Race Review and Results- Flower City Duathlon

First- A public service announcement. You may have noticed that Tri-Banter has a new look. Every once in a while, I like to change things up a bit. This is normally externally motivated. In this case, it was a rant by The Wife. She was (literally) yelling at her computer about people who's webpages have black backgrounds with white fonts and how it migraines her. She may have blurted out something about, "... and that's the reason I don't read your blog." I'm skeptical. I am sure there are many reasons she not a follower, I can at least resolve the background problem.

Now, on with your regularly scheduled blog post.

This weekend marked the first time I've done 2 races in the same weekend. This is the first in the series, the Flower City Duathlon, Part One of the Double. I had some lofty goals for this race and I may have set myself up for failure. As with any failure, I need a scapegoat. Therefore, I thought of a list of reasons why I would do bad even before the race began. There are lots of reasons I came up with for a poor performance.

• I've only ridden the bike outside 3 times this year.
• 3 days ago, it rained while riding. 2 days ago, I had to clean off the rain gunk and goo. In doing so, I pulled a muscle in my back.
• I was so distracted by the woman's race winner that I swallowed my tongue as she ran by in her pink shirt and lycra shorts.
• The racetime start temperature was lower than my normal threshold for biking.
• I was distraught that the race organizers had to cancel the paddle-triathlon. All those competitors magically became duathletes and my race grew in size.
• I had not put on my race wheels.
• I am a pansy
• I was over-rested. Due to the back problem, I did not exercise on Thursday or Friday. My legs were not ready for the effort.
• I was under-rested. I did not go to sleep until about 11:00 pm, which is a good 90 min after my normal bedtime. Couple that with the earlier wake-up
• Still, even with the early wake up, I did not get out of bed until 5:30, which was only 2 hours before race time
• Because I woke up so close to race time, I couldn't eat much. I didn't want my stomach bogged down with slushy goo. I maybe had 500 calories.
• I hate duathlons. I miss the swim. Therefore, I had a bad attitude going into the event (especially when you add in the all the other bullets)

Each of the above is completely true. Each of the above is completely valid. Any one, or a combination (depending on the seriousness), of them could be used in the event of crappiness. Here's how the day panned out.

I did get up from a groggy nap at 5:30. I spent most of my evening neurotically packing the car with the necessities of the race. Bike. Race belt. Rubbing the pulled muscle in my back. Blah blah blah. Everything except for the clothes I was going to wear to the race and my bike shoes. The bike shoes were still wet from being stuck in a torrential down pour during Wednesday's training ride. I had hoped to get in a 20 miler but mother nature laughed at me in her own way with horizontal rain and winds on 40 mph gusting to 55. It was a good way to practice bike handling skills and get in a good forearm workout (IE hanging on for your life). The shoes were placed in the basement in front of a fan. They dried out by morning.

Race time temperature was a whopping 38º. If you ignored the thermometer, the day was as beautiful as it could get. Sunny. Slight breeze out of the north. A couple of fluffy clouds scattered in a backdrop of blue. Good running weather.

My run goal of the day was a 7:30 pace for the entirety. That meant hitting a 5k in under 22:00. The second wave of the race went off a full 3 minutes after mine. It took the lead runners all the way until mile 2 to catch me. Despite their awesomeness to my suckiness, I was able to hold a 7:20 pace. My time: 22:17. If you are good with numbers, you'd know that I'm giving you conflicting data. The problem was that the early session was not a 5k. It was more like a 5K + 400 yards. That makes my run 1 time all that much better. So far, so good. I'm on target and ahead of schedule.

I felt like I was painfully slow in T1. Run shoes off. Bike shoes on. Ear covers. Helmet. Sunglasses. Gloves. Run away. I accomplished all of that in about 90 seconds. I should have done it in under 50. I knew I had a few seconds to space on my goal time and therefore was in no real hurry.

On to the bike. Good mount. Good cadence. I was able to hold just under 21 mph for the ride (thank goodness I changed that goal). There was an unexpected stretch of about 7 miles that was straight into the wind the entire time. It was during this stretch when I was passed by 3 of the 4 guys that were going to pass me. They were all wearing aero helmets and had disk wheels. It's possible that they were better bikers than me. But, since I'm in the mood of making excuses, I'm blaming their equipment.

T2 was a bit better than T1. I had to undo everything I did on the way out. I left the shoes on the bike and did a flying dismount. I kept on my gloves and ear things to slowly remove during the run. With speed laces, I was able to slip on my Mirages. When I compare my T2 times with the field, I was rather efficient at 53 seconds.

Run 2 surprised me. Since I had very little calories on the day (I took an additional 100 calories along with some water on the bike), I was expecting to die at any time. Death did not come for me. In fact, quite the opposite. I felt great. There were a couple of hills that ascended up to 8 feet while going over river bridges. One of the hills may have been as great as 10 feet. They were intimidating. (I know that sarcasm is difficult to write, but you had to have caught that one, right?) It was near the last hill that I got chicked. She flew by and I was helpless to her prowess on more than one level. Still, I was able to hold a 7:00 pace. Negative splits on the day. YES! My R2 time was 19:28. Again, if you are an amateur mathematician, you'd get that there is something askew in my numbers. This 5k was a good 400 yards less at 2.81 miles. I guess they needed balance. Aside: The Garmin, in its infinite wisdom, had my average moving pace way fast. Maybe I'll start training for the record.

The Pros for the Race

• Good time of year (woohoo, first multisport event!)
• Well organized (good transition area, good finishers area, good venue, parking a bit further but plentiful)
• Nice courses for both the runs and bike (good path, good roads, bad cow smell at one point but that's not their fault)
• Food spread post race (cookies, fruit, and hot dogs. Seemed a bit early for hot dogs but I was ravenous)
• Awesome volunteers (I can't say enough about these good people. They control traffic, hand out water, steal timing chips from sweaty, dripping monkeys. They are the heart and soul of these races and better people than me.)

The Cons for the Race

• Temperature (When will RDs figure out how to control the weather?)
• Different distances in the runs (I'd prefer the consistency)
• Worst Swag Ever (Nothing. We got nothing except one lousy coupon and a bunch of advertisements for other races. Oh, and a grocery bag.)
• Race Results (The pdf gave name, age, run, transitions, bike, overall time, and for some reason USAT status on the report. No places except overall. No paces. Better results include a breakdown in each category of your overall place, gender place, and age group place. They tell you the official pace in min/ mile for the run and mph for the bike.)
• Tearing down transition before racers finished (Even though my bike was out long before this point, there were many bikes and such in the transition area when they broke down the fences. I understand that you guys want to go home, but how is that secure for the late finishers? Wait a little bit more, please.)

Springer's Banter's Final Thoughts
I will, most likely, do this race again next year. I am guessing that the race organizers will have figured out how to control the temperature a little bit better. Plus, if the record books have anything to say, spring of 2012 is guaranteed to be dryer, warmer, and more biking friendly.

I wanted a sub- 1:45 for the race. I clocked a 1:42.09, making this my Flower City Duathlon PR (yes, this was my first attempt, thanks for pointing that out). I finished in the top 25 overall (read, I was 25th). I was 4th in my age group. All of my excuses for a bad performance were not necessary and I hate it when I do unnecessary work. To live and learn. Due to that effort, they gave me a nice metal pail with a marigold (which The Wife is allergic and refused to accept). They also gave all those who crossed the line a nice "finisher's medal."

(Short rant here but I find that, for a race this distance, finishers medals to all is a bit silly. I don't feel it was that special of an accomplishment. By handing everyone who finished a medal, it sort of dilutes it. We all got t-shirts. Did we really need medals too? Sure, there are those that disagree with me. Personally, I think that making a reward challenging and not giving it to everyone makes it all that much more special when you do earn it. Either that or spend less money on medals and give out more swag, which for some reason, seems better. End Rant).

Stay tuned. The Flower City Half Marathon Race and Results soon to follow.

Race Preview- Flower City Double

Up next on my calendar includes a whole weekend of racing. 

The Duathlon

First, on Saturday, is the Flower City Duathlon. This multisport event is a 5k run/20 mile bike/5k run and my first attempt at this race. Truth be told, I really dislike duathlons. For 1, I am perplexed how they are sanctioned by the USAT (rant on this topic later). They should be governed by the USAD, but alas, this organization does not exist. For 2, my perplexity leads to my real distaste, no swim. In the Flower City defense, it's a tad bit chilly here and not many of us are willing to do an open water swim at this time of year. We could swim in a pool, but not me (again, later rant). Regardless, my multisport strengths are swim, bike, run, in that order. Remove my top strength, replace it with my worst leg and my athletic edge drops significantly.

Despite my emotional state, I look forward to the race. I made the goal of hitting 7:30 mile pace for these events and my recent training tells me that this goal is achievable. My fear in this race, ironically, is focused on the bike. Since I do not recommend cold weather biking, I haven't gotten the bike out of the basement much this season. I have no barometer as to my bike fitness or speed. I haven't allowed a lack of data to stop me from setting goals in the past and I can't see why I'd let it start now. Therefore, based on last season's data, I want a minimum of +20 mph (originally I thought 22 mph, but seriously, I have no idea and I'd prefer to set myself up for success).

I am hoping to finish the entire RBR in 1 hour and 45 minutes. This gives time for 7:30s all around, finishing the bike under an hour, and transitions. I am allotting time for putting on gloves and cold weather gear. The overnight low is projected in the upper 30s- low 40s. With a 7:30 am start, I doubt it'll be much warmer than that race time.

The Half-Marathon

2010 Race Splits

On Sunday, the Flower City Half-Marathon is slated for its second appearance in on my race calendar. The race is sanctioned by USATF at 13.1 miles. My Garmin, a year ago, placed the jaunt at a bit longer, confirmed by several others with Garmins. Apparently, the USATF santioning guy uses a non-Garmin GPS type technology. Loser. Last year, I had an average pace of 7:39 over the course of 13.3 Garmin miles. 

The run hits several of the communities of our town. The most challenging hitting around the 6.5 mile mark through the 8 mile mark. The challenge of this stretch is 2 fold. First, the hills. It's got some steep rollers going up quickly to more than 125 feet (horrifying). The rest of the run is almost completely flat. Second, the stretch is through Historic Mount Hope Cemetery. If you are not creeped out by running through the graveyard, you might be tempted to stop and look for the famous dead people. Some of the infamous resting here are Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, and John Jacob Bausch and Henry Lomb (the Bausch & Lomb guys).

There's a cemetery buried in those hills.

I hope to improve on my time from a year ago. At 7:30 pace, I hope to finish in under 1:38 or a 4 minute gain. Last year, only 2 spits chimed in at under 7:30, not including the sprint to the end.

The Plan

If you read my last race preview and results post, you'd know that I had a plan and totally biffed it. Despite not adhering to my plan, I still achieved my goals. I am hesitant to make a new plan for this weekend but habit is trumping good sense. Since practice makes perfect and I'm not one to allow a minor failure to barricade me from trying, I'm going for a more strategic and less prescriptive approach.

In the duathlon

• Focus on my goal pace and ignore the others around
• Don't hammer on the bike. (Ok, hammer a little, I might will be cold)
• Even if I'm feeling great and people are passing me, focus on my pace
• Just in case this wasn't clear, pace not place

In the Half

• Conserve early, focus on pace (see a theme yet?)
• Remember, my skills are downhill not uphill
• After the cemetery, go for it

FYI- there is a funky triathlon associated with this weekend. Should you wish, you could opt out of the duathlon and do a run/ bike/ paddle. Not the fraternity house kind of paddling, but the canoeing/ kayaking kind. It's seems like a good time that I will not be doing. Mostly because I do not own nor have I trained on a canoe or kayak. Plus, the event still does not involve swimming. The race site is unclear if a run/ bike/ paddle is sanctioned by USAT or it's phantom, sister organization called the USAP (for paddle).  It is also unclear if you are allowed to bring your fishing pole on the boat.

Note: The race organizers are concerned about the volume of water passing through the Genessee  River. For those of you not living in the area, this may illustrate the kind of spring we are having here. A quote from the boss:

"Currently the water flow situation is as follows:

a. Average river flow for this time of season is 4620 cfs (cubic feet per second, which is about half a million pounds a second).
b. River flow for the event last year (April 24, 2010) was 1880 cfs.
c. Today’s flow is  up to 10,000 cfs and is expected to continue to increase. (to 11,000 or 12,000 cfs) (about 3 ft per second velocity)"

So, my weekend of sleeping in will be replaced by 19.3 non-Garmin miles of running, 20 miles of biking, and no swimming or paddling (which may not happen anyway). The race organizers promised a separate award category for participants who compete in both the Du and the Half. They call it the Double. I have absolutely no idea how many people this applies to or what sort of award they are offering. I'm guessing it'll be akin to a couple of slaps on the back, handshake, and a "Job well done!" which would put them near the top of the list for coolest race prizes. Check back in later, I'll give out a full review and let you know how things went.

And on the 47th Day- He Rested

Introduction
It's been 48 days since I started the 40 Days of Working out. I took Easter Sunday off as a recovery day and an opportunity to eat a week's worth of calories and burn them off by beating up my nieces and nephews. You can find the initial post and self-imposed rules here.

My original plan for the 40 DOWO was simple, I needed to ensure motivation during the month of April to continue training. April has a history of greatness. There's a few things that have historically occurred during the glorious 4th month.

• The Revolutionary War started
• George Washington was elected president
• Hank Aaron tied then broke Babe Ruth's home run record
• The Apollo space missions got started
• The Boston Marathon
• Earth Day (which has multiple meanings for some)
• Opening Day of Baseball (go Cubs!)
• Tax Day (glorious does not necessarily mean good)
• Track Season/ Coaching starts

It's that last one that really eats into my time. I like coaching and would not give it up. The rewards far outweigh the burden. Plus, the extra money helps pay for my triathlon fetish, including financing extra gear, toys, etc. I will keep coaching, despite the impact on my training.

Comparison
In April, 2010, I logged just over 36 hours of work (ignoring the final week on April). Not fantastic by any means. See chart below, click to enlarge...

As you can see, I was a pathetic swimmer, getting in the water a grand total of 5 times, then nothing for the next 2 weeks.

The week of the 19th-25th marked a big bike week as it was Spring Break and the weather was as perfect as you could expect from the New England area in April.

Notice the lack of consistency. Up and down in my training hours. I took a total of 9 days off in that month (6 during the comparison time)

Now, let's gander at April, 2011. Comparison disclaimer- the 2010 data table includes one additional week than the 2011.

Notice that my laziness has increased in that I stopped naming and defining workouts. The total number of training hours had dropped compared to a year ago from ~36- ~30. If I were to apply causation to this, I'd probably blame the colder than average temperatures for this season keeping me on the trainer, limiting my motivation to get outside and put forth the really big miles on the bike. Either that or I'm a big pansy. I suspect both actually apply.

But, I was more consistent in the weekly distribution of training (still not perfect though). I took less days off (1 as compared to 6).  My long runs were longer. And, what's not shown on these graphs is my average running pace, which is drastically faster in 2011.

Pros for the 40 DOWO

• Total number of workouts
• Long runs
• Run/ bike speed

Cons for the 40 DOWO

• Total training hours
• Hours on the bike
• Stress created when tired and not yet worked out
• Long ride endurance

Conclusion

As I reflect on the experience of exercising a total of 45 out of 47 days during the Lenten season, I would probably not do it again next year. I now fully understand why God rested on the 7th day. It was a superior recovery plan. I believe that there were several times when my body was saying, "Skip it," but the mind was droning, "must meet 30 min criteria". In the long run (no pun intended), I might have been better served by taking a day off and really attacking my workout versus stringing together a few of mandated sessions that my body wasn't interested in.

However, I am enjoying the additional running speed I have incurred. I also suspect that my biking is actually faster this year as compared to last year, despite my obvious lowered level of endurance. Since the forecast continues to be bleak, I might not know until sometime in August.

Biking Naked

I had that dream again. I don't have it often but it's ingrained. The details can change but the emotions are the same.

I'm going through normal life. Normal behavior. I'm getting ready to go for a bike ride. I grab a 20 ouncer and fill it with sport drink. I check the tires and inflate to 100 psi, the recommendation for my trainers. I put on my road shoes, saving the tri-shoes for races. I grab my helmet, where inside I find gloves and sunglasses at the ready from my last ride. I shove off and glide the incline down my drive out into the street. I clip in and spin a bit to ensure a good connection. After a few houses, I turn the corner onto the longer road. I bring my cadence up to a comfortable 92 rpms. That's the sweet spot and I get settled in to the ride. That's when I look down and notice something is wrong. I'm biking naked.

And I mean in the figurative sense, not the literal sense. It's much the same as people who leave the house and forget their watch. They are so used to wearing a watch that not having one feels wrong. They say, "I feel naked without without my watch."

However, in this dream, it's not about the watch. This problem is worse: There are no aerobars on this bike. See, I only feel like I'm biking naked, again, in the figurative sense. I'm riding my road bike and the clip-on areos are also not there. I've got the bullhorn type handlebars. I have hoods and drops. Neither are cutting it. Then I blink, only to realize that this is not a dream. I would scream out but I understand that yelling would do me no good.

I've been riding my triathlon bike for so long, it just seems right. I reserve my road bike for only a few occasions.

• Crappy weather
• Salt on the roads (post crappy weather)
• Group riding (which has actually not happened yet)
• Commuting to work
• Casual riding with friends
• Tri-bike in the shop

Cornering not a problem

Right now, I've got the good bike in the shop, matching the criteria of pulling the roadie off the rafters and getting it out into traffic. There are rumors that say the road bike has a few advantages over a tri-bike. Some think that it accelerates, climbs, and corners more efficiently. Others think that it is more comfortable.

I'm not buying it. I prefer to lie down while exercising. I do not enjoy holding myself up by my wrists. I am quite comfortable, even after a century ride. I never get hand tingling anymore. I'm working on the hills (which suck on both bikes). How many corners do I really encounter anyway?


When my tri-bike got back from the shop, apparently my rear hub needed an overhaul. When coasting at higher speeds, the cogs would spin at a different rate than my wheel causing a nasty vibration. It was an easy fix and they had it done in a jiffy.

The road bike is nice but I prefer biking with all the right parts in all the right places. Public nudity, like it or not, is not currently allowed on the roads and neither should be my road bike if I can help it. I only had to do one short ride on the roadie. And I missed my aerobars.