Latta Sprint Triathlon

Well, I never thought I would really do another triathlon, but here I am.  Latta was a team event for One2Tri Racing, so I committed to participate along with my other teammates.  I know what you're thinking: "You're on the One2Tri Racing Team and don't do triathlons??!  What on Earth did you think the 'TRI' part stood for??"  Well, there are actually a few of us non-tri types on the team who either just run or do adventure races - and I'm one of the runners.  But I'll try anything twice!  I've actually been doing more biking anyway, so it was just a matter of seeing what I could do in the water.  I'm very comfortable in the water - I could spend all day in the water at the beach - and I know how to swim, I just don't do it well.  OK, that's being charitable. I'm terrible.

Quick story: about 6 years ago I thought I would give triathlons a go.  I decided if I was going to do it, I would be serious about it and took swimming lessons.  In addition, I was in the pool practicing 3 times a week and doing open-water swims.  And I actually fared pretty well as a novice (not to be confused with doing well).  After about 5 races, I realized it wasn't for me.  Plus it was tough from a time standpoint to train for 3 events and remain happily married and gainfully employed.  So I called it quits after the Lake Norman Tri in 2005.  For some reason, I signed up for Lake Norman in 2006.  In that intervening year, I literally did not swim once.  And I was 9 seconds faster out the water in 2006.  Go figure.  I thought, all that time I put into swim practice - what a terrible return on my investment.  I could have been taking minutes off my bike and run times!

One2Tri Racing Team

But, as I said, this was a team event.  I had been taking swimming lessons again with my coach, Nicole (who is also the head coach for One2Tri Multisport Coaching) and she is fantastic.  If anyone could make progress with me, it's Nicole.  She couldn't.  There were 34 men in my age group.  I was 34th out of the water.  I made up some ground on the bike and the run to finish 22nd in my AG.  At first, I was thrilled that NO ONE had passed me on the bike or the run - then I realized there was practically no one behind me!  Respectable, but a stark reminder of why I gave up the sport in 2006.  My finishing time was 1:41:58.  Anyone up for a long run??!

Black Mountain 24-hour Ultra

Staging area in a valley on the campus of Montreat College

Having run my first timed race at the Freedom Park 24-hour Ultra this past New Year's Eve, I quickly discovered that running for time, rather than distance, was very appealing.  With that experience in mind, my friend, Steve Grace, found a 24-hour race in nearby Black Mountain just this side of Asheville, NC that we decided to try.  It's the 5th year this race has been run, and third at this location on Black Mountain.  I rounded up a few other friends to participate including, Anji Paumier-Nussbaumer, fellow One2Tri Racing teammate, Mo Campbell and her fiancé Jeff.  There was also a 12-hour option for the race, which Mo and Jeff elected to do as this was their first attempt at an ultra.  We were all watching the weather forecast closely throughout the week because we were suffering through an early heat wave in Charlotte and were concerned about the projected 90 degree temps and high humidity.  A weak cold front came through on Friday morning which spelled some relief for us and made for fairly nice conditions on Saturday: high temps in the mid to high 80's with lower humidity.  Still pretty hot for running a long way, but much better than it could have been.  One of the appeals to this race was a 10:00 am start time on Saturday, meaning we could drive up Saturday morning and only be gone for 1 night.

With fellow O2T Racer, Mo Campbell

I picked up my friend, Anji Paumier-Nussbaumer, and we drove up to Black Mountain together, arriving around 8:15 am.  The staging area is on the campus of Montreat College, which is a very small and very beautiful old college.  Many of the buildings are historic landmarks.  After checking in at registration and donating our canned food (the race's subtitle is "Race for Awsomeness"- it benefits the MANNA charity and encourages donations for needy families) we schlepped our supplies down to a small valley which would be our new neighborhood for the next 24 hours.  Fellow One2Tri Racing teammate, Mo and Jeff, arrived shortly thereafter.  Anji and I picked a spot for our tents, set up shop and proceeded to get organized.  My usual ultra running partner, Steve Grace, had run a 5K that morning with his wife, Leah (who, unfortunately, could not join us due to a family trip) and would not be arriving until 10:30 am or so.  Steve was strictly coming to have fun, run a little and support us, so his day would be much more casual than ours.

My tent set-up

At 9:50, bathed in brilliant sunshine as we would be for the entire day, the RD lined us up at the start/finish line for a pre-race briefing.  My main recollection of this was that he said the course was "relatively flat."  I remember that because the course was NOT relatively flat (or relative to what I'm not sure).  The course was, in fact, very hilly!  Regardless, it was a beautiful course.  It was measured as a 5K loop with a large aid station at the start/finish line and a smaller, unattended one at the 1/2 way point.  So we mentally divided the loop into the 1st half and the 2nd half.  The first half started out flat on some very cushy wood chips; excellent for running and probably good for sleeping.  It ran along a creek and was fully covered.  After a few hundred meters, it makes a hairpin turn - there were many of those - and heads uphill.  A few more zig-zags up and you reach the first downhill section, again with a few switchbacks, before you start climbing again.  You then come into a beautiful section covered with chips and pine needles framed by towering pines on either side.  Very pretty.  You then exit onto what would become our least favorite part of the course, which was a stretch alongside an athletic field and baseball diamond before making a U-turn and returning on the only paved section of the course (you could run on the shoulder if you wished to avoid the asphalt).  You quickly encounter a very steep, short downhill, which was virtually unrunnable.  A short distance later, you make a hard right turn and enter the first section of single track.  Very beautiful and runnable.  Upon exiting onto a fire road, you soon encounter the 1/2 way point aid station, which was stocked with water, Gatorade, bananas, oranges, and a Porto-potty.  The second half quickly puts you on some more single track with a few more roots, but nothing technical.  You briefly come out on a fire road before encountering a short hill that puts you back on a nice section of downhill single track.  We would run this section most of the race.  You then are out in the open for awhile and we really felt the sun and heat on this section.  Fortunately, there wasn't too much of that, but it did take its toll on me.  You then encounter our least favorite section of the back half, which is a gradual incline before culminating in an even steeper incline just before you crest the hill.  We always walked this section.  At the top, you come back onto more single track with a series of little moguls before hitting a nice downhill section that leads to the last bit of single track we ended up referring to as "Poison Ivy Alley" as it was a very narrow path and lined with poison ivy on both sides.  Anji and I wished we had known about this stretch beforehand because we either would have applied a poison ivy pre-wash or worn higher socks; the poison ivy was unavoidable.  Oh, well - all part of trail running.  It was still a great section of trail.  You come out on a fire road before entering an open field, which was good and bad: bad because we had full-on sun for the most of the day there; good because you could quickly see "Tent City" and knew we were close to finishing another lap.  But not before one more very short, but steep hill before checking in at the scorer's table to make sure we got our bib number recorded.

With Anji, after running a few laps

Just beyond the scorer's table was the larger aid station.  I hesitate to call it fully-stocked because it wasn't.  This was the only real drawback to the race for me.  I have become accustom to aid stations at ultras having a pretty decent selection of food - at a minimum: PB&J's, cookies, pretzels, baked potatoes, fruit, sweets.  And many have soup, coffee, a larger variety of sandwiches, etc.  Here, the items were limited to water (always cold - which was wonderful), Gatorade, fruit (oranges, bananas, watermelon, and pineapple), and bags of nuts.  Other than a rather large pizza delivery at 7 pm which lasted for a few hours, that was it.  We had brought plenty of gels and electrolytes, but had we known, we certainly would have brought much more with us (I burn between 10,000 - 15,000 calories during a 24-hour race).  We ended up calling a friend of ours, and fellow One2Tri Racing teammate, Michael Beacham, who had said he may come up to spend part of the race with us, and asking him, if he did, to please make a food run for us.  Fortunately, he and another friend of ours, Steven Petrea, showed up with bread, peanut butter, jelly, cheese, turkey, and a few other items - which absolutely saved the day for us.  In fact, it was most of what we ate for the last 12 hours.  I don't know where our calories would have come from otherwise.  Now, I would be remiss if I didn't add that the 24-hour race only cost $50 (the 12-hour was $30), which is ridiculously cheap for an ultra.  Plus, we got a nice long-sleeve Brooks tech shirt, so obviously they saved money on the food.  Which is fine, but we just wish we had a better understanding of that beforehand.

Steve "Pizza Man" Grace -
"Will Run for Pizza"

 Anji and I ran together most of the time as Mo and Jeff were going at a faster pace and Steve, arriving later, was enjoying the day at generally a more leisurely pace.  She and I both felt good, but quickly realized we would need to be very conservative with the daytime sun and heat.  Despite a slower pace, I was still sweating like I was going all out.  I was drinking close to 40 oz. of fluids every lap.  Our first lap was 35 minutes, 2nd was 40 minutes, and our 3rd was 45 minutes.  We felt a good strategy was to never be over 1 hour per lap, including break time.  Our tents and gear were right on the trail after the start/finish line, so it was very easy to check in, hit the aid station and plop down in a chair for a quick break.  I have to say it was a delight to run with Anji.  We've run before (New River 50K, Freedom Park 24-hour Ultra, and some training runs), but I had never run for this extended a period of time with her - or maybe anyone.  My tendency is to run with a variety of different people for shorter periods of time and run by myself for extended period of times.  But I never once got tired of running with her; we talked most of the time, and we never ran out of things to talk about.  It certainly made the run a lot more fun for me (she may have an entirely different opinion!)

After 22 1/2 hours: swollen feet and legs covered with dirt,
poison ivy, bugs, insect repellant, sweat, and sunscreen

Physically, I felt very good for the first 7 hours or so.  After wolfing down a turkey and cheese sandwich, my stomach began feeling a little sour.  Prior to that, I had been relying on electrolyte tablets (Gu Brew and Elixir), gels, S-caps, nuts, and fruit.  In retrospect, I think I may have eaten too much in one sitting.  Plus, I had altered my diet in May to eliminate any cheese and bread and this was the first of either I had eaten in over a month.  Whatever the reason, varying degrees of queasiness would persist for most of the race.  Three times, I lay down in the tent while Anji completed another lap (once, I completed a lap while Anji got a little rest).  I had gone into this race thinking 75 miles was a realistic goal while anything over 80 would be gravy.  But I also knew the weather would probably complicate things, which I think it ultimately did for me.  I ended up running 65.1 miles, which I am perfectly fine with.  Anji's stretch goal was to go over 70 miles, which be a PR for her.  I realized early on I would not make my goal, but Anji was feeling great and doing great.  It was fantastic to be with her as she accomplished everything she set out to do.  She ended up with 71.3 miles.  Steve also came up huge by sticking around and supporting us long after he decided to stop running.  He easily could have hopped in his car and gone home - which is what most people would have done at that hour - but gave us moral support, didn't mind when we ate his last Taco Bell tacos out of desperation in the early morning hours, and broke camp for us so when we finished running we could literally throw everything in our car and leave.

And Mo and Jeff also had a great race.  They had set a goal of 40 miles - 14 miles longer than either has ever run before - and both ended up running 50 miles.  Mo even placed 4th among 12-hour female finishers.  She's a natural.  And Jeff hung right with her the whole way.  They're an adorable couple in many, many ways.

All and all, another great weekend of trail running with good friends!

Buck Hurly Sprint Triathlon - 5/1/11

Because I committed to do my first triathlon in 4 years as part of a team event for the One2Tri Racing team at Latta, I decided I should probably do a warm-up one to minimize possible embarrassment.  A friend of mine, Tracy Chambers, had suggested this smaller tri up in Salisbury, NC and it seemed like good timing.  It was a 300M pool swim, ~11 mile bike, and 5K.  I also talked fellow O2T Racing teammate, Mo Campbell, into this race.  Misery loves company!

I picked Mo up and we rode up to Salisbury.  This was Mo's very first tri ever, so I wanted to make sure we got there early.  I was a little concerned about how my legs would respond after yesterday's duathlon - not to mention my usual anxiety about swimming.  I did a practice swim on Friday, which was the first time I'd been swimming since 8/24/07 and, no surprise, it showed.  My wife, Val, went with me and commented afterwards, "I don't understand how you can run 100 miles, but you can barely swim 50 meters!"  Me neither.  Anyway, it was a short pool swim, so I wasn't too concerned.  I had estimated my swim time at 10 minutes, so I got in the pool about 1/2 hour after the fastest swimmer (who swam it in 3:15).  I primarily did the backstroke and side stroke and just took it easy.  Came out of the water in 8:00.  Hey - only 4:45 behind the leader at this point!

Crossing the finish line

I did pretty well on the transition.  I decided to go sock-less on the bike and run, so I had applied some Chamois Butt'r to the collar of my bike shoes so I could literally slip right in, which worked well.  It was a long run to the bike mount and I was off.  We were told the bike course was a 2 loop one, but it was really a lollipop course with 2 loops on the lollipop and an out and back on the "stick."  The hills were a little more gentle than the duathlon, so I never came out of the big ring.  I felt very good on the bike and was attacking uphills and downhills, still being conservative on the corners.  When I came to the end of the 1st loop, there was a volunteer with a bull horning telling racers which direction to go.  I couldn't hear him, so I slowed down and yelled "lap 2" over and over.  He pointed to the left, whereupon I saw another volunteer holding up a sign that read, "Lap 2" with an arrow pointing left, so I went left for my 2nd lap.  There were no riders in front of me to watch what they were doing.  Well, I ended up at the bike dismount line, looked at my Cat Eye and knew I had not finished the course that quickly.  The volunteers told me I needed to complete my 2nd lap.  For a split second I though about bagging it, but got back on my bike and went out for lap #2.  I figure I lost at least 3 minutes on this detour.  I was extremely frustrated because I'd had such a strong ride to that point.  Ultimately, the wrong turn is on me because it's my responsibility to know the course, but the directions were obviously not clear (I found out  later that others had made the wrong turn, too).  Suggestion to the RD: one sign to the right saying "Lap 2" and one sign to the left saying "Finish/Transition."  I ended up pushing much harder on the 2nd lap than I had planned to to try and make up some of the lost time.  It was very demoralizing passing people you had already passed 15-20 minutes earlier.  Because of the extra effort, I knew I was jeopardizing my run.

My T2 was fine and I slipped on my Scott MK3's.  I had never run without socks in these shoes, but like all my other runs in the MK3's, it was wonderful.  What a great shoe.  It took me about 1/4 mile to get my legs under me and I progressively felt better and better.  I was hammering the run and ran a negative split.  I had taken a new product before the race, AdvoCare's O2 Gold, which is supposed to support oxygen flow into the bloodstream (the company bills it as a "third lung").  Not sure if that made a difference or if it was just one those good days.  Either way, I have seldom felt as strong at the end of a race as I did today.  I ran the 5K faster than I did the 5K at the beginning of yesterday's duathlon.  I ended up finishing a distant 3rd in my AG which, given my slow swim and a wrong turn on the bike route, was still a good day.  Mo ended up winning her AG and setting a new course record for the 5K - for both men AND women - by running a 19:13.  Incredible!

University City Duathlon - 4/30/11

What a gorgeous day for a race: clear and cool with warming temperatures.  I signed up for this race at the suggestion of my coach, Nicole, at the last minute.  It was a 5K run, 19K ride, 3K run, with the run portion being partially on road and greenway.  The bike course was a 2 loop course with rolling hills.  Even though this was not a large race, I ran into quite a few people I knew and it was nice to catch up with some folks.  George, who I know from the Galloway training group, turned out to be the USAT official for the event.  Tracy Sproule, my friend who I ran the Freedom Park 24-hour ultra with was there, too.  She had signed up to race, but a possible stress fracture forced her into a volunteer role.  Note to readers: everyone needs to volunteer!!  I also ran into Len Fumi, past president of Charlotte Track & Tri and former Team USA Duathlon member.  Although we've stayed in touch, I'd not seen him for over 2 years.  And, as is the case with any race, met a lot of new folks.  And Ron Zurinkas, a fellow Charlotte Athletic Club member was there, too.

The run course started off as a downhill and was a typical hilly Charlotte run.  That is until we came to the last stretch on the greenway, which had a short, but monster hill just before you come back out onto the road towards the transition area.  I was not slow in T1, but I was deliberate as this was my first multi-sport event since 8/24/07 (Lake Norman Tri).  Grabbed some water with Gu Brew, got into my cycling shoes relatively easy, and was off.  I felt very strong on the bike and was passed by only 1 person the entire time - and I passed him a short while later.  There were 2 good climbs on the course and I mentally stored that away since I would be tackling them on the second loop.  I attacked the downhills and was conservative on the turns.  While I'm confident in my physical ability on the bike, my road skills need some work.  The 2nd loop was actually better than my first; I thought I might struggle a little on the those 2 hills again, but I must have been getting warmed up - they weren't as bad as I remembered.  Came to the dismount line just behind the #1 female.  It was a bit of an awkward dismount; I clipped out on the right side, which I never do.  Just out of practice, I guess.  Lost a few seconds re-racking the bike as I tried to slip it on the back of the seat rather than the front.  Again, just out of practice.  Some more Gu Brew and I'm off for the 3K.

We start out on the road, but quickly enter the greenway.  I'm bypassing the aid stations since all the distances are so short.  about the 1 mile mark, someone in my age group (AG) passes me at a pretty good pace.  I quickly calculate I will have difficulty staying with him and am resigned to a 2nd place AG finish.  However, as we start up that last big hill, I begin to gain ground, but still not enough to give me any hope of passing.  In fact, I was completely gassed on the hill and walked for 5-10 seconds.  Once we exited onto the street, there's about 250 yards to the finish line.  I find I do have an extra kick and pick up the pace.  I probably closed about 5 seconds in the last 100 yards and he and I cross the finish line at the same time (there was no timing mat at the start line so it was all about who crossed the mat first).  I thought I might have edged him out because he let up a bit and I led with my left foot, which had my chip on it.  We ended up with the exact same time of 1:17:54, so the timer had to go to 100th's of a second to determine a winner - and he beat me by 12/100th's of a second.  Oh, well.  Very happy with the finish as I found a gear I didn't think I had at the end.

And kudos to the race committee: very well run race (with excellent plaques for awards).  Would definitely run this one again.

Boston Marathon

Well, our time in Boston this weekend did nothing to change my mind about what a fun event the Boston Marathon is.  Val and I flew up to Boston on Saturday morning with a conspicuous presence of other runners, including "Ultra" Joe Schelerth, fresh from his 20-hour Umstead 100 finish.  This year, we stayed at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel, which was recommended by my fellow Blue Ridge Relay teammate, Andrew Golomb, who was also staying there.  When we arrived, it was cold and blustery - very similar to last year.  We hooked up with Andrew and went to the Expo for packet pick-up, which was as jam-packed as ever.  If expansion at the Convention Center is possible, BAA really needs to consider that; the crowds are starting to get a little out of hand.

Saturday night, Val and I had a nice informal dinner at Uno's on Boylston St., before retiring for an early bedtime.  Oh, a great big shout out for the Park Plaza: at check-in, we said it was also our anniversary weekend.  When we returned from dinner, we had a bottle of wine, cheese and crackerswaiting for us in our room with a nice note from the person who checked us in.

On Sunday morning, Andrew and I met up with One2Tri Racing teammate, Kim Eagens, to bandit the BAA 5K.  This was just to be a slow easy run to stretch the legs out, with a few pick-ups.  The weather was cool, overcast, and drizzly as a strong front had just blown through.  After our leisurely run, we cleaned up at the hotel and met everyone at a diner for a late breakfast.  Joining us was Troy (Kim's boyfriend) and my good friend and running buddy, Julia Engel, a Boston veteran.  A quiet day walking around and another early bedtime, and we were ready for race day!

With One2Tri Racing teammate Kim after BAA 5K

This year we were able to hook up with private charter buses, rather than the school buses that everyone else uses.  This is a HUGE benefit.  You do not have to wait in line for the buses, they leave an hour later, and most importantly, they have bathrooms!  Also, the morning was cold (38 degrees with a 20 mph wind) and once the bus is parked, you can remain on it rather than having to exit to the Athlete's Village - another huge benefit (did I mention it has a bathroom?!)  Joining us on the bus were fellow One2Tri Racing teammates, and speedsters, Chad and Danielle Crockford.  Chad and Danielle, and Andrew left first as they were in Wave 1, then Kim and I (Wave 2) and then Julia (Wave 3).  Even though BAA added another wave this year, the corrals were still very crowded.  Kim and I both needed to make one last pit stop just before the gun, so we unceremoniously, but discretely, used someone's front yard. We later learned that if the police caught you doing that, they were taking your bib and DQ'ing you!

Kim, Andrew, and me at the BAA 5K

Last year, my goal was to just have fun and post a respectable time, in that case, anything under 3:45 (I ran a 3:42).  This year, I wanted to push a little bit more, but was not shooting for a PR (3:26).  So I had my pace band from NikeTown (customized for Boston's elevation) made for 3:30 thinking anything on either side of that would be a good day.  With a year's worth of hard training behind me, no injuries, and ideal conditions (cool temps, dry, 20 mph tailwind), I began thinking a sub-3:30 was realistic.  But, a slight problem: my pace band was so small - OK, and my eyesight is getting worse - I had difficulty reading my it.  So I had to run with my reading glasses; otherwise the pace band was worthless.  I was about 40 seconds slow on my first mile split, which is fine, and about 20 seconds off the mile 2 split.  I gradually made up time and my first 5K split was 24:20.  But then I misread my pace band and I thought I was a minute slow.  I didn't see how, but I sped up a little to make up.  By the time I realized it was a mistake, I was 90 seconds ahead of pace, which probably caused me to go out just a little too fast.  My 5K splits were holding stead around 22:45 - great pace.

My nutrition plan was to use Gu Brew hydration tablets (I was carrying a handheld), Gatorade Vanilla gels and S-caps.  My legs weren't feeling wonderful, but just good.  Around the 10-mile mark, I didn't know if I was hitting a bad spot or if it wasn't going to be my day.  I was still holding a projected 3:25 finish pace, but I didn't feel like I could sustain that.  Even the Wellesley girls didn't provide me with the lift I got last year.  I hit the 1/2 way point at 1:43.  Last year, the hills of Newton (miles 16 - 21) were where I excelled; only 1 person passed me on Heartbreak Hill last year.  This year, my legs did not respond.  In fact, I had to walk for 15 seconds up Heartbreak.  By mile 21, I realized I was not going to break 3:30, and pulled back slightly.  Now my goal was just to run a sub-3:35, which would be a Boston qualifying time (2012 standard).  I was still pushing as hard as I could giving close to maximum effort, but without maximum results; the legs were hurting!  But turning on to Boylston will always be a rush with the spectators cheering you on.  I managed to finish in a resectable 3:33.  Although I ran 9 minutes faster than last year and requalified for Boston, I was slightly disappointed because, given the ideal weather conditions and the unprecedented fact of not making one bathroom stop during the entire marathon, and for the effort I put out, I felt like I should have been about 5 minutes faster.  But, it was just not meant to be today.  Chad run an impressive time of 2:47, Andrew did 3:09, Danielle a 3:14, Ultra Joe (at age 61!) 3:27, Kim at 3:52 and Julia at 3:54.  All but Kim were able to requalify for Boston.  Unfortunately, Kim got tangled up with a volunteer at an aid station near mile 15 and injured her quad.  She was a gritty trooper for hobbling in, but had been on a 3:25 pace.  She's one of the more determined athletes I know.

Any disappointment I had was easily drowned out by a visit to The Sevens Ales in Bunker Hill with Val, Andrew, Julia, Chad and Danielle.  We later adjourned to Burkowski's and were joined by Kim and Troy.  Another great Patriot's Day weeken and looking forward to next year!

River Bound Race Series 8K - 3/12/11

Umstead Marathon - 3/5/11