Race Report: Fearless Triathlon Double Super Sprint

I don't often race in back to back weekends.  This is for a variety of reasons - but the first and foremost is that I'm not a big fan of racing "just to race."  If I go to a race - I want to win.  Now, whether that means coming in first place ahead of everyone else, making it to the podium, finishing in a specific time frame, etc - is something that's dependent on the race itself.  However, VERY RARELY will I race "just to race."

This race was an exception to that rule.  I had a couple of things going against me going into this race.  1)  I just finished the Lifetime Oceanside race six days before.  2)  Somehow during the week after Oceanside, I sprained my ankle and, while I was able to run on it, it was uncomfortable bordering on painful.  3)  This race was in Mission Bay, San Diego - which is about a 2 hour drive from where I life and we would have to drive there the morning of (which meant waking up at 3 am).

Regardless, I signed up for this race knowing full well it would follow an "A" race for me.  Why would I do such a thing?  Simply put - this race is very unique.  It uses the standard swim, bike, run format - but then has you repeat the entire thing over again.  It's like doing two mini sprint triathlons one right after the other.  For me, that was something I wanted to experience - so I made certain I wouldn't miss it.

After the Olympic distance race the week before, I immediately begin thinking about how to go about doing this race.  From the course maps, the bike course looks pretty wavy with lots of turns, so I decided to use my road bike.  Also, the pro race is draft-legal ITU style, so I figured if the pros are using road bikes - I probably should too (I fully realize that this type of logic makes no sense).  My brother-in-law and I have also recently built up a road bike for me, so that was part of the motivation to use this bike in lieu of my tri bike as well.

Here's a picture of my fun, little road bike build.  I'll do a blog post on the build another time.

In addition, I decided I was going to use the Xterra Lava Pants that my wife purchased for me (despite them NOT being ITU legal - which contradicts the logic I used in choosing my road bike).  My thought behind these would be that they would be easy enough to take off after the first swim and easy enough to throw back on for the second.  Long story short:  I liked them.  I'll do a full review in a future post.

Picture of the Lava Pants I took after the race.

The videos of this race are, to say the least, pretty epic.  The pro race (which is a bit different from the amateur race) looks like it's amazing fun and highly competitive.  It's very different from the "get your pace and hold on" that longer distance triathlons are.  This one is more "go as hard as you can until you finish the run - and then go harder the second time" type of deal.  The video below does a good job in showing how someone would be super interested in this race.

Pre Race:

The drive down to San Diego at 3 am to be able to pick up my packet and set up transition before race time was long, tiresome, and exhausting.  And when I say "long, tiresome, and exhausting" - I really mean that my wife drove the whole way and I passed out.  (I love you honey! haha)  

We arrived to the transition area and got registered and set up in transition, where I was able to find a primo spot.  None of the vendor tents were open yet, so we just hung out in the transition area until the announcement was made to start corralling people towards the swim start.

Transition at 0-dark-thirty.

The Swim (1):

Swim was a mass start for 375 meters.  Instantly, I could tell that this was going to be an interesting start.  The course was an out and back course, taking a left around the first buoy about 150 meters out, then 75 meters over to the next buoy, and then taking a left around that buoy and back to the dock to head to transition.  

It seemed simple enough and looked like it would be a pretty fast swim.  Everyone was bunched up in the middle of the ramp (even though the first buoy was more off to the side), so I went off to the side towards the dock to wait for the start.  My thought process was that I would be out of the way of most everyone and have a somewhat calm swim.

As you can see, I was somewhat tired.

Well, I was dead wrong.  The moment the gun went off, everyone just kind of shifted over right on top of me and I felt like I was in one of those fish circles.  Don't get me wrong, I'm used to swimming in a crowd and I normally don't mind it when things get a little bumpy.  The problem with this one was that there were people who WERE NOT used to this, and they were grabbing people to stay afloat.  Somewhat dangerous.  In any case, I managed to swim my way out of it without being kicked too many times, and once I was in less crowded water my swim went pretty good.  Swim 1 time:  8:07 That's about on pace for me considering that there was a pretty lengthy run to transition that I basically walked because of my ankle.

This is a very, very rare creature.  An actual photo of me swimming.

The Bike (1):

Coming out of transition was pretty easy since I was racked so close.  I didn't have my shoes previously clipped in (mainly because I heard someone over the PA say that it wasn't allowed, although a ton of people were already clipped) but that wasn't too big of a hindrance.  

This was my first time riding a road bike in a long, long time and was the first real ride on this bike since it was built (I ride my time trial bike 99% of the time).  I went pretty hard, but was very careful to pace myself on the bike (as I knew I would be riding again).  I didn't use a power meter (I brain farted the night before and forgot to switch my Stages to the bike - which would have been easy enough to do), so I went by feel and kept an eye on my speed.  I managed to keep it around 22 mph or so, which is plenty good for me on a bike I wasn't used to.  The bike course was the Fiesta Island Time Trial course (just one loop) and is a beautiful course that's fairly flat.  Simply a stellar venue for a triathlon in my opinion.  

I have one regret about the course and that was not using my time trial bike.  For one - the "twists and turns" I mentioned before were not that bad.  I feel I would have handled them easily on a tri bike.  Also, it was driving me nuts that I was giving up time to guys on triathlon/time trial bikes based solely on position and me not being used to the road bike (I'm not a roadie by any means).  Bike time:  18:28

I feel weird looking at how weird I look like while riding a road bike.

The Run (1):

I had low, low expectations for the run - mainly because my ankle was the size of a softball and I didn't feel I would be able to put any serious pressure on it.  My thought for the run was to just take it easy and not push it.  Since the distance was so relatively short (only 1.5 miles for each run leg) - I didn't think I would do any lasting damage.

Transitioning to the run took a bit longer because I had to squeeze my shoes on (I didn't think of bringing shoes that were slightly bigger for this race).  

The run course was really nice.  Just an out and back right by Fiesta Island.  Nothing fancy to it, but still a nice run all the same.

Like a knucklehead though, I found myself pushing a little harder than I should have during the run, running around a 7:00 pace when I was really leaning more towards a 8:00 easier pace for both legs.

Run time:  9:51

The run felt pretty good , despite the swollen ankle.  This guy swam, biked, AND ran his first leg in those Lava Pants.

Run course is pretty.

The Swim (2):

Coming out of the run and back to swim again is a really, really crappy proposition for someone who isn't a good swimmer.  I had every intention in the world of putting my Xterra Lava Pants back on for the second swim, but was kind of out of it and trying to rush when I got to transition.  So I just dumped my run gear, threw on my swim cap and goggles, and bolted for the water. 

To my surprise, I was the only one in the water at the start (which meant that I had ran past most of the people in my pack and was well behind the people in the front of the pack).  I jumped in and started stroking.

Unfortunately, my swim arms just weren't there.  I was having a tough time on the second swim and going slow.  People were passing me and I was trying my best to keep up - but just didn't have it in me to keep a good position and stay streamlined.

Soon I found myself surrounded by a pack of people, and I realized any advantage I gained from the bike or run was quickly lost.  I ended up coming out of the swim way slower than than my first one - once again reminding me of the massive amount of work I have to do in the water in order to be competitive. Swim 2 time:  10:18 (which had to be among the slowest of anyone in the race).

Hopping in for the second swim completely solo.  Just wasn't face enough to come out that way.

No, I'm not wearing black socks. My feet are just filthy.

The Bike (2):

I came out of transition pretty pumped.  I wanted to make up some lost ground on my competition and pass some people now that I was on dry land.  My ankle was hurting a bit by this time so I figured any chance I had to overtake some people in position would be on the bike.

Coming out of transition.  I should have just clipped in with everyone else, but an announcement made before the race start had me sketched out.

I came out of the bike pretty hard.  Too hard.  The second go round I passed a bunch of people very quickly - pushing forward like a freight train on pure power.  I was hitting the 24-25 mph range for most of the stretches and had it in my mind that I would just keep this pace and then hold on as much as I could for the run.

Nope.  (LOL@ME)

About halfway through I dwindled down and struggled to keep a 20 mph pace.  I kept with that almost to the finish and prepped for the run.  Bike 2 time:  19:01

The Run (2):

The second run was almost an exact duplicate of the first.  Literally.  The same people I found myself running with on the first run were right there on the second run.  I ended up pushing myself a bit too hard on the run - as my ankle was in a lot of pain afterwards.  The price I pay for egotism and vanity I guess - I just didn't want people to beat me.  Still pretty slow on the run, but a bit better than the first go round.  Run 2 time:  9:11

I look absolutely miserable in this picture.

I kicked it up a notch when heading in to the finish chute.

Complete time:  1:20:08

This race was very, very well done.  There were a few slight snags (like having the run course changed mid race because someone set the cones slightly wrong - which diverted some of the first people to that area of the run to run only half the course), but nothing that effected anything too bad.  Lars Finanger and company put on a hell of a race, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a new challenge or just something different.

I do feel there are some things I could have done better.  The obvious is my swim - with some work on that I feel I could be a lot better than I am.  Maybe not front of the pack - but I think I would be fast enough that I won't be giving the race leaders a 5-6 minute advantage on me out of the water.  On the bike - I feel that I would be faster in transition if I would have clipped in prior (which isn't a problem for me).  Also, I'm obviously more comfortable and a lot faster on a time trial bike - so being on that would work better for me unless the race specifically calls for otherwise.  The run wasn't a huge deal for me - I had a hurt ankle and there's not a lot I can do about that.  I can't wait to come down for the next one fully healthy and in the right mindset and see how I fair.  I truly feel that this is a race I can compete in once I get my swim in check.

Now, it's time to recover (using my daily EnduroPacks) and relax and let my ankle heal up.  I'm going to take a week or two off from running, and concentrate on my swim.  Only one more triathlon this year (The Turkey Tri from Renegade Race Series), and then I'm shutting it down until January (race-wise).  

Final Verdict on my performance from my son:

Not Impressed.  Oh well.  

Race Report: LifeTime Tri Oceanside National Championships

If ifs and buts were candies and nuts, then everyday would be Christmas

I've heard that saying a trillion times growing up.  Whenever I complained about what I could have done in a wrestling match, soccer game, cross country meet, etc - my dad would utter that saying and laugh.  I think it was his way of trying to get me to not complain, and for the most part - it worked.

Early in the season - I set two goals for myself.  Get a belt buckle at Leadman and break 2:15 in an Olympic distance race (which would mean my swim was at an acceptable level).

The race I set for the latter goal was the LifeTime Tri National Champions in Oceanside, Ca.  This was their finale to their ongoing nationwide race series and was STACKED with pros and elite racers.  So I talked my brother in law (the same guy who I did Leadman with) into joining and we did the race.

Pre-Race:
The day before we went to the expo for the packet pick up and to browse the vendor tents (and get all the goodies that come with it).  The Expo was pretty cool, and had a bunch of cool stuff.  Packet pick up was in and out - which is always a good sign.  
The highlight of the expo - of course - was getting to meet some of my favorite pro triathletes and, of course, getting them to take pictures with my son.

Bruce with Andy Potts.  It was difficult to get my son back from Andy, they were having a great time with each other.

Bruce with Hunter Kemper.  Hunter  has a small army of children himself (haha) and was giving me triathlete parenting tips.

Potts is a really cool guy.  Afterwards he saw my wife with Bruce and said hello (remembering his name) and even asked how my race went.  Pretty cool.

Outside of that, the expo went as normal.  My wife decided that I HAD to have a pair of Xterra Lava Pants and got me a great deal on them.  More on that later in this post (on the next race) and on a review post I'll do later.

Fast forward to race day and pre-race set up.  This was a two transition race, complete with a confusing array of multiple bags and trying to figure out where to put different stuff and when to put it in the bags.  I managed to figure it out (barely), and had everything packed for the trip to T1.

We decided to ride our bikes since we were staying less than a mile away - which would allow my wife to sleep in and not worry about having to walk to the expo with a baby.

It took about 2 minutes of riding to determine that this was a bad idea.  For some reason, Oceanside - the beautiful Sunny San Diego city by the beach - is freezing cold at 4:30 in the morning.  Like colder than Leadman cold.  It was a chore setting up the bike in transition and getting the wetsuit on, mainly because my body was shivering uncontrollably.  Pretty much everyone else was going through the same deal though, and it did start to slightly warm up by the time we were waiting for the swim start.

My bike all purty and set up in transition.

The Swim:
By far my weakest leg in triathlon - I was determined to have a good swim here.  My goal was 28:30 (based on a time in a pool that I swam twice before), which gives you an idea of how slow I really am.
The swim start was an open water start - meaning you swam out to a buoy (which I assumed had some kind of timing on it) and you took off when they fired the gun for your group.

Getting into the chute to swim out to the swim start.

As soon as the swim kicked off, a dense layer of fog covered the surface of the water.  I'm not even exaggerating when I say that this was like something straight out of a horror film.  Visibility was (literally) 3-5 feet and not much else.  This made for a very interesting swim where you were sighting every other stroke just to make sure you were going in the general vicinity that you needed to go.

I managed to swim a 30:30 in a pretty uneventful swim.  I'm pretty sure I went off course a couple of times, but I'm pretty satisfied with that result.  For me, that's a lot faster than my previous Olympic distance swims.

The Bike:

T1 was pretty straightforward and it was actually nice to run into a T1 seeing most of the bikes still racked (my division was the first out of the swim behind the pros and elites - so it's not because I'm incredibly fast or anything).  Shoved my wetsuit in the bag, got my gear on, mounted the bike, and off I went.

The bike venue is pretty cool for this race.  They shut down Hwy 78 so it was a complete open out and back with a little U-turn detour inbetween.  Normally, 2 lap courses are kind of lame - but this one worked very well.

The bike leg (at least in the beginning) was cold.  Very cold.  I was in a thin, competition style, one piece tri suit.  It never in a million years dawned on me that maybe I would want something different for this race.  In any case, I toughed it out and just kept pumping away.

The bike leg was actually really good for me.  I was passing most of the people ahead of me in the swim and actually caught up with a couple of people in the Elite category (who are all way faster swimmers than me and started with a 5 minute head start).  I was averaging just a shade over 25 miles per hour for most of the bike leg, which would have me in the 58 minute or so range once finished.  

That was up until about mile 22 when I felt a small jolt under my seat, and then head the worst sound I could hear.  The sound of a tire having no air left in it, and the rim of your bike running on only a thin piece of rubber.

*clank clank clank*

Knowing I only had a little bit more to go, I pushed my weight all the forward over my aerobars to see if I could ride it out.  

*clank clank clank*

I was moving, but going very slowly and I knew I would tear my rim to shreds if I kept going.

You can see how utterly bummed out I am when I realized that I had a flat.

I tried to ride it out, but realized I'd have to get off the bike.

So I hopped off, my hopes and dreams of breaking 2:15 (and possibly 2:05) now crushed.  Looking at the flat, I realized I was just about a mile to a mile and a half away from T2.  Doing some quick math in my head, I figured it would take me 10 to 15 minutes to get the tire off, replace the tube, get the tube pumped up, and then another 3-4 minutes or so to ride it in.  

Knowing my race was finished, I figured I'd have a little fun and do something silly - so I just picked up my bike, threw it over my shoulder, and started to run to T2.  I figured I could probably run the distance faster than the 20 minutes it would take me to change the tire and ride it in, AND I didn't want to risk something being wrong with the tire itself and just flatting again.

So I ran.  I was getting passed by everyone.  People I flew by earlier were passing me.  People who were doing the sprint and riding their mountain bikes were passing me.  I did get plenty of cheers and encouragement from the crowd, and more than a handful of people who were racing offered help or encouragement before they zoomed on in to T2.

Coming down the chute into T2, the volunteers were "Hoo Rah"ing me as I ran my bike to the rack and got ready for the run.  Racking my bike, I slapped my shoes on and went off for the run - knowing my race was finished.   Time on the bike:  1:13:27 - which is not a good time for me.  (Ifs and buts to come later in this post).

Wife took this picture while I was on the run.  "Oh how I hate you rear tire"

The Run:

The run is usually where I make up the ground on the faster bikers who know how to swim.  However, in this race - it wasn't meant to be.  By the time I got started on my run, and was passing people who were going VERY slow - I realized I had simply lost too much time to do anything significant.  I just went at a brisk pace and treated it the same way I would a tempo run (faster than normal training pace - but not race pace).  

The run venue is pretty awesome on this race.  It is right next to the Pacific Ocean pretty much the whole way through, and had a few steep hills (where you transitioned over bridges over the walkways on the boardwalk) that gave the run a bit of challenge instead of being pancake flat.

Only issue I had with the run course (which was a 2 loop 3 mile course) was that the course was set up where you finished at the same spot where you would continue on with your second loop (if you hadn't done it already).

Going over one of the bridges on the run course.  Beautiful run course.

Unfortunately, when I came running to the finish area - there was a volunteer redirecting people to keep going on the second loop.  I stopped and explained to him that I had already done 2 loops (I even showed him my Garmin), but he insisted I keep going.  

I figured that maybe they changed the finish line for some reason so I moved on.

About s 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile in - I realized that wasn't right and stopped and asked someone.  One of the guys from Lifetime was running one of the aid stations and I showed him my watch (which showed I ran about 7 miles by that time) and he jogged with me (off course) to take me to the finish line and apologized for it.  When I brought it up to one of the timing guys, I was told I wasn't the only one who complained about it but that - unless I was a pro competing for a top spot, I was more or less SOL.  Fair enough, as it would take a ton of investigatory effort for what, in the end, was a somewhat meaningless middle of the pack time.

Total run time: 47:43

Total race time:  2:35 (20 minutes over my goal time).

Ifs and Buts:  Not a whole lot I could have done better for this race outside of having better luck.  IF I didn't get a flat and was able to ride out my bike leg how it was going, I would have beaten my goal time (even with the crappy run).  IF I would have given it a full effort on the run and not allowed a volunteer to mess up my race (I knew he was wrong the entire time) - I would have smashed it.  My run time was 10 minutes over what I'm capable of off the bike (although with the hills it may have slowed me down some).  I figure I left about 25 minutes on the table with mishaps and lack of effort once things fell apart.  But again, "If 'ifs and buts' were candies and nuts, then everyday would be Christmas".

As for my brother in law - he extended his "race ending flat tire" streak to 3 races (and 8 tubes due to his debacle at Leadman).  Was a bummer for that to happen to him again.  I can't wait for him to actually have a race where nothing goes wrong so he can realize fully what kind of times he's capable of and where he needs to put his training efforts.

Outside of the shenanigans, this was an absolutely stellar race.  Everything was great about it - from the SWAG, to the environment, to the tons of aid stations all over the place, to the stuff spectators were able to do while waiting, it was just awesome.  Great race and I'll definitely be doing it again next year.

Even a race where you underperform can be okay when this little guy is with you afterwards.

Race Review: Leadman Epic Triathlon Bend, OR

This race finally came and went, and - all things considered - it was a success.  The race wasn't without its hurdles, but in the end I succeeded in what I planned to do.

Preliminary Days Leading Up to the Race:

Originally, I set out to do the 250.  My training was geared towards the 250 and I figured that I would take a hit on my run training in order to train for the longer swim.  However, my triathlon morphed into a trip for my family (my wife and my newborn, who would be 6 months at the time of the race).  At this point, I was still going to do the 250 - even though there would be family responsibilities involved.  Then, my brother-in-law decided to sign up for the 125 race.  His wife and 2 children and mother joined us for the trip, and then my mother and father-in-law decided to join us as well.

The logistics of having everyone coming up with us to Bend, OR and also being happy during race day was a bit much - so I decided that the best thing to do would be to drop to the 125 so that both of us (my brother-in-law and I) would finish in the same time frame which would prevent our family from waiting for hours on end or, even worse, leaving the race and missing us finish.

Due to the size of our group - we chose to rent a house and drive up to Bend rather than fly and get a hotel (as originally planned).  The house we rented was about a mile away from the finish line and T2 - so location was perfect.  Weather was excellent when we arrived and it looked like it was going to be a "picture perfect" triathlon.

My brother-in-law and I rode a couple of beach cruisers to packet pick up and it was a breeze.  In and out, no troubles or issues at all.  We were able to talk about the course and get all the answers we needed and have everything spelled out to us pretty clear.  The only downside is that we had to drive all the up to Cultus Lake to drop off our bikes at T1.  Now, for us, that wasn't really a downer because we were intending to drive the bike course anyway - but for some I could see how that would be cumbersome.

So, I set my bike up and headed up to Cultus Lake.

All ready to race.

The drive up to Cultus was beautiful and it looked like the course was going to be pure eye candy.  It didn't seem like too challenging of a course and we were all set for a good ride the following day.  Arriving at T1 - we got to scope out everything and mentally prepare for the swim (which promised to be cold).  By this time, we had heard the reports that the temperature for the swim was going to be around 32-34 degrees and the water would be hovering right around 60 degrees.  Our T1 drop bags were prepared accordingly.

Lake Cultus was beautiful, even though it did not look warm at all.

Night Before the Race:

For big races, I usually am not affected by race anxiety.  I find that I sleep soundly and have no real issues with losing sleep prior to a big event.
With that said, I DO have problems sleeping with a sick baby in the house.  I logged only 4 (ish) hours of sleep the night before because of this, and was convinced it was going to completely derail my race.  I was up at 4 am and ready to go to catch the transport bus up to Cultus Lake - and had already had a full meal in my belly from doing so.

Oh...NOW you're tired. :)

My brother-in-law and I decided to walk the mile to the bus pick up simply because we didn't want to wake anyone in the house up.  This was mainly due to most of the house being awake with two crying babies in it all night (he has an infant as well).

The bus ride up to the swim was pretty easy.  It was pitch black dark on the way up and took about an hour.  That left us with plenty of time to get our bikes situated and set up.

The Race:
When I originally signed up for this race - I had one goal in mind:  Come home with a belt buckle.  That was it.  I didn't care about placing overall or in my age group - I didn't care about looking good or anything else.  I wanted to come home with a belt buckle, end of story.
That's usually a bit odd for me because I've never been a big fan of finishing medals or anything like that.  However, having the belt buckle meant that I would have met a challenge and overcome it.  So I was excited about that.
Which is why I was delighted to know that I would still have a chance at a belt buckle.  When I "downgraded" from the 250 to the 125, I figured I'd have to wait until next year (originally the 125 race did not award belt buckles).  However, the guys at Lifetime announced that they would award belt buckles to anyone who finished under 5:15 for the 125 - I had a renewed sense of vigor.

The Swim:
When we arrived at the swim start, it was cold.  VERY COLD.  They had a few warming tents (which felt like a sauna inside compared to the outside temperature), but they were way too hot inside for my tastes.  I found myself moving in and out of them, and roughly decided that the constant warming and cooling off would probably end up being a very bad thing for me in the long run - so I opted to just stay out.

My brother-in-law and I before the start of the swim looking a lot happier than we should have been.

There were a few people in the race that were doing the swim with sleeveless wetsuits (which I originally planned to do but decided not to - and I'm glad I did) and even one girl who was just in a normal swimsuit!

When they announced my wave would be ready, I headed straight into the water to get a practice swim.  Originally, I was planning on doing a quick five minutes in the water or so, and then heading to the warming tent.  Well, as soon as I got in the water - I made the decision that I wasn't leaving until the swim was over.  The water, even though it was in the ballpark of 60 degrees, was incredibly warm compared to the air temperature and was very comfortable.  I swam out to the buoy start and just hung out (you were able to stand in the water at the start) until my wave was ready.

Now, I'm a slow swimmer.  It's been my weakness forever and I've been really working hard on it.  Shameless plug, but I've been following Dave Luscan at www.findingfreestyle.com and it has done wonders for my swim.  I'm no Andy Potts or anything now, but I went from swimming almost 2:40/100m (as evidenced by an almost 45 minutes Olympic swim at a triathlon in June) to doing 800 meter sets in the pool at 1:47/100m.  A lot of that is just me swimming more, but a lot of it is also the drills that FindingFreestyle has taught me.

The swim went surprisingly well.  The lake was absolutely gorgeous and you can see all the way to the bottom if you stop to look (I did).  I was able to keep my stroke the entire time and didn't have much problems in terms of running in to people.  It was basically an out and back, with buoys to follow the entire way.  Total swim time:  46:42.  That's slow for some, but for me - pretty good.  The course was a bit short (there's no way it was a full 2500 with some of the times posted, but my guess is that it came in right around 2250 or 2300 on a straight line to the buoy and back - which I didn't swim on that straight line).  I was still satisfied with my swim.

NOTE:  Pictures below are the saved "samples" from the photograph company.  I've purchased these photos in digital format and will be updating the blog with the nicer, higher resolution versions when I receive them.

Obviously, SOMEONE isn't a happy camper out of the water.

T1:
With all the talk of bad weather - I had my T1 bag completely prepared.  Extra jerseys (both short and long sleeve), arm warmers, toe covers, knee warmers, wind vest, socks, helmet liner - the whole kit and kaboodle.  I looked like I was ready to climb Everest - and I wasn't alone.  My bag, while stock full of every piece of cycling gear you can imagine, was SMALL compared to some people's bags.
While doing my times in my head - I was preparing for a 8 to 10 minute T1 - which seems about on point with what most people ended up with while scrolling the results.
However, once I got out of the swim, the announcer said "WHOA!  Looks like we have some sun peaking out a bit early out here!"  I didn't see the sun (I had complete tunnel vision coming out of the water) but what I interpreted that to mean was "It's going to warm up pretty quickly and the weather is going to be nice."  So I got my wetsuit off, dried myself off, threw on my gloves (I figured I could stash them inside my trisuit if it got too hot) and decided to go without any "warm extras" and see how I did.  As soon as my helmet was on and my bike unracked - I realized I should probably get my toe warmers just in case.  I went back to my bag - searched through it, and couldn't find them.  After 60 seconds, I just gave up and put everything back in and went without them.  3:49 in T1 - which would come back to haunt me a little bit.  Considering the fumbling, and the short run (~300 meters) to the transition area from the swim exit, I was pleased with the time.

The Bike:
As soon as I hopped onto the bike and started cranking, I knew something was wrong.  For one - I was cold as shit.  It was freezing outside and, like an idiot, I didn't bother to put anything more than gloves on.  Secondly, my power was reading 110 watts - which is way too low (I was going around 25 mph at the time).  Then, the power disappeared.  When I passed someone, I'd get a power meter detected on my head unit, get their power, and then it would disappear when I was out of range.  I attempted to get it working while riding, but to no avail.  I would have to go on feel for this bike ride - which shouldn't be a huge issue, as I was more than prepared to a ride of this caliber.  I kept zooming along - passing most of the people ahead of me (I was 119th overall in the swim - but was in the third wave).  I cruised through the first 25 mile loop at about 25-26 mph.
Once I hit the first hill is where my problems on the bike began.  At this time, my toes were completely numb and I was getting shivers from going without any added warmth.  At around the 40 mile mark, there's a long steady climb and I just had nothing left outside of throwing it into the small chain ring and continually moving up.  I dropped to about 6-7 mph at this point for this entire stretch of hills.
The hills were tough and I was struggling to get up them.  However, I toughed it out (albeit with frozen legs) and managed to get hit the downhill section (approximately 25 miles all the way to T2) feeling halfway decent.  I clocked 49.6 as my fastest speed on the downhill section (which was sketchy to say the least with my bike set up).
I came into T2 with numb feet and a somewhat frozen chest with a 3:18:51 bike (my Garmin read the course at 68.4 miles).
Some notes on my bike set up and nutrition:
I went with 95mm carbon clinchers for this race because I felt the course wasn't as hilly as anticipated and I didn't think the winds would be as bad as they said.  The course was very hilly and the winds were pretty bad.  If I had the chance to go back and do it again - I would have replaced my front with a 40mm front that I have.  I was never in any real danger of crashing, but I think the cautiousness with making sure I didn't run into any trouble may have slowed me down a bit.
I opted to use a Lazer Tardiz with the visor for simplicity's sake.  The helmet is more comfortable than my Giro Air Advantage and, with the visor, easier to adjust on the fly.
My position needs work.  And a lot of it.  I'm lower than I was on my previous bike, and I still generate pretty decent power - but I'm obviously leaving a lot on the table with my aerodynamics.  With that said, I was able to stay in aero for pretty much the whole race (some uphill sections excluded due to how slow I was going).
My bike nutrition was drastically overthought.  Carrying 3 bottles was overkill as I didn't touch the back two bottles (I finished the one between the aerobars and that's it).  I had a powerbar gummy gel every 45 minutes or so, and had 1/2 a cliff bar and some gummy bears (the candy kind) in case I got hungry.  That was it in terms of nutrition.

My position is a little too upright for my tastes and I need to get it dialed in.

With that said, Bend is beautiful and the bike course looked like something out of Lord of the Rings.

I passed most of the people who were in front of me.  I was only passed by 2 people on the bike the entire day, and one came out of T1 right behind me.

T2:
T2 was fairly quick.  I wasn't 100% sure where the bike segment was going to end since they hadn't set up T2 when I dropped off the run bag.  Because of this, I still had my shoes on (I normally unstrap a few hundred meters out so I can jump off the bike easier).  So I had to unclip and run my bike to the rack, put my shoes and helmet into my bag, put on my run shoes, race number (they said you couldn't leave the transition without it), and sunglasses and get running.  This is all happened a little slower than I anticipated - I blame my the fact that my toes were completely numb.  T2 time was 2:01 and I was off to the run.

Fumbling around in transition.

The Run:
I planned to do the run at a 6:15 to 6:20 pace depending on how I felt off of the bike.  Judging from my previous runs on recent triathlons (36:38 10k at an Olympic in July and a 16:04 5k at a sprint in August) - I felt this was realistic.  The 12k run distance had me thinking I had a realistic shot at breaking 45 minutes or so.
I came out of the transition cooking it pretty good. My first two miles were at 6:15 pace exactly, which was great.  In addition, I was feeling pretty good.  Right after the 3 mile mark, there was an aid station at a "T" in the road.  My mile 3 was a bit slower (closer to 6:30) but I felt I had enough juice left to still do some damage and get back into my goal range.  At the turn, a volunteer directed me to take a left hand turn (she was cheering me on and pointing me to go that way).  I made the left and kept running (skipping the aid station goodies).  About 3 minutes later (just under a half mile and 3:02 according to my plotted run course from my Garmin) a truck pulls up next to me with a guy in a blue Lifetime T Shirt inside of it.  "Dude! She pointed you the wrong way!  Turn around!  You were supposed to go right!  Go! Go!"  I had no idea what happened, but I turned around as instructed and started cooking it.  I passed a guy behind me (who was also turned into the wrong direction) and really started kicking it to make up for lost time.  At this point (since I didn't know what my swim time had been), I thought I was on the cusp of losing out on my belt buckle.  As I passed the volunteer aid station, a part of me wanted to scream at the girl (who I wasn't even sure was there - I didn't remember what she looked like) but I didn't.  I just smiled and waved as a different lady yelled apologies to me as I ran past.
In addition to that little mishap, the "pancake flat" run had a couple of unexpected hills in it.  This slowed me down significantly, moreso than expected.  I was almost 8:30 on the mile with the bigger hill (where it went from unpaved sidewalk to dirt) and my confidence sank.  I thought for sure I had missed the chance for a belt buckle.

Hammering it down towards transition.  

Unknown to me, the finish line was right around the next bend.

 When I came towards transition, my pace had slumped a bit to the high 6s and even low 7s.  I didn't start hammering until I saw the finish line in the distance.  When I crossed, the only thing going through my mind was that I missed out on the belt buckle.  The second thought was whether or not I should try to protest with the race director since I was directed off course - but I quickly dismissed that thought.  It just seemed incredibly douchey when I played that scenario out in my mind.  I graciously accepted my finisher's medal, gave my wife and son (even though he was sleeping) a kiss, and stocked up on finish line goodies because I was STARVED.  My run ended up being 56:38, which ended up being a 7:37 pace.  Considering I ran an extra mile or so - that's about on target with what I planned on doing.

Never has someone been more disappointed while crossing the finish line.

After I had some food in me, I went over and checked the time for the race.  It read 5:30-something - which was very disappointing - but the announcer asked me what wave I was in on the swim.  I told him I was the third wave or so to go - and he assured me that I was well under 5:15 and would have a buckle due to how the waves were spaced out.  This gave me a bit of hope and brightened my mood a bit.

He's like a stuffed animal.  So many people came by and were swooned by his baby smile.

At this point I went with my wife to take pictures and wait on my brother-in-law to finish.  My son was awake and was real stoked to try and put my finishers medal in his mouth over and over.  A quick note about my wife and son - they're my rock.  I heard in a song once a lyric that went something like: "You're my crutch when my legs stop working" - and that describes them both perfectly.  There were many times I was in the race and ready to just call it a day or put it in cruise control and just coast on in when I thought of them and it gave me the strength to move on. My wife has been incredibly understanding of my training and, because of that, I didn't want to disappoint her with anything less than my very best.  They're truly my motivation and completely my source of strength.

The finisher's medal and the coveted belt buckle.

As it turns out, my total time was 5:08:00 - so I made the original cutoff with time to spare and received my belt buckle.  I was also 3 minutes out from first place in my age group (which I would have won without getting the wrong turn on the run, but I can't nit pick) - so I was very satisfied with my result.
Turns out that they extended the cutoff from 5:15:00 to 6:00:00 - so I would have made it even if I did just coast in - but I'm happy I pushed myself to make the cutoff to my original time.  I truly feel that I've earned the belt buckle.  As a nice bonus - the finisher's medal  is pretty sweet!  Last year's medal didn't look so good from the pictures I saw, but I was stoked with this year's version.  Also - the swag you got was outstanding (long sleeve tech t-shirt, a nice Leadman Tri drinking glass, a Headsweats Visor).

As for my bother-in-law, he had a really tough time on the bike.  I got lucky as the weather, while cold, was pretty calm for me on the bike ride.  From what I understand, the window to get a "good bike" was pretty short and the people that didn't make it around the first 20 mile or so loop out of T1 in time were in for some pretty nasty before passing over Mt Bachelor.  My brother-in-law got caught in this.  He had not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE flat tires in what has to be the most unlucky bike ride in history.  I truly felt for him, but when he crossed the finish line - I had more respect for him than myself or any other competitor.  First of all, this was the longest race he's done (by far) and I know he had his doubts as to whether or not he was adequately prepared for it.  Secondly, I know that *I* would have mailed it in after going through the tubes in my flat kit (2).  He was literally walking his bike in freezing rain and hail waiting on someone to help him (or he would have walked the distance into transition).  That's amazing to me and I truly feel he's cut from a special cloth.

So that's Leadman in a nutshell.  I would recommend this race to anyone and I'm seriously considering coming back in 2014 to take on the 250 as originally planned.

Shoe Review: Skora Base

If you're reading this (or have read my previous blog), you probably know I'm somewhat of a shoe junkie.  I'm a triathlete without a doubt, but my run is obviously my strong point and has always been the base of my training.  Therefore, when I get a chance to try out something new in the running shoe department - I'm all over it.

I happened upon an opportunity to try out a line of shoes that I previously had not heard of.  Skora is a shoe company based out of Portland, Oregon who is gearing their entire line of shoes towards the "minimalist" running style.  Again, without getting into a huge debate, I put that word in quotes because it seems to have taken on a whole different meaning in the running shoe marketing world.  Without getting into detail, a lot of shoes are marketed as minimalist when they really aren't.  Just because a shoe has minimal padding, support, material, etc - does not mean that it is a shoe that is good for you.  To me, minimalist is simply a shoe that allows your foot to strike the ground and propel you forward the way it naturally would do.  The Skora Base (the model I tested) does a wonderful job of this.  It's a shoe that allows your foot to naturally run the way it would without shoes, but with enough protection to keep your joints, bones, and muscles from completely wrecking themselves from the pounding pavement puts on them.

I've ran in several minimalist style shoes (sometimes marketed as being "barefoot" shoes, racing flats, etc) and I can honestly say that the Skora Base is among the best of these that I've ever used.  They are an outstanding shoe that are not only eye catchy and different, but deliver outstanding performance as well regardless of the distance you run.  The pair I have now will definitely be in my regular rotation and will see some race day action as well.

As you know, I try to take all of my own pictures - so the high quality top notch pictures you get on shoe websites don't exist here.  I use my cell phone to take the picture and it's an attempt to give people an "everyday view" of the shoe - rather than seeing it on the runway.

Shoes from the top view.

 Skora describes this shoe (and all of their other shoes) as having an outsole that is naturally shaped to the foot.  What this means is that the heel of the shoe is curved to that it better matches to your heel.  The sidewalls of the shoe match up pretty well to the natural shape of the foot, which - for me - allowed a more comfortable footstrike while running in them.  It made the shoe feel more like a sock than a shoe - which is a VERY GOOD thing.

The sole of the shoe is zero drop, with 13 mm of cushioning - so pretty minimal by most standards out there.  I found the cushioning to be perfect in the sense that it allowed for a great feel on the road - but also prevented fatigue in the foot from running long distances.

The sole of the shoe is removable and the shoe can be worn without the sole without any issues (oftentimes when you remove the sole to decrease the cushion in other shoes you run into a myriad of problems - not the case here as the Skora Base functions exactly the same, just with a bit less cushion).

The first thing you notice when you look at the shoes is that they're definitely not your standard running shoe.  They have a completely different look than most shoes and that, in my opinion, is a wonderful aspect of the shoe.  The straps, elastic, lack of laces, and reflective accents all come together to produce a shoe that is pretty remarkable looking, and is a headturner wherever they are worn.

The elastic straps on the upper help get a dialed fit quickly.

I've used these shoes for a few months now - doing runs of just about every distance in them (from a quick 5k after a bike trainer ride to my 22 mile long run) - so I feel I have a very good feel for how they perform.  There's some quirks that would probably have the runner new to a lower profile shoe spending some time to get used to - but all in all, the Skora Base is an outstanding shoe.

LIKES:

First off, the top billing for this shoe - aside from all the tech that they advertise for it - is the strap enclosure.  Often, with laceless running shoes (which is my preference because they typically work better in triathlons) you have problems where - if the shoe doesn't particularly fit you well - there will be "play" in the shoe as you stride.  This will result in blisters and general wear and tear on the skin of the foot - which is no fun (especially in longer runs).  The Base has straps on the forefoot and the heel that allow you to dial your fit in.  I've read some reviews of this shoe where they complain that there "isn't enough strap" - and I couldn't disagree more.  The strap was fine for my foot - but my wife (who I purchased a pair for) tightens hers all the way (where about 1/4 of the velcro is attached) and she's had no problems.
The fit system is perfect for quick transitions in triathlons - where I feel this shoe really shines.  It slips on incredibly easy and if your fit is already dialed, is literally a pull on the heel of each foot before you're off and running off of the bike.

The shoes strap system - which works perfectly.

Second, the shoe is incredibly durable.  I'm a fairly light foot striker (definitely not a plodder), but the shoe has had around 250 miles on it and still looks pretty good.  The upper has no tears or rips - which was originally a concern of mine (I felt it wouldn't last and was proven wrong).  The sole of the shoe shows little to no wear - which, even with a lighter footstrike - is something Skora should boast about.

Third, the upper on the shoe is outstanding.  Not only does it fit perfect on  your foot, but it does so without the need to socks.  You can literally pull these shoes right out of the box and be running sockless immediately with them without worry of blisters or cuts or any of the nasty stuff.

THINGS TO IMPROVE UPON:

No shoe is without its faults and this one is no exception.  However, you know you have a great shoe when the faults are very minor.  There are really only two things I would want to improve upon on this shoe.  First is the weight of the shoe.  While this is a very minor thing and something that most people who buy this would not notice or care about - the shoe certainly "wears heavier" than the 7.9 ounce weight that it is listed at.  I'm in a size 8.5 and felt that it was heavier than other shoes that I have that are advertised at a higher weight.  Now, there's a lot of contributing factors that go into that and it doesn't effect the performance of the shoe - but it is what it is.  Second is that the shoe would probably not be a good candidate for a "foul weather" running shoe.  When it got wet, the upper tended to retain a lot of the water and the insole would also get soaked pretty quickly.  This bogged the run down.  Drainage vents or holes worked into the sole of the shoe would solve this problem quickly - and the shoe performs well even without them.



I would highly recommend these shoes to anyone looking for a lower profile shoe or wanting a shoe that matches more with a natural running style.  These are great shoes that perform extremely well and I can't imagine anyone not being satisfied with them.  To top that off, they're available on www.skorarunning.com for $60 to $70 right now depending on the color scheme you choose.  At that price, you simply can't go wrong with this shoe.

Identifying weak spots.

Been awhile since I updated this, so I figured I'd grace the masses with a "race report" of my latest race.

Two weeks ago I did an Olympic distance triathlon (that I won a free entrance to thanks to the good folks at RaceGrader.com ).  I had no intentions to specifically train for it and figured I would make this a "just for fun" type of race.

Well, it turned out as much more than that.  Mainly, because it highlighted an incredible weak spot for me:  The swim.

Now, I've never been a good swimmer.  I've never claimed to and never really tried.  I can swim forever, but I swim slow.  Very slow.  Agonizingly slow.  Second to last in my age group slow.

Yeah.  That bad.

Now, normally, I can come out of the swim and pass most people on the bike and then catch the rest of the people on the run.  That's my normal plan of attack and it usually works for me and puts me in the upper tier of my age group and makes me competitive against all but the most stacked of triathletes.  Normally.

However, when you do a 1500m open water swim in just a shade under 40 minutes - that REALLY makes it difficult to catch a podium.  That's not to say I didn't try though.  I have a very good bike split - considering my swim (1:05 - which included a stop to see if someone was ok when they crashed) and my run wasn't the fastest run I've done but adequate (37:00ish).  Finished 11th, but would have podiumed if my swim was under 30 minutes (which I SHOULD be able to do).

So that's the bad news - the good news is that I'm working on my swim using Dave Luscan's Finding Freestyle method.  www.findingfreestyle.com  So far so good - and he really seems to think I'll be ready for Leadman utilizing his program.  So we'll see - but all signs are pointing to it being VERY positive.

The better news?  I got a new bike!  And new wheels!

I'm really in love with this bike and felt faster on it than I ever have felt.  Hopefully, this weekend I'll be able to take it out on a 40k time trial and see if I can break that magic 58:00 barrier that's eluded me.  We'll see.

Outside of that, be on the lookout for a couple new shoe reviews that I'll be posting in the upcoming month(s).  I'll do my best to keep this updated - but I got a little guy making it somewhat difficult. ;)

A Horrific Comedy of Errors in a Very Fun Race Weekend

Sometimes, you run the perfect race.

Sometimes, you don't.

Sometimes, you have fun but don't perform nearly as well as you should have.

Sometimes, you just completely show up unprepared and fail miserably.

And sometimes, just sometimes, everything that can possibly go wrong goes wrong and you just say "Screw it" and do your best and enjoy yourself anyway.

Last weekend was more of the latter, but a bunch of other factors mixed in as well.

It all started on Saturday with the long course bike tour for a Cinco De Mayo race weekend my friend (who doubles as my brother-in-law and triathlon training partner) were doing.

To detail out this race, one must understand how horrifically undertrained I've been lately.  A couple of factors come into play for this.  For one, my wife and I had our first child in early March.  Finding pockets of time to train with a screaming baby in the house is next to impossible, and besides - why would ANYONE want to train when you have something THIS CUTE to play/cuddle with?

I've never been so much happier not to train :)

 The fact is, you can't.  I've been training during my lunch break and trying my best to get another hour at night.  Weekends - I do my best to get all my training done before mommy and the baby wake up - but it's difficult.  Especially since I'm barely getting enough sleep as it is and the weekend is my only chance to catch up a bit.

So, there's that.  Then, on top of that, I've also been dealing with kidney stones - which will cripple any training one can do (along with everything else).

Anyway, those are my built in excuses before the race even starts, but didn't really have any effect on the race other than keeping me from achieving a personal best or anything.

So my training partner and I show up to the bike course with our time trial bikes expecting to do a "duo pace line" and crush the course.  Now, by "crush" we actually mean "just go pretty fast" (we had no intentions of blowing everyone away at the course, and the "bike tour" wasn't even a timed race anyway).  Our wave goes off and away we go.  We're off to the side of the main pack of normal "fun ride" riders - which included everything from guys on $12,000 road bikes to people on mountain bikes they bought the day before at WalMart.  We're passing mostly everyone and just zooming along - averaging a crisp 21 mph (more downhill, less uphill on a somewhat hilly course).  Around mile 30 or so - it happened.

POP!  *wiggle wiggle, slow down, hop off the bike*  Crap, a flat tire.  No biggy - my training buddy is carrying the flat kit and we're good to go.  So I rip off the tire off.  Tube on.  Everything going smooth - we're operating like a NASCAR crew.  I'm feeling proud.  On goes the CO2.
PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSH.
Hmmmmmmmm.  Musta been a dud CO2 cartridge. Try the next one.  PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSH.
Um...ok.  Must be a dude tube.  Undo everything, grab a new tube, everything back on.
CO2 time.  PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSH.
Really?  Screw it.  Just hand me the hand-pump and I'll get enough air in it until we get to the aid station.
*pumppumppumppump*  nothing.  Are you kidding me?  This tube is a dud too.  Hand me another one.
Uh.....what other one?  I only brought two.
Ugh.  *face palm and I slowly start to cry to myself*
So now we're looking like the three stooges on the side of the road (even though there is only two of us) as we wait for the race assistance crew to come save us.  Which, by the way, was excellent.  I'd like to take a moment to commend the folks from JAX Bicycle Shop who were absolutely stellar in their response to helping people out.  Super friendly guys and the way they handled things will definite assure that I will be making a purchase from them in the future (that, and the $10 gift card that came in our race packet).

Anyway, they got us back up and running - but not before we spent nearly half an hour on the sidelines getting passed by every legit rider racing, multiple mountain bikes, multiple people in the "I'm just casually riding my bike to lose weight" crowd, etc.  It was embarrassing.  We just kept telling ourselves "It's not a race, It's not a race" but that didn't have any effect.  As soon as we were back on the road, we started cranking it to the point where we were almost going out in a full on time trial.  Our goal was to pass as many people as possible to try to "save face" (we're extremely vain people - obviously lol).

In doing so, my training partner bombed a hill to make a light (he made the light) and I had second thoughts and felt as if I couldn't make it - so I stopped.  So I'm behind a light as he is finishing his left turn and I yell to him to let him know I'm behind the light.  He looks back at me to acknowledge that....
...and promptly runs into a curb going 30 miles per hour or so.

It was a horrific thing to see.  His bike flew up into the air (with him on it) and does a sort of sideways front flip.  The back tire goes up into the air, twists around and lands (in an upright position)before he falls flat on his butt.  The whole intersection saw this and a couple of drivers started waving me through so I could go help him.  I do and, amazingly, he has a couple of scrapes and bruises and one scratch on his spokes and that's it.  It literally look like he died from that, but he was fine.

We finish the race afterwards - but kind of took it easy for the rest of the ride.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum managing to survive a casual bike tour.

So that was day one.  Day two had a half marathon that was associated with the weekend event that, when I signed up for it, I was planning on PRing.  My half marathon PR is 1:18 and I knew, with my aforementioned lack of training, that 1:18 just wasn't going to happen for me.  Still, I planned to go as hard as I could and see what happened.

Well, we arrived "late" on the course.  The marathon gun went off at 7:00 am, and we pulled into the parking lot (which is at the mall across the street from the race) at 6:58.  The national anthem was being sung as we got out of our car so we jogged over to the start and was in the very, very, very back of 600 runners or so participating in the race.

Crap.  Gun goes off and I hang around and wait for mostly everyone to shuffle through the starting line before deciding to take off and just swing wide around everyone.  I kept a 5:40 pace for the first 4 miles or so when my series of woes started to haunt me on my run.

Around mile 4, I'm cooking right along when WHACK! - a bug flies into my eye.  My hand goes up to swipe it away and then I feel a stinging sensation.  I start laughing incredulously as I'm in complete disbelief that I just got stung in the eye by a bee.  I pull out the stinger and shove it into my shirt pocket (hoping to keep it as a memoir for later, but it fell out).  My eye is watering and I'm rubbing the crap out of it trying to get ride of little miscellaneous bee parts, so it must have looked weird to see me running at a pretty crisp pace with one eye shut and rubbing it.

Eventually, the eye opened up and stopped watering, but was in a bit of pain throughout the rest of the race. To top that off, my shoes started digging into my achilles.  No idea why (I've run longer distances in these same shoes before) but now I have bloody ankles started to change my stride to compensate for the stinging sensation of my heels being dug into by my shoes.  At that point, combined with my legs starting to feel the strain of running at a pace that they weren't trained for, I decided to slow it down and just "finish" the race.

Ended up with a 7:00 min/mile average and a time of 1:31 - 4 minutes off the podium for my age group - but in the top 15 overall.

All in all, a good weekend.  I don't know what to take from it other than that it is what it is.  Sometimes things are out of your hands and sometimes you just gotta tough through them.

In any case, here's another pic of my baby boy (which is probably far more interesting than the rest of this blog post):

My wife is an extremely creative person.