Europe, Timberman & 70.3 WC

Looking back, it's been a little over three months since my last post. Many things have transpired since then. First, we took a two week trip to England, Scotland & Iceland, which was amazing. We managed to see Wimbledon, Henley, and the Tour de France on three consecutive days while in England. Scotland was quite the contrast as we were staying in a mountainous area, and all of my runs were quite hilly. I also managed to swim in a chilly Scottish Loch. Our two days in Iceland were breathtaking, and is definitely on our list of places to revisit. 

Here Jackson and I are waiting for the peleton to ride by in Ripon on day 1 of the TDF:

While on our trip we were constantly in contact with our bank and lawyer, as we were selling and buying a new house on the same day. In the end everything worked out, and we closed on both the sale and purchase on July 31st. During this period of time we traveled down to visit my parents on Nantucket Island, where I did a weekend double of a sprint on Saturday and an Olympic on Sunday. On limited fitness, I was able to win my AG in both races, but was a far way off from where I would have liked my fitness to be. Having not biked for our two weeks away, having limited swimming, and battling an IT Band injury, I took the races in stride.

I was able to get in a decent five weeks or so of training prior to Timberman in mid August. My long rides were up to around 3 hours, but my runs were short, getting in 20 or less miles per week. My longest run was 8.5 miles a week prior to Timberman, and that was cut short because my IT Band hurt. I wasn't going into the race with much optimism.

TIMBERMAN:

Race day arrived, and I drove the hour and half from the in-laws condo in Jackson, NH to the race site, where I'd racked my bike the previous day. My swim time was a shade over 33 min - probably about what my swim fitness warranted, and I got on the bike feeling like it was time to hammer. Normally, I'm able to average in the 275-280 watt range for a HIM, but my bike legs still hadn't returned, and I averaged 256 watts, still giving me a 2:22 ride. Not awful, but I had definitely been hoping to be around 2:17-2:18.

Heading into T2 I had no clue how my body would respond. This was to be my longest run since April. The run course at Timberman is some rolling terrain with some flatter sections at the turnarounds. I was hoping to be in the low 1:30's, but my pace gradually faded and I ended up with a 1:36 run. My IT Band didn't hurt that much and really played no role in my run. The lack of run fitness and overall run volume was the main culprit here. My total race time was 4:35, good for 8th in the AG and 56th overall.

I felt like Timberman was a good test for Tremblant three weeks later. I had a little confidence in my run getting a bit faster if I was able to be relatively pain free. In between the two races, school started up again and Katie and I returned to the classroom, both of us teaching 3rd grade this year. Jackson also returned to daycare and the days of less sleep returned.

After two weeks of school, we headed up towards Tremblant on a Thursday evening, spending the night in Burlington along the way. We arrived in Tremblant around noon time on Friday, and I waited in the long registration line. Eventually, we were able to get into our hotel, which was literally feet from the run course and about a two minute walk from transition. I highly recommend staying in the village to anyone who is racing the 70.3 or 140.6. This was our third time there for a race, and it's very convenient to park your car and be able to get everywhere by foot.

I got in a short run Friday evening, then a short swim and ride on Saturday morning. I was able to catch up with Colin a bit on Saturday, and I've decided that I'll be working with him in 2015. My goal for next year is quite simple - get to Kona. Two main areas of focus going forward will be strength, especially working on getting over the IT Band issues, and nutrition for IM racing. Of course, there will probably be a fair bit of training thrown in there as well.

70.3 World Champs at Mont Tremblant:

Race morning arrived, and I headed down to breakfast, which opened at 5 AM for athletes. With the 8 AM pro start, I was actually able to go back to bed for an hour before heading to transition to set up my bike. Next stop was back to the hotel to say bye to Katie and Jackson and put on my wetsuit. It was only around 45 degrees, so I wanted to have my wetsuit on for the walk to the beach.

The start at this race was cool as usual. The fly over by a fighter jet was quickly followed by the pro start. I got in a short warmup then headed to the start with some of the fastest guys in the world. Strangely, I wasn't nervous. Maybe it was because I had no real expectations or because I had an injury plagued season. My plan was to stick to the middle of the swim course and try to find some feet to pull me around the 1.2 miles.

Swim:

It turned out being my best HIM swim to date - I felt nice and relaxed and was able to do a little bit of drafting. With most racers being better than me it wasn't hard to find some feet to try and hold on to. I was pretty happy to come out of the water and see 31 min on my watch. Hopefully next year I'll be able to get down to around 30 min.

Look at all those people exiting the water who got to draft off me!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/585515112

Bike:

The run into T1 was pretty long, but I was able to pass a few folks, get my things on relatively quickly, and get out onto the bike course, where I quickly realized my bike legs were going to show up. The bike was pretty uneventful and I was pretty happy with the bike ride. I was about 4 min faster than on this course two years ago on similar power. I think I was smarter about my power output since this was my third time on this course (70.3 and 140.6 in last two years).

There were tons of draft packs that formed with 50+ riders in them. Luckily I was able to avoid them, but kind of disappointing to see.

This course has rolling hills for a majority of the ride. There is a seven or so mile stretch that is slightly uphill on the way out and downhill on the way back. On this section I was able to cruise at around 24 mph on the way out and 28 or so on the way back. On the climbs I tried to keep the wattage below 350, but that was pretty hard, especially on the steeper stuff in the last 10k out and back near the village.

Right around the time we passed the village and headed out for the last little turn around I was passed by 5-6 guys who were riding strong. I decided I'd do my best to stick with them, and I ended up riding legally with them, passing on some of the downs and being passed on the ups. Chris Thomas was one of the guys, and I hung with him on this last bit. He has won his AG at worlds before, so being able to ride at his pace for the last 20k was kind of cool.

Bike Profile:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/585504546

I went through 28 miles in 1:07, but knowing the course, realized I had no shot at a 2:14 split. The second half of the ride has more elevation gain, and I rode that part in 1:11. Looking back at the data I probably could have been slightly above 280 watts and still had a similar run - my avg HR was only 154, and it is usually in the upper 150's for a HIM.

Power Profile - Notice how I only had around 10-12 spikes of 400+ watts over the first 45 miles, but nearly 15 in the last 11 or so miles where there were some steep, punchy out of the saddle climbs:

I came off the bike feeling good, but had no clue how the run would go.The overall time on my watch heading into transition was around 2:55.

Run:

I decided to target a 7ish pace, and was able to hit that for the most part on the first loop. The run course was changed for this race from a single loop to a double loop. By doing this they essentially doubled the elevation, as the omitted part was virtually a flat 3-mile out and back. Each of the two loops included a nasty little hill near the lake that was hit in both directions, and a steep climb in the pedestrian village.

At the end of the first loop I was right around 45:30 on my watch, and had the hope that running the same time for the second loop would sneak me under the 4:30 mark for the day. Two years ago I went 4:35 in the 70.3, so I was confident I'd be able to beat that time. Unfortunately, on the second loop my lack of run fitness caught up to me and I ended up around 47 min.

I feel that if I hadn't been injured a good run on this course would have been around 1:25-1:27 and a time in the low 4:20's. However, I was still pleased with my overall race given my fitness and lack of training this year compared with last year.

Slightly Bumpy Run Profile:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/585515159

My overall time was 4:30:27, good for 60th in the M35-39 and 366th overall. My goal at the start of the season had been a top 25 AG placing at this race. Looking at times, 25th in my AG was 4:20. Had training gone well this season, I could have been a little quicker on the bike and with a solid run I think I would have been pretty close to that time.

Right as I crossed the finish some guy sprinted by and did a flying karate kick, and ended up sliding down the finish ramp on his knees. Quite the photo bomb!

Moving forward, I'll be running the Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October, pacing my wife Katie in her first marathon. My run training will be quite light over the next six weeks, but I should be able to get through the marathon, hopefully getting Katie a finish somewhere in the 4:00-4:30 range.

November and December will be a time to begin to really focus on working on strength training, getting my injury dealt with, and looking forward to starting to train for IMMT in 2015. I'm definitely hoping that 2015 is a much better season than 2014 has been.

Injuries and Setbacks.....

Well, here it is close to the end of June, and my season has been one to forget. Going into 2014 I had high expectations of having a fast Boston Marathon that would lead into a great tri season. Instead, the injury bug got me in February, and really hasn't let up.

It all began with a slight calf issue that developed on a longer treadmill run due to crappy winter weather. About ten days off seemed to alleviate the calf issue, but just a few weeks later I developed some IT Band pain on a long run on the Boston course. Several years ago I had a slight IT Band issue, but it resolved itself and hasn't returned since. However, this injury was here to stay. Going into Boston I was severely undertrained and was receiving Graston and ART twice a week. I even ended up getting a cortisone shot a week before the race.

I was also doing strengthening exercises for my hips and glutes, but nothing really seemed to help. I was able get a bit farther than expected without the knee pain associated with IT Band issues setting in. As a result, I ended up walking the last 9 miles, not wanting to drop out. My time of 4:38 was quite pathetic. I had been hoping for a 2:50-2:55 time based on results from last year, but it wasn't to be.

After Boston we headed off for five days in Bermuda, where I took it very easy, just swimming and getting in a nice mountain bike ride. Under Steve's guidance, I took off four weeks from running, then began to ease back into it slowly. However, after about ten days I got the pre-pain feeling on my IT Band. Thereafter followed another three weeks without running, where I ramped up my biking and swimming. I slowly began running again about two weeks ago, but only 15-20 minute runs, and still no pain - yeah!!!!

My first tri of the season, Patriot HIM, became an aqua bike. However, ten days prior to the race I came down with a nasty sinus infection and what may be allergies. I was prescribed Benadryl, Amoxicillin, Zyrtec, Flonase, and Sudafed. Quite the assortment of pills! I wasn't able to swim for that period leading into the race, and it showed. I had a crappy 36 min swim and jumped on my bike, looking forward to a 56 mile TT. I was doing well, averaging a bit over 25 mph when I got a rear flat around mile 27.5. I fixed it quickly, but only four miles later got another rear flat. It turns out my rear tire was rubbing on my chainstay and the sidwall of the tire was worn to the tube. Dejected, I began trudging back to transition and was luckily picked up by the bike support truck.

That leads into where I am currently, ten days post DNF. We are headed off for a two week trip to England, Scotland and Iceland in two days. I hope to increase my run volume while away and also hope fo find some pools to swim in. What I'm most excited about is seeing the TDF, which is starting in England this year.

I'm hoping that the trip will be a turning point, and I'll be able to attack the second half of my 2014 season, starting with a weekend double on Nantucket in mid July. After that it's Timberman 70.3 in August, then 70.3 WC three weeks later. I really hope that I have my run legs back by September and am able to place reasonably well in my AG.

Things won't be that easy training wise, as we are selling our house and closing on a new house at the end of July. We'll be moving in with the in-laws for a short time while some work is done on our new home. Hopefully, it'll be a reasonably short stay and the work on our new house gets done without any major issues.!!!

2013 in Review

2013 has come to a close and with it brought the birth of our first child, Jackson. He was born on April Fool's Day, and he just turned 9-months old on January 1st. Seeing him grow and learn virtually something new each day has been amazing. He wants to be mobile, but isn't there quite yet! Here's the little guy on Christmas morning.

Unfortunately, at the same time that Jackson is just beginning to get mobile my Dad is going in the opposite direction.  He has Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, which isn't a great combination. His memory is fading and combined with the Parkinson's, each day is a brand new learning experience of everyday activities. I'm glad that he's been able to interact with our little man. Here are my Mom & Dad with Jackson this summer.

Of course, having a baby at home made training difficult. Katie was very flexible in allowing me to get in long rides and runs over the spring and summer, but in hindsight doing an IM with a baby at home probably wasn't the best plan. I was away for 5-6 hour blocks of time on most weekends, which wasn't fair to Katie. I'm definitely enjoying spending more time with Jackson now that training is a bit lighter.

2013 began with news that I was selected by Steve Johnson of Darkhorse Multisport to be sponsored for the year, receiving free coaching. Steve immediately had me doing a lot more swimming than I had in the past, as well as different types of bike workouts. I had traditionally done the 2x20 or 3x15 interval rides at 90-95% FTP as my go to workouts, but Steve had me doing lots of shorter intervals at much higher intensities. One that I despised quite a lot was 40x30" @ around 410 watts on 30" rest. Steve slowly had me build up my run mileage, focusing on a half marathon at the end of May, which led into a June 70.3.

I ended with a time of 1:20 in the half marathon, nearly a 3 min PR and went under 4:30 for the first time in my June HIM, although I felt I left quite a lot of time on the table. Soon after those races the school year ended and Katie, Jackson and I headed to Nantucket for ten days with my folks. This is pretty much when the long runs and rides for IM prep began. I ended up doing a 4-5 hour ride virtually every weekend, with eight rides of 90+ miles, six of which were over 100, and the longest was 123 miles in 5:30 two weeks out from IMMT in early August. This ride was followed up the next day with a 20+ mile run at 7:22 pace for an average. I felt good and strong and confident about my chances of a KQ at Tremblant.

IMMT got off to a good start, and I had what I felt was a strong swim, coming out of the water in 1:06. T1 was a long run, but I got on the bike feeling my weakest leg was behind me and I was positioned well. I was very consistent on the bike, but my watts ended up a little lower than I felt I could have put out. Based on training, Steve and I felt that 240-245 watts was my target. I ended up at 232 AP and 242 NP, evenly splitting 2:33 for each of the two loops. Coming off the bike I thought I was near the top 10 in my AG and should be able to run some folks down. I felt amazing for the first several miles of the run, and may have pushed a tiny bit too hard, with the first 6 miles hitting a pace in the mid 7:20's. However, because I was feeling so great at the time I neglected to take in any nutrition, and this began to come back to haunt me. I was taking coke at the aid stations, but didn't use any of the 700 calories I had on me or any of my salt pills. I honestly don't know why I didn't take in my nutrition, but my pace began to slow, and by the last loop of the run I was running 8:15-8:30 pace. I also had to make a bathroom stop around mile 19, which didn't help.

As I approached the end of the run I was still holding out hope that I may grab one of the remaining slots for the AG. However, I was passed by two guys in the last 1/4 mile and I had nothing left, briefly trying to hang with them, finishing six seconds back. As it turned out, they each got the last two Kona slots. Looking back, I feel it was probably best that I didn't get a KQ. It would have meant another 7 weeks of longer rides and runs, and with the school year beginning, that would not have been fair for Katie, plus traveling to Hawaii with a six-month old would have been difficult.

I was crushed after the race, realizing that my one real goal for the year had eluded me by 7 little seconds. Still hungry for competition, I formulated a plan to drive 700 miles to Ontario in early September to race Muskoka 70.3 and grab a WC slot for 2014. Katie wasn't thrilled with the notion, but agreed. Three weeks after IMMT, I managed a 5th in my AG and 32nd overall at Muskoka and did get a slot for the 70.3 WC, which will be held at Tremblant. I believe a bit of redemption will be in order!

The week after returning from my sojurn to Ontario I got into the Boston Marathon, so that is my current focus. My goal is a sub 3:00 race, and if training goes well, I feel I can be somewhere in the low to mid 2:5x range. I have decided to stick with Darkhorse Multisport for the 2014 season, and Steve is helping me formulate a way to crush Boston! I'm right around 50 mpw for running, getting in one bike and two swims per week. My goal over the winter is to try and maintain my bike and swim fitness, then ramp up after Boston in April to have a strong showing at Patriot HIM, Timberman 70.3 and the 70.3 WC's. Here's my best 'hungry' race photo, hoping 2014 is a great year!

Muskoka 70.3 and Looking Towards 2014

It's now been four weeks since I headed off to 'Cabin Country,' as the Muskoka region of Ontario is called. My 1500 mile round-trip was a success in that I was able to get a 2014 70.3 WC slot. However, it was almost a 1500 mile drive that didn't even include a race!

I left for Ontario on a Friday evening, driving about five hours to Syracuse, NY. On Saturday morning I was up and on the road before 6 AM, and arrived in Huntsville, where the race is held, right around 1 PM. The race site is a bit unique in that parking for the event is on a small landing strip, and there are buses to shuttle to transition and registration. I got in a quick 25 min ride to test everything out, then got my stuff together and biked the 2 miles to transition.

After registering, I wanted to go for a swim, but apparently the swim course was closed and there was a possibility of a DQ for swimming. Not wanting that to happen, I grabbed a bus back to my car, drove the 30 minutes to my hotel. I found some supper and was in bed a little before 9 PM, setting my alarm for just before 5 the next morning.

Some time on Sunday morning I rolled over, checking the time on my phone, and uttered a few  choice 4-letter words. It was 5:50 AM, and apparently the AC unit in the room had muffled my alarm. I was out the door and on the road by 6:05, eating a bagel and having a race nutrition breakfast of gels, cliff blocks, and some Infinit - yum!!!

Luckily, it was an 8 AM start, so I had time once I parked and got the shuttle bus to transition. I was lucky to have woken up when I did - just think if I had driven all that way and slept through the race start! Next time I'll definitely do a wake-up call!

After quickly setting up transition, I headed down to the swim start, about a 10 min walk away. I contemplated leaving my shoes near the swim out, for the steep 1/4 mile run to transition, but decided against it, eventually putting them in my morning clothes bag. I was able to get in about a 10 min swim warmup before it was time for our wave to head out.

My swim is definitely my weakest sport, but it's improved a bit this year, as I've put in a lot of pool time. I'm pretty happy with this swim, as it's advertised as 2000m, not the traditional 1900m. I got 2,323 yards according to my Garmin 310 in my swim cap. I feel this was my best swim of the season, and put me right where I needed to be, out of the water in 32 min.

Garmin file: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/373232687

I opted for the wetsuit strippers, and they had a hard time getting the suit over my heels - rather than pulling harder they stared at each other instead of pulling. I told asked them to pull harder, which they did, eventually yanking it off. They weren't the best strippers! After that, there is around a 1/4 mile uphill run to transition. My Garmin 310 was in my hand, after taking it from my cap, and I glanced down seeing a HR of 185 - highest of the day.

I biked this quite conservatively, knowing I didn't need to push super hard, as the bike is my strongest event. I honestly expected to be a bit slower, based on times from previous years, so I was pretty happy with my bike ride. I rode at around 76% of my FTP, and 20 watts lower than the Tremblant 70.3 last summer. Only three weeks after IMMT, I know I wouldn't have the legs I'd be capable of it this were an A race.

From the get go, the hills began. It was almost constantly up and down, with very few flat sections, and the flat sections seemed to almost always have a headwind, especially the exposed areas near the lakes we went by. I got close to 5000 ft of climbing on my Garmin, but I'm not sure it was quite that much.

In the first 20 or so miles I was constantly passing folks - people from my AG and from the wave in front of us, which went off 6 min before. After the first hour or so the field began to thin out, and the passings decreased. After 2 hours I was averaging a bit over 23 mph, but knew that some of the steepest hills were in the last 20k, which proved true. My avg speed dropped by 1/2 a mph over this distance. I also passed a few of the female pros over this part of the course.

I came into T2 feeling fresh, but still a bit unsure where I stood in my AG. As the course wasn't an out and back I couldn't gauge where I stood, but I knew that near the end I was riding pretty much on my own. As it turned out, I saw three bikes racked in the 35-39 area when I got to T2. I was actually 5th, so I must have missed a bike. My bike time was 2:35, actually quicker than I thought I'd do at that power output (260 watts). 

Garmin File: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/373223165

Knowing there were 12+ WC slots, and knowing where I stood after the bike, I felt like I didn't need to kill myself on the run.

I made a decision to cruise along at a pretty comfortable pace until the turn-around, then see where I stood within the AG. Over the first half of the run I passed two guys from my AG and was passed by 1, so I thought I was in 4th place. After the turn-around I could see a few others from the AG a few minutes back, but not nearly enough to make me need to increase my pace that much.

There were three nasty hills in each direction of the course, and I contemplated walking a bit on them, as the pace wouldn't be drastically different that trying to run. However, I decided to keep running, and ended up not getting passed by anyone for the remainder of the run. If there had been fewer WC slots I definitely would have pushed more, but it wasn't needed. My goal in doing this race was to get a slot, and placing in the AG wasn't a real priority.

However, I was still pleased to take 5th in the AG. My run time was 1:32 and my finishing time was 4:45. This time would have won the AG by 8 minutes last year, so the extra WC slots brought out some faster fellows.

Garmin File: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/373232711 

 

Although I wasn't planning on doing this race it was a fun experience. I would have much preferred qualifying for Kona, but that didn't happen. I was able to get a 70.3 WC slot on a challenging course. I've now got a year to be ready for that race! I was the second non-pro from the US to finish - definitely mostly Canadians doing the race - heck, I was born in Nova Scotia, so I could be Canadian if I wanted.

The support was good for this race and the post race food was excellent. I didn't stick around for the awards ceremony - I guess I would have received something for 5th - as I had 6+ hours of driving back to Syracuse. 

          

  Looking towards the future, I have two races lined up for next year. First up will be the Boston Marathon in April. I'll probably start up the marathon training some time in November. Then my focus will turn towards the 70.3 WC at Tremblant, where I hope to have a bit of redemption after my poor IM there in August.

Kona is now one week from tomorrow. Half of me wishes I was about to head off and race, but the other half is telling me it was probably a good thing that I didn't qualify. With school starting up again (already my 7th year of teaching), Katie going back to work, and Jackson starting daycare, there has been very little time for training. I've gotten in 6-7 hours a week over the past month, and that's with workouts either before the sun is up or after the sun has set. Kona training would have been meager at best and traveling to Hawaii with a 6 month old would have been far from ideal. While I'd love to be racing, it's probably best that I'll be following along on the computer, tracking friends and coach Steve. Maybe in a few more years I'll give Kona another shot.