Seattle Half Marathon -- Race Report

Well, I didn't get my goal time of 1:23:00 (1:24:19 - unofficial), but that's okay. It was a pretty tough course and my place wasn't too bad (35th overall (~8000) and 3rd in division (515)). There were some much tougher hills than anticipated and the steep downhills hurt my time versus helped it -- I had to slow down given the treacherous conditions.

I also didn't feel totally rested, though my legs felt much better. I ended up working hard in the yard the day before and going over to Shelly and Jim's afterwards. So I didn't get to bed until 11pm and woke up around 4:30-5am. I also learned a valuable lesson: don't hold your gels during the race! I squeezed them too tightly, which sapped a lot of energy. Once I had finished both of them my pace immediately picked up and I began passing people versus being passed. I thought my shoes would be a problem, but they weren't at all. My left knee felt good the entire time and afterwards. Of course, my quads were yelling at me throughout the rest of the day.

My splits were 6:10 (Flat 157), 6:16 (uphill then downhill 162), 6:18 (167 - hill!). 6:10 (169 tunnel), 6:28 (169 Lk WA St), 6:20 (169 Lk WA St), 6:40 (169 Lk WA St), 7:07 (168 E. Galen/Madison -- HILL!!!), 6:28 (166 Arborteum - Downhill), 6:31 (166 -- slight uphill & flat), 6:34 (167 flat), 13.14 (170 rolling -- didn't get the 12th and 13th mile splits). I definitely went out too fast, but it was really hard to tell what was too fast. I tried to use my HR monitor to stay around 156-162 for the first couple of miles, but the hills (both up and down) made that very difficult. It was clear, however, that the middle miles were the toughest, both psychologically and hilly. The last two miles were much better, and my pace proved it. I think there's still a bit of hot legs, but the competition seemed to have issues as well. I'm glad this race is over. Now I can focus on triathlon training and not so much on run specific workouts. Speaking of which, I think my time was fairly decent since I hadn't been too run specific. If I really wanted to blow the doors off this race, I'd be running around 60mpw with not nearly the same amount of biking/swimming. All-in-all, I'm about where I need to be for a good race at Ironman Canada. Now I just need to get my bike/swim together!

RACE REPORT: Issaquah Rotary Run

The Issaquah Rotary Run was a great race. It was perfect for jumping back into racing. The course was relatively flat, well marked and lots of spectators. It was also a pretty small race (but lots of fast people!), so I didn't feel lost in a crowd.

It was also great racing with the team. I truly miss the comradery. I'm in the upper left -- and the only guy without a red team jersey yet. I will at the Seattle Half though!

I met all of my objectives and felt hungary for more. I'm definitely ready to start training hard but consistently. It's good to know that I can set difficult but achievable goals. Given that today was my first race in 7 years, all I wanted to do was work on keeping a decent pace. I kept telling myself for the past week 6mm's for first five and then go from there. Actually, this objective was the only one I didn't achieve. :) I ended up running a 5:45 for my first mile. My legs felt like lead but I guess that was lactic acid building up. :( That spooked me pretty bad and I slowed down considerably on the second mile. (12:15 split). The rest of the run went considerably better. I picked it up on the third mile, though it was slightly uphill (18:09) and then picked it up again on the fourth (23:49) and fifth miles (30:04). I don't know what my split was for the final mile but I kicked it in for a 37:16 (Race Time) and 37:14 (Split Time). The best part of all is that I negative splitted (again, not sure about the six mile split, but I certainly can't run 0.2 in 55 seconds).

As for the competition, it seemed like there were some really fast folks -- and that sense was totally accurate! Wow, they went out hard!! By the time I hit the one mile marker, they must have been 30-40 seconds ahead of me. The only time I got passed was on the second mile when I got spooked. I think two guys passed me. I passed one of those guys at the fifth mile. I also passed three or four more guys through miles 4-6.2 (I kicked past one guy at the end). There was one gal who just couldn't be caught. I ran with her through the first mile, lost her on the second mile and couldn't gain enough ground to pass her in the end. Oh well, I gotta be careful of that second/third mile let down!! My place was 24th and AG was 4/41. I guess that's not bad, but it doesn't really matter at this point, since I'm focused on pacing and fitness testing.

Speaking of which, I was supposed to wear my heart monitor but totally forgot about it. Jill scolded me (as she should), and wants me to do the Seattle Half...yeah!! Maybe I'll see a top-20 next month? She also said that I'll be able to do several tempo runs while waiting for my wrist to heal. Luckily (or maybe not?), my wrist is getting a lot better. I might be in the water the end of this week!

Injured!!!

Crap!!! My bike slipped on a manhole cover towards the end of a long ride. The results: a severely sprained wrist and some nasty rasberries. The accident happened about 10 days ago and the healing process is going well. I can do just about everything except swim and ride outside, so my fitness hasn't dropped but the number of weekly hours have been reduced. I've ramped up my running miles to keep a high fitness level, but there is some worry about overuse injuries. I can't stand the stationary bike, but I'll take what I can get for now. Hopefully I'll be able to get in the water soon.

The silver lining is that my 2009 goals shouldn't be too impacted, given the time of year and cycle of training. I should be able to go hard in January in all sports - including swimming. I can also justify doing some fall road races (Issaquah 10K and potentially the Seattle Half).

Speaking of the Issquah 10K, I've tapered and tested my fitness enough (last week's 6x1200s at 5:39mm felt pretty good) that I'm fairly confident that 37:45 is in the mix. I'm going to pace between 6mm and 6:05mm for the first 5m and try to hold on from there.

Let the Biking Begin!!

Now that I had my first (of many) meetings with Jill re: workouts, I believe that biking MUST become my main discipline. I'm going to get killed by the course otherwise!! I plan to do ride three times a week with two 1.5 hour rides (within one hour of spinning incorporated) and one 2.5-3 hour ride. I hope my butt can take it!

I MUST get a power meter!! It will make a huge difference in terms of understanding exertion levels. Jill also told me that performance gains are incredibly better if I get one...this will be fun!!

I also learned two REALLY important lessons about nutrition: 1) eat and drink a little something right before the workout and then a bar right after working out; 2) need Carbo Pro for the long rides.

Finally, she wants me to do two more assessments, a 20min TT and a 500m swim. These times and exertion levels will determine workout paces and HR zones. I'll try to do one of them on Monday (the 500m swim). I'm not sure when I'll do the bike ride.

And they're off!!!

Uhh boy...what have I gotten myself into!?!?! I have been looking for an athletic goal for the past six months but nothing really inspired me. I've done a couple of marathons, qualified for Boston (though I didn't run it) and achieved some big time goals (sub-2:45 marathon). However, I've realized that my body style wasn't meant for sub 2:25s/2:30s and I've always been interested in many sports -- not just running. I've also always been inspired by the Ironman since an early teenager. In fact, I used to do light bricks during the summer instead of doing full cross country workouts just to see what it feels like. I also like the idea that if my body gets injured somehow, I could still keep fit by doing one of the other sports.

So...why not qualify for Kona when I'm forty!?!?! Talk about an awesome goal! If I trained hard and smart, I'm sure I could do it, right? And talk about a great journey - two years of building experience, skill, strength and memories!!!

One thing is certain: I am definitely a novice at both the swim and the bike -- which makes the journey that much more interesting!!! I get to experience huge improvements while learning techniques, strengthening new systems and gaining experiences. Of course, putting it all together will be even more daunting/exhilirating.

And the training!!! How the heck do I train for 24 months to optimize the performance in each sport while not overtraining in one area and undertraining in another? Also, since I'll be "racing" for 10+ hours, how do I pace myself and what race strategies must I employ? If the marathon was a chess match (over a 2-3 hour period), imagine the strategies necessary for optiminizing efficiencies for three difficult sports and their combination!!! Wow!!! My mind is hurting. :)

Finally, triathletes are phenomenal people. They have to juggle all sorts of huge blocks off work (training and actual work) while ensuring that family/friends get their fair share. Everyone I've met seem to have an implicit 'wink', as if they know what the other is going through in order to achieve their goal of hearing the words, "xxx, you are an Ironman!!". I can't wait to hang out in these crowds!!!

So...I decided that I needed to get a coach with certain criteria:
a) understands the bike and swim sports REALLY well;
b) has gone to Kona at least twice;
c) has a full family/friends agenda to juggle with training/work (in her/his case, coaching);
d) is local so that he/she can critique my technique and/or knows experts in the community who could help me technique;
e) instructs a relatively large team and does it with a sense of fun versus bravato; teammates should be friends first!! and
d) can be flexible with my goals/training if various life/work events arise.

As luck would have it, five or ten people recommended Jill Fry after listening to my criteria. I met her in mid July and have been impressed ever since. Tomorrow will be my first 'official' meeting with her to go over training calendars for the next three-four months (I'll be training on my own until early January).

My workouts have been primarily running oriented, as I've been trying to build a fitness base with a training regimen that I'm relatively familiar with. However, I've begun to throw in some swimming and biking/spinning sessions (with a few bricks on Mondays and Fridays) in August and will begin to build those sessions up over the coming months -- unless Jill suggests otherwise.

All events (including IMC 2009) are stages running up to the goal race that will qualify me for Kona in 2010. With that mindset, I can focus less on racing and more on time trials and experience building. This approach will also allow me to focus on the long term and should reduce frustration if short-terms aren't met (due to injury, sickness or lack of time). My next 'time trial' is the Issaquah 10K, which will be used to determine workout paces for the next fall/winter periods. That race is October 6th, so there's plenty of time to gain some speed while also continuing to develop my aerobic base.