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.