Race Report - USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships 2018

Event:  USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships (olympic distance)
Location:  Cleveland, Ohio
Date:  August 11, 2018
Weather:  Mostly sunny, 70s, winds light and variable to start, shifting to NE 5-15 mph
Scoring:  By age group (132 males aged 60-64), gender (1607 male), and overall (2892 male/female)

(So you may scold me for waiting almost two years to finally publish this race report.  Even worse, I've ignored doing any posting since the 2012 season.  I am now 64 and took last year (2019) off from racing (see reasons at the bottom of this post).  So with time a little heavier on my hands due to everyone's racing season getting x'd out because of Covid-19, it allows me now to fill in about six years worth of blanks.)

Things were looking doubtful as to whether I’d even be able to race starting a couple of weeks prior to AGNC Cleveland.  

That’s when I started experiencing pain in my right glute and upper thigh when running hills.  Pain was enough to force me to see my ortho guy a day afterwards.  He suspected a herniated lumbar disc, and an MRI confirmed 2 of them.  He wanted to give me a corticosteroid epidural injection, but I said I’d first like to look at the WADA banned substances list.  Sure enough, they are banned for use in-competition.  (These are different from anabolic steroids which are banned for use at all times.)  So part of plan B involved taking prescription strength Advil.  To this and among other things I added different stretches to my routine, avoided hills, used ice/cold therapy and started prerace taper a little earlier and deeper than usual.  I did however do a shortened, simulated race early in race week – interestingly the endorphin rush from swim and bike (no pain issues there) and focus on good form helped me avoid most of the pain when I did the simulated run.  With that result we decided to make the trip to Cleveland as originally planned.

Over 3,000 triathletes competed on August 11, a picture perfect day at Edgewater Park just west of downtown Cleveland.  And my AG had 145 registered, of which 132 finished the race – the largest M60-64 field ever.  Key goal going into the 2018 season was to earn a Team USA oly distance slot at nationals – needed a “top 18” finish (but see postrace discussion below).  Despite the stacked field and sciatica problem felt I had a good shot at it.

The swim for the oly race Saturday took place in safe conditions after a forced sewage overflow into Lake Erie earlier in the week had briefly produced elevated bacteria levels.

After being told to back up a few meters, the largest M60-64 field in AGNC history - 36 years to that point - awaits the starter's horn . . .

. . . aaannnddd they're off !

The M60-64 wave was one of the early ones to go off – luckily for the older guys the water was relatively calm (the surf kicked up later on, producing 2-3 foot waves, rollers and stronger currents for the later AGs).  But coming out of the water I looked at my Garmin and found I was almost six minutes slower than expected !  At that point It would have been easy to lose my mind, ditch the race plan and focus instead on the other triathletes.  Fortunately, while running the L O N G path partly through beach sand to T1 I passed a guy from my AG and we shared notes for about five or six seconds.  He told me he couldn’t believe what his watch was showing either.

Running from swim venue to transition wearing a green cap.  An AG cohort (pictured to my right) and I are about to share some quick notes about a seemingly endless swim phase

You’d expect USAT, our governing body, to get the swim distance right at its marquee event of the year.  But my GPS after the race showed 1,800 meters, with 1,500 being standard – and not much zig zag.  Still unbeknownst to me at the time I emerged 28th out of the water, so a lot of ground to make up to grab 18th place at the finish line.

But now knowing I wasn't alone in my skepticism about the swim course length, I returned to focusing on my own race.  Going in I knew that T1 and the bike phase would be competitive strengths.  The surge started in T1, where I turned in the 4^th fastest effort in my AG.  Much practice stripping a full sleeved wetsuit and doing a flying mount at the bike mount line paid off.  That plus improved running (more on that below) helped me pass six fellow AG'ers in during my 3 1/2 minute transition.

A sea of bicycles await their riders one day before the race.

But once on the bike the first of 3 mishaps took place.  While rolling along I broke 2 of 4 rubber shoelaces on the left bike shoe during foot insertion.  I'd practiced this multitasking move and executed it perfectly in several smaller races.  But the added task of safely navigating through a crowded first mile here, caused several errant blind insertion attempts.  Fortunately the shoelace closest to my ankle somehow held up.  The missing shoelaces forced me though to race a little more conservatively than planned.  Plus had to navigate around several rough spots scattered on the remainder of the bike course (I had scouted the bike venue the prior day and helped me plan accordingly).  Despite all that, the ride through revitalized and picturesque downtown Cleveland, the city once labeled “the mistake by the lake,” was enjoyable (perhaps enjoyed it too much!)  By virtue of the 14th fastest bike split I was able to pass twelve guys while being overtaken by two in the AG.  That moved me up to 13th position at the bike leg's conclusion and just one minute off 10th place and the last podium spot.

The final two minor problems occurred in T2.  I overran my spot there and had to backtrack, costing 5-10 seconds.  Then I didn’t tighten my speedlaces enough – had to stop after mile one of the run to fix that – costing another 5-10 seconds.  By the time I left T2, unbeknownst to me I was in 13th place, with my historically weakest leg (the run), including potential sciatic pain and plenty of unexpected lakefront terrain upcoming.

Fortunately the more measured bike leg helped me conserve energy, plus had no pain issues during the run.  The work put in to dial in my nutrition plan, plus all the HR zone 2 and hill, brick and acclimatization mileage run during training paid off.  Resulting weight of 163 was 10 lower than last year – all setting me up well for the run this day.  I was passed by 4 AG ers on the run but that was fewer than I expected.  Was able to glance down occasionally from the lakeside heights – a beautiful setting for the run - to see that the Lake Erie surf had picked up dramatically (the Coast Guard instructed the race directors to cancel the swim leg of next morning’s sprint race due to unsafe conditions).  Didn’t see my wife at all during the race until the top of the stretch run with 200 meters remaining.  After looking at the tracking app on her cellphone she yelled out to me “looking good, 17th place.”  No one within sight to try and catch, and no one behind to overtake me.  

About to cross the finish line. The guy behind me was in a different AG.

Crossed the finish line with the 28th fastest run leg in AG but more importantly, the 17th best overall time in AG.  Felt quite happy with this result, but suspense lingered for several more hours . . .

So for Worlds qualifying purposes they recalculate everyone’s place based on the “age up rule.”  For me that would be the M59-63 AG.  USAT didn’t publish out that result until during the awards ceremony downtown late in the afternoon.  I finished 20th in the age up results earning a provisional qualification (top 18 qualify automatically, rolling down to 25th place) so my heart sank a bit.  But awards ceremony attendance is mandatory to claim the Team USA spot.  My wife and I then noticed that 4 of the top 10 in my AG didn’t show up for their podium award, so chances for my receiving a slot confirmation rebounded.  I’ve since been informed via email from USAT that I received a roll down slot.  Although I went ahead and put down a $50 deposit to hold my place until next summer when race registration fees come due, for a number of different reasons it’s currently looking unlikely that my spouse and I will make the trip to Switzerland a year from now.  Triathlon racing and summer workouts took a toll on me physically, and thinking seriously now about taking a year off from tri racing.  Increased injury risks at the even greater volume needed to put in at least a respectable showing at Worlds is a concern, not to mention that it would also interfere timewise with other things the two of us are looking to do together next year.  So we’ll see – regardless I am very happy with the way this race and my entire season turned out.

Race Report - 9/29/2012

Event:  Hands on House Half Marathon
Location:   Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Date:  September 29, 2012
Weather:  Cloudy, upper 50s, winds 5-10 mph.
Scoring:  By age group (31 males aged 55-60), gender (232 male), and overall (454 male/female)

Woke up on my own just prior to the alarm going off at 6:30.  Applied kinesio tape on a preventative basis to deal with posterior shin splits and a quad strain.  Was a little concerned about left bottom forefoot and the burning feeling at times while running in my racing shoes so applied tape there too.  Wrote some of my planned cumulative times in red permanent marker on the inside forearms.  Drank a cup of coffee, grabbed my bag plus a bagel and banana, then greeted my dad and sister.  They would shuttle me on a 10-15 minute drive across town to the event.  The anticipated traffic jams heading there (over 1000 participants expected) never materialized, so I arrived in plenty of time.

Upon arrival I picked up my packet, warmed up and stretched.  Wasn't particularly nervous but still hit the porta potty 4-5 times !  Consumed a gu packet 20 minutes before race time and chased it with a few sips of water.  Did not want a replay of the June triathlon where I took on too much fluid too early and almost had to stop for "relief" during the run.  Had reason to feel confident - several good weeks of training, no injury issues and had lost seven pounds since the last race - bringing me back to my June triathlon weight.

Weather conditions were ideal.  The lack of sunshine allowed me to forfeit the sunglasses.  Plus I did not wear a race belt this time.  Would need only to carry four Gu packets and those fit in my pant pockets with no trouble.

This time around, I lined up toward the rear of the pack - did not want to surround myself with the faster runners like the race three weeks prior.

Crossed the start timing mat about 1/2 minute after the start horn sounded and started my watch.  Found it a bit tough to jockey around some of the slower runners but soon found my stride.  The first four miles would consist of gently rolling terrain - no hills to deal with until mile 5.  Hit my planned times at mile markers 1 and 2.  Heart rate was well under control.  Was passing runners and feeling good at that point - perhaps too good.

The splendor of the surrounding countryside greeted me beginning with the third mile.  What a beautiful setting for a half marathon, deep in rolling Amish country.  It was quite easy to let your mind wander and perhaps it did a little for me.  Plus the sense of passing more runners gave me some overconfidence at that point.  Discovered I'd hit the mile 4 point 30 seconds faster than planned.   I should have been more concerned about that readout but wasn't at the time.

And then the first of three big hills came up.  Shortened my stride, leaned into the hill and maintained turnover rate.  Tackled the first hill - a 2% average grade for over one mile - and felt good.  The first big downhill - an average 3.5% grade - would soon follow.  Resisted the urge to charge down the hill.  Consumed the first in race Gu packet.  Found plenty of hydration from the tables set out at various points along the route.

A covered bridge would appear late in the sixth mile.  Would see my family members as I emerged.  That really pumped me up !  I was still feeling great at that point and was still well ahead of planned pace.

Emerging from the covered bridge, taking care to abide by posted speed and weight limits.  A 72 year old runner wearing an orange shirt can be seen behind and to the left of me.  This guy ended up ahead of me at the finish and trounced the 61 and up field.  Simply amazing.

 . . . to be continued . . .

Let's go for it !

I'd long planned to travel east to visit my wonderful and loving parents, who reside in a sprawling, well maintained retirement community in Lancaster, PA.  And as recently as three weeks prior, my training focus had been geared toward running a 5k road race conducted for the benefit of Hands on House, a children's museum nestled in the scenic Amish countryside just north of town.

Knowing that the terrain there would pose a challenge even before I completed the flat-as-a-pancake Glenview 5k, the next three weeks of training would incorporate hills and perhaps some longer runs.  So September 10 marked the first day of hill training.

But just try to find any safe-to-run hills around here that stretch along more than a quarter mile in length.  There are none that I know of.  So if you are going to get some meaningful outdoor hill work in around here, that means doing repeats.  Alot of them.

There's a beach on Lake Michigan a couple miles away that can be reached via an access road featuring a steep 20+% grade.  That's more than what would be faced out east.  But even though that incline lasts for less than 150 meters, it would have to do.

So I combined that with inclined treadmill workouts, plus runs through tall grass in a local park featuring some uneven terrain, plus a few nine mile tempo runs (on pavement and even a nearby beach).  My body was responding well as I commenced the hill work and bumped the mileage up a bit - so much so that I considered making a change with one week to go - a decision to register for the half marathon instead of the 5k at Hands on House.

It would be a breakthrough race.  I'd never run more than 4.5 miles on race day.  Plus no hills.  So some homework had to be done, then a gut check.  Several versions of the course had been posted to mapmyrun.  That site shows you elevation as well as the route itself.  Each version point to a total course gain exceeding 365 feet.  Three uphills exceed one continuous mile in length each.  And one of those sported an average incline of over 2.5%.  The steeper downhills would present their own challenge.  The mapmyrun site also allows you to take a flyover tour of the route using satellite imagery.  Plus a video tour of the half marathon route had been posted to youtube:

Clearly this is not your typical midwestern course.  But this race was going to be my last of the season - I was looking for something different - and with the training regimen leading up to race week had reason to be confident.  And a final check of the weather forecast - temps in the upper 50s and cloudy with perhaps some sprinkles and light winds - cemented the decision to go for it.  Upon mentioning this change to my wife she seemed at ease, simply suggesting that I "just walk the rest of the way if you can't run any longer."  One of my daughters - already a two time Boston Marathon qualifier by age 22 - did sound a note of caution however, suggesting that I treat this as a training race.  And upon touring the course via car a couple of days before the race, my dad became a bit nervous about my well being.

The sense was building that a conservative race plan was needed.  Being a numbers geek, I prepared a spreadsheet which would modify my target flat land pace to the terrain I'd face during each mile.  The output would be a split and cumulative time target for each mile mark of the race.  Using past performances, albiet at shorter distances, I applied something called the Purdy model - basically a formula used to estimate equivalent outcomes at varying distances based on one past race result - to extrapolate an average target time of 7:45 per mile based on flat terrain.  The spreadsheet then modified that time based on hills to arrive at a custom 7:57 mile split for the Hands on House course.  A series of sanity checks then completed the analysis.

Many athletes feed off of fan support - I'm one of those - and that was the final building block of the process.  I can't say enough how supportive my wife has been.  She's put up with my near obsession for endurance sports for the past year and a half and deserves someone who can strike a better balance in life than I have shown during that time.  Yet her presence at my triathlons inspired me to do my best and I owe alot to her - including my standing down at least for the offseason and perhaps longer to rebalance things.  But sadly she would not be present on this trip out east - a void which would be filled by my parents, sister (my only sibling) and brother in law.  My parents took care of several things - including my accommodations and even my prerace meal.  My sister and dad made sure I got to the event well beforehand.  And my brother in law figured out the best places to cheer me on along the course (it is not a fan friendly venue as it turns out).

So now all I had to do was show up for the race and execute to the race plan - easier said than done !

The "showing up" part consisted of a flight out of Milwaukee to Washington Reagan airport, then a road trip to a family gathering held by my aunt and uncle in Delaware, then a final drive to Lancaster - all the day before the race.  Race veterans say you should get in a light run the day before, and then look for ways to eliminate any stress.  Looking back, although my travel went smoothly I didn't appreciate how tired I would feel until I finally turned in for the evening.  And despited the wonderful accomodations I had trouble getting to sleep as a cricket serenaded me with its incessant chirp-chirp.  A couple of Benadryls finally did the trick for me.

I set two alarms for 6:30 the next morning - no brittany spaniel available this time around to provide a wakeup call . . .

. . . to be continued.

Race Report - 9/9/2012

Event:  Chase the Bear 5k
Location:   Glenview, Illinois
Date:  September 9, 2012
Weather:  Sunny, low 60s, winds 10-15 mph.
Scoring:  By age group (5 males aged 55-59), gender (59 male), and overall (over 100 male/female)

Following the triathlon in late June, I'd put run and bike training aside to focus on preparation for a two mile open water swim in mid July.  I'd encountered sighting problems during the triathlon swim phase and focused on that aspect as well as building endurance.  But unfortunately, that race was postponed to early August due to thunderstorms and later cancelled.

So from late July onwards I decided to train for a couple of upcoming road races.  I had a choice to run either 5k or 10k in Glenview and early on, chose the shorter distance.  There would be a second road race three weeks afterwards, in Lancaster, PA (where my parents live), so I decided to use the first race to try and get comfortable with pacing and race management.

Heading into the week before the race, I felt strong enough from the prior five weeks of training to try for an average pace somewhere around a 7:05.   My stretch target was to finish at or below 22 minutes flat.  I wanted to run a few seconds slower than average pace in the first mile, perhaps a 7:10 split, then push it a little in the second and maintain in the third.  And despite a sore left quad and being seven pounds heavier than on the date of the June triathlon, I felt ready to go.

But then the race organizers put out an email a half week before the event that the course was torn up due to road work and they had to re-route the race.  Good thing they found that out before the race, else we'd all be running some crazy steeplechase instead !  But just a couple of days later, they put out another communication saying not to worry, the construction crew had since gone into overdrive, work was now complete, and we're back to the original route, which is laid out on a series of neighborhood streets and sidewalks.  Just speculating, but perhaps the Glenview Rotary (the meet sponsor) was able to use some of its leverage to get things squared away there.

Well, what a beautiful day awaited all entrants at this year's race in Glenview !  I'd woken up early - again, with the help of our dog - ate a banana and a couple of pieces of bread, got dressed and made the 15 minute drive to the event site.  Arrived in plenty of time to check in, warm up and stretch.  I lined up just behind the first row of runners (all 5k and 10k participants started at the same starting line at the same time) and awaited the start gun.  Within a couple seconds of the gun I crossed the timing mat and found my stride.  Although I wasn't nervous, I soon felt swept up in the enthusiasm surrounding me.  That effect was enhanced by the cheering onlookers plus a community pep band.  Plus a healthy tailwind was pushing me along.  It's possible that the lead runners had an effect on me too.  Although I didn't make an effort to stay with them, and even with other runners passing me I knew I was running a bit faster than originally planned - even with my heart rate remaining within the target zone.  And that was confirmed after hitting the one mile mark - a 6:54 split, almost a quarter minute ahead of plan.

Oops.

So armed with that knowledge I elected simply to try and hold on to that pace.  There would be no attempt to "chase the bear" any harder than I had been.  But the course direction had since changed and the wind would no longer be of any help - perhaps would even be a hindrance from there on out.  Plus my heart rate was now pushing into the mid to high 160s - not a zone that I could reasonably sustain.  So I felt compelled to back off the pace a bit - in spite of just a few runners passing me in the middle mile - and the second half split of 7:09 provided confirmation of that.

Mile 3 immediately transitions from an asphault street surface to a concrete sidewalk for most of the third mile.  At that point, the field was stretched out so the narrow sidewalk wouldn't be too much of a limiter if I wanted to pass someone.  But I had no energy to make a push in that third mile and at the two mile mark my thoughts changed to simply "let's finish." True, I was well within striking distance of my 22 minute target, but somehow a feeling emerged that perhaps simply throwing down a time that I knew I could build on would be sufficient on this particular day.  The desire to go for it was gone by that point and instead I throttled it back a little more to stay at least below a 165 heart rate.

By the third mile mark my concentration wasn't there.  I didn't even get a good read on my last mile pace by that point.  So just as I rounded the final turn and headed for home, I dialed it up.  But within about fifty meters to go, a youngster (I would later learn he was 9 years old) passed me in a dead sprint.

Fans were treated to an exciting stretch run featuring this emerging young harrier who proceeded to leave me in the dust - turns out he's young enough to be my grandson.

I tried to stay with him, then smiled, shrugged and finished it out.  I crossed the finish timing mat at 22:17 - indicating a 7:30 final mile pace and not the result I'd hoped for originally.  But at least it was respectable - good enough for a third place ribbon in my age group, twentieth male and 23rd overall.

Turns out that day that there were a couple of very strong runners in my AG - and had I registered as someone ten years younger, would have won the 45-49 men's age group.  But I'd learned alot from this first road race experience and was hopeful this would help me in a race three weeks hence.

To Do List for Next Tri

I've had over a week to think about the Twin Lakes Triathlon.  A good first outdoor race to build from.  Was pleased about the way I managed the race and the overall outcome, but there are a number of things I need to work on before the next triathlon:

Swim

1)  Learn to navigate better in open water - need to practice heads up swim form for use once every 5-10 strokes.  Didn't look up as frequently and ended up zig zagging alot.

2)  Get tinted goggles - swimming into the sun with no visible onshore reference point on the return leg wreaked havoc with sighting.

3)  Find a way to draft during the swim.  Was fastest swimmer in wave 3 - no such opportunity there - hoping I can get assigned to wave 1 or 2 next time.

4)  More bidirectional breathing in the second half of the swim.

5)  Reduce kick "cone" area by keeping feet closer together.  Point toes inward and plantar flex ankles more to further reduce drag.  Do more kick drills both with and without fins to reinforce good form.

5)  Continue working on other aspects of basic swimming form - left hand still has tendency to wander across centerline at initial catch - also left hand catch and initial part of pull while breathing to the right needs to be more productive.

6)  Strengthening work - seek additional ways to strengthen left upper body - lats, pecs, triceps - to match right side power.  Also work on strengthening hip flexors to improve kick support and effectiveness.

7)  Place swim cap over goggle straps to reduce drag plus chance of goggles getting knocked off head by a competitor's stray hand or foot.

8)  Could wearing two swim caps help further reduce drag - need to investigate.

Bike

1)  Consider investing in a one hour professional bike fitting session with the aim of finding the best posture for sprint triathlons.  I felt comfortable throughout that phase but perhaps there is a more efficient setup that will distribute some workload away from the quadriceps to other muscle groups.  Optimal stem length/angle is another aspect worth addressing here.

2)  Practice increasing bike spin cadence at easier gears to take more stress off the quads.  I suspect my gear selection was too aggressive for much of the 14 miles, particularly on stretches where there were moderate inclines.

3)  Need to supplement bike tempo training with sprint intervals and hill work.

4)  Find more drafting opportunities - this race was bike draft legal - drafted only for about one minute out of 39 - again a faster wave assignment may help.

5)  Practice taking turns at slightly higher rate of speed - this course was highly technical with over 60 turns - this being my first tri and being somewhat unfamiliar with course stuck to a more conservative plan.

6)  Overpronation needs to be corrected - consider using orthotics in bike shoes.

7)  Fashion emergency during bike phase ?  Tri top was too loose fitting for me and not aero efficient.  Need to downsize top and/or consider a tri top or suit made with more aerodynamic materials (eg. Nike swift suit).

8)  Other equipment related upsides include using a handlebar mounted water bottle or eliminating second of two water bottles, and looking at pros/cons of affixing a cover to rear wheel.

Run

1)  Brick workouts - that is, combined bike and run practices.  Quads need to get used to the idea that there's going to be a run after the bike phase and need to fire when called upon.  Did only one such workout before the tri.  Do indoor (bike studio/treadmill) bricks when weather doesn't permit.

2)  Continue working on increasing/maintaining cadence at 180 per minute.  Shorten stride - lean forward from ankles/more dorsiflexion to reduce ground contact time.

3)  Pacing is a work in progress - need to avoid going out too fast - perhaps invest in a GPS watch.

4)  Look for some good compression tri shorts - that may help with the quads a bit.

5)  Pre-race and in-race nutrition - a single Gu packet in the middle of the bike leg likely didn't provide sufficient energy to keep me going in the final half hour of the race.  Felt like I was out of gas for most of the run.

6)  Hydration - bladder felt uncomfortable during entire run.  Took on too much liquid pre-race and perhaps during the bike.

7)  Strengthening related - more core and hip flexor work - also adductor stretch/strengthening to help correct overpronation and "duck foot" gait.

8)  Consider orthotics for running shoes to help manage overpronation - especially if posterior shin splint issue persists.

Transition/Other

1)  Swim to bike - T1 went well but need to remove cap/goggles and get wetsuit stripped down to waist on the fly before arriving at my transition point.  More practice with pre-mounting shoes on bike pedals and strapping them on after I get going on the bike.

2)  Bike to run - big upside here - up to a minute of potential time savings in T2.  Practice exiting bike shoes before dismounting bike, practice mounting underside of bike seat to rope, next time have bucket of water available to rinse sand/mud off feet, get comfortable in training with running without socks.

3)  Take it easier during taper week.  Can't be taking off on a 14 mile bike ride to scout the course the day before the race, no matter how easy most of that ride was.  Quads were a little sore after that ride and needed to ice them down.

Race Report - 6/24/2012

Event:  Twin Lakes Triathlon
Location:  Twin Lakes Recreational Area, Palatine, Illinois
Date:  June 24, 2012
Format:  700 meter swim, 14 mile bike, 4.5 mile run.  Eight waves consisting of up to 60 participants each, commencing the swim one wave at a time, in two minute intervals.  Based on seeded swim time I was assigned to the third wave.
Weather:  Sunny to start, clouding over later, mid 60s, no wind.
Scoring:  By age group (20 males aged 55-59), gender (about 280 men), and overall (over 450 male/female) based on total elapsed time including transitions.

After all of the training and at age 56, I've finally made it to the day of my first outdoor triathlon !  It's been a bumpy road of late.  Three different injuries to contend with over the last three months, the latest being posterior shin splints in my lower right leg - that issue popped up about two weeks before the race.  After researching the problem I discovered Rocktape and a method for taping over the "hot spot" - that has virtually eliminated discomfort while running.  One of my twin daughters, now age 23, and my wife were on hand to cheer me on.  Also, two friends from my church also competed in this triathlon.

Prerace:   Loaded up the SUV with bike and most other equipment the night before.  Set two alarms for 4am and turned in early.  Turns out I didn't have to rely on them, because another early riser in our family made sure to wake me up twenty minutes beforehand.

The first alarm clock to go off, better known as Phoebe, our Brittany.

Ate three pieces of whole wheat bread and a banana, then said goodbye to the dog.  Drove 1/2 hour to Palatine and arrived at 5am.  I was one of the first to arrive in my wave so was able to pick out a prime transition spot on the end of the row with plenty of room.  Set up my area, saw both of my friends from church and chatted briefly, then jogged 1/2 mile and stretched, and put on my wetsuit for a brief warmup swim.  Greeted my wife and daughter, who would end up taking some excellent pictures at key moments in the upcoming race.

Swim:  It's been just a couple weeks since I started training in Lake Michigan with a full Orca S4 wetsuit.  Took some getting used to, but after seeing improvements in bouyancy, drag reduction and forearm propulsion, have become a true believer in using it, no matter what the water temperature (a toasty 78 degrees at race time).  Plus I took a test swim at Twin Lakes the day before the event to become familiar with the course, which has everyone swim out to and then clockwise around an island in the center of the lake, then return roughly to the starting point.

This pic was taken just after completing my warmup swim.

So I set a goal of 1:30 per hundred meters, or 10:30 total elapsed time in the water itself.  Prior to the start of the race, and at the narrow entrance to the lake at waters' edge, I was standing near the shoreline edge stacked 2/3 of the way back in wave 3.

Here's wave three, color coded with those yellow caps, just moments before the start.  I can be seen adjusting my goggles just behind and to the left of the forewardmost male fan clad in shorts and visor standing next to the competitors on the embankment.

Consequently I was unable to wade into the lake through the narrow starting area until about five seconds after the starting horn sounded.  Once there, felt I had no choice but to break immediately to the outside to avoid the crowd and secure an open stretch of water.  That added some extra distance right off the bat.  And although I kept my cadence under control from the beginning (circa 50 strokes per minute), after 200 meters was surprised to find myself out front of the pack alongside two other swimmers.  However, sighting and navigation issues soon caused me to zig zag too much - particularly after rounding the first of two turns at the far end of the lake.  That's where I began to come up on and eventually pass roughly twenty swimmers from the two waves ahead of me.  Then on the return leg, we found ourselves heading straight into the sun - a problem compounded by my non shaded goggles.  It's likely that all the detours and zig zags tacked on at least an additional 25 meters.  Despite those issues I felt great and opted to keep a consistent, semi relaxed pace through the remainder of the swim to emerge fresh for the bike leg.  My daughter tells me I was the first swimmer in my wave to emerge from the water.  A five second run from waters edge to the timing mat completed that phase.  Finished 37th overall in 10:45 ( 10+ seconds of which were on land ), close to my goal.

The return leg of the swim, circa 100 meters from shore.  I'm wearing a yellow cap at top of picture and locked into a good, comfortable cadence here.  Some swimmers wearing red caps (from wave 2) and even a gray cap (from the first wave) can also be seen.

T1:  Ran down the wrong row but soon got my bearings and found my bike along the wave 3 transition row with no big loss of time.  But the temporary disorientation caused me to forget pulling off cap and goggles, then unzipping and pulling down wetsuit to waist enroute to bike and that cost five to ten seconds. Otherwise, wetsuit removal went smoothly.

Emerging from the water and heading for the bike in T1.  A look at the watch confirms a nice swim leg, but instead I should be in process of removing the top of the wetsuit on the fly at this point..

Sandy and muddy conditions in transition area helped force a prerace decision to don my bike shoes before grabbing for my bike.  Shoes, helmet and sunglasses went on in a breeze and I was ready to go.  Running in bike shoes was awkward but tradeoff of having no sand on feet for comfort's sake was worth it.  Emerged from T1 with no traffic in front of me at the bike mount line.  1:42 elapsed time including a full wetsuit removal in T1 placing 87th here (many others did not need to discard a wetsuit), not bad for a rookie but still could have been faster.

Bike:  Once mounted, found some difficulty in engaging both cleats - it seemed like at least ten seconds to complete that process before I could really get rolling.

Struggling to snap those Shimano SPD cleats into my clipless pedals at the start of the bike phase - yet another transition related issue here.

After that I found my rhythm and got up to speed, passing several bikers early in the ride.  I had a goal not to exceed a heart rate of 150 per minute so as to save something for the run to follow.  Except for the time pedaling up a few short inclines, that goal was accomplished.  However, I was pretty much on my own - no drafting opportunities for all but about 1/2 mile of the bike leg (this race is draft legal).  The route itself was well paved and in great condition with few potholes - however, there were a ton of turns on this course.  Despite dry pavement plus having scouted the route on my bike the day before (at a leisurely pace), decided I still wasn't familiar enough with it to take the turns aggressively.  I probably passed 20-30 bikers and was passed myself by four others during the entire leg.  Made sure to hydrate frequently throughout (perhaps too much as it turned out) and consumed a Gu energy gel packet halfway through.  As with the swim I felt good throughout the bike ride.  Finished bike leg in 38:56, a 21.6 mph pace over 14 miles, good enough to place 64th overall for the bike leg (I had a stretch target in mind of 22 mph but would have really paid the price later on if I'd actually hit it).

Preparing to dismount heading into the transition area after a good bike leg.  But yet another rookie mistake in transition:  I should have been in process of disengaging my feet from the bike shoes at this point instead of posing for this picture !

T2:  Found my transition station easily enough but problems mounted from there.  Forgot to unstrap bike shoes and ride barefoot while slowing down toward end of bike phase.  Taking them off afterwards instead of leaving them affixed to the pedals cost valuable time in transition.  Had trouble hooking my bike back onto the rope, despite the underside of the seat being designed for that purpose.  Sand and mud had found their way onto the towel I had laid out.  With no water bucket present had difficulty removing sand from feet.  Running in practice without socks was uncomfortable so decided prerace that I needed them.  So proceeded to put my socks on - despite applying Bodyglide to feet prerace that did not go smoothly either.  Running shoes went on okay and speed laces worked like a charm, but fumbled with my race belt while running toward the timing mat so I stopped to secure it properly around my waist - more wasted time.  Finally struggled out 1:52 later - earning a dreadful 295th overall placement for the T2 portion of the race - had been hoping for 1:15 or better.  Yikes !

Heading out of T2 for the start of the 4.5 mile run.  Running in tandem with a gentleman wearing a Purdue tri top - my undergrad alma mater.  Could have tapped an extra "boiler" for this leg as I was soon left to grasp for some reserve energy that wasn't there.

Run:  This leg is where I'd hoped to be positioned for a big push.  Had knocked down a 7:06 mile pace over four miles in my new Brooks ST-5 Racers in a time trial several weeks earlier - however, I ran that fresh and after a recovery day.  In retrospect should have mixed in more bike/run "brick" workouts (did only one of these in training).  Had felt good leading up to this point in this race, but lack of bike/run combo training prep reared its ugly head the moment I emerged from T2.  Quads immediately began to stiffen and burn out of the gate, my legs felt heavy as a result, and for some reason my heart rate readouts started going haywire - spiking over 200 beats per minute.  I'd had some similar issues with the monitor in the past but usually after a few minutes I'd start getting reliable readings again.  But the readings did not calm down after the first mile mark, so I didn't know what was really going on.  I'd hoped to stay around 160 for the first half of the run phase but couldn't rely on my monitor, so resorted to reading my breathing pattern instead.  On top of that, a burning urge to hit the porta potty left me feeling quite uncomfortable (I probably consumed too much Gatorade/water mix during the bike phase).  Each portable john I passed on the run (there were probably three) looked like an oasis in the desert - but I resisted the urge to stop and just plowed on.  With some mile markers missing (one of the few complaints I had about an otherwise well conducted event by the organizers) I didn't get a feel for the pace I was running but could have sworn I wasn't running too much faster than an 8 minute pace.  So I was quite surprised that I wasn't getting passed by several runners - maybe 4 or 5 actually did - plus I probably passed ten others as the run progressed.  Found no energy for any semblance of a push until about 1/2 mile from the finish, when I could hear more and more voices cheering the runners on.  Crossed the chip timing mat at the finish with a 33:30 run, producing a 7:27 mile split (had a stretch goal in mind of 7:15) which was 71st overall.

Race Summary:  Finished in 1:26:44, 54th overall.  Goal was to complete the entire race somewhere below 1:30:00 and that was accomplished.  Awaited the finish of my two friends - one of whom is an accomplished Ironman veteran who began in the wave behind me.  Would later learn that that he and I would finish the race within a mere 24 one hundreths of a second of one another - we had some fun talking about that.

Two fellow church members shown with me postrace.  The guy on the right is unlikely to compete in future Ironman or HIM races, distances my colleague on the left is quite accustomed to.

My friend had completed a 10k race a weekend earlier and entered this race with sore hips - still, I'm sure if we had competed in the same wave, he would have taken me down big time in the stretch run !  When the results were posted, learned that I'd won my age group by over four minutes !  Looking back, I was pleased with my first outdoor tri effort and have come away with several things I need to work on before entering my next race.

Crash Landing

Of all the obstacles those fiftysomethings have to dodge when training.  Lots of things can go wrong.  Margin of training related errors shrink.  Tri-geezers learn from bitter experience to pay more attention to things like stretching, strengthening, recovery, biomechanics and nutrition than those young studs that always seem to leave the over-the-hill gang in the dust, all the while making it look easy.

And now this - barely two months before my first outdoor triathlon.  Last month I was biking - going along about 20 mph on an area bike path, one which I'd traveled many times before.  A well maintained and lightly traveled asphault surface with just a few intersections to navigate.  And one bridge specifically built for the bike path which spans above and across the busiest highway on the nine mile route.

That bridge would be the scene of another infamous biking dustup.  Upon approaching the bridge and attempting to "hop" the bike over a bridge expansion joint like I had so many times in the past, I suddenly found myself flying though the air, clutching handlebars that were somehow no longer attached to the rest of the bike.  With a crash landing inevitable, I went into a crouch and landed on the right knee, elbow, shoulder and helmet.  It took me a minute or two to gather myself, sitting in the middle of the pathway on the bridge.  Meanwhile, two bikers stopped to offer assistance - and upon seeing the bloodied state of knee and elbow, offered to call 911.  I soon rose to my feet and, aside from the bruises noticed no other huge discomfort, so I thanked them but declined.  I instead used my cellphone to call for "spousal roadside assistance."  My wife was at home and within a 20 minute drive, and she was soon on her way.

While walking the bike through the nearby busy intersection to a gas station where she would pick me up, it soon became apparent that my shoulder had taken the brunt of the impact.  It didn't hurt at rest, but certain arm motions caused some pain.  Still, not enough of an issue to make a beeline for the emergency room, but enough for a visit to my primary physician - with whom it turns out, I had previously scheduled my annual physical for the next morning.

So next day, my doctor greeted me and immediately commented on my bandaged elbow (that was the least of the issue.)  He then conducted shoulder range of motion and resistance tests and concluded that there were no tears of any tendons or ligaments.  He prescribed rest and ice - followed several days later by heat therapy.  Not mentioned in his Rx was immobilization (eg. with a sling) - good news from a training standpoint.

Looking back, I view this experience as a glass half full.  I'm lucky to have walked away from that accident.  Fortunate to sustain no broken bones, concussion or worse.  And also thankful that no one else - bikers, pedestrians or vehicles - was involved.  As for the bike, it turns out that a single bolt - the one securing the stem to the handlebars - had sheared in half, causing the crash (unknown to me, that bolt had been the subject of an NTSB recall several years earlier).  Otherwise, the bike sustained no serious damage but needed a replacement stem, a repair to be supplied gratis by the manufacturer.  To top off the good fortune, a benefit inherent in the sport of triathlon presented itself - the opportunity to cross train over the next couple of weeks.  While resting that shoulder (no swimming or resistance work) and awaiting the bike's return from a local bike shop, extra time presented itself to focus on the run.  That period allowed me to further build an aerobic running base and eventually see some noticeable improvement in that phase.

The accident culprit:  A sheared bolt intended to clamp down the end of the bike stem around the handlebars on my Trek 2200 road bike.