Things are going well and i need to get my blog updated.
Since my trip to England i have got a few things done.
8/7/11 Oshkosh Triathlon (Sprint) 1hr 23m 12s
8/13/11 Carol Rose Wester 5 Mile Trail Run
8/21/11 Race The Lake 90 mile cycle race
8/27/11 Manitowoc YMCA Triathlon (Sprint)
Osh Kosh First
No Food! This is a must in a race for me. No food the morning of. My stomach sucks.
Cleaned my bike the night before. Got my things halfway ready but i should just fully load the car up the night before as i forget things at 3.30 in the morning! I checked off my list and nearly left with out my bike!!
Early in the week i practiced getting in and out of my tri shoes while they were on the pedals.
Event warmup:
Ran a little bit before the swim to get my heart rate up in my wetsuit
Swim:
5th out of 21. Hmm i felt like i was slow. I was out of breathe a good bit but not panicked. I kept close to the buoys and amied for each one insted of the end point. breathing on my right side the whole time. Was shocked about the rocky ground under the water at start. I found i swim faster than i was wading. I actually draghted a bit and for the first time i got around people ok. I think a few times i was not going very straight but every 3rd stroke i looked up to keep me on track. Used my MP3 to keep calm.
What would you do differently?:
I think i need to mentally rehurse a little. I think i should go long and steady strokes instead of short fast ones? It seems so hard to judge my swim performance.
T1
Suit got stuck on my heels a little. I was snapping on Helmet while stepping out of suit. Need to remember to reach down and unhook ankels. Did good with riding on top of shoes and slipping into them when ready. Practice really helped.
What would you do differently?:
Remember to get ankles unhooked.
The ground was wet and dry in some places. I felt like i may have pushed to hard at the start but i managed to keep it up. I could not have pushed harder.
What would you do differently?:
Weigh less.
T2
4th out of 21, i jumped off the bike from rolling. I did drop my helmet at one point. No socks on the run.
Run
Not bad. Actually faster than i thought it would be.
Event comments:
Pretty good race. On time, plenty of people. Timing chips. Well marked course.
Carol Rose Race:
Well i did this race with my Daughter Megan and my work friends wife who just got through the Couch to 5k program. Because she was extremly nervous about doing it my friend asked me to run with her. I ran at her pace so this race really didnt count much for me on times. It was a fun trail run and it was really nice to have my daughter from Washington State run it with me!
Race The Lake
This is a 90 mile race around Lake Winnerbago. This would be my second year of doing this.
Pre-race routine:
Got up at 2am because i had to be there at 4.30am to do Body marking. It is a nice drive over to Fond Du Lac. Had fun body marking people. Tried to make them laugh and even gave a few a smiley face under their race number. Lots of people came up to me wearing long sleeves and i said 'your going to have to take off your clothes for me' which made them laugh a bit.
Cycle
The first half to the High Cliff park is always nice and flat. You can keep up to 22mph going for a good while. A chipmonk ran out in front of me at one point. There are great support stations. Plenty of food and water. There is a water bottle exchange at the top of High Cliff. After high cliff when you hit the windmills it gets hilly and windy. There are a lot of rollers and between Miles 55-80 is pretty hard for me. After mile 80 you get some good straights and down hills. They probably wouldnt be too bad normally but after 50-60 miles my legs dont have too much in them.
Comments:
Good race again this year. My back snd shoulders suffer the worst on this. I put biofreeze on them at the two rest stops i stopped at which were High Cliff and mile 80. Drank Gatorade so i would not cramp. The 90 miles make me think i am far away from Ironman as there is no way i could run for long after because of back and shoulder pain.
I dont know if i could cut out the 2 rest stops on this race or not at this point. I had intended to take this one really slow but after high cliff i couldnt help racing it.
Saw about 3 bad crashes. One guy and blood all over the place. You have to be careful on this course.
The medals were VERY cool this year!!!!
What would you do differently?:
I have to lose weight for this if i want to go any faster. I need to make a big effort for next year to weigh 200
I got some food. Drove home. Took a 1-2 hour unrestful nap. I went to bed about 10pm and took one of my wives muscle relaxers for her back.Boy it made me CRAZY sleepy. I felt like i couldnt even open my eyes the morning after. Maybe next year book a day off for after the race.
Event comments:
Great Race. Lots of support. You need to be init!
Manitowoc YMCA Triathlon
Managed to grab Third place this year in my group.
Pre-race routine:
Had to Get up at 4am as i was helping with registration. This event is 20mins from my house! I had everything packed up the night before so i was good to go.
Got people Body marked and got to use the Bullhorn was was a huge bonus.
Taped a GU Gel to my frame and filed my water bottle
Event warmup:
Went in the water jogged around a little bit. The water was crazy cold! 57F. Very odd for this time of year.
Swim
2nd out of 6 on the Swim. Kept up front andvery close to the line.It was really cold and for some reason i kept forgetting to kick. I was probably at 95% effort level.
What would you do differently?:
Kick more. The swim is over so quick i dont know if more swim training would help. 4.44 Was the winning swim time in my group. Get my knees higher when running
T1
Winner of T1 in my group. Somehow a bunch of water got stuck in my wetsuit which was weird. Plent of glide on ankles and feet seemd to help alot. The overall winner had a 48 second T1.
What would you do differently?:
Seeing as transistion was not numbered i think keeping my bike on the end of a rack would help here.
Bike
Went as fast as i could really.
1st place 46.04
Second 45.11
Top Winner Joe Yander 40.31
What would you do differently?:
I need to keep losing weight. Maybe practice race pace more.
T2
Got a little stuck behind some in transition. But not to bad.
Was joint first in my group for T2
Winner was 25 seconds. Again Next year remember placement of bike!!!
What would you do differently?:
Get my bike in a better slot. Make sure my ipod does not get stuck in my shoe. Get helmet off while running in.
Run
This is the fastest i have ever run a 5k! I won my group for the run! In the last 1/4 mile i got chicked but i picked it right up and sprinted in to overtake her. I was very happy with this time. Think how much quicker it will be when i lose 40lbs!
This run was awesome.
What would you do differently?:
I am dedicated to losing weight and picking up some speed next year!
When you look back i was fast everywhere. The only thing that made me 3rd was losing about 4-5 mins on the bike. I need to work on this. I think with the weight loss it will help. I need to get out on Thursday but i need to squeak in some Mondays even when i get dropped. I spent time mentally pre paring and i need to do more of this.
The race itself is a good one. About 200 people and i really like you can shower there and relax. This is my home YMCA. The non numbered racking can be an issue and i saw 2 men almost get in a fight over spots. I gave up mine so they wouldnt fight
