June 4, 2006 San Francisco, CA
1^st place M30-34
Results: http://www.tricalifornia.com/alcatraz/2006

The key to a successful triathlon is balance. Triathletes constantly struggle to piece together their summer racing schedule, balance how much to train; how much to taper; how to fit training in around work and family, how much to eat- before the race and more importantly during the race; how hard to go on the swim, on the bike and when to drop the hammer on the run. It takes years to learn the answer to each of these questions in addition to larger questions like what motivates us to race in the first place, or to press on in a race when the going gets tough?

I have been struggling to determine the answers to the larger questions, especially considering my busy work and constant travel schedule. Even though my results have improved over the years, I’ve had difficulty being consistent. My best seasons always seemed to be plagued with lousy results, sometimes at every other race. Even though it’s taken me years of trial and error, I feel that finally my racing is coming together at a level I’m happy with.

I’ve raced the Escape from Alcatraz several times and this year I was ready to win. My highest place so far in this competitive race (210 athletes in my age group) was 3^rd last year. I’ve had good results, and have been able to log high-quality workouts into my evenings around work and travel, maximizing my limited time.

This year’s weather was perfect; the water was a little rough- just as I like it. Not so bad I couldn’t see the shore like 2004, but rough enough to give me a slight edge over some of my competition. Since I’ve done the race a few times, I have the transitions pretty dialed in, and don’t fuss around with bags, shoes, wetsuits, or other gear anymore and instead just run barefoot to the transition area and take care of everything there. One of the reasons my swim went so well, is that I got a new wetsuit. It’s a QR Superfull, and I ordered a smaller size than I had before. It turns out the new size is perfect; this new wetsuit fits so incredibly well and is so flexible in the shoulders, that I forget that I have it on until I see my finishing times! I finished the swim in 6^th place and headed out on the bike feeling great.

The course is extremely technical for a road triathlon. Since I enjoy the more technical Xterra offroad triathlons, I feel right at home on the sharp corners, steep climbs and descents, and rough pavement. Since I do so few road triathlons these days, I don’t have a full-blown tri-bike anymore, but ride the ITU-style (draft legal) QR Zero-G. With a 74 degree seat angle, it’s a happy medium between steep tri geometry of 76 degrees, and road geometry of 72 degrees. This also works as a great transition for me since I do so much training on a traditional road bike. I made up a little time on the bike, while keeping an eye on my heart rate, finishing in 1^st place and heading out onto the run in high spirits. Based on my results from lactate-threshold (LT) tests at the Center for Sports Performance in Truckee, I’ve learned how to use my heart rate as an indicator of my LT and to budget my effort throughout the entire race and not run out of energy by the time I get to the run.

The run course includes a series of stairs, long sections on single track trails through a WWII era bunker in the Presidio, descends a steep dirt road to a few miles of soft sand on the beach, climbs the near-vertical infamous sand-ladder, then returns on the same trails and stairs. It’s one of the best run course I’ve experienced. I chased down the last remaining athlete in my age group within the first mile or so, and started to enjoy the technical course. In a rare showing of run strength, I passed several more amateurs, and even a few pros (who were clearly not having a good day). I finished feeling strong, and was pleased to hear that I’d finally won my age group at what I feel is one of the hardest, most competitive and most fun triathlons in the country.

Date: July 23, 2006
Event: Ford Ironman Lake Placid
Location: Lake Placid, NY
Racers to Watch: Curt Chesney, Sheri Fraser, Dave Harju, Andriy Yastrebov, Viktor Zyemtsev
Website: http://www.ironman.com

Date: July 23, 2006
Event: Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens
Location: Lake Stevens, WA
Racers to Watch: Erin Ford, Matt Seeley
Website: http://www.ironman.com

Welcome to my regular column on the Team TIMEX blog which will focus on training, racing and mental tips. I will try to focus my comments on past experience and any questions posed by you the reader. I encourage you to ask a question what ever it is, I will provide the answer on the hopes that it just MITE help you.

As you can see from my profile I was born and raised in the great white north otherwise known as Canada. This is a land where we finish every sentence with the word eh ! hockey is genetic and we have a very strange name for a ski hat (toque pronounced Tooke).
As you can imagine there are a few different multisport issues for us training and racing in colder climates. Luckily, I live in Victoria BC where I miss out on most of the snow we see in Canada. Well we do get a little snow each year but we always downplay it given the deepfreeze the rest of the nation experiences every winter.

The good thing about living in Victoria is we have a flower count every February to boast about our warm weather and the fact we can easily justify at least two bikes well three if you include our mountain bike. This includes a lovely winter bike complete with fenders with water bottle extensions, and our racing bike although many athletes from the north exploit the colder weather to justify having a few more. Having more than a single digit number of bikes in Canada does not make it any different from triathletes in warmer weather we just use the cold to easily justify it to ourselves and those around usJ

I am looking forward to utilizing this vehicle to assist all of you with any questions you have. Subjects such as training tips, mental toughness, race strategy, and balancing your training in your day to day life can be discussed. Of course if there is a request for discussion on other subjects we will include those as well.

Please feel free to drop me a line in the comments section and I will do my best to get to all questions.

Yours in Racing

Bruce “IronCanuck” Bauman

PS. Multisport Ironcanuck Tips Eh (MITE)

After all the dust settled, I ended up in 2nd overall on Sunday at the TDS Pewaukee triathlon. Although only a sprint race, the competition was very high with a good amount of prize money on the line. With a 7am start time we were able to avoid the near 100degree temperatures to come later in the day. The swim was fast and furious, and I came out of the water in about sixth position, only 5 seconds off of pre-race favorite Will Smith (NZ). So I was very happy with my position at this point. Prior to the race I made the decision not to wear a wetsuit (due to the short swim, and warm water temp), which did slow me down in the water, but made for a wicked fast transition in which I came out in 2nd, on the heels of Will. Throughout the bike Will and I battled back and forth passing each other several times, until at about mile 12 some confusion on the part of the lead car and wrong arrow markings on the road led us off course. By the time we got heading in the right direction we had been passed by about 8 people, and it took us a couple of miles to regain the lead. I came out of T2 in the lead, but Will being the runner he is blasted by me immediatley. I hoped to hold on for second for the day, which would be the case after some timing adjustments were made by the race director. Overall it was a very good day and my fitness is coming along nicely for the big races coming up. Next weekend I’ll be headed across the state again for the Spirit of Racine 1/2 Ironman.