Updates

For those of you who have ever wondered whether webpages ever publish updates, I am happy to say that we do. For now, at least. Until I run out of time to scan through results for our names and throw them onto the result page. I also have some of the races (based on the availability of flyers) set to provide flyers for download when you click the link. This is not the case for most, as most races only publish flyers a few weeks in advance. As the season progresses, I will try to stay on top of that, along with updating results! Congrats to all of you who competed this past weekend!

Why no real numbers in your posts?

Wow.  I didn't know anyone actually read this blog.  I posted a little race report last night and by 9am the next morning, I have five e-mails wondering why I didn't put power numbers, cadence, heart rate, etc. data into my post.  Well, you ask for it your going to get my answers.  Some you may not like.  But, I hope you understand.

First off, I do not race with a power meter, heart rate monitor, or a watch for that matter.  I have found that, while racing, I tend to self-limit based on some little number displayed on my wrist.  I do run a bike computer on my bike.  It displays cadence and time.  I actually put a piece of duct tape (3M if you must know) over the speed.  RPE and cadence tells me whether to shift.  I'll be going as fast as I will go with that info.  If I had a power meter (hint: my birthday is coming up), I would like that info.  The power number would take the place of RPE, I would guess.  On the run I do use a Garmin 310XT displaying pace and pace only.  I tend to think of that like a power meter for running.

Second, and most importantly (not just to me but to you the gentile reader) my numbers are just that.  They are MY numbers.  Sure, they might mean something to you.  But, more than likely, they would not apply to you.  Sometimes I not actually sure they apply to me either.  My body is mine, your body is yours, and to compare them directly would be doing each of us a disservice.  Just a quick guess at things that could be different would be: General fitness, The point we are at in our individual training plans, What we ate today, How much training we did yesterday (or the day(s) before for that matter), and What our individual goals are/were for that workout/race/day.  I guess in the end that without a whole bunch of other data and access to past data, I really don't think that my data has any relevance to anyone but me.

Anyhow.  You want some info?  You can have some info.  I don't know why.  Do with it what you want.  Here is a link for my ride this morning.  Both what Garmin recorded and what my Cateye recorded.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/31332570

I had 2 goals.  Don't die on the road and recover from yesterday's race.  I woke up a little tired and only drank a glass of water while the doggies did their thing outside.  I rode alone on my road bike.  Nutrition was two 20oz bottles of Gatorade (1 green and 1 orange).  I drank approximately every 15 minutes (You'll see the 5.5mi markers. That is my drink reminder) and got through the entire orange (my favorite) and about half of the green.  I had a gel in case I got hungry, but did not eat it.  The only display I had while riding was the clock because I had to be back at a certain time (Julie had a dentist appointment).  I was just out there to get a little exercise, some fresh air, and a few miles in the log.  Cadence was self selected and pace was what it was.  I did have to push a little due to traffic through Waukesha and coming back into town.  I think I got out of the saddle, maybe, four times.

While typing this, I received two more e-mails wanting ride data.  Have we as athletes become accountants?

This is all you're getting.  Go out there and get your own data.  Just remember, we can talk about it together.  But, your numbers will not affect my training just like my numbers should not affect yours.  You be you and I'll be me.  We'll meet at the next race.

Have ye seen de white whale? Earlybird Tri Race Report

Before I go into explaining the strange title, I need to say congratulations to my lovely wife, Julie, for her first triathlon finish. I am truly happier for her finish than for my race results that I will get into below.

Now back to a bit of my rambling.

For those of you that were able to escape Moby-Dick during your younger years, that goofy beginning to this post was the question that Ahab would ask while seeking Moby. Seriously, it is a good book and worth the time to read. It is also a great example of being totally encompassed by something.

A lot of people that ask me about my triathlon training look at me the way other sailors looked at Ahab. They look at me like I am crazy and that I am searching all the world's oceans looking for one fish (back when Moby-Dick was written, they still argued that whales were fish-Now you know). Well every once in a while a goofy ship's captain just has to get his whale. Right?

Well for me today, things actually worked out.

The day started well. I felt OK, wasn't too nervous, and the weather was poor. "What?", you say. The weather was a little more than brisk and raining. Perfect to make sure that I really wanted to be there.

Jumped into the water and went out a my "all day" pace. I really don't try to kill myself on the swim. I know I just need to stay close to the fast guys without killing myself. A guy in my lane passed me at 250yds and I was OK letting him break the water for me. The last 250yds was great. I did open turns and just coasted along on the bubbles of my lane mate.

I had a little trouble in T1. My shirt just did not want to go on. I did get it onto my body enough to get on my bike and off I went. No glasses because they had been sitting out in the rain for an hour at that point, so I couldn't see a thing out of them.

Started to turn the pedal of my bike and felt pretty good. By mile 2 or 3 I could see Andy Mixel (Another great Emery's guy and overall fast guy) ahead of me. No one ahead of him and no one behind me. I just put it in my head to catch Andy. Pedal I did. Rolling the full disc in the rear and a deep front wheel was the right call. It was only for two or three miles of the ride that the wind made riding "interesting". I caught Andy after the turn around at about mile 10. I then proceed to lead him back into T2.

Andy beat me out of T2 leaving me 20 yards behind him. Let me tell you, he came out of T2 running 6:20min/mi pace according to Mr. Garmin 310XT on my wrist. I figured he was either trying to blow me up, or I was going to have to run faster than I normally would like to. But, with a little sigh to myself I resigned to suck it up (HTFU) and hang with him for as long as I could. Luckily for me, Andy slowed to a little more reasonable pace of 7:00min/mi. After the first 1/2 or 3/4 mile I settled in behind Andy and just let him lead me though the beautifully muddy cross country run course. After ducking a few low hanging branches, slipping on the boardwalk through the woods, and forgetting about how many twists and turns are on that course I made my move with about a quarter mile left. I picked up the pace to what I knew from training I could keep for a good 400m. At the time I knew that Andy had 10 seconds (due to the wave start in the pool) in hand and I hoped that I could pull those 10 seconds plus maybe a couple more. After, maybe, 15 strides I couldn't hear Andy's footfalls behind me, so I just kept going.

I was the very first person to cross the finish line. Let me write that again. I was the first person to cross the finish line. Andy was behind me. At the time I didn't know by how much, but it was really strange for me to be standing there. Here we were at the finish line, trying not to cough up a lung, and no one else was in sight. We had just had a really good race. We were not only racing the course, but we were racing each other. On the bike, on the run we were racing. Now, we both knew that there were many, many more waves of more than competent triathletes behind us. But, it was an interesting feeling to stand there.

In the end, our efforts were for 3rd overall for me and 4th for Andy Mixel by 5 seconds.

So, for now I have my white whale. I went into today's race looking for a solid top ten performance. I was also looking to validate the extra training I have been doing since January. Both happened.

The problem with catching the white whale is that now that my ship is full of all the whale oil I can hold, I need to do something with it. So, out the door I'll go tomorrow morning. Long before the sun is up, I'll be logging a few more miles on the bike. Because who knows, there just may be more than one white whale out there. I'll let you know because I'll be looking for another. By looking at today's results, it looks like the next white whale is three minutes faster than me.

Women's Little 500

The morning started off cold and wet. The rain was coming down heavy for much of the morning. Around lunchtime, the rain stopped and the clouds slowly began to break. It was a glorious thing! There was now a chance that Kari and the rest of the ladies competing in the Little 500 would be able to race in dry conditions. While there was no added moisture in the air, the track had been thoroughly soaked, causing faster then normal track conditions. It took a little while for the girls to get their exchanges down, but they felt comfortable come race time.

Once the race was underway, Lisa got them into decent position within the main pack. It was a good thing she did, because only a few laps into the race there was a nasty pileup a few riders behind her. The field raced under yellow for a few laps while they got the injured girls and their bikes safely off the track. One had a broken collarbone and another scraped her face on the cinders. Ouch.

After they were given the green to continue racing, Lisa kept moving up in the field, holding a strong position. Then she was pulled to switch to Caitlin and begin the process of exchanges. From then on, they just kept racing until their coach, who most of the team met for the first time that day, decided to pull them. I disagreed with a lot of his decisions, having personally spent more time with the girls, watching how they ride normally and knowing some of their abilities. After about the halfway mark in the race, I started tapping the girl who was scheduled to go in next to get out there because the girl in front of her was starting to fade. It started to work better. By then, the girls were so tired and so far behind that it did not really matter. All in all, they had a great race! They finished 19th. While they were not super happy with it, I thought they all raced hard and gave a good effort. The winning team was on another level tactically and physically. They came close to lapping the entire field solo. Very impressive!

Now, Kari and I are getting some things done before we head to the track to watch the men's race later today. I am interested to see how the teams tactically plan for the race and pull it off. One of the stronger teams in the spring races was Phi Delta Theta. It will be interesting to see if they are able to do some serious work against the field or if they will get caught up and put in difficulty due to poor decisions. Good luck to all of you racing today and tomorrow! Show those other Early Bird folks who's boss!

Ramblings on a rainy day

While waiting on Kari to finish her exam and class before her race this afternoon, I figured I would take a few minutes to update some race results on here. Kari will be racing in the Little 500 later today. Last year, I was unable to attend, so I'm looking forward to this experience. The girls race for 100 laps on the quarter mile track of cinders. More than 30 women's teams qualified, with Kari's team qualifying in the middle of the pack. It will be interesting to see how the rain affects the track conditions and the racers. Currently, it is raining fairly strong here and it is supposed to continue throughout the next few days. Yay for wet racing! The weather is bad enough that the local road race and crit I was planning on racing have already been postponed to a later date. Oh well.

In other news, Chris, Steve and I met some new friends on our rides the past few days. Also, I tested out the new wheels yesterday. They are very fast. Unfortunately, I did not have the legs to fully take advantage of them. I will post photos in a few days of the bike with the wheels. It looks mean! Good luck to the gang at the Early Bird on Sunday!

Elevation Profile

For those of you who were curious about the elevation profile for the race Kari and I did yesterday, I will attach it below. I'll let you be the judge for the rolling nature of the hills. The peaks were around 800 ft and the troughs were around 600 ft.

Ohio Road Race Report

Kari and I woke up really early to eat some delicious breakfast. I had coco puffs in chocolate milk. You might be asking yourself, isn't that too much chocolate? That's a big fat nay! Kari had the more sensible breakfast: rice crispies in skim. We finished off our breakfasts with a pair of bananas and finished getting the car loaded.

We were on the road to Ohio by 8am to start our 3 hour drive. We decided that for future races, if the distance away is longer than 2 hours driving, we are grabbing a room close by the night before. We made it there with a little over an hour before the start of the race to check in and do any last minute preps before going for a nice little warm up. With this being a fairly long (compared to all the crits I normally do) road race (38 miles), we did not spend a huge amount of time warming up.

They lined us up as if we were cattle going off to slaughter by our start times to allow us access to the course. Instead of lining up at the start line, they had us do a rolling start. I've learned that I really dislike those. I made the mistake of lining up way too far back, so I had to use the transition to the actual start line to move up. While it wasn't too difficult to do thanks to the hills. By the time I latched onto the lead pack at the crest of the hill at the start/finish line, I didn't have enough gas to hang at their pace after the hill. I fought to get back on for the rest of the first lap before finding a group of guys to ride the rest of the way with.

The rest of the race was fairly uneventful. I was vastly stronger than my little cohort, especially on the hills, so I usually had to wait for them after each hill to catch back up. I could've gone solo, but the hills were a little brutal to suffer alone. On the final lap, our friendly little bunch had dwindled down to just three and I drove us home taking the hill top finish first.

After I crossed the line, I started looking for Kari. I thought she only had a 30 mile race, so she should be at the top waiting. At the start line for her race, they increased the womens race to the same distance as the cat5s, so she wasn't quite done yet. She did great though. She stayed with the womens field for most of the race and finished in the top 15 she thinks! Pretty awesome for her first ever road race! I'll update actual results later!

For those of you ever interested in racing in southern Ohio, be warned that "rolling hills" means something different to them than it does to me! Most of the hills were nice rollers, but there were at least three that were much more substantial!

Recovery - The other sport

I just finished a spectacular recovery week. It involved missing two-and-a-half days of training while with my fambly (literary reference) on a short little get-away. I was able to get three short workouts in for all three disciplines. But, no really work was done (my "long" swim for the week was 600m). I just did a bunch of sweating and assured that my skin would continue to smell like chlorine.

The time away from training was much needed and will, according to all the experts, allow me to perform better in the future. There are a billion references on-line that will explain the idea and science behind it. Feel free, gentle reader, to do a little looking.

I'll let you know how the next three week building phase of my training goes. But, for now I have some serious ants in my pants to get back on my bike.

Indoors in the Morning

Due to the snow, rain and cold temps, we will be riding indoors at the shop. Riding on trainers is no fun, but neither is riding in cold temps while getting precipitated on. Come join the fun!

So how much do you train?

Boy is that a loaded question. I was asked exactly that Friday afternoon. It just so happened that I was getting done with a brutal one hour run that seemed to be entirely against strong winds. So, my answer was, "Too much."

Now, let me answer the question a little better.

Firstly, I really like training. I really like it when my body is in motion. I have been blessed with good health, a body that reacts well to exercise, and the inability to sit still for longer than 22 minutes. Aside: there may be a reason that 30 minute TV shows are actually between 18 and 22 minutes. I often ask myself, especially right after a good training ride, run, or swim, why I bother racing. Do I race because I train? I'm not sure.

Either way, I do some type of "activity" every single day. Mowing the lawn is not an activity it is a chore (which I don't do, but it is an example). Usually, when I am "in training", I schedule 12 workouts for week. I make a plan that starts 21 (we'll get to that number soon) weeks before an "A" race. Four bike rides, four runs, and four swims. I schedule the bike and runs by time and the swims by distance. Those 12 workouts I try to put into 6 days. I almost always guarantee myself a day off every week. For the year so far, (by time spent doing them) the three sports break down as 52% bike, 32% run, and 11% swim.

So, that is what I schedule. I have a great wife, three spectacular kids, two dogs, two jobs, and a partridge in a pear tree (just seeing if you're still reading). In the real world I strive to get 11 of the 12 workouts done. Also, in the real world at least one of the done workouts will get cut short. So be it. I know that I very rarely get all my scheduled workout done. I know it going in and just accept it. Because I accept it, I schedule 21 weeks to get 20 weeks done. I just know I will miss a big portion of a week that will require me to "redo" the week.

In the end, I train as much as my life allows. I try not to make my training, or racing for that matter, completely control my life. Sometimes it does. But, for now my kids and wife just think it is normal for Daddy to get up before the sun rises and tootle around on his bike before breakfast. I long ago realized that I will not be a pro athlete of any type. I do love sport. I do love moving and acting towards a goal. And, I do love the health benefits that come along with activity. If you see me sit still for too long, check my pulse. Please.

Woodland Critters

During the epic battle for the points jersey yesterday, Chris, Steve Schaer and I were discussing whether we have gone too far with the naming of our woodland critters. Each year, loads of animals are hitting by evil humans in their fancy speed machines and left to die on the side of the road. We have always felt that we should include them in our adventures until they moved onto a better place. In doing so, we give them names and say hi to them each time we pass. Thankfully, some of the small towns that we ride through do not feel the need to destroy these wonderful little critters any more than we do, so they end up being part of our lives for sometimes months at a time. The longest we were able to spend with any friend last year was George the Raccoon. For two months or more, he was part of our lives each and every time we came up 164 in Waukesha to where it runs into 59. He has even left a spot behind on the road, so we can always remember him.

To date this year, we have befriended Jose (Raccoon), George Jr. (Raccoon), Bambi (Deer), Orville (Possum), and Chuck (small groundhog sized rodent). Unfortunately, the vile citizens of Waukesha have decided to be more active with their removal of our little friends, so Jose and Jr. are both out of our lives forever. Someday, we may be reunited. We can only hope.

Herein lies the question of this post, do we spend too much time thinking about our woodland friends? We believe not but understand if some of the other supposedly superior critters of the world would disagree. It certainly has provided us with gobs of entertainment during the many miles we pedal each week through the roads of Wisconsin.

St. Clair Gives Stengel a Run for the Points Jersey

Dateline: Friday Morning

Although Ben Stengel retained his Friday Morning Championship's Points Jersey, a little known sprinter, Chris St. Clair, made Stengel work throughout the morning's ride.  Stengel bested St. Clair with 9 City Limit Signs to St. Clair's 7 with several epic close sprints.  Until recently, St. Clair was only known for his time trialing abilities.

Each of the first several signs were hotly contested with St. Clair showing Stengel early on that there was going to be a challenge for the day's title.  By the time the peleton reached Big Bend, the pace leading into that slight uphill sign was well above   A number of signs were decided by less than a meter.  The Racine County Line and Caldwell Limits quick double etched pain on both the rider's faces.  And, through Mukwonago the triple signs saw the sprinters and the peleton rocketing through the quiet little burg.  After Mukwonago, it seemed as if St. Clair became stronger as Stengel slowly faded.  Stengel gave up the coveted 2nd Vernon sign at that uphill sprint.  And then, Stengel allow St. Clair a solo break on Concrete Hill which St. Clair held onto for the final New Berlin sign of the ride.

After the ride, St. Clair was questioned about the solo breakaway.  "I was just feeling really good.  I saw Ben and pack falling back on Concrete Hill.  I figured I would just keep the hammer down around the next corner.  When I saw they weren't bridging and then the motorbike flashed me a +20, I knew I had a chance to keep them away and collect that last sign.  As I was approaching the sign I noted the helicopter moving out for a wider picture.  So, I knew no one was even close to me.  Overall, although I didn't win, I feel I at least made Ben work for the signs.  I took a few very close sprints and I think the uphill at Vernon 2 will crush a few of Ben's dreams for a while.  Most of all, I made up for 2 weeks ago when I think he collected all 16 signs."

Why I like triathlon.

I know that a few of the roadies will argue these following points. But I have a keyboard and am will to travel.

So, why do I like triathlon?

When asked by those who don't do endurance sports, I just say, "I'm not a good swimmer, nor a good cyclist, and I am a worse runner. But, if you put them all together I seem to do OK."

In reality I came to triathlon from running. I did the obligatory marathon thing, even did a few "let's see how far I can run today" runs. I remember the day I stopped being a runner. It was a few years back on a rather mild December day. I had just finished a little run, arrived at my house, and said to myself, "Self, not only are you good looking, smart, ..." Wait, different day. What I said was, "I'm done with this." And, I was. I promptly set about lying on the couch and doing other such things that people do rather than train. I set about to learn what all the button on the cable remote actually do.

At a Christmas (not Holiday or even holiday) party with a bunch of my wife's high school friends, while sitting in the corner of the room with the other "you didn't go to school with us" people, I overheard someone talking about the triathlon they trained for and competed in. I butted in, and surprisingly was given attention, and I asked some questions. I even got responses to most of the questions. The topic quickly changed to something that happen a couple of decades ago that I was not part of, and that they still didn't want me to be a part of. But an idea popped into my head. Oh, those pesky ideas.

Flash forward to New Year's Day. I woke up and told my wife I was going to do a triathlon this year. Actually, I woke up, quietly went downstairs, made some breakfast, and after the Mrs. woke up, I told her about what I thought I was going to do. She, maybe still a bit tipsy from the previous night, said OK. Obviously, she (nor I if I am honest) didn't understand the ramifications of what had just happened.

I started swimming again. The last time I had swam a lap of a pool was in 1989. It came back quick enough.

I dusted off the circa 1993 mountain bike, put "street tires" on it, started to ride a bike again. I quickly learned that riding a bike fast was harder than I remembered. I hadn't done that since 1985, or so. Three days before my first tri, the mountain bike became a road bike. Brent Emery more than set me up and sent me on my way.

I also continued to run.

By adding the bike and the swim training, I was less bored with the runs. I found new challenges when I to put the different activities together. I actually felt better. If I got tired of one, the next day I was able to do the other. I noted that I was loosing weight again. That had not happened since I took up running.

And, that ability to go do the other sport(s) is why triathlon training (and I guess racing too) is the best. Right now, I'm a little bored with the black line at the bottom of the pool. So, what do I do? Jump on the bike. See if I can do two long runs two days in a row. The combinations are limitless. But, best of all, I can not swim for a bit while my desire to swim "regrows".

So, tomorrow is a long ride in the morning and a long run in the evening. Saturday will have another long run. And maybe, just maybe, a little swim after the run. We will see. A 500m (yes meters) never killed anyone.