Gateway Cup, Labor Day

The short version: Monday @ Benton Park, pack finishes in both cat 4/5 and cat 4 races, 1 top 10. Friends and family, nice weather, kids race, rubber side down - a great day!

I visited my hometown on Labor Day for the finale of the Gateway Cup races. Gateway Cup is a longstanding tradition in St. Louis and fields are usually close to full for each of the 4 races, which begin on Friday night. I raced the cat 4/5 and cat 4 events on Monday only. My family's calendar was full for the rest of the holiday weekend and I had hoped to take advantage of fields softened by a 4th consecutive day of racing. Neil joined me in the 4/5, also racing on Monday only, while Rob Ragfield joined me in the 4, having also raced Friday and Sunday.

The start/finish line of the Monday course was on Arsenal Street along the north side of Benton Park, on the city's south side. The course wound northward from there, along the western edge of the Anheuser-Busch brewery and past several popular restaurants. The 1.77-mile length almost gave a circuit-race feel, but the 10 turns, including a chicane, were pure criterium.

The cat 4/5 race was the first of the day, scheduled at 10 am. I was on course warming up by 9:15. Nine cars were parked along the route and a city police officer was writing tickets. I wondered why they weren't simply towing the cars, as signs were plastered everywhere alerting the public of the "no parking" order that began at 8 pm the evening prior. None of the cars were in critical spots near the corners, so I thought perhaps they were planning to run the race with the cars there, maybe with cones to direct riders to the center of the road upon approach. Surprise, surpise: the announcement came at about 9:55 that the race would be delayed to tow the cars. A single city tow truck moved them all, which took about 90 minutes. Why did they not begin to move them earlier? Were they hoping that the owners would magically appear at 9:45 to drive them off? Not surprisingly, all of the races were shortened, the cat 4/5 race to just 5 laps and the cat 4 race to 7. By the time we got underway at 11:45, I had ridden 30 miles in warm-up.

The 17 mph northerly winds were gusty and made the 2 Interstate 55 overpasses a little sketchy. I was tempted to change out my Zipp 404 front wheel for the lower cross-section Mavic Ksyrium, but handling would prove manageable tucked into the race peloton. Most of the crosswind sections were either well-protected by buildings or along wide enough roads that no contenders would be forced to the gutter. The northbound stretch along 13th Street, uphill and straight into the headwind, would be an ideal launching pad for an attack. Though I started near the back of the cat 4/5 race, I was able to work my way up within a couple laps and hold a decent position in the first 15-20 wheels. On the last lap, I launched an attack and opened a gap on the uphill headwind stretch of road. I stayed away for only the next four turns before the peloton shut it down. It was the right move for me, but not quite strong enought to win. I sat up and riders started to pass. After I had recovered, I grabbed the next wheel to come around and rode it to the finish. I passed a couple riders on the final sprint to finish 8th. Neil stuck around for most of the race, but I think he lost contact with 1 or 2 to go. He would finish 15th (6th of the cat 5s).

Cat 4/5 ride profile

The women 3/4 and masters competed in shortened races before the cat 4 race would start. There was no opportunity to warm-up on course between races, so I was thankful to have warmed up in the 4/5 race. The field was packed with over 100 riders starting. I followed Rob and Jason (708 racing) across the street before the race, thinking it would be easier to squeeze through the barriers and get to the start line as soon as they allowed us on course. We found a crowd there as well, and wound up near the back of the field. We'd have just 7 laps to work through the crowd. I was able to move up just barely fast enough to avoid getting dropped, but was forced to ride across a few gaps that riders ahead had let open. With 2 or 3 to go, Rob and I both found ourselves on the wrong side of a gap that grew to about 50m or so along the long eastbound stretch along Pestalozzi. I said to Rob, "let's go, we gotta get back on." I think he got on 3rd wheel behind another rider, but I think he dropped before we bridged to the peloton. Rob was looking strong, but I think a weekend of hard racing had taken a toll.

On the headwind stretch with 2 to go, I made a push for the front of the race. I made a strong move on the straight and entered the left hander on the inside, about 10 wheels back. I was pushed far enough inside that I rolled over the apron of the concrete curb, which was raised an inch or so over the asphalt roadway. I slipped sideways off the apron, completely lost my line, and drifted toward the rider on my right. I apologized for almost taking him out and had to slow a lot to correct my line and avoid causing a crash. In doing so, I lost the ground I had gained and drifted back to the rear. The pace lifted on the final lap and I never saw a better chance to move up. I coasted to a 35th place finish, near the back of the lead pack. I think I could have done a lot better had I not faltered on that critical turn. I made the mistake of looking at the danger in the road rather than looking through the turn where I wanted to go.

Cat 4 ride profile Can you tell which lap held the prime?

I put my bike up to get ready for the main event - the kids' race. Zachary participated in the 5-6 year old division, which would be contested over about 200m of flat to uphill tarmac. It would be his first race without training wheels. He warmed up on the footpaths in Benton Park and was eager to go. As with my race, there was a huge log jam along the barrier openings to get on the course. We failed to get a good position on the front row, so we lined up in the second row close to the left side of the road.

Lined up

I coached Zach on looking for an opening to ride through. It was tough at first, as some of the kids had trouble getting started. There were even a couple of crashes. Zach kept the rubber side down and was able to squeeze around the traffic about 1/3 into the race. The fastest kids had already broken free, but Zach was still able to sprint home. About 20m from the line, I pointed out a kid just ahead of him in a Cubs jersey. "Get the kid in the Cubs jersey. Go! Go! Go! Don't let him beat you." He fired the afterburners and passed him right up. Awesome!

Approaching the Finish (a little hard to see, number 29, green wheels)
More pictures

My mom and dad, Zach, and I grabbed drinks and a mid-afternoon meal at Frazer's along the course. We watched the elite women's race and most of the elite men's race before heading home. All in all, it was a great day of bike racing. The weather was beautiful, sunny and 75 degrees. Despite a turny course and sometimes rough road surfaces, I didn't see any crashes in the 4/5 race and only 2 solo crashes in the 4 race. Couldn't ask for more! Well, except maybe a podium finish. Next time.

My First Xterra

I raced my first Xterra off-road triathlon on August 20 at Wildlife Prairie State Park, near Peoria, Illinois. This event would feature an 800 meter swim, 10 mile mountain bike, and 4 mile trail run. I had really fallen off the training wagon since my last race, 5 weeks prior, as kids' activities like football practice and school had demanded my time. Since that last race, I had done only about an hour and a half each of run and swim training. I had pre-ridden most of the race bike course, but had otherwise managed only 2 or 3 mountain bike outings. It didn't matter - I was doing this race entirely for the fun of it and had no ambitions of a high finish.

Xterra has its own culture that is unique and a little different from mainstream road triathlon. There are certainly some athletes that regularly compete in both Xterra and road events, but many are fully devoted to Xterra. In the parking lot, I counted license plates from Tennessee, Michigan, and New York - at a race that had only 63 individual participants. The New York athlete came in a SUV pulling a trailer that was decorated with signs and other memorabilia from past Xterra races.

Road triathlons usually have much larger fields in the Midwest and a significant share of casual participants. I think it is much less common for the casual athlete to dip a toe into Xterra. I was impressed by a very small cadre who took on the sometimes rocky and steep mountain bike course on "Wal-Mart bikes" with no front suspension. However, the vast majority were skilled mountain bikers with equipment to match. A common pre-race exchange in the transition area would go something like this...

"Hey Jim, how's it going?"
"Great, how are you?"
"Super. Are you doing the WHOLE thing?"
"Yep."
"Seriously?"

In most cases, I think Jim was an experienced mountain bike racer who, to the surprise of his friend, was attempting to swim without drowning and run without pulling a hamstring. It was a new experience for me to race where the bike would be a distinct weakness.

The Swim

The swim was in a reclaimed mining pit, deep with steep edges and surprisingly clear. There was no beach and not enough shallow water for a standing start. It thus became my first race with a deep water start, where everyone treaded water for a few minutes before the gun. A couple volunteers served as pullers on the shore to get everyone quickly and safely up the steep bank upon exit. I thought my swim went OK, but my time of over 16 minutes easily made it the worst of the year, which was not surprising given my limited swim training of late. Still, I entered transition virtually tied with 15th place, which put me in the top 25%. The top swimmer was 12:41 (1:35 per 100 meters). By comparison, I swam a 1:38 pace over 1000 meters in my best swim of the season. In a road tri, I would have expected at least a couple swimmers in the 10-minute range. Was the distance a little longer than advertised or were the ex-collegiate swimming stars intimidated by Xterra?

T1

I dropped 5 more positions in the first transition, as I struggled with the unfamiliarity of Xterra. I put on a hydration backpack and gloves, both of which are unnecessary on the road but essential on the trail, for me anyway. Some more skilled and experienced riders were able to put gloves on as they pedaled away.

The Bike

In a road tri, the bike is by far my best event. I am almost always in the top 10% in the split, and often better at smaller races. Here, I was a strong swimmer (relatively speaking) who would become fodder on the trail. The steady-state effort required for road time-trailing is a good fit for my slow-twitch muscle physiology. Mountain biking is much more technical, especially on the singletrack that made up 80% of this course. Skill in handling the bike through narrow trails, around hairpin turns, and down steep descents with minimal braking is more important than fitness. And the fitness that is required depends less on steady-state power and endurance, and more on explosive power to accelerate quickly out of corners and up short, steep hills. I've owned a mountain bike for several years, but have used it only for fun and cross-training for skiing. I typically get out only a few times each year, mostly in the fall after my summer tri and road cycling season has wound down. I probably have logged about 300-400 miles, lifetime, on the mountain bike.

I tried to push a little harder than my skills would allow at the start of the first 5-mile lap and struck a tree within the first half mile or so. It occurred in a tight squeeze between two trees (or possibly two trunks of the same tree that were bisected by the trail.) The passage was perhaps 50% wider than my handlebars and I made the mistake of looking at the tree instead of the space between. The bike usually follows where the eyes track, and I clipped the right trunk with my handlebar and shoulder. My left hip scraped the other trunk and my left leg became pinned between the frame and twisted handlebars as I squirted through the other side. I lost a few more positions by the time I had extracted myself and replaced my dropped chain. I remounted with bruises and scrapes on four separate areas of my body, but it didn't hurt too badly until after the race. I took that section a little slower on the second lap, kept my eyes fixed on the trail, and made it through without incident.

I was passed by a total of 10 riders on the bike, but managed to pass 4 others, for a net loss of 6 positions. The 10 that passed included one chick and reality-TV star Ryan Sutter, winner of The Bachelorette several seasons ago. He's one of Jennifer's favorites and apparently one of the few that it still married. Big deal. Dude can ride a mountain bike, though.

T2

The second transition was also tough, mostly because of the unfamiliarity. Bike gloves are not only hard to put on wet hands; removing them from sweaty, muddy hands is also a chore. I actually stood in transition and removed 1.5 gloves before I realized that I should be doing that as I ran. I even have pockets in my tri suit. Doh! Despite the dawdling, I didn't lose any positions in T2. After the experience on the bike, I was surprised there were still people behind me. I started the run near the middle of the pack, in 27th place.

The Run

The run, which is normally my weakness, became an opportunity to reclaim lost ground. The upside of my slow bike, limited more by technical skills than fitness, was that I hit the run relatively fresh. The course was mostly off-road, on the park's hiking trails. I felt pretty good and kept a steady tempo throughout the run. The splits look bad, but the course definitely got harder with each mile. The last mile, by far the slowest, featured a treacherous, rocky descent followed by a long climb on a paved road. I managed to pass 3 runners who had passed me on the bike (including the chick) and finished 24th, several positions above the middle of the pack. It felt pretty good for a first effort. I could have easily trimmed 2-3 minutes off my transitions and moved up a couple spots overall. My age group was really tough and I placed 8th of 13.

Results Summary

Split	Time, Pace	Place Overall/Age Group
Swim:	16:07, 2:01/100m	16th/3rd
T1:	1:40	25th/7th
Bike (GPS profile):	1:17:21, 7.91 mph	32nd/9th
T2:	1:20	45th/11th
Run (GPS profile):	32:14, 8:04/mile	14th/4th
Total:	2:08:42	24th/8th

Here is another summary of my splits and how my position changed through the race, and here are the full results.

Xterra won't become the focus of my training, but this event fit nicely as a just-for-fun race after my July peak road tri. I will definitely plan to do it again next year if my schedule allows.

Finally, Success in Olympic Tri!

I raced the Evergreen Lake Triathlon for the fourth consecutive year on July 16, 2011. In 7 previous attempts at the Olympic distance (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) or distances in the same ballpark, I've always broken down on the run, somewhere around the 2 hour mark. Endurance is a weakness in my natural athletic abilities. The most recent failure was at the Quartermax race at Innsbrook, Missouri, three weeks prior. Following that race, I decided to focus more on endurance training and less on speed and intervals.

I asked my Wild Card Cycling teammate Martin for some very specific advice. At the time, Martin had completed several successful half-iron distance races and one less than ideal Ironman race. (He since raced a very successful Ironman in August 2011 at Louisville.) He suggested bricks (multi-sport workouts) of at least 3 hours in duration, done entirely in heart rate zone 2. In the past, I had done some zone 2 endurance training in the late winter and early spring build-up periods, but typically neglected it as the race season got underway in favor of more speed. Extended zone 2 workouts train the body to burn more fat, and in theory, the benefit carries over to race intensity as well, improving endurance. In the 3 weeks before this race, I did five workouts consisting of 1.5-2 hours on the bike, followed by 1-1.5 hours of running. Zone 2 training is generally slow and easy, at least for the first two hours. Things start to get hard in the third hour, and that is where the training benefit really materializes. I felt stronger after just a few workouts, but wasn't sure what to expect on race day.

My swim was a little slower than I expected. I had been training the 1500m swim in the 27:30-28:00 range, but held back a little in the race. I also seemed to have a little trouble sighting and holding a straight line. In the prior race, I swam a 1000m PR in 16:11, but felt terrible walking to transition and paid for it later.

The conditions were ideal for the bike: calm, cool, and overcast. I had planned to limit my heart rate to 160 bpm. However, I felt strong and decided to regulate primarily on perceived exertion. I backed off a little whenever my breathing felt too labored. I hid the speed from my bike display, as in the past I would sometimes push too hard if I thought I was not going fast enough. This proved to be a great idea that I plan to use in all future tris of this distance or longer.

Bike profile

The endurance training really made a difference on the run. In past intermediate-distance races, I always began the run feeling as if I had already completed a race. This time, it felt like I was just getting warmed up. I planned to start slow and try to run negative mile splits throughout the race. I did just that for 4 miles, but probably tried to push a little too hard in the 4th mile. I slowed a little on the final 2 miles, but still finished with my best 10k run split and best overall time at the distance by about 8 minutes (more splits and full results). I definitely won't neglect endurance training again.

The conditions made for a fast day, with Urbana physician Scott Paluska taking the top spot among age-groupers with a time of 2:05:41. There were 390 racers (including pro/elite, collegiate, and relays). I was 108th in the swim (top 28%), 25th on the bike (6%), 102nd on the run (26%), and 56th overall (14%).

Innsbrook Quartermax

On June 25, I raced the Quartermax (1000m swim, 28 mile bike, 6 mile run) about 55 miles west of St. Louis at Innsbrook Resort as my last "training race" of the season before my "A-race" at Evergreen Lake. My first intermediate-distance tri of the year, it was certainly an endurance challenge in my book.

I set a swim PR for 1000m, but the race went downhill from there (figuratively - in reality there were a lot of uphills, too.) After arrival under overcast skies, I completed a short bike warm-up and headed to Lake Aspen beach, hoping to log a 15-minute swim warm-up. Much to my disappointment, the lake was closed to warm-ups about 40 minutes prior to my scheduled start wave - a huge negative in an otherwise first-class event. There was a usable section of beach outside the course, but it was unpatrolled and officially off-limits. Undeterred, I hit the water hard and swam 1000m in 16:11, but the effect of the missed warm-up was felt immediately on the shore. It was a harbinger of things to come.

The private roads through Innsbrook Resort encircle and connect a series of several small man-made lakes. Many do not follow valleys or ridges, but are cut willy-nilly over hills and across earthen dams. The first 6 and last 3 miles of the bike course are inside the gated resort and present the rider with a sequence of short, but steep climbs and fast, winding descents. This is the only triathlon I've raced with hay bales on the bike course. The opening 6-mile salvo put me under a lot of pressure and I could have easily quit then, but there was still almost 2 hours of racing remaining. Exiting the resort, the bike course gave way to flat-to-rolling terrain and I dialed it back to recover. About 10 miles later, I finally started to feel good and a strong finish seemed a hopeful possibility. A furious descent capped the 23rd mile, but the final 3 miles presented more short, but punishing climbs. So much for feeling good and recovering.

I began the run at a gentle 8-minute/mile pace and thought he could hold on or maybe speed up during the second half. However, gravel roads and hills proved too much for legs that were already softened by 1100 feet of climbing in the saddle. I walked up the second of several ascents that totaled 500 vertical feet, then alternated running with recovery until the final 3/4 mile.

I finished in 2:28:45, 50th of 299 amateurs overall and 5th of 34 in my age group. My swim, bike, and run splits ranked 35th, 14th, and 151st, respectively (results). The race was tough, but yielded few surprises while serving me homework for the next 3 weeks - endurance is the key. Fortunately, my next race will not require so much climbing!

2011 Tour de Champaign

It has been a while since I have posted a race report or a blog of any sort. I have found it a challenge to allocate time to blogging. In the past, I have always been too much a perfectionist in searching for the right words, adding relevant links, and embedding lots of pictures. All that takes time and can be draining. Going forward, my first priority will be to simply record my thoughts. If there is any time left, I'll make them look prettier. I find the race reports especially useful to review when I return to a race I have done before and I hate that there is a 2 year gap in the record. It's good to try to learn from past experience and improve next time.

The weekend of May 21-22 marked the third edition of the Tour de Champaign criteriums. I missed racing on Saturday for my kids' birthday parties, but I served as a volunteer course marshal for the masters, cat 3, and Pro/1/2 races.

First up for me on Sunday was the Masters 4/5 30+, the old and slow race. There were only 14 riders in the field, which featured 6 Wild Cards (Dan, Art, Karl, John, Jim, and me). I tried to get away early, but it wasn't an overly ambitious attack. I was mostly just trying to open up my legs and test the other teams and I was brought back after 1/2 lap or so. At that point, there were only 7 left in the lead pack, but two teammates were still around: the big diesel engines of Jim and John. I went to the back to rest. A few laps later, 2 riders jumped off the front (Frank from Team Mack and Jon from Bloomington Cycle). Jim was in a position to follow and I paused a bit to see how he would respond. He tried initially, but didn't have the legs to stay with it. I had mostly recovered, so I bridged up. Frank and Jon welcomed a third set of legs because they were a little tired. With 3 of us pulling, all would be guaranteed a podium as long as nobody quit. We worked well together and did about equal work, but I was tiring toward the end and my pulls didn't feel particularly strong. In the end, they were good enough to keep us in front. I pulled the 2nd to last lap (or was it the 3rd to last), then dropped to the back. I came around the last corner in third wheel, facing a headwind sprint. I came around Jon and was able to nip him, but Frank was a bike length or so ahead of me. Ironically, we finished from oldest to youngest. (I thought young guys made better sprinters, but maybe I will get faster with age.) I was my first podium in a crit (or anything other than TT and tri), so I was pretty happy.

Here is my race profile. I reached 180 bpm on the final sprint, which was into a stiff headwind and slightly uphill.

Scott (2nd), Frank (1st), and Jon (3rd)

Jennifer and the kids made it downtown after church to watch me in the cat 4 race, which was fast from the start. The field was modestly sized at 21 riders, but had several 18-24 year-olds who had not yet raced that day (and sadly, no Wild Card teammates.)

Cat 4 Start

About 20 minutes into the race, there was a group of 3 off the front and the main pack was crumbling. (I think it might have been two leaders and one chaser, but there were a total of 3 up the road.) The pace stayed high for a while, and I mostly dangled at or near the rear of the main pack, while riders were popping off at a rate of about 1 per lap.

Early in the race, it is already getting hard

Just when I was about ready to pop myself, the race miraculously slowed. At that point, there were 7 left in my group. Later, with about 6 laps to go, 3 guys jumped out of the group, trying to bridge to the leaders. That shattered the group and I wound up in the middle with Jacques from xXx, while the other 3 dropped behind us. Jacques was a little stronger than me, but not strong enough to follow the attack or try to bridge. He worked with me (and probably did 2/3 of the work) until the second turn on the final lap, at which point he simply rode me off his wheel. No one was threatening me from behind and I was really feeling the effects of the heat, so I soft pedaled home into 7th. (There were actually 7 ahead of me, but one of the leaders crashed out on the last lap.)

As a bonus, Jennifer and the kids were in the race coverage that aired on the 10 pm TV news (WCIA channel 3). They were shown close-up, watching the race from a sidewalk bench.

Here is my cat 4 race profile. Note the pace of the first 15 laps or so, followed by the relative calm. No sprint in this race, but I stayed north of 170 bpm for most of 44 minutes of racing.

Saturday results - lots of Wild Cards represented, including 8 in the cat 4/5 race. Nice job Luke taking 5th in a big field. Props also to Jason and Jim for pulling double duty.
Sunday results

Lunch Downtown at Guido's - more pictures

Madness Indeed

The forecast for Sunday, May 15 called for pain. Rainy and cold conditions would smoother most of Illinois, and Effingham would not be spared. The evening before, Martin, beset with visions of hypothermia and pneumonia, and the possibility of only his buoyant wetsuit keeping him from sinking to the bottom of murky Lake Sara, cautioned that he might become a spectator to the suffering of the May Madness Sprint Triathlon. I only half-jokingly considered doing the entire race in my wetsuit. Any day that my furnace kicks on is not one that I would choose to ride dripping wet and wearing only a wafer-thin tri suit. In the end, Martin and I are both competitors (who both dropped $65 in non-refundable race fees), so we decided to harden the #$%* up!

The water temperature was a chilly 67 degrees Fahrenheit and the racers had the beach to themselves. With the air temperature locked on 49 degrees throughout the day, northwesterly winds of 13 mph, and a driving drizzle that replicated the effect of being hit repeatedly with a giant pin cushion, the swim, with the aid of 5 mm of neoprene, would be by far the most pleasant part of the race.

The racers, 73 strong, started in a single wave. Usually a group this size would be broken into several start waves to limit the duration of the full-contact portion of the swim to about a minute or less, but the nice thing about a single start wave is that you always know the score. Anyone ahead of you on the course is ahead of you in the race. It would add intrigue to the intra-team rivalry between Martin and I, since I am a little better in the swim, we are about the same on the bike, and he is a little better in the run - usually. As the countdown began, I asked Martin to kindly not pass me until a mile into the run.

Needless to say, it was a little crowded in the water. I only got really clobbered once: a forearm to the thick part of the top of my skull. I have done at least one tri with a fat lip, which is no fun. One key, I've learned, is to ease up a bit when the bubbles get really big. Swimming in a crowd never feels really fast, especially when you have to keep your head up, but being pulled along with the momentum of human-generated current is usually not as slow as it feels. Just avoid getting boxed in by a group of really slow swimmers and letting a gap open to the pack you should be swimming in - not at all unlike road racing on a bike. I managed to get in the clear after the first turn in the triangular course, but Martin felt trapped until the final turn.

I exited the water in 7th place, with Martin 40 seconds back in 12th. It was my first race in a wetsuit. I had, of course, tried it on for size, but had never actually gotten it wet. I had no trouble finding the zipper and pulling the top off my shoulders. Sitting next to my bike in transition, I pulled it down to my knees, but then hit massive snags mid-calf on both sides. As I flailed away, kicking and screaming, Martin pulled up. "This has to be my worst T1 ever", I offered to Martin and anyone else unfortunate enough to hear. "This is not really a day to be fast", Martin replied. Both of us kept our gear inside totes with lids to keep the rain out. Anyone tough enough to not care would surely put seconds into both of us in triathlon's "fourth discipline." We also packed full-fingered gloves for the bike, but both abandoned the idea of pulling them on over wet hands. I left T1 52 seconds ahead of Martin and would not see him again until the bike turnaround. Martin started the bike just 2 seconds behind rival Eric, a tall dude in Decatur's Spin City Cycle suit, whose efficiency in transition would prove pivotal.

The wind and rain were certainly nasty, but the northwesterly orientation was nearly ideal. The bike course was mostly out and back, with a westward "out". Martin opted for the rear disk and I went with Zipp 404s, front and back. We both made the right decision for our comfort level in the crosswinds. I thought about dropping the pressure in my tires for the wet conditions, but given that there were only two 90 degree turns and one turnaround, I left it up at about 110 psi. I thought most of the course was smooth asphalt, from what we saw on the drive in. However, the smooth tarmac gave way to oil and chip after a couple miles, and I felt myself bouncing over the uneven surface quite a bit. Know the course, dummy.

We both passed most of the faster swimmers on the bike, but two guys stayed out in front the whole way. I was third heading into the turnaround and Martin was fourth, with Eric close behind. They both passed me shortly after the turnaround, but I kept it close and the three of us would enter T2 with less than 9 seconds of separation. At the last race, I nipped Martin by 19 seconds on the bike, which I chalked up to my having a rear disk and his not having one. Today, the equipment, and the tables, were turned - 60 seconds advantage to Martin. But setup doesn't explain it all; Martin rode harder this time. (Bike Profile)

Martin paused to put socks on for the run, a challenging test of motor skills with fingers numbed by weather and his blazing ride. I nearly forgot my Garmin and dropped several seconds going back for it. (I should have left it; there is no need to monitor lactate threshold in a sprint race, but I like to look at splits.) Mr. Spin City wisely did not mess around and exited T2 first among us. I followed 17 seconds later, with Martin another 4.5 seconds back. I went out at about a 6:50/mile pace, but with nagging Achilles tendinits (and a near total 3 week hiatus from run training), that was all I could do. Martin steadily accelerated and passed me within about 1/4 mile. I shouted, "Spin City is 46 (years old - in Martin's age group) - go get him!" The gap steadily grew though and Martin brought it home in 4th, 35 seconds behind Eric. I finished 39 seconds later for 5th. (Run Profile)

Transitions were the difference, at least for Martin. He beat Eric by 40 seconds in the combined swim, bike, and run, but gave 75 seconds away in the two transitions. I spotted Eric 50 seconds in transitions, but lost 3rd by a larger margin. Still, maybe I could have found inspiration to run harder if the deficit had been surmountable.

The first and second place finishers were really solid in all three phases. Guys like that are hard to beat and your only chance is if they have a bad day. They didn't. (Full results)

We will both stretch the distance for our June triathlons, but go our separate ways. Martin, gearing up for a return to Ironman Louisville, will return to Lake Sara for the Cutting Edge Half Classic and I will likely head to Missouri for the Quartermax. It is only fitting we would split the early season duel for the "Wild Card Cup."

2011 Pioneer Sprint Triathlon

Martin and I traveled to Petersburg (about 23 miles NW of Springfield) on April 17for the Pioneer Sprint Tri. It was the first tri for the season for both of us. We both felt pretty good before the race, though our preparation was not ideal. In Martin's case, everything he does is focused on Ironman endurance. In my case, I just haven't done that much of anything this year. That's typical, as I spend most of winter training and racing on skis. It won't change anytime soon, because I love skiing with my kids and ski racing, despite my limited natural aptitude for it. Still, this year has had slower start than most, especially with running.

The event was held at the local high school (PORTA). The swim took place in the smallish PORTA pool - 6 lanes of 25 yards. As with most pool tris, the swim was a zigzag deal with each racer starting on an interval - start at one end and work across the lanes to the other end. However, in this case, the swim totaled 300 yards. 6 lanes x 25 yards per lane = 150 yards. Uh oh. That means you have to swim down and back in each lane before changing lanes. Sounds a little crowded. Maybe they'll at least start us on 30 second or longer intervals so we won't jam up. Nope. 10 seconds. And, as is customary, the start order depended on athletes placing themselves according to their anticipated swim times. I put myself amongst a group of others who estimated 4:30. In my case, this was based on a time trial I had done 2 days prior. I should have followed Martin's advice and cheated by 30 seconds. After my start, I literally swam 2 lengths (50 yards) before running into someone's feet. With traffic moving in both directions, passing would be a challenge at best. Another 25 yards and someone was on my feet. 25 yards later, the woman in front of me must have felt like I was violating her, because she paused on the wall and told me to go ahead. I said "thanks" and took off. 15 yards later, I'm crawling up the back of some dude. This was starting to get old. I got desperate and tried to pass. Bad idea. I exchanged forearms to the head with someone coming the other way. I swam with my head up and counted at least 4 people in front of me - and there were probably several behind. So this whole mess was caused by some idiot who put himself at about 4:15, but was swimming about 5:30. I was really frustrated, because I have been swimming about 10 seconds per 100 yards better than I was a year ago and was looking forward to posting a result that proved it. Instead, I probably lost 45 seconds off my race time. Grrrr.

Off to the bike for 13 miles. I've been practicing cyclocross-style mounts at home to help shave a few seconds in tri. However, I am not yet confident enough to try it in a race, on asphalt. So I got moving the old-fashioned way and was soon out of the parking lot and onto the open road. Within the first mile, 2 dudes passed me. One was on a road bike - naked setup, no aero bars. I'm not used to getting passed on the bike (except sometimes by Martin). Not that I usually win the bike split either (I have once), but anyone who can beat me on the bike is usually an elite triathlete who can also clobber me on the swim. Hence no one passes me. I checked my speed. 23.5 mph into a gentle headwind. Damn, these guys must be good. 1/2 mile later, their gaskets blow - first Mr. Naked Road Bike, then the other dude. See ya! The out-and-back course included some rollers near a creek close to the turnaround. Nothing major, but I did have to get out of the saddle 4-5 times. (Bike Profile)

Back in town and time to finish this gig with a 5k run. A rather hilly 5k run. My run training has suffered the most in the early season, and my run was not pretty - about a minute slower than I probably should have been, but it is hard to know for sure since I don't usually run hills. (Run Profile)

Shortly after I finished, Martin rounded the turn into the school parking lot for his finish. He started several places behind me on the swim. (I thought he'd catch me on the run, but his Ironman legs now only know 26.2 pace.) The announcer remarked, "look at that smooth stride; it looks like he could run all day." I'm not sure if he knew how spot-on his comment was.

After it was all sorted out, I finished 3rd overall and Martin 5th of 144 racers (results) - not a bad showing for Wild Card. The second place finisher was almost 2 minutes faster, tempering my frustration over the 45 seconds that evaporated in the pool. The results were stacked pretty tight behind me, so someone else may be thinking "I coulda beat that Scott dude if not for the morons in the pool." Not exactly. Martin finished just 32.1 seconds behind me - a margin probably afforded by my use of a disk wheel and dedicated TT bike setup. Martin used his road bike with aerobars and ~58 mm section wheels, so he could ride home 110 miles or so after the race. Ironman training doesn't take a day off for a 1-hour race.