I’m back.
This has been quite a year on the triathlon front. After some good gains last year, I really started to see some big changes this year in my ability to train at higher intensities, my ability to recover, and my ability to execute on race day. I’ve had a pretty-much injury free year and my main target for the year was Ironman Canada in August.
I had an early season running focus where some faster running was introduced into my running with the race target being a hilly half marathon on Mercer Island in March, with a goal of sub-1:30. About half way through the run, a girl came by me and I decided to match her pace even though it seemed a little fast for me. It turned out great and we ran shoulder-to-shoulder and footstrike-for-footstrike for the second half of the race without ever saying a word. I ended up coming in at 1:29 and after the race, it turned out both of us were running at a pace above what we thought was doable. It was an important lesson that you can often go harder than you may think.
Issaquah Sprint Triathlon – 22/979 Overall, 3/112 AG
First race of the year. Especially fun because it was also my dad’s first tri. I’m not a huge fan of the sprint distance – it’s frantic and it hurts like hell. As I got out to the run, I spotted Bryan (a training partner) of mine about a minute up the road in a 3 mile run. I ran as hard as I could and managed to catch him with less than a mile to go. Unfortunately I made the mistake of passing him slowly (I was fading) which allowed him to latch onto me. When I realized my mistake, I drilled it as hard as I could with about 400m to go hoping to drop him, but I couldn’t do it. He’s a great competitor and jumped me in the chute for 2nd in our AG. Lesson learned.
Oliver Half Ironman – 43/907 Overall, 9/94 AG, 4:50:10
This half is up in Canada on part of the IMC bike course. It’s a beautiful venue and a very competitive race, attracting some really fast people. Swim was uneventful, but I had a lot of trouble getting going on the bike, and it took almost 30 miles before I felt like I had any punch. I finally came around and rode hard on the back half of the bike and felt good coming into the run. I had a lot of friends doing this race and the double-out-and-back run course meant you saw people at multiple points in the run. Being in Canada, all the markers were in km and I loved how fast the kilometers clicked off. For June I had a solid run a good effort over all.
ChelanMan Olympic – 14/390 Overall, 3/35 AG, 2:15:50
This was another new race for me and getting away to Chelan for a weekend was a good excuse. My dad was also at this race, and it had been almost 4 years since I’d done the Olympic distance (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run). This race has a really great course lay out. The swim is in a gorgeous, crystal clear lake and has a line along the bottom that connects the buoys – you don’t even need to sight! The bike course is rolling and along the lake, and the run is predominately flat. I like the Oly distance because it’s not as frantic as a sprint, but it really is painful as you need to go all out the whole time. Once out on the run, I decided to hit the run like it was only 5 miles and then hang on for the rest. I was sure there were guys that were running me down, but was happy to catch quite a few and only get caught by two. This was another learning opportunity that you can usually go a little harder than you think you can hold.
Troika Half Ironman – 11/197 Overall, 1/15 AG, 4:41:02
Troika is one of my favorite races. It’s in my home town of Spokane and it’s a few weeks before IMC so it’s part last “big” workout and part dress-rehearsal. The course is just a blast and has a point-to-point bike and a mostly flat run along the Spokane River, starting and finishing in Riverfront Park where I spent much of my childhood summers. I had done huge training volume in July, taking the last two weeks of the month off for an extra punch of training and a trip to train in Boulder with my coach Scott and some fellow crazy people. It was all part of the plan to come to the race tired. I had a decent swim, but once I was out on the bike I could really feel the work I’d been doing. I wanted a good go so rode as hard as I could manage and got in just under 2:30, but thought I’d be licked for the run. Once out on the run, the temperature was high-80s and I settled into a 7:15 pace, including walking the aid stations to make sure I got enough fluids and cooling done. The run hurt, and about half way through I was pretty sure I was going to blow up at some point. I had a bit of an epiphany in this race because I decided I didn’t care – I was going to keep running as hard as I could and if I popped, I popped. But, it never happened and I managed to run down a couple of guys in the last mile and actually pick up my pace through to the finish. This was a big race for me because it felt automatic – I felt in control and focused the whole time, and I was able to override the discomfort a bit and push harder than I thought I could and make it stick. Oh, and I won my age group, which was nice.
Ironman Canada – 176/2602 Overall, 34/359 AG, 10:32:30
The big one and my third go at Canada. I had worked very hard all year on my nutrition plan and felt very fit and ready for the race. A few days before heading to Penticton, I ripped a big hole in my aging wetsuit, so I ended up buying a brand new Blue Seventy Helix up at the race site, only swimming in it twice before the race. I was amazed at how fast the suit helped and while having a goal of 1:02-1:03 in the swim, I was shocked when I stood up out of the water and saw 1:00:35 on my watch. I could not believe it, and I was out on the bike a full two minutes before I’d gotten out of the water the year prior. The forecast was for a pretty hot day in Canada and after two good races in heat at Chelan and Troika, I felt good about my ability to handle it. On the bike I felt just awesome and I finally understood how valuable it was to get out of the water earlier, and it allowed me to really take it easy and get into the bike without dealing with traffic. The entire ride was great and I executed right on my plan and got into T2 feeling great. The first half of the run went very well, but I started it out a bit fast. The IMC run is mostly flat for 10 miles, then is hilly for 3 miles to the turn around, then back through the hills and mostly flat back into town. I made it through the hills OK but when I hit the turn around, I started feeling terrible. I drank a RedBull that I’d put in special needs and ran back out of the hills pretty well. Then things got ugly and my case steadily decayed. At mile 21 I took some chicken broth thinking maybe I needed more salt, but it didn’t sit well and I ended up losing everything I’d taken in for the prior two hours or so, and realized my stomach had shut down. Unfortunately my goose was cooked and it was a struggle back into town. Still, I came in just over 10:30 on a day when many people had really rough races, and I was only 17 minutes from a Kona slot. But a 4 hour marathon wasn’t what I was looking for. Some friends wanted to take a mulligan and do Ironman Arizona, so they signed up a few days later, and I followed suit.
Ironman Arizona – 119/2597 OA, 26/386 AG, 9:55:34
My goal for IMAZ was to go have a complete race and run well off of the bike. Qualifying for Kona at fast, early season race is very difficult so that wasn’t really on my radar. I just wanted to put a full day together. Training into the fall was tough as the days shortened to nothing and the weather got cold and rainy. But my coach moved me to a lower-volume protocol with more intensity and strength work and it seemed to be just what the doctor ordered as my bike fitness improved dramatically. I had hoped to maintain fitness but was confident going into the race as I felt like I was fitter than before IMC. I wondered if the swim result at IMC was a fluke, but I knew getting out early was key to my strategy so I swam aggressively. The swim was crowded and rough, but I felt great for the last 1/3 of it and was pleased to get across the map in under 1:02. Out on the bike, I stayed conservative and did as much legal drafting as I could and slowly worked my way up through the field. One of the things I learned from IMC was that I needed to take in less fluids and more sodium on the bike, so I made those changes. My stomach felt great at the 60 mile mark and I was steadily working through my calories and fluids. But soon, I started to feel bloaty and it was clear my stomach was no longer playing along. I decided to cut my calories and focus on getting in water to try to get things working again. At about mile 80, the bike started feeling soft and I discovered that I had a flat front tire. Better front than back, and my PitStop worked perfectly and I was moving again within 2 minutes. When I had started the third lap on the bike course, I had made a tactical decision to drop 5 minutes on the last lap to make sure I was ready to run well, and it worked nicely as my HR stayed very low for the entire bike. I ended up coming off the bike at 5:08 which was very close to what I thought I’d do but it took even less energy than I’d thought. The other thing I wanted to avoid was running too fast off the bike and I worked really hard to run my first 13 miles at 8:00 or a little slower. Even still, I did a bunch of 7:45 miles, but it felt easy and my HR stayed low, and it’s just amazing how hard (yes, hard) it is to keep to a reasonable pace off the bike. If I didn’t pay close attention, I’d be running 7:15 all of a sudden, which is way too fast. My goal was to hold steady until 16, then run by feel for the rest of the way. Around mile 14, I could feel my stomach backing up and I started skipping aid stations to give it a chance to process. At 16 I tried a gel and things got ugly as I got about 10 steps from the aid station and unloaded all over the grass. But this time was much worse and I couldn’t get moving again as I heaved and heaved. All that went through my head was “after all the cold, dark mornings and all the training hours, I’m not going to be stopped now”, and so I just started running again. And it worked. Even with a queasy stomach, I got back down to my goal pace and was able to focus for the rest of the run and stay close to 8 minute miles. It was great to turn the corner and see a 9 as the first digit on the board. My symptoms got worse after the race and it looks like I’d picked up some kind of stomach bug along the way, along with a black eye from the swim, and a very angry Achilles. An eventful day and a good result – like Troika I felt automatic and under control all day.
So that’s 2009, a solid year for me and a nice way to roll into the Thanksgiving Holiday.