Life on the Prairie, the East Central Illinois Dahmans

Gateway Cup, Labor Day

2011-09-12T22:07:00.003-05:00

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

2011-08-30T11:32:00.022-05:00

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?

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.

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!

2011-07-17T12:33:00.002-05:00

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

2011-06-26T12:22:00.000-05:00

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

2011-05-26T21:26:00.006-05:00

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

2011-05-15T21:43:00.000-05:00

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

2011-04-17T22:02:00.001-05:00

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.

Support for Champaign County Charities

2009-11-30T17:09:00.004-06:00

I serve on the Rotary Club of Champaign charity committee. I am on a subcommittee that directs monthly donations to local charitable service organizations. We are currently selecting recipients for 2010 donations. The typical award is in the $300-$500 range.

Because of the economic recession, our current focus is on organizations that meet basic human needs. Recent recipients include the Crisis Nursery, the Eastern Illinois Foodbank, Salt and Light, and Restoration Urban Ministries. A recipient must provide services in Champaign County and must be an established 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in good standing, capable of providing a current letter of tax exempt determination.

Let me know if you would like to nominate an organization to receive a future donation from the Rotary Club of Champaign.

Other past recipients include, but are not limited to:

American Cancer Society
American Red Cross
Angel Car Boat Donation
Champaign County CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates)
Champaign County Courthouse Belltower Project
Champaign County Humane Society
Champaign County Operation Snowball
Community Blood Services of Illinois
Daily Bread (New entity replacing Catholic Workers House Soup Kitchen; non-ecumenical)
Eager Beavers Preschool Program (through Champaign Park District)
Family Service of Champaign County
Goodwill Industries
Junior Achievement of Champaign County
Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation
Leukemia Society
Salvation Army
Talecris Plasma Resources, Inc.
University YMCA

Tour de Champaign

2009-07-13T17:24:00.019-05:00

July 11-12 witnessed the running of the first Tour de Champaign series of criteriums. Wild Card Cycling and Scarlet Fire Racing, a semi-pro team spanning the Illinois-Indiana region with several local riders, sponsored and produced the event. We hope it becomes a regular annual weekend of races. I competed with several teammates in the weekend's first contest, Saturday's category 5 race.

Ready to start the cat 5 race

At the suggestion of teammate Tom, I had planned to launch an early attack and use my relative strength in time trialing to try to stay off the front as long as possible. The short loop (about 1 kilometer) presented the possibility of getting out of sight more easily than usual. I wasn't planning to go as soon as I did, but immediately after the first turn onto Main Street, we encountered a light headwind. No one seemed to want to work on the front and the speed was really low. I figured the time was as good as any.

On the attack!

My attack allowed my team to relax early in the race while the responsibility to chase me fell to the other teams. However, it was doomed from the start. The field included a very strong Scarlet Fire rider, a successful ironman triathlete and former varsity cross country runner at the University of Illinois. He led the chase and pulled me back after about 4-5 laps. A lot of riders couldn't keep up with the chase and it thinned out the group. A cat 5 rider on the Scarlet Fire team is a rarity indeed, but he certainly is on his way up.

Cornering is one of my weakness, especially in large packs. I can usually go faster through corners on my own, so I rode with more confidence while on the attack. The smaller group I found after the catch helped compensate for my cornering weakness as well. I found that I could handle the bike and fight for position reasonably well in the small group.

The group nonetheless did not shed a particularly erratic rider with very poor bike-handling skills. (My skills aren't great either and I don't dish criticism loosely.) He made me very nervous when he was in front of me. Whenever he was on the inside line, I moved outside, and vice versa. It me a little uncomfortable moving up through the pack, which I did successfully only a few times, when I could jump hard enough to get around him. Inevitably I would bleed a few positions through each corner. This rider also mixed it up with my teammate John, who pushed back on him with some authority at one point.

With two laps to go, I successfully moved up to second wheel, but the pace lifted again on the final lap. I again lost position in the corners and found myself on the back. A tailwind on the stretch before the final turn pushed the speed to about 35 miles per hour and I had no luck gaining position. The finish line came up pretty fast after the final turn and I finished last in the field sprint to take 15th place of the 28 riders.

I'd like to think my attack played a part in opening the door for Big Jay, our strongest teammate in the race, to jump into the winning break. He wound up 4th. If I were paying attention more and if I were strong enough at the time, I might have tried to go with him. I continue to learn a little more after each race.

Rain crept into the morning for the women's cat 3/4 race and became really heavy for the men's cat 4 race, which was delayed for several minutes due to lightning. When it resumed, a xXx rider who had crashed and fallen off the back before the delay, was able to rejoin the pack, launch a solo attack off the front, and steal the win. The wet roads made cornering much harder for the chasing peloton. It was nonetheless a pretty good day for Wild Card Cycling. Complete official results for Saturday's downtown criterium are here. The Wild Card summary:

Men's cat 5:
4 Jay Yost
9 John Sturmanis
15 Scott Dahman
19 Dan Shunk
21 Art Hess
22 Shea Nangle
Women's cat 3/4:
1 Anona Whitley
4 Becky Chan - though we are fairly certain she was 2nd
Men's cat 4:
3 Mark French
4 Alexei Perelet
5 Chad Knutson
7 Tom Carlson
8 Luke Taggart
Women's cat 1/2/3:
2 Anona Whitley

I was unable to race on Sunday because I had previously agreed with a friend to swap days for duties at church. Sunday's cat 5 race was announced only about 5 days before the race and it was too late for me to rearrange commitments. However, I was able to get there with Zach in time for the kids' races. This was Zach's second kids' cycling race and his first on a training wheel bicycle. He contested the other on a big wheel. Jennifer, Faith, Kay, and Len also arrived just in time to catch the spectacle. Zach had a great time and pedaled hard.

Zach lines up for his race

Sprinting for the finish!

A well-earned ribbon for a promising young rider

Wild Card had another successful day, including a podium sweep in men's cat 4 to cap our first effort as race hosts:

Men's cat 5:
2 Jay Yost
5 John Sturmanis
7 Art Hess
15 Dan Shunk
Women's cat 3/4:
1 Becky Chan
4 Anona Whitley
Men's cat 4:
1 Mark French
2 Alexei Perelet
3 Jay Yost
6 Nick Hand
7 Chad Knutson
8 Quentin Capista
9 Luke Taggart
Women's cat 1/2/3:
4 Anona Whitley
6 Becky Chan
Masters' 35+ cat 1/2/3:
19 Greg Youngen

More pictures from Sunday's action:

My Album

Teammate Rob's album
Professional event photographer

Freedom Celebration 5k

2009-07-07T13:51:00.019-05:00

After a lackluster run in the Mattoon Beach Triathlon, I decided to focus a little more on my running. An open 5k seemed like a good way to work more high-intensity training into the mix and to see what I could do without the burden of 45 minutes of swimming and cycling prior to the start. I had not competed in a running-only race since the fraternity intramural point leagues in college. Prior to that, I competed in distance running in high school, but gave it up after one year of injuries and knee and foot pain.

An annual 5k race is held on July 4 prior to the Champaign County Freedom Celebration parade, following the parade route. It seemed like a good opportunity to get back in the game. The race was well-run by the Body n' Sole Sports shop and the local Second Wind Running Club.

On Wednesday prior to the race, I ran a 5k time trial on the St. Joseph-Ogden High School track with our newly acquired Forerunner 305 GPS-enabled run computer. The goal was to get a feel for how I should pace myself during the race. I knew that it would be faster than a 5k run at the end of a triathlon, but wasn't sure how much. Most of my recent run training has consisted of either long low-intensity sessions or short, high-intensity intervals. The Forerunner was actually a gift for Jenny to use as a fancy heart-rate monitor for her mostly indoor workouts, but I get to use it for running whenever it would otherwise sit idly in her gym bag. It mounts nicely on the wrist and can communicate lots of useful data during a run, such as pace and heart rate.

I completed the time trial at an average pace of 6:35 per mile. I figured I could push myself a little harder in the race, but the road surface would not be as fast as the track. My plan was to target 6:40 for the first mile of the race, then increase the pace several seconds each of the next two miles if I felt strong enough. 20 minutes seemed like a good goal for my race finish time.

The race day forecast called for lots of rain, but fortunately the strongest storms were supposed to come later in the day. Jenny, the kids, and I arrived at the Assembly Hall at about 10 am, where we met Jenny's parents. Faith participated in the Youth Run before the event. She was a bit nervous, but ready to go. The Youth Run course was described only as "around the Assembly Hall." I assumed that meant they would start and finish near the start of the 5k, but would follow the streets around the Assembly Hall instead of turning east along the parade route. I told Faith that her run would be about 1 mile. She was prepared, having run a mile with me on a few occasions in the spring and early summer.

Getting ready at the start

The kids actually lined up on a sidewalk along the southeast parking lot of the Assembly Hall. The race director told the kids they would run along the sidewalk to a cone, then turn left. Other cones and volunteers would direct them where to go from there, but I had no idea where they were running or how long their course was. There were probably 30 kids in the run. The big kids lined up in front and Faith was a couple rows back. I reminder her not to start too fast. If she felt good near the finish, she could run a little faster.

Lined up and anxiously awaiting the siren

When the siren sounded, the big kids took off fast. I ran alongside to encourage Faith and help her with the pacing, but it was hard to dispense good advice when I didn't know how far she'd be running. As it turned out, we basically took a loop around the southeast quadrant of the Assembly Hall grounds and the distance was probably on the order of 500 meters.

On the backstretch at Assembly Hall

When we made the final turn, I saw someone handing ribbons to the kids as they finished, so I told Faith to run as fast as she could. Jenny and her parents shouted encouragement as well. She did great and ran a lot harder than I expected. Though it wasn't really a race and there was no timing, the kids seemed to finish mostly in order from oldest to youngest. The News-Gazette the following morning featured a picture of the start of the Youth Run on the front page of the local section, but Faith was obscured behind some of the taller kids in front. Bummer.

Faith kicks for the line!

Shortly after the Youth Run, the rain seemed to pick up a little. I did my final preparations and headed for the start along 4th Street. Based on the results from the 2008 race, I figured I would finish about a fifth of the way down the field, so I positioned myself about that far into the crowd at the start.

The Course

Watching in the rain

Everyone around me seemed to really take off fast at the siren, so I did the same to keep up and avoid getting pushed and trampled on the wet road. The course turned right on Kirby Avenue about 300 meters or so from the start. After rounding the first turn, the average pace on my run computer showed about 5:33, considerably faster than I had planned. I gradually eased up to meet my target pace, resisting the urge to stay with the herd. Several people passed me, but the move paid off because I passed a lot of them later.

I finished the first mile in 6:28. I held a fairly constant pace for most of the race, after the initial burst. As we turned left onto Lincoln Avenue, I tried to stay close to Jolee, a fast 15-year old runner and state track meet qualifier from St. Joseph-Ogden High School. Her entire family, whom we know well from church, ran the race as well. She started a little faster than I did and held a higher pace when I eased up following the first turn, but she seemed to slow to a pace similar to mine after the first mile or so.

Shortly after the turnaround, I passed a couple runners that started to fade. After mile 2 and the turn back onto Florida/Kirby, I felt pretty good and just held onto the pace. I started the finishing kick after the final turn onto 4th Street. One runner came streaking around me on the finishing straight, but I passed one or two others myself. As luck would have it, the only picture of me from the race was taken as I was passed. Or was Jenny trying to tell me something? Hmmm.

Getting passed just before the finish. I don't look too happy about it. At least this guy was not in my age group.

The finish was set about 75 meters past the start line, where we were corralled into a chute in the order we crossed the line. I had to get off the gas a couple seconds before the actual finish line because several runners were backed up in the chute. The officials tore the stubs from our race numbers in order. I guess if they missed someone's time, they could interpolate between others that finished just ahead and behind.

I officially finished in 20:13.8, which was good for third in my age group and 74th overall. The participants numbered 462, which included about 50 walkers. I thought it odd that they reported results to the nearest 1/10 second when the timing seemed nowhere near that precise, but it probably served to differentiate between runners who finished within 1 second of each other.

Here is the run profile. The lap splits (each mile) show a pretty steady pace, despite the initial burst. The speed graph shows the initial burst and finishing kick. The crazy speed fluctuations seem to derive from GPS location error. The sampling rate is probably too high for the accuracy of the unit and the actual speed traveled. The speed should probably be integrated over a longer period when the speed is low. Maybe it is designed for pros who run 4:30 mile splits. Here are the results overall and by age-group.

True to the forecast, the heaviest rain held off until about noon, well after we finished. The parade was cancelled for the first time ever because the ground along the route was so heavily saturated. Just about all fireworks celebrations in Central Illinois were rescheduled to the following night.

There is another 5k in our little village of St. Joseph on August 8, during the annual Community Festival. Faith wants to try, but she has never run more than a mile. Jenny and her mother Kay may try it as well, but both need to start training soon. I don't even like to run that much, but it looks like I may have helped start something.

The Cousins

2009-06-29T23:42:00.007-05:00

Immediately following the Mattoon Beach Sprint Triathlon, I headed to my parents' house near St. Louis for a weekend with my sister and her family. We usually see them about twice a year: once at their home in Austin, Texas, and once when they come to St. Louis. I picked brother-and-law Kevin up at the airport on my way.

It is impossible to get a good picture of all 5 kids. This is as close as it gets.
Back row: Harrison, Faith, Ian; Front row: Alex, Zach

Faith and Zach enjoy seeing their cousins, who are close in age: Harrison (7), Alex (4), and Ian (2). Though Faith is the only girl, she makes the best of it and seems to especially enjoy seeing Harrison. The boys sometimes rub off on her though. Several days into our last visit to Austin, at Thanksgiving, Faith jumped on my back once when I was seated to put shoes on. She then growled into my ear, "Prepare for pain!"

The Bike Split

2009-06-29T22:00:00.003-05:00

At last year's Mattoon Beach Sprint Triathlon, Wild Card Cycling teammate Rob finished 2nd, but posted the fastest run split. He recounted the race in a blog post, aptly titled The Run Split. I will never win a run split unless everyone else faints or runs backward. However, I thought that someday I might pen a post entitled "The Bike Split." I didn't think it would come so soon, but the unfortunate fact that Wild Card Cycling teammate (and normally stronger time trialist) Martin skipped the race due to a stress fracture meant that the door was open. My recently acquired rear disc wheel cover and carbon tubular Zipp 404 wheelset certainly did not hurt.

The Giant TCR C1 with Zipp 404s. In the race, I used the Zipp on the front and a Mavic Ksyrium with wheel cover on the rear since the wind was light.

Like last year's edition of this race, the weather was beautiful. The days leading up to the race were rather hot, but a cooling trend moved into the Midwest on race day. The high for the day still reached 89 degrees at Lake Mattoon, but the morning race time temps ranged from the mid 70s to low 80s. There was a very light wind, in the 3-7 mile per hour range, mainly from the east. The conditions were fast.

The race had 80 participants total, which was a pretty good turnout for a sprint race in the the Mattoon Multisport series. Past editions of this event featured both a 1/4 distance race (with each leg 1/4 as long as a full ironman race) and a 1/8 distance race. This year, only one race was offered and the distances, as advertised, deviated slightly from 1/8 ironman.

The Swim

The race started in two waves, with all men at 8:00 am and all women at 8:03. I like the mass start format because you always know the score. If someone is ahead of you on the road, they are ahead of you in the race. There is always some guess work in a staggered start race.

The swim was billed as 400 meters, somewhat shorter than the 1/3 mile of last year's race. As usual, I tried to focus on an efficient stroke with good rotation from side to side. My regular workouts with the University's Masters Swim Team have helped considerably, but I am still not a particularly strong swimmer. My goal is always to exit the water without having used too much energy and without giving up too much time to the leaders. I think I did pretty well to that end. The top swimmer finished less than 2 minutes ahead of me and no one that beat me in the overall race swam more than 90 seconds faster. My swim pace was slightly faster than it was at this event last year, though the distance was shorter.

The Bike

The 14.5-mile bike leg started very poorly. First, I had some trouble just getting my bike out of transition. The saddle caught on the rack as I tried futilely at first to squeeze it underneath. I finally had to push some of my gear out of the way and turn the bike sideways to dislodge it. I set my right pedal forward when I initially racked the bike to accommodate my preferred mounting method. I normally stand left of the bike, swing my right leg over, then stomp on the right pedal to start moving. Somehow the pedals had flipped when I was wrestling to get the machine off the rack. Standing in the road, I rotated them back by hand, which took more time than it seemed it should have because my shoes were clipped in. (I prefer this to running though grass and over other surfaces with bike shoes on, which can clog the cleats with debris or scratch them. The cleats are also quite slippery on hard, smooth surfaces, so it seems faster and safer for me to push the bike barefoot.) Anyway, the shoes tend to get caught on the ground if the pedals are rotated without lifting the bike up. I must have looked rather clumsy trying to get on. Once I did, my troubles were not over.

The next task was to get my feet into the shoes and fasten the Velcro straps. As usual, I pedaled several strokes with my feet on top of the shoes to build a little speed. I inserted my left foot and fastened the shoe without much trouble, but the Velcro became bunched and stuck on the right. I yanked on the strap to free it, but pulled it out of its clip entirely. I had to climb a small hill and pedal a few more strokes to get some speed back before I could reinsert the strap. I no doubt lost a lot of time as it took almost a mile to get fully settled. I just managed to strap in before the first turn. My average speed for the first mile was 18.4 mph. Not a good start, but it was time to focus on the task at hand. There were 19 riders up the road to catch.

If I had any hope of contending for the overall win, I would have to catch everyone on the bike and lead the race into the run. The course turned north into a light crosswind for several miles, a stretch that also featured a slight increase in elevation. The next turn was right, into a light headwind, before a turnaround at the halfway point. The tailwind after the turnaround would provide an opportunity to recover, so I decided to ride hard up to that point. I caught all but three riders before the turnaround. Several shouted kind words of encouragement as I passed - usually something like "good job!" to which I would reply "nice swim!"

The eastbound section included a freeway overpass (otherwise known as a hill in East Central Illinois) into the headwind which was the slowest part of the course. Even so, with the calm conditions, my minimum speed on the course (except the "extended" mount, turnaround, and dismount) was 20 mph, occurring on the overpass. After the turnaround, we headed west into the tailwind. I recovered a little and then picked up the pace to try to catch the three guys still ahead on the road. It was clear they were pretty strong riders.

I soon turned left into the crosswind. Just before the final turn back to the transition area, I caught one more rider. The other two stayed away and I entered T2 in third place. It would prove fleeting.

Here is the recorded profile of the bike leg - most of it, anyway. My bike computer suffers from forced shutdowns caused by loose battery contacts. I'll have to fix it when I have some time, but the consequence is that everything before the shut down does not upload. Fortunately, it only shut down once and it lost only the most agonizing part of the start of the ride.

The Run

I decided that if I had any chance of catching anyone else, I needed to move through T2 more quickly than usual, so I skipped the socks. I had done this before in the Champaign Park District Mini Tri, but its run is only 2 miles. Nonetheless, the last guy I passed on the bike overtook me just before we both exited transition and I dropped back to 4th place. Out on the run, he was fast. The 3.1 mile out-and-back run course was L-shaped, starting with a short westbound segment in the tailwind, then turned north for a longer segment before the turnaround. I held him in sight for a while, but he kept pulling away.

After the turn north, I looked over my shoulder through a field to the "bottom of the L" and saw no one. At this point, I was pretty tired and breathing heavily. I gave up the notion that I might catch any of the guys up the road. At the same time, 4th place seemed pretty secure as no one threatened from behind. The motivation to push hard wasn't there.

As I approached the turnaround, the guy that passed me in transition was still flying. He overtook another runner to take hold of second place. I tried to keep my pace from dropping too much, just in case one of them started to fade or someone from behind found a second wind.

After the turnaround, the trailing runners were still comfortably back. I plugged away at a steady pace until the final turn home. By this time, the three leaders were well out of sight. I again looked across the "L" to make sure no one was attacking from behind. All clear. I still wanted to finish as strong as I could, so I picked it up for the last 1/4 mile or so. The decision to go sockless left me with a blister on one toe - not a terrible penalty. Still, I didn't reap any benefit in terms of position.

Summary of my results:

Swim- 8:35 (20th place, 2:09/100m, included some running to transition)
T1- 0:49 (13th place)
Bike- 36:10 (1st place! 24.1 mph; 24.8 mph after the disasterous first mile)
T2- 0:55 (44th place)
Run- 23:18 (14th place, 7:31/mile)
Total- 1:09:47 (4th place overall, 2nd place age group)

Here are the official results overall and by age group. No matter where I place overall, there always seems to be one bloke in my age group that edges me out. I have a lot of second place trophies.

My run pace was much slower than what I achieved at this race last year, which I attribute to a few factors. Though I have recovered quite a bit from the knee pain (which I suspect is patellar tendinitis) that flared up in May, it has kept a lid on my run training. I have mostly been able to run at least twice a week, but I have not worked in many high-intensity workouts lately. Most of my training has been lower intensity tempo running. Second was the lack of close competition by the time I reached the run. Finally, though I did not measure the run course, I suspect it may have been a bit longer than 3.1 miles. Last year, this event incorporated a 3.25 mile run and the course seemed identical this year. Perhaps the turnaround came a little sooner, but it sure felt long. The aid station, which was supposedly positioned at the one-mile mark, seemed to come pretty long into the run (perhaps because I was running slowly.) Also, the fastest runner officially posted a 6:24 per mile average, which seems a little slow. Only five runners in the field of 80 recorded splits below 7 minutes per mile.

I had hoped to improve my running a bit more approaching the Olympic-distance Evergreen Lake Triathlon, to be held this year on July 18. On the upside, my cycling is ahead of where it was last year. Hopefully it will be good enough to compensate for any shortfall on the run so that I can still improve on my performance in that race. I plan to compete in the Freedom 5k, held in conjunction with Champaign-Urbana's 4th of July celebration and parade. It will be my first pure running race since intramural cross country and track in college. Faith will participate in the event's Youth Run.

Cyclemania

2009-06-22T16:18:00.016-05:00

With Jennifer and the kids still in Florida, I took in a full weekend of bicycle racing on June 20-21. Saturday was the Cobb Park Criterium, presented by the South Chicago Wheelmen and Sunday was the Tour de Winghaven, a National Racing Calendar event that attracted several high-caliber pro teams.

Cobb Park

Wild Card Cycling teammate Alexei and I first headed to Kankakee to meet up with a large cadre of other teammates at Cobb Park. The setting was really nice, in a historic district on the north bank of the Kankakee River. Lots of old trees provided plenty of shade from the sun and protection from the wind. The circuit was short and fast. There was really only one tricky corner, but I thought it bordered on dangerous because of the way the available roadway drastically narrowed after the corner. The road we turned onto was a narrow, divided boulevard, but only one side was open to the race. The road we turned off of was considerably wider. Alexei and I started in the category 5 race, made up entirely of new racers with less than 10 starts. We were joined by Wild Card teammate Art. I surmised correctly that there would be several crashes in this corner. It might have been better if both sides of the boulevard had been open to the race. Cones could be tapered into the center boulevard gradually, so the field could split early and safely.

Even as I gain experience, I don't know that I will ever be 100% comfortable with the criterium format. Success requires the rider to maintain a position at or near the front of the race to minimize the risk of being involved in or slowed by a crash. The changes of speed entering and exiting corners and at the tops and bottoms of hills are magnified in the rear. There is a lot of jockeying for position between corners, and I am not yet comfortable slotting onto a wheel in a crowded pack. As a result, I again spent most of this race at or near the back.

The first crash occurred on a wide open stretch near the start/finish line. I am not certain what caused it, but someone probably just lost focus. A crack in the asphalt ran parallel to the direction of travel for a while and perhaps it snagged someone's wheel. The speeds usually hit 30 mph in this stretch, so any mistakes were potentially disastrous. The crash happened far enough ahead of me that I was able to avoid it without losing contact with the field. At least two more crashes occurred in the tight corner. A high curb on the outside caught riders unable to hold their lines. I ended up in the gutter a few times and decided to stick with the inside line after the group thinned a bit.

I thought the pace was comfortable and even quite slow at times. This was my first criterium with a field composed entirely of category 5 riders and it was noticeably easier than my previous outings. Our average pace was just over 24 mph, but due to the fast nature of the course, it did not seem to require as much power as usual. No one attacked off the front and the pace never really lifted until the final lap. Nonetheless, several riders dropped off the back in the second half of the race. Each time I sensed someone in front of me fading, I jumped ahead to keep contact with the group. I was poorly positioned for the sprint at the end, but I managed to move up to 17th place by attrition. Alexei rode most of the race near the middle to front of the pack and finished 8th. I was happy to sit in and save my legs for the following day's race at Winghaven, which would prove much tougher. This was still my most successful crit to date and the only one that I have finished on the lead lap. Art fell off the back but successfully finished 32nd.

Here are the official results from Cobb Park and here is my ride profile.

We watched other Wild Card riders in the masters and cat 4 races. Our cat 4 team had six riders, who finished between 5th and 13th places. Just about every Wild Card racer threw an attack at some point during the race and a couple secured primes. It was a lot more exciting than our race.

A neat video montage of the Cat 4 race produced by teammate Rob. Unfortunately he was sitting out due to running injuries. Get well soon, Rob!

After the cat 4 race, Alexei and I headed for the greater St. Louis area. We stayed with my parents and awoke early the next morning for the Tour de Winghaven.

Winghaven

Winghaven was hot and humid. Should we have expected any different on the first day of summer in St. Louis? At least our cat 4/5 race was early in the day. The course was a counterclockwise circuit around part of the master planned community of Winghaven in O'Fallon, Missouri. The route included a couple of small hills and a couple of roundabouts. Our race would include 7 laps, advertised at 3 miles per lap, but measured by my GPS at about 2.75 miles per lap. We were supposed to start at 8 am, but after we all lined up and clipped in, we were delayed waiting for the police escort to arrive. Perhaps he was in a donut shop in the restaurant/retail enclave near the start/finish. Aside from this mishap, the race was run very well.

Roundabouts are pretty cool, especially when the pros hit them at 35 miles per hour and the TV cameras get a nice aerial shot from a helicopter. When planning for the race, I thought they were going to be one of the most exciting features. However, the prospect of navigating them with 74 other amateurs, most of whom probably have little or no race experience with them, seemed pretty scary when I was warming up on the course. Normal corners have pretty easily discerned lines and most racers have practiced them, at least a little. As long as the riders hold their lines, the pavement is clean, and the exit is not constricted, mishaps are usually averted. But roundabouts are a little trickier. The outside line at the entrance becomes the inside line around the circle and then the outside line again at the exit. There are lots of chances to get crowded out, no matter which line you take.

The first roundabout came right after the start and on a slight downhill grade. As expected, there was a lot of braking and I correctly guessed the first crash was just a matter of time. Oddly, it occurred on a pretty wide open uphill section of road (and only about 1 mile into the race). I managed to stay up from the very back of the field, but was still about 3/4 of the way down. There was a lot of braking at the bottom of the hill as the front of the race started on the subsequent ascent, but that seemed pretty normal. I think someone just lost concentration when the road tapered at the start of a left turn lane cut out of the median. The course was completely closed to traffic and this part followed the left side of a boulevard, but the crash seemed to start in the middle of the road and radiate to the right. I was to the right of the center of the road and thought it best to try to navigate around it on the right side. I followed another guy who looked like he was going to get through along the right gutter, but then a bike or body part fell in front of him and he jammed his brakes, sending his bike sideways. I was forced to unclip both pedals and walk up on the median and around the carnage. I think the riders on the left side of the road were a bit luckier.

I regrouped with a few others and encouraged them to work together to get back on, but they were either too weak or had just given up. Toward the end of the first lap, I had a group of three in tow and came up on a fifth. I told him, "hop on, I've got three with me." But then I looked over my shoulder and there was only 1 rider. Ugh! I then realized the only way I was going to avoid getting lapped by the main field before the finish was to solo it. I quickly dropped nearly everyone impacted by the crash and occasionally picked through riders that unhitched from the main field later in the race.

I didn't see any organized groups until shortly into the 2nd to last lap. Three riders from the St. Louis-based Hub Racing Team looked like they were taking a warmup lap, but their bib numbers were in the 500s, indicating that they were in my race. "Are y'all still racing?" I asked, thinking they may have abandoned.

"Yeah, but we are about to get lapped," said the guy on the back.

"We are NOT about to get lapped," I countered. "The pack isn't in sight behind us and we only have one and a half to go." I joined their pace line for about a lap and decided that if they could not pick it up soon, I would shoot off the front on the climb about 1.5 mile from the finish on the last lap. When we reached that climb, a lone rider from Momentum Racing was just ahead. From second wheel, I jumped at the foot of the hill. At the top, the Momentum rider was on my wheel. I eased off a little in case I needed to save some for a sprint (for 54th, as it turned out - whoopee!) As we turned into the headwind, I cranked for about 10 pedal strokes to see if he would stay with me. He dropped off, so I powered down the last hill just to make sure, then coasted to finish about 4:30 in arrears. On the plus side, it was pretty cool to solo the roundabouts and turns with no brakes.

In the end, two trends remained unbroken: Alexei rode strong and had a solid finish and I was caught behind a crash early and found myself with almost 20 miles to practice my time trialing. Alexei sprinted with the big dogs, bagging 4th place and a boatload of upgrade points. The 2nd and 3rd place riders were both cat 4s and the winner had no license number, so presumably he raced on a temp license. (I'm thinking he is cat 1 sandbagger using an assumed name.) Alexei also pocketed a share of the $200 prize money.

Anona had a great race in an open women's field and sat 4th wheel late in the race, until a few pro/1/2 women outgunned her up the finishing hill. Dave won the masters race and then lined up for the 2/3 race about an hour later. Dave is also from St. Joseph and likes to race bikes, but that is about all he and I have in common. He rides for the powerhouse Scarlet Fire Racing team and is about twice as strong as me. Alex and some of the other Scarlet Fire guys also represented well. Here are the complete results from all Winghaven races and here is my ride profile.

Lessons:

Get up front. Duh. I know this, but am too protective of my body and bike to fight too hard for position. I think I have a decent competitive streak, but the middle of a pack of cat 4/5 riders barely in control of their machines isn't my preferred setting for unleashing it.

If (or when) I do fall off the back, I am probably the strongest guy fighting to get back on and can't count on any help. The stronger riders are toward the front in the first place and avoid the crashes altogether.

My athletic profile is best suited to time trialing. I can hold a respectable level of constant power, but I have no burst of acceleration to quickly close a gap, bridge, sprint, or even move up a few positions in a crowded field.

I can sort of climb (in a Midwestern sense; I've never faced a truly grueling test.)

It was still fun.

I returned home to 82 degrees that never felt so cool.

Time Trialing

2009-06-16T22:00:00.001-05:00

When the weather cooperates, I have been participating in a bi-weekly time trial series organized by Wild Card Cycling teammate Martin. Our race is known locally as the Seymour Time Trial series, which is contested on a 10.85-mile out-and-back course that starts and finishes in Seymour, Illinois. Seymour is a small and somewhat depressed farming community about 8 miles west of Champaign, which means that it doesn't have a lot of traffic. However, it is served from the south by a mostly smooth asphalt road in much better condition than the more prevalent oil-and-chip surfaces I often encounter in training.

The Seymour Time Trial out-and-back course

The time trial, also known as the "race of truth", is the purest form of bicycle racing. Each competitor rides alone on a fixed course, without the ability to draft behind other riders.

Any sort of wind is detrimental to cycling performance, and the stronger the wind, the greater the punishment. One might at first assume that the wind would be a neutral force in a race that starts and ends at the same point. A headwind and tailwind might balance each other. However, a (simplified) examination of the math and physics involved reveals otherwise. For example, in the absence of wind, suppose a given rider might be able to hold 25 mph. The rider will encounter some drag even in calm conditions due to the apparent wind generated by his motion. From fluid dynamics fundamentals, the power required to overcome wind resistance is approximately proportional to the cube of the apparent headwind. (Note that a cyclist almost always faces an apparent headwind or net headwind, or more technically, a yaw angle within 90 degrees of a pure headwind. If the wind is blowing faster that you can ride in a tailwind, get off your bike, crawl in a ditch, and cover your head!) But a given wind that slows the same rider to 20 mph in a headwind would allow him to ride about 30 mph in a tailwind with approximately the same power output. In order to average 25 mph, the rider must spend equal amounts of time at 20 mph and 30 mph. On a course that starts and ends at the same spot, that is not possible. The rider will spend the same amount of distance at each speed, but the time spent at 30 will be much shorter due to the faster speed. Also, for a fixed power output of the rider, as windspeed increases, average rider speed drops faster than linearly.

Our first 2009 running of the Seymour Time Trial was contested in very windy conditions, perhaps 15-20 mph. At least the wind came from the south, dealing riders a headwind on the way out and a tailwind on the way back. If the wind must blow, this is the preferred direction as it allows the rider to fight the headwind in a fresher state and recover into the tailwind. Crosswinds can often be harder that the headwind/tailwind combination because the rider must expend energy just to keep the bike upright and moving straight ahead - energy that is not available for the objective, which is to move down the road as fast as possible. Still, I managed a 24.1 mph average on the first outing and was only 3 seconds slower than my best time from 2008, which I achieved on a calm day. This year, I logged a greater volume and quality of early-season training, mostly from my Wild Card Cycling spring training camp and preparation for an early May triathlon. I was looking forward to taking another shot on a calmer day.

Our next scheduled running of the time trial was stormed out. Winds were very gusty and racing would have been dangerous. Two weeks later (June 16), the forecast looked ominous again. Rains feel early in the day and the hourly forecast at the weather channel called for a possible clearing, but persistent 15-20 mph winds. As it turned out, the winds calmed considerably when the skies cleared, easing to about 7-8 miles per hour. The wind was again out of the south.

I felt pretty good, though a little tired from traveling back from Florida the night before. I was the first rider to start and was passed by the former 40+ state champ about 4 miles into the ride. When he came around, he was mashing a massive gear at maybe 70 rpm into the headwind. He must have been simulating hills or something and not even trying to do his best time, but he still averaged almost 28 mph. I held about 22-24 into the wind and 27-31 with it. The result was an improvement of 1:12 over my best effort of 2008 and an average speed of 25.25 mph. For the moment, I am third on the 2009 Seymour Time Trial leaderboard, but several strong riders were not present during the second running with the more favorable conditions.

Here is a partial ride profile from that running. (Most of the first mile was lost due to a shutdown of my bike computer, and about 200 meters of freewheeling after the finish was also recorded before I shut off the timer. Also, the heart rate readings are a little crazy and distorted into the headwind due to "flapping jersey syndrome".)

The time trial is a form of racing that suits me well. I have a lot of practice from triathlon and occasional commuting to work by bicylce. The bike leg of triathlon, at least in US events, is essentially a time trial. My athletic profile seems to be well-suited to the discipline. The more I ride, the more I learn that I am able to hold a pretty high level of average power, but I don't have much acceleration or top-end speed required to be a good sprinter or criterium racer. Put another way, I have good slow-twitch muscles, but lousy fast-twitch muscles. I'd like to think that I am not a shabby climber, either, but I don't get much practice on hills and haven't really been tested. I did fare better against the competition in the modestly hilly Hillsboro-Roubaix race than in my other mass-start cycling races.

Without the ability for riders to share the load and take turns sitting on the front, aerodynamics are critical in time trialing. I have recently acquired some gear to help me reduce drag and improve my performance in time trials and triathlon. I've been using clip-on aerobars for some time, but have recently added an aero helmet, shoe covers, a wheel cover to convert my standard rear wheel into a "poor-man's disc wheel", and a deep-section carbon tubular Zipp 404 wheelset (which made me poor after I purchased them. I'd like to eventually get a dedicated time trial bike also, but that purchase will have to wait.)

The Giant TCR C1, race ready with new Zipp 404s and aerobars.

The disc on the rear wheel reduces drag significantly, but makes the bike hard to handle in the crosswind. A disc on the front wheel is always a bad idea (except on an indoor track), since even a slight crosswind pushes the steering out of line. So far, I have not had the opportunity to use the new wheels or wheel cover in a timed event, but I should have them at my disposal for my next triathlon. I am pretty optimistic about my prospects, especially if the morning wind is calm.

Monsters of the Midway

2009-05-20T16:30:00.004-05:00

On Saturday, May 16, I raced in the Monsters of the Midway criterium hosted by the University of Chicago Velo Club. I met Wild Card Cycling teammate Tom at his house in Champaign just after 8 am and we headed north. We picked up our race packets on arrival and headed several blocks east to warm-up on the Lakefront Trail. The weather was near perfect, with sunshine and temps in the low 60s.

The course was a long, flat 1.1 mile rectangle on the Midway Plaisance

Tom and another teammate, Nick, joined me in the category 4 race. I race the beginners' category 5 in USA Cycling races, but this race was sanctioned by American Bicycle Racing (ABR), which seems to have a regional presence mostly in parts of the upper Midwest and California. Nick recently joined ABR as a cat 4 and I preferred to enter this race with teammates, so I did the same.

Not that I really benefited from having teammates in the race, nor that I was able to lend any assistance to them. I had trouble from the very start. I finished my final warm-up lap a couple minutes after Nick and Tom lined up at the start. I tried to line up behind them, but a rider from Turin Bicycle Society slipped in front of me. He had trouble clipping in after we rolled out. My concentration lapsed and I fumbled my own clip-in. Our race was shortened to 30 minutes plus 1 lap due to delays from rain and crashes earlier in the day, so the pace was high from the start. By the time we entered the second turn, I was at the back of the race. The slowing and subsequent accelerations in the corners were terrible on the back. I moved up a few positions in each straight, but then dropped back at each corner.

I stayed connected to the back for about 1.5 laps, but then a guy in the row ahead of me let a gap open and I wasn't strong enough to jump around him quickly enough. I soon found myself in a group of about 10 or so, as the cord snapped. I made a last-ditch attempt to bridge back when it seemed the pack slowed in the headwind, but no one grabbed my wheel. If I could have worked with at least two or three riders, it may have turned out better. I wasn't strong enough to bridge alone. My small group off the back grew and shrunk throughout the race as we picked up remnants from the two crashes and as others dropped off. It seemed like I was one of only about three or four guys that were willing and able to work. Every time I tried to lift the pace from the front, no one followed, so I sat up and rejoined.

Scott on the front of Groupe Lanterne Rouge. "Work with me people!"
(Most photos by Anona, with Tom's camera)

During the last couple laps, I tried to encourage the other riders to pick it up. I told them we did not want to be lapped. I'm not sure if I'll get an official place, since technically I was lapped just as the main field sprinted through the final meters. I was surprised that the guy who allowed the critical gap to open on the second lap stayed with my group until the end. I didn't want him to beat me to the finish, so I sat on his wheel through the final corner and sprinted around him at about 100m. He did very little work through most of the race. Plenty of blame for the outcome lies with me, of course. I have a pretty short, lousy record with crits, and not all misfortune is due to factors beyond my control. At least I seem to be improving with each race. (I didn't finish the first two.) I'll figure it out before too long.

Scott, Nick, and Tom after the race

It wasn't all about me, of course. There was some good news on the day. Tom was about 9th in our race and Nick also finished with the bunch sprint. A few riders went off the front early in the race, but were caught on the last lap. Wild Card Fast Grrrl Anona cleaned up and put the team on the podium, taking second place in the women's category 3/4 race. Sorry we missed your race, Anona! It started too darn early.

Peace out, Anona!
(Photo by Tom, with Tom's camera)

Tri the Illini

2009-05-19T17:00:00.003-05:00

On May 2, I competed in the first running of the Tri the Illini sprint triathlon, organized by the Fighting Illini Triathlon club at the University of Illinois. The event took place on the University campus, with the swim and transition area at the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC). The ARC is the main intramural gym facility.

Since this was an inaugural event, I was a bit anxious about its level of organization and support from the community. The bike course crossed a few major intersections on the way in and out of campus, and support from Champaign and Urbana governments and police would be essential. The cities had recently hosted the much larger inaugural Illinois Marathon, which was a very well-executed event, but road closures stirred the ire of many local residents and motorists. My concerns proved unwarranted, as the event was well-executed by the student organizers and the course was well staffed with volunteers and law enforcement. That this was a relatively small event with a short duration early on a Saturday morning meant that traffic control issues were minimal.

The weather was also nearly perfect for the race, despite the fact that heavy rains fell for much of the weeks preceding and following the race. It was sunny, with light winds (for spring) from the west and about 60 degrees.

Also joining the race were two of my Wild Card Cycling teammates, Rob and Martin. All of us ride the bike pretty well, though Martin is usually a bit faster, especially in time trial and triathlon events. He also has a new full carbon time trial machine that he had built in China for $400. Rob is a pretty strong swimmer and runner, and Martin runs respectably as well, so keeping up with them is usually pretty challenging.

The Swim

The swim took place indoors on 6 lengths of the 50-meter pool. Racers started on 10 second intervals in the order of their estimated swim time. I started 86th in the field of approximately 300. In theory, if everyone swam his estimated time (with even splits), there would be no passing and congestion in the pool. In practice, there was some passing and congestion. Rob performed a pretty rigorous breakdown of the outcome. I passed two or three people and was passed by two or three people. One guy I passed was walking through the shallow sections at either end of the pool. He obviously had no business starting in the first half of the field, but this incident notwithstanding, the swim seemed to run fairly smoothly for most of the 20 or so swimmers that started on either side of me.

I executed a flip turn after the first length, but the remaining four turns were congested enough that I though I risked colliding with someone if I didn't perform an open turn after crossing under the lane divider.

The exit from the swim into the cool morning air injected a bit of discomfort, but race day adrenaline masked it fairly well.

The Bike

Next up was my strongest event, the part which I dub, "out of my way, all ye swimmers on mountain bikes." Pushing my bike out of transition barefoot, with shoes clipped into the pedals, I had a little trouble getting settled into my shoes after the first couple turns on the bike course. This being the first triathlon of the season, I should have rehearsed the maneuver at home a little more. About half of the opening 4.5 miles of the 11 mile bike course headed east into the tailwind. It was fairly easy to hold about 25-27 miles per hour, but I knew that the westward stretch along Curtis Road would be tough, with no trees to break the headwind. I had pre-ridden part of the course that passes near my office at PowerWorld, and I knew that the sections on St. Marys and Wright Streets would be tough. The roads are in pretty rough condition, with potholes, gravel, and a few tight turns. Fortunately, the organizers covered a nasty patch of gravel at the last turn in this section, but it was still very tight, as riders had to turn left onto the bike lane of Windsor Road. The car traffic on Windsor was oncoming to the riders, so it wasn't possible to swing wide through the turn. It was the slowest part of the course, but I survived. At least I could come back up to speed in a tailwind.

The turn into the headwind came just before the half way point. It was not as bad as I had feared, as the winds were not terribly strong, but it required concentration and a steady dose of effort. It helped that there were lots of slow riders on this stretch to pass. That kept my motivation high when it was vulnerable to being dampened by the wind. I even overtook a guy on a tiny BMX bike.

The last major change of direction on the bike took us north for most of the last two miles. The stretch included some gentle uphill grades and the first mile was unprotected from the crosswind. This was the hardest part of the ride for me, and my speed slowed to about 19 mph as I ascended the gentle slope past my office on First Street.

The Run

The run is typically my greatest liability in triathlon. I am not a particularly strong swimmer either, but the swim is usually only about 8-20% of the total race. As the first leg, a key to the swim is usually to conserve energy without losing too much time to the fastest swimmers. The run is usually the part where I give up huge chunks of time to the people who beat me in the overall race.

I felt pretty good at the start of the run and though I did not take splits, it felt like I kept an even pace throughout. Still, it felt pretty slow as quite a few people passed me. A loop around the University quad came at roughly the halfway point of the run. The quad was crowded with pedestrians and high school students attending a math contest. Fortunately I didn't run into anyone.

The guy with bib number 83 came around me shortly after the entrance to the quad. I tried to keep pace with him, knowing that at the point he passed me, I was still 30 seconds ahead of him. As he pulled away, I started picking out landmarks and counting the time between his passing and my passing. The first check was about 10 seconds. Good, still ahead. But before we reached the far end of the quad and turned back home, it had grown to 32 seconds. I had dropped another spot, but tried to focus on running my own race.

I spotted Rob about 100 meters from the finishing line. He had already finished his race and encouraged me to finish strong. I stepped up the kick a bit, but there wasn't a lot left. It wasn't a bad finish, as I'm usually more disappointed if there is too much in the tank. It wasn't a bad run altogether and the pace was actually 17 seconds per mile faster than my first multisport race last year.

Results

I finished in 22nd place, in the field of about 300.

Swim- 5:55 (106th place, included some running to transition)
T1- 1:10 (38th place)
Bike- 29:24 (22.5 mph, 10th place)
T2- 1:40 (215th place - I put socks on, apparently rather slowly)
Run- 21:14 (7:04/mile, 59th place)
Overall- 59:22 (22nd place)

There were many racers from Big 10 triathlon clubs, and I was surprised that more of them did not beat me. For one, I am about twice the age of the average freshmen student. As collegiate athletes, one would expect that they would also train pretty regularly as well. My theory is that college triathlon, as a non-varsity sport, probably draws a lot of athletes that are pretty good swimmers or runners, but not good enough to make the varsity swim or track teams. An athlete with exceptional self-discipline can really excel in collegiate club sports, but most never experience the level of motivation (and constructive pressure) from coaches, teammates, and fans as their counterparts in varsity sports. I competed in crew (rowing) at Washington University, but quit after one year as it became too easy to miss practices due to other commitments or just being tired.

In addition to Rob (10th place overall) and Martin (15th), I recognized several of the 21 racers who beat me as strong runners. Bib 83 is a respectable local runner from the Second Wind Running Club. Most of the racers that beat me in the other Champaign-Urbana triathlon are also strong runners. In fact, all but one athlete that finished ahead of me overall had a faster run split.

Here are the complete results overall and by age-group.

What Next?

I have since tried to increase my run training to compensate for my weakness, but unfortunately, a pain in my right knee pain that dogged me several years ago has reignited. Last time I experienced this problem, I visited an orthopedic surgeon, had an MRI, and visited a physical therapist. I never received a confident diagnosis. The MRI revealed no trauma or injury and the surgeon hypothesized that my knee has some faulty alignment and does not track on an ideal path through the running stride. Most of my pain seems to center around the point of connection between the quadricep and patellar tendon, with some tightness in the tendons connected to the hamstring. The physical therapist prescribed stretching hip flexors, hamstrings, and calves during my prior treatment. Fortunately, I can still swim and ride with minimal discomfort. I am going to take a break from running, at least until our family's final ski vacation of the season, and focus on stretching and strengthening my right leg.

My goal for the season is to improve on last year's performance in the Olympic-distance Evergreen Lake Triathlon by at least 13 minutes. A stronger run than last year will be essential. Hopefully this setback does not derail the goal.

This event was a great experience and I hope next year's leadership of the Fighting Illini Triathlon club elects to host the race again.

North of the Border Skiing

2009-05-18T15:02:00.014-05:00

Immediately after Jennifer, the kids, and I spent the final weekend of the midwestern skiing season at Ski Brule, I had to travel to the Seattle area to provide software training to one of our customers, Puget Sound Energy (PSE). I booked an extra day onto my trip and optimistically packed my powder skis, hoping to visit one of the nearby ski resorts on Wednesday, April 22, after my work was complete. I needed to be at PSE on Monday morning, and thus had to travel on Sunday evening. My trip began in Madison, Wisconsin, which offered the most convenient flights I could access on our way home from the weekend trip to Ski Brule.

Unfortunately, the few nearby ski areas still open for the season had shifted to weekend-only operation. My best choices would be Whistler-Blackcomb in British Columbia, Canada or Mount Hood, east of Portland, Oregon. Each area was about 4 hours by car from Bellevue, assuming light traffic. Each area operates deep into the spring, with Timberline at Mount Hood offering nearly year-round skiing on their snowfield. I took a shared limo to my hotel in suburban Bellevue, sharing the ride with a local and a couple other visitors. My skis stretched across the center of the passenger area of the limo and the local guy asked where I was headed. I described my limited choices and he suggested Whistler, since the traffic through Portland can become quite congested. Armed with that knowledge, my decision was made.

As it turned out, the traffic to Whistler was rather heavy in both directions - especially rush hour around Vancouver, BC and to a lesser extent on the Sea to Sky Highway, which is getting upgrades for the 2010 Olympics. After spending most of fall and winter on my rock skis or race skis, I was excited about the chance to pull the fat skis out of storage. However, the top 2/3 of both mountains was total ice, which would have been OK on giant slalom racing skis, but it was not so pleasant standing over a 95 mm waist. The area experienced low temps and very high winds the night before, so anything that wasn't groomed was jagged and chunky where old tracks had frozen solid. I went to the top of Blackcomb in the morning and was pretty much the only moron that tried the bumps. It was a waste of time and energy. The conditions were more Loveland in January than West Coast in April. I never thought I'd be seeking out the groomed on my powder skis. The lower mountain had good spring conditions, but there just isn't much terrain down there. The runs on both mountains funnel tightly to a common base area at Whistler Village.

I skied a few cruisers on the middle of the mountain until midday, then headed up Whistler Mountain to check out the 2010 Olympic Super G and Downhill course. I was surprised by how easy it seemed, but I'm sure it will be a different animal injected and at 70 mph. Still, it ain't no Birds of Prey. The bottom half of the course was roped off as the smaller Creekside base area had closed for the season. The sun was hitting that side of the mountain and it seemed like there was nothing better to ski, so I ducked under, hit the nicest spring bumps on both mountains, and caught a bus back to the main village. It was too bad Creekside was closed, because it looked like it had nice intermediate and advanced terrain all the way to the bottom.

With the sun still out, I figured I'd try the top again and hit Whistler Bowl - a big mistake and another big waste of time. It was still jagged ice and the clouds rolled back in. One guy passed me on the way down, but I was really fighting it. I was parked on the Blackcomb side and slightly above the base area, so I needed to get back before the lifts closed. It was a perfect opportunity to ride the brand new Peak 2 Peak Gondola which crosses 1427' over the valley floor - pretty neat - a lot better than the skiing on that day anyway. By this time it was even snowing at the base, which is only about 2200' above sea level. In late April!

It was A LOT of driving for some very marginal skiing, but it still beat a good day at work! The drive was gorgeous as well, especially along the coast just north of Vancouver. The mountains rise straight up out of the ocean, with the road cut right into the edge.

"The Chief" as seen from the bay at Squamish, BC (from a user of Panoramio.com)
Other neat pictures from the area

Spring Weekend at Ski Brule

2009-05-03T20:09:00.013-05:00

We traveled to Ski Brule near Iron River, Michigan the weekend of April 17-19 to close out the Midwestern ski season. I have taken Faith for a weekend in April four of the last five years. We only missed 2007 when she was recovering from a successful heart cathederization. Our first trip was in 2005 (article on page 14). This year, Jennifer and Zach joined us for the first time.

We picked Faith up from school around noon on Friday and headed north, stopping in Madison for dinner. We arrived after the lodging office had closed and retrieved our condo keys in an envelop they left for us. I was disappointed to find that they had given us a unit on the 3rd floor of the Pioneer Lodge, instead of the one I had reserved on the 2nd floor (which is on the same level as the two outdoor hot tubs). However, we were pleased to find they had upgraded us to a larger unit, so all was forgiven.

Saturday morning brought sunny skies and warm weather. The whole family skied in the morning. Zach was able to ski on his own across some of the flatter terrain on the top of the hill, but needed support from the leash on the pitch. His favorite run was Sunrise, which passed the horse pen and included only a short section that was too steep for him. We tried taking him "off lead" once on the steeper Log Jam, but after a fall-away turn sucked him into the exposed dirt on the left side of the slope, he insisted on the leash thereafter. Ideally we would have made the trip a week earlier when snow cover was more substantial and the easier Homestead side of the hill was still open, but Easter fell on that weekend this year, so we made the best of the 5 open runs and 1 chairlift and 1 rope tow that were still turning.

Faith takes a break with the horses

Zach makes a turn without help from the leash

Jennifer and Zach enjoy the sunshine

Zach took a one-hour lesson with Arlen after lunch, while Faith and I skied on our own. Arlen didn't really provide much instruction to Zach, opting mostly to walk alongside him and hold his hand on the bunny slope. However, Zach was starting to get a little crabby with us towards the end of the morning and the presence of the unfamiliar authority figure at least forced him to pay attention and try. At least that's what I tell myself as reassurance that $45 plus tip wasn't just as well flushed down the commode. In fairness, Arlen was a gentle teacher who quickly established a good raport with Zach.

Zach with Arlen

Nap time was soon calling, so Jennifer and the kids called it a day after Zach's lesson concluded while I ripped several runs at full speed in the afternoon sun. It was the best skiing of the weekend. I found that it is much easier to stay dry when crossing the small ponds at the bottom of the hill at high speed, as you can get out of the way by the time the water sprays up behind you. One of these days, I will have to try a pond skimming exhibition. I have been saving an old, beat-up pair of boots in my office closet for just that purpose.

Faith and Zach in the bear chair inside the Brule Saloon

We hit the base of Whitewater for snow tubing after the lifts had closed. We walked up the slope for our first of 5 runs, but the guys came to our rescue with the snowmobile shortly thereafter. The kids thought that was really cool. Then we went into town for Italian at Alice's. It may not sound Italian, but it's pretty darn good.

Zach hangs on as Jennifer screams down the tubing run

Faith shows her approval of snow tubing

The clouds rolled in on Sunday, bringing rain and colder temperatures. We had come a long way and still had the morning, so we made the most of it. I took the kids, one at a time, for about an hour each on what would be Ski Brule's last day of operation for the 2008-09 season. As Zach and I walked over, we met another father and son from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in the same boat. It was about 9:15 and the lifts were still not turning. The lift employees were biding their time in one of the buildings at the base. When they saw us walk over, they came out and started the Big Bear lift. The rope tow had already been dismantled for the season. Zach and I made about 4 runs and then I took him back to Jennifer at the condo and headed out with Faith. We did about 7 runs before the rain penetrated our gloves, at which point it was about time to start packing for home.

As soon as we started taking off our skis, the lifts stopped and the crew started cleaning up. I think Faith and I officially made the last chair of the season! One other snowboarder joined us briefly during the morning, making 6 patrons in total for the day. My kids and I made up exactly half. It was a great time nonetheless.

I drove the crew back to Madison, where I caught a plane for Seattle for a couple days of work and another day of skiing. Jennifer was a good sport to bring the kids back the rest of the way home to St. Joseph. Though our Midwestern season is done, we will head to Colorado for Memorial Day weekend and Arapahoe Basin's Festival of the Brewpubs as we did last year. This time, Zach will join us and we will also make some time for horseback riding. It should be another great adventure.

More photos from the day

The Commuter

2009-04-10T20:39:00.017-05:00

Today I joined the diverse fellowship of those who commute by bicycle to work. I plan to do it at least once or twice a week when the days are long enough to do so safely. I had a couple of pretty good rides today in winds pushing up to 20 miles per hour from the east northeast. The morning commute was mostly tailwind and cross tailwind. I mostly held 22-24 mph while barely breaking a sweat. The evening commute was another story, but it provided a solid workout.

Morning commute profile
Evening commute profile

Triathlon and time trial training are the primary motivation. Before I joined Wild Card Cycling and started training and racing with the team toward the end of last summer, almost all of my training miles consisted of solo rides. Since then, I've logged most of my miles with the team. We usually do a long Saturday ride (60-100 miles) and, during daylight savings time, a high-tempo Wednesday evening ride (30-50 miles). I normally do a solo recovery ride and run on Sunday mornings before church, and sometimes several shorter morning low to middle intensity solo rides during the week, but my solo miles have really dropped. High-intensity solo riding is important for building the powerful muscles used in triathlon and time trialing, where there is nowhere to hide from that persistent antagonist, the wind.

So I'm filling the void by commuting on my bike. I can't realistically ride every day, since some days find me shopping, swimming, or tending to kids' activities and other errands after work. My home and office are separated by just over 14 miles, with slightly more than half on quiet, dark, oil-and-chip county roads. I use a rear flasher in twilight and low light conditions, but it doesn't seem very safe after sundown, even with a headlight or helmet light.

It takes about 45 minutes to ride each way, give or take depending on the wind, versus 25 minutes to drive. So I can get 90 minutes of training at a cost of about 40 minutes from my day. As a multisport athlete with work, family, and other obligations, the bicycle commuting math is definitely favorable - not a bad way to squeeze in a few solid 20 km plus time trials every week.

The Research Park where my office is located has an incubator building for start-ups. Tucked away in a corner of the second floor is a shower room. It was built ostensibly to serve workaholic entrepreneurs who don't get out of the office much, but it also suits my needs quite well.

So the big question is "what type of commuter am I?" The Aussie cycling blog Cycling Tips profiled the universe of commuters quite cleverly. I probably fit somewhere on the spectrum between the "Weekday World Champ" and the "PRO".

The Weekday World Champ (quoted from the Cycling Tips Blog):

"Every roadie loves the Weekday World Champ. This keenly competitive species of commuter is doing his own race for the rainbow jersey every morning. Usually wearing a free jersey from last years charity ride, solid black shorts, $6 sunglasses, fenders, rear mirror, and any other optional safety features. He will follow your wheel while you’re slowly rolling along the road or bike path and then attack you at the opportune time of his liking. Then his head will blow off and soon after you’ll come rolling past at the same speed you were doing for the past 20 mins. The World Champ botches a trackstand at red lights then punches it off the gun when it turns green. Again, you’ll catch up to him shortly and pass him once again."

This describes perhaps 25% of my commuting persona. When not wearing my own racing kit, I can usually be spotted in solid black shorts (some fairly plush Nike threads, mind you) and either the Tour of Missouri GC leader's jersey, or a splashy but unadorned Giordana jersey from the late 80s. Though I lack a free jersey from a charity ride, I will never ride in the Tour of Missouri and I won't likely ever lead the GC standings in a cat 4/5 stage race. I can't yet trackstand, but I know better than to attempt it in public, thus avoiding the botch. I don't sport $400 Oakleys, but my $40 sunglasses were purchased from a hardcore running and swimming boutique and my only optional safety feature is the aforementioned flasher. I also know how to ride a time trial (even if I'm not especially fast), and though I may get passed, my head will not blow off until the very end of a truly violent racing effort (or at least not until after T2). Which brings me to the other 75% of my commuting persona...

The PRO:

"That’s right - YOU. You didn’t think you were gonna get out of it so easily, did you? You’re the only one who thinks you’re the coolest kat in town. You’re the guy who gets all kitted up, pins a number on, rides the Zipps, and has an espresso flavored powergel on your way to work. But I’m sure you have good reason to ride in like this... It could be because you have a race after work, you need to take your bike to the shop at lunch, or it could be because you like to show to all your coworkers how PRO you are. Sorry, but we’re the only people on the planet that think spandex, shaved legs, and tiny arms look cool."

As stated above, I actually do race and do wear a full kit (when not sporting all black shorts) - my own kit, thank you. And I do think spandex, shaved legs, and tiny arms look cool - probably because I have no hope of having arms that are anything but tiny. I don't have $2000 Zipps and my bike lacks the full complement of PRO grade components, but it's still way too cool for 95% of the commuting public.

My teammate Rob places himself between the Hardman and the PRO. Like me, he is definitely all PRO on the Wednesday and Saturday team rides, but his usual commuter bike and threads are 100% Hardman. I ride and train in all kinds of temperatures and rain, but I usually avoid icy or slushy roads. I will probably never commute in snow, mostly because of the shortened daylight that usually accompanies it. I will never be worthy of the Hardman.

The First Road Race of the Season

2009-04-05T16:17:00.037-05:00

On April 4, I competed in the Hillsboro-Roubaix road cycling race, organized by the International Christan Cycling Club. The "Hillsboro" refers to the location of the race in Hillsboro, Illinois. Despite being surrounded by flat plains characteristic of central Illinois, Hillsboro is aptly named, with several small hills and valleys.

Course Elevation Profile (click image for larger picture)
The hills near the end of the course at mile 20 would prove to be the hardest.

The "Roubaix" is a reference to the famous spring classic pro cycling race, Paris-Roubaix, also known as the "hell of the north" for its typically brutal, windy weather and miles upon miles of rough cobblestone roads. Hillsboro-Roubaix also includes a section of cobblestones in the finishing circuit around the town, but they are not nearly as rough as those of its namesake. Also, we were blessed with a window of beautiful weather for the 2009 Hillsboro-Roubaix, sandwiched between two days of typically seasonal wind and rain.

My team, Wild Card Cycling, brought 15 riders to this race, though we were spread across several categories defined by experience, age, ability, and gender. Last year, in the team's inaugural season, the men's category 5 riders were tremendously successful, capturing first and second place and four of the top 10 spots. We also won the women's category 4 race. I joined the team later in the 2008 season and hoped to do my part to continue the team's success. I had started criterium races in St. Louis and Jefferson City last September, but failed to finish each. This was my first ever road race.

Wild Card Command Central
Photos by teammate Rob and his wicked Canon EOS 50D

We originally registered six riders in the cat 5 field of 50. Only one team, the gi-normous Chicago-based XXX Racing-AthletiCo, registered more. This is a very popular race that filled up the same morning that registration opened. Karl, our team leader, manager, directeur sportif, and beer taster did a fantastic job at the computer to get us all in. With more than 10% of the field, we figured we could do some damage and dictate the outcome of the race. We talked about race tactics a lot in our team meetings and on our team message board.

One of our team's youngest riders, Alexei, was showing a lot of strength in the early season and seemed to have the best shot of winning the race. Nick was also riding well and we thought he should try to get to the finish with Alexei and lead him out, if the race were to end in a sprint. Art and I, as support riders, would lift the pace early to try to split the field if other teams could not or did not want to drive. Alexei and Nick would be protected until one or both felt stong enough to attack off the front of the group.

Several teammates on last year's cat 5 team advised that the field would split up on every climb. Riders in the more advanced categories have pretty homogeneous abilities, especially at category 3 and above, and most of the riders stay together in a peloton or pack for most of the race. Cat 5 is comprised entirely of relatively new racers, as riders get promoted to cat 4 after 10 starts. As a result, a cat 5 field can contain some very strong riders who are just getting started with racing, but who will probably move up to higher categories very rapidly. It also usually contains several riders in their first race who are just giving it a try and may never enter another race again. With such varied ability levels, the field typically splits up early and often, especially on hills and in crosswinds and headwinds.

We planned to take advantage of this tendency by attacking early and often, starting on the opening climb. Our race was also just a single 22 mile circuit, which meant that the pace at the front of the race would be high throughout the race (or at least high considering that the field would quickly disintegrate into many small groups of riders). Immediately after leaving town, the route descended about 90 vertical feet to a creek and then climbed about 80 feet up the other side of the valley. A turn northward into a crosswind followed shortly, though the road was protected from the wind by woodlands.

The riders rolled out by category separated by 2-4 minute intervals. The cat 5 race started near the end. We were late getting to the start line and could not find Alexei, who was to be our leader for the race. He eventually showed, but we had to squeeze onto the left side of the field, which was not a very favorable position. The first 400 meters or so to the first right turn were neutralized, meaning that we had to hold our positions. We would enter the first turn and the start of the race on outside. The roads outside of town, where most of the race would take place, were open to traffic and a centerline rule was in effect. It was not legal to pass another rider from the left of the center of the road and a violation would lead to disqualification. However, none of the roads had actual lines, so there was some subjectivity the officials would apply to determine whether a violation had occurred. As we rounded the corner, I was the worst positioned on our team, near the back and on the left side, dangerously close to the "centerline". Art managed to work his way toward the right and Nick and Alexei were up ahead on the left. I did not want to get caught behind a slower rider on the way up the first hill, so I took a big risk in moving up on the left side. The biggest problem was that other riders started to elbow in on my right, which forced me further left. I backed off a little each time I felt I was too far left, but inched my way up whenever I could.

At the bottom of the descent, the group suddenly slowed and riders were braking. I am not sure exactly what happened, but I suspect the riders in front were not tucking as low as they should have. This is typical of the rookie blunders that occur often in a cat 5 race. I am certainly not above making a few myself. Because the riders on the front of a descent face much greater wind resistance and drag, the back of the pack tends to accelerate into them. The riders in the front should pedal hard down the descent and tuck onto the handlebars to avoid causing a pile up behind. The result was nearly catastrophic. A rider in front of Art must have squeezed his back brake hard, as his bike turned seemingly perpendicular to the road. From the corner of my eye, I saw Art swerve into the ditch to avoid a crash. I had to touch my brakes as well, but tried to do so as little as possible to avoid magnifying the problem further back in the pack. Art fortunately recovered from the ditch without injury or damage to his bike, but he had lost several places and could not rejoin the back of the group on the climb.

After we got moving again, I took advantage of the holes that opened up in the pack to move up and position myself well for the climb. I hit the climb hard and managed to lead the race into the first turn, with Nick and Alexei on my wheel. I continued to ride hard for a few hundred meters after the turn to try to drop as many riders as possible. Nick warned that I should ease up, but I figured I did not have much of a chance of making it to the line with them anyway and this was the best way I could contribute. At the first turn, my heart rate was up to 172, which was extremely close to my max at this point in the season.

I soon backed off and let Nick, Alexei, and a few riders from other teams come around. Shortly thereafter, and just after we turned west into a tailwind, a rider from Chicago's Half Acre team launched a solo attack. No one followed him, and since we were all pretty new to racing, we didn't know if his was a dangerous attack or not. We hit two more significant hills in the first 6 miles and then turned into a crosswind. Even only a day after the race, my recollection of specifics is a bit hazy, but I believe it was about a half mile or so into the crosswind that a group of several riders made another attack, which Alexei joined. I did not see Nick go with him, and I briefly considered jumping on so that I could help Alexei later in the race. However, it was still relatively early and I was not feeling particularly strong. I decided that it would be best to let them go and not risk pulling other riders on my wheel and into Alexei's break. I rode at the front of the remaining group for a while, but allowed the gap in front to steadily grow. After a short while, I realized that I was all alone. The last couple of hills and the crosswind had shattered the group again. Unfortunately, Nick had also dropped back.

I backed off and just rode a steady tempo, waiting for other riders. Eventually a rider from the Cycle Smithy team caught up to me and we worked together for a few miles. Later, we caught two riders, who I suspect had dropped off Alexei's break and were joined by three more that bridged up from behind. I was now part of a comfortable group of seven to work back into the headwind and into the finish in town. Two of the riders were not doing any work on the front, but the other five of us did about equal share. It was nice to be able to conserve a little energy for the final hills in town, especially since I had driven hard earlier in the race.

It wasn't long before we hit the descent to the creek. The 90' climb on the other side (which was the opening descent) was followed immediately by another climb on the finishing circuit in town. I managed to drop a few riders from our group of seven on this climb, which was the hardest of the race. At the top of the climb, we turned left. At the bottom of the ensuing descent were the cobblestones. I was really happy to have a shock absorbing carbon fork and frame. The cobblestones continued through the next left turn and most of the straight until the final turn before the finish. I was really fighting my machine at this point, as were most other riders around me.

As I came around the last turn, I saw two riders from separate teams holding a modest tempo about 100 meters ahead. I couldn't tell if they were marking each other for a sprint or if they had just agreed to roll to the line without a fight. Even thought the front of the race had already finished, I was determined to get the best place that I could, which meant passing them if possible. I tried to gradually close the gap without alerting them of my approach. At about 250 meters from the line, I started to accelerate a little more, at which point they did the same.

200 Meters to Go

Not an experienced sprinter, I probably hit the gas too early, but I thought it was my best chance. I pushed as hard as I could to the line, coming around the left side and passing both of them for 9th place. The 10th place rider was just 0.113 seconds back. It seemed like he was less than a wheel length behind on my right. Four riders had crossed the line in the 1.413 seconds after me. Though it wasn't for the race victory, I had won my first cycling sprint. My bike computer said I only hit 28 miles per hour at the line, but it sure felt like I was going much harder. I was obviously quite exhausted at that point (and fortunately, the others were as well).

My heart rate was high throughout the race, but I maxed out at a modest 176 beats per minute. When I am on peak form, I can push well into the 180s. My average heart rate was a rather high 164 bpm, reflecting the work I did on or near the front of the group, on my own, and in a relatively small group of riders. (Here is my complete ride profile.)

Alexei finished 5th, which was awesome. Though our strategy did not play out exactly according to plan, two riders in the top 10 was a pretty good showing. Nick finished 19th, as he rode strong but struggled a bit on some of the hills. Art finished 31st, but likely would have done much better if not for the incident on the first descent.

After our race finished, I was able to watch many of the other Wild Card riders in their races, most of which consisted of multiple laps around the 22-mile course. Art and I went to the feed zone at the hill just outside town to provide fresh bottles of fluids to our masters riders as they approached the start of their 3rd and final lap. I failed my first assignment as soigneur, arriving about 15 seconds too late to deliver a fresh bottle to Martin. Fortunately, he had enough on board to finish his race. Art successfully refueled Gene, although the exchange took place at a much lower speed and with less grace than exhibited on the Pro Tour.

Gene approaching the finish of the Masters 40-49 race after 66 miles in the saddle

The second pack of Cat 3 finishers winds up the sprint.

Despite not matching the success of last year's team, it was a solid showing by Wild Card Cycling. We had some very strong riders in the cat 4 and masters races and most finished in the middle of the pack, evidence that their races were marked with very high paces and strong fields. Teammate Rob blogged his perspective of the cat 4 race. Here is a summary of the Wild Card results:

Men's cat 5:
5 Alexei Perelet
9 Scott Dahman
19 Nick Hand
31 Art Hess

Women's cat 4:
11 Becky Chan
15 Anona Whitley

Men's cat 4:
9 Tom Carlson
17 Luke Taggart
19 Rob Raguet-Schofield
38 Mark French
DNF Dan Sochacki
DNF Karl Crapse

Men's Masters 40-49:
38 Martin Gruebele
44 Gene McDowell

Men's Masters 50+:
17 Greg Youngen

Central Masters Championships

2009-01-27T17:14:00.015-06:00

Last weekend I competed in the Central Masters Championships at Marquette Mountain. Like the race two weeks prior at Mt. La Crosse, the level of competition was generally high and I was one of the slower skiers. This is one of only two races I regularly attend which includes a super G (SG), or super giant slalom. The other occurs next weekend, also at Marquette Mountain.

Masters racers at the break near the top of the GS and slalom hill, Cliffs Ridge. The city of Marquette, Michigan and Lake Superior loom behind and below.

A super G course is generally somewhere between a giant slalom (GS), which consists of turns similar in shape and rhythm to natural free-skiing, and a downhill (DH), which generally follows the contour of the hill with mostly subtle turns at very high speed. Most people who don't ski (or at least do alpine racing) usually associate competitive ski racing with the last Olympic downhill race they saw. Professional racers often attain speeds over 80 mph and jumps over 100 meters on downhill courses. Slalom (SL) and giant slalom are considered technical events. They feature shorter turns and success requires mastery of precise and quick movements, balance, and a high level of technical execution. Super G and downhill are considered "speed" events, where technical skills are still important, but strength, brute force, and sheer nerve factor more prominently. The courses in speed events may include some technical turns and features, but generally to a lesser degree than in technical events. I have been told more than once that I have a lot of nerve, and it follows naturally that I tend to place better in the field in speed events.

But to keep some perspective, the super G at Marquette Mountain is considerably more tame than a World Cup or Olympic speed event, or even an amateur event on a big mountain. In the Midwest, almost all ski racing is of the technical variety since we lack the big-mountain vertical drops necessary for authentic speed courses. Still, the diminuitive Marquette super G may be the closest I ever get to cheating death on skis. It usually involves speeds in the 50-55 mph range and one to three very small jumps. However, on the day of this super G, high winds blew straight up the hill with gusts up to 40 mph and lots of new snow. The first race was contested in near blizzard conditions. To say that the track was slow was an understatement. The course consisted of a steep drop at the top, followed by a long flat section, followed by a steep knoll, and then a modest pitch with some terrain to the finish. In good conditions, it is relatively easy to generate a lot of speed on the opening pitch, carry most of that speed through the flat, then jump over the knoll into the final stretch. Each time I approached the knoll, my speed would slow to a crawl due to winds and piles of blowing snow on the course, and then a big white tornado would form in my path right at the break. I would not catch any air going over the jump. There was some terrain around the third gate from the bottom and I believe my skis may have briefly lost contact with snow there, but it was nowhere near the typical super G experience. My friend Atilla asked why I bothered with the new skis since it appeared that I stopped for coffee on the way down. Though he is a better technical skier than I, I beat him in the super G. His excuse was that he grabbed two cups of coffee.

The wind subsided a little for the second race, but it was not possible to keep the track clear of blowing slow, especially on the flat section. Most racers were faster in the second race and I shaved 3.5 seconds - an eternity in super G. The sun even teased us for a brief moment and several of us were convinced that we should do a 3rd timed run, just for fun. It wasn't worth it. By the time we returned to the start, Murphy's Law exerted its cosmic influence and high winds and blowing snow resumed.

Even though I like to go fast, I welcomed the slow conditions for getting acclimated to the super G skis I had acquired just the night before the race. They are used and several years old, but in good condition for their age. At 204 cm, they are much longer than anything I had ever skied before (and 21 cm longer than my GS skis). I was a little nervous and made my first warm-up run on a very gentle green circle slope. I wanted just to get used to how they felt under foot before pushing the envelope. However, it was hard to make these skis do much of anything until they get up to speed. My feet felt like they were attached to two slabs of concrete.

Still, despite the slow conditions and my unfamiliarity with my new skis, I was able to finish near the middle of the pack in both super G races. I usually finish at or near the bottom in the technical events, as would be the case this weekend. I even avoided being chicked (beaten by a girl) in the first race, which may be a first-ever accomplishment for me on the masters circuit.

The wind would subside somewhat for the rest of the weekend, but the temperatures dropped. Saturday and Sunday mornings greeted us with subzero readings and the afternoon highs were in the teens. Both days did bring full sunshine, however, which is a rarity in the U.P. Saturday included two slalom races, in which I generally performed poorly. Slalom is the most technical event, consisting of many short, quick turns. It requires lots of training, which I have not been able to get this year. I think I will try to do more training next year and cut back a bit on the racing.

On Saturday evening, we enjoyed a lasagna dinner banquet at the US National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum in nearby Ishpeming, Michigan. The location was the birthplace of skiing in North America, introduced by Scandinavian immigrants. As in years past, I picked up one raffle prize. As in years past, it was an article of clothing two sizes two big. I tried to trade it with Hall of Fame volunteer Dick Wagner for a "history of skiing" DVD, but he was incensed that the windbreaker was adorned with a logo of a bankrupt financial institution. So I still have a nice XL pullover windbreaker. It would be perfect for golf or other casual outdoor activities in spring for fall. Let me know if you are interested!

The giant slalom was on tap for Sunday. I made a fundamental mistake on both runs of the first race. I generally failed to look ahead, where I wanted to go. Instead, my eyes were mostly fixated on the soft snow below each turn that I wanted to avoid. The problem is that the skis (like bicycles, cars, and other modes of transport) tend to follow the eyes. I skidded most turns instead of carving through on the hard snow. "Look ahead" is to skiing what "keep your head down" is to golf - a basic fundamental tip that is overlooked at one's peril. I placed dead last in the first race. I corrected the fault for the second race and my times improved by an average of 1.4 seconds per run. The course was different, but most racers recorded similar times in both races. My placing in the second race moved up four positions from the bottom. My handicap and points also dropped.

I return to Marquette this coming weekend with the Chicago Metro Ski Council series. I plan to add masking tape marked with the words "look ahead" to my ski tips so I will be reminded of this basic advice when I step into the starting gate. Hopefully the conditions will be faster for the super G.

Race Results:

Super G 1: 18 of 30 finishers - and unchicked!
Super G 2: 17 of 29
Slalom 1: 25 of 28
Slalom 2: 24 of 26
Giant Slalom 1: 25 of 25 - ugh!
Giant Slalom 2: 21 of 25

Midwest Masters at Mt. LaCrosse

2009-01-12T18:00:00.014-06:00

On January 10-11, I competed in my first USSA Masters ski race of the season with the Midwest Masters at Mt. LaCrosse, near La Crosse, Wisconsin. As usual, it was a humbling experience. The Midwest Masters series brings out some of the best adult competitors in the midwest. Many are ex-collegiate racers and most have more racing experience than me.

The Good: I nailed the exit for I-39 South at Cherry Valley. It was the best turn I made all weekend.
The Bad: Of the 6 runs that I finished, I'd rate 1 fair and the other 5 poor.
The Ugly: The 2 runs I DNF'ed (did not finish) - the very first SL (slalom) on Saturday and the very last GS (giant slalom) on Sunday.

The courses and conditions were very tough. All races started on Thunderation, a narrow blue square run with very modest pitch. Then a hard left-booter, an almost 90 degree right turn, takes racers over the lip of the headwall, which is very steep and pronounced on the skier's right and becomes gradually gentler moving to skier's left. Most transitions were blind and difficult to line up coming off the right angle turn. Past Chicago Metro Ski Council (CMSC) races on this hill took a tamer line on the skier's left, where the NASTAR course is usually set. For this weekend, all but the morning GS race (2 runs) were set on steep technical lines on the skier's right.

The weather was cold, but not frigid - between 10 and 20 degrees for most of the weekend. Most of the hill either faces north or is shaded from the sun by trees and rocky outcrops. Conditions were mostly icy and really tough to set an edge on the pitch. There were numerous funky terrain rolls and fall away turns after the headwall, which were more pronounced on the SL and afternoon GS sets (on the skier's right). The features made it very difficult to look ahead. Rather than scanning the next gate or two as one should, I found my focus too often on the terrain immediately in front of me. The best racers made it look easy, of course.

My first SL run of the morning race was a DNF that ended at the 10th gate - I slid sideways into the gate in a total mental lapse. I'll blame the fact that I hit the road later than I had hoped the night before and was a little "out of it" that morning. My next SL run was in super slow-mo. I just wanted to find the finish to give myself some confidence to build on for the afternoon race. My afternoon race was better, but still rather lackluster. I have let my conditioning drop too much for such a long hill. I'll have to try to get it back before my next two races at Marquette Mountain, which is also a long hill, but it is usually a tad easier to race well and find the finish there. A lot will depend on race day conditions.

My first GS run of the morning race was pretty slow. There was some blue safety netting right behind a blue gate just before the right turn onto the headwall. I inspected the course before the netting and outside gate were up. During the race, I failed to pick up the outside gate and was not sure if the turning gate was in fact the turning gate or the outside gate. I wedged for a moment and scrubbed a ton of speed. I improved about 1.5 seconds in the second run but still struggled with the hard turn and transition between the top section and the headwall.

The afternoon race was set on the more technical headwall transition on the skier's right. I was cautious and clumsy in the first run, but it was still probably the best run of the weekend that I actually finished. I was more confident on the second run and carried more speed from the headwall into the rolling finishing section. At times I caught some air and was bounced in a compression. A through gate helped build a little more speed, but two gates later I hit a rut at a point when my balance was a little off. I came out of my right ski and hit my head on the snow and my right shin on my dislodged ski. My goggles were torn from my face but the helmet did its job in protecting my head. I also didn't seriously hurt anything else. I just had a bruise and 2-inch cut on my shin. I picked up a bag of ice from the concession at the hill and some large bandages at a grocery store. I drove most of the way between La Crosse and Madison holding the ice on my leg. It is still quite sore several days later, but has been getting better each day. My upper body also felt like I was hit by a linebacker for the next few days. The worst part of it all was that the crash, which occurred about 6 gates from the finish, interrupted what was otherwise my best run of the weekend. I would have really liked to get a time on that one.

Mt. LaCrosse is just a tough hill. I have had some of my best and worst days racing there. I had a breakout race weekend there at the end of 2007, where I was promoted to the A class in the CMSC series (second from the top), but I've also crashed there about 4-6 times. I probably have more DNFs per start at Mt. LaCrosse than any other hill.

Here is a screen shot from my GPS computer that shows my speed (blue), elevation (green), and heart rate (red) during the GS crash run.

Profile of GS crash run.

My speed was generally building throughout the run, except for a slow down at the transition from the opening to the top of the headwall. The crash occurred 39 seconds into run, where my speed dropped abruptly from 36 mph to 6 mph (minimum speed recorded) in about 4 seconds. My heart rate recovered nicely after I stopped moving. The marker on graph and map shows the moment of impact.

NB: My GPS computer is designed for cycling and tends to understate the speed for skiing because it can only record at a maximum rate of one sample per second. Thus it tends to show a straighter path down the fall line than is actually skied. I tried uploading the data tracks to my motionbased account, but it distorted almost all of the statistics, showing some very high (and very low) speeds and grossly distorted elevation profiles. When I ski, I usually set the GPS computer to record only when my speed is above a certain threshold, usually 5-10 mph (depending on the speed of the chairlifts). I think the data and time scale get distorted by the motionbased software engine when this feature is used. It also get confused if the GPS signal is lost or just weak, which happens frequently because I tuck the device inside my coat or suit when I ski. For some reason, the PC application seems to know how to more accurately process the available data.

Race Results:

Christmas Concert

2009-01-12T11:44:00.026-06:00

Faith's school Christmas concert from December 2008 is online here! Faith is second from the right in the second row. (Run time is about 6.5 minutes.)

Notes:

Viewing requires Apple QuickTime.

Click on the link to view in its original size.

It is a large file (275 MB). If your connection is slow, it might be easier to download and view from your local machine (right-click link and choose "Save Target As...")

The Ski Racing Season is Underway!

2008-12-23T17:37:00.007-06:00

My 2008-09 ski racing season kicked off the weekend of December 12-13 with the Chicago Metro Ski Council. It was a decent start, though I left plenty of room for improvement. I love alpine skiing and racing, but the most frustrating thing is that it is a seasonal sport and it usually takes me until the end of January just to reach the level at which I had finished the prior season.

I will probably post some personal accounts of races in this space, but as Race Coordinator for the Champaign Ski Club, I also write articles for the online club newsletter as well. Follow them here!

The $%#! Disturber

2008-12-22T22:29:00.014-06:00

I recently wrote a letter to the editor of our local Champaign-Urbana newspaper describing how upset I was that our family was denied an application to adopt a dog. Jennifer and the kids had made a couple visits and decided they liked a Chihuahua named Lucy. I personally think that Chihuahuas are rather ugly, but I'm not really a dog person anyway. Adopting a dog was entirely for the benefit of Jennifer and the kids.

Anyway, Jennifer asked to see the mouse... er, dog... but a Champaign County Humane Society employee told her that they don't adopt small dogs to families with small children because of the risk that a child could accidentally step on the dog and kill it. I thought that was one of the most absurd things I had ever heard. Sure, it sounded plausible, but small dogs face many dangers. I wouldn't think that children stepping on them would pose an abnormally large threat. If anything, I would hypothesize that an adult would be much more likely than a child to step on a Chihuahua due to the adult's elevated field of vision. The consequences of being stepped on by an adult would also be more deadly than the same by a much lighter child. We were told to not even bother applying since denial would be certain.

Faith was devastated by the rejection and drew this picture of Lucy:

"Lucy the Chihuahua"

Anyway, we subsequently adopted Charlie, a beagle-basset hound mix from the neighboring Vermilion County Animal Shelter. Charlie is also a small dog, though he certainly has more heft than a Chihuahua and it seems unlikely anyone under about 8'6" would step on him. We were not given any grief about endangering the animal with unsure-footed children.

Fast forward a couple months. Several readers sent letters to the editor (prior to mine) about how they were upset about being denied dogs by the Champaign County Humane Society because they intended to keep the dogs primarily outside. One of the letter writers was even featured on the local TV news. I generally sympathized with their grievances and decided to vent about our experiences. Rather than paint another picture of rejection, I decided to take a slightly different angle with my letter. I thought it would be interesting to call attention to these adoption policies in light of the oft-discussed societal problem of animal overpopulation and too many unwanted, abandoned pets. Though I was not aware of any specific current overcrowding issues at the Champaign County Humane Society, I said that it would be prudent to question the restrictive adoption policies if the agency should ever seek funds to expand.

My letter drew a couple of angry responses from Champaign County Humane Society employees and supporters who thought that I was "suggesting that the community withdraw its support," which was a misrepresentation of what I wrote. I did say that I intended to withhold my support as long as their policies remained unchanged. And I said that potential donors should question policies before supporting. Certainly, if you agree with the policies, then it makes sense that you would support the agency and I wouldn't want you to do otherwise. But lend such support with your eyes wide open. That was the essence of my letter. It contained no "call to the community to withdraw support for the organization and all its good works." I didn't write back to the editor because I figured it would have been a waste of time to wage a public debate with anyone who so carelessly read my letter.

Another letter from a Champaign County Humane Society employee and supporter did not call me out by name, but suggested that rejections are rare and based on well thought out policies. Interestingly, our family is not part of the 3.6% of adoption applications that are rejected because we were told not to apply. There are no records to count how many of us there are, but I would wager that a good number of us now own pets adopted from other shelters.

A Future Campaign Strategist?

2008-11-04T21:51:00.019-06:00

Faith's creativity is amazing. While there is no mistaking that she lives in a household that leans to the right of center, Jenny and I have never really talked much politics with her. I certainly want her to grow up forming her own opinions and have no designs on indoctrinating her. Nonetheless she is very curious about things. She's obviously learned a little about the election process in the classroom and picked up on our preferences (from initially very minimal cues).

One day, she told me that if Obama were her teacher, he would be mean to her and the whole class. Shocked by her bold use of partisan spin, I told her that it just wasn't true. I said that he would probably be a nice teacher, but would do some things that you might not like very much.

Then last Saturday, while we were at Pizza Hut enjoying the meal that she earned for reading 100 minutes at home in the month of October, television coverage of 11th-hour campaigning droned in the background. Faith recognized the faces on the tube and pressed for specifics of what Obama would do if he were her teacher. Where to start? I explained that he might ask for a show of hands of all kids who brought their lunch money. He would ask for the same for those who didn't. Then he would take the lunch money from one group and give it to the other. Hold your fire Obama supporters! I know this is an oversimplification and possible exaggeration, but how do you explain opinions on tax policy to a first grader, even a smart one? Besides, the kids don't bring lunch money anymore; they have accounts (that Obama would siphon.) I tried to explain how we believe strongly in sharing and helping people through charity, but don't believe such is the role of our government. With part of her allowance, Faith helps us support a Kenyan girl who shares her exact birthday. Needless to say, I didn't even want to start on experience, integrity, or the host of other issues to consider when voting for President.

Faith shares our anxiety, perhaps to a greater degree at moments. Ever thoughtful and creative, her outlet was to write a book. I think most would find this a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a 6 year old, regardless of personal views. The use of punctuation, mood, and the way the plot builds shows her remarkable grasp of literary devices. Neither Jenny nor I are political activists, but Faith exhibits an aptitude for rallying the troops. Click the picture to view her book. (She wrote double sided and some images bled through.)

Are you voting for Obama?

My own thoughts as I ponder the years ahead... Obama is a master of nuanced language and a paragon of the cult of personality. Disregard everything Rush Limbaugh or Chris Matthews says about him. His actions prior to campaigning and his remarkably brief voting record define the leftmost precipice of American politics, belying his meticulously constructed image of a unifying centrist. He is a product of the Chicago machine, arguably the most corrupt political organization in the United States. Though every candidate in a two-party system campaigns to the center to court the swing vote, none has bridged such a great a chasm to complete the illusion. Can we trust this man with the keys to the world's future? I hope I am dead wrong about him.

On the lighter side, you gotta love the ears. If she turns out too introspective to be a campaign strategist, Faith has a future as a political cartoonist.

Fall Fun

2008-11-01T23:15:00.002-05:00

I need to write more about some of the fun things we have done this fall, when I have a chance. Halloween was last night and we are going to try some fun stuff tomorrow, too, so my backlog is growing. Until I get caught up, here are several photo albums (click to view photos):

Fall Day Camp at Walnut Point State Park

Halloween

November visit to Hardy's Reindeer Ranch

Kickapoo State Park

Zach in the International Cycling Press

2008-10-31T21:00:00.005-05:00

I was browsing VeloNews in July when I noticed a solicitation for reader photos. This is one of my favorite cylcing sites and I was probably following the Tour de France at the time. I submitted a photo of Zach doing a victory salute in his "Bike Wide Sirt", which happens to be the best young rider jersey from the 2007 Tour of Missouri.

I never received any notification from VeloNews that they had done anything with the photo, so I just assumed it landed in a heap of discarded cybertrash. Then today I googled my name (as I periodically do to make sure no one is telling lies about me) and guess what pops up on the second page of search results!

Best Young Rider, Tour of Missouri 2025 (complete posting on VeloNews)

Please excuse the Barbie trim. Zach's only working bike is a big wheel, so he had to borrow his sister's machine for the photo shoot. I guess that is a more plausible explanation than "he's sponsored by Barbie and his contract specifically states..."

Here are a few related photos, taken in September 2007.

2007 September Kids Bicycle

Tour of Missouri Weekend

2008-09-14T17:00:00.022-05:00

Zach and I traveled to St. Louis for an extended weekend to visit Pops and Lulu and catch some of the action in the 2008 Tour of Missouri. Stage 5 took the riders from St. James to Jefferson City. After the pros finished, Jefferson City played host to the amateur Capital City Criterium, which I entered as only my second-ever cycling race.

Stage 5 of the Tour won by Boy Van Poppel, a Dutch Rabobank rider and son of another accomplished cyclist. The last 300 meters were uphill and too much for the world's top sprinter, Mark Cavendish. The race took 3 circuits around downtown. For the first lap, we saw the riders fly through half of the roundabout that encircles the capitol building. We set up on the inside of the turn into the roundabout. The inside column of riders banked their machines within inches of us. Then we crossed over to the finish line, but it was pretty crowded and hard to get a good view.

The 2-man breakaway enters the roundabout

The 5 jersey wearers: Dominique Rollin, David Veilleux, Christian Vande Velde, Mark Cavendish, and Roman Kreuziger

Then I raced in the criterium under the lights, but only completed 5 laps before getting pulled. The route included one nasty hill and a smaller one. The Big Shark team from St. Louis hammered the nasty hill on the second lap. I was caught behind two riders who were really struggling to get up. I quickly snaked around them to try stay connected, but a gap opened. (I'm not the greatest climber either, of course.) By the 3rd lap, I was about two city blocks off the back and alone. I kept looking around for someone to work with to get back on, but riders behind me were dropping out or getting pulled. I survived 2 more laps but the gap was growing, so the officials pulled me. Only about 25 riders started and about 8 finished. Big Shark had about 4 riders and pretty much outgunned everyone else. It was a bummer to drive so far to race only about 13 minutes. It was a late night, but at least we saw the tour. Here is my ride profile.

Final preparations for the Capital City Criterium

I've learned that the key to criterium racing is to get way up front, pick a good wheel to follow, and hang on. Then if you are strong enough, pick the right moment to break away. One of my problems is that I don't have enough confidence in the corners yet to get way up front. My other problem is that my training for the last 4 weeks has been virtually nil. Lately, I've only managed the Wednesday evening Prairie Cycle Club rides, which are down to 30 miles due to shortening daylight, some minor recovery on Thursdays, an occasional Tuesday Time Trial, and a few really short morning solo rides. I've quit my regular indoor training in favor of beer and barbecue. My Wild Card Cycling team did weekly criterium practice last spring, but having joined the team only a few weeks ago, I missed out this year. It should help me improve cornering next year. I will definitely try a few races with teammates next year.

See more pictures from the day on our Tour of Missouri Stage 5 album.

For the Stage 6 finish on Saturday, we saw Cavendish come blistering down the Riverfront at St. Charles to take his 3rd stage win! It was pretty amazing to see live. We were about 100m from the line. It was hard to get much closer because we had just come from the feed zone outside Defiance, where we also enjoyed a nice lunch and some wine. I figured it would be a good spot where Cav might be coming around his lead out man, but it looked like he was on his own by the time I spotted him. He was about 1/2 bike length behind a Rabobank rider, then blew past him in the last 50m or so. Ivan Dominguez, the Cuban Missle, tried to sneak around on Cavendish's left, but could not catch him. The feed zone was pretty neat. I had never seen that live before. All went pretty smooth, with no crashes. The soigneurs were set up along a moderate uphill grade and the riders were still able to effortlessly sit up with no hands and grab what they wanted out of the bags. I wound up with a Maxxis musette bag as a souvenir.

Enjoying some wine in Defiance, Missouri before the Tour passes through

Daddy and Zachy look on as riders pedal through the feed zone

See more pictures from the day on our Tour of Missouri Stage 6 album.

The remnants of Hurricane Ike pounded us early Sunday morning. I had tried to unload my tickets for the St. Louis Rams vs. Giants on Sunday on both StubHub and eBay, but they did not sell at the price I was asking. So our plan was to go to the game after church with Pops and Lulu, then catch Stage 7 of the Tour.

Zach and I planned to take the Metrolink downtown. We waited on the platform for about 25 minutes without seeing a single eastbound train. The winds were pretty strong and Zach was wearing only his 2007 Tour of Missouri Best Young Rider jersey. I wasn't expecting so much waiting, but before long he was getting pretty cold. I took him back to the car to get another layer, and guess what? Yep, the train came. I was really frustrated and asked a Metrolink security guard when the next train would come. He explained that they were running a single train eastbound and westbound on one track. Knowing that a one-way trip from our station at North Hanley to downtown is about 30 minutes, waiting for the train to return was not an option. We were already going to miss the kickoff as it was. The Metrolink staff were kind enough to refund my ticket. We jumped back in the car and headed downtown. Fortunately I was able to park for about $5 near the northeastern corner of the Tour route. It was a bit of a walk to the stadium, but we would essentially have to walk a roundtrip between the stadium and the race no matter where we parked or if we had taken the train downtown.

At the Rams game with our cycling jerseys

We saw the final 3 laps of Stage 7 after the Rams/Lambs debacle. The weather was crazy for the start of the race, but sun came out by about 2 pm or so. Forest Park was flooded by Ike and they had to chop about 3.5 miles from the circuit. I suspect the same flooding may have been responsible for the Metrolink fiasco. Even after the rain passed through, the winds were constantly gusting and changing direction, which may have contributed to Cavendish's miscalculation on the finishing sprint. He seemed to go too early and was overtaken at the line by Francesco Chicchi. We saw his post-stage interview live in St. Charles the day before. The interviewer asked him how he felt about the next day and he mentioned that no one had beat him in a sprint (when he was in the bunch) since March. He's amazing, but it served him right to lose one.

On second to last lap, we saw two riders go down exiting the corner at Olive and Tucker. None were seriously hurt, but a Jelly Belly rider snapped his steerer. He was trying to flag down a team car, but it had already past. There was a 2 rider break at the time that included one of his teammates, so his team car was ahead in the gap. I am not sure where the neutral service car was. The Bissell team van stopped for him, but all he could do was put the busted machine in the back, jump in, and abandon with 1 lap to go - after nearly 700 miles of racing. Bummer.

Zachy at 500m to go

Team Columbia sets up the train for Cavendish in the last 450m

As frustrating as it was earlier, the fact that we missed the first train was a blessing. I wouldn't have wanted to wait with my tired son for up to an hour after the race to catch the westbound train back.

See more pictures from the day on our Tour of Missouri Stage 7 album.

Sometime during the weekend I turned 37. Birthdays aren't really such a big deal anymore. Though I am in no hurry to get older, as a competitive triathlete and skier, I do sort of look forward to multiples of five. Those allow one to move into the next age class, where in theory, the competition slows down a bit. At least for the first year or so in a new age group, you are younger than most of them! For the next couple of years, I will plug away in the older half of my age group.

Back to School

2008-09-03T12:07:00.010-05:00

We took Zach to his very first day of pre-school this morning at the Prince of Peace Childhood Early Learning Center. He attends Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. The classrooms are each named for a character in the children's book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? His class meets in the Purple Cat Room, just as Faith did a few years ago. His teachers are Miss Regina and Miss Jennifer. Zachy doesn't quite have his Rs yet, so for now they are "Miss Gina" and "Miss Jennifowa."

At the sign near the front door

Miss Regina and Zachy

Faith returned to school on August 20 as a 1st-grader! Leading her class is first-year teacher, Miss Leka. She seems very nice and good with the children. We had the opportunity to visit both classrooms and meet the teachers before prior to the first day of classes. Both kids seem to like their teachers a lot.

The kids at Faith's desk

Faith with Miss Leka

More "Back to School" photos

Still Upright after First Criterium

2008-09-01T17:00:00.014-05:00

I survived my first criterium cycling race this morning. A criterium is basically a road race around a short circuit, usually about 1 mile or less in length. The riders race in laps around the circuit for a specified time plus a certain number of laps.

I really only had 2 goals - don't crash and don't get lapped. I was 1 for 2.

Lulu pins on my race number as Zachy mugs for the shot

The official program for the weekend race series had a little introduction that explained the different races and USA Cycling Men's Road/Crit categories - with Cat 1 and 2 being the semi-pros who were eligible to enter pro open races and cat 3 being pretty good racers that "still had jobs and real responsibilities." As for cat 5, it said something like - these are "beginners who often fall over in the corners." Reading that was great for my confidence. Today's course was clockwise with 4 right turns. One of the corners was big and sweeping and another was pretty wide open, but the other 2 were tight. I resolved to just taking the high, outside line through all corners. I still have a long way to go in the bike handling department and I've really only done about 30 minutes or so of serious practice with corners at speed - and all of it solo. I didn't want to drift over the top of someone and cause a pile-up. There were a couple instances where I thought I was all the way outside and I heard riders behind me shout "outside! outside!" I tried to hold my line as best I could, but I knew I had slipped a couple times. Fortunately, each time I either held it just close enough, or the other riders read me well enough to drop back.

The start/finish was on Delmar Avenue in the heart of University City. The big sweeping turn led onto Delmar and into a fast, slightly downhill section. This is all relative, of course. It was still mostly flat, with the grades and total elevation rather modest, but enough to make a real difference in speed and heart rate. The grades maxed out at about 2.5-3% up and down. Then there were 2 tight turns at the bottom of Delmar and then onto the mostly false-flat/slight uphill backstretch on Washington.

The Course

Clipping into a pedal at the start

I hung onto the back 2/3 or so of the main field for most of the race and felt pretty solid for about 20 minutes or so. When I started to tire, I moved up to the front and led the peloton through the homestretch and over the start/finish. There were still about 4 riders off the front, so I was not leading the race, but I figured I'd try to give Ron a photo op before I cracked. (He didn't have the camera ready.) After I came around the somewhat tight turn 1, I moved to the outside and slowed to let others around. I grabbed on about 3/4 of the way back and planned to just hang on as long as possible. (It is pretty hard to find a good place to safely "slot in" once you start to lose your position in the field. I've heard television commentators talk about how once riders start coming around, you can lose 20 positions in the blink of an eye. It was pretty real to me today, even at our modest speeds.)

Then about 1 lap later, after about 22:20 of racing, there was a crash in the backstretch several riders ahead of me. I am not sure what caused it, but it was probably just a careless touch of wheels. It was on the uphill section on the lefthand side. I started to slow and move to the right to get around them. There were only a few riders behind me, but I didn't want to make any sudden moves and cause another crash. I started to ask if people were OK, but the motorcylce at the back of the race was soon on the scene, so I figured I should just try to get back on. By the time I got back up to speed, the gap was probably about 100m or so. I started to work with one guy who had somehow duped me into pulling on the uphill and then he jumped around to take the lead on the downhill. (What a sucker I am.) Actually it wasn't too bad for me since I could freewheel through most of the downhill on his wheel. But after a couple laps of that, I had enough and flicked my elbows. I figured I would try to milk him for as long as I could, but it wasn't long before he latched onto someone stronger and dropped me. That's racing. Alliances are always temporary.

It wasn't too much longer that the leading break and then the peloton caught me, putting me a lap down. I kept plugging away for a few more laps, sitting up hands free to wave at Zach and my folks as I passed a couple times, knowing I was pretty much done. I came across another guy who seemed to be riding strong enough to have a shot at bridging back up. He may have been in or slowed by the crash, but didn't seem banged up. Since I had given up hope for myself, I figured I would be a good sport and offered to help him get back on. He took me up on it and I kicked it up and did about 3/4 lap for him. After one of the corners, I flicked my elbow and said "you're on your own from here." Around that time, the race had run more than 40 minutes and the leaders had triggered the start of the final 5 laps. About a lap later, I heard the lead motorcycle approaching. The break was about to put 2 laps into me. To save myself a little humiliation, I figured the most noble jesture would be to pull myself from the race before forcing an official to do so.

All and all, it wasn't a disaster for a first effort. If not for the crash and the gap that opened in front of me, I think I could have at least hung onto the peloton to the finish. I'm encouraged enough to give it another shot. My next cycling race will be the Capital City Criterium in 2 weeks. That one has a figure 8 course, making a total of 8 turns per lap, which could be tricky. I probably won't be able to hold the high outside line on every turn. I think I will enjoy an open road race more than riding in circles, once I have the opportunity to enter one, but the crit format is fun for family and friends to watch.

Until I lost contact at about 22:20, the peloton averaged 24.1 mph, with corners and all. We topped 30 mph on the downhill homestretch and slowed to 20 on the uphill. Here is the ride profile. (The map isn't much to look at. :-) The slowdown for the crash is apparent at about 8.9 miles. I meant to track actual laps around the circuit but forgot to set my bike computer to do so. It "lapped" every 5 miles.

Speed and Heart Rate Profile

Zach raced in the bigwheel division of the kids' races. That was a hoot. He was really thrilled with his participation medal, and reminded me more than a few times that he "winned" and Daddy "losed." I didn't have the heart to tell him that we both losed.

The competitors await the start of the kids' race, big wheel division

Zachy pedaling in anger to reach the finish! He would have taken the sprint at the line if 704 hadn't received outside assistance.

We stuck around for about 5 laps of the Pro/1/2 race and then hit the road. It included a couple riders from Toyota United and Rock Racing. There was an obvious world of difference from one race to the next. The Pro/1/2 heat was smokin'.

Zachy after the race with his medal and dad

See more pictures from the day on our Tour of the U-City Loop web album.

SJO Youth Cheerleading

2008-08-17T22:27:00.014-05:00

Today I took Faith to her first Saint Joseph-Ogden youth football game as a peanut cheerleader. The youth football league has teams from about 7 communities between our town of St. Joseph and the Indiana state line. Today we faced the Georgetown Bulldogs. There are four divisions of football players and cheerleaders by age group. The peanuts are the youngest with 6 and 7 year-olds. Next are the freshman, followed by junior varsity and varsity. All are younger than high-school age. Our high school has traditionally had a very strong class 3A football team thanks in large part to the preparation that the kids get in the youth league.

Showing the way for the Spartan team to take the field!

Jenny volunteers as the peanuts' head cheer coach, but was at the Lake of the Ozarks for her annual girls' weekend with her college friends, so it was my job to get Faith in her uniform, put her hair in a pony tail, and get her to the field by 11:30. Fortunately for the girls, I did not have to coach them also. We left church a bit early at 11:20. The opener was a home game and the fields are only about 1/2 mile from our home.

Returning to our sideline after exchanging "Hello" cheers with the Georgetown Bulldogs.

Faith did an excellent job with her cheers, though she and the rest of the girls are still learning. Like most 6 and 7 year-olds, they are easily distracted and keeping them on task is never something to take for granted. But they have been practicing hard for the last couple weeks with coach Jenny for a couple hours each night, four nights a week.

Start of the pom routine. Faith is the only girl with her head down as it is supposed to be!

Our own SJO boys won the peanut contest 35-0. Our next-door neighbor, Keanan Swanson had an excellent game, leading the Spartans at quarterback and swarming to make several tackles on defense. His dad, Cory, is a coach. We stayed through halftime of the freshman contest, when the peanut and freshman squads combined for the pom routine. Without coach Jenny leading the way, most of the girls struggled to stay on top of the beat, but they still looked pretty good for the first time out. Faith said the music sounded "mushy." The PA system at this type of event is never state-of-the-art, but the many hard-working youth football volunteers put together a great afternoon nonetheless.

The peanut team taking the kickoff after halftime. The boys play on a 70-yard field. Neighbor Keanan is number 57.

Here are a couple of videos. My camera has a great lens and takes excellent still pictures, but the video resolution is rather poor. We'll get a few good videos before the season is over.

The Hello Cheer! (Faith is in the back row, just to the right of the center of the frame.)

Peanut-Freshman pom routine: I like to Move It! Move It! (Faith is the 3rd girl in the near column at the start of the routine.)

Last Tri of the Season

2008-08-16T17:00:00.016-05:00

Today I competed in the Lytle Park Triathlon in Mattoon, Illinois. It was the last triathlon I plan to race this season. Last year, this was the second tri in which I had ever competed and the first for which split times were recorded. Thus it would be the first opportunity to gauge my progress this year in swimming, cycling, running, as well as the important but often overlooked transitions.

The weather for the race was just about perfect. My car thermometer read a brisk 54 degrees when I left my home just after 5:30 am. The temperature rose to 61 degrees in Mattoon by the 8 am start with 83% humidity and north-northeasterly winds of just 3 mph (which I would only learn later from checking the history on the weather channel online). It would feel a little cool for a moment getting out of the water and onto the bike, but race day adrenaline and elevated heart rate would mask it quite well. The conditions would be very welcome for the run.

I arrived at the start at about 6:45 am, picked up my packet, and readied my bike for a short warm-up ride. I took my other gear into the transition area to stake out a spot. The bike racks in the transition area looked to be about half full, but there wasn't a whole lot of space given the eventual turnout of about 75 athletes. I chose a rack with about 4 bikes on it that seemed spacious enough for at least 6 or 7.

A certain female competitor whom I recognized from previous races was stretching nearby and informed me rather sternly that I could not place my stuff there because someone else had claimed the spot and was out for a warm-up ride. I thought it was quite rude of her, especially given the fact that the rack could have easily accommodated at least 1 or 2 more bikes in addition to the one that was out for a warm-up. The bikes present on the rack were all facing the same direction. Proper triathlon etiquette would dictate that when space is at a premium, bikes should be staggered so that neighbors face opposite directions. This makes best use of the available space and allows more room for placing gear on the ground next to the bikes.

I figured the best thing for me to do would be to just find another spot. I did just that at a rack across the aisle. Someone's towel was laid out on one side at the end of the rack, but there was no bike, suggesting that its owner was also out for a warm-up. I placed my bike nearby, but facing the opposite direction, so as not to interfere with the owner of the towel. Then the woman arose from her stretch to accost me for placing my bike over the towel, whose owner apparently was a friend of hers. I explained that my bike was facing the other direction and thus should not interfere. She protested that the other person would not be able to get to her towel with my bike tire in the way. What she failed to appreciate, was that the towel should not have been placed so as to conflict with a bike properly mounted on the rack. Gear should be set back a few feet from crossbar at the center of the rack so as to not senselessly render useless 2 feet of perfectly good rack real estate. Ugh! I know this woman's name because she is usually the top female finisher at the Mattoon races and I would need to beat her to avoid being "chicked." (Yes, I'll admit to a bit of a fragile male ego when it comes to athletic contests.) Nonetheless, she'll remain nameless here to keep my rant from popping up in a list of search results for her name. I certainly don't want to make it personal and slanderous. Maybe she was just in a pre-race bubble and did not understand or appreciate that space was getting tight.

Anyway, it wasn't worth getting my blood boiling before the race, so I moved my bike to a third rack with some extra space that was not in the most desirable location. It was tucked into a corner near a tree and was furthest from the bike exit. While I was moving my stuff, the owner of the towel returned with her bike and apologized. I responded that it was OK, but that she should be prepared to make room for more bikes on her rack. Registration was open for another half hour and participants continued to file into the parking lot. I did tack her friend's comments onto my mental "bulletin board" to fuel my motivation to chase her down on the course. The start order would be by age group, with women before men, so she would be out on the course several minutes ahead of me.

After getting my gear situated, I took my bike out for a short warm-up. The wind was very calm and at the time I did not know what direction it was coming from. Even a subtle wind can make a difference on the bike and I wanted to know how to dose my effort on the out-and-back course. If I would face a headwind on any part of the route, I would pedal a little harder there and try to recover on the tailwind. Knowing that the winds were so light and the differences between headwind, tailwind, and crosswind would be subtle, I warmed up with a T-shirt, hoping that its flapping would help me discern the wind direction. I went out about a half mile before turning back and still had no idea which way the wind was blowing. My T-shirt seemed to drag on me about the same in all directions. Perhaps the wind had just about died altogether, but I knew there was a good chance it would pick up slightly by the time I got out on the road in the race.

I returned and racked my bike and headed over to start area for the pre-race meeting. The swim would take place in the Lytle Park Pool. The pool was oval-shaped with a zero-depth entry on the end we would start, tapering to a depth of 10 feet on the far end. There were no lap lanes or lines on the pool bottom and the M-shaped swim course was marked with 3 buoys. The swim had something of an open-water feel, but on a small scale and without the smell of gasoline and fish that characterized my lake-swim triathlons.

The Swim Course

The swim distance was advertised as 300 meters, which must be a gross overstatement. Just looking at the pool (and the swim splits that other competitors and I put up), it cannot be more than 75 meters across. The zero depth entry also allows one to run for much of the start and finish of the swim. The starter sent us into the water one at a time, at 15 second intervals. Last year, the start order was based on each person's estimate of his own swim time and we lined up from fastest to slowest. It was a bit awkward since last year was the first edition of the race and no one really knew how fast he would swim. Imperfect as it was, it seemed to work a little better than starting by age group. I went out harder than I usually do in the swim start and passed a few people in the water. By the time I approached the third buoy, there was a full-scale pile up. I was smacking other people's legs and had to pull up into a slow breast stroke. Once I rounded the buoy, I could slide over into my own "lane" and kick it up again until the water became shallow enough to stand up and run.

There was probably about 50 meters of running from the pool to the transition area. Part of it was over a gravely stretch of sidewalk that the organizers had covered with a very thin strip of astroturf. It didn't seem to help much. I was very deliberate in transition with putting on my singlet, helmet, and sunglasses, but didn't rush so much that I would risk forgetting something. Following my usual routine just outside the transition, I placed my right foot inside my bike shoe, mounted the bike, and pedaled away with my left foot on top of the bike shoe. A left turn out of the parking lot would be followed pretty closely by another left turn and then a right before we would head out of town. I decided to wait until after the turns to get into my left shoe and fasten both shoe straps.

Once we left town heading north, the road surface turned to smooth asphalt. The entire bike course was very flat, with only very subtle grade changes that took riders over stretches of slightly uphill "false flats" followed by morale-boosting gradual downgrades. There were no flagpoles or other cues to solve the mystery of the wind direction. The mature corn stalks were not moving much at all. I was mostly holding between 21 and 22 mph on way out. On a flat course of 12.5 miles, on good roads, and in calm winds, I would expect to average at least 23 mph. I thought to myself "I sure hope I am in a headwind." About a mile or so from the turn around, I spotted my friend from the bike rack heading the other way. I didn't know exactly how far ahead of me she started, but it seemed like I was gaining ground. I know from past experience that she is a very strong swimmer and pretty good runner, but not at all dominant on the bike. She was in my crosshairs.

I accelerated out of the turnaround and then settled back onto my aerobars. I felt a little spring in my cleats and was relieved to sense a mild tailwind that would help carry me home. I had avoided being passed on the bike through the turnaround, but I knew there was one guy on course that could certainly overtake me. Martin Gruebele, a German-Austrian chemistry professor from Champaign whom I recently met through the Prairie Cycle Club and Wild Card Cycling Team, was coming toward me about 400 meters from the turnaround. Martin is 44 years old and rides very fast, despite claiming that he never really exercised much until he decided he needed to do something about an extra 10 pounds that appeared around his midsection after he turned 40. He usually averages 25-26 mph on his time trial machine. A couple miles down the road, I heard the whirring approaching from behind. "That must be Martin" I said aloud. He lifted his right hand slighly from the end of the aerobar to wave. "What took you so long?" I asked. "The swim," he replied as he overtook me. If Martin has a weakness, it is the swim, but the ultra-short swim didn't factor much in this race. I did not have the legs to match his pace, but it was very motivating to have someone in front of me as a "carrot". I just imagined that he was towing me along as I lifted my pace a bit to try to keep him in sight to the finish.

Officially I finished the bike leg in 32:52.95 with an average speed of 22.8 mph, which included time to mount the bike and get into my shoes at one end and dismount at the other. My GPS computer recorded an average of 23.3 mph over most of the route except for the first quarter mile or so. I was pretty satisfied with the result, especially since I eased up a bit over the last mile or so to recover for the run.

Bike Speed Profile: Even a little wind makes a difference on a solo ride!

I had really hoped to finish this race with a strong run, given that this would be my last tri of the season. In addition to wanting to catch her on the course, I was motivated by the thought of taking a vacation from running, my least favorite part of triathlon. I passed one guy almost immediately on the run, but otherwise felt rather flat. I decided to just try to keep a steady pace on the way out, then try to lift it a bit after the turn.

The run course began with a loop around the park, then exited to Western Avenue, heading toward downtown Mattoon. Just before hitting downtown, we looped around one city block and turned for home. I never did see her on the way out, but I did see Martin exiting the turnaround block just as I entered it. She must have been in the turnaround block at the time. The next time I saw her was after I exited the loop and was heading for home. She was maybe 200 meters ahead. Given the differential in our start times, I knew I had her beat. Then she dropped into a walk and grabbed her side. This was a sweet sight. With a spring in my stride, the motivation to lift the pace was right there in front of me. The possibility of catching her on the course was looking pretty real. My head was spinning for things I could say as I dropped the hammer. "You should have been nicer to me at the bike rack" was one I repeated in my head a few times. She managed to restart her run, but the gap was closing. As we approached the park, she was probably only a block and a half ahead but she seemed to lift the pace with the finish line within reach.

The course then looped back around the park, in the opposite direction from the start, to complete the last 400 meters or so. During this time, I had lost site of her around the turns as two pairs of new footsteps approached from behind. The ingredients could not have been better to cue up my finishing kick, but as I dug for it, I just came up empty. The two guys passed me with about 200 meters to go and I had no response. From the markings on their calves, I could see that they were younger. One was 33 and so had started at least 15 seconds ahead of me. The other was 16. Part of me wanted to chase them down, but I rested on the reality that as long as I finished within 15 seconds, I would beat them both. I kept the gap from growing, but was still disappointed in my inability to kick to the finish. The whole run felt quite average and that I had underachieved on it. However, my training has pretty much been on cruise control for the last four weeks and I had only run once in the week prior. I reaped what I had sowed.

As I crossed the line, I noticed her on the ground, lying back on her elbows. I so wanted to say something but didn't have the heart to kick a fellow competitor who was so obviously down. I have been there myself. The "what would Jesus do?" adage crossed my mind as I walked by to leave well enough alone. Actually, Jesus probably would have said something genuinely sympathetic, but the best I could muster was to adhere to one of my mother's old favorites: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." She was still the top female finisher and I still had the satisfaction of beating her.

Despite not meeting my expectations on the run, I came away with the top finish in my age group (there were only 4 of us) and 4th overall. More surprising was that in all five splits (swim, bike, run, plus 2 transitions), I did no better than 5th overall. I must have been more consistent throughout the race than all but the 3 who beat me. Martin took top honors overall, besting the runner-up who was half his age by almost 48 seconds. He was featured in the local Mattoon-Charleston newspaper.

Each of my splits compares favorably to my result from a year ago. I have much more triathlon experience now and have been training better over the course of the season than I did last year:

Swim: 4:30.70 (27.30 faster than 2007)
T1: 55.40 (50.60 faster)
Bike: 32:52.95 (2:49.85 faster)
T2: 52.85 (1.80 faster)
Run: 20:03.00 (19.85 faster)
Total: 59:14.90 (4:29.40 faster)

I plan to ride and train for another month or so with the Prairie Cycle Club and the Wild Card Cycling Team and try my hand at one or two criterium bike races in September. These are fast-paced road races around a circuit of usually about 1 mile, consisting of several laps and about 45 minutes to an hour in the saddle. If it goes well, I may try to mix in a few more bike races next year. I'll approach these races as a cautious beginner, just trying to finish while minimizing the risk of crashing. Then I will try to relax a bit through late September and early October before firing up the fast-twitch muscle fibers for another season of ski racing. Think snow!

Champaign Park District Mini Tri

2008-08-02T17:00:00.004-05:00

Today I raced in the Champaign Park District's 26th Annual Mini-Triathlon. It was my second annual start in this race, which last year was my very first triathlon. The atmosphere at this race is very relaxed and family-friendly. The distances are ultra-short: 400 yards in the water (only half of which must actually be traversed with a swim), 6 miles on the bike, and 2 miles on foot. Last year I finished the race in just under 41 minutes and in 17th place overall. My goal this year was to finish under 38 minutes. With my new bicycle, I have been riding about 2-3 mph faster across all distances than I did last year. Part of the improvement is due to the equipment and part due to better training and conditioning from additional racing. Over a six-mile time trial, I have been training about 1:30 faster than a year ago.

This race is very popular locally and fills up fast. I mailed my entry about 6 weeks before the race and was put on the wait list. With about 40 ahead of me, I figured I should find another race or just take the weekend off. But the race director called me about two weeks ago to say that I was in.

The weather was beautiful, though a bit warmer than ideal and with a steady but not overwhelming northerly wind. Considering two of my four races this summer have been affected by rain, the conditions were great.

I saw several friends and acquaintances who were competing, spectating, or volunteering, including five fellow Champaign Ski Club members, two fellow Rotarians, and a fellow juror. One friend from the ski club, Chris Haydel, is usually one of the top overall finishers in this race. He was a collegiate runner at Western Illinois University and still runs very well.

The race begins with a 200 yard tour through the lazy river at the Sholem Aquatic Center. The starter sends one competitor every 15 seconds, with the start order determined by the order of registration. My start number was 373 and my start time was 9:03 am. I had plenty of time to warm up and get my gear situated, especially since the transition area remained continuously open to all competitors. The downside of a late start is that the temperatures and wind speed would gradually increase through the morning.

The lazy river jets were turned off, but the water was only 3 feet deep throughout. Some self-proclaimed triathlon purists insisted on swimming this portion of the race. However, no self-respecting professional triathlete would swim in 3 feet of water, and my own interpretation of triathlon purism is to do what the pros would do. The object is to get to the finish as quickly as possible, within the rules of the race. For me (and most semi-coordinated athletes over 5' in stature), that meant a combination of running and dolphin-diving through the lazy river. My friend Chris, also a late registrant, started 2 minutes and 45 seconds behind me. One of my goals was to stay ahead of him, but I knew that would be tough since he is a much stronger runner. I can swim and ride on par with him, but I figured the odds were pretty good that the catch would come about 1 mile into the run.

After we exited the lazy river, we ran to the 8-lane lap pool and swam one length in each lane, ducking under the dividers after each length to enter the next lane, for a total of 200 yards. The depth in the lap pool ranged from 5 feet at one end to 3.5 feet at the other. Some competitors chose to walk through this portion as well, but swimming was the fastest route for me in this water.

I felt pretty good exiting the water and jogged through the transition area to my bike. I chose to ride and run shirtless, but a silly rule required us to wear our paper race numbers, facing forward, during both the bike and run. Most races require numbers on the run and some require separate numbers attached to the bike, but I didn't see the point of wearing a number on the rider's front. Except for riders who sat totally upright on a mountain bike or hybrid, the number was not visible anyway. Wearing the number on the front only served to irritate the rider and cause a bothersome fluttering sound throughout the ride. The bike route was a three-lap circuit around the main streets that encircle the park complex, a high school, and a middle school. The route was mostly flat (no surprise for the locale), but included a modest rise which was a bit challenging since it was positioned immediately after a corner that followed the headwind stretch. The route was different from most I had raced in that it had a lot of right angle turns per length, but the roads were generally clean, without the gravel and other debris that collects at the intersections of rural routes. Maintaining as much speed as possible through the corners was critical. One of the corners featured three utility lids hazardously positioned 2-3 inches below the road surface, but I had scouted the route on my bike earlier to plan my line. I encountered slower riders in some of the turns, which really tested my modest bike handling skills.

The race timing was pretty low-tech and no splits were recorded, but I did record my bike leg here. It was a decent ride, but I probably should have stood out of the saddle and pedaled harder over a few stretches, given the brevity of the ride and race as a whole. Unlike my last race, an Olympic-distance challenge lasting over two and a half hours, there was virtually no risk of cracking due to prolonged elevated heart rate here.

The bike-run transition is typically a weak spot of mine. I improved it a little today by opting not to wear socks on the run. On a longer run, that could lead to blisters and some discomfort the following week that would impact training for the next race (not to mention general mobility), but I was confident it would not be a problem over two miles. I felt pretty good on the run and knew from having raced last year just where to start my finishing kick. I kept waiting for Chris to catch me, but I held him off to finish about 15 seconds ahead. Of course, with my earlier start, it meant that he had bested me by about 2:30 and that I was second in the age group to which we both belonged. The age brackets for this race are a little odd and don't follow the USA Triathlon age groups. I race as a 37 year-old in USAT, which uses your age as of December 31 of the current year so that no one changes age class during the racing season. However, I don't actually turn 37 for another 6 weeks. As a result, I was likely the oldest competitor in the 30-36 group used for this race. However, my whining is meaningless since I would have finished second in the 37-43 group as well.

My result was good for sixth overall. (Here are results by age group and overall.) I was about 20 seconds slower than the fastest woman, an incoming freshman at the University of Illinois and a walk-on to the swim team. Finishing in the top 2% overall looks pretty impressive, but keep in mind that the field as a whole was not very competitive, given the relaxed, family-friendly nature of the race. In my most competitive race, the Olympic-distance Evergreen Lake Triathlon held two weeks prior, I barely cleared the top 50% overall.

My finishing time of 37:30 was nearly 3 and a half minutes better than last year's mark and exceeded my goal of 38 minutes. I probably owe half of the difference to a faster bike. I did cramp a bit on the run as a rookie triathlete last year, so I am sure I gained a bit there as well. And the rest of the improvement is from faster transition and better overall familiarity with the triathlon routine. It will be tough to top the mark again next year. I am not getting any younger, and don't plan any major equipment upgrades! Plus, this may be the last year that I actually race this event for a while. If we can get the training wheels off Faith's bike and get her in some swim lessons, then I could become a "super-domestique" to help her finish her first triathlon.

Spring Skiing, Part II

2008-07-30T11:01:00.028-05:00

This is a much-belated recollection of the wonderful time that Faith, Jennifer, and I had in the Colorado Rockies over Memorial Day weekend. We skied at Arapahoe Basin (or A-Basin), which was the only major ski area in Colorado still open at the time. They are often open well into June and this year kept the lifts turning a couple weeks after our trip. Most ski resorts quit at set dates when the contracts of most of their seasonal workers end or when the skier visits decline too much. The highlight of the weekend was the annual Festival of the Brewpubs, during which several local Summit County brewers offer unlimited samples of their tasty wares for a $20 cover charge.

With a herd of buffalo on the way up to Summit County

We enjoyed visiting with friends Dave "Red Rocket" Garner and Tanya "Viper" Muller. The Rocket, who has worked as a professional ski instructor and racing coach, provided some invaluable instruction to Faith, whose skiing form continued to improve. "Turn up the hill to go down the hill!"

Taking a break with Coach Dave

The weather on the mountain varied considerably as we experienced three different seasons in three days. I skied a half day upon our arrival on Friday and captured a few runs with my GPS. When I started shortly after noon, the sun was out and conditions were seasonably spring-like. By about 2:30, the clouds had socked in and brought near white-out conditions with wintery winds and temperatures. I was wearing my spring gloves and only a light base layer under my coat, but things were not so bad to prompt a return to my locker at the base. I had also left my boot heaters at home and remember riding the chair and thinking "summer officially starts in three weeks, and my toes are cold!" I felt a little warmer when I spotted a yahoo wearing nothing on his top section. Spring skiing usually brings out several characters in interesting get-ups. We also spied a sumo wrestler in a ruffly tutu and the obligatory chicks in bikinis among others.

Spring was back in season on Saturday, with mostly sunny skies and mild temperatures. Jenny dropped Faith and I at the hill in the morning and we met Dave and Tanya for a few runs, while Jenny went shopping. Though I took Faith up to A-Basin and Loveland resorts a year ago, she has otherwise not skied much over about 1200 feet in altitude. The runs were also about four times longer than the midwestern norm. Faith was pretty tired after lunch, so Jenny picked her up and I skied out the afternoon.

Winding down Humbug at almost 12,500 feet!

Making our way to mid-mountain for a break at the Black Mountain Lodge

Sunday brought near-summertime temperatures and full sun for most of the day to round out our three-season adventure. The conditions at the base were perfect for the Festival of the Brewpubs and the live musical entertainment by That 80's Band. Jenny, Faith, and I all skied with Dave and Tanya until about noon. Faith skied her first big-mountain blue square run, which fell away from the very top of the lift-serviced terrain at A-basin at an altitude of about 12,500 feet. After lunch on the hill, Jenny and Faith changed clothes and grabbed some seats at the base area for the afternoon fun. Dave, Tanya, and I grabbed a few more runs to close out our seasons on snow before joining them.

Top of the world!

The brewfest offered many excellent beers to sample. Jenny was the designated driver and took only a few sips from each mug. That 80's Band played two long sets well into the afternoon with only one short break. We met Cal, a mohawk-coifed boy from Wyoming about Faith's age. He seemed very interested in talking with her, but she was pretty shy initially. By the end of the afternoon, she opened up a bit and they even danced a little to the Tommy Tutone classic 867-5309! I missed most of it because I went inside to get a beer after the brewpubs' taps went dry - a really stupid move that I vow to never repeat. The extra beer was certainly not worth missing the family fun.

The excitement did not end when we packed up the rental car on Monday morning. On the way to airport, we were surprised to see a large brown bear in the median of I-70 just east of Silverthorne. He appeared to be trapped with a high wall on the other side of our lanes. We hoped that he could find his way back or that animal control could help him, but there was certainly nothing we could do. When you see a dangerous wild animal that weighs almost as much as your car, you keep driving!

All and all it was a fantastic weekend that I would like to repeat next year if time and budget allow. We'll even bring Zachy if he takes to skiing next season.

First attempt at Olympic-distance triathlon... BUST!

2008-07-19T16:42:00.049-05:00

This morning I competed in my first Olympic or International distance triathlon, which included a 1.5k swim (almost 1 mile), a 40k bike (24.8 miles), and a 10k run (about 6.2 miles). The race served as the USA-Triathlon Mideast Regional Championships and qualifier for the Age-Group National Championships. Not the World Championships in Kona, Hawaii - that is an Ironman race for which one must qualify in a sanctioned Ironman or Half-Ironman race. Kona is nice, but I have no ambitions yet of torturing myself to the tune of 70.3 miles or more. Training for such a race would require a much greater commitment than I am willing to make at this stage of life. More on that later.

The venue for this penultimate race of my triathlon season was Evergreen Lake, just about 8 miles north of Normal, Illinois. I'm not sure if the name refers to the flora that grow on its shores, or the color of the lake itself - possibly both. I spent the evening at a Bloomington hotel, which allowed me to sleep in a bit, until 5 am, and also afforded me the opportunity to rack my bike and attend a swim clinic by Kiwi pro triathlete Bryan "Rhodsey" Rhodes the afternoon before. New Zealanders are fun to listen to, and Rhodsey has a lot of passion for swimming. The accent is similar to Australian, but thicker. Most short "i" sounds we know in American English become a long "e" in Kiwi. e.g. "The sweem is the most exploseeve part of triathlon. You've got to reeeally get those fast-tweetch upper body muscles fireeng at the start."

I awoke to gray skies, but the storms that had been forecast through the late evening and early morning hours had not hit Bloomington-Normal. However, after a few miles driving northbound, I soon encountered the precipitation: a few drips at first, then growing to a steady rain. My first scheduled triathlon this year had already been modified to a duathlon due to lightning. Today it rained rather steadily with a few short breaks, mostly gently but pouring at times, though we were blessed with an absence of lightning. The swim would go on!

The four triathlon races I had completed prior were all sprint races or shorter. There is no set distance for sprint races, but they usually entail about a 400-500m swim, a 10-15 mile bike, and a 5k run, give or take. This was going to be a big step up distance-wise, especially in the swim. Also, the national-qualifier status of the race meant a much larger, more competitive field that I had previously faced. The race also included an open division with elite professional and collegiate athletes.

My age group was part of the third wave to start, after the elites and the younger men. We would swim in a counterclockwise direction around 3 buoys, arranged in a diamond shape. The weather conditions and the size of the swim course (which seemed a bit imposing) made it difficult to see the second and furthest buoy. No worries. I would just concentrate on one at a time. Taking some advice from Rhodsey, I sighted a distinctive gap in the trees that was approximately over the first buoy. This would keep me on track as I picked my head up periodically. Rhodsey likes to get to the course early and swim out to the each buoy to sight the next one. Rhodsey is a pro and one of the top open water swimmers in the world. If I did the same, I would not have enough left in my arms and core to start the race. Instead I would just follow the flapping arms and splashes in front of me to the second and third buoys. Hopefully the people in front of me know where they are going.

The Swim Course

A contingent of collegiate club racers were on hand, mostly from Big 10 and other Midwestern schools. A cadre of Purdue competitors were getting fired up with chants of "Boiler Up!" before the horn sounded for the elite wave. The start was delayed a few minutes while the race directors confirmed that there was no lightning in the area. Since they didn't have the ability to evacuate 500 racers from the water if things turned ugly, it was important to get it right. After the second wave left, my group made its way into the lake at the boat launch to await our start.

The swim went fairly well, but I had no idea how well I was doing relative to the field. I was only marginally aware of my surroundings as I kept plugging away, one buoy at a time. I noticed the yellow caps of a few of the stragglers in the group that left 3 minutes ahead of me, as well as the blue caps of a few porpoises that left 3 minutes behind and the occasional other color of some super-swimmer that started who-knows-when. I tried to do a little drafting off other swimmers with matching silver caps that seemed to be going about the same pace. Rhodsey explained how you can ride the wake just off another swimmer's hip to save a little energy. I found it extremely difficult to execute, however, since swimming in a straight line is so hard. I imagine any swimmer that plods along at my modest pace probably has the same trouble, further compounding the challenge. I also seemed to be drifting to the right during this particular swim, which was peculiar since I do most of my breathing to the left and usually tend to drift that way. Perhaps I was overcompensating for that tendency.

Anyway, it was quite a relief to round the third buoy and sight the blue arch over the boat dock where I would exit the water. It was considerably easier to spot than the previous way points. I seemed to finish the swim strong and climbed up the steep boat ramp, temporarily lined with astroturf held in place with sandbags, and up a slippery embankment to the transition area. My goal was to complete the swim in about 30 minutes, and I would learn later that I entered transition after about 32 minutes, which wasn't too bad for my first 1.5k open water effort. I had also hoped to spend no more than 2 minutes total in the two transitions, but the size of the field meant the transition area was rather long. I also placed a garbage bag around my transition tub to keep rain out, which made the process a little more cumbersome. I would have to try to make up some time on the bike.

The bike course was originally intended to be a loop, but was changed to an out-and-back just a few days prior due to unspecified "safety concerns." The course we rode was about 30% smooth asphalt roads, in good condition, with the remainder oil and chip county roads in mixed conditions. I suspect some of the county roads that were dropped from the route had been recently treated with a fresh layer of chips, or small rocks. This is the time of year that county maintenance crews make the rounds. I am always disappointed when I stumble onto a freshly sprinkled stretch of one of my favorite training routes, but the surfaces usually become rideable again within a week or so.

The rain persisted for most of the bike and run. Slippery roads and squishy shoes were the obvious downside, but without the rain the humidity would have been suffocating. It actually felt quite nice on the run. I strapped on my heart rate monitor in transition to try to keep myself from entering the "red zone" too early. However, the first half of the bike course was predominately into the southerly headwind. I did check the monitor every now and then, but didn't watch it as closely as I should have. Rain would obscure the display of my bike computer and I would occasionally wipe it off with my thumb, which was always a temporary fix. It also took me a while to get settled into my shoes and into a bike rhythm, and I felt some pressure to kick it up once I did get settled. Not only did the conditions require some concentration, but the lake access road contained several speed bumps that we had to traverse almost immediately. I didn't want to fumble with my shoes and lose my balance over one of those, so the first half mile was quite slow. Then turning into the headwind, I just plugged away and didn't really notice the warning signs right under my nose. Unleashing a steady dose of savagery, I passed quite a few people on the bike and would record the 3rd fastest bike leg of the 21 men in my age group, but it came with a high price. Here are most of the details from the bike computer. (In my struggle to get rolling, I forgot to start the timer until about 1/2 mile or so into the ride.)

Photo link: shifting gears and dropping the hammer

All in all, the day was going well until about 2 or 3 miles into the run. My first mile was completed in about 7:45 and I didn't feel too bad except that the pain that usually creeps into my left knee by the end of a race started to appear quite early on. The second mile was a bit slower, but still on track for my goal of an 8 minute per mile average. But the cracks that started to form earlier bubbled to the surface at about 2 miles. I hit the wall after about 5k, at which point my legs were overbaked with lactic acid. I walked for a couple stretches of mile 4 and soon lost count of the stream of competitors I dropped on the bike who were now returning the favor. Occasionally, someone would come absolutely streaking around me and I would think, "that dude must have had a flat tire." (I saw several poor blokes with very nice time-trial machines changing tires on the side of the road.) I managed to pick it back up to a steady jog for the last couple miles, but I was broken and fell way off the pace.

Photo link: Cracked! - but back up to a jog at about 4.5 miles
Photo link: Making the turn for home, about 500m from finish

The finishing kick I usually find at the end of a 5k race was barely noticeable. I couldn't really feel my legs as I caught sight of the finish and the clock that read about 2 hours and 49 minutes. I was really disappointed as I had set a goal of finishing in 2.5 hours. Then I remembered that I had started in the third wave, 6 minutes after the elites, and that the clock had probably marked time elapsed from their start. I was in a total fog. The swim that started the day felt like it happened yesterday.

Photo link: With a grimace, limping over the line!

The results are here. From the dropdowns, my race is the "Olympic-Age Group" and my age group is "Men (35-39)." Sorting on any column may be done by clicking on its header. A summary of the gory details of the train wreck are as follows:

Swim: 32:18, 10th of 21 in my Age-Group
T1: 2:20
Bike: 1:09:18 (21.5 mph), 3rd of 21
T2: 2:45
Run: 56:30 (yikes!), 17th of 21
Total: 2:43:10.60, 11th of 21 (at the median), 13 minutes short of my goal and 5:16 from the last qualifying place for the Nationals
Overall place: 137 of 280 age-group competitors (not counting elites or other special designations)

When I returned home and downloaded the data from my bike computer, I noticed just how much I had torched myself on the first part of the bike. I spent a total of ten and a half minutes in the "red zone", mostly in the light-to-moderate headwinds and partly in too high a gear, which was apparent from the low cadence during those stretches. I probably need to rethink my strategy of going hard on the bike for my next Olympic race, though it seems to serve me well on those shorter sprint races where I only need to survive about an hour's effort capped with a 5k run. Though I can easily push 170 or more beats per minute for the better part of a 5k run, I clearly cannot carry on like that for 10k. The swim, which was about 3 times longer than a typical sprint swim, probably added a little extra pressure as well. Though I practically walked through the long (and somewhat rocky) transition area after the swim, I was still pumping about 145 beats per minute when I reached my bike. That probably contributed to the early stress on the bike, which may have in turn led to the eventual collapse on the run.

An article in Friday's Bloomington-Normal Pantagraph profiled a local cop who was set to complete his third Evergreen Lake Triathlon and keeps getting better. He is also into Ironman races and trains a LOT: 10k swimming, 200-300 miles cycling, and 35-40 miles running per WEEK. I don't have the time to log those miles and still spend some of the summer with family. I typically train 1-2 hours per day, 5-6 days per week now, and don't have the inclination to devote more. For next year, I need to think about how to train smarter for the Olympic distance. I may try to watch my diet a little more closely to make sure I am getting enough protein and good carbs and try some endurance supplements. With these improvements, plus smarter race management learned from this hard experience, I should be able to take a couple minutes out of the swim and several minutes out of the run, hopefully without giving up too much on the bike.

As for the rest of summer, I plan to repeat the two short events that gave me my start in triathlon last year. With a new and improved bike, and with an earlier start in training this year, I should obliterate my previous marks. Here's praying for good weather on those days!

Tri for Hope

2008-07-07T15:00:00.004-05:00

I recently completed the triathlon for which I was raising money for the Help Build Hope homebuilding charity. Details are blogged here.

A family post is overdue, so I'll try to get on that soon!

My First Duathlon?

2008-06-07T17:27:00.038-05:00

This morning I awoke at about 4:15 am to begin my journey to what was supposed to be my first TRIathlon of the 2008 season. Actually, I was awakened sometime in the 3 o'clock hour to the sound of heavy rain and thunder. Not a total surprise - it had been forecast all week. However, what was happening at my home in St. Joseph was irrelevant. The race was 90 miles to the southwest at Lake Shelbyville. I checked the weather radar. Lake Shelbyville was on the southern edge of a massive red, yellow, and green blob. Maybe things would be alright by the 8 am scheduled start. I loaded up my gear, along with a rain poncho and several trash bags, and headed to Champaign to pick up co-worker Kelley Wegeng. This was to be her first TRIathlon. Ever.

First we had to work through about 50 miles of totally drenched interstate 57. Once we headed west from Mattoon, Illinois, the dark gray skies lightened a bit. Things were looking more promising. But once we arrived and started setting up our gear in the transition area, the skies opened up. I was glad to have the poncho for myself and the trash bags for my bike seat and transition tub, which contained my bike helmet, running shoes, sunglasses(?), and other sorts of multisport necessities.

I was changed into race clothes and set to go when the pre-race meeting rolled around at 7:45. Tony Garrett and his fine crew of organizers at Mattoon Beach Multisport announced that there would be no swimming due to the lightning in the area. We were all disappointed for sure, but it was the right call. The good news was that a break in the weather was on the way and things were looking good for the scheduled start. The swim leg would be replaced with a 1-mile run, which for most folks, would take roughly the same time as the 400m swim that was not to be. This was about an even swap for me as well, at least as far as time goes. However, it was probably to the detriment of my overall competitiveness. I am not the greatest runner. The nice thing about swimming in a triathlon, is that if you relax, especially the lower body, you can save a lot of leg power for the bike and run.

I had no idea how I should pace myself for a 1-mile run, but there wasn't much time for contemplation. The event was very lightly attended, with only about 48 age-group competitors. Some arrived at the race only to leave, discouraged by the weather. Others no doubt didn't bother getting out of bed. Central Illinois is not exactly a triathlon hotbed, but some folks did come from as far as my great hometown of St. Louis. Anyway, the horn sounded and we set off on the opening run leg in a mass start. I started to work my way forward, but the true runners in the field set a very fast pace. Not being a true runner, and recognizing that this was just a prelude to the "real" race, I stayed with a small pack about a third of the way down the field.

I finished the opening run in a shade over 7 minutes and was relieved to be getting on my bike, and starting a TRIathlon rhythm. The bike is by far my favorite part and having invested in new equipment this year, I was excited to finally race on it. (See the bike post.) The rain had mostly subsided, with just an occasional drizzle, but the pavement was very wet with standing water in places, so it was important to pay attention. I started up my GPS-powered bike computer, which includes a cadence meter that I heavily depend on. I always try to maintain about 90-100 pedal revolutions per minute, which can be tricky with changing grade, winds, and road surface, without the instant feedback the computer affords. It proved it's worth right out of the gate. Because the transition area was down by the beach and lake, it was at the lowest elevation on the course. After an initial, obvious, climb out of the start, the next mile or so was on a "false flat" or a very slight uphill grade that can lull a rider into thinking he is on a flat. Looking down at my cadence, I saw that I was pushing in the 80s, so I dropped it back a gear, upped the revolutions, and saved my fast-twitch muscles for the end of the race.

I was mostly able to hold my bike speed in the 21-25 mph range - a bit faster on the way out with a mild tailwind and a bit slower on the way back. The original (unofficial) race results generously show my pace as 23.5 mph, based on a 10-mile bike leg. My GPS computer recorded only 9.13 miles on course, which was corroborated by my car odometer. The revised results show a 21.9 mph average, which I'll gladly take on a crummy day. At least the winds were not punishing as they often can be in these here parts. I felt good and like I could have gone harder, but I needed to save some for the run.

I passed a BUNCH of people on the bike, which felt great. But I reminded myself that we all started in one wave, and that I was only in position to pass people who RAN faster than me, and that we were all going to have to run again - next time 3 miles instead of 1. Chances were good that I would be seeing a few of those people again from the opposite perspective. I was passed by one guy on the bike with about a mile to go, but I marked him back to the transition.

Now for the (not so) fun part. Triathlon is a sport that mostly belongs to the runners. Even though the bike is typically half or more of the total race time, the good runners always finish strong and an athlete's ranking in the run split is usually a good predictor of his finishing place in the overall race. I just try to hang on through the suffering. The run course was composed of 3 out-and-backs in a hub-and-spoke sort of configuration. The transition area was at the end of one spoke. I saw plenty of really fast guys coming the other way down each of the spokes. To my surprise, I was only passed by a couple people on the run, but to my embarrassment, they were both older than me. The fastest female in the race was pacing me the whole way. I pulled away from her on my finishing kick to avoid being "chicked." The term, which comes from my USSA Masters Ski Racing circles, refers to the condition of being bested by a woman on the field of play. It happens to me a LOT on skis, and usually at the hands of one or two in triathlon, but the really fast girls must have sat this one out.

With relief in sight, the finish line unfolded in front of the lake at the bottom of the small hill. Some of these courses include a finishing circuit around the parking lot or something to round out the advertised distance. I feared this would be the same, and I guess I wasn't paying enough attention to the pre-race instructions. So when I crossed the timing pad at the line, out of breath, I asked the officials and small cadre of observers if I was done. They thought that was quite humorous, or perhaps pitiful. Were they laughing with me, or AT me?

I then made the rounds to check the numbers on the calves of those who had finished before. Those magic numbers reveal the ages of their bearers. So far, so good. Everyone was either older or younger. But there was one mysterious guy with just an "8" on his leg, the first digit obscured by a knee brace. He looked older than me, so I assumed he must be 48. Having dodged a chicking, I was in for a different kind of disappointment. Not only was the hidden number a "3", the guy finished a scant 35.15 seconds ahead of me. THAT will teach me to assume other people are old. I might have dug deeper to catch him at the finish, had I known he was the competition. It gets worse. He beat me by 43.5 seconds in T2! (That's the second, or bike-run transition in tri lingo.) I took a moment to grab a shot of energy gel and chase it with water during T2... and there went the race for first place in my age group. We were stride for stride through T1 and I beat him on the bike. Next time, I'll suck down the gel on the bike or at the start of the run. Live and learn.

When the dust settled, I wound up 11th overall and 6th overall on the bike, which is "the good". Running is "the bad" and transitions are "the ugly", especially in short races such as this. I will have plenty to work on this summer. Here are the results by age-group and overall.

My next race will be July 5. I will be raising money for an important charity on that one - more details to come. That will be followed two weeks later with my first "international" distance triathlon, which should entail about 2 1/2 hours of grinding it out.

-Scott

Spring Skiing

2008-04-21T15:24:00.013-05:00

Faith and I went to Ski Brule for closing weekend this year, as is our tradition every spring. I first took her in 2005, just a few weeks prior to her 3rd birthday. We have been every year since, except for 2007, when her heart catheterization necessitated a month's rest. That year, we went to Colorado a bit later in the season, once she was recovered.

Saturday was a dreary day, with fog and occasional light drizzle, but Sunday was postcard perfect with full sunshine and 68 degrees. By 10:30 am, Faith had dropped her coat and I dropped the layer under my Hawaiian shirt.

One of my pet peeves is that so many skiers give up on the season when the temperatures start to warm up. Skiing is really a two-and-a-half season sport in most of the Northern Hemisphere, starting in mid to late fall and concluding in late spring. However, most skiers quit skiing about the time they start mowing their lawns, and as a result, most ski areas close well before their snow melts away. Spring really is a great season to enjoy warm sunshine and soft snow. We are planning to go to Arapahoe Basin this year for Memorial Day weekend.

I'll post more details and a movie clip soon!

My New Stead

2008-04-06T21:04:00.020-05:00

I picked up a sweet new road bike on March 1 and have since been on about 3 rides of 20+ miles and several shorter ones. The weather is finally turning nice for riding. I logged about 23 miles today and did not have to don base layers as I did a week ago, when this picture was taken. (Click it to see the components and other details up close, including my winter beer gut. I obviously didn't ski hard enough this season to keep it in check.)

The bike, a 2006 Giant TCR C1 (I saved a bunch since it was a closeout), has a full carbon fiber frame and is really lightweight and smooth, especially compared to the old steel Raleigh on which I plied the roads and paved trails for almost 24 years! That was a gift from my parents for my 13th birthday and it served me well. (It still has a place in the garage as a commuter or to ride to the park with the kids.) But since I got hooked on the fast-growing sport of triathlon last year, it was high time to get something more modern and competitive. The Giant is less than 2/3 the weight of the old Raleigh, which makes accelerating a lot less effort than before. It probably helps with climbing, though I haven't really done any of that yet (save the freeway overpasses). I'll have to visit mom and dad in rolling west St. Louis County with the bike soon.

Also, the Giant is identical to that of my SoCal cousin, Mike. Same model, year, and even frame size. Luckily I have different pedals so we can tell them apart next time we ride together.

Though it is not a triathlon-specific or time-trial bike, I outfitted it with clip-on aerobars, racing pedals, and cleated triathlon shoes (which are easy to slip on, can be worn sockless, and breathe well - important since you are just getting out of the water at the transition onto the bike). A tri/time-trial bike may be my next big cycling purchase in a few years, but this will serve well for years to come as an all-around bike for training, climbing hills, group rides, and whatever else is in store.

I've trained twice with the aerobars and they definitely take some getting used to. They help "cheat the wind" a bit by allowing the rider to take a more aggressive, aerodynamic position, but they make the bike much harder to maneuver, especially in a cross-wind and on the bumpy roads on which I most often find myself. Today I averaged over 20 mph despite 12 mph southerly winds. I don't think I have ever pedaled so fast on a ride longer than about 15 miles, so things are starting to click. With a bit more training, I should be prepared for my first sprint triathlon of the season on June 7. I have a longer international distance race on July 19 which will include about 25 miles in the saddle. I'd like to finish the bike leg in an hour or so. Or at least not too much longer. I have to aim high! A lot will depend on the winds that day.

GPS profiles of a few of my recent rides are captured here.

Ice Skating

2008-03-30T17:00:00.011-05:00

We took the kids to the ice arena after church and brunch this afternoon. It was Zach's first time on the ice and Faith's second. At first, Zach did not like it at all. So Jenny and I alternated laps with Faith while the other watched with Zach. After a while, Zach noticed another boy about his size making his way around the ice (without crying!) At that point Zach decided he would give it a try as well.