Triple T race report
Another good race at the American Triple T this year. Some bad stuff happened but mostly good stuff resulted :)
Race 1
The warm water was nice as I could wear my sleeveless wetsuit but not be too warm. The water temp was ~73° F so it was a change from the past few years of high 50’s and low 60’s.
The swim went well, I was fairly fast and comfortable, no problems. The swim exit was closer to transition this year which was nice, but I didn’t have much time to take my wetsuit top off before the entrance to T1. I still had it off in time but had to hurry.
On the bike I felt pretty good, mounting went well and rode up the hill pretty strong. Descending the hill was fast and had a quick transition to the run.
On the run I was a bit winded as normal, I’m not a fast runner but I’ll take a 7:02 for a 1.05 mile run.
The only bad thing about this race was that I hurt my heel on the long run into transition and it slowed my down just a little near the end of the run. I was also a little worried that it was be a problem on Saturday and Sunday.
Race 2
This is where it starts getting interesting. The swim went very well, I was happy with the effort and it was uneventful. I came out of the water in good shape, had a fast transition and was off on the bike. I had one little hiccup on the bike where I dropped my chain to the outside and then wrapped it around my crank. I had to stop and fix it so I did not tear it up. Because of that I lost about 45 seconds which was reflected in my final results. With that behind me I ran fairly quickly and on schedule for my run. I was about 49 minutes for the run which was just a little faster than last year. Overall I was 2:27:55 which was almost 2 minutes slower than last year. I can attribute that to a longer swim and the bike issue.
Race 3
This race was nearly a carbon copy of last year. 2:32:55 this year and 2:32:30 last year. The bike I felt strong on but rode conservative, the swim was strong despite the longer course and the run was just a little faster than last year. All I really wanted to do was set myself up for the Half on the next day so I didn’t push it that hard. Statistically I normally do better in this race than all of the others but that wasn’t the case this year. The only issue on this race was that I got kicked on the swim and had a little bit of a black eye because of it.
Race 4
This is where the race starts. I had to hold back just enough on Saturday to put down a decent race and place well on the overall. My primary goal was to do at least as well as last year and the secondary goal was to beat 5:35 so I could use it as a qualifying race for the USAT Long course nationals. Going under 5:35 is normally not a problem but this is one of the hardest half’s in the country and I did 3 races in the 2 day prior. It didn’t start off too good…
First of all I was sick to my stomach on Saturday night and had to force myself to eat, it was not pleasant. I figured that I would feel better in the morning, which I did, a little bit.
In the morning I got up as planned, had everything ready to go but still felt a little sick. My normal breakfast includes Pop tarts because they are easy to eat and have a lot of calories, I had to force myself to eat two of them. How bad do you have to feel when eating Pop tarts is difficult?
Anywho, after eating them I rolled down to transition and put down a bottle of Infinit hot weather mix and felt a little better. That normally does the trick but still I only had about 650 calories by then which was about 400 short of where I wanted to be.
I had to get the job done so I put down my two gels before the start (30 min and 15 min beforehand) and was off. Like normal I felt better after about 200 yards of swimming and had a fairly uneventful swim except that I almost threw up near the swim exit. I came out of the water near 27:45 so I knew the swim was short. That was good cuz it gave me a little breathing room for the qualifying time.
After another fast transition (they were good all weekend) I was off on the bike with the goal of riding a 3:06 or better. I really wanted to ride something like a 1:34 then a 1:32 like I did two years ago so I started off conservative. I know these courses pretty well so I know where to go hard and where to coast downhill, that worked out pretty well as I came in from the first loop at 1:32 still fairly fresh. On the second loop I road just a little bit more aggressive on the hills and came in ~1:30:30 so together I rode about 3.5 minutes faster than last year. Doing math in my head I figured I needed to run something like a 2:02 to be under the 5:35 goal which shouldn’t have been any problem.
The nutrition on the bike went well. I started with a gel 15 minutes in and then one every 30 minutes until 2 hours where I ate one early and stayed on the 30 minute cycle. To drink I had one bottle of Infinit on the first loop followed by a second bottle on the second loop. Unlike previous years I only carried one bottle at a time, I just felt I didn’t need more and I was right.
After riding well I was into T2, which was probably my slowest transition at 1:39, and off to a good run. The first half I ran in 55:40 but had some rocks stuck in my shoe so I dug them out at the turn around. That took me about 30 seconds and I was off on my second loop. I felt pretty good but wanted to run conservative so I short stepped the first mile and a half and felt surprisingly well. I got up the hills pretty good, down the backside and then back up in good shape. When I got to the top and knew it was all downhill from there, I picked up the pace, a little too fast at first then settled in at a good clip. I ran strong for the last mile which took me into a 1:52:07 finish, a good run there for me.
So with the combination of a slightly short swim, good bike ride and a strong run I was 5:24:40 for the half which is my best there by about 6 minutes and got me my qualifying time. Now I just need to make my final decision about going to Nationals.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
The shoes that carried me through Triple T
I have a lot of shoes, most are the ladies model because I like a narrow shoe. Here are the ones that carried through the winter and got me through Triple T.
Mizuno Wave Rider 14
I put a lot of miles on these shoes...Just under 700 according to my log. They are my do all shoes, I can run easy, fast, tempo, intervals, indoor, outdoor, trails and just about everywhere else. They are light enough to make my feet fast yet protect me from road shock. While they are not a high performance shoe, they still can perform in a pinch. The only reason I replaced them is because I was getting holes inside of them.
Asics Cumulus 13
I bought these to replace the Riders but really don't like them. I had a pair before and they rolled well but for some reason these don't. I've got about 200 miles in them and I'm going to relegate them to every day duty. They are very good quality shoes, it's just the feel isn't quite right with them.
Saucony Fastwitch 4
These have been my go to shoe for fast running for quite some time now. This particular pair only has about 100 miles on them but this is my 5th pair and I still like them. They are suprisingly spongy but light and fast. The pair before these I did all but one of my Xterra races in as well as Battle of Waterloo and a few road races. They protect my feet from small debris and are fairly grippy but they don't do so well on small rocks. The small rocks seem to poke through and hurt my feet so they don't work on gravel roads. Single track trails and road running are just fine.
Saucony A4
These are fast shoes, very light and let air flow through them. They work well for really fast training but I don't like to run much more than 6 miles in them unless I'm racing and that should be on some pretty good pavement. I did my best 10K in them and did the prolouge at the Triple T in them. I like them but the road has to be right for them.
Asics DS Racer
These are the only men's running shoes that I have, all of the others are ladies shoes cuz I like a narrower shoe. These are fairly new shoes to me and I bought them strictly for Triple T. The Fastwitch don't have enough protection in them for the rocky road but these do. Like the Fastwitch and the A4 they have holes in the soles to let water out so my feet stay dryer. They just don't feel as fast as the Fastwitch but are another great shoe. I suppose the fact that I did my fastest run at the half at Triple T on them could make someone say otherwise but if I could have worn a different shoe I would have. Maybe when I get some more miles in them I'll like them more, right now they will be my tuesday night brick shoe until I run them out.
Mizuno Wave Rider 15
Brand new today, I ran about 6 miles in them and they feel great. I got them to replace the Asics Cumulus.
Sidi T2.6 Carbon
Last but not least...My bike shoes, two years old now, I still think Sidi is the best despite their price. These like the pair before them, I got a great deal on so I keep on riding with them. With any luck I'll find a great deal on my next pair. Stiff and comfortable they fit my feet perfect, I don't think I've every had a better pair of bike shoes.
Mizuno Wave Rider 14
I put a lot of miles on these shoes...Just under 700 according to my log. They are my do all shoes, I can run easy, fast, tempo, intervals, indoor, outdoor, trails and just about everywhere else. They are light enough to make my feet fast yet protect me from road shock. While they are not a high performance shoe, they still can perform in a pinch. The only reason I replaced them is because I was getting holes inside of them.
Asics Cumulus 13
I bought these to replace the Riders but really don't like them. I had a pair before and they rolled well but for some reason these don't. I've got about 200 miles in them and I'm going to relegate them to every day duty. They are very good quality shoes, it's just the feel isn't quite right with them.
Saucony Fastwitch 4
These have been my go to shoe for fast running for quite some time now. This particular pair only has about 100 miles on them but this is my 5th pair and I still like them. They are suprisingly spongy but light and fast. The pair before these I did all but one of my Xterra races in as well as Battle of Waterloo and a few road races. They protect my feet from small debris and are fairly grippy but they don't do so well on small rocks. The small rocks seem to poke through and hurt my feet so they don't work on gravel roads. Single track trails and road running are just fine.
Saucony A4
These are fast shoes, very light and let air flow through them. They work well for really fast training but I don't like to run much more than 6 miles in them unless I'm racing and that should be on some pretty good pavement. I did my best 10K in them and did the prolouge at the Triple T in them. I like them but the road has to be right for them.
Asics DS Racer
These are the only men's running shoes that I have, all of the others are ladies shoes cuz I like a narrower shoe. These are fairly new shoes to me and I bought them strictly for Triple T. The Fastwitch don't have enough protection in them for the rocky road but these do. Like the Fastwitch and the A4 they have holes in the soles to let water out so my feet stay dryer. They just don't feel as fast as the Fastwitch but are another great shoe. I suppose the fact that I did my fastest run at the half at Triple T on them could make someone say otherwise but if I could have worn a different shoe I would have. Maybe when I get some more miles in them I'll like them more, right now they will be my tuesday night brick shoe until I run them out.
Mizuno Wave Rider 15
Brand new today, I ran about 6 miles in them and they feel great. I got them to replace the Asics Cumulus.
Sidi T2.6 Carbon
Last but not least...My bike shoes, two years old now, I still think Sidi is the best despite their price. These like the pair before them, I got a great deal on so I keep on riding with them. With any luck I'll find a great deal on my next pair. Stiff and comfortable they fit my feet perfect, I don't think I've every had a better pair of bike shoes.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Plans for the rest of the season
I am going to do the HFP Olympic distance series again in Ohio like I did in 2009, I've already paid for it. I'll miss one race to do Battle of Waterloo in August. I may also do the He tried, She tried sprint distance with Karen it timing works out, I think that is in July.
The one big change I'm debating on is instead of doing the half at Cedar Point I'm thinking of going to Long Course Nationals again. I was pretty ticked off the last time I went because the swim was cancelled but it appears that that was a blessing in disguise...The swim was cancelled at ITU Long Course Worlds too. Here is my short post about it LINK
This year Long Course Nationals is in Oklahoma (Redman) qualifying for Worlds in 2013 in France. I've never been to Europe before and this may be a good time to go. I age up to 45-49 this year and I think it's my best opportunity to make Team USA. What I need to do is get a qualifying race to get into Nationals, since I did Xterra last year I don't have a later season Half on the books. I need a 5:35 to get in and I'm pretty sure I can do that at Triple T, I've done better than that the last two years. If I don't then I'll have to find a flat local race to qualify at, it shouldn't be any problem.
After Triple T I'll make my decision but I'm really leaning toward Nationals again.
The one big change I'm debating on is instead of doing the half at Cedar Point I'm thinking of going to Long Course Nationals again. I was pretty ticked off the last time I went because the swim was cancelled but it appears that that was a blessing in disguise...The swim was cancelled at ITU Long Course Worlds too. Here is my short post about it LINK
This year Long Course Nationals is in Oklahoma (Redman) qualifying for Worlds in 2013 in France. I've never been to Europe before and this may be a good time to go. I age up to 45-49 this year and I think it's my best opportunity to make Team USA. What I need to do is get a qualifying race to get into Nationals, since I did Xterra last year I don't have a later season Half on the books. I need a 5:35 to get in and I'm pretty sure I can do that at Triple T, I've done better than that the last two years. If I don't then I'll have to find a flat local race to qualify at, it shouldn't be any problem.
After Triple T I'll make my decision but I'm really leaning toward Nationals again.
Oops...I forgot about my swimming
Well, swimming is going OK. I came off of state meet fitness going into HFP camp and was swimming really well. Now I've cut my swim volume to about 2 swims a week with the occasional 3rd. I've noticed about a 5 sec/100 drop in times but I've also been really tired going into all of the swims.
I feel that when I'm rested I'll be able to swim nearly as fast as I was just after state meet in March but right now the biggest focus is on the bike and next is the run.
I feel that when I'm rested I'll be able to swim nearly as fast as I was just after state meet in March but right now the biggest focus is on the bike and next is the run.
Starting the taper for Triple T
According to WKO+ I'm at least 6 weeks ahead in training volume compared to last year which was a few weeks ahead of the year before it. Is that good? I'll see next sunday if more training volume equals better fitness and/or better racing.
Here is why I'm so far ahead of last year:
There are a few factors why I'm ahead of last year, First the weather was much milder this winter and allowed me to train outside earlier than expected. I planned to put more time into running this year like I did last year but got derailed a few times. Still with all those issues I was still running stronger than last year.
Second, I signed up for a training camp with HFP in late March and had to prep for it. (3/26 to 4/1) I knew that the camp was going to be hard and got more bike time in beforehand, the milder weather helped but knowing I had to prepare made me start earlier this season. About the Camp...It was hard...much harder than I anticipated, here is a note I sent to my coach 2 weeks after the camp: _____________________________________________
The camp down in Georgia really shattered me, while I was able to do most things you gave me for the following week I was really tired for all of them and was sleeping 10 hours a day to recover.
I took last saturday off cuz I had some personal business and did a longer run, bike, run workout on sunday. It really wasn't until yesterday (thursday) that I started to feel better and back to normal.
Anywho, the camp was too much volume for me, there were 3 guys there that were much stronger riders than me, 2 that were a little better and everyone else was way behind me. Most all of the climbs I had to settle in near threshold power to save myself for the next climb and the next day. Some were so steep that I could barely turn the pedals over while standing (15-20%), most were comfortably hard (~5-7%) if I kept the power reasonable. I could decend with the faster guys with no problem even though I've never been in the mountains on a road bike before. On the runs, I was always at the front of the groups and there was nobody there that could swim with me (3 pool sessions).
Last week I kind of just went through the motions of the workouts, I skipped monday and wednesday's swims, friday and saturday didn't go well. Sunday I did a 5 mile run, 2 hour bike and then 5 mile run. I felt OK but struggeled to go faster on the second run.
This week has been much better, Wednesday was OK but the new shoes I have don't run very fast, it seems that I run 10-15 sec a mile slower in them (asics cumulus, I normally wear Mizuno Riders) I really don't like them. Yesterday I ran in my flats and felt so much faster. Tuedsay and Thursday bike rides went well.
Today's run went OK for an easy run and I might ride long today since there is supposed to be quite a bit of rain this weekend and I want to get the bike time in. I'll send data on sunday after the long run. jaretj _______________________________________________
As you can see I was blasted from the camp and really thought that I had made a mistake in going. The biking was so hard there was no way I could stay with the leaders, I road at threshold (3.6 W/Kg) up all of the climbs, some were several miles long and the leaders just road away, yes they were working hard but I would have probably had to be over 4 W/Kg to stay with them. All I could do was go as hard as I could and follow Mark L (if I could) cuz he was riding smart and just above my level. We road 315 miles in 5 days with over 30,000 feet of climbing. I'm going to try to make a seperate post about the camp.
Now the swimming and running were a bit different...On the runs I just stayed with the leaders, not expelling too much energy because I knew we had a lot of riding to do. They weren't running that hard anyway and it was nice not to be killing myself trying to stay with them. On the swims I just went through the motions and stayed even with the faster swimmers. I couldn't believe that most of them wore fins during the swim but I could still stay with them without any extra effort. (That's why I said there was nobody there that could swim with me)
Now the last reason why I'm ahead of last year is that I was really prepped for my Triple T camp and road that strong. I knew all of the courses and concentrated on riding the hills hard. Karen and I (and Curt) went down there on thursday evening and were able to get in 2 good rides on Friday and Saturday with a very strong ride on Sunday too. I didn't blast myself because I kept down the run volume that weekend and wound up staying near 1000 TSS points (in WKO).
So it took me about 10 days to feel like I was back to training well after the HFP camp in Georgia. Since then my longer tempo intervals have been +/- a few seconds off 7 min/mile and my biking has been a lot stronger. In the past I would have a very difficult time running under 7 min/mile while deep in training, now it's difficult but I have been able to do 40 minutes worth of tempo work on wednesdays.
On the bike I tested 225 watts for 20 minutes back in February (FTP 215), just last tuesday I did 3X15'(2') at 229,228,228 so there is a definit improvement there. It's at a point now that I may call my FTP 230 watts even before I test for it, previously I've only been as high as 225 at the end of the last two seasons and it's only May :)
So now going into the last 10 days before Triple T I feel strong and have a lighter training weekend waiting for me. As long as I don't do something and hurt myself I should do as well as last year.
Here is why I'm so far ahead of last year:
There are a few factors why I'm ahead of last year, First the weather was much milder this winter and allowed me to train outside earlier than expected. I planned to put more time into running this year like I did last year but got derailed a few times. Still with all those issues I was still running stronger than last year.
Second, I signed up for a training camp with HFP in late March and had to prep for it. (3/26 to 4/1) I knew that the camp was going to be hard and got more bike time in beforehand, the milder weather helped but knowing I had to prepare made me start earlier this season. About the Camp...It was hard...much harder than I anticipated, here is a note I sent to my coach 2 weeks after the camp: _____________________________________________
The camp down in Georgia really shattered me, while I was able to do most things you gave me for the following week I was really tired for all of them and was sleeping 10 hours a day to recover.
I took last saturday off cuz I had some personal business and did a longer run, bike, run workout on sunday. It really wasn't until yesterday (thursday) that I started to feel better and back to normal.
Anywho, the camp was too much volume for me, there were 3 guys there that were much stronger riders than me, 2 that were a little better and everyone else was way behind me. Most all of the climbs I had to settle in near threshold power to save myself for the next climb and the next day. Some were so steep that I could barely turn the pedals over while standing (15-20%), most were comfortably hard (~5-7%) if I kept the power reasonable. I could decend with the faster guys with no problem even though I've never been in the mountains on a road bike before. On the runs, I was always at the front of the groups and there was nobody there that could swim with me (3 pool sessions).
Last week I kind of just went through the motions of the workouts, I skipped monday and wednesday's swims, friday and saturday didn't go well. Sunday I did a 5 mile run, 2 hour bike and then 5 mile run. I felt OK but struggeled to go faster on the second run.
This week has been much better, Wednesday was OK but the new shoes I have don't run very fast, it seems that I run 10-15 sec a mile slower in them (asics cumulus, I normally wear Mizuno Riders) I really don't like them. Yesterday I ran in my flats and felt so much faster. Tuedsay and Thursday bike rides went well.
Today's run went OK for an easy run and I might ride long today since there is supposed to be quite a bit of rain this weekend and I want to get the bike time in. I'll send data on sunday after the long run. jaretj _______________________________________________
As you can see I was blasted from the camp and really thought that I had made a mistake in going. The biking was so hard there was no way I could stay with the leaders, I road at threshold (3.6 W/Kg) up all of the climbs, some were several miles long and the leaders just road away, yes they were working hard but I would have probably had to be over 4 W/Kg to stay with them. All I could do was go as hard as I could and follow Mark L (if I could) cuz he was riding smart and just above my level. We road 315 miles in 5 days with over 30,000 feet of climbing. I'm going to try to make a seperate post about the camp.
Now the swimming and running were a bit different...On the runs I just stayed with the leaders, not expelling too much energy because I knew we had a lot of riding to do. They weren't running that hard anyway and it was nice not to be killing myself trying to stay with them. On the swims I just went through the motions and stayed even with the faster swimmers. I couldn't believe that most of them wore fins during the swim but I could still stay with them without any extra effort. (That's why I said there was nobody there that could swim with me)
Now the last reason why I'm ahead of last year is that I was really prepped for my Triple T camp and road that strong. I knew all of the courses and concentrated on riding the hills hard. Karen and I (and Curt) went down there on thursday evening and were able to get in 2 good rides on Friday and Saturday with a very strong ride on Sunday too. I didn't blast myself because I kept down the run volume that weekend and wound up staying near 1000 TSS points (in WKO).
So it took me about 10 days to feel like I was back to training well after the HFP camp in Georgia. Since then my longer tempo intervals have been +/- a few seconds off 7 min/mile and my biking has been a lot stronger. In the past I would have a very difficult time running under 7 min/mile while deep in training, now it's difficult but I have been able to do 40 minutes worth of tempo work on wednesdays.
On the bike I tested 225 watts for 20 minutes back in February (FTP 215), just last tuesday I did 3X15'(2') at 229,228,228 so there is a definit improvement there. It's at a point now that I may call my FTP 230 watts even before I test for it, previously I've only been as high as 225 at the end of the last two seasons and it's only May :)
So now going into the last 10 days before Triple T I feel strong and have a lighter training weekend waiting for me. As long as I don't do something and hurt myself I should do as well as last year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)