Little Paul, happy for the time being.
Paul in the "command ring"
Start of Bismarck Tri-turned-du
Finishing the 5k of the Bismarkck "tri"
Monday, June 22, 2009
Photos
Little Paul, happy for the time being.
Paul in the "command ring"
Start of Bismarck Tri-turned-du
Finishing the 5k of the Bismarkck "tri"
Bismarck race results and training changes
Race results from Bismarck are posted. I finished 11 of 17, better than expected actually. Interesting that my bike was relatively good, in the mix with five others who finished the bike in 1:14-1:15 for spot 6-12 on the bike, so I'll take that as a success. My run came in at 55:06 per the official results, and that is incredibly slow for me. The first 5k was a 21:05, which isn't bad considering I limped in for the final 1.5 miles after a good split at the 1.5 mile mark.
Overall, I am really disappointed with these results, but it was fun to do the race. Like I said before, I learned a very important lesson that I don't like duathlons. That said, doing workouts of run-bike-run should really improve both my bike and run for triathlons. I'll start putting those into my workouts. I was already thinking about it, and this absolutely confirms the validity of that type of workout. Even this past week at Hebgen Lake, I could feel that my legs weren't what they could be on the run.
I have seven weeks til the Portland Tri to get into optimal shape. With a run-bike-run workout and a good race distance bike-run brick each week, I should be able to get where I want to be. I'm going to cut back a bit on the hours in order to get in higher intensity workouts, too. Right now I think I'll plan for 8-10 hours instead of 10-12 (and only hitting ten anyway!).
Another interesting thing: I'm losing weight right now at about one pound per week not doing anything. Very strange. I think that might be a sign of overtraining, at least in terms of intensity because I'm sure it's not hours. Every workout to this point except a couple runs per week has been a high intensity, and that's not such a great thing as it might sound.
Overall, I am really disappointed with these results, but it was fun to do the race. Like I said before, I learned a very important lesson that I don't like duathlons. That said, doing workouts of run-bike-run should really improve both my bike and run for triathlons. I'll start putting those into my workouts. I was already thinking about it, and this absolutely confirms the validity of that type of workout. Even this past week at Hebgen Lake, I could feel that my legs weren't what they could be on the run.
I have seven weeks til the Portland Tri to get into optimal shape. With a run-bike-run workout and a good race distance bike-run brick each week, I should be able to get where I want to be. I'm going to cut back a bit on the hours in order to get in higher intensity workouts, too. Right now I think I'll plan for 8-10 hours instead of 10-12 (and only hitting ten anyway!).
Another interesting thing: I'm losing weight right now at about one pound per week not doing anything. Very strange. I think that might be a sign of overtraining, at least in terms of intensity because I'm sure it's not hours. Every workout to this point except a couple runs per week has been a high intensity, and that's not such a great thing as it might sound.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Janet's Tri race report
Race report from this weekend's race in Hebgen Lake near West Yellowstone. Great time. Race website is www.janetstriathlon.org
Left work at noon Friday, out of Poky at 1:15. Checked into Yellowstone National Park Madison Campground around 4:30. Camp setup by 5:00. New family truckster Xterra works well for family trips like this. Weather was ok and looking to be fair for race on Saturday. To sleep at 10pm on the dot.
Pre-race: Up at 0715 to a chilly morning but no rain (yet!). Standard morning routine. Cooked up coffee and SmartStart cereal. Baby Paul was doing ok. Out of camp at 0815, get another coffee at the gas station in West Yellowstone, arrive race area at 0900 to check in and get ready. Felt a little rushed, unlike last year when we got there really early and stood around for 90 minutes or so. The water was looking good, and they said it was 59deg instead of 53 showing on Reclamation Website. Good to go, I guess. The race looked much bigger than the 40 or so from last year, and it was…had 72 entrants this year. I got a decent warmup in the water and then headed to the start line, where they screwed around with the timers for a bit.
Swim: Went exactly according to plan, and a minute faster than expected. Lined up front right so I could get next to the rope that leads to the bouy (out and back course). I hit the start well, and things went good from there. Turned around at 500meters at 7:20 and I was in about 5th place overall. Water was smooth and easy swimming. Saw some cool bugs on the water but couldn't identify for use while fishing later in the day. Swam the rest of the way with a good stroke, focusing on form over power to ensure I didn't freak out and feel like I couldn't breathe. Swam the entire way with my face in the water with a good freestyle stroke. Out of water in 15:02 and in 5th or 6th.
T1: Sucked. Couldn't get the zipper going on my wetsuit. WTF!?!?!?! Out in 3:21…SLOW!
Bike: Went as planned but felt slow. This is a flat course on a packed dirt road with lots of "humpty" bouncers. I passed a lot of bikers that must have been part of the relays that passed me in transition. I felt like I was pushing hard but still felt slow. Not sure what the deal was. This is really a fun course to ride!
T2: In and out! Saw only two bikes, so thought I was doing well. Found at later that I wasn't in third overall but 5th or so.
Run: Started slow on purpose, but not sure I could've pushed much faster immediately. I was babying a pulled left calf muscle from last week's tri-turned-du. First mile was 8:45, second 8:25, third and fourth came in at 16:02 for 8minute average. As I ran, I felt that my calf muscle was stronger, so I pushed it harder. Got passed by one guy at mile 2.5 or so…large guy about 6'2" and 250 and all muscle cut pretty well…not the kind of guy you expect to blow by you on the run, anyway, he kept pulling away for the rest of the run. Finished run in 33:02 (about 100 yards over 4 miles).
Overall: I love this triathlon because of the MTB and trail run. I would like to see a couple of hills, but you can't have everything. I couldn't remember my times from last year on race day, but I just looked them up and my overall time was faster but bike and run were slower. That's with a bum wheel, so I'm ok with that. The swim went so much better and is a better representation of what I can do, so I'm very happy that my OWS practices the past month paid off. The race was much bigger this year, too. Got first in age group. And Pocatello was well-represented in this race this year, which is nice to see.
Misc: The venue for this is simply awesome, and the family that runs it is GREAT. The swim has been in calm water both years I did it. The bike is on flat packed dirt road that is lots of fun to ride cuz of the bumps (cyclo-cross bike is probably best). The run is a nice run on old logging roads, too. No gas fumes during this race! It's a memorial race for their daughter Janet who died from cancer, and it's a fundraiser for cancer research. Very well organized, and everyone is friendly. We make it a family fishing trip to Yellowstone with a triathlon for fun. The weather was great for the race….about 60 and overcast/mostly cloudy, threatening rain the entire time. The rains came after the race and lasted all day, all night, and into the morning, which is why we left early. I did catch a small brookie in the Gibbon about 100 yards downstream from the bridge by Madison Junction, so that was a success, too.
This year's times versus last year's times. First line is my watch. Second line is race results, and the swim and T1 are combined. Third line is 2008 times.
Year Race time Chip time Swim T1 Bike T2 Run
2009 1:39:58 15:02 3:21.46 48:22 XX 33:12
1:39:56.057 18:24.63 47:58.846 27.765 33:04.807
2008 1:42:07.168 1:42:05.556 21:04.55 2:27.700 45:58.082 33.217 32:03.615
Average Heart Rate: 161 Calories: 1,932
Swim AHR: 155
Bike AHR: 162
Run AHR: 164
Left work at noon Friday, out of Poky at 1:15. Checked into Yellowstone National Park Madison Campground around 4:30. Camp setup by 5:00. New family truckster Xterra works well for family trips like this. Weather was ok and looking to be fair for race on Saturday. To sleep at 10pm on the dot.
Pre-race: Up at 0715 to a chilly morning but no rain (yet!). Standard morning routine. Cooked up coffee and SmartStart cereal. Baby Paul was doing ok. Out of camp at 0815, get another coffee at the gas station in West Yellowstone, arrive race area at 0900 to check in and get ready. Felt a little rushed, unlike last year when we got there really early and stood around for 90 minutes or so. The water was looking good, and they said it was 59deg instead of 53 showing on Reclamation Website. Good to go, I guess. The race looked much bigger than the 40 or so from last year, and it was…had 72 entrants this year. I got a decent warmup in the water and then headed to the start line, where they screwed around with the timers for a bit.
Swim: Went exactly according to plan, and a minute faster than expected. Lined up front right so I could get next to the rope that leads to the bouy (out and back course). I hit the start well, and things went good from there. Turned around at 500meters at 7:20 and I was in about 5th place overall. Water was smooth and easy swimming. Saw some cool bugs on the water but couldn't identify for use while fishing later in the day. Swam the rest of the way with a good stroke, focusing on form over power to ensure I didn't freak out and feel like I couldn't breathe. Swam the entire way with my face in the water with a good freestyle stroke. Out of water in 15:02 and in 5th or 6th.
T1: Sucked. Couldn't get the zipper going on my wetsuit. WTF!?!?!?! Out in 3:21…SLOW!
Bike: Went as planned but felt slow. This is a flat course on a packed dirt road with lots of "humpty" bouncers. I passed a lot of bikers that must have been part of the relays that passed me in transition. I felt like I was pushing hard but still felt slow. Not sure what the deal was. This is really a fun course to ride!
T2: In and out! Saw only two bikes, so thought I was doing well. Found at later that I wasn't in third overall but 5th or so.
Run: Started slow on purpose, but not sure I could've pushed much faster immediately. I was babying a pulled left calf muscle from last week's tri-turned-du. First mile was 8:45, second 8:25, third and fourth came in at 16:02 for 8minute average. As I ran, I felt that my calf muscle was stronger, so I pushed it harder. Got passed by one guy at mile 2.5 or so…large guy about 6'2" and 250 and all muscle cut pretty well…not the kind of guy you expect to blow by you on the run, anyway, he kept pulling away for the rest of the run. Finished run in 33:02 (about 100 yards over 4 miles).
Overall: I love this triathlon because of the MTB and trail run. I would like to see a couple of hills, but you can't have everything. I couldn't remember my times from last year on race day, but I just looked them up and my overall time was faster but bike and run were slower. That's with a bum wheel, so I'm ok with that. The swim went so much better and is a better representation of what I can do, so I'm very happy that my OWS practices the past month paid off. The race was much bigger this year, too. Got first in age group. And Pocatello was well-represented in this race this year, which is nice to see.
Misc: The venue for this is simply awesome, and the family that runs it is GREAT. The swim has been in calm water both years I did it. The bike is on flat packed dirt road that is lots of fun to ride cuz of the bumps (cyclo-cross bike is probably best). The run is a nice run on old logging roads, too. No gas fumes during this race! It's a memorial race for their daughter Janet who died from cancer, and it's a fundraiser for cancer research. Very well organized, and everyone is friendly. We make it a family fishing trip to Yellowstone with a triathlon for fun. The weather was great for the race….about 60 and overcast/mostly cloudy, threatening rain the entire time. The rains came after the race and lasted all day, all night, and into the morning, which is why we left early. I did catch a small brookie in the Gibbon about 100 yards downstream from the bridge by Madison Junction, so that was a success, too.
This year's times versus last year's times. First line is my watch. Second line is race results, and the swim and T1 are combined. Third line is 2008 times.
Year Race time Chip time Swim T1 Bike T2 Run
2009 1:39:58 15:02 3:21.46 48:22 XX 33:12
1:39:56.057 18:24.63 47:58.846 27.765 33:04.807
2008 1:42:07.168 1:42:05.556 21:04.55 2:27.700 45:58.082 33.217 32:03.615
Average Heart Rate: 161 Calories: 1,932
Swim AHR: 155
Bike AHR: 162
Run AHR: 164
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Ready for next race Saturday
Leaving tomorrow at noon for Yellowstone National Park. Reservations at Madison Junction campground. Fishing reports are awesome! We're staying there and then making the 15 minute drive over to Hebgen Lake for the triathlon.
Mostly packed and 100% mentally ready to go for my next race. The Janet's Triathlon at Madison Resort on Hebgen Lake, just north of West Yellowstone. I did this race last year as my first tri ever and absolutely loved it. It was such an awesome day with awesome weather. This year doesn't look as good, though.
Water temp is 53 today, with only one more day of warming. I don't think it's going to get up to even 55, much less 58 or over 60. If they make it a duathlon, I'm not doing it so I can give my calf muscle a chance to recover (and the Firehole River is fishing AWESOME right now, I hear).
If it's a tri, I'm going to love it again. It's 1,000 meters in the water, 500m out and back with a lane rope to follow. The bike is MTB on flat, packed-dirt roads. The run is flat on packed-dirt, too. I love this course. Actually, I wouldn't mind a couple hills to make it interesting, but it's still great to get on the dirt for the bike and run.
This will be Paul's first trip to YNP (out of the womb, anyway)!
Mostly packed and 100% mentally ready to go for my next race. The Janet's Triathlon at Madison Resort on Hebgen Lake, just north of West Yellowstone. I did this race last year as my first tri ever and absolutely loved it. It was such an awesome day with awesome weather. This year doesn't look as good, though.
Water temp is 53 today, with only one more day of warming. I don't think it's going to get up to even 55, much less 58 or over 60. If they make it a duathlon, I'm not doing it so I can give my calf muscle a chance to recover (and the Firehole River is fishing AWESOME right now, I hear).
If it's a tri, I'm going to love it again. It's 1,000 meters in the water, 500m out and back with a lane rope to follow. The bike is MTB on flat, packed-dirt roads. The run is flat on packed-dirt, too. I love this course. Actually, I wouldn't mind a couple hills to make it interesting, but it's still great to get on the dirt for the bike and run.
This will be Paul's first trip to YNP (out of the womb, anyway)!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Race Report: Bismarck Triathlon
I had high hopes for this race. All of them were crushed quickly. I learned alot though!
The race became a duathlon because of cold water from the snow that fell a week earlier. Water temps were high 50s or so. I would have preferred to swim because I am a relatively good swimmer. I'm a below-average biker, and an average runner. And the one time I've run before I biked, my bike sucked because my legs were so tired, so confidence was not high going into the race. But I was going to go hard anyway.
Prior to the race, I had done well limiting alcohol intake during the high school reunion, but I was eating literally probably three times as much as I normally do. I drove the bike course and saw that the hills were longer than expected.
5K Run: The race started with an olympic race field of only about 15 racers. I hit the 5k turnaround at about 9:35, which is really fast for me, and I was hoping for 10:15. At mile 2 of the 5k, I felt my left calf muscle pull. Damn! I have had some problems with my calf muscles, but they both felt strong in training and I wasn't worrying about them. I even warmed up before the race, something I haven't done before. In any case, my second split for the 5k was 12 minutes and change.
T1: Sucked. My legs were tired and I couldn't push off my left leg because of the muscle pull, resulting in the below video comedy of getting out of T1. I'm lucky I didn't cause any crashes.
The race became a duathlon because of cold water from the snow that fell a week earlier. Water temps were high 50s or so. I would have preferred to swim because I am a relatively good swimmer. I'm a below-average biker, and an average runner. And the one time I've run before I biked, my bike sucked because my legs were so tired, so confidence was not high going into the race. But I was going to go hard anyway.
Prior to the race, I had done well limiting alcohol intake during the high school reunion, but I was eating literally probably three times as much as I normally do. I drove the bike course and saw that the hills were longer than expected.
5K Run: The race started with an olympic race field of only about 15 racers. I hit the 5k turnaround at about 9:35, which is really fast for me, and I was hoping for 10:15. At mile 2 of the 5k, I felt my left calf muscle pull. Damn! I have had some problems with my calf muscles, but they both felt strong in training and I wasn't worrying about them. I even warmed up before the race, something I haven't done before. In any case, my second split for the 5k was 12 minutes and change.
T1: Sucked. My legs were tired and I couldn't push off my left leg because of the muscle pull, resulting in the below video comedy of getting out of T1. I'm lucky I didn't cause any crashes.
Bike: I thought I was prepared for the hills and the wind. I was 80% correct. I came in at 1:15 versus a goal of 1:09. The calf muscle didn't hurt too bad but I couldn't really push high gears to increase speed. The hills were more than I bargained for, too....loooonger than expected but the grade was doable. I followed my plan for the bike nearly perfectly, though, and came in ok.
T2: Quick and easy. Thought about bailing to save my leg but it had a chance to warm up more and work itself out a bit such that it didn't hurt too bad unless I was striding out and running hard.
10k Run: I started out pretty slow with trouble getting my legs going. After a few minutes, I got into a groove, but couldn't speed up much because of the bum leg. The run would've been good with a good leg, I think. Came in at 54 something, really slow.
After the race, I got into the water to clean up before another family picnic. I realized that the water really was as cold as they said!
Overall: I felt good going in. I was really suprised at how fast I went out without really pushing it. The muscle pull is obviously damaging to morale. Finished in 2:37 I think versus a goal of 2:12. Mission NOT accomplished in any way, shape, or form.
Next race is Saturday already, and my leg is about 70% only, and that guess is from walking not running on it. The water temp at Lake Hebgen is currently 50 degrees, so if this turns into a duathlon, I'm not racing.....there's lots of fishing to happen in Yellowstone and I want my leg to be get 100% so I can get back to training for the August and September races that are my primary races. This race is a "B" race anyway.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Worked out the long drive today
Spent 13.5 hours in the car yesterday! On the last gas fill-up and once in Center, I was having trouble getting out of the car. My legs didn't like it at all.
So I did an easy 20 minute bike and 10 minute run today to work it all out. I felt much better afterwards! I found riding on the great plains of North Dakota to be fairly taxing mentally. It takes FOREVER to get to the next little hill. It felt like I was going quite slow. Of course, my speedometer crapped out, so I didn't know how fast I was actually going, but it felt slow. My legs felt really weak off the bike but came together nicely after just a minute or so.
I'll do this easy workout again tomorrow to keep my legs kind of fresh.
So I did an easy 20 minute bike and 10 minute run today to work it all out. I felt much better afterwards! I found riding on the great plains of North Dakota to be fairly taxing mentally. It takes FOREVER to get to the next little hill. It felt like I was going quite slow. Of course, my speedometer crapped out, so I didn't know how fast I was actually going, but it felt slow. My legs felt really weak off the bike but came together nicely after just a minute or so.
I'll do this easy workout again tomorrow to keep my legs kind of fresh.
Monday, June 8, 2009
More rain but got my workouts in
Rained all weekend, a perfect time to not have any workouts scheduled! I have my race this weekend in Bismarck, ND, so I'm keeping this easy this week. Not completely off so I don't get stale, but definitely dialed back, using the same schedule.
Got in my OWS this morning. What a great way to start the week! Took 26 minutes instead of 25 for one mile. The water was up significantly from recent rains, and it was definitely a few degrees cooler, to the point it was cold. When I got done, my feet and ankles were numb, and my hands were stiff. Otherwise, good. And the sun broke out for about ten minutes, and it was BEAUTIFUL!
Ran five miles at lunch. This was an easy Level 3, putting forth effort but not pushing hard and keeping the pace uphill. I came in at 37:30, which is only 1:30 or so slower than my PR. So it was a great time for the effort put forth. It's amazing what some recovery time will do for the body.
Bike an easy 14 miles after work. Very windy.
Got an e-mail today that the race might become a duathlon. Bismarck received quite a bit of rain over the weekend, and the water temps dropped to 53.5, so they might make it a run-bike-run. The change in water temp is understandable, since my sister reported 3-4 inches of snow in parts of the state, which all runs into the Missouri River, which is where the marina for the race gets its water. I say we should swim no matter what. I'm not excited about a duathlon because I'm a relatively good swimmer, and that's where I make up for a slow bike and average run. Decision to be made on race day.
Got in my OWS this morning. What a great way to start the week! Took 26 minutes instead of 25 for one mile. The water was up significantly from recent rains, and it was definitely a few degrees cooler, to the point it was cold. When I got done, my feet and ankles were numb, and my hands were stiff. Otherwise, good. And the sun broke out for about ten minutes, and it was BEAUTIFUL!
Ran five miles at lunch. This was an easy Level 3, putting forth effort but not pushing hard and keeping the pace uphill. I came in at 37:30, which is only 1:30 or so slower than my PR. So it was a great time for the effort put forth. It's amazing what some recovery time will do for the body.
Bike an easy 14 miles after work. Very windy.
Got an e-mail today that the race might become a duathlon. Bismarck received quite a bit of rain over the weekend, and the water temps dropped to 53.5, so they might make it a run-bike-run. The change in water temp is understandable, since my sister reported 3-4 inches of snow in parts of the state, which all runs into the Missouri River, which is where the marina for the race gets its water. I say we should swim no matter what. I'm not excited about a duathlon because I'm a relatively good swimmer, and that's where I make up for a slow bike and average run. Decision to be made on race day.
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