Man, the ride on Saturday was a bitch. I went out drinking the night before, but I wasn't out that late or drank that much. I still woke up with a slight headache. I headed out and the headwind was a pain in the ass. It was completely unrelenting. I just went out and headed around down south. Other than the wind, the ride was fine. However, I headed back and caught a great tailwind. I crossed over east of I35 and kept riding. After a bit, I flatted. The boot that I used last weekend blew out. I ate a Gu and used the wrapper as a boot. It worked fine.
I kept going and about 15 minutes later, I was heading down the road that I haven't ridden in months, but was great asphalt 6 months ago. It's a fast uphill, a left turn at the top of the hill, a fast downhill, and then a long right turn onto some more nice asphalt. I peaked the hill, turned left, and headed down the hill. I was going pretty fast and then I noticed something. There was a ravine in the middle of the road. Ok, it wasn't a ravine, but the asphalt washed out or something like that. So, here's what's going on through my mind. shitshitshitfucKfuCKfUCKFUCKKABLAAAAAAAMMMMMMwobblewobblewobblewobble I tried to jump the ravine Evil Canevil style and I got the first tire over it, but the back tire hit pretty hard. I thought I jumped it perpendicularly, but I guess the side of my rim hid the ditch. My back wheel was wobbling and I pulled over to check it out. There was a decent dent in the rim and it was definitely wobbly. I'm surprised that I didn't blow out the tire because I hit teh pothole so fast. I adjusted my break and kept going. I wasn't going that fast and I decided to cut my ride short because I just was having problems.
I headed back on Slaughter and I was feeling better. I wanted to add a few more miles to get over 70 miles so I headed past Brodie and went to Mopac. I turned north on Mopac, hit something in the road, and flatted fucking again. This time, I put the old busted tube from the first flat in first. After I wasted half a CO2 cartridge on that, I got the right tube in and slowly got home. I was ready to get off the bike. No brick run because of my foot.
Sunday was an aquajog in Barton Springs. 1:40 of aquajogging is boring. Nothing special to write about there.
Today, I just spun for 1:10 easily with some faster work in there as well.
I posted on Slowtwitch about my training lately. I'm feeling overtrained or bored with my training. My mental motivation is just gone. I'm not looking forward to workouts and stuff like that. I got some great information there and I'm going to take 3 days off this weekend when I go to Tara's wedding. Hopefully this will help jump start me for IMFL.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Friday, July 28, 2006
Another Overdue Update
I can't remember when I posted last. I think it was Monday. Monday was a short (75min) spin and then the J&A core workout that night. Tuesday was a 5 lap swim at Barton Springs with some sprints thrown in. Those hurt. Afterwards was a 40min aquajog. Wednesday was a swim at The Dick (aka Dick Nichols pool). I did 400 warmup, 3x800 pull, swim, pull, 200 cooldown. It was a good swim because I felt strong on the long intervals. No J&A workout because I wasn't feeling well later that day, but I did get my new cleats adjusted.
Thursday deserves it's own paragraph. I was suppose to do a run in the morning, but I skipped that because of my foot issues. However, there was a Texas Iron time trial on the Mopac (aka Autobahn) loop. This is the same course that Run-Far puts on once a month. The last time I did this course, I came in at 20:13 for a speed of 23.7mph. I kicked the course's ass last night. I came in at 19:45 for a speed of 24.3mph. Also, there was a very strong wind and Jamie said that it was the toughest conditions he's ever seen at a TT on that course. I had Chris Spencer pass me but after that, he slowly pulled away from me. I passed everyone that started in front of me. I went out strong, but not too strong. I powered up the first hill and that was when the pain started to hurt. I was also getting blown around a lot by the wind. At the turn around, it was tough because I was now heading back into the wind. If the course is going to be windy, I prefer it to be like the wind today. A strong tailwind helped me going out since it's uphill, but the headwind coming back wasn't as bad because it was downhill. Yes, I had to pedal harder but the gentle slope down helped. About half way back, I was starting to hurt a bit mostly with a beating heart that was about to explode through my chest. The last time I did this TT, I was hurting really badly at the turnaround. By the finish line, it took everything to get my across the line. This time around, I had enough juice to pop it into a 54-13 gear and power up the last hill. I was throwing my bike around so hard that my front wheel was popping off the ground. I finished the TT and I new I had a great ride. I was hoping for something under 20 minutes and I got 19:45 and I was 6th overall and only 60 seconds behind the 1st place guy. I think next time I can cut about 20 seconds off my time. Also, I had absolutely nothing special like race wheels or an aero helmet so I consider my performance on Thursday quite a good one and I'm happy with it, but I can always do better.
Thursday deserves it's own paragraph. I was suppose to do a run in the morning, but I skipped that because of my foot issues. However, there was a Texas Iron time trial on the Mopac (aka Autobahn) loop. This is the same course that Run-Far puts on once a month. The last time I did this course, I came in at 20:13 for a speed of 23.7mph. I kicked the course's ass last night. I came in at 19:45 for a speed of 24.3mph. Also, there was a very strong wind and Jamie said that it was the toughest conditions he's ever seen at a TT on that course. I had Chris Spencer pass me but after that, he slowly pulled away from me. I passed everyone that started in front of me. I went out strong, but not too strong. I powered up the first hill and that was when the pain started to hurt. I was also getting blown around a lot by the wind. At the turn around, it was tough because I was now heading back into the wind. If the course is going to be windy, I prefer it to be like the wind today. A strong tailwind helped me going out since it's uphill, but the headwind coming back wasn't as bad because it was downhill. Yes, I had to pedal harder but the gentle slope down helped. About half way back, I was starting to hurt a bit mostly with a beating heart that was about to explode through my chest. The last time I did this TT, I was hurting really badly at the turnaround. By the finish line, it took everything to get my across the line. This time around, I had enough juice to pop it into a 54-13 gear and power up the last hill. I was throwing my bike around so hard that my front wheel was popping off the ground. I finished the TT and I new I had a great ride. I was hoping for something under 20 minutes and I got 19:45 and I was 6th overall and only 60 seconds behind the 1st place guy. I think next time I can cut about 20 seconds off my time. Also, I had absolutely nothing special like race wheels or an aero helmet so I consider my performance on Thursday quite a good one and I'm happy with it, but I can always do better.
Sunday, July 23, 2006
4-Day Update
I weighed in at 179 the last few days. That's good, but I'm concerned. I'm begining to believe that this weight loss might be from overtraining and not healthy weight loss. The last week or so it's been somewhat tough to get motivated to train and that's one sign of overtraining. Rapid weight loss is another sign. We'll see but I'm feeling much more trim now, too.
Wednesday was a missed core workout. Work juts got in the way.
Thursday was suppose to be a LT bike workout with Texas Iron, but the sky opened up and drowned the earth on our warmup lap. No real workout for me, then. When it started to rain, I put my bike in my car and then left. I wished I stayed and played in the rain for a bit.
Friday was a rest day.
Saturday was a 60min swim and then a 90min bike ride. My swim was actually only 52:07 and in that time I swam 3000yds. The workout was 400yds warmup, 6x400yds, and then 200yds cooldown. The 6x400 intervals were brutal. I went from 6:14 on the first one down to 5:57 on the last one and that last one really hurt, too. I think each one was faster than the previous one, too.
After that was an easy 90min ride. It was fairly uneventful until I was heading back to ATC. I was hammering it, put my head down, looked up just in time to see something in the road which I hit. Blew the tire out immediately. I changed the tire and noticed a slit in the side of the tire. At this point, another cyclist came up and helped me out and his name was Jim. He gave me some tape to use as a boot. I pumped up the tire and the tube was sticking out. Then, I had to get in touch with my inner McGyver and find something on the road to use as a boot. I used some thin cardboard found on the side of the road. It worked and it got me back to ATC. I was quite surprised because I was able to get 2 fillups out of my CO2 cartridge.
Today, I did a 8.2 mile run around Town Lake. Total time was 69:30 which put me at a 8:29 pace. That's OK since it was an easy run, but I really feel like my running fitness has gone to shit lately and I'm not getting it back at all. Also, my foot started to bother me again as well. This is a very annoying injury.
Shoe Mileage: 28.5 Miles
Wednesday was a missed core workout. Work juts got in the way.
Thursday was suppose to be a LT bike workout with Texas Iron, but the sky opened up and drowned the earth on our warmup lap. No real workout for me, then. When it started to rain, I put my bike in my car and then left. I wished I stayed and played in the rain for a bit.
Friday was a rest day.
Saturday was a 60min swim and then a 90min bike ride. My swim was actually only 52:07 and in that time I swam 3000yds. The workout was 400yds warmup, 6x400yds, and then 200yds cooldown. The 6x400 intervals were brutal. I went from 6:14 on the first one down to 5:57 on the last one and that last one really hurt, too. I think each one was faster than the previous one, too.
After that was an easy 90min ride. It was fairly uneventful until I was heading back to ATC. I was hammering it, put my head down, looked up just in time to see something in the road which I hit. Blew the tire out immediately. I changed the tire and noticed a slit in the side of the tire. At this point, another cyclist came up and helped me out and his name was Jim. He gave me some tape to use as a boot. I pumped up the tire and the tube was sticking out. Then, I had to get in touch with my inner McGyver and find something on the road to use as a boot. I used some thin cardboard found on the side of the road. It worked and it got me back to ATC. I was quite surprised because I was able to get 2 fillups out of my CO2 cartridge.
Today, I did a 8.2 mile run around Town Lake. Total time was 69:30 which put me at a 8:29 pace. That's OK since it was an easy run, but I really feel like my running fitness has gone to shit lately and I'm not getting it back at all. Also, my foot started to bother me again as well. This is a very annoying injury.
Shoe Mileage: 28.5 Miles
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
12.2%
I got my body fat measured today. I weighed in at 180lbs with 12.2% body fat. That means I have a lean mass of 158lbs and 22lbs of fat. That's not too bad. My last measurements were at 14.8%, 27.2 lbs fat, 156.8 lbs lean with 184 lbs overall. I think that was about 3 months ago so I've made a decent improvement in the last 3 months. I'm watching weight and I'm frustrated that I'm not losing weight that quickly, but I've lost 5 lbs of fat and gained 1.5 lbs of lean mass in that time. That leads me to the next thing. My body loves to put on weight. I'm doing endurance exercise and I have a calorie deficit almost every day, but I still put on muscle. What the fuck?
I had an easy 60min spin this morning. I have a core workout tonight. It'll hurt since I haven't been in a week.
I had an easy 60min spin this morning. I have a core workout tonight. It'll hurt since I haven't been in a week.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
BS Swim
Swam at BS this morning. Did 6 laps. Nothing special, but I get some chaffage on my the right side of the back of my neck. I need to start using BodyGlide there.
I've been having problems in the ball of my left foot. I called my PT yesterday and she said it might be a stress fracture. I went to the doc and get my foot X-rayed. No stress fracture which is good. We also ruled out Morton's neuroma. It's probably just some soft tissue problems of various degrees including plantar fasciitis. I'll be working on that for the next few days until I see my PT on Monday. Also, on Tuesday I'm getting reevaluated for my orthodics. They are suppose to last 2 years with normal use, but I'm in the middle of Ironman training so I'm sure that I've worn them out quicker. Also, I think my feet have changed since it seems like I need a metatarsal pad on my left foot.
My weight is steady at 179.5 this morning.
I've been having problems in the ball of my left foot. I called my PT yesterday and she said it might be a stress fracture. I went to the doc and get my foot X-rayed. No stress fracture which is good. We also ruled out Morton's neuroma. It's probably just some soft tissue problems of various degrees including plantar fasciitis. I'll be working on that for the next few days until I see my PT on Monday. Also, on Tuesday I'm getting reevaluated for my orthodics. They are suppose to last 2 years with normal use, but I'm in the middle of Ironman training so I'm sure that I've worn them out quicker. Also, I think my feet have changed since it seems like I need a metatarsal pad on my left foot.
My weight is steady at 179.5 this morning.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
14.5 Miles - My Longest Run Ever!
I did 14.5 miles today around Town Lake Trail. That was my longest run ever which is awesome. The run felt fine. The last 2 miles were tougher, but they were easy. I was suppose to do 30min easy, 75min moderate, and then 15min easy. I soaked in Barton Springs afterwards and because of that, my legs are feeling fine right now. I need to stretch a bit, but other than that, I'm not hurting. I was suppose to swim, but BS was way too busy to attempt swimming there.
Speaking of pain, the ball of my left foot was bothering me, but not that badly. Well, it was maybe a 5 on the pain scale. It hurt but I could still run. Everything else with my legs felt fine.
Shoe Mileage: 20 Miles
Speaking of pain, the ball of my left foot was bothering me, but not that badly. Well, it was maybe a 5 on the pain scale. It hurt but I could still run. Everything else with my legs felt fine.
Shoe Mileage: 20 Miles
Saturday, July 15, 2006
I'm such a slacker
Today, I was suppose to do a 4 hr ride (70+ miles) and then a 50 min run afterwards. All I did was a very easy 56 miles at 16.2mph average. I rode with Meg and Logan and we didn't get started until 12:30. It was very, very hot. Also, the ball of my left foot is causing me trouble so I wanted to rest it again today before I put in 14 miles tomorrow. I'm feeling pretty bad about skipping the run though. Next week is a recovery weekend, the weekend after that is a hard weekend that I must complete everything, and then the weekend after that I'm in TN for my sister's wedding. I'm about 3.5 months out from IMFL so doing 70 mile rides and hour bricks afterwards may be a little too much. I'm also starting to feel slightly fatigued and overtrained so having an easier today isn't such a bad thing.
About my foot, I don't think the ball of my foot is bruised. I really think that there is something wrong with it. It even hurts when I'm cycling and it's been this way for over a week now. I'll see my PT next week and see if there is anything else that I can do. Other than that, I'm feeling pretty good. Not much is hurting on me. The back of my left knee/hamstring/gastroc issues have subsided a bit as well as my plantar fasciitis. I think the kinesiotape is a miracle tool for me. It just works and fixes things. I'll order some more soon.
Ok, time to weed eat the yard, run some errands, and then go drink a bit tonight.
About my foot, I don't think the ball of my foot is bruised. I really think that there is something wrong with it. It even hurts when I'm cycling and it's been this way for over a week now. I'll see my PT next week and see if there is anything else that I can do. Other than that, I'm feeling pretty good. Not much is hurting on me. The back of my left knee/hamstring/gastroc issues have subsided a bit as well as my plantar fasciitis. I think the kinesiotape is a miracle tool for me. It just works and fixes things. I'll order some more soon.
Ok, time to weed eat the yard, run some errands, and then go drink a bit tonight.
Friday, July 14, 2006
It was hot yesterday
It was hot yesterday. Very hot. I went for a 40min run and I was completely drenched in sweat. I did a Texas Iron bike workout in the afternoon. Still freaking hot. Nearly 100 degrees. I had a decent run, but a great bike workout. Nothing special to report.
This morning, I weighed in at 179.5. I dropped 4 pounds since yesterday for some reason. It's probably dehydration because I was really, really thirsty after the workouts and I don't think I was taking in enough fluids. I'm also feeling sick with some head stuff going on as well. Not cool.
I'm really enjoying the tour this year. It's fun to watch not knowing who the hell is going to win. I think it would be a great slap in the face to the French (sorry guys, I'm biased against the French) that after Lance, another American wins Le Tour. Everyone still has a shot, but I'm pulling for Landis. He's having one hell of a year and after hip surgery after Le Tour, his cycling career is probably over. Way to go out with a bang, though.
Shoe mileage: 5 miles
This morning, I weighed in at 179.5. I dropped 4 pounds since yesterday for some reason. It's probably dehydration because I was really, really thirsty after the workouts and I don't think I was taking in enough fluids. I'm also feeling sick with some head stuff going on as well. Not cool.
I'm really enjoying the tour this year. It's fun to watch not knowing who the hell is going to win. I think it would be a great slap in the face to the French (sorry guys, I'm biased against the French) that after Lance, another American wins Le Tour. Everyone still has a shot, but I'm pulling for Landis. He's having one hell of a year and after hip surgery after Le Tour, his cycling career is probably over. Way to go out with a bang, though.
Shoe mileage: 5 miles
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Weight Is Back Up
My weight is back up to 183.5. I've been eating a little more lately because I've been hungrier and working out more, but I've been eating mostly clean foods, too. I'm going back to tracking my calories again. This is ridiculous that I'm working out 6 days a week and I'm gaining weight. I think I'm looking more toned, but I'll get my body fat % checked out soon, too.
I swam 2600yds yesterday. 400 warmup, 5x400 with each 100 faster than the last, and 200 cooldown. Nothing special. I skipped the J&A workout yesterday because I wasn't feeling that hot and I got caught up with work.
Today is going to be a tough day. I have a 50min run and then 1 hour+ bike ride. However, I got less than 6 hours of sleep last night with me waking up at 4am, having a lot of stuff on my mind, and not being able to go back to sleep. I also remembered that I had my alarm set for 6:15, but I walked out the door at 6. That'll wake my roommates up. Oops.
I swam 2600yds yesterday. 400 warmup, 5x400 with each 100 faster than the last, and 200 cooldown. Nothing special. I skipped the J&A workout yesterday because I wasn't feeling that hot and I got caught up with work.
Today is going to be a tough day. I have a 50min run and then 1 hour+ bike ride. However, I got less than 6 hours of sleep last night with me waking up at 4am, having a lot of stuff on my mind, and not being able to go back to sleep. I also remembered that I had my alarm set for 6:15, but I walked out the door at 6. That'll wake my roommates up. Oops.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Felt good today
Did a swim with Texas Iron this morning at Barton Springs. Nothing special but I had slight problems breathing today. I was a dumbass though and though Jamie meant laps instead of lengths. I almost did a little too much this morning.
The run this evening was great. Did a 15 minute warmup. Then, we did 2x1 mile, 1x0.5 mile twice. A total of about 1.5 mile warmup and then 5 miles for the main set, and then another mile cooldown for a total of 7.5 miles. Wow, now that I think about it, that's a decent run for tonight. Each mile was at about an 8:00/mile pace which what the workout called for tonight.
I've been having issues with the ball of my left foot hurting after a run. I talked to Geoff and Jamie and they said to get new shoes. Well, the problem is that I only put 150-200 miles on the Brooks Glycerin 4's before I start getting foot pain. I went to RunTex, Geoff was working today, and I ended up getting a pair of New Balance 1060's. I'm breaking them in now to see if they are any better than the Glycerin's.
Now, I'm about to shower and then go to bed. Hopefully, I'll take a nice huge dump in the morning. If not, I'm eating 3 bowls of All Bran tomorrow.
The run this evening was great. Did a 15 minute warmup. Then, we did 2x1 mile, 1x0.5 mile twice. A total of about 1.5 mile warmup and then 5 miles for the main set, and then another mile cooldown for a total of 7.5 miles. Wow, now that I think about it, that's a decent run for tonight. Each mile was at about an 8:00/mile pace which what the workout called for tonight.
I've been having issues with the ball of my left foot hurting after a run. I talked to Geoff and Jamie and they said to get new shoes. Well, the problem is that I only put 150-200 miles on the Brooks Glycerin 4's before I start getting foot pain. I went to RunTex, Geoff was working today, and I ended up getting a pair of New Balance 1060's. I'm breaking them in now to see if they are any better than the Glycerin's.
Now, I'm about to shower and then go to bed. Hopefully, I'll take a nice huge dump in the morning. If not, I'm eating 3 bowls of All Bran tomorrow.
Something's Missing
Oh, I know what it is. I haven't taken a significant dump in over 2 days now. I think this weekend really fucked up my system and I haven't had to do a #2 in 2 days now. This is very, very odd for me because I'm usually going to the office twice a day at least. Yay, fiber. I don't feel bad because of it, but it's just weird that my bidaily dump isn't happening.
Sunday, July 9, 2006
12.3 Miles
That's how far I ran today. I tried to take in nice and slow because I haven't done any distance since BSLT and I barely did any distance the couple of weeks before BSLT. Also, I had very dead legs from the ride yesterday. Like I said, I started off slow because my goal was to just make it through. It was tough immediately and it didn't get much better. I took in a couple of gels and some salt tablets. My iPod died at about Mile 4 or so. I was really, really thirsty the entire time and every water stop I took in 6 cups of water whereas most of the time I only take in 3 or so. I also rested a lot at these stops. I wasn't trying to simulate race conditions, but I was just trying to get through the workout today.
Afterwards, I went to Barton Springs, soaked my legs, swam 3 laps, and didn't see any boobies. Walking back to my car was very tough because my legs hurt so badly. Now I'm at home and I'm going to stretch out my legs and do some PT while I watch the World Cup.
Afterwards, I went to Barton Springs, soaked my legs, swam 3 laps, and didn't see any boobies. Walking back to my car was very tough because my legs hurt so badly. Now I'm at home and I'm going to stretch out my legs and do some PT while I watch the World Cup.
Saturday, July 8, 2006
You ain't experienced pain until you experience taint pain
I had a 3.5 hour ride to do today. I got a route from Mark and headed out at about 10 this morning. I got all the way to San Marcos before I had to turn around. I stopped at some light and when it turned green, I tried to take off. I attempted to put my right cleat into the pedal. Instead, it slipped and the entire weight of my body fell onto the nose of the saddle. It hit right in my taint and let me tell you that that doesn't feel good at all. My balls hurt, my dick hurt, and my asshole hurt all from one finely placed saddle nose. I tried to keep moving through the light, but the pain was way too much. I pulled over to some store to let the pain subside and I'm glad that I did. I was starting to see spots, I was getting lightheaded, and I felt like vomiting all at the same time. Not good at all. I got off my bike pretty quickly and laid down on the ground. After a couple of minutes, the pain in my kidneys, my crotch, and my stomach subsided. I don't think I did any major damage, so I gingerly got back on my bike and kept going.
Let me tell you that that saddle nose hit just the right spot to make all of my intimate areas hurt really, really badly. Not fun.
After that incident, I kept up the ride fine. I ended up doing 70 miles in a time of 3:37 for an average speed of 19.2mph. This has been my longest bike ride in a long, long time. Then, I stupidly tried to run off the bike after that. I was suppose to do 50 minutes, but I thought I would try 30 minutes around my neighborhood since this was a long ride and this was my toughest workout since Buffalo Springs. I'll just try to ease back into it. Well, the run was the most painful run that I've had in quite a long time. I walked about 10 times and took me about 35 minutes to do a loop that usually takes me 31 minutes. I just hurt and was worn out.
With all of this riding, I took in I think 9, maybe 10 or 11, bottles of fluid during the ride by filling up at gas stations. After the ride, I weighed 177.5 which is 3 lbs off of the 180.5 that I weighed this morning. That means I dropped a fucking shitload of fluid out there today through sweat. I didn't take in too many calories today; 2 bottles of InfinIT, 2 rice crispy treats, and 1 Gu. Ok, that's maybe 1000 calories so that isn't so bad. Towards the end of the ride, my legs were getting pretty tired. Ofcourse the run sucked and now that I'm sitting on my couch, I don't want to move at all. I'm completely wiped out right now. I'm not really sore, but just tired and struggling to keep my eyes open while I watch Stage 7 of Le Tour. Man, it's a shitty day for American riders.
It was good that I'm trashed today because it shows that I still have a ton of work to do before IMFL and this just gives me more motivation to do what I need to do to kick ass at IMFL. It's less than 4 months away!
Let me tell you that that saddle nose hit just the right spot to make all of my intimate areas hurt really, really badly. Not fun.
After that incident, I kept up the ride fine. I ended up doing 70 miles in a time of 3:37 for an average speed of 19.2mph. This has been my longest bike ride in a long, long time. Then, I stupidly tried to run off the bike after that. I was suppose to do 50 minutes, but I thought I would try 30 minutes around my neighborhood since this was a long ride and this was my toughest workout since Buffalo Springs. I'll just try to ease back into it. Well, the run was the most painful run that I've had in quite a long time. I walked about 10 times and took me about 35 minutes to do a loop that usually takes me 31 minutes. I just hurt and was worn out.
With all of this riding, I took in I think 9, maybe 10 or 11, bottles of fluid during the ride by filling up at gas stations. After the ride, I weighed 177.5 which is 3 lbs off of the 180.5 that I weighed this morning. That means I dropped a fucking shitload of fluid out there today through sweat. I didn't take in too many calories today; 2 bottles of InfinIT, 2 rice crispy treats, and 1 Gu. Ok, that's maybe 1000 calories so that isn't so bad. Towards the end of the ride, my legs were getting pretty tired. Ofcourse the run sucked and now that I'm sitting on my couch, I don't want to move at all. I'm completely wiped out right now. I'm not really sore, but just tired and struggling to keep my eyes open while I watch Stage 7 of Le Tour. Man, it's a shitty day for American riders.
It was good that I'm trashed today because it shows that I still have a ton of work to do before IMFL and this just gives me more motivation to do what I need to do to kick ass at IMFL. It's less than 4 months away!
Friday, July 7, 2006
Thursday
Thursday was another brick workout with Texas Iron. After 2 warmup loops we did bike loop, run loop, bike loop, run loop, bike loop, run loop. Nothing really special, but I should've pushed it harder on the last run loop. I had too much energy left afterwards. It hurt running though since I hadn't run in about 5 days.
I weighed in at 181.5 this morning. I should be lower after this weekend since I have some long, tough workouts ahead of me.
One problem though. I have a monster wart on my foot. I went to the doc today and he froze part of it. Now I can't walk very well because it hurts a lot. I'll try it out tomorrow on my brick workout and see if I can run on Sunday since I have a 1.75 hour run. If not, I'm not going to get anymore treatments for this wart since IMFL is less than 4 months away and I have to run.
I weighed in at 181.5 this morning. I should be lower after this weekend since I have some long, tough workouts ahead of me.
One problem though. I have a monster wart on my foot. I went to the doc today and he froze part of it. Now I can't walk very well because it hurts a lot. I'll try it out tomorrow on my brick workout and see if I can run on Sunday since I have a 1.75 hour run. If not, I'm not going to get anymore treatments for this wart since IMFL is less than 4 months away and I have to run.
Wednesday, July 5, 2006
Swim
I swam 2100 yds this morning. Did about a 500yd warmup and then 16x100yds steady pace. I was pushing a bit and I did the entire workout in about 40 minutes which is great freaking time. Deep Eddy was very cold and very empty which is nice. I would've swam another 4x100 and then a 200yd cooldown but I had to get to work. My lats and arms overall are still sore from the workout on Monday. I really wish I could hit every one of those workouts for a month but fucking work gets in the damn way too often. If I hit them up for a month, I think I would make great progress.
I'm also feeling fat and lazy today. I weighed in at 183 but that's expecting since I drank 3 times this past weekend. Man, the older I get the less place alcohol has in my life. I drink from time to time but I can't remember the last time I was actually drunk. I'll be drinking when I go home for my sister's wedding and even then I'll probably have just 3-4 drink throughout a night with my family and that's saying a lot that it's that few.
I'm also feeling fat and lazy today. I weighed in at 183 but that's expecting since I drank 3 times this past weekend. Man, the older I get the less place alcohol has in my life. I drink from time to time but I can't remember the last time I was actually drunk. I'll be drinking when I go home for my sister's wedding and even then I'll probably have just 3-4 drink throughout a night with my family and that's saying a lot that it's that few.
Tuesday, July 4, 2006
4th Update
Yesterday was suppose to be a rest day, but as usual I did the J&A core workout. Today I'm pretty sore in my arms and my stomach. Swimming this morning was interesting. I was also suppose to run today but I skipped it. I just didn't feel like it and I wasn't feeling good either. I feel bad because I really needed to run because I'm not going to get another run in until Saturday or Sunday. Well, there is the TexasIron brick workout on Thursday so that'll be a run. I don't think I'm fully recovered from Buffalo Springs yet, but resting up a lot this weekend will probably help a bit. I also have gotten a lot of sleep lately.
Sunday, July 2, 2006
Le Tour
Man, I'm excited that the Tour de France is back, but it's tough to go out for an easy 75 minute ride like your coaches said to when you watch Le Tour in the morning.
Saturday, July 1, 2006
Today was McDonald's Day
As I posted before, I ate McDonald's today. I had a Number 2 combo which is a Quarter Pounder with Cheese. I also had an extra cheeseburger which was horrible, but the Quarter Pounder was actually decent. Well, now when someone says "I can't remember the last time I ate at McDonald's!", I can turn around and tell them exactly when the last time I ate McDonald's. Also, I'm feeling like crap already.
Buffalo Springs Race Report
After almost being done with my report on Tuesday night and me doing something stupid on the computer to erace the entire report, I've now found time to rewrite the report. Right now I'm watching the Prologue for Le Tour so since I'm sitting on my ass, I might as well type at the same time.
Buffalo Springs was my first half Ironman that I attempted and expected to complete. I tried to do Ironstar last year, but I DNF'ed about 1 mile into the run. Life was really rough at that point and my training wasn't there. Also, during the run, a running injury was acting up so I was expecting to DNF if something bothered me. I was prepared for the race and I wasn't going to risk further injury at a race that wasn't going to be phenomenal.
I was ready for Buffalo Springs. Of course I've had some running injuries acting up back in April, but those are mostly recovered. I left on Friday with Mike Coker. We met up with Meg, Charles, Anna, and Logan. The trip up to Lubbock was quite boring. The only interest things were the trail mix and the FlyingJ. About the trail mix, we stopped at a gas station. I got out my trail mix and left it on the top of my car. I drove off, heard this scraping sound for about 5 seconds and watched the trail mix fall off the back of my new Outback. BTW, my Outback did great on its first road trip. So, trail mix falls off, but it is saved! It falls off and lands on my rear window wiper. And with the joys of modern technology, Mike took a picture of it:
http://tri.phat32.com/photos/Buffalo_Springs_2006/P6230680.JPG
Yeah, that's a one in a million shot right there.
The FlyingJ was interesting. We stopped in Abilene to get some food and we just couldn't find anything healthy. All we could find were various Asian cuisines and fast food. We drove some more and stopped at the FlyingJ which had a Country Market restaurant attached. It was funny watching 6 fit, healthy people go into the restaurant, check out the buffet bar, walk out with their noses turned up, and say "Ugh, I guess I can eat here. There's nothing better around." We discovered an Italian menu that was better to eat from, but we completely stuck out in that place.
We pulled into Lubbock at around 9:30pm. Unfortunately, the only room that they had left when I made my reservation was a smoking room. Yay, it reminded me of my parents' homes and why I don't go home anymore. I think I had withdrawal symptoms for a few days afterwards. Other than smelling like ass, the room was decent.
Saturday wasn't that special. Mike and I got up, went to the race site, did a short swim, bike, and run, and then headed back to the rooms. We picked up our packets and headed back to the hotel room. Mike wanted to chill out in his room so I went to dinner with some Texas Iron folks. I was OK about this race until around 4pm that day. For some reason at that point, I started getting really nervous about the race. I was worried about the descents on the bike and the entire run. I mean, I've done the training and I know I'm ready, but I just got really nervous and anxious, mostly because this is my first race over an Oly where I have a shot at finishing. I had a ton of pasta at the Italian place and then went back to the hotel room. I chilled out and tried to go to bed at around 8:30. I just couldn't sleep. I was up until around 11:30 or so that night. Nerves and anxiousness for the race as well as other stuff going on in my life lately were on my mind. Not a great way to spend a night before a half Ironman.
I woke up the next and felt like crap. Well, I was just tired because the entire night before was very restless sleep. I got up, ate and got ready. I had everything laid out on the other bed so it was pretty easy to pack everything up. From training so much the last almost 2 years now, getting up at 4am isn't so bad anymore. I had 3 RP's even before I left the hotel room that morning. I met mike at 5 and we left for the course. I'm glad I talked Mike into leaving early because there was a long line to get to the parking area for the race. I like showing up as early as possible because you just never know what'll happen. Got parked, got our bikes out of the car, and started heading down to the transition area. Of course, I was still full of nervous energy.. It seemed like it took me forever to get my gear ready in the morning. I just felt rushed and nervous. I chatted with some other TexasIron guys as well. I got ready, and headed out of the T area. I ate my last ClifBar, had my Gatorade, and had my 4th and last RP.
At this point, it was about 20 minutes from the start of my wave and the pros had just gone off. I put on my wetsuit and got into the water. Once I got in the water, I relaxed a bit because I had a way to burn off some of my energy. Got out of the water and queued up behind the wave in front of me. I was still quite nervous though. The wave before us went off and now it was the fast, aggressive, and mean 25-29 men. I was still very nervous, but I lined up in an aggressive swim start position. I lined up on the inside and the second row from the front. finally, though, I calmed down. About 2 minutes from the horn blowing, I became absolutely calm and collected. I knew I could do this. I've done the work and I had nothing to worry about. I wished Geoff from TexasIron good luck and just chilled. The horn went off and my race had begun.
The first 500yds or so of the swim weren't fun. I wasn't comfortable and I couldn't get into a rhythm. I was breathing on almost every stroke on the right side. I got hit in the head a few times, I was swimming on top of people a lot and had people swimming on top of me. I had some guy's chest on my feet but a couple of hard kicks later and miraculously, my feet were clear. After the first left turn, I went to the inside of the course and just stopped. I took off my goggles, cleared them off water, put them back on, and just sat there for a few seconds. I had to catch my breath, scope out the rest of the course, and just regained my composure. I'm glad that I did this because after that I had a great swim. I relaxed, got into a rhythm and kept going. I passed 2 huge packs of swimmers from the previous wave, but I was also started to pass some orange caps, my wave, as well. I tend to do this where I get dropped fairly quickly in the beginning, but I end up passing people after awhile. I took the final left turn and started heading to the swim exit and I passed what seemed like at least 5 people in my age group in the last 500 meters.
I got up to the swim exit and had people help me out of the water. I really like this because I'm always dizzy and discombobulated out of the water. I had people trying to get my pull cord free and I was waving them off. I can do that on my own. I ran through the T area, but not that fast. My platar fasciitis was acting up so it didn't feel good to run on asphalt in bare feet. Also, I was just taking this race easy. It took me forever to get out of T1. I had a ton of stuff to put in my jersey pockets. I came out of T1 and passed the mount/dismount line by a few yards. Everyone bottlenecks up there and I just wanted to get out of that mess. I don't do the shoes on the pedals thing because with my current pedals, they unclip way too easily and I've dropped shoes twice in races this year alone.
I got clipped in and I was on the bike. Turq gave me some advice before the race. He said to not power up the first 2 hills and just to take them easy. I followed this advice pretty well. I got up out of the saddle, but I just needed to get my legs moving, but I didn't spike my heart rate at all. After these 2 hills, we were on some flats in the park with a decent tailwind. Nice! I headed out of the park and then headed back into the wind. Not nice! I tried to ease into the bike. I felt fine at first and like I wasn't pushing too hard. It felt good, but fast. Around Mile 18 though, I started having problems. One thing were that my hip flexors were starting to hurt already. Secondly, I was getting chaffing on some soft tissues in my crotch that don't feel that good. I found out that it is probably the edge of the pad in my shorts that's rubbing. Nothing I could do so I kept going.
Headwinds were punishing, tailwinds were great, and crosswinds were squirrely. I was bombing the straight downhills and taking it strong but not too strong on the hills. My fluid plan was working out well. I started out with a bottle of InfinIT with about 320 calories in it. I sucked on this for 30 minutes and then switched to a bottle of water for another 30 minutes. I kept up this pattern for the race which yielded me 3 bottles of InfinIT with about 1000 calories and 3 more bottles of water. I was also taking in Thermolytes, based upon Jamie's suggestion, the entire race. I was feeling good, but starting to hurt a bit. The first 20 miles took forever to go through, but 20-40 were better. The course is straight and mostly flat, but there is nothing to really look at which makes it very, very boring and therefore mentally challenging. I kept riding and my chaffing pain went away, but my hip flexor pain was growing. Not a good sign. I was actually looking forward to the hills so that I could get out of my saddle and stretch my hip flexors. I was also having lower left back pain which I only get in races, never in training. Weird.
At around Mile 40, I had some issues. I looked down and back and saw that my saddleback wasn't doing good. I should've replaced it before, but I just didn't. The two saddle straps had come off and it was hanging on only by the seatpost strap. I reached down, took it off, and put it in my jersey pocket. About a mile later, I hit a bump and the saddle bag came out. What happened is that my race belt was going around the middle of my jersey pockets which kept the saddle bag from going all the way into the pocket. I stopped, picked up the bag, and kept going. I was passed by about 5 guys and I had caught up with all of them within 10 minutes. I got stopped on hte bottom of the longest hill and I was able to catch up with them by powering up the hill.
I was heading back to the transition area and I was feeling good. My average speed was a little lower than what I wanted, but my hip flexors were on fire. I was also trying to push but yet save myself for the run as well. Luckily, heading back into the race site was a great tailwind. At one point, I saw Eric Gilmore, a fellow TexasIron athlete, ahead of me. When he heard me yell at him, he picked up the pace and of course, I kept up. For most of the race, I was in the 95-100rpm range. At this point, I had nice, flat, smooth roads with a tailwind. I was pusing 80-85rpm in a big gear and doing 25-26mph. I finally passed Eric and kept going. He said something like "I'm just waiting to get my running shoes on!" or something like that. It seems that Eric and I have developed some friendly competitiveness which is good because I push him on the swim and the bike and he pushes me on the run. I turned into the park and hit a headwind. Not fun going back into the transition area. My hip flexors were gone, but I don't need them on the run. Other than that, I felt pretty good.
I came down the last hill and headed into the T2 area. I came in fast and stopped short of the dismount line. Once again, I wasn't in a rush through T2. I didn't have much stuff to grab, but I grabbed it and headed out. I saw Megan on the way out and gave her a high five. This run was going to be brutal and it was going to be a test of my will power and determination to get through it. I realized a few days later that before this race, I had run more than 12 miles at once only twice before. Interesting.
Of course, the first mile and a half hurt. I stopped at the first portapotty and peed. It was the only time that I peed the entire race even with taking in almost 150oz of fluid on the bike. I then stopped at the first aid station. At previous races, I've taken in 2 cups of fluid, poured 1 cup on my head, and poured 1 cup down my crotch to cool me off. Well, this last step wasn't that fun this time. I poured the water down my shorts, and immediately stopped in my tracks because of the pain. Apparently, my chaffing issue got worse even though it really didn't hurt. The cold water mixed with the sweat and completely stung my chaffed area. I was wondering how I was going to keep going because this hurt really badly. Well, I just kept putting one foot in front of another and kept pushing. After about 45-60 seconds, the pain from my crotch went away. I was still hurting getting used to the run, but I eased up at about 2 miles into the run. I got my running legs and did pretty well climbing the first hill. I wasn't pushing myself, but I was still passing people. At around Mile 3, I saw Mark sitting underneath a tree. I also saw Betsy coming in from the bike at this point as well and I cheered her on. I was chatting with people as well and then we turned and hit a downhill. I've been practicing downhills and I try to put some time between me and others on the downhill. Having big quads and being a little heavier than other runners makes this easy. I powered down the hill, hit the Mile 4 rest stop and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
My nutrition plan for the run was to take some gels that have 150cals and 230mg of sodium per packet. I think I took them at Miles 2, 5, 8, and 11. In between, I took a Thermolyte at each rest stop. Because of this, I felt fine, no cramps, but I was a little tired. After Mile 4, there was another big hill. This one, I walked a total of about 10 seconds up that hill whereas everyone else was walking. That felt good. I topped the hill and then took a right turn down the most brutal part of the run. This was a little more than 1.5 miles out and then 1.5 miles back. Going out was a false flat up and then a slight downhill after the midway point. There was absolutely nothing to look at except other runners. I was talking to people and cheering on people I know and this helped me to keep going. After turning around, I started struggling mentally. I was walking the aid stations a lot and actually walking about 10 yards before the aid stations and 10 yards after the aid stations. I shouldn't have done this because it wasn't really giving me that much race. I just need to be tougher mentally next time. I finished the out and back and then turned left to go back down the hill.
I powered down the hill again and was cheering on others. At the bottom of the hill, I hit Mile 9 and it was getting tough. One guy in my age group started battling back and forth at this point. He got a head of me, but I passed him on the last big hill. He passed me on the flat, and I passed him on the downhill. At the bottom of the hill, I think I had about 20yds on him. I stopped at the aid station and he just flew by. I couldn't keep up because my energy was waning quickly. I tried to get some Dr. Pepper at that aid station to keep me going because I've heard of several people that do that. The caffeine and sugar keeps them going. I tried some Dr. P and I didn't like it. Too sweet and syrupy. It would have been great if it was warm and flat, but cold and fizzy is not cool.
I kept going. At some point, a 37 year old woman caught up with me and she and I ran together for about a mile. I was getting really, really tired. At the last aid station, I stopped again and she kept going and put some time on me. Well, I had nothing else to lose so I just kept going. The last mile was very, very tough. I walked maybe a total of 4 times the entire run and 2 of them were in the last mile. I almost stopped a couple of other times but someone passed me or someone cheered me on and kept me going. There was no reason for me to stop. I was still going strong, but I was just getting lazy and tired. I finally started hearing the announcer at the finish line and I was so happy about this. I was almost done. Someone said "100yd to the finish!" and I picked up the pace the best I could. As I was approaching the line, I tried to raise my arms. I couldn't do it; I was zapped on energy. I tried one arm. A little bit better. Finally, as I crossed the line, I put both arms up and I was done. I kept walking and I felt drained. I left everything on the course. I kept walking because I did not want to stop. I walked past the med tent and went to get some food and water. Damnit, no pizza! All I want afterwards is pizza! Bagels, fruit, beer, water and Gatorade.
I saw Andrea, Geoff, and Jamie. They asked my time and I said I think I crossed at 5:08. I crossed at 5:28 minus 20 minutes because of my wave and yep, 5:08ish was what I did. I was happy about this. I kind of wanted sub-5, but 5:08 is amazing and I'm happy with it. When the results came out, my official time was 5:07:59. I had a swim time of 28:31 which is good with a pace of 1:30, but the swim was about 150m short. Put me 19th in my age group. T1 was 2:10 but I knew that was slow. My bike was good with a 2:43:10 which is an average of 20.59mph which is also 19th in my age group. T2 was 1:43 which is OK, but I had a run time of 1:52:25. That put me at an 8:35min/mile pace and I'm happy about that considering this run course was very brutal. That put me at 22nd on the run, but 19th overall in my age group. This race was odd because I'm usually higher on the bike, higher on the swim, but lower on the run. I was pretty consistent in my age group across each leg which is odd. I'll take it because it means that my run is getting better.
I learned a lot this race. I want to run more and get better at running off the bike. My fluid intake technique worked this time and this race is hot and brutal. I need to do something about my hip flexors because it isn't going to be fun in Florida with burnt out hip flexors at Mile 20. I can do well in the heat, and I just need to not worry about the races. I'm sure I'll be nervous for IMFL, but I won't be for another HIM anymore.
Of course, my coaches have been great and they helped out a lot with training. Well, I don't have much to say but it took me almost 2 hours to write this, no wait, almost 4 hours since I lost it all on Tuesday night.
Well, I had a good race, it hurt, but I had fun. Thanks everyone for your support.
Buffalo Springs was my first half Ironman that I attempted and expected to complete. I tried to do Ironstar last year, but I DNF'ed about 1 mile into the run. Life was really rough at that point and my training wasn't there. Also, during the run, a running injury was acting up so I was expecting to DNF if something bothered me. I was prepared for the race and I wasn't going to risk further injury at a race that wasn't going to be phenomenal.
I was ready for Buffalo Springs. Of course I've had some running injuries acting up back in April, but those are mostly recovered. I left on Friday with Mike Coker. We met up with Meg, Charles, Anna, and Logan. The trip up to Lubbock was quite boring. The only interest things were the trail mix and the FlyingJ. About the trail mix, we stopped at a gas station. I got out my trail mix and left it on the top of my car. I drove off, heard this scraping sound for about 5 seconds and watched the trail mix fall off the back of my new Outback. BTW, my Outback did great on its first road trip. So, trail mix falls off, but it is saved! It falls off and lands on my rear window wiper. And with the joys of modern technology, Mike took a picture of it:
http://tri.phat32.com/photos/Buffalo_Springs_2006/P6230680.JPG
Yeah, that's a one in a million shot right there.
The FlyingJ was interesting. We stopped in Abilene to get some food and we just couldn't find anything healthy. All we could find were various Asian cuisines and fast food. We drove some more and stopped at the FlyingJ which had a Country Market restaurant attached. It was funny watching 6 fit, healthy people go into the restaurant, check out the buffet bar, walk out with their noses turned up, and say "Ugh, I guess I can eat here. There's nothing better around." We discovered an Italian menu that was better to eat from, but we completely stuck out in that place.
We pulled into Lubbock at around 9:30pm. Unfortunately, the only room that they had left when I made my reservation was a smoking room. Yay, it reminded me of my parents' homes and why I don't go home anymore. I think I had withdrawal symptoms for a few days afterwards. Other than smelling like ass, the room was decent.
Saturday wasn't that special. Mike and I got up, went to the race site, did a short swim, bike, and run, and then headed back to the rooms. We picked up our packets and headed back to the hotel room. Mike wanted to chill out in his room so I went to dinner with some Texas Iron folks. I was OK about this race until around 4pm that day. For some reason at that point, I started getting really nervous about the race. I was worried about the descents on the bike and the entire run. I mean, I've done the training and I know I'm ready, but I just got really nervous and anxious, mostly because this is my first race over an Oly where I have a shot at finishing. I had a ton of pasta at the Italian place and then went back to the hotel room. I chilled out and tried to go to bed at around 8:30. I just couldn't sleep. I was up until around 11:30 or so that night. Nerves and anxiousness for the race as well as other stuff going on in my life lately were on my mind. Not a great way to spend a night before a half Ironman.
I woke up the next and felt like crap. Well, I was just tired because the entire night before was very restless sleep. I got up, ate and got ready. I had everything laid out on the other bed so it was pretty easy to pack everything up. From training so much the last almost 2 years now, getting up at 4am isn't so bad anymore. I had 3 RP's even before I left the hotel room that morning. I met mike at 5 and we left for the course. I'm glad I talked Mike into leaving early because there was a long line to get to the parking area for the race. I like showing up as early as possible because you just never know what'll happen. Got parked, got our bikes out of the car, and started heading down to the transition area. Of course, I was still full of nervous energy.. It seemed like it took me forever to get my gear ready in the morning. I just felt rushed and nervous. I chatted with some other TexasIron guys as well. I got ready, and headed out of the T area. I ate my last ClifBar, had my Gatorade, and had my 4th and last RP.
At this point, it was about 20 minutes from the start of my wave and the pros had just gone off. I put on my wetsuit and got into the water. Once I got in the water, I relaxed a bit because I had a way to burn off some of my energy. Got out of the water and queued up behind the wave in front of me. I was still quite nervous though. The wave before us went off and now it was the fast, aggressive, and mean 25-29 men. I was still very nervous, but I lined up in an aggressive swim start position. I lined up on the inside and the second row from the front. finally, though, I calmed down. About 2 minutes from the horn blowing, I became absolutely calm and collected. I knew I could do this. I've done the work and I had nothing to worry about. I wished Geoff from TexasIron good luck and just chilled. The horn went off and my race had begun.
The first 500yds or so of the swim weren't fun. I wasn't comfortable and I couldn't get into a rhythm. I was breathing on almost every stroke on the right side. I got hit in the head a few times, I was swimming on top of people a lot and had people swimming on top of me. I had some guy's chest on my feet but a couple of hard kicks later and miraculously, my feet were clear. After the first left turn, I went to the inside of the course and just stopped. I took off my goggles, cleared them off water, put them back on, and just sat there for a few seconds. I had to catch my breath, scope out the rest of the course, and just regained my composure. I'm glad that I did this because after that I had a great swim. I relaxed, got into a rhythm and kept going. I passed 2 huge packs of swimmers from the previous wave, but I was also started to pass some orange caps, my wave, as well. I tend to do this where I get dropped fairly quickly in the beginning, but I end up passing people after awhile. I took the final left turn and started heading to the swim exit and I passed what seemed like at least 5 people in my age group in the last 500 meters.
I got up to the swim exit and had people help me out of the water. I really like this because I'm always dizzy and discombobulated out of the water. I had people trying to get my pull cord free and I was waving them off. I can do that on my own. I ran through the T area, but not that fast. My platar fasciitis was acting up so it didn't feel good to run on asphalt in bare feet. Also, I was just taking this race easy. It took me forever to get out of T1. I had a ton of stuff to put in my jersey pockets. I came out of T1 and passed the mount/dismount line by a few yards. Everyone bottlenecks up there and I just wanted to get out of that mess. I don't do the shoes on the pedals thing because with my current pedals, they unclip way too easily and I've dropped shoes twice in races this year alone.
I got clipped in and I was on the bike. Turq gave me some advice before the race. He said to not power up the first 2 hills and just to take them easy. I followed this advice pretty well. I got up out of the saddle, but I just needed to get my legs moving, but I didn't spike my heart rate at all. After these 2 hills, we were on some flats in the park with a decent tailwind. Nice! I headed out of the park and then headed back into the wind. Not nice! I tried to ease into the bike. I felt fine at first and like I wasn't pushing too hard. It felt good, but fast. Around Mile 18 though, I started having problems. One thing were that my hip flexors were starting to hurt already. Secondly, I was getting chaffing on some soft tissues in my crotch that don't feel that good. I found out that it is probably the edge of the pad in my shorts that's rubbing. Nothing I could do so I kept going.
Headwinds were punishing, tailwinds were great, and crosswinds were squirrely. I was bombing the straight downhills and taking it strong but not too strong on the hills. My fluid plan was working out well. I started out with a bottle of InfinIT with about 320 calories in it. I sucked on this for 30 minutes and then switched to a bottle of water for another 30 minutes. I kept up this pattern for the race which yielded me 3 bottles of InfinIT with about 1000 calories and 3 more bottles of water. I was also taking in Thermolytes, based upon Jamie's suggestion, the entire race. I was feeling good, but starting to hurt a bit. The first 20 miles took forever to go through, but 20-40 were better. The course is straight and mostly flat, but there is nothing to really look at which makes it very, very boring and therefore mentally challenging. I kept riding and my chaffing pain went away, but my hip flexor pain was growing. Not a good sign. I was actually looking forward to the hills so that I could get out of my saddle and stretch my hip flexors. I was also having lower left back pain which I only get in races, never in training. Weird.
At around Mile 40, I had some issues. I looked down and back and saw that my saddleback wasn't doing good. I should've replaced it before, but I just didn't. The two saddle straps had come off and it was hanging on only by the seatpost strap. I reached down, took it off, and put it in my jersey pocket. About a mile later, I hit a bump and the saddle bag came out. What happened is that my race belt was going around the middle of my jersey pockets which kept the saddle bag from going all the way into the pocket. I stopped, picked up the bag, and kept going. I was passed by about 5 guys and I had caught up with all of them within 10 minutes. I got stopped on hte bottom of the longest hill and I was able to catch up with them by powering up the hill.
I was heading back to the transition area and I was feeling good. My average speed was a little lower than what I wanted, but my hip flexors were on fire. I was also trying to push but yet save myself for the run as well. Luckily, heading back into the race site was a great tailwind. At one point, I saw Eric Gilmore, a fellow TexasIron athlete, ahead of me. When he heard me yell at him, he picked up the pace and of course, I kept up. For most of the race, I was in the 95-100rpm range. At this point, I had nice, flat, smooth roads with a tailwind. I was pusing 80-85rpm in a big gear and doing 25-26mph. I finally passed Eric and kept going. He said something like "I'm just waiting to get my running shoes on!" or something like that. It seems that Eric and I have developed some friendly competitiveness which is good because I push him on the swim and the bike and he pushes me on the run. I turned into the park and hit a headwind. Not fun going back into the transition area. My hip flexors were gone, but I don't need them on the run. Other than that, I felt pretty good.
I came down the last hill and headed into the T2 area. I came in fast and stopped short of the dismount line. Once again, I wasn't in a rush through T2. I didn't have much stuff to grab, but I grabbed it and headed out. I saw Megan on the way out and gave her a high five. This run was going to be brutal and it was going to be a test of my will power and determination to get through it. I realized a few days later that before this race, I had run more than 12 miles at once only twice before. Interesting.
Of course, the first mile and a half hurt. I stopped at the first portapotty and peed. It was the only time that I peed the entire race even with taking in almost 150oz of fluid on the bike. I then stopped at the first aid station. At previous races, I've taken in 2 cups of fluid, poured 1 cup on my head, and poured 1 cup down my crotch to cool me off. Well, this last step wasn't that fun this time. I poured the water down my shorts, and immediately stopped in my tracks because of the pain. Apparently, my chaffing issue got worse even though it really didn't hurt. The cold water mixed with the sweat and completely stung my chaffed area. I was wondering how I was going to keep going because this hurt really badly. Well, I just kept putting one foot in front of another and kept pushing. After about 45-60 seconds, the pain from my crotch went away. I was still hurting getting used to the run, but I eased up at about 2 miles into the run. I got my running legs and did pretty well climbing the first hill. I wasn't pushing myself, but I was still passing people. At around Mile 3, I saw Mark sitting underneath a tree. I also saw Betsy coming in from the bike at this point as well and I cheered her on. I was chatting with people as well and then we turned and hit a downhill. I've been practicing downhills and I try to put some time between me and others on the downhill. Having big quads and being a little heavier than other runners makes this easy. I powered down the hill, hit the Mile 4 rest stop and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
My nutrition plan for the run was to take some gels that have 150cals and 230mg of sodium per packet. I think I took them at Miles 2, 5, 8, and 11. In between, I took a Thermolyte at each rest stop. Because of this, I felt fine, no cramps, but I was a little tired. After Mile 4, there was another big hill. This one, I walked a total of about 10 seconds up that hill whereas everyone else was walking. That felt good. I topped the hill and then took a right turn down the most brutal part of the run. This was a little more than 1.5 miles out and then 1.5 miles back. Going out was a false flat up and then a slight downhill after the midway point. There was absolutely nothing to look at except other runners. I was talking to people and cheering on people I know and this helped me to keep going. After turning around, I started struggling mentally. I was walking the aid stations a lot and actually walking about 10 yards before the aid stations and 10 yards after the aid stations. I shouldn't have done this because it wasn't really giving me that much race. I just need to be tougher mentally next time. I finished the out and back and then turned left to go back down the hill.
I powered down the hill again and was cheering on others. At the bottom of the hill, I hit Mile 9 and it was getting tough. One guy in my age group started battling back and forth at this point. He got a head of me, but I passed him on the last big hill. He passed me on the flat, and I passed him on the downhill. At the bottom of the hill, I think I had about 20yds on him. I stopped at the aid station and he just flew by. I couldn't keep up because my energy was waning quickly. I tried to get some Dr. Pepper at that aid station to keep me going because I've heard of several people that do that. The caffeine and sugar keeps them going. I tried some Dr. P and I didn't like it. Too sweet and syrupy. It would have been great if it was warm and flat, but cold and fizzy is not cool.
I kept going. At some point, a 37 year old woman caught up with me and she and I ran together for about a mile. I was getting really, really tired. At the last aid station, I stopped again and she kept going and put some time on me. Well, I had nothing else to lose so I just kept going. The last mile was very, very tough. I walked maybe a total of 4 times the entire run and 2 of them were in the last mile. I almost stopped a couple of other times but someone passed me or someone cheered me on and kept me going. There was no reason for me to stop. I was still going strong, but I was just getting lazy and tired. I finally started hearing the announcer at the finish line and I was so happy about this. I was almost done. Someone said "100yd to the finish!" and I picked up the pace the best I could. As I was approaching the line, I tried to raise my arms. I couldn't do it; I was zapped on energy. I tried one arm. A little bit better. Finally, as I crossed the line, I put both arms up and I was done. I kept walking and I felt drained. I left everything on the course. I kept walking because I did not want to stop. I walked past the med tent and went to get some food and water. Damnit, no pizza! All I want afterwards is pizza! Bagels, fruit, beer, water and Gatorade.
I saw Andrea, Geoff, and Jamie. They asked my time and I said I think I crossed at 5:08. I crossed at 5:28 minus 20 minutes because of my wave and yep, 5:08ish was what I did. I was happy about this. I kind of wanted sub-5, but 5:08 is amazing and I'm happy with it. When the results came out, my official time was 5:07:59. I had a swim time of 28:31 which is good with a pace of 1:30, but the swim was about 150m short. Put me 19th in my age group. T1 was 2:10 but I knew that was slow. My bike was good with a 2:43:10 which is an average of 20.59mph which is also 19th in my age group. T2 was 1:43 which is OK, but I had a run time of 1:52:25. That put me at an 8:35min/mile pace and I'm happy about that considering this run course was very brutal. That put me at 22nd on the run, but 19th overall in my age group. This race was odd because I'm usually higher on the bike, higher on the swim, but lower on the run. I was pretty consistent in my age group across each leg which is odd. I'll take it because it means that my run is getting better.
I learned a lot this race. I want to run more and get better at running off the bike. My fluid intake technique worked this time and this race is hot and brutal. I need to do something about my hip flexors because it isn't going to be fun in Florida with burnt out hip flexors at Mile 20. I can do well in the heat, and I just need to not worry about the races. I'm sure I'll be nervous for IMFL, but I won't be for another HIM anymore.
Of course, my coaches have been great and they helped out a lot with training. Well, I don't have much to say but it took me almost 2 hours to write this, no wait, almost 4 hours since I lost it all on Tuesday night.
Well, I had a good race, it hurt, but I had fun. Thanks everyone for your support.
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