Waupaca Area Triathlon Race Report

I have to say that the Waupaca Area Tri is my favorite.  Sure, I do some other well run races.  But, this one is the best.  The level of volunteers and the fact that the whole community comes out to watch and cheer makes for a great event.

 

Anyhow, Julie and I arrived early Saturday morning and got ourselves set-up.  The swim is 1/2 mile, the bike a little short of 20 miles and the run is supposed to be 3 miles (it is 3.22 according to Mr. Garmin).  The long swim and little longer bike plays well into my strengths without making me run any more than necessary.  Julie, on the other hand, was not thrilled with the 1/2 mile swim.

 

Standing on the beach before the start of the elite wave, there were two young guys doing very vigorous warm-ups.  They were both wearing red "guard" Speedos and Swedish goggles.  I looked at them and said, "Self, those are the feet to follow."  My thoughts were confirmed as I over heard them planning on taking turns at the front every big buoy.  Yeah!  The horn went off and into the water we all went.  The Speedo guys did not disappoint.  They went out fast and I was just able to stay in their draft.  I thought that I would be able to stay with them and maybe get a PR on the swim.  Well, the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray.  At about the 200m mark, I was forced to swim over set of Speedo feet one.  I don't know what he did, but I think he just stopped or slowed way, way down.  Anyhow, I sped up a little to catch back on to Speedo feet number two.  I was not on his bubble for more than 100 meters when he too fell off.  He actually grabbed the lane line.  So, around him I go.  I had to hammer a little more than I would like to catch the lead group which had put about 20 or 25 feet on me by the 1/4 mile turn around.  After the turn, I was able to find a good pace and a couple of feet.  But, the feet I was finding were a little on the slow side.  I wound up swimming the last 300m by myself.  Not my plan, but what can you do.  I got out of the water in 3rd or 4th.

 

I passed one or two in T1 and onto my bike I went.  This year's bike route was a little different from the last few years.  Luckily, Julie and I were able to ride the changed portion of the course on Thursday, so I had a good idea of what to expect.  The new course has a bunch of little hills rather than the two on the previous course.  Anyhow, on the bike I worked just off my cadence.  I've found a way to disconnect the speed sensor (remove the wheel magnet, duh) so I just get my cadence and nothing else.  My goal was to spin 90 to 100 rpm for the race distance and see what I get out of it. 

 

At about the 10 mile mark, I was passed by another guy on a pretty P2.  I have to admit to being partial to the white and red Cervelos for an unknown reason.  I was able to stay with him for about 2 more miles, but those young guys are pretty fast.  While I was still with him, a course marshal indicated to us that we were 2 minutes behind the leader.  That put me in 3rd overall.  Knowing this and being able to hear the sound of two disc wheels echoing down the country road made me very happy with life at the time.  After a while, I was not able to keep up the pace that my new friend was keeping, so I slowly lost touch with him.  With around one mile to go, I was passed again going up a hill.  I repassed this guy after a 90 degree corner (which he must have used his brakes going around) and a little down hill section that I was willing to hammer on just before T2.

 

In T2 my new Nike Lunar Racer 2's went on way easier than the ones "lost" at Tri-ing for Children.  Plus they match my Emery's kit better too.

 

The run course is flat and fast.  This is not good for me.  The guy I repassed on the bike re-repassed me at about the 1/2 mile mark and proceed to run about 30 seconds per mile faster than I was able to.  Forth overall.  Let me remind you, gentle reader, that I really enjoy running the most.  I am just not the fastest runner out there.  I know this.  So, when on the run, I am in "just try to save the time you gained in the water and on the bike" mode.  I thought I did a pretty good job of that.  Another fast guy passed me around the 2 mile mark.  Fifth overall.  I was able to up the pace a little within the last 1/2 mile, or so, and finish strong.

 

It turns out that the overall winner came from wave number 4.  So, my 5th was actually 6th.  But, hey I'll take that.  Final result was 6th overall and 1st in my old guy age group.

 

After I was done, I was able to see Julie and her friend Jen through T2 and then catch them both out on the run course.  I have to say, I'm really getting into the whole cheering out on the course.  It is way more fun than I would have thought.

 

Overall, it was a great weekend.  Julie and I were able to get a good race in.  The kids got some solid time in the lake with grandma and grandpa too.  Heck, the dogs even got a bath.  So, life is good.  Fluffy puppies and tired kids are always good things.

 

Over the next couple of weeks, I am planning on posted some stuff about training plans and equipment choices.  I've been looking at new toys, their prices, and what they might do for my race results.  I've also been noticing that although I do like racing (a lot), I may actually like training better.  More to come...

Everything is Something and Other Random Thoughts

Well.  I guess I stepped into something with my last post.  I wish I could say that I am sorry that some readers did not enjoy my thoughts.  But, alas, I cannot say that.  I really do believe that if you work towards something then you own whatever it is you have created.  Whether the creation is a home-made airplane (A stupid example, but I am trying to make a point) or a personal best time at the Pewaukee Triathlon does not matter.  You are the one that makes such things exist or happen.  Sure, you are assisted by family, friends, the wrenches at Emery's, etc., etc.  But, you are the one that "creates" the idea and then puts it into reality.  You own it and you deserve the rewards that come from what you create.  Let's just leave it at that for now.  If you want to discuss this more, you will have to meet me for a bike ride or a run (It is hard to have a conversation while swimming and my swim workouts are usually less than a half-hour.  And, this requires more time that that).

 

On to random thoughts...

 

The brake system on your bike can hold a lot of calories. 

 

Here is the back story:  A few weeks ago, the rear brake on my TT bike stopped releasing.  It was gummed up with the following:

 

Dirt

Energy gels

Energy drinks (various types, but orange Gatorade seem the most prevalent with green a close second)

More dirt

Lubricant

 

After removing the brakes and cleaning them, I was amazed just how much stuff can sit on a set of brakes.  I had two full paper towels covered in crud.  I like to put ice cubes in my watter bottles, but with the recent humidity, I think the volume of condensation this causes added to this issue.  Using a gel pack as an example of 100 calories, I would say the rear brake had 150 and the front a little less than 100 calories.  I would bet that with my between the aero bars bottle mount, I could get more on the front brake.  But, I also use my front brake way more than my rear.  So, the front probably has less opportunity to build up.  I train with, but do not race with, two behind the seat bottle holders.  Putting two sweating bottle right over the rear brake and using it only every other ride or so must account for the large volume of crud accumulated.

 

The more you ride, the better your bike handling skills will get.

 

After cleaning my brakes on the TT bike, I put the brakes back together and went out for a ride with Ben.  Just a usual ride with me (because I was on my TT bike) pulling for the first two-thirds of the ride.  About 20 miles in, Ben says, "Hey man (he says that a lot), your rear brake is rubbing."  Upon examination, it was.  So, I pushed it over but in swung back to rubbing.  Then I adjusted the cable tension to minimized the force of the rubbing that was unfixable (is that a word?) without a pliers (which we did not have).  The cool part about this was that we were going 24mph down Racine Ave. while all these repairs were done.  I'd like to say that I stayed in my aero position as I did these repairs, put I did have to use my base bar to turn the cable tension down.  Anyhow, a few years ago I would never have thought about monkeying with the rear brake while moving.  In this case, it didn't even cross my mind to even slow down let alone stop.

 

Riding with Brent Emery will make you a better bike rider.

 

I have to admit that my life has made it difficult for me to train with Brent as often as I would like.  But, the last Thursday I was able to make the 6am ride.  Bent had recruited a new guy for the ride and I was able to sit back and watch the new guy and Brent "discuss" (I use this word for lack of a better word to explain Brent's normal intensity) the new guy's riding.  Now, let me say that the new guy was definitely a life-time athlete and really was on the ride to learn.  The guy that finished the ride was not the same guy who started it.  In the span of a little more than an hour, he went from a 53x12 pedal masher to a high cadence spinning, pace line member.  Very cool to watch, very cool to be a part of.  Heck, I learned more than a little too.

 

You can train too much.

 

Overtraining exists.  Where it starts, I'm not exactly sure yet.  But, I think I was there.  I took three full days off after the Tri-ing for Children race and came back to training like a new man.  My guess is, like tapering, this is a very personal thing.  My goal for the rest of the season will be to go even harder on my hard days, but go much (read as much, much) easier on my easy days.  I'll report back on my results.  So, you might just see me at some group rides I usually would not do.  My hope is that other groups will force me to keep my pace in check, or accelerated, as needed.

 

And finally, cycling gloves are nice.

 

So, I bought a pair of gloves from a fellow Slowtwitcher for really, really cheap.  And, I had sold some old aero bars, so I had some money sitting in the PayPal account just burning a hole in my CPU.  To date, I have not worn gloves.  I never liked gloves while lifting weights and generally don't wear them in the winter if I can get away with it.  Fast forward, the gloves arrived, fit, and were as advertised.  On the first ride, an easy fifty miler, they were a distraction for at least the first hour.  By the last half-hour I had to agree they were nice.  What I really liked was their ability to absorb the volume of snot that I threw at them.  For the road bike, gloves are a plus.  I actually took Julie to Emery's that very night to get her a pair.  She came to the same conclusion: Gloves make riding nicer.

 

I did try them with the TT bike, but the jury is still out on gloves and the TT bike.  I actually felt like I was not as connected with the bike with the gloves on.  I'm going to try more in the future, but I have to admit that my tempo ride on Friday morning was done sans gloves.

 

Now, the above paragraph needs to be read with a grain of salt.  I am real touchy, literally, about my contact points on my TT bike.  I have a really good "feeling" while on that bike.  Not to say I don't feel good on my road bike, I just feel better on the TT bike.  I have even kept the old bar tape on this bike, when I got replacement tape for Christmas last year, for fear of messing with my feelings (yes, this is me talking about feelings) on this bike.

 

See ya.  Drop me an e-mail so we can get together and ride or run.