Racine 70.3 RR

I had an entire draft written up for this race and absolutely hated it.  Everything sounded so robotic...maybe I just had some weird mental block because I'm focusing on Rev Dells?  I don't know.  Instead of writing up another standard race report I am going to try something slightly new by getting some more pics in here with quick tidbits of race day fun.  I might end up leaving out some stuff but that's ok!

This was my 2nd time doing Racine 70.3.  Last time was in 2011 and was my first half distance and can be summarized with 2 words: HOT and CRAMPS.  That is all.

I was no fan of the rough road conditions last time around, so I was not looking forward to the bike this year.  My goal for this race was sweet, sweet redemption.  I can say with confidence I achieved that goal : )
Since the race was Sunday, I arrived in Racine on Saturday morning.  Paul Eicher and his family were gracious enough to let me throw a tent on their camp site.  We had a blast!

Stuck inside Sunday post race.  Pouring rain for hours is no match for having fun!

On Saturday, Paul and I headed to the race site to get registered and do bike check in...we also got a nice swim in.  After getting my bike checked, I headed back to camp while Paul attended his pro meeting (he's sort of a big deal :P).

Race Highlights

Since I had such a late start I was very relaxed race morning.  After taking care of everything in transition and double checking my set up, I wandered towards the big hill overlooking the finish where I met Wattie Ink teammates Scott, Travis, Andrew Kohl, and Patrick.  I had also seen Cate and Jen earlier.  Since all the guys (including friend Mike T.) had roughly the same swim start we made our way down the beach together to get in a swim warm up.

Travis, Scott and I before warming up

Long walk down the beach

The swim was rough!  The wind was coming right into shore which made for less than ideal conditions.  During the swim I focused on keeping a high turnover, not taking in water and just going from buoy to buoy.  Very happy with how this turned out!  I came out of the water feeling great.  Time was 33:xx and I think 19th in the AG.  That's a big improvement for my weakest of the 3 disciplines.

Very happy to be done running on the beach!

Biking in Racine (as I mentioned before) is not very fun.  The roads are beat up and very congested for the later waves.  My best option was to just bike hard and keep passing people.  I was definitely out of my comfort zone, but felt really good throughout.  The back half of the bike had a lot of headwind, so I was really happy to see my pace didn't slow down as much as others.  Total time riding was 2:25:xx.

Bike start...biggest hill on the entire course

Done biking and eager to get off of those roads!

Heading onto the run was a slightly different story.  I just felt kind of bleh...stomach was in a knot and I could tell I would be dealing with leg cramps at some point.  Within the first few miles my stomach settled and I found my stride.  However, after I hit the first turnaround, I had some sort of leg cramp going on for the remainder of the race.  If it wasn't both quads feeling like they were being stabbed, one of my hamstrings was completely seized up.  Luckily, I am no stranger to this.  Experience has taught me cramps eventually go away so I kept downing liquids, taking salt tabs and just kept running.  I had no idea on my pace, my only focus was moving my legs and keeping a high cadence.  Total run time of 1:32:xx.

Finishing up lap 1

Finishing!  Still feeling pretty good at this point.

It was so much fun seeing teammates and friends out there and having people cheering on the course.  That is what keeps me going when I'm really hurting and ultimately keeps me in the sport.  Whenever my mind goes south I remind myself how fortunate I am to be able to take part in triathlon and any sport for that matter.  So a big thanks to everyone who was out there cheering and racing, whether I knew you or not.  As always, thanks to my coach Will (I love seeing the constant improvement), all of the awesome Wattie Ink team sponsors, and  BIG shout out to Nick G and Andrew Kohl's crew.  You got some great action shots out there!

How do we rock the dub again??

There it is!  haha...

Summer Gazpacho

Cold gazpacho has been a staple of mine during the warmer months.  Its simple, refreshing, and great for your health!  While there are many different ways to make it, I prefer a very simple version.  Adding in red onion is very common, but I don't like having raw onion breath all day.

You'll need the following:

- 4 to 5 small tomatoes or 2 large
- 1 bell pepper (any color will do)
- 1 cucumber peeled and seeded
- Garlic
- Salt/pepper
- Good olive oil
- Apple cider vinegar (2 T)

Chop everything up and throw in a blender or food processor and pulse until it gets to your desired consistency.  Simple!  I'd say 1 batch of this will store well for up to a week, but I can't say for sure because this only lasts me a few days at most.  Enjoy : )

Ready for emulsifying

Finished product!

Pardeeville Sprint Recap

While this is still fresh I wanted to write down a quick recap...and since I tend to get long winded I'm going to try to keep this short, but no promises : )

I kicked off the 4th of July weekend by working on my day off.  Yes, I know.  Seems strange.  But helping time races usually falls on my days off.  After getting back from the New Berlin 4th of July Dash, I got out for a nice 50-something mile ride.  Normally, I'd prepare for races by watching my diet a little more closely, and staying away from alcohol.  This week was different.  Since it was the 4th, I celebrated with a healthy amount of good ole American JD whiskey.  All I will say is I did not feel so hot on Fri (the day before the race).  I spent most of the day eating fatty foods and setting up for the race in Pardeeville.  Pre-race dinner consisted of a fried fish sandwich, fries, moz sticks, and jalapeno poppers.  It was an all fried meal, because why not?  This is far outside my norm, but we were in a small town with limited options.  To quote America's Angriest Trainer Vinnie T..."you have to put some life into living".  All in all this plan worked, surprisingly.  SPOILER: I took 2nd overall!  My best result yet.  Here's how it went down.

Unlike Lake Mills, I was able to successfully work/race this one.  Once 6:45 rolled around I was done working (race started at 8) so I could get a proper warm up in.  I was able to do all 3 S/B/R which was a nice change.  It was also nice to meet up with a lot of friends before the race!

Photo op with Jen and Candice before the start

My plan was to go out hard on the swim.  I was tired of having results that didn't show the work I've put in the pool during the off season.  Finally I had a solid swim.  There were a handful of people ahead of me that I quickly passed with the fastest T1 of the day.  That's free speed folks.  Keep.  Transitions.  Simple.

To my surprise, I came out of T1 with multiple Pardeeville (and this years) winner Dale Humphrey.  He is an absolute beast, so it was fun passing him out of the first turn of the bike and having the lead vehicle to follow for about 15 seconds.  Short lived but a new experience for me.  I knew he was going to put time into me on the bike so my only goal was to go hard and keep him in sight for as long as possible.  I almost cracked 25 mph on the bike, so mission accomplished here.

I had another quick transition posting the 2nd fastest T2.  The run was pretty cool here.  It started with about a half mile loop around the park followed by an out and back.  I got a couple splits of about 1:18 behind Dale, something I knew I couldn't make up unless he cracked.  So at this point I was only running hard enough to keep the gap on 3rd, who was about 30 seconds back.  He was sneaking up on me without my knowledge, so a big thanks to Ryan G. for letting me know near the run turn around.  Once I saw how close he was I ran just a tad harder to hold the gap.  This run hurt due to the heat steadily rising throughout the race.  My asthma kicked in a little during the back half of the run, which is never pleasant, but is something I have learned to deal with.

Finishing

 All in all a good day!  I had absolutely horrible preparation for this race.  I was doing this for fun, but still wanted a good showing, so I am very happy with the result.  Nothing I would have done differently.

Afterwards, I had to start working again so I hopped on the finisher ticket computers to get people their printed splits.  This was really fun because I got to see how a lot of friends did and I always love the surprised reactions when someone finds out they placed in their respective AG.  Shout out to Braaksma for a 4th OA/AG win, Jen for placing AND her first elite start, Joe B for an AG win, and the Yeomans as well (and anyone else I got to see, too many as usual)!  They did the annual Potosi ride the previous day and still had rock star races.  I would not want to race the day after 106 miles of relentless heat, wind and hills.  Also, BIG shout out to RDE!  The ability to work with them and race their events is a pleasure.  Some of the best run events I have ever been involved with and I feel lucky to be with their team.

Time breakdown:
S - 5:09
T1 - 1:17
B - 36:22
T2 - 1:08
R - 18:51
Total - 1:02:45

Lots of compliments about the Wattie kit, always helps to motivate to go harder.  And thanks to Powerbar for the nutritional support.  I love their products and had it dialed in for my needs.  IM Racine is my first big race of the year and will be here in 2 short weeks!  Time for some taper and to dial in the race intensity!

Pleasant Prairie Int'l RR

2nd tri of the season is in the books.  Last Sunday I took part in the Pleasant Prairie Olympic distance event, which was one race I have been eying for up for a couple of years now.  Really glad I was finally able to take part!

I drove to PP on Friday after work because I was helping out with the kids' race Saturday morning.  These are always fun events to be a part of.  When I woke up Sat, I was greeted with heavy rain and lots of lightning, not a good sign this race was going to happen.  We started setting the course anyways in hopes of the storm passing.  We kept a close eye on the radar which showed what looked to be a hurricane sitting over the entire state!  Strangely enough, the race site was right under the edge of the storm, which was not moving anywhere...we could even see it in the clouds.  However, by the time the kids race was meant to start, the lightning was long gone and the rain had cleared so everything went on without a hitch.  Once the first swimmers were off I headed down the run course to the run turn around for the short and long course.  It was fun seeing all of the kids out there giving it their best, regardless of how experienced they were.  The rest of the day was spent getting registered for the race/picking up packet, getting food for dinner and breakfast, and relaxing.  Our hotel was very close to the race sight which made everything a breeze.

Race Morning

Wake up call was 3:30 am.  The race start was an early one with the elite going off at 6:40.  I wanted to make sure I had food in me early.  Had my typical breakfast of carb, nut butter, honey, banana and coffee.  Transition opened at 4:30 and I heard it gets busy quick so I made sure to be there asap.  Took care of body marking right away, which was a good call because the line got quite long.  After I racked my bike, I got everything else squared away and was off for a warm up jog by 5:30.  Took an easy jog around the lake and got in some pick ups.  When I got back I was also finally able to meet some other Wattie teammates Ed and Cate!  We chatted quick and planned to meet up again afterwards.  Since transition closed at 6:15 I made sure to get out early in order to get a good swim warm up in, however, this did not go as planned.  What I didn't realize was the water was also closed to athletes at 6:15, so no swim warm up : /

Swim

My last race I struggled to get a clean start.  This time around I decided to line up in the back/left side of the group.  I knew there were some fast swimmers here, so I just wanted to get out clean and find some feet.  This part of the swim went perfectly for me!  Finally.  My Helix wetsuit was feeling awesome and I was holding a good pace for the first few minutes.  Things started to fall apart rather quickly though.  I'm generally not one for excuses, but the chip strap I had was this plastic/Velcro crap that was digging into my ankle...felt like a razor blade was cutting me every kick!  My game was completely thrown off and I lost focus.  Having to stop every 100 meters or so to pull that damn thing up my leg was not ideal.  My sighting was off and I was all over the course.  I knew the swim was going to be slow.  It even ended up being long (1+ miles) by about 200-300 meters, which didn't help, but exited the water feeling fresh and had a good T1, thankfully.

Swim - 27:16
T1 - 0:53

Bike

There is time to be made up.  That is all my brain was thinking at this point.  After I brought my heart rate down and got my feet secured it was hammer time.  This was my first time running a disc and I could not be happier with the way it handled in the wind and on the flat sections.  Overall I felt good on the bike but a little flat at times.  Even with my computer not working (worked pre race, go figure), taking a slight wrong turn and losing about a minute, I managed a solid 9th fastest bike split, which allowed me to gain a few spots.  Riding by feel alone was a good experience.

Bike - 1:00:14
T2 - 0:47

Run

I really wanted to crack the top 10 so there was work to be done.  I wasn't sure where I stood but knew it was close, so instead of trying to go out hard and not blow up my plan was to start picking off people in front of me one at a time.  This plan worked well.  I ran myself into 9th OA with the 8th fastest run split!  Running around the lake was nice.  All of the turn-a rounds made for a fun course but the lack of shade made for a really hot run.  That chip strap was still digging into my ankle, which I wasn't happy about, but this sport is all about pain tolerance...didn't let it get into my head too much.

Run - 38:54
OA - 2:08:02

All in all I am really happy with this result.  I placed pretty well in a stacked field, while at the same time knowing I left some time out there.  Quick shout out to ISM Saddles, Powerbar, Fuelbelt, Speedfil, K Swiss and Wattie Ink!  Great products and support are allowing me to continually improve.  Thanks!  So, this got a lot longer than anticipated, and no pictures!  Sorry about that and hopefully this isn't too boring.  Time to hunker down and get ready for some 70.3's.
 

Lake Mills RR and Some Product Review

First tri of the season has FINALLY happened!  It has been a long winter/spring and the itch to get out and race was greater than ever before.  And it seems the crappy weather is not quite done with WI yet.  Last Sunday morning we were met with strong sustained winds and cold temps.  Race morning felt more appropriate for a St. Patty's day dash than the first summer sprint triathlon.

Race Morning

Early roll call...oof.  As you know most of my weekends are spent helping time/do set up for the many local races Race Day Events is involved with.  We had to be on site early to complete course set up so I was up at 3:15.  Having had an early wake up the previous day for another race and not getting to bed until past 11, I was a bit concerned about not having rested enough.  To preface that, Saturday night before the race I had a slight panic attack.  My tri shorts were no where to be found!  I knew I had packed them, I specifically remembered putting them right next to my Wattie tri top.  After a frantic phone to my roommate Sean, he said he would drive another pair of shorts my way.  Talk about a good friend...thankfully, I found the shorts and he didn't have to make the drive.  They were stuck to a blanket I used to protect my bike for the drive to Lake Mills.

Once on site, I helped my coworker Sam set the run course.  Not that I don't mind the work/race/work that goes along with working and racing the same event, but this was a learning experience for me.  Very stressful to say the least.  Even though I was the first bike racked, I was one of the last people out of transition.  I need to be more effective with my time for future events I'm working/racing.  I got to the swim start with barely enough time to get wet before the gun.

Swim & T1 (5:58 & 1:08)

This was a rough swim.  I don't think it was so much the chop alone, it was the combination that goes along with the thrashing in the elite wave.  Everyone was gunning for the front, which made for another moment of panic.  I took a swift kick to the face which completely knocked my goggles off (a first for me).  That combined with having to swim tarzan style into some really choppy waves made for an unpleasant experience.  I had gulped probably close to a pint of nasty lake water at this point.  Yuck.  I have worked a lot on my swim and its coming along, but I felt like a novice all over again.  Once I got past the first buoy I was able to get into a good rhythm and settle down.  Although this felt like an eternity I managed to swim 12 seconds faster than last yr...an improvement.  I'll take that.  T1 went flawlessly.  I sprinted past a few guys on the way to my bike and my Blueseventy Helix popped off with ease.  I think I had the 3rd fastest T1!  This wetsuit is incredibly comfy and super easy to remove.  So glad they are supporting the W this year! 

Running to T1

Bike & T2 (40:23 & 0:42)

Right off the bat I was feeling strong.  I closed the gap to about 5 riders in front of me by mile 1.  Normally, I would use my adrenaline to ride past them, which is a mistake.  This always ends in me not being to sustain a strong effort throughout.  Instead, I hung back once I caught the group and decided to make a move past the group after I was able to get warmed up.  Once again, I got caught by Mike Wolfgram about half way through the ride.  However, this time I told myself I was going to keep him in my sights.  The wind was howling the entire ride and I started to really hurt after about 25 minutes, but I was able to keep him within eyesight.  I ended up riding the same exact time as last year but in much harder conditions.  Another improvement!  I must say, the Adamo Racing II saddle has made for more comfortable training and racing.  Definitely makes a noticeable difference.  I clocked the 7th fastest ride of the day.  I'm still training/racing without power but have decided I really need to start.  If you or anyone you know is selling a used hub please let me know!

T2 was somewhat quick.  My feet were so numb I had a hard time getting my Kswiss K-Ruuz on because I kept losing balance.  Once I was able to focus, they slipped right on and I was off!  Man these shoes are light, comfortable, and FAST!  I really wanted a good run today, one I could be proud of...so I was bustin it.

Run (17:45)

Finally!  I say that because I knew I had this in my legs.  Last year I kept finding myself getting complacent with my run effort.  I would end up having a decent run, but always ended feeling like I hadn't pushed enough.  Today I completely surpassed the 18's and cracked it by 15 seconds (6th fastest run)!  And the funny thing was I felt fairly comfortable doing it.  My legs never really hurt and my breathing was controlled, so I know I can push more here.  This might be a stretch but I'm publicly stating my goal is to break 17 min in a 5k by the end of the year, hopefully off the bike.  Got to aim high...

Anyway, running up towards the front was a new experience for me and was really fun.  Heading towards mile 1 I caught up with Mike W. and made a quick pass.  I knew he was running strong as well because I could hear him for the rest of the run.  Fellow Wattie Ink teammate Pat Brady caught me shortly after and eventually moved up to 2nd with a monster bike/run.  Also, friend and winner Mark Hering came into view shortly after that.  He had a crazy fast bike/run and also threw down a great swim.  Look out for him!  Unofficially, I ran my way into 4th but ended up 5th because the swim/T1 times were scrapped due to the swim conditions.  After 4 waves everyone was sent out TT style onto the bike.  A little unfair but what else were we to do?  It is what it is.  Fellow friend/athlete Bill Martin also had a great race but got even more screwed because he's a great swimmer.  Still 3rd overall in my book.  Congrats Bill and to everyone else who raced (too many to name).  Many solid races on the day with lots of PR's.

Finish, feeling strong

UPDATE:  bah!  I always mean to include this at the end and then space.  HUGE thanks to coach Will.  Ever since I have started with him I have seen nothing but steady improvement.  He seems to know just what I need to keep improving while keeping it fun.  Thanks Will!  Looking forward to what's still to come : )

Just a couple more shout outs to Wattie Ink Elite Team sponsors:

Powerbar - great training/racing nutrition products!  Had a double caffeinated latte gel beforehand with one of the new energy blends.  Never had a drop in energy from start/finish.

Speedfil A2 - have not raced with this yet but looking forward to it.  Awesome product.  I can rehydrate climbing, descending, whenever I'm on the aero bars.

Fuelbelt Revenge - love this for my long runs.  Fits just enough water/fuel for 2+ hours of running.  And I forget its there, which is the most important thing for me.

Check out the side of my blog for the other great team sponsors!  Next up is Pleasant Prairie oly.  Finally going to meet some other Wattie's!

WI Sprint Championship!

T-minus 4 days will be Lake Mills sprint tri, which will be my first race of the season!  The running joke is that it is the "Wisconsin world sprint championship".  Most local athletes are geared up and primed to race 'the Mill'.  I always look forward to this day because everyone is so excited to get back out and do what we love.  Racing and triathlon.

In all seriousness, this race is almost always stacked with really fast people.  Last year I had my best sprint race by a long shot and (I think) barely cracked the top 15.  It must be all the beer, brats and cheese over the winter months.  All that energy needs to go somewhere...

As for my expectations, I am hoping to just beat my time from last year.  I'm very happy with all 3 disciplines at the moment and should be able to beat last years time by a considerable amount, on paper anyway.  You never know over a sprint distance.  Any mistakes will take me completely out of the pointy end.  Let's hope for some good weather!  Also, I just got the pre-race butterflies typing this up.  That's a good thing : )

If you are looking for a last minute race this weekend sign up here!  Awesome event!

Crazylegs RR

Just a quick update on my latest race - Crazylegs Classic 8k.

This is an awesome early season race that EVERYONE does.  I'm not sure how many runners there are, but its enough to warrant waves reaching ZZ.  Its well north of 10,000 runners.  The run course starts at the capitol building, winds through the UW-Madison campus and ends inside of Camp Randall Stadium, which is where the Badgers football team plays.  The venue is 2nd to none!

I was sort of targeting this race as my first speed test of the season.  Last yr I had a solid run and saw some progression compared to 2011.  This year I was expecting more of the same.  

Pre-race I met up with 2 friends who live near the finish to chat for a bit, get warmed up and figure out post race plans.  I was really excited to see how they did because it was a first running race for both of them!  They caught a ride to the start and did a very casual walk/jog for the 2 mile route to the start.

When I got to the start I met some more friends who were all in the same wave as me.  We did a bit more warm up and just hung out until the start.  The start of this race is great.  The UW band is playing and the energy is electric.  Maybe this is why the first mile is always so fast?  The first mile was somewhere around 5:40.  Miles 2-3 are always a tad slower because of some hills so this was my plan.  When it came time to dig my legs just didn't have another gear.  Which is fine.  I was coming off of some solid training so this was not a surprise.  I managed to better my time by about 1:20, but was still about 0:30-1:00 short of what I was hoping to do.  Official time was 29:33.  So, it was my first time cracking the 30' barrier for an 8k, and put me at 59th overall (22nd AG).  Not bad for a running race that is absolutely stacked with really quick runners.  Side note: the Powerbar natural fruit blends are delish.  Perfect for a pre race energy boost.  I will absolutely be using these all season long.

Mile 3.8ish.  **Almost** got a good W off.  Poor timing :P

I was really happy with my K-Swiss Ruuz.  Those shoes are light and comfy.  KS also make some great running shorts.  I also opted to wear a Wattie trucker hat on backwards.  Its not the typical race visor, which I love.  Look for more of this at upcoming races.  This is after all about having fun, right?  Notice in the pic how everyone else is not having fun ; )  But seriously, I need to get better at really making myself hurt.  Its cool that I can keep PR'ing and all, but I know I'm not running to my full potential...yet.  Only a few more weeks until the real racing begins!!!  Lots of hard work to put in between now and then.  Peace!