Wow… So now that I’ve had a bit of time to play around with the new Sennheiser IE8 headphones I can say with certainty that these are by far and way the most impressive set of generic in-ears I’ve ever experienced. (In fact, these beat out a lot of the earlier generation customs from a few years ago…) Obviously the sound quality is fantastic. Of course, I’ve come to expect that from Sennheiser headphones. My HD650s blow me away on a daily basis. They’re so good you don’t EVER get used to it!
But these IE8s are really notable for their fit. They almost feel like custom molds. I have no idea how Sennheiser did this, but it’s most impressive. Especially for someone like me who has relatively small ears. (Custom molds can actually be tricky because of this.) To get generics to fit me is no easy feat, and that these feel so natural and comfortable is really quite remarkable. I wear my headphones a lot when training, which is why customs are so useful – they stay in place even with lots of movement. But these have just as much stability. For the audiophile/athlete set I can’t imagine a more suitable listening environment. Sennheiser, you’ve raised the bar yet again!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Harrisburg Sprint Tri
This race brought to you by Continental Airlines and Caribou Coffee… At least that’s how it feels. After months of meticulous preparation, detailed planning and hours of training, I managed to put together a great race at Eagleman last week. Then I threw it all out the window in the name of making some cash…
After heading up to NJ for a day of recovery (and ice cream) following that race, I was on the 6:50 (AM!) flight to LA Tuesday morning to start rehearsals for (my boss) Josh Groban’s induction into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame… Optimistically I brought my running shoes and goggles, but didn’t really know how much time I’d get in. The week was a fun one. Nice to see old friends again and despite a lack of sleep owing to late nights and a rare case of jet lag (and maybe a night of a few too many margaritas…) the show went fantastically well, and the Hollywood Bowl is one of my all time favorite venues to play. The only bummer in the week was that my flight back Sunday wasn’t due to arrive in Newark until 8:30 PM, so racing the Harrisburg Sprint Tri was probably a no go.
But fortune (and my generous tour manager!) smiled upon me and I got my flight Saturday moved up to a 7:00 AM departure, meaning I could theoretically make it back in time to compete after all… Of course, the late show coupled with a post-party coupled a long drive to LAX meant I literally didn’t sleep Friday night, but was I going to let that concern me? Well, yes, but what can you do? I think I may have a racing compulsion... All told, my car pulled into my driveway at 11:00 PM on Saturday and my eyes were closed an hour later. It’s funny as I usually have a bunch of pre-race foods I like to eat and certain other preparatory things I like to do the night before, but I was just too tired to think about it. Having not even unpacked since Eagleman, I figured the same bag would suffice, though I did check to make sure my shoes were still in it!
Arrived at the race surprisingly alert (though this may have some thing to do with the HUGE pot of coffee I spent the pre-dawn hours downing) to get registered and squared away. The addition of numbered racks this year was nice as in the past there’s been some crowding issues near the ends of transition. And the weather was turning out to be surprisingly ideal, despite an early morning drizzle. After a quick swim-style deck change into my shorts I took the bike out for a quick spin (essential seeing as I hadn’t ridden it in a week!) only to discover I may have an issue…my rear derailleur would not shift. As I contemplated my first ever DNS I gave it a few more up and downshifts and it started to finally behave. Eagleman’s Gatorade + plus a week of no riding = very stuck derailleur, lesson learned. I am guilty of bike neglect I suppose, but I’m pleased it finally came around.
Apparently while away the rains had really been coming down because the Susquehanna had turned from ‘Lazy River’ into ‘Log Flume,’ enough so that everyone had to hold onto ropes and each other to avoid being swept downstream and you could warm up by swimming against the current and not have to worry about going anywhere! After a delayed start the ladies in the first wave left with my wave starting 3 minutes later. (I hope next year the organizers invest in a higher-powered bullhorn as this one was tough to hear!) It was simply amazing how far downriver the girls had gotten before we even started! With a current like this, everyone could easily channel their inner Michael Phelps!
Having not been in the water for a week I was a touch apprehensive about the swim, kind of like taking a test I hadn’t studied for. But reassuringly I felt a little stronger than I expected. I had one guy hanging out on my hip for most of the swim, but given the speed of the water trying to up the swim pace probably wouldn’t benefit me much, so I settled in and enjoyed the advantage of swimming closer to the shoreline than usual thanks to the deep water.
I managed to hit the boat ramp first in my wave and had one of my best transitions yet. (Pam, rubberbands and baby powder, everybody…) With a short bike and no time in the saddle during the previous week, I decided to just redline the ride as long as I could and try to hold on for the run. Would it work? No idea. But this sure wasn’t the race to leave up to the last leg, especially with Mike H. back there somewhere and super-runner John ‘Spider’ Sillery in the mix…
A bit of a headwind made for tough trip out, but knowing it had to be tough for everyone was motivational, I don’t mind hurting on the bike. At the turnaround I saw Kara S. just starting to head back the other way with an uber-cool motorcycle escort. I have to admit I was a little jealous, there’s nothing cooler than chasing the motorcycle, always makes you feel like a pro. But having her out there was good motivation and I made it a goal to try and make up that last bit of ground before the run.
Alas, Kara’s bike leg has been on fire recently and I just couldn’t catch her! Hit T2 just as she was leaving. I figured I had a decent lead on the rest of my wave going into the run, but 5,000 meters of footracing gives good runners a chance to make up a lot of ground and there was no way to know how fast the 3rd wavers were going. Found a good pace and tried my hardest to make up the gap Kara had (since she had now traded her uber-cool moto escort for an uber-cool mountainbike one…) but only made up about 10 seconds on her by the finish… I was definitely feeling the week by the time I hit the line. First in my wave, but had to play the waiting game to see if it would stick for the overall.
In the end it did, but Mike H. sure gave me a run for the money (OK, there was no money. But he did give me a run for the free jug of Hammer Gel and bag of granola) with a smokin’ fast bike leg and a run leg to match. Barely held him off by about 90 seconds, but I wish we could’ve been in the same wave as I think it would have made for fun, exciting and (for me) scary race!
Props to Sarah L. for supplying the granola to the winners. I wish I could say it lasted more than a day…but it didn’t.
P.S. Apparently they closed the City Island Beach the next day due to high levels of E.Coli... Lesson for everyone - more swim practice = less time you have to spend in infected Pennsylvania rivers...
After heading up to NJ for a day of recovery (and ice cream) following that race, I was on the 6:50 (AM!) flight to LA Tuesday morning to start rehearsals for (my boss) Josh Groban’s induction into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame… Optimistically I brought my running shoes and goggles, but didn’t really know how much time I’d get in. The week was a fun one. Nice to see old friends again and despite a lack of sleep owing to late nights and a rare case of jet lag (and maybe a night of a few too many margaritas…) the show went fantastically well, and the Hollywood Bowl is one of my all time favorite venues to play. The only bummer in the week was that my flight back Sunday wasn’t due to arrive in Newark until 8:30 PM, so racing the Harrisburg Sprint Tri was probably a no go.
But fortune (and my generous tour manager!) smiled upon me and I got my flight Saturday moved up to a 7:00 AM departure, meaning I could theoretically make it back in time to compete after all… Of course, the late show coupled with a post-party coupled a long drive to LAX meant I literally didn’t sleep Friday night, but was I going to let that concern me? Well, yes, but what can you do? I think I may have a racing compulsion... All told, my car pulled into my driveway at 11:00 PM on Saturday and my eyes were closed an hour later. It’s funny as I usually have a bunch of pre-race foods I like to eat and certain other preparatory things I like to do the night before, but I was just too tired to think about it. Having not even unpacked since Eagleman, I figured the same bag would suffice, though I did check to make sure my shoes were still in it!
Arrived at the race surprisingly alert (though this may have some thing to do with the HUGE pot of coffee I spent the pre-dawn hours downing) to get registered and squared away. The addition of numbered racks this year was nice as in the past there’s been some crowding issues near the ends of transition. And the weather was turning out to be surprisingly ideal, despite an early morning drizzle. After a quick swim-style deck change into my shorts I took the bike out for a quick spin (essential seeing as I hadn’t ridden it in a week!) only to discover I may have an issue…my rear derailleur would not shift. As I contemplated my first ever DNS I gave it a few more up and downshifts and it started to finally behave. Eagleman’s Gatorade + plus a week of no riding = very stuck derailleur, lesson learned. I am guilty of bike neglect I suppose, but I’m pleased it finally came around.
Apparently while away the rains had really been coming down because the Susquehanna had turned from ‘Lazy River’ into ‘Log Flume,’ enough so that everyone had to hold onto ropes and each other to avoid being swept downstream and you could warm up by swimming against the current and not have to worry about going anywhere! After a delayed start the ladies in the first wave left with my wave starting 3 minutes later. (I hope next year the organizers invest in a higher-powered bullhorn as this one was tough to hear!) It was simply amazing how far downriver the girls had gotten before we even started! With a current like this, everyone could easily channel their inner Michael Phelps!
Having not been in the water for a week I was a touch apprehensive about the swim, kind of like taking a test I hadn’t studied for. But reassuringly I felt a little stronger than I expected. I had one guy hanging out on my hip for most of the swim, but given the speed of the water trying to up the swim pace probably wouldn’t benefit me much, so I settled in and enjoyed the advantage of swimming closer to the shoreline than usual thanks to the deep water.
I managed to hit the boat ramp first in my wave and had one of my best transitions yet. (Pam, rubberbands and baby powder, everybody…) With a short bike and no time in the saddle during the previous week, I decided to just redline the ride as long as I could and try to hold on for the run. Would it work? No idea. But this sure wasn’t the race to leave up to the last leg, especially with Mike H. back there somewhere and super-runner John ‘Spider’ Sillery in the mix…
A bit of a headwind made for tough trip out, but knowing it had to be tough for everyone was motivational, I don’t mind hurting on the bike. At the turnaround I saw Kara S. just starting to head back the other way with an uber-cool motorcycle escort. I have to admit I was a little jealous, there’s nothing cooler than chasing the motorcycle, always makes you feel like a pro. But having her out there was good motivation and I made it a goal to try and make up that last bit of ground before the run.
Alas, Kara’s bike leg has been on fire recently and I just couldn’t catch her! Hit T2 just as she was leaving. I figured I had a decent lead on the rest of my wave going into the run, but 5,000 meters of footracing gives good runners a chance to make up a lot of ground and there was no way to know how fast the 3rd wavers were going. Found a good pace and tried my hardest to make up the gap Kara had (since she had now traded her uber-cool moto escort for an uber-cool mountainbike one…) but only made up about 10 seconds on her by the finish… I was definitely feeling the week by the time I hit the line. First in my wave, but had to play the waiting game to see if it would stick for the overall.
In the end it did, but Mike H. sure gave me a run for the money (OK, there was no money. But he did give me a run for the free jug of Hammer Gel and bag of granola) with a smokin’ fast bike leg and a run leg to match. Barely held him off by about 90 seconds, but I wish we could’ve been in the same wave as I think it would have made for fun, exciting and (for me) scary race!
Props to Sarah L. for supplying the granola to the winners. I wish I could say it lasted more than a day…but it didn’t.
P.S. Apparently they closed the City Island Beach the next day due to high levels of E.Coli... Lesson for everyone - more swim practice = less time you have to spend in infected Pennsylvania rivers...
Monday, June 15, 2009
Eagleman 70.3
OK, so the half iron distance is a little bit longer than Olympic distance. And having only raced two of those it was tough not to be slightly apprehensive about the Eagleman, but it’s been a goal of mine for a while now – I think I signed up in August of last year, almost on a whim – and I knew I’d put in the time. All that was left to do was that actual race.
Fortunately, my friends let me drive down Friday night and stay at their beautiful beach house near Ocean City, MD. (I have to say, it was nice enough that leaving for the race was almost disappointing) So while my total driving mileage was a bit longer, it meant a few short drives on the day before the race, as opposed to one long one. Tried to sleep as much as I could Friday night, but having cut all my workouts back to half last week I’ve haven’t been sleeping as much as usual. But I felt fairly rested and headed across the eastern shore early Saturday afternoon to wade into the craziness that is a sold out half iron race.
I have to say, if I got nothing else out of the weekend, I was certainly entertained. Is there a nerdier group of athletes on the planet? (And I am so not exempting myself here, though at least I wasn’t riding a Cervelo!) There is definitely a herd mentality to triathletes and I am considering starting to do odd things in races where I feel like I’ll do well, just to see if others follow suit. (Mark my words, if any of the Harrisburg or Pinchot races get warm enough to disallow wetsuits, I WILL do one rocking only an old school Speedo. Yes, I’m serious.) As a group, we are certainly a funny bunch. Fortunately, we’re also collectively pretty nice and the vibe of the race was very positive!
Met up with Kara S. in the afternoon and it was nice to have some company for a while. I’m used to kind of wandering around races alone so it was good to have someone to talk to. Once we picked up all the free stuff and got our bikes racked we headed back inland so she could go chill in her hotel and I could meet up with my parents and sister (and their dogs) who had come all the way down from NJ to see me race, which was very nice indeed!
Sat around in their hotel for a bit just relaxing before heading back (again) to the race site where I was one of about 60 or so athletes taking advantage of the group tri-camping going on at a local high school. (It was nice not to be the only weirdo for once!) Apart from the massive thunderstorm during the night it was actually extremely comfortable and I woke up easily at 4:15 (!) for my pre-race bagel with peanut butter, all the while feeling rather calm. It was a good feeling knowing that I had done almost everything in training I had planned and now was going to get to test my methods to see if it all worked.
Got to the race very early which made parking a breeze. Hit up transition right away (early enough that I was mistaken for a volunteer!) to get marked and use the bathroom, thus avoiding the rush that I knew would be coming shortly. (Big hint, bring your own TP to these events, it will make your life SO much better!) Spent a little time putting everything in order for transition then found my family and nice spot in the grass to chill for a bit. (Interesting note, if you’ve sprayed your legs with Pam pre-race, you may find that dogs become VERY interested in you!)
Finally, an hour after the first athletes went off, it was my turn. The water of the Choptank was a balmy 75 degrees making me grateful for my sleeveless wetsuit. It was also surprisingly calm which was a touch disappointing as I hoped rough water might give me an advantage, but as soon as the horn sounded it was time to stop thinking and start swimming! It didn’t take long for a few of us to go off the front. Two guys went ahead and I jumped into a group of three for the first 500 meters or so. For once it was overcast enough that I was regretting my normal dark goggles. Couple that with the yellow caps of my wavemates being the same color as the buoys and my bad eyesight and finding my way was a bit of a challenge, but I had a nice rhythm going and felt very relaxed.
By halfway through the swim there were just four of us out at the front of the wave. I felt really strong but consciously tried to keep my pace mellow since there was still a lot of racing to be done after the swim. (Seriously, that swim could be a little longer. 25 minutes worth of a 5 hour event doesn’t seem all that fair to me!) Exited the water 3rd in my wave in a time of 24:50, which was right on the pace I’d hoped for. Since it hadn’t felt hard at all I took it as a good sign. I was little concerned about the two guys ahead of me, but when I checked the results I’d still finished with 9th fastest swim (including pros) of the day. Guess I just happened to have some other fast dudes in with me!
Had a nice smooth transition, passing more than a few guys, and made my way out onto the course. Flat is truly an understatement for this one. I could have practically done the whole thing on a fixed gear! I think I used three of my rear cogs the whole day, one for headwinds, one for crosswinds and one for tailwinds! The temptation to start hammering was strong, but I knew I would be wise to try and keep things quiet on the bike for a while. Having never raced more than 40k, I really didn’t know what kind of speed I could sustain. It took a lot willpower (Ha!) to not push, but I hoped it would pay off by the end.
My goal time - though relatively arbitrary – for the bike leg was 2:30, which would require me to hold 22 mph for the ride. I passed the halfway mark in 1:10 and still felt totally fine and relaxed. So things were definitely looking up! I was surprised I hadn’t seen Kara yet, since she only started nine minutes ahead of me, but I figured I’d either missed her or she was just flying on the course…
Somewhere around the middle I was passed by three guys from my age group who were traveling in a rather ‘questionable’ group. I tried not to pass judgment, but it didn’t look like the most ethical bit of racing. Oh well, nothing I could do but my best and hope things worked out. It was a little scary how unaware of their surroundings some people on the course were and I had few close calls trying to pass people who were constantly drifting to the left, but got through most passes unscathed so I suppose all’s well that ends well.
Around mile 33 I spotted a very familiar looking jersey, and sure enough it was the red Orbea I was looking for! There was Kara trucking along like the wind! I couldn’t believe how fast she was going! No wonder it took me so long to catch her! You’re all going to be impressed when you read her race report!
The back half of the Eagleman course is just as flat as the first part, but this time there was quite a headwind and my ‘take it easy’ strategy was about to pay off. A lot of people slowed way down here with a combination of fatigue and air resistance and I was very pleased to see two members of the ‘questionable’ group of three up ahead and pass them easily. I rolled through the second half in 1:09 for a total time of 2:19:31 at 24.4 mph, 34th overall split. I definitely think I could have gone a bit faster, but then, I’ve never race a half-marathon after riding a bike 56 miles before… Oh wait, I’ve never raced a half-marathon at all!
Hit T2 and got a quick glimpse of my dad cheering which was nice. I briefly what my family had been doing the whole time I was out on the bike as two hours is a lot of time to wait around, but before I knew it I was pulling on shoes (with the rare addition of socks) and heading out onto the run course. What did I get myself into here?!
“Keep it calm, keep it calm, keep it calm…” was my mantra as I started the run. I still felt really good, but knew I had a long way to go. I was trying to just maintain a reasonable pace and was curious to see how fast I was actually going when I hit the first mile marker… 6:55! ‘Ok,’ I thought, ‘that’s probably a little too fast to maintain, just chill out a bit.’ So I relaxed some more and actually fell in with another guy from my age group that I’d caught up with. ‘Alright, here comes mile marker #2… 6:45!’ I got a little nervous as this seemed far too fast for a someone of my limited running abilities, but going any slower felt like a walk. I kept on like this for a while and after my 5th sub-7:00 mile I actually started to think ‘I am going to have a really good race. I should try to remember everything because really good races don’t happen all that often…’
One of the nice things about being in a late wave was always having someone to catch, and by the time I’d hit the turnaround I’d only been passed by two people, neither one whom was in my age group. I tried to race calm and smart, pouring lots of water over myself and taking sips of Gatorade occasionally. (Though by mile 6 my stomach was starting to rebel a bit having been fed only gels, Heed and Gatorade for the last 4 hours. I’ll have to rethink this a little. I successfully avoided bonking, but may have been overzealous in my caloric consumption…!)
Things didn’t really start to hurt until mile 9 when my pace fell a bit to 7:25s (which I was still ecstatic about) but by then I was checking my watch and starting to realize that I was definitely going to come in under my ‘best case scenario’ time of 4:30. I was pretty excited by that! At mile 11.5 I got passed by the same guy who got me at the end of the Columbia Tri but stayed strong and ran my last mile in a 6:58 to finish with a total time of 4:21:04, including a 1:33 half marathon which shocked the hell out of me. All that running (and some of Josh’s sneaky speed) is gradually starting to work!
I ended up with a total time of 4:21:04, one I was very pleased with. Unfortunately, the male 30-34 age group (and I’m actually 29!) was by far the fastest one of the day. 3rd through 6th place were only separated by 90 seconds, but my 6th place finish kept me one spot out of the trophies… Even still ended up in 33rd overall, and 20th when you take pros out of the mix. Given that it was my first try at the distance I’d have to say I really couldn’t ask for anything more.
Well, OK, I could ask for one more thing… My age-group had two slots to Kona and three to Clearwater. Despite some issues with finding the slot tent (and some more issues with dashing off to my car to retrieve my checkbook when they wouldn’t take a credit card. Visa is apparently not EVERYWHERE you to be…) I scored a spot to the 70.3 championships in the fall! While I’m not sure if I’ll be gone working by then, I am quite excited as getting a slot was my stealth goal for the race. I didn’t really mention it, but I’d had to say I am very happy to have earned one…
I followed the race up with triathlon's unofficial fourth discipline, eating! Having spent the past month dropping a few extra pounds to make the run a little easier, it was awesome to have a huge ice cream sundae upon returning home! Apologies for the long winded report, but if you’ve made it this far, thanks for listening! See you at a race soon!
Fortunately, my friends let me drive down Friday night and stay at their beautiful beach house near Ocean City, MD. (I have to say, it was nice enough that leaving for the race was almost disappointing) So while my total driving mileage was a bit longer, it meant a few short drives on the day before the race, as opposed to one long one. Tried to sleep as much as I could Friday night, but having cut all my workouts back to half last week I’ve haven’t been sleeping as much as usual. But I felt fairly rested and headed across the eastern shore early Saturday afternoon to wade into the craziness that is a sold out half iron race.
I have to say, if I got nothing else out of the weekend, I was certainly entertained. Is there a nerdier group of athletes on the planet? (And I am so not exempting myself here, though at least I wasn’t riding a Cervelo!) There is definitely a herd mentality to triathletes and I am considering starting to do odd things in races where I feel like I’ll do well, just to see if others follow suit. (Mark my words, if any of the Harrisburg or Pinchot races get warm enough to disallow wetsuits, I WILL do one rocking only an old school Speedo. Yes, I’m serious.) As a group, we are certainly a funny bunch. Fortunately, we’re also collectively pretty nice and the vibe of the race was very positive!
Met up with Kara S. in the afternoon and it was nice to have some company for a while. I’m used to kind of wandering around races alone so it was good to have someone to talk to. Once we picked up all the free stuff and got our bikes racked we headed back inland so she could go chill in her hotel and I could meet up with my parents and sister (and their dogs) who had come all the way down from NJ to see me race, which was very nice indeed!
Sat around in their hotel for a bit just relaxing before heading back (again) to the race site where I was one of about 60 or so athletes taking advantage of the group tri-camping going on at a local high school. (It was nice not to be the only weirdo for once!) Apart from the massive thunderstorm during the night it was actually extremely comfortable and I woke up easily at 4:15 (!) for my pre-race bagel with peanut butter, all the while feeling rather calm. It was a good feeling knowing that I had done almost everything in training I had planned and now was going to get to test my methods to see if it all worked.
Got to the race very early which made parking a breeze. Hit up transition right away (early enough that I was mistaken for a volunteer!) to get marked and use the bathroom, thus avoiding the rush that I knew would be coming shortly. (Big hint, bring your own TP to these events, it will make your life SO much better!) Spent a little time putting everything in order for transition then found my family and nice spot in the grass to chill for a bit. (Interesting note, if you’ve sprayed your legs with Pam pre-race, you may find that dogs become VERY interested in you!)
Finally, an hour after the first athletes went off, it was my turn. The water of the Choptank was a balmy 75 degrees making me grateful for my sleeveless wetsuit. It was also surprisingly calm which was a touch disappointing as I hoped rough water might give me an advantage, but as soon as the horn sounded it was time to stop thinking and start swimming! It didn’t take long for a few of us to go off the front. Two guys went ahead and I jumped into a group of three for the first 500 meters or so. For once it was overcast enough that I was regretting my normal dark goggles. Couple that with the yellow caps of my wavemates being the same color as the buoys and my bad eyesight and finding my way was a bit of a challenge, but I had a nice rhythm going and felt very relaxed.
By halfway through the swim there were just four of us out at the front of the wave. I felt really strong but consciously tried to keep my pace mellow since there was still a lot of racing to be done after the swim. (Seriously, that swim could be a little longer. 25 minutes worth of a 5 hour event doesn’t seem all that fair to me!) Exited the water 3rd in my wave in a time of 24:50, which was right on the pace I’d hoped for. Since it hadn’t felt hard at all I took it as a good sign. I was little concerned about the two guys ahead of me, but when I checked the results I’d still finished with 9th fastest swim (including pros) of the day. Guess I just happened to have some other fast dudes in with me!
Had a nice smooth transition, passing more than a few guys, and made my way out onto the course. Flat is truly an understatement for this one. I could have practically done the whole thing on a fixed gear! I think I used three of my rear cogs the whole day, one for headwinds, one for crosswinds and one for tailwinds! The temptation to start hammering was strong, but I knew I would be wise to try and keep things quiet on the bike for a while. Having never raced more than 40k, I really didn’t know what kind of speed I could sustain. It took a lot willpower (Ha!) to not push, but I hoped it would pay off by the end.
My goal time - though relatively arbitrary – for the bike leg was 2:30, which would require me to hold 22 mph for the ride. I passed the halfway mark in 1:10 and still felt totally fine and relaxed. So things were definitely looking up! I was surprised I hadn’t seen Kara yet, since she only started nine minutes ahead of me, but I figured I’d either missed her or she was just flying on the course…
Somewhere around the middle I was passed by three guys from my age group who were traveling in a rather ‘questionable’ group. I tried not to pass judgment, but it didn’t look like the most ethical bit of racing. Oh well, nothing I could do but my best and hope things worked out. It was a little scary how unaware of their surroundings some people on the course were and I had few close calls trying to pass people who were constantly drifting to the left, but got through most passes unscathed so I suppose all’s well that ends well.
Around mile 33 I spotted a very familiar looking jersey, and sure enough it was the red Orbea I was looking for! There was Kara trucking along like the wind! I couldn’t believe how fast she was going! No wonder it took me so long to catch her! You’re all going to be impressed when you read her race report!
The back half of the Eagleman course is just as flat as the first part, but this time there was quite a headwind and my ‘take it easy’ strategy was about to pay off. A lot of people slowed way down here with a combination of fatigue and air resistance and I was very pleased to see two members of the ‘questionable’ group of three up ahead and pass them easily. I rolled through the second half in 1:09 for a total time of 2:19:31 at 24.4 mph, 34th overall split. I definitely think I could have gone a bit faster, but then, I’ve never race a half-marathon after riding a bike 56 miles before… Oh wait, I’ve never raced a half-marathon at all!
Hit T2 and got a quick glimpse of my dad cheering which was nice. I briefly what my family had been doing the whole time I was out on the bike as two hours is a lot of time to wait around, but before I knew it I was pulling on shoes (with the rare addition of socks) and heading out onto the run course. What did I get myself into here?!
“Keep it calm, keep it calm, keep it calm…” was my mantra as I started the run. I still felt really good, but knew I had a long way to go. I was trying to just maintain a reasonable pace and was curious to see how fast I was actually going when I hit the first mile marker… 6:55! ‘Ok,’ I thought, ‘that’s probably a little too fast to maintain, just chill out a bit.’ So I relaxed some more and actually fell in with another guy from my age group that I’d caught up with. ‘Alright, here comes mile marker #2… 6:45!’ I got a little nervous as this seemed far too fast for a someone of my limited running abilities, but going any slower felt like a walk. I kept on like this for a while and after my 5th sub-7:00 mile I actually started to think ‘I am going to have a really good race. I should try to remember everything because really good races don’t happen all that often…’
One of the nice things about being in a late wave was always having someone to catch, and by the time I’d hit the turnaround I’d only been passed by two people, neither one whom was in my age group. I tried to race calm and smart, pouring lots of water over myself and taking sips of Gatorade occasionally. (Though by mile 6 my stomach was starting to rebel a bit having been fed only gels, Heed and Gatorade for the last 4 hours. I’ll have to rethink this a little. I successfully avoided bonking, but may have been overzealous in my caloric consumption…!)
Things didn’t really start to hurt until mile 9 when my pace fell a bit to 7:25s (which I was still ecstatic about) but by then I was checking my watch and starting to realize that I was definitely going to come in under my ‘best case scenario’ time of 4:30. I was pretty excited by that! At mile 11.5 I got passed by the same guy who got me at the end of the Columbia Tri but stayed strong and ran my last mile in a 6:58 to finish with a total time of 4:21:04, including a 1:33 half marathon which shocked the hell out of me. All that running (and some of Josh’s sneaky speed) is gradually starting to work!
I ended up with a total time of 4:21:04, one I was very pleased with. Unfortunately, the male 30-34 age group (and I’m actually 29!) was by far the fastest one of the day. 3rd through 6th place were only separated by 90 seconds, but my 6th place finish kept me one spot out of the trophies… Even still ended up in 33rd overall, and 20th when you take pros out of the mix. Given that it was my first try at the distance I’d have to say I really couldn’t ask for anything more.
Well, OK, I could ask for one more thing… My age-group had two slots to Kona and three to Clearwater. Despite some issues with finding the slot tent (and some more issues with dashing off to my car to retrieve my checkbook when they wouldn’t take a credit card. Visa is apparently not EVERYWHERE you to be…) I scored a spot to the 70.3 championships in the fall! While I’m not sure if I’ll be gone working by then, I am quite excited as getting a slot was my stealth goal for the race. I didn’t really mention it, but I’d had to say I am very happy to have earned one…
I followed the race up with triathlon's unofficial fourth discipline, eating! Having spent the past month dropping a few extra pounds to make the run a little easier, it was awesome to have a huge ice cream sundae upon returning home! Apologies for the long winded report, but if you’ve made it this far, thanks for listening! See you at a race soon!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Black Bear Sprint Report
Now THAT’s a bike course!
Even though it felt like most of the weekend was spent driving, I somehow managed to also squeeze in a wedding and a race, too! The Black Bear Sprint Tri actually isn’t that far from my place, being located up in the Pocono town of Beltzville, but first I had to get to Rye, NY just above the city for a good friend’s wedding. After spending a large portion of the evening on my feet (though I DID limit myself to two glasses of wine…) I couldn’t help but wonder if my legs would feel it come Sunday. But good friends are important, too, and it was a really fantastic time.
Saturday morning found me nearly retracing my path back through Pennsylvania (and passing Roadside America for the 3rd time this summer! If you haven’t gone, you must, it’s simply fantastic!) on my way to the race venue, where I was scheduled to give a brief talk on open water swimming. (Which was actually rather well-received and enjoyable.) Wow! What a venue! The lake was beautiful and the weather perfect. Managed to get in two loops of the bike course (and glad I did) before heading off in search of a campsite.
OK, so I do love the whole tri-camping thing, but I have to say, I did not see the 45 degree weather coming. Ended up a little chillier than I might have liked, but hey it’s my own fault for being too lazy to get up and grab my warmer sleeping bag. On the plus side, I wasn’t dawdling in the morning when it came time to head over to the race. I couldn’t wait to start the car and bask in the glorious warmth of the heater!
Nature's warmth on the other hand certainly took it’s time to come around in the morning, but I scored a primo aisle spot on my transition rack thanks to my early start and had enough time to get in a little swim warm up, too. Coupled with a 15 minute delay while they waited for all of the cars to get into the park and it was almost warm by the time my wave was being called to the start. For some reason I was feeling almost too calm going into the swim start, but I decided to go with it and keep things relaxed. At the horn 3 of us jumped clear of the bunch rather quickly, with myself heading directly for the first turn buoy and the other two guys following the slight arc of the markers. It wasn’t long before our paths crossed and while the guys were swimming just a hair slower than I probably could have, I’m totally getting into this whole swim drafting thing at the bigger races and just sat on their feet for about 200 meters.
With the turn buoy coming up, I gave it a little gas to gap one of the guys and he responded by pulling up next to us. With the pace now a little quicker I just settled in to finish. (A bit unlike me to forego the inherent ‘cool points’ that come with an unofficial swim prime, but I’m trying to wise up in my old age.) I did have a brief moment of panic when my timing chip slid down my ankle, but a quick reach down assured me it was still attached, just a bit looser than I would have preferred. Sure beats the alternative though!
Hit the beach with the other two guys to discover my swim strategy had paid off. Each was breathing hard having obviously pushed the whole time. I made a quick move past each and was the first from my wave out of transition. Ended up clocking the 3rd fastest swim split of the day, only 6 seconds back from the fastest.
Took a long run through grass to get to the mount line and my new pedals finally paid off. With all the tension you can put on Dura Ace pedals my shoes were in no danger of popping as I mounted and I was off on the course. Finally! According to splits I had the fastest T1 in the whole race which I thought was pretty cool!
I was certainly glad I’d ridden the sprint loop the day before as the first 7 mile or so are fairly gentle rollers that can lull you into a false sense of security. I picked off a few first wave riders here and then made the turn for the first uphill section. Unlike Columbia, the hills here are a bit shorter, but also a bit more ‘pronounced’ shall we say? OK, they are STEEP. Makes the Ironmasters course look downright gentle. But it also gave me a good chance to reel in some more dudes. By the end of the first big hill I had pulled ahead of everyone I could see. A ref motorcycle passing me led to me to believe I might even be ahead of everyone in the first wave, but there was no way to know.
All told, there were probably 4 or 5 really steep parts and equally fast downhills, very little in terms of steady effort. I loved it! Nothing like a course where you can max out at 50 MPH and still hit climbs that find you going 5!
Heading into T2 I still hadn’t seen anyone else since mile 9 of the ride, but I did hear the announcement that I was the second sprint competitor to come in off the bike, which I thought I was very cool as it meant I’d passed all but one person from the preceding wave. Now if I could just hold them off for the run…
Had a decent second transition and was out onto one of the nicer run courses I’ve been on. All packed trails with lots of spectators cheering. Made me feel good! About ¾ of a mile in someone did catch me, but he was moving too fast for me to latch on, though my run HAS been improving little by little, I swear! At the turnaround I saw the other guy who was ahead of me and it was clear I wasn’t going to be catching him anytime soon so I just kept plugging as best I could. Had a brief moment of concern when my watch told me my split for mile 2 was 7:17, 37 seconds slower than my first, but since I finished the last 1.1 mile in ‘5:48’ I’m going to go ahead and assume that marker was in the wrong spot ☺
Came across the line in 3rd overall with 3rd fastest bike and swim splits of the day, but was really pleased to have a run time that finally cracked the top 20. Not spectacular, but it’s coming around…
Got a really nice trophy as well, plus a ton of free food, always a plus! Some other YBR folks has pretty good Sundays, too, but those are not my stories to tell....
Pinchot Sprint on Sunday (with another of my fellow H2oyas (GU swimmer) coming to join me!) and then big one, Eagleman on the 14th...
Even though it felt like most of the weekend was spent driving, I somehow managed to also squeeze in a wedding and a race, too! The Black Bear Sprint Tri actually isn’t that far from my place, being located up in the Pocono town of Beltzville, but first I had to get to Rye, NY just above the city for a good friend’s wedding. After spending a large portion of the evening on my feet (though I DID limit myself to two glasses of wine…) I couldn’t help but wonder if my legs would feel it come Sunday. But good friends are important, too, and it was a really fantastic time.
Saturday morning found me nearly retracing my path back through Pennsylvania (and passing Roadside America for the 3rd time this summer! If you haven’t gone, you must, it’s simply fantastic!) on my way to the race venue, where I was scheduled to give a brief talk on open water swimming. (Which was actually rather well-received and enjoyable.) Wow! What a venue! The lake was beautiful and the weather perfect. Managed to get in two loops of the bike course (and glad I did) before heading off in search of a campsite.
OK, so I do love the whole tri-camping thing, but I have to say, I did not see the 45 degree weather coming. Ended up a little chillier than I might have liked, but hey it’s my own fault for being too lazy to get up and grab my warmer sleeping bag. On the plus side, I wasn’t dawdling in the morning when it came time to head over to the race. I couldn’t wait to start the car and bask in the glorious warmth of the heater!
Nature's warmth on the other hand certainly took it’s time to come around in the morning, but I scored a primo aisle spot on my transition rack thanks to my early start and had enough time to get in a little swim warm up, too. Coupled with a 15 minute delay while they waited for all of the cars to get into the park and it was almost warm by the time my wave was being called to the start. For some reason I was feeling almost too calm going into the swim start, but I decided to go with it and keep things relaxed. At the horn 3 of us jumped clear of the bunch rather quickly, with myself heading directly for the first turn buoy and the other two guys following the slight arc of the markers. It wasn’t long before our paths crossed and while the guys were swimming just a hair slower than I probably could have, I’m totally getting into this whole swim drafting thing at the bigger races and just sat on their feet for about 200 meters.
With the turn buoy coming up, I gave it a little gas to gap one of the guys and he responded by pulling up next to us. With the pace now a little quicker I just settled in to finish. (A bit unlike me to forego the inherent ‘cool points’ that come with an unofficial swim prime, but I’m trying to wise up in my old age.) I did have a brief moment of panic when my timing chip slid down my ankle, but a quick reach down assured me it was still attached, just a bit looser than I would have preferred. Sure beats the alternative though!
Hit the beach with the other two guys to discover my swim strategy had paid off. Each was breathing hard having obviously pushed the whole time. I made a quick move past each and was the first from my wave out of transition. Ended up clocking the 3rd fastest swim split of the day, only 6 seconds back from the fastest.
Took a long run through grass to get to the mount line and my new pedals finally paid off. With all the tension you can put on Dura Ace pedals my shoes were in no danger of popping as I mounted and I was off on the course. Finally! According to splits I had the fastest T1 in the whole race which I thought was pretty cool!
I was certainly glad I’d ridden the sprint loop the day before as the first 7 mile or so are fairly gentle rollers that can lull you into a false sense of security. I picked off a few first wave riders here and then made the turn for the first uphill section. Unlike Columbia, the hills here are a bit shorter, but also a bit more ‘pronounced’ shall we say? OK, they are STEEP. Makes the Ironmasters course look downright gentle. But it also gave me a good chance to reel in some more dudes. By the end of the first big hill I had pulled ahead of everyone I could see. A ref motorcycle passing me led to me to believe I might even be ahead of everyone in the first wave, but there was no way to know.
All told, there were probably 4 or 5 really steep parts and equally fast downhills, very little in terms of steady effort. I loved it! Nothing like a course where you can max out at 50 MPH and still hit climbs that find you going 5!
Heading into T2 I still hadn’t seen anyone else since mile 9 of the ride, but I did hear the announcement that I was the second sprint competitor to come in off the bike, which I thought I was very cool as it meant I’d passed all but one person from the preceding wave. Now if I could just hold them off for the run…
Had a decent second transition and was out onto one of the nicer run courses I’ve been on. All packed trails with lots of spectators cheering. Made me feel good! About ¾ of a mile in someone did catch me, but he was moving too fast for me to latch on, though my run HAS been improving little by little, I swear! At the turnaround I saw the other guy who was ahead of me and it was clear I wasn’t going to be catching him anytime soon so I just kept plugging as best I could. Had a brief moment of concern when my watch told me my split for mile 2 was 7:17, 37 seconds slower than my first, but since I finished the last 1.1 mile in ‘5:48’ I’m going to go ahead and assume that marker was in the wrong spot ☺
Came across the line in 3rd overall with 3rd fastest bike and swim splits of the day, but was really pleased to have a run time that finally cracked the top 20. Not spectacular, but it’s coming around…
Got a really nice trophy as well, plus a ton of free food, always a plus! Some other YBR folks has pretty good Sundays, too, but those are not my stories to tell....
Pinchot Sprint on Sunday (with another of my fellow H2oyas (GU swimmer) coming to join me!) and then big one, Eagleman on the 14th...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
