Nation’s Triathlon
Sept 14, 2008
Race Report
I can’t lie – I did not enjoy this race. From the start, it was not a lot of fun. The highlight for me came a full two hours before race time walking down to the mall before the sun was up. I enjoyed a wonderful view including a full, orange moon setting over the Lincoln Memorial, a crisply lit Washington Monument against a DC skyline background, and a shadowy WWII memorial lit from below. These were wonderful things to see. But I should have turned around and gone back home for the rest of the day was a grind em out, slog experience I hope to soon forget.
First was the weather. It was almost 80 at 7:00am. I was sweating through my race kit setting up my transition area. It was almost impossible to put on sunscreen, because it wouldn’t stick to me through all the sweat. My glasses were fogging up, and I hadn’t even tried to warm up first. Moreover, then my bike number came unstuck and I had to scramble to find a USAT person to advise me on how to reattach it. I found some tape, got it back on by lost time and got stressed by this last minute snafu.
As start time approached, I managed to get my wet suit on no problem (one good thing about being slick) and hit my swim wave group. Getting into the Potomac was an interesting experience, and I was glad for the wet suit since it helped us float for the 3 or 4 minutes we had to tread water. I felt like a bottle hitting the water, bobbing up and down. I noticed the current pushing us backwards, amping my stress level. As I started, I realized I had never cleared the last workout from my watch, so I had to try and re-set while treading water. A good example of how I did not get my act together before the race started.
The swim was actually not too bad. Water temp was fine (78), the wetsuit was a help with speed and buoyancy. But the first 5 minutes, I did not think I could make it. It was a long way – the bridge seemed WAY out there, but I managed to get into a groove, and thank goodness my wave was not too crowded. Not too many collisions with other swimmers. By the time I approached the Memorial Bridge (yes, that is right, we swam under the Memorial Bridge), I was starting to think I could make it. But then I gulped a bit of water and it didn’t taste too good. I was hoping it would end soon. Then a wave crest came through the course and made staying on course even harder. I was pissed about things I could not control and was not relaxed.
After the turn (by the way, the course map lied – there is a long bit past the bridge they did not show, screwing with my mental target of where I had to go), I was hoping to have the current with me. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a cross current and it was hard to line up the buoys. Plus we were swimming into the sun, making it hard to sight the buoy at all. To top it off, one of the spotters in a Kayak was indicating direction and I used him as a sighting target, but he kept moving, so I swam quite a bit further than the 1.5 KM.
I had to breast stroke a bit to stay on target, but got it done and thankfully climbed out of the water at 37 minutes – three minutes longer than my first race in NJ.
The transition from swim to bike was not too bad, although I could not remember if I needed my race belt and number for the bike so I ran back to put in on just in case – 4 minutes total – not too bad.
The bike was a mechanical nightmare. Immediately my bike computer would not work. I stopped, tried to move the sensor, but nothing so screw it, got back on and tried to not think about pace. Then at mile 3 or so, my back tire was almost dead flat. Not totally, so maybe just an inflation issue. I used a CO2 cartridge, thinking if it was a full flat, I’d know soon enough and could then stop and change it. The charge held for most of the race, but as it slowly deflated, I was losing time and working too hard. My overall pace was just under 18MPH, about 2 MPH slower than NJ. The ride was pleasant enough – a nice course (except for the dead deer at Chain Bridge). I kept drinking as I know it would be hot and I was losing fluid. I also had two GUs to keep up my energy level, but my stomach started to feel heavy (I think my sports drink and do not get along) and my back was cramping whenever I was in Aerobar position. As a result, I was only down about ½ of the time, and had to sit up a lot to stretch it out.
Finished OK of the bike, albeit with a severely depressed back tire and a very tight back. Overall time, 1:24 – about 17.8 MPH
T2 was no problem – 2:00 minutes.
The run was horrible. In the first mile, I had to lay out on the grass to stretch out my back. On the long out to Haines point, it was like I was standing still and my stomach was bloated and heavy. The sports drink I was using was not for me but I had already drunk it so nothing I could do. I had negative thoughts – maybe I should just stop, etc. I ran into another DC tri person breathing very heavily, and I stopped with her, helped talk her into a slower pace and helped her relax, but really I was looking for an excuse to walk. I had sworn I would not walk – I had run the entire NJ Tri without having to walk, and here I was, in mile 1, walking. I was pissed, dejected, ugh.
I managed to get it going but had to walk again before mile 3, before mile 4 I stopped to stretch, I walked a bit at the end of Haines point, I walked into the aid station by the Mint – you get the picture. I walked a lot. Maybe 7-8 times, I had to walk for 2 minutes. I was so ready to just quit. It was hot, my stomach hurt, I was making bad time, what was the point. But I wasn’t having heat stroke, I was drinking a lot of water so what the hell – I had to get to the finish line any way, right, so I kept going. What else was I going to do?
The final time for the run was 1:13 – 12 minute miles. 12?! 12. My worst performance ever for a run of any kind. I sucked. I was hot, tired, bloated, heavy and unhappy.
I managed a little push to the finish, but it was all for show. I was a beaten man. But I found my wife at the finish, and after about 5 minutes of just breathing and thankfully not running anymore, I started to resemble a human being again.
Why had it gone so wrong? I had gone on vacation for 2 weeks in August and had a week long business trip between NJ and Nations. I skipped a lot of swims, a few runs and a lot of biking. I ate too much, did not lose the weight I needed to lose, and assumed that since I had done one Tri I could do another. I was brash, I took conditioning for granted and I was not prepared for this race. As a result, I suffered the consequences. Yes, I finished – I owed that to everyone who supported me – most of all my wife, my friends, my fellow Tri team members, and all the people who contributed money to House of Ruth. But I did not enjoy it and while I take some satisfaction for having finished two Olympic triathlons this year, I take no joy in my performance. I did poorly. I hope I never have another race like this again.
I was 203 out of 237 men 40-44.
I was 1182 out of 1437 men overall.
I was 1675 out of 2388 finishers.
I was 13 minutes over the average time.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
HOLY CRAP
I DID IT. Here is the race report. Photos to come soon.
Race report
Few things have inspired as much anxiety for me as treading water at the starting line and looking out across a flat lake at 1.5 kilometers of open water that have to be crossed. But as I looked around at the start of the race, my eyes moved from the 20 or so blue clad DC Tri members (who rock) on the benches to the source of the high-pitched sound yelling “WOLFSTHAL!!!”. Seeing my wife and my two cousins with signs (“Hungry like the Wolfsthal) really calmed me down and reminded me of the support I have received over the past 5 months. I was as ready as I was going to be. And then, suddenly, the whistle blew and we were off.
Swim:
I started at the back of my swim wave, wanting to avoid the washing machine of other arms and legs. And it worked for a while. But as I started to get into my groove, I started swimming onto the legs of the slower racers in front of me. I was passing the slower people in my group. That raised my spirits, as I didn’t think I was working that hard. After about 200 yards, however, I found a very long stretch of open water and was able to slow down, calm down and start easting up the meters. By the first turn buoy, I was in a very good groove. Not fast, but steady and staying within myself. Given that I was most concerned about the swim and was making decent progress, I wasn’t going to screw with anything by speeding up. As I approached the second turn, I was gaining in confidence. I knew I was going to finish the swim and, therefore, the whole thing. I ran into a few other swimmers, including one person who was either zig zagging and kept cutting me off, or who was swimming straight and I kept zig zagging across his back. Either way, I HAD to get away from this guy, so I went wide right and found some more open water.
At this point, I was starting to be passed by the strong swimmers from the wave after mine, and things got a bit more crowded. No major combat, but hit a few more legs and got hit on the legs a few more times, but over all not too bad.
I cleared the second and third buoy ok, and had a slight cramp in my left foot as I neared the last turn. But was I made the turn and could see the exit, I really felt my spirits improve. I managed to resist the temptation to stand too early, and made a smooth exit from the water.
Swim – 38:36
Transition 1 was really smooth. Lots of prep and planning helped, and got out in 3:08 (take that Jeremy and Jessie).
Bike
With the swim behind me, I was feeling pretty good and I admit that I let things get a way from me on the bike. The course in NJ is flat and fast, and I found myself really pushing most of the way – trying to avg at least 20 mph. I was in Aero position from the beginning and was averaging about 20-21mph on the main runs. There were a few downhill bits as well, which allowed me to go even faster. But there were also two loops in the Mercer County Community College that had a lot of turns and required a lot of peddling. I also found that on the back stretch (miles 13-17) I was letting my mind drift a little and had to remind myself to push it. I did not want to just go through the motions, and found my self upping the cadence, shifting up in gears and trying to make time. The result was a good bike time, but the payment was yet to come.
Bike – 1:12:29 or 19.2 miles per hour pace
Transition 2 was also easy – 1:20. Love T2
Run
The run was miserable. I have done bricks to practice transition from bike to run. I knew the initial runs would be hard. I went to a lighter gear at the end of the bike and increased my turnover to get more blood into my lower legs. But my legs still felt like cement as the run started. So I thought I would just let them work themselves out and started at a very easy 10-minute mile pace. The only problem is the legs never came back. I had left them out on the bike course, or the hot sun was taking anything else I had away. I was also feeling bloated from the Accelerate I was drinking on the bike, which may be too heavy for me (has 5% protein as well as carbos). Regardless, I was unable to step it up. And, in fact, I was lucky to keep moving. There were two spots where I could have easily started walking, but managed to keep jogging along. The memory of the people who had kicked in 3500 bucks for House of Ruth because of me, all of the hours I had logged in all helped. What really kept me going, however, were all the other DC Tri athletes on the course cheering for me as I was for them. “Keep it up!!” “Looking great!!” They were lying, but it helped.
I had a few little spots where I tried to pick it up, but settled back quickly into a regular jogging pace. As I came near the end and could see the finish line, I managed a nice little kick but was still far behind, hot, tired and totally spent.
Run - 1:00:56 or pace of 9:50/mile
total – 2:56:46. UNDER THREE HOURS. 604 position overall Olympic and 55th overall (out of 70) in the 40-44 men’s age group.
slow, and not too impressive but finished. I would have placed 17th overall in the new men division had I been registered in that group.
A thrilling first experience, and I was encouraged all the way by friends, co-workers and my wonderful wife. The DC Tri Club and the New Triathlon Program made it all possible. It proves that we CAN do anything we want, we just have to want it. The t-shirt I saw on the course summed it up. “The body can do anything, it is the mind that needs convincing.”
Race report
Few things have inspired as much anxiety for me as treading water at the starting line and looking out across a flat lake at 1.5 kilometers of open water that have to be crossed. But as I looked around at the start of the race, my eyes moved from the 20 or so blue clad DC Tri members (who rock) on the benches to the source of the high-pitched sound yelling “WOLFSTHAL!!!”. Seeing my wife and my two cousins with signs (“Hungry like the Wolfsthal) really calmed me down and reminded me of the support I have received over the past 5 months. I was as ready as I was going to be. And then, suddenly, the whistle blew and we were off.
Swim:
I started at the back of my swim wave, wanting to avoid the washing machine of other arms and legs. And it worked for a while. But as I started to get into my groove, I started swimming onto the legs of the slower racers in front of me. I was passing the slower people in my group. That raised my spirits, as I didn’t think I was working that hard. After about 200 yards, however, I found a very long stretch of open water and was able to slow down, calm down and start easting up the meters. By the first turn buoy, I was in a very good groove. Not fast, but steady and staying within myself. Given that I was most concerned about the swim and was making decent progress, I wasn’t going to screw with anything by speeding up. As I approached the second turn, I was gaining in confidence. I knew I was going to finish the swim and, therefore, the whole thing. I ran into a few other swimmers, including one person who was either zig zagging and kept cutting me off, or who was swimming straight and I kept zig zagging across his back. Either way, I HAD to get away from this guy, so I went wide right and found some more open water.
At this point, I was starting to be passed by the strong swimmers from the wave after mine, and things got a bit more crowded. No major combat, but hit a few more legs and got hit on the legs a few more times, but over all not too bad.
I cleared the second and third buoy ok, and had a slight cramp in my left foot as I neared the last turn. But was I made the turn and could see the exit, I really felt my spirits improve. I managed to resist the temptation to stand too early, and made a smooth exit from the water.
Swim – 38:36
Transition 1 was really smooth. Lots of prep and planning helped, and got out in 3:08 (take that Jeremy and Jessie).
Bike
With the swim behind me, I was feeling pretty good and I admit that I let things get a way from me on the bike. The course in NJ is flat and fast, and I found myself really pushing most of the way – trying to avg at least 20 mph. I was in Aero position from the beginning and was averaging about 20-21mph on the main runs. There were a few downhill bits as well, which allowed me to go even faster. But there were also two loops in the Mercer County Community College that had a lot of turns and required a lot of peddling. I also found that on the back stretch (miles 13-17) I was letting my mind drift a little and had to remind myself to push it. I did not want to just go through the motions, and found my self upping the cadence, shifting up in gears and trying to make time. The result was a good bike time, but the payment was yet to come.
Bike – 1:12:29 or 19.2 miles per hour pace
Transition 2 was also easy – 1:20. Love T2
Run
The run was miserable. I have done bricks to practice transition from bike to run. I knew the initial runs would be hard. I went to a lighter gear at the end of the bike and increased my turnover to get more blood into my lower legs. But my legs still felt like cement as the run started. So I thought I would just let them work themselves out and started at a very easy 10-minute mile pace. The only problem is the legs never came back. I had left them out on the bike course, or the hot sun was taking anything else I had away. I was also feeling bloated from the Accelerate I was drinking on the bike, which may be too heavy for me (has 5% protein as well as carbos). Regardless, I was unable to step it up. And, in fact, I was lucky to keep moving. There were two spots where I could have easily started walking, but managed to keep jogging along. The memory of the people who had kicked in 3500 bucks for House of Ruth because of me, all of the hours I had logged in all helped. What really kept me going, however, were all the other DC Tri athletes on the course cheering for me as I was for them. “Keep it up!!” “Looking great!!” They were lying, but it helped.
I had a few little spots where I tried to pick it up, but settled back quickly into a regular jogging pace. As I came near the end and could see the finish line, I managed a nice little kick but was still far behind, hot, tired and totally spent.
Run - 1:00:56 or pace of 9:50/mile
total – 2:56:46. UNDER THREE HOURS. 604 position overall Olympic and 55th overall (out of 70) in the 40-44 men’s age group.
slow, and not too impressive but finished. I would have placed 17th overall in the new men division had I been registered in that group.
A thrilling first experience, and I was encouraged all the way by friends, co-workers and my wonderful wife. The DC Tri Club and the New Triathlon Program made it all possible. It proves that we CAN do anything we want, we just have to want it. The t-shirt I saw on the course summed it up. “The body can do anything, it is the mind that needs convincing.”
Friday, July 25, 2008
YIKES
today is friday
tomorrow is saturday
the TRIATHLON is Sunday.
I feel nervous, excited, scared, psyched, anxious, unprepared, stressed and generally pent up. They say I'll be fine, but only time will tell.
tomorrow is saturday
the TRIATHLON is Sunday.
I feel nervous, excited, scared, psyched, anxious, unprepared, stressed and generally pent up. They say I'll be fine, but only time will tell.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
40!
rode 40 miles today. 40 MILES. as in 38, 39, 40. We had an open water swim at Sandy Point and then the wolf pack of DC tri newbies went for a led ride. A tad hot, but nothing a long long nap couldn't handle. Oh, and the yanks won 3-2? All in all, a good day.
Now where is the Ibuprofen?
Now where is the Ibuprofen?
Friday, June 27, 2008
Back on the Horse
so I was D-E-A-D tired most of this past week. The training try just kicked my ASS. I could not do any of the planned workout on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. I was in a fog, was sleep walking and just could not get going. It does take time to recover, but it was a real blow to my confidence.
Thursday saw me back in the pool and doing not too badly (it is never great) but today I feel back in the groove. Woke up at 5:45 for a 6 mile run and played softball at the company picknic.
Tomorrow is THE long day of the entire training plan - open water swim at Sandy Point State Park and then a 40 mile run. Wish me luck.
Thursday saw me back in the pool and doing not too badly (it is never great) but today I feel back in the groove. Woke up at 5:45 for a 6 mile run and played softball at the company picknic.
Tomorrow is THE long day of the entire training plan - open water swim at Sandy Point State Park and then a 40 mile run. Wish me luck.
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