Looks like the time is ripe for California 70.3 race reports, so here is mine… 

The day started with a short drive up I5 to Oceanside. Going through the motions in transition, I felt pretty good and was pleased as the temperature felt surprising warm even though it was in the low 50s. As I was setting my transition area up, I had to make some final decisions regarding what I would wear in the race. The announced water temp was 60 with air temps in mid 50s to low 60s so I decided to ditch the neoprene for the swim and throw on a shirt in T1 for the bike.

Pretty soon we were in the water and more than ready to start. Needless to say, it was cold and I was more than a bit disappointed when the guy singing the national anthem decided to extend the last note wayyyy too long. When he finally finished the cannon fired and we were underway. After getting beat up more than usual and swallowing a few mouthfuls of the Pacific Ocean, a little pack formed with about 10 or so athletes. I was feeling good and couldn’t really get out of it so I just decided to go with the flow. I had no idea what group I was in, but I couldn’t really get out of it, so that was that.

The rest of the swim was reatively uneventful and while running out of the water I noticed Craig Alexander right in front of me, so I figured the swim had gone pretty well. When I got to my bike I started screwing around with the shirt I was going to put on which was really frustrating. I hadn’t tried that before but I found out pretty quickly that trying to put on a tight shirt when you are all wet isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do. So I finally got that on and after having a bunch of people pass me, I was out on the ride.

Right away I was feeling really good and riding with a couple other athletes. Then about 7 miles into the ride I hit a huge bump and out went BOTH my bottles. AWESOME. A few miles later as I was shifting to go up a short, steep hill, my rear derailleur decided to stop working. This sucked. I lost the guys I was riding with and had to push a big gear up the remaining hills. Considering the fact that I can leg press about as much as a 12 yr old girl, using a big gear up hills does not agree with me. But such is life. Finally after being passed by who knows how many people I had finished the ride and just wanted to get out on the run.

Once I started running I knew I was pretty far back so I knew I had a lot to make up. However, I still wanted to try to head out in a comfortable pace so I wouldn’t blow up. First mile was around 5:40 and I was nice and comfortable so I was pleased with that. Paulo was out on the course giving encouraging words but I knew I was pretty far back when he wasn’t actually giving any time splits to guys ahead of me. Anyway, I felt nice and relaxed and just kept clicking off the miles as efficiently as possible. Finally my right glute really started to tighten up the last mile, so I figured I had put in a pretty good effort.

So I ended up 20th overall in a time of 4:17. Full results can be found here.  Overall though not a bad start to the season. The swim, the run, and T2 were good but the bike and T1 sucked. But hey, what else is new?

Originally posted on my blog, ‘Wide World of Andrew’

Last weekend I went to Birmingham for the Mercedes Half Marathon. Overall the race went really well and the weekend was a lot of fun.

I headed over the race site around 5:45 for a 7:03 start so I could find a place to park and warm up. After jogging around a bit and taking a few restroom breaks, it was game time. The weather forcast at the start was low 40s and sunny and it actually felt surprising warm. I went with shorts, a jersey, and gloves as I remembered last year in the half I did Brendan decided NOT to wear gloves and he ended up regretting it big time. I also saw my running buddy, David Riddle, at the start so we decided to take it out together even though I had a pretty good idea he would be dropping me before too long.

So the gun finally went off and we were on our way. About halfway into the first mile, David says, “just to let you know, the first mile is notoriously fast so dont freak out.” I thought he was referring to races in general when people go out too hard so I thought maybe we’d be 5:20-5:25 pace (since I wanted to run 5:30s at the beginning.) First mile: 4:52. HA! Wow, he wasnt kidding. Must be downhill. Anyway, I settled in and was still feeling really good. David took off around mile 2 which was fine with me as I knew he was in better shape.

I knew there were hills between miles 4.5 and 9 so I was trying to take it pretty conservatively up until that point. After about 3 miles I was more or less in no man’s land, clicking along, waiting for the hills to start. Finally there was a long uphill between 5 and 6 which, looking back, I probably couldve pushed a little harder. Up until that point I was still ahead of 5:30 pace but that mile was around 6:00 which really hurt the average. At that point I was 33:20 which put me 20 sec off 5:30 pace. At this point I decided to pick it up a bit and try to get my head in the game a little more. Luckily I saw a guy up the road so I set my sights on catching him. That happened around 6.5 and I came through 7 in 38:46 (5:25) and wanted to try to get to 9 in 49:30. That way, I would have 4 basically downhill or flat miles leaving me well under 5:30 pace. 

7-8 was partially rolling which transitioned into a long climb and then 8-9 was more of the rolling stuff leaving me at 49:56 through 9 miles. I was still feeling pretty good and had up my effort a bit but I believe those miles are both net uphill which caused them to be a bit slower. After passing the 9 mile marker I had a steep uphill to crest then it was all down. I kept it under control up the hill and then opened it up on the way down which, BTW, was really steep. IMHO, this is what cost a lot of time. Its so hard to make up time when you are going down a really steep hill.

So I came through 10 at 55:30 which meant I was 30sec over 5:30 pace, which was my minimum goal. That meant I just had to run at least 5:20 pace for the last three to get those 30sec back. So I took off and it felt great to open it up a bit. The last three miles took us back into downtown and I ran them in 5:11, 5:23, 5:52 (including the 0.1) and best of all I passed two guys in the last couple of miles. The last I passed was a Kenyan with about a half mile to go. I’m sure he had already mailed it in for the day so he can go road whore somewhere else next weekend, but it still felt good to pass him.

As I came across the line, I tried to sneak under 1:12, and sure enough, the results had me at 1:11:59 for a 5:30 average, which I felt pretty good with. You can never be upset with a PR on a hard course and better yet, I felt REALLY good the whole time. Totally in control the whole race which gives me some confidence heading into the season. Now if I can only learn to ride a bike I’ll be all set…

Splits: 4:52, 10:23(5:31), 15:30(5:07), 21:35(6:04), 27:15(5:40), 33:20(6:04), 38:46(5:25), 44:23(5:37), 49:56(5:32), 55:31(5:35), 1:00:43(5:11), 1:06:07(5:23), 1:12:00(5:52 for 1.1)

Official results can be found here. 

I really like pancakes, especially on Saturdays after long rides.  Here is the recipe I’ve been making recently which is delicious.  I usually eat the entire batch, but it would also probably be enough for two ”normal” sized servings…

1 1/2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tbls sugar

3 tbls butter, melted

1 egg

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

Walnuts (optional)

Blueberries (optional)

Pour dry ingredients into a bowl and mix.  Then do the same with the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, making sure to warm the milk up a bit so the butter stays melted.  Pour the wet into the bowl with the dry and stir until all the lumps are removed.  Let the batter sit for a couple of minutes while heating a large pan or skillet to medium-high heat before adding a bit of butter to grease the pan.  Pour batter onto skillet and add walnuts or blueberries to the cakes on the skillet if desired.  Let the pancakes cook until the bubbles on the top are no longer disappearing and then flip and cook for another minute or so on the other side.  Remove from skillet and serve with syrup on top and a glass of milk on the side.   

Last weekend I raced in the Charlottesville International Triathlon, a race put on by the Charlottesville Triathlon Club.  Even though I’ve lived in Charlottesville for a two years, this was my first shot at this race and I was excited to be racing in C’ville.

The day started fine until about 30 minutes before the start when we were informed that wetsuits would be allowed.  This was a bit of a shock but upon hearing this I lubed up, pulled on the Helix, and headed to the lake.  After the start one of my training partners, Chris Morrow, and I broke away pretty quickly and were out on our own in no time.  However, I wasn’t feeling great and Chris was able to open up a gap on me.  Thinking back on it, I realized that I had pulled my wetsuit on too quickly and that it wasn’t fitting properly.  This is a great lesson for wetsuit wearing: make sure you don’t rush it!  This is especially imperative with a suit as precisely designed as the Helix.  So back to the race, Chris gapped me on the first buoy and never looked back, which left me second out of the water.

As I started the bike my focus was on trying to go really hard since the run for this particular race is on a single track MTB trail.  Because of this I had to make sure that no one passed me on the bike so that I could have a comfortable lead on the run.  After 15 minutes or so I had caught Chris and for the rest of the ride I was just concentrating on pushing hard up the hills and really opening it up on the few flat sections in order to maintain or increase my lead.   

Coming off the bike and into T2 I was still in first so I was able to cruise the run and not worry about going too hard.  As I mentioned before, the run is on a single track mountain bike trail which is very technical and therefore not very fast.  Aside from the up and down of the hills, the roots and rocks can cause numerous impediments to fast running.  Because of this my strategy was to go hard up the hills and take it easy on the way down so as not to seriously hurt myself. 

Luckily I made it through unscathed and ended up having a great time.  Its amazing how quickly the time goes by when you are focusing on the trails rather than how much you are hurting.  However, while it was fun, I was still glad to take the last turn and head into the finish to take the win in a time of 1:59. 

Overall, the race was very well run and I have to give a big kudos to race director Steve Policastro who volunteered for the position and did a great job of organizing the race while also getting ready for his PhD proposal.  The bike course was fully staffed with police and volunteers at every corner, the run was clearly marked with large arrows, and there was a nice selection of bagels from Bodo’s, fruit, cookies, Gatorade, and water at the finish. 

So if you decide to travel down to beautiful Charlottesville, VA for this race next year don’t expect a fast time.  As I mentioned before the bike is hilly and the run is hazardous.  However, if you don’t like running on the roads because they beat up your legs too much, this race will be a lot of fun. 

There was also a very nice article by Sean McLernon in the Charlottesville Daily Progress and the awesome pictures were courtesy of Jason O. Watson Photography.  Jason is a fellow grad student here at UVa but does some awesome work with his camera as well.

After finishing out of the money in my two races, the MedExpress Mountaineer Triathlon was my last chance to win some cash for a while.  For a little background, this race is put on by HFP Racing in Morgantown, WV, home of WVU.  The race is notorious for its scenic but hilly course and it certainly lived up to its billing.

After arriving at the race site in the morning, I quickly received some good news: the water temperature was 75-76 which meant that although the AGers would be able to wear wetsuits, the pros would not as our cut-off is 72.  This was great news for me as my swimming has really improved and as we all know wetsuits help slower swimmers more than faster ones.  No wetsuits also meant I would get to wear my new pointzero3 skinsuit from blueseventy which I was excited about. 

After jumping into the river and taking a few strokes, I was amazed at how fast the pz3 felt.  I was gliding effortlessly through the cool calm water which gave me confidence at the start of the race.  Before I knew it we were corralled onto the dock for our dive start.  The gun was off and we were in the water. 

Feeling confident in my new pz3, I wanted to try to swim with Brian Rhodes for a long as possible since I knew he was the best swimmer in the field.  Into the first turn I was only a couple meters behind him and feeling good.  I stayed there until about 2/3 of the way into the swim when we came up on the third turn, which I totally goofed.  The bad angle I took caused me to lose his feet and swim the rest of the race alone.  Still, I was only about 15-20 sec back when I came out of the water in 2^nd.   

After a quick transition, I was out on the bike.  It took a little while for me to get up to speed but once I got going I was feeling pretty good.  Still though, as usual, I began getting passed.  This is something I’ve gotten used to so I just had to put it out of my mind and focus on my race.  I came through the first lap in around 1:13 and starting the second lap I just wanted to focus on going faster than the first.  By the time I finally came into the finish of the bike, I had fallen all the way down to fifth, a little disappointing.  But the good news was my second lap was faster than the first and now it was time to start running. 

As I started the run, it was time to look on the bright side.  I was already in fifth so I would at least be guaranteed money.  I knew the others were pretty far ahead of me though so I just wanted to start the run easy and then pick up the pace and try to pick off as many as people as possible.   After an uneventful flat first 5 miles, I finally moved into 4th place.  Then, it was the “stupidly steep” hill.  Think two blocks at 10-15% grade.  As I was shuffling up a thought crossed my mind that maybe crawling would be faster.  About a mile or so later, I passed the next guy. 

“Sweet!” I thought.  

I was now into third place starting my second lap of the run.  Then I got a time check from a couple of friends,

“3:30 to first and 2:20 to second!” Rudy screamed.       

“2:20 with 6 miles to go? I can do that.”

With that news I had renewed motivation and really focused.  At this point though it was getting hot and I wasn’t feeling great.  At a turn around point two miles down the road though I did another time check and I was only 1 min back from 2nd.  This really helped as I got a little rush of adrenaline and I decided I just needed to suck it up and catch the guy ahead of me.  Finally, at about 10.5 miles I moved into second and was only 1:30 back from first!  At this point I got another shot of adrenaline when I realized I was heading in for a $1750 dollar pay day!  But first I had to make it up the retardedly steep hill again.  Once I hit that hill, illusions of first place left the window and I simply wanted to make it up without falling backwards.  Soon I was up and over and focusing on good form and turning the legs over through the remainder of the hilly course through the campus of WVU.  

Crossing the finish line was very gratifying and I was really pleased with my race.  I  thought my coach, Paulo Sousa, did a great job getting me through the last 6 weeks during which time I race three half IMs.  This was a lot for me since up to this point I hadnt done more than two in the same year. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the weather with friends and cheering on other finishers.  I had a couple of fellow UVA students do the International race the same day.  Rudy ”BRO” Khasar (middle) was 1st OA and Chris Morrow (right) was 2nd in his AG dispite going off course and riding an extra 3 miles after recording the fastest swim of the day.    

On the way home there was the obligatory ice cream stop in Berkely Springs, WV where I ordered the Peanut Butter Paradise which contains two warm brownies, two huge scopes of peanut butter ice cream with chocolate swirls, a slathering of hot fudge and hot peanut butter and two mounds of whipped cream.  Sadly, I do not have a picture of this beauty.  I can tell you though that it was well worth the $4.50 + tax it set me back.  All in all, not a bad day at the office.

PS Last night after dinner at Chipotle, the beer money was spent at South Street Brewery here in Charlottesville, VA with a bunch of my friends and training partners from the Charlottesville Triathlon Club.  As far as I know, a good time was had by all.