Triathlon is a Team Sport/Kinetic Half Race Review

Anyone that tries to tell you that Triathlon is not a Team sport is wrong!!! If you don't believe me, read on and I will tell you why as I recount my race experience at the Kinetic Half Iron at Lake Anna in VA. The day started at 3:30 am as I awoke to leave by 4am to drive the 1.5 hours from Southside Richmond up to Lake Anna in Spotsylvania County. As I pulled into the race site, the sun was coming up and revealing that the Lake had a nice chop on it compliments of the wind. That same wind would make portions of the bike course very challenging later in the morning. After picking up my race packet and timing chip, and making an obligatory trip to the restroom before the lines got too long, I headed over to transition to set up. While in transition I was able to wish many of my teammates from Endorphin Fitness good luck and then I headed back to the beach to catch up with my good friend and teammate Eric (Dr.) Glymph prior to the start of the swim. Eric started in the wave ahead of me which spread us out by 4 minutes. After cheering for Dr. Glymph as he headed into the water, I waited for the horn to sound for my wave to enter the water. When it did, I quickly found that the chop on the water on the way out to the first buoy was going to make it challenging to swim a fast freestyle so I quickly switched to breast stroke (which is a more comfortable stroke for me anyway). After rounding the first buoy, I was able to through in a few bursts of freestyle and after rounding the second buoy and heading back to the beach, I had a slight benefit from the chop moving with me. I came out of the water in a surprisingly fast time for me (32:54) although I question the length of the swim. I had a decent T1 and headed out on the bike. It was around mile 25 that I caught up to Dr. Glymph and shared my usual words of encouragement (C'mon Doc, let's roll). While the Doc experienced some more difficulties than me on the bike, I managed to create a bit of a gap on him. As I came into T2, I was feeling pretty good having averaged 20mph on a very challenging 56 mile bike course with lots of rolling hills and wind. Heading out on the run, I still felt pretty good and managed to run 7:13 for the 1st mile and right at 7 minutes for mile 2. After that, it started to fall apart for me and I was reduced to 8 and then 8:30 pace. Many participants were stopping to walk on the difficult run course that was far from flat and I too was reduced to walking for short periods by the time I came around for the third lap. As I was coming up to one of the last aid stations with a little over 2 miles left, I heard a friendly voice from behind. It was Dr. Glymph. We stopped for some water and then he said "C'mon, let's finish this together." And that is exactly what we did. We stopped to walk one or two more times, but we summoned the strength to help each other cross the finish line together. There were no egos and no expectations - just two teammates willing each other across the finish line. Looking over and seeing Eric as we crossed the finish line together was more satisfying than any personal victory that I have ever had in triathlon, because we did it together and this is what teamwork and being part of a team is all about. This experience will certainly rank as one of my top memories from the 2010 triathlon season. I look forward to racing again with Dr. Glymph and the rest of the Endorphin Fitness Team. We had about a dozen teammates competing today and everyone was encouraging each other out on the course and some of our teammates that were not racing came out to cheer us on (and make some delicious food for after the race!!!). Up until this year, I have never had a triathlon coach and I have never been a part of a triathlon team. My experience today has given me a whole new perspective on triathlon. I feel fortunate to be a part of such a GREAT team and have teammates and friends like Dr. Glymph.

As an aside, Dr. Glymph and I both set PRs for the 70.3 distance today, but that won't be what we remember most about our race today!

Duathlon Nationals

USAT held the National Duathlon Festival in Richmond, VA for the last of a 3 year stint today. I have had the pleasure of racing this race all 3 years in Richmond and have had a different race to race all 3 years. In 2008, we ran a 10k followed by a very technical 40k bike course and then finished with a 5k. It was cold and rainy which made the technical bike course even more technical. In 2009, we ran a 10k followed by a revised 38k bike course which was still technical and then finished with a short 5k in 90 degree temps (in April). I think 2010 was the best combo with a 5k run followed by the same 38k bike course from 2009 and then another 5k run. This year, the temps were perfect. The roads were a bit wet, but it was cloudy for most of the race and the wind only picked up on the last of 3 laps on the bike. I had my best race this year as well. While I did not qualify for the World Championships and will not be going to Scotland in September, I did manage to race smart with each 5k under 20 minutes and averaged 22 mph on a challenging bike course. My splits were as follows: Run 1 = 19:42, T1 = 1:41, Bike = 1:07:35, T2 = 47sec, and Run 2 = 19:58. My overall time was 1:49:41 which would have beat my time from 2009 by about 3 minutes (averaging my first 5k pace out to 10k). I finished 33 in my age group and around 117 overall (final results not posted yet). What made this year even better was that I raced with my new team members from Endorphin Fitness. My good friend and co-worker, Eric Glymph had a good race as well and so did his son. It has been a great 3 year run having the Duathlon National Championships right in my hometown of Richmond. I hope that USAT can bring more Championship races to Richmond in the future as it serves as a GREAT venue for both Duathlon and Triathlon.

Race Season Is Here!!!

Some of us have already had our first big race of the season and some are still building up to that big race. I have raced a few tune up running races as I gear up for my first big race of the year which will be the National Age Group Duathlon Championship in Richmond, VA on 4/25. Just 2 weeks after Du Nationals, I will be racing my first and key spring triathlon which will be the Kinetic Half on 5/8. After these two races, I have a decent line-up of Sprint and Olympic distance triathlons as well as a few running events as I gear up for my big race of the year which will be the Augusta Ironman 70.3 in September. I am going to finish out the season with a Sprint tri in October and the Richmond Marathon in November. I am looking forward to a GREAT year of racing!!!

Running or racing when you are sick

I am not a Doctor, but I know my own body well enough to determine the difference between being very sick and just having a cold. I have had a nagging cold for close to 10 days now, but I actually feel better when I workout and I had a decent 5K race last weekend (18:57) finishing in the top 10. Let me get to the point of my post, which is that YOU CAN workout and even race if you just have a head cold. I used to shy away from training when I even felt the slightest symptoms of a cold coming on, but now, I try to train right through as long as I am not getting any worse. By no means do I suggest that anyone workout or race with a fever, a severe chest cold, bronchitis or pneumonia, but a mild head cold is no big deal and if you are like me, you might find out that you actually feel better after some good hard exercise!!!

Strength Training

I am not a certified coach nor do I purport to be an expert on training, but I do know that strength training is a key to success for any multi sport training program. I have been competing in triathlon and multi-sport for about 6 years and this is the first year that I have incorporated strength training into my regular training program. Thanks to my coaches at Endorphin Fitness (http://www.endorphinfitness.com/), I now have some guidance on strength training and it is really making a difference. After just 2 weeks of adding strength sessions twice per week, I am noticing a huge difference in how I feel while swimming, biking and running. I also have more energy in general and feel fitter overall. The beauty of it is that I have not even added any weight to my strength training yet and there are some very simple exercises that you can do without weights in about 45 minutes to improve your overall strength (crunches, reverse crunches, superman extensions, squats, lunges, and push ups). I used to be the guy that skipped the strength training. Now, I am the guy that embraces it as a critical part of my training!!!

Winter Weather Running

It is a question that plagues many runners and multi sport enthusiasts alike. When the winter weather moves in, do you train indoors or outside. First and foremost, I believe that you always get a workout in, but when I have choice of running outside in the snow or hitting the treadmill, I take running in the snow any day of the week. I had the opportunity to complete 2 GREAT runs recently while the snow was falling prior to significant accumulations on the ground and these were 2 of the most peaceful runs I have ever been on. Nothing beats the stillness of the early morning when it is snowing. If the roads are safe enough and there is not any ice on the ground, running in the snow can be a phenomenal experience. Even when it is coming down hard, I will wear my ski goggles to keep the snow out of my eyes.

Now if the roads are too slippery, I will run on the treadmill if necessary, but even then, I prefer hopping on my bike on the trainer for a nice long ride. In fact, I prefer working out on the trainer versus the treadmill 2:1. There are some great videos like the entire Spinervals series with Coach Troy Jacobson (http://www.spinervals.com/) and my new favorites, The Downward Spiral and Fight Club from the Sufferfest (http://www.thesufferfest.com/). I do not find the trainer to be boring at all and I will do some workouts back to back to get more time on the trainer. My favorite is "The Double" from the Sufferfest where you do Fight Club and The Downward Spiral back to back. This is 2 hours of pure suffering on the bike but it is a heck of a lot of fun!

Running while out-of-town

It is often hard to make time or find a good place to run when you are out-of-town in an unfamiliar area. You can always get on the treadmill at your hotel, but I prefer to venture out on the road. I usually consult my blackberry for a local map or better yet, ask the concierge at the hotel what they would recommend. Today I had the opportunity to run while I was in Manhattan Beach, CA. I asked one of the valets, Kirk, what the safest way to run down to the beach was and he gave me some very easy directions and even made some suggestions to make the run more interesting. After thanking, Kirk, I set off on my adventure. Ten miles later, I had enjoyed a run that will go on my top 5 favorite list!!! I ran from the hotel down a straight shot of road a little under 2 miles to the Pacific Ocean and the Strand of Manhattan Beach. I ran down the Strand and then back up the Strand to the Manhattan Beach pier. I videotaped a portion of this run and I have added it to my Facebook page. I will admit that I slowed down and even stopped at times to take in the sights, but when it was all said and done, I had a fantastic 10 mile run at about 7:50 per mile pace and I took in some great scenery along the way. The only disappointing part of the run was when I ran down to Sand Dune Park (where the pro beach volley ball players run up a huge sand dune hill- picture attached) to find that the park was closed and the dune hill was fenced off. That would have been one heck of a hill repeat! So, my advice to others is to never be afraid to run outside when you are out-of-town. You just might come across one of your top 5 favorite runs!!!