Ultramax 50

Yesterday was the Ultramax 50 triathlon - 1 mile swim, 42 mile bike, 10 mile run. The was a first time event at this location (Hillsdale Lake) and for this distance, which is in between an olympic and 1/2 iron distance.
As always, the Ultramax crew was well organized, course well marked and manned, etc, etc...all that you would expect for these guys. They put on a great race, including the sarcasm over the PA system to lighten the mood.

After my bad swim experience at the Innsbrook tri, I was determined to do better this time. I wasn't looking for shark like speed, just not to embarass myself. I am convinced that the swim is physically the easiest part of the race, but mentally the hardest. The violent start, getting kicked, bumping into people, murky water, fogged googles, muffled hearing, and always wondering "am I swimming the right direction?" Knowing what to expect, (and training at 2.5 times the distance) I actually had a great swim this time. I freestyled the entire distance, remained calm, and really enjoyed this part of the race. I had plenty of contact with other swimmers, practically swam over a guy that had slowed in front of me, got a little of course a couple of times, but managed to swim the mile in 34 minutes. Certainly not record setting, but for a guy that was taking swim lessons 6 months ago, I was pretty pleased.

I got through T1 fairly well, not blazing, but good improvement over the last race. I was just happy to get in the area and see there was still a lot of bikes in the rack, confirming that that swim had gone well. I rolled out onto the course and saw Mendy and the boys cheering for me which is always nice. Mendy is great at encouraging and cheering. Within a few miles, Brad caught up to me and then pulled ahead. He is a little stronger on the bike than me, so I made it my goal to keep him in my sights, which I managed to do for most of the 42 mile course. The course itself was good, long rolling hills but nothing to steep. The only downside was some pretty strong winds that made for some tough pedaling in a few spots. I was glad to have my aerobars and hydration system newly installed on my bike, they both worked great. I was envious of all the fancy triathlon specific bikes on the course, and a little intimidated at the start of the race looking around at all the fancy gear - aerohelmets, wetsuits, zoot shoes, TT bikes with disc wheels, and on and on. As I passed a few of these bikes on the course though, I reminded myself that gear does make the racer. (don't get me wrong, I was passed several times too.)

The transition to run went fairly well, but I made a fatal error here without even realizing it at the time. It was mid-day by the this time and temperatures were hovering around 96-97 degrees and we still had a 10 mile run in front of us. Fuel and hydration is critical. Knowing that I perform best with solid food when going longer than 2 hours, I had laid out a banana and some fig newton bars to grab and eat as I started the run. I looked at the banana as I was slipping my shoes on and the thought of eating a banana that had been laying out in the heat all morning sounded disgusting, so I grabbed just the fig newtons and threw them in the pocket on the back of my shirt. Grabbed my garmin and ran out of transition while getting it strapped to my wrist. I fiddled with getting the garmin set and satellites located while beginning the run and just totally forgot about eating! Brad had left the transition area just 30-40 seconds before me, so it wasn't long before I caught up to him on the run. It became quickly apparent that we would not be setting in PR's on this run course - the heat was insane, so we maintained a slow steady pace and stopped at each of the aid stations to drink and dump water over our heads. We had enough enough energy to flex and be silly for photo around mile five, but I started fading not long after. Normally, this should have been my best leg of the race, but today was proving otherwise. That said, there were a lot of beat up looking people out there, the heat was taking it's toll on most everyone. Brad and I ran together until about mile 8 when I really crashed. I was overheated and running on empty and could keep up anymore. I was having to take frequent walk breaks, telling myself that I would walk for 20 seconds, but my count would go ...17, 18, 19, 19, 19, 19...I had a hard time ever saying "20". Eventually, the finish line was in sight and I was done! Brad was already done, gaining six minutes on me over those last 2 miles. He did really well throughout the heat and I was glad we was there to run with for the majority of it.

After the finish, I made a beeline down to the lake to try and get my body temperature down, knowing that I was in dangerous territory. Mendy and the boys joined me in relaxing in the water for a bit. After a few minutes, I headed back up to the finish area to get changed. I kept having spells of naseau, dizziness, and getting chills. I knew I needed to eat and drink, but I couldn't stomach food so water was it. I had to just sit in the shade for a while to get my bearing back.

All in all, it was a good race. I was pleased with my bike and swim, the run sucked, but I was reminded h0w important nutrition and proper fueling is especially over long distances and heat. I was 64th out of 142 finishers, not sure how many started, but I know know several people dropped out for various reasons.

Quartermax Triathlon

I have officially entered the triathlon world. It wasn't long ago that I greatly admired those that did them, but feared I was too weak of a swimmer to ever tackle one myself. A few swim lessons and several hours at the pool later and I found myself shivering on a beach in a pair of spandex waiting to hit the lake and start the long course of the Innsbrook Ultramax ... what had I gotten myself into?!!!

The starting gun went off with a blast and all the men hit the water - the once smooth water was instantly transformed into a churning mess of bodies and splashing water. I hung towards the back of the pack with a plan to relax on this portion of the event as it was mentally very intimidating for me - this was the first day I had ever even put on a swim cap! Initially, I settled into the swim pretty well, I was calm, the strokes were coming easy, and I actually liked the fact the the cap kept water from getting in my ears. About 150 yards out, the nerves found their way back and the next thing I knew I was choking on a mouthful of water, looking for an escape route and life preserver, while also contemplating how big of a loser I would be if I didn't finish this. I really did not want to be "that guy" that was being towed back in with a big orange life vest around my neck - not exactly the type of photo I would like to post here. All these images and thoughts raced through my mind in just a matter of seconds as one of the race officials heard me coughing and called out asking if I needed help. She paddled her canoe over to me and said if I needed a break I could grab hold for a moment without breaking any rules. I took her up on the offer and used the time to clear my throat and regain my composure. Once I started swimming again, all was fine. Despite my troubles, I was still ahead of a few guys (very few, but I wasn't last!) and just took the rest of the swim slow and easy. It was not physically fatiguing, but my little panic attack was mentally very taxing. I was thrilled to hit the beach again and transition to the bike.

As I ran into the transition area, probably 2/3 or better of the bikes were already gone, reaffirming that my swim time sucked if I had had notions otherwise. I didn't care though, I was still just happy to be alive. My transition time was pretty (very) slow too, I fumbled trying to put socks on my wet feet, and just generally jacked around much longer than an experienced triathlete would. Soon enough I was off and riding. I'm relatively new to cycling too, and this was my first event on a bike, but I felt much more comfortable on the pavement than the water. The short course race started 20 minutes before ours, and we shared the first portion of the bike route. Although it was primarily other newbies, it was encouraging to be passing people again. That said, I got passed a few times myself, but felt pretty "average" amongst all the competitors on the bike despite how green I was to the sport. About 1/2 way through the 28 mile route, a real sense of "I'm actually doing this!" came over me and I was thrilled to be out there having a great time.

Before I knew it, I was back at the transition area ready to run. Again, my transition time was very slow, but I was ready to run. I knew this would be my strongest leg, but was mildly nervous about my IT Band syndrome rearing up. The 6 mile run course was 95% gravel road and extremely hilly. The race description said it was "challenging", but wow, I didn't really expect this may hills. I was happy to see them though, because I was used to this stuff from trail running and assumed most of the others probably weren't, at least that's what I hoped. I was running around 7:30 miles through the elevations and passing people left and right. I was having an especially good time recognizing people that had passed me on the bike as I now passed them. With only a mile to go on the home stretch and still feeling strong, it felt like someone stabbed me in knee with a dagger. The IT Band had reared it's ugly head and literally stopped me in my tracks with no warning. I stretched as best I could and started hobbling in the final mile. I half skipped, half ran, half hopped the final mile as the pain came and went. Finally, the finish was in site and I was crossing the finish line.

Mendy had finished the short course and was there waiting for me. It was her second tri and she had done a really good job. We ran into some other folks and new friends from the Liberty area at the finish festivities and enjoyed meeting and talking to them. Ultramax did a great job organizing the event and we had a great time. I can't wait to do it again.

Berryman Trail 50 Mile

It's been several weeks since this event, but I guess a post is better late than never.

Our weekend started with a huge downpour, flash flooding the streets and making it difficult to navigate through town to pick up our two oldest kids from school...a great way to start a weekend of camping and running. Mendy's parents had gone down the day before with our youngest son to get a good campsite and get things set up. I was thankful that they had, because it was well after dark when we finally arrived at the Berryman campgrounds, and the last thing I wanted to do was set up a camp for my entire family. If awards were given out for the best campsite preparations, they definitely would have won (it was slight overkill, but that's a whole different story). I slept on a blow up mattress in the back of our van that slowly deflated as the night went on and the rain continued to pour until the wee hours of the morning, so I was exactly well rested come morning...not that I would have slept much anyways.

As with any trail race, the start was a very modest "get ready, set, GO!" and we all started lumbering off. The marathoners had a slightly more ambitious pace than the 50 milers, but nobody was starting with blazing speed - there were plenty of miles ahead of us. I settled in with a group of 4 or 5 other guys for the first 10 miles or so and was feeling great, and then out of nowhere my knee started hurting, bad. There was an aid station coming in a few miles where I knew Mendy with be with my gear which had a knee strap in it. I figured if I could get there, all would be good and the pain would go away soon. Unfortunately that was not the case, the strap was in my stuff, but it didn't help.

With almost 40 miles yet to go, I knew this was going to be a long day. I slowed my pace considerably and decided to just enjoy the experience rather than worrying about a good time. Mendy was faithfully there at each of the stations she was able to travel to, sometimes with the kids, sometimes without. I enjoyed having her out there and spent a little more time than normal at the stations giving the leg a little break. The last few miles seemed to drag on forever. Eventually I hit the last aid station and knew I had just over 2 miles to go until the finish with the 11 hour mark looming. I was way over my original time goals, but decided it would be nice to stay in the 10 hour range, so I decided to put the knee aside and just try and finish strong. Somehow I managed to run those last couple miles faster than any of the prior individual miles and finish under 11. I was glad to be done.

Unlike shorter distances where I push hard the whole time and then don't have much of an appetite afterward, I was starving. We hung out for a few minutes so I could eat a hot dog and relax, and then we were off to my parents house farm for the rest of the weekend.

Aside from the knee, which ended up being IT Band syndrome which is still bothering me now, I loved the race and the distance. The trail itself was pretty much all single track, which just enough rolling elevation to make it interesting without any really crazy climbs. There was a couple of creek crossings to get wet in, and a lot of mud from the prior rains. Aid stations were every 3-5 miles and well supplied with all the typical stuff. Good race that I look forward to doing again and redeeming my time.

Lincoln Marathon

As always, we were rushed to leave the house Saturday morning…I was trying to haggle on a new (used) car, grandparents were arriving to watch the kids, and Mendy was generally trying to cram too much into the morning as well. Nonetheless, we finally got on the road hoping to make it to Lincoln in time to see Jeff Galloway speak at the pre-race expo. Three hours worth of driving and great conversation later, we walked in just as he was beginning to speak. Our friends Brad and Adrienne, and Jon and Jen, were already there…they tend to be a bit more organized about these things. Galloway was very interesting to listen to, even though I don’t prescribe to his methods. The expo was the typical stuff, nothing too exciting. We made our way over to the free pasta dinner, met up with some other friends, and had a nice relaxing evening – complete with a movie!

Our hotel was within walking distance of the start, so we were able to sleep relatively late, walk over, and still be plenty early. (I don’t like being rushed before an event) I found Brad and we situated ourselves in the starting mob around the 8:30 milers. Before we knew it, the gun had sounded and the race began. It took us several minutes to get to the actual starting mat, but once we did, we were off and running. I didn’t really have a “race plan” other than to start out with Brad and then see how it went - maybe slow down and have a nice training run for the upcoming Berryman 50, but maybe speed up and go for a good finishing time.

Brad and I ran the first half side by side the whole way. Although I don’t remember what about, we talked most of the way, swapped snacks where we each grabbed the wrong things from aid stations, and kept good company for each other. I had to make one pit stop at a porta-john for a piss break that I couldn’t hold any longer, but other than that, I felt great the whole way.

At the turn where the ½ marathoners finished, I decided to turn up the speed a bit for the second half. I looked to Brad and told him I was going to speed up a bit and then just went on. I didn’t know if he was going to join or not, but after a few minutes a realized he wasn’t. After doing some mental calculations, I determined that I had a very slim chance in finishing in 3:30 if I ran hard for the entire second half – even though it would mean a negative split of around 7-8 minutes. What the heck, I might as well try.

Although I was now running by myself, the second half was a blast. While most others were slowing down, I was speeding up and passing people left and right. Nothing is more mentally encouraging than doing this. Mendy had ran the ½ and was now out on her bike encouraging those of us who were running the full. I was happy to see her a few miles before the finish, but didn’t have time to stop and talk – a glance to see her wave and cheer was all I needed. Fortunately I was able to maintain the pace all the way through and finished in 3:30:48. The 48 seconds kind of annoys me off because I my piss break in the first half was about that long. Oh well, I was still very happy with the time and looking forward to being under it next time.

As always, as soon as I quit running at the finish, the wall of weird pain, disorientation, and euphoria all wrapped into one hit me. I walked around for a few minutes to regain my bearings before all was well again. A few minutes later, Brad finished and we headed back out on the course together to find his wife and Jon to run them in. It was Jon’s first marathon and we figured he might be getting a bit tired by now. We found Adrienne first, so Brad started back in with her. I went on a bit further to find Jonathan. His wife Jen, was also riding along beside the course as encouragement, but I think he was happy to have someone run with him through that final grueling stretch. Seeing his excitement at the finish was probably the best part of the weekend.

After the race, Mendy and I gorged on some Chipolte, then headed home….great race, great weekend.

Brew to Brew

This past Sunday was the Brew to Brew run. It's touted as a 44 mile relay race for teams from Kansas City, MO to Lawrence, KS, but it also has a category for solo runners. The actual distance varies slightly from year to year due to road construction, etc - this years actual distance was 43.2 miles. Only preliminary results have been posted, but there were about 79 registered solo runners, and 49 finishers. (I don't know how many of the difference between registrants and finishers didn't start versus didn't finish - some of each I'm sure.) There were probably somewhere around 2000 relay participants as well. This is the only race I've been involved in that gives a time handicap as opposed to posting results by age group...must be related to the relay portion? I'm not sure that I like handicaps for the solo runners - considering 4 of the top 10 finishers had "handicaps" that clearly weren't needed. Anyways, my time was 7 hours 42 seconds, which gave me the 9th best time overall, but was ranked 10th with handicaps figured in. If broken down by age group, I would have been 3rd for my group.

Solo runners started at 6:00 from Boulevard Brewery in downtown KC. It was still pitch black out, and because the relay runners didn't start until later in the morning, our relatively small group got a few instructions shouted out to us by the Race Director and we were off. The first mile or so was through downtown streets before we descended a staircase at an overpass that led us under the bridge and onto the levee. We spent the next few miles running along the hard packed gravel trail on top of the levee. The weather was still warm enough this early that I wore only a thin t-shirt, arm sleeves, light gloves, a stocking cap, and shorts. Conditions were great for running and I fell in step with Scott Giddings, a runner I had met at the Psycho Wyco 50K. Scott and I talked for a while until I had to stop for a piss break and lost a little ground.
Before I knew it, we were at the first aid station and Mendy was there waiting as planned. It was too early to need refueling so I said "hi" and ran on through.

Mendy was my "crew" for the day. She was armed with a tackle box full of food (PB&J, pretzels, peanut M&Ms, Cliff bars, GU, and boiled potatoes. She also had a a backpack full of spare clothes and shoes...just in case. My friend Brad was riding with her for the first portion, he was planning on getting out and running the 2nd half (or more) with me.

As the sun started to come up, the race was still going great. I kept having to check my pace and slow myself down though. As good as I felt now, I knew there would come a point (or 2 or 3) where I would not feel so great later on, and it was important to conserve energy and stay nourished. Mendy was faithfully waiting at each station as I came through, ready with fresh water bottles and a smorgasbord of treats. I tried to keep my stops limited to just a few seconds - just long enough to grab something and move on. Too much standing around causes me to stiffen up.

At mile 18, Brad decided to join the fun. I was still feeling strong and happy to have him join me. As an avid runner, and finisher of last year's race, I knew he was probably getting very restless watching the first section rather than running it. We traded spots back and forth with Scott for the next several miles.

All went well until and through the marathon point - I hit a small low point around mile 23 or so, but nothing major - I was happy to get that milestone completed in under 4 hours. Somewhere shortly thereafter that point though, the weather, which had been slowly getting worse as the day went on, really took a turn for the worse. Temperatures dropped, winds picked up, and it started to rain, sleet, and snow. Unfortunately, this coincided with a tougher section of the course and made for a rough few miles.

Around mile 30 we came to the river crossing. At this point we had to get in a small zodiac style raft that was hooked to a tow line to get across the river. We had to wait for a few minutes for the raft captain to be ready for, and then put on wet, muddy life-jackets. Even though the raft ride only lasted about a minute, the combination of my already soaked clothes, the freezing lifejackets, having to sit on the edge of the boat for the ride, and the sleet was enough to zap all remaining energy out of me. As soon as I stood up after the ride, my hip flexor locked up and I was in some serious pain on top of dangerously cold conditions. I hobbled on as fast as I could and luckily the next aid station was less than a mile away. Mendy was there anticipating our need to change clothes. Unfortunately, my hands were literally frozen (I have circulation trouble in my hands while running) and I couldn't get them to work. Mendy had to help get my current shirt and gloves off. Both her and Brad grabbed a side of the new shirt after we got it over my head and pulled it down over my body. Getting the new gloves on was the hardest - my hands were shaking so bad and I was unable to move my fingers. Mendy had to manipulate each of my fingers into their respective slots. Finally, we got my jacket on me and I was off again.

Within a mile or so, the dry clothes really started to pay off and I was warming back up and able to move my fingers. My hip flexor started to work itself out as well and I was soon back to feeling good. As the saying goes, "It always never gets worse", at least that's what I kept reminding myself. The next several miles consisted of primarily rolling hills. For the first time in the race, I needed to walk some of the steeper uphills. The amount of energy I was using up trying to run the steep portions wasn't worth the slow pace I was doing it at. Brad did a great job through this section trying to keep my mind occupied with things other than being tired, but I realize I wasn't much of a conversationalist by this point. We did manage to pass a few other solo runners through this section which was pretty motivating.

We came into the final aid station around mile 39, had a few swigs of RedBull for a final boost of energy and took off for the final leg - a flat 4+ miles to the finish, no problem. For a short while, the wind was at our backs and I hit a high thinking, "only 4 miles to go, it's flat, and the wind it at my back...this is in the bag!" We kicked the pace up to low 8's and were feeling great - then out of nowhere, the winds shifted again and were right in our face! It was blowing so hard I was literally knocked off balance more than once. Somehow, despite having to take a few short walk breaks through this, we managed to pass a few more runners. I wanted nothing more than to be done, the ground looked extremely inviting as a nice place to take a nap. After what seemed like forever, the finish appeared out of nowhere from around a bend. I asked Brad if that was really it, and we took off in a "sprint" to the end. Exactly 7 hours later, we had arrived in Lawrence, Kansas.

Overall, aside from grueling weather for the second half, I had a fantastic time. The pain and fatigue was to be expected and well worth the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing an event like this. Mendy did a fantastic job at having things ready for me at each of the aid station and should get the award for best crew - it was a huge motivator to see her cheering every few miles. Brad was awesome, it would have been much tougher without him. Just having him running along side helped me to keep pushing through. We've spent a lot of time on the road together so he knows what I am, and am not, capable of.

It was cool to get to see Scott again and spend some time running with him. We got to meet a couple of his friends that were running the race too. One of which had won the event three times in previous years, and the other was an Olympic hopeful at the women's marathon! Hopefully we'll get to meet up again at future events.

Each time I complete a run like this I get a little more excited about pushing the limits for the next one. Next month is the Lincoln Marathon, and then the Berryman Trail 50 mile - I can't wait.

31 mile training run

Today was my last long run before Brew to Brew in two in weeks. I went 31 miles at an average pace of 8:38. I felt pretty good the whole time, never got sick or tired enough for a walk break. I was shirtless for the last 5-6 miles, which was a weird sensation after so many cold weather runs lately. It seems like it went from freezing temps to hot in just a matter of weeks. I only had two gels the whole run, but added in some solid food instead, which I think helps my energy levels. After 6 miles, I had a banana...then a gel after 12...at 18 I had a PB & honey sandwich...then a kid's cliff bar around mile 22...I had another gel around mile 25...then crunched on some Peanut M&M's for the remainder of the run.
I have been going back and forth between running the Olathe marathon next weekend (the weekend before Brew to Brew) and just going at an easy pace, but I've opted to stay away from it and getting some rest before the Brew's 44 miles. I don't really have a time goal B-to-B, but of course I'd like to feel like I did my best. Running a marathon the week before, and knowing that I'd get caught up in the excitement and run too fast, isn't probably the wisest of ideas - especially since the race wasn't even on my schedule for this spring. It's best to skip it and go for a good time at Lincoln. Plus, Garrett is having a big sleepover the night before, and Mendy could probably use some help with all the boys that morning.

Sunday Run

Nothing new or dramatic to report, but I did have a good long road run yesterday. It has been a few weeks since I got any serious road mileage in so I was looking forward to running yesterday. We ended up staying out later than expected on Saturday night so I opted for an afternoon run instead of my normal Sunday morning routine. I maintained an average pace of 8:10 for the 20 mile route and still felt strong at the end. I'm convinced that even though my pace is considerably slower on trails, running them improves my times on pavement.

I am officially signed up for the Brew to Brew 44 mile solo run and the Berryman Trail 50 mile.