Ironman CDA Results
Swim: 1:27:00
Bike: 6:11:54
Run: 4:34:11
Total: 12:26:07
769/2060 overall
73/205 M45-49
Story to follow soon!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Race Report: Blue Lake Olympic-Distance Triathlon
Why in the name of Geebzus H. Crisco Oil did I sign up for Ironman? One week out, nothing about the experience is striking me as fun. I'm under-trained and over-worried. I'm consumed by dread. Every once in a while, the idea of just not doing it flickers in my mind, extinguished only by the fact that however bad the race might end up being, living a lifetime knowing I wimped out would be far worse.
Sure, if I'd put half the energy into training for it that I'm devoting to obsessing about it, yeah, then maybe I'd be fired up and ready to go. Alas, didn't happen. Didn't commit myself completely to a better diet. Didn't start swimming until March. Didn't get on The New Bike until May (and didn't get on The Old Bike nearly often enough in the months before then). OK, no regrets on the run part, although I suppose some would say doing Boston for a PR in late-April was less than wise. But at least, for the run, I put in the work.
I'll tell you what really has me wondering about taking on this challenge: Today's Olympic-distance race at Blue Lake. I signed up for Blue Lake because it's less than a half-hour from home and because I hadn't done a triathlon since last September. I figured I needed a taste of race atmosphere before CDA. And that I got, but mostly what struck me today – and what leads me to wonder about the point of doing Ironman – was how much fun it was to race short.
Swim 1.5 kilometers, ride 40K, then wrap it up with a 10K run. The segments are just long enough to provide a good workout, but you don't have to worry about all the stuff that plagues the mind in Ironman (in the Ironman I'm imagining). You don't have to worry about your calf cramping up during a 2.4-mile swim, or getting enough hydration and calories during the 112-mile bike ride, or any of the million things that can go wrong on a marathon that follows seven or eight hours of racing hard. With an Oly, you get out and go and enjoy the swimming, biking and running. It occurs to you – it occurred to me today – that these are activities you love to do. How about that.
Of course, my Ironman obsessing over the recent days and week had left no room to worry about Blue Lake – and maybe that was a factor in how much fun the race was. Maybe it wasn't so much the distance, as the attitude.
And maybe that's something to think about over the next several days.
Today's unofficial data (from my watch):
Swim...31:36 (2:07/100 meters)
T1.......5:16 (long run to bike, long run out of transition)
Bike.....1:07:22 (22.1 mph)
T2.......2:48
Run.....45:40 (7:21/mile)
Total....2:32:52
Why in the name of Geebzus H. Crisco Oil did I sign up for Ironman? One week out, nothing about the experience is striking me as fun. I'm under-trained and over-worried. I'm consumed by dread. Every once in a while, the idea of just not doing it flickers in my mind, extinguished only by the fact that however bad the race might end up being, living a lifetime knowing I wimped out would be far worse.
Sure, if I'd put half the energy into training for it that I'm devoting to obsessing about it, yeah, then maybe I'd be fired up and ready to go. Alas, didn't happen. Didn't commit myself completely to a better diet. Didn't start swimming until March. Didn't get on The New Bike until May (and didn't get on The Old Bike nearly often enough in the months before then). OK, no regrets on the run part, although I suppose some would say doing Boston for a PR in late-April was less than wise. But at least, for the run, I put in the work.
I'll tell you what really has me wondering about taking on this challenge: Today's Olympic-distance race at Blue Lake. I signed up for Blue Lake because it's less than a half-hour from home and because I hadn't done a triathlon since last September. I figured I needed a taste of race atmosphere before CDA. And that I got, but mostly what struck me today – and what leads me to wonder about the point of doing Ironman – was how much fun it was to race short.
Swim 1.5 kilometers, ride 40K, then wrap it up with a 10K run. The segments are just long enough to provide a good workout, but you don't have to worry about all the stuff that plagues the mind in Ironman (in the Ironman I'm imagining). You don't have to worry about your calf cramping up during a 2.4-mile swim, or getting enough hydration and calories during the 112-mile bike ride, or any of the million things that can go wrong on a marathon that follows seven or eight hours of racing hard. With an Oly, you get out and go and enjoy the swimming, biking and running. It occurs to you – it occurred to me today – that these are activities you love to do. How about that.
Of course, my Ironman obsessing over the recent days and week had left no room to worry about Blue Lake – and maybe that was a factor in how much fun the race was. Maybe it wasn't so much the distance, as the attitude.
And maybe that's something to think about over the next several days.
Today's unofficial data (from my watch):
Swim...31:36 (2:07/100 meters)
T1.......5:16 (long run to bike, long run out of transition)
Bike.....1:07:22 (22.1 mph)
T2.......2:48
Run.....45:40 (7:21/mile)
Total....2:32:52
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Early CDA Weather Outlook
I don't hold much stock in forecasts beyond a few days, but the trends are pointing toward a warm June 22 in Coeur d'Alene for Ironman. From the Spokane office discussion today:
I don't hold much stock in forecasts beyond a few days, but the trends are pointing toward a warm June 22 in Coeur d'Alene for Ironman. From the Spokane office discussion today:
AS WOULD SEEM LIKELY WITH THE RETROGRESSION OF THE RIDGE EXPECTED BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK...850 MB TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY SOAR TOWARD THE WEEKEND. THE RESULT IS A PRETTY STRONG WARMING TREND AFTER THURSDAY. HOWEVER...WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY TEMPERATURES WILL LIKELY BE HIGHLY INFLUENCED BY ANY SHORT WAVE DEVELOPMENT AND PASSAGE...WITH THE MODELS CURRENTLY INDICATING THURSDAY TO BE THE COOLEST DAY OF THE WEEK. /FRIES
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Solid Workout
Sorry for the half-assed post here; tired, want to go to sleep, but want to get this workout down before turning in. Just the facts...
Background: The plan was to do the Moses Lake oly-distance tri this weekend, because it's a qualifier for the age-group nationals in Portland in September. But I needed to go long and a 500-mile roundtrip drive wasn't exactly what I had in mind. So this morning I dropped Niko off at my sister's (Grandma & Grandpa were visiting from San Jose, so it was a treat for him) on the way out to Hagg Lake. After endless days of chilly, gray and drippy weather, we got some sun and temps well into the 60s today. A great day for riding.
Numbers: I did nine loops around the lake, 93.2 miles, then ran 5.2 miles. I stopped three time to swap water bottles, twice to pee, once to have a conversation with an old fart walker who had admonished me for not "sounding my horn" as I passed him, and took a four-minute transition from bike to run. From start to finish, the workout took 6 hours, 8 minutes, 35 seconds, with almost exactly 15 minutes of stoppage. Total time from start to finish of the bike portion was 5:19:13, for an average speed of 17.5 mph. Time stopped during bike ride was 11 minutes; average speed without the stops was about 18.2. Total climbing (per MapMyRide): about 6,500 feet. Run time was 45:18, about 8:42 per mile.
Quick thoughts: This ride isn't a killer, as I mentioned in a post below, but it's good work. No extended, killer climbs, but continuous ups and downs and curves. You never can really get in a groove and just mindlessly power along at 22 or 23 mph. I rode it comfortably and was really happy that when I got off and ran my legs felt fantastic. Perhaps riding aero really does save the legs for the run. But back to the ride for a second: I've come a good distance on The New Bike in a pretty short time. Neck and shoulders didn't start to ache until I was 50 miles in (that used to happen about 20 miles in), and back didn't begin screeching until I was around 60. All in all, definite signs of progress. Give me another month or two and I'll be ready for an Ironman race! (That's right, the race is June 22.)
Sorry for the half-assed post here; tired, want to go to sleep, but want to get this workout down before turning in. Just the facts...
Background: The plan was to do the Moses Lake oly-distance tri this weekend, because it's a qualifier for the age-group nationals in Portland in September. But I needed to go long and a 500-mile roundtrip drive wasn't exactly what I had in mind. So this morning I dropped Niko off at my sister's (Grandma & Grandpa were visiting from San Jose, so it was a treat for him) on the way out to Hagg Lake. After endless days of chilly, gray and drippy weather, we got some sun and temps well into the 60s today. A great day for riding.
Numbers: I did nine loops around the lake, 93.2 miles, then ran 5.2 miles. I stopped three time to swap water bottles, twice to pee, once to have a conversation with an old fart walker who had admonished me for not "sounding my horn" as I passed him, and took a four-minute transition from bike to run. From start to finish, the workout took 6 hours, 8 minutes, 35 seconds, with almost exactly 15 minutes of stoppage. Total time from start to finish of the bike portion was 5:19:13, for an average speed of 17.5 mph. Time stopped during bike ride was 11 minutes; average speed without the stops was about 18.2. Total climbing (per MapMyRide): about 6,500 feet. Run time was 45:18, about 8:42 per mile.
Quick thoughts: This ride isn't a killer, as I mentioned in a post below, but it's good work. No extended, killer climbs, but continuous ups and downs and curves. You never can really get in a groove and just mindlessly power along at 22 or 23 mph. I rode it comfortably and was really happy that when I got off and ran my legs felt fantastic. Perhaps riding aero really does save the legs for the run. But back to the ride for a second: I've come a good distance on The New Bike in a pretty short time. Neck and shoulders didn't start to ache until I was 50 miles in (that used to happen about 20 miles in), and back didn't begin screeching until I was around 60. All in all, definite signs of progress. Give me another month or two and I'll be ready for an Ironman race! (That's right, the race is June 22.)
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
It's That Time of Year (They Say)
So -- this I'm learning -- according to lore, Portland weather sucks during the Rose Festival. Is it true? The National Weather Service renders no ultimate verdict, but does provide history galore.
So -- this I'm learning -- according to lore, Portland weather sucks during the Rose Festival. Is it true? The National Weather Service renders no ultimate verdict, but does provide history galore.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
T-Minus Three Weeks
CDA draws near. Yikes. After five days in New York last week, I arrived home Friday afternoon in time to get in a 2000-yard swim. Saturday, it was 60 on the bike along flat and fast Marine Boulevard, followed by a six-mile run. Today, I headed out to Hagg Lake for the Gecko Tri Club's open water races. It occurred to me yesterday as I began to get my stuff ready for the early morning outing that I had never before worn my new wetsuit. So I tried it on. Easy on and easy off, that was nice, in contrast to my previous suit. But it felt all tight and I didn't like the fact that due to the cold water (64, I'd heard), I wouldn't be advised to wear my vest and instead would have to go with the full-length sleeves. I hate swimming in full-length sleeves.
So instead of doing one of the longer swims -- 2000 or 4000 meters -- I decided to break in the suit with the sprint, the 800-meter race. Which I did, though getting to the start was a bit of a comedy. First, as I left my car to do day-of-race registration, I tore out a check to pay. But by the time I got to the reg table, the check was gone. I retraced my steps, but no dice. Gone. So back to the car to get my checkbook. Oh, no! Lost check was also last check. Throwing myself on the mercy of the volunteers, I was allowed to register with a promise to send in my check afterward. Geckos, you rock.
OK, so now it's time to put on the suit. A little Body Glide here and there, boom-boom-boom, suit on. But it feels funny. Hmm. Oh. Forgot to pull bibjohn straps over my shoulders. Off comes the top of the two-piece, up go the straps, on goes the top. OK, to the lake I trundle. "Yo, dude," I hear someone say, and it sounds a lot like the voice is aimed at me. I turn. "You dropped your goggles."
Finally, I swam. Under deep gray skies, the calm water was actually not too cold -- I could have worn the vest top. And I wished I had. The suit felt a little tight up top on the chest and toward the throat. It wasn't drastically wrong, but I didn't feel totally comfortable. Well, anyway, I swam the 800 meters in 16 and a half minutes, which is fine. Then as the 2000-meter folks went out, I put in another 1000 yards or so, looking for a decent workout and a better comfort level with the suit.
Out of the water, it was onto the bike. I figured two or three 10.5-mile loops around the lake would be a nice follow-up to the previous day's 60 miles. And it was. This was a really good ride. Pretty much all my riding on The New Bike has been on flat terrain; my goal has been to try to get used to the aero position, and straight, level roads have allowed me to do that. Hagg, however, gave me a great taste of what I'll face at Coeur d'Alene. Lots of curves, and lots of ups and downs -- no huge climbs, but a little more than rollers. I felt pretty good going up and down and staying aero, and did three loops, each of them in 33 minutes.
The ride
By the time I finished, the Geckos had the post-swim grill going (even as the 4000-meter swimmers soldiered on), so I built myself a burger. I ate it sitting beside the lake. Munching away, I peered out at the buoys, laid out in a 2000-meter sort of triangle with a very long hypotenuse. Two loops, 4000 meters. That's what I'll have to do at CDA. Gulp.
CDA draws near. Yikes. After five days in New York last week, I arrived home Friday afternoon in time to get in a 2000-yard swim. Saturday, it was 60 on the bike along flat and fast Marine Boulevard, followed by a six-mile run. Today, I headed out to Hagg Lake for the Gecko Tri Club's open water races. It occurred to me yesterday as I began to get my stuff ready for the early morning outing that I had never before worn my new wetsuit. So I tried it on. Easy on and easy off, that was nice, in contrast to my previous suit. But it felt all tight and I didn't like the fact that due to the cold water (64, I'd heard), I wouldn't be advised to wear my vest and instead would have to go with the full-length sleeves. I hate swimming in full-length sleeves.
So instead of doing one of the longer swims -- 2000 or 4000 meters -- I decided to break in the suit with the sprint, the 800-meter race. Which I did, though getting to the start was a bit of a comedy. First, as I left my car to do day-of-race registration, I tore out a check to pay. But by the time I got to the reg table, the check was gone. I retraced my steps, but no dice. Gone. So back to the car to get my checkbook. Oh, no! Lost check was also last check. Throwing myself on the mercy of the volunteers, I was allowed to register with a promise to send in my check afterward. Geckos, you rock.
OK, so now it's time to put on the suit. A little Body Glide here and there, boom-boom-boom, suit on. But it feels funny. Hmm. Oh. Forgot to pull bibjohn straps over my shoulders. Off comes the top of the two-piece, up go the straps, on goes the top. OK, to the lake I trundle. "Yo, dude," I hear someone say, and it sounds a lot like the voice is aimed at me. I turn. "You dropped your goggles."
Finally, I swam. Under deep gray skies, the calm water was actually not too cold -- I could have worn the vest top. And I wished I had. The suit felt a little tight up top on the chest and toward the throat. It wasn't drastically wrong, but I didn't feel totally comfortable. Well, anyway, I swam the 800 meters in 16 and a half minutes, which is fine. Then as the 2000-meter folks went out, I put in another 1000 yards or so, looking for a decent workout and a better comfort level with the suit.
Out of the water, it was onto the bike. I figured two or three 10.5-mile loops around the lake would be a nice follow-up to the previous day's 60 miles. And it was. This was a really good ride. Pretty much all my riding on The New Bike has been on flat terrain; my goal has been to try to get used to the aero position, and straight, level roads have allowed me to do that. Hagg, however, gave me a great taste of what I'll face at Coeur d'Alene. Lots of curves, and lots of ups and downs -- no huge climbs, but a little more than rollers. I felt pretty good going up and down and staying aero, and did three loops, each of them in 33 minutes.
The ride
By the time I finished, the Geckos had the post-swim grill going (even as the 4000-meter swimmers soldiered on), so I built myself a burger. I ate it sitting beside the lake. Munching away, I peered out at the buoys, laid out in a 2000-meter sort of triangle with a very long hypotenuse. Two loops, 4000 meters. That's what I'll have to do at CDA. Gulp.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Lake News
According to plan, at 7 a.m. on June 22, I and about 2,000 other idiots dive into Lake Coeur d'Alene to swim 2.4 miles, beginning a 140.6-mile journey that will earn us the title Ironman, whoop-dee-do. Last year, white caps on the lake made the swim quite the adventure; this year, we're told, there may be another issue:
According to plan, at 7 a.m. on June 22, I and about 2,000 other idiots dive into Lake Coeur d'Alene to swim 2.4 miles, beginning a 140.6-mile journey that will earn us the title Ironman, whoop-dee-do. Last year, white caps on the lake made the swim quite the adventure; this year, we're told, there may be another issue:
The extraordinary spring melt off not only pushed Lake Coeur d'Alene well above flood stage this year but it's also keeping the water unusually cold, which could make it extremely difficult for Ironman athletes to swim in the lake.
Right now the water in Lake Coeur d'Alene is a brisk 49 degrees and Ironman race director Andy Emberton says if the water doesn't warm up to the mid 50s by race morning they will have to make some changes.
Emberton says if the water doesn't warm up to at least 60 degrees by race day they may require all athletes wear a wetsuit. They may also allow neoprene hats and aqua socks, which under Ironman rules are typically not allowed.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Apple Cinnamon Pecan Raisin Maple Breakfast Pizza
We invented this today for breakfast. It's good. You should make it.
Ingredients
Cooking spray
½ cup flour
1 Trader Joe's whole-wheat pizza dough
2 apples
1 Meyer lemon
1 T melted butter
1 T cinnamon
2 T brown sugar
1/3 cup pecans
1/3 cup raisins
1 T maple syrup
Method
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Coat pizza pan with very thin layer of cooking spray.
Dust your work board with some of the flour. Roll out the pizza dough very thin. We used slightly less than a whole bag of TJ's dough, so 1 whole bag will make a very big pizza (or you can trim some off and save it for later use). After the pizza dough is pressed out, put it on the pizza pan—we like the big pans with holes in them.
Peel and core the apples. Slice medium thin and put in a large bowl. Squeeze lemon juice over apples and gently mix. Add cinnamon, brown sugar, pecans and raisins. Mix gently. Add melted butter and mix gently. Now sprinkle over a couple of tablespoons of flour and, again, mix gently.
Arrange apples slices on pizza dough in whatever kind of pattern suits you and then spread remaining topping evenly over apples.
Put in oven. Be careful to make sure the top (especially the pecans) does not burn. We put a piece of aluminum foil with a little bit of cooking spray on the inside over ours. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until crust is golden brown and slightly crispy. Drizzle with maple syrup, allow to cool down a bit, then slice as with a pizza. Makes eight pieces. Figure on two pieces (at least) for each person for breakfast.
Oh, and don't forget to top it off with a drizzle of maple syrup.
We invented this today for breakfast. It's good. You should make it.
Ingredients
Cooking spray
½ cup flour
1 Trader Joe's whole-wheat pizza dough
2 apples
1 Meyer lemon
1 T melted butter
1 T cinnamon
2 T brown sugar
1/3 cup pecans
1/3 cup raisins
1 T maple syrup
Method
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Coat pizza pan with very thin layer of cooking spray.
Dust your work board with some of the flour. Roll out the pizza dough very thin. We used slightly less than a whole bag of TJ's dough, so 1 whole bag will make a very big pizza (or you can trim some off and save it for later use). After the pizza dough is pressed out, put it on the pizza pan—we like the big pans with holes in them.
Peel and core the apples. Slice medium thin and put in a large bowl. Squeeze lemon juice over apples and gently mix. Add cinnamon, brown sugar, pecans and raisins. Mix gently. Add melted butter and mix gently. Now sprinkle over a couple of tablespoons of flour and, again, mix gently.
Arrange apples slices on pizza dough in whatever kind of pattern suits you and then spread remaining topping evenly over apples.
Put in oven. Be careful to make sure the top (especially the pecans) does not burn. We put a piece of aluminum foil with a little bit of cooking spray on the inside over ours. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until crust is golden brown and slightly crispy. Drizzle with maple syrup, allow to cool down a bit, then slice as with a pizza. Makes eight pieces. Figure on two pieces (at least) for each person for breakfast.
Oh, and don't forget to top it off with a drizzle of maple syrup.
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