Syracuse 70.3 Race Report

There are some days that go exactly how you planned. There are other days that surprise as you outperform your expectations. The days that don't go your way are hopefully rare. On June 19th, 2016 I hit the rare trifecta as I outperformed, performed as expected, and laid an egg all in the same race. That's my day in one sentence. What follows is the extended version of how my day went down.

Pre-Race

Travel from Bethlehem to Syracuse took about 3 1/2 hours with a stop to stretch the legs and get some food. Unlike travelling to race Eagleman on Maryland's Eastern Shore, a race I have done numerous times, this trip involved no traffic hassles. Cassie, Jeff and I went right to the race site for packet pickup and a quick tour of the first 11 miles of the bike course. Packet pickup was the usual WTC affair - four stops, three waivers putting all the race-day liability on you, and a final stop for the goody bag and t-shirt.

After the bike course reconnaissance we headed to the hotel to relax. A little before 6 pm we headed out for dinner with Kim and Lauren at what turned out to be a pretty good Italian restaurant. I had my usual pre-race salad + margarita pizza while the others feasted on salmon and pasta. Good food and good conversation are a great combination.

Sunday morning we woke before the sun and were on the road by 5:30 for the 20 minute drive to the race site. The traffic line on site moved smoothly as we parked with everyone else in a big grass field less than 1/2 mile from the transition area. In transition I got my space in order before heading off to find a port-o-john. Fortunately I was in the 11th swim wave and had enough time to walk to the finish

area where there were no lines for extremely clean facilities (for race day) with plenty of toilet paper.

From there I found a quiet area to get my wetsuit on and get my mind focused on racing. At 7:40 the gun went off for my swim wave (male AG 45-49 l-z) as my day officially began.

Swim: 1.2 miles 30:44 

The swim course here is as simple as it gets. The course is rectangle shaped with a right hand turn before the halfway mark, another right handed turn about 100 meters later, followed by a straight swim into the swim finish. After a scrum for the first 150 meters or so things opened up and I was ready to go to work.

My game plan here - like all big races - is to go out hard, wait for a slightly faster set of feet to pass me, then draft for the rest of the swim. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. This time it didn't.

As can happen I picked the wrong set of feet. After letting my heart rate settle down I realized I was hardly working and would be better off swimming solo. By the 300M mark I was out on my own, settled into a steady pace. With 10 waves going off before me this was also the point where we started to catch the slower swimmers. Fortunately navigation was not a problem and the swim went off without a hitch. After telling Jeff I planned on a 32 minute swim, I was pleasantly surprised to see 30:24 on my watch when I stood up to get out of the water.

T1: 3:26

This was a long transition. The run from the lake up to the transition area was not a short run as was the run to the bike mount line. Everyone had the same distance so it just is what it is. I was as efficient as I could be and made it to the bike without incident.

There was, however, a huge bonus for the day which I just have to mention - wetsuit strippers. This is a staple at Ironman events but I have never had this luxury at a shorter distance. Big shout out to the race director for making this happen!!! 

Bike: 56 miles 2:43:22

I like me a hard bike course. When I hear people complaining about the hills I get a big smile on my face. Syracuse did not disappoint. With 3200+ of vertical and a 9+ mile climb that started 5 minutes after we started riding, your day will likely get set up by what you do in the first 45 minutes of riding. Go out and kill it and you are almost guaranteed to suffer later on. Ride within yourself and you have a shot.

I decided to take the smart approach and just carry on at a sustainable pace as we slowly climbed. I made sure to take advantage of the flatter sections while fueling (which is a subject I will address later on in the post). After the initial climb you have a course that is many miles of rollers with the periodic flat section and a fair number of turns.

As we only drove the first 11 miles before the race, I was a little surprised at how slow the course actually raced. Every time I felt like I would get into a groove there would be another turn. Pre-race I determined, based on the course profile, that I should be able to ride around a 2:30. And if this was the course I thought it would be I would have been disappointed with a 2:43. After riding the loop I am satisfied with what I rode.

As for fueling, I was testing out a new approach. With Ironman Lake Placid on tap this July I saw this race as an opportunity to try out some new things. The bike change was with my bike nutrition. I separated my calories from my liquids, using S-Tabs to keep my electrolytes up. With the temperature rising I was drinking like a fish, but noticed excessive amounts of salt accumulating on my tri suit (I'm a heavy, salty sweater). Something wasn't right.

The last time I had something like this happen was at Ironman Coeur d'Alene in 2008 when seemingly all my internal salt left my body about halfway through the run. Like that day in Idaho I was caked in salt. I upped my liquids as well as my electrolytes. Coming off the bike I didn't feel great but I didn't feel terrible.

T2 - 3:06

This was longer than it should have been. Two things happened. First, someone had kicked aside one of my socks and it took a bit of time to track it down. 13 miles without socks would have destroyed my feet. Second, with the temperatures around 85 degrees as I got off my bike I decided to use my Zoot arm coolers. I had some trouble getting them on, wasting a minute or so. With the hot sun beating down on me wasting a minute is better than going without.

Run: 13.1 miles 2:15:18

Almost immediately I had issues. After leaving T2 you very quickly run through a grassy field then a short rocky trail before getting out to the main road. Overall that section is less than a 1/2 mile. You run it four times on the two loop course. Being a road guy I did not find this fun ... at all.

Unfortunately the uneven off-road terrain was the least of my worries. By mile two I started to get some cramping in my upper body and then my hamstrings. Remember all that salt that was lost on the bike? Here it is coming back to bite me hard. Didn't help that the run course has 1200+ ft of vertical, including the mile from hell going into the turnaround point.

I'll spare you the horrid details. On the negative side I went 2:15. On the positive side, my cooling plan worked well from the beginning. And if I'm being honest I packed it in around mile 9, knowing my day was done and not wanting to beat the body up for a few less minutes that would get me nothing. Instead of majorly suffering for no good reason I chose to walk/jog it in while talking with fellow competitors.

Overall: 5:35:56  M45-49 22/144, 190th overall

I was quite surprised at how well I did on a relative basis with what I consider to be a slow time, basically quitting at mile 9 of the run. All I can say is that course was a beast.

How Could I Have Raced Better?

I used this race as a test of fitness and a test of a fueling plan. From a fitness perspective I'm good. My taper was spot on and I felt great coming in. My swim was much better than I expected and my bike came in where I should have expected it. The run? Well, I blame that on the fueling plan. Come the big dance on July 24th I'll be back to my fueling routine that worked well at Ironman Florida. And while it did have a major impact on my results on this day, it could have turned out much differently. If you don't take a chance you don't know if there is something that might work better.

Overall Impressions

Ironman Syracuse 70.3 was a really great race that I hope to do again in the future and I recommend to anyone who likes a challenge. I am not an Ironman-branded race fanboy, although I feel generally satisfied with World triathlon Corporation (WTC) races. I like to race local races and support my area of Eastern PA and New Jersey. When I travel I have tended to stick with either Ironman or Rev3 events as they tend to be larger, competitive races. They also tend to be very well organized.

Syracuse was not only well organized, but it also was a great course to race. The lake was clean (a big thing for me), the bike course was challenging and fun to ride, while the run was a beast. This is not the venue for a PR effort. To do well here you need to bring your A-game. To do well here you need to be in great shape. But isn't that the point of racing to challenge yourself and find your limits?

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Race Report - Rock-n-Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon

The Rock-n-Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon is a race that has been on the race calendar for more than 20 years. Originally this race was known as the Philadelphia Distance Run, and is traditionally run the final weekend of September. For 2015, however, race organizers were forced to change the date because of an out-of-town visitor ... the Pope. And apparently his holiness' schedule is not very flexible. With the craziness that is a visit from the Pope the race couldn't happen as usual and a new date of October 31 was agreed upon by the powers that be.

Other than the race date, nothing changed. The race course is one that I have run more times than I remember and is one that I really, really like. The race starts and ends at Eakins Circle which is right in front of the iconic Philadelphia Art Museum. The first three miles (which has changed over the years) tour you around center city, including a loop around city hall. After an out-and-back on Spring Garden Street that gets you to about mile 4 1/2 you take a loop around the Schuylkill River, heading out on Kelly Drive and returning on MLK Drive. The finish is right in front of the Art Museum.

I signed up for this with Cassie and The Mayor as my last race of the season. With 2015 being about racing more, shorter events, I thought it would be a great way to end my season. When I plotted out my season one goal was to run an open half marathon at 1:30:00 or better. With a knee injury in 2014 it had been a while since I ran that fast so the motivation was there.

As I got closer to race day I knew the big goal would be unattainable. Unfortunately sometimes stupid happens. After climbing Pike's Peak over Labor Day weekend I raced a 10k in Colorado on Labor Day, then proceeded to run the first leg of the Via Marathon relay for a team The Queen had put together six days later. I could have cruised the 10k but ... just had to race that sucker.

Which turned out to be a stupid decision.

The next day my left calf ached, forcing me to shut it down for the next five days then taking it easy for the next few weeks. I raced the Runner's World 10k on October 17, gutting out a 41:59 on low miles and zero intensity. Fast (for me) but no way fast enough to expect a sub-1:30.

New plan - 1:32:xx.

With the race being held on a Saturday I drove down on Friday morning to pick up my race packets for me and The Mayor. After a quick loop around the expo, which I thought was just OK, I was back at my office for a late lunch. I had no traffic issues which made the trip less stressful than it might normally be.

On Saturday me and The Mayor left my house at 5:30 am for the drive to center city Philadelphia. Things went smooth with a quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts for some eats and no problem finding parking in my favorite race day neighborhood. Our timing turned out to be perfect as I entered Corral #1 about 30 seconds before the start of the race.

My game plan was simple - go out comfortably hard for the first few miles without looking at my speed. If I feel good at mile two, continue to push. If I feel too much on the edge, pull back a notch. Whatever happened, race by feel and not by the pace on the Garmin.

After the gun went off it took me about 20 seconds before crossing the start line. Even though I had a no look at my Garmin policy I happened to be directly behind the 1:30 pacing group, which included 40+ athletes. With a few turns at the beginning of the race this caused some congestion, but also told me just how fast we were running. Just before the two mile mark I had started to slowly fall back from the pacers, knowing that a 6:50ish pace would not be sustainable for 13.1 miles.

As I looped through town at a slightly slower pace I felt good. Good enough to decide that I would run smartly on the edge and see what happens. In practical terms, it meant I would work to stay faster than a 7:00/mi pace for as long as I could, then hang on to the finish. My thought was that I could sustain to mile 10 or 11, before sucking it up for the final few miles.

Once out onto Kelly Drive I felt darn good. Running totally by feel the miles were clicking off at a 6:50 pace, amazingly right on target for a 1:30 through mile 7. Mile 8 and 9 were slower (7:01 and 7:05), but that was a conscious decision to kick it back a bit. I still felt good, but this section is on a slight incline, including the Falls Bridge.

Just after crossing the bridge you pass the 9 mile mark on MLK Drive, which is where I picked it up again. At this point I just kept thinking about one mile at a time. I also started to recognize a number of people who went out with the 1:30 pacers who were coming back at me. Mile 10 was a 6:58 and Mile 11 clocked in at 6:55.

With just 1.1 miles to go the pace became harder to maintain. The legs were moving, but hurting. Picking the pace up would no longer be an option. At the 20k mark I felt like toast, but continued to move forward at a solid pace. I became very aware of the people around me, hoping to not get passed by anyone. I almost succeeded, but did get taken on the final stretch by a young woman who still had an extra gear, which I certainly didn't have.

After crossing the line I stopped my watch with an unofficial time of 1:31:38 and a big smile on my face. Success!!!! I thought I could race a 1:32 and I did. Just as important, I raced it smart. As for Cassie and The Mayor, they both ran well.

Technology can be good or it can be bad. When I first started to race we had a $20 Timex and assumed that the mile markers were set correctly. Over time I have become too tied to the Garmin, using it as a pacing guide on race day. In my experience this is not a great situation as it can cause you to go too hard on a day you aren't 100% (because if I think I can run a 6:50 pace well damn it, I'm gonna run that pace no matter what) or hold back on days you feel great. I have worked this year to regain that feel for my run and become more aware of my body while racing. Over the 13.1 miles I only glanced at my Garmin a handful of times. Those looks were earlier in the race and more about having an idea of how close my perceived exertion level was to what the data had to say.

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Race Report - 11th Annual Steelman Triathlon

There are some races that end up as a one-off event, either because it is a destination race or the race just sucked and you don't want to go back. Others appear on your race schedule year after year. For me, there are a number of races I do most every year because I like the event or I like the cause. Thanksgiving morning I am usually in Nazareth, PA for the annual Pumpkin Pie 5k. A lot of my friends are there and it raises a fair sum of money for the Nazareth YMCA. There may be consumption of the complimentary donuts as well.

The Steelman Triathlon is different. Held at Lake Nockamixon in Quakertown, PA, it is close to home on roads and trials I like. I have done this race every year I have been involved with triathlon except for 2006 and 2011 when I raced Ironman Lake Placid just two weeks prior. If Steelman were about going out and just "having fun" I would have been there those years as well. Steelman, for me anyway, is an opportunity to throw down and see what I have in me. Steelman is a chance to compete in a familiar setting on a course that is consistent from year to year.

This year's race was this past weekend on Sunday August 9th. With my previous two races being defined by horrible weather and weather-related changes made to the race course, it was nice to get a nice day with no unexpected surprises.

Pre-Race

If you are going to race here you have to get up early. Start time is 7 am but due to limited parking (due to the approx. 1,000 competitors), you either show up early or you park on the other side of the park. So wake up for The Queen and I came at 4:30 am with a departure from home just after 5 am. The ride down Rt. 412 was quite. Much to my surprise, parking turned out to be just perfect this year. For some reason, even with my relatively late arrival (and cars being parked in the upper lots) I scored a spot at the marina. No post-race hill climb back to the car this year!!!

Dale offers race-day packet pickup, a very nice luxury, which is as easy as it gets. Thank you for that Dale!!! From there I got my transition area set up, took care of the port-o-john business, then hung around till my 7:10 start time.

Swim: 1500M 22:55

Strava File

Last year I had close to a perfect swim that I did not expect to repeat. My goal in the water was simply to swim smart, draft as much as possible, and exit the water at the front of my swim wave.

Fortunately this is exactly what happened. After taking off hard I found a set of slightly faster feet within the first 150 meters. The quick start had me anaerobic, but the draft allowed me to dial back to a sustainable effort.

My lead out was a good swimmer, easily maneuvering the back of the waves in front of us while getting around the first two turns efficiently. One problem I tend to have is passing whomever I am drafting on the turns, but not this time around.

Unfortunately, on the back side of the swim the person I was drafting started to swim off course. I quickly found another set of feet to sit on, finishing the swim without having to burn any matches, in an official time of 22:55.

T1: 2:33

Last year I had trouble getting my wetsuit off. This year ... I had trouble getting my wetsuit off. In fact, I would guess I lost a good minute fooling around with it. The biggest problem I had was the left leg got caught on the huge timing chip I had around my left ankle. (Note to LinMark - invest some money in modern equipment and get rid of the timing chips that were new technology 10+ years ago.)

Basically, any chance I had of a PR disappeared the moment I had to sit down to remove that damn wetsuit.

Bike: 40K 1:04:09

Strava File

The course profile is one that plays to my strengths. I find a flat course to be rather boring and enjoy the challenge of dealing with varying terrain. Here you get a bit of everything. The race starts with a short, steep climb right out of transition, follows that with two loops of various types of rolling terrain, and concludes with a short, steep downhill back into transition. If there were any course I feel comfortable on, this would be it.

So after a very short flat section I dropped into my 39 CR and comfortably headed up the first climb and through the park, using the 1.5 miles in the park to get myself situated. Once onto the two loops on route 563 it was game on.

My first loop I passed a good number of people from the waves in front of me, including both Lauren and Cassie who had started in the wave just prior to mine, as well as the two guys in my age group who out swam me. I had a feeling this would not be the last I would see the ladies as they are both great cyclists as well as more fleet footed than I am. While I wanted to put as big a gap as possible between me and my age group competitors, I also wanted to finish the race in front of these two very fast ladies, even with the 5 minute head start they received.

The start of the second loop is where things can/have gotten interesting. By the time the Olympic distance racers get around to the park entrance the Sprint distance people are flowing onto the bike course. It can be good for the psyche to pass a lot of people. But it can be hard to deal with a crowded course, especially at the two turnaround points. Fortunately there were no issues.

I felt better on lap number two and pushed the pace all the way in. I hit the timing mat in 1:04:09 for the 3rd fastest bike split of the day and 49 seconds faster than I rode in 2014.

T2: 1:00

Smooth and without issue. Nine seconds faster than last year.

Run: 10k (really 6 miles) 44:41

Strava File

Heading out onto the run I felt pretty good but knew that I just do not have the run miles in this year. I have been running between 15 and 20 miles each week, not the 35-40 miles I have done in years past. It is a non-Ironman year. I have made a conscious decision to not beat my run legs up with high mileage in 2015. I'm not a kid anymore and I know I have issues that could someday come to the surface. Not making any excuses, just putting it out there.

One more important thing: this is NOT a full 10k run course, but a 6 mile run. Always has been. If you don't believe me just check out the Strava file, then ask yourself when is the last time your Garmin shorted you distance on a race course. The answer is never. If anything your Garmin will measure a bit longer. I say this to make sure it is very clear when looking at my run time exactly what I ran. That extra .2 miles would have added another 90 seconds to my overall run time. People can fool themselves into thinking they are faster than they are. I may be a fool but I prefer to not fool myself into thinking I am better than I really am.

Anyway, my run started out just fine running a "comfortably hard" 7:10-7:15 for the first 4 miles. It was here that my lack of muscular endurance came into play. And by came into play I mean I simply didn't have the legs to hold pace. My heart rate was fine but the legs were just done. Last two miles I ran 8s and called it a day.

To be clear, I do not believe that my not-what-I-wanted-it-to-be-run is a result of over-biking. Been there, done that on many occasions and know exactly what that feels like. If I came out running a 7:35 first mile feeling like I wanted to die ... that's a bike induced implosion. And if I blew myself up I would just say it.

Anyway, what I did get to see out on the two-loop run was a battle for top overall female between Lauren and Cassie. These two young ladies are incredible athletes who came to throw down and they did. At the end Cassie did squeak out a small victory but they were both winners on the day. Danielle came in not very far behind as fifth overall woman and first in her age group while Alison won her age group and KT set a nice PR in his race.

Overall: 2:15:15 M 45-49 1/34, Overall 13/328

Racing a new venue is fun and challenging, but so is racing the familiar. With my last two races being disasters (here and here) it was good for the psyche to race well.

First Place AG 45-49

Lots of hardware among this crew.

Women's Overall with Cassie and Lauren going 1-2

How Could I have Raced Better?

More run training, which just isn't/wasn't in the cards for 2015. With my overall mileage way down from where it has been in the past my fear has been not having the muscular endurance to run to my capabilities. I have always responded well to volume. I will continue to experiment with my training to get this right.

Overall Impressions of the Race

I am a personal fan of this course. The lake is a nice place to swim, the bike course is challenging, and the run is on a shaded trail. The trail does get tight when both the Olympic and the Sprint athletes are all out there, but it really isn't that bad if you pay attention to your surroundings. Dale does a great job as the race director.

The only real complaint I have is with the big hacking timing chips provided by Lin-Mark. Seriously, you spent the money to redo your website and get the ChronoTrack System. Couldn't you now upgrade your timing chips to something a little more modern and smaller? Please?

Full results can be found here.

Up Next: Not much racing for a while. On September 13th I will be a part of The Queen's relay team at the Via Marathon right here in the Lehigh Valley and then on September 26th I will be back down in Quakertown, PA to race the Quakerman Triathlon (Olympic distance).

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

NJ State Triathlon Race Report

Being born and raised in New Jersey I have an affinity for the one state that has not always received the best reviews from just about everyone else. You know the stereotype - loud and obnoxious, curse a lot, say "yo" every other sentence, say "Joisey" and don't know how to pump my own gas.

As for the state itself, there's this perception that "Joisey" is dirty, loud and congested. And if your only view of the state comes from your car while driving on the NJ Turnpike north of exit 7a, than I can almost understand. But if you open your eyes just a bit you come to realize that New Jersey is a pretty kick-ass state with great expansive suburbs, lots of farmland (it is called the "Garden State" after all), and quick access to both Philadelphia and New York City.

The site for the NJ State Triathlon, not far from both Princeton and Trenton, is a perfect example of what is right about NJ as well as a wonderful setting for a race. The swim and run are both inside Mercer County Park with the bike portion on the surrounding roads.The park itself is massive, with just about everything you could ever want inside a park, including a concert venue. Traffic and parking for the race were as easy as can be expected.

And the lake ... ah yes, that beautiful, clean lake. I have raced a lot of places along the East Coast and this is, by far, my favorite swim venue. The water is clear, the course is spacious enough to deal with an Ironman-sized mass start, and sighting is a breeze.

On Saturday I drove down to packet pickup, making sure I arrived in time to hear the pre-race meeting. At races I have done multiple times I will often skip this meeting as there is nothing new to hear. For 2015 the bike course had been changed so I wanted to hear what the race director had to say about road conditions, aid stations, etc. as well as wetsuit status for the swim.

Good thing, too, because the water temperature was a balmy 83 degress (no wetsuit) and there would be no aide stations available on the bike course. According to the race director, the only logical/obvious place for an aide station was 2 miles from the end of the ride, which is basically useless from a practical perspective. Instead of carrying just a bottle of EFS I added a bottle of water.

That evening I stated with my parents who live 30 minutes from the race. We hit an Italian restaurant for dinner, where I had a usual pre-race meal of pizza and a salad.

Race Morning

Around 5:15 am my alarm went off and I started my usual pre-race routine of some dynamic stretching, a carb-rich meal and clearing out the pipes. With everything all packed the night before I hit the road around 5:50 am. The biggest issue of the morning had nothing to do with me, but everything to do with the weather. Driving to the race felt more like driving through the clouds as the 72 degree temperature was nearly matched by the dew point at 71. Eventually I knew the fog would burn off, leaving us with a very hot, very humid, sunny day to race.

Parking was quick and uneventful, save one interesting side note. A few minutes after parking a young guy walking through the parking area was asking to everyone in general if they had an extra helmet as he forgot to bring his with him. He seemed to be freaking out a bit. No helmet, no race, so his concern was understandable. That desperate look on his face changed when I uttered two words: "I do."

Much to everyone's surprise I did actually have an extra helmet with me (an extra pair of bike shoes as well). Seemed like a nice guy so I let him borrow it. Years ago I raced the Lighter than Air Duathlon at the Lakehurst Naval Air Force Base in a pair of running shoes. Seems I made the mistake of leaving my bike shoes in Bethlehem. Fortunately for me the bike course that day was completely flat so I could manage without clipping in. The lesson I learned was to throw an extra helmet and shoes in the car a few days before a race, just in case.

Other that that there would be no more drama. I set my transition area up, used the port-o-johns, and hung out at the race start until my wave (10th out of 12) went off at 8:15 am.

Swim 1500M 24:24

What a great swim venue

I am not a swimmer, but came to it because of my desire to do triathlons. My goal is never to be at the front of swim, but in the first group behind the "real" swimmers. With 110 people in my wave start the plan for me would be simple - go out hard for the first few hundred meters then sit on the next set of feet that pass for (hopefully) the rest of the swim.

Which is exactly what happened. I hit it hard from the start. Well before the first turn at 250 yards I had my draft all set up, finding a fellow age grouper who is just a bit faster than me. For the next 1,000 yards or so he guided me through the back end of the swim waves in front of us, before I lost him at the jam up at the third turn. While not my ideal, getting a draft for two thirds of a crowded swim worked just fine. Expecting to be around 25 minutes I was pleasantly surprised by the 24:xx my Garmin showed.

The online race results show my swim rank as 93rd overall, placing me in the top 10%, which is always my goal for the swim. I was 5th out of the water for my age group.

T1: no official time reported

Nothing special here, other than the longish run from the bike racks out to the mount line out at the road.

Bike: 19.4 miles 50:27

Strava File

Somewhere around 7 am an announcement was made regarding the bike course. Specifically, due to a downed telephone pole they were forced to cut 3+ miles off the bike route making it 20.5 miles, according to the announcement. This course is short to begin with (officially 23 miles) but now it is really short. Even worse, according to my trusty Garmin 810, the actual distance traveled came in at 19.4 miles.

It takes less than a mile to get out of the park and out onto the open road. Most all of the course is coned off for cyclists, and flat to slightly rolling, making it a relatively safe course to ride, even with traffic still around.

The first 10 miles were great. There were few turns and I was able to get into the aero position and get into a good groove. Within the first few miles I passed a few of my fellow M45-49 as well as a fair number of those who started in earlier waves than I did.

The back half of the course was completely different. Instead of long open sections of road we hit a series of tight turns on tighter roads. As a result riders it felt like a constant slow and go for the next 6 or 7 miles. I did continue to pass people, steadily moving my way through the early starters.

Around mile 16 or 17 we reentered the park for a small loop in a parking lot, followed by a short stint on the main road, before we reentered the park toward transition. Did you get all that? Because the way that sentence is written is exactly how riding that section felt.

Shortly before the dismount line I got out of my shoes, swung my leg over the bike and headed into transition for the run.

There are no rankings for where my bike split ranked overall, but I know I was the 5th fastest split for M45-49, which is a bit slow for me. There were only 2 other M45-49 that were more than 1 minute faster than I was, with the others not much faster. There was a long run from the dismount line to the transition mat and, because of the heat, I purposely jogged it into transition. Get rid of the run to the mats and I am sure I actually rode as fast or a bit faster than the two guys in front of me. Whatever, it isn't a bike race.

T2: no official time reported

The only thing of importance here is the fact that I moved much slower than I would have in more normal weather. At this point temperatures were above 85 degrees and the humidity in the 70% range. I am terrible in the heat (see below) and consciously slowed myself down to keep from overheating.

Run 10k 57:19

Soooooo ... this is simply horrible. Coming into race week I had a plan to run aggressively, hoping to have a shot at winning my age group against what I knew would be a competitive field. Once the weather forecast shifted from hot to just effin' awful, I knew I had to scrap the original plan. This may sound like some BS excuse - and I'm sure there are people reading this who are thinking I'm full of crap or I over-biked (take a look at the watts and zone distribution on the Strava file above if you think that) - but I am just not designed to run in oppressive heat and humidity. Making it worse, I have very little opportunity to train during the heat of the day, so I can only get so acclimatized.

Anyway, my plan went from racing to try and win to jogging to survive. I came out of transition slow and steady. I ran an 8:11 first mile which, just for comparison, was only a few seconds faster than my first mile of the marathon at Ironman Florida last November. All I wanted to do was keep running.

Unfortunately, from there it only got slower. Try as I might, all the ice and wet towels I could grab did not keep me from overheating. My head seriously felt like it was going to explode. By mile 2 1/2 I was running when I could, walking when I had to.

It is what it is.

Overall 2:16:25 M45-49 11/110, Overall 182/1272 

Racing in New Jersey in July is always a gamble, and this a gamble I lost. Sometimes you have a bad day, while other times you get the hottest day of the year. I didn't do what I had hoped for here. If it were a good weather day and I crapped the bed due to a lack of fitness or a rookie racing mistake I would be upset with this showing. Reality - my reality - is that I have never been able to function in these weather conditions. I would have been very happy to keep the run around 50 minutes, but that didn't even happen. Instead, I'm moving on and looking ahead.

How Could I have Raced Better?

I'm not really sure I could have. I swam within myself, biked conservatively, then melted on the run. Could I have taken in more fluids? Maybe. I just have always had problems with crazy hot conditions.

Overall Impressions

This is a race I have done before and will do again in the future. I love racing in New Jersey because, well, because it's New Jersey. I love racing here because it is a great venue with a seasoned race director who is good at what he does.

The organization is excellent. Everything ran on time, the staff dealt with a down telephone pole on the bike course with ease (and apparently a huge thunderstorm that caused havoc at the Sprint distance race on Saturday), and they go one step beyond what you would expect. The best example of this is the signs at each bike row showing which race numbers were in which row. This is extremely helpful when you are running into transition with a 160 heart rate trying to find your bike. Well done.

The one issue I have with this race is the bike course. Prior to 2015 the Olympic distance bike was two loops and a little over 25 miles (so it was a little longer than the traditional 40k). This year they replaced it with a one loop course that was 23 miles, quite short of the standard distance. Worse yet, the new course doesn't flow very well. There are a lot of turns. The section into the park and around a parking lot has an awkward, random feel to it, like they needed some extra distance so they just threw it in.

Full race results can be found here.

Up next: Steelman Triathlon on August 9th.

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

2015 TriRock Philadelphia Triathlon Race Report

As I have stated previously, the TriRock Philladelphia Triathlon is one of my all-time favorite races. I like the venue - the roads in and around Fairmont Park and the Schuylkill River - I like the challenge of the bike course, and the organization has always been top notch. The only complaint one could ever have about this race is the possibility the swim could be cancelled due to poor river conditions.

My goal going into the race (as stated here) was very straight forward - set a PR. I felt that my training had been going well, I know this course well (this would be my 8th time racing here), and with no Ironman or half Iornman races on the schedule I could focus on racing this distance for the first time ever. But in order to race a PR I would need to have a full Olympic distance course to race. And that is where my problems began ...

On the ride down Saturday afternoon in a downpour I contemplated the real possibility of a cancelled swim. The Schuylkill River can get muddy and filled with debris due to heavy rains making it impossible for the race promoters to allow anyone in the water. And, really, who would want to try to swim in those conditions?

Pre-Race with the Belgian Beast

My thoughts were confirmed when I got to packet pickup. The swim had been cancelled, but much to my surprise, the race would go off in a time trial start. This took me by surprise as in the past a cancelled swim meant a run-bike run format. Granted, TriRock wasn't the race promoter the last time this happened, but TriRock was the promoter in Asbury Park last year where they cancelled the swim due to a rip tide, and a run replaced the swim.

Bottom line: no PR attempt and a race format I didn't like.

The good news is I met up with Philippe (the Belgian Beast), who was racing with the Johnson & Johnson team and raised more than $8,000 for childhood cancer, and spent a nice but uneventful night in the city. Our hotel room in the University City section was only a few miles from the race site. We didn't venture too far because of the rain, but didn't really have to. Directly across the street from our hotel was a pizza place with everything we needed for a pre-race meal.

Race Morning

Early races mean early wake up times. In this case the alarm went off around 4:45 am mixed with the sound of rain hitting the hotel windows. After a quick stretch, a small meal and a couple of trips to the bathroom we headed over to the race site. The Belgian Beast rode his bike over and I decided to drive the four miles as I planned on heading home straight from the race site. The drive was easy as was parking.

Once down around transition the weather was causing some chaos. I have to give TriRock a lot of credit for their flexibility as they just went with the situation. The rain had not let up and transition was a total mess. There was a long line for body marking as the markers weren't working on wet skin. The race director made the decision to let it slide.

The pro race started at 6:30 am with a big gap of time before the first age groupers would head out to the start line. Seems crazy unless you know the course. With two bike loops that are both hilly and technical it made sense to let the pros have the bike course to themselves. Not the best thing for me, but understandable.

What the gap in time did allow for was a chance to catch the pro field coming through T2. You know they are fast, but it becomes much more real as they fly through transition so fast and efficiently.

Race Winner Cameron Dye exiting T2

The Bike: 23.6 miles 1:03:18 

Strava File

The time trial start at a triathlon is not my friend. Even a hard swim gives the body a chance to get warmed up to the point where I'm comfortable from the start of the bike. After standing around for 2 1/2 hours I was nothing close to loose. I had the same issue at Ironman Florida this past November when the swim there didn't happen due to a rip tide. I'm old and tighten up when I stand around in transition. It is even more of a challenge here as the first climb of the day comes about one mile into the ride, giving you very little time to settled into a rhythm.

Somewhere around 8:35 am I finally was released to start my race.

Going into the ride my concern was that the time trial start would cause more crowding than normal. As one of the last people to start racing I assumed there would be a big jam up. My experience, fortunately, was just the opposite. Which worked out great.

If you thought that I might take it easy you would be wrong. While I did sorta ease into the first mile, once I hit the base of the first hill it was game on. With the wet roads my game plan was to work the uphills, ride conservatively on the technical downhills and open it up on the flat stretches working through the field the best I could. And that is exactly how it played out. For the first 7 or 8 miles I had another AG45-49 guy around me, but I dropped him for good the first time up Lemon Hill.

From there I just continued to move forward as fast as I could with no drama.

T2: 1:31

Not my fastest time. Ended up having some trouble with the mud.

The Run - 6.2 miles 48:28 

Strava File

After a good run at Jerseyman in May I really had some high expectations for my run. I will never be the fastest guy out there, but I a 6:40-6:45 would have been respectable, and well within my current fitness. Or so I thought.

Source: Craig Sheckler

Heading out onto the run course my legs were still not loosened up. I assumed that they would come around somewhere in the first mile.

Never make assumptions ...

About 3/4 of a mile in the guy I passed on the bike on Lemon Hill came by me. He got a gap and then he slowed back down to my pace. Sounds good, except "my pace" was somewhere around a 7:10 mile, not a 6:40. Just after mile two I was passed by two more AG45-49 men who I should have been able to hang with.

But not today. On this day it just wasn't happening. Just after mile 3 I got a little light headed and took a brief walk break, taking in some Gatorade, hoping to turn things around. A few minutes later I rethought the situation. With no chance for a PR, my legs not responding, and being out of the top three in my age group, I could think of no reason to push myself. So as the Strava file shows, I didn't rush things.

Overall -1:53:16 86th out of 896; AG45-49 6/77

Not what I wanted for sure. The goal coming in was a PR at the Olympic Distance. No swim = no PR, which came as a big mental letdown.

How Could I Have Raced Better

I could have kept my head in the game. Once the race got changed I mentally checked out, which is never a good way to race and something I need to work on for the future.

I could have also taken better care of myself during the extended wait to begin racing. A better protocol than stand around and talk. I ended up peeing like 8 times while standing around and took in a few calories and some liquids, but surely not enough. In the future I need to be better prepared for the unexpected.

Overall Impression of the Race

This is one of my favorite races every season and I highly recommend it to everyone. "Flat and fast" is fine every now and then, but most of the time I enjoy the challenge of a technical bike course. The venue is nice while TriRock has done a great job of keeping this race great.

Full race results can be found here.

Up next: On July 4th The Queen and I ran the Firecracker 4 Miler in Palmer Township. On July 19th I'll be racing the N.J. State State Triathlon (Olympic Distance) in West Windsor, NJ. 

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Race Report - Jerseyman Triathlon

Saturday May 16th was the annual Jerseyman Traithlon, a race that has come to be the beginning of my triathlon season. Living on the East Coast racing earlier in the year would involve traveling a great distance just to find a race, let alone moderate weather conditions. This year especially, after a winter of mostly indoor training, the bike legs needed some time to get back up to par. With my last race being Ironman Florida more than six months ago, I was more than ready to get back to a little swim-bike-run.

As this has become my traditional first triathlon of the season, it is not a priority race. Instead I think of it as a shakeout event, trying to test my equipment and get those little race mistakes that can crop up when you are away from it. It also means I train through with very little taper. Race week was normal training Monday through Wednesday, two easier days before the Saturday race, then a normal longer bike on Sunday.

Before I get into my race I just want to shamelessly plug this race. I highly recommend you race here if you have the opportunity. The course is fair, it is very well organized, and there is always a good group of athletes who show up. Because it is in mid-May the weather is usually not an issue. Getting to the race is easy as it is just off of Route 78. I love, love love racing in NJ to begin with, and living in Bethlehem, PA this gives me the chance to do it with just a 25 minute ride to Clinton, NJ.

With that out of the way, how'd it all work out for me this year?

Pre-Race
One of the many things I like about this race is the easy, low-stress race morning. The drive over was uneventful, although I was quite lucky. Just past the exit I was getting off there was an overturned tractor trailer that eventually caused a major backup. At the race site - Spruce Run Park - I quickly parked, took care of race day packet pickup (which is how every race should be IMHO), got my gear together and set up my transition area. Shorter races are nice in that transition is fairly simple.

After meeting up with Cassie I headed down to the water for a quick warm up swim. With the cooler weather we have been experiencing I had expected the water to be no warmer than 62 degrees. Much to my surprise the official reading was 65 degrees, but it felt warmer. No matter, in a wetsuit it was comfortable.

After the pre-race meeting and national anthem, we were ready to race.


Swim: 0.6 Mile 14:28 (0.5 mile 13:09 Garmin)
About 2 minutes before my wave (wave #2) set off it started to rain. Not very hard, but things didn't look so good in the direction of the bike course. No matter, have to get out of the lake before worrying about the bike. Five minutes after the elite wave we ran off the beach and into the water.

Like many smaller races I ran into a familiar problem. I am a good swimmer but not "a swimmer." My game plan of go out hard and sit on a set of fast feet that pass me early on didn't work. The problem is, you need a set of fast feet to come by. As I have become accustom to, there were 4 or 5 guys who were much faster than I am, and a bunch of guys slower than I am, but nobody who I could draft. About 200 meters in I realized this would be how it would be and just swam along.

After the turn home I noticed I was catching one of the guys from my wave and did manage to sit in his draft for a short period. I passed him and hit the beach after a half mile of swimming in 13:09 according to my Garmin. Not great but OK. The difference in times noted above reflects the .1 mile run to transition that is included in the official results.

T1: 2:07 

Ugggg. Wetsuit swims are great because you get the extra speed of the wetsuit. The problem (for me at least) is getting the dang wetsuit off. You would think that I would have it down after all these years, but I clearly do not. Trouble getting it off over the huge timing chip, losing time in the process.

Bike: 24 Miles 1:05:09
This is where the fun usually begins for me. The bike is my strength and I enjoy riding fast. After racing here the past few years I have come to appreciate the bike course with its fast descents, steady climbs and a few more technical sections. The course is lolly pop shaped, so what you ride out you ride back in.

I took the opportunity to take notice of any road issues on the out section, hoping to avoid any problems on the way back. The roads were wet and this past winter have left the area with some serious pot holes. Fortunately road conditions were fine with only a few sections that were less than ideal.

After settling in over the first few miles I worked the uphills and road a little cautious on the downhills. No reason to risk injury. From the beginning I was passing a steady stream of people racing the duathlon and by mile nine I began passing some of the men and women racing elite.

Then a weird thing happened. The loop section is a rural area with normally quiet roads. Apparently there is a business located in the area that gets deliveries from tractor trailers. I know this because I was forced to slow down for a short stretch behind this 18-wheeler. Wasn't his fault. Wasn't the race director's fault. Just was what it was. Lost a little time, but nothing that made a difference.

Anyway, other than one slick area of road the rest of the ride was uneventful.

T2: 0:52

Mid-season form. Quickly off my bike, then quickly in and out of transition.

Run: 4 miles 27:14
Heading out of T2 I decided to avoid the data on my Garmin and just race. My heart rate monitor was on the fritz anyway. Goal here was simple - run hard, run by feel, but don't blow up. I would check my mile splits.

The run course is a simple out-and-back that remains inside the park. The roads are rolling. About a 1/2 mile in, much to my surprise, I passed one of the elites on a small incline. That felt good. Moving forward I remained in control but started to hear footsteps. This continued past the 2 mile mark when I hear a fellow competitor tell me he was going to run with me.

Dude sped up and asked me what I was running ... "Last mile was 6:37" I said, before picking up the pace.

No way dude was going to pass me.

Dude backed off a bit and I picked it up. The only person who passed me before the finish line was the elite I passed early on. I cooled down with him and found out he is a fast runner who had some hamstring cramps coming off the bike.

Overall: 1:49:05 18/283 Overall 3rd AG 45-49
This race has always been a tri-season starter, giving me the chance to work off the rust of 6+ months of not racing triathlon. Mistakes will be made and while I always race with effort, it is not an "A" race. This year is no exception.

Overall I am happy with my performance. Could I have gone faster on the day? Probably. But given the conditions, the lack of a taper, etc. ... no regrets.

My swim was slower than last year, but my overall placing for the swim (24th) was right about what I would expect. This, even as I have been slacking off in the pool this year. On the bike I bested my time from last year even as wet roads got me to ride more conservatively than normal and a faster average pace than the year prior when the bike was only 20 miles. This makes me more confident going into Philly Tri next month. On the run I was more than satisfied with how I performed, racing smart and strong.

Best part of the day, however, was racing with the two bad-ass women in the picture below. Lauren dropped a 1:53 and was the fastest woman on the day, while Cassie won the 25-29 AG with a 5 minute PR time of 1:58. They keep me on my game because I fear at some point in the near future they start to beat me. Yeah, they are THAT good.

Full Race Results can be found here.

Up next: Focus is on the TriRock Philadelphia Triathlon on June 28th. Between now and then I will be racing the Tortoise & Hare 5k as well as the Wilson Partners in Education 5k that helps support the school district The Queen teaches in. 

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

St. Luke's Half Marathon Race Report

The St. Luke's Half Marathon is one of the oldest running races here in the Lehigh Valley. When I first started racing 20+ years ago this was known as the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon, took place in the middle of March, and would have 800 participants, most all from the surrounding area. Fast forward to 2015 and the race has 2400+ finishers from all over the country and a 5k race attached to it with another 800 participants. A lot of change, but for the most part the race course has remained consistent throughout the years.

The familiarity is nice. But what I like even more is the sheer number of people from the local running community who either participate or come out to support the runners. It's a chance to test your fitness while chatting it up with your running friends.

In 2014 I was signed up to run but was forced to sit it out due to injury. Once I recovered enough to get running again I was full on into Ironman training. If you have ever gone through an Ironman training cycle you know the emphasis is on aerobic pacing, not speed. With the constraints of training for that  specific event, for the first time in I can't remember how long I didn't run an open 1/2 marathon. In fact, it has been almost 20 months since I raced this distance.

Originally, I had it in my head that a realistic goal would be a 1:30. That is a pretty fast time - especially for an "old" guy - and a nice round number. Closer to the race I started thinking more pragmatically and less emotionally about what I wanted to accomplish.

Realistically my run mileage in 2015 has been extremely low. How low is low? 18-20 miles per week in a big week, which may sound like a lot to some, but not what I have done in the past. I have always responded to volume. Back in the day volume would be 60-80 miles per week (and all the food I could shove into my pie hole). Once triathlon took over as my racing passion that dropped to the 40 mile per week range. So reality #1 was my mileage just hasn't been there.

Nice heal strike. 

Reality # 2 was a bit of a calf issue that cropped up the weekend before the race. Darn thing tightened up on me after a run. All week I wasn't even sure I would be racing. After taking the week off of running and getting it worked on by the best darn massage therapist in the Lehigh Valley, Joe Przbylowicz (Pro-bill-o-wick) I was feeling good. (Seriously, he's really the best, always keeping me going. If you need some help with a niggle here or a tight muscle there, give Joe a call. His office is in Bethlehem and his number is 610-865-1418.)

Keeping my lack of serious run racing and a less than optimal physical issue during race week I set my new, more realistic race goal at 1:35. And if something felt off with the calf I would either kick back the pace or walk off the course. No need to ruin a race season. There's always another race.

On Saturday morning The Mayor and I tested out my calf with a pre-race 4 mile run on the tow path. The first two miles things were tight but once it loosened up things were all good. After a quick breakfast we hit the race expo for packet pickup. I never find that there is much interesting at this expo so we were in and out of there in a flash.

On race morning I parked at a friend's house who lives in Allentown and walked down to the race start with her. This worked out perfectly. The walk was long enough to loosen up the legs and the weather was picture perfect. I had 30 minutes to hang around, talk to friends, and get to the start line. There may have been a little dance move as well. Just after 8:10 am the gun went off and so did we.

Pacing this race is always a challenge. The first mile can really screw with you as it is downhill and fast. I held myself way back, still crossing the mile mark in 6:58. From there I settled into a steady 7:00 - 7:05 clicking off the miles at a comfortable heart rate. As I was getting close to the turnaround on MLK Drive I passed Lauren who was out ahead of me, looking incredibly strong, and running 2nd female overall. After making the turnaround I saw so many familiar faces, including The Mayor, Kevin, Kari, Kate and the Lehigh Valley Crossfit Crew. Everyone was looking fan-tastic!!!

After passing through the 10k mark in 43 minutes I started to prepare myself for the park. I hate that park. Don't get me wrong, it's very nice, very well kept. But those cinders are just slow. Too slow for my liking.

Little Lehigh Parkway (Source - Discover Lehigh Valley)

Once into the park I did manage to keep my pace up for a few miles. After passing the Lehigh Valley Road Runner's clubhouse the trail starts to get a bit hilly, which is normally fine. I wasn't feeling bad, but once the trail started to rise I began to feel my calf. I pulled back on the pace, deciding to just get up and over the inclines to not risk causing an issue. This slowed me down a bit, which was fine. Whatever. Certainly better than hurting myself trying to save a few seconds.

After passing over Bogert's Bridge I was determined to keep my focus and simply carry on. The only concern I has was the short and steep climb at the 10 mile mark. Last time I ran this race that bugger of a climb cooked me. This time, I slowed it up a bit and made it over without issue.

From there I continued on, not feeling great but not feeling bad. Around mile 12 1/2 Cassie, Danielle and the rest of their crew were screaming their heads off. Perfect timing. Once onto the track I realized I had a chance to make it in under 1:35 if I picked it up. I did, making it in in an official time of 1:34:59.

Overall I am happy with how I performed. Going sub-1:30 would have been awesome, but at this point in time was far fetched. After such a long period of time without racing this distance, my result was a good first step back. I now have a baseline for Runners World Half Marathon in October, and maybe R&R Philly 1/2 Marathon in late October.

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Warm Hearts 5k Race Report

We all race for different reasons and every race has its place within a plan. Last time I entered a race was the Christmas City 5 Miler in December, which I run every year but rarely ever race. Last time I raced was Ironman Florida this past November 1. After a laid back few months I decided the time had come to once again pin on a race bib at the Warm Hearts 5k this past Saturday, March 14, 2015.

The race has been around for three years, originally run in Nazareth before making the move to Bethlehem in 2014. Stating at the JBN building on Higland Avenue, the course is on slightly rolling roads, entirely within the industrial park. Roads were open to traffic but quiet. Start time was 10 am.

Normally for my Saturday morning runs I am out the door early for a 7 am or 8 am start time. With such a late start I took my time getting to the race site, giving myself enough time to get my race packet and a 15 minute warm up. A little extra sleep was a nice little benefit.

This race was very my a "C" race for me. I am not a runner and have been doing very little volume or intensity for the past four months. I did not taper (unless you consider the 4 1/2 months between IMFL and this race to be a taper). My only goal here was to get an idea of baseline run fitness. I was hoping to break 20 minutes but whatever the number on the clock I would not be disappointed as long as I gave it a good effort.

Weather conditions were not ideal. And by not ideal, I mean 37 degrees with a steady rain. So basically, the weather sucked. Being that it is the middle of March this did not come as a huge surprise - and it was better than icy road conditions or snow - but that didn't make it any better. In all seriousness, it really turned out to not be all that bad, and this is totally NOT the fault of the race organizers. Weather happens.

The Course

The course is a lollipop shape with a run out Courtney Street, a right hand turn onto Commerce Way, a loop around Commerce and Broadhead Road, then back to the parking lot via Courtney Street. You can see the course below or on MapMyRun here.

The Race

After taking a 15 minute warm up run I lined up near the front of a small field of runners. With the weather being what it was, organizers were quick in getting things started and right at 10 am we were off. About a quarter mile in I passed Mark A with a quick "hi" and settled into a hard but what felt to be a sustainable pace. At the turn onto Commerce Way I had moved into 8th place overall with the eventual winner slowly pulling away from the eventual woman's winner (Lauren, who ran a solid PR time of 18:08) who was slowly pulling away from the rest of us.

Over the next mile or so I passed everyone in front of me before catching the third place finisher at the top of the Brodhead Road incline (it is really not a hill). I managed to stay with her for a 1/4 mile or so before she got a gap on me. After the final turn onto Courtney I was simply holding on to the end. Just before the turn back into the parking lot I was passed for 4th overall. I did manage to hold off the two gentlemen behind me to finish in 5th overall (out of 174 finishers), 3rd Male, 1st in AG40-49 and a time of  19:47.

My Thoughts

Not every race we do is about getting a PR. Here, my goal was simply to run hard and determine my baseline level of fitness. I hoped to be under 20 minutes. From this perspective I would call this effort a success.

As for the race itself, I would recommend it to everyone. From packet pickup to a nice post run spread, the race itself was well organized. Out on course there were more than enough volunteers. The cost was a reasonable $25 and benefits the Sam Vlasics Foundation. The only negative on the day is the cold rain but, as we all know, you cannot control the weather.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Resources:

Warm Hearts 5k Website

2015 Warm Hearts 5k Race Results

Race Course at MapMyRun.com 

Ironman Florida Race Reivew - 140.6 miles of ... err 138.2 miles of fun

On November 1, 2014, approximately 3,000 people stood on the beach in Panama City Beach, Florida in anticipation of the start of Ironman Florida. The wind was blowing and the Gulf of Mexico did not look happy. Around 6:40 am, just 10 minutes before the professional men were set to start their race day the official announcement was made - due to unsafe conditions the swim was cancelled. The event would go off as a bike-run only with a time trial start beginning at 8 am.

And so my fifth try at the Ironman distance began, not with a swim, but with a walk back up to my rented condo. My 2014 triathlon year has been an interesting one, starting with a major injury, a DNS at Ironman Coeur d'Alene, a planned DNF at Eagleman 70.3, some solid racing over the Summer months, and now this. Really, I shouldn't be surprised. Nothing went as planned all year, so why should this be any different!!!

Ironman Florida was originally intended to be an experiment. I have never done more than one 140.6 distance race in a year and this would be #2 in 2014. I figured what the hell, give it a shot and see what happens. Honestly, this is not a race I would normally consider doing because the race course doesn't really fit me. Yes, the course is flat. Really, really flat. Which means that the course is "fast," or so the theory goes. But there are issues with as much undulation as you get on your bike trainer.

For a certain type of athlete - the big unit - this is an awesome course to be competitive on. I am not a big unit. Me likes me some hills. Lots and lots of hills. My previous four efforts were in Lake Placid (twice), Wisconsin, and Coeur d'Alene. What do all these races have in common? Climbing on the bike.

The other issue I have with flat terrain is what it does to the body. Specifically, sitting in the aero position for 112 miles and one gear is not fun and hard on the back. Yes, you can get up out of the saddle and stretch out, blah, blah blah, but not what I would consider ideal for Jon. Making matters worse, I know how I am and what could happen ... that moment of saying "eff-it" and laying down the hammer at mile 50 of the bike is much more likely when the road is flat than when I know there are hills down the road that need to be climbed.

This is what flat looks like.

Must. Fight. Inner. Urges. Must. Fight. Inner. Urges.

This race ended up on my schedule because a friend wanted to do it, and she wanted someone to do it with her. Obviously, the list of people most of us know who can and will do an Ironman is not the longest list. I made the decision to help her out and do it, which with the way my season worked out did give me the opportunity to race 140.6 miles this year ... or so I thought.

Anyway ... before I get into how the race day went I want to be perfectly clear about something: WTC and the local race officials absolutely made the correct decision in not proceeding forward with the swim. There was no way in hell it would have been safe to put us out there for the swim. There was a rip current that made it hard for the boats and nearly impossible for the kayaks to get in place. What do you think would have happened to the weak swimmers? How many DNFs would there have been if we ran into the ocean at 7 am?

The weather reports leading up to race day had been getting more sketchy by the day. We arrived on Wednesday, but The Queen and Shelly didn't come down until Thursday. This worked out well as I called The Queen before she left for the airport to have her retrieve some arm warmers I left behind because, really, who needs arm warmers for a race in Florida?

The picture below is what the ocean looked like on Friday morning, 24 hours before the start of the race. This is also what it looked like 24 hours after the race. Oh, what could have been.

On Saturday night a front came through the Panama City Beach area. By Saturday morning the temperature was 44 degrees, the wind was howling at 20-30 miles sustained with gusts, and race day started to look like an interesting little adventure.

This is what the ocean looked like on race morning:

Source

So back up to the condo to take the wetsuit off and figure out what to wear for 44 degrees and windy conditions. Also, I started to consider how this changes the dynamics of the race. With a TT start and no swim, there would be a much different mix of people out on the course around. Being the 2696th person to start, there would be a lot to consider, as well as a lot of weaker cyclists to pass.

Swim  Pre-Race

Around 8 am Emily and I got back to transition. I had taken in a gel around 6:30 in prep for the swim that didn't happen. Back in transition I was unsure of exactly what to do from a nutritional standpoint. I drank water, a bit of EFS, and hit the port-o-john twice. After Emily went off around 8:40 I found a semi-wind-free area to sit. Not exactly warm, but not unreasonably cold. Around 9:45 I finally could jump on my bike and start my day.


Bike - 112 miles 5:23:17 20.7 mph

The original game plan for the bike was simple: ride steady, stay within my abilities, stick with my nutrition plan through the entire ride, and get off the bike ready to run. With the change in the race I contemplated what to do. During the almost 2 hour wait in transition I decided to take things out a bit harder than the original plan. Without the energy burn of the swim and the expected headwind during the first hour plus, I felt the extra effort would be OK.

So after sitting around for almost two hours I took the initial minutes of the bike to get clear of the people immediately around me and get some blood into my legs. Without a 2.4 mile swim as a warmup the start felt more like the beginning miles of a long training ride than an Ironman ... except for the log jam of cyclists out in front of me. With conditions being less than ideal, I made sure to swing wide when passing, worried about swirling winds causing a crash.

The first 7 miles of the bike took us west along the coastline before making a right hand turn due north, almost directly into the NNW winds for the next 16 miles. These miles were harder than ideal conditions would have handed us. While fighting the winds I kept reminding myself that we would be coming back this way with the wind in our favor.

Then it happened. Just before making the turn to the east, somewhere between mile 21 and 22 it happened ... the train came rolling through. Not two. Not three. But four guys in my age group came riding by, sucking wheel, blatantly cheating.

I nearly lost my $hit.

I picked it up, passed by with a few choice words for the three wheel suckers before informing the dude up front that he was escorting a group of douches. Felt bad for the guy as he was working hard. Well, not too bad as he knew what was happening and he did nothing about it. They passed me back and I let them go. Then I made the decision to let it go, worry about my race, and make sure I had legs for the run.

F'em. Let the cheaters cheat. Get your head back in the game.

The pace picked up when the wind was at my back but, honestly, I really didn't feel good. The downtime in transition had me feeling a bit tight. Didn't feel bad, but didn't feel good. Around mile 30 this all changed, suddenly feeling like my legs were finally ready to ride.

The ride here is nothing special. The roads are flat, there isn't a whole lot to see, and the biggest worry is the traffic on some of the roads and the rough road on the out-and-back from miles 53 to 58. I continued to ride along just staying in my zone thinking about running well off the bike.

Around mile 47 I did something I have never done during an Ironman, then again around mile 72 - I got off the bike to pee. I saw this as a great sign that I was doing what was necessary to set up a good run. And yes, I know that you don't necessarily need to stop to take care of business, but it was windy and cold. Better to "lose" a minute for the stop than freezing up the junk. Just sayin'.

Bike Data via Garmin Connect

Other than the woman who crashed at mile 58, I had no real drama on the bike. After my mile 72 pee break I felt good and pushed a bit into the wind before making the turn south around mile 83. By mile 100 I finally had little company as I passed most of the riders I would pass for the day while the faster riders were up the road. For a good 40 minutes or so it felt like it was just me and my bike.


T2 - 6:11

Coming off the bike I felt better than I did at my first 4 attempts at the Ironman distance. I was hydrated, fueled up and ready to run. I had my own volunteer in the tent who helped me prepare for 26.2 miles of running. I could have been faster, but wanted to make sure I took care of two important things before starting the run - get a new layer of suntan lotion applied, and pee.

Run - 26.2 miles 4:07:53 9:27/mile

How the legs will react in the first few miles of the run is always the great unknown. More so this time around as my run training had been limited all year. Heading into the race my longest run logged all year had been just under 17 miles. With the low run volume heading into the race I had a simple plan: head out easy, take a walk break through every other aide station (approx. every 2 miles), and stay on top of nutrition by taking in some EFS gel and water at every aide station.

Heading out of transition all was good. After getting my nutrition right on the bike, I felt energized, hydrated, and ready to run with a smile on my face. As I headed out I was greeted by cheers from family and friends. The first mile had a supportive crowd, a group of Captain Americas, 10 people dressed as Chiquita Bananas, and a crew of young ladies dressed for Halloween. All were nice distractions as I settled in.

During the first loop I found a sustainable pace between 8:00 and 8:30 per mile early on. All was going to plan and by mile 10 my pace had slowly moved up to a steady 7:50ish pace. Unlike previous efforts at this distance I made it to the halfway point without an unplanned walk break.

Around mile 13 the runners return to town where you get some love from the crowds and a chance to get your run special needs bag. Which leads me to kudos to the volunteer who not only had my bag ready for me when I reached the bag area, but he ran in stride with me, handing off my gel flask on the move. Thanks for taking the extra effort.

Heading out onto the second loop I remained steady ... and then ... it happened. My first (and only major) mistake on the day. Stomach problems.

Somewhere along the line I started burping. Nothing unusual, but it is a sign that you aren't processing the nutrition you are taking in. Solving it is simple - stop taking in calories while taking in water until it passes. The sugar isn't getting into you so there is no reason to take in anything but water. Once the burping stops you are good to resume calorie intake. Where I got into trouble was ignoring the blatant sign.

For the next 45 minutes or so I ran when I could, walked when I had to, while drinking as much water as I could manage, hoping this would eventually pass ... which it did ... in the way that it always does ... with a few huge farts. Suddenly my gut felt much relief and running could proceed. Shortly after I began running I could take in nutrition once again.

And for those of you who may be wondering, yes, this is a thing. This whole process is eloquently referred to as the burp-fart method.

Back to the race: at this point the sun had gone down and it was getting pretty darn cold. The second mistake I made on the day was leaving my gloves in T2, figuring I wouldn't need them. My hands were freezing. Completely forgetting the early sundown time in early-November and that I started running around 3:30 and not 1:30, running in the dark and cooler temperatures weren't the consideration they should have been.

From mile 20 on in I ran slow, walking in spots, enjoying my best marathon off the bike. It became clear that the inability to put more run miles in were an issue. Nothing I could do except keep on moving forward to the best of my ability. Yes, a 4:07 isn't a super fast time, but a 59 minute PR. This represents not only how well I held it together on the day, but how piss poor I have done in the past.


Overall: 9:37:27 43rd in AG 45-49, 286th overall male, 320th overall finisher

When it comes to Ironman racing the race you imagine is never the race you get. Something always happens, even for the best. There is never that perfect day. But my day here turned out to be pretty good. My bike split was 13+ minutes than my best effort (a 5:36 at IM Wisconsin, 2007) and my run split 59 minutes faster than the 5:06 I ran in Lake Placid in 2011. While you can't just throw a best-guess swim time in front these results and say I would have gone XX:XX:XX, I think it is safe to say this effort turned out to be my best one to date. Still, there is an asterisk next to these results, because without a swim ...

Overall Impressions and Final Thoughts

As I stated previously, IMFL is not a race I would have chosen to do on my own. I prefer to race a hillier course and am physically more suited to that type of terrain. I signed up to help a friend out, get another Ironman under my belt, and try and get a PR. Due to the cancelled swim, the PR will have to wait. I did help out a friend and I do have race #5 under my belt. With the highly competitive nature of my age group and my lack of physical gifts, my best bet to getting to Kona is likely to come from either the mother of all days or, more likely, a legacy spot after 12 finishes.

Would I come back to Panama City Beach to race again? Maybe, but not because I disliked the race. The area is nice, the race venue is very user friendly, and the host hotel condo we stayed in worked out nicely for the two of us racing as well as our support crew. (Please note: if you are going to stay at the host hotel, pay up for one of the condos, which is a much better experience IMHO than the basic hotel rooms). For the big unit or the person who doesn't want to deal with hills, I would most definitely recommend this race.

For the 1000+ first timers I feel a bit sad. After months of training to have the swim cancelled is a hard thing to deal with. Yes, you crossed the finish line. Yes, you have your finishers medal, t-shirt and hat. Not sure if you really can say you checked that box off without the first 2.4 of the 140.6. It's tough, for sure, but with the conditions being what they were, better to not get the swim in than to see 100s of people DNF on the swim, or something so much worse. Safety first. WTC made the correct decision.

As for me, I am deep into my off-season doing very little in the way of swim/bike/run. Last week I started back up with the strength training, looking to build my strength back up. I will be at a few local running races in the coming weeks in participant-only mode. There's a time to stress the body. November is not that time.

Will there be another Ironman on tap for 2015? Maybe. I don't know. At some point I will contemplate what I would like to do next year. Now is not that time. The Ironman experience is too fresh to think clearly about next year.

Thanks for reading.

Train hard. Stay focused.

Jon