Rev3 Cedar Point Recap

I guess the subtitle of this post is "Coulda, woulda, shoulda" which I'll discuss in my report.

The weekend started with a Friday morning drive up to Sandusky, Ohio for check-in, etc.  Along the way, the skies began to darken, putting a lot of worry into Sarah as the only reason she was coming was to ride the 17 roller coasters at Cedar Point amusement park, where the event was being held.   Of course, as soon as we rolled into the parking lot to check-in, which was in a tent outdoors, the rain began to pour down along with a massive lightning storm.  Luckily the storm passed pretty quickly and we were soon on our way to the park.

I don't think I'm exaggerating in saying that during the 4 hours we were in the park (with the first hour being early entry people only), I rode more roller coasters than I did when I went to this park on a normal 12 or 15 hour day.  The weather and it being late in the season meant we had lines of maybe five minutes at most.  That is in contrast to a sometimes two hour line in the height of the summer.  My only complaint about Friday evening was the beating I took on a roller coaster called Maverick.  I've never been so jostled and jolted on a coaster.  More on this later.

Since the weather looked threatening for much of the day on Saturday, Sarah and Jessica decided to drive home a day early. They had already planned on heading home Saturday evening so Jessica could go see the Pats play the Titans and Saturday was going to be another day of roller coasters for Sarah.  Turns out they made a good call as after they left the weather turned nasty again.  So much so that the Saturday Rev3 events, including the practice swim and kid's tri, were cancelled.  Had me a little worried for Sunday but turns out we had nothing to worry about.

As I said last year, the night before the night before is the key night of sleep as I know I won't get great sleep the night before the event.  I got a good 9/9.5 hours of sleep and woke up feeling well rested.  The first item for me on Saturday was to knock out a one mile run to keep my running streak going (today makes day 108 in a row of running one mile or more).  I headed out and almost immediately, I felt a pain in my hip/quad that I thought was a bruise from Maverick!  I finished up the run as I thought maybe it was just stiff but it didn't feel much better.  My friends and I had to head over to the expo to pick up or timing chips anyway so while I was there, I saw one of the free massage therapists that Rev3 has for us and after a quick five minutes with him, I felt better almost immediately.  WHEW!

Next was bike check-in, then some chill time as it was time for us to get off our feet and relax for the big day.  One of the little perks Rev3 provides is a personalized name plate at your bike

A nice little touch!  Bike check-in was nice and smooth so I went off to try to find the Michigan State football game on TV (no luck) so spent a few hours relaxing with my iPad and keeping up with the game.  We then headed to Olive Garden for the must-have pre-event pasta.  After returning to the hotel, it was time for one last check of all the gear bags and an early bed time followed by a 5 am alarm.

After the weather the last couple of days, even though the forecast was awesome, we were all anxious to see the Sunday morning weather.  Well, here's what we saw as we stood on the beach waiting for the swim to start

 

So our weather worries appeared to be unfounded as a gorgeous day unfolded.  

This event would be significantly different from IMKY as the course is almost entirely flat, the weather is much cooler, and the number of athletes is much smaller.  This helped shaped the goals I posted in my preview.  I felt good about achieving them.

The swim was wetsuit legal, unlike IMKY and the water looked very calm.  Kept my heart rate down, relaxed and enjoyed the swim.  Because it was two loops we came back close to shore to the start the second lap and that meant a few hundred meters of water running.  The only rough spot I encountered was at the start of the second lap, the waves or current (maybe the tide?) were coming in a bit stronger so I had to work a little harder to get out to the first turn on the loop.  Otherwise, no issues.  Swim time:  1:31:26 compared to a goal of 1:40 with a stretch goal of 1:31.  Right on target.  My transition goals were 10 minutes each and hit 10:38, so still mostly on target.  

The bike started and I couldn't believe how fast I was riding without killing myself.  Yes I knew the course was flat but I was riding 18/19 and it felt like I wasn't doing any work.  We had some headwind in places but it didn't seem to slow me down much.  The miles kept ticking away, my nutrition was good, so was hydration and I was still averaging just over 18 mph.  Then disaster struck at about mile 48.  I heard a loud noise and then the sound of metal hitting the ground.  Had my chain broke? My drivetrain?  With the help of another athlete, I figured it was a spoke, so I nursed it to special needs and had a volunteer call for race support.  That's when I met this volunteer...

 

This guy is named Caleb, and he is my all-time favorite tri volunteer.  Since I was waiting for race support, he asked if I needed anything.  I was really ok on fluids and such but he was so eager, I asked him to top off my aero bottle with some Gatorade.  That's when I really got to know Caleb.  He loves to ride his trike,  he even wrecked it but got back up and kept riding.  I assume he has some medical issue to ride a trike but he was so eager, friendly, sincere, honest, and was helping anyone he could.   Just a refreshing sight when you're pissed off at the world over a silly broken spoke.

I then began waiting (and waiting and waiting...) for race support.  I asked a volunteer to text Jessica as she was tracking me and probably freaking out when I was stopped for so long.  The minutes passed. I had a volunteer call race support again.  Still nothing.  Now I was really pissed but I wasn't going to let this end my day.  I told the volunteers to send race support down the road when they came and started walking.  Part of the reason I got moving again was Caleb.  I couldn't have all his hard work go to waste.  After about a mile walking and still seeing no race support, I was really pissed.  I rigged my now wobbly rear wheel as best I could, opened the brakes and started riding.  I rode the last 62 miles, mostly alone and NEVER saw a race support vehicle, draft marshall, etc.  My pace was obviously hampered and the best guess was I stood still at special needs for 43 minutes.  End result:  16.92 mph/7:15:19. The goals were 16 mph/7 hours or 17.23 mph/6.5 hours.  

(Unfortunately, my buddy Caleb had gone home by the time I got around to his station on the second bike loop).

If not for that mechanical failure, I had the 6.5 hour bike split or even better! T-2 was 10:34, another goal met.

As I got dressed for the run, my stomach wasn't feeling great.  Perhaps it was the Tylenol I popped at T-2? Too much sweet/sugary stuff all day?  I knew I had to hunt down something salty/crunchy as soon as hit some run aid stations.  

I started out maybe a little quick as my first few miles were:  10:38, 11:00, 11:03, etc.  But my heart rate was good and I was feeling ok.  My stretch goal was 5:30 so felt good about achieving that.  Due to a relatively small number of athletes, the run was lonely at times but the volunteers each mile did a great.  My only complaint was the inconsistent availability of some items like chicken broth.   Worked some walk breaks in, usually at aid stations and at about the 10-11 mile mark, even walking my heart rate was a little high.  So I slowed but it was still high.  Figured if I could just make it to the halfway point, get my Red Bull, maybe see some familiar faces, I'd be ok.  The odd thing was my heart rate was much better running than walking. I'll leave that to an expert to explain.

Got to the halfway point, saw Ken, grumbled about my bike and the lack of ice at the aid station, saw a killer text message from Jessica and was on my way.  Only 13.1 miles to go.  I was still keeping up with my 5:30 marathon pace.  The last hurdle was a random rain shower that lasted about 5 minutes at mile 15/16 but it actually felt good.  

Got to about mile 22/23 and then the emotions start.  Some tears, some pride, some relief that it will soon be over.  Thinking about all the people who've helped along the way.  The training partners, the supportive family, the tri-club friends, the people on Facebook, etc.  They all played a role.  At the last aid station, the volunteers were cheering so loud, I could hear them for a good quarter mile.  It certainly put some pep in the step.  

The last piece of the puzzle as I neared the finish. What do they call you at a Rev3 event?  They wouldn't/couldn't say Ironman, so what would it be?  I got within a hundred meters and there was Ken. Had to stop for a high-five, maybe a hug, it's all a blur, then the finish was all mine.  "Jeff Johnson, welcome to the revolution!"

 

Marathon result:  5:30:18 with goals of 6 hours/5.5 hours.  Right on target.  Total time for the day was 14:38:16.   Take out that mechanical and I had a sub-14 in my grasp.  I guess I owe this course a beating in the future?

I have 2 half-marathons coming up and the Bourbon Chase.  Updates to follow!

Rev3 Cedar Point Preview

Sunday, the 9th, is my second Iron distance event, put on by a company called Rev 3.  It takes place at Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio.  I'll be heading up there with my wife, daughter and a couple friends, one of which is also attempting the full iron distance event (2.4 mile swim; 112 mile bike; 26.2 mile run). 

My training all summer has been in some very hot conditions so I'm quite looking forward to an event in bit cooler weather.  The forecast, as of today, calls for a high of 73(23 C) so should be just about perfect weather.  The course is also much flatter than my first Ironman (course profile here) so that should also make for a shorter day. 

I've thought about my goals for the day in two ways.  One, a quite achievable goal and two, a bit of a stretch goal.  I really don't have much fear of not finishing, as my pal Kevin would say, "the hay is in the barn, you've already put in all the training."  So it's really a question of how quickly I can do it.

The swim is in Lake Erie and will be wetsuit legal.  Given that, my two goals for the swim are one hour forty minutes and ninety minutes if I have a good day.  Regardless of swim time, I want to have no more than a ten minute T-1.

My riding has really come along in the last year.  I'm faster, don't feel nearly as spent after long rides, etc.  At minimum, I know I can average 16 mph.  That means a seven hour bike split. If I get a good rhythm going, I should be able to get a bit above that.  Six and a half hours would require an average of 17.23 mph.  A stretch I know but maybe possible.  I have the same goal for T-2: ten minutes.

Finally, on the run, I'm going to pay much more attention to my heart rate and if it gets out of hand, slow down or even walk a bit if I must.  I'm also going to employ my normal walk through the aid stations strategy and try to take it easy for the first half and then pick up the pace if I have it in me for the last half of the marathon.  Achievable goal:  six hours;  stretch goal: five and a half.

Putting that all together....

Achievable goal:  15 hours.
Stretch goal:  13 hours, 50 minutes.

I'm using the same tracker I used last year, but this time the company also has an iPhone app that I used last week to track several friends last week at IMKY.   It was great and easy to use.  You can find it in the iTunes store, for free, if you search for My Athlete Live.

It's Taper Madness!

Ironman number 2 is 13 days away.  But before I get to that, Ironman Louisville 2012 was yesterday and I had a big weekend of activities planned.

First were some IAmTri events on Friday:  a short ride, driving some people around the bike course who had never seen it and the big gathering at the finish line area.  It was great to hook up with some friends I hadn't seen since last August.

The next was my last big run before my event, a 2 hour run.  Ended up at about 11.5 miles at a nice easy pace.  I also had a 60/70 mile bike ride planned but that would be postponed until Monday morning as I was booked solid on Sunday for IMKY.  

After the 2 hour run, it was time for one of the most fun events around IMKY, the annual Underpants Run.  As I discussed last year, it's a way to make fun of people who love to train in very little clothes and raise some money for charity at the same time. 

My friend, the volunteer director, was desperate for some help in bike and gear check-in on Saturday afternoon so after a quick lunch, a few friends and I headed over to help.  So after 2 runs, and being up early, when I got home, I was beat. 

I was asked by the same friend to assist and act as the bike catch captain.  Essentially I would put together a volunteer group who would take bikes from the athletes and put them on the bike racks for the athletes to collect them after the race.  My day started at about 9 am and I was also signed up to catch athletes at the finish so I finished up about midnight.  It was a long, hot day but so worth it when you get the thanks from the athletes. 

I got to see so many friends who were racing and even catch a few at the finish.  It was a rough day for the athletes and it wasn't just about the heat and wind.  Some idiot decided to throw carpet tacks on the course, causing many many flat tires and quite possibly causing more than a few DNFs. 

My planned 60/70 mile ride this morning ended up being about 45 and a 1 mile brick run.  I estimate I spent 27 hours working hard over the weekend between my runs, running around as a volunteer and so on.  So I think 45 will suffice.  Now begins the taper!

I have some relativey short runs, rides, and swim sessions over the next 2 weeks but nothing of a huge distance.  I'm absolutely pooped today but given what I just wrote, I guess that's to be expected.  The point of the taper is to recharge after all the hard work so that you'll be ready for the big day.

I'll be following up with an event preview early next week!

Getting to the "Heart" of the Matter

4 weeks from today is Ironman number 2.  I've been training pretty heavily and have felt on the edge of burnout at times.  At the suggestion of a multiple Ironman finisher friend (who's also been world class in triathlon), I've taken a day off here and there.  As long as I get 1 long swim, 1 long bike and 1 long run in per week, I'm happy with whatever else I do.  Still following my plan but adjusting as necessary.

Several people I know have recommended this book.  I found it appealing because he claims that many triathletes have loads of "junk miles" in their training.  That is, miles and sessions without a purpose.  I'm not at all afraid of this distance this year as I was last year so I've been trying to get "better."  Better might mean faster, might mean less strain, might mean feeling overall better after a run or bike.  He's also an advocate of swim drills and heart rate training.

So in that spirit, I've become more interested in swim technique and heart rate data.  I can swim, but can I SWIM?  As I said, I'm not afraid of the distance but if I can do it more efficiently and save energy/time at the same time, why not? So instead of a swim workout where I don't know the purpose, I've been doing 1 drill set a week and I think I can feel the improvement.  I'm gliding much better and feel like I'm swimming less but getting more out of each stroke.  I've also decided to get some swim lessons over the winter.  If I really want to know how to SWIM, I think it's the next logical step.

For the heart rate data, I've been collecting heart rate data for a good 2 years but never doing anything with it.  I know it takes a lot of work and a decent amount of money to really get a good starting point but without boring you with the details, my best guess is that my zone 2 heart rate is in the 111-140 beats per minute range.  I guess I would call zone 2 a manageable aerobic pace.

So I set my Garmin to honk, beep, etc. whenever I crossed over 140 bpm.  Much to the chagrin of my training pal, Ken, I think it's working.  I ran 15 miles today, at a just over 11 minute pace.  For a full marathon, that translates to a 4:50/4:55 marathon, which is 20-25 minutes faster than my marathon personal best.  And the best part? I feel phenomenal.  If I compare that to the KDF Marathon in April, I felt worse that day than post-Ironman.  I could barely walk and could barely even walk the next day.  I also examined the heart rate data and found that I was easily busting 160 at times.  No wonder I felt like crap, eh?  Today, I kept it under or very close to 140 and you know how that turned out.

This week is the last big week of training then I start to taper.   I'm still at about 10-12 mile long runs, 3200 meter swims and 75 mile bikes for a bit then it really tapers off as I head toward the big day.

Some Random Thoughts

About 7 weeks from Ironman #2.  I think I'm officially in the dog days of the training.  I just want the event to be here.  The weight is still coming off too.  I was 222 lbs on IMKY day last August and this week I hit 214.  I can't imagine I'll see a 1 for the first number but I guess it's possible?  That makes a total weight loss of 65 pounds lbs from my peak.

To keep me motivated, I tend to watch inspirational videos, movies and documentaries.  The latest is:

I first met Todd Crandell at the Motor City tri in 2011.  I had no idea he was such an ultra-endurance beast.  If I recall we talked for a good long while about Ironman Louisville.  Just shows how low-key Todd is with respect to his achievements.  The documentary follows Todd's attempt at UltraMan Canada.  Whereas an Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run, UltraMan is over 3 days and is made up of a 6.2 mile swim, something like 260 miles of biking and a DOUBLE marathon.  A good watch if you get a chance.  If you're local, I also have a copy of the DVD if you'd like to borrow it and pass it along.

I was recently featured on a friend's blog.  I first met Jessie through a mutual friend and she's plunged headfirst into the tri movement locally.  She was already an experienced marathoner but now she's into biking and swimming too. The post about me can be found here: http://blogs.courier-journal.com/accidentalathlete/2012/07/05/triathlons-can-transform-lives/

Finally, I really don't know how it happened but apparently I've agreed to do Ironman Couer d'Alene in Idaho in 2014.  I promise there wasn't any alcohol involved!

Not much else to report.  The training is going well.  I'm up to about 80 mile rides, 10 mile runs and 3000 meter swims.  Shouldn't have any issue with the full distance, just a question of how much faster I can be this time.

Ironman Muncie 70.3 (Ok, 37.2) Report

Headed up on Friday but had to take a detour to Oxford, Ohio in order to see the final game at Sarah's hockey camp.  Ken drove over from Muncie to watch as well and then we were going to head back over to the event.  But as we sat down to watch some hockey, our phones began to go crazy.  At the first race briefing (there were several choices) the race director tells us that due to extreme heat, the event will now be a 1 mile swim; 30 mile bike; and a 10K run for a total of 37.2 miles instead of 70.3.  Temperatures were expected to be the hottest in the history of the city with a heat index of up to 114F/46C.

At first, I was a little upset, but as I thought about it more, the key was going to be the volunteers and the ability to safely get athletes in distress the medical care they needed.  Expecting a volunteer, especially those who are younger or older to hang out in those temperatures for eight hours seems unreasonable.  And if enough athletes had problems, would there be enough medical personnel and/or EMS vehicles available?  So in the end, I'm comfortable with the decision.

However,  the attitude of the organizers in the face of the decision was terrible.  They offered us a $125 discount off four 70.3 events later this year.  But all of them are hundreds of miles away so the discount is basically a bill for more money.  Why not simply offer us that discount off Muncie 2013?  When a person asked this at the briefing I attended, the speaker actually laughed and said something like, "ask Ironman."  Not the kind of customer service we expect for the money we pay for official IM events.

On to the event itself.  The water temp was 89 or so from reports I read.  This made for a hot, slow swim.  I also had an issue with my tri top.  Since I've lost some weight, my top seemed to be acting a bit like a parachute.  I could feel it taking on water so I'm certain this had something to do with my absolutely pitiful swim time.  The worst I expected for a 1 mile swim was about 40 minutes but officially it was 49:24.  That's at about 1 minute slower per 100 meters than my normal.  Just a bad day? The heat? The water temp? Who knows.

The run to transition was very long, much longer than I expected so much of my T1 time was getting from the beach to my bike.  Total: 5:09.

My goal for the bike was to average 20 mph.  This would give me my best bike split ever, pace wise, in an event.  The course was mostly flat but with some rolling hills at times.  We also had some wind in places.  I personally felt the heat of the day start to come on about halfway through the bike.  Bike split:  1:28:33 or 20.33 mph.  Very pleased.

My bike was rather far away from the T2 entrance so a 2:34.  Part of that was stopping for a bit of sunscreen off my bike.  Worth it to spend a few seconds being safe.

I knew the run was going to be rough.  The best I could do was slow down, try to stay cool and hydrated.  So I did some walking at times, used a lot of sponges in my tri top, etc.  They had aid stations every 1/2 mile so we had plenty of aid.  One aid station did run out of ice and some of the volunteers (and athletes) were looking pretty rough so I think the short race call was right in the end.  One funny moment toward the end of the run was the "squishing" sound as all of us had soaked shoes from all the ice in our kits, water over our heads and so on.   Run total:  1:13:11 or 11:48/mile.

Grand total:  3:38:51.

For a normal Olympic, the bike would have been about 5 miles shorter and the swim 100 meters shorter.  At 20 mph, the extra 5 miles of biking would have been 15 minutes.  The extra 100 meters of swimming would have been 3 minutes. That would have given me 3:20.  Well off my Olympic PR but respectable in the heat.  I survived and was certainly a good hard day as I point toward my next Ironman on September 9.

We did get medals too:

 Yeah, it says 70.3 but I'll take it :)

Ironman Muncie 70.3 Preview

On Saturday, I tackle my second half Ironman:  1.2 mile swim; 56 mile bike; 13.1 mile run. 

I've been feeling really good during training.  As I lead up to my second Ironman in September, my swims are up to 2500 meters, rides at 80 miles, and runs up to 10 miles.  So there's no real fear of not finishing.  The big issue is going to be how fast I can go in some very hot conditions. I've seen forecast highs from the low 90s F (33 C) up to 100 F (37 C). 

So here it goes with some goals.

The swim is in a reservoir, so shouldn't see any current.  My last event had a 1500 meter swim, which I did in about 31 minutes.  Adjusting for the lack of current and very warm water, I'm hoping for a 45 minute swim.

Since it won't be wetsuit legal, T1 should be pretty speedy so I'm shooting for 3 minutes at most.

The bike is flat for the most part.  With predicted light winds, I think I can average 17 mph.  Maybe a bit higher but I can't afford to kill myself in the heat.  That would give me a 3:18 bike split.

T2 should be quick, as I'm mostly changing shoes, so shooting for 2 minutes.

The big test will be the "run."  My goal is 2.5 hours, which translates to 11:27/mile.  I say "run" because with the expected heat, I can guarantee lots of walk breaks to survive.  So is 11:27 doable? I'm going to say yes but we shall see.

Putting it all together, that gives me 6:38 so my initial goal of sub-7 hours seems entirely manageable. 

Full event report to follow on Saturday or Sunday.