Last weekend I got a chance to race Eagleman 70.3 for the first time.  Coming into the race I wasn’t sure how I would feel since I had raced Florida 70.3 three weeks before and I had never done two races this long this close together.  On the morning of the race though I put the negative thoughts out of my mind and just thought about EXECUTING my race. 

The swim started out relatively mild and pretty soon I found myself a good pair of feet as I began my quest to hold on to the front pack.  The pace felt pretty hot but I really thought I could come out of the water in the first pack if I had a good swim so I was determined to try and push it a bit.  About a third of the way through I tried to look as far ahead as I could and from what I could tell I was sitting in about 5th or 6th position in the first pack, which I was happy about since my efforts were paying off.  Then about two thirds of the way through a couple guys got off the front but I was in no position to chase.  So I maintained my pace and was really pleased to hear that I was the 5th guy exiting the water. 

Out onto the bike and the Trek was feeling smooth, as always.  It’s such a responsive ride that it is really effortless to get up to speed which is so nice after a hard swim.  After riding alone for quite some time, a group of three guys passed me about an hour into the race.  Unfortunately, I was hoping to see these guys much later on as I was hoping I had put more time into them in the swim.  So after that I really had to focus to make sure to lose as little time as possible.  The rest of the ride was uneventful and I came out of T2 in 11th or so place.    

Ahh, the run.  Time for me to attempt to have a respectable result.  Within the first couple of miles I had passed two guys and was feeling good, probably a little to good in retrospect as my splits for those were 5:38 an 5:23… a little too fast.  I finally settled into my pace (between 5:40s and 5:45s) which I felt good about since it was overcast and still pretty cool.  Then I got an update from someone on the course that I was in 8th.  8th! That means I only have to pass one more guy to get some money… and I can see that guy!  About a mile later I passed him and was feeling good heading into the turn.  At the turn I noted that the next person was two minutes up the road and I immediately thought I had a chance of catching him and moving into 6th.  On the way back however I ended up just trying to maintain my pace as my hip flexor started acting up.  Unfortunately I wasn’t gaining any ground on the guy in front so I just focused on keeping my form together and finishing strong.  Another bonus was that I noticed that I was on pace to finish under 4 hours and have a huge run PR so I was pretty stoked.   

Crossed the finish line in 3:58:xx, a new PR good for what I thought was 7th place.  As it turns out, I was in fact 8th.  Bummer.  No beer money for me.  But wait, there was a prime for the fastest run of day.  I checked the preliminary results and I had posted the fastest run of the pros which was also a huge new run PR of 1:14:32.  So surely that was good enough for the prime?  Nope, nipped again.  As I found out hours later an amateur ran 1:13 which meant I was one place out of the money once again.  Still, with a new 70.3 PR and a new run PR I couldn’t be too upset.  Plus, they had some decadent Sara Lee carrot cake at the finish which was being served by one of the kindest old ladies I’ve ever met.  Good for you?  Not exactly.  Delicious? Absolutely.  And after 4 or 5 pieces of that, I certainly couldnt complain. 

Huge congrats are in order for Jordan and Kim on their incredible performances at the Clear Lake 101.. just surfing through results of what had to be one of triathlon’s busiest weekends and found that Timex took both the 2nd male & female overall - Go Team!!

Wait, I’m not doing Ben’s job, am I? Now where did I put those pom-poms..

Race morning, a balmy 65 degrees with overcast skies and a bit of wind, gotta love San Fran.  The pre-race announcement from the race director was that even though the water was a bit rough, we would have favorable currents, sweet (need all the swim help I can get).  I jump in the water and am thrilled not to have anyone land on me from behind (one of my biggest fears jumping off the boat with 1,800 others).  The swim is pretty status quo with a foot to the chin and a couple of swimovers.

I get out of the water and start the little over .5 mile run to the bikes.  About halfway there I remember why I had initially wanted to wear sneakers for that part, my feet are killing me, until they go numb.  Oh, the joy of running barefoot.  I get to my bike and I’m pretty excited to try out my new Trek in my first race of the year.  I hop on and it feels great.  I rode my TTX even
though Alcatraz is better suited for road bikes.  I like the way the bike handles and feel that it is light enough for the hills, while being super nice on the flats.  The bike goes well until I get into the park at the halfway point.  At that point of the course the road is very bumpy and all of a sudden
my seat sinks into my frame.  Now this is the second time this has happened to me in a race and you would think that I’d know better, however I guess I was just too cautious when tightening the post as I didn’t want to collapse it in. So, now I look like a circus clown pedaling my bike.  Luckily the remainder of the course is pretty hilly, so I was able to just climb out of my seat.  I’ll chalk it up as another learning experience, luckily not a costly one as it probably would have been much worse if it had happened on one of the steep decents.
I finish up the bike and head out on the run.  Now the weather is perfect for running, overcast and cool.  I really enjoy this run, as you get to cross paths with the pros on their return back on the single track section.  Andy Potts comes flying past first, looking very strong.  The interesting thing
about the first race of the year is that I find it very hard to go into the red zone.  It’s hard to suffer early in the season. However, this is one of the most unique races I’ve ever done and it’s a privilege to be out there.

Results: 3rd 35-39  13th Amateur Overall

If I have mentioned how great the Timex Bodylink is before now, then I apologize.  However, I must say that it did not disappoint me this past Sunday, June 10 when my wife and I went up Quandary Peak just outside of Breckenridge, CO.  Nikki and I had wanted to run up this mountain for a while and were excited to see how it would go.  With my Bodylink connected and data recorder linked up, we started running up the mountain beginning at an elevation of 10,751 feet.  Our plan was to run as much as we could and to stay together the whole way. I saw my heart rate shoot up right away due to running uphill at such a high altitude.  We ran for about 35 minutes and then hit snow.  We slowed to a run/power-hike, but kept moving forward.  Now we hit 12,500 feet.  We passed a hiker who said he needed some athletes for his company to guide people up the mountain.  We took it as a compliment and kept pressing on.  At 1 hour 12 minutes, we hit a flat section at just over 13,000 feet and directly in front of us was a 1,000 foot climb to the summit.  We pressed on and before we knew it we were on all fours climbing on the snow and rock, and yes, in running shoes.  Meanwhile, my Bodylink was working flawlessly.  I took a few minutes to scroll through the modes and saw that although the altitude was high, my pace and heart rate were low.  We knew that we could press a little harder to the summit.  As we approached the top, we found ourselves about 100 yards under the summit which consisted of a narrow, sketchy ridge that was all snow & ice.  At this point Nikki said to me, “Tim, can we make this the summit?”  I persuaded her to go a little further to the very top where my watch read 14,265 feet, and we had only gone 2.80 miles in 1:45 (if that gives you an idea of how steep it was).   We then headed down and ran the whole way making it back to the car in 54 minutes.  We had a great time!  After I got home, I downloaded the workout into the Timex trainer software and uploaded it to www.runoutside.com to see our trek.  Attached is a screen shot of my profile as well as a picture Quandary Peak.

Just to recap, by using the Bodylink I was able to:

1) Accurately track our altitude knowing exactly how far we went had how far we had to go.
2) Use the Heart Rate data to calculate what zone I was in.
3) Identify the pace that we were traveling at.
4) Identify the ascent using the feet per minute feature to accurately plan when we would summit.
5) See on a map of exactly where our route took us.

Thanks for reading!

Tim

“The Becker Buzz”
June 10, 2007
 “Buzzing Down To Rockford for the Weekend”
Rockman Race Report
 

Swim: 28:22   Bike: 2:16:03   Run: 1:24:40   Finish 4:11:39
1^st Overall
             The Rockman Race Director, Chip Griffen, asked if I would like to come down for the weekend to race the inaugural Rockman Half Ironman in IL.  The race sounded like it had potential to be a great one down the road, so I committed. 
 

            The Rockman Race Director, Chip Griffen, asked if I would like to come down for the weekend to race the inaugural Rockman Half Ironman in IL.  The race sounded like it had potential to be a great one down the road, so I committed.              I have just joined up with a new coach, Luis Vargas (www.luisvargas.com), who works with Mark Allen at the www.markallenonline.com coaching website.  After training with Luis for only 2 weeks, I really feel that he knows what my specific limiters are and how to improve them.   I am very excited for Ironman Wisconsin on Sept. 9, knowing that I will be fully prepared to rip that race.
 

            I made the trip down to Rockford on Friday to scout out the course and relax a little bit, thanks to the race management who put me up the host hotel for the weekend.  I got in and was pleasantly surprised to find that my hotel room was upgraded to a suite because of overbooking.  WOW, all I got to say is that taking an Epsom Salt Bath in a Jacuzzi is SAAAWEEET!
 

            The course looked to be challenging and beautiful.  The race took place in Rock Cut State Park, which is a few miles north of Rockford and only about an hour south of where I am living in Madison, WI.  The two loop swim was straight forward.  The only issue would be negotiating the weeds on the backside of each loop.  The bike was an out and back with the first 15 and last 15 miles having numerous steep rollers.  The run was, well, HARD!  There were steep ups and downs for probably 75% of the run.  We were protected from the wind, but not always from the sun, making fueling and hydration even more important.
 

            Race morning I got into the water for the mass start swim and bobbed around for a while in my Blue Seventy Helix Wetsuit….This is my second year in the suits and I love ‘em.  Gun went off and I found myself in the front pack with some guys that can really swim.  We made the first turn and all of a sudden my goggles were pulled down by a huge clump of weeds.  I flipped over, adjusted the goggles and kept working.  I had only lost a few meters, but couldn’t close the gap in the weeds.  I finally had to swim with my head out of the water, which caused my low back to get a bit tight.  I backed off a touch and let the group go, now focusing on getting my back to relax.  After several hundred meters, I finally was able to pick up the effort again and exited the swim in 8^th position.
 

            I got onto the bike in 6^th and planned to keep things pretty civil for the first 20 miles or so.  I needed power data, I so was riding my training wheel built with a Power Tap Pro Hub and a disk cover (thanks to my good friend Josh for lending it to me for the weekend).  It weighed about 400lbs, but having the data was a lot more important than an extra few minutes on the bike.
 

            I caught the leader at about mile 20 and then picked up the pace.  To my surprise, he stuck with me.  As we headed back into the wind and over a few rollers, he was really punching it.  I wondered if he could keep this up.  I raised my effort a bit through last part of the rollers at about mile 45 and opened a gap that quickly turned into about 90sec.  I have really started to love my Trek TTX.  The machine is aerodynamic, super stiff and is a bike that suits almost all types of terrain.
 

            I got out onto the run and relaxed through the first section of steep stuff.  My HR was steady and comfortable, while my pace was quite good for this terrain, about 6:30/mi.  I ran strong and kept pounding the salt tabs, which I feel are the key to long distance success.  I enjoyed the beautiful course and great volunteers that were at the aid stations.  I approached the 11mile turn around and saw a gap of about 7 minutes.  I cruised the last downhill and arrived at the line in 4:11:xx.
 

            The day revealed a lot of information that I feel show signs that I am getting strong.  I saw a 4% power improvement from my previous HIM PB and felt that my run was very strong given the terrain.  I want to thank the Rockman Race Management, especially the race director Chip; this race is going to get big.  The Timex Multisport Team along with all the affiliated sponsors, The Trek Bike Store of Madison and Fleet Feet Madison for supporting me this year!  You guys are great!
 

            I look forward to seeing everyone soon.  I will be racing some local TT’s and road races, as I prepare for my next race in Lake Stevens, Washington on July 8^th.
 

Here are some related links:
 

Rockman Race Website: www.rockmantri.com
Race Results: http://www.onlineraceresults.com/pdf/5615.pdf    
 

Timex Team Site: http://teamtimex.timexblogs.com/
Madison Trek Bike Store: www.trekstoremadison.com
Fleet Feet Madison:  www.fleetfeetmadison.com