Here's my race report from my first Hawaii Ironman experience. It was a rough day out there, but an amazing experience. Can't wait to get back there!
Being my first trip to the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, the whole week was really an amazing experience. There’s so much energy and tension circling Kona leading up to the race and not only do you run across pro triathletes just hanging out doing their daily routine, but everyone else in the town also just looks uber fit and they’re out strutting their stuff all week. I could easily double the length of this race report talking about the leadup to the race itself, but I’ll avoid the temptation.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Kirkland Triathlon
Ethan and Erin take wins at the Kirkland Triathlon! Zach also raced with a strong 2nd in his AG in only his second triathlon.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Charles at Pacific Grove
Last weekend saw Charles racing Pacific Grove taking 7th overall (2nd AG) in a time of 2:06:12. Check out his race report below:
Pacific Grove Triathlon was a huge focus race for me this year. Going into the weekend I was fit and looking to finish top 3 overall. I knew there would be many strong competitors and it was going to take a perfect race to get me up there.
Pacific Grove Triathlon was a huge focus race for me this year. Going into the weekend I was fit and looking to finish top 3 overall. I knew there would be many strong competitors and it was going to take a perfect race to get me up there.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Ironman Canada
IMC 2010 Race report
Going into this race was a little bit bitter sweet for me. The season had been really good to me with some great results early on and training was going well. However, the family had been thru some rough times in the month of August as two of my grandparents passed away; Frank Marvin early in the month and Shirley Frederickson on the Tuesday of race week. It was a little difficult to reconcile the intense focus I’ve had for nearly a year on my training and this one event with the emotions and struggles of the loss. Each had been so supportive of my goals and focus on the sport that I knew in their memory laid the strength I needed to succeed, so I made myself some reminders of why I was out there to carry me (and them) thru the day.
Going into this race was a little bit bitter sweet for me. The season had been really good to me with some great results early on and training was going well. However, the family had been thru some rough times in the month of August as two of my grandparents passed away; Frank Marvin early in the month and Shirley Frederickson on the Tuesday of race week. It was a little difficult to reconcile the intense focus I’ve had for nearly a year on my training and this one event with the emotions and struggles of the loss. Each had been so supportive of my goals and focus on the sport that I knew in their memory laid the strength I needed to succeed, so I made myself some reminders of why I was out there to carry me (and them) thru the day.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Erin's Lake Stevens Race Report
Better late than never, here's Erin's race report from her first half Ironman at Lake Stevens 8/15/2010:
Pre-Race: I’m running late!! I arrived at the venue at 6:05am, about half an hour after I wanted to be there and 15 minutes before transitioned closed. Thankfully I was able to organize myself in enough time to get myself set up and ready to race. I was only able to squeeze in a 5 minute jog as a warm up, but I think my nerves/excitement at this being my first half iron man had me warm enough so in the end it didn’t matter.
Pre-Race: I’m running late!! I arrived at the venue at 6:05am, about half an hour after I wanted to be there and 15 minutes before transitioned closed. Thankfully I was able to organize myself in enough time to get myself set up and ready to race. I was only able to squeeze in a 5 minute jog as a warm up, but I think my nerves/excitement at this being my first half iron man had me warm enough so in the end it didn’t matter.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Charles' Lake Stevens 70.3 Race Report
I want to say that I think it is some sort of cruel joke that every half-iron (four different races) I've done this year had temps rising into the 90s. Surely Lake Stevens would have been cooler.. right?.... um, no way.
Swim:
Getting started I wanted to make the lead pack on the swim, unfortunately I was boxed in by some slower swimmers who were eager to be up front at the start. I gapped the group by swimming on the inside of the buoy line and surged hard to catch the leaders. I was a little hesitant to push too hard this early in the race, so I didn't quite catch them, but was still close enough to see bubbles in the water. By the turn buoy they were still only about 10 meters up and I could see there were about 4 or 5 of them. Unfortunately, it was nearly impossible to sight anything in the sun and I just couldn't close the gap as they slowly swam away from me. I was feeling very solid and rhythmic out there (I've become very comfortable in my TYR Hurricane!), but because I was alone practically the whole time I was a bit slower than I expected out of the water at 28:30 and in 5th place.
Swim:
Getting started I wanted to make the lead pack on the swim, unfortunately I was boxed in by some slower swimmers who were eager to be up front at the start. I gapped the group by swimming on the inside of the buoy line and surged hard to catch the leaders. I was a little hesitant to push too hard this early in the race, so I didn't quite catch them, but was still close enough to see bubbles in the water. By the turn buoy they were still only about 10 meters up and I could see there were about 4 or 5 of them. Unfortunately, it was nearly impossible to sight anything in the sun and I just couldn't close the gap as they slowly swam away from me. I was feeling very solid and rhythmic out there (I've become very comfortable in my TYR Hurricane!), but because I was alone practically the whole time I was a bit slower than I expected out of the water at 28:30 and in 5th place.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Lots of Action at Lake Stevens 70.3
This weekend saw three elite team members in action at Lake Stevens 70.3
Erin Heard made her debut at the half ironman distance with a smoking fast 5:11:12 to take 2nd in her AG and 29th overall female.
Charles Rivers put together another strong HIM performance going 4:38:20, good enough for 3rd in his AG
Matt Sheeks was back racing only 3 weeks after Lake Placid. Coming off the back of a hard training camp in Mammoth Lakes he was able to put together a solid 4:20:09 with a solid 1:17:18 run.
Erin Heard made her debut at the half ironman distance with a smoking fast 5:11:12 to take 2nd in her AG and 29th overall female.
Charles Rivers put together another strong HIM performance going 4:38:20, good enough for 3rd in his AG
Matt Sheeks was back racing only 3 weeks after Lake Placid. Coming off the back of a hard training camp in Mammoth Lakes he was able to put together a solid 4:20:09 with a solid 1:17:18 run.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Ironman Lake Placid
Matt Sheeks takes 8th overall at Ironman Lake Placid in a time of 9:17:57 with the fastest run split of the day 2:52:57!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
A Weekend of Racing at Chelanman and Seafair
Ethan Lyons and Erin Heard raced the Seafair Sprint tri last weekend. Ethan was 6th overall in a time of 1:00:34 while Erin was 8th at 1:09:48.
Charles Rivers took 5th overall at the Chelanman Half Ironman as well in a time of 4:48:44. His race report and a few pictures are below.
Chelan is an awesome scenic venue for a half iron and super challenging. With 4000 feet of climbing on the bike and a completely exposed run seeing temps into the 90s I knew it was going to be a tough day. Still I tried to stay relaxed about it and just use the race as a good training day for some of the bigger races to come.
Usually the water is very calm in the morning, but for some reason on this day the wind was gusting strong enough that it was pushing the buoys off line in a crescent shape. This meant that if I were to follow the buoy line I would be adding quite a bit of distance to the turnaround. So I planned to sight all the way to the turn and hopefully be able to follow some feet on the return into the blinding sunlight.
It was a mass start and at the horn and I sprinted hard out for about 50 meters to see that I was all alone. It looked as though quite a few people were going to follow the buoy line to my right. I settled into a strong smooth pace, but felt a little irked that I had no feet to swim on. The one swimmer that I could see in front of me was way to my right following the line. I needed to make a decision at this point as to whether to stick with the plan (meaning I would swim solo) or whether to slowly edge my way over to the leader's feet. After some deliberation I decided for the later. So by the turn buoy I had made my way over and was about 2 body lengths behind the leader. I decided to put in a surge to catch his feet and quickly did so. I was very content to stay
on his feet and ride him into the shore with minimal sighting. I really felt relaxed and smooth and though I could have swam harder I felt no need to do so. When we hit the shore we came out simultaneously and I just happened to edged him out to the mat to be "FIRST out of the water!" 29:45. A slow time, but just goes to show how choppy it was out there. After a sloppy transition I tried to relax into the bike and was passed by a couple of strong riders almost immediately. I never really had a chance to hang with them as I was staying right on my prescribed wattage (245) and they were just riding away. It didn't help that my rear wheel was 
slightly rubbing the whole time and I dropped my salt pills (dealing with unexpected issues is part of the game though.) A third rider passed me, but I noticed he wasn't really holding a steady pace. So from mile 10 until T2 we rode back and forth like this. It was nice to have him there to keep my head in the race. I averaged almost exactly 245 and rode the hills very well, coming into T2 just behind in 4th place. Bike split was 2:38, but I do believe it was 58 miles instead of the usual 56 as my powertap told me that I averaged just over 22mph.
Up to this point I was having a really great race. I was right on pace with my expectations, but I
knew that the run was going to be the real test. It's hard to emphasize how tough this run is. Literally there is no shade, just a blazing sun and the aid stations don't come frequently enough. If you look at the results you can see that only 10 athletes went sub 1:40, which is very rare to see. I settled in to 7 min pace per usual and planned to hit 6:35-6:45 after 3 miles. With a couple of miles to settle in I felt comfortable, but sort of knew it wasn't going to be my day. I know what it feels like to have good legs and I just wasn't feeling it. The sun was relentless and I was lucky if I grabbed one small cup of water at the aid stations. By the half way mark my pace had dwindled and I started the death march back. My pace fell to that of an easy run, except my heart rate was close to 170. It was frustrating to watch the guys in front of me run away, but at this point I was just trying not to walk. Finished the run with a 1:37 and overall a time of 4:48:44. This landed me 5th place overall and I won my age group by almost 30 minutes! Considering that only 6 athletes went under 5hrs on the day I don't feel too bad about falling apart on the run. I thought I could run about 10 mins faster, but everything else went very well on the day and I'm happy with that. I can't expect to nail every race and hopefully this just means Lake Stevens will be the best yet!
slightly rubbing the whole time and I dropped my salt pills (dealing with unexpected issues is part of the game though.) A third rider passed me, but I noticed he wasn't really holding a steady pace. So from mile 10 until T2 we rode back and forth like this. It was nice to have him there to keep my head in the race. I averaged almost exactly 245 and rode the hills very well, coming into T2 just behind in 4th place. Bike split was 2:38, but I do believe it was 58 miles instead of the usual 56 as my powertap told me that I averaged just over 22mph.Up to this point I was having a really great race. I was right on pace with my expectations, but I
knew that the run was going to be the real test. It's hard to emphasize how tough this run is. Literally there is no shade, just a blazing sun and the aid stations don't come frequently enough. If you look at the results you can see that only 10 athletes went sub 1:40, which is very rare to see. I settled in to 7 min pace per usual and planned to hit 6:35-6:45 after 3 miles. With a couple of miles to settle in I felt comfortable, but sort of knew it wasn't going to be my day. I know what it feels like to have good legs and I just wasn't feeling it. The sun was relentless and I was lucky if I grabbed one small cup of water at the aid stations. By the half way mark my pace had dwindled and I started the death march back. My pace fell to that of an easy run, except my heart rate was close to 170. It was frustrating to watch the guys in front of me run away, but at this point I was just trying not to walk. Finished the run with a 1:37 and overall a time of 4:48:44. This landed me 5th place overall and I won my age group by almost 30 minutes! Considering that only 6 athletes went under 5hrs on the day I don't feel too bad about falling apart on the run. I thought I could run about 10 mins faster, but everything else went very well on the day and I'm happy with that. I can't expect to nail every race and hopefully this just means Lake Stevens will be the best yet! Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Desert Half Ironman
Check out Gerry's race report from the Desert Half Ironman in Osoyoos Canada:
To preface this race a little bit, I had a really hard time getting excited to race this event. Nothing against the race itself, actually it turned out to be a very fun event. I think it had a lot to do with it not originally being on my schedule for the year, but with Honu 70.3 dropping their IM Canada slots it kinda needed to be done to fulfill the greater season goals. Also going into a race labeled as “Canada’s toughest half” on a day expected to hit the mid 90s doesn’t exactly sound FUN. Regardless I knew that I was fit and ready, and if I stuck to the game plan I’d have a good day and a solid performance.
Race morning I felt pretty relaxed, got everything setup in transition nice and early and threw on my wetsuit for the slightly longer than normal 2K swim. Did a quick warmup and got out on the beach ready for the start. You could barely hear the announcer where we were all lined up, but suddenly I heard someone yell out “five,” to which I thought, ok 5 minutes to the start... Then I heard “four, three, two…” and suddenly we were off!
Through dumb luck I’d ended up in the PERFECT starting position, as the eventual swim winner was standing on my left and he gave me a great draft away from the bulk of the field. After the first 300 yards or so realizing that staying on his feet was suicide, I pulled up and waited for the next guy. We traded places a couple times on the first lap of the swim until he gapped me ever so slightly coming back to shore. It was kinda a trip making the quick run on the beach by the crowd as the 3rd place swimmer at the half way mark, but still the pace was quick so I decided to let him go and swim solo and comfortably. Came out of the water with 2 other guys who’d caught me right near the finish with the announcer saying we were sub 28 minutes (27:27) which is a full minute HIM swim PR so thank you TYR ;-)
The bike course is what makes this race tough as it is a 56 mile out and back over the hilly part of the IM Canada course. Right out of the gate you’re on Richter pass, a roughly 7 mile “stair stepping” climb. Really hard to keep the pacing down where it needed to be early, but keeping a watchful eye on my powertap now I knew would pay off later.
Lost a few positions early on the bike, but after summiting Richter Pass it was pretty much a solo and uneventful ride. Tried to stay focused on getting my nutrition down and staying well hydrated, after all the run was going to be a hot one. Hit some headwinds on the way out, and I was a little concerned when I hit the turn showing 1:26 on my computer. But the way back was SCREAMING fast and finished at 2:36:55.
T2 was not my finest showing ever. I racked my bike and was looking for my shoes but couldn’t find them. There were shoes everywhere and none of them looked like mine. Turned out I’d missed my rack so I had to make a quick shuffle to get the right gear and I was off.
Start of the run felt really good. Settled comfortably into my goal pace of 7-7:10/mi and I was getting some gels and a good amount of fluid down. The first turn around was just under 3 miles in, so right about when you feel your best on course. Got a chance to see where I was on course (10th) and check out the other guys running. There were two guys in front of me that looked mediocre and didn’t have much of a gap so I got some motivation there. Also saw a couple guys behind me that were running really strong so I kinda knew right then where things were going to go.
Just before the end of the first lap I’d reeled in the 2 guys I’d expected to catch, and been passed by 1 guy who was looking really solid. As I turned around to start lap 2 I again looked at the guys behind me and knew I had plenty of gap, the guys in front weren’t coming back to me, and the temperature was rising so things switched over to a bit of a defensive running mode. It was a good thing I took on that strategy a bit early as between mile 8 and 9 is when things got unpleasant. The heat was really starting to hit me and I was having trouble at the aid stations getting enough water/coke/ice to keep it in check. Miles 9 and 10 were the worst where I had a side stitch, I was hungry, my mouth was dry and my body was hot. Just had to remember that the quickest way to everything I needed was to run there. About mile 10.5 there was an aid station where I stopped long enough to get down extra water, get the sponges/ice I needed, and throw back a coke to power me home.
Finished the run off in 1:35:52, a little slower than I’d hoped but given the nature of the course and the conditions I really can’t complain. Total time of 4:43:14 for 9th overall and 2nd AG was definitely the solid showing I knew I could have, and it guaranteed me the IM Canada slot I was after.
-Gerry
oh and one more thing; FREE post race massage is basically the best thing ever!
To preface this race a little bit, I had a really hard time getting excited to race this event. Nothing against the race itself, actually it turned out to be a very fun event. I think it had a lot to do with it not originally being on my schedule for the year, but with Honu 70.3 dropping their IM Canada slots it kinda needed to be done to fulfill the greater season goals. Also going into a race labeled as “Canada’s toughest half” on a day expected to hit the mid 90s doesn’t exactly sound FUN. Regardless I knew that I was fit and ready, and if I stuck to the game plan I’d have a good day and a solid performance.
Race morning I felt pretty relaxed, got everything setup in transition nice and early and threw on my wetsuit for the slightly longer than normal 2K swim. Did a quick warmup and got out on the beach ready for the start. You could barely hear the announcer where we were all lined up, but suddenly I heard someone yell out “five,” to which I thought, ok 5 minutes to the start... Then I heard “four, three, two…” and suddenly we were off!
Through dumb luck I’d ended up in the PERFECT starting position, as the eventual swim winner was standing on my left and he gave me a great draft away from the bulk of the field. After the first 300 yards or so realizing that staying on his feet was suicide, I pulled up and waited for the next guy. We traded places a couple times on the first lap of the swim until he gapped me ever so slightly coming back to shore. It was kinda a trip making the quick run on the beach by the crowd as the 3rd place swimmer at the half way mark, but still the pace was quick so I decided to let him go and swim solo and comfortably. Came out of the water with 2 other guys who’d caught me right near the finish with the announcer saying we were sub 28 minutes (27:27) which is a full minute HIM swim PR so thank you TYR ;-)
The bike course is what makes this race tough as it is a 56 mile out and back over the hilly part of the IM Canada course. Right out of the gate you’re on Richter pass, a roughly 7 mile “stair stepping” climb. Really hard to keep the pacing down where it needed to be early, but keeping a watchful eye on my powertap now I knew would pay off later.
Lost a few positions early on the bike, but after summiting Richter Pass it was pretty much a solo and uneventful ride. Tried to stay focused on getting my nutrition down and staying well hydrated, after all the run was going to be a hot one. Hit some headwinds on the way out, and I was a little concerned when I hit the turn showing 1:26 on my computer. But the way back was SCREAMING fast and finished at 2:36:55.
T2 was not my finest showing ever. I racked my bike and was looking for my shoes but couldn’t find them. There were shoes everywhere and none of them looked like mine. Turned out I’d missed my rack so I had to make a quick shuffle to get the right gear and I was off.
Start of the run felt really good. Settled comfortably into my goal pace of 7-7:10/mi and I was getting some gels and a good amount of fluid down. The first turn around was just under 3 miles in, so right about when you feel your best on course. Got a chance to see where I was on course (10th) and check out the other guys running. There were two guys in front of me that looked mediocre and didn’t have much of a gap so I got some motivation there. Also saw a couple guys behind me that were running really strong so I kinda knew right then where things were going to go.
Just before the end of the first lap I’d reeled in the 2 guys I’d expected to catch, and been passed by 1 guy who was looking really solid. As I turned around to start lap 2 I again looked at the guys behind me and knew I had plenty of gap, the guys in front weren’t coming back to me, and the temperature was rising so things switched over to a bit of a defensive running mode. It was a good thing I took on that strategy a bit early as between mile 8 and 9 is when things got unpleasant. The heat was really starting to hit me and I was having trouble at the aid stations getting enough water/coke/ice to keep it in check. Miles 9 and 10 were the worst where I had a side stitch, I was hungry, my mouth was dry and my body was hot. Just had to remember that the quickest way to everything I needed was to run there. About mile 10.5 there was an aid station where I stopped long enough to get down extra water, get the sponges/ice I needed, and throw back a coke to power me home.
Finished the run off in 1:35:52, a little slower than I’d hoped but given the nature of the course and the conditions I really can’t complain. Total time of 4:43:14 for 9th overall and 2nd AG was definitely the solid showing I knew I could have, and it guaranteed me the IM Canada slot I was after.
-Gerry
oh and one more thing; FREE post race massage is basically the best thing ever!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Two New Race Reports
Last weekend saw a lot of action for the VO2 Multisport Elite Team with Charles and I(Gerry) setting PR's at the half iron distance.
First up is Charles at the Kansas 70.3:
Kansas 70.3 proved to be another hot venue for a race. In the days leading up to the race temperatures hit the mid-high 90s with heat indexes above 100. Luckily it "cooled" off to mid 80s on race day. The hot weather also pushed the water temp. to 81 the night before the race, meaning it would likely not be a wetsuit legal race. However, when I arrived on race morning we were told the water had been measured at 77.5 (.5 degrees below the limit) at 4 am. I wasn't sure if that was really all that great though since my wave didn't go off until 7:30 when it was likely the temp would be well above the limit and very uncomfortable. I would say that this unfortunately effected my swim performance quite a bit. Since I was used to swimming in 57 degree water and this lake was close to 80 I began to have issues about 400m in. My plan was to go out very hard to keep up with the swim leaders, but unfortunately I lost them as I had to navigate around the slower swimmers falling back. As I neared the mid point of the swim I felt like my body was suffocating in the suit and from this point I really felt like I had bombed the swim. My breathing was not controlled, I felt very labored holding any steady pace, plus the feet that I was drafting off of kept zig zagging and not swimming a straight line. So eventually I had to abandon him and sight solo to the finish while navigating around the other waves. Considering that I have never been under 30 minutes for a HIM swim I was shocked to see 28:47 when I got out, a p.r.! This is just a testament to all the hard work I have done in the pool, the great structure from Ben and the mental toughness to swim through trouble.
After some dizziness in the transition I set out on the rolling bike course to rehydrate, take some fuel in and set an even pace. There were many hills on the course, but none of them were particularly steep. So I planed to keep my watts under 300 no matter what and aim to avg 245. Of course there were many people out of the saddle cranking it up the hills hard passing me, but I would continually pass these people on the downhill and flats. The overall time split on my bike was hindered a bit due to an oil spill around mile 40 where everyone (except the pros) had to dismount and walk a short distance, remount and get back up to speed. Otherwise the bike was uneventful. Some of the hills were even gentle enough to hold 18-20 mph going up them. It was not a particularly demanding course, but one that consistently has you changing gears. Overall I would say this was the smartest HIM bike leg I have ever ridden. I conserved quite a bit on the hills and had enough energy to progressively get faster over each 40 minutes block of the race so that by the time we were re-entering the park I had but a major gap on all the guys I had been yo-yo-ing with up and down the hills. Still, if I was disappointed a little bit with any portion of this race it would be the bike split. I thought I could have been quite a bit faster than 2:28 and my avg. watts were only 232. I can only attribute this to a lot of spinning out on the downhills and perhaps a little too much conservation. But like I said I am still happy that I rode smarter rather than harder and had fresh legs for the run.
By the time the run came it was 80 degrees and climbing. My plan was to go out at 7:15 pace for the first 3 miles and then see how I felt from there. After hopping off the bike 7:15 pace felt incredibly easy, my heart rate dropped too ~150 (recovery pace) and I was completely relaxed. Again quite a few people passed me here, but I wanted to race smart and build into the run so that hopefully I would catch them towards the end. After the 3rd mile and a short steep uphill I let the legs open up a bit and started hitting 6:40 pace. It was a two loop run course with very little shade, but good aid at every mile. As I approached the 2nd loop I was passed by an age grouper and I decided he would be the perfect pace setter. He really set a solid pace and it was nice to not have to think about pace and just follow him. As the run continued I felt stronger and stronger, I decided that the last two miles I might actually be able to drop a couple of 6:15s. So I sat on my pacer and simply waited. Looking at my watch and considering the way that I felt, I thought that 1:25 would be a real possibility. Unfortunately, as I neared the last 2 miles my side began to cramp up a bit along with my shoulder and calf. Right about mile 11 I had a full on stitch and the heat was really beating down. So I stopped at one of the aid stations completely and consumed as much liquid as I could get my hands on. From that point on I was able to push it out, but it was a weakened pace. I know my legs still had a good kick in them, but the heat really effected me aerobically. I was only able to take shallow short breaths for the last mile due to the wicked side stitch and just missed going sub 1:27 on a really fast run course.
Still, it was a great all around effort and result. I would say that this was by far the smartest HIM I've have ever completed and a p.r. of 2 minutes and change. As long as I keep making progress, continue to train hard and race smart things should be really coming together in the next few months. Big thanks to Ben for the great coaching and advice for optimal pace setting along with all the Vo2 crowd for the great support on soggy training days in Seattle. Next big race will be Lake Stevens 70.3 in August!
Next up is my race report from Honu 70.3:
Woke up nice and early at 4 am and was surprisingly relaxed enough to get down some toast, some cereal, and a second round of toast before heading out to the swim start. Mixed a bottle of Gu Brew to sip on for the morning, as well as a 500 cal bottle of the 2X sodium flavor for the bike.
Hanging out at Hapuna Beach pre-race
Before the swim start did the double check of the bike. Got my bottles on, tires pumped up, laid out my gear and found a cool/quiet place to relax for a while before squeezing on my Sayonara and doing my warmup. Warmup was pretty short. Hopped in for somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes with a short hard tempo interval at the end before lining up for the start.
With the 1600 person mass start and only about .25 mile to the first turn buoy, I knew it’d pay to go out a bit hard and ensure I got into the group I wanted to be in. I expected a lot of contact and a brutal first corner, but was pleasantly surprised to have a very uneventful swim to the first turn, and only be 3 wide at the buoy. I had hoped at this point to settle in a bit and catch a draft, but we turned into the wind for a good portion of the swim and the chop was obnoxious. There wasn't a pack of people to knock it down, and you really couldn’t go easy at all without taking in a ton of water. About the .75 mi mark of the swim though we were back near shore and the water was much calmer so I relaxed and eased in the last stretch. Got out of the water and ran up the beach hitting the mat with a 29:00 split which was right on where I wanted/expected to be.
Run up to T1 was long and had a steep uphill, but once I got to my bike I made quick work of the transition and headed out.
The first .5 mi out of Hapuna Beach Park was uphill and into the wind. After getting my feet in my shoes my eyes were glued to my power meter making sure I wasn’t doing anything TOO stupid right out of the gate. Got out on the Queen K and started getting into my tempo. Picked off quite a few people in the 4 miles to the first turn around, and was pleased to see that I was near the front of the race. After about 15 minutes I was able to feel out the tempo pretty well and was settled into a fairly consistent group of guys. Had a sip of my Gu Brew every 15 minutes or so, and took in basically as much water as I comfortably could to stay hydrated.
At 45 minutes into the ride I dropped my chain and was forced to stop to get it back on. Not too much of a delay, but a bit frustrating to watch 4-5 guys stream past and to have to try and build momentum again on a draggin uphill.
Winds were fairly calm, a slight headwind on the way out to Kawaihae, and again near Hawi. On the final climb to the turn I intently watched my power meter as the group I had been mixed in with slowly pulled away from me. I wasn’t worried as I knew exactly what I needed to do, and based on the way I had been yo-yoing with the group I knew once we made the turn and hit the downhill with a tailwind I’d make all that time back and more. Hit the turn and grabbed a bit of course nutrition to supplement my bottle of Gu Brew and started the return trip to Mauna Lani. Sure enough I overhauled the entire group I’d watched ride away up the climb within the first 2-3 miles after the turn. Most of the rest of the ride was solo and uneventful. Bit of a headwind from Kawaihae to Mana Lani which I think slowed the times a little bit, but still I’m pretty happy with my 2:30:17 bike split, especially after looking at the data and seeing that I averaged 248 watts with an Xpower of 255. A little over my target of 250, but I was very comfortable and confident in the pace I'd set.
T2 went fairly smooth, in and out in 1:22 although heading out on the run I was extremely annoyed that there were NO sun screeners. Seriously, who puts on a race in Hawaii and doesn’t have sunscreen headed out onto the run? Needless to say this redhead ended up with a sunburn. It wasn’t TOO bad, but my race numbers will definitely be visible on my arms until it fades…
Heading out on the run I felt really good, but looking at my Garmin showed me that my HR was WAY too high, up in the mid 160’s. Probably didn't help that I saw a group of family and friends right out of the gate and of course had to look good for the camera. I battled the first mile to get HR down to my goal of 155 bpm. I was struggling with my HR monitor strap and discomfort immediately, but forced myself to keep it on until I got my HR stable where it needed to be about 1.5 miles in, then I dropped the strap to my waist and went on feel. Not ideal for sure, but it was either that or side stitches and I figured option one was probably the best chance of success.
Run course in Honu just isn’t fair. I mean the twists and turns of the cart paths combined with the ups and downs, not to mention the super soft grass fairway running that makes up a good portion of the course. It was impossible to find a rhythm for the first 2.5 miles, but luckily the run hit the road for a 3 mile stretch at that point where I was able to settle in. I had hoped that somewhere in this stretch I'd find a comfort zone and be able to build pace, but really I ended up just playing defence the entire time. My track record in heat isn't very good, so I decided early that the right way to race was to not overextend at all in the first half of the run, and make sure I wasn't going to come apart.
As I cruised through the aid stations I basically did anything I could to keep cool. Ice in the shorts, sponges/water over the head, as much water as I could drink and usually a sip of soda as well for good measure. It’s hard to say if I went a bit overboard with the hydration, as my stomach was sloshing around for the majority of the run. At the same time though I needed as much fluid as I could manage to stay hydrated and of course you have to get in calories as well. Not having much experience racing in that type of heat/humidity I just did the best I could and by the end of the run I felt like I'd learned the things that worked for me and a few things that worked against me so next time I'll be smarter.
Felt pretty good up through about 8 miles. there were some brutally steep (however short) climbs around mile 8 that really got the heartrate going and it was tough to manage with the heat. My legs however were in great shape and felt strong, I was just being cooked under that sun.
Once I hit the final turn around just after mile 10 I knew I was good to go. I was on the home stretch and I would see some familiar faces coming back that would give me that mental boost you need to close strong. Sure enough I saw Teresa Nelson looking strong, Chris Whyte was also out there running well. Kelly Fillnow (a fellow TYR athlete I met pre-race) was crushing it on the run.
After turning back onto the golf course it was amazingly lonely. No spectators and the closest person in front of me was barely in view. Behind me was Bree Wee running me down and no one else that I could see. Bree caught me at about mile 12 and we ran a couple minutes together exchanging the usual “nice job”. at about .5 miles to go she turned and said to me, “c’mon, lets finish this” and then took off. I had nothing left so I just yelled, “you’re too fast for me.”
Crossed the line with a run time of 1:37:09 for a total time of 4:40:24 for a bit over a 7 minute PR. I felt absolutely trashed for about 10 minutes, but once I got some fluids and food into my stomach things started to come around quickly. Definitely the toughest half ironman I’ve ever done, and aside from the sunscreen thing it was one of the best run events around too. The course is beautiful with a great vibe from all the spectators and the resort staff. Hopefully I’ll get to come out and race it again.
First up is Charles at the Kansas 70.3:
Kansas 70.3 proved to be another hot venue for a race. In the days leading up to the race temperatures hit the mid-high 90s with heat indexes above 100. Luckily it "cooled" off to mid 80s on race day. The hot weather also pushed the water temp. to 81 the night before the race, meaning it would likely not be a wetsuit legal race. However, when I arrived on race morning we were told the water had been measured at 77.5 (.5 degrees below the limit) at 4 am. I wasn't sure if that was really all that great though since my wave didn't go off until 7:30 when it was likely the temp would be well above the limit and very uncomfortable. I would say that this unfortunately effected my swim performance quite a bit. Since I was used to swimming in 57 degree water and this lake was close to 80 I began to have issues about 400m in. My plan was to go out very hard to keep up with the swim leaders, but unfortunately I lost them as I had to navigate around the slower swimmers falling back. As I neared the mid point of the swim I felt like my body was suffocating in the suit and from this point I really felt like I had bombed the swim. My breathing was not controlled, I felt very labored holding any steady pace, plus the feet that I was drafting off of kept zig zagging and not swimming a straight line. So eventually I had to abandon him and sight solo to the finish while navigating around the other waves. Considering that I have never been under 30 minutes for a HIM swim I was shocked to see 28:47 when I got out, a p.r.! This is just a testament to all the hard work I have done in the pool, the great structure from Ben and the mental toughness to swim through trouble.
After some dizziness in the transition I set out on the rolling bike course to rehydrate, take some fuel in and set an even pace. There were many hills on the course, but none of them were particularly steep. So I planed to keep my watts under 300 no matter what and aim to avg 245. Of course there were many people out of the saddle cranking it up the hills hard passing me, but I would continually pass these people on the downhill and flats. The overall time split on my bike was hindered a bit due to an oil spill around mile 40 where everyone (except the pros) had to dismount and walk a short distance, remount and get back up to speed. Otherwise the bike was uneventful. Some of the hills were even gentle enough to hold 18-20 mph going up them. It was not a particularly demanding course, but one that consistently has you changing gears. Overall I would say this was the smartest HIM bike leg I have ever ridden. I conserved quite a bit on the hills and had enough energy to progressively get faster over each 40 minutes block of the race so that by the time we were re-entering the park I had but a major gap on all the guys I had been yo-yo-ing with up and down the hills. Still, if I was disappointed a little bit with any portion of this race it would be the bike split. I thought I could have been quite a bit faster than 2:28 and my avg. watts were only 232. I can only attribute this to a lot of spinning out on the downhills and perhaps a little too much conservation. But like I said I am still happy that I rode smarter rather than harder and had fresh legs for the run.
By the time the run came it was 80 degrees and climbing. My plan was to go out at 7:15 pace for the first 3 miles and then see how I felt from there. After hopping off the bike 7:15 pace felt incredibly easy, my heart rate dropped too ~150 (recovery pace) and I was completely relaxed. Again quite a few people passed me here, but I wanted to race smart and build into the run so that hopefully I would catch them towards the end. After the 3rd mile and a short steep uphill I let the legs open up a bit and started hitting 6:40 pace. It was a two loop run course with very little shade, but good aid at every mile. As I approached the 2nd loop I was passed by an age grouper and I decided he would be the perfect pace setter. He really set a solid pace and it was nice to not have to think about pace and just follow him. As the run continued I felt stronger and stronger, I decided that the last two miles I might actually be able to drop a couple of 6:15s. So I sat on my pacer and simply waited. Looking at my watch and considering the way that I felt, I thought that 1:25 would be a real possibility. Unfortunately, as I neared the last 2 miles my side began to cramp up a bit along with my shoulder and calf. Right about mile 11 I had a full on stitch and the heat was really beating down. So I stopped at one of the aid stations completely and consumed as much liquid as I could get my hands on. From that point on I was able to push it out, but it was a weakened pace. I know my legs still had a good kick in them, but the heat really effected me aerobically. I was only able to take shallow short breaths for the last mile due to the wicked side stitch and just missed going sub 1:27 on a really fast run course.
Still, it was a great all around effort and result. I would say that this was by far the smartest HIM I've have ever completed and a p.r. of 2 minutes and change. As long as I keep making progress, continue to train hard and race smart things should be really coming together in the next few months. Big thanks to Ben for the great coaching and advice for optimal pace setting along with all the Vo2 crowd for the great support on soggy training days in Seattle. Next big race will be Lake Stevens 70.3 in August!
Next up is my race report from Honu 70.3:
Woke up nice and early at 4 am and was surprisingly relaxed enough to get down some toast, some cereal, and a second round of toast before heading out to the swim start. Mixed a bottle of Gu Brew to sip on for the morning, as well as a 500 cal bottle of the 2X sodium flavor for the bike.
Hanging out at Hapuna Beach pre-raceBefore the swim start did the double check of the bike. Got my bottles on, tires pumped up, laid out my gear and found a cool/quiet place to relax for a while before squeezing on my Sayonara and doing my warmup. Warmup was pretty short. Hopped in for somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes with a short hard tempo interval at the end before lining up for the start.
With the 1600 person mass start and only about .25 mile to the first turn buoy, I knew it’d pay to go out a bit hard and ensure I got into the group I wanted to be in. I expected a lot of contact and a brutal first corner, but was pleasantly surprised to have a very uneventful swim to the first turn, and only be 3 wide at the buoy. I had hoped at this point to settle in a bit and catch a draft, but we turned into the wind for a good portion of the swim and the chop was obnoxious. There wasn't a pack of people to knock it down, and you really couldn’t go easy at all without taking in a ton of water. About the .75 mi mark of the swim though we were back near shore and the water was much calmer so I relaxed and eased in the last stretch. Got out of the water and ran up the beach hitting the mat with a 29:00 split which was right on where I wanted/expected to be.
Run up to T1 was long and had a steep uphill, but once I got to my bike I made quick work of the transition and headed out.
The first .5 mi out of Hapuna Beach Park was uphill and into the wind. After getting my feet in my shoes my eyes were glued to my power meter making sure I wasn’t doing anything TOO stupid right out of the gate. Got out on the Queen K and started getting into my tempo. Picked off quite a few people in the 4 miles to the first turn around, and was pleased to see that I was near the front of the race. After about 15 minutes I was able to feel out the tempo pretty well and was settled into a fairly consistent group of guys. Had a sip of my Gu Brew every 15 minutes or so, and took in basically as much water as I comfortably could to stay hydrated.
At 45 minutes into the ride I dropped my chain and was forced to stop to get it back on. Not too much of a delay, but a bit frustrating to watch 4-5 guys stream past and to have to try and build momentum again on a draggin uphill.
Winds were fairly calm, a slight headwind on the way out to Kawaihae, and again near Hawi. On the final climb to the turn I intently watched my power meter as the group I had been mixed in with slowly pulled away from me. I wasn’t worried as I knew exactly what I needed to do, and based on the way I had been yo-yoing with the group I knew once we made the turn and hit the downhill with a tailwind I’d make all that time back and more. Hit the turn and grabbed a bit of course nutrition to supplement my bottle of Gu Brew and started the return trip to Mauna Lani. Sure enough I overhauled the entire group I’d watched ride away up the climb within the first 2-3 miles after the turn. Most of the rest of the ride was solo and uneventful. Bit of a headwind from Kawaihae to Mana Lani which I think slowed the times a little bit, but still I’m pretty happy with my 2:30:17 bike split, especially after looking at the data and seeing that I averaged 248 watts with an Xpower of 255. A little over my target of 250, but I was very comfortable and confident in the pace I'd set.
T2 went fairly smooth, in and out in 1:22 although heading out on the run I was extremely annoyed that there were NO sun screeners. Seriously, who puts on a race in Hawaii and doesn’t have sunscreen headed out onto the run? Needless to say this redhead ended up with a sunburn. It wasn’t TOO bad, but my race numbers will definitely be visible on my arms until it fades…
Heading out on the run I felt really good, but looking at my Garmin showed me that my HR was WAY too high, up in the mid 160’s. Probably didn't help that I saw a group of family and friends right out of the gate and of course had to look good for the camera. I battled the first mile to get HR down to my goal of 155 bpm. I was struggling with my HR monitor strap and discomfort immediately, but forced myself to keep it on until I got my HR stable where it needed to be about 1.5 miles in, then I dropped the strap to my waist and went on feel. Not ideal for sure, but it was either that or side stitches and I figured option one was probably the best chance of success.
Run course in Honu just isn’t fair. I mean the twists and turns of the cart paths combined with the ups and downs, not to mention the super soft grass fairway running that makes up a good portion of the course. It was impossible to find a rhythm for the first 2.5 miles, but luckily the run hit the road for a 3 mile stretch at that point where I was able to settle in. I had hoped that somewhere in this stretch I'd find a comfort zone and be able to build pace, but really I ended up just playing defence the entire time. My track record in heat isn't very good, so I decided early that the right way to race was to not overextend at all in the first half of the run, and make sure I wasn't going to come apart.
As I cruised through the aid stations I basically did anything I could to keep cool. Ice in the shorts, sponges/water over the head, as much water as I could drink and usually a sip of soda as well for good measure. It’s hard to say if I went a bit overboard with the hydration, as my stomach was sloshing around for the majority of the run. At the same time though I needed as much fluid as I could manage to stay hydrated and of course you have to get in calories as well. Not having much experience racing in that type of heat/humidity I just did the best I could and by the end of the run I felt like I'd learned the things that worked for me and a few things that worked against me so next time I'll be smarter.
Felt pretty good up through about 8 miles. there were some brutally steep (however short) climbs around mile 8 that really got the heartrate going and it was tough to manage with the heat. My legs however were in great shape and felt strong, I was just being cooked under that sun.
Once I hit the final turn around just after mile 10 I knew I was good to go. I was on the home stretch and I would see some familiar faces coming back that would give me that mental boost you need to close strong. Sure enough I saw Teresa Nelson looking strong, Chris Whyte was also out there running well. Kelly Fillnow (a fellow TYR athlete I met pre-race) was crushing it on the run.
After turning back onto the golf course it was amazingly lonely. No spectators and the closest person in front of me was barely in view. Behind me was Bree Wee running me down and no one else that I could see. Bree caught me at about mile 12 and we ran a couple minutes together exchanging the usual “nice job”. at about .5 miles to go she turned and said to me, “c’mon, lets finish this” and then took off. I had nothing left so I just yelled, “you’re too fast for me.”
Crossed the line with a run time of 1:37:09 for a total time of 4:40:24 for a bit over a 7 minute PR. I felt absolutely trashed for about 10 minutes, but once I got some fluids and food into my stomach things started to come around quickly. Definitely the toughest half ironman I’ve ever done, and aside from the sunscreen thing it was one of the best run events around too. The course is beautiful with a great vibe from all the spectators and the resort staff. Hopefully I’ll get to come out and race it again.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
A hot two weeks of racing.....
The next two weekends see all of the Elite Team in action. You can track and follow their progress at the following races -
Saturday June 5th
Gerry Marvin - 70.3 Honu
Mathieu Signoretty - Issaquah Sprint Triathlon
Ethan Lyons - Issaquah Sprint Triathlon
Sunday June 6th
Charles Rivers - 70.3 Kansas
Saturday June 12th
Matt Sheeks - 70.3 Boise
All athletes will be wearing swimskins, wetsuits and apparel provided by TYR, and using nutrition kindly provided by GU and unleashing fitness built by hard work and Vo2Multisport Coaching. Look out for race reports coming soon!!!
Saturday June 5th
Gerry Marvin - 70.3 Honu
Mathieu Signoretty - Issaquah Sprint Triathlon
Ethan Lyons - Issaquah Sprint Triathlon
Sunday June 6th
Charles Rivers - 70.3 Kansas
Saturday June 12th
Matt Sheeks - 70.3 Boise
All athletes will be wearing swimskins, wetsuits and apparel provided by TYR, and using nutrition kindly provided by GU and unleashing fitness built by hard work and Vo2Multisport Coaching. Look out for race reports coming soon!!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Kirkland Half Marathon Results and Race Report
This weekend saw Gerry racing the Kirkland Half Marathon where he crushed his old PR by nearly 12 minutes going 1:22:40 and taking 7th overall (2nd AG). See his race report below:
Going into this race I knew I had a big PR in me, but still I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. Training had given me a good idea of what I could run, but when looking at the course with the first 3 miles significantly uphill and really not getting much of a break until 7 miles in I really wasn’t sure what good splits would be the first few miles. I decided that with miles 8-10 being massively downhill, I could afford to commit to a hard pace early and if I needed it I could recover a bit on that section without losing too much time.
By the end of the first mile I was running in the 2nd pack on the road with a group of 10-ish guys just in front. After hitting mile 5 with my small group I was feeling very strong, so I went to the front of the group and started to build my pace on the long shallow dragging hill of miles 5, 6 and 7. By the time I hit mile 7 and started descending back toward Lake Washington I had gapped the group, and started bringing in some of the stragglers who had gone out with the lead pack.
I had expected/hoped that strong downhill running would reel in some of the guys in front, but I actually think I lost a bit of time on the steep descent. Once we hit Lake Washington Blvd and it was back to tempo running I was consistently bringing in the guys in front, catching on at about mile 9.5 and another close to mile 11.
When I hit mile 12 just before entering Juanita Beach Park there was one more guy I could see about 40-50 yards in front of me. He was looking pretty strong and I honestly didn’t know if I could catch him, but decided to go for it because even if I blew up at this point the result was still going to be a huge PR. Went hard closing with a 5:54 mile, catching and passing into 7th place with about .25 miles to the finish.
I am really pleased with the result. I went into the race figuring 1:24 was the goal and 1:23 would be best case, so to pull an extra few seconds out of that time on a fairly challenging/hilly course was really satisfying.
Going into this race I knew I had a big PR in me, but still I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. Training had given me a good idea of what I could run, but when looking at the course with the first 3 miles significantly uphill and really not getting much of a break until 7 miles in I really wasn’t sure what good splits would be the first few miles. I decided that with miles 8-10 being massively downhill, I could afford to commit to a hard pace early and if I needed it I could recover a bit on that section without losing too much time.
By the end of the first mile I was running in the 2nd pack on the road with a group of 10-ish guys just in front. After hitting mile 5 with my small group I was feeling very strong, so I went to the front of the group and started to build my pace on the long shallow dragging hill of miles 5, 6 and 7. By the time I hit mile 7 and started descending back toward Lake Washington I had gapped the group, and started bringing in some of the stragglers who had gone out with the lead pack.
I had expected/hoped that strong downhill running would reel in some of the guys in front, but I actually think I lost a bit of time on the steep descent. Once we hit Lake Washington Blvd and it was back to tempo running I was consistently bringing in the guys in front, catching on at about mile 9.5 and another close to mile 11.
When I hit mile 12 just before entering Juanita Beach Park there was one more guy I could see about 40-50 yards in front of me. He was looking pretty strong and I honestly didn’t know if I could catch him, but decided to go for it because even if I blew up at this point the result was still going to be a huge PR. Went hard closing with a 5:54 mile, catching and passing into 7th place with about .25 miles to the finish.
I am really pleased with the result. I went into the race figuring 1:24 was the goal and 1:23 would be best case, so to pull an extra few seconds out of that time on a fairly challenging/hilly course was really satisfying.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Race Report
Charles put together a race report from his recent White Lake Half experience, check it out below:
The White Lake Half is a great early season race in North Carolina that is extremely popular and tends to be very hot. The forecast was calling for mid 80 temps and at race start the humidity was 100%. Considering that two weeks earlier I was doing a race rehearsal in 30-40 degree weather I knew it was going to be a good test of proper fueling and hydration.
The lake itself very clear, calm and scenic. It was an in water start and the open/elite wave contained about 30 or so competitors. I decided that I would go out conservatively and begin to pick people off after about 200 meters. Of course I expected that there would be a couple of guys up front killing the pace and no way I could hang with them. The swim had a great feel for me thanks to the really clear water, yet course also felt a bit long. The line buoys were not in line with the turn buoys or the dock, so the whole swim required a lot of sighting to distance points. Perhaps this added to the time, but when I exited the water my time of 31:26 was about 2 minuted slower than I expected.
The only portion of the race that was spot on for me was the bike with a 2:24:29 split (23.3 avg.) I felt really good about this until after the race I learned that I had been penalized for drafting. I don't really know when this happened or what was seen, but I honestly feel like the marshall must have written down the wrong bib #. The only scenario where I might have been penalized was when I was passed and the guy slowed down and kept speeding up when I would go to pass making it take possibly more than the allotted time to pass. Nevertheless I feel like effort was all mine and I earned my bike split time.
My nutrition on the bike was spot on as well with a good bit of GU and plenty of salt pills. The only issue I had ended up not being able to get enough water, even though I consumed as much as possible at over 100 ounces. About 40 miles into the bike there was an out and back section and I was able to see that the leaders (including Justin Park who was 3rd Pro at Lake Stevens 70.3 last year) were 10 minutes on me. I also saw that I was in 10th place at this time and gaining some ground on a few guys. Unfortunately I really struggled with the last 30 minutes in the saddle with staying comfortable and I lost some power because of this.
Off the bike I felt pretty solid but it was definitely in the 80's and no clouds in the sky. My goal was to ease into the run and eventually hit 6:30-6:40 pace. About 3 miles in I was averaging 6:40s and felt like the second half of the run would be much faster if I could survive the heat. I passed a couple more athletes who looked to be hurting and was passed slowly by someone I felt I could pace well with. Unfortunately the heat really started to get to me about mile 5. It was an out and back course with literally no shade. When I hit the turn around I saw I was in 8th place and with no one close behind me I knew it was just going to be me versus the heat. There were aid stations every mile, but they were not very long and they were serving runners coming in both directions making it difficult to grab anything at times . The last half of the run my pace gradually slowed to the point where I was running above 7 minute pace and really just stumbling along. The last 3 miles were a good test of mental strength and at this point my only focus was to come in sub 4:30. Thanks to a lot of supportive athletes and spectators as I was able to stay strong and cross the line at 4:29:44. My run split was 1:31:29 about 3-5 minutes slower than expected but still solid considering the heat.
Despite the draft penalty pushing my time to 4:33:44 I feel like this was a solid early season effort in adverse conditions. The White Lake Half ended up having its most competitive race ever with a course record set and a great competitive field. I would highly recommend this race to anyone looking for a good early season half on the East coast, that is, if you can sign up before it sells out!
The White Lake Half is a great early season race in North Carolina that is extremely popular and tends to be very hot. The forecast was calling for mid 80 temps and at race start the humidity was 100%. Considering that two weeks earlier I was doing a race rehearsal in 30-40 degree weather I knew it was going to be a good test of proper fueling and hydration.
The lake itself very clear, calm and scenic. It was an in water start and the open/elite wave contained about 30 or so competitors. I decided that I would go out conservatively and begin to pick people off after about 200 meters. Of course I expected that there would be a couple of guys up front killing the pace and no way I could hang with them. The swim had a great feel for me thanks to the really clear water, yet course also felt a bit long. The line buoys were not in line with the turn buoys or the dock, so the whole swim required a lot of sighting to distance points. Perhaps this added to the time, but when I exited the water my time of 31:26 was about 2 minuted slower than I expected.
The only portion of the race that was spot on for me was the bike with a 2:24:29 split (23.3 avg.) I felt really good about this until after the race I learned that I had been penalized for drafting. I don't really know when this happened or what was seen, but I honestly feel like the marshall must have written down the wrong bib #. The only scenario where I might have been penalized was when I was passed and the guy slowed down and kept speeding up when I would go to pass making it take possibly more than the allotted time to pass. Nevertheless I feel like effort was all mine and I earned my bike split time.
My nutrition on the bike was spot on as well with a good bit of GU and plenty of salt pills. The only issue I had ended up not being able to get enough water, even though I consumed as much as possible at over 100 ounces. About 40 miles into the bike there was an out and back section and I was able to see that the leaders (including Justin Park who was 3rd Pro at Lake Stevens 70.3 last year) were 10 minutes on me. I also saw that I was in 10th place at this time and gaining some ground on a few guys. Unfortunately I really struggled with the last 30 minutes in the saddle with staying comfortable and I lost some power because of this.
Off the bike I felt pretty solid but it was definitely in the 80's and no clouds in the sky. My goal was to ease into the run and eventually hit 6:30-6:40 pace. About 3 miles in I was averaging 6:40s and felt like the second half of the run would be much faster if I could survive the heat. I passed a couple more athletes who looked to be hurting and was passed slowly by someone I felt I could pace well with. Unfortunately the heat really started to get to me about mile 5. It was an out and back course with literally no shade. When I hit the turn around I saw I was in 8th place and with no one close behind me I knew it was just going to be me versus the heat. There were aid stations every mile, but they were not very long and they were serving runners coming in both directions making it difficult to grab anything at times . The last half of the run my pace gradually slowed to the point where I was running above 7 minute pace and really just stumbling along. The last 3 miles were a good test of mental strength and at this point my only focus was to come in sub 4:30. Thanks to a lot of supportive athletes and spectators as I was able to stay strong and cross the line at 4:29:44. My run split was 1:31:29 about 3-5 minutes slower than expected but still solid considering the heat.
Despite the draft penalty pushing my time to 4:33:44 I feel like this was a solid early season effort in adverse conditions. The White Lake Half ended up having its most competitive race ever with a course record set and a great competitive field. I would highly recommend this race to anyone looking for a good early season half on the East coast, that is, if you can sign up before it sells out!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Weekend Races
The weekend of May 1st and 2nd saw action for two VO2 athletes.
Matt Sheeks made his pro debut in a tough field at the Wildflower long course triathlon. After suffering a flat tire on the bike Matt recovered with an 8th best 1:19:23 run split to finish 29th overall in a time of 4:35:27
Charles Rivers raced the White Lake Half Ironman in North Carolina. After being hit with a 4 minute penalty on the bike, Charles recovered with a solid run on a hot day to take 10th overall in a time of 4:33:44.
Matt Sheeks made his pro debut in a tough field at the Wildflower long course triathlon. After suffering a flat tire on the bike Matt recovered with an 8th best 1:19:23 run split to finish 29th overall in a time of 4:35:27
Charles Rivers raced the White Lake Half Ironman in North Carolina. After being hit with a 4 minute penalty on the bike, Charles recovered with a solid run on a hot day to take 10th overall in a time of 4:33:44.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Early Season Results
Matt Sheeks
Matt started his 2009/10 campaign at an Off Road Duathlon in December. Some stiff competition including local WA Pro Michael Gordon and Elite AG athlete Rusty Pruden kept him company for the first half of the run before Matt exerted his authority and opened up a gap. He was never challenged on the bike and took the win.
Matt’s next race was the USAT National Elite Duathlon Champs in Alabama on April over the 10km-60km-10km distance. A very talented field highlighted by World Duathlon Champion Yeurie Vansteeland and including bike phenom David Thompson assembled for a fast and furious race. An opening 31 minute 10km put Matt in good position for the bike leg and despite a slight mishap in T2 he held strong on the second run to become National Elite Duathlon Champion and secured his spot on the World Championship team to compete in Edinburgh in September .
Recently Matt entered the Top Pot Donut Dash 5km for the chance to win some Alaska Airline Tickets to a US destination of his choice. Despite some speedy competition Matt ran a 14:43 to take the title, smoking fast.
Matt makes his Professional Triathlon Debut on Saturday at the Wildflower Long Course Triathlon. Wish him well...
Gerry Marvin
The newest addition to the team Gerry has already been in action twice this year competing in the Mercer Island 10km and the Spring Classic Duathlon in Portland. The Mercer Island 10km is a challenging and honest course which makes Gerry’s 38:06 clocking and 4th Place Overall Finish all the more impressive. A big PR and validation that Gerry’s running is to be feared coming off the bike this year.
Next Up was the Spring Classic Duathlon in Portland. A great first run and some strong riding saw Gerry move up into the top five or so athletes on the course before an unfortunate puncture derailed his podium ambitions. Nonetheless Gerry made the most of the trip and busted out a very solid sub 19 minute 2nd 5km to place him 15th Overall despite several minutes lost due to the flat tire.
Next up for Gerry will be the Kirkland Half Marathon on May 9th before his early season ‘A’ race on the Big Island of Hawaii on June 5th, 70.3 Honu.
Mathieu Signoretty
Mathieu has been getting in some solid training in preparation for the Xterra season. Some very solid FTP tests at Vo2 Performance Center and rumor has it more run volume should ensure Mathieu backs up his solid swim with some even more solid results this season.
His only outing so far this year has been the Mercer Island 10km where he went 42:30 good for 30th Overall and 2nd in his AG, a solid run.
Ethan Lyons
The early season has seen Ethan gravitate towards the local cycling and time trial scene. Opening up with the Ice Breaker Time Trial. Ethan took the overall win in Cat 4/5 men’s race surprising a lot of the more established locals with his result. He then went on to smash the field by over a minute at the Pedal Dynamics TT last weekend with another victory in the 4/5 men’s race.
On the road race scene Ethan took a 1st place in the Cat 5’s race at the Tour De Dung and has several other commendable results.
Ethan also raced the Mercer Island 10km only ‘unofficially’! His time of 39:50 would have been good enough for 18th Overall and 2nd in his AG.
The first official Triathlon of the year in WA the Elma Spring Fling saw Ethan christen his new TYR Hurricane Wetsuit and destroy a small field of local veteran athletes. Ethan’s time of 51 minutes is amongst the fastest ever recorded on this course.
Charles Rivers
Charles got his 2010 campaign underway at the Mercer Island Half Marathon. Despite fading slightly in the later half of the race Charles’ 1:22:47 was good for 32rd Overall and 3rd in his AG.
Next stop was the Spring Classic Duathlon in Portland. With no weak discipline and a blazing fast second run good enough for the 3rd fastest second run split Charles just missed out on the podium with a 4th place Overall finish.
National Duathlon Champs in VA were next on the schedule and a good opening run and smooth start to the bike were derailed when an impact puncture forced a DNF. Charles was one of many to have their race cut short that day and depsite the frustration has taken away some positives from the experience.
This weekend is the White Lake Half Ironman in NC. Charles hopes to impress on his local stomping ground before his return to Seattle for some more focused training before 70.3 Kansas his first ‘A’ race of the season.
Matt started his 2009/10 campaign at an Off Road Duathlon in December. Some stiff competition including local WA Pro Michael Gordon and Elite AG athlete Rusty Pruden kept him company for the first half of the run before Matt exerted his authority and opened up a gap. He was never challenged on the bike and took the win.
Matt’s next race was the USAT National Elite Duathlon Champs in Alabama on April over the 10km-60km-10km distance. A very talented field highlighted by World Duathlon Champion Yeurie Vansteeland and including bike phenom David Thompson assembled for a fast and furious race. An opening 31 minute 10km put Matt in good position for the bike leg and despite a slight mishap in T2 he held strong on the second run to become National Elite Duathlon Champion and secured his spot on the World Championship team to compete in Edinburgh in September .
Recently Matt entered the Top Pot Donut Dash 5km for the chance to win some Alaska Airline Tickets to a US destination of his choice. Despite some speedy competition Matt ran a 14:43 to take the title, smoking fast.
Matt makes his Professional Triathlon Debut on Saturday at the Wildflower Long Course Triathlon. Wish him well...
Gerry Marvin
The newest addition to the team Gerry has already been in action twice this year competing in the Mercer Island 10km and the Spring Classic Duathlon in Portland. The Mercer Island 10km is a challenging and honest course which makes Gerry’s 38:06 clocking and 4th Place Overall Finish all the more impressive. A big PR and validation that Gerry’s running is to be feared coming off the bike this year.
Next Up was the Spring Classic Duathlon in Portland. A great first run and some strong riding saw Gerry move up into the top five or so athletes on the course before an unfortunate puncture derailed his podium ambitions. Nonetheless Gerry made the most of the trip and busted out a very solid sub 19 minute 2nd 5km to place him 15th Overall despite several minutes lost due to the flat tire.
Next up for Gerry will be the Kirkland Half Marathon on May 9th before his early season ‘A’ race on the Big Island of Hawaii on June 5th, 70.3 Honu.
Mathieu Signoretty
Mathieu has been getting in some solid training in preparation for the Xterra season. Some very solid FTP tests at Vo2 Performance Center and rumor has it more run volume should ensure Mathieu backs up his solid swim with some even more solid results this season.
His only outing so far this year has been the Mercer Island 10km where he went 42:30 good for 30th Overall and 2nd in his AG, a solid run.
Ethan Lyons
The early season has seen Ethan gravitate towards the local cycling and time trial scene. Opening up with the Ice Breaker Time Trial. Ethan took the overall win in Cat 4/5 men’s race surprising a lot of the more established locals with his result. He then went on to smash the field by over a minute at the Pedal Dynamics TT last weekend with another victory in the 4/5 men’s race.
On the road race scene Ethan took a 1st place in the Cat 5’s race at the Tour De Dung and has several other commendable results.
Ethan also raced the Mercer Island 10km only ‘unofficially’! His time of 39:50 would have been good enough for 18th Overall and 2nd in his AG.
The first official Triathlon of the year in WA the Elma Spring Fling saw Ethan christen his new TYR Hurricane Wetsuit and destroy a small field of local veteran athletes. Ethan’s time of 51 minutes is amongst the fastest ever recorded on this course.
Charles Rivers
Charles got his 2010 campaign underway at the Mercer Island Half Marathon. Despite fading slightly in the later half of the race Charles’ 1:22:47 was good for 32rd Overall and 3rd in his AG.
Next stop was the Spring Classic Duathlon in Portland. With no weak discipline and a blazing fast second run good enough for the 3rd fastest second run split Charles just missed out on the podium with a 4th place Overall finish.
National Duathlon Champs in VA were next on the schedule and a good opening run and smooth start to the bike were derailed when an impact puncture forced a DNF. Charles was one of many to have their race cut short that day and depsite the frustration has taken away some positives from the experience.
This weekend is the White Lake Half Ironman in NC. Charles hopes to impress on his local stomping ground before his return to Seattle for some more focused training before 70.3 Kansas his first ‘A’ race of the season.
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