company of some great people and am home with a fun story to tell. Sounds like a successful day of racing to me. Oh, and I got my run in for the week.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. The GPS mounted to my first bike showed my running pace at 7:35/mile for the first run, no data after I dropped my bike in the pit, so i guess all the running does help my cross racing.

One year ago, I tried and won my first triathlon.  This is not a big event, it is hosted by our local swim club, but it did get me into tris and I have now completed 3 and look forward to more in the coming years, which is still a surprise to me, since I swore up and down I would never even attempt one, cause I can't swim.  Duathlons were good enough for me...



Here is how it went on Saturday.   I rolled out of the driveway on my bike with all my gear stowed in my backpack for a leisurely ride to the club.  I arrived to a packed parking lot and a lot of looks from the other racers.  Since I was the reigning "champ"  I got the first transition spot out of the pool, and the number 1, which was pretty cool I have to admit.  Having already warmed up on the ride over, I got in the pool for a few laps and was ready to go.



The women were to go first and when the last left the pool, we got in and ready for the start.  There were 3 per lane and I had been talking to my lane mates about circle swimming, to lots of nods and OKs, so I thought we were in agreement,  This was not the case.  The gun goes off and I sprint the first 25, flip and am pushing off the wall when I realize I am heading right into 2 guys coming at me side by side.  I swim under them and surface out of breath.  I get my rhythm back in time for the next turn and the same thing happens.  Now I am pissed and completely out of synch.  These 2 are going to swim the entire leg in their own part of the lane with no concern for anyone else.  Not only that, but they are switching strokes from crawl to breast, which makes it even harder to pass.  I stop doing flip turns and instead surface and push off, so I can get around them.  I manage to get a full length lead on them, so I switch back to normal turns, but on the last 25, I was trapped halfway down the pool by 2 large bodies both doing breast stroke and coming at me.  I swam with my head out of the water and just powered between them and took my lumps.  I got to the end and ran out of the pool, happy to be done with my least favorite leg.  

My wife informed me I was 4^th out of the water and that first had come out 2 minutes ahead of me, so I had some work to do.  I had a fast transition, and I even put on my cool Sock Guy socks during.  Onto the bike and flying from the start.  The course is 10 miles, 5 of it up hill, 2 down and 3 flat.  I passed the 3^rd fastest swimmer in transition, caught 2^nd in 2 miles and was in the lead by mile 3.  Last year I buried myself on the bike, not knowing any better, this year I maintained a hard pace until the last mile, where I eased back a bit and spun up the last climb to prep the legs for the run.

Into T2 in the lead and another speedy transition, thanks to the Socks from T1, and out I went.  The run starts with a long climb.  I felt great at the top and just opened up the legs on the flats.   I picked up the pace between mile 1 and 2, just to be sure and then into the final uphill mile.  This part hurt, but I was almost done, so I pushed thru and won!

I got another cool trophy and then spent the day eating everything that wasn’t tied down and drinking frothy beverages while rehashing the race at the end of season picnic.  Making all the suffering totally worth while. 

My alarm buzzed at 4 AM, there is nothing good about being awaken at 4.  It was even worse, knowing I now had to get out of, get dressed and make myself a filling breakfast, before packing up the car for a race.  I ate slowly, read the paper and tried not to think about what was coming…my first sprint triathlon with an open water swim!   

 It took 10 minutes to drive to Mercer park, get unloaded and headed to body marking and transition.  I actually got a really good spot amongst the 2500 competitors in the 2 events.  I set up and did a bunch of pacing about, warming up and stretching trying not to think about the swim.   I was actually scared about getting into the water and that was making me very uncomfortable. (can you point me to the local portajohn) 

 Eventually, I made my way to the swim start and got in the water for my warm-up.  The lake was bathwater warm (81) so no wetsuits allowed. 

I took my first couple of strokes, visibility was about 6 inches and there was no black line to follow, which did not help my mood.  I swam 100 yards and returned to the beach to await the start, even more nervous than before.   The 40-49 year olds were grouped in the 2^nd wave.  We entered the water and were told to swim out to the imaginary line between the buoys.  What they didn’t tell us was that the water was 12 feet deep there and we would have to tread water for 3 minutes until our start.   I tried to relax and soon enough the horn sounded and the mosh pit formed.  I had been told about this part, but nothing can truly prepare you for swimming with 100 lunatics all heading for the same turn buoy.  About 250 into the swim, I was settled into a pace, and approaching the turn, feeling OK.  I got around the buoy and came up quickly on the stragglers from the first wave that went out 4 minutes ahead of us.  This part really sucked, because these guys were moving very slowly and were all over the place.  I actually swam over a guy trying to move forward.  Eventually I got to the boat ramp and ran out of the water.  SWIM DONE!  YAY!!!!!! 

 Up a grass hill and over a ¼ mile of parking lot to my bike hoping my head would clear and my breathing would slow down.  Into my shoes and socks, helmet on, bike in tow, I run out of transition.  Mount the bike and start clicking thru the gears working up to speed, the first 2 miles blew by.  As we merge onto a main road separated by cones, 2 riders approach to pass.  I move right like I’m supposed to and they go past, I then jump back out in line to follow them and hopefully retake them both.  The first rider does not move back over and as the 2^nd rider goes to pass him, he turn right into the passing rider forcing him into the cones and then into traffic.  He slides under a passing car and I hear carbon fiber exploding.  I jam on the brakes and look back to see the rider getting up, apparently OK.  The offending rider doesn’t even slow or look back.  I make a mental note of his bike and number and get back to racing.  As we turn into the rollers on the back of the course, my legs start to feel heavy, so I drop into the 39 to spin more, and actually find myself going faster, so not wanting to completely waste my legs I stayed in the small ring and ate riders all the way to the finish.  I was only passed by 3 people including the scary crash causing guy and averaged 22.9, not bad for 39 X 12.   

 Into transition again after dismounting and running over 2 grass hills a path and some more parking lot, bike deposited, and shoes changed I head out quickly to begin the run.  I was moving along, but not as fast as I would have liked, but still picking people off.  At about the half way point I started to feel horrible all over.  I kept going and eventually fought thru and finished the run strong, catching a bunch more people as I approached the line.

 1:04:12 total time

 32^nd out of 1100 overall and 4^th in my AG.(I missed 3^rd by 15 secs)

 I am very happy to have survived the swim and am pretty pleased with my results.  Now I have a baseline and will definitely have to come back and do this again.

 Thanks for reading!

A view from the Expert Open Single Speed class at Escape from Granogue.

 Friday night I cleaned my rig for the first time in a year and arrived at the venue with a shinny bike that was totally dialed.  I have only limited rides under my belt this season, so I was just out to have fun and get my bike dirty again. 

 The start was the usual silly looking affair as a bunch of SS spin out about 50 yards up the road start.  Into the woods and I am in the back of the pack, but not worried.  I get bogged down by a bunch of sorry riding, and make an effort to pass these riders quickly.  I spend the whole first lap picking my way thru the field until I find a comfortable group to ride with. 

 Because I was focused on getting thru the other riders, I didn't notice the softness in the rear end tire until the road climb at the end of lap one.  It wasn't flat, but it didn't feel too good either.  When I got to the tower, I stopped and CO2ed the back with a few shots and figured that would do.  I threw the bike back into the race and by the time I was into the really technical stuff the tire was feeling low again.  But again it wasn't flat, so I kept going.

 The fast grass hills and any hard pack was dicey as the rear end was all over the place and threatening to roll off the rim, BUT in the mud and on all the climbs, it was hooking up something fierce!  I was passing riders as they spun out, it was awesome.  This helped me pick my way thru the earlier classes and even a few more SSs.

 Into the third lap, and I decide to leave the tire alone and just ride hard to the finish.  I am now working thru heavy traffic again, and not sure who I am passing, but eventually I come across another SS.  He is the other psycho riding fully rigid like me, so we chat and ride together for the rest of the lap, trading places and trying to drop each other.  On the grass climb, I get my first muscle cramp, but I push thru and try to drink more, knowing the final climb is gonna hurt.  Boy was I right.  Just into the gravel, the other SS and I are riding side by side, and my legs are screaming.  I give each one a good punch and tell them to be quiet for a few more minutes as we hit the blacktop.  I sit and grind out a few revolutions then stand again.  The pain is excruciating, but I am dropping the other guy so I keep going.   I cross the line, happy with my race. 

 I get back to the car, grab some food and dry clothes and head back to the finish line to see the results, hoping for a top ten, and find myself listed in 4^th.   Not bad for an old guy in a young guy's race,  now if I only trained more on this bike…

 BTW: I checked the pressure in my rear tire when I got home.  20 psi!  I added more Stan's juice and some more air right away.

Thanks to all my sponsors for getting me thru this grueling race.

 And , Thanks for reading.

Friday afternoon, a friend at work told me about a 5K that was being held in the next town on Saturday morning.  I looked up the details and decided I might try to run, the only problem was that my stomach had been bothering me for the past 3 days and was showing no signs of getting better.



I got up in the next morning still unsure if I was going to be able to run.  The race was set to start at 9:30, and at 8:45 I was standing in the garden talking to my wife, unsure if I should go.  I decided to see how my stomach would handle running and got dressed and ran about a 1/4 mile up the street.  It did not feel great, but didn't feel horrible either, but it did prompt another bathroom visit. Ugh!



9:05, I was still on the fence, but decided to drive the 5 minutes to the venue and see how I felt when I got there.  I arrived still feeling blah, but met some friends and decided to sign up, telling myself it was only 3 miles and I would just run the best I could and walk back if necessary.  2 visits to the little boy's room and I was on the line looking over the competition.  I spotted a guy who finished ahead of me in my last 5K so I decided to stick with him at the start and see how things went.



The gun goes off and me and the other guy are off the front alone.  1/2 a mile in and we are pulling away from the field with just the pace car for company. I feel pretty good and the pace is perfect. 



We blow through the first mile, and I am sitting right on his shoulder letting him do all the work in the wind. I stayed tucked in until about 1.5 miles on a small incline, I came around to test him and he surged to stay in front, so back I went to my draft spot. 



We passed the 2 mile mark and he surged a bit, I let him get about 10 feet in front and then matched his pace, giving him room to think.  I kept this spot, hoping he would think he had dropped me.  As we approached the 3 mile mark, we both picked up the pace and as I crossed 3 miles I kicked.  He was not aware of me coming until I was on his shoulder, but I was already at full speed and he could do nothing about it.  I cruised into the finishing chute with a 5 second cushion and my first ever 5K win.



The final time was not earth shattering, but not bad for the way I felt when I woke up.  I did pay for it the rest of the day though, my stomach was not happy, as I mowed the lawn, coached baseball, and shopped for my daughters birthday party, but the next morning I did a 2 hour MTB ride and felt great, so maybe all I needed to do was chase the bug out with a fast run.  I'll have to remember this therapy next time my stomach acts up.



Thanks for reading!

I forgot what it was like to run a 5K. I have been running all of 5 miles a week, getting almost no time on the bike and a few days in the pool since the start of the year.   I have been so wrapped up in getting myself back into shape, and not getting anywhere, that I almost forgot how much fun it is to race. 



On Friday, I noticed a small sidebar in the local paper mentioning a 5K near home.  I went to the site and the route was one that I had run several times this winter at lunch, so I signed up.  Then I remembered, my son's baseball team, that of course I manage, had practice starting just about the time the race would end.  What to do?



I contacted one of the parents and asked if he could warm the kids up and get them throwing for 15 minutes before I arrived.  He agreed and I was set.



Here is how it needed to play out.  I would arrive, warm up for 20 minutes prior to the race, collect my number and get to the line for a 10am start.  The gun would go off, I would run a 19ish 3k and then run back to the car, change and drive to practice, arriving at 11:45, just in time to start batting practice.



Well, you all know about Mice and Men and plans and all...



Here is how it actually went down.  At 9:15 I am rushing the family to get in the car for the drive to the race.  By the time we get to the venue, the close parking is full, and we are redirected to a lot about a mile away from the start/finish.  I park, grab my gear and jog down to registration.  It is now 9:45 and I am waiting for them to find my race packet, which appears to be lost.  Eventually, they find my bag, so now I can race.  I spot a few friends, and say a quick hello, hit the little boys room, and pin my number.  I begin my warmup at 9:57 as the crowd starts to gather at the start.  10:00 comes and goes, and I am starting to worry about my abilty to get to practice on time.  At 10:05 the race director gets us lined up, and says a few words.  I am on the front row for some reason, standing next to a fast looking guy that looks more serious than I feel, but here we are... 



The gun goes off and away we go.  Here is where I tell you it has been about 20 years since I raced a 5K, appart from the runs in a tri or duathlon.  Within 200 yards, it is just me and the fast guy...pulling away from the whole field.  We crest the first rolling hill at about a 5:30 pace, when I decided this was a bad idea.  I down shifted half a gear and settled in, and then noticed the wind, it was brutal and I was alone, but in second place.  I finished the mile with a 5:45 split and knew I needed to slow down or pay in the last mile.  Just about the time I decided this, I got passed.  I stayed with him until the halfway point, but was starting to feel the starting effort and the wind.  He pulled a bit ahead and I decided to just find my own groove.  At 2 miles, some young punk(high school track star) comes past me, not even breathing hard.  I had nothing left to chase with and was just hoping to hang on to the finish.  With a half mile to go, I really wished I could stop running and just walk, I was in so much pain, but I looked back and saw I was alone in 4th, and I was not going to give up my spot just because of burning lungs and a stitch. 



My family was near the finish, screaming like mad,(evidently they didn't expect to see me in 4th either).  I crossed the line in 18:35, well ahead of where I should have been, and very happy.  I left the shoot, sent my son for my bag, while I tried not to throw up.  Then the entire family trotted back to the car, where I changed and headed to the ball field.  Without breaking too many speeding laws, we pulled in at 10:46, WHEW! 



And within 5 minutes I was on the mound throwing batting practice for an hour.  No rest for super dad.  Later in the day, we dug out two mulch beds, and dethatched the lawn,  needless to say I slept well Saturday night.



5Ks are hard, but they sure are fun.  I need to work on my pacing and will definitly need to run a bit more, but I may just throw a few more of these in this summer.  Next up, Hibernia Off-Road Duathlon.  Repeat my Gold????  Who knows, now that my season is officially started....



Thanks for reading.