2012 Triangle Triathlon

Earlier this month I raced in the Set Up Events Triangle Triathlon, part of the IOS North Carolina Triathlon Series.  I think I may just now starting to shed my 'new guy' status in the Piedmont, but I've learned from the locals that the Triangle Tri is one of 2-3 can't miss events if you live in North Carolina.  I'm usually not too keen on sprint races, feeling that the travel and race day prep should never exceed the actual time spent racing an event.  Hearing so many great things about the Triangle Tri, I decided to temporarily squash my sprint tri snobbery and have a crack at it- and I'm glad I did!

The Triangle Tri is a 'big' local event with 600+ racers, but pre-race logistics went smoothly- as they always do with Set Up Events races.  This year I've been experimenting with different pre-race warm ups, ranging from well, nothing, to a 20 minute shake ride and a 10 minute run with some pickups before hopping in the water.  Generally speaking, as race length increases the amount of time/energy I reserve for warming up decreases inversely.  The race morning energy surrounding the transition area at any race site is HUGE, like a human bee hive with racers nervously moving in every direction.  You could really start to question your own pre-race routine if you paid too much attention to the gobs of shaved, permanent markered, aerodynamic people running/riding/stretching/fretting all around you.  Something intuitively told me to skip the shake out ride/run, and just focus on staying hydrated.  On what was a crazy humid morning I headed down to the swim start to see if I could find my swim stroke.  

Starting with roughly 15 other racers in the Open/Elite wave, I fought like hell to make the lead swim pack.  The 'lead' pack was actually chasing first year pro Doug Van Wie, who came out of the 750m swim with a 2:00 lead.  I didn't quite latch on to the lead pack of 4, and ended up working side by side with two other dudes who set good pace despite the fast fish pulling away up ahead.

Frustrated with my swim, I pressed hard on the trek from lake into T1, and I was able to pass a few dudes while getting out onto the bike course in decent time.  The rolling 17.5 mile bike course was visually stimulating, if otherwise uneventful.  I pulled back one spot early on, then was entirely on my own for the next 30 minutes.  Somewhere around mile 15 TMS-IOS founder Cid Cardoso Jr flew by me like I was standing still.  This snapped my head back into the race, and I turned myself inside out for the last few minutes of the ride trying to keep Cid from completely disappearing up the road.

Coming out onto the run course I could see that there were two TMS-IOS red/black race kits shortly up the road.  This stoked me to see that TMS-IOS was all over the front of this race, and also because I was hoping to have some run company.  One good thing about being such a medium cyclist is that it always leaves you with plenty of dudes to try and catch on the run.  The 5k run course was fun, with all but the first 1/2 mile on the trails/fire roads of Harris County Park.  I felt like I was holding strong form out on course, pulling back a couple spots, but I ran out of run course before I could reach anyone else who may have been faltering, or before I was caught from behind by any fast runner dudes.  All in all a fun day, finishing 7th overall, as the 5th amateur.  Big congratulations to Doug Van Wie who lead the race from start to finish, and to the TMS-IOS Triathlon Team, who had four athletes in the top 10 spots.

Race results can be found HERE.                          

Rev3 Quassy Race Report

Last weekend I traveled to Middlebury, Connecticut to have a crack at Rev3 Quassy.  Everything about this 70.3 distance race is big.  The race itself is big, with 1000+ racers.  The pro field is stacked, with at least 10 top tier pros on each side, included the women's reigning IM World Champion. The professional prize purse is one of the biggest in the sport.  The race course itself?  Super duper big.  More elevation change than I can fit in this blog post.  Committing to race at Quassy was a bit of a big deal in itself.  I wanted to put myself out there to try racing on more of a national level this year, and Quassy fit the bill based on the logistics and anticipated competition.  I've always heard that Rev3 races are quality events that attract great competition- and I wasn't definitely wasn't disappointed on race day.

Everything went smoothly in the days leading up to the race.  I redoubled my efforts to eat clean and get quality sleep.  It seemed like every decision I made all week was weighed with its potential impact on race performance in mind.  With Sunday being race day, we broke up the 10.5 hour drive over two days, stopping Friday night in Annapolis, MD for an overdue visit with good friends.  Saturday we were up early and tackled a short but rather interesting drive through New Jersey/New York- Leigh's Honda Fit wasn't to keen on the NJ Turnpike potholes, but we survived.  We pulled into the race venue at Lake Quassapaug a little before lunch, and bike check/packet pick up were a breeze.  

Coach Dave had me type up a structured itinerary that started two days before the race and ended at the finish line.  This wasn't something I'd done before, but it really helped me to envision the chronology of race weekend.  I was thankful for his instruction as I clicked off the tasks leading up to the starter's signal on race morning.  Saturday afternoon was an easy shake out jog with a few pick ups, and dinner with Leigh and my brother in law who drove down from Mass to check out the race.

Race Day

Other than 10-12 minutes in the water finding my stroke/getting the heart rate up, I don't warm up too much for a 70.3.  On race morning you can always find age groupers running, sprinting, mashing around on their bikes, doing push ups, etc.  It would be easy to get caught up in the nervous energy of the morning and overdo it, but I feel like age groupers like me have to take care to respect the race distance.  The wetsuit legal swim was one big clockwise rectangle in cold, clear lake Quassapaug.  The 30-34 males were the 6th wave to send off, and I positioned myself on the left side of the beach to hopefully avoid getting boxed in and avoid the scrum.  Success!  After a hard first 3-4 minutes I was slightly ahead of the pack with two others, and clean water in front of me.  It didn't take long for those two fish from my wave to pull ahead, but I didn't mind all that much.  There were several hundred athletes already in the water from earlier waves, and I was dialed in to picking good lines to each buoy and navigating around slower moving packs of racers.  I'm feeling a little more confident about my swimming with each race, and with a controlled effort I came out of the water 4th (30-34 wave), which was good for 26th overall on the day.

I could probably write something that would rival the page count of Ulysses about this bike course.  The scenery was incredible, when I allowed myself to take in the Connecticut countryside a few seconds at a time.  With more climbs than I care to remember, and tight technical descents, this is one of the hardest bike courses in triathlon.  I worked hard to press on with a consistent effort, keeping efficient form and cadence on the climbs, and tucking low to use the descents as much as possible.  After not riding a very smart race last month at the Columbia Triathlon, I was encouraged by how many racers I was passing on the descents.  I eventually gave up four spots on the bike- not ideal, but bike quality/volume are something that I'm working hard on this summer.  My 2:37 bike split was good enough for 13th overall.  Did I mention yet how crazy hard this bike course is?

I came off the bike feeling pretty good about my situation.  I had ridden hard and made my way through most of the field that had started before me.  I had also been disciplined about taking in calories throughout the bike leg, and I was feeling like I had quite a bit left for the run course.  The first mile of the Quassy run course lulls you into a false sense of complacency with a few shade trees and a relatively flat pitch.  After that, it doesn't take long to find the hills, and after that initial mile the rest of the run course is comprised of steady rollers.  This didn't rattle me nearly as much as the several hors categorie climbs on bike course.  In fact, the run course was not all that different from the daily runs I log in Chapel Hill, NC.  Out on the run course I was becoming more aware of my position in the field, and I needed pretty badly to make up those 4 spots I gave up with the mediocre bike split.  By mile two I had pulled back one spot from an uber biker with a couple of 6:30 miles, and I was feeling pretty confident.  Right about then an age grouper overtook me running at a pretty good clip, and I glued myself to his right hip for the next three miles.  I suffered to hold pace while silently cursing this dude who looked like he was cruising effortlessly on a Sunday jog.  We pulled each other back and forth for 30 minutes until he slowed pretty significantly at an aid station, and I was able to make a move to get away.  I ran pretty consistently, trying to put forth a controlled, steady effort on the varied terrain.  Ultimately I pulled back three of the four spots I gave up to the bike animals, but then gave up two more spots to different run animals.  I finished with a 1:30:15 half marathon.  Not my best work, but DEFINITELY not my worst 70.3 run split (I've had some pretty sweet melt downs), putting me with the 10th overall run split.  

In hindsight I wish I had pressed a little harder on the bike course, but my efforts set me up for a pretty decent run on a challenging course.  It was definitely a new experience to feel like I was still racing ten miles into a 70.3 half marathon, and perhaps this means that I'm starting to figure out this distance to some degree?  Well, maybe.  My 4:40 finish would indicate otherwise, but that was good enough for 10th overall amateur on the day.  Race results can be found HERE.  Rev3 Quassy is an incredible race at a spectacular venue.  I couldn't have asked for more from the cool New England weather or the dozens of super volunteers.  A rightfully epic event.       

Thanks to Coach Dave Williams of Triangle Multisport for the valuable insights and the big vote of confidence.  Big thank yous to Inside Out Sports and Fleet Feet Sports Carrboro for the support- at least you guys help me to look fast, even if I can't necessarily back that up with fast performances!  Lastly, a super big thank you to Leigh & Paul Naps for spending their Sunday watching me run around looking uncomfortable.  The two of you made the whole weekend an enjoyable experience.

Photo credits to P Naps- iphone camera ninja! 

    
     

       

Too Much of a Good Thing?

“Americans are drowning in a sea of very bad nutrition information” – T. Colin Campbell, Cornell University.

Dr. Campbell couldn’t be more accurate in his assessment of the western diet, and athletes are no more immune to commonly held misconceptions about diet and nutrition than the morbidly obese.  There are countless topics one could take issue with under the umbrella of nutritional habits of athletes, but I would like to focus this discussion on the most sought after macronutrient in the the sports world- PROTEIN.  I readily admit that there are many aspects of the Great Protein Debate that are well beyond the scope of what I am discussing here.  Methods such as protein intake during prolonged endurance efforts, or exact post-training protein requirements are better left to those much more qualified than I.

Often I am asked how much protein one should be getting to adequately support athletic pursuits; from the weekend warrior to the serious runner logging 100 miles a week, and I am shocked at the wide range of assumptions people hold about the ‘right’ amount of this misunderstood nutrient.  Based on my experience, the most prevalent thoughts on protein in the endurance sports world seem to be:

a)      Protein must be consumed after all workouts

b)      As a general rule, more is better

The best way to combat misinformation, rumors, and ‘hype’ produced by magazines and for-profit supplement companies is with unbiased science.  Here are some known truths about daily protein requirements.  The current Dietary Reference Intake for protein is 0.8/g/kg/day for adults- regardless of physical activity status.  This standard satisfies the protein requirements for 97% of all American adults, but is probably not exceptionally relevant to this audience.  The American Dietetics Association (ADA) recently put forth revised protein requirements for recreational and competitive athletes, (but what might come as a shock to those slurping protein shakes daily) the dietary protein needs of athletes are not all that different than those of society at large.  The ADA Sports Nutrition Manual for Professionals (4^th Ed; 2006) advises the following (male & female):

Individual Demands	g/kg/day	Approx % of Daily Energy
Sedentary	0.8	8%
Endurance	1.2-1.4	9-10%
Strength	1.6-1.7	14-15%

   

Based on the above model, a 154 lb (70 kg) male endurance athlete consuming 3800 calories daily should be striving for 84-98 grams of protein a day.  With a diet rich in whole grains, legumes, fruit, vegetables, and fish or some other animal source, reaching 85-100 grams of protein is a fairly easy task…WITHOUT the aid of protein bars, shakes, excess meat or supplement consumption.  More is not always better! 

GRRRRR! Man muscle need truckloads of protein!

It also concerns me that many athletes think that after any training session/workout, protein is a critical and immediate need.  Yes, after a hard 2.5 hour brick workout or tough 3500 yards in the pool, glycogen replenishment (and a little protein) should be the first thing on your agenda.  Where most go wrong is in thinking that the protein bar is a necessity after a 35 minute recovery run or light strength training session.  If you are taking in small, nutritionally balanced meals throughout the day- hydrate and skip the extra calories, you might be lighter and faster for it on race day! 

The take home message here is that protein is not a magical nutrient that unlocks athletic potential. Although protein is a necessary component of the diets of athletes and non-athletes alike,  carbohydrates are much more critical to athletic function/success for endurance athletes.  The vast majority of endurance athletes eating a well thought out diet of minimally processed foods are meeting their respective protein requirements without the use of protein supplements.  Lastly (and most importantly), be critical of where you get your nutrition information.  Gravitate towards peer reviewed journals based in science, NOT health or fitness magazines from the local news stand.

Some great nutrition resources:

The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell (2006)

Sports Nutrition; A Practice Manual for Professionals, Marie Dunford (editor) (2006)

In Defense of Food; An Eater’s Manifesto, by Michael Pollan (2008)

Thanks for reading,

jw

A Few Steps in the Right Direction (Beaverdam Olympic Triathlon Race Report)

This past Saturday marked the start of the 2012 triathlon season for me, with the Inside Out Sports Olympic Triathlon at Beaverdam.  A pretty long name for an event that historically attracts less than 200 people- but this race always lives up to it's drawn out moniker.  For the past two years Beaverdam has served as my first S/B/R competition of the year, giving me a chance to clear the mental & physical cobwebs, while also giving some insight to the effectiveness of the past winter's training efforts.

This year's Oly at Beaverdam didn't kick off until 9:30am on Saturday, and with the Falls Lake race venue only ~ 35 minutes away, I was able to grab a full night's sleep in my own bed.  The logistics of race morning are always a breeze with the FS Series Race Crew, and so by 8:30am I was checked in and ready to go.  Through trial and error I've found that you can easily get caught up in the nervous energy that abounds on race morning.  Regardless of the event size or distance, race morning usually has people hurriedly running, stretching, mashing away in the parking lot on a bike trainer, etc.  In terms of physical prep there isn't really much that you can do on race morning that will lead to improved performance, but jeez- you sure can hurt your performance with an over-cooked, frantic 'warm up'.  So after a light 10 min jog with a few pick ups, and 5-6 minutes getting used to the wetsuit in frigid Falls Lake, it was time to race!

The Swim

With an in-water swim start, I positioned myself as far to the left as possible to give me a straight line to the first turn roughly 400 meters out.  At the gun I went out as hard as I could for the first 2:00 to try to get ahead of the main pack, and I found myself on ETT teammate Dave Williams' feet.  I didn't expect it last long, but I told myself to hang on to Dave's draft as long as I could, with the hopes that he could pull us both into a gap in front of the others.  By some miracle I was able to stay connected with Super Swimmer Dave, and the first third of the swim course flew by.  The longest leg of the swim had us turn into a stiff wind in the center of oblong Falls Lake, which on race morning happend to have a few waves churning.  I swallowed more than my share of lake water with each attempt to sight, and I fought hard to stay connected to Dave.  Super Dave ripped up the swim, unaffected by the waves, and he pulled me all the way through in the process.  We came up onto the beach with a sizable gap to the next swimmer, and we both made quick work of sprint up the beach into T1.

The Bike

The rust showed in the S to B transition, and Dave Williams got out and up the road as I made a mess of getting my feet in my cycling shoes out on course.  Have you ever seen a cyclist kook tip over and fall while at a stand still?  I almost did that. Twice.  After I finally got into my shoes and in the right gear I was off to to see if I could get Dave back in my sights.  My one stated goal of the day was to leave it all out on the bike course.  Historically I give up some time to the eventual winners on the bike, and I faded badly on the bike at the Cary Duathlon three weeks prior.  Beaverdam has a rolling 43k bike course with a 3 or 4 short out of the saddle climbs.  Not much else to say about this ride other than that I buried myself.  I wasn't sure what kind of run would be left after going for broke on the bike, but I was determined not to lose this race to a soft effort on the bike.  Dave kept things interesting on the bike, and it was good fun as we continually overtook one another for the better part of an hour. 

Not only can Dave swim like hell, but the dude can flat out ride a bike.  Did I mention that Dave is recovering from a fractured pelvis from a bike fall in March?  He's not a guy who ever looks for excuses, and what he did on Saturday was just sick given the circumstances.  Really refreshing attitude, especially in light of some who are quick to reach for excuses after a perceived poor performance.  We all deal with adversity along the way, and I admire guys and gals like Dave who accept things as they come and try not to complain about the hand that they are dealt.  

I managed to gap Dave by a small margin late in the bike course, and I was super relieved to see the last turn into Falls Lake Park.  The Beaverdam bike course hurt me significantly more than I was able to hurt it, especially the last two successive hills leading into the park!

The Run

Heading into T2, I had a small lead that I didn't want to give up.  I had hoped to get out onto the run course quickly to stay out of sight of anyone who might be close behind.  WRONG!  I did put together a pretty quick transition and was mentally patting myself on the back as ripped up the hill out of T2, when one of the FS Series race directors cheerfully pointed out that was missing my run number.  Cursing myself all the way, I blew back into transition to grab the offending bib belt, before I was back out on the run course with a self imposed 70 second penalty.  I ran the first ten minutes pretty angry with myself for such a bonehead move in transition.  Embracing the anger inside while trying to channel it into effort on the pavement, I ran hard.  I told myself over and over that I started with the first swim wave that morning, and while I the virtual leader on the course, there were probably more than a couple fit guys from later waves who were in contention.  The run course was a rolling two loop 10k through Falls Lake Park, and a few of the other runners out on course had me crunching numbers and calculating splits to balance out the hurt put on by the hills.  I was able to cross the line out front with a 39:10, two transition 10k.  

Great race put on by the FS Series crew.  These guys are class acts that put on professional events with a friendly, local feel.  Awesome venue, awesome course.  Thanks to Inside Out Sports for supporting this event and its participants, and to the coaching (and competition!) from Triangle Multisport.  Also thanks to Fleet Feet Sports in Carrboro for helping this dude along the way...

Thanks for reading, I hope you didn't fall asleep in the process.

jw             

    

 

Greenville Duathlon Race Report

My stoke level increased by a factor of at least 10 this past weekend, as the 2012 race season is officially here!  I’ve been following the early season pro race reports on Slowtwich.com for a couple of weeks, but the upcoming triathlon season became much more tangible for me on Saturday when I hopped in the FS Series Greenville Duathlon.  The different races put on by the FS Series crew are ALWAYS well thought out events.  I was excited to be there, and I’ve been ready to mix it up with local competition to see just where my fitness stands.

The weather in central North Carolina on Saturday morning looked to be a little more than questionable, but we lucked out on race morning.  The duathlon was largely unaffected by the storm clouds that hung thick and dark just above our heads.  The first leg of the race was a two loop, three mile off road run covering the high school cross country course at Boyd Lee Park.  Dirt path, soccer field, cinder trail, and even a few feet of sidewalk; we covered it all as rain threatened overhead. 

With the relatively short nature of the race, my plan was get out with the lead pack, and press on hard without much concern for pacing.  Off the gun I got out front quickly with two other dudes I wasn’t familiar with.  It wasn’t  long at all before one of these two put :15 seconds into me and Dude #2, and he ran comfortably up ahead while Dude 2 and I pressed on behind.  Dude 2 turned out to be Richard Bailey, a Triangle Multisport-Inside Out Sports Triangle Tri Team member I hadn’t met yet.  I immediately learned that Richard is a) FIT, and b) a competitor.  We jockeyed hard and banged elbows for position on the trail for two miles before RB made a move and pulled away in the last 1k.

When I hit T1 Dude 1 was already through, but with a quick transition I still had contact with Richard as we got out on the bike course.  I tend to be a ‘second half’ rider, usually getting a little stronger the longer the bike leg lasts, as it takes me a few miles to find a rhythm.  This is certainly not something I consider a strength, and working on bike strength will continue to be a priority.  I wasn’t particularly concerned with RB pulling slowly away from me early in the bike leg- although it turns out I definitely should have been!  I’ve always thought the FS Series guys put a lot into course design, and the Greenville Du was no exception.  The 14 mile bike course was on smooth country roads, and was set up to be fast.  I pressed on pretty hard, feeling good about my bike legs that morning.  I rolled into T2 having averaged just a touch under 24 mph for the 14 mile bike split, but RB and Dude 1 had each put 2 minutes into me- which was not at all insignificant in a short course race.

I blasted out of T2 with another pretty good transition (usually not a strong area for me) and resigned myself to running at absolutely max effort for the 1.5 mile run leg to see if I could get back in the mix with the two ahead of me.  I was pleased with my run, I felt strong and poised from a full winter’s worth of interval running that Coach Dave and Triangle Multisport have pushed me through.  In the end, it wasn’t in the cards, and I never had contact with 1^st or 2^nd place, who were much stronger on the day.  I crossed the line in 3^rd with a time of 1:03:07, a full three minutes behind Glen Thompson and Richard Bailey.

I headed back to Carrboro Saturday afternoon pretty happy with the experience- great event, great competition, and a great race pace effort banked for future battles.  Congratulations to all finishers, and a big thanks to FS Series, the race volunteers, Triangle Multisport, and Inside-Out Sports for sponsoring the event.  Race results can be found here.