My FIRST Triathlon! Ordinary Mortals Sprint Tri, Pueblo CO, May 11, 2013

And it is with much excitement that I am able to say that I have completed my first triathlon ever!  I first wanted to do triathlons way back in 2007 or so, when this dude Lee from the Lincoln Civic Orchestra loaned me a bike.  Or, he could have given it to me...I don't remember...but I feel bad about it because after I moved from my apartment in Lincoln in August of 2008, I forgot to take it.  The bike was chained outside and when I went back to get it, it was gone :(

The bike was way old, like from the 1980s, but it was sweet anyway!  (I tried to find it on bikepedia.com, but I guess they only show stuff 1993 - present).  I am not sure where the shifters were, but at least they weren't the kind that were on the down tube (the slanting one going from the crankset to the head tube).  Why would they even put them on the down tubes?  I feel like my hand would get caught in the tire or something.

Anyway, back to my first triathlon!

I have been training with the Southern Colorado Triathlon Team (SoCo T2) since mid-late March, and have been very grateful for all the support, encouragement, motivation, and tips from everyone on the team.  It is very motivating to go to the pool and see a bunch of other triathlon club members getting in their laps for the day...the woman who co-runs the tri club, Gwen, coaches a youth swim team, and, while a couple tri people were swimming (we share the pool with the youth team), she offered to videotape our form with the help of an underwater camera...she sent the footage to each of us, along with some comments on how to improve our form.

Two other exciting training events that occur weekly are a Test Track Tuesdays (held on a Test Track thing on the east side of Pueblo, in which we bike 25-40 miles as a group) and Thursday Nights at Nick's (http://www.nicksbikes.com/), which is a casual 14-15 mile ride (although two weeks ago it was used as a tempo ride at 22+ mph!).

One more epic event was the Tour de Beulah, a 50 mile ride from Pueblo to Beulah CO.  Since I just started serious biking about three months ago, and my longest ride prior to this was 25 miles, I didn't know if I could do the distance!  But my buddy Ed Porter told me to not be a pussy and show up...so that is what I did!  I was a bit nervous for the distance, and actually planned to turn around, but Ed and this dude Justin (who is married to Gwen) told me to nut up on the way out, so I ended up doing the whole thing!  It was such a blast...except on the way back I was late to start (being courteous, I guess...started 20 meters behind everyone), and the pace line inched away from me as the miles went by...I ended up doing the last 20 alone, which sort of sucked, especially since there were two huge hills!  On the second one, my quads burned like no other, so I thought I would just take a quick break and get off the bike.  Bad idea!  It took almost all my effort to get the bike going again (even though I was in the lowest gear)...finished up the ride feeling ebullient and satisfied with my hard, honest effort!

***

Back to my race report:

I woke up at about 6:15 am on the day of my first triathlon, which started at 9 am.  I had picked up my packet the night before, so I didn't really have to hurry or anything...just get down to the CSU-Pueblo campus at a decent time to set up my stuff in the transition zone (TZ) and get my chip and body markings.  I got to the campus at around 7:30, took my stuff to the TZ, and found a place that looked like it would be okay for me: not too much congestion, and right next to where the kid's bikes would go (there was a kids race too!).  My bike, a Trek 1.2, wasn't as crazy as some Time Trial bikes with disc wheels and aerobars and electronic shifting, but at least it was better than some of the mountain bikes that some people were going to ride.  I probably had the coolest seat, if that means anything...check it out: http://www.ismseat.com/saddle/adamo-road.  It has a sweet little place in the back that hangs over the bike rack, making for an easy on/easy off type of deal for me.  It also has a big cutaway in the middle that eliminates the pressure put on the soft tissue and perineum...all good for any man wanting to protect his nuts from the brutalness of cycling.

Anyway, I was a bit nervous for this race, which I really haven't been for years, it seems.  Marathons and ultras, I don't really get nervous for them at all, mostly because I am just out there enjoying it, you know?  That's the way to be.  But I was nervous for my first triathlon because I wanted to do pretty good...sort of some friendly competition, but I knew I could back it up :)  Oh yeah, since I am part of the triathlon team, I got to wear the team gear, which is pretty cool!



The Run: 5 Kilometers

Having been able to bust out mid 16 minute 5ks my freshman year in college, I always feel a little weird that I can't run that fast anymore...I guess it is because I don't really train to run fast.  Regardless, when the gun went off, I took off at a good clip.  I ran a 20:50 5k in February, so I thought that just a little faster would be good, since I would have to bike and swim after the run.  At about a half mile in, the front pack had strung out...I sat about 15th or so, and was probably 30 seconds behind the leader.  All the ultra training had paid off, though, so when the hills started at mile 1, I was able to keep up a good clip while still keeping the heart rate comfortable and not putting out too much effort.

In the second mile, I was able to pick off about three dudes, all who were really nice.  I have this habit now of talking to people in races (in ultras you could literally do it for the entire race!), and it was good to know that the runners were very friendly and joked around a bit too, as well as offering encouragement!  A runner is always a good person, no doubt!

In the last mile, there was a 300m or so incline, and I passed another dude who was running in those Vibram 5 Toes shoes...he didn't look too comfortable in them, to tell the truth!  After a right turn that led me across 50m of dirt, I was in and out of parking lot, and then finished up the run on a downhill in a surprising time of 19:47!

Transition 1

 So...time for my first real transition of all time!  I threw off my shoes really fast (should have gotten a medal just for that!) and put on the bike helmet, shoes, downed part of a gel, and then jogged the ol bike out of the transition area...after a quick u-turn, I started to mount the bike, but then a lady screamed at me not too...evidently, I had forgotten that the mounting line was still 5m ahead...

After awkwardly aborting my first attempted mount, I passed the mount line and then got on the bike...for some reason I had the most difficult time clipping in...by the time I had to turn, I had barely gotten clipped in and ready to go.

The Bike: 12.5 Miles

Although not my worst event, the bike is what I was most worried about.  My high goal was to maintain an average speed of 20 mph, which would put give me a time of 37:30 for the bike.  Knowing that the leaders would finish in 31 to 32 minutes, this was depressing, but since I had ran a good 5k, it wasn't too upsetting to accept the fact that I would most likely be 5-6 minutes behind the leaders on the bike.

Anyway, on the way out, there were these dang headwinds...I got passed by like 6 people on the way out...only 2 of them seemed nice, and returned my words of encouragement.  I was just out there hammering it on my Trek 1.2 with low-end components while people on their TT bikes just flew by me, going probably 4 mph faster.  It wasn't too disheartening, though, because I was gaining on some woman ahead of me. 

I passed her at about 5 miles in, and said something like "Nice job!  Keep it up!" but she didn't say anything back.  What was with these bikers?  All the runners were nice, but I was beginning to take note of the differences between runners and bikers.  Maybe I was just too chipper, but whatever...even if I were tired and someone passed me and said "good job," I would say "thanks."  Basic manners, yo!

At turnaround, there was a pack of 5-7 riders about a minute ahead of me, but I really wasn't interested in catching them.  I just wanted to keep up a good pace and finish strong with some juice left for the swim!  I managed to pick up my pace to 22-23 mph on the way back, save for some hills that took me down to about 15.  Some 40 year olds passed me on their TT bikes, and then the last mile felt pretty good, even though the last 200m were on a hill (have you picked up on it that I hate biking hills?).

There were all these kids cheering us on, and I interacted with them a bit and said thanks, then made some remark about the "dang hills" to the people standing right at the end, then was off the bike and into transition 2.

Transition 2

Let's just take a minute to count how many times I have ridden the bike and immediately went for a run.


One...oh, I guess that's all.

Needless to say, my legs were a little jangly coming off the bike and running to the rack.  I racked the bike (easily, thanks to the hook on the seat!), took off the helmet, shoes, race belt, and even the shirt.  It was said before the race that it could be faster to swim shirtless, so I went with it.  The run to the pool was about 200m, and during that time I put on the ol goggles, ready for the swim, and hoping that I would not cramp up!

The Swim: 300 yds

I actually don't know if it was a 300 yd or a 300 m swim...regardless, the swim was a very surreal experience!  Some guy from the tri club remarked to me, as I entered the doors to the pool, "are you going to run 100 miles after this?"  Evidently, ultra runners are not very common in this part of Colorado, and I guess some people in the tri club know that I LOVE long distance running events!  Anyway, this sort of cracked me up and made me wish that I could run a couple more miles rather than get in the pool.

I got in the pool and took off, sort of.  I don't know if I was going fast or anything, but I had to change my breathing pattern...usually I do three strokes between breaths, but since I was tired from the bike, I had to do every two strokes.  This felt weird and not very fluid, but it was what I had to do.  I had also not gone swimming in a pool with a deep end of 15 feet since being at Nebraska Wesleyan, so that was sort of weird to be able to look down so far...sort of scary in a way, but not too bad.

I kept churning out the laps (this was a serpentine swim...start in lane 1, keep right on the way down, right on the way back, go under the rope into lane 2, repeat), and kept seeing that more and more people were coming up on me.  That sort of sucked, but also gave me tons of motivation to try to swim faster.  After battling a cramping right foot on the 2nd part of my 3rd lap, I knew that I could bust out 3 more laps easily...I stopped at the wall on my 4th lap to let a dude pass me, who was very nice.  I said "go ahead," and he said "thanks!"  That was the courteousness I was looking for!  This triathlete redeemed them all! 

I think two more people passed me, and I got out of the pool at the same time as some woman.  On the way out, I said "nice swim!" or something like that, but she wasn't any fun...I think she even started sprinting to the finish line.  That's not my style.  It doesn't even matter, you know?  I think it makes someone look like a douche if they try to outsprint someone at a 150 person triathlon in Pueblo, CO.  Know what I mean?  Just keep it fun and chill!

Anyway, I finished up the race in 1:05:57, well under my goal time of 1:10:00!  I was super elated, and made sure to fuel up on free pizza, Heed, and honey stinger wafers.  It felt really good to get out there and do work, put out a good effort, but I think I have moved past that stage where I really want to beat people in races.  I would rather come into the finish with someone I had met during the race, both of us knowing that it is just fun and enjoyable to be out there with like-minded people.  That's all I want.

So now that I have my first tri under my belt, I am going to set my focus on a half-ironman distance triathlon for the fall.  I think endurance events are still my favorite, and I think I will be able to successfully train for and even get in a good time for an Ironman next year!  That would be a great goal!

The thing about it all is still this: people who run on the trails and in the mountains and who grow out beards, these people are so much nicer and humble than those who just flatten out on their tri bikes and who think that running on cement is the only thing to do.

Forget about hitting exact splits or all that stuff...just get out there and enjoy it!  Train wisely and have fun, and always put out a good effort, but don't get caught up in the rigidity that comes with triathlons...

Maybe I should do Xterra triathlons!  That could be fun!

Well, that is all for now!  I hope you enjoyed this post!  I am very excited to get out there on the bike and into the pool or open water, and plan to do an Olympic distance tri this summer...fun times, it all is!

Happy training!

Bear Brook Trail Marathon, 2014

When you can register for a marathon for $35, you always do it; and this was my third time doing so. The 2014 Bear Brook Marathon has become a favorite for me, even though the distance has gotten longer. According to my Garmin, the 2012 race was 26.85, the 2013 race was 26.80 miles, and the 2014 race was 29.26 miles! This is roughly 47 kilometers...an odd distance, but very fun! Perhaps for next year, the name of the race should be changed away from Bear Brook Trail Marathon to something more accurate.

The morning began even before the sun came up, because around 4:45 there was some kind of animal rummaging around outside the tent. I heard little grunting noises, and thought that maybe an animal like a bear was causing the dog in the adjacent camping spot to make these noises. Upon waking up at 5:10, I looked out of the tent and saw that it was a skunk! While it milled around, I just sat there watching it for a while, until it was far enough away for me to be able to get out of the tent.

With this fun way to be awakened, we drove to the race start, which was about 15 minutes away. On the drive I put on a cd of the Greek clarinetist Yiorgos Mangas, which really got me excited to run!

Basically, the run was a lot easier than the previous 2 years, even though the distance was 2.5 miles longer. I wore the New Balance Trail 1010 Minimus, and they performed outstandingly. My legs didn't cramp up at all, and I think I have to owe it to the shoes. I did not take in any gels, but ate a bunch of bananas, chips, cookies, PB&J sandwiches, M&Ms, and Gatorade. Maybe taking in a lot of calories (usually on a run this size I will just consume 3-4 gels) helped out a lot.

Due to some chaffage on the nips, I had to pull off the shirt at around mile 18. I thought that this would make me more susceptible to being bitten by the deer flies, but I had no problem with those pesky insects. Around mile 22, this dude named Alex started running with me, and we talked and rolled on into the finish together. Although we could have pushed it a bit, we just took it easy and finished it out.

My total time was 5:05:27, which seems pretty good for this being just a training run, basically, and because I had only busted out a 20 miler in June and a 21 miler last week in preparation for this run. Now, 5 hours after finishing, my legs still feel really good. I think it has to do something with the shoes I ran in today, and also because I have been wearing Xeroshoes for the past three weeks. Good stuff!