NYC Marathon 2011- Still the best marathon ever!

RACE WEEK I had a good week going into the marathon. Was really focused on the marathon itself and tapered quite well.  Monday I ran 6.6miles 9mm pace over the Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges.  Tuesday I did an easy spin for 30 min indoors.  Wednesday was 6 miles flat with some marathon pace intervals.  Thursday off.  Friday did 3 miles and a massage, which was a great call. Saturday ran 2.3 miles.  I was anxious and nervous until Friday and then settled into a good mindset on Saturday once I started packing up my gear.

Saturday was indoors all day feeling really good.  Went out for a 6pm dinner, pasta but not too much food.  Can’t remember what I had for desert but know I had something.  Was in bed by 10pm with wake up time of 4:45 plus an extra hour of sleep for daylight savings.  That would give me almost 8 hours.  I slept well the first 5 then tossed a lot the rest of the night.

RACE GOALS, EQPT, PLANS

The ultimate goal is to run 3:30 or better which requires an 8:00 pace. This was my goal in Rome and Paris and I really feel by race morning, that with these perfect conditions  I can do this.  The weather is sunny, high of 53 and no wind.  My body feels great, my equipment and clothing feel good, and I’ve been training for a 8mm pace and think its totally doable.  The secondary goal is to have fun.

I changed some settings on my Garmin so on the first page I have current pace, current HR, average pace, and current time.  The wrist band I am wearing will guide me with the current time so I don’t have to rely so much on the GPS working properly.  My HR goal is 176 average, although I expect that to go up the last 3 miles.  I’m not using the garmin mileage except to check on it occasionally.  I’m using the lap button at each mile marker to get a sense of my average pace per mile, although not totally accurate, think will be more accurate than using the garmin’s preset mile splits.

I have 8 scoops of my Infinit Nutrition amongst two flasks attached to my trim wallet.  That is about 800 calories.  I also have 2 gels for back up and can pick up gel at the 21 mile or thereabout if I need it.  I plan to stop every 2 miles for water, carry a flask in my hand at all times so can have a little nutrition at a time throughout.  Start taking nutrition at mile 3 and finish first flask by 13-mile mark.

I know the course pretty well.  No substantial hills until 12.5.  I’m taking the first half on average 10 seconds per mile faster then my planned 8mm so I’m looking for a 7:50 pace.  That means look for down hills and pick up pace there, not to run a consistent 7:50 for the first half.

GETTING THERE

Woke up with plenty of time to have coffee and gather up my things.  David drove me to the ferry which took at max 25 minutes.  Approaching ferry terminal getting nervous.  Working on drinking my 32 oz of water with want more energy electrolytes and not hungry at all.  Took the 6am ferry, should be eating around 6:30 for a 3 hour lead time but I’m in transit and feel I wont digest the food well so will wait until I get there.  The bus took longer than I remembered.

MARATHON VILLAGE

Once I got to marathon village I looked for the robin hood tent where I have an invite to hang out from a friend racing with them.  This was the only good part about the morning. The rest of the village is cold and damp (probably 45 degrees out and no wind) and the tent is heated.  Ate right away (probably 7:15 by not) but slowly and chewed all my food well.  My regular race formula, which was cherry yogurt soaked overnight in ¾ cup rolled oats, topped with frozen berries.  Still not hungry but totally hit the spot.  Spent about 15 minutes on the foam roller and surprised at how good everything feels.  Got all the gear together, placed on my 3:30 goal bracelet which I will use to pace myself as opposed to the mileage on my garmin which can go through spots of inaccuracy.  Used the flushing porta pottie before I left at 8:10 to find my green area to congregate.  Also had a banana around this time too.

Found the green area, this village is huge and confusing but signs are everywhere to help you out.  I’m alone, none of my friends are here.  They are all on the 7am ferry and start later than I do.  Put on my disposable pants along with a long sleeve shirt and disposable jacket too.  I love these.  Bought them at the expo, they are light-weight, warmer than a sweatshirt and waterproof which is ideal for sitting on the wet ground.  I also have gardening gloves ($2.99) to throw away en route.  Handed over my bag and heading to the coral but stop for the bathroom again.  Feeling rushed and hearing announcements that the first wave should be lining up.  I made it to this corral area which is new to me.  Now we are in another fenced off area just for the #17 starting group.  There are porta potties here too which I wasn’t expecting.  Its still 1:10 min before race start and I’m not liking this standing business.  I find a small patch of ground to sit on amongst everyone else.  People are not really talking to each other and I’m just wanting this thing to get started so I turn on some tunes.

About half hour before start they move us along to the actual race start on the Verrizano bridge ramp.  I’m confused because before I was on the upper deck and now we are on the lower deck.  I didn’t realize there was a group that ran down here.  I find a place along the wall to hang out.  I take off the pants which are kind of restrictive and do a bunch of dynamic warm ups for upper and lower body for about 15 minutes.  I turn off my phone because my battery is draining and I’ll never make it through without tunes.

RACE MILE BY MILE

We started about 5 min late, which is going to cause some confusion with my friends on the route who are trying to follow me.  I know I started out too fast but everyone was too fast.  Many were passing me and I just held back a bit.  Because I’m on the lower portion of the bridge my Garmin is not picking up satellite and without the sun I cant see my HR either.  Just going with my gut and having fun.  Wish I were on the top level, much better view.

Throughout the whole race I was happy with the group of runners around me.  We were definitely assigned well, the pace was consistent, there were very few dodgers and very few people dropping back.  Nobody running in groups.  There were a few handicapped running with leaders, which was tricky at points.  This was the BEST paced group run I have ever experienced.  I noticed in my corral that a lot of people around me were international runners. Absolutely no rediculous costumes.

Miles 1-8 were fun and felt great.  Mostly flat if not downhill.  Average pace was about 7:40 so I was building up some extra minutes to use later.  My HR was high, in the mid 180’s, yikes, need to reel that one in.  But my breathing was not labored so I didn’t freak about it, took it as adrenaline.  Started my nutrition at mile 3 as planned with water.  This was probably the most crowded part of the route.  Had to pull over around mile 4 to tie my shoe.  Sun feels good and temp is great.  Got rid of the gloves around mile 5.

Mile 8-13 were still good although I was now 3 min over my goal and decided to taper back a bit and be mindful and get it into cruise control.  Now my average is more like 7:50 so I’m still adding to the bank and my HR is dropping from between lower 180’s to upper 170’s.  Temp still feels great and happy to see David along with other friends between 11 and 13.  Running through my neighborhood was a good spot, smelled something fresh baked and reminded me of the pizza I was going to be enjoying post race.  I’m doing well with my nutrition.  I’m stopping for water more than planned because I’m concerned I’m not getting enough in each cup.  Because the flask is in one hand I have only the other free to grab water.  Kind of wishing I had a third hand.

Pulasky bridge was a bit of a reality check.  I know there are plenty of other bridges ahead and I slowed quite a bit, everybody did.  So it’s not like I’m worried at this point because I’m not falling back, but I’m recapping all the hills ahead and know my average pace per mile is going to drop at every bridge/hill and there are at least 5 more.

Long Island City was not very memorable.  More turns than I remembered and my body felt real hot for a short while there but I knew the Queensboro bridge was coming up and we would be shaded and likely windy and cool.  I stuck to a pace that was consistent with the people around me.  In the shade with my sunglasses I cannot read my Garmin.  Picked up the pace more than others on the down side of the briged although it is quite steep so I didn’t over stride and was cautious.  Mile 15 was 9:02 ave pace (I never saw this till after the race) and 16 was 8:42.  I didn’t realize I slowed that much.  It was quite cold and a nasty cross wind, in my mind I felt I should go with the flow of traffic considering I could not read my Garmin.

First Avenue felt pretty good.  I should have been more focused on running a straight path.  Looking at my time I see I’m still ahead about 3 minutes.  Now I can’t see the seconds though so its easy to slip (the frame is not large enough to show seconds and I didn’t realize that).  First Ave were miles 17-19 and average pace there was about 7:48, so making up for time lost on the last two bridges.

Although the Willis bridge is short, it is pretty steep, and we got a bit bunched up there.  This is also the point in the race (20 mile mark) where I started to feel pain.  My HR is still really high at 181 bpm average for the race and pretty consistent average mile to mile.  I feel I’m getting enough nutrition, but maybe could have used more at this point.  I do know that my stomach felt good, I didn’t feel slushy from too much water, wasn’t thirsty, and wasn’t hungry, so maybe this is just what it feels like to run really hard even when your well fueled.  Regardless I didn’t like how it felt and the Bronx is barren, lots of turns, and not much to look forward too.

Aside from the 15-17 miles of Queensborough bridge I am still running all miles better than 8mm until now.  20 was 8:17, 21 was 8:08 and 22 and 23 I picked it up again.  Those were the 5^th avenue miles in Harlem where the sun was in my face, I wanted to see my friends and family but just had to push on and stay really focused.  Also there were two songs that came up on my play list during this time that were not motivating me but didn’t want to take the time to pull it out of my pouch and fuss with it.  Good call on that.  Had a falling out with a guy at a water station who came up from behind to pass me, then cut in front of me at a water table just to stop dead in his tracks where I almost fell on top of him.  ASSHOLE.  I’m starting to worry a bit about finishing in 3:30 now because central park is getting close and I have some hills to address.

I remember seeing the 22 mile marker and thinking I only had 3 miles to go.  Somehow I missed something and I lost my nerve a bit when I realized I had 4.2 miles left.  The 5^th ave portion along Central Park was terrible.  I could see all the runners in front of me but I couldn’t even focus on the crowd.  I just kept my chin up and trudged up that long hill.  Even though I ran this portion of the course about 5 weeks ago, I don’t recall this being such a long hill.  Today this hill felt worse than heartbreak hill in Boston,  Ran 8:32 for mile 24 which is the 5^th ave portion to around the entry point into CP.  Mile 25 is when my quads really hurt and I was concerned about pushing though the pain.  Felt like they had grown by 1/3 their size and were big water balloons ready to burst off the bone.  Not a good feeling.  I had seen an injured runner around the 22 mile mark and It always gives me a reality check when I see someone in that much pain.  So the CP portion I didn’t push too hard and mile 25 was 8:22 pace.  This is all what I’m expecting, but not looking at the total running time on my Garmin any longer.  My wrist band which would tell me whether I am on target is twisted in such a way that I cant see the 24-26 mile times and it doesn’t really matter at this point anyway.  I can’t run any faster,  We leave CP for a flat portion of 59^th street and I’m doing OK again.  I’m not feeling emotional as usual when finishing the last mile.  Its sunny, the crowd is a blur to me, I hate that some people are passing me now because its usually me who’s passing others and me finishing strong…not today.  I’m just holding on.  Miles 25-26.2 were run at 8:00.  I crossed the finish, pressed stop and was not surprised to see I missed my goal time.  It read 3:31:25.

As is typical at all marathons we all feel like complete shit.  The only sounds are the voices of the volunteers asking us to move along and congratulating us.  I think this is the first time in recent memory where I looked around at a crowd of people and nobody is looking at, or talking on a cell phone.  We are all toast.  Quickly getting cold.  I cried a bit, not sure why.  I’m not un-happy, I am in pain, I am glad its over.  Woman next to me is sniffling too.  Mostly guys, who are not crying.  I turn my tunes off.  And the texts are coming in from my family and friends.  That made break into a smile and really felt accomplished with what I had done.  This course was much harder than I had remembered.

REACTION TO FINISH

I really don’t know how I lost a whole 1:25 when I was so far ahead of myself for 3/4 of the race and I didn’t fall apart once.  No stopping.  No digestive problems.  Even now analyzing the averages per mile I don’t understand how I ran 18 miles sub 8mm and the other 8 were not terrible 8:04; 9:02; 8:42; 8:17; 8:08; 8:32; 8:22; and 8.  My garmin said I ran 26.51 miles at an average of 7:58.5mm.  SO THERE..Once I saw that I actually ran further than my planned 26.2 I made a concession, gave myself a break and acknowledged that although I did not meet my goal of 3:30 I did run at the required sub 8 mm pace that I had been training for.   it makes sense with all the turns and the weaving along the wide avenues that I would run further then 26.2 but didn't put that into my plan.  Also amazed that I ran at an average HR of 181 BPM and my goal was 176 BPM.  My last marathon was Paris where I ran an average 176 and I really have not trained any of my workouts leading up to the marathon in the 180 range.  All my MP tempo work was 171-176.

I was happy about my starting coral #17 because it was a great group of runners.  We all belonged there and were courteous.  Because of that the pacing went well and I’ve never experienced that in a marathon.  I finished all my nutrition.  My first 400 calories were finished at the 13 mile and the other 400 calories I was working on until the 23 mile mark.  I liked carrying the flask in my hand because it helped me to take small amounts more frequently so I didn’t always need water.  I think I could have used more nutrition though.  Next marathon I  need a belt that allows for bigger flasks.  My fluid consumption was perfect.  I noticed when I got home that my urine was a good color.  I was cautious to drink early and frequently.  Probably stopped at 2/3 of the tables which line the route every mile.  Also thinking maybe I should carry some of my own so not as reliant on race water.  Vary hard to tell how much you are ingesting.  I would have preferred to take 2 cups at a time but was holding on to my flask with one hand. Also don’t like thinking about the action of making that stop for water, much better to be able to just cruise right by and not stress over the slippery areas, which cup to grab, and which runner is likely to cut you off.  I didn’t want to get too wet, especially in the early phases of the race so I probably slowed a lot more than I would  if I had two cups at a time.

I felt very comfortable in my race clothes.  New shorts, tank, hair band, new sunglasses and absolutely loved my new yourbud headphones, which were comfortable and never slipped out of place.  I think my garman was set up well in terms of capturing the most important information on the first page but wish I had seconds for my race time once I passed the hour mark.

I’m very happy that my body felt so good throughout except the last 6 miles of general fatigue.  IT band fine, hamstring insertion/origin good, ankles and feet good, no joint pain at all.  I felt very “balanced”.  Definitely will get a massage before my next marathon.

Sleep could have been better.  5 hours plus 3 restless is not so good.  Also wonder if some of my fatigue had to do with iron loss from my cycle.  Should I have been more thoughtful about iron intake the week before?

Food pre race and days going in were good.  I didn’t follow a carb load diet but did consume less protein and more carbohydrates the 3 days prior.  My appetite during my taper week was manageable and I didn’t restrict calories but was careful to not over eat.  My weight overall should have been less.  I weighed about 5 pounds more than my “comfortable” weight and that was annoying, but I trained with that weight on my frame so I don’t think my performance would have been any different had I lost weight in the last month.

MEETING UP

Picking up my gear at the UPS truck was a breeze.  Had I finished 15 minutes later it would have been a madhouse.  I brought my black, flat Merrill shoes and clean socks to slip into and it felt good for my feet to get out of my sneakers.  Oh, my shoes felt a bit loose at the start of the race.  I wore my most thin socks and was a little worried that my heel was slipping in the beginning.  Also thought my feet would swell shortly and it would all work out.  Well it all worked out.  I didn’t have to walk far to get my gear, maybe 15 minutes (78^th street between CPW and Columbus) and I was meeting David at 77^th and Columbus so that all worked very well.   We walked very gingerly to the subway.  I had to walk down the stairs sideways one step at a time.  My quads are shot.  I was offered a seat on the train and questioned taking it.  Felt good to sit but the rest of the day I could not get out of a seated position without using my hands to assist me.

Of course when I got home and all I wanted was a bath my mom had to call and chat.  So I took time out to do that and then soaked with the bubble mat for about 15 min.  Tub is much better than the pins and needles feeling of water with a shower.  Took a hour nap, cleaned up, and had some friends over to celebrate with Pizza.  I ate 4 slices without an ounce of guilt.

That’s it.  Marathon # 6, 2^nd NYC marathon and my 6^th personal best race.  Every race I’ve gotten faster, every race I’ve learned more to take to the next one.  Writing these recaps is definitely a required component to achieving my goals.  Next marathon will be Barcelona, Spain.  March 25^th 2012.  So I have about 3 weeks off including a aptly timed scuba diving vacation to the Turks and Caicos then back into training.  Should be interesting.

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First Tri of the Season- Pat Griskus Olympic Tri

It’s my first tri of the year and although its not an A priority race I did this same race last year so I have some major expectations. I want to improve my swim by 5 minutes, maintain my transition times from last year, bike about 1 mph faster, and maintain my run pace from last year.  I would love to get close to a 2:38 finish, which would put me fairly close to last years 3 rd place for my age group.  Last year I placed 6 out of 12 in my age group and 128 out of 256.

I'll talk about the race experience first and then pre race set up and nutrition.

SWIM

The water temperature is about 70 degrees and I think for the first time I feel comfortable and ready for the swim. I tried a new technique using plastic shopping bags to get my wetsuit on and with this technique my shoulders feel much more free.  I could spare about 5 pounds and it would fit better overall.  This is only my 3rd race in this suit and last year I was a little lighter.  Today I weigh 120 for the record.  I had about 3 minutes for a warm up swim before announcements. Triton teammates Audra and Loren found me and was nice to have someone to talk to before starting the race, definitely helped to settle nerves because I'm not all in my head.  I lined up for the shore entry to the left and one row back.  I'm getting more comfortable taking a more aggressive start position but don't want to be in the middle of the pack.

The route is one circle of a fairly clear lake. There are 5 buoys that and not uniformly placed and must swim clockwise around them. The best way to sight will be to breathe on the right, which is a little less comfortable for me than my left.  My main concern is drifting to the right so will be sure to sight often.  There are 4 waves and all the women are in my wave, which is third.  I like this, as while on the rest of the course it’s easier to assess my position within the women category.

The swim start was not too aggressive or chaotic.  I was very controlled and held close to the pack up to the first buoy.  It is quite bright as the sun is coming up and after the second buoy have a hard time seeing the next one.  At this point I'm still in a fairly close group and can see a line of swimmers to follow.  By the fourth buoy the fourth wave has caught up with me.  Not worried about this but try to position myself to follow them and draft.  This didn't work. They were way too fast and I'm getting frustrated with the sighting as my blue cps women are now rather dispersed and the sun is in my eyes.  I know from the fourth to the exit I did terribly in swimming a straight line.  After downloading my Garmin I see from the GPS that I did fairly fell, better than I thought.  I wanted to finish the swim in 34 minutes and my clock on Garmin said 35:17.  Running to transition I am happy it is over and totally fine with my time since it is almost 5 minutes faster than last year.

Transition 1 didn't go so well.  My ankle chip was coming loose and I had to adjust that.  I sat down to take off wetsuit and struggled a lot with getting my feet through.  I think I'm going to experiment with sitting at waters edge for these easy exits and take advantage of a wet environment.  Also going to try standing but holding on to something like the fence that always encloses a transition area.  The only equipment new today is wearing gloves and that took a bit longer than I expected because of wet hands.  Felt good getting on the bike, but it took 2:42 whereas last year I did it in 1:52. Bummed about this.

BIKE

From last year I recall being tired of hills, just wanting a little room to cruise on a flat section for awhile. What I didn't remember was spending so much time out of the saddle.  Because of road conditions they shortened the route this year by about 2 miles so unadjusted my time goal. I wanted to ride about 18 mph, as opposed to last years 17.18 average.  My Garmin is capable of giving me all the info I need except cadence.  I managed to loose my cadence sensor in the process of a tune up and my replacement is in the mail.  Since last year I upgraded my transition bars to aero bars, new wheels and tires, and a hands free water source.  With those tools alone I felt it reasonable to improve at least a little.  I was wrong.

I played some of the descents a bit slower than last year.  Some roads were so bumpy my teeth were clattering and the last thing I want is an accident or blow out.  When I wasn't cruising down a hill, most with tight turns, I was climbing.  When climbing I spent at least 20 percent out of the saddle, not something I've been doing in training and frankly have not had the opportunity to ride any hills this steep this year.  The adjustment from the bike tech made this morning saved my life.  I talk about that later.

Passing was no problem on this course.  Riders were very safe and there was little traffic on the nutty portions of the course.  Sitting here later in the day my hands hurt.  Toward the end I started having trouble shifting with my left hand.  Not a relaxing ride, lots of tension in my body.  Don't know how much of that is due to stress of climbing or the descents.  Thinking if I want to place anytime soon in need a flat or rolling course.  This is not my specialty.  Per my Garmin, this 22.79 mile bike was finished in 1:22 at a lousy 16.6 mph.  But surprisingly I improved greatly in my placement during the bike, so not sure how to take that news.

Transition 2 went smoothly at 1:35.  Usually I go sock less and pay the price.  Today I put socks on and didn't loose any time for it.  Actually did T2 faster than last year even though position at racks was worse.

RUN

I have resigned myself at this point to just have a good run.  No chance of catching up now.   Last year I came in first for my age group in the run in 45:17. I don't anticipate doing much better.  It’s a two loop course. The first mile is fast, I averaged 7:00 then it gets harder.  There was a long low-grade hill that turns quite steep.  Many walked that hill and I felt good to se that even though my pace was terribly I was passing people.   I don't particularly like two loop courses; I  do better with the unexpected.  Did second loop harder.  Finished in 45:13 at a 7:41 pace, which was 4 seconds faster than last year.  Noticed reviewing Garmin data that the run course was short of 10 k by about .3 miles.  As usual, although I felt I worked the hills strong on the bike I still had pretty strength left for my run leg.

PRE RACE

Friday afternoon I drove up to Connecticut for the Saturday race.  Driving on my own with Kramer and David will take the train after work.  I settled in and chatted with Doug and Kathy for awhile (my in-laws) then took a short ride on my bike.  Last week I had gotten a full tune up and asked for a new chain which required replacing the cogs as well.  Fine, not in my budget but needs to be done.  Had one trials ride in Prospect Park and ride went well in some ways and poorly in others. In some gears it didn’t hold, would slip out of gear.  Not and ideal situation going into a race, so took bike back to shop and hoped he figured out the problem.  Now in Connecticut I'm riding much more challenging terrain and gearing is really off.  Worse than before I made any of these changes with the chain and such.  Any steep hills results in gears slipping and even derailed at one point.  I'm bummed and a bit freaked.  Need to get to race early for quick tune up by local bike shop.

Ate dinner around 7 pm.  Had a favorite I sometimes pick up at fairway.   Baked salmon stuffed with crab.  I had this with a side dish of pasta salad and broccoli raab.  For dessert had a bowl of chocolate ice cream.  I was in bed by 9:50 with alarm set for 4:20

I usually don't sleep well race nights but tonight was pretty sound.  Love sleeping in the country with the windows open.  Got a solid 6 ½ hours of sleep, which is fairly typical for me on race nights.

Woke up with little to do. My race equipment and clothes for the AM were ready before bed.  My bike was set up with bento box and all my race goals written in masking tape on aero bars.  Woke up and hit the pot of coffee for David and I. Set up my breakfast.  Half cup rolled oats soaked overnight in yogurt with an added scoop of Isagenix isalean shake.  Also packed post race meal and snack.  I never like what they offer post race and like to have my own food on hand.  In this case I packed Pad Thai, an apple and some snacks for David.  We headed out by 5:00 with dog in tow and drank coffee and ate in the car for the one-hour drive.

After getting through race registration and body marking headed straight to bike shop tent.  They were great.  Felt confident leaving that I would make it through the bike leg without too much frustration.  I'm getting much faster with set up and had David helped with my wetsuit.  Didn't drink much water this morning but drank a lot yesterday and feel well hydrated.  Had about 1 hour upon arrival to get myself organized and it was just enough time.  I was a bit rushed but not stressed.

During race I felt well nourished, no digestion problems.  Always feel the need to pee after the swim but it slowly subsides.  During bike had a gel about 10 minutes in and then 40 minutes later.  Feel this year need to do more for liquid calories.  This race was fine but felt during run didn't want gels but that was all I had been training with so had one around mile 2.

Final age group results 40-44

2:48:47

Finished 5 out of 16

Swim 36:33. 11/16

T1 2:42

Bike 1:23. 4/16

T2 1:35

Run 45:12. 3/16

No surprises here.  Did a bit better on bike than expected.  MUST improve swim but its not all about pool time.  My open water lake skills where I have to sight are terrible.  In a river I am much better and don't know what in can do about this as there is basically no opportunity to swim in lakes.

When comparing my results to the top three I actually did really well.  Their swims were all at least 4 minutes faster.  They all had T 1 times less than 2 minutes.  On the bike I feel I actually rode pretty strong.  Looking at the top three I was only off by between 1 and 4 minutes.  The first place did her T2 in 26 seconds.  Did she run in her bike shoes?  As for the run I finished only 1:40 behind the front runner.

This was a regional champ race so I qualified for national championships by finishing in top 33%.  Happy with that standing but have no interest in going to Alabama.

What I would do differently is work more steep hills during training on the bike for this race, even if that means using my trainer.  I worked a bit on bike to run transitions and it paid off, but feel I should be able to work at a higher HR for the run and that tells me my tank was running a bit low so need to work on nutrition at race intensity.   Need to get to the pool a minimum of 2 days weekly and the 3^rd day should be an open water swim.  Also while doing the open water swim work on transition out of wetsuit.  My T times could improve.  I have a good, fluid system but it’s not good enough.

Comparison of 2010 to 2009

Finish 5/16  vs.   6/12

Swim 11/16 at 39.13min/mile vs. 9/12

T1 this year a bit worse

Bike 3/16 vs.  8/11 at 16.59mph and Av HR of 165 as planned.

T2 was on par

Run 3/16 vs. 1/11 at 7:41mm and Av HR of 181.  One would think I could do better than this.  I ran Paris Marathon 2 months ago at 8:07 pace and ave hr of 178bpm.

Bassman Half Ironman Pre Race Day and Goals

PRE RACE DAY Saturday I woke up still feeling congested mostly in my chest but better with my nose.  Unfortunately now David is feeling lousy.  Cleaned up the apartment to prepare for an open house on Sunday.  Had an Isalean shake around 9am and we were on the road by 10am.

Drove to a friends house in Manasquan NJ because it’s an hour closer to the race than Brooklyn.  Figured spend the day in a beach town, chill and get up at 4:15 for a race was better than driving from Brooklyn.  David was up for the adventure and we had Richard’s beach house to ourselves.

Once we got there we walked to a sports bar nearby where David could watch the Michigan/MSU football game.  I read most of the time but caught some of the game while I ate.  Had a blackened grouper sandwich (no top bun) and a green salad.  Also, two pints of beer.

After all that excitement we both needed a nap so slept for an hour.  Set out to find a Kmart so I could buy hankies.  Tissues are not going to do the trick for the race tomorrow and must have something to blow my nose especially during the bike.

Took care of that business and set out for a good meal.  Found a cute place, seafood and steaks.  I ordered penne pasta with vodka sauce and shrimp.  Penne ala vodka is my favorite pasta dish and I only eat it maybe once a year.  I ate the 4 jumbo shrimp and half the pasta along with 2 glasses of wine.  We split a brownie ala mode for dessert.

I already have my bike prepped and my goals on paper but need to set out my clothes for tomorrow.  I wrote specific speed, time, and HR goals on masking tape and placed it on the bike aero bars.  Also did the same for my run and attached that to a packet of gels.   Set out my clothing and warm up clothes for tomorrow, took some more Robitussin and went to bed at 9pm as planned.

A note about water and fluids today.  I’ve been carrying around a bottle of purified water throughout the day and sipping throughout.  I drank at least 100 oz of water, which is what I would normally consume on a day that I trained at least an hour.  Also the alcohol consumption is pretty normal for me.  Although the beers during the day were not a good idea, nor is that normal, I just couldn’t sit at a sports bar, watch a football game and not drink beer.  I have no idea when I last sat and watched a whole football game, never the less in a sports bar.  The wine is typical for pre race evening.  Either wine, beer or cocktails but limit them to two.

Gong to bed did not work well.  David’s cold was effecting his breathing and I couldn’t sleep in the same room with him.  My sinuses are a bit clearer, but chest is still congested so decided to try something new.  I placed a drop or two of eucalyptus oil on a piece of tissue and placed it in one nostril.  Moved to another bedroom and slept on my back all night with that tissue up my nose.  I never sleep well before a race and last night was pretty typical.  Kept getting up to look at my phone and make sure I didn’t miss the alarm.  Got about 6 ½ hours of sleep and felt surprisingly good in the morning.

RACE MORNING

I really think the eucalyptus trick worked.  My chest feels clearer, my nose is dry, and I don’t wheeze when I breathe.  Yes my cold had gotten that bad that when I took a deep breath I could feel my lungs rattle.  This makes me feel much better about the day ahead.

David didn’t want to wake up so I kept things moving.  Made an Isalean shake and drank that right away and pulled everything together for the race.  Took a bit to get the car packed as we are not coming back to the house after the race.  Also pulled out my breakfast for later that I pre made yesterday.  My traditional race morning meal that has worked well for every race in the last 2 years.  1/2 cup oatmeal, ½ cup yogurt and a little water soaked over night (rolled oats, uncooked) plus a smashed up banana.

By 5am David, Kramer and I were all in the car and ready.  David is pretty grouchy but feeling better than yesterday.  We stop for coffee, a must on race mornings.  It’s the only thing I can consume that will guarantee that I eliminate before a race.  It’s really foggy but very mild out.  Pretty sure I’ll be able to race in shorts and sleeveless shirt, nothing additional will be needed.

The race is supposed to start at 8 and I want to be there not later than 6:15.  I had my breakfast at 5am as I always plan for the last meal 2 hours before the race start.  When we got off highway there was lots of race traffic leading to the park and knew at that point the race was not going to start on time.

RACE GOALS

These goals were set when I was healthy so since then I adapted the goals to allow some extra time since I’m feeling less than healthy today.

SWIM -  47 MIN AT BEST/52 AT WORST.

My last long easy swim was on 9/2 a whole month ago.  That was 48:27.  Some of my better days were as fast as 44 min for 1.2 miles.  So am going down the middle and hoping the time off from working out my shoulder plus the benefit of the wetsuit will bring me to a pace of about 39 min/mile.  With my congestion I must admit I’m not felling confident about this swim and should get in a practice on race morning to test out the breathing.

T1  2 MIN AT BEST/ 4 MIN AT WORST

The Transition is really close to the swim exit and if I don’t have to put on any additional clothing due to the cold I’m pretty sure I can get this done in 2 minutes.  If I have to think about what to put on that will slow me down.  If the AM temps are mid 60s then I will wear pull on sleeves and if it is colder than I will add a long sleeve top.  For the bike transition remember to have time goals up to this point on the bike as well as av speed, av cadence, hr goal ranges taped to the bike.  Also plan on 1 gel every 45 minutes and a half bar on each hour or so (put that on the bike as well).  Put two bars opened in my bento box and 4 gels opened in the bento box.  Fill up the water tank of the bike ¾ way and hope to not need any extra at the half way refill.

BIKE  2:54 MIN BEST/ 3 HRS AT WORST

I’m basing this mostly on the trial ride Richard and I did in august.  We rode at 17mph the first lap and 18 the second lap and we really were not pushing it.   HR ave was 142.  Now I have new wheels, which should automatically increase my speed by about 1mph for such a flat course.  So if I go 19 mph I will finish the 58 miles in 3 hours, and if I average 20mph I will finish at 2:54.  My HR at NYC olympic distance tri this year was 167 (really high even for that race) and 159 the year before which felt really easy.  Based on my training zones I should be safe if I start slower HR, build through the middle and then slow a bit before the run again.  HR goals are 153-163 bpm with 155 being a good safe average goal.  With my cold I will need to have two hankies.  One in my hand at all times and a second in my shirt pocket as back up.

T2  1 MIN AT BEST/3 MIN AT WORST

Again the transition area is small so just need to change shoes and maybe take off a top or jacket.  Make sure gels are in my shoes for the run.  On one gel pack indicate your pace and HR goals because you don’t want to loose it here.  This is what you’ve been waiting for.  Will want 4 gels for the run to be safe.  Start drinking electrolyte drink right away and assess how much water is left on the bike.  Pray that you still don’t need to pee.

RUN 1:50 best/1:55 worst

Since my training going into this has been to focus on my bike and swim legs so I’ve not spent much time on the run as it’s always been my easiest leg.  I have done about 5 runs at 13-15 miles as well as a lot of tempo and hill workouts.  It seems logical that I should be able to hold a pace slightly faster than my marathon pace of 8:25 in which case I would finish in 1:50 if I run 8:20.  If I slow to an 8:40 pace I will finish in 1:55.  Work on an average hr of 169 (my HR at Rome marathon was 172) and progress to 172 after half way if think I’m behind and feel I can push it a bit.  Start a bit slow and build.  Make sure to have a gel or food every 30-40 min.

Final numbers are a best-case scenario of finishing at 5:34 and worst scenario of 5:54.  If I finish in 5:54 I will have beat the best times from last years top 3 in my age group so looks like I could place well for this race.