So it must be ½ marathon season because it seems like of lot of us have been racing this distance in the last few weeks.  I too joined in the ½ marathon fun here in Colorado recently.  I did one in Denver and one in Steamboat Springs.  Since I race more of the ½ Ironman distance, I really believe that the best way to get better at that distance is to run in open ½ marathon races. 

  In Denver on May 20, I raced the 2^nd annual Colorado Colfax Half Marathon.   It was a point to point course that followed Colfax Ave. which is famed as the longest avenue in the country.  It was one of the few ½ marathons that offered a prize purse for the top 5 men & women so I thought I’d sign up and see what I could do.  The race started at 6 AM because Colfax is a very popular street and needed to be open for traffic.  There was also a marathon distance race that began at the same time, only 13.1 miles behind us, as the race was point-to-point.  As I lined up with the elites, the race announcer introduced a person from Go Fast! to demonstrate a personal jet pack and flew over the entire crowd!  It was something that most of us there had never seen, and was quite the spectacle.  Soon after, the gun went off and I was on my way.  It was after the first mile that I knew it was going to be tough to stay with the lead pack, which primarily consisted of Kenyans.  I knew the course was going to be hilly, nevertheless, I still wanted to get a PR, which currently is 1:17.02.  I soon found myself in 6^th place and was going back and forth with a few other guys from miles 5-9.  At mile 10, I started pushing a little harder and soon pulled away from the others that were running with me.  As I rounded the corner up to the finish at Colorado Mills (a shopping center in West Denver), I saw that my time was 1:19.35, but considering the course I was very happy.  I ended up placing 6^th out of a field of just about 1600.  Perhaps the best part was seeing Nikki and my twin boys at the finish slurping down their milk..ha…ha…

My second ½ marathon was a little more scenic as it was held in beautiful Steamboat Springs on June 3.  If any of you ever plan to visit Colorado, put Steamboat Springs on your list of places to see, as you will not be disappointed!  Last year when I raced here I won the race overall and achieved my PR.  This year I hoped to do the same, but as I say in most all of my running races, “you just never know who will show up”.   There is simply a greater volume of fast runners out there than triathletes, so each race I wonder who will be there.  Either way, I was feeling good as I got up for the race and went downtown to catch the shuttle that headed up the canyon to the start.  This too was a point-to-point course and is famed as the “most beautiful run in the Rockies”.  It was a cloudless morning and I was excited to run.  I warmed up and toed the line.  The gun went off and it seemed that right away, it was going to be a fast paced race.                                                                                                           I went out with the lead guy for the 1^st mile, but just could not deliver what ended up to be his quick 5:26 pace for the entire 13.1 miles.  He soon pulled away, so I just kept to my pace and hoped for 2^nd place.  I was by myself almost the whole run and truly enjoyed each and every turn of the course which went through mountain country roads, rivers, and seeing the occasional deer.  I made my turn for the last mile onto Main Street and held onto 2^nd place clocking 1:17.27.  I was only 25 seconds slower than my PR so I was pleased with my performance.  After all, it only gets me better prepared for the run in a ½ Ironman right?   Immediately after the race, I went to the river and sat in the freezing cold water to ice my muscles as I watched a few fly fisherman and kayakers take advantage of the weather.  It was one of those things that’s great for your muscles, but tough to do.  That 20 minutes seemed to last forever!  Perhaps the best part was pushing around my kids in the jogging stroller afterwards and have people ask me, “Hey, did you run with them the whole time??”  I took my son Connor on the awards stand with me and after the race which topped off the day.  Thanks for the read and stay safe out there! 

In only it’s third year the Mooseman Triathlon Festival has come into it’s own with all the makings of a world class event.  Endurofun puts on this great event and much like that of their more widely known Timberman Triathlon Festival, Mooseman is a top notch triathlon event.  The atmosphere at this event is for the most part pretty relaxed and friendly, as it is primarily a local race and, for the mostly New England based triathletes, the first race of the season.  Mooseman has particular importance to me because it was my first ½ Ironman in 2005 shortly after I began racing triathlon.

            The day began with an overcast sky and low lying clouds which obscured most of the pristine landscape surround New Found Lake in Bristol, NH.  However, the rain stayed away from most of the morning and the air temperature hovered in the mid 60’s to 70 all day making ideal race conditions.  I began my day meeting and talking with several athletes in transition and around the race site.  I always enjoy showing up very early so there is plenty of time to relax and take care of any problems that arise.  After a short splash in the water I was ready to face the day.

New Found Lake was around the low 60s, a great temperature as long as you had a wetsuit.  The perfectly flat, cool water made for a fast course.  With the help of my new Blue Seventy Helix and goggles, I achieved a swim PR, exiting the water in the lead pack chasing Nicholas Dufresne with a blazing 23:16 swim.

            A quick T1 and I was on the bike course, which did not have many long sustained climbs, but there were consistent rollers and quite a few difficult spots on the scenic course.  It would best be described as a technical and relatively challenging course.  I decided to push my Trek TTX pretty hard knowing that I would have to if I wanted to finish well.  Shortly into the race Dean Phillips cruised on past and I kept him in my sights for most of the first loop.  Completing the first lap having seen only one other cyclists I wasn’t exactly sure where in the field I was, until completing the first loop I was told I was about a minute behind the leader.  Although I wanted to see if I could catch him I decided to simply maintain a steady effort and set myself up for a solid run.

            By T2 my legs were feeling the effects of the choppy hills on the bike course.  I threw on my Brooks Axiom racing flats, Fuel Belt and headed out on the run.  “You’re 1:30 behind him!” a few folks yelled as I began to find my stride.  I was expecting it to be a long chase and as result I decided to take the first three miles at a slightly conservative pace, but to my suprise at mile two I took the lead.  At the first turn around I got a good look at the competition and they looked strong.  Tim Snow and Billy Edwards were running especially well only a few minutes behind.  I picked up the pace on the way back to the halfway point opening a 2:15 gap over the second runner.  Again, I relaxed a little into my pace back to the second turn around; however, at that point Billy Edwards had closed the gap to about 1:30.  This made me a little scared and knowing that I had come this far I pushed the pace to cover the last three miles at a 5:47 pace to cross the tape in 4:06. 

            What an amazing day!  I couldn’t have dreamed of a better race.  I finished feeling on top of the world, probably due to the adrenaline and all those sets Kurt Perham has me do late in my workouts.  I thought that I might have a chance to tie my ½ Ironman PR, but I never dreamed that I would set a new course record and set a new PR by over 8 minutes!!  There were a lot of athletes out on the course who I knew and it was great to see them along to way, especially Timex’s own Keith Myer racing his first ½ Ironman.  Keith Jordan and Endorfun again put on a top notch race that did not disappoint, I can’t wait until next year. 

http://www.lin-mark.com/moosehalfoof07.txt

Tim Hola has been named the PowerBar Athlete of the Month for June.  For more info, please hit the link below.  Congratulations TIM!!!

http://www.powerbar.com/Athletes/AthleteOfMonth.aspx 

Big Victories for the Timex Multisport Team

May 12, 2007 - Panama City Beach, FL

Timex Multisport Team member Carole Sharpless scored a victory at the 25th annual Gulf Coast Triathlon (Half) with a stellar time of 4:39:36. Carole stepped two places higher than her 3rd place in the ’06 event and took her 1st overall victory of the year.  Gabriella Loskotova placed 4th in the event with a time of 4:45:03.

May 20, 2007 – Millington, TN

Twenty-three year old Timex Multisport Pro, Laura Tingle, from Louisville, CO, stole the show at the prestigious Memphis in May triathlon coming away with top honors in the overall women’s field.  Her time of 2:02:32 was enough to take her biggest win to date.  With a consistent swim, bike, run, she was able to hold off 2nd place by a few seconds.

June 3, 2007 – Bristol, NH

Vermont native, Alex Mroszczyk-McDonald showed that you can train and have good results even in the colder regions of the US as he pulled off a solid overall win at the Mooseman (Half) Triathlon up in Bristol, New Hampshire this past weekend.  His time of 4:06:11 let him enjoy the victory and give him good morale headed into Ironman Lake Placid on July 22nd.

Oliver ½ Ironman
June 3, 2007

The 2007 racing season got off to a good start with a “test” on Sunday June 3, 2007 in Oliver BC. This was the second consecutive year I have raced here and as has been the tradition in the past the weather can be well “variable”.
 

This year was not home to the hail & rain storms of the past, instead we were blessed with a sunny warm day. In actual fact it was to set a record with the old mercury hitting 38 C or 100 F  by the time we got on the run.
 

The day started well with a swim that took place in 3 waves. I was glad to be wearing my new blue seventy suit which made the swim so much more enjoyable. Oh yes did I mention I was quicker than last year with limited training and it could only be the suit.
 

The ride was great on my new Trek and I was in good position by the time I got on the run. The key to this day was to “pace” myself and have a solid day for my Ironman at the end of June. I was able to accomplish the pacing during the bike and the run and now the challenge was to do the same on the run. It was great training to actually work on yur heart rate and then be able to check it on the monitor. It became so I could actually guess my heart rate and be very close near the end of the ride. I highly suggest this for you n a race or in training so that you will develop a “feel” for your pace which will make you an even better athlete.

The run started off uneventful enough but the heat definitely took its toll. There were aid stations with hose showers for those athletes that needed it and a few people had to drop out because of the heat. Did I mention that generally the times were slower this year compared to last year?
 

In the end it was a great day, I accomplished all I needed to in prep for my next race at Ironman Couer d’Alene at the end of the month and as every race I learnt a little something. Is this not the key to everything, take a chance, learn something and use it at a later date?