High on Tri

Hot Ride

2009-06-24T20:21:00.001-07:00

Can it freakin get any hotter? Rode yesterday afternoon at 6:15. Temp was 98 and heat index was 104, brutal! Got in 20 miles at around 19.5. Did some intervals in the middle with an average just over 20 for the middle 13.5. Swam and ran this morning. Water was in the upper 80's and the run was miserable. Tell me again why I do this crap in the middle of the summer. Hopefully, I can lose this 10 pounds I have gained since November. My weight is headed in the wrong direction. Going to go for a short 45 minute ride in the morning and then swim/run on Friday.

Heatwave Race Report

2009-06-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

Pre-Race:

Convinced my buddy Luke to give in and do the race, so we rode up together. He has friends who live about 20 minutes from the race, so we went to their place after packet pick-up. They cooked ribeyes, pasta, and grilled vegetables for dinner. Not sure that ribeye is the best pre-race meal, but it was delicious. Watched the end of the LSU baseball game and hit the hay around 10:30 pm. Sleep comes easy, so pre-race jitters aren't a problem for me. Was out in a few minutes and slept till my alarm went off at 5:10 am.

Got dressed and got our stuff loaded up. Had a bowl of runny oatmeal since I added too much milk and didn't have time to cook it off. Hit the door since we were running a little late. Race start was 7 am. Made it to the parking lot at 6:30. Hurried up and got set up, since we were literally the last people to arrive. Was in the first wave, so quickly got my chip and got in a quick warm-up in the water. Got around the middle of the pack and got ready for the start. Weather was awesome with a race time start temp of 60. About 10 degrees below normal for this time of year.

Swim (800 m):

Swim was supposed to be 800 m, but turned out to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 900 to 950. Last year's race was short, with the fastest swimmers out in about 9 min. This year's fastest time was around 12:30. Pretty uneventful swim except for getting swam over once and swimming over two guys myself. Also took a little detour between the two buoys that were out at the farthest point out on the swim. Swim was U shaped and for some reason, I went way wide on the part between the two legs of the U. Came out of the water at 18:59, which was 6th in Clydesdales.

I am in there somewhere...

T1:

Fairly smooth, but a little long for me. Time was 1:29, which could have been due to the fact that I was way at the end right up next to the fence due to the fact that we were late to set-up.

Bike(24.8 miles):

Bike was nice with it being on the Natchez Trace. No wind to speak of with rolling hills. Tried to keep my hear trate down, but it just wasn't meant to be. Couldn't get it below 160-162 the entire ride. It was up in the 170 range for a good portion. They had three large packs of 15-20 drafting peletons. Stayed out of them and made sure to ride a clean race. Tailed another BRTri member about 200yd back for the entire race. I would get closer on the uphills and he would lengthen his lead on the downhills. Finally took him with about 2 miles to go. He passed me in the first mile on the run though. Ended up biking 19.7 based on the official length of the race with my time. Bike computer had 19.5 since the course was a few tenths short. Hit T2 with a bike time of 1:15:31.

I'll let you decide if there was drafting or not...

T2:

Back down to my spot by the fence at the end of the row. Time of 1:18 which was disappointing. Anything over 1 min in T2 is unacceptable. Did put on socks though since I haven't been running and knew that my feet would not hold up on the 10k. Even with socks though, I can usually make it out in under 1 min.

Run(6.2 miles):

Settled in for a long run and was just hoping to come in under 1 hour. My run training since N.O. Half has totaled 24 miles. That is 8 weeks at a 3 mile average per week. Needless to say, I didn't expect much from my run. Run was nice, with only the first and last miles being in the sun. The middle 4 were on an asphalt running trail through the woods. Run was a little hilly. From around mile 2 to the turn-around was all uphill. Made it nice on the way down though. Got to see lots of BRTri folk and give some high fives. Beating another BRTri member, Jeff Crow, kept me going even though I didn't feel like it. With about 0.5 mile to go, Stephen Hollinger passed me and let me know that Jeff was gaining. Had just enough kick to keep him at bay and beat him by about 40 seconds. Run time was 58:27 for a 9:35 average. Not good, but not terrible for the lack of run training I have done. 2:35:42 which was good enough for 12th in Clydesdales out of 35. Missed my goal of top 50% though, but this race field is always fast.

View of my rear. I am the one in the middle with no shirt on.

My nemesis, Jeff (left), and Stephen.

It is something about the "Olympic" (swim wasn't Olympic distance) distance that brings out the fast people. Don't really know why. Always finish top 50% in sprints and both halfs I have done. However, haven't been close in the two Olympics I've done. Maybe it is too long for the beginner types, but not the allure of a big accomplishment to beginners as the Half distance. I know this, all you beginners need to put Olympic distance races on your calendars so I can finish top 50%...

Heatwave is a great race and one I will certainly do again. Also, Deanna Favre was out there racing and I missed it. Don't know if Brett was out in disguise on the course, but if so, then I missed it. Didn't realize until after the race that a Hall of Famer's wife, who is a cancer survivor, was out on the course. Bet she has the best bike and some nice gear though.

Century (Metric) Ride

2009-05-27T19:02:00.000-07:00

Did a Metric Century on Monday in the hills of St. Francisville. Wanted to do the full century, but with it being a holiday and all, I couldn't convince my significant other to watch the kids for 5.5 hours without me. The metric ended up being 65 miles due to some re-routes because of some construction.

The ride started out nasty as miles 5 - 15 were ridden in a steady downpour. Riding 6 inches from some one's tire in a paceline at 23-25 mph in the driving rain is not the most fun thing in the world. However, it does make you focus just a little bit more than normal. Stayed with the pack through the first 45 minutes and then about 6 of us broke off the front until we got to the first SAG stop. Re-fueled and then took off again with the 6 off the front. Got to the second SAG at mile 37 and we were down to 4, but we picked up 4 more who were bailing on the century. Well, 5 of them take off without too much notice and three of us are left to try to pick up with them. We three took turns pulling a mile at a time and finally caught the lead pack right at SAG stop number 3. Well, I pull in to get some food and I hear them say they are stopping and they are going to keep going. Great, they pull out and I am stuck trying to catch up. Takes about a mile, but I catch up to the 5 of them (we lost 2 somewhere along the way, can't quite remember how or when, maybe when the three of us were catching up). We set up in a paceline with everyone taking about 3 minutes. We are averaging 21-22 on the flats, 14-16 up the hills and 25-27 on the downhills. We make it to SAG 4 at mile 50 and I am about dead.

After SAG 4, where they finally let us stop for more than two minutes, I don't take any more pulls. Me and a lady from New Orleans just ride the back and let the other 4 pull. Without the group, I surely would have died somewhere in between miles 50 and 65. Just didn't have the legs for it. However, in the paceline it wasn't so bad. Almost lost them a couple of times, but each time I pulled out just enough to hang on up the hills. All in all a good ride. I think we averaged around 19 for the 65, which in the hills of St. Franny is respectable, at least for me anyway. Especially after putting in 50 miles two days before on Saturday.

Doing a brick in the morning to kind of see where I stand for Heatwave. It ain't going to be pretty that is for sure. With my run mileage hanging around 5-6 miles per week, the race next weekend is going to be brutal. Maybe I can pull a rabbit out of my hat...See you at the race Tri-James.

Don't Call it a Comeback

2009-05-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

After 4 weeks of taking it easy after New Orleans Half IM, I finally hit a "decent" week of training. I have still been staying off the feet by not running, except for the one 5k two weeks ago and the 3 mile run I did this week. I actually got in a consistent week.

Monday and Tuesday I slouched and skipped my swim and bike. However, I got back in the groove on Wednesday. Got in 1750 in the pool and then went for a three mile run. Heel didn't hurt too bad the next day, so I may try to run some more this week. Thinking of getting the "boot" to wear at night to try and beat the plantar fasciitis. Thursday was supposed to be bike, but some BR Tri buddies wanted to ride on Friday. So, I got back in the pool on Thursday and wimped out after 2100. Friday am was a 31 mile bike ride with 4 other peeps. Good ride, couple of pick-ups, but it was very humid and miserable. Saturday was a "rest" day. Took the kids to see Mike the Tiger, to play at the Louisiana Arts and Science Museum in downtown BR and then to the BR Zoo for the Keypoint Credit Union member party. Came home around 2 and we all crashed for a 2 hour nap. Went out early this morning since it was supposed to rain and put in an hour of riding before I met some of the BR Tri crew for some paceline stuff. Ended up riding 56 miles for the morning.

Hopefully, I can continue the training the next couple of weeks. Signed up for the Heatwave Classic, which is almost an Olympic distance taking place on June 6. Bike and run is Olympic, but the swim is only 0.5 mile instead of 0.9 miles. Looking forward to it, if I can get some run miles in. Going to be a miserable run if not.

Race Report Continued (Finally)

2009-05-09T06:29:00.000-07:00

Race Day:

Got up around 5 so we could head over around 5:30 to transition. My ride was late and we end up not getting to transition until 6:15. My wave is the third wave, so this is going to be a rush job. Organize my stuff real quick and start heading over to the swim start. Had to walk the mile to the start because the line for the bus was way too long and I knew I would never make it on time. Ended up jogging the last 1/4 mile. Got in the port-o-potty line at 6:45 and my start was at 7:12. Did my business and heard them sending off the second pro wave (women). The physically challenged athletes were next, then my wave. Got my chip and started to put on my wetsuit. Got to the start line just as they are sending my wave into the water, not how I wanted to start my day. Then I can't get my wetsuit zipped because of the tri top that I had to wear because of the nipple rule. Had to ask a volunteer near the start to zip it up. Get my goggles on and get wet and then they send us off.

Swim:

Ran what seemed like the first 150 m until it finally got too deep. Let the fast swimmers get out ahead and then settled into a groove. Swam near this one guy for what seemed like the whole race. Drafted off him a few times, but he wasn't quite fast enough to stay ahead off me when I was in his draft. I would pull beside him, but could never leave him behind. Got out of the water and my watch gad around 37 minutes. Let them strip off my wetsuit and got to transition. Official swim time was 38:40, which includes the trek up to transition.

T1:

My bike was on the opposite end of transition from the swim. Had to run what seemed like a 5k across the parking lot that was transition. My feet were getting hammered by little rocks. Finally got to my bike, got ready and headed out. T1 was 3:09, but that was due to the long run across the lot with no shoes.

Bike:

Nothing eventful except for slight quartering tailwind on the way out and large headwind on the way back in. I checked the wind report the day after and confirmed. We had a 7-8 mph quartering tailwind for about the first 1/3 of the race and then the last 1/3 had a 16-18 mph headwind. The middle third was a combination of the 16-18 mph as tailwind and headwind. Needless to say, the last 1/3 sucked. Going into a 16-18 mph wind on the last 16 miles was not fun at all. Tried to keep my heart rate down in the 150 range, but couldn't manage it on the headwind portion. Finished the bike in 2:58:34. 18.8 mph average which is right below the 19 I was hoping for. Think I could have done it without the headwind. Hit T1 with a heel that was already hurting from the bike. Got off the bike and immediately knew my heel was not going to hold up.

T2:

Now I had to run the 5k back across the parking lot to get to the run exit. At least this time I had shoes on. Still took me 3:12 though. The wife was waiting on me at the exit and I told her it was going to be a long run with my heel.

Run:

Made it to about mile 1.5 before I had to stop because of the heel pain. That was the story of the run. My heel combined with my fatigue made it a fight. Did a combination of walk run the entire time. Not much to say except that people passed me by the hundreds. After that first 1.5 I only ran one other section from aid station to aid station and that was mile 6-7.5. After that I was screwed. Resorted to running 10 minutes and walking 2 minutes. That got me about a mile each time. Was never so happy to see a finish line. The number of people was amazing and the finish was electric. Wish I just would have felt happy coming down the chute about my race. Ended up with a 2:34:26, which blows. 11:47 average sucks for the training that I did. Even though I only ran like 10 miles a week the last 4 weeks due to my heel, I should have been able to run sub 10 min miles. Race total was 6:18. No goals met except for my "C" goal of finishing. Had so much promise to start. Came out of T2 in 3:43 total for the day to that point. With a 2:02 half mary I had my "A" goal. With a 2:17 I had my "B" goal. Sucks the feeling right out of you as you realize you will not make it.

All in all, despite my heel and run issues, it was a great first race for New Orleans. At this point, I don't think I am going to do it next year, as the price is a little steep. May just volunteer and go do lonestar in Galveston. About $50 cheaper and way less people. We'll see.

N.O. Half Iron Race Report

2009-04-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

I better write this before I forget everything. Not that there is much to remember except for my sucky run, more on that later. Total finish time was 6:18, same time as my first half iron. That first half iron, I had a flat and wasted 16 minutes on two stops to change it. So needless to say my time was worse.

Pre-Race:

Went down Friday to do packet pick-up to avoid the crowd on Saturday. Took the kids to the New Orleans Zoo where we are members. The kids had a fun time, even if it was rushed so I could make it on time to the 5 pm race briefing.

After the zoo, we went down to the convention center and parked. Mel took the kids down to the aquarium, while I did a race warm-up by running to the Marriott. The website said if you were 2 minutes late to the briefing, then you would have to go to the next one.

Got there at 5 pm on the dot and the briefing was packed. Sat with a friend, Mulkey Way, who happened to miss the 4 pm session and was at the 5. She was 4 minutes late to the 4 pm! Typical pre-race stuff except for two things. First, he asked how many people in the room that this was there first triathlon ever. About 6-8 people stood up! Half Iron as your first race, braver than me. The second curve ball was the fact that WTC has a torso rule. In other words, you must were some type of top that covers your torso. Basically, it is a nipple rule. I hate wearing freakin' shirts in races. Only have done it twice and both times it was because the temp was in the 40's and I wore one for the bike only. I was not a happy camper. Got my stamp and then went and picked up the packet. Packet was sparse and just had the essentials. Found the wife and the kids, who had went to I-Max since the aquarium closed at 5 pm. Headed home to try to get a good dinner and a good nights rest. Neither happened. Got to bed late and woke up the next morning at 5:30 and couldn't go back to sleep.

Hung out with the kids for the morning on Saturday and then dropped them off at my parents around lunch. Headed over to my buddy Jeremy's in-laws house to catch my ride to N.O. Mel was working, so she was coming down later.

Was going to try and do this report all at once, but life keeps getting in the way. Will finish later, but the later it gets the less I remember. May be a good thing for all you readers out there, both of you...

Race Week

2009-03-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

The week has finally come, N.O. 70.3 is upon us. I feel so ill prepared. My running has not come along with the heel issue and it has gotten only slightly better. Still hurts pretty bad after a long run or any kind of reasonably fast speed work. We'll see if it can hold up for 13.1 miles.

Last Wednesday we took a trip to New Orleans to swim the course. Forecast had thunderstorms and 25 mph winds, but we went anyway. The only saving grace was that the wind was out of the south. Got down there and it was perfect. The wind was blowing about 20, but since it was from the south the water just had a slight ripple. We ended up swimming 0.5 mile to the start and then swimming the 1.2 mile course. The water was actually too warm and my full sleeved wetsuit had me extremely warm. Every 5 minutes I would pull the neck down to let water in to cool me off. I could feel it coming out by my feet very warm. Ended up swimming around 38 minutes, which would be great come race day. Will be a little more crowded though, so I will be happy with 40 although not excited. Bad news is that some peeps from BR Tri went down Saturday and the wind was out of the north at about 20 mph and the waves were crashing to the top of the sea wall (3'-4'). A north wind or east wind will not be fun. The forecast for now has SW wind, which will be perfect for the swim.

Friday, I did my last longer brick before the race. Rode 40 miles in north Baton Rouge and then ran 5 miles. Went 19.2 on the bike and managed 8:50 pace on the run. That is not going to cut it for my goal. I need to hit around 19 on the bike and 9:00 pace on the run to have a chance at 5:45. The run is going to be the tough part...

Sunday, we loaded up Boggs' truck and 6 of us headed to Lake Charles for a quick "warm-up" race. It was a super short sprint of 500 meters/10 miles/2 miles. My buddy Jeremy was doing his first tri, which is the only reason I committed. The air temp was 40 at race time and the water temp was 66 due to the recent rain showers. Left my wetsuit at home so I wouldn't be tempted to swim in it. The swim was miserable and I only managed to go 9:11, which is only 1:50/100 m. Couldn't get my legs going on the bike and missed the 20 mph standard. Went 19.7. The one shining moment was my T2, 37 seconds. Second fastest T2 in the race. Executed the flying dismount perfectly, hustled in and racked my bike flawlessly, slipped on my shoes with my Yanks laces and hit the run course. Was happy with my run, especially considering my lack of speed work over the last 2 months. Managed 7:42's. Best of all, a fellow age grouper, Br Tri friend and caravan member got beat by my excellent transitions. We had the same swim time and run time, but he beat me on the bike by a full minute. However, my transitions were 2 minutes faster total. He passed me on the bike at mile 6, but I caught and passed him in T2 and never looked back. I knew he was lurking on the run, but I saved a little for the last 1/4 mile and kept him at bay. Got 5th in age group and 37 overall out of 119.

Doing low volume, speed work for this week. Swam 1,000 yds this afternoon and going to do a short 5k tomorrow at 8:00 pace. Going to swim another 1,000 yds on Wednesday with a short run and then bike about 15 miles on Thursday. Short run on Friday and then rest Saturday. Race day early on Sunday. Good luck to others doing the race and to my buddy from Houston doing the Lonestar 1/2 this weekend in Galveston. Wish they weren't the same weekend because I enjoyed Lonestar and was looking to do it again. Maybe next year.

Bricks 'R Us

2009-03-13T06:03:00.000-07:00

Finally got a freakin' run in. After not having run for another week straight, I finally got my feet on the pavement yesterday. Went for my normal Thursday morning bike ride, but decided to start a little earlier so I could do a run after. With the time change, it was dark for the entire workout.

Started out with a 15 mile ride on my normal route. It was pretty windy, so I only averaged around 19.5 for the ride. I hate freakin' cross winds. Give me a headwind and tailwind any day over a cross wind. Felt like I was fighting the wind the whole ride. At least with a headwind, there is a point where you know you'll get a tailwind. Got off the bike and transitioned right into the run. I try to keep it under 3 minutes so that it is truly race conditions (No, I don't take 3 minutes for transitions in a race, matter of fact, my T2 times are normally under a minute so shut up).

Wanted to run for 30 minutes. Went out fairly easy to make sure the heel was feeling good. Picked it up on the way back in. Negative split the run by 5 seconds, woohoo...Guess I wasn't taking it as easy on the way out as I thought. Ended up going 3.6 miles for a 8:30 pace. Pretty decent for me for an easy run after a bike. Probably could have been in the 7:45 range if it was actually a race. However, the heel is still not good. Had some light pain in it the rest of the day and it felt sore after sitting at my desk all day not moving it.

Going to try and run 8 to 9 miles today and see how it holds up. Don't want to go into the half iron only having run a 10 miler 2 months before the race. If it doesn't do well, then I am going to just have to run a bunch of short runs for the next 3 weeks leading up to the race. That will make my race goal be very tough to meet. I need to be able to go sub 9 minute pace on the half marathon to have a shot at my "A" goal.

Jinxed

2009-03-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

Of course as soon as I say something about making all my workouts last week, I miss the rest of them. Ended up skipping my run Friday, never had a chance to make it up on Saturday and Sunday was shot.

Saturday afternoon, we took the kids to see the LSU women's gymnastics meet. Emilie loved it, Austin loved it for the 30 seconds he sat still. After that it was a fight with him until I finally took him outside to see Mike the Tiger. Mike was swimming in his pond and running around the cage, so that occupied Austin until we left for St. Francisville. We went to spend the night at my grandparents house on Lake Rosemound and spend the next day up there. I was volunteering for a road (term used loosely) race called Rouge Roubaix on Sunday.

It is a 100 mile road race across some of the worst roads in St. Francisville and up into Mississippi. About 25-27 miles of it is on gravel roads up huge hills (huge for this area of the world). 35 mph descents on gravel ain't no joke. I rode wingman in the lead vehicle for the "B" race which was cat 4 and masters riders. It is a race modeled after the 160 mile race from Paris to Roubaix over in France. There was a reporter and photographer from the NY Times and there story can be found at Roubaix story. A short video of the race can be found here. I'm glad I was in the truck and not on my bike. I would consider doing it one year, but not now. I'll stick to the leisurely bike club century rides on paved roads.

After the race, I headed back up to the lake to enjoy the afternoon. Played with the kids until their nap time. Got them down for a nap and went on a short bike ride with my wife. Her first time back on the bike since last year. We went 10 miles at 13 mph through some decent hills. After she went back to the house, I did an up and down twice on a large 0.75 mile hill right by the lake. It is only about a 5% grade, but it stretched the quads. Spent the remainder of the afternoon fishing with the kids and then I took a swim in my new wetsuit.

The wetsuit was great. A little restrictive feeling on the breathing, but I figured that would be the case the first time I wore it. It won't be a big deal once I swim in it a few more times. Kept it short since the lake has all these rules about staying 25 yards from your pier. So I made my mom and kids follow me in the boat for a 150 yds out and back for a total of 300 yds. It kept me warm and semi dry. Neck is a little big, so I got some water in it, but not enough to worry about. Figured out a big secret though, make sure to pee before you put it on. As soon as I was ready to get in the water, I had to pee. The wetsuit is not conducive to peeing, so I had to hold it until I got out. Made a mental note to pee 10 times before I put it on for the Half Ironman. Just what I need, a pee filled wetsuit for 1.2 miles...Swam at the Y and lifted weights on Monday. Swam a 1800 yd straight swim with 200 warm-up and cool-down. Went easy because I was sharing a lane due to the obscene number of people in the pool. Every lane was full with at lest 3 or 4 lanes with doubles. Popular day for swimming I guess.

Training Pics

2009-03-05T13:25:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pics from training over the last month:

Looking excited on my 60 mile ride one Sunday morning. Rode from Pride to Clinton.

View of the road in Clinton.

Another road in Clinton.

My riding partner, Jeremy, on a ride in Gonzales.

Jeremy looking like he actually likes training...

Got on the bike this morning for around 45 minutes before work. Got in 15 miles before I had to get back and get ready for work. I have hit all of my workouts so far this week. It is going to be tough to make them all this weekend, but we'll see if I can finally have one week that goes as scheduled. The running is the most important right now.

My wetsuit came in today. Going to give it a try in my friend's pond at his house either tomorrow or Saturday. Hope it fits...Might be going to Lake Rosemound on Sunday, so I'll give it a try there too. Going to be volunteering for Rouge Roubaix on Sunday. Supposed to be riding in the lead vehicle with a friend from BRTri. Rouge Roubaix is the local mother of all bike races. It is nearly 105 miles long in St. Franciville. It runs up some "big" Louisiana hills, over some nasty gravel roads, nasty chip seal asphalt roads and even a few timber road sections. I've heard it is brutal and not for the faint of heart. Especially Sunday since it will be a cool 81 degrees in freakin' March. Louisiana weather, gotta love it.

The Daily Grind

2009-03-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

Back again after a long layoff from the Blog Nation. Have been too busy with other things, i.e. facebook, to come over here and post. There is at least a couple of people who read this occasionally to know how much or little I have been training. One of them reminded me that I actually have this thing here and that I needed to update it. I've taken some pictures while training, but they are all at work and I am at home at the moment. Maybe I'll post them tomorrow for two posts in a row, but I wouldn't hold my breath...

My training has been going okay. My swimming has been fine. I have been averaging around 4600-5800 yds per week spaced over 2 workouts. Monday and Wednesday are swim days. Monday is shorter in total volume (1800-2200), but I do a warm-up, then a long straight swim (1400-1800) followed by a cool down. Wednesday is longer (2800-3600) consisting of some shorter distance intervals to work on some speed. Still only averaging 1:40's on 100's, but that is good enough for me. I would be happy swimming 1:45 average for the 1.2 mile swim at the Half Iron.

Biking has been good, except for being cold. Hard to get motivated to ride my bike in the mornings when it is 35 degrees out, but I haven't missed a weekend ride yet. Been going 45-55 miles on my Sunday rides and doing a Thursday morning "speed" workout for around 15-20 miles. Sunday this past week was brutal. At 9 am the temp was 38, but there was a 20 mph wind. The wind chill was 29 and it was freakin' cold on the bike. On the way out, there was a section directly into the wind. I was doing 13 mph with a heart rate of 162 (almost 90% of MHR). Then I finally got to a section with the wind at my back and I was doing 27-28 mph with a heart rate of 150 (around 80% MHR). My bike is coming along and I have ridden the half iron course twice. Thinking I may be able to go around 19-19.5 mph for the race if the wind is light. The course could be tough though with any wind since it is pretty wide open through the marshes along the lake.

My run has been my weakest link. My weekly mileages have been 15, 12, 11, 11, 20, 5.5 and then looking at around 14 for this week. My run has been sufferin'. I finally got motivated and got up to the 20 mile mark, however that was a big mistake. That big increase in mileage killed my heel. I believe I have the beginning of Plantar Fasciitis, which is a very painful condition. My heel hurt a little after my 10 mile long run on the 20 mile week, but nothing I felt concerned about. Then last week I went on Tuesday to do my 5.5 miles of speedwork and that did my heel in. That night, I got up to use the restroom and had to literally crawl to the bathroom. My heel could not have any weight on it. I iced it and stretched it for the next two days and it finally starting feeling better Thursday afternoon. Decided to stay off of it until this Tuesday. Did 3 miles yesterday and then iced it. Did 3 miles this morning, but skipped the ice. It hurts a little bit this evening, but not too bad. Going to take it easy for the rest of this week (4 miler on Friday and 5 miler on Sunday) and see how it feels. May throw my long run back in next week and maybe some speedwork the next week.

My upcoming plans are pretty much focused on the New Orleans Half Ironman. I am doing a local race in Lake Charles the weekend before since it will be one of my best friends' first triathlon. It is 400 m, 10 miles and 2 miles, so it should be around an hour. Should be a good final tune-up the Sunday before the half iron. Plus I can work out any kinks with my new wetsuit in a race prior to the big race. Want to do the Fast Boy 5k the day before the sprint tri, but I am undecided. It will probably depend on how my heel is feeling.

I finally bit the bullet and bought a wetsuit since Lake Pontchartrain will be in the upper 60's for the race. That is a bit chilly even for me. Lonestar last year was around 70 and Ironstar was around 72 and I did them without one. This will be around 65-68, which could be a little problematic. I ended up getting an Xterra Vector Pro X2.

Also bought new tires, a chain, flybag for under the seat, new riding shirt, tail light and tubes for my bike. Bought a helmet for the wife so she can look "cute" while riding her bike.

New Orleans Half Ironman Course Ride

2009-01-25T20:16:00.000-08:00

Made the trip down to New Orleans this morning to ride the New Orleans Half IM course with a bunch of peeps (about 15 of us) from Baton Rouge Tri. This was my second time to ride the course, so I already knew what to expect. Of course since it is south Louisiana, the only elevation changes are overpasses or bridges. There are three of those on the course. The Senator Ted Hinckley Bridge is the biggest. At the apex of the bridge there is some metal grating that gets very slippery when wet. It was wet this morning, so we had to walk it to avoid the chance of slipping out. On the way back in, the group of three I was with decided to ride it, and I tried to track as true as possible but could still feel my rear wheel getting squirrely. They are supposed to carpet it for the race so we don't have that problem. Two of the overpasses/bridges are within the first couple miles, which means they are also in the last couple of miles. There is one other small low bridge at mile 22/34 that shouldn't be an issue.

The course overall is very flat. When you leave the start, the first couple of miles is along the lake shore, then over the bridge and overpass. Then you have a few miles through some neighbor"hoods" along the levee.

Neighborhood on the course

The levee near the neighborhoods.

More levee and course.

You then get on Hwy 510 for about a mile and then on the service road for about a mile. The service road on the West side is pretty rough, but the one on the East side is great. Hopefully, they are using the one on the East side. After the service road is Chef Mentuer Highway. There is commercial business and gas stations until you get to mile 13ish. After that, it is all desolate except for some fishing camps along the marsh. The course if very low traffic and should be great for the race. However, if it is windy it is going to be miserable. Since it is out in the marsh, there is not a lot of trees or structure to break up the wind.

The first time I rode it, we had a 8 to 10 mph wind out of the west which meant tailwind on the way out and headwind on the way back in. We averaged 21.5 on the way out and 15 on the way back in. That sucks. Today, there was a light wind (4-5 mph) out of the NE so it was a little bit slower on the way out, but not that much of a difference. I went there intending to ride 80% heart rate for the entire ride, and I accomplished my goal. My average heart rate for the entire ride was 144 which is right at 80%. Every thirty minutes I did a 2 minute pick-up and the last 6-7 miles we rode at about 21 mph. I ended up averaging 17.8 for the 56 mile route. I want to get that to where I am close to 19 mph at 80% for the route, so we'll see how that goes. Would like to be able to keep it at 80% on the bike for the race so I can have some gas left in the tank for the run. When I finished today, I did a short 2 mile run at 9:20 pace just to start to get the feel of running off the bike. By the end of my training, I will increase that to 45 min to an hour of running after riding . The race is only 10 weeks away, so it is getting time to start getting serious.

Me trying to figure out what I am taking a picture of. What a dork!

Dork picture #2. The crooked helmet just frames the whole thing...

Year in Review

2009-01-09T08:29:00.000-08:00

Wow, it has been almost a month since I have been here. That is just ridiculous. Of course, going on the family Christmas Tour does kind of kill any time that I have available during the month of December. I had 9 separate "events", parties and gatherings, during the 2 weeks leading up to Christmas. It was crazy. It went down like this:

Friday, December 13 - Office Christmas Party, held on the River Terrace at the Shaw Center overlooking the Mississippi River. Nice party and pretty low-key. Only about half the office showed with their spouses/significant others, so we had like 50 people.

The wife and I, looking spectacular.

Friday, December 19 - Christmas party for my dad's side of the family

Saturday, December 20 - Christmas Party for my wife's extended family

Sunday, December 21 - Wife's office party at Portobello's, had a great rib eye at this one

Monday, December 22 - Christmas Party for my mom's dad and his family, 6-8, then on to a birthday party for a married couple of ours who both have birthdays in late December, 9-11

Tuesday, December 23 - Christmas Eve Eve shopping with a bunch of guy friends, annual tradition to get out of the house 2 nights before Christmas and get any last minute gifts that we need

Wednesday, December 24 - Christmas Party for my mom's mom, same people basically from the party on Monday except for the grandparents, 3-6, presents with my parents at their house since they got my kids a trampoline to stay at their house for when the kids come over, 6-8

Thursday, December 25 - My parents and my mom's mom and step-dad over on Christmas day to see what my kids got for Christmas

That my friends is what is referred to as the "Christmas Tour". Exhausting and over rated. Next year, I think we are going to set one day up the weekend before Christmas and invite all family over to our house for different times of the day so it can all happen at once. I spend more in gas for those two weeks than I do in any other entire month.

So needless to say, training has taken a backseat at the end of 2008. I still tried and did the best I could, but I still managed to gain 8 pounds since the Half IM in November. I know how hard it was to lose those 8 pounds, and I am not looking forward to the next couple of weeks. Need to get on top of it though because New Orleans Half IM is just around the corner. Only 12 weeks to go. I have some lofty goals for that race (5:35) and for 2009, so I need to get started. Did only my second long run since November this morning, 9 miles. Did not feel good at all. Only went 9:15 pace, which is not going to cut it.

Being an engineer, I keep track of every single workout in a spreadsheet. So it is pretty easy to get my totals for the year. In 2008, I had the following stats:

Running - 852 miles (16.4 per week, 2.3 per day)

Biking - 2,509 miles (48.3 per week, includes 18 miles per each one hour spin class)

Swimming - 82.3 miles (1.6 per week which is 2800 yds per week)

Workout Days - did some type of exercise 242 days this year for an average of 4.7 days per week

I set PR's in all distances that I raced. Set a new 5k PR, 10k PR, sprint tri and half IM. Had a pretty successful year. Finally got below 200 pounds and stayed there until after my last race of the year. When I raced the half, I was 35 pounds lighter than I had been in May of 2007. 35 pounds in a year and a half is a great accomplishment considering I did not change my eating habits that much. I still eat a bunch. If I could just get disciplined on the food part, then I think I could drop another 10 to maybe around 185. Need to get back to 195 though before we start moving lower. Hard to do in South Louisiana though. Every meal has the potential to kill all the calories you burned training that day.

My goal for this year is to run 1,000 miles (19 miles per week), bike 3,000 miles (58 miles per week) and swim 100 miles (2 miles per week, 3500 yds). It is a lofty goal, but I think I can get there. Started off good so far. As of Sunday, I will have biked 110, ran 30 miles and swam 2.2 miles in the first 11 days of the year. Well on my way. Only 50 more weeks to go.

Last Weekend's Races

2008-12-12T20:10:00.000-08:00

Quick recap of last weekend. I ran the Reindeer Run 5k on Friday night in downtown BR. Set a PR of 21:25. Knocked almost 3 minutes off my time from this same race last year. Then Saturday morning, Melissa ran the BR Beach Half Marathon. Her goal was 2:45, and she came in at a blistering 2:27. The sad part was that the kids and I missed it since Emilie had testing for her new school that she will be attending in the fall. Melissa was very sad, but understanding. Sorry we missed it honey!

Tomorrow morning, I am doing a mountain bike race here in Baton Rouge. I gues we should actually just call it an off-road bike race since we all know that there are no mountains anywhere near here. We'll see how it goes, might be kind off slippery and mucky from all the snow and rain.

Let it Snow!

2008-12-12T19:43:00.000-08:00

In a rare event for south Louisiana, we had almost 4" of snow at our house on Thursday. It had been 20 years since we had this much snow in Baton Rouge. It was the first time that either of the kids have seen real snow fall from the sky. They saw some fake stuff the other night in Downtown Baton Rouge at the light festival, but that doesn't count. They loved it.

I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to get on the trainer for an hour of biking indoors, woo hoo...When I got up, we had snow flurries, but no accumulation. I woke up Melissa and we decided to wake up just Emilie so she could see it just in case flurries was all we got. I took her outside and she tried to catch some flakes in her mouth and got all excited.

Emmi and I in the flurries

They went back to bed and then I went in the garage and got on the trainer. 45 minutes was all I could take on the trainer, so at 6:30 I headed inside. When I walked in and looked at the backyard, all I could see was white. It was really snowing!! I got Melissa up, we got both the kids up and went outside to play.

The kids and I getting ready for the fun

Emmi's Snow Angel

Our snowman with M&M smile!

Melissa and the kids in the backyard

We made snow angels, snow castles with our sand castle toys, a snowman with an M&M smile and took pictures. After about an hour of that in the front yard, it was time to heat up and eat some breakfast. We cooked pancakes with M&M's cooked in, and made some hot chocolate. The kids loved there marshmallows in their hot chocolate.

We then went in the backyard for some fun. It was 4" of untouched powder. It was great. We rolled in it, hit each other with countless snowballs, made more snow angels and had an all around good time. After I finally went to work at lunch, the kids played for another hour or so in the afternoon. Most of the snow was gone by nightfall, but our snowman held on until this afternoon. He was still half there when I got home today, but some teenagers took care of the rest of him. Hopefully, it won't be another 20 years. I love the snow. Wish I would have had some skis. I could have skied down the 6' hill in our backyard...

Racing Weekend

2008-12-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

The wife and I both have races on tap for the weekend. Of course, mine is just a 5k, which is the Reindeer Run. It is Friday night in downtown Baton Rouge. Then Melissa is racing the BR Beach Half Marathon on Saturday morning. It is a single loop course around LSU, the LSU Lakes and some neighborhoods near the lakes. She is going to be running it with two of her friends. She is hoping to go around 2:45, so we'll see.

It will be her first half marathon, actually it will be the first half marathon in the family. I did one as part of the Half Ironman, but that doesn't count apparently. This will be the first straight up half marathon that either of us have ran. I'll be there to cheer her on. Hopefully I can get under 22:00 on Friday night. Not looking good, but we'll see how that goes...

Went down to New Orleans on Sunday with a couple of BRTri guys to ride the bike course that will be used for the New Orleans Half Ironman. The way out was nice, since we had a 12 mph tailwind. Averaged 21.5 mph for the first 25, then we turned around. The now 12 mph headwind sucked. Averaged 15.5 mph on the way back in, for a 18.5 mph overall average. The course is fairly nice. A couple of overpasses right at the start, which results in overpasses right at the end. The roads are surprisingly in great shape for New Orleans. There is a short stretch, 3-5 miles through a rougher neighborhood, but once you get on Chef Mentuer Highway it is nice. Nothing but marsh and open land from miles 12-28. We only went to mile 25, but the last 3 are just as open.

Not to bash on all roadies, but would it kill you guys to be a little friendly to the Tri crowd. Passed 5 or 6 packs of Giro ride roadies. Gave them all waves or the two finger "what's up" salute and got nothing in return. Pass the one tri group that was riding, and at least half of them waved back. Not that my life is over now, but why do roadies have to be so elitist. Just because we have aero bars on our bikes doesn't make us inferior.

Turkey Trot

2008-11-27T10:35:00.001-08:00

Did the Turkey Trot this morning with my wife, a friend of hers and some peeps from BRTri. Wasn't feeling it and I went out a little too fast. Ran a 6:35 on the first mile, which didn't feel good. Died at around 1.5 mile mark and limped in. Finished in 22:58, which isn't even a PR. That is only a 7:25 pace, terrible.

The wife however, cut about tree minutes off her 5k time. The last race she ran was a 3 miler where she went 32:15 for a 10:45 pace. This morning she went 3.1 in 30:11, which is a 9:44 pace. She knocked one minute per mile off in just over two months of training. I am so proud of her.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Taking It Easy

2008-11-23T18:49:00.000-08:00

I haven't been on my road bike since Iron Star. That makes two weeks, is that bad? No desire yet to get back on it. Maybe after Thanksgiving. I have been on my mountain bike though and really enjoyed that. Have still been swimming and running with no pressure of course. Have been running with my wife and some friends who are doing the Baton Rouge Beach Marathon in a couple of weeks. Been taking it easy with them and just enjoying running.

I am so proud of my wife, she ran 11.5 on Friday. Her last long run before the Half Marathon. She ran with two of her friends for the first half and then I met her with the kids and I pushed the kids along while running to keep her company for the last 5 miles. It was fun. Of course, she has taken over the Garmin and is addicted. I may have to find her one for Christmas. Don't know if we can keep sharing the one we've got.

Going to do the Turkey Trot 5k on Thursday and then the Reindeer Run 5k the night before Melissa does the half mary. Trying to get a good shave time for the Shave Your 5k Challenge.Would like to go 21:42 for a 7:00 average, but don't think I am going to make it. Just haven't been motivated to do enough speedwork since the race. Definitely didn't have the speed after all the long and 80% heart rate runs I was doing for the Half Iron. See if I can throw down a 6:30 for the first mile and then hold on after that. Didn't work last time...

Think I might do a mountain bike race in a couple of weeks if I can get my bike fixed. Got a loose crank arm that I need to get replaced. We'll see.

Iron Star Race Report

2008-11-11T18:32:00.000-08:00

The morning started off with a chilly temp of 40 at race time. They had the race at the resort even though it was still under construction. Was in the first wave so I got to hit the water early. The water temp was 73-74, so it actually wasn't that bad for the handful of us without wetsuits. The first leg was straight into the sun. We spread out pretty good, so there wasn't much jostling for position. The long stretch parallel to the beach was nice except for the widely spaced small markers. Made it hard to sight, although somehow I managed to stay within 10 yards of them the whole way. Turn into the finish had the sun on your right which made it tough, but the shaded goggles (got a tip on the sun from a fellow BRTri guy who had done the race) made it bearable. Finished in around 39-40 min, which is just about right for me.

The first 20 miles on the bike through town and the national forest were nice. Hilly, but nice. The 5 mile chip seal portion just before the turnaround was bearable on the way out due to a slight tailwind. However, that made it terrible on the way back since it was now a moderate headwind which would continue for the remainder of the bike. Started to slow considerably around miles 32-35, which I thought was due to the hills, fatigue and the wind. However, I had been hydrating well and taking in enough fuel so I was kind of ticked. At about mile 40, I realized what the real problem was, a slow leaking rear tire that had finally made it to where I could feel the stem hitting the rim. I stopped and made the bad decision of just filling it up hoping it would hold for the last 16. 3 miles later I was stopped again changing the rear tube. Lost around 16 minutes to the 2 stops. Finished the bike around 3:20 I think, which had me really disappointed since I had been going so good until the flat.

The run starts off on the main road to the resort, but after mile 1 turns into a private neighborhood for the next 7 miles. It snaked through there with aid stations at every mile with some small rolling hills. Felt good for the first 8, until the run gets back on the highway for two miles. Those two miles had two nice sizable hills that just took it out of me. Ran the first 9 miles, but had to start the run/walk combo after that. Mile 12-12.5 was one last major hill. The final stretch into town (run was point to point) was flat, so I made myself run it in to finish on a high note. Finished the run in around 2:15. Went 6:18 overall. Would have loved to be sub 6 for my first half and felt like I could have easily made it without the rear tire issues. Let it get to me mentally some on the run once I realized there was no way I could make 6 with my pace.

The race was well run, lots of helpful volunteers, not too many people and a nice course. A little hillier then I would have liked for my first go at the distance, but it was a good experience. Can't wait for New Orleans. I know how hilly that will be...

Ironstar Half Iron

2008-11-09T18:46:00.000-08:00

Finished, not nearly as fast as I wanted, 6:18, but I made it. Should have been under 6, but had a slow leaking rear tire that I had to stop twice to fix. Wasted 16 minutes simply in filling the tire up at the first stop and then actually changing it 3 miles later. Don't know how much time I wasted in riding on a low tire. Pretty sure it was more than 2 minutes though...Race report to come later this week.

Getting Closer

2008-11-03T20:07:00.000-08:00

T minus 6 days and counting to the Ironstar Half Iron. After I go vote tomorrow morning, it is going to be a rest day from the taper. Five straight days of training have me ready for a day off. Swam and ran last Thursday, ran on Friday, and ran 10k on Saturday morning before Melissa went to work. Then I did a bike/run brick on Sunday consisting of a 31 mile bike and 30 minute run at half marathon pace -:45/mile (8:15). Then I swam 2100 yds this morning (in a sauna, I'll explain) and then ran 3 miles. Going to hit the trainer on Wednesday morning and do some short but fast runs this week. Taking Friday off from work so I can get prepared to leave on Saturday.

The sauna, otherwise known as the lap pool at my local Y. The new Aquatics director at the Y has some asinine reasoning that the pool should stay at 87 degrees during the winter. Something about the afternoon youth swim team complaining about the temperature of the water. Hello, what about the freakin' adults who pay their hard earned money to come to the pool at 5:00 am only to have to cut their swim short because they can no longer breath and swim since it is so freakin' hot in the pool. A pool should be kept at 80-82 degrees if you are going to be swimming laps in it, which is kind of the point of having a lap pool at the Y. If the kids can't handle it for 30 minutes in the afternoon, then they don't need to be swimming. I personally would like the pool to be 75 degrees, but understand that some people like it warm and will compromise at 82 degrees, but not 87. Forgot to fill out a complaint form, but rest assured I'll let them know about it this week. National swim organization says 79-82 is the optimum water temperature for competition swimming and the Chinese argued that it is actually 80.6 degrees which is what they kept the water temperature in the cube at the Olympics to promote world record times. Seems like they should know what they are talking about, but apparently they don't compared to the Aquatics director...

Looking forward to getting to Houston, watching LSU beat 'Bama, and then heading to the race on Sunday. Friends are taking me to lunch on Wednesday to wish me luck. Hoping my buddy who just completed Ironman Florida will come to offer some helpful tips from his experience this weekend.

Taper Time

2008-10-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

Got my last long brick in today. Put in 3 hours on the bike followed by a 45 minute run. Ended up going somewhere around 55-56 miles and 5 miles. Rode the first hour on the trainer since time hasn't changed and it doesn't get riding light until 6:45. Needed to be finished by 9:45 so I got on the trainer around 5:45. Got off the trainer and got the bike outside and it was freakin' cold. Due to the fact that I had been riding the trainer indoors, I was sweaty and that made the first 20 minutes of the ride outside miserable. Couldn't get warm even with my cycling jacket on. Sun finally came out enough to knock the fog down and it got less miserable.

Finished the 3 hours and took off on the run. Two mistakes, 1. Didn't have enough fluids for the run and 2. Garmin ran out of battery at 3 mile mark. Ran the first 3 at about a 8:30 pace and finished up somewhere just over 5 miles for the 45 minutes. Felt pretty good and hope I can hold 9:00 pace for the entire 13.1 miles in 2 weeks.

Yesterday morning was my long run. It was supposed to be 12-13 miles, but I got derailed. Got up late, had bathroom issues before I left and had bathroom issues on the run. Found a port-o-potty to hit, so no front yard squats this time. Only got in 9.5 due to the fact that I had to be back at 6:55 so the wife could go to work.

Going to go ahead and put some goals for the Half Ironman in writing. 'A' Goal - 5:45, 'B' Goal - 6:00, 'C' Goal - Finish. I am pretty sure I can make 'B', but with my swim, 'A' is going to be tough. I think I can go right at 3:00 for the bike and around 2:05 on the run, which gives me 55 for the swim and transitions. That is definitely doable, but this will be my first half, so I don't want to get over confident. We'll see...

Garmin Forerunner 101

2008-10-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

I am now the proud owner of a Garmin. I know, it is not the fanciest of the bunch, but it does what I need it to do. It allows me to run without mapping out a route every time and it gives me pace as I run, what else do you need. Have used in twice already and it was a great purchase. Got it barely used for $40 from a guy in our local BRTri group. Someone gave him a 301 so he no longer needed this one.

Starting to get nervous about the Half IM. Only 2.5 weeks to go for my first "long" triathlon. I know, it's not a full, but 6 hours of racing is long in my book. Doing one more long ride this weekend and then going to start tapering next week. Only problem that I have at the moment is a slight injury.

A couple of weeks ago I ran in the hills of Syracuse, NY and got a strange pain in my heel a few days later. I just blew it off as fatigue. Well, it has gotten worse. It started hurting worse after mountain biking last week and now it pretty much hurts 24/7. Especially in the morning and after I run. It has the classic symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis, but I hope not. It started hurting after running in hills, it hurts worst in the morning and it in my heel. Based on everything I have read, that progression fits the bill. I am praying that I just bruised it and all will be better with some icing. Did 7 miles today with 3 - 1 mile repeats at 7:00 pace. It is bearable during the run, but painful as soon as I get home and get back on my feet from the car. It's too close to the race to stay off of it for a couple of weeks, so I am just going to have to tough it out until after the race. If I had any readers, I could ask your advice...

Camping and Mountain Biking

2008-10-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

Don't feel too much like posting (ran 12 this morning and bike 35 this afternoon, then ran sprints in the backyard with my 3 year old), but if I don't I'll miss the chance. Went camping and mountain biking at Lake Kincaid in Alexandria this past Wednesday thru Friday. Weather kind of sucked for camping, warm and rainy, but we had fun anyway. Got in about 30 miles on the mountain bike on Thursday and did a 1 mile open water swim while the wife read a book. Put in 10 miles Friday morning and headed home after lunch. Here are some pics:

View of the lake from one of the trails.

My bike taking a break on a bridge over part of the lake.

Contemplating the significance of Mountain Biking...

My riding partner, i.e. my wife, crossing another bridge.

Me and the chipmunk look (10-12 grapes shoved in my mouth).

Only three weeks left until my first half ironman. Training has not been going as planned due to interruptions like working out of town and camping, but hopefully this week will be better.

Century Ride

2008-10-12T18:53:00.001-07:00

Completed my first Century ride today in the hills of St. Francisville. Actually went 101 by my computer, but most of that extra mile was due to backtracking occasionally to make sure my riding partner was okay. Reeb had bike issues for most of the morning, so we didn't get to go as fast as we would have liked. Ended up at 16.2, but felt we could have stayed with the pack and went 18ish if not for the bike issues. It was a great time anyway. Learned to wear cycling shorts if I ever do one again. The mini-pad on the tri-shorts did not help at all. After the SAG at mile 84, I thought I wasn't going to be able to sit on my bike again. Reeb said I stood up for like the last 5 miles. Sure felt better than sitting on my butt on that seat.