Well, time to post an entry about this past weekends race. Monster Triathlon in Pulaski, TN was certainly different than any race I have ever done. The race started and finished in a cemetery. This certainly gave incentive to race fast. Gave a whole new meaning to the feeling of dropping dead on the run.
The swim was a 200 yard pool swim in a 25 yard pool. This pool had very narrow lanes which made passing almost impossible. Swam a miserable 3:33. This was so very disappointing. Quick T1 as I got out on the bike. This race is called Monster because it typically has a monster hill (closed for construction this year) and several other serious rollers. I hit the rollers and my legs just wanted to quit on me. The weeks of racing really started to scream on the long sustained climbs. Felt like I was crawling along. Finished with a 31:00 bike split at 21 mph so I guess I was moving....but not as fast as I would have like.
Got back to T2 and headed out on the run at a quick clip. The run was mostly flat through the cemetery and around the local school. I tried hard to push the pace on the run as the previous weeks :25 second loss was still fresh in my mind. I finished the run in 21:24 and felt like I was going to lose my breakfast at the line. Stringing these time together was good enough to take clydesdale.
Final race in the series is this upcoming week. Old Hickory Triathlon has a swim, run, bike, run structure. I'm not sure how this will work for me. I have taken Monday and Tuesday of this week off to give my legs a chance to recover. Get back at it tomorrow and get ready for this weekend.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
25 Seconds....
Well, I finished my fourth race in four weeks this past weekend. It was another sprint triathlon that had very challenging climbs on the bike and run. Buster Britton in Birmingham, AL pushes your abilities to pace effectively. Swim was fast and hot. Small lake in Birmingham that wasn't very deep led to a steamy swim. I am just glad that it was only 400 yards...really would not want to spend much longer in the water than that. Transition was a bit of a run from the swim exit but I felt good. Kept up a good clip up the hill and into T1.
From T1 I got on the bike and headed out on the bike course. I have to admit that my SLS3 kit is uber comfortable on the bike. Gives good movement in the legs and throughout the shoulders. All this without the suit flapping around in the wind. The course was a hilly out and back with at least four real good climbs. My legs were getting a little cooked on the way in as the fatigue of the past few weeks starting catching up to me.
Got my feet out of the shoes a bit to early. Had the last .5 mile with my feet on top of the shoes. Jumped off the bike, had a fast T2 and headed out of transition. As I lifted my head I saw the same racer that went in the water in front of me about 45 minutes ago. He was moving at a real strong pace and I decided I was going to hang on to his heels. We headed up the first climb and I knew this was not my pace and not a pace I could hold going up the hill. Still, this is a tough realization to make...that you have to let him go. I made that decision and slowed my pace back down. I had burned a few matches in this foolish effort to keep up with this rabbit. I eventually got my heart rate back down and got back into a good zone.
The run progressed nicely. It was another hot, hilly day in the south. I came up on the 2 mile market and was feeling pretty good. I knew I had some more climbs to come and as such I tried to pace for the last half mile. I have started to race without my GPS so I try and use time as my distance tool. I checked my watch around what I thought was the half mile mark. It just didn't jive. The time was under my projected pace at this point. I started to pick up the pace a bit to try and make a final push. Came around the last bend and there was the finish line. I had run out of race....
The race still went well. 1:11 on a hilly course is a real good time for me. It was still a tough pill to swallow when I found out I had lost first by :25 seconds. I know if I had a better idea of where I was on the course I could have made this time up. However, this gives me the motivation to make sure I don't leave any fuel in the tank this weekend at Monster Tri here in Tennessee.
Over and out...race hard, train smart.
From T1 I got on the bike and headed out on the bike course. I have to admit that my SLS3 kit is uber comfortable on the bike. Gives good movement in the legs and throughout the shoulders. All this without the suit flapping around in the wind. The course was a hilly out and back with at least four real good climbs. My legs were getting a little cooked on the way in as the fatigue of the past few weeks starting catching up to me.
Got my feet out of the shoes a bit to early. Had the last .5 mile with my feet on top of the shoes. Jumped off the bike, had a fast T2 and headed out of transition. As I lifted my head I saw the same racer that went in the water in front of me about 45 minutes ago. He was moving at a real strong pace and I decided I was going to hang on to his heels. We headed up the first climb and I knew this was not my pace and not a pace I could hold going up the hill. Still, this is a tough realization to make...that you have to let him go. I made that decision and slowed my pace back down. I had burned a few matches in this foolish effort to keep up with this rabbit. I eventually got my heart rate back down and got back into a good zone.
The run progressed nicely. It was another hot, hilly day in the south. I came up on the 2 mile market and was feeling pretty good. I knew I had some more climbs to come and as such I tried to pace for the last half mile. I have started to race without my GPS so I try and use time as my distance tool. I checked my watch around what I thought was the half mile mark. It just didn't jive. The time was under my projected pace at this point. I started to pick up the pace a bit to try and make a final push. Came around the last bend and there was the finish line. I had run out of race....
The race still went well. 1:11 on a hilly course is a real good time for me. It was still a tough pill to swallow when I found out I had lost first by :25 seconds. I know if I had a better idea of where I was on the course I could have made this time up. However, this gives me the motivation to make sure I don't leave any fuel in the tank this weekend at Monster Tri here in Tennessee.
Over and out...race hard, train smart.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Indoor Training and a Weekend Win.....
Well, let's start with the win part. I guess I need to clarify this a bit. I won T2 with a T2 time of :33. This was the fastest T2 time in the whole race at Mach Tenn this past weekend. Now, I didn't win the overall race but this was a nice feather in the cap. I try to make up time on the runners in my transitions. This quick T2 put me out on the run carrying over the momentum from the bike. This led to a good run and a first place finish in the clydesdale division with a win over the second place finisher by 10 minutes. This was a tough course with a hilly bike and a very hilly run. The run course punished me a bit due to the hills and the heat but I got through it and was glad to put it in the books. The weekly racing is starting to take a toll on the legs.
This also was my first race in my new SLS3 Tri suit. I have to say that I love the new suit. It was a hot and sunny day and my cool black suit performed perfectly. No chafing or seam issues on the suit equals no complaints from me. After the race I slipped into my compression sleeves for a bit of recovery so I could get ready for my long Sunday run. Great stuff...if you want to try it out head to their site and use this code for 20% off (20Callahan)
Speaking of fatigue from training and racing, let's talk a bit about my new training regiment. I have decided that I need to focus my time and energy during my workouts a bit more. The swim kind of takes care of itself as there aren't a bunch of options outside of the pool and black line. However this has not been the case for me with cycling or running. My coach would give me the workouts and I would head outside with the best of intentions. It would start out well but as the training session progressed I would find myself drifting from the workout and into a "finishing" mindset. I would shift my focus from the set program and just start focusing on the time. This was not what my coach wanted and not how I needed to spend my valuable time.
So, how did I address this? I moved indoors. Now I control all the elements of my training. I cycle train exclusively on my Powerbeam Pro indoor trainer. This trainer is phenomenal and has allowed me to take my coach's workouts and transfer them to a very structured workout session. Now my 1 hour rides are truly 1 hour rides and I hit all of my coach's goals, whether it be a threshold, tempo or recovery workout, I am hitting the goals. I have also begun to do the same with my running. Moving all my running to the treadmill. This has been a bit more difficult transition as it has required a lot more mental determination than the trainer has (not sure why). I will be interested to see how the first few months of this new training goes, but I am excited about the early results. Oh yeah, and this also means that I won't get clipped by some 16 year old girl on her cell phone, so that makes the fiancee happy.
Well, off to bed with my SLS3 compression tights on to get ready for my morning ride and Buster Britton this Saturday. This will be another hilly and hot race so hopefully I can keep the streak rolling.
This also was my first race in my new SLS3 Tri suit. I have to say that I love the new suit. It was a hot and sunny day and my cool black suit performed perfectly. No chafing or seam issues on the suit equals no complaints from me. After the race I slipped into my compression sleeves for a bit of recovery so I could get ready for my long Sunday run. Great stuff...if you want to try it out head to their site and use this code for 20% off (20Callahan)
Speaking of fatigue from training and racing, let's talk a bit about my new training regiment. I have decided that I need to focus my time and energy during my workouts a bit more. The swim kind of takes care of itself as there aren't a bunch of options outside of the pool and black line. However this has not been the case for me with cycling or running. My coach would give me the workouts and I would head outside with the best of intentions. It would start out well but as the training session progressed I would find myself drifting from the workout and into a "finishing" mindset. I would shift my focus from the set program and just start focusing on the time. This was not what my coach wanted and not how I needed to spend my valuable time.
So, how did I address this? I moved indoors. Now I control all the elements of my training. I cycle train exclusively on my Powerbeam Pro indoor trainer. This trainer is phenomenal and has allowed me to take my coach's workouts and transfer them to a very structured workout session. Now my 1 hour rides are truly 1 hour rides and I hit all of my coach's goals, whether it be a threshold, tempo or recovery workout, I am hitting the goals. I have also begun to do the same with my running. Moving all my running to the treadmill. This has been a bit more difficult transition as it has required a lot more mental determination than the trainer has (not sure why). I will be interested to see how the first few months of this new training goes, but I am excited about the early results. Oh yeah, and this also means that I won't get clipped by some 16 year old girl on her cell phone, so that makes the fiancee happy.
Well, off to bed with my SLS3 compression tights on to get ready for my morning ride and Buster Britton this Saturday. This will be another hilly and hot race so hopefully I can keep the streak rolling.
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