Great training day in Lake Placid

Here is the deal.  I left Rochester at 8:30 at night and it is a 5.5 hour drive to Lake Placid.  I didn't want to load up on coffee because I was worried about sleeping when I needed to so I had a little Coca-Cola Classic (more on that to follow).  I drove about 1 hour past Watertown and then needed sleep.  Luckily there are a lot of pull-offs on Route 3 (which goes all the way to LP).  So at 1AM I pulled over and slept for 2 hours, then woke up and drove to LP, arriving at 400AM and I slept for another 2.5 hours in the Aubuchon Hardware parking lot (my favorite parking lot to sleep in).  Feeling rested, I woke up at 630 and drove to the municipal parking lot which happens to also be on the bike course.  I switched to my race wheels, packed my jersey with enough calories for one loop (56 miles), put 3 water bottles on the bike, and was off by 7AM.

It was only 50 degrees so I had a vest, arm warmers, cycling gloves, and calf guards on for warmth- it was a good combo for the beginning of the day.  I rode one loop of the course in October so, when I realized that I forgot the directions and map in the van, thought I would be just fine in following the course on my own.  Luckily there were lots of other "IM hopefuls" on the course too and it made the day much easier to have company here and there.  So, I made the first major turn in Keene and headed North on 9N and was looking for the left on 86 (in Jay) but must have been eating or zoning out because I missed it.  I was riding along for a while thinking "maybe I'm off course" but decided to ride around the bend in the road (I actually did this about 4 times) before I decided to pull over.  I wish I had a smartphone (but I don't) so I called Jen to have her look up the course on the internet but just as she was doing this, two other riders came along and said that we were on course. Great!  I hung up with Jen and caught up with my new friends and we were off on our misguided journey (although we didn't know it yet).  So, we were chatting it up- they were from Maine, 1st IM for Jeff, second for Carrie, etc... when we saw the sign for a junction to get on Interstate 87.  Interstate 87?!?  We were off course by a lot.  Jeff pulled out is iphone and found out where we were- a little over 16 miles off course.  Well, we took off our cool weather gear because the day was heating up nicely and headed back to the course- another 16 miles.

How could I have missed this?

We decided to skip the out-and-back section and instead followed the major loop back to LP.  This took us over some decent climbs but nothing crazy.  The problem was that by the time we were 10 miles from my van, I was out of food and water- not a huge deal but not ideal.  Anyway, instead of the first loop being 56 miles, it ended up being 75 miles.  I hit the van, refueled/refilled my bottles and pockets and took off for the second loop.  This time I made the turn in Jay- yea!- and did part of the out-and-back to see if the bridge (that is currently out) would be done for the race- I think it will.  I did the climbs again and they were a little tougher on the second loop and, again, I ran out of liquids as the day was heating up nicely.  I was hoping to do 90 to 100 miles on the bike but got a little over 121 miles in.  All done with the bike!

This is what a 6 hour 36 minute ride looks like on a graph- thrilling!

I stuck my bike and shoes in the van and switched into my running shoes and visor.  I was feeling a little over-heated so I dumped some water on my head drank my Coke from the night before (I told you there was more to come on the pop) an instantly felt like a new man.  Leaving the parking lot, I headed down to about the first mile of the course, turned around and climbed back up to the transition zone and headed down to the second turnaround of the run course.  All told, I ran 5 miles and my legs felt awesome- so stopping to stretch or tightness.  I think I might have my calf figured out, all I have to do is ride 120 miles on a hot day (with calf guards on) and they are fine.  Seriously, I think a big warm up helps them; I've moved my runs to the afternoons this week and it has seemed to help.

I took a quick dip in Mirror Lake to cool off and rinse the salt off and headed back to Rochester.  It was a great day of training.

Running again (a little)

I've gotten a few miles of running in during the last few days.  Swimming and cycling are coming along nicely- I did a hard 40 miles on the bike yesterday and seemed to be recovered.  School is super busy as is soccer and baton are too (for the kids).  I'm heading to Lake Placid for a bike ride this weekend and hopefully I'll run a little there too.  New fund-raising total: $3,282.92!  Hope to post more stuff later. 

RIP Emmit

He was a very good dog but age caught up with him- especially in the last few weeks.  We love you Emmit.

Official Race results

At least I made the first page.  Click here to see the mass of data.

Starting the day with a swim.

Keuka Lake Triathlon 2010 Race Report

Took Saturday off to rest and only did an open water swim on Friday after an 85 mile ride on Thursday.  I didn't get into be on Saturday night until 11pm- too late but that was as early as I could manage.  I packed the car on before heading off to bed.  Woke up at 4am on Sunday to an absolute downpour which lasted for most of my drive to Keuka Park; I didn't even feel like I could safely drive the speed limit and took a little longer to get to the race than I had planned.

I got a great parking spot which was pretty close to the start/finish/transition area and headed to get my numbers and swim cap.  Packet pickup went smoothly and I was happy to get a hat, meaning I registered in the first 600 for the race (which includes all races: olympic, sprint, relay, aquabike...).  Heading back to the car I found more rain showers and, I should mention, the temperatures were in the upper 50s for the start- during the run it got warm for a bit but then we got a nice downpour again to cool things off.  I changed in the car into my race shorts and top, pumped up my bike tires, packed all of my race stuff up, and headed to the transition area.  Race numbers dictate where you bike goes in a row and I found a spot at the end of a rack with a little extra room to set up my running shoes and eventually drop my wetsuit.  By this time it was raining again so I put my socks, running shoes, visor, gel for the run, and sunglasses (yes, I'm am optimist) into a Wegman's bag to keep them dry; my bike shoes were already clipped into the pedals.

By now it was back to a steady downpour and getting a wetsuit on when you are already wet is tough so I headed under an overhang, with some other smart people, and put my wetsuit on in relative dryness...then to the swim start.  I actually got into the water and had some time to warm up before the start (which is new for me).  Water was warm and had a visibility of about 6 feet or so.  I tried to practice for Lake Placid by getting "in the mix" for the swim start but there weren't enough people to get the right feeling- a little bumping but nothing bad.  I didn't swim very straight but I think my swim was OK after I got into my groove.

I had a pretty quick T1- wetsuit came off quickly, socks went on well, helmet clipped on, and I was off.  I ran with my bike out of the transition area, crossed the mount line, and stepped on my shoes and then slipped into them while pedaling and building up speed.  Knowing my calf would slow my down on the run, I decided to push on the bike more than I normally would.  I passed a few people, ate three gels and drank almost a whole bottle of PowerBar drink (which is what will be on IMLP course).  Some of the roads were terrible, just as they were last year, but I managed.  New-to-me wheelset seemed fast and light and great in the wind we had in the face on the top of a ridge.  I rode by myself almost the entire time but found a good rhythm on the uphills and kept my cadence around 90.  Maximum speed was around 38.

Dismount from the bike went well and T2 was quick- rack the bike, slip on shoes and visor (sunglasses needed now), and clipped on the race number belt.  I found my run rhythm quickly, set my cadence at around 90 again, and chased a few people down as a few chased me down.  I had a couple of miles at 7 minute pace but had to back off to 730s and 8 minute pace as my calf tightened.  The calf didn't hold me back as much as it could- I didn't have to walk- but I was definitely not going as fast as I wanted to.  I ate a gel at the halfway turnaround and finished strong.  I ran with a guy from Massachusetts for a while which helped passed the time.

At the finish area I talked to, and was evaluated by, a chiropodist doctor and he have my calf a little of a massage and suggested that I get a massage from a true massage therapist.  I then headed, with my stuff, to the van to dump stuff off and put on some new calf compression sleeves that I just bought yesterday and headed out for some more running.  Again, I fell into a good zone and got another 4 miles in to up my run miles to 10, on a day that I was supposed to run 12- oh well, at least I got some running in.  The calf guards did seem to help so I will run with them on Tuesday.

Post-race meal was pretty good.  I stopped at Dunkin' Doughnuts on the way home for a large coffee and drove through the rain most of the way home.  All in all, it was a good day.  Now it is 10:10 and I'm heading to bed so that I can get up and be in the lake at 6 tomorrow morning. I didn't proofread so let me know if this is confusing.  7 weeks to go...

Race results to follow but I was something like 37/199 overall and 7/39 in age group- ok for a slow run.

Race is done

It went well. Ok swim, solid bike, and painful but manageable calf on the run (slowed me way down though).  More to follow...I need a shower.

Resting Saturday for Sunday race

The important stuff:
Cate lost her first tooth and did it at school.  Jen and I didn't even know that it was that loose but out it came. She is pretty proud of herself!

Now for the triathlon stuff:
I moved some stuff around this week because of the Keuka Lake Triathlon on Sunday.  I didn't want to do my long ride the day before (Saturdays are usually my long ride day) so I signed off the ambulance so that I could do it Friday after school and not be too sleepy.  Then we looked closer at the calendar and realized that Friday was Gracie's last soccer game and I didn't want to miss it.  That moved the long ride to Thursday.

I got on the road a bit before 3pm and had a beautiful day- mid-70s and mostly sunny, not too windy.  I headed west to route 19 then took it south through Brockport and down to LeRoy then headed west on route 5 to Batavia then north on 98 to Albion and home from there.  It rained pretty hard for about 45 minutes toward the end but it wasn't too bad and it kept me nice and cool.

I figure I took in about 1700 calories.  Here's what I had: 4 gels on 20 min, 2 bottles ensure on 40 min, 1+ powerbars on hour (made me a little full), 2.5 bottles gatorade/ powerbar perform, 2 salt tablets at start then 1 on each hour.   My legs got little crampy at 2 hours in but some nutrition seemed to kick in and they felt strong at the end. I also got a little full (gastric distention and all) for a while but I tried to wiggle my stomach around a little to get this moving and digesting and it seemed to work.  bport leroy batavia albion. 45 min of rain near end of ride.  All said, I got in a little over 85 miles.


Swimming:
Luckily someone else showed up to swim in the lake this morning so I got an easy swim in before heading into school.  My calf is definitely better due to not running this week but not all better.  I think I'll look into getting a massage next week to see if that helps.  Now for a day of rest before Sunday's race...

quick one

First, a shout out to my little sister and Murphy- thanks for the donations!  You keep me going.

Second, here is my tweet from Saturday: After stomach bug on Thurs & not eating much on Fri, today's 50/3 bike/run brick was tough. Done though. That wasn't a lot of fun but at least it happened quick and didn't interrupt any workouts.

Third, my right calf is still tight and I had to do a lot of walking on my "long run" on Sunday so I'm going to skip two runs this week and hopefully it will loosen up.  I'm planning on an 80-mile ride on Thursday (in the rain) and maybe an easy jog on Friday which leaves Saturday as a rest day and Sunday is an olympic distance triathlon (Keuka Lake Tri).  Fortunately, the bike helps with the run (but not vice versa) so if I had to stop anything, running would be my choice.

Last, I did my first open water swim on Monday in Lake Ontario (in my new wetsuit) and it was great.  I'll be back in the lake at 6am tomorrow but right now I'm off to swim 4000 yards in the pool.

Hope all is well with everyone. Time is getting closer- next month is the race! Crazy.