FIRST TRIATHLON!!!!

Well, yesterday I ran my first trialthon at Parvin State Park. It was a sprint distance (1/4 mi swim, 12 mi bike, 5K run), so it was short and fast, but I needed to know what I was getting myself into, both for the transitions and how they work and to see what happened to me physically with the switch between activities.

I was one of the first to arrive at the event, while they were still setting up, so I got to watch quite a bit of what was going on with others. The thing that immediately became apparent was that 90% of the competitors had tri bikes, the remaining had road bikes, and I was one of only 2 hybrids that I saw. And it showed in the race why you don't ride a hybrid bike in these races. More about that later.

After waiting for almost 2 hours to get started, we finally entered the water to ready for the standing start, as I was in the first wave of swimmers (there were 3-4 waves at the start). I hung out near the back of the pack at the start, which turned out to be my first mistake. Things got VERY congested as we all began to swim. I was getting kicked and bumped, and I was kicking and bumping, just by trying to swim ahead with so many bodies in the same place at the same time. It was nearly impossible to get into a consistent stroke, as I spent most of my time looking up and trying to navigate other swimmers, both faster than me and slower. In the end, I was going too fast the entire swim. I am sure the andrenaline was part of it, but so too was an attempt to get past swimmers that were just in my way. I came out of the water at 8:28, near the front of the group. Goal had been 10 mins.

This is where my transition split times got lost, since I wasn't familiar enough with my new watch and the whole thing was so new that I didn't accurately hit the time to record them. First transition went OK (if you forget about tracking the split), although I quickly realized why others had buckets of water at their stations (to rinse the sand off their feet), as I tried wiping sand off my feet (not easy to do quickly). I got out probably in about 2 minutes, but I forgot to strap on my HRM, forgot my sunglasses, and while I was able to grab my bike gloves, I only got one on and ended up holding the other the entire ride. (note to self: consider riding without gloves)

I mentioned earlier that riding a hybrid was a problem and here is part of the reason why: While on my ride of 12 miles, consistenly at a pace of more than 15 mph, 135 riders passed me, including 42 women. Conversations that I have had with friends have told me that just riding a tri bike should give me 3-5 mph, at the same fitness level that I am at right now. 5mph translates into about 9 minutes on a 12 mi bike ride. In the end, I did the bike in about 44 mins (exact time is tough without the official results due to my lack of ability to track my transitions!!!). If I had a tri bike, I might have done it in 35 mins, if what I was told is accurate. The difference that 9 mins makes on this short of a course is significant. Goal was to be under 45 mins.

When I got off the bike and started to move through the transition, I got the jelly legs that everyone talks about. Very weird feeling and it took some concentration to be able to run and not fall over!!! But, I made it through pretty quickly since I only needed to drop off my bike and strap on my HRM and sunglasses (which I remembered this time). I kept up a decent pace considering the jelly legs I started with. I was tracking just over 8:30 for the first mile, improved to just under 8:30 for the second mile, and then just over 8:00 for the last mile, finishing at a time of 25:07 for the run. Goal was 24 minutes, but I wasn't horribly off of that mark.

Overall, my times were about what I expected. The big unknowns for me were around the transition times and how I would do there. My overall goal of 1:30:00 included a lot of time for me to mess up and it is really the transitions that allowed me to handly beat my goal and finish at 1:20:51. Unofficial results said that I placed 208 (total unknown but at least 350 competed) overall and 21 out of 22 in my 35-39 bracket. Not great standings, but I was not racing for that. I was racing for my time goal and to get familiar with how everything works.

After the race, I re-hydrated and felt pretty good. The only soreness or pain that I had was in my butt from sitting on that bike seat! Hours after the race, I was consistenly STARVING. Not hungry...starving! I couldn't eat enough fast enough, which I haven't experienced since I was a teenager. I am sure that it had something to do with the 2000 calories that I burned during the race. I can't imagine how I will feel after burning 8000+ calories during the half ironman! Day after, I have no soreness and minor stiffness. Let's go on to a longer distance!!!! I need to find an Olympic distance...

First 10K Race

This past Sunday, I ran in my first 10K race in an attempt to get my distances up and see how my training is progressing towards running the half marathon. Race went well, although the course was interesting, to say the least. I ran the Lawrence for Livestrong 10K in Lawrence Central Park, where the entire race took place on grass and in the woods. Also, not particularly well organized with no water stations and the course markings were difficult.

I pulled a buddy of mine along with me and we ran the race together. Until he passed me less than a mile in... ;) At the halfway point (5K), I was hurting and couldn't believe that I still had another 5K to go!!! Just another reminder for me that more than 50% of running races is mental, as I put it out of my mind, ignored (the best I could) the fatigue in my legs, and pressed through it. So many mind games you play with yourself on a long run. Should I stop? Should I walk? Oh just for a minute.... NO! Ignore the urge and just keep running, you are almost there!

Final time was just under 54 minutes, which put me at about an 8:40 min mile pace. Not great, but the course was not entirely flat and I lost 20-30 seconds backtracking and trying to confirm with a race official that I was going the right way! You should have seen the course map...ugh! That pace was off of the pace I set during the first half of my half marathon this past April, so that is disappointing. It is just hard to know if they are comparable because of this course...

Next Saturday is a sprint tri in Pittsgrove, NJ. 1/4 mi swim, 12 mi bike, and 5K. Will be my first tri and an attempt to understand and work through the logistics of the transitions... look for a post after that race, if not before!

Run of the Mill 5K

A few weeks ago, I decided I need to run in more races to train, so I planned to run the Run of the Mill 5K in Stockton today, and I did. Course was pretty flat and I had a good run. This was the first time that I can remember my heart rate being more stressed than my legs. I hope that is a good sign for my training. Finished 36th overall and 4th in the 35-39 bracket, posting a time of 22:46:61 (7:20 pace). Very happy with that time, considering the Pennington 5K a month ago was 24 flat. I was just hoping to break 24 minutes to show I improved. But, coming off of a 21 mile bike yesterday, killing my old time really made this a great race and a great day.

Now, I have it in my mind that I need to find another 1/2 marathon to test myself further. Legs and heart are definitely being challenged now at the 5K, but I have to get my distances up and it is much easier and more motivating to run in a race. Will keep you posted on where I find the next 1/2 to run...

On the Bike

The past 2 weeks have seen me mixing it up a little between the pool, bike, and run, but the distances have been on the bike. While out of town, I was able to find a pool to swim this week and did 24 laps, which is the equivalent of a little over a quarter mile. I need to get more time in the pool to make sure that I have the stamina for it. I have never done more than a half mile in the pool and the 1/2 Ironman is 1.2.

For two consecutive weeks, I have done 21 miles on the bike riding from home to the canal path between Lambertville and Washington Crossing. The hill coming out of Lambertville is brutal, but I persevered today and didn't have to stop. It hurt, but I was able to push through. I didn't measure the distance of the hill alone, but I estimate it at a good 1/2 mile of significant incline. The whole ride I was burning my quads and my heart rate was fairly low, which I think is a good sign and way for me to increase the strength of my legs. I have consistently found, even when running, that my leg strength is much more of a problem than my cardio strength. I rarely am pushing my heart rate into the 140's.

Time this week for 21 miles on the bike was 1:30:00, which puts me at 12 mph. Not a great pace and I am hoping that it was slowed because of the hills and the fact that I am riding a hybrid bike on a dirt/stone path. I don't know how a road bike on a mostly flat, purely road course will translate in speed, but I have a long way to go if I am truly doing 12 mph. At that rate, it would take me 4.5 hours to complete the bike portion of the race in October.

When I got back from the ride, I jumped off the bike and started to run. Not a long way, but enough to see what sort of jello my legs would be...it was pretty interesting, but not unmanagable. I don't know if it will be different after doing 56 miles, though.

Down to 4 months of training before the race. I have to step up the training... I'm coming to get you Mike Ferranti...