Ironman Augusta 70.3 2016 Race Recap

Ironman Augusta 70.3 2016 Race Recap

September 25 was going to be my day.  The Ironman  Augusta 70.3 triathlon was finally here.  The race I had been training so hard for on one of my favorite courses.  It was four-and-a-half months...

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Letter to the Triathlon Coach

Letter to the Triathlon Coach

I have been an endurance coach for some time now.  Once in a while, I receive an email from a client which chokes me up with pride.  Today, I received one of those letters, so instead of sharing it...

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FD3 Triathlon: Goof Recap

FD3 Triathlon: Goof Recap

The previous post was a review of the FD3 Triathlon Series as if it was a product.  Below you will find a more detailed account of my personal experiences during the race.  Let me know in the...

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The Saturday/Sunday Supporter

What does it feel like to come across the finish line of any race with the support of the race volunteers and spectators?   Personally it is a pretty good feeling.  What does it feel like with the support of fellow racers, family, and/or friends?  My emotions tend to be more positively charged, and to a much higher level.  Endurance sports tend to be a little lonely during races anyway, so the support level on the course may even be a determining factor on the outcome of an athlete’s personal race.  How do you feel when you have friends and family at a race versus when you don’t?

I had the honor of being support crew for two races this weekend.  The first was the culmination run for the last session of my Fit2Run 5k group.  The race was Saturday Morning, in Dunedin, at the Our Lady of Lourdes 5k.  I really enjoy having my students at these smaller racers.  Not only does it give them the experience of the race, but it also allows them the opportunity to stand on the podium.  This race, we had an age group winner within my circle.  To no surprise Linda Shutt again took 1st place in her age group even after being out for a small injury.

The course was a little tougher than I expected, but a good experience for my runners.  It was a trail run, that included soft soil, grass, and even sand, so for some of my runners these posed a couple of new challenges.   If you want to know the truth, the marking of the race was a challenge for me as I actually wound up lost on the course and ended up completing a 10k instead.  (Pause for laughter)  Luckily my girls, and Carl,  all came across the finish line smiling and a couple with Personal Records.  If you enjoy small races with a couple of small challenges, check out Our Lady of Lourdes Annual 5k Run.

Tanner, Jessica and Cheryl before the Swim start

On Sunday the first TriRock series triathlon was in Clearwater with the start and finish lines at Pier 60.  Overall, I thought the race was run very well, and seemed well organized for an inaugural race.  The weather was perfect in my opinion.  A little chilly in the morning, with it rising to just under 80 degrees by the finish of the race.  I had three Tri-Peeps running, Tanner Stevens, Cheryl Henderson and Jessica Glover.  This was to be Jessica’s first Olympic, so all of our eyes were on her, not to mention her positive attitude is completely intoxicating and endearing.  You may remember Jessica from my Jet City posting as she is the owner and operator of my favorite coffee hang-out.

Jessica Rocking out on the Run

The race has two distances an Olympic, or as they call it, Intermediate (1500m swim, 25 mile bike, and 10k run) and a Sprint (600m swim, 13 mile bike, 5k run).  All of my friends competed in the intermediate distance, because all of three of them are pretty experienced in all three events.  The race started with music from live bands which only enhanced the energy radiating from the voices of the announcers.  It was the typical mad rush for the athletes to setup their transition equipment, dawn their wet suits and head over to the swim start.  One of the announcers sung the National Anthem, and I was very impressed as it was sung acapella.  As a performer I understand how difficult a piece the Star Spangled Banner is and I was incredibly impressed with his version.   He sang with a bluesy undertone but with a rock attitude.  By the audience reaction I would say it was a success.  In my opinion it was at least better than Steven Tyler version during the AFC Championships earlier this year.

There were a few waves for each distance with the Sprint starting 15 minutes after the last Intermediate wave with the swim being an outer and inner loop.  The finishers did cross in some instances, but the finish line was wide enough to accommodate both.  I didn’t see any issues with transition as it was large enough to handle all of the equipment and runners of turf were actually put down for the athletes bare feet.  (Note to any Triathlon Race Directors reading:  This small detail adds a huge comfort to athletes.  Just sayin’.)  The entrances and exits were clearly marked and even with the two distances using the same course, there was not a lot of crowding.  As a spectator I did enjoy the run being an out-and-back south and then north as well.  I was able to see my friends twice on the run before the finish.

I didn’t explore too much, but the expo looked small, but loaded with great vendors, the beer tent was sponsored by Red Hook which is pretty decent, and the headlining band was an AC/DC cover band, which for me was perfect.  Being a child of the 80’s has it’s perks, obviously.

Overall , I was impressed with the event.  I actually wished I would have been able to compete in it, but I enjoyed being there to support.  Out of our little group we did end up with Tanner on the podium for third place in the 25-29 age group at a time of 2:24:16.  With a possibility of two IMs next year I do not believe I am going to be able to compete next year either, but if I have friends that decide to compete I will make sure to be here again.

Athletes, Support and the Goof
Carpe Viam!


2 Races in One Day?

I thought it was kinda nutty when I was invited to the Sunrise/Sunset Challenge, but I wasn’t sure the impact it would have on me.  I looked at the distances of the two races, Top Gun and the Twilight Triathlons, and thought, “What the hell?  The two distances do not even add up to an Olympic.  How difficult could it be?”  What I didn’t count on was the increased effort level?

The plan was hammer the Top Gun and do the Twilight for fun. (I am a poet and didn’t even know it.) Yeah. Right.  Considering I have been competing and training for more long course triathlons lately, I really thought I would finally be able to conquer the sprint.  My last full sprint was two years ago, when I competed in a few sprints in order to get ready for a marathon my times were less than admirable.  To be honest, I was happy with 1:20 at the time.  Now, after a few Ironman 70.3s and last year’s full Ironman I really thought I could do a lot better.  Figuratively, I actually did, but in my mind it still wasn’t what I wanted, but there were some small achievements.

I picked up an A-Train Tri member, Jaime Breibert, around 5am and headed out to Ft. DeSoto.  After the experiencing the pay-to-park line for the Escape from Ft. DeSoto Triathlon, I was pleasantly surprised this event was exempt so there were no delays driving into the park.  Nice!  Like every other race I have competed or watched at Ft. DeSoto the organization of the event was outstanding.  The line for body marking was minimal, the transition area was large enough to accommodate all of the athletes bikes, space for their transition setup and extraneous bags.  Walking into transition I spent  minimal time setting up my bike, helmet and sunglasses, towel, bike shoes, and running gear including my choice of shoes (this time being my Brooks Pure Cadence), running belt and hat.  I wasn’t rushed for time, or inconvenienced by other athletes.  It was smooth sailing which is always nice since it eliminates any unwanted stress.

I headed on down to the beach with Nick Zivolich and Jaime where the low pitched but high energy voice was repeating instructions over the speaker system.  It was a nice and comfortable environment I have come to love over the past years.  The energy of the upcoming race increasingly becoming more and more intense as the time for the first heat was getting closer.  I caught up with a bunch of friends and familiar fellow tri community members I have accumulated over the last years.  This is absolutely one of my favorite times of the race.   I have been really lucky this year as my age group has been assigned early heat times, so the intense anticipation has been minimal.  Last year, I was not so lucky, but I understand the race directors strategy of moving the groups around each year to be fair.  It will be interesting to find out what they where I will be starting next year.  I was in the fifth heat this year only 12 minutes after the first and immediately following Jaime’s heat.

I wished Jaime and Victoria luck and intensely watched them swim out to the first buoy.  Just a quick  disclaimer.  I totally and utterly suck at swimming.  For me triathlon is survive the swim and get on the bike where the competition really begins.  Not that I haven’t been working at it, but honestly, if for some reason I have to skip a workout, I’ll skip a swim before a bike, run or strength workout, but I digress.   The horn finally went off and my personal race had started.  I had been analyzing my swim prior to this, and just recently had the epiphany that maybe my pull of my arm through the water was possibly to shallow to allow me any kind of real speed.  I usually finish with the heat behind me, and even sometimes with the heat behind that one, but this time following my experiment of dipping my arm deeper and pulling a little harder, (Voila!!) I actually finished in the middle of my heat.  As I ran to my bike I noticed silver swim caps in front of me and coming behind me.  A huge smile came over my face as I was slipping into my bike shoes and put on my helmet and sunglasses.  I really couldn’t believe it.  At this point I already felt like a winner.

I ran out of transition, jumped on my bike and headed out to the course I knew so well, due to all of the brick workouts I completed here with my A-Train Triathlon family.  My goal; keep my speed above 21 while keeping a cadence under 96.  The whole ride was pretty uneventful.  The same word came out of my mouth more than anytime in the short period I have been racing.  I continually yelled the word “left” as I was passing other athletes on my right, of course it was disconcerting when I heard it coming from my left.  The ego boost came when I finished the final roundabout yelling “left” to a male athlete that had passed me at the beginning of my ride.  As, I came into transition the only thought was how fast can I get in and out of transition, start the run and whether or not I had pushed a little to hard on the bike.  According to my computer I had averaged well above 21, so was that too much?

I pulled on my shoes, grabbed my hat and ran out of transition buckling my race belt with my number attached to the front.  I grabbed water on the way, a little disappointed when it turned out to be very warm, but it was wet.  As I started trying to increase the cadence I noticed that my legs were very heavy, not a good sign.  I kept saying to myself this is fine, just lean from the ankles and let gravity fuel your momentum.  As much I told myself to lift my legs and lean a little more, my body refused to submit to what my head was commanding.   I continued through the first mile to the fort, and very, very slowly my legs started to loosen a little, and my cadence started to increase.  Passing the 1 mile aid station, I noticed a little more energy in my step and my hip flexors obeying my will.  Then I turned the corner and I remembered.  Crap!  The middle mile of this race is on SAND!  The lower extremities of my body surprised me as they adapted immediately to their new environment.  I guess all those beach runs with Amy Eck had actually done something for me.  All of the sudden I found myself enjoying the run.  My legs stretched out, by body leaned, my cadence finally reached 180 (I think) and I was flying.  Who would’ve thought feeling all that resistance under my feet would actually transform into moving faster?  Not me, but after begging my body to obey earlier I was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, so before my body decided any differently I picked up my pace.  Turning on the path back to the asphalt I caught another athlete with a 44 on his calf. Hmm…an athlete in my wave I will place in front of…cool.  With that thought completed I noticed another male runner in front of me with the number 41 on his calf.  My only thought; “You are mine!”  With the finish line in sight and the 3 mile marker on my left, I started to sprint with the finish line getting larger in my view and the runner in front of me coming closer and just a few feet from the timing mat, I caught him and jumped in front.  A short term goal accomplished.  I was so wiped out I could not immediately put my foot on the stool in order for the volunteer to remove my  chip.  I had to step over to a section of baracade and keep myself from falling for a quick second.  After a half a minute I recovered enough to get my chip removed, grab some water and meet some friends at the end of the finish line assembly.  Jaime had just finished and Speedy Nick was there already dried off and drinking some water.

With as exhausted as I was how was I ever going to this again in less than 12 hours?

After greeting some friends and coaches, watching some other friends and athletes come across the finish, I headed out to find some water and Gatorade.  I noticed some preliminary results were posted, so I walked over in the hopes mine might just be posted and as luck, good or bad, would have it they were.  My first split was the swim, and I was pleasantly surprised 7:53…cool.  Less than 2 min per 100m…I’ll take that considering my miserable swimming performances leading to this race.  Second split was the bike..26:51 averaging 22.3 MPH…Sweet! I never did that before.  Finally, a 26.35..5k run.  Well, I have run much faster, but not during a triathlon.  8:33 miles per minute…honestly I thought I did better, but I accepted it.  More Bricks, more bricks, more bricks.

Overall, 1:06:36.  A personal record(PR) since my last Sprint was 1:19 so you would think I would be happy and at first I was, until I looked at my place; 38th with only 67 athletes in my age group.  Not even in the top 50 percent.  That dropped me from my high pretty fast.  There were still runners on the course so maybe there a few more in my group out there where I can at least be in the top half.  As I check the results while I write this, it turns out there were I am ranked 39th out of 84 so I made it, just barely but I did make the top half.

The end of the morning consisted of congratulating friends, socializing and grabbing some breakfast at Lucky Dills in downtown St. Pete.  I couldn’t have imagined a better morning.

Next up, the two race day continues.