Gosh, it's suddenly hot and humid.
The 85 degrees that it got up to during yesterday's run doesn't sound so bad, but the dew point was about 77. Got entirely soaked and kind of broken down by the end of the run. By the end of the run, it was more like "run" than run.
Here's hoping for some heat acclimatization and some relief.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
KS 70.3 - A Race Report
The KS 70.3 half-ironman was last weekend, June 14.
To make a long story short, I was very pleased with my race, and I finished in 5:08:19, a half-hour faster than my first effort at the distance last summer. My most important goal had been to get under 5:30, and 5:10 had been my fantasy time. That was based on 45 min for swim plus transitions, 2:45 on the bike (20 mph) and 1:40 on the run (about 7:30 pace).
The weekend started early. I was carpooling with 3 other guys and want to thank Rod Haws for driving. Left the house a little after 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning to meet up with them. We then loaded my bike into Rod's truck and we were off. The drive down was fun - all of us talking with excitement and nervous energy.
We arrived at the site about noon and parked. We learned the hard way how far away we were from the site, walking up to check-in. The line was long, but not ridiculously slow. Met up with some other TRIracers and heard the pre-race talk while we got our packets. Then we had to hike back to the car to get our bikes for drop off at T1. I scored a few brownie points with Rod for remembering to bring electrical tape. Funny all the details to keep track of.
When we approached T1 for bike check in, we learned that they were doing body marking. I was wearing jeans. Fortunately, they were fairly loose, so I thought nothing of it. But then the guy decides he wants to mark my thigh, not my calves. My mother would be pleased to know that I was wearing reasonably clean underwear. I figured we lay it all out on race day, so what else was I going to do...
After returning to the hotel, I started obsessing over the weather. The reports were deteriorating and it looked like there would be rainstorms Sunday morning (race day). The other guys were all casual and drinking beers, and there I was doting over my iPhone, trying to figure out if we'd get to race. I guess we all react differently.
Eventually we met up with other TRIracers, (Nelson, Jass, et al.) and went for dinner at a nice little Italian place in the late afternoon. Nice conversation and a good time to relax. We stopped off at Walmart to get something to eat for breakfast, which was to be at something like 3:30 a.m. the next day.
I spent entirely too long "organizing" my bag back at the hotel, then hung around with TRIracers for a bit, before retiring early. I kept getting just to sleep when my son and wife started texting me. They had gone to Minneapolis for a race the next morning that he was going to do. I was using the iPhone for my alarm clock, so I couldn't turn the sound off. I kept waking up when they sent something and cursing before I replied. Eventually, I just said that I was going (back) to sleep, and so it was.
Race morning -
We got up early and I slapped on the first of 3 layers of sunscreen before getting dressed. I did NOT want to get burned again. I put water into my bottle of Perpetuem and ate the bagels and peanut butter I'd bought the night before. Out of the hotel and off to the race in the dark. We arrived a little before 5:00 a.m. and started the trek to T2. Rain still looked likely, so I left my shoes in a plastic bag. Then the hike in the sunrise to T1. When we got there, it was amazing how crowded the T1 area was. Narrow aisles and tight packing of the bikes. I again practiced getting to my bike from the swim area. Then a couple trips to the bathroom, a last layer of sunscreen and body glide in all the right spots. By this time, it was just a few minutes before the pro start at 6:30 and I was grateful to be nursing a bottle of gatorade I found.
The weather looked like it would hold out, at least for a while.
I was a little surprised by the start, where we waded out to deeper water and went from there. It wasn't a big deal, but I just hadn't been able to see well enough that this was what was happening.
And then we were off. I was very pleased by the simple course: ~900 m out, ~200 across, ~800 back. This made it easy for me to follow and know where I was in the race. I was surprised how physical the swim was. There was quite a bit of jostling, compared to what I'm used to. Aside from this, the swim was smooth for me. As I got out of the water, I glanced at my watch and saw 38 min. That was ok by me. A couple of weeks ago, I'd had a pretty bad swim at an Olympic race, so this "on par" time was ok.
T1 was not great. I knew what aisle my bike was, but I underestimated how far down, and I spent too long looking for it. Then, once I was ready to go, I heard Nelson's voice behind me, yelling me on. That encouragement was great, but it meant I had lost 8 minutes to him on the swim! Maybe my swim wasn't so ok after all, I was thinking. Then some guy stumbled or something in front of me, and I almost fell stopping while running down the narrow aisle with my bike...Nelson right behind me. Nelson started yelling some more - I thought he was yelling at me, but I learned later he was yelling at the other guy and trying to check on me. So much for me not being disoriented...
Finally, I cleared from the bike aisles. After all that mess, I decided to run well past the mount line before mounting. I did, and mounted cleanly. I could hear Nelson still behind me, so it must have been reasonably fast, too, since he was right behind me. The other advantage was that I got a great, smooth bike start.
I had resolved not to consume anything for about 10 minutes or pay much attention to my speed for that time, as well, just taking it a little easy. So when I finally did look down at my computer, I was glad to see I was on target, between 180 and 200 W, and over 20 mph on a little flat. There were guys zooming by, but I decided to stick to the plan: 180 W ave target and up to 190 if I felt really good. All the people passing was disturbing, especially since there were some it looked like I could keep up with, but I stuck with it. I started to consume my Perpetuem on 15 minute intervals.
My only unfortunate bad spot of the race was somewhere in that 30-50 min range into the bike. I didn't feel right, and the power seemed low. But soon enough it was over, and I started counting the miles until halfway. The rolling hills went up and down constantly. Shift, shift, shift, shift. Started coasting when I hit about 35 and sitting up out of aero when under 15 mph and needing 250 W for a hill. Anything to make those relatively high wattage efforts easier and take some pressure of the quads for the day. I tried to keep the max to about 260 W except for an incidental stroke or two.
Something happened for me psychologically at the half way point. Somewhere around there, we turned such that we were going into the wind, which was pretty strong - maybe 20 mph. Suddenly, the course seemed just like home, and I was in a zone. Just kept going. Felt strong but under control. I figured out that my "feeds" would cost me about 1 minute of modest discomfort each time, usually ending in a belch and then a good spot for a while. It was all good.
There was a great psychology as I started catching back a lot of people that had passed me early in the race while going into the wind. Surely, it wasn't all of them, but it was enough. I knew the wind was hurting my speed (like everyone), but it looked like I might bring in 20 mph. More good psychology that made it easy to ramp up the power just a little bit, maybe 10 W. Ran into David Jass along the way and cheered each other a bit. It was a good day.
In the end, the only thing that really bothered me during the bike was some annoyance over a lot of unnecessary drafting. This wasn't just packs from the course being crowded, but blatant drafting. There was a little bit of rain, but it ended and the roads stayed essentially dry.
Soon enough I was coming into T2 and wondering if the rest of the race could possibly stay this easy. I was in a great mood. I saw my watch, and that I had come in under my target time, and that gave me another boost.
I hadn't seen many TRIracers on the bike, partly from focus, partly from limited out and back sections. But I knew I'd start to see them now, because the run was a two loop course with lots of two way traffic.
I ripped the bike computer off (with GPS), and put it in my back pocket. I grabbed a gel to eat at mile 1. Just like the bike, I had resolved to run easy the first few miles and just see how it was before firming up plans. So I did that. Just ran easy and comfortable. Saw Chrissie Wellington, who just looked like she was on a run in the park. Unbelievable. After that, I focused back on myself and saw I was doing 7:30 pace. Incredible.
I did a little math and knew I was in for a sub-5:30 time unless I just crashed. I thought 5:20 was reasonable. I realized that being able to do math was a good sign. (I guess the picture proves I'm still an inveterate heel-striker.)
Started seeing TRIracers and sharing little cheers and high-fives. Tami passed me easily. Oh well! Saw Nelson again for the first time. Always fun - he's a great teammate. I ran by the TRIracer tents in the camp ground and yelled something stupid like "sub-5:30" as I went by. But it was what was on my mind.
The whole psychology was great. My mantra turned into "all day pace". As in I was running a pace I felt like I could run all day. Started ticking off the miles. Everything was good. I didn't stop once. Not for anything.
Right around mile 9.5 or so, the one killer run hill came up again, shortly after the sun had broken through and it had warmed up. That hill did hurt and I realized that the previously "all day pace" would be harder to keep up. Also, I was developing a painful blister under my left arch.
But I did some more math. If I could just keep it up anywhere near 8:00 miles, I was looking at 5:10! And so I did. Miles 11 and 12 were a bit tough, but I knew it was going to be over soon. When I could see the finish, I had enough left to sprint.
5:08:19! Wow!
I got my medal and some water. Eventually an ice bath, then started looking for friends. But that's the subject of another post. Great celebration. Lots of great times. Great day.
To make a long story short, I was very pleased with my race, and I finished in 5:08:19, a half-hour faster than my first effort at the distance last summer. My most important goal had been to get under 5:30, and 5:10 had been my fantasy time. That was based on 45 min for swim plus transitions, 2:45 on the bike (20 mph) and 1:40 on the run (about 7:30 pace).
The weekend started early. I was carpooling with 3 other guys and want to thank Rod Haws for driving. Left the house a little after 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning to meet up with them. We then loaded my bike into Rod's truck and we were off. The drive down was fun - all of us talking with excitement and nervous energy.
We arrived at the site about noon and parked. We learned the hard way how far away we were from the site, walking up to check-in. The line was long, but not ridiculously slow. Met up with some other TRIracers and heard the pre-race talk while we got our packets. Then we had to hike back to the car to get our bikes for drop off at T1. I scored a few brownie points with Rod for remembering to bring electrical tape. Funny all the details to keep track of.
When we approached T1 for bike check in, we learned that they were doing body marking. I was wearing jeans. Fortunately, they were fairly loose, so I thought nothing of it. But then the guy decides he wants to mark my thigh, not my calves. My mother would be pleased to know that I was wearing reasonably clean underwear. I figured we lay it all out on race day, so what else was I going to do...
After returning to the hotel, I started obsessing over the weather. The reports were deteriorating and it looked like there would be rainstorms Sunday morning (race day). The other guys were all casual and drinking beers, and there I was doting over my iPhone, trying to figure out if we'd get to race. I guess we all react differently.
Eventually we met up with other TRIracers, (Nelson, Jass, et al.) and went for dinner at a nice little Italian place in the late afternoon. Nice conversation and a good time to relax. We stopped off at Walmart to get something to eat for breakfast, which was to be at something like 3:30 a.m. the next day.
I spent entirely too long "organizing" my bag back at the hotel, then hung around with TRIracers for a bit, before retiring early. I kept getting just to sleep when my son and wife started texting me. They had gone to Minneapolis for a race the next morning that he was going to do. I was using the iPhone for my alarm clock, so I couldn't turn the sound off. I kept waking up when they sent something and cursing before I replied. Eventually, I just said that I was going (back) to sleep, and so it was.
Race morning -
We got up early and I slapped on the first of 3 layers of sunscreen before getting dressed. I did NOT want to get burned again. I put water into my bottle of Perpetuem and ate the bagels and peanut butter I'd bought the night before. Out of the hotel and off to the race in the dark. We arrived a little before 5:00 a.m. and started the trek to T2. Rain still looked likely, so I left my shoes in a plastic bag. Then the hike in the sunrise to T1. When we got there, it was amazing how crowded the T1 area was. Narrow aisles and tight packing of the bikes. I again practiced getting to my bike from the swim area. Then a couple trips to the bathroom, a last layer of sunscreen and body glide in all the right spots. By this time, it was just a few minutes before the pro start at 6:30 and I was grateful to be nursing a bottle of gatorade I found.
The weather looked like it would hold out, at least for a while.
I was a little surprised by the start, where we waded out to deeper water and went from there. It wasn't a big deal, but I just hadn't been able to see well enough that this was what was happening.
And then we were off. I was very pleased by the simple course: ~900 m out, ~200 across, ~800 back. This made it easy for me to follow and know where I was in the race. I was surprised how physical the swim was. There was quite a bit of jostling, compared to what I'm used to. Aside from this, the swim was smooth for me. As I got out of the water, I glanced at my watch and saw 38 min. That was ok by me. A couple of weeks ago, I'd had a pretty bad swim at an Olympic race, so this "on par" time was ok.
T1 was not great. I knew what aisle my bike was, but I underestimated how far down, and I spent too long looking for it. Then, once I was ready to go, I heard Nelson's voice behind me, yelling me on. That encouragement was great, but it meant I had lost 8 minutes to him on the swim! Maybe my swim wasn't so ok after all, I was thinking. Then some guy stumbled or something in front of me, and I almost fell stopping while running down the narrow aisle with my bike...Nelson right behind me. Nelson started yelling some more - I thought he was yelling at me, but I learned later he was yelling at the other guy and trying to check on me. So much for me not being disoriented...
Finally, I cleared from the bike aisles. After all that mess, I decided to run well past the mount line before mounting. I did, and mounted cleanly. I could hear Nelson still behind me, so it must have been reasonably fast, too, since he was right behind me. The other advantage was that I got a great, smooth bike start.
I had resolved not to consume anything for about 10 minutes or pay much attention to my speed for that time, as well, just taking it a little easy. So when I finally did look down at my computer, I was glad to see I was on target, between 180 and 200 W, and over 20 mph on a little flat. There were guys zooming by, but I decided to stick to the plan: 180 W ave target and up to 190 if I felt really good. All the people passing was disturbing, especially since there were some it looked like I could keep up with, but I stuck with it. I started to consume my Perpetuem on 15 minute intervals.
My only unfortunate bad spot of the race was somewhere in that 30-50 min range into the bike. I didn't feel right, and the power seemed low. But soon enough it was over, and I started counting the miles until halfway. The rolling hills went up and down constantly. Shift, shift, shift, shift. Started coasting when I hit about 35 and sitting up out of aero when under 15 mph and needing 250 W for a hill. Anything to make those relatively high wattage efforts easier and take some pressure of the quads for the day. I tried to keep the max to about 260 W except for an incidental stroke or two.
Something happened for me psychologically at the half way point. Somewhere around there, we turned such that we were going into the wind, which was pretty strong - maybe 20 mph. Suddenly, the course seemed just like home, and I was in a zone. Just kept going. Felt strong but under control. I figured out that my "feeds" would cost me about 1 minute of modest discomfort each time, usually ending in a belch and then a good spot for a while. It was all good.
There was a great psychology as I started catching back a lot of people that had passed me early in the race while going into the wind. Surely, it wasn't all of them, but it was enough. I knew the wind was hurting my speed (like everyone), but it looked like I might bring in 20 mph. More good psychology that made it easy to ramp up the power just a little bit, maybe 10 W. Ran into David Jass along the way and cheered each other a bit. It was a good day.
In the end, the only thing that really bothered me during the bike was some annoyance over a lot of unnecessary drafting. This wasn't just packs from the course being crowded, but blatant drafting. There was a little bit of rain, but it ended and the roads stayed essentially dry.
Soon enough I was coming into T2 and wondering if the rest of the race could possibly stay this easy. I was in a great mood. I saw my watch, and that I had come in under my target time, and that gave me another boost.
I hadn't seen many TRIracers on the bike, partly from focus, partly from limited out and back sections. But I knew I'd start to see them now, because the run was a two loop course with lots of two way traffic.
I ripped the bike computer off (with GPS), and put it in my back pocket. I grabbed a gel to eat at mile 1. Just like the bike, I had resolved to run easy the first few miles and just see how it was before firming up plans. So I did that. Just ran easy and comfortable. Saw Chrissie Wellington, who just looked like she was on a run in the park. Unbelievable. After that, I focused back on myself and saw I was doing 7:30 pace. Incredible.
I did a little math and knew I was in for a sub-5:30 time unless I just crashed. I thought 5:20 was reasonable. I realized that being able to do math was a good sign. (I guess the picture proves I'm still an inveterate heel-striker.)
Started seeing TRIracers and sharing little cheers and high-fives. Tami passed me easily. Oh well! Saw Nelson again for the first time. Always fun - he's a great teammate. I ran by the TRIracer tents in the camp ground and yelled something stupid like "sub-5:30" as I went by. But it was what was on my mind.
The whole psychology was great. My mantra turned into "all day pace". As in I was running a pace I felt like I could run all day. Started ticking off the miles. Everything was good. I didn't stop once. Not for anything.
Right around mile 9.5 or so, the one killer run hill came up again, shortly after the sun had broken through and it had warmed up. That hill did hurt and I realized that the previously "all day pace" would be harder to keep up. Also, I was developing a painful blister under my left arch.
But I did some more math. If I could just keep it up anywhere near 8:00 miles, I was looking at 5:10! And so I did. Miles 11 and 12 were a bit tough, but I knew it was going to be over soon. When I could see the finish, I had enough left to sprint.
5:08:19! Wow!
I got my medal and some water. Eventually an ice bath, then started looking for friends. But that's the subject of another post. Great celebration. Lots of great times. Great day.
Friday, June 12, 2009
First A Race this weekend: KS 70.3
First A race is this weekend, the KS 70.3. I'm feeling fairly confident, but you always get a little nervous.
Two weeks before the race (May 31), I did a "C" race Olympic with a few good hills. The swim was disappointing for various reasons, but OK. I got on the bike, hoping to do 210-220 W. In the end, it was 206 normalized power. Just a touch disappointing. It was an unusual race in that you were really isolated on the bike. Passed a few people, only got passed once. Figured the latter was because I had a poor swim. Didn't see any of my usual friends on the race. But the run turned out great. I felt very strong and ran a 7:10 pace overall. Found my friends, who had been in front of me the whole time (because of my bad swim). Didn't collapse at the end. The time was 2:40. With a 2.5 mi extra-long bike, the nasty hills, and a couple of dopey transition things, I figured it was more-or-less equivalent to a 2:30 normal course time, right about on mid-season form.
So I'm feeling strong. Trying to shed just a little residual soreness in my quads. And already looking past it, i.e., to the ironman. Funny how I have trouble just focusing on the present.
Two weeks before the race (May 31), I did a "C" race Olympic with a few good hills. The swim was disappointing for various reasons, but OK. I got on the bike, hoping to do 210-220 W. In the end, it was 206 normalized power. Just a touch disappointing. It was an unusual race in that you were really isolated on the bike. Passed a few people, only got passed once. Figured the latter was because I had a poor swim. Didn't see any of my usual friends on the race. But the run turned out great. I felt very strong and ran a 7:10 pace overall. Found my friends, who had been in front of me the whole time (because of my bad swim). Didn't collapse at the end. The time was 2:40. With a 2.5 mi extra-long bike, the nasty hills, and a couple of dopey transition things, I figured it was more-or-less equivalent to a 2:30 normal course time, right about on mid-season form.
So I'm feeling strong. Trying to shed just a little residual soreness in my quads. And already looking past it, i.e., to the ironman. Funny how I have trouble just focusing on the present.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Prop 8 ruling
Today, the CA Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage, after it had been established by the the very same court.
As much as I'm in favor of same-sex marriage, this ruling strikes me as reasonable. The actual question being considered did not directly address same-sex marriage – instead it was a question about whether a too-significant change (a "revision") was being made to the CA constitution by the method of propositions. (Propositions are not allowed to make radical changes to the CA constitution, only minor amendments; the system is pretty obscure as as I can tell.) If the court had held that the change was too big, it could have invalidated the proposition.
I am not expert enough on the CA system to comment coherently on what constitues a too-radical amendment to their constitution to be passed via the standard proposition system, but this strikes me as a case where the political forces advocating either side of the argument are largely addressing the merits of Prop 8, not the actual legal question. Both sides have a result they want to achieve more than wanting to preserve the CA constitution.
So, I am disappointed with the result, but not surprised by it, nor do I view it as a setback to the same-sex marriage movement.
Instead, I take heart in the other part of the ruling. Some 17,000 couples or so were married during the short window. The court found no reason to invalidate those marriages, since the language of Prop 8 did not address retroactivity directly. After all, it was this same court, that ruled 4-3 that same-sex marriage should be available in CA.
Things are changing. Just not overnight.
As much as I'm in favor of same-sex marriage, this ruling strikes me as reasonable. The actual question being considered did not directly address same-sex marriage – instead it was a question about whether a too-significant change (a "revision") was being made to the CA constitution by the method of propositions. (Propositions are not allowed to make radical changes to the CA constitution, only minor amendments; the system is pretty obscure as as I can tell.) If the court had held that the change was too big, it could have invalidated the proposition.
I am not expert enough on the CA system to comment coherently on what constitues a too-radical amendment to their constitution to be passed via the standard proposition system, but this strikes me as a case where the political forces advocating either side of the argument are largely addressing the merits of Prop 8, not the actual legal question. Both sides have a result they want to achieve more than wanting to preserve the CA constitution.
So, I am disappointed with the result, but not surprised by it, nor do I view it as a setback to the same-sex marriage movement.
Instead, I take heart in the other part of the ruling. Some 17,000 couples or so were married during the short window. The court found no reason to invalidate those marriages, since the language of Prop 8 did not address retroactivity directly. After all, it was this same court, that ruled 4-3 that same-sex marriage should be available in CA.
Things are changing. Just not overnight.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
New England and marriage
New Hampshire is now in the marriage equality camp, joining Maine as states that passed it through legislative action. Terrific. Most of New England now. Even New York, where outside of the city, it's pretty conservative, is considering a legislative change for marriage equality. (Gov. Patterson is not especially popular, and I am not that optimistic that this will ultimately pass, but at least it's on the table.)
Is it a coincidence that these are the places that used to have moderate-to-liberal Republicans, and that most have been purged from the party? I think not. When Republicans are in the clear minority, and only appealing to their "base", then everyone else can choose not to worry about the "base" Republican position as much. This is an oversimplification, but I would not be surprised if it happens elsewhere in the country for a while if the Republicans continue their current "purification" trend.
The senators from Maine are an interesting exception. I wish I knew enough about the politics of Maine to know how they survive.
Is it a coincidence that these are the places that used to have moderate-to-liberal Republicans, and that most have been purged from the party? I think not. When Republicans are in the clear minority, and only appealing to their "base", then everyone else can choose not to worry about the "base" Republican position as much. This is an oversimplification, but I would not be surprised if it happens elsewhere in the country for a while if the Republicans continue their current "purification" trend.
The senators from Maine are an interesting exception. I wish I knew enough about the politics of Maine to know how they survive.
Monday, April 27, 2009
The Power Meter
I bought a bicycle power meter a couple of weeks ago.
If you've already got one, tell me where you think I'm wrong or could use some advice. But for those that haven't ridden with one:
If you've already got one, tell me where you think I'm wrong or could use some advice. But for those that haven't ridden with one:
- Prepare to be humbled. At least I was. Nothing like cold, hard, wattage numbers to put a reality check on how things are going.
- When you aren't humbled the first time, be prepared to be humbled when you don't believe the first numbers you're getting. Think you're going to hold 20-30 more watts than your test shows for even a 20 minute interval? Good luck with that one.
- The power meter IS very satisfying for rides in varying conditions. One of my recent rides was in a 30 mph (+ gusts) wind at a slight diagonal, relative to my squarish route. As they say, a watt is a watt is a watt, regardless of wind and hills. And it turned out to be interesting that I could achieve a bit more than I thought into the wind, just by holding the watts.
- I have sure learned what I am or am not doing on downhills. I'm not sure I want to pedal hard when I'm already going 40 mph because of gravity, but it is interesting to see what's happening in less drastic conditions, like a 1-2% downhill grade.
- At least when fatigued, I was interested to learn that I don't put a heck of a lot more force on the pedals by standing up (unless of course, you yank on the bars). It's different, and "easier" in a way because the muscles are different, and more adapted to slower rpms, but I'm surprised it's not a lot more torque. Will keep an eye on this one.
- Intervals feel different. I tended previously to use even HR, and (presumably) somewhat falling speed/watts. Now trying to do them appropriately so that my power is constant. Sometimes that means the HR goes up when it's pretty aggressive. But that darn meter lets you know what you're doing.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Progress in New York
Paterson Unveils Same-Sex Marriage Bill
Another politician with a bit of courage on this. It's time for those who have played the "I don't want to discriminate but I'm not in favor of the world 'marriage'" game to get over it and stand up in favor of equality and civil rights for all. Can you hear me Barack?
Another politician with a bit of courage on this. It's time for those who have played the "I don't want to discriminate but I'm not in favor of the world 'marriage'" game to get over it and stand up in favor of equality and civil rights for all. Can you hear me Barack?
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