Quakerman Triathlon Race Report

6/27/2010
600m swim, 22 mile bike, 4 mile run

I have to start with the night before the race, because, well, that might be the beginning of the end. It's at least the beginning... because I say so (and I don't have a good witty way of beginning this)

Inthe 24 hours leading up to a race, I like to 'lock down' the few things I have control over. Eat right, stay hydrated, get some sleep. It's a pretty simple 3 point plan that has never failed me... when I stick to the plan.

But the night before the race was a fireworks show (for 'Kenmore Days', our little town event), so instead of getting sleep, I was up too late with my wife and kid. But as always, best fireworks of the year. I think it was worth it, and missing an hour of sleep wouldn't be my downfall.

Of course, to get a good seat for fireworks, you have to set up the lawnchairs early... and it's awfully boring to just sit there for 90 minutes waiting for dark. So we got ice cream. Probably not the ideal pre-race dinner. but my cookies and cream shake was delicious, and that alone would not be my downfall.

And since I was going to be out watching fireworks in an area without clean restrooms, I kind of ditched the hydration plan, because I didn't want to subject myself to a porta-potty. Once again, this alone would not be my downfall.

But all together... that is a whole lot of stupid.

Woke up a little before 6 am and got dressed. I had all my clothes laid out, and packed my bag of stuff the night before. Threw the bike on the car and was out the door by 6:15. Quick stop at the gas station to fill my tires (on the bike), and grabbed a coffee and a bagel for the half hour drive to the event.

I can't tell you the last time I ate a bagel... which is why eating one before the first tri of the season, the second tri of my life, made zero sense. Really, I was not using a single brain cell in my approach to the race day.

No problems getting marked and set up in transition... pretty uneventful. Until they announced 15 minutes to start, and I realized I hadn't eaten some energy gel yet. So of course, I take a big slug of Hammer gel right then... giving it zero time to settle or digest or do anything productive.

I squeezed into my wetsuit - it was my first time swimming in it. I knew it was snug, as I had tried it on before, but it was REALLY snug after being on for 5 minutes. The neck felt too tight, the torso was tight and I didn't feel like I could take a deep breath... and I wasn't even in the water yet!!!

With all this mess going on pre-race... I swear, I did not panic. I still felt confident that it would all be OK. I was wrong.

The swim was in Green Lake, so named because it has all the clarity of split pea soup. (I assume that is houw it got it's name) While I never felt 'panic' in the water, it only took about 50 meters before I was out of breath. Not hyperventalating, but like I had a burp stuck in my guts. I couldn't take a big breath in. The combination of poor nutrition choices, and the tightness of the wetsuit throwing me off, I just couldn't breathe! But it wasn't freaking me out, it just meant I would be breaststroking the entire rest of the swim. VERY slow. Chiptimed at 16:14...


Once I got out of the water, I started taking off the wetsuit, getting the top half off immediately. But I still couldn't breathe. I could barely jog, and I wondered if this is what asthmatics feel like. Other than moving slow TO transition, I had no issues IN transition. Removing the wetsuit was easily half my T1 time, but I was out of the on the bike in 1:24. Flying mount on the bike... because I'm cool

Still... could not breathe. I tried pushing through. I tried to burp, I tried to throw up, I even tried to fart... but I just couldn't get rid of the pressure in my guts. The bike was... interesting. It was hilly enough that I couldn't really get settled into the aerobars, and spent most of the time on the hoods. Biking in a race is SO much more fun and intersting than training rides. I love having people to pass, and I even love when people pass me! I laugh when I get passed by a $5,000 bike that took 10 miles to catch up to me. Good for them! I think given my equipment and lack of training, I do pretty well on the bike.

Nothing too exciting on the bike, other than that we had 4 sets of railroad tracks to cross (or 2 sets to cross two times each). A guy in front of me lost a water bottle when he hit the tracks, and I executed a nifty little bunny hop right over his bottle. He told me I was awesome... finished the bike in just under 1:12, or averaging 18.4 mph.


But still, just in PAIN in my guts. No matter how much I tried to relax, or slow down my pace, I was till more out of breath than a whore on dollar night.

T2 went very smooth, and the only reason I wasn't 'super fast' is they were screaming loudly to 'WALK IN THE TRANSITION AREA!!!' Still, threw up a 0:37 T2 time... in the top 10 overall

Not that it matters, because all I did on the run was get passed. I admittingly was taking it easy to not injure my Achilles more, but the gut pains were slowing me down even more than I wanted. Within 100 yards of the run, I was FINALLY releaving some of the pressure by 'vurping' up something... tasted mostly like coffee... very bitter coffee. This continued for 3 miles. I was tired, and pretty mentally defeated (and quite dehydrated from all the 'vurping'). When I was done launching bitter coffee-like bile, I STILL couldn't breath. Horrible, pitiful run. 37:33 for 4 miles (9:24 per mile).



Final time: 2:07:27 Acceptable, but easily should've been under 2 hours. I really need to stick to the nutrition plan pre-race, and I still need to work on my swimming (and get some wetsuit practice in). The biking is coming around, and the run will be fine once I heal up a little more. It was a fun race, and I can see being at least 10 minutes faster next year!

Tri again...

" I was in the Virgin Islands once. I met a girl. We ate lobster, drank piña coladas. At sunset, we made love like sea otters. *That* was a pretty good day. Why couldn't I get *that* day over, and over, and over... "
- Phil (Bill Murray) "Groundhog Day"

Weight: 157 (Yay! Hit a goal!)

Hitting a weight goal as un-agressive as I set for this weekend isn't really a huge accomplishment... except I did it simply with diet. Eat less, eat better, drink water, blah blah blah. But I'm going to celebrate a little, because it might be the ony 'victory' of the weekend.

Because my Achilles... well... it's like being in the movie "Groundhog Day". Every Day I wake up, I get out of bed, and my ankles will barely move. My Achilles scream in pain at me. They are stiff, they are weak. If I walk around for a while, they loosen up, but they remain weak. And if I try to do anything 'harder' than a walk (run, jog, take two steps at once, etc) it is very painful. And if I sti still or lie down for more than 30 minutes straight, everything tightens up again.

The next morning... it starts all over again.

This is a new thing for me. I've had many injuries in my life, everything from cuts and bruises to strains and sprains, to minor dislocations and knee cartiledge damage. (Knock on wood, I've never broken a bone). but all those things, even the ones that took a long time to heal, at least showed some progress as time went on. These Achilles don't seem to make any change.

With other injuries, taking a week or two off might not make it 'all better', but I could at least say "it's not as bad as it was". I think my Achilles are just as bad as they were 2 months ago... zero improvement.

So that is going to make tomorrow's triathlon a bit tough. It's a 600m swim (will be both my longest swim and my first in a wetsuit, breaking the rule of 'don't try anything new on race day'), followed by a 22 mile bike (longer than I've ever biked before), and a 4 mile run which is sure to be extremely painful. finishing in 2 hours would be joyous. 2:15 will be acceptable. Anything slower will be a disappointment.

The thing with 'knowing it's going to hurt'... back in the day, this was not a big deal. I didn't care if I was laid up for a few days at home after a race, or if I was sore and walking funny at school or work. But now, with a family, and lots of summertime plans, I have to remain 'functional'. A good time at a race isn't worth it if I can't play with my daughter for a week afterward. It's all more of the constant dilemma.

Being a Dad...

No quote today... no weight either.

I had 2-3 ideas of what I was going to write... and I'm scrapping them. I've been wished a Happy Father's Day enough times that you know what? I'm just going to enjoy it.

Becuase you know what? No matter how fast I get, no matter what I place in any race... it's not worth it if I lose my #1 seeding as a husband, or my championship belt as a Dad. I suppose when i talk of 'Balance", what I'm really talking about is "being the best I can at one thing, without jeopardizing the things that REALLY matter."

And you know... there are people out there, men and women, who lose sight of what is truly important. I've read stories about guys who dreampt of being Ironmen, only to find their marriage fall apart in the process. I just can't imagine it's worth it. In fact, I would like to think that my training, or racing, or 'chasing of dreams' doesn't ever hurt anybody. If it does... I think I'm doing it wrong.

Generally, when I brag, it's good natured over-the-top sillyness. But I am a really good Dad. Maybe not the best, but in the upper percentile. And I'm a pretty good husband too. And most of all, I am very lucky, to have a wife and daughter who are pretty amazing people.

Anyway, so I'm throwing a lot out the window right now. I am getting ready to eat steak for the second time today. There will be at least two desserts. there is already 2-3 drinks consumed. It's a good day... but not really nutritionally in line with the 'athleticness desired'.

Now, My first triathlon of the season... second of my lifetime, is in one week. it will be my longest swim ever (and my first time in a wetsuit ever), my longest bike ride ever, and my first run in over a month. In short... this could be ugly. the distances are listed at 600m swim, 22 mile bike, 4 mile run. If I can manage 2 hours, I'd be amazed. 2:10... still OK. 2:15 is my prediction. Slower than that... well... I'll be unhappy, but will use it to grow.

Happy Father's Days to the other Dad's out there. hope you remember what it means to be a Dad.

Say what?

"Blinded by the light,
wrapped up like a douche
I run her over in the night"
misheard lyrics from Manfred Mann's Earth Band's "Blinded By The Light"

Weight: still 159 :P

I have heard this song countless times, and I've googled the actual lyrics multiple times. But whenever it comes on the radio, I still hear it this way.

And I think there's a lesson there. My wife and I recently had an arguement, and like a lot of couples, when the other person isn't seeing it our way, we repeat ourselves, often louder, as if the extra volume will somehow make it clearer.

This, never works. Not on spouses, not on kids, not on co-workers.

But even if you have the talent and creativity to explain yourself in multiple ways, maybe a puppet show or interpretive dance, sometimes it STILL just doesn't make sense to the other person.

That's when it hit me! Sometimes, people will just never hear it the way you're saying it! I mean, really, isn't that why the rule of thumb is to not discuss religion or politics? People already have their beliefs, they already have their vision... and unless what you're saying fits into their vision, then what you are saying is simply gibberish.

Granted, this is also how great ideas and discoveries are made. There was a time where thinking the world was round was 'madness'.

It's something I need to work on... or at least want to work on. To be open to what someone else is saying. Not to 'look at it from their side', but to disregard everything I know as truth and 'believe' in what the other person is saying... just to try it on and see if it fits (then go back to what I'm used to, because that's my comfort zone). But for a moment... to just believe.

This is not a religious commentary... it's just about stretching thought beyond what you know, can see, and can prove. To take the same rigid, blind belief that my daughter loves me, and apply it to a counterpoint of view, just for a moment, just to understand how anyone could possibly think I'm wrong :)

Since that's something I'm giving myself to work on, and since I don't have a specific race that all my training is working towards currently (rather a conglomeration of races), it's time to set some concrete goals. I think I work better this way, with something concrete to strive for, and if you please, deadlines.

I'm currently at 159. I'm actually down from 165 a couple weeks ago (I've been eating crap, and training very little). First and foremost, I want to be 157 for Quakerman (June 27th) and 154 for Summer Sizzler (August 7th). Less than a pound a week.

I want to beat last year's Summer Sizzler time - overall, and be faster in each of the 3 disciplines (and hopefully transition as well). Honestly, the swim and bike should be no problem to improve... the run will be tough becuase of the Achilles.

School ends late here, on June 22nd (two weeks). From then until Summer Sizzler is 6 weeks. I have two other triathlons (Quakerman and Wet n Wild) before then. In those 6 weeks, I want to have a workout at least 5 days a week. One day will be a brick of some sort, and no discipline will be ignored for 3 consecutive workouts.

And i want to keep blogging...

Obviously...

"Look, boss, I only got one rule. And that's never bet money that you don't have on a dog race with an ex-girlfriend who happens to be a stripper."
- Romeo Posar (Cheech Marin), "Tin Cup"

Weight: 159

It's been a while, I know. But in the constant struggle to find balance in life with family, work, and being athletic... well, the blog is not high on the priority list. In fact, it's easily the first thing to get dropped when things get busy.

But rather than get real long winded about all that has happened, let's just pick up like there's been no delay... and I'll explain why I am leading off with the above quote: Because some things are just obvious.

For example, if my Achilles tendons (both of them) are in excruciating pain every morning, and for most of the day, every day... well, I should probably take it easy, do a little rehab, and drop some races, right? "Obviously!" you say? I know, I say that too...

But I'm also a little bit stubborn. I can't stand the thought of not competing once the entry fee has been spent. Even if the entry was not that expensive, I can't stand the idea of totally wasting money. So even though I OBVIOUSLY should have been taking it easy, I have not really been doing that.

Granted, I've toned down the training runs a LOT. But I still went out and ran a 5K (with a sub-20 finish), and I still did a duathlon (which really, really hurt), and I still walked a half marathon with my wife (the day after the duathlon). I still have a triathlon in 3 weeks too. I can barely walk sometimes, let alone run... but I'm still going to give it my best.

I've finally gotten back in the pool a couple times this past week. I'm not back at square one, but I'm a few squares away from where I was last. If things go well though, I should have a couple open water swims before the triathlon, in my new wetsuit... so I have that to look forward to.

I'm still a work in progress on the bike. Look, the bike portion is only going to go so well - the bike is too big for me, too old to be competitive, and I don't have near enough hours in the saddle. But, it is getting better... slowly... and it doesn't pain my Achilles like the running, so I have that going for me.

And since it's been so long since I posted... I'm going to give y'all something better than a whore on dollar night - 2 posts in a single day!