Saturday, December 14, 2013
Pesto Calzone!
Pesto calzone! Thin artisan crust. Inside is onion, tomato, garlic, feta cheese, parmesan, basil, and a little olive oil. on top of crust sprinkle a little Sun Dried Tomato Mrs. Dash and mozzarella then bake at 400 for 22 min. Yum!
Friday, December 6, 2013
Rehabing my Herniated Disc
Well, I'm about 6 weeks into my herniated disc problem. The disc is pressing on the nerve root coming out of my spine at L5/S1 that goes to the left side. My back hip area was hurting pretty good and after 2 rounds of predizone I honestly didn't see much difference. I have been doing cobra stretches which haven't helped much but I'm told they work to compress the disc back into the spine over time. Instead of prednizone which caused me some sleepless nights and irratibility I opted for a heavy round of Advil which seemed to work as well, if not a little better than the predizone. This past Tuesday I went in for an epidural shot of cortizone in my back. I will tell everyone right here and now that when it comes to needles I am a wuss! I was a little scared to do this but the doctors gave some IV to sedate me a little and before I knew it I was done! Over the past couple days my back has felt a little achy like when you do too much yard work but the nerve issue into my butt and leg is almost gone. I still get a numb feeling in my toe which I'm told is not a good thing. They want the numbness and pain to be moving up towards my back and out of my leg. Stay tuned.......
Chris
Chris
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Down for the count......
Well, after having a back hip issue since mid Sept, a couple weeks ago it got worse. I went back into the doctor who ordered an MRI and the result is I have a disc herniation at L5. So now I'm on another dose of predisone and doing PT. He is being rather aggressive knowing I have some big plans for next tri season, so on Dec 3rd I am scheduled to have an epidural injection into the spine to help with inflamation. If all this doen't work then the last resort is surgery which I'm told only about 10% of the patients need but the way my luck has been going I'll be in that 10%. Not the way I envisioned my off season.
Chris
Chris
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
What a classy legend.....Craig Alexander's (Crowie) post interview from Kona 2013.
This guy shows what class act he is, as he talks about the possibility of being at the end of his career.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Thoughts on the 2013 Race Season......
This year has been one of ups and downs. I certainly did not achieve all of my
goals, but that gives me something to shoot for next year.
First the downs. I found training very difficult this year. Between the winter that refused to leave, an extremely intense work schedule and injuries, it has been a mental as well as a physical challenge to keep going. Ending the year with a stress fracture of my foot would certainly bring anyone down and there were days that I have questioned if I want to keep doing this after I heal.
Which leads me to the positives. Throughout all of the frustrations, I DID keep training. I ran, I biked faster than I ever had before and I swam further and longer than I ever had before. I did the last tri of the year in the fastest time that I ever had....with a broken foot! How cool is that! Will I do this again next year when my foot is healed? DAMN RIGHT I WILL!!! It is by overcoming the obstacles that are in our path that we prove to ourselves who we really are, and by simply getting up off the couch and moving, I am already a winner, even if I finish dead last.
Races:
2 5K's
1 Duathlon
2 Sprint Tris
Ann
As Ann said, it's been a year of ups and downs. After recovering all last winter from rotator cuff surgery and a winter that would never end, I was anxious to get outside and start training. The spring stayed cold and wet but I did my best to get out and train.
My first race of the year was a 5K. My time was horrible which early season races always are for me but for whatever reason I podiumed! My second 5K in early May was a little better time wise and for the second time I podiumed! Ann and I did a Duathlon towards the end of May and it was a decent start to tri season with a good first run and decent bike. Second run was a little rough.
The first tri of the year was a sprint race in the rain. For whatever reason I panicked on the swim which never happened before. I managed to pull it together and have a good bike and decent run. The second sprint race I had some redemption having a great swim, and a good overall time. Third sprint race was a small event. My head wasn't in it and once again, I had a bad swim and struggled. I was frustrated. Wanting to up the challenge, I did my first olympic distance tri in September. Had a good overall race and was thrilled to end the season on a high note! Currently I am dealing with a back/hip problem since the oly tri that's prevented me from running or biking and frankly it frustrating I have however been able to get back in the gym and do some lifting.
Goals for the winter and into 2014 is to burn some fat off and lose about 10 pounds. I feel better racing at a lower weight. I need to do more "dreadmill" work over the winter and I plan on hiring a swim coach. My swimming needs more work. If all goes well and I can stay injury free, I plan on doing my first half ironman next summer, maybe Racine?
Races:
Two 5Ks
1 Duathlon
3 Sprint Tris
1 Oly Tri
Chris
First the downs. I found training very difficult this year. Between the winter that refused to leave, an extremely intense work schedule and injuries, it has been a mental as well as a physical challenge to keep going. Ending the year with a stress fracture of my foot would certainly bring anyone down and there were days that I have questioned if I want to keep doing this after I heal.
Which leads me to the positives. Throughout all of the frustrations, I DID keep training. I ran, I biked faster than I ever had before and I swam further and longer than I ever had before. I did the last tri of the year in the fastest time that I ever had....with a broken foot! How cool is that! Will I do this again next year when my foot is healed? DAMN RIGHT I WILL!!! It is by overcoming the obstacles that are in our path that we prove to ourselves who we really are, and by simply getting up off the couch and moving, I am already a winner, even if I finish dead last.
Races:
2 5K's
1 Duathlon
2 Sprint Tris
Ann
As Ann said, it's been a year of ups and downs. After recovering all last winter from rotator cuff surgery and a winter that would never end, I was anxious to get outside and start training. The spring stayed cold and wet but I did my best to get out and train.
My first race of the year was a 5K. My time was horrible which early season races always are for me but for whatever reason I podiumed! My second 5K in early May was a little better time wise and for the second time I podiumed! Ann and I did a Duathlon towards the end of May and it was a decent start to tri season with a good first run and decent bike. Second run was a little rough.
The first tri of the year was a sprint race in the rain. For whatever reason I panicked on the swim which never happened before. I managed to pull it together and have a good bike and decent run. The second sprint race I had some redemption having a great swim, and a good overall time. Third sprint race was a small event. My head wasn't in it and once again, I had a bad swim and struggled. I was frustrated. Wanting to up the challenge, I did my first olympic distance tri in September. Had a good overall race and was thrilled to end the season on a high note! Currently I am dealing with a back/hip problem since the oly tri that's prevented me from running or biking and frankly it frustrating I have however been able to get back in the gym and do some lifting.
Goals for the winter and into 2014 is to burn some fat off and lose about 10 pounds. I feel better racing at a lower weight. I need to do more "dreadmill" work over the winter and I plan on hiring a swim coach. My swimming needs more work. If all goes well and I can stay injury free, I plan on doing my first half ironman next summer, maybe Racine?
Races:
Two 5Ks
1 Duathlon
3 Sprint Tris
1 Oly Tri
Chris
Friday, September 20, 2013
Last Chance Tri - White Bear Lake, MN
Well, the season is closing fast but Ann and I wer able to find a tri relatively close to do. I have wanted to do a long distance/oly race all year but timing was bad. This was my last chance. I signed up for the long distance and Ann did the sprint distance. The long course a little shorter on the swim portion at 1/2 mile but the bike was a 27+ mile ride and the run was a 10K.
Stayed at the in-laws the night before which was about an hour and a half away from the event. Woke up that morning around 4AM and it was raining pretty good, uggggg. I had to battle the demons in my head that were telling me how easy it would be to go back to bed and forget it. Woke ann up and we got ready for the drive in the rain and dark. Brought oatmeal with us to eat in the car since the race didn't start until 8:45 for myself and a little after 9 for Ann. Left the house at a little after 5:30.
Got to the As we got closer, the rain ended....Horray! Got to the site and registered, got our numbers and proceeded to try and find a spot for our bikes. People were using way too much space to rack their bikes bt we were able to find a spot across from each other. We proceeded to get ready first me helping Ann get into her wetsuit and then vise verse. AsI put my suit tore around my forearm! NOT GOOD! It was about a 2 inch tear. I hoped it would last through the race. I haven't been too happy with this suit but I'll save that report for another time. We walked about 1/4 mile down to the start and did some warmups in the water.
Race start:
Swim - There was about 68 entries for the long course and 3 waves. I was in wave 2. The horn went off and I was off! I had a game plan this time.....don't go too hard out, stay a little to the outside to avoid contact. I had very little contact, maybe one or two people at first. The first buoy came up pretty fast. As I rounded the buoy my siting was off because the next buoy was at the next corner. They REALLY needed more buoys! I started to go too wide and at one point I stopped to see where I was and I went off course a good 75 feet or so too wide which wasted time. Got back on track,rounded the second buoy and sited for shore. they did have one of those huge, tall yellow blown men with arms at shore which made it much easier to site. I got seemed like I was making time and the next thing I knew my hand hit sand. As I stood up I looked at the watch, a tad over 20 min. Damn! If I didn't go off course I could have came in under 20 which for me would have been good! The run up to T1 was muddy and slippery. Time: 20:26
T1 - Had what I thought was a decent T1 time. Got a little fuzzy with getting the helmet on but overall went well. Time 1:48
Bike - Here's where I thought I would do quite well. The Bike is my strongest of the three events ( again, not saying much...LOL!) The game plan was to go easy the first 8 miles or so because there was a good headwind out of the NorthEast. I took off and for whatever reason couldn't get my dang foot into the shoe! At one point I started to slow down and I had to peddle only to have the shoe hit the pavement. I almost had to stop but recovered and went on. I was right....STRONG headwind. I hunkered down and when I looked at the speedo it read 17MPH a lot. I had some people pass me but not many. As I rounded pass mile 8 I felt it change to a cross wind. Around mile 11 I got the tail wind and took off! Over the next 5 to 8 miles I was well over 20MPH and often in the 24 to 26 range. Hydration was going well taking in fluids when needed. Around mile 22 the roads turned to complete CRAP! Potholes, seems with tar coming out, even a dead porcupine in one of the potholes! I thought I flatted twice during this 4 mile stretch but thankfully I didn't. As I got closer to town the traffic got bad. About a 1/2 mile to 1 mile out the police had traffic stopped and you had to ride i the bike lane and couldn't pass anyone. Came into transition and looked at the speedo. I think it read about 18.5 average. Time per event said like 17.9. Total bike time 1:30:12
T2 - Pretty good T2. Racked the bike, at down to put shoes on. Had a little problem loading gels in the back pocket. Time 1:51
Run - I was hoping I didn't go too hard on the bike and blow my run up. Starting out I felt pretty good but quickly notices my lower quads were cramping up a bit. I had a goal of keeping my pace at about a 9:30 mile or less. Around mile 1 I met up with Ann. I stopped for a couple seconds to wish herluck and ask how her IT band was feeling. We kisses and as I strted to run off someone from behind joked "None of that on the course now!" We laughed and I yelled back "I have no clue who she is, I just met her!" That got some laughs.....The quad cramps were holding in check but I still needed to be careful. The course was motly paved but there was a small stretch of city sidewalk with recessed driveways and curb you had to watch out for. Seemed like the turnaround took forever! Trying to be proactive I sucked down a gel packet at the turnaround to prevent a bonk. Around mile 5.5 my heel started to feel "hot" or maybe like I had a blister forming. I stopped and took my how off which helped. Finally saw the finish line and there was Ann video taping me as I came in! Time: 59:41, pace 9:37
I had two sets of goals.....My pie in the sky time (around 2:35 and the "I really suck" time that I wanted to be under 2:58). I finished in 2:53:55 so no, not great but stil 4+ minutes under my bottom threshold. For my first long course race I will take it! Ann had a good race too finishing in 2:01:16! I NEEDED this race badly. I had 2 so-so sprint races this year and one good one. I needed to do a long course to see where I am and to know what I need to do for next year as I shoot for a HIM. I NEEDED to have agood race to finish off the year on a high note and I think I accomplished that.
Chris
Stayed at the in-laws the night before which was about an hour and a half away from the event. Woke up that morning around 4AM and it was raining pretty good, uggggg. I had to battle the demons in my head that were telling me how easy it would be to go back to bed and forget it. Woke ann up and we got ready for the drive in the rain and dark. Brought oatmeal with us to eat in the car since the race didn't start until 8:45 for myself and a little after 9 for Ann. Left the house at a little after 5:30.
Got to the As we got closer, the rain ended....Horray! Got to the site and registered, got our numbers and proceeded to try and find a spot for our bikes. People were using way too much space to rack their bikes bt we were able to find a spot across from each other. We proceeded to get ready first me helping Ann get into her wetsuit and then vise verse. AsI put my suit tore around my forearm! NOT GOOD! It was about a 2 inch tear. I hoped it would last through the race. I haven't been too happy with this suit but I'll save that report for another time. We walked about 1/4 mile down to the start and did some warmups in the water.
Race start:
Swim - There was about 68 entries for the long course and 3 waves. I was in wave 2. The horn went off and I was off! I had a game plan this time.....don't go too hard out, stay a little to the outside to avoid contact. I had very little contact, maybe one or two people at first. The first buoy came up pretty fast. As I rounded the buoy my siting was off because the next buoy was at the next corner. They REALLY needed more buoys! I started to go too wide and at one point I stopped to see where I was and I went off course a good 75 feet or so too wide which wasted time. Got back on track,rounded the second buoy and sited for shore. they did have one of those huge, tall yellow blown men with arms at shore which made it much easier to site. I got seemed like I was making time and the next thing I knew my hand hit sand. As I stood up I looked at the watch, a tad over 20 min. Damn! If I didn't go off course I could have came in under 20 which for me would have been good! The run up to T1 was muddy and slippery. Time: 20:26
T1 - Had what I thought was a decent T1 time. Got a little fuzzy with getting the helmet on but overall went well. Time 1:48
Bike - Here's where I thought I would do quite well. The Bike is my strongest of the three events ( again, not saying much...LOL!) The game plan was to go easy the first 8 miles or so because there was a good headwind out of the NorthEast. I took off and for whatever reason couldn't get my dang foot into the shoe! At one point I started to slow down and I had to peddle only to have the shoe hit the pavement. I almost had to stop but recovered and went on. I was right....STRONG headwind. I hunkered down and when I looked at the speedo it read 17MPH a lot. I had some people pass me but not many. As I rounded pass mile 8 I felt it change to a cross wind. Around mile 11 I got the tail wind and took off! Over the next 5 to 8 miles I was well over 20MPH and often in the 24 to 26 range. Hydration was going well taking in fluids when needed. Around mile 22 the roads turned to complete CRAP! Potholes, seems with tar coming out, even a dead porcupine in one of the potholes! I thought I flatted twice during this 4 mile stretch but thankfully I didn't. As I got closer to town the traffic got bad. About a 1/2 mile to 1 mile out the police had traffic stopped and you had to ride i the bike lane and couldn't pass anyone. Came into transition and looked at the speedo. I think it read about 18.5 average. Time per event said like 17.9. Total bike time 1:30:12
T2 - Pretty good T2. Racked the bike, at down to put shoes on. Had a little problem loading gels in the back pocket. Time 1:51
Run - I was hoping I didn't go too hard on the bike and blow my run up. Starting out I felt pretty good but quickly notices my lower quads were cramping up a bit. I had a goal of keeping my pace at about a 9:30 mile or less. Around mile 1 I met up with Ann. I stopped for a couple seconds to wish herluck and ask how her IT band was feeling. We kisses and as I strted to run off someone from behind joked "None of that on the course now!" We laughed and I yelled back "I have no clue who she is, I just met her!" That got some laughs.....The quad cramps were holding in check but I still needed to be careful. The course was motly paved but there was a small stretch of city sidewalk with recessed driveways and curb you had to watch out for. Seemed like the turnaround took forever! Trying to be proactive I sucked down a gel packet at the turnaround to prevent a bonk. Around mile 5.5 my heel started to feel "hot" or maybe like I had a blister forming. I stopped and took my how off which helped. Finally saw the finish line and there was Ann video taping me as I came in! Time: 59:41, pace 9:37
I had two sets of goals.....My pie in the sky time (around 2:35 and the "I really suck" time that I wanted to be under 2:58). I finished in 2:53:55 so no, not great but stil 4+ minutes under my bottom threshold. For my first long course race I will take it! Ann had a good race too finishing in 2:01:16! I NEEDED this race badly. I had 2 so-so sprint races this year and one good one. I needed to do a long course to see where I am and to know what I need to do for next year as I shoot for a HIM. I NEEDED to have agood race to finish off the year on a high note and I think I accomplished that.
Chris
Monday, September 2, 2013
Springstead Triathlon
This race report is coming late but better late than never! This sprint tri took place on Aug 11th up in Springstead, WI located between Mercer and Park Falls. It's a small but well run event. I had Rev3 in the Dells penciled in but between cost and doing some rehab on my In-Laws house the couple days before we felttoo beat up to go to the Dells. The race consisted of a 1/4 mile swim, 16 mile bike and a 5K. We were there in plenty of time but for whatever reason got rushed at the last second and didn't get a chance to warm up. We quickly got our wetsuits on and went to the lake. The horn went off and we were off! I had some good pacing to start off and quickly saw the 1/4 mark buoy. I was feeling good! I rounded the end boat to head back and then for whatever reason I stated to get winded as I did in my first tri of the year. the rst of the way back I struggled. UGGGG, not his again! I exited the water and got on the bike. The roads were ok to start out with and I had a good tail wind. I was averaging about 22MPH on the bike. As I got to about mile 5 or so I had to turn onto a side road that was anything but good surface. Aseries of blacktop heaves caused me to be careful and spent too much time out of aero. On the way back I had a good head wing hitting me and was seing 18 to 19 MPH on the speedo. Ended the bike averaging 20.3 MPH so I'll take t. Got off the bike and started the run. Was feeling good! Garmin was showing about a 8:30 pace. Bugs were starting to get me on the way back and I got a little distracted with that and the heat. I started to feel a "bonk" at around 2.5 miles and plugged ahead never stopping. Craossed the finish lin in 1:30:31, not my best time. Timing was a start and end only so I don't really know what my swim or T1/T2 was. Looking at the results it appears I came in about 4th overall. Not my best race of the year but did it to keep the practice up.
Chris
Chris
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Tri-ing for Children's Triathlon - Sprint Course
Second sprint triathlon of the year and I needed some redemption from the last tri where I didn't do too well. I thought about doing the olympic distance but training wasn't the best and had those demons in my head so Ann convinced me to do the sprint and do it well.
Woke up about 4AM, had some coffee and got ready. Ate oatmeal in the car on the way to the event.
Had a lot of time after setup to watch the oly waves go out, roughly about 30 minutes. Gave me time to settle in and warm up.
Swim 1/4 mile
One of my best swims ever! Breathing was good was able to draft a little and before I knew it I was rounding buoys! As I rounded the last one I got caught up in the wave ahead of mine and got a little turned around. I figure I wasted maybe 15 seconds getting my bearings straight. When I exited the water my wife Ann told me I was 7:45 on time which was over a minute faster than normal. The mat to clock time was up a ways on shore so that's how I got the 8:18 time.
T1 - 2:15
For whatever reason I completely spaced out once I got my suit off. My transition area was in dirt and sand and I was trying to figure out how to get the sand off and get bike shoes on.
Bike - 15 miles, 44:28 min, 20.12 MPH
Took a while to get going fast. Felt like I was in a headwind the first half of the bike. I only averaged around 19MPH on this stretch. Second half I was flying (at least for me) doing 21 to 22 MPH.
T2 - 1:20
Better and hamstrings didn't lock up up last time.
Run 5K - 25:56 min, 8:12 pace
Felt pretty good. Didn't cramp coming off the bike and after settling in I was able to maintain a nice pace.
Finished strong and wasn't as exhausted as I was last time. MUCH better race than my last one!
Chris
Woke up about 4AM, had some coffee and got ready. Ate oatmeal in the car on the way to the event.
Had a lot of time after setup to watch the oly waves go out, roughly about 30 minutes. Gave me time to settle in and warm up.
Swim 1/4 mile
One of my best swims ever! Breathing was good was able to draft a little and before I knew it I was rounding buoys! As I rounded the last one I got caught up in the wave ahead of mine and got a little turned around. I figure I wasted maybe 15 seconds getting my bearings straight. When I exited the water my wife Ann told me I was 7:45 on time which was over a minute faster than normal. The mat to clock time was up a ways on shore so that's how I got the 8:18 time.
T1 - 2:15
For whatever reason I completely spaced out once I got my suit off. My transition area was in dirt and sand and I was trying to figure out how to get the sand off and get bike shoes on.
Bike - 15 miles, 44:28 min, 20.12 MPH
Took a while to get going fast. Felt like I was in a headwind the first half of the bike. I only averaged around 19MPH on this stretch. Second half I was flying (at least for me) doing 21 to 22 MPH.
T2 - 1:20
Better and hamstrings didn't lock up up last time.
Run 5K - 25:56 min, 8:12 pace
Felt pretty good. Didn't cramp coming off the bike and after settling in I was able to maintain a nice pace.
Finished strong and wasn't as exhausted as I was last time. MUCH better race than my last one!
Chris
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Bear Cupboard 5K
RACE DAY! Ann's been very motivated and a couple days ago said...."Let's do this!" We've been upping our workouts and runs so I thought it would be a good precursor to next weeks triathlon. We arrived, stretched, warmed up, and were ready to go! I kissed Ann and waited for the horn. I took off and had good pacing going. The first mile I was flying (at least for me!) at around the low to mid 7 min mile range. Mile 2 took me down to around a 7:45 pace and in the third mile I fell to an 8 min plus pace. I finished at 7:56 per mile pace for a total time of 24:37. Sad part was I missd the podium by 27 seconds. I waited for Ann and was hoping he training was going to pay off. Time went by......Ifinally saw her and after she crossed she said she tripped on a board on the trestle that goes over the lake and fell brusing ans skinning her knee pretty bad. I took her to the first aid station and they iced it. Now it's rehab time for Ann and she hopes she can race next weekend.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Swim Training day!
Well, the weather is finally cooperating a little and it turned out to be a nice day for a swim. Time still isn't coming down much but we have been working on form.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
South Wood County Triathlon Race Report
Well, I FINALLY was able to get the first tri of the year in. This is a very nice small event with around 150 entries. I haven't done a tri in the rain before and I really didn't want to do this one in the rain. Forecast didn't look good. That morning I decided to drive down and do it regardless. The drive was about 2.5 hours but we got here in plenty of time. I registered, set up my transition area and was feeling really good about things. It started to rain more but I was now committed.
With about 30 min before race start I got my wetsuit on and did some warmups in the water. My wave was 4th so I was able to gauge things and see how people were doing. I remember thinking "that doesn't look like a1/4 mile swim....". My wave's turn came up. The horn sounded and I was off. I was in a really good groove, swimming with the pack about in the middle. At a certain point I thought "this is easy!" At that point I looked up and realized a only went about 1/4 to 1/3rd the way! At that point, I looked down the lake to where the turnaround was and it felt like Mt. Everst to me. I struggled, couldn't get my form right, couldn't breate right and even had to stop and take breaks. It was a complete mental breakdown! i finally put enough of an effort in to make it back to shore. I wasn't the last in my wave but close. It felt like 15 minutes went by. I came out of the lake, ran up the hill to T1.
By now it apparently was raining pretty good but I honestly don't remember it raining at all. Was I in a zone or just exhausted and mad at myself over the swim. Who knows. I mounted my bike and took off. I knew I had time to make up so I pushed it. The course was flat so I knew I didn't need to worry about hills. I was passing people like they were standing still. My goal....don't get passed and pass everyone! It seemed like I did. I was even pasing guys on very expensive bikes with disc wheels. It's a great feeling blowing by someone that has spent 3 or 4 times what you have on their equipement! By about halfway through the bike the rain ended. So in the end I think I passed roughly 0 people and was never passed once! As I came into T2, I went to dismont and my entire right hamstring and calf locked up! I haven't had this happen in a while. Poor bike fit or did I push it too much? Hobbled over to the rack and got shoes on.
As I headed out of T2 I had to take it easy since I was on the verge of cramping. After about a 1/4 mile things got easier and I was able to run halfway decently. I had a couple guys go by me that I knew were in my division. The run was pretty good, good heart rate, not cramping but my time wasn't as fast as I wanted. I paced a guy almost the entire run and about 2/10ths of a mile left he started to slow down. As I came up on him he saw me and put the turbos on. I wan't going to beat him today. I came in and felt pretty good until I had to stop to give them my chip, then the leg cramps came back. Walked around a bit, ate and congratulated another guy in my division who came in ahead of me. I wound up 11th out of 16 in my division, 63rd out of 147 overall. The one good thing out of it was I ranked 30th overall in the bike.
It was a well run event and I will do it again! I have 3 weeks now to get watever mind games happened on the swim behind me. More water time should solve that.
With about 30 min before race start I got my wetsuit on and did some warmups in the water. My wave was 4th so I was able to gauge things and see how people were doing. I remember thinking "that doesn't look like a1/4 mile swim....". My wave's turn came up. The horn sounded and I was off. I was in a really good groove, swimming with the pack about in the middle. At a certain point I thought "this is easy!" At that point I looked up and realized a only went about 1/4 to 1/3rd the way! At that point, I looked down the lake to where the turnaround was and it felt like Mt. Everst to me. I struggled, couldn't get my form right, couldn't breate right and even had to stop and take breaks. It was a complete mental breakdown! i finally put enough of an effort in to make it back to shore. I wasn't the last in my wave but close. It felt like 15 minutes went by. I came out of the lake, ran up the hill to T1.
By now it apparently was raining pretty good but I honestly don't remember it raining at all. Was I in a zone or just exhausted and mad at myself over the swim. Who knows. I mounted my bike and took off. I knew I had time to make up so I pushed it. The course was flat so I knew I didn't need to worry about hills. I was passing people like they were standing still. My goal....don't get passed and pass everyone! It seemed like I did. I was even pasing guys on very expensive bikes with disc wheels. It's a great feeling blowing by someone that has spent 3 or 4 times what you have on their equipement! By about halfway through the bike the rain ended. So in the end I think I passed roughly 0 people and was never passed once! As I came into T2, I went to dismont and my entire right hamstring and calf locked up! I haven't had this happen in a while. Poor bike fit or did I push it too much? Hobbled over to the rack and got shoes on.
As I headed out of T2 I had to take it easy since I was on the verge of cramping. After about a 1/4 mile things got easier and I was able to run halfway decently. I had a couple guys go by me that I knew were in my division. The run was pretty good, good heart rate, not cramping but my time wasn't as fast as I wanted. I paced a guy almost the entire run and about 2/10ths of a mile left he started to slow down. As I came up on him he saw me and put the turbos on. I wan't going to beat him today. I came in and felt pretty good until I had to stop to give them my chip, then the leg cramps came back. Walked around a bit, ate and congratulated another guy in my division who came in ahead of me. I wound up 11th out of 16 in my division, 63rd out of 147 overall. The one good thing out of it was I ranked 30th overall in the bike.
It was a well run event and I will do it again! I have 3 weeks now to get watever mind games happened on the swim behind me. More water time should solve that.
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| Setting up transition |
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| Swim start |
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| T1 |
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| Leaving T1 |
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| Coming into T2 and cramping |
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| Coming in! |
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| results |
Monday, June 10, 2013
Hoka Bondi B shoe review
Well, I wanted to see what all the hype was about regarding
the Hoka Bondi B2 shoes. I’ve done the
research, read others reports and was curious if they are really that good
compared to some of my trusty running shoes.
Over the past two years my “go to” shoe has been the Asics
Gel Nimbus 13. This is a nicely
cushioned shoe but also has a tall heel stack at around 12mm. After going to a run clinic this spring I
realized I’m a classic heel striker. My
initial response was I wanted a shoe with less stack between the toe and
heel. I settled on a pair of Saucony
Ride 5’s. I liked the weight of them;
the wide toe box and they had a heel stack of 8mm. I went on a couple runs and did a 5K in them. I was shocked at how much more beat up my
body felt after running in these compared to my Gel Nimbus! I was upset that this experiment was a
failure so I went back to my Gel Nimbus’s until the Hoka’s came in the mail.
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| Saucony Ride 5 weight 10.6oz |
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| Asics Gel Nimbus 13 weight 10.4oz |
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| Hoka Bondi 2 weight 11.1oz |
Now depending on
where you buy them, Hoka has a 60-day no question asked return policy! Pricing is a little higher than a standard
running shoe. I paid around $120 for
both my Gel Nimbus and the Ride 5’s, the Hoka’s were about $150.00 but with the
return policy I figured what’s to lose!
They showed up in the mail, I quickly put them on and took off! I was AMAZED at how these things felt! It was like running on pillows. Some believe the height of the show makes
them more unstable compared to a standard shoe, but that’s not the case because
the overall footprint of the show is larger making the shoe very stable. Some argue they like to “feel” the ground
and pavement but I think there is still enough “feeling” to know when you are
uneven surfaces, gravel, etc. The toe
to heel stack is also lower, coming in at around 4mm to 5mm. They put more cushioning in the midfoot of
the show and the heel is “rockered” allowing for a more seamless transition
from planting to take off.
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| Ride 5 on Left and Hoka on Right |
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| Gel Nimbus on Left and Hoka on Right |
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| Notice the larger footprint of the Hoka over the Ride 5 |
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| Gel Nimbus footprint vs. Hoka |
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| Notice the "Rockered" heel of the Hoka vs. a more standard running shoe |
Chris
Saturday, June 1, 2013
First Duathlon of the year!
Cooney Duathlon!
Well, this year we traveled down to Oconomowoc to take part in an early season race, the Cooney Duathlon. It was a 2 mile run, 21 mile bike and another 2 mile run. The weather was ok.....cool, around 50 and cloudy, but it was quite breezy also. At least the rain held off! Woke up at around 4:30. Thought it would be easy to find a cup of coffee in the hotel, I was wrong! Searched everywhere, wound up make a single cup in the room. Woke up Ann around 5:30. Found out no breakfast until 7AM on a Saturday, good thing I was prepared and brought oatmeal and bananas. Got ready, dressed and loaded the bikes.
Arrived at the event. Weather was cool, around upper 40's and cloudy. It was fairly breezy out too. Got our tribags and bikes off the rack and headed to transition. Found our spot and prepared the area for T1 and T2. About 40 minutes before race start I got in line to go to the bathroom one last time. Ann jogged around warming up There were only 4 porta toilets, so I stood in line until about 10 minutes before race start so I didn't have as much time to warm up as I wanted to.
The race started in waves, we were last which I don't like because it makes me feel like I'm back of the pack! LOL! The buzzer went off and so did we. I was wearing my new Hoka's and trying to run with my new "faster cadence" stride. I felt a little winded but held out enough and made it to transition. Time - 7:51mi. Grabbed my bike and off I went! Heading out I knew I needed to practice more transitions. I had a hard time getting my feet into my shoes and took longer than I should. These early season races usually give me a reality slap or two! As I kept pedaling, I realized I made a HUGE mistake. A few days earlier I posted my fit on ST and had responses of "Your seat is to high". So, I lowered it almost 2 cm and then it rained and I had no time to test it out prior to race day. The entire 21 miles felt like I was under powered and too short on my peddle stroke. I also made the mistake of not trying out my new fabricated water bottle mount prior to race day and couldn't get anything out of my drink tube, so no hydration! The roads were ROUGH with potholes and it was windy which didn't help. Result? One of my slower rides clocking in at 19.7 MPH. I had every intention of hitting a constant 21+MPH day. Came into transition, racked the bike and off I went. My lower inside quads were really sore (from too short seat height) and I was exhausted from the bike and knew my run wouldn't be great. It wasn't. I posted an 8:35 per mile time. Came into the finish line and frankly was happy it was over, grabbed some water and a protein bar and watched for Ann to come in on the bike. A few minutes later she came in and looked tired. The wind and rough roads got to her also and her magnet came loose on the front wheel so she had no clue what her speed, or anything else was. She looked like she needed a little push so I started to give her some positive reinforcement that she was doing great and to keep it up! She asked if I would run with her. I hesitated because I was still tired myself but I sucked it up and did. She did great and finished. All in all it was a learning experience. I thought my run would suck ( I suck at running ) and my bike would be good. It was the exact opposite! I broke every rule of racing (don't do anything new on race day) and I paid the price for it. It wasn't my worst race, but one I will remember. Next up....a Sprint tri in a few weeks!
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| Start! |
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| coming in from first run |
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| coming in from first run |
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| coming in from bike |
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| heading to transition |
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| finishing! |
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