13th June, 2nd place overall

Saturday morning we drove down the A3 from London to the South Downs. It was early. So early that while I was pleased not to have forgotten my shoes, I had forgotten my race number, despite carefully packing a Nathan race belt and some pins just in case.

It didn’t matter, though. The race organisers were well prepared and exceptionally friendly. One new number later, and having watched the earlier wave depart at 9am, then the first leg of the relays go at 9:30, the faster runners toed the line at the 10am start.

The course was a full marathon, set along chalk, dirt and grass trails up and over part of the South Downs. Starting at Slindon Park and finishing near Petersfield, the route was a point to point – we had parked at the finish and taken a bus laid on by the organisers earlier that morning.

Feeling a little bit fatigued thanks to a long week of training, I don’t think I realised I was there to race. In truth it was in the schedule as a long training run – further early season prep for the Trans Rockies to come later in the year. But with a number on and runners nervously hanging around the start line, I figured I had better get near the front just in case my competitive streak kicked in.

Sure enough, it did. The first couple of miles were ticked off at quicker than 6:15/mile pace, and knowing the course had over 5,500 ft of climbing, a 2:40-2:45 marathon seemed a little aggressive for my training run. On the first real uphill I decided to let the four guys running with me go ahead and dropped back to the second group of runners. I nearly let them past too, explaining I was “just on a training run” but their pace seemed to match mine so I dropped into stride and started to chat with them. One of these guys was only 22 years old but was 57 (or thereabouts) marathons through towards his goal of the full 100 by next year. The other bloke, Stevo (Stephen jeffery, who eventually came in third), had a marathon PB in the 2:30s, and had fruit gums in a bag stuffed down his shorts, and gels tucked into the waist band. Innovative and low tech. Good work! Couldn’t help but think he might be in need of a Nathan race belt!

We carried on at a fair clip, and somewhere about halfway, and a few major climbs and descents into the race (we had hit 13 miles in 1:27), I stacked it, falling full onto my front at the side of the track. Just before this I had been feeling like I was going to bonk, and was thinking about backing off, but after the tumble, the adrenaline kicked in and I was rolling along nicely again.

Stevo and I ran together for a fair bit, reeling in some of the guys from the leading pack as the initial fast pace began to take its toll on them. Thankfully for me, given that I’ve managed to take a few detours and add on some extra mileage to a couple of other running races already this year, the earlier wave starts meant that there was a steady stream of runners all along the route. This made it difficult (but not impossible) to go off route… at one point I did have a quick turnaround to check the direction of the arrow – just to be sure! Not only is it easier to follow the route with other runners on it, but it also means that you see other people you know along the way, so I saw a few Serpies (my club) and Anna who I had come down with that morning. Anna was having some ITB issues when I passed her – she ended up nearly pulling out near mile 20. Very proud that she managed to carry on and finish!

The last few miles I was counting miles and clock watching. 3 hours was very close, and i was getting very hungry… a few BBQs in the last stretch had got me thinking about lunch. If only the last section wasn’t quite so hilly! I managed to put in the fastest last 10km of the day and had passed everyone ahead except the leader who was the only runner just to duck under 3 hours on the day. A couple of minutes behind, and in second, I had had a good run and not blown my legs off.

The race had an excellent finish, organised great weather and beautiful surrounds. A highly recommended race series.

My girls sand scultpure =)

Andrew, Trista, Tim

Pre-race swim

This past weekend I raced in Kansas at my first 70.3 for the season. The day I arrived, it was WICKED HOT! I was a little concerned about the potential heat and humidity on race day, especially since Colorado has experienced such a cool spring. After getting settled into Lawrence, I double checked my nutrition to be sure I had all I needed for a hot day on the course. Sure enough though, the temps were much cooler Saturday and they were forcasting thunderstorms for race day. It seemed as though the weather had a mind of its own and so I really just decided to see what race day brought, and stop trying to figure out the forcast.

FL 70.3: Hot
KS 70.3: Cold

FL 70.3: Awesome bike, less than awesome run
KS 70.3: Less than awesome bike, (relatively) awesome run

FL 70.3: Flat bike course
KS 70.3: Very much not flat bike course

FL 70.3: 8^th place
KS 70.3: 8^th place
(OK, so maybe that last one doesn’t work…)

Race morning started out a bit ominous as Kurt Nelson and I saw lightning on the drive over to the race. Undeterred but admittedly a bit apprehensive, we arrived at the race site and proceeded to head to T2. This race featured two transitions which meant we had to drop off our running shoes at T2 before heading to T1 to setup everything we’d need for the bike ride. Although I thought this would be a huge hassle, it ended up not being too much of a problem.

Swim, 24:51 (9^th)
Into the water and we were off. I had a decent start but then after 6-7 minutes realized I had missed the first pack. A bit of a bummer, but it looked like it wasn’t too big, so I was hopeful I could still salvage a decent place at the finish. After leading what (I think) was the 2^nd group for about 700m, someone came by me and I ended up exiting the water with a couple of others.

Bike, 2:17:27 (12^th)
As I began the bike ride I was feeling pretty decent. While the severe weather appeared to be holding off, there was still significant cloud cover which kept temperatures cool and the general mood a bit macabre. Riding with my lovely PowerTap, I was getting dropped on the way up the hills but making up time on the way down and on the flats. On this course, this little series was not an isolated occurrence. Yes, believe it or not, Kansas (at least the eastern part, anyway) does have some hills. This course contains most of them. So between the constant up and down, the slightly less than desirable roads, and what was actually turning out to be a pretty chilly day, I was more than ready to get off the bike when I finally arrived back in Clinton Lake Park.

Run, 1:15:07 (5^th)
Off the bike I thought I was around 15^th but wasn’t really sure. After the disappointing swim earlier in the race and fast start on the run at the Florida 70.3, I was really just focusing on starting off controlled and trying to pick off as many people as possible. While the cool weather made biking uncomfortable, I knew it would mean fast times out on the run course so I just wanted to make sure I got invited to the party. Additionally, the whole feeling of near death for the last 8 miles of the run in Orlando just wasn’t much fun.

So I set off in what I thought was a conservative pace. First mile: 5:20. Just for a refresher, this was the same time I ran my first mile in Florida and that didn’t exactly end up so well. On the other hand, I felt good, the weather was cool, and who knows, it could’ve been short. Continuing on, I slowly began picking people off while running around 5:35-5:40. I just tried to keep things nice and easy, telling myself I could always pick it up over the last few miles if necessary. Finally I got to mile 10 at which time I had maneuvered myself into 8^th place with Simon Thompson a couple of minutes up the road but moving pretty quickly. I started feeling the effects of my hot early pace but was able to hold it together reasonably well for what I thought was a pretty good run, considering the circumstances.

Finish: 8^th Place, 3:59:36 (Full Results Here)

Up next: RI 70.3 on July 12th

PS A huge “Thank You” goes out to Dale Brueggeman who apparently didnt learn from last year and graciously hosted me again this year. Also, thanks to Dale’s friends from Dog Days who came out to volunteer. Every aid station was full of enthusiastic and extremely helpful volunteers and according to Dale a large majority of them were from the Dog Days workout group.

PPS Special thanks to my buddy Greg Reynolds for the awesome pics.  They are Spectacular… almost as good as his pulled pork!

Originally posted at http://ajhodges.blogspot.com

I’ll keep this one brief! After my last epic report from the Nove Colli double marathon, it was back to triathlon in beautiful Dorset in the South West of the UK. The Saturday night before the race was stormy, bouts of torrential rain and full on gale winds. We went for a quick dip in the sea to try out the six foot swell – it was more like body surfing than real swimming, but was very good fun. The point of this was to try out the new Aquasphere Icon wetsuit in real open water conditions. Having received it earlier in the week, I’d not yet swam in it in earnest.

Race morning was a gift. It seemed like we were in the eye of the storm. It was relatively calm and blue skies above seemed very temporary in the face of banks of grey clouds around us in all directions. Fingers crossed that the weather would hold.

Swim start came around quickly enough. Confident that the new Aquasphere would do the job, and seeing the flat water ahead, I started at the front of the elite wave start. Despite the buoys drifting a little (the swim seemed about 400m long), the swim was comfortable, and I settled into second place sitting behind a swimmer who seemed to be going for it at the front of the pack. We lost the rest of the pack and gained a substantial lead. At the final buoy, I moved past the guy ahead – it turns out he was a relay member, hence why he was going full pace, and exited the water in the lead.

Onto the bike I remained ahead for a fair way. But I wasn’t feeling very strong on the bike. In the TT position, my legs were still feeling the double marathon from a fortnight before, and it felt like my engine had dropped out. To add to this I accidentally jettisoned a powerbar and a couple of gels in a rather uncoordinated attempt to eat on a corner, so I knew I was down 400 kcals for the remainder of the ride. Unable to push past a hard cruise, I had to let a few of the other elites past, unable to respond. Coming off the bike I was in 7^th place, and dropped to 8^th within a few kms of the run as one of the Optima guys ran past. By the second lap of the run, I had warmed into things, and was running well, managing to pull back to 5^th for the finish. Overall I took 6^th as someone from a later wave put in a fast time.

All in all, not a bad half IM effort for a couple of weeks into base and after a heavy few weeks. It gave me a chance to try out the new kit – the Sugoi team race kit is fantastic and the Aquasphere Icon is faultless.

This past Sunday myself and Jackie Arendt headed down yonder to Rockford, IL for the Rockman Half. Leaving Madtown at 4:15, I wasn’t too pumped to be awake, let alone race, but an hour in my car, with its extremely loud and annoying tires, was enough to wake me up.

Image1: Madison at 4:15am

Now to the race…. 

The two loop swim took place in a local sewage containment pond, and was marked via a few dudes floating on big innertubes (I kid you not). I tacked onto the second swim pack, and hit the beach in 28’ and change, having avoided any attacks by local brown trout. No Michael Phelps swim, but I felt good the whole time and the swim times seemed a little slow across the board.

Image 2: My view from the swim course

Into T1, my new Aquasphere wetsuit (big fan btw) slid off like a seal on an iceberg. Onto the bike…

This is usually were I make up most of my time, but today my powersticks just didn’t have the power. I managed to move my way up to 4^th place by the turn around, but then things started to get interesting. First, my spare tubular jettisoned off the back of my saddle due to my ghetto-rigged attachment method. Next, I lost an arm rest pad that had stuck to some lingering road rash on my elbow. I watched it fly off into the woods, leaving me to ride ~10 miles skin on metal (not recommended). Then I fumbled and dropped my water bottle. I entered T2 in 5^th place, with a 2:17 bike split, unleashed some “mad T2 skills,” and hit the run on the heels of 4^th.

The run turned out to be its own adventure. I decided to take it out easy, as the course was non stop hills through Rock Cut State Park, and I knew it was going to be tough. By the time I went through the two mile mark (the only mile marker anywhere on the entire race course), I had settled into a rhythm and started to feel very good. Roughly 4 miles in, I came upon a fork in the path, an unmanned aid station, and no signage or volunteers to speak of. Three options presented themselves to me:

1. Go left, onto a muddy flooded out path 

2. Go right, up to a major road intersection (with no volunteers)

3. Turn around, but there was supposed to be timing mat at the turn around.

Three options, and they all seemed wrong. I killed ~2 minutes trying to figure out what to do, when two of the guys in front of me came running back down the path from the right, equally confused. We regrouped, decided to turn around (which was the correct choice) and were on our way. About a mile later, as I am flying full throttle through a left hand, downhill turn, I managed to slip in some mud and face plant the asphalt. Covered in dirt and blood, I eventually located the finish line and crossed in 4^th place with a finish time of 4:15. Winner Chris McDonald gave me a once over, and said, in his heavy Aussie accent, “You look like you’ve been to war.”

Overall I am very pleased with my race. I still have a lot of work to do before the big dance in October, but this was a great start. I love racing in competitive fields, and this race didn’t disappoint. I was beaten by 3 guys that placed top 10 overall at IM Wisconsin in 2008, and it was a lot of fun to be in the mix with such top notch athletes. Props to Jackie on her 2^nd place finish.

Results here: http://www.itsracetime.com/Results.aspx?ID=85

Oh yeah, the Sugoi race kits are “like super awesome.”

Mike