Cold Weather Training

It sure has been tough rolling out of bed on some of these mornings. I have a weather station near my bed that reports temp, wind, chill, rain, etc....so sometimes, its too much information.

I generally don't ride unless its at least 45 degrees, but I can seem to handle running with windchills down into the teens so I usually follow this formula...

50+ = shorts and short sleeve shirt
40's = shorts, light long sleeve (cap and gloves for mid to lower 40's)
30's = shorts (no wind) or tights (windy), thermal long sleeve, gloves and fleece cap with ear covering
20's = same as above, but maybe with an extra layer if windy
teens = I'm stayin' in bed!

I may wear the next level colder gear if its wet or very windy. And I may wear the next level warmer if I'm running during the day in the sun (instead of 5am in the dark).

I may also adjust based on how long I'm running and at what effort level.

Its amazing the amount of heat generated while running.

Getting in our club's outdoor pool during the winter is a story for another post.

2007 Texas State Time Trial Video

Last year (2007) when I did the Texas State Time Trial down in Pattison, TX (near Houston), I rode with a small video camera attached to my handlebars. (see picture)

If you've wondered what a bike time trial is like from the drivers seat, this will give you an idea. Since you probably don't have an hour to spend watching, I've compressed the video down to about 4 minutes....so you get to see it at 'supersonic' speed! ...and no, there's not usually music accompaniment at the race.

When you check in for the race, you're given a specific start time, which means your race clock starts counting at that time (wether you've started or not!)...so it pays to be on time! As you get close to your start time, you should see other race numbers lining up at the start tent, so you find the gap with your number and wait. The officials start the riders every 30 seconds. When you're on deck (30 seconds before your start time), you come to the line and a 'holder' stands behind you and holds your bike while you clip both shoes onto your pedals and get ready. The starter counts the last 5 seconds....5...4....3...2...1...and you're off. This race is about 12.4 miles out and 12.4 miles back...you can read the race report from this year below for more info.

My time last year was 1:10:16 (21.2 mph) which put me at the bottom of the cat-5 stack at 48th out of 59 riders....which explains the number of riders passing me.

This year, I was able to improve to 1:05:26 (22.79 mph) which moved me up to 23rd place out of 50....so this time, I did my own share of passing other riders. To reach the podium in this race, you've got to finish in under an hour....maybe next year!

Running course

My wife Alesia (a Physical Therapist) just took a continued ed course on running over the weekend. The course was geared toward therapists and covered topics such as running mechanics, shoes, injuries, treatments, etc.

One thing she found was a potential cause of some of my IT band issues. In several of my race (running) photos, I'm dropping my left hip while on my right foot. She thinks this could be the root cause of the problems that I developed back in May this year......and, she has some exercises/drills for me to strengthen those muscle groups to see if we can correct it. I have been doing a lot of stretching, hip exercises, foam roller, with a lot of improvement, but still not 100%. More details as we go along.

2008 Racing Season Wrapup

I decided to start this blog to pull together a lot of my experiences and pictures from the racing I do...I hope you enjoy reading them.

I've got things put together on several of these events, but I'll be adding more as well as on other topics as time goes on, so feel free to check back periodically and see what's new.






Wow....2008 has been a busy racing season! Lots of races this year and lots of fun!

• Texas Half - Half marathon
• Lonestar 1/4 Iron triathlon - Galveston, TX
• Horse Country Time Trial #1
• Metroplex Sprint Triathlon
• Dam Time Trial
• Horse Country Time Trial #3
• Texas State Time Trial Championship
• Stonebridge Ranch Triathlon
• US Open Triathlon
• Hexter Howl 5K

This year has been more of a run focus for me, and its paid off in significantly faster run times in both triathlon and running races. The downside is that I "took advantage" of some extra time over the memorial day holiday, and injured my Iliotibial Band I think through overuse. Seems that my leg didn't like a hill workout followed by a 12 mile run the next day, followed by a 50 mile bike the next day and a 20 mile bike/4 mile run combo the following day....I'm thinking I pushed it a little too hard.

So, I spent most of the summer rehabing my IT band with stretching, weights, ice and therapy from my own personal Physical Therapist, Alesia! Fortunately, I was able to keep cycling and recovered enough to finish the year with two triathlons. I had hoped to prepare and race in the White Rock Marathon this year (did the half-marathon last year), but I wasn't able to put in the training volume early enough, so I'll sit this one out. Maybe a half in Ft Worth next year?

I was pleased that even through rehab I was able to maintain my fitness and running speed, and run a respectable 8:15/mile pace in the 10K run portion of the US Open Triathlon, as well as set a personal record of a 7:27/mile pace in the Hexter Howl 5K to finish the year. A far cry from not being able to run more than a half mile without pain back in June!

Despite some injuries, it really has been a good racing season. I was fortunate to have great weather for all of my races and there have been some real high points too!
You can click on one of the races above (or on one of the links to the right) to read a little more about each event.

2008 Texas State Time Trial Championship

I raced Cat-5 in the Texas State Time Trial (Individual) on Saturday 8/2/08. If you don't know, Category 5 is entry level for US Bike Road Racing (USCF). Since I don't maintain a road racing license, Cat-5 is the only division open to me. Based on the number of Time Trial races I did this year, though, I may get a yearly license next year. This race is held in Pattison, a small town outside of Houston, which, unfortunately seems to barely tolerate the event...more on that later.

Its a 40K out-and-back course...pretty flat (couple of rises to deal with), and sometimes a good south wind making a headwind on the way back. ...it is August in Texas after all!

This is the 2nd year I've done this race and I enjoy a flat, non-technical course for a time trial, so that I can focus on running a consistent effort level, right on the edge of my ability.

Hydration is a big part of this event, since temps are 90+ and humidity levels are in the 90% range (I drove through heavy fog on the way to the race site!!).

To prepare, I started drinking extra water several days before, then had plenty of electrolyte drink hours prior to the race and during my warmup, as well as some additional electrolyte capsules.

I carried a 20 oz bottle of water on my bike frame, and drank 10 oz of water just before my start. Warm-up is on a trainer (fortunately, I scored a parking space next to registration, and had a shady spot to set up my trainer!).

Its always a challenge pinning a race number to a one-piece skinsuit. Get it wrong and you've now attached a parachute to your nice aerodynamic outfit! I used suggestions from some folks in Fit2Train on attaching the race number (crumple the number, and used a pillow inside the skinsuit to stretch it out to pin the number on)...that worked great!

I've been racing these events on perceived effort level (instead of monitoring HR, etc), and that has worked out pretty well of late. Starting, I went out hard, then backed it off a few notches and settled into a rythm that I felt I could maintain.

It felt like there was a headwind on the way out, so I was looking forward to a little boost on the way back. At one section, I went through a sampling of 'country' aromas (roadkill, then skunk, then fertilizer/livestock)....reverse order on the way back.

I reached the turnaround at around 31 minutes, a little slower than I planned and headed back....into a headwind....how was that possible?????! I settled into a gear that kept my cadence high, and worked on trying to crank out a good effort without blowing up.

At 5 miles out, I started pushing harder, and at 1K I emptied the tank.

Plenty of hydration and stretching/cooldown after the race!! My final time was 1:05:26 (22.79 mph), 23rd place in Cat-5. That's about a 5 minute improvement from my results last year, moving up 25 places.

As I said, it seems that the town is not very friendly to the race...a van was allowed to speed right past the start line, with the sheriff yelling at the cyclists rather than the driver. And, a racer was actually pulled over and ticketed during the race for apparently crossing out of the sholder and into the traffic lane.

I will probably do this race again next year, but I hope the organizers can either come to a better relationship with the town, or move it somewhere else.

Lonestar Triathlon 3/29/08

This was my second year to do the Lonestar Triathlon down in Galveston, TX. Last year, I did the sprint distance, which fortunately I finished about 15 minutes before the skies opened up and a monsoon (ok....really heavy rain) hit the island....You can see in this picture how dark it was at the swim start and the clouds getting pretty ominous at the finish...

2007 Lonestar Pictures

Although a little foggy at the start, the 2008 race shaped up to be a good day to race. This year I decided to do the 1/4 Iron distance (0.6 mile swim, 28 mile bike, 6.5 mile run). My strength is on the bike (although swim and run are improving), so a longer bike course suits me.

This year Alesia and I and the boys got to stay at Moody Gardens hotel, meaning I could just roll out of bed on race morning, head downstairs and be at the race start.....well worth it! Last year, Alesia had to take a cab to the race!

Rodney and Brittney, a couple of friends from Dallas made it down to do the race as well. Rodney is an experienced endurance athlete who got me into this sport a couple of years ago, and still provides a lot of solid advice and feedback for me on training and racing.

I swam a little the day before and although the water was around 72 degrees, I was feeling overheated in my wetsuit, so I decided to race without it. I probably lost a couple of minutes advantage without it, but you gotta try different things!

Race morning was nice not to see a line of thunderstorms moving in, and the temperature was very comfortable...although, I got a little chilled waiting for the swim start. This event holds both a 1/2 Iron and 1/4 Iron distance race on the same day, with racers for the 1/2 iron starting first.

The Swim

My friends and I watched the waves of 1/2 Iron racers start, but noticed that the beach patrol was bringing in 'rescued' swimmers one after another....what's going on???? If you haven't done any racing in open water before, sometimes the experience can be overwhelming and get the best of you...wether its the chop, chilly water, getting knocked around and swum over, or just not being able to see anything. Maybe thats what was going on?

I was in one of the last waves to hit the water, we jumped off the dock and swam over to the start buoys (that's me jumping off in the picture)....a little chilly getting in, but by then, I'm just thinking about the race. The gun goes off, and we start the 'washing machine' of arms and legs heading away from shore towards the first turn buoy. As I said, conditions were foggy, so it was a little hard to see, but fortunately the turn buoys were bright orange and pretty large.

I exited the .6 mile swim after 22:47 and headed up the ramp toward the transition area to get my bike. Hopefully, not having to take off the wetsuit would regain a few seconds from my lost time.

The Bike

The bike course in this race is pan flat, but wind can be a factor since it travels along the seawall for a few miles. This year, the wind never really seemed to pick up and I was able to keep a pretty solid effort on the bike for the 28 miles.

This was my first race with a new bike (Planet-X Stealth Carbon) and it felt really good to be on a triathlon geometry that fit well. I was able to stay aero the whole way (except in this picture) and passed a lot of other racers.

After averaging about 21.4 mph, I coasted into transition grabbed my running shoes and headed out onto the run course.

The Run
About 1/4 or 1/2 mile, I realized that I had not put on my race number belt for the run. I made a split second decision to run back to transition to get the number, since I recall from at least one race the threat of disqualification if your race number was not worn on the run. Adding an extra 1/2 to 1 mile to my run was not making me happy, but I headed back to transition (getting some very curious looks from people headed the other way), got my number and started the run a second time. Looking back, this was the wrong decision, but sometimes when you're decisive, you make the wrong call but carry on anyway!

The 6.5 mile run course winds through Moody Gardens with lots of switchbacks and turn-arounds...so many that there were a few times that I wasn't sure if I was still on the right course! It also takes you by the finish line (tauntingly close), and then sends you out for another 3 miles! I crossed the line after 1:00:35....not what I wanted for a 6.5 mile course, but not bad if you consider I ran the 7.5 mile version of it!

After the finish, we hung out with friends for awhile, then back to the hotel for a quick shower and packup. The picture here is me loading my bike back onto the custom carrier I made for transporting in our minivan (no, the BMW is not mine). I like it because it allows the bike to sit sideways in the very back portion of the van, out of the way and secure.

This was a great start to the season, a great race to do again, and my first triathlon back after a cycling crash back in September of 2007. I've already got Moody Gardens booked for next year!

Final stats

-----------

0.6 mile swim - 22:47

T1 - 3:47

28 mile bike - 1:18:40 (21.4 mph)

T2 -1:30

6.5 (or 7.5) mile run - 1:00:35 (9:19 mile)

Total time - 2:47:22 - 31st place in the 40-44 age group

Stonebridge Ranch Triathlon - 9/28/2008

It was a lot of fun finally being able to do the Stonebridge Ranch Triathlon in McKinney, TX this year. This was my first triathlon to attend as a spectator, so I was excited to be on the other side this time.

The race was only one week before my big race for the year (US Open), but I decided that the sprint distance would be a good warmup for the following weekend.

The sprint distance is a 750M (1/2 mile) swim, 12.5 mile bike and a 5K (3.1 mile) run.

Driving out to McKinney from my house meant leaving at about 4:30am to get to transition area right when it opens at 5:30am. I really prefer to get there earlier, especially if the bike racks are not reserved for each race number...that way, I can get a spot on the outside of the rack, making transitions a little easier.

It was a chilly morning to start (low 60's) before the sun came out, but warmed up quickly.

The swim was good....wetsuit legal, but not cold (76 degrees). Being in the 40+ wave, we were the last ones to start for the day. I got caught in traffic at the start, but eventually worked my way through. Got my goggles knocked around a few times, but with the straps under my swim cap, they stayed on.

Before my start, I watched some of the olympic-distance racers nearly tripping on their wetsuit arms coming down that hill after the swim (wetsuit down to the waist), I decided not to start stripping mine until I got to the bottom of the hill...turns out that worked pretty well. The transition area was actually in the parking lot on the other side of the tennis courts this time, requiring an extended barefoot run across the concrete parking lot and sidewalk coming out of the swim to the bike. I ended up nursing a bruised foot for a few days after the race, but fortunately, it healed prior to the US Open.

The bike course was so crowded, it felt more like a rally than a race. I actually had to sit up and coast several times until I could get by other packs of riders. No way to call drafting violations...everyone was in violation. I hit almost 32 mph at a couple of places on El Dorado Road and kept a healthy pace on the flats where I could get some room. I felt strong on the bike and was surprised at my time...didn't feel that I pushed it that hard.

I kept things in check for the run, but still passed a number of folks...and had a decent run.

Stats

10th place in the 40-44 age group
750M swim - 15:39.19
T1 - 3:48.35
12.5 mile bike - 31:42.90 (22.7 mph)
T2 - 1:19.10
5K run - 25:47.10 (8:16/mile)
Total time - 1:18:16.64