I am a Duathlete

It's official. I am a Duathlete.

This is freaking awesome. I can even begin to express how it feels to me. It's more than the sense of accomplishment from finishing a race that two months ago I was wondering if I was ready for. It's more than taking home Age Group Honors. It's more than hearing people cheer as I crossed the line.

This is proof that I am have started my journey to Ironman. There I said it. I've taken my first step. I've got momentum started. To me, that feels incredibly great. This is possibly the most important journey of self discovery I've ever undertaken.

I've had a few days to replay the race one or two (billion) times in my head, talk it over with Coach and pour over the data. As I've done this, I've noticed my goals changing, and my targets for this year shifting.

As I reviewed my first run, I was pleased with what I saw. My race plan called for me to do the first run at about a 12 minute/mile pace. This most definitely did not happen. The first mile at 8:45 and the second at around 8:53 opened up my eyes. I knew I had speed over short distances (short as in under 400 meters). To be able to hold this pace for two miles was a huge leap forward for me. I read back in my blog and saw how excited I was to hit a 12 minute mile pace. This totally blows that out of the water, all in really three months of consistant training.

Playing through the bike in my head, and looking at the times for it, I wanted to be a bit faster. But I had some weather to deal with. Tail winds on the out leg helped, but the cross winds and head winds on the in leg were hard. Still over all, I had a good speed of about 16.5 mph for the bike portion. Not blazing fast compared to some. But I've had my bike for just over a month. The shoes and pedals for less than. Before I had my bike, I was training on a stationary bike in the gym. Being able to make key passes early and late after such little road time really showed me how far I've come in such a short time.

Then there was that dreaded last 5k run. I had to really dig deep for that. Not to finish it, but to keep pushing myself to finish it running without walking. It took some effort to shove the pain in my left hammy to a corner of my mind and keep it there. That was the first time I had experienced something like that. Now I know I can deal with it, and I learned that I can push through it to find that other side. What's more, I kept a good (for me) pace of 10min/mile or so. Again, where I was three months ago and where I was during the race is incredible to me.

I honestly know I couldn't have made these gains without my Coach, Heather. It was her training plan that's brought me from injury prone at the beginning to where I am now. And standing here, four days later, I see that I have a lot of work to do still. Oh yes dear friends. I have a lot of work to do.

I'm still not a strong runner. Running is still my weakest event and it takes work for me to do it. Still, I'm getting more comfortable with the run. By the end of my race season, my goal is to get my pace sub 8's. I think this is doable. I know I can get strong and faster and gain more endurance.

Ah the bike, what I feel is my strongest event. I'm looking forward to improvement here as well. I'm feeling more comfortable on the bike each time I get on it. I think aerobars will help me out, as I generate more power with less effort when I'm down on the horns. For the bike, my goal is to have an average speed in the low 20's this season. Again, I think this is very doable from where I'm sitting now.

Race wise, always room for metric tons of improvement. I'll keep this goal short and sweet. I'm shooting for a top 25% over all finish in my A race in August.

So I have a lot of work to do, and I'm looking forward to each session and the benefits I'll gain from Heather's planning, her experience and her advice.

She even said it's ok for me to use Ducky Floats during swim training. If I provide pictures.

Hammonton Sprint Duathlon Race Report

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity

To seize everything you ever wanted in one moment

Would you capture it or just let it slip?

-Eminem "Lose Yourself"

1st Run: I tried to go slow, I really did. I was aiming for the target pace. I don't know what happened. I did have a tail wind on the first mile. I saw my pace time and I was thought "crap, I'm going to burn my legs out!" But the legs felts awesome. I decided to go with the flow on it. Made the turn around and came back. I saw the first of the Tri's on the bike on the way back going past me. I was working hard that last mile or so and wanting to get on the bike to rest the legs.

This is where my legs lived today

T1: Into T1 I went. Found my bike, two racks after the 2nd tree on the left. Grabbed some water from the water bottle I had there. Changed shoes no problem, got the helmet and gloves on, took off the pull over, and ran to the mount point. Jumped on and took off. I had a bit of a problem getting my 2nd foot clipped in. But eventually it locked in. I was off and biking!

Bike: The first leg of the bike went pretty well. Because of the wind, I decided to stay on the horns as much as I could. Right away, I made about 10 passes and felt like Macca. 

Only I don't have a TT, and this wasn't Kona. Or a Triathlon.

The tail wind helped. Anyway, I kept making passes on the way out there. I had a couple of people pass me, but I let them have it and saved the legs. There were a couple of hills I hammered up. I did get passed by a tiny itty bit lady on a TT. 

Ok she wasn't this small. But her bike WAS this color. 

Around the turn, grabbed another gear and hammered it to get up to speed. Oooph. Head wind. And gusting cross wind. I made a couple more passes and caught up to the itty bitty lady on the TT and passed her. I couldn't make it stick. We kept leap frogging each other the most of the way back. I was very careful to stay out of the drafting zone, but was content to let her set the pace so I could give the legs more rest. At 45 mins, I popped a GU. I was worried with that fast run and fast 1st bike leg, I was gonna bonk. 

About 2 miles or so from the T2, Itty Bitty Girl and I were going up a hill that was the overpass to the Turnpike. She slowed down, which put me in the draft zone. So I muttered a four letter word, grabbed another gear, stood in the saddle and hammed up the hill. I made this pass stick and that was the last I saw of her on the bike. I biked back to T2 with no problems, having a bit of fun getting low and fast on the bike down hills. 

Yee-effing-haw

The turn into T2, I unstrapped my shoes and then did a flying dismount from the bike and ran back to the rack. Grabbed my shoes, ditched the helmet and gloves, grabbed some more water and popped another GU for the 5k.

My cheering section was there, which is an awesome feeling. THere was a bit of banter with one of them as I ran out of T2 to the final run.

2nd Run: I was hurting. I noticed on the bike the hamstring of my left leg was starting to ache. But I remembered what Macca said: "What do I do when the pain comes? I smile." That exactly what I did on the bike and on the run. This run's pace was much slower, but I'm still pretty happy with it. It was a pretty uneventful run other than that hamstring hurting the whole way. Ran out to the turn around, told the volunteer I was I thought they said "5k RUM not run!" waved and headed back. The last 100 meters or so I saw the finish line, had some gas left in the tank, and sprinted for it. 

Official Time: 1:36:26 - 3rd Place for my age group.

Things I learned:

I have some speed! I didn't know this. Both the 1st run was a PR and I think the 2nd one might have been as well.

The bike: I'm much more effect on the horns than on the hoods. I seem to have an easier time with generating power when I need it.

Cold weather sucks. Nuff said.

File This Idea Under: "Epically Awesome" or "Possibly The Dumbest Thing Ever"

This is The Manayunk Wall.

This entry is not about my race on Saturday. Oh, don't worry, it's very much on my mind. I'm nervous and excited for it. I will dedicate a whole post to it after I'm done, pre and post race report complete with pictures and funny stories.

This post is about something I just did.

Here in Philly, we've a lil burb called Manayunk. It's a cozy little town. Lots of row homes and great places to eat, drink and be merry. It's also played host to cycling races in the past. This year, the race almost didn't happen. However, Parx Casino stepped up and saved it. Race is on!

The race has been renamed to the Philly Cycling Classic. The course has changed but it's signature feature has remained. The Manayunk Wall. What is the Wall you might ask? It's a stretch of road that's 800 meters at a 17% grade. Sounds like a lot of fun to zoom down huh?

Only the race goes UP the Wall. Yes, uphill. This will be amazing!

Us non-pros get a chance to race the course as well in the Bicycle Open. We get 1:15 to do as many laps as we can on the 12 mile course (I think), with the streets blocked off and no traffic. Then after we're done, the Pro Teams will start their race. While I eat breakfast. I like this plan!

Does this count as an endurance ride or a interval ride is my big question?

Wordless Wednesday (NSF-some-W)

Is it Race Day Yet? I can't Stand Me...

Of Pedals, Shoes, Cars and Irony

Bleeding through a tourniquet smile

I spin on a whim slide to the right

Bush - "Machinehead"

Guess who got new pedals and shoes?! That's right, I'm legit. I picked up some Shimano 105 pedals and Bontrager shoes at the local bike(/ski/swim/run) shop. Who also is a sponsor of Team Triumph, of which I'm a member. It was long over due. Using toe clips sucked. Not only that, it was dangerous for me. I spent more time trying to get my right foot in the clip after starting on the road that I should have. Can you say recipe for disaster?

I did NOT cuddle them.. that you can prove.

I did not rush home and install the new pedals on the bike. I actually did something smart. While I was buying these wonderful little toys, I scheduled a Level II fitting. I needed to come back in for my 30 day adjustment anyway, so it seemed like a good idea. So the waiting game began. I got the goodies on a Friday, and had scheduled the fitting for a Tuesday. In hindsight, I would have just brought the bike with me that day, but I'm not always the brightest knife in the shed. So I waited....

And while I waited, I harkened back to a conversation I had with a friend of mine. George and his wife Angie (side note: Angie has a great cycling blog that one should check out: http://www.bikinator.com/ ) are both cyclists. Like hard core and have been for years. George was kind enough to give me a list of things I would need. On that list was getting a Road ID.

What's Road ID you ask? I'm so glad you did. Road ID is a bracelet, shoe tag or dog tag you wear. In it's simplest form, it has your name, an emergency contact name and number and some important medical information on it. The idea is that if you're out running, biking, or walking and something happens, first responders can get the important info right away.

It's a nifty box they send

This is my Road ID. Names of the guilty have been removed, but the rest is as you see it.

So Sunday night, I ordered mine. I've been riding/running with out one, and I thought it would be a good idea to get one. Tuesday comes, and off to get fitted I go. They guys at my LBS are awesome. They dialed in my fitting more with the pedals and gave me as much time as I wanted on the trainer to get used to the feel of the new gear before they unleashed me out into the world. 

Thankfully, it has stopped raining by the time I got back to Geek Central and was able to take Inara (yes I named my bike, what of it?) out for a nice long ride. 

Holy crap, what a difference! I felt so much more efficient when pedaling. They say you feel more connected with your bike with clipless shoes, and it's true. I felt like the crank was an extension of my legs. When I remember not to mash. It is taking me some time to learn how to spin correctly. I have to think about how I'm pedaling a LOT. But that's normal. And I often catch myself paying attention to other things on the bike instead of my pedaling. You know, things like cars, kids, people, other bikes, and was that a jackalope I just saw? Just the normal everyday things.

So I got through my first ride incident free. I was stoked. I had this down, this is great! I remember to unclip my down foot when I started breaking. What was the big deal.

Cue the Universe snickering at me.

Friday, I had a time trial from Coach. I couldn't wait for it. I wanted to see if I gained any speed from the pedals and shoes. I had been wondering about my bike race pace, and Coach Heather said to think about this on the TT. With the old pedals, I was averaging about 4 min/miles. I really wanted to get faster. I was wondering if 3:30 min/miles were realistic with out toasting my legs for that last run leg. 

So off I went! I decided to use my normal riding circuit. I wanted to be familiar with the roads, environment and traffic so I could focus more on the TT than a new circuit. So I headed off there, through the back streets to avoid the Friday afternoon traffic. At a stop sign it happened. The infamous 0 mph crash. I had my down leg down but felt myself tipping. I couldn't get my other foot unclipped in time. As I was going down, I heard myself say "Yup, here it is!" Then I remembered what my twitter buddy Carrie had posted just days before:

To which I replied: If you've not been down, you're going down...

And I went down. I laughed at myself, and counted myself lucky I got the first one out of the way on a non busy street. And I got a nifty battle scare to show for it:

Women still dig scars, right?

Still smiling to myself, I made it to the circuit and started my time trial. I felt really strong and was able to hit my goal of 3:30min/mile often, I even got a 3:20min/mile. To say I was happy with that is an understatement. On the second TT interval, I was coming to the end of it and riding in a nice wide bike lane, coming up to a stop light. I often do the left shoulder glance to see what's behind me. I did notice a car coming up behind me so I moved over to the right a bit more. 

My first clue should have been the horrible rap music that preceded the car. I guess my bright Red bike,  and jersey weren't visible in the day light. Or the kid behind the wheel was just not paying attention. For what ever reason, he drifted into the bike lane.

If you're not a cyclist, you might not know the following. But when on the bike, we can hear cars behind us and we listen for them. All the time. And this car just sounded way to close. I glanced back over my left shoulder again.

It looked like his fender was lined up on my back tire. I moved over even more with what little time I had. As he pulled up even with me, I saw how close he was, it looked like about a foot from me, and tried to get away. Long story short, I went down again on my right side. Thankfully where I went down was grass. The bike and I slid for a bit. After jumping up, I did the logical thing anyone else would do.

Made sure my bike was OK. I have insurance, the bike doesn't. 

The rims got a little scraped up so now there's a bit of rubbing on the brake pads. But other than that, she seems fine.

I pulled over into an empty parking lot, stopped my Garmin (again, that's what any normal person would do, right?) and gave myself the once over for a few minutes. Then it dawned on me. I really could have been smeared. Like in a really bad way. 

I was so VERY glad I had gotten my Road ID that same day. Nothing reenforced the importance of having it on like this incident. So now, I won't EVER take it off. 

If you don't have a Road ID, you should. Right now. Go over to their website and order one: http://www.roadid.com. I'll even give you a coupon code for a $1 off: ThanksChris26140589. Their product is NOT expensive, and it's better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. 

I did get back on the bike and finish the time trial. I stayed on a street with less traffic, and was still fairly pleased with my times. 

This morning, I climbed back on the bike and did my hour ride, on the wet roads. Nothing like getting back in the saddle to get over the jitters. 

Today, not one wreck.

In which the author is besot by Race Crazies.

And not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.

Eminem - "Till I Collapse"

I don't know if Race Crazies are a thing. I think I have them though. Two weeks before my first "B" race of the season, and occupying a good chunk of my mind.

Never leave the line like a bat outta hell... ever.

I remember about a month ago, I was wondering if I'd be able to finish the race. To some, it's not a big deal. It's a sprint, two mile run, 12 mile bike and a three mile run. I know a lot of people that can do that as their warm up. I'm pretty confident some days that I can finish the race.

Right now, I think I can do the three miles off the bike. The two miles before the bike don't worry me. The bike doesn't worry me. It's really that last running leg that makes me nervous. I'm not a strong runner at all. I don't know why people think I'm all speed on the run, I'm not. I'm a very slow runner. More of a plodder really.

Who Said Pancakes?!

"But it's only a Sprint!" Yes, I know it is. It's my first duathlon. If I wasn't nervous about it, I don't think I would be taking it as seriously as I need to take it. See this is more than just 'a race.' It's the first check point on my way to the big show. I trust in my coach's plan, and in her wisdom. What I'm questioning is if I've put forth enough effort in executing that plan. I know that there are somedays I've put in a lack luster work out performance. I KNOW I'm overanalyzing everything right now looking for keys and hints as to how I'll perform.

And it's driving me bat shit insane! I really can't even stand me right now. I have no idea how others are tolerating me. I'm very thankful it's not a full on taper of weeks and weeks. Coach Heather has reduced my workout time and increased the intensity of the workouts. This is a nice change from the long runs and bikes. Fartleks are hard on me, but I like them. I've a bike time trial tonight, with the new pedals and new shoes. Coach and I talked a bit about my biking race pace and it's hard to target that because of the new gear so soon before the race. So tonight she asked me to think about it while I'm doing the TT. Previously, I was at about a 4 minute mile on the bike average. I'd really like to race at a 3:30 minute mile. It's a goal and I'm going to try to achieve it on the 25th.

Andy Potts fast? I don't think so...

Of course looking at last years race times doesn't help at all.

So, my dear readers, if I seem a bit out of my mind the next couple of weeks, its because I am out of my mind. This is a huge milestone for me, and I'm going to obsess over it more than I normally obsess over things, which is saying a lot. I've a PhD in obsessing, and I plan to put it to good use.

It's only two weeks, right?

Shit, it's only two weeks!!!!!

So the show happened, and I suffered for it.

"My life has been a nightmare

My soul is fractured to the bone"

Stabbing Westward - "Save Yourself"

It's been a while since my last post, for good reason. Last week was our show that took me out of my routine and monkey wrenched the hell out of my training.

I had told Coach about the show, and I fully intended to train through the show, thinking it was just another business trip. I was VERY wrong. I had no idea what was going to happen down there. And my training suffered for it.

Two rooms of about 30,000 square feet each needed to be set up with vendor stands, laptops, printers and all manner of IT gear. Three days of walking, bending, lifting, climbing and other acrobatics. I felt fine the first three days. I really enjoyed running in the Florida weather early in the morning. It was quiet, warm and humid.

Yes I said humid. I love running in the humidity. For some reason, my legs feel much better and looser in the humidity and heat. My running partner down there, Tracey, didn't think so. Yes, I actually had a running partner. Tracey has an awesome story. She's just about a year of being cancer free. She runs and does yoga 6 times a week. Prior to our heading south, she had asked if she could run with me, warning me she was a slow runner. PFFT! This woman is a machine. She has that natural graceful gazelle like stride that looks so effortless. And she's quick. Quick like a tiny little elf bunny gazelle. I hated her. Not really, just a lot of jealousy. I still have to work hard at my running. Someday, I hope I can be as effortless as her.

Anyway, on the third day I had speed work on the schedule. A 15 minute warmup, then 15 minutes at tempo, followed by a 15 minute cool down. Tracey was game for the drill, so off we went. We were chatting about running, Game of Thrones, and the show during the warm up. Just enjoying the chat and the early morning calmness. Then we kicked it into tempo.

I don't care what she says, that woman is competitive. I was planning on tempo being around 11 minute/mile. Pfft! We fucked around and ended up sub 8 mile. Even with the stupid inclines around the hotel complex. Which we both cursed each time we had to run up it. Did I mention it was a sub 8 mile? And I still had gas in the tank! Right about 12 minutes into it... Tracey had to stop. She tried to tell me she was fine and to keep going, but she was a bit busy dry heaving.

Wups.

Anyway, that same day was the first day of the show, and insanity ensued. This was day four of being on my feet 12 hours a day, running to and fro. By the end of the day, my legs were totally toast. Long story short, I took the next two days off. I emailed Coach to tell her, and she agreed. All that standing and walking to an fro does toast the legs.

I felt horrible about missing those two days. I got a bit surly about it too. Friday after I got back home, I did as I was told, and went for a quick 15 minute run. The legs felt a bit crappy, but I powered through it.

I noticed the difference yesterday during my brick workout. My bike speeds were slower, I was working harder and just not on target. Let's not even talk about the run.

Today, I'm back in the saddle again. Three weeks to my first race, and I've got some ground to make up. And some extra pounds to lose. Time to lean into it.