So I know I've written a few times about things that get to me about triathlon, training and other things of the sort, but I've been doing some more thinking, and so I have few more things to add to my list. I'm not trying to be super cynical or rub people the wrong way, but this is just a few things that really bug me about what goes on in the daily life of what I do.
1.) Racking your bike. This became so apparent at the last race I did that I absolutely had to write about it. When you rack your bike, you use your saddle, seat, butt pad, whatever you want to call it. NOT your handlebars. When you use your handlebars, you take up 2-3x more room than you would with your seat. It also really messes up trying to do the every/other side for mouting bikes. Just put your damn bike up on the rack using your saddle.
2.) Learn the course. Okay, this one can be a bit two-sided. It's one thing to do an overview of the course and have a basic understanding. It's another to just completely be oblivious to where you are going when you show up on race day. When I see athletes out on the course, confused and complaining about directions that are clearly given in the information you are handed when signing up.
3.) Poor on-course direction. This one has come up recently, too. At the last race, the bike and run course slightly overlap at the beginning. Clearly going out with the sprint elite group, I wasn't worried about overlapping anyone running, but the course crew made sure I was riding on the left side of the road. To go along with that, they were yelling at me to move all the way to the left, but that didn't make sense to me either. So I stuck inside right of the left lane... if that makes sense. But this reminds me of a race recently. I think it was Rev3 Quassy, where I volunteer lead a pro-woman off course and it ended up costing her the race. So I know you're volunteers, but PLEASE, know what's going on. I do thank you so much for your time, but in the heat of the moment, sometimes we really need to rely on those giving up their time to be there.
4.) Not knowing your bike. Okay, so you've gone out and spent a few thousand or more on a race bike. But, you don't have a damn clue how to fix anything on it. You need new brake pads? Don't know how to or which to replace with? Come on! At least learn the little things. When I see five thousand dollar bikes being rolled over for a tech adjustment of using the barrel adjuster on the brake to tighten it, it kind of makes me sick.
Alright, that's it. I'm done. I don't mean to push my luck making people out there mad, but that's just a few things that have been bugging me lately about the sport I care so deeply about.
I did this race last year and had a really positive experience overall. So I figured I would try it again, however, choosing to do the sprint distance instead of the Olympic for a few reasons. One being that my wife had also decided to race again, for her first time in over 2 years. Especially since having our baby. So I was amped up to race with her and share that experience with her as well. The other being I haven't been able to get in anything consistent in terms of longer runs and swims in the past month or so. Schedules have been crazy, so fitting in any running longer than 45 minutes has been tough for me. And I also really wanted to try to hammer the course and see what I could do going out trying to bury myself in the swim and on the bike, being as I can usually find something in my legs for the run.
The morning started off bright and early at 4:15 am. The drive is about an hour to the park, so we gave ourselves plenty of time to get there and be ready. After loading up the car, grabbing some coffee, food and our gear, Lauren and I were on our way to Ottowa Lake.
The weather had been loking pretty good all week for the race. Something like mid/upper 60's or so with a little wind, but nothing bad. However, when we were getting ready and arrived at the park, it was not the case. My car's temperature gage was reading 51 degrees, and on the drive over I could see some flags blowing in the wind. Never a good sign at 5:30 in the morning. It's just going to get windier.
We got to the park around 6:10 and everything was already filling up. Not what I expected. So we hurried to get our gear together and grab our registration info, get body marked and grab our chips. Once that was set, we went to find our rack in transition. This was a mess to say the least. If there's one thing I can't stand, is people not having a clue how to setup a minimal footprint in the transition area. What I liked about Verona's race vs this was that the Elite athletes had their own area, so we were all setup with room and respectful of each other's things. Not the case here. First of all, there were too many numbers for such a small rack. Second, at least half a dozen people had racked their bikes using their handle bars instead of their seat which takes up a good 3-4 times the amount of room as the seat, and makes it impossible to alternate sides when mounting the bikes properly. I was half tempted to fix them all. Another thing was people leaving bags next to their bikes instead of pushing them down along the edge of the transition area fence. And to top it all off, there were a handful of people who had fully laid out towels like they were coming out of a shower and were going to be completely drying off. As if you can't tell, I was extremely frustrated with how the morning was starting from this aspect.
Anyway, after that debacle, it was down to the beach. I put my wetsuit on, which I had tried to convince Lauren to use all week, or to get one from the bike shop since the weather would be kind of chilly for this time of year, and since she hadn't done any open water swim training, it would help her float and feel more comfortable out away from shore. But she toughed it out in the waiting.
My brother had showed up to race, too, so this was a Rigby racing affair. He was doing the Olympic, so we got to watch him go off and see him come through is first lap only a few behind the leader. A few minutes later a really nice man offered Lauren his wife's sweatshirt as she stood there shivering, half-tempted to call it quits waiting in the cold air. It was a life-saver for her. I felt so helpless not being able to do anything for her. We decided to make sure she has a wetsuit for her next race, no matter what.
Don't mind the sun, this was the only 5 minutes of it we saw.
Finally it was my turn to get up and take off into the water for my 400 yard swim. I lined up near the front of the wave, behind the guys I figured were top notch swimmers so I could attempt to stay on their feet as long as I could. The gun went off and I had a great start. I was amidst all the white water and bubbles from all the kicking and breathing, but everyone seemed to be staying enough distance from each other to not be swimming over each other. One thing I have noticed going out with the fast groups of swimmers. They seem to be more conscious of their surroundings and other swimmers rather than just rolling over them like a lot of newer swimmers seem to do.
I hit the first buoy holding on to a pair of feet and was feeling good, but knew I was pushing hard. My heart rate was racing, but this is what I wanted. After that buoy, I noticed another swimmer dead even with me on my inside (I later realized that it was Patrick Brady). He looked to be quick, so I stayed as strong and fluid as I could to hang with him as we came to the second buoy and rounded for home. My arms were catching water pretty well and I was actually feeling like I had a quality kick going on. Something I tend to avoid at longer distances since I don't have much for a kick in my swim. I usually rely on body position and my upper body strength.
Standing up out of the water, I checked my Garmin and saw just under 6 minutes. NICE! I was super psyched. Even though the timing pad was a bit up the way closer to transition which was about 50 meters from the water exit.
Coming out of the water, pretty happy with my effort here
SWIM: 400 yards = 6:18 (1:35/100yd) A good effort for me
I got into transition and ripped off my wetsuit as quick as possible. I was planning to go sockless for the bike and run, but with the cooler temps, I threw on some socks to try to keep my feet from going numb in the cold air of the early morning. I felt like I was in transition forever, throwing on my sunglasses, helmet, socks and shoes. I wasn't quite ready to try a flying mount today. I had finally upgraded to some carbon soled shoes, the Bontrager Hilo RXL triathlon cycling shoes.
Heading out on the bike, I was doing everything to calm myself down, while also ramping up my speed and cadence. I felt out of breath and that I was hyperventilating. The feeling wouldn't subside until about mile 5 or so. I was cruising along pretty quick, about 25-26mph for the first bit out of transition, but once some wind started hitting me in the face, something happened and I couldn't find my rhythm. I couldn't get going on my cadence. 90 rpms seemed to make me push too hard, and 100rpms seemed to be too high for me to keep my speed. Something just wasn't working and I was frustrated. I kept telling myself to calm down and sort it out, it will come.
Around mile 5 my HR seemed to come down, but the slight wind was still playing mind games with me. My power wouldn't ramp up and I was mentally out of it. I just couldn't figure out my issues.
I continued working hard, but nothing seemed to work. I finally hit the way back in and the wind started to be more at my back and I was knocking off a handful of people fro mthe Olympic and some other Elite swimmers from the Sprint group. At least I was feeling good about moving up, and that kept me going.
Coming in on the bike, a bit frustrated.
I came into transition as hard as I could, taking my gel and some more fluids before the run, where I knew I would redline the whole time. I undid my shoes about 100m out, and was ready to make my first attempt at a flying dismount and go through transition without my cycling shoes on. It actually went off quite well.
BIKE: 15 miles/40:34 (22.2mph avg) Actually SLOWER than my effort last year at the Olympic distance. So you can understand my frustration.
At least coming in on the bike I was the only person to be racking it up in transition. My rack was empty so I didn't have to worry about the other people being in the way. A nice feeling.
I was in and out of here pretty quick. About 45 seconds and I was gone running. I knew I had seen a couple guys within striking distance when I came into transition. Unless they were super runners, I felt I could run a couple of them down.
I left transition and spotted one and got to work. A nice quick cadence, making sure I didn't over stride on my numb feet and risk rolling an ankle. I had made up about half the distance in the first 400m as we headed through a quick woods transition out to the main road. I stayed steady through here and as we came out to the road, I got a few words of encouragement from Zeus of E3 Coaching. It always helps to get some cheering, especially of your name from people you know. (I've been wanting to get some coaching, but money to spare for it is very limited, so I continue to train on my own)
The first turnaround was a couple hundred meters down the road so I decided to overtake there. I came up strong on the guy in front of me, shuffled through the 180 degree turn and took a few long strides to burst past him, leaving him quick so he wouldn't have time to respond. And I looked ahead to my next target another 75 meters ahead or so. The work began all over again.
I shortened my stride and just kept my head up working every meter bringing him into reach. We passed the mile mark and I knew I'd catch him. I slowly ticked away the gap and was ready to make another pass at the next turnaround. I got right up on him and slowed to not pass at the turnaround and surprise him as I did the last. I took a few long strides, but this time he hung with. At first. He was a big guy, probably 6'5" or so, so when he strides, he really strides. We both saw a runner catching us quick. He looked like a cross country runner, so I knew I had to move if I wanted to keep this place. I took of from my giant friend and left him to suffer alone.
I was sighting the cutback into the woods and then I heard footsteps. Damn. I couldn't hold him for the remaining half mile or so. He was just too quick. I tried to match his pace for 50m or so, but it was just too much. He was running strong and I knew this would kill any kick I had if I tried to stay with him. Especially through the mushy trail.
I conceded that spot and held on strong to finish alone. Quite literally.
The finishing cute, full of adoring fans.
I came across the line, happy with my effort on the run, but knowing I had left a lot out there somehow. Mostly on the bike. Something had been off. But it was ok, I knew I had placed pretty high, and with the colder temps and some wind on the bike, all of the athletes that day were facing the same dilemmas as I was.
RUN: 19:35 (6:18min/mi or so) Not bad. Still below 20min, which is a good sign.
After my HR came down, I walked over to the pavilion and grabbed my time sheet from the scorer's table and grabbed some food as well. For some reason, a coke always tastes so good after a race. From there, I just walked about a bit then headed over to transition to check out where Lauren was.
I looked down the rack we were both on and she hadn't come in on the bike yet. I wasn't sure how long she would take, since she had really only been 'training' for about 2-3 weeks. That being a run here and there, biking to work and some swimming in the pool. So she wasn't expecting miracles, but just wanted to have fun. I reached over the fence and grabbed my pants and jacket while waiting for her to come in. I had seen my brother coming in on the bike while I was finishing my run, so I knew they would finish close to each other.
Lauren came in all smiles, like usual, and we chatted a bit about how she was doing. She told me she nearly drowned in the swim, but had fun on the bike. She usually does. She's a natural it seems on the bike. Then it was off to run for her, her least favorite part. Mostly since she had been fighting some cramps in training, she was nervous to even start. She threw on her sweatshirt and was off running.
I lingered around the finish for a while, chatting with a few people and checking the time board to make sure my place had held. Then within 10 minutes my brother Ben was coming across the line. I gave him a high-five, and he looked about in the same mood as I was. A little disappointed about the bike, but we both had good swim times. He told me Lauren was only a few minutes behind so we waited for her.
She came in, big smiles and jumped across the finish line and it was great. We let her catch her breath and then we all got moving to get some more food, their times from the timing table and wait around for awards. As it turned out, Lauren got 3rd in her age group, I got 2nd in mine (7th overall) and Ben got 1st in his age group. So it was a great day for racing for us!
We waited around for the awards, then headed home right after to let Grandma free of her babysitting duties while Lauren and I raced.
Overall I'm pretty happy with my results. I wanted much more from the bike, but both my swim and run were well representative of the work I have put in. Which could be more, but I'm slowly working on that with being a dad and all.
Not sure when the next race is, but Lauren is amped up for another one, so hopefully not too far off into the future!
A really hard decision comes up time and time again. The road bike or the triathlon (TT) bike? For multiple reasons, this question comes up. One of them is for training purposes. I have both a triathlon and a road bike. Albeit the tri bike is essentially my wife's. I go back and forth myself deciding which bike to ride for a given scenario. Mostly during training. Race day, it's the tri bike. However, there is also the question of what to buy when you're just getting started in the sport, and are not totally sure. What bike should you buy?
I'll start with the second question first.
To me, it all comes down to commitment from the athlete. If this is the person's first bike beyond the old mountain bike in the back of the garage that hasn't seen the light of day in 5 years, I really try to question their dedication to their new found sport. Not to try to push them away from buying a triathlon specific bike, but to really help them understand the differences and how each bike will benefit them as an all around cyclist, beyond just the triathlon racing and training.
If this person is just a casual triathlete, looking to do some sprint and olympic distance races here and there with some friends, I would generally lean them towards a road bike, while pushing aero clip-on bars on them as well. The reason for this is that should they fall out of love with triathlon, but still enjoy the biking aspect, they aren't stuck with a triathlon bike they threw a few thousand dollars at every time they try to go out for a charity ride or just a ride with some friends. It's just a lot more versatile.
Another reason I may push a road bike is if the athlete isn't very aggressive and/or flexible. Tri bikes put you in a much more forward-leaning position than a road bike. At least right off the floor they do. I have flipped my stem and slammed my handle bars all the way down as well as flipped my seat post around to mimic the setup of a tri bike, and it does pretty well. If the athlete really lacks some flexibility in their lower back, hamstrings and upper body, the road bike has a more relaxed geometry. At least the capability of a more relaxed geometry.
As for pushing a tri bike on someone... this is someone who comes in ready to make the plunge. They've probably been around the sport for at least a year or two, riding the aforementioned road bike and consistently getting faster. They will most likely come in with some knowledge, knowing that this bike can get them more aerodynamic in their own position, as well as the bike itself being more aero. Since tri bikes generally don't follow UCI standards for tube shape ratios. Mostly that in the headset/head tube area. They can be fully integrated to present the least amount of drag at the front of the bike.
I also ask questions about longevity in the sport. If the person really seems to have aspirations to excel and progress in the sport, let's do it. Get you on that fast bike and let it rip. Let's also check your checkbook and see how fast we can get you. At least from a bike standpoint. Can you afford all the carbon fiber? Or do you need to stay aluminum? Can you upgrade to some carbon wheelset and aero helmet? These things are all factors beyond the bike purchase itself, too. I see too many people worried about getting the aero carbon wheels before 1.) a fit 2.) an aero helmet 3.) TT bars. The biggest drag you can present on a tri bike is yourself. If you're not fit properly, you could be your own worst enemy when it comes to a drag coefficient. Next, getting into some TT bars is a huge aero upgrade, and then the helmet. THEN the wheels. While they look and sound cool. They tend to have the least amount of effect on how fast you go compared to the other things I have mentioned.
So before you go out buying one bike vs another. Truly ask yourself your goals. And be honest with yourself. It's like putting a guy on a hybrid bike who came in looking for a mountain bike. He's not going to be hucking off drops and rolling logs, he's just romping around town. Same goes here. If triathlon is a rare hobby to just have fun with, maybe the road bike is the better decision.
We've been pretty fortunate here in the Midwest to not have a super hot spell for weeks on end. But finally, this past week we got hit with a short one. I think it took a lot of people by surprise. What looking at Facebook statuses complaining about running in the heat and people avoiding going outside because it's too hot. Come on! This is nothing new. We get it every year. Whether it's a week or a month, we get some really hot days.
Everyone I know seems to have their own way of dealing with it. Some people just avoid it. They stay inside, on the trainer or at the gym, not wanting to fight the sweat and water loss, or the scorching temperatures. Some people are gung-ho about it and get out there, take it on, but don't really change much. Then there's some who just stop doing thing all together and sit around and bitch about it. Well you know what? I still get out there, asthma and all, working my butt off, so why can't you? My asthma seems to effect me the most in two cases, extreme heat/humidity and elevation.
Now, let's talk about some approaches to training in the heat. For some people, they just chug more and more water, thinking that will solve all their problems. To an extent, this is going to help much more than doing nothing, but you still need more.
Going beyond that, many people will add electrolytes to their drinks or supplement them. Great! Many of them adding loads and loads of sodium. Great as well! You're doing well! But one thing a lot of people miss out on is another electrolyte that's not so common and can really aid in keeping your muscles firing and avoiding cramps when the going gets tough. One product many people turn to out there is Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes. This is a great option, however, for guys like me who are a little larger and sweat more than a normal person, the 40mg of Sodium and 25mg of Potassium isn't going to cut it. So the only option is to take more. Which, is ok, but why have to take more than the prescribed amount?
I've been leaning mostly on First Endurance EFS for my electrolyte complex drink. As well as Salt Stick Caps. These combined will give me (and you) a greater amount of electrolytes without having to overindulge like you would with other drink/capsule combos. Now there is the option of adding some Endurolytes powder to an already charged drink, so you can play that game as well. The biggest thing is finding the combination that works right for you.
Want a test? Go out riding on a hot day. Wear some darker colored jersey and get after it. When you're done, let the jersey dry out and see if you get the 'salt ring'. What that is is a buildup of salt coming from your sweat. The more dense the ring of white on your dark jersey, the more salt you are losing during training. So plan accordingly. Just because you're losing sweat, doesn't meant you're not properly replenishing, it's just some of us lose more than others.
For me, I recently went out in the 95 degree heat on a tough 40 mile ride with some hills and really worked them. I had some salt tabs to go along with my EFS, which got me through the ride. As well as a gel and a Probar. My buddy Brandon, below, had some gels, EFS and some G2 in his water bottles. I think a little more sodium and probably some more food would have helped him finish stronger. He started to fade fast around mile 35. But this was his first effort longer than 30 miles and by far the most climbing he had done. Nearly double anything he had done before.
Brandon working hard.
Take care of yourself when you're out there in the heat. Know ahead of time how you may, or may not, react to hot and humid conditions. Take in plenty of fluid, but also remember to eat. You're not just losing water in your sweat, you're losing vital nutrients as well. Things you won't find in water and electrolyte drinks.
A few weeks back at the Wisconsin Triterium Triathlon, I was lucky enough to borrow some Zipp 808 Firecrest Clincher wheels. I was a little apprehensive at first to try them out. Since it required a cassette and brake pad swap. I had done a cassette change before, but never on such nice wheels and never done new brake pads, so this was a good learning experience. I did it over at the shop, just so I knew I'd have someone nearby to help me should I need help.
The swap ended up being pretty easy, but I took my time anyway to make sure everything was dialed in and ready for race day. I ran through my gears and ensured it was all set as well as taking it for a test ride through the parking lot and checking the gears.
So race morning came along and it was raining. Awesome. I knew no matter what I'd be faster on those wheels, but with the wind and rain, the aerodyamic benefits wouldn't be nearly as noticeable on a calm and clear day. But I was ready.
Right off the bat I felt smooth and fast. Despite the rain, I was feeling confident and running on all cylinders with them. The only part about using these wheels I was nervous about was braking. Since aluminum rim brakes and heat up quicker and stop better than carbon, I knew I had to brake earlier and turn slower. Luckily there weren't a lot of turns on the course. A few 90 degree ones, but in the rain, everyone was hitting them slower.
The biggest difference with stopping with carbon wheels vs. aluminum rims is the capability of having some abrasives in the aluminum pads whereas carbon generally use a cork or something similar. Zipp wheels will texturize the braking surface so the cork pads can grab easier, but it's still nothing like and aluminum brake. Especially in the rain. First the braking surface has to be cleared, THEN the carbon starts to heat up and react with the cork, drying it out as well before any true braking can occur. A whole lot of stuff happens in less than a second as you're coming down a hill at 35mph +.
However, I really could feel a difference with how I was working the bike with the 808s compared to anything else I've ever ridden. They felt smooth, fluid and very responsive. Being a bigger guy, I couldn't feel any flex in the wheels as I turned, and when I climbed, they responded just as well. All the power going to the road, nothing being lost in flexing.
For most of us, these wheels are out of our budget, but there are some other options out there that can do a great job, without the price point of Zipp wheels. Wheels such as Reynolds and Shimano.
So before you go out throwing your money just at a pair of Zipps, I highly recommend trying out some different pairs if you can. And at varying depth. The heavier or better cyclist you are, the deeper rims you can handle at higher speed wind conditions. Which reminded me of a lady who came in, new to triathlon, looking for 90mm wheels to put on her road bike with clip-on bars. I advised her that her money would be better spent getting a more aerodynamic bike and a fit first, before getting into these aero wheels. And especially at that depth. She was about 5'3" and had just started cycling. She would have been blown off the course on any windy day needless to say.
This past weekend I was a super lucky guy to get some time off of work and able to travel a bit. My wife's good friend works for United so we were hooked up pretty well with flying and decided to take a weekend and get away from things and do some exploring. And test how our now 1 year old would handle a trip on the plane, the altitude and the hiking.
We had narrowed down a few places a few weeks ago: Yosemite, Glacier and the Grand Tetons. I have been to Glacier twice, and still have a ridiculous amount to see there, but I wanted to go somewhere new. We decided on Grand Tetons.
So after work on Friday night, we packed up my GTI, baby, wife, dogs and all our gear and headed towards my parents house. We dropped off the dogs to have my parents watch the dogs for the weekend, and headed straight to Chicago to crash at my wife's friend's apartment for the night to catch an early flight out of O'Hare. We were in around 1AM and had to be up around 6AM to catch our flight. Nothing new for parents and triathletes, working and training on short sleep. At least this was just sitting on a plane.
Saturday morning rolled around and we were off. Our first adventure as the whole family we are today, plus one, who we basically consider family anyway.
The flight out was a success. Meaning no crying baby, mostly sleeping and we were in on time and ready to move. We still had to find a hotel and car to rent since we flew standby and there was still a chance we could end up somewhere else. No big deal. The internet and smart phones are great things and we were up and going within 20 minutes of stepping into the airport.
On the way out I was reading a recent LAVA magazine and caught an article on using hiking as a valuable training tool for triathlon training. You're at altitude, working on feeding yourself in ever-moving conditions, and are working your aerobic system for long periods of time. Much like longer races. So I wasn't so bent out of shape to not get in any real training for a few days.
After the car was rented and hotel booked, we headed out and got on the road to Jackson to check in to our hotel with the mountains to our side.
After we checked into the hotel, we headed back up to the park to see what was around and scout out where we would be hiking the next day. We got into the park and headed to Jenny Lake. One of the bigger lakes, besides Jackson, with some hiking around it and plenty of people around. Though our goal wasn't to be around people, it was nice to be able to ask some questions and know we were near others.
We spent a couple hours there, did a small hike to find some seclusion and let Grey play in the water a little bit as she seemed to be getting hot. She was pretty worked up so the cool water woke her up and calmed her down and she loved it.
Grey was getting tired so we headed back into town and got her ready for bed while I headed out to pick up groceries and a few other items for the next day of hiking. As you can see above, I've got Bear Spray attached to my hip. Not that they run rampant in the park, but they are definitely present. It's a little pricey and that made us apprehensive to purchase it, but I'd rather fork over $45 to be safe should we come across one than be stuck stranded alone with a bear and no protection.
The next day (our only full day out there) was slow starting. It's hard to judge how a baby will be 6,000 feet higher than she normally is back home in Wisconsin. But she slept well and so did we. We still weren't sold on where we were hiking since it was our first adventure with Grey in the wilderness. We didn't want to take her too far, so we planned about a 6 mile round trip to Phelps Lake where we could take her to cool off and play in the water, a little more secluded from the rest of the park lakes.
The hike was interesting. It started off hot, back in the woods and on the dirt roads where there was no wind to sweep out the humidity from the vegetation. My wife, her friend, Grey and myself hustled through the woods, stopping occasionally for water and to check on Grey. She seemed to be doing mostly fine, with a few whiny spots here and there for food.
We made it to the lake after a little crying spell and got her clothes of and in the water. She was refreshed and renewed. We met another couple down by the water with their 17 month old, who Grey was actually bigger than (she's 12 months and a couple weeks), and got to talking, so it was a nice little stop while we ate lunch and relaxed and played with the kids.
Grey started getting cranky so my wife and I attempted to put her down for a nap. We took turns trying to get her calm, but after about 20 minutes of her giggling and squirming, we gave up and decided to head out, hoping she would pass out while we hiked with her.
About 10 minutes into the hike back, she did!
She was out quick and we stopped at a good point and took a picture with my brother's patch. A lot of his friends and other family members have the patch in the picture above, and we all take it with us on our adventures, knowing he's never far away and watching over us.
There were a few tough spots for me, thinking about him along the way. Wondering where he would hike in the park, but mostly wishing I could share our baby's first adventure with him in person.
We made it back a bit quicker, not having to stop to calm Grey down and feed her.
After getting back to the trailhead, we were all pretty burnt out. Both my wife and I had taken turns carrying Grey in our Osprey Poco pack, which was amazing. It was a great piece of equipment to have to carry Grey and some of her stuff along the way. Leaving the other two people to carry the load of food and extra gear for all the adults. On a short hike like this, it made for a nice lightweight packing day.
We got back to the resort we were staying at and we were all ready to get some real food in our system. PB&J, ProBars and other energy bars as well as trail mix only cuts it for so long. So we headed to the restaurant our new found friends recommended and it didn't disappoint.
The next morning we woke up and went back up to Jenny Lake one more time to see the mountains, say goodbye to the park and donate our bear spray to the rangers, along with our sunscreen that we couldn't bring on the plane.
The trip was over pretty quick, but it was a great adventure. An awesome learning experience for my wife and I for traveling with our baby. She's so well behaved, we count our lucky stars. She never cried on the plane, and we got compliments from everyone.
Overall it was a very successful trip, and we're looking forward to our next one!
Oh, and we saw a bear when we were leaving the park. Just AFTER donating our bear spray.
Yea yea, I know, there isn't anything truly BAD about being a triathlete. But let's just play a little devil's advocate as we go along here. We're all so wrapped up in our training all the time and thinking about our next race or workout, that we don't realize all the good and possibly not so good things about the sport we have taken up. So I'll start listing a few to get us started and we'll go from there, listing some fun stuff to take a look at along the way as well.
1.) PRO - we're in really good shape Well, some of us are. Some of us aren't. One of the nicest things about starting out in the sport is knowing when you show up race morning in your lycra outfit, feeling self-conscious, there will be at least a couple hundred other people wearing something similar. Some of them being 300 pounds or more. So yea, we're all not there, but we have a some similar goals.
2.)PRO - We get to eat whatever we want! NOPE! LIES! You can't eat pizza and beer for every meal. "But the carbs bro! I'll burn them all off!" Fat chance, literally. Being a triathlete is a delicate balance of eating the right foods at the right time to both balance energy levels, recovery and weight. Almost tougher than that of being a regular human being that just eats right.
3.) PRO - We're really good at more than just one sport. Maybe some of us are. But more than likely, we're all just average at all three of the sports, if that. Compare your swim, bike and run times to that of pure swimmers, cyclists and runners. Yea, sorry, we're not that fast. Even the pros would struggle to hold pace in all the categories in each spcified field. Could they compete, probably. But not all of them, and not in all 3 categories.
4.) CON - the triathlete stigma(s) Lots of other athletes out there put us on a pedestal thinking that we think we're better than all of them. Maybe some of you do, but let's not do that. I work with a lot and talk with a lot of cyclists coming in and out of the store, and by all means I don't expect to be faster than any of them. Especially a co-worker who is a CAT3 cyclist. He'd bury me in the first couple miles of a road race without even flinching. We're a different breed, yes, but that doesn't make us any better or worse. We're all athletes.
5.) CON - Ironman Okay, so it's not really a CON, but how many times have you been asked,"Oh, you're a triathlete, so have you done Ironman?" and your answer is no. Then they give you that look of disappointment. For too many people out there, Ironman is the only reasonable distance to associate with being a triathlete. Just like a marathon is for a lot of people who talk about running. There's a lot being said to be able to run a sub-15min 5k or faster as well as sub 2:30 marathon. They're two completely different styles. Just like comparing an Olympic distance race and breaking 2 hours, vs 12 hours in an Ironman. Both these feats are great on their own. So the next time someone gives you the "Oh you haven't done an Ironman?", just do what I do, tell them you like going really fast and really hard. Ironman is a whole nother sport in my mind.
6.) PRO - You get really sweet gear. Yes, but it's REALLY expensive. Mostly for the bike, obviously. But even to get a wetsuit and running shoes and the gear to run and swim in different locations and weather. It's all variable. We take the brunt of what a cyclist needs, sometimes more for having a road AND triathlon bike, then add in two other sports on top of that.
7.) CON - We're always time crunched. FACT. You will always want to get in more workouts than you actually can leading up to a race. But that's how it goes for just about EVERYONE. I can't think of anyone who has never missed a workout for some reason or another. It happens. Fitting in what we can is what we tend to do best. But it also is a PRO, since we get really good at allocating our time and planning our days to get in the training we essentially need.
8.) PRO - We're always tan. Well yea, most of us. In the months when there is sun. Especially if you're running with your shirt off or cycling in your tri jersey from time to time on those hot days. It happens. But having thos harsh tan lines on your arms and ankles to match a cyclist are pretty rad, too. It shows your dedication to the bike. So don't be afraid of those.
There's obviously a bunch of others out there, but this is a good start. I'll ponder some more and hit everyone back with some more fun ones to digest. Until next time: keep training and see you out there!
Last Saturday I got in another race, and boy was it a fun experience. I had a lot of energy race week leading up to Saturday morning. I was looking to go out and get at it. However, all week it had been scheduled to have some rain race morning. No big deal. But boy did things change once race day finally rolled around.
My brother and a friend of mine all planned to race, those two doing the sprint and me doing the Olympic, and when we woke up that morning, we weren't to happy with what we saw outside and on the radar for the day coming up. Rain. Rain. And more rain. The ground was already soaked, as well as the roads. So we packed up anyway and got some rain gear set so we could try to keep stuff dry as we were out on the course and coming back into transition.
The drive over to the course we got hit with a few hard splashes of rain that made us even more apprehensive. Mostly about the bike, mind you. Swimming in the rain doesn't change anything, and running isn't bad either. I acutally kind of like it sometimes. However, when we got to transition to check-in and get setup, things were clearing and there was no more rain. Transition was wet, but it was ok. Just meant we had to be careful running through to not slip on the grass.
About 6:15 we all headed down for some swim warmup in the small quarry where the race was being held. I swam about 200m or so to loosen up and stretch out. I felt pretty good. having had limited amount of time out in open water this season, I was anxious to get started. I felt comfortable and relaxed in my wetsuit. So I got back up on shore and waited for all the srint distance waves to go. Which seemed opposite of normal, but since the Olympic distance race was a 3-lap course, the race director made a good decision to have the Olympic go later to not over crowd the small swim course.
After watching my friend and brother get out of the water, I made my way over to the start with the other Elite athletes. Yes, I signed up for the Elite wave. For a few reasons. One, I really wanted to push myself. In the swim I wanted clean water and feet to try to draft off of. I knew I'd be towards the tail end. Especially in the Elite wave of the swim group. Another was to be the first wave and get back to work as soon as I could once the race was over. And finally to be out on the bike course with less people to worry about passing. Also, I'm pretty fast. Not quite podium fast, but we're getting there!
So the gun went off for the swim, and the elite wave was off. A guy who frequents the shop was in the elite wave as well and we were side by side for the first few hundred meters until I saw the first turn buoy. I pushed a little to clear space so we wouldn't be on top of each other at the turn and we'd have the shortest routes possible around it. I like him, so I figured I don't want to chop up his rhythm if I didn't have to. And he's bigger than me, so I was thinking he'd just swim over me if he really wanted to.
I caught some feet coming off the buoy and tried to draft them in. I was able to hold on until about 50m left in the first lap. I let them go and worked my way in solo. Got up out of the water, did my turn around the tree (which was the indicator to go around with the timing pad to track each lap), and was back in. I was feeling so good that I sprinted around the tree and back in the water. Then I realized how quickly running in water zaps my energy, so I was a little out of breath for the first 50m of lap 2. A mistake I wouldn't make for lap 3. Lap 2 went well, too. I had some good clean water to swim in and started to catch some of the alter waves that had gone off while I was out on the first lap. It felt good not being passed by anyone and to do the passing. Then on lap 3 I pushed pretty hard and got up and out quickly into transition.
Swim Time: 26:50/1,500m (1:38/100yd, 1:47/100m) Pretty good for me
Transition one was fun. I got out of the water and to my bike pretty quick. Looked at my aero helmet which I had set upside down on my bars and saw a puddle of water in it. Great. I dumped it quick and reached for my shoes. My socks were soaked, so I said forget it. Oh yea, I forgot to mention it started pouring during the swim. Anyway, I got my gear on, soaking wet and was off.
I had borrowed a set of Zipp 808s from the Trek Store (where I work) to see how they worked for me. I felt pretty cool just rolling up in those, let alone racing with them. The bike started out nice. Not much wind, but a little to notice with such deep rims. I thought the weather was going to clear. That changed really quick. Within the first 5 miles the rain started up again and I took off my glasses to help me see better since they were fogging up. It was a good idea at first. But after I started hitting speeds of 25mph +, I needed them on. I did a couple hills and thought I could tough it out.
The first lap of the course went well. Even without the glasses. When I hit the KOM (king of the mountain hill) I did everything I could to stay within myself and stick to my race plan and efforts. Though trying to be the fasted time up the hill plagued my mind. But I knew I wasn't the fastest biker out there by any means, so I stayed conservative and kept thinking about the hilly 10k run I had coming up.
Lap 2 of the bike course was a little smoother, even though now it had become crowded with the rest of the AG athletes. Most of which were just trying to stay upright with the pouring rain. Having a lap under my belt I was confident in the turns as well as how to handle the wheels I was on. Carbon brake pads aren't quite as reliable as aluminum/rubber. But I learned quickly hot to work them on the first few hills.
I came in nearly catching a couple other Elite guys on the bike.
Bike: 1:18:49 (19.2mph or so) Not bad for such a rainy and hilly course.
Finally, the run. I got off the bike feeling pretty good and ready to rock. My legs were turning over well and I checked my pace after about 100m and was sitting right under 7min/mi. Perfect. I'll slowly pickup as I go. Wrong. Within the first mile there are two tough hills, back to back. So my pace dropped to 7:30 on the way up, but then back down again below 7 on the way down then hit mile 1 at the bottom of the second hill. From there the rest of the course is relatively flat which works better than hills at the end. At least I think. And that was lap one... of 3.
Lap 2 I started eyeing who to pick off. I had one other Elite athlete within site so my goal was to pick him off. And I did by the middle of lap 2 and I was hoping he didn't have a kick. I also saw another Elite coming up on me ever so slowly through the first two laps as I could see him when I rounded corners. That stayed in the back of my mind as I entered lap 3.
I took the first hill conservatively and avoided letting my legs lock up. Almost stopping to walk to keep from doing that. Success. Back down the hill and I had a couple hundred meters on him still, while picking off age groupers as I went along. I pushed the 2nd hill to try to play a little mind game with him to think I was kicking early and see if he bit. I didn't notice any change, so I assumed he thought I wasn't going to hold it or he wouldn't catch me.
Right around the 1 mile left mark I started thinking about my brother Jake, who passed away nearly 2 years ago now and things just went numb and I kicked it into overdrive towards the finish. A small uphill roll and it was all downhill. BAM! My left leg turned into a brick and I instinctively reached for my GU and slammed it down. Eased up for 30 seconds and it started to come back and I was able to still finish strong.
Run: 41:47 (6:44/mi pace) Right where I wanted it. I was hoping to break 40min, but with that hilly of a course, this was definitely a victory in my eyes for myself.
The race was over as I screamed down the finishing chute and was relieved to be done. But also very happy with my efforts. I really enjoyed the race. Though not all my best times, I think it was one of my most thoughful and calculated races I have done. Especially on the bike to avoid crashing or going overboard to kill some of the hills.
I took 14th overall of about 215 in the Olympic race and was very pleased with that. I've got some improvements to make, as always, but can see where my racing mentality is going. I'm starting to feel very confident in all 3 criteria of the race, as well and being comfortable going harder in both the swim and bike. Where I usually stay a little conservative as I'm so worried about crashing out energy-wise on the run.
USA Biathlon Team - Tim Burke 2006 Olympian and a ProLine Sponsored Athlete……Tim fulfilled his life-long dream by making the Olympic Team while winning the Pursuit Format and placing second in two other competitions at the TD Banknorth Festival at Fort Kent.
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