Horse Country Time Trial # 1 - 3/7/09

Was a very windy day. I knew it was going to be bad when I took my bike out of the trunk and it almost blew out of my hands (with disc wheel attached). I went back and forth a few times on wether or not to ride the disc in these conditions, but after a short out-and-back ride of part of the course, I decided that I could manage it and it would at least be good practice. I didn't have any trouble a couple days before in the wind, but it was stronger and gusting race morning.

Was great to have some friends from the SMU Cycling club there (watching and racing). As well as teammates from Fit2Train.

Plenty of fluids, a GU about 20 minutes before the start (to supplement the banana and bagel/honey I had earlier), and two 20 minute sessions on the trainer to warm up. Trainer warmup is absolutely essential to these races....your engine's got to be warm when you hit the start line.

Headed out from the start (west) reasonably hard with the strong south crosswind. Was able to keep the speed around 24-27 mph. I knew it would be rough when the course turned south almost directly into the wind....and it was. Couple hills and flats into the wind and I was struggling to keep 14 mph. I passed 2 riders on the way out and made the turn.

Got a nice boost with a tailwind heading back north up the hills and passed 2 more riders....couple of spots were 30+mph. Course turned east and I fought some gusty crosswinds that really moved me around. Still, I felt that I was getting somewhat of a sail/push effect with the disc, and was glad to have it.

Passed one more rider with about a mile to go, and emptied the tank on the last 1000 meters uphill.

Crossed the line in 32:39...just about 23mph average for the 12.5 mile course. This is 17 seconds slower than the last time I did the course, but with the insane wind...I'll take it. Came in 26th place in the Cat4/5 division. Passed 5 riders, no one passed me.

I think first place Cat4/5 was 28 minutes and change. First place overall was 26:27...smokin'. Take heart all you 'older' racers...that guy was in the 40+ masters.

Thanks to Scot Montague for taking pictures!

Cowtown Half Marathon

Waking up a little before 5am and seeing the wind whipping the bushes outside (knowing it was 36 degrees or so) had me thinking of some creative ways that I could duck out of this race....was my throat a little sore? Maybe I'm running a fever?

Naaahh....this'll be fun.

Got to the race site a little before 6am and went to pickup my packet and get a race belt (the one thing I forgot at home). Was nice to spend some time in the somewhat heated expo tent and do some stretching. Went back to the car to drop off my wallet, keys and (sigh) nice warm sweats.

Now, just to hang around for the next 40 minutes in 20's degree wind-chill in my shorts. I ended up wearing shorts, thermal shirt, cap with ear covers, and gloves. I did remember to bring a trash bag to wear at the start of the race...and it did help a little. Ditched it after about a mile or so. After about 4 miles, the gloves hung on my race belt.

The starting area was so packed when I got there, there was a large group of us that couldn't even make it on to the starting street...we had to wait on a side street. Starting horn went off and we didn't move for the next 4 minutes.

A few minutes more and we funnelled onto the start chute and crossed the starting mat to register our start times. I was just ready to get running and warm up.

Unfortunately, I was near the back of the crowd and had to weave my way through miles of slower runners/walkers to be able to get up to speed.

Other half-marathons I've done, there's a crowd at the start, and then it thins out some after a few miles. This one stayed packed the whole way. Maybe it was my starting position, maybe the narrower streets. Fortunately, I was able to get enough room to run the pace I wanted with just a little weaving.

I didn't have a firm time goal in mind for this race, since I knew it would be somewhat hilly and I was not familiar with the course. Instead my goal was to keep a 'driving' effort on the flats, 'motor' up the hills and take advantage of some 'free' speed on the downhill sections. In the back of my mind I wanted to at least beat my last half-mary time of 1:51, and possibly get into the mid or low 1:40's if possible. However, I didn't really follow my overall time until the last few miles.

At around 7 miles I took a GU, I was feeling good, staying hydrated at the aid stations. I was keeping my pace around an 8:00 to 8:15 mile, with some sections in the sub-8:00 range. This felt right, so I stuck with this perceived effort level.

The hills were rolling, and never felt very steep, and I liked the variety.

The last 2 or 3 miles of this course is generally uphill, so its a bit of a mental challenge (which I've been practicing). At about 1/2 mile out I picked up the pace to about a 7:00/mile and crossed the line at 1:49:10. A new personal record by about 2 minutes on a challenging course.

It was a good race...easy logistics (easy, free parking downtown). Quick race-packet pickup on race morning, and the new disposable no-return timing chip was nice.

I went back to the car to get my sweats on to come back and enjoy the food/drink and finish festival...but once I got a little warmed up in the car, a hot shower at home sounded much better!

The finisher medal is really cool...its one part of a Texas star. If you do the event for 5 years, you get to make a complete star...nice idea to help influence people to come back.....4 more years and I've got it!

http://www.cowtownmarathon.org/images/2009_Medals.pdf

I'll do this race again...hopefully without the wind next time, but still worth it!

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.