MUSKOKA IRONMAN -- ONE TOUGH LOONIE

PROLOGUE

AWARD CEREMONY

I entered Muskoka with the sole intent to win the M65-69 division to qualify for Kona and race in the M70-74 division in 2016.  Trying to qualify in a lower age group and then age-up to race Kona in an older age group is an ideal situation but difficult to accomplish.  As such it was a solo trip with my family following my race online through Ironman Live.  Since Canada is a foreign country and my cell phone would charge outrageous fees for calls, texts were the favored form of communication. Waiting for me upon my return were all the race day text exchanges between my family members, some of them humorous. Consequently this report is in two parts.  The first part contains my Race Report and thoughts as the race unfolded.  The second part is a transcript of the flurry of texts between me (in black), my wife in Minnesota (in red),  my son in Northern California (in blue) and my daughter in Southern California (in green) as they followed my progress.

RACE REPORT        

BALLROOM CHANGING ROOM

SWIM:  Less than 1300 (no pro's, 290 first timers) of us lined up for the swim which had a rolling start based on your volunteered estimate of swim time.  Consequently the race clock would show a different time than your actual race time based on how long it took to get to and cross the swim start timing mat. Clear and smooth water.  Very non-chaotic swim start but I still took a minor kick to the jaw. At about the 2.5 km point I noticed a woman swimmer slowly passing me using a much slower cadence than I.  At that point I remembered that sometimes "slower is faster" and slowed my cadence accordingly and was able to swim faster.  Good learning there. The wetsuit strippers stumbled with wetsuit removal but it was still faster than I could have done by myself. It was a long run around the 18th green of the golf course and up the hill to the resort lodge to the changing room which was in the ballroom of the resort.  In the ballroom you had your own numbered chair with both the bike and run transition bags there for you and assistance if you needed it. Then out the front door and to the bike corral and you're on your way.  PS:  swim time 72 minutes, very good for me.

BIKE:  This being Canada everything was in metric.  I had not driven or ridden a kilometer of the course but the talk and information clearly identified that it was hilly.  At about 2 km I threw my chain into the rear wheel spokes part way up the first 10%+ grade hill on the course.  dismounted and pulled the bike over to the side of the road and was able to free the chain and re-thread it on the rear cog.  Starting on an uphill 10% grade is tough but I got it going. Now the adrenalin was rushing and it was at about 15 km when I scrolled through my garmin display and saw that I was averaging about 220 watts,  way more than my plan. My plan was to take the first of the two loop course in tourist mode as I had no experience with the course. Then I would push the second loop a bit more only if I felt really fresh.  So I throttled myself back, coasted the downhills (coasting sometimes at 45 mph) as I saw that I was in the 250-350 watt range based on the steepness of the uphills.  At about 40 km I threw my chain into the spokes again on another steep uphill. I quickly dragged the bike to the side and reattached the chain again.  Took me a while but I got clipped in and back in the saddle yet again. Now I was nervous, as it appeared the rear derailleur stop was slightly incorrect so I tried to avoid the largest "bailout" gear on all future hills.  Shortly after that the next two largest gears started to chatter with the chain skipping between them uncontrollably.  I continued to fumble along and finally realized that both my front derailleur levers (return to center SRAM) had loosened up. The only way I could now shift was to put sideways pressure on the levers as I shifted.

That was the end of any aggressive shifting and riding for the rest of the day.  At about 95 km my power meter (SRM -- just recently returned from tuneup and new battery -- but they didn't fix the intermittent failure issue) crapped out.  Now power blind on a hilly course with mechanical issues with the rear derailleur and both shifter levers.  OK, just nurse this baby to the bike finish.  At approximately 150 km I no longer trusted my front derailleur lever.  I decided to leave it in the small front ring which meant I had maxed out my speed on flats and downhills well below optimal.  Then at 170 km, in spite of all my precautions, my rear ring derailed yet a third time.  Pull to side of road, dismount, pull chain free and re-thread, try to restart uphill, re-try to restart uphill and finally got going.  Pulled into transition where they took my bike from me.  I had to wonder if it just wasn't meant to be my day.  PS:  Garmin read 6,800 ft elevation climbing.  Some of the relatively short but steep hills dropped my speed to under 5mph even in my sketchy "bailout" gear.  First loop was overcast and relatively mild.  Second loop the sun came out and the heat and humidity appeared. Bike split 5:52.

KNEE SUPPORT

RUN:  I had experimented with knee compression (both the neoprene and compression fabric varieties) the three weeks prior to the race to help manage my knee pains.  I decided to use the fabric compression knee wraps as I thought they were more breathable and less likely to create rash areas. I believe they helped.  I intend to utilize them in my future run training so that I can try to regain better run fitness.  The run course is a two loop course that traverses from the Deerhurst Resort into the town of Huntsville and back, repeat. My run plan was to immediately start a jog/walk routine of 2min/1min duration and lengthen the jog portion as I loosened up.  I found in my training that a 1 minute walk is adequate recovery and that longer walks create stiffness issues upon restarting to jog. I also planned to try to schedule the walk portions through the aid stations and the uphills.  Didn't go as planned.  The course is literally half uphill and half downhill with some sections that might have less than a 1% grade either way, so I ended up walking more than I had planned.  Still, I was able to maintain an 11min/mile pace for most of the run. I was surprised that not that many racers were passing me. There is usually some part on the run where sanity and the will to finish is internally debated, that's what differentiates the full Ironman from other shorter races.  My hurdle was to get past this debate and reach the 30km mark, where I figured I could finish even if I had to walk my way in. This day I didn't have to revert to a full walk-in finish, but I was counting 30 jog steps followed by 20 walk steps, repeat, repeat, repeat.  PS:  Elevation gain 2000ft.  Run split 4:39.   Total Race Time with transitions 11:56.

DOWNTOWN HUNTSVILLE

OBSERVATIONS: Muskoka is a beautiful resort area about a 2.5 hr drive north of Toronto; lakes, rolling hills, resorts, cabins, cute towns, cute restaurants.  I would recommend staying at the Deerhurst Resort (race site) or one of the other nearby resorts in order to minimize family and race day logistics. (I registered late so I ended up in a small motel on the perimeter of Huntsville, co-host of the race).  Coming from Minnesota, I was well acquainted with the term "Minnesota Nice".  Well, there is an equal if not more hospitable attitude called "Canadian Nice" that seemed to be contagious to athletes, volunteers and spectators alike, as everyone I met was courteous and friendly.  For first time Ironman entrants, or anybody else concerned about the toughness of the course, I would recommend entering the "Tough Toonie", which is joint entry into the Muskoka 70.3 (held in early July) and Muskoka Ironman (late August).  For the non-Canadians, Loonie is a $1 Canadian coin, Toonie is a $2 Canadian coin.

TEXTS (me in black, wife in red, son in blue, daughter in green)

Friday: Flew in to Toronto from Minneapolis and drove to race site in Muskoka region of Canada   

In very basic hotel but does have wifi.  Taking short nap and then out for supper and meeting.  Very convoluted course (ie, large hill to climb from swim to transition) so need to go to meeting.  The terrain reminds me of Wisconsin Dells area so I expect very few flat areas on the bike or run.
Oh No
I'm not excessively worried
OK

Saturday:  Picked up bike from Tri Bike Transport, put bike in transition, and turned in bike and run bags

Sounds like WI IM - take first bike lap easy and don't attack the short hills - use small ring on bike.  I think a hilly run plays into your strength as u have practiced walking on your long runs
they have streaming video footage at finish - we will be looking for u - so smile
good luck Papa
just hate the day before.  Nana talked me into bringing a trashy spy novel so I'm sitting inside drinking Gatorade eating mac n cheese n reading.  Cool damp and overcast here.  Don't have much excitement for this race, probably cause I'm a bit nervous about it.  It doesn't get any easier for these long ones no matter how prepared.  Just one small chink in the armour gets magnified.

Sunday:  Race Day

Right now projected to be off bike in 7:20, 2nd place projected in 8:18 - but only splits through 64k of bike - 40 miles
I can't seem to get any info other than total bike.  Whose in front of him?
Or is he in first? I'm a nervous wreck.  Please keep me filled in.
Looks like Dad is in first.  Is he trying to qualify for Kona?
Yes for next year when he is 70
He is in first.  Kona slot for 2016 is what he's after
OK, got it
Benj u seem to know what's going on.  I can only get total bike split which is showing nothing.  Just text when u get info.  Bike should be OK but issue is run.  If he can get a huge lead on 2nd then he should be able to hold if no cramps injuries etc.  thanks Mom
I am headed out for a bike ride but I have site on my phone - will check for updates
Thanks  its going to be a long day
Nana, if you click on papas name, it showed you the bike splits.  Looks like he has made it through 39 km (2nd split) and averaging about 30 km/hr
OK let me try  hate being blind.  I got it.  How did u know that?  Thanks!!!!
I just started clicking on stuff
Wow that is so much better!!!! Otherwise it was going to be a stressful long day.  I would have never figured that out
3rd bile split looks good.  Putting 1-1.5 mph into 2nd place guy
He needs as much time as he can get bc of run.  Assuming the guy is good runner bc Dad beat him is swim and looks like the bike.  Thanks for update!!!
They are all slow runners at that age!!
I know.  Should I worry that dad's speed on bike has slowed to 26k.  Is it the course?
He did say that it would be hilly and curvy in sections.  Maybe that's why?
Need to wait for 2nd place guy and see - that is slow -
Top 45-49 male slowed down 1kph from 3rd split to 4th.  Dad slowed .8 kph - guessing it is course.
OK  that makes sense thanks for checking
FYI they have live video of run out and finish
Where do I get that   I'm on the site   Live coverage?
I don't see it on mobile device - look on top left menu for video
OK
2nd place guy holding strong.  I am guessing dad starts run with 40-50 min lead.  He just would need to average 11 on run even if guy is a strong runner
Nana, did u find the live coverage of the run out?  I see it.
Yes thanks
5:52 for bike!  great time.  His transitions R fast
Go Papa Ben
He started run 35 min ahead.  Just needs 11 min miles
First 5 miles he was doing 10, hope he slows a bit down - just needs 11.  We can see how 2nd place guy does in 1st 5 miles
he is on 11:40ish pace.  anything under 12 hrs would almost guarantee 1st.  Even 12:30 most likely would qualify
I am back in land of coverage - anyone see dad leave T2?
No I was making lunch
I think u can scroll back on the video    dad put additional 15 min into 2nd place in first 5 miles of run.  now ~ 50 min ahead.  Could walk last 18 miles and win!  hope he realizes that!
I don't think he realizes that bc the numbering system so squirrelly    hope he doesn't blow up
Because there isn't a lot of racers he might figure it out
Ur right.  He said it was like a Mn race in terms of number of participants.  Hope so
He put another 10 min into 2nd place!  All he has to do is walk in!!
Oh I hope he knows that.  I thought 2nd place guy was going to be a stellar runner
3rd run split in.  Dad is crushing it - super consistent!  1/2 way done with run
Yea.  Hope he can hold it
Not slowing down much!  1 more hour!  I think he is going to beat all the 60-64 group too.
U think he's going to make it ok.  He seems to be going strong
Should finish around 11:45 - finish like video has clock time.  Start time looking at 11:40
Ok thanks.  Wow he's actually going to do this.
He would win 60-64 and been 2nd in 55-59 age groups
Wow hope he can finish with no injuries.  Benja does he have just 6 miles left?
Yes.  should finish in 10-20 min!! Look at finish camera video.  It shows race time, he should be finishing when that says 11:45-11:55
Ok I'm going to try to turn it on
He could roll on his side the last miles and qualify!
Ur funny!  Where is the live feed on the site
Upper left where it says video.  Then scroll down to finish line video and click  Look for the hobbling old man
Ok  I got it.  Ur funny.  Do you think next 20 min?  Hey it's all young guys
Earliest will be 11:45  If he keeps last few miles pace it will be 11:48  I am guessing he slows down on purpose but tries to go under 12.  
This feed is cool.  Will it stay on     
Should stay on - u can set it to full screen - helps a bit
Oh   they all look young   How do u get full screen   Ok just got it much better  This is even hard to wait
If he walked last 6 miles he would come in 12:10  What is he wearing?
White shirt or One team kit.  Was it sunny, looks overcast    What's the latest   Should I worry
No - after 12:15 worry
Could he have crashed
No
I'm officially worried
Well he could be walking in
Ok   then when would he get in
12:20
Oh will other guy catch him  It would be so hard to lose.  Over 900 still on course.   Wow
No - the other guy is over an hour behind
He's in!!!!!   Thanks Benj I was worried.  Did u hear that they said Dad was 65-69 and anything was possible.  Kinda cool.  Could u tell how he looked?
Did u see him?  U can scroll back and watch again.  He looked fine - must have walked a lot the last 6!!
I thought he looked good at least didn't collapse.  Yea
The race clock was off - his time was 11:56 not 12:07  That was the difference.  He didn't slow down that much the last 6
How do u know  I can't rewind but it's ok  Just looked up his results 11:56:34.  That's good isn't it?
Super good   Very tough course
Thanks for all the help.  It's stressful even if u r not there!  I guess he's going to Hawaii in 2016!   

LIFETIME TRI, MINNEAPOLIS, JULY 11 2015

TRANSITION PRE-RACE

VENUE:  Perhaps the largest, most heavily promoted, competitive triathlon in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St Paul.  Almost 1500 finishers in 7 separate categories in 3 distances: super sprint, sprint, international. An urban triathlon where you swim in Lake Nokomis, bike on city parkways, and run on city park paths.  Weather was near perfect, but was humid which is typical for Minnesota in the summer.

PRE-RACE:  I was entered in the sprint race because I wanted to get an assessment of my condition and did not want a longish run as I was gingerly improving my run fitness in spite of my cranky knees. Sprint races are not my forte (I'm 85 % slow twitch as measured by muscle biopsy) but I did not want to get an injury setback from a long run. To make a distinction from the super sprint swim, the sprint distance swim was increased to .47 miles, while the bike was slightly over 15 miles and the run a 5K.  I had perused the entry list within my age category and noticed that the prior year winners were entered, as well as Duane Millslagle, a local fast athlete, who had aged-up into the 65-69 age group.  Since the prior winning times were not impressive, I imagined that Duane would be my main threat.  He is a faster swimmer than I and had a faster run pace at the USAT National Duathlon Championships three weeks earlier. However, he raced the sprint with shorter runs while I raced the standard distance.  My strategy was to catch and pass him on the bike and build a cushion prior to the run.

RACE: Because of the numerous races within a race, and with only one transition area, everyone had to vacate the transition at the same time resulting in some long waits for various wave starts.  Because the weather was benign, this was not a big issue. But, for example, my wave didn't start until 8:15 while we had to exit the transition at 6:30. The start was a blend of wave and time trial.  Age groups were clumped into the same wave, and two athletes from each wave were sent off in 3 second intervals first passing over a timing mat.  This worked well to ease the swim frenzy that would normally exist compared to a 1500 athlete short distance triathlon with either a large wave or mass start.

SWIM FINISH

I positioned myself near the back of my wave so that if it came down to a sprint run finish, I most likely would have some start seconds on whoever I was sprinting against.  I swam what I thought was a decent pace but still saw a few swim caps come out of the water ahead of me.  Since our wave included all males over 60, I was not sure exactly how many I had to catch on the bike segment.

BIKE START

The biking surface was a mixed bag, with some new pavement and some of the old patched pot-holed pavement that had discouraged me from racing this venue in the past.  I did not need a bike crash and the parkway roads are serpentine and narrow as they follow Minnehaha creek through residential Minneapolis.  I finally caught Duane at about mile 5, passed him, only to be re-passed, only to pass, only to be re-passed, etc.  I knew that I did not want this to be a 5K run race so I upped my power at about mile 10 and finally was able to create a gap that I held into transition.

I was running scared, had forgotten to tighten my speed laces on my shoes, but did not want to stop and waste valuable seconds so I ran in somewhat floppy shoes.  At the turnaround on a short out-n-back I saw that I had what I estimated to be less than a 30 second lead with 2 miles to go.  By this point I was soaked in sweat from running in the humid air but did not want to take any water at the aid stations for fear of losing valuable seconds.  After all, this was just over an hour event and the body, if properly pre-race hydrated, can put out that long without additional fluids.

DUANE and BEN

RESULT: I finished with Duane someplace behind me and after checking with the timing tent saw that I had finished first in the 65-69 age group by about 1 minute.  Overall 26th out of 648 finishers.  Checking my bike computer afterwards I saw that I averaged 233 watts and 23 mph, on a serpentine, pot-holed, but relatively flat course on a calm day. According to the official results,  my run and swim were so-so: 7:30/mile run pace, 1:50/100yd swim pace.  My overall time was 1:20:09.  Winning time 1:12:31.

Now I'm trying to refocus on some more serious endurance training for my next race, an Ironman.  Only a few of those left in me both mentally and physically. I've raced at Kona 6 times, reaching the podium twice (5th and 2nd), trying to get there for lucky seven.....

USAT NATIONAL DUATHALON CHAMPIONSHIP , 3RD PLACE

TRANSITION

I could not come up with an angle for this race, so my post can be condensed to this:   Great Venue, Great Day, Great Competition.

I raced this National Championship primarily because it was held in St Paul, Minnesota, 20 miles from my summer home. Since I was 69 years old in the 65-69 age group I did not have illusions of winning unless some bad luck occurred to some of the other competitors.  I ended up 3rd to two great athletes and was very satisfied with my effort.

The course was a 5K run, 34K bike, 5K run format, with both runs being a repetitive 2 looper and the bike a repetitive 3 looper with a 320 ft hill at the start of the loop.  JP Bacle, who just aged-up to 65, won the 65-69 M age group in 1:44:03 followed by Kerry Mayer in 1:45:54 with me coming home 3rd in 1:47:38.

My runs were 21:31 and 22:57 while the bike was 1:01:05.  Generally, I was pleased with my effort relative to my training commitments.  I keep experimenting with how to manage my complaining knees which primarily hinder my ability to run train as much as is required to maintain competitiveness.  Right now I'm taking Niacin amide which has some anecdotal reports regarding its ability to reduce the pain caused by arthritis.  I'm also following my swim sessions with shallow water pool running as the water partially supports my body weight and thus reduces the compression impact on the knees.  Since I only started both of these changes last month, its too early to know if they will be beneficial.  In the meantime I continue to jog between 10 and 20 miles/week using a 4min/1min jog/walk routine.

I have entered a race later this year that I have only shared with my family as it relates to a longer term goal that will not be achievable unless I can successfully resolve my complaining knees issue. Before the year is out I will share, for better or worse.

ST GEORGE 70.3: I'M SLOWING DOWN

GETTING TOUGHER EACH YEAR

                                                                                                                                                                I'M SLOWING DOWN 
I won the 65-69 age group with a 5:38, but slower than last years 5:33 on an easier weather day.  So, what is happening?








Well, I'm just getting older.  It's tough to compete at the "old" end of the "older" age groups.  In a prior post I compared the relative performance of the best age-groupers as a function of age.  I did this utilizing the USAT ranking system, and the USAT statistics for 2014 reaffirmed the general trend of an accelerating decline after age 40. To further smooth the recent 2014 USAT statistics, I averaged the scores of the top 5 ranked athletes in each age group.  The results were as shown below:


               AGE-GROUP                 MALE                FEMALE(1)
                 20-24                                104.3                   102.0
                 25-29                                104.6                   104.1
                 30-34                                105.3                   103.1
                 35-39                                105.8                   103.7
                 40-44                                103.9                   101.7
                 45-49                                101.2                    99.4
                 50-54                                 97.9                     99.6
                 55-59                                 93.8                     94.8
                 60-64                                 90.2                     85.9
                 65-69                                 84.0                     79.4
                 70-74                                 76.2                     72.9
                 75-79                                 66.8                       (2)

                 (1)  Females are given an extra 10 points in the USAT ranking methodology
                        to account for gender
                 (2)  Insufficient data



Since in the older age groups its mostly the younger bunch that finish in the top 5, you could reasonably calculate that, for example,  a 65 year old male should expect to be approximately 7% slower than a 60 year old [(90.2-84.0)/90.2 = 6.9%].  If you assume a linear degradation within age group with age, you can make this comparison and calculate an age-adjusted index for any age athlete.  For example, a 69 year old male (me) would have an index of  77.8 [ 76.2+(76.2 - 84.0)/5 = 77.8].  You can age-handicap your buddies!!!!  You can race for who buys the beers!!!!



THE RACE:  Drove up from Scottsdale with my younger (66 yr old) friend from Houston who was interested in the qualifying slot for 70.3 Worlds to be held August 30 in Austria.  We both achieved our goals, me to gauge my fitness level and friend George Rux got the slot on a roll down.  The swim

GEORGE RUX CELEBRATING

in the 62 degree Sand Hollow reservoir was uneventful and I had the same time as last year, 37 minutes.  I was cautious on the bike as it is a hilly course (Garmin says ---- 3304 ft of ascent) and was keeping my average power under 200 watts for about 25 miles when my power meter stopped transmitting.  So riding power-blind, I was even more cautious and put in a 2:49 leg, 4 minutes slower than last year which was a windier/hotter day.  The transition was a bit slow as I stopped at the port-a-potty.  Since my long run (actually, a run/walk "run") in training was 6 miles, my goal was to do my run/walk routine and not suffer too much.  The only event on the run was me spilling all my salt capsule's on the road before I could ingest any of them.  Not to worry, I just scooped up a few of them off the road on my way back on the out-n-back course.  I was able to clock a 2:04 which was 2 minutes slower than last year.   Total with transitions 5:38.

ST GEORGE 70.3 VOLUNTEER CEREMONY

THE VOLUNTEERS:  Wow, they had a lot of them and they were good.  I stayed around past the roll down to watch some of the Volunteer appreciation ceremony and meal at the end of the day. The St George 70.3 local race organizers and volunteers go out of their way to ensure a safe and fun race for everyone.  Fun city to race in.









MY AGE-ADJUSTED FINISH:  Since I spent the front end of this blog on calculating age-based indexes, how should you apply it to see who buys the beers?  Lets compare me to the overall Amateur winner on an age-adjusted basis?  The Amateur winner was Ken Peterson, M30-34, time 4:12, Age Index 105.3.  This would give him an age-adjusted time of 4:25:24  (4:12 x 1.053 = 265.4 = 4:25:24). My time was 5:38, with an index of 77.8, my age adjusted time would have been 4:23 (5:38 x .778 = 263 = 4:23).  I like this indexing system.  Don't know you Ken, but next time lets race for beers????

LIFETIME MARQUEE SPRINT -- FIRST TRI OF 2015

Lifetime sponsors the first triathlon each Arizona season in Tempe Town Lake in April.  The venue is in the same general location as the November Ironman race.  The major difference outside of the distances, is that the bike is completely on city roads.  Also, the photo's you see here are provided free (well, not really free since you paid for the race, but they are provided at no additional charge as part of the entry fee).

I've been slowly getting back into shape, shape for a 69 year old that is, and this was a good opportunity to see how I was coming along.  I entered the sprint (750 meters, 13.9 miles, 3.08 miles) as I did not want to adjust my training for this race.  And because my knees were still limiting my ability to run train any significant miles.

I had an auspicious start.  Half way down to the start from my house I realized I forgot to bring either a watch or my garmin bike computer.  That meant I would be racing by feel and blind to technology. Glad it was only a sprint distance.

The swim was wet suit legal and my split of 15:24 was slower than my practice time trial of 13:30 (with pull buoy to simulate the wetsuit buoyancy).  Partly slower because the timing mat used for the swim split may have been at the transition entrance which was a jog from the water and after I had been stripped of my wetsuit.  However, I was first in the 65-69M by 3 seconds.

The first transition was best described as clumsy.  Struggled with the race belt. Almost left transition without the helmet chin strap clasped. Dropped the bike and had the water bottle pop out.  I was in second exiting transition.

The bike is always a challenge on this course.  Last time I counted it had almost 20 turns of which at least 3 were 180's. There are many expansion joints and occasional paver stone stretches.  But it is always fast if you survive because it is flat and crowded which gives you unintended legal draft as you catch and pass.  I quickly regained first after mounting the bike.  I averaged 25 mph.

The second transition was gratefully smoother than the first. As I started to leave the bike rack another old guy was racking his bike.  I was not sure of his age but I knew I had to be minutes clear of anyone in my age group to hold onto the lead through the run.

Into the run I was passed by this old guy going significantly faster than I knew I could hold.  Since he had compression socks on no age was visible on his calf.   Since my training runs have all been done with a run/walk routine (either 4 min/1 min or 3 min/2 min splits) and I planned to run this whole 3.08 miles, I was in no shape to chase him down. I just had to run my run. I was able to average just over 8 min miles.  It was a flat run course and a mild temp day. The old guy in front of me?  He was only 62...

So I finished first in the 65-69M category in 1:16:43, 52nd out of 370, being gaped over 16 minutes to the winning time of 1:00:17.

DESERT CLASSIC DUATHLON DUOVER

EARLY MORNING IN THE DESERT

The 2014 Desert Classic Duathlon was washed out, so TriSports out of Tucson automatically reentered everyone into the 2015 race held Sunday March 1.  Since I was reentered and the race is a mere 15 miles from my house in Scottsdale, why not?

The race is held in the McDowell Regional Park and consists of two 3.65 mile trail runs sandwiching either an on road bike or off road bike leg.  I chose the on road option of approximately 24 miles. The annual rainfall in the Phoenix metro area is about 7 inches/year, but when there is a hint of a storm the local media launch into overdrive.  In this case they were predicting that a major storm would start Saturday and rain through Monday with 100% probability.  They were wrong.  While the clouds threatened, the rain really didn't hit until Monday noon.

I had been slowly getting back into training but had worked back to only about 7 hours per week. Just enough to make such a race distance as the Desert Du feasible.  Most of those training hours were spent swimming, some biking, and a little running so I was appropriately apprehensive regarding the race, especially the run portions.  So I planned on "completing" the event not "racing" the event, something that is not natural for me.  I even chose to not wear a watch so that I would not get carried away.  I was wrong.

I started out on the run near the back and was holding my slow pace as planned until a guy with the number 68 on his calf went past me.  OK, why not try to stay in sight of him?  After a while I thought, OK why not pass him?  And that was the end of the "completing" versus "racing" strategy. Post race I found out that my split was 29:55, good enough for a 8:12 min/mile pace.  Not fast, but faster than my planned 9 min/mile pace.

FINISH LINE IN SIGHT

The on road bike leg exits the park and consists of two out and back legs with 1000 ft of elevation change.  The road is smooth and should be relatively fast.  I spent 9 minutes more than an hour on the bike, averaged 21 miles/hour, and expended an average of 191 watts doing so.  All numbers not exceptional.

Returning to the trail run my legs were ever so clumsy and with the reality setting in that I was indeed not "race" ready,  I chose to walk the rockier and steeper uphills.  My second run turned out to take 32:58, good enough to average a shade over 9 min/mile and stay ahead of the guy with 68 on his calf.

JUST THE TWO OF US

                                                                           
As an aside:  My total consumption during the race was 12 ounces of "Perform" sports drink. This is consistent with a cool and overcast day (60 degrees), and that the body muscles and blood naturally contain all the energy you need to compete for 2 hours.

Glad I did the race, knees are very sore.  Guess I have to put some more time into training as there is only 2 months until the St George Half.

2015, ANOTHER TRANSITION YEAR

TIME OFF WITH NO WITHDRAWAL

Well, I actually had no withdrawal symptoms during my 4 month sabbatical from training and racing. The exercise sabbatical was not so kind to my general energy levels or body composition, but I had much more time to enjoy and experience other aspects of living.   In addition, the lack of withdrawal gave me pause, and caused me to contemplate what I get out of triathlons.

This is not my first triathlon sabbatical.   I took 13 years off during the years before my retirement. That sabbatical was driven both by physical injuries and work obligations, and was consequently reasonably "practical". This short sabbatical, although I have been nagged by minor injuries,  was primarily due to a decline in interest.

While I have had some serious successes in multisport, I never dominated at the national level in the age-group categories like Steve Smith did (60-64, now battling cancer).  In my 60's, I have won USAT national championships in Trialthlon and Duathalon, finished 2nd in Aquabike,  3rd at the 70.3 worlds (Henderson), and finished 2nd and 5th at Ironman Worlds (Kona). So, clearly, racing just to complete events is not going to motivate me, especially to train at a level that would support the longer distances. And, as I will race at age 69 this year, I will be at a severe disadvantage to all those hungry 65 yr olds who just aged-up.  If you read my prior post on the impact of aging on performance (HERE WE GO 2014), all things equal, from 65 to 70 you will be 10% slower even if you are the dominate age-grouper in your category.

WHAT NOW FOR 2015

I haven't put together a real plan for 2015.  I'm partly posting this blog just so its readers know I'm still around.  I have registered for two WTC events, St George  70.3 and Ironman AZ, mostly because they are close to my home and easy/cheap except for the registration fee's.  I am sure to do a few other shorter races, but probably on short notice and based on what is happening in my life.  At 69 I am at a serious disadvantage to win the 65-69 age category at races.   I tinker with getting serious about turning 70 and making one more shot at earning a podium spot at Kona, but maintaining health, motivation, and luck all have to align for that to happen.  So, that's why 2015 is another transition year as I think about turning 70 in 2016.  But, to make it worth your while to have read this far, below are a few of my training learning's from nearly 60 years of training and many hundreds of races.

MY TRAINING LEARNING'S

early morning outdoor swimming in Arizona

SWIM:  As an experienced but not professionally trained swimmer, more time in the pool has only made me marginally faster and not worth the extra time.  In addition, the swim is the easiest part of most triathlons due to it being proportionally under-represented compared to either the bike or run segments, and since it is normally the first leg. Consequently, I spend only enough time in the pool to get me comfortable with the expected race distance.  Even when approaching an Ironman event, I rarely exceed 3,000 yards in a workout or 10,000 yards in a week.  And, I swim freestyle with a pull buoy 90% of the time (why practice breast stroke, back stroke, etc with a limited time resource).  In addition I feel that I'm saving my legs for the other segments. Besides, I'm slower when I kick than pull.  Obviously I love wetsuit legal races.  While these practice distances may seem silly-short, even in my serious marathon days I found I could run mid 2:30's on 60-70 mile weeks with a long run of 15 miles.  So, total weekly training of just over twice the race distance worked for me.

never too many bikes

BIKE:  I've found that weekly training at slightly over twice the expected race distance applies to all three of the legs of triathlon.  So approaching an Ironman I will try to average around 200 miles of biking per week.  Again, I do not over-emphasize the "long" bike at the expense of consistency.  4 rides of 50+/- miles gets me in great shape.  And most of it is on a road bike.  Probably just a mental thing, but if I can get fit and efficient on a roadie, then on a tri-bike I'll be about1 mph faster.  I do bring out the tri-bike and alternate road/tri bikes as I approach the race to confirm my tri-bike comfort level.

RUN:  If I wasn't so prone to running related injuries,  I would try to aim for twice the weekly training distance as the event race distance.  But, I can no longer safely absorb 50 miles/week of running approaching an Ironman.  And, for most people it's not necessary.  I averaged perhaps 25 miles/week leading up to my second place finish at Kona in 2011.  The longest run was 10 miles. And, when I did my run training, I mimicked my plan to run/walk on a pre-determined schedule that I believed I could maintain for the race.  For me that was a 4 min run followed by a 1 minute walk. Enough to hold a 10 min/mile pace and place the every-other-walk at the aid station.

lycra and tv free zone

GYM:  Usually in the "off" season I spend some time in the gym on strength and flexibility.  I do this out of guilt, or maybe its fear, because most "experts" emphasize its benefits, not because I enjoy it or even believe it is that helpful.  I believe that to become a faster more efficient runner you need to run, to swim faster you need to swim, to bike faster you need to bike.  Muscle specific exercises.  I don't think its debatable that of two equivalently talented people, if A spent all his time lifting weights and B used an equivalent time running, B would beat A in a running race. So, unless you are a PRO or an ELITE with unlimited time/resources looking to gain those incremental seconds, I wouldn't overdo the gym thing.

NUTRITION:  Like the gym, I don't overemphasize the nutrition.  No mater how "nutritionally" or "naturally" you eat, if you don't swim/bike/run you will not get better.  I try to eat balanced but feed any cravings that develop, believing that the body knows best.  I do occasionally "fast" for short periods.  This is a carryover from my marathoning days when, perhaps mistakenly, I thought that fasting while training would teach the body to easily convert from carbo to fat burning in support of long distance races.  Old habits die slowly.

YOGA/PILATES/CROSSFIT/MASSAGE/ETC:  Gym category.

HAVE A GOOD AND HEALTHY YEAR EVERYONE