Rookie Race Report

  I have been dragging my feet with blog post updates and triathlon news so I hope that finishing college at the University of Texas this spring will free up some time. I recently competed in the Rookie triathlon here in Austin, Tx. This was my second time to compete in this race and boy what a difference a year makes. I lost most of my pre-race jitters and was able to relax leading up to race day. The race date was moved up from May to April 17th this year. The venue was also changed from the Texas Ski Ranch to Walter E. Long park out at Decker lake. I was happy to swim at Decker but the tradeoff was the dreaded hills surrounding the park.
  As per usual I woke up late, got a late start and was stuck in traffic leading up to the race. Will I ever learn? It adds so much extra stress on race day which can easily be avoided. To be fair I did have to work the night before so I did need the extra sleep. I ended up arriving with plenty of time to set up my transition so I was able to relax after I got into the transition area.
  This year the Rookie was structured a little different than in years past. There was the open group which is all ages and sexes mixed together. This is the group where the overall race winners compete. Next it was divided into veterans, those who have competed in more than one triathlon previously, and rookies, those who this is their first race ever. The usual age groups categories still applied and I was raced in my new group men ages 35-39. I kept hearing how competitive the group was compared to others but I decided that did not matter too much to me since I really wasn't, "competing".
  The water temps at Decker lake were cold enough to allow wetsuits but you really didn't need them. The water wasn't that cold and the distance was only 300 meters. I debated the wetsuit issue until a friend of mine suggested that it would make for excellent practice so I suited up.
  My wave was the 3rd or 4th to start so I had some time to kill. I found my friends Lori and Marchele. Lori was a seasoned pro at triathlons but this was Marchele's very first one. Their wave didn't start for a while so they wanted to watch the first few groups go out. It was nice to see familiar faces and wish them luck.
  My wave was getting close to starting so I made my way to the front of the pack. We waded in and anxiously awaited the starting horn. Looking out to the buoys it didn't seem all that far to go. Normally this is when I start to freak out about swimming in open water with a huge group but I was strangely calm. I had been logging a lot of time in the pool at UT so I think I was feeling more confident about the swim than last year.
  The horn blared and we were off. The usual kicking and elbowing ensued but I was able to swim through it. Normally I would veer around the aquatic mosh pit and alter course but this time I stayed true. Yeah I got hit a few more times but I didn't let that alter my route and slow me down. We rounded the first buoy and it felt like I had kept my place in the front group. I was also able to maintain a pretty solid pace that normally would have left me gasping for air. I reached the shore feeling great.
5 minutes and 18 seconds later I was out of the water and still towards the front of my group. Normally when I stand up out of the water I am a little woozy and not in the mood to sprint to transition. This was different. I was feeling pretty pumped about the swim and had a lot of breath left so I hauled ass to transition and passed some more guys.
   Transitions have traditionally been one of my weak links and this would be no exception. I still use road bike shoes and they take some extra time to get in. I was also wearing a wetsuit so that slowed me down a bit. My T1 (first transition) time was a horrible 3:10. The guy that won my group did it in 1:44. Luckily I can practice this to get it down to a reasonable time. So after dragging through transition I escorted my bicycle to bike exit.
  When I passed through the bike mount area it quickly deteriorated to a cluster of bikes, fallen water bottles and scratched up arms, legs and bruised egos. The guy directly in front of me decided to mount his bike immediately in front of a line of cones. It was spectacular. He managed to saddle up with both legs properly straddling the bike but he had to negotiate the impromptu obstacle course that he now found himself. He weaved in and out of about four cones but couldn't manage to clip in before that fifth cone became his demise. I was still running with my bike to bypass the clusters when I saw him do all of this maneuvering and his eventual slow speed crash. I clumsily mounted my bike, clipped in and started to zip past the stragglers when I heard the big crash. I turned my head and noticed about 4 or 5 athletes writhing around on the ground intertwined with their bikes and other competitors. I felt lucky to have missed that one.
   After narrowly avoiding a disastrous start I began the tour de Decker. I have raced and trained this route a few times so there aren't many surprises. There are a few fast descents and some rough climbs. I am not a feathery lightweight competitor so I have to really take advantage of gravity on the downhills. I hammer away to get as much speed and momentum going down. Also I am not afraid to go fast so I stay off the brakes. It is when I hit the uphills that I have trouble competing against the lighter athletes. Out of the three sports cycling has received the least amount of attention from me this season so I was a little worried about how I would do out there. I struggled a bit but cycling was still the strongest. I finished the 11 mile course with a time of 34:27 and averaged about 19.5 mph. I was happy with that time but I think I need some more training time in the saddle.
  The second transition came and went with an ordinary T2 time of 1:09 (one guy in my group did it in 38 seconds). I parked my bike, slipped on the running shoes and headed out of transition. On my way out I looked back at the bike racks and saw that it was nearly empty. It was at this point in the race I thought that maybe I wasn't doing too bad after all. It is hard to determine how the race is going compared to the other athletes while racing so I use the state of the bike rack as a general measure. 
  On my way out of transition I spotted a runner in my age group a little ahead of me. He was keeping a pace just slightly slower than I could go so I focused on him and decided that I would slowly reel him in and pass him towards the end of the two mile run course. The race day temperature was pretty nice for the run but a little chilly for the bike. My feet were numb from cycling and the first mile felt strange to be running and not be able to feel your feet.
  I had my perfect plan of reeling in that runner but it totally failed when he stopped to get a rock out of his shoe, dang! I was on my own. I am not very good at running off the bike because I have trouble determining what pace I can hold. If I was just running it would be no problem but after cycling your heart rate is out of whack, you've got lactic acid buildup where it's not supposed to be and you just can't "lock it in". I figured it was a race so I just red lined my effort as hard as I could. After all it was only two miles right?

  With about a quarter of a mile to go the runner I wanted to follow passed me. It turns out after he cleared the rocks out of his shoe he had been reeling me in the whole time . He passed me at a pace I couldn't keep so I had to let him go. Usually I can kick the end of my races pretty good for the last 40 or 50 yards but this time there was no gas left in the tank. I almost caught the guy but he beat me by 2 seconds. My final run time was 15:07 for a pace of 7:34 minutes per mile. I was happy with the run. After I crossed the finish line the guy turned around and we both said, "Great Job!" at the same time.
  My overall time was 59:14. It was good enough to get 10th place in my age group. It was the highest I had ever placed in any race since play day at Shands Elementary school in Mesquite, TX. I kept hearing from friends how competitive the Male 35-39 age group was so I compared my time to the Veteran Male 30-34 group (the one is was in last year). I would have got 5th place in that group. If I competed in the rookie group in the M 30-34 (my exact group last year) I would have got 2nd place! I know these kind of comparisons aren't very accurate but it still makes you feel good about your race.
  Going forward from here I need to get way faster in the transition area, I need more time on the bike and I need to work on my run pace after the bike. I had a great race on a good day so I feel very satisfied.  Congratulations to my friend Marchele who raced her first triathlon and got the tri bug. My friend Ed Stephens got 7th overall and his brother Joe won his age group. Back to training and preparing for the next race.

Lori, Me and Marchele at The Rookie

Lactate Threshold and VO2 max as I understand it

   I recently scheduled a visit to the Fitness Institute of Texas for an evaluation of my running and fitness performance. They measured my height, weight, body fat percentile, heart rate, maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max), and lactate threshold (LT). It was a very informative session that included a consultation with the director of the institute. Besides bio mechanics, VO2 max and lactate threshold are the two best indicators of potential performance of an athlete.  I will talk a little bit about lactate threshold and VO2 max and how it relates to my training.
   When you exercise, in this instance run, your muscles produce lactic acid as a result of glycolysis. The more intense the run the more lactic acid is built up in the muscles. Fatigue sets in when there is an over abundance of lactic acid in the muscles and they cannot properly contract. LT occurs when lactic acid spills over into the blood stream and can be measured for performance purposes at the rate of heart beats per minute (HR).  Running right at your LT level will allow the endurance athlete to maintain speed and stave off fatigue for a longer amount of time than running past your LT.
   Another important factor is a runners VO2 max. The more intense the exercise activity the more oxygen the body requires to perform that activity. In other words the harder you run the more labored your breathing. VO2 max measures the maximal oxygen that the body takes in per minute. This number is recorded alongside HR to predict future performance. If the body was a car then VO2 max would be the miles per gallon. For a novice athlete the VO2 max can be increased by about 20% with training. The more experienced athlete will see only minimal change in their VO2 max. 
   Testing for these numbers is done in a controlled environment like a sports lab. While running on a treadmill the athlete wears a heart rate monitor. The speed of the treadmill is periodically increased to raise the intensity level of the session and to increase the heart rate of the participant. After warming up the test administrator checks the lactic acid level in the blood periodically by pricking the earlobe. Once LT is reached then the athlete dons a headpiece that holds the breathing tubes in place. The amount of oxygen the body takes in is measured this way at maximal effort.

With these numbers I am now able to tailor my training to produce better results at my races.

My Stats are:

•  35 years old
• 195 lbs
• 16.8 % body fat
• VO2 max 45 (mL/kg/min)
• LT occurs at HR of 165
• LT also occurs at 87.5% of VO2 max

After consulting with the fitness director I now have a more direct method of performing better. Out of all of these stats the percentage of my VO2 max that I hit my lactate threshold is the best. My main goal now is to raise my LT level while simultaneously lowering my body fat percentage. Based on this test on my best day, optimal weight, body fat % and racing conditions, I could run a 3:15 marathon. Currently my stats predict a 3:26 marathon. Although many other factors go into the final outcome of a race this information is definitely a confidence booster. I feel better equipped to make the most of my training.

In: Texas Tri Series

  After much debate and internal wrangling I have decided to compete again in the Texas Tri Series. I think I want to try and compete and not just race in these events. So it's time to get to work. My training is progressing nicely and I feel that compared to last year I am ahead of the game. I am swimming and running more than last year so all I need to do is get the cycling volume up to par. Now that spring is here it is time to ride.
  My running group that I was in didn't work out for me so for now I am running solo. With my work and school schedule I need the flexibility of running on my own to make it all fit into place. For example my group used to do their long runs on Saturdays which meant I would ride on Sundays. I know a lot of Triathletes who prefer to train in the order of events. Now that my training schedule is more malleable I can swim on Friday, ride on Saturday and run on Sundays. If I feel like it that is.
  I recently had my Lactate Threshold and VO2 max tested at the UT fitness center. My next post will detail that experience a little more. For now I am off to swim at the beautiful Gregory Gym aquatic center.

Jaw Dropping

  I am procrastinating my studying for a test to update this blog so it better be worth it. Actually I just need a break from Philosophy of Biology so this is it.
  Tuesday morning was a 4:45 am wake up for a Team Rogue Run. I really like my coach. John Schrupp is very attentive to his athletes. He is aware of everybody's needs and injuries which I think is very important. I am coming off an injury and am coming back to running very tentatively. I do not want to get hurt again. I hate being injured! I had the absolute pleasure of running with my friend and former coach Amy Andersen that morning. Our workout was supposed to be a 60 minute run with 10X50 meter hill sprint repeats. Amy and I only did the 60 minute run and I am so glad I did. I got to catch up with my friend who I have not spoken to in quite a while.
  Later on in the day I got in a nice swim at UT. It was a mile total in distance with a 400 m warm up. 800 m of kick and pull drills followed by a 400 m cool down. I love swimming at UT and one big reason is that if I get a good swim in it keeps me awake for my last class of the day.
  Wednesday I was planning on visiting my friends who just welcomed a little baby girl into the world. The father is also my swim coach/massage therapist. We worked out a trade where he would do a little body work and kinesio taping if I helped install a pull up bar. Score. He told me the tape would wear off if I swam so I should get in a workout hard enough to necessitate a few recovery days afterwords. That wasn't a problem. I was already at school and looking for a break so I headed over to the UT pool.
  I got in a did a 400 m warm up followed by alternating 25 m sprints and recoveries for a total of 200 m. About halfway through the sprints is when the jaw dropping part of this entry takes place. I am not the slowest swimmer in the pool but neither am I the fastest. I am comfortably in the middle and getting stronger with every swim. I was resting near the lane ropes when I hear a conversation between the guy in the lane next to me and a girl who is getting ready to jump his lane. I look up and at first notice that she is definitely an athlete. Then I notice that on her swim cap is her name under an American flag. Lastly I see a little tattoo of Olympic rings on her hip before she dives into the water and proceeds to blow us all away. It may sound cliche but her stroke looked so effortless and she was just screaming down the lane back and forth. I was awestruck. There are always faster swimmers than me in the pool but this was different. This was a level of technique and speed that you usually only get to see on TV. Actually she competed in Beijing in 2008. Her name is Kathleen Heresy and she was awesome. You don't tattoo Olympic rings on your body unless they are well...real. Hers were real. It's not everyday you get to swim next to an Olympian.
   Total recovery day for me today and then a run and hopefully a ride tomorrow.

Run and a Swim

  Today started out with a nice and easy 4 mile run around Town Lake with my friends Tony, Mandy and of course little Oskar. My off season has not been kind to neither Oskar nor I. Recently the vet did not explicitly call my dog fat but he said to try and not let him gain any more weight. What?!?!?!?! I couldn't believe it. Then I took a look in the old mirror and decided to get my ass and Oskar's, in gear.
   I ran 4 miles around Town Lake to ease back into running and test out the leg. Besides a few minor aches, and I mean minor, everything seems to be working as it should be. Tony and Mandy continued on for the seven mile loop after dropping Oskar and I at the 4 mile mark. I am not ready to overload myself with too many miles.
  After my discussion class at school I went over to the gym at UT and got in a mile swim. I started with a 400 m warm up followed by alternating 50 m kick drills and 50 m pull drills for a total of 800 m. If you add in a 400 m cool down you come up with a mile. I also made use of the UT hot tub to relax parts of my legs that were starting to cramp up.
  If I can get in 4 runs, 4 swims and at least 2 rides a week I will be happy and very tired. Yesterday I rode along the Austin Marathon course to cheer on the runners and find some friends. I rode the majority of the course and I am once again inspired and awed by the marathon distance. I definitely want to add a marathon to my list of races this year. I just cannot decide which one yet.
  Off to bed soon. Team Rogue starts at 5:30 in the morning.

Update

   I have a updated vision of my racing season that I am still working on. I was originally going to race the Vineman. That race changed to Ironman UK and due to circumstances beyond my control I am thinking I may not due that race. I still plan on racing all year long in 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon distances. But I am a little weary of my triathlon race schedule. Part if not all of the Texas Tri series is in play, but I still need an "A" race to focus on about 5-7 months from now, preferably a full Ironman distance race.
  My training for the past month has been spotty due to weather, school commitments, life commitments, family concerns and injuries. I had shin splints that sidelined me for a week and then I rolled my ankle at work which kept me from running for another week. I have been able to get in some quality swims for the past month and I think I am back at my level of swim fitness that I was at the end of last season. There has hardly been any cycling done so we are not talking about that right now.
  I think I have a handle on some of the curve balls that life has thrown my way recently and now I am ready to commit myself to the whole process all over again. Woo Hoo!

Friends help

 My first day running back at Rogue and it was a cold, wet and early morning. I woke up at 5:30 for a 7 am run and immediately fought off the urge to crawl back under the covers. I am keeping my mileage low for the first month until I get back into full swing. I only ran 8 miles this morning which I know is not very much but it was the first step on a long road to Ironman. Knowing I was only going to run 8 miles made it more difficult to get out of bed because I know I could have done this run on my own. Luckily I have a few friends at Rogue and the thought of seeing them again made the choice of going a lot easier. Thank you Jenn, Heidi, Joe and Mandy for running with me this morning.
  I am in the process of upgrading my messenger bike to help me get some extra cycling miles this training season. I picked up a used cycle computer from Ozone to log my miles on my commute to and from work and school. My old boss form New York is sending me another courier bag from my bike messenger days so that will make commuting easier. I also bought a new lock since my old trusty chain lock ended up in San Francisco. I still need to put some cages on the pedals so I can get a little more benefit out of my ride. The cages will help my turnover when I spin.
  Woohoo! Good start already. Oh and a special thank you to Barton for helping me with my hamstring issues. I appreciate the fix.