IM70.3 CA 2010

April 18th, 2010 No Comments

IRONMAN 70.3 CaliforniaThis was it. The day had arrived: March 27, 2010. I’ve been mentally gearing up for this day since I registered for this race 10 months ago on May 26, 2009. I’d say that I began my serious training and preparation for my first IRONMAN 70.3 at the beginning of 2010.

Of the four elements in triathlon, yes I meant to say four, I identified two liabilities to work on in my race preparation. One, swimming. Two, nutrition.

Since January, I’ve been swimming at least three times per week for about 5 miles/week. Each Tuesday, I swam on my own at LA Fitness, following the swim workout created for me by my coach. For my other two weekly swims each Wednesday and Friday, I joined a Master’s Swim program with the Escondido Swim Club. In the last four months, I have swum about 95,000 yards. My swim pace decreased from about 1:50/100 yards when I first began to my current fastest pace of 1:37/100 yards. I swam my fastest 1.2 miles in the pool in 41:37.

For as much as I could control about my apprehension of water, I did as much as I could in the pool to overcome any doubts and fears. Swimming, swimming, and more swimming. I definitely improved both my speed and my endurance.

The big question still lingering: How would I do in the ocean? Where the water is dark and cold. Where there are tons of other people around me splashing and kicking in my face. The day before the race, I downloaded a race preview talk given by professional triathlete and coach, Jim Vance. I planned to follow his advice to acclimate to the cold waters of the Oceanside Harbor:

  1. Warm up prior to the swim so that I’m sweaty with the wetsuit on.
  2. Dunk my face and head into the water and breathe to prevent hyperventilating.
  3. Let my wetsuit fill up with water.
  4. Choose an appropriate place to start in relation to the other swimmers based on my ability.

With respect to nutrition, I enlisted the aid of expert nutritionist, Kim Mueller, of Fuel Factor. She performed a diet and exercise analysis on me. From the diet analysis, she created a baseline meal plan for me of 2200 calories per day, along with a plan for extra calories to account for pre-workout, work, and post-workout recovery. In the last four months, I learned a lot from Kim about how and when to eat to fuel my workouts and races as well as recover from them. Armed with a new nutrition regimen for the last four months, I must say I have never felt better. In the past four months, not only have I maintained a sub-10% body fat percentage, but I have also felt great for all but two of my workouts and events. My nutrition and diet, the fourth discipline of triathlon, have given me confidence in my body’s ability to perform based on providing it with the most ideal fuel.

A week before the race, Kim gave me the best advice. I think it was the key for my mental outlook on race day. She said:

Just go out there and have fun. Enjoy each sport as you do them. You’ve already done the hard part and all the work. The race is the easy part.

This totally put me at ease. Along with the tips from Jim Vance, I felt very relaxed for my swim! I don’t think I have ever been more prepared for a race before. Swimming, cycling, and running had all peaked at the right time.

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Time Trial Face Plant

March 23rd, 2010 6 Comments

I think it’s an interesting story. Or at least it could be if I tell it right. So, here goes.

Despite my silence  on my blog, I have been very busy in 2010. My new role at work as a project lead is challenging; I’m managing two projects. I’m finishing up my Master’s degree in Educational Technology from SDSU. And I’m fueling my passion for endurance sports by training about 12-15 hours per week. My primary goal this year is to have my peak performances at the long course triathlon distance, or Ironman 70.3. In the midst of all this business, I’ve competed in three races since January, a 5K and two half marathons. In two of these races, I barely missed my personal goals by a margin of about 16 seconds. So I’d say that my running is doing very well. At our recent track time trial, I ran a 6:20 pace over a 2-mile distance.

Even swimming, my nemesis, has improved. I’ve been swimming about 4.5 to 5 miles weekly in the pool for the last three months on my own and as part of a Master’s Swim group with the Escondido Swim Club. My swim pace has steadily dropped. It was about 1:55/100 yards when I first started. And now, I can swim a little faster than 1:38/100 yards. I’ve had my fastest 1.2-mile swim to date at 41:38. The only unknown left to conquer is to find out if I can relax while racing in the ocean and just let the miles of swimming that I’ve been doing take over.

Even though I’m relatively new to serious athletic training, I’ve found my cycling to be my strongest discipline of the three sports. I don’t really have anything to make that determination other than a couple of informal time trial results at Fiesta Island. My fastest prior to this writing was 31 minutes over 20K, which is three large loops around the island, or 12 miles.

Two days ago, one week before my big race (Ironman 70.3 California), I participated in the first time trial of the season with Breakaway Training. Despite being only one week away from the race, Coach Luke said to go for it. My goal: finish the 12 miles in under 30 minutes, which meant that I needed to average greater than 24 mph.

My buddy, Eric and I, started off together. Just as an aside, before the start of the trial, Eric was moaning on and on about how tired he’s been and not feeling well. Just so you know, Eric, I’m on to you buddy! Anyways, I “warmed up” my legs for a hundred yards or so, then Matt took off. And so the chase began. I followed him with the lead group of about five or six others) close behind. For a second or two, I reached speeds of about 29-30 mph to give chase, overtaking the lead for a short time around the first turn where it’s easy to go fast on a slight downhill. The lead group (Matt, Eric, Dave P, Kent, Gary, and one other dude) set the pace, and I followed behind.

I’m not sure if the lead group was forming a paceline. As you know, there’s no drafting in triathlon, but our coaches said drafting was okay for this informal “race”. In any case, I didn’t participate in any rotating off the front, but hung in the back, conserving energy. We rode anywhere from 25-27 mph at any given time. Whenever I thought the group was going too slowly (under 24 mph), I sped up and took the lead. I’m not sure if they liked that or not; the lead group never let me stay too far ahead and always brought me back into the fold.

I like to think that most of the guys (other than the other middle-aged 40-yr old+ athletes) didn’t like some new guy on the block up in the front, especially some 44-year old with gray hair and all, like me. Ha! Most likely, nobody in the group thought about that. I like saying it, though. By the middle of the second lap, I noticed that my buddy Eric had taken a strong position in the lead group.

Although I wasn’t really sure if Eric was truly on his second lap, I decided to surge forward and pass the whole group when we reached the back side of the island. There was a slight headwind, and our group speed had dropped to about 22-23 mph. I was a little agitated by the slow down, so I yelled out: Let’s go. We’re under 24!” Again the lead group brought me to the back of the fold as we came around for our last lap.

Given the few glances at my speedometer over the course of the trial, I knew that I would easily finish in under half an hour. I was sustaining speeds of over 25 mph for the race. My strategy for the last lap was to hang in the back of the group to conserve energy, and then sprint to the finish when it was in sight. I estimate that the sprint would be about 1.25 km long, maybe 45 seconds to 1 minute. At the back of the group, it was effortless. I love that feeling where your legs are pedaling in almost a free spin. Whenever I look at my speedometer at that point, I’m always amazed by how fast I’m going with such little effort.

At the back of the island there were a couple of cars that were riding to far to the right, which slowed us down to about 22 mph. We had to pass them on the left, which was kind of weird. After navigating around another couple of cars, our speed had dropped to about 21 mph. All of a sudden, I saw Eric take off. Matt and a couple of others gave chase. Dave P and I were in the back of the group. I knew in a few moments, the finish would be visible in the distance.

With the finish line in sight, the group spread out. The sprint was on. Dave P and I maneuvered to the left of the road. I glanced down at my watch. 27.3 mph. I looked at the space. I looked at Dave. For a second I hesitated because I was on the edge of the road, very close to the sand. Neither Dave nor I wanted to yield. In that moment of hesitation, Dave took the space and my bike had no choice, but to go in the sand.

In slow motion, I could feel the bike wobble. And then wham! My front wheel turned left at 90 degrees. I yelled, “Oh sh…!”

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Reflections on 2009

January 17th, 2010 No Comments

This reflective post is long overdue now that we are more than half way into the first month of 2010. When I think back on my athletic adventures of 2009, it really boils down to three phases.

Phase 1  (Jan- Apr) — The Triple Crown: I started out the year with a focus on running, something I had begin in October 2008. My primary goal for the year was to complete the Triple Crown of San Diego half marathons. I clearly remember running my first half marathon (Carlsbad 2009) wondering if I could complete it in under two hours. The finish line never looked so beautiful for that first half marathon. Apparently, my base level of fitness was not as high as I thought it was. After that race, I had cramps in my calves and feet. When I completed it well under two hours with a time of 1:52:10, I knew I was on my way.

Up next in Phase 1 was the La Jolla Half Marathon. I had heard so much hype about this race, about how difficult it would be with “all the hills”. For the most part, I trained near my home by doing hill repeats up a local street near the local community college. Funny, my personal trainer said that I was a “badass” when I showed him the hill. In retrospect, it was more like a bunny slope compared to what was to come later on in the year. I really believe I could have set another PR at the La Jolla Half, but instead I settled for finishing under two hours again and a major lesson learned. Note to self: Do not eat lots of fiber the night before a race.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention that my personal trainer had been whispering “triathlon” in my ear during this time. In February I purchased a book to help me train for my first triathlon in 12 weeks.

Phase 2 (May-Oct) — Triathlon: With a couple of half marathons, 10Ks, and 5Ks under my belt, I focused on my first triathlon, a sport that I vowed that I would never do. And now look at me; I have an entire blog devoted to triathlon. So it’s no secret that I like race bling. For my first triathlon, the Spring Sprint, I raced the Super Sprint race, for which only the winner in each division would receive a medal. My personal trainer told me to put any thought of winning out of my mind. He said people spend years chasing the podium and never get on. Needless to say, I didn’t listen to him. I entered the race with all intentions of winning, and that’s exactly what happened. A key decision I made a few days before the race was to take my training to the next level, and so I decided to sign up with Breakaway Training.

During this phase I focused on my training with Breakaway. My coach, Luke Walton (no, not the lame one from the Lakers), wrote challenging custom workouts for me. The group workouts were humbling at first. I learned that I was not that great compared to some experienced triathletes on the team. Despite my initial discouragement with how much I would have to improve, I forged ahead, working very hard in my training while balancing full-time work and going to school part-time. It’s a wonder I didn’t drive my coach crazy with how impatient I was with myself.

I competed in four other triathlons with varying results. I didn’t get the race results I wanted (i.e. top three spots), but in each one I made improvements in the various aspects involved in doing triathlon. The interesting thing about this time period is that I must have made many small improvements over time because in October I noticed a significant improvement in my cycling and running.

When I traveled to Austin, Texas for the LIVESTRONG Challenge, my cycling and running speeds were significantly faster.

Phase 3 (Nov-Dec) — The Chase: Whatever madness to his methods, my coach was definitely putting together a very successful training program for me. During this phase I finished in the top three spots in all my 10K and 5K races, as well as set a new sub-1:45 half marathon PR. It was during this time that I began to chase the sub-20-minute 5K. With respect to cycling, on our last 20K time trial on Fiesta Island I averaged 25 mph WITHOUT drafting off our top athlete.

In retrospect, 2009 was a banner year. I think I’ve done really well given the eight months of training with Breakaway.

For 2010, I intend to complete a 5K in under 20 minutes, improve my swimming, and focus on the half Ironman triathlon distance as well as complete my first marathon.

Jingle Bell 5K 2009

December 12th, 2009 1 Comment

I chased the elusive sub-20 5k during my last race of 2009 in the Jingle Bell 5k held in Balboa Park downtown on December 12th. I placed 3rd in my age group with a time of 21:17. I guess I did not scope out the race enough because the course was definitely not a flat one. There were some rolling hills, which definitely impeded my efforts to finish the race in under 20 minutes. My next shot at sub-20 will have to wait until 2010.

I fully expected to run in pouring rain, but the skies withheld their moisture for the duration of the race. The rain didn’t start until about an hour before the awards ceremony. I’m glad I didn’t have to contend with wet roads while running although Coach Luke told me that running in the rain would be no problem.

I had some minor agitations before the race. My pre-registration was messed up because I was Paola De Ocampo, a 30-year old female. This mishap was pretty surprising especially since I had signed up for the race online. To correct the problem, I had to fill out a scantron registration form, and the race officials gave me a new bib number.

For whatever reason I didn’t have the same speed or energy as I did in my previous race. With the small rolling hills in the course, I knew by the second mile of the race that I would not be reaching my race goal. Despite the disappointment, I was happy to place 3rd and receive my last medal of 2009.

Nothing gong on but training during the holidays. Next race for me is a 5k on January 9th at Mission Bay. I’ve run the course before, and it is flat. I think it will be my best opportunity to beat this 20-minute barrier both in terms of flatness and availability. For other flat courses in the early months of 2010, I already have other race commitments. Wish me luck!

Mainly Masters 2009

December 11th, 2009 No Comments

Last year when I ran this San Diego Track Club sponsored race, I lined up at the start line with some older folks. I immediately felt sorry for them, thinking that I was going to smoke them. When the race started, these 50 and 60-year olds left me in the dust, some of them finishing 15 minutes faster than I did. Well this year I was not fooled at all.

I put last year out of my mind, determined to run my own race at my own pace. My goal was 0:44:59. In order to finish the 10k race in under 45 minutes, I knew I would have to run close to a 7:00 minute/mile pace. I planned to do the first 5k of the race at about 7:10, and then to speed up for the second half to about 7:05 or 7:00.

Before the race I did a little 10-minute warm-up jog. At Fiesta Island you don’t have much of a choice of where you run considering it’s just a small island with one main circular road. After my warm-up the Open Division started, and I knew my event (Master’s) would be starting in about half an hour. As I lined up at the start line I saw the familiar faces from last year, the older, veteran runners from the San Diego Track Club. I blocked them out of my mind and thought only about the pace I needed to run. Despite the cold weather, I felt good, energetic yet relaxed.

The race started and I let all the old folks pass me, sticking to my plan and maintaining a pace of 7:10. Really the first four miles were kinda boring. I did bring my iPod and just listened to music and thought about stuff, what specifically, I cannot remember for the life of me. There was a woman who was running at about the same pace as me, so I decided to pace against her. It was kind of annoying at first since we ran side by side for four miles. But I got used to it. At first, she would try to speed up and go faster than me, but I stayed with her. After awhile, I guess she gave up because we pretty much ran together for most of the race.

After the first 5k, I tried to speed up a tad, but decided against it. I felt it would take too much energy out of me. So fortunately, I felt fine in maintaining the 7:10 pace. At mile four, I noticed that a couple of runners who had remained in front of me for the whole race had slowed down slightly. I even lost the pace woman somewhere in the middle of the fourth mile.

By the time I reached the last mile of the race, I was waiting for that “wall” to hit. The “wall” is what I call that physical feeling that I typically get when my lungs and legs scream “NO!”, and then I have to slow down. The weird thing is, the “wall” never came.

There was a husky, heavier guy who was ahead of me for the whole race, but by mile 5 I knew I’d be passing him soon since I never did hit the “wall”. As I turned around the final bend towards the finish with about 0.6 miles remaining, I decided to begin a gradual sprint. I passed the big dude. With about 0.3 miles remaining, I passed someone else. As I passed him, I could hear his feet picking up speed, and I knew he didn’t like that I had passed him especially with the finish line in sight. So I stepped it up to a full-on sprint.

After the race, I enjoyed some post-race treats and drinks. The one dude that I passed before the finish line told me afterwards that he tried to catch me but couldn’t. I thought that was cool. After changing, I went back to the finish line to check on my results: 0:44:09. I finished 25th overall. If I had raced in the Open division, I would have finished 18th. Go figure. Anyways, I thought that 25th was definitely not good enough to win anything, so after calling Maria and letting her know the results, I decided to leave.

As I approached the exit to the island, I decided to turn around and go back to the finish line to check the results one more time. I had realized that even though I finished 25th, those were the overall results. I had not really paid attention to how I did in comparison to my age group. It’s a good thing I went back because when I checked the results board, I discovered that I placed 1st in my AG. So I headed over to the awards ceremony gathering and collected a cool (but cheap-looking) plaque. Seriously, I would just rather have … yeah, that’s right … a cheap, plastic medal.

Overall, I’m very pleased. I set another PR for the 10k distance and won my age group yet again. Weird. But I definitely can get used to winning.

Run for the Hungry 2009

November 26th, 2009 1 Comment

I had signed up for this turkey trot event last Thanksgiving, but I skipped it due to rain. I know. Wimpy. But that was a year ago.

This year I followed through on the race, doing the 5K event. I’ve been chasing after breaking the sub-20 minute barrier for the 5K distance. To that end, I need to maintain a pace of 6:24 or better on average. On this Thanksgiving morning it was not to be. My official time was 20:44. However, it was good enough for 1st place in my AG (out of 44) and 18th overall (out of 1440). So for those results, I am extremely pleased!

My strategy for this race was to try to do a negative split as advised by my fellow Breakaway team member, Dave P. For the first mile, I planned to run 6:30, followed by 6:25 for the second mile, and 6:15 for the last mile.

After waiting around for almost two hours for the race to start, I was feeling pretty antsy. So when the gun finally went off, I felt relieved and energized. As the lead group of runners ran out ahead, I purposely held back and let several people pass me. It was difficult at first to see so many people driving forward past me. But after the first mile or mile and one-half, I had passed most of the people easily by sticking to my plan.

I executed the plan flawlessly for two miles. By mile 3 though I was feeling a little tired. I managed to speed up for a few seconds here and there with short bursts of speed, but my pace during that last mile would not be fast enough to guarantee me a sub-20 finish. As I approached the last half-mile, I thought about sprinting as hard as I could. But I hesitated, thinking that I would not be able to sustain the speed and slow down too much by the time I reached the finish line.

At the end, I was off by only 45 seconds, which is basically about 15 seconds/mile off pace. So close. My regret for this race was that I did not sprint all out for that last half-mile. And due to that small miscalculation, I missed my goal time.

After resting for a bit and snacking on some post-race grub (bagels, water, electrolyte drinks, and even some pizza!), I checked out the results board and learned that I had won my division. For the awards we were given these nice blue aluminum water bottles. You know already… I would prefer to have a cheap plastic medal for a prize. But I’m happy my name is in the record books as the first place finisher in my age group.

At first I was just going to let this sub-20 thing go for this year, and just try again in 2010. But my coach says I should go for it. So I’ve signed up for another 5K in a couple of weeks. I plan to use the same strategy, and hopefully, I’ll have more juice at the end for the sprint to break the 20-minute barrier.

Silver Strand 2009

November 15th, 2009 1 Comment

You know something? I spend a lot of time comparing myself to other people, and then worrying about how I’m not doing well or progressing. Clearly, that’s not a healthy outlook on life or competitive sports. Only one person can be the best at any given time, and that glory of being Number One is just for a brief time. So then what about all the folks who train and don’t win? Success can’t only be measured by who takes home the gold! I learned something post-race today in an inspirational video about Ryan Hall: “Success is being faithful with what I have been entrusted.”

So with respect to athletics with what have I been entrusted?

  • A lean body
    • I’ll never abuse my body with food again.
  • Ability to quickly learn and adapt
    • I’ll continue to challenge myself to improve my swimming, cycling, and running.
  • Perseverance and determination
    • I’ll continue testing my limits because no cost or sacrifice can compare with One who has made an ultimate sacrifice.
  • Small measure of athletic talent
    • To whatever my potential is, I intend to pursue it and be satisfied with my best.

Today, I beat my previous half marathon PR by almost two full minutes. I’m stoked with my time of 1:41:37. Official results are in, and I placed 31 out of 184 in my age group, and finished 246 out of 2631 in the entire race. I think that’s fantastic compared to how I did in my first half marathon last January.

For a little more than half of the race, I kept up a 7:24 pace as I strived to finish the race in under 1:40:00. So while I did not reach my desired goal of breaking the 1:40 time barrier today, I rejoice in my efforts for about 7.5 miles at sustaining that pace.

When I examine my lap data, I saw that I spent most of the race in Zone 4, near my maximum heart rate. So it’s no surprise now that I could not sustain that sub-1:40 pace. However, I am confident that with time and more training, I’ll be able to keep that pace for a longer duration. It really hurt at mile 10 when we entered that Navy radar base. But I’m pleased with my sprint during the last half-mile of the race. I credit that last-minute effort to keeping my time in the very low 1:40s.

Next up on Thanksgiving Day is my next attempt at breaking the 20-minute barrier in a 5K.

P.S. When I looked at the results for the 5K in my age group, my previous time at Shelter Island would have been good for first place at the Silver Strand. That’s cool.

Silver Strand 2009 Pre-race

November 14th, 2009 No Comments

“So how do you feel?”, my coach (Luke Walton, no not that lame one on the Lakers) asked me at the race expo.

“I feel great!”, I responded sincerely. Didn’t even hesitate one second with that response.

Despite a crazy work and school schedule this fall, I believe I’m prepared and as ready as I’ll ever be for my fourth half marathon tomorrow.

My training volume has been a little lower than what I would normally do, but I’ve got a little bit of business to take care of before 2009 is over. So the decreased volume is fine. I still feel sharp, and I do my best when my legs are fresh.

For tomorrow’s race, I just have one goal: get my time in the 1:30s. So that would put me at 1:39:59. I need to run a max pace of 7:37. I’m getting a feel for running at this faster pace, but it’s still a little strange to me. I’d like to stay within a pace range of 7:14 – 7:37. If I’m successful in doing this, my finish time should be between 1:35:00 and 1:39:59.

At the expo, I spoke with Luke about my 2010 race schedule. I’m excited to focus on the 70.3 half-Iron distance. I’ve signed up for two A races so far, Ironman 70.3 California in Oceanside and Vineman Ironman 70.3 in Sonoma. Depending on what happens with my Kona lottery bid, I may or may not do the Longhorn Ironman 70.3 in Austin, Texas. In discussing the possibility of doing the Kona Ironman, Luke advised not to race a marathon since it would be close in proximity to the Vineman race. Instead, we would just be increasing my runs to get ready in the event that I get the Kona slot.

Mentally, I feel elevated by my swim in the gym pool yesterday. I swam 1.2 miles continuously, and felt more comfortable than ever before with the flip turns. It feels good to notice improvement in my swimming, especially not feeling so tired. Yes, I do have more work to do in the pool to get totally comfortable with the turns and to attain a minimum fitness level that would give me confidence in my ability to complete and compete at a swim distance of 1.2 miles. I guess coach was right, just a little patience and hard work is needed. So glad to be seeing results in the water.

Looking forward to reporting about this race. Over and out to do a little 20-minute jog.

Shelter Island 5K 2009

November 11th, 2009 No Comments

20:58, good enough for 3rd place

20:58, good enough for 3rd place

I have fond memories of the Shelter Island 5K event. In 2008 it was my first race ever. Because I was running in the LIVESTRONG Challenge Austin 5K, the 2009 Shelter Island 5K was not scheduled to be part of my race calendar. But the LIVESTRONG 5K was not a real 5K, so when I received an email reminder about Shelter Island, I signed up.

For this race, I just had one goal: set a new PR by finishing the race in under 20 minutes. With an average pace of 6:29 during LIVESTRONG, I knew that it was possible. In order to finish 3.1 miles in under 20 minutes, I need to run at a max pace of 6:25. So I set my sights on running a 6:15 pace.

On the morning of November 8th, I arrived at the start line at 6:00 AM to pick up my bib number. It would be another 45 minutes before I planned to do a little warm-up jog. At about 6:50 AM I did a one-mile jog and some light stretching. The national anthem played at approximately 7:25 AM. I stood at the front of the start line where all the people who plan to finish strong start these short sprint races (I suppose this is true). Surprisingly, a fellow Breakaway athlete, Dave Platfoot, said hello. I guess Dave and I were the only two athletes to skip the planned trail run to do this 5K instead. At 7:30 the starting horn went off.

I started out very fast after clearing the messy and crowded start line. For some strange reason there was this old, gray-haired man in the front of the starting pack, and as soon as the horn went off he raised his arms in the air and just stood there. Now don’t get me wrong. Normally, I have tremendous respect for elderly folks, but this was ridiculous. As I moved close to this old guy on my right, I shoved him out of my way with my right arm, “Get out of the way.” I confess it now so that I won’t have to do it later on when my career is over like Andre Agassi. So yes, I shoved an old man at the start of the Shelter Island 5K.

So the leading group of runners, which included Dave and myself, led out at a super fast pace, about 5:15 (??). In any case, it was way too fast. Unfortunately, I tried to keep that pace for about half a mile. I slowed down a little bit for the rest of the first mile, but I think I was running way too fast for my current ability at about 6:05. By mile 1.5 and mile 2, I was definitely feeling the redline of my heart rate, and I had slowed down to about 6:30. I knew at this point that I would not be finishing the race in under 20 minutes. For about 30 seconds I felt a little sorry for myself and disappointed. I saw my average pace slow to about 6:40 – 6:45 with about 0.75 miles left in the race. For the last half mile I attempted to sprint, thinking that I should finish the race with a time that began with 20 minutes rather than 21 minutes.

As I approached the finished line, I saw the race clock very close to the 21-minute mark. I heard the announcer screaming that there were 10 seconds remaining before the 21-minute mark. As the announcer counted down the seconds to 1, I crossed the line. The volunteers at the line handed me a slip that said 21:01. I looked at my Garmin, and it said 20:59. I am compelled to go with the “official” time because that’s what’s in the record books. I felt really disappointed to have missed the 21-minute mark by two seconds. But I consoled myself quickly with the very nice champagne brunch and the fact that I just bested my previous PR by almost one minute.

For brunch, I enjoyed lots of fruit, some powdered scrambled eggs, a little bacon, and a little breakfast burrito with salsa. I stayed away from the juices and alcohol. The Platfoots joined me at the table where we made small talk with some new runners who had just recently gotten into running.

Talking with the noobs reminded me of myself a little more than one year ago. I did my first training run on October 12, 2008, and ran my first race, the Shelter Island 5K less than one month later. My time last year was 21:56. I remember how I thought I was going to finish the race in 18 minutes. Yes, laugh out loud. During my one month of running I saw my 5K times decrease by three minutes each time I did a practice 5K. I remember some of my earliest 5K times were like 28 minutes, then 24 minutes, and my fastest ever in practice was 21:38. All these times were attained during my pre-Breakaway Training days. Even my recent 5K PR was set in April at 21:55 at the Carlsbad 5000. I joined Breakaway one month later in May 2009. After seven months of training with Breakaway, I entered this 5K knowing that breaking 20 minutes was realistic. My downfall today (if you want to call it that) was that I ran the first mile too fast. Dave Platfoot suggested that I run at about a 6:10 and just try to ignore the fast starters at the beginning.

After brunch we decided to check the posted official times. Dave finished second in his age group (30-34). I found my name on the 3rd page (!!), so I was very surprised to see that I had finished 3rd in my age group with an official time of 20:58. Not only did I get under the 21-minute barrier, but it was good enough for the podium. Oh the sweetness of the podium. How I missed that exuberant feeling. I immediately called Maria to share the good news, and I also placed a call to Murray who was responsible for getting me into all this running and multisport stuff.

We all waited for the awards ceremony to begin. They handed out awards to the youngest people first, so it took awhile. The overall race winner, a 16-year old, finished the race in 16:56. That’s just plain crazy. The cool thing about this awards ceremony is that there are lots of people there for it because of the super nice brunch they serve the finishers. So when they announced my name, I ran up to the stage amidst lots of congratulations and well-wishes from my fellow runners. So cool.

My prize was a $50 gift certificate for dinner at the Kona Kai hotel restaurant. Very nice. But honestly, I would have preferred a cheap medal instead. I know. I’m vain. But what can I say?

I’m so glad I signed up for the Shelter Island event this year. I have very fond memories of this race, my first race a year ago and my first running podium finish.

LIVESTRONG Challenge Austin 2009 Report

October 26th, 2009 No Comments

Do my legs look humongous?

Do my legs look humongous?

Driving to Dripping Springs High School for the start of the ride took about 45 minutes. We parked at Roger Hanks Park, got our stuff ready, and rode about a half mile to the high school. Maria, Parris, Lucas, and his friend Kyle met us there at the start line at about 7:00 AM. The Challenge is definitely one of the most well-organized events I have ever attended. There was food and coffee for all the participants. At about 7:15 I realized that I had forgotten my Garmin Edge 705 GPS unit back at the car, so Murray and I rode back to get it. Given my poor sense of direction, my Garmin helps put my mind at ease with its capability to provide turn-by-turn directions. Oh yeah, Parris wanted to take lots of goofy pictures of us, like this one. Do my legs look humongous?

At 8:00 after the singing of the national anthem and a send off from Mr. Lance Armstrong, Team Tuma finally got underway on the 90-mile journey. With over 3800 riders it took quite some time to actually reach the start line and clear the starting area. Murray and I started off fairly slowly, navigating through the maze of riders going too slow or riding crookedly.

The initial roads out of the start area were extremely bumpy as they were mostly some kind of rough gravel. I had initially planned to ride the entire ride with Murray, and early on, I let him lead the way through the maze of riders. But after awhile I got bored of the slow pace and motioned for us to pick up the pace to try to clear the rag-tag group of riders. With a couple of big bumps in the road, my air pump launched out of its velcro straps. Unfortunately, Murray had no idea and went on ahead. After retrieving my pump, my water bottle launched after another big bump in the road, and I stopped to retrieve that. By the time I got going again , Murray was several minutes ahead of me maybe two miles out. I raced and weaved through riders to catch up. It wasn’t exactly my plan to be riding hard so early in the route.

Finally, I caught up with Murray, chastised him for not waiting and pulled ahead. I did stop a couple of times to wait for Murray to catch up to me. The scenery of the route was fantastic, creeks, lakes, country roads, and quaint homes. By the way, the weather in Austin was so nice. The weather was partly cloudy in the 70s with the sun breaking out every once in awhile.

Even with the moderate temperatures, I made it a point to hydrate regularly and refuel with my Infinit blend. At about mile 30, I signaled to Murray that I needed to stop at the next Power Stop to go to the restroom. So at mile 36 I pulled into the Aid Station to do just that. The station was also well-stocked with food: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, trail mix, power bars, gels, Gatorade, water, and even a bike mechanic. Murray pulled in about 10 minutes later. After his pit stop we headed out again to complete the remaining 54 miles of the route.

The route was so clearly marked with bright yellow signs, volunteers with flags, and the local sheriff pointing the way, it would be nearly impossible for me to get lost. I used my Garmin as an odometer and didn’t need it at all for directions.

Because the route was so clearly marked, I decided to go ahead and break my promise to Murray to ride with him, and turned on my afterburners to see just how fast I could do this Challenge. So on I rode, pushing hard on the flats and downhills and trying to maintain a decent climbing speed when going uphill, remaining seated in the saddle rather than standing up to climb. My Cervelo P2 and my legs did not disappoint. It was fun to pass riders going uphill as I remained seated.

At mile 56 I recorded my split time at 3:02. As I approached 56 miles, I had pushed even harder trying to get my split under three hours. However, a slight uphill at mile 54.5 forced me to slow down slightly. I’m confident that had I not stopped two times earlier to retrieve my air pump and water bottle, I could have attained a split of 2:50 or less.

At about mile 60, both my quadriceps started crampng badly. I swallowed some more of my Infinit drink, and the cramps subsided two miles later. Coupled with some downhill portions, I was able to sustain speeds of 27 – 34 mph for some time. It was only when going uphill that the cramps affected my speed.

I reached mile 76 at about 4 hours and 10 minutes. My Garmin was telling me that there were about 10 miles remaining on the route. Clearly it was not a true 90-mile route. And despite being hampered by cramps, I was excited at the thought of being able to complete the Challenge in under five hours. With on and off bursts of cramping pain, I sprinted when I had the opportunity and slowed down when the cramps would not allow me to go any faster. I was able to finish the last 10 miles in about 40 more minutes, completing the entire route in 4:49 minutes! Very exciting for me.

As I reflect on the pain of my last 26 miles, it reminds me of the pain that people suffering from cancer have to endure. My cramps were nothing to me as I thought of Vivien Tuma for whom I dedicated this weekend. If she can hang in there as she fights lymphoma, then surely I could endure 26 miles of cramps. With that in mind, I was able to struggle ahead to the finish line. As I crossed I raised my arms into a V, Mark Cavendish style.

What happened with Murray? After resting for a bit and catching up with my family, I grabbed a bite to eat and a massage and waited for Murray. Little did we know, he had already crossed the finish line. I thought we would have to wait at least two hours. Yeah, I know, I thought I smoked him by at least two hours. But Murray rode a personal best as well, finishing his ride in under six hours. But it was very satisfying to smoke him by one hour and one minute. He finished at 5:50.

What a great weekend. Thank you again to all my financial supporters for making it possible to ride for cancer this weekend. Through your efforts we contributed $3054 to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. May you be richly blessed for your generosity.

Team Tuma Post-race

Team Tuma Post-race

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