2013 SEASON, THE GOOD, BAD, UGLY

I have put off this season ending blog in order to collect my thoughts and emotions. Racing triathlons as a baby boomer is often not about winning your age group, but about overcoming age related injuries and challenges while achieving personal goals.  In the 2010 St George Ironman (a race course no longer contested due to the hot, humid, windy, hilly conditions) what kept me going was my desire to finish a race that included my son, and collect that stupid finishers hat that comes with the $650 entrance fee.

In relative terms,  2013 was a successful racing year for me but not without disappointments.  At local triathlon races in Arizona and Minnesota I won my age division with large margins.  The tougher tests are at the National and International races, however.  I placed 2nd at USAT Nationals and 3rd at Ironman 70.3 Worlds.  I also cancelled out of 3 races including the main focus of my 2013 plan, the ITU World Duathlon Championships.

Meanwhile, the World Championship Ironman at Kona had record breaking race conditions this year. My course record for a 65-69 year old American set in 2011 was shattered.  I changed my blog cover photo and caption accordingly.

As Reese Bobby said to Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights, "if you ain't first you're last".  Memorable, nonsensical, and full of irony.

Following Ironman 70.3 Worlds in early September I went into training hibernation.  I was emotionally burned out from struggling through a variety of aggravating injuries while trying to build international level fitness.  Cracked ribs, pseudo gout, external compartment syndrome and finally the confirming diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis by the Mayo Clinic following my 70.3 race took the umph out of my emotions and desire to train.

What should I do as I grow older?  How about AquaBikes?  How about USA Cycling?  Both of these could be done without causing me the serious knee pain the goes with pseudo gout and arthritis. Maybe it was time to get more serious about golf?

I decided that I would not apply for "elite" status within my triathlon team, ONE Multisport.  The experience of racing as an "elite" this last year has been rewarding as the team is just a great and encouraging organization for all members regardless of their abilities.  However, I need time to sort out my future motivation and goals without the added self-imposed pressure of living up to an elite status.

My son flew to AZ in November for the purpose of volunteering at Ironman Arizona and registering for next year.  Given that he will be racing at Kona in October, another Ironman so closely bunched sounded absurd to me but he likes to bunch his triathlons.  Ah, youth.  So, like son like father, I also registered not really knowing why.  Maybe to race together again?  Maybe to put a goal out there that will cause me to rethink that golf thing?  Maybe motivation to get serious about resolving my knee pain handicap?

So, goodbye to the 2013 racing season.  Looking forward to what 2014 will bring.

IRONMAN TAHOE -- THE NEW WORLDS TOUGHEST?

A COLD SUNRISE

I lived this event vicariously through my son, Ben Ewers III. He had raced 3 half Ironman (Vineman, Racine, World Championship) culminating with the Tahoe Ironman in an 8 week stretch.   I visited the doc following my half ironman world championship race and haven't moved a swim/bike/run muscle since.  But, through the technology of Ironman Live and cell phones, I kept track of his race as it unfolded.  And, having raced numerous time with him since he started triathlons in high school, I thought I could feel how he was feeling through the technology.  I was exhausted by the time he finished.

It was a beast of a race.  Cold, hilly, altitude, windy and the slowest average finishing time of all official Ironman races. A huge DNF and DNS count.  Only 2 pros beat 9 hrs, and then only by a few minutes. Follow the link below to some interesting stats.

 www.runtri.com/2013/09/ironman-lake-tahoe-2013-results-analysis.html

BE3 lives in the bay area and has been involved in numerous activities in the Tahoe area including downhill skiing, ultra racing on the Tahoe rim trail, and biking the notorious death ride numerous times. He has a huge respect for what the altitude can do to your ability to get oxygen to your muscles.  He adjusted his race targets accordingly.

I saw that BE3 exited the water with a 67:34 minute split and in 308th place, higher than he usually places. And since the top pro time was a slow 51:36 minutes, I was excited that the new wetsuit he was using and some additional swim training was giving him a great start to the race.  Boy, this is cold and people are pummeling me.  I can't seem to get a breath. The wetsuit must be constricting my breathing. I've never felt like this before, I gotta swim to that anchored boat and get outta here.  Am I having a panic attack?  OK, I'll rest holding onto the boat for a while and unzip my wetsuit to make it easier to breath.  Maybe I should quit. The official is calming me down.  I've seen this happen before, especially up here at Lake Tahoe, he states. Take slow breaths he advises, it's the frenetic pace at the start and the low oxygen content at this altitude impacting you.  OK, I'll try to get going again, can you help me re-zip my wetsuit?  Enough break time, those swimming around me are less frenetic and swimming slower.  I can do this. Long slower strokes.  I've found my rhythm and am moving past these slower swimmers. It's just not gonna be my day. I need to readjust my expectations and goals.  Just finishing safely after this scare.

BE3 WITH ALEXA AT START

Ironman live showed him moving into 104th place at the 4.2 mile split on the bike.  What!  How did he pass 200+ fast triathletes in 4 miles of biking?  I started to check the transitions.  BE3 took 5:34, which appeared long to me. Then I checked what others were taking.   Very long transitions, many in excess of 12 minutes.  It occurred to me that complete clothes changeover must be the norm, as the early morning temps were near 30 degrees. I checked the live video feed for transition 1.  Everybody was heavily clothed and carrying their shoes without bikes.  A long transition run also.  So how did he transition so fast?  Did he know what his placing was?  Quick text to his wife Sandra. Found out she had to leave after the swim as Alexa and Bella were freezing. Boy, was that swim a scare.  It's really cold and I'm wet. Dam, there are no chairs open in this crowded transition tent, that swim pause put me among the masses.  I'll plop down on the ground and change.  My hands aren't working, I'll use gloves and just put a base layer under my trisuit for the rest of the race. The trisuit will dry out quickly on the bike and as the day warms up I'll be just fine.  


By 41.1 miles on the bike he was 55th overall and 4th in his age group, the highly competitive 40-44. At age 44 he is at a relative disadvantage, but if he qualified for Kona 2014 he would race in the 45-49 age group, a small relative improvement.  Quick check of his bike pace.  Actually very conservative (slow) and well within his pre-race plan.  And, yet, he was screaming up the leaderboard. Had to be a tough course. Crap, my power meter just froze up and I'm no longer getting reads. Must have gotten soaked by the rain. I'll have to bike purely by feel. I'm cold, bad decision to not take a windbreak. I'm biking harder than I want to, but I have to in order to not freeze.  It's difficult to eat my nutrition as it's frozen hard. Oh well, maybe I can make top 10 in my age group.  

Approaching the finish of the bike leg BE3 had moved into 39th overall (many of them pros) and holding onto 4th in the 40-44 age group.  Two guys in his age group are way out in front of the rest. He has a chance for 3rd if he races smart.  His times are still conservative with the bike, actually slow. There are 10 splits on the bike course.  Many parts of the bike course are repeats, so I started comparing these splits. There did not appear to be much fatigue fade setting in.  Still, the bike times seemed slow overall but his relative placings were great.  I text Sandra.  Does BE3 know where he is?  No, she's going to catch him on the run segments.  I tell her he's doing great.  Go go go.  He brings in a 5:41:33 bike split. Under 20 mph average? Must be very hilly. Another leaderboard check shows that only 3 guys broke 5 hrs.  Where is everybody?  I haven't seen another biker for 12 miles?  At the last turnaround the guy shouted out 40th place?  Must be wrong or 40th amateur at best.  I've done everything wrong.  Must have lost 4 minutes on the swim, under dressed for the weather, power meter froze up, biking too hard, can't get food down, relieved myself frequently on the bike, ugh.  Can't wait for the run. I'll just try to bring it home healthy. 

FUN ON THE RUN

Like the bike course, there are frequent splits on the run, 8 in total, and some of these are repeats also.  Running is BE3's strength as he basically trains for ultra trail runs and tries to squeeze in some swimming and biking as he approaches a triathlon race.  That's why he clumps his triathlons into short time periods.  His run splits look like he planned. Thinking of the line from the Kenny Rogers country western song --"you never count your money when your sittin' at the table"-- I try to not get too excited for him.  At 13.1 miles he moved into 34 overall and 3rd age group.  At 22.6 miles 34th and 2nd age group.  Am I glad to see Sandra and Alexa and Bella. Bella wants a hug and a lift? Great? What, I'm in what place? Wow, everyone must be hurting. Not that many more miles to go, but I'll have to walk some of the aid stations.  I am so cold, even on the run, it doesn't make sense to me as its warmer now? The patches of sun sure feel good.

Yea, he's done!  3:31 run split.   Only 6 pros broke 3 hours. 10:28 final time.  37th overall, 10th amateur, 3rd age group, KONA bound!  I need to go to the med tent.  I am really cold.  What is my core temp?  95 degrees?  I can't eat a thing. 


In an Ironman there can be a whole series of emotional and physical swings.  Unlike shorter triathlons, there is the opportunity for redemption for miscalculating equipment, nutrition, pacing as long as you persevere and keep your wits about you.  It's tough being the parent of an Ironman, even if you are an Ironman.

3RD AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 70.3 -- A BRUTE OF A RACE

A young looking group of Podium finishers

Well, the Ironman World Championship 70.3 (c'mon, it's a Half Ironman), held in the local of Henderson, Nevada, deserves its reputation as one brute of a race venue.  Fortunately, the forecast of 103 degree heat for the September 8th race was interrupted by a late summer monsoon that brought rain that lasted through most of the bike leg.  [A monsoon in the desert southwest sounds like an oxymoron, but for the residents, compared to their normal dry and hot weather, it feels like a monsoon.  Every year in late summer moisture from the south makes its way north and most of the 6 or 7 annual inches of rain fall in that so-called "monsoon" season.] But, once the rain passed, the humidity remained and it warmed up to the mid-80's for the run.

Besides the usual heat, there are the hills.  2800 vertical climbing on the bike and since it is a point-to-point bike with the ending elevation about 800 feet above the starting point, the bike entropy is not zero. You get to climb but you don't get to descend all the way.  And the run has about 200 feet of climb and descent each of the 3 laps.

Entry into the 70.3 Worlds was by qualification at one of the approximately 50 qualifying races held worldwide.  My 65-69 age group typically had one qualifying slot per race.  Due to attrition or passed slots, by the time the bib numbers were assigned, there were 34 entrants in this age-group, 15 of which made their home outside the USA.  Don't think they came here just for the weather.

I had traveled back to Arizona from Minnesota some 10 days prior to the race to attempt to get heat acclimated.  My Internet research had indicated that 10 days of training for a minimum of 90 minutes per day in the heat would get you most of the way there.  I had followed that plan for the Ironman World Championships in 2011 and it proved effective.  It was the hills that were tough for me to get a handle on since my summer training terrain in Minnesota was on relatively flat ground (like 60 mile bikes with 150 foot total climbing!).

My son was going to join me again for this race so we were able to share race strategy and targets. After some consternation I settled on :40/2:50/2:00 for the swim/bike/run segments plus transitions giving 5:35 assuming a good race and the milder weather.  Part of my concern was my arthritic knees which made run training for the past two months difficult and a sprained back that occured 7 days prior to race day. Fortunately, neither was a significant issue on race day.

Early morning Lake Las Vegas during the monsoon

The swim was in Lake Las Vegas, a man-made lake with water from Lake Mead pumped up into it to maintain its water level.  Average water temp this time of year is low 80's, no wetsuits.  There were wave starts and the 60+ males had an early start in wave 4 departing at 6:44.  The swim was uneventful, I held a good line, was not hassled but was surprised by my slow split, 44:25.  I had turned in a 41minute swim at Racine 70.3 in much worse conditions.  Just not a good swim.

The rain was pretty heavy during parts of the bike which I responded to by being very cautious on turns and descents.  At mile point 25 I was not feeling great but only putting out 209 average watts, way below my Racine 70.3 numbers of 220 watts.  I decided to ease up some thinking that the hills were impacting me more than I had imagined.  I finished at an average of 200 watts and with a split of 2:52:47. I only consumed 4 gels and 2 1/2 bottles of fluid on the bike, partly due to the steady rain on the course.  I relieved myself 3 times on the bike, not a good sign, hoping the steady rain would cleanse everything.  [Having to relieve oneself is a sign of over hydration. Water is not getting through the cell membranes into the body so the bladder flushes the excess out in trying to establish a better water-to-salt-minerals balance.  Sometimes ingesting more salt minerals resolves the problem.]  I did manage to take 4 salt capsules with water.

Not in a happy place at this point

I decided in the bike/run transition to go sock less on the run as my socks were soaked (see above) and full of mud from the bike.  I had no spare socks in the run bag (error).  The first mile of the run was horrible as I was not able to get a rhythm, and I realized that I had some small gravel in my shoes which I left there.  I resorted to my planned jog/walk routine that was necessary for me to complete the half marathon, as my longest training run this summer had been 7 miles utilizing a similar jog/walk routine (the only approach my knees tolerated).  At this point I knew there were some of my age-group competitors in front of me but I didn't really care as I was already into "finish" mode.

Finding that happy place

I did notice one competitor gaining ground on me at each turn around.  Not too much I could do about that during the early miles but follow my plan and see what happened.  Besides, I was in "finish" mode and not in contention anymore to win; a podium finish was the new goal. What happened is he passed me with three miles to go starting an uphill section.   I tried to stay with him but he slowly moved away until he graciously walked through an aid station with less than 2 miles to go.  That allowed me to catch up and I remained behind him until there was about 1 mile left with a small uphill remaining followed by a long downhill finish.  I decided to push it and either open enough gap to discourage him or fail in trying.  I did not want another close finish either way.  I didn't look back, he didn't catch me.  My split was 1:59:56. I placed third with an overall time of 5:44:03 including some slow transitions.  My son placed 23rd in the highly competitive 40-44 age group in 4:44:13.

My knees and back survived just fine and I feel healthy.  I've scheduled a September evaluation at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota to evaluate my knees.  I have avoided this clinic visit for some time as I am afraid I will not like the analysis and recommendations.  But now its time to rest and recover and discover.

USAT NATIONAL AGE GROUP CHAMPIONSHIPS ----- 2nd by 15 seconds

In looking back at any race effort you usually can find 16 seconds in a 2+ hour race that you could have cut out.  Less fumble in the transitions.  Push the swim/bike/run/you-name-it just a little harder.  At the end of the day, it's all OK, as long as you made the best combination of emotional, physical, and mental effort you could make on that day. I was beaten by 15 seconds in the USAT National Age Group Triathlon Championships held Saturday August 10th in Milwaukee with a time of 2:22:23 on a beautiful day for racing.  I was excited about the result given that I was not where I had planned to be with my run fitness. Optimal fitness, emotional and mental readiness at this level of racing are crucial as finishing places can be separated by narrow margins of just seconds. For example, I've finished second twice (by 24 seconds and now 15 seconds) and won twice (by 12 seconds and 1 minute)  at these National Championships.

FINISHING CHUTE ON RIGHT, I 794 IN BACKGROUND

Just how did I end up in Milwaukee racing at the National Championships? I had originally planned on racing in the ITU World DU Championships representing USA in Ottawa, Canada. It was held on the same weekend as the USAT National Championships, so I could not do both and figured the ITU race was more prestigious.  But, if you have read any of my previous posts, you know I have had my share of running related injuries which limited my run training to weekly averages between zero and 13 miles.  And, those miles were in races.  So, I decided my best chance for a podium finish was not the run oriented DU format of 10Krun/40Kbike/5Krun, but the olympic distance triathlon.

BIKES FOREVER

The venue for the race was pretty awesome.  There were 3,000 entrants in the Olympic distance event on Saturday, and 1,400 in the Sprint distance event held on Sunday.  All were qualifiers, so the level of competition would be the toughest imaginable. The last time I was in Milwaukee was for the half Ironman triathlon I raced in 1987 to qualify for my first Kona Ironman World Championship experience.  I was not sure this race would take place on the same course as I arrived on Friday just in time to register and put my bike in the corral.  No pre-race course preview for me. Normally the day before the race I do a swim/bike/run warmup, not this time.


The swim was in the breakwater protected waters of Lake Michigan, in effect a large lagoon.  I was concerned about the ramp exit as it was very steep, but it was not an issue.  I also was concerned about my decision to use a new wetsuit that arrived on my doorstep Thursday before I drove down on Friday from Minneapolis to Milwaukee.  First time I was going to swim in it was race day.  It was tighter than my no-name antique wetsuit so I wasn't sure how difficult it was going to be to strip it off.  Turned out to not be an issue.  It sure felt faster as I swam a 27:14  split and was only down to 9th place in my age group (out of 50 entrants), a major improvement for my weakest event.

OFF THE DOCK AND INTO THE LAGOON

4,400 TRIATHLETES UP THIS ITTY BITTY RAMP?

The bike definitely was on the same basic course as the 1987 race, as we went over the I794 interstate bridge on the southbound lanes which were closed for the race.  The bike course was flat and the wind mild so the times were fast.  I averaged 23.5 MPH using only 220 watts average.  Split time was 1:03:58, fastest in my age group.

The run was the big question. For the last 5 weeks I have had to choose between trying to run train with my painful knees to maintain run fitness or not run and allow them to recover and lose some of that hard fought run fitness.  Not a set of good choices when you are trying to get ready for the most competitive race of the racing season.  I chose the latter option. In talking with fellow racer Dr. Roger Freeman (a practicing orthopaedic surgeon who finished 3rd) in the bike corral before the start of the race, at any point in time it seems like people in our age group are either exiting from or entering into an injury. The unknown for me on August 10th was how fast can you run without having run for two weeks, and that last run having been the 5K finishing leg of a sprint triathlon? Turn out not as fast as I needed to run!

COOLING OFF IN FOUNTAIN

By the time I was finishing the bike leg I thought I had passed everyone in my age group who exited the swim ahead of me as I had not passed any 65+ person since mile 15.  After all, the bike is my strength, and I had that new fast wetsuit!  I was just as sure that some of these old-guy competitors would come screaming past me on the run due to my injury-reduced run fitness level.  I was wrong on
both counts; there was a competitor ahead of me exiting the bike-to-run transition and nobody passed me from behind on the run.  I found this out in the finishing chute as the announcers congratulated Richard Holloway as the first 65-69 competitor to cross the finish line. My run split was 47:01, second fastest in the age group.

One more big race this year, the World Championship 70.3 in Vegas. Four weeks to get my run mojo back.

CHISAGO SPRINT

Decided on Friday July 26th to see what type triathlon I could do this weekend in lieu of hard training. Looked at the MINNESOTA TRI NEWS calendar and there were 7 races listed for the weekend of July 27-28 within driving distance of my house.  Lots of race options during the summer is typical for Minnesota as most outside sports events are compressed into the short summer season.  Chisago City had a sprint and half Ironman combo race for Sunday morning, was 25 miles from my house, and a race fee of $55.  Hard to pass up.

The sprint was a .25 mile swim, 22+ mile bike (course altered due to bridge construction), and 5K run. The short swim and relatively long bike was to my liking.  I hadn't run since my Racine 70.3 race last Sunday to give my knees adequate recovery time, so I did not know what to expect on the run.  Also, the cold front forecast for last weekend arrived late -- it was 50 degrees this Sunday morning.

The swim was a wave start with the long course athletes starting first, approximately 700 of them.  The sprinters followed and I was in the first sprint wave with about 800 entrants in this event.  Swim felt good; transition was horrible as I struggled with my wetsuit; bike was good except for my going off-course near the end and turning around after a block; run felt OK on my knees.  Averaged 235 watts on the bike for an average speed of 23.2mph.  Odd, as it was a relatively flat course (700 ft vertical) and I usually average 1 to 1.5 mph faster than 10% of my average watts (so I should have averaged 24.5 mph).  For example, last week I pushed 207 ave watts and averaged 22.2 mph.  Same bike, same setup, who knows?

My S/B/R splits were 8:11/58:40/22:47 with corresponding overall placings of 80th/27th/86th out of the approximately 800 entrants (last year placings 139/56/59 showing improved swim/bike).  Total time with transitions 1:32:54, slower than last year but the bike was a bit longer due to the bridge construction and rerouting. The swim was a much better placing than normal, probably due to an increased emphasis on swimming as a substitute for running.  Overall pretty consistent placings. Satisfied as it has only been a week since I raced Racine 70.3.

                         

RACING RACINE 70.3

GREAT VENUE AT RACINE

I raced Racine on July 21 and am I glad that's over.  I was feeling the pressure of having to win a qualifying race to qualify for the 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas, representing ONE MULTISPORT, while overcoming the effects of yet another injury. The stress did not sit right with either my stomach or mind. But, in my M65-69 age group, it seems that everyone is working through an injury and the least injured leading up to and on the day of the race has a good chance of winning. It would be what it would be.



It appeared that the week old pseudo-gout pain in my left knee was responding to the ice, Advil and rest treatment I was following.  After taking a day completely off from exercise following injury, I resumed biking and swimming but could not jog except as noted in the next paragraph.  Biking was interesting. It was difficult to get started as I was basically a one legged peddler. I could not lift my left leg so I had to rely on my right leg to get up to speed and push the left pedal up so I could push down with my left leg.  Similar to the "cutter" in the classic coming-of-age movie "Breaking Away" with his foot taped to the pedal.  It was painful to bend the left knee, but less so to straighten it out.  I hated the stop signs or missed green lights as I would have to repeat the starting ritual. Swimming was a little better as I kept my left leg straight on the flip turns by flipping at an angle and did an abbreviated one-legged push off.  Almost all swimming was done with a pull buoy.  

I had been closely watching the local weather for Racine from my perch here in Minnesota, as the weather patterns usually flow West to East.  It had been hot and humid with heat advisories being issued for both states due to heat indexes of 100.  The  heat/humidity was forecast to break by the weekend into the 70's.  We'd see about that.  In hindsight, one thing that might have helped me with the heat was that I had been hot tub jogging-in-place for the 7 days leading up to the race as part of my recovery from pseudo-gout, about 15 minutes a day. The waist high water provided enough body weight support to significantly reduce the pain upon impact, and the heat seemed to loosen the joint. But, I hadn't run on terra firma during that time except for 2 miles on Friday which I did to judge the pain level.  It was clear that the best I could hope for was to "run" the 13.1 miles with a jog/walk routine of about 4min/1min splits and hope the knee did not lock up.

My son, Ben III, decided about two weeks previously to make a quick trip from California to join me in the race and lend moral support as well, even though it was only 7 days after his Vineman 70.3 race. He had a stellar 4:25 there (21st amateur) on a tougher course, but with his relatively low volume training knew his recovery would not be complete enough to race well at Racine.  My old adage from my marathoner days was one day recovery for each mile raced. So a half marathon finish to a 70.3 would take about 2 weeks of recovery.

MY RIDE IS 5 YEARS OLD BUT STILL SWEET 

He also brought along his two girls for Nana to enjoy while he and I drove down to Racine to "enjoy" our race.  As it was not a serious race for him, he rode on an old bike of mine (after we tweaked it a bit for his geometry) rather than ship his out. I was raised in Racine and still have relatives there, so my Sister-in-law Yvonne offered to room both of us and arrange for my sisters Gretchen and Sally (and
their families) to gather around after the race. We drove down Saturday morning (7 hours, we were very hydrated) and drove back Monday morning (6 1/2 hours). Since I only have one set of race wheels and Ben III was going to use them, I borrowed a new set from Anne Hed (60 front, 90 back, real sweet, thanks Anne). Also had to pick up a rental car so I would not leave my wife carless with two toddlers. It was a hectic weekend.

BEN 2 AND BEN 3

It's nice to have a racer in the family.  We are able to discuss strategy with each other knowing the others tendencies and strengths to help settle on race approach.  I set a target of 40 minutes for the swim, 2:40 for the bike, and under 2 hrs for the run with a few minutes for the transitions.  Slower targets than I would normally set for the Racine course, but I was trying to properly incorporate the injury layoff and recovery into my racing ability. We also noticed that the swim and run at Racine both appeared to be historically slow compared to other 70.3's. We suspected waves on the swim and heat/humidity on the run and adjusted our goals accordingly.


The swim, a point-to-point longitudinally along the beach, was tough to almost dangerous.  It was wetsuit legal but the chop, swells and waves caused many racers to reach for the kayaks and buoys early on. Sighting was difficult.  Top pro time was 24 minutes, not fast. I just broke 41 minutes and when I saw that I was satisfied for the conditions (I had timed 35 minutes in pool with pull buoy -- to mimic a wetsuit -- for 2100 yds). The transition run up the beach sand was a long one, but they did have strippers once out of the sand.

The bike is out and back with non-repeating loops and only a few stretches where riders are going in both directions.  Us old guys 55+ started the swim just after the pro waves, 7 minutes after the gun.  So, even though some of the women from the following waves passed me on the swim, there were going to be few riders out there in front of me other than the pro's.  It was a new experience for me as the old guys usually start near the last wave, and I kinda liked it.  I could pick a line to avoid the potholes and focus on my power meter to make sure I was on plan. But, at times, no one was in sight and I wondered if I was off-course, riding to Beloit or someplace else. However, the course was well marked and I was able to slowly catch and pass some of those 55+ males and younger females that exited the water ahead of me.  It was a bit windy, but I was able to average 207 watts and 22.2 MPH, slightly ahead of goal but reasonable for such a relatively flat course.  Garmin measured 1200+ feet elevation gain but GPS devices are notorious for overstating elevation gain (pressure devices are more accurate), officially the course had a 577 ft gain so here the overstatement was 100%!  Only long courses that I have raced that are flatter are the Arizona Ironman and Tempe Leadman 125.

The run was the big question for me.  By now it was clear the weather forecasters were not accurate. While the 100 degree heat index was broken, it did not get into the 70's they had predicted but more like 80's and very humid.  My first walk occurred at about the 1/2 mile point going up a hill. This wasn't far off my plan of a 4min/1min split.  I walked again through the aid station just past the 1 mile mark and continued with this approach through 2 miles.  I ran the next 2 miles walking only through aid stations at 3 and 4 miles before dropping back into the two walks per mile approach.  I continued with the two walks per mile approach until the last mile where I knew I could run it in.  In all the chaos of the weekend, I forgot to bring a race watch, so I had to rely on fellow racers to know what my approximate pace was.  I found that I was able to keep pace below 9 min/mile with the run/walk routine so I knew I was on track to break 2 hours for the run.


My final time with transitions was 5:10+.  1st 65-69M by 28 minutes.  Would have been first in 60-64 as well by a margin of 10 minutes.  Ben III knew on the bike in the first 20 miles that he was not recovered from his previous race as he could only comfortably average 230 watts versus the 258 watts he averaged the previous week.  He eased off both the bike and subsequent run to clock a 4:45+. There was no pomp to the awards ceremony as it happened hours after most people finished and few stayed to pick up their awards, hence the stand-alone award photo.  However, we both picked up tickets to the 70.3 World Championships, his on a roll-down.    Viva Las Vegas.

PSEUDO-GOUT STRIKES AGAIN

This posting is all about personal catharsis.  I cancelled out of yet another race due to injury. This time it was the Minneapolis LIFETIME triathlon, held on Saturday July 13th, the largest and most competitive race in Minnesota. Its purpose in my seasonal planning was to give me a benchmark going into the Racine Ironman 70.3 the following week.  I have raced this course previously so whatever I might have done would have given me a good reference point for pacing the 70.3.

Instead my worst pre-race fear happened.  Pseudo-gout appeared with no warning.  Thursday was a solid 2000 yd swim workout followed by a 5 mile run followed by walking 18 holes of golf. Great way to spend a day when retired in Minnesota.  Absolutely no pain anyplace.  Friday was a short swim and short bike as a pre-race taper day.  By supper I had developed a severe pain in my left knee.  This knee pain forced me to climb stairs one step at a time dragging the left leg.  I had a tough time getting to sleep even with the Advil. Woke up at 2 am to the loudest clap of thunder and lightning imaginable, so got up to make sure the house wasn't hit.  Couldn't lift my foot but a few inches off the ground.  I immediately knew that my race was toast, so took the early wake-up off the alarm clock and went back to sleep.

STARS IN THE JOINT

I was diagnosed with pseudo-gout (see picture on right) a few months prior to my 2010 Kona Ironman race.  The orthopedic doctor who had performed the 3 arthroscopic surgeries on my knees to remove torn cartilage took x-rays to help diagnose my severely sore knees -- I assumed I had damaged some cartilage again.  But no, mixed in with the cartilage in my knee joint were all these tiny white specs that made the joint look like the stars in the sky on a particularly clear Arizona night.

Those stars were crystals made up of calcium.  No known cause.  Incidence increases with age. Possibly genetic.  No known cure.  No treatment except NSAID's to ease the pain. And even worse, the bouts of pain come and go at random with random intensity and random duration. My doctors personal experience was that the more surgeries you have, the greater the incidence.  My left knee had 2 surgeries and more stars.  My doctor said I could take up to 12 Advil a day and exercise as the pain permits. I can take a lot of pain, but even at the 2010 Kona Ironman I had to walk the last 16 miles of the marathon.  At 2 am in the morning of July 13, I was not about to suffer through a less meaningful race, so another race bit the dust. Blogging about this worked, I feel better now.  So does my knee.

For the truly interested, below is a link that provides a more clinical description.

PSEUDO-GOUT LINK

GOTTA KNOW WHEN TO FOLD EM

I had been holding my cards for as long as I could, but I just cancelled out of Kansas 70.3 to be held on June 9th.  Very tough decision as this was a target race for me.  I had planned on finishing first in my age group and qualifying for the World Championship 70.3 race to be held in Nevada in September.  I have a backup qualifier in mind -- Racine 70.3 scheduled in July.  But, not getting to race at Kansas is kinda like getting a flat on a bike ride and using up your only spare.  The uncertainty of whether you will finish the ride or get another flat is unnerving.

The reason I cancelled is I have another injury.  Following my race two weeks ago Saturday, I took a recovery bike ride on Sunday and swam/ran on Monday. Tuesday morning I could hardly walk.  It appeared I had a good case of the shin splints on my right leg. Haven't had shin splints since High School.  So I followed the RICE rule (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) but continued to swim and bike as the pain was not excruciating for those exercises (as compared to attempted running).  After a week nothing much changed so I started with the heat and self massage treatments. OK, that's not going well, maybe I have something other than shin splints.  What about a stress fracture of the tibia or navicular bone (google it)?  Healing time is up to 6 weeks, ugh, I can't have that.  Did you know Frank Shorter ran the 1976 Olympic Marathon with a stress fracture and still took the silver medal?  Just a trivia diversion for those under the age of 40.  Or, maybe I have External Compartment Syndrome (ECS)?

After some self diagnosis aided by the Internet, I ruled out shin splints (they appear on the interior of the leg, my swelling is on the exterior).  I ruled out stress fracture (the pain usually localizes after a few days, mine didn't).  That left me with ECS or a simple tendon/ligament strain.  The foot is complicated, 24 bones per foot, almost 1/4 of all the bones in your body are in your feet.  Take a look at my right leg almost two weeks after the pain first appeared.  You can't even see the ankle bones for the swelling. Guess I better not attempt a 70.3 race (with a half marathon run) on that puffy lower leg.  So, wait for healing and the opportunity to race another day.

Now, it's time for a confession that may have a nexus regarding my injury.  I'm old school when it comes to training and athletics.  I mean really old school.  I keep things relatively simple.  I have never had an athletic coach except for high school and college track, and they were conscripts (Any teacher here want to coach track? Pay is $500 per season.).  I have never consulted a nutritionist for dietary, training or race needs.  I simply follow the crave theory.  If I crave it, I eat it. Well, not exactly true. I do try to show reasonable constraint but I don't exclude anything in particular from my diet.  I have never used supplements unless you call multi-vitamins a supplement.  I don't get regular massages or physical therapy for athletic purposes (I have received them occasionally for injury recovery).  I have never had a professional triathlon bike fitting,  swim evaluation, or running evaluation.  I don't have a physical trainer.  I'm not sure what "core" workouts mean, but I imagine you exercise everything but the arms and legs.  How do you do that?  And, while I used to keep track of training and race efforts with a pencil and paper,  now I no longer bother keeping track at all.  Certainly you don't care how far I biked on Jan 6th 2002.  I know I don't.

31st APPLE DUATHLON -- A PEACH OF A RACE

Saturday May 25th had the running of the 31st APPLE DUATHLON in Sartell, Minnesota.  A well respected race, it has hosted the USAT Duathlon National Championships in past years, and was a USAT section qualifier for the ITU Worlds this year. Approximately 450 signed up for the event, interestingly there were about 50 entrants over the age of 60.  The lengths were 5k, 33k, 5k.  The podium awards consist of a polished red granite apple, symbolic of the granite mining in the area.

This has been an awkward spring for Minnesota, with the ice staying in the lake well into late April.  The forecast was for 50 degrees and showers, slightly warmer than the local lake temperatures.  At least it was a duathlon and not a triathlon.   And, it did not rain on our parade, but remained cool, overcast with some winds but conducive for fast times.

I had scouted out the competition in the M65-69 age group and noticed that Kerry Mayer was entered.  We had a close race at the USAT duathlon nationals last year in Tuscon.  He outran me on both legs but my bike split compensated giving me a 12 second win.  Could I be as lucky again?  Chatting before the race start, I asked him about his running background only to find out his personal best marathon was a 2:21.  Mine was a 2:35.  Explains his run advantage.  Thankfully he doesn't like to swim.

Mike McDowell/Kerry Mayer/Ben Ewers

The over 50 crowd was the last wave to start and Kerry exceeded my expectations taking a 1 minute lead into transition.  It took me until mile 17 to catch him on the bike, meaning that unless he blew up (not likely in such a relatively short race) I was angling for second place.  We entered transition 2 at about the same time but I came out way behind him (later discovered he was 20 seconds faster in the transition).  Whatever chance I had of mind overcoming matter and keeping up with him was lost in the transition.  Overall I had a good race, beating my own course record set 2 years ago by 3 minutes.  Kerry broke it by 5 minutes.

While discussing our age and training related injuries after the race (typical banter between aging athletes), Kerry said the close loss last year was a wake up call that improvements had to be made to his biking.  A new bike was part of the improvement (why not buy some speed, its legal), as well as more focus on bike training.  This clearly demonstrates that exposure to other peoples abilities re calibrates your thinking as to what your own capabilities are.  What we think is fast, what we believe is possible, can be redefined by the example of others.

Partway through the awards ceremony, Jerry MacNeil, the announcer, stopped the awards show to lead a standing ovation for an 88 year old local icon who had just finished the race.  Bob Powers was in the house.  What is possible and achievable for each of us?  Do we have stretching goals?  Will we be capable of crossing finish lines at age 88?

UNDER THE BOARDWALK, BOARDWALK! (ER, HIGHWAY) -- TEMPE INTERNATIONAL

Urban triathlons are full of challenges due to the innate venue obstacles of staging the race in an urbane setting. TheTempe International Triathlon on May 19th was more unique than most as the transition site was literally under the 202 interstate in downtown Tempe Arizona (lower photo shows early morning setup). The transition site limited the entries to a combined 900 or so for either the sprint or Olympic distance events. The swim was in Tempe Town Lake with a beach entry on the north side of the man-made lake.  The bike was on a very turney (not a real word but descriptive), 21 turns per 12 mile lap city road loop with minimal hills (300 ft vertical per lap).  The run was on a 3.1 mile loop over and back across the multiple bridges spanning the lake, with sets of stairs to descend from bridge to lake level on each lap to complete the urban feel.  The race had a delayed start to ensure the traffic controls were safely in place which pushed the race finishing run into a warmer part of the hot Arizona day.  The registration and awards ceremony were at a shopping mall about 3 miles away as there was minimal parking near the transition site.  Most parked on the south side of the lake and biked or walked across to the race transition site.  Oh, and the race served as the Arizona club championship race.


This race makes efforts to be beginner friendly.  The self appointed beginners are all grouped together in the transition corral.  Since Arizona has few lakes to train or stage races in, for many beginners this would be their first open water race swim.  Consequently the beginners are given the option to wear a beginners swim cap (yellow) so the lifeguards can pay special attention for any signs of distress.  The day before the race the elite members of my team, ONE MULTISPORT (see left), along with the race director provided any interested entrant with a 1 1/2 hour on site race clinic covering all aspects of the event (swim, bike, run, transitions) and answering any questions.  About 100 attended.

Perhaps it was no surprise, but the USAT official found a spot in the lake where the water temp was 77.4 degrees, so wetsuit legal.  It was a wave start, sprint first, over 60 Olympic distance last (my wave).    Quite uneventful as the wave start provided for plenty of open water to choose your swim line.  Transition uneventful this time.  The bike course with all the turns was as expected -- I remembered to gear down into the turns so I was properly geared upon exit -- taking more watts to achieve the expected average speed.  I expended an average of 225 watts for an average speed of 22.3 mph, about 1 mph slower than I would have averaged on a less turney course using the same watts.  

I switched my training shoe brand two weeks previous based on a recommendation from my son who was experimenting with the HOKA ONE ONE brand for his ultra trail runs.  He thought it would benefit my aging body parts as it is extremely cushioned and stable but looks like a moon boot.  It has an added feature of a relatively low (4 mm) drop, heel to forefoot, to encourage mid foot striking.  I raced with the race version that weighed only 9 ounces, not bad for a moon boot. 

It was warm and at 3 miles I stopped sweating, a bad sign, but with only 3.2 miles to go I eased just enough to avoid cramping or worse.  I had chosen to not use any salt for this race as you usually do not need that supplement for an Olympic distance.  The delayed start put me into a hotter part of the day where a salt capsule or two would have been good insurance when taken on the bike segment.


My elapsed time of 2:25+ won the old gents (65-69) age division, and would have won the 60-64 as well.  The overall winning time was 1:58 (by Lewis Elliot, USAT ranking of 100) attesting to some of the unique challenges of this urban turney race course. Oh, and ONE MULTISPORT didn't win the club championship, but we did win the far more important award for BEST LOOKING TEAM.  TA DA.

UGLY, BUT NOT CANCEROUS

It turned over 100 degrees in Phoenix a few days ago, and the sun and heat reminded me that just a month ago I had this ugly non-cancerous growth removed from the back of my leg.  I've had numerous such items removed and biopsied for cancer in the last ten years.  So this short blog is my version of a public service announcement.

These skin conditions are mainly the result of too much unprotected sun in my youth.  I've had a few squamous cell carcinomas removed and hundreds of keratosis (pre-cancerous) frozen off or carved out.  As a result I've become very conscious of odd appearing skin conditions, which is why I had this growth removed.  The sun block I lavish on today will help me when I'm 100.  The sun block I didn't use when I was 20 is causing what I routinely deal with today.

In my 20's and 30's I trained and raced shirtless, as was the norm.  In the early years of triathlon you swam, biked, and ran in your speedo swim suit.  Even Ironman distances.  No matter modesty, it was not a spectator sport then.  To prepare your skin for racing in the sun, you trained in the sun.  Wearing a jersey would interfere with heat transfer.  It all seemed quite rational.  And you got this great tan as a side benefit.

If you look at the cover picture of my blog, you see me wearing what appears to be a white long sleeve t-shirt as I finished the 2011 Kona Ironman.  Actually, it is a wicking fabric with a SPF of 50, as are the shorts.  There are a few brands available, mine was Craft.  I trained with this outfit a few time in the Arizona sun and heat prior to using it for the first time in Hawaii.  I both biked and ran clad in this SPF 50 outfit.  I could pour water on it and put ice in pockets built into it to help keep my body temp as cool as the conditions would permit.  I only saw a few amateurs and one pro similarly clad.  As a fashion statement it has zero standing.  I did not have to apply sunblock except to my face and neck.  I had no sunburn after 10 hours in the Hawaii sun.

So, either protect yourself now or fund your health care expense account for future use.  And hope the growths you get are just ugly and not cancerous.

LEADMAN 125 EPIC MARQUEE, first TRI of 2013 season

Yesterday (4/14/13) I raced the Leadman 125, hosted by Lifetime Fitness.  Tempe Town Lake, Lifetime, and Red Rock Racing hosted a whole weekend series of races starting with the Collegiate Draft Legal Championships on Friday, the Collegiate non-drafting Championships on Saturday, and three triathlons run concurrently on Sunday (a Sprint, Olympic distance, and the 125K).  Amazingly, Red Rock and Lifetime pulled off a very excellent Tri Festival, especially challenging as it took place in an urban setting.

The 125K race is an attempt to host an equivalent to a half Ironman that doesn't leave you with as much of a post-race hangover.  Consequently it has a slightly longer swim (2.5K), longer bike (109.5K), and shorter run (13K) compared to a half Ironman.  The theory is that it's the run that leaves the most post-race hangover.  It takes about the same total time to complete.  Judging from how I feel this morning, the concept is sound.

Interestingly, there were more entrants in the 125 than each of the shorter races.  Perhaps due to its unique lengths.  There were even some 125 entrants that were first-time tri racers. That's nuts.

I won my 65-69 age group by a wide margin, but also would have won the 60-64 and 55-59 age groups.  When that happens, I know I had a good race overall.  No complaints, mate.   However, the following critique of my effort shows I was a little rusty and made some rookie mistakes.

I woke up early race morning to a flat on my racing wheels.  My race wheels are tubulars, lighter and less prone to "snake bite" flats (flats that leave two puncture marks caused by the pinch impact of the rim against the tube when hitting a hole or major road crack).   The bike course was changed two weeks before the race to a multiple (4) loop urban setting with lots of turns per 17 mile loop (fourteen 90 degree turns and three 180 degree turns per lap) with lots of road expansion joints.  Better for light weight tubulars.  I replaced the wheel set with my training clinchers and departed for the race site early so I could take advantage of the bike mechanics provided by Landis Cyclery to readjust the shifters to the replacement wheels.

The swim takes place in Tempe Town Lake, a short section of the Salt River with a dam on one end.  The 125 started at 7:00, the Olympic started at 8:00, the sprint at 9:00.  The water was about 70 degrees, so wetsuit legal.  YES!  The swim course was a water start, by waves,  and there was nothing to complain about except that by necessity the first half is straight into the rising sun.  Oh, and my time was about 5 minutes slower than I expected.  Checking after the race with athletes who had the new Garmin and wore them on the swim, it appeared the swim length was at least 1.7 miles versus the advertised 1.55 miles (2.5K).

The transition area is a decent jog from the stairs getting you out of the "lake".  They had wetsuit strippers to help you get your wetsuit off.  Fastest strip I ever had.  Thank you ONE Multisport volunteers.   In races longer than the Olympic distance I select comfort over speed in transition, so I take the time to put socks on, re-apply anti chaff cream, and re-apply sunscreen since I am prone to skin cancer from excess sun exposure in my youth.  This time I was trying the spray-on variety of sunscreen.    All good and dandy, but I had put my glasses on before I sprayed my face, so I had to take the glasses off and remove the sunscreen from the lenses.  Luckily I had a towel in my transition or my next best option was no glasses.

My major concession to new technology is the bike power meter.  I have an older SRM version on my race bike, and a new STAGES version (purchased from Airpark Bikes, a ONE Multisport team sponsor, with a good discount!) on my road bike.  Power is independent of wind or elevation change and is critical to helping you manage your effort on longer races.  I love my STAGES,  they cost significantly less than $1,000,  go get one!

The first bike loop would be without the Sprint and Olympic athletes on the course, so relatively less crowded.  However, the bike course looked like a plate of spaghetti with all the twists and turns, so my strategy was to work it pretty hard the first loop and be careful for loops 2,3, and 4.  I wanted to average about 200 watts.  I hit 210 on the first loop, 208 the second, 202 the third, under 200 the forth with an overall average of 203.  Obviously faded a bit.  Also lost two water bottles and my liquid fuel (GU) bottle from major bumps which catapulted them off my bike.  Luckily I had stashed some CLIFF Shot Blocks on my bike as backup.  Still, I was down 400 calories from my "nutrition" plan as I entered the bike-to-run transition due to the lost fuel.  On impulse, I stuck my salt capsule container into the back pocket on my race jersey.  It was warming up into the mid-80's and I had been taking 2 salt capsules per hour per plan.

The bike-to-run transition was decent.

The run is part walking path, part single track trail run through a local preserve called the Papago, and part canal towpath.  I started our feeling pretty good, worried about being under my nutrition plan and the warming sun.  I decided to scale back my planned effort and walk the aid stations as a precaution.  Once I turned onto the trail portion after about 2 miles, I found myself walking the uphills and after tweaking my knee on a downhill section, started walking the downhills as well. After all, this was not my A race. While there was not a huge elevation change on the run course, the trail portion had a lot of sharp uphills and downhills with a  loose rock/gravel surface.  When I finally got to the towpath section of flat crushed gravel, I was able to run smoothly and the "tweak" disappeared.  But, with about 3 miles to go, I started cramping in the leg with the knee tweak and was forced to a walk.  I was close to an aid station so I immediately took 2 salt capsules with water when I got there and thought  "what-the-hell", and took 3 more.  Either the cramping would go away and I could finish decently or my stomach would react violently.  The cramps ceased a short time later and I ran it in.

I'm very glad to get this first race of 2013 in the books with no apparent injury hangover.  It confirmed where my fitness levels are as I continue training for my first 70.3 Championships qualifying race in Kansas in June.  Special thanks to the event organizers and volunteers, and ONE Multisport for being supportive of the fitness lifestyle.  Now for a complete rest day.........

GOAL SETTING 2013

OK, I guess its time to share some of my triathlon goals for this year.  I have found that without some stretching goals, there is not enough "fear" to get me training consistently to prepare for these races.  I usually keep this goal setting close to the vest, family and close friends. Partly because stuff happens.  Partly because failure happens.  Partly because "who cares"?

I started thinking about what to plan for in 2013 back in November 2012.  I had just injured out of the ITU Duathlon World Championships (Nancy, France) and had a sour feeling (but at least I got most of my deposits back).  All that training and no opportunity to see what I could do on an international stage (other than Kona)!

So my initial thinking was to re-qualify for Team USA and target the 2013 ITU Duathlon World Championships, to be held in Ottawa, Canada on August 10-11.  But then USAT plopped the USAT National Tri Championships on the same weekend.  (As the 2011 65-69 age group champion, I had passed up the 2012 USAT TRI Championships to race the ITU Worlds DU, part of the sour I felt when I cancelled Nancy).  It took me until today to recommit to the ITU DU Worlds having qualified by way of being ranked #1 in my age group by USAT.

However, between November and today I also decided to race some 70.3's with the intention of qualifying for the Ironman 70.3 world championships, partly because it's so close to Arizona.  That championship is 4 weeks after the ITU DU, on September 8th.

So, I have set two quite different and not completely compatible goals for 2013.  Notice I only mentioned what  races I am going to target, not my performance goals.  That I'm keeping close to the vest.  And, to encourage you to check back later in the year to see what happened.

Now I'm in the process of filling in the rest of the calendar with modest races to help validate what level of fitness I'm achieving, to remind me of all the preparation it takes for race day events, and to finalize on race gear selection.  Game on.

THE RACE I DIDN'T RUN

Yesterday the Desert Classic Duathlon was held in the McDowell Mountains between Fountain Hills and Scottsdale Arizona.  I was not there.  The two runs were on desert mountain biking trails and the ride;  if mountain bike on mountain trails, if road bike on the paved road running between Rio Verde and Fountain Hills  --  your choice.  It was a "B" race for me, meaning a race to test my fitness but not something I was peaking for.  My "C" races are train-throughs substituting for a hard training day.  My "A" races are usually National or International Championships that you have to qualify for.  Or, the qualifying races for the National Championships.  Usually only 2 or 3 "A" races per year.

I was not there.  It was hard for me to cancel out as I had been coming along decently with my training and wanted to have an objective fitness test.  However, I fell and cracked a few ribs 10 days earlier and had not been able to train in any material way since the injury.  The bruises and cuts were healing nicely, but the pain upon pressure to the chest and any deep breathing -- excruciating when coughing -- was only slowly improving.  And,  while not extremely painful, the popping feeling of the ribs was very disquieting.

I tried biking last Wednesday, and as long as I did not press hard (stayed under 200 watts on the power meter) and didn't have to stop, the pain was manageable.   I could ellipse a bit, but the popping of the ribs was annoying.  Running or swimming or weight room;  out of the question.   So, I continued to take short bike rides and tried to convince myself that it would come around in just a few more days.   It did not.  So, I was not there.

Why did I think that I had any chance at all, since all the "googled" information talked about a three to six week recovery?  Because a similar situation happened to me before, and two weeks later I raced an Ironman.  Well, let me rephrase that, I completed an Ironman.  It was two weeks prior to Ironman Arizona, 2008 edition.

I was on a longish run in the desert and fatigued enough that I tripped over a boulder and fell into some nasty outcropping.  I took my shirt off to tourniquet my lacerated hand and ran the two miles back to my house.  The emergency room administered twelve stitches and checked my damaged ribs.  I wondered out loud if I could still race in two weeks,  The doctor was not encouraging but said I would probably do no more damage if I insisted. He prescribed some anti-biotic to take before and after the race.  You see, the swim is in Tempe Town Lake which is unfit for swimming most of the year, treated for the race.

I had convinced both my nephew and son to enter so it was a family affair.  How could I back out?  So, with the severest pre-race taper ever (no training two weeks prior) I completed the race.  In both T1 and T2, I contemplated quitting but found the mental fortitude to continue.  Not pretty but Ironman are rarely pretty.

So surely this time was no different.  Yes it was.  I did not have the popping of the ribs in 2008, maybe because it was more of a bruise than a break (according to my Radiologist, about half of the breaks can not be seen on x-ray).  This time it was a "B" race.  This time my nephew and son were not entered.  This time I was more mature and less obsessive/compulsive (that's what I told my wife).

Now I need to focus on recovery and getting my fitness back.  I tried to swim this morning  (500 yards, not fun) and jog on the treadmill (only 2 miles and the bouncing was uncomfortable).  I did bike 38 miles at an average of 180 watts, probably the only exercise I can perform for the next few weeks.  I was not there, but I will be back.

FIRST 5K IN A LONG TIME

SKIRT CHASER!!! Sponsored by Lifetime Fitness/Red Rock Racing.   Ran my first 5K running race since sometime in the 1980's.  Things have changed, not the least is my speed.  This picture is 2 hours before race start;  I have a tendenacy to always be early.  Beautiful day, same site as the AZ Ironman.

Change number 1:  According to the race results, there were 1399 finishers, 523 of them male.  You were encouraged to attach a sticker someplace on your body that would signify if you were single and looking for love.

Change number 2:  This picture is 2 hours after the race.  Free beer, wine, food, band, great 70+  sunny weather.  Everybody stayed around to enjoy the atmosphere.  The race ran back and forth across the bridge in the background.

So, how did the race go.  Well, I was a bit nervous due to my long absence from such short, hard effort runs.  I adjusted my training prior to the race and put in my longish bike on Friday (instead of Saturday) with a short run afterwards and only swam Saturday morning (with a pull buoy) so my legs wouldn't be trashed for the afternoons race.


I had mentally established some achievable goals (sub 22) and a streatching goal (sub 21) based on training runs and a bit of wishfull thinking.  Recently I have not been able to break 22 on the finishing 5K leg of a sprint tri, but surely I could in a 5 K running race?  With Garmin on wrist, I nosed up to a reasonable close distance to the starting line, once the women had started 3 minutes earlier.

When the men were let loose, I had to run harder than I wanted in order to work my way to some open air.  My Garmin said 6:20 pace, way too fast for me to sustain.  I settled into a sub 7 and felt OK at that pace, but wished to see a faster number for my effort.   There were some small hills on the run, 160 ft of verticle climbing according to my Garmin, so it was not exactly a flat course.  But I took advantage of the downhills and pushed to the finish in 20:43, 6:40 pace.  38/523 males, 46/1399 runners.  Ahead of anybody over age 54.  Anybody got an extra beer ticket?

MY MAGIC NUTRITIONAL NUMBERS FOR LONG DISTANCE RACES IS 1440

As I rode down to the VILLAGE in the dark this morning to meet up with ONE MULTISPORT for a team ride, I thought how this was wonderful winter weather (38 degrees, windy, 30% chance of rain) -- for Minnesota!  not Arizona!

During the ride a conversation ensued with some experienced Long-Distance Triathletes regarding race nutrition.  I shared with them my nutritional experiences and "Magic Numbers", and thought I'd post them on the blog as well.

How do you like the photo?  It spells out 1440, my magic numbers.  I even figured out how to put in two of our sponsors products, e6 and FIX Performance.  Cliff is not a sponsor but it is a product I do use.  I do not eat solid food on race day until after the race.  I do eat bars on long ride days as I get tired of liquids and gels.  Solid food upsets my stomach during races.  But I digress.

With over 50 years of running and triathlon experiences, and the help of my son (PhD in BioMechanics) who has researched race day nutrition over the years, I came up with the numbers 1440.  They are meant to be a memorable way to  represent the amount of salt, calories, and liquid per hour  that the average body needs to keep going during multi-hour races.

1000 is the mg of salt that is sweated away per hour of strenerous exercise.  In steady state the body  maintains abour twice that amount, so for short races salt should not be an issue.  For long races you should count up the salt in your energy drinks and food intake and supplement the shortfall with salt capsuls (my favorite as they are usually buffered). If you don't, the liquid/salt balance becomes distorted and the stomach/intestines cannot effectively pass liquid into the body.

400 is the calories that the stomach and intestines can process into the blood stream per hour. Consume more than that, and it will become a burden on the stomach and not help your energy levels.  So, again, count up the calories in your energy drinks and supplement the shortfall with calories from your favorite nutritional source (gels, bars, blocks, etc.)

40 is the ounces of liquids that the stomach and intestines can process into the blood stream per hour.  Drink more and you accumulate volume in your stomach (usually not comfortable) which will also mess with your salt/liquid ratio.

So there, 1440 is my number and should serve as a starting point for you to experiement with on your long ride days.  Let me know if this computes with your experiences.

OK, I'm new to this social media thing.  When I was in college we wrote programs in fortran, cobal, or machine language, punched holes in punch cards and submitted them tied up with a rubber band for an overnight batch run. So, bear with me as I figure this out.

The main reason I'm even attempting this is because the triathlon team I joined in Arizona, ONE Multisport, strongly encouraged me to do so as a way of sharing experiences, promoting our team, and promoting our generous sponsors.

First, who the _____ am I?  Well, I'm at the leading edge of the baby boomer generation, retired early, and returned to triathlons after a 13 year absence.  Found out I could still swim, bike and run and was still competitive within my age group, which was 60-64 when I first returned.  Now I'm in the 65-69 age group plotting my strategy for when I roll over to 70 and will be the young, hopefully fast guy.

I took the USAT (the governing body in the USA for triathlons and duathlons) age group 65-69 national championships titles for triathlon in 2011 and duathlon in 2012.  Also set the American course record for the 65-69 age group at the World Championship Ironman in Kona in 2011 (drats, finished second to a Dutchman).  I was rated number 1 in my age group for both Triathlons and Duathlons in 2011, and number 1 for duathlon and 4th for triathlon in 2012 by USAT, who keeps statistics on such things.

I hope to post a picture and story following each race this year.  First race up is the 5K Skirt Chaser which typically draws 2,000 racers.  This will be my first running race since the 1980's as I've only race triathlons and duathlons since then.  It'll be interesting.