Mideast Regional Championships

Race is done. Didn't set a new PR, but that was due to things outside of my control, so I'm not worried. I did improve my run slightly, and I'm happy about that.

Water temp on race day was 79 degrees. 78 is the cutoff for wetsuits. If it's warmer than 78, you can't wear a wetsuit as they worry that people will overheat. Swimming with a wetsuit gains me about 1-2 minutes, thanks to the increased buoancy it provides. The swim course also seems to have been a bit long. Normally at an olympic distance ( especially the regional champships! ) will see top swimmers coming out in the 16-18 minute range. At this race, only 3 people finished under 20 minutes, and only by a few seconds at that. So the suspicion is that they didn't measure the course right, and we all swam a bit extra. Since everybody did the same swim, it doesn't matter in the overall race standings, only means that you can't really compare it to other races.

There was an early morning fog that settled on the lake, so thick that you couldn't see the first buoy from shore. That delayed the start by almost an hour, which was annoying, as it threw off my warmup schedule.

We finally got underway about 8:30'ish. The swim went well, I picked out one of the fastest guys and drafted him for about 2/3rds of the course. Really happy about that. In turn, I got drafted, as I felt several hands touch my feet throughout the entire swim. In a way, I'm happy about that, as it means that I was going fast enough that someone else wanted to draft off me. An offhanded compliment in a way.

Swim time: 25:04

Got out onto the bike pretty fast. Slight uphill out of transition, so I pedaled with my feet on top of my bike shoes up the hill, then put my feet in coasting down the otherside. This was a fast bike course, but I didn't push hard enough at the start. I didn't really kick in the bike until about mile 8. Kept speed over 22 for just about all of the rest of the bike except for a couple bigger rollers at the end. Pretty uneventful, just a nice bike course. Not many turns, so lots of time on the aerobars cranking away the miles.

Bike time: 1:12:11

Got in off the bike pretty fast and out onto the run. Because of the later start, it was warmer than I'd hoped on the run. I kept up a good cadence on the run. Didn't take any gel, took in gatorade twice from the aid stations, otherwise just water, most of which I dumped over my head. Kicked it at mile 5 like I planned. Finished the last 1.2 miles in just under 8 minutes, so I was really cruising the end. My average pace came in a 7:57/mile so I broke the 8:00/mile barrier finally!

I didn't hurt as badly as I thought when I kicked, so I probably could have pushed it harder on the run. My coach agrees. I don't really know where my limit is, in terms of how much I can make myself hurt on the run before I detonate. I need to trust my fitness more, and just let it rip. Race plan for the next race is to try to blow myself up on purpose, so that I know where the edge is. Rather than tiptoe up to it, he told me to take a running jump off. :)

Run time: 49:23

Total time: 2:29:47. That puts me at 16th in my age group, and 115th overall.

Next race is in 2 weeks, and not much rest for that, as I'm training through it to get ready for my next 1/2 Ironman which is coming up in only 4 weeks!

THE PACKAGE IS DELAYED DUE TO A MECHANICAL TRAIN FAILURE

The title of today's entry is the last update from UPS on a package that I'm waiting for. I was hoping to get it before my race this weekend, but alas, it is not to be. Oh well. I still have two more tris and a marathon before the end of the season, so I'll be able to use it this year, just not this weekend.

I've come up with my goals/focus for the race this weekend:

Swim

• Gel 15' before start
• Get in a good position for the start ( front & center! )
  
• Keep good position through first turn
• Stay with fast swimmers, hang on feet better
• Swim smart. Go hard, but don't blow up

T1

• Wetsuit off fast
• Make sure shoes unstrapped before getting on bike!
• Efficient transition, but don't rush. Make it flow

Bike

• Keep cadence high, shift early, shift often
• Gel at 15' in, and about 10' before end
• Race my race at the start, if they go out too hard, I'll catch 'em, if I don't then they are just faster
• Stay alert on position fouls. No penalties!

T2

• Efficient transition
• Remember gel for the run
• Douse hat/self with water to start cooler if it's hot out

Run

• Keep cadence high
• Keep good running form
• Shoulders relaxed, don't tense
• Run in circles, good leg lift
• Gel at 2mi or 3mi if needed
• Finish strong, leave it all after mile 5

If I'm able to do all of that, then the race is a victory. If I have a blazing fast time, even better, but I'm not focusing on time as a goal, more of a result of accomplishing the above goals. Besides, each race is different in terms of hills, wind, weather, so times aren't the end-all comparison.

Cool

It is finally cool here. Suddenly we've gone from lows in the 70's at night, to highs in the 70's during the day! There's a hint of fall in the air. Mornings have taken on a crisper feeling. The sun is a bit more laggard in it's daily routine. I'm able to beat it rising most mornings now.

This makes running outside far more enjoyable. Last night, I ran for about an hour, and only used about 16 oz of water. Only a couple weeks ago, I did a long run where I was going through about 42 oz of water an hour and still ended up with lost weight. What a difference 25 degrees can make. I definitely run faster and further when it's cooler.

Let's hope for nice weather this weekend for my race in Indianapolis. If the forcast holds true, it should be partly cloudy, and low 70's at the start. It will only hit the upper 70's about the time I should be finishing up. Just about perfect weather for a race.

While I think that I might end up with a new personal best after the race, my focus is to go out and have fun no matter what. If the weather changes, or I get a flat, or something else I can't control changes my plans, so be it. I can only worry about the things that I can control.

Just go with the flow. :)

Flow

I got forwarded this article, and I think it really is a great way to look deeper at that feeling of 'being in the zone'.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/97/art-of-work.html

I've thought of it mainly as something that applies to sports, but this raises some interesting ideas on how it can apply to really any aspect of your life. I think I'm going to pick up the book and read more about the idea of "Flow" and how to better capture and hold onto it.

I've experienced "flow moments" when training for and racing in tris. Usually happens during an especially challenging breakthrough session. Focus becomes razor sharp on the task at hand, everything becomes fluid, and I'm "in the zone".

Certainly interesting to think about, as the mental state is just as important as the physical state in reaching your potential. Looking back, since I started doing tris, my personal satisfaction with life in general has improved greatly. I think that's definitely had a large impact on my job performance among others. I work fewer hours now ( since I'm out the door at the end of the day to train ), but am accomplishing more in that time, than when I was a work-a-holic.

Go with the flow.

A Week in the Life of Parker

Karl wants to know my training secrets. I'll do my best to share 'em. No real secrets, just lots and lots of work. :)

My basic week looks something like this:

Sunday - Brick ( 2-3h bike + short transition run about 25 min )
Monday - 1 hour easy swimming
Tuesday - Tempo run ( 60-90 min )
Wednesday - Hard swim in AM, Tempo bike work in PM ( 90-120 min )
Thursday - Long Run ( 2h30+ )
Friday - Glorious Rest Day
Saturday - Medium swim in AM, Medium run in PM ( 90 min )

( Swims are 3200-5200 meters )

This works out to about 12-15 hours per week right now. At peak, I was doing a couple weeks of 20+ hours, which is just kinda nuts. :)

Some numbers for those who are interested. I'm seeing a huge improvement this year over last year. I attribute a big part of that to putting in more training. Granted last year was my first year, this year is my second year, I still ramped up a *lot*, dropping over 30 minutes off my olympic distance personal best.

2004 Yearly totals:

Bike: 1410.3 Miles
Run: 242.7 Miles
Swim: 105677.4 Meters

2005 Year to date totals:

Bike: 2500.1 Miles
Run: 451.4 Miles
Swim: 298934.6 Meters

There are still 4 months left in the year. I've got a month and a half of solid races from here until the end of my season. 2 olympic tris, 1 1/2 IM tri, and the Chicago Marathon. After a recovery period this fall, which includes a trip to Kona, HI to watch the Ironman World Championship it starts all over again. Next year brings bigger challenges, as I'll be taking on my first full Ironman next September in Masdison, Wisconsin. I've got just over a year to get ready.

Resurrection

Well, I've certainly been slacking about posting here.

I doubt that anyone is still reading this, but hey, it's fun to write it here regardless of who reads it. :)

So, I'm going to get back in the swing of updating more often.

Check back here for goings on in my world. Work, Triathlons, Life in general.

I'm going to post up some past race reports of some of my races so far this year.

Welcome back.

-Parker