IRONMAN 70.3 SYRACUSE race report : Jim is an Ironman!

Finish. Don’t Be Last. These have been my only rules for first time races at a particular distance. On Sunday September 19, I passed the test. Now that doesn’t mean that I didn’t have a goal race time. A realistic assessment of my skills set that finish time for my first Half Ironman at anything less than 6:45, which not coincidentally was the qualifying time for 2011 HalfMax national championships. I admit I was a bit intimidated by the Cville Tri Club race reports trumpeting way faster times by so many club members, but there was nothing I could do about that, so I set my goals and trained to meet them. IM Syracuse was my focus race for the 2010 season, and I chose it because I have good friends in Syracuse, and it was not too far to drive from my home in North Haven, CT. Of course, when I registered last December, I knew nothing of the job opportunity I would accept at the JAG school in Charlottesville. That decision changed the drive from four to eight hours. I drove up Friday, arriving around 10pm. Saturday was packet pick-up, race meeting (well, not quite: they had only one at a decent time, and I missed it while signing in), and a trip 15 or 20 miles to the race site. I had driven the race course back in the fall, but then M-Dot changed it, twice, in the month before the event. I only had seen about 60% of it. I also drove the run course, discovering that it was not a sight-seers delight. That evening, my family (2 daughters, my wife Nancy, and one daughter’s boyfriend) began to arrive. All had driven at least 250 miles to cheer me on. I needed them on race day.
    You would think that at my age, I would have learned to believe nothing the weatherman told me, but No! why be that sensible? After all, I was driving, so taking an extra shirt or maybe a long sleeve wetsuit would be soooo difficult! Well the advertised 74 degree temperatures and 70 degree water both  turned out to be off by a lot, and I paid for it by being poorly prepared.
    Race day: at 5:20am when I arrived at Jamesville Beach State Park, the water was 62°, and the air 55°. And it was raining. Hard. (I think this is a consequence of membership in Cville Tri Club: it seems like lots of members have been racing in the rain.) Fortunately, by race time, the rain had backed off to a drizzle, and most of the race itself was pretty dry, with just occasional showers. Transition, however, had some really swampy areas.
    The genuises at IM failed to anticipate the traffic problems of a 2-lane country road with a difficult in-town traffic pattern, so the 7am start was delayed by 15 minutes. I was in Wave 15, so my start was exactly an hour later. At least we were allowed to spend the waiting time anywhere we wanted except transition. (At Nation’s Tri in 2008, I waited 1:38 in a holding pen as temperatures rachetted up to 93 degrees). In Syracuse, I was able to hang out with my cheering section, dressed in my wetsuit and a heavy sweatshirt while I waited. Nancy had brought the sweatshirt for me, with a graphic of a “Deer Crossing” roadsign with a red slash & circle across it.   Being able to chat with family was pleasant and distracting, so I did not get too tense about the approaching start.
    For all my criticism of M-Dot organizers (repeated at the end of this from an earlier e-mail), the course management was outstanding, beginning with a well-designed and excellently marked swim course. There even was a place for each wave to get into the water just before wave start, to loosen up, without interfering with those already racing.
    SWIM: The water was COLD. I have regularly swum in 62 degree (or less, down to 52) in New England, but I was always wearing a full wetsuit. The moment I plunged into the water 2 minutes before my wave start, I knew that the dumb decision to leave that suit at home was a big mistake. I swim efficiently (little energy loss) but slowly. I had planned on a swim of 40-45 minutes, and that turned out to be accurate (45:57). But by the time I turned the corner for the final half mile, I knew I was in trouble, with hypothermia a real possibility. There were just too many places for cold water to replace warm with the open sleeves. As I came out of the water, I was shivering badly, and running the 1/4 mile of asphalt to transition with a confused brain, and solely on muscle memory. I do remember slapping palms with my older daughter Katie, but little else other than the knowledge that I had better warm up quickly. Fortunately, my hypothermia was relatively mild, and my brain was working by the time I reached T1, even if my body was a little retarded: I knew I had to take corrective action.
    What followed was a 9:11 T1 time, as I forced calories into my body, and dragged all the clothing I could out of my bag at transition. Normally, I would have expected this T1 to be 3:30-4:00, but I needed this time to be sure I was recovered enough for the Bike. Transition was beautifully laid out & well marked, so I was able to find my stuff, and get the bike moving.
    BIKE: One fellow racer opined that this course was more difficult than Lake Placid, which she had completed twice. I wouldn’t know. But it definitely had a bunch of serious hills. The course is a beautiful, one loop ride through farmlands and small towns. The weather was variable, with one sharp, heavy shower, and frequent mist that kept me wiping down my clear glasses. But the roads were not slippery , there was very little traffic, and nearly every intersection was protected by law enforcement. No day can be all bad if it includes a bike ride, and I needed some time on the bike. I was wearing my tri suit, a long sleeve jersey, and my gore-tex rain jacket, and I was never too warm. I was, however, comfortable, and my foggy mind started to clear at about the 5 mile mark. The hills slowed  us all down, but there were some great downhills, all with good run-out that let me pour it on (max speed 43mph), and plenty of shallow up hills where I could keep moving pretty quickly. For me, this means any speed at or above 20mph. I managed my fuel really well, I think. I was careful to get 300-350 cal./hr, which for me is a combo of PB&J half-sandwiches and Powerbar Smoothie bars. Gatorade Endurance was my liquid of choice, as the race had it available at 3 bottle exchange locations throughout the course (I used only 2, as I carry an Aerobottle in front, & 2 normal bottles behind my seat).  I concentrated on taking in about 24 oz./hr. of liquid, even though it was so cool. My plan was to keep my effort just below the level at which I felt lactic acid building up, and I think I did that. Controlling my natural competitiveness, I rode the race I had trained for, ignoring those around me (mostly). Given the hilly course, and the hypothermic beginning, I was thrilled when I saw I would finish the bike in under my max target time of 3:30 (3:20:52). It helped that the biggest climb ended at mile 49, and was followed by 7 miles almost entirely  downhill to transition. Although it may seem slow for the superstars in the Club, the 16.7mph average was right where I had hoped to be in planning the race. 
    T2 was uneventful. It had not warmed up much, but I shed the rain jacket, keeping my long sleeves, and got out on the run (my weakest link) in 2:58.
    RUN: Prior to this race, I had trained at relatively long distances, but had run 13.1 miles exactly once in my life, in early September. I run long distances with a Fuel Belt, because I just can’t hydrate from paper cups. The added weight is worth it for me, because it also gives me a place to carry my Gu gels, and I don’t have to walk the water stops. I am not a fast runner. I thought my pre-race goal of10 minute miles was overly optimistic, but I had hope. I managed to maintain a very steady rhythm at just about that pace, along what has to be about the ugliest run in all triathlon.  Advertised as a “downhill” run, this was anything but. Sure the finish in the City of Syracuse is 380 feet lower than the start at Jamesville State Park, but the downhills are steep, and the uphills shallow and long. The run is past lovely fast food restaurants and car dealerships, along the inside (left) lane of an 8-lane multi-stoplight boulevard. So, we were running with a concrete median to our left, with four lanes of traffic on the left side of the median, but also with three lanes of traffic to our right. Talk about poor air to breathe! After a few miles out in the country, we moved into about 6-8 miles of this concrete wasteland, before finishing with a long shallow uphill through the Little Italy section of Syracuse at miles 11-12.
But, there was my cheering section right at the halfway point, dancing & cheering on the median, and telling me what a good pace I was maintaining. Got a real boost out of that one. By mile 10, I was regularly passing walking & shuffling racers, and it was here that I had to mentally resist the pull of “how nice it would be to walk for just a little while. I didn’t walk. My fueling again went as planned. My Fuel Belt has four 8 oz. containers. As I sucked down the last of my Gatorade just before dismounting the bike, I planned to empty one of those bottles each 3 miles, saving enough to hydrate a gel at 3, 6, 9 & 11 miles. I refilled one bottle at the 10 mile water stop, but all else worked as planned. While I was leg-tired, I never felt like I was close to bonking for lack of calories. After the long hill at 11-12, we came to the only gift downhill: the final ½ mile dropped pretty sharply down to the finish line at a lonely concrete park near the “inner harbor” of Syracuse. It sits there, with no town-like neighborhood around it. The City has hopes to make it an in-town hotspot, but my local friends tell me it is little used and the water badly polluted. Sigh. In the end, my run was 2:09.12, or 9:52m/mile. I am thrilled with that pace, and it more than compensated for the 9+ minute T1 in my final time.
    There were a goodly number of people at the park cheering us in, including my personal group, and I managed a decent kick & something of a smile & raised arms at the finish line. I was thrilled to finish under 6:30, a time which qualified for the 2011 HalfMax championships. Time: 6:28:09. Age Group: 15/25. High AG finishes get harder at each increased distance, I’ve found (obviously b/c you cannot do a HIM without serious training, something not true of a sprint). The fastest racer of my M60-64 group was #115 Overall out of 1608 finishers! I was #1175, ahead of just 27% of the finishers.
    I was thrilled with my time, proud to be an Ironman, and satisfied that all the training was worth it. The course was 2/3rds beautiful (swim & bike), and 1/3 ugly. The on-course organization was excellent. Everything else about the organization was minimalist and not very athlete friendly. The post race food was so poorly distributed, that most of us purchased food so we could refuel without standing in a 20 minute line for minimal selection. But my family and friend were there, and I finished with my tri season on a very positive note.
–Jim Clark

RANT FOLLOWS:
The owners of Ironman brand have become incredibly arrogant, and at least in Syracuse did almost nothing that seemed calculated to make the athlete's lives easier. Examples: post-race food: one tent, one table, resulting in long lines at a time when people really need to re-fuel. Many of us resorted to buying food. I've been to sprint races that had better food, and an efficient set-up. (2) Race meeting on Saturday. Registration opened at 10am, only morning race meeting at 11, no other one until 2pm. But transition was 15 miles from the meeting, and we had to have bikes there on Sat., starting at 2pm, swim practice only 2-4pm. Made going to the 2pm race meeting a trade-off with Saturday warmup. Meeting organizers rude & unwilling to answer questions post-meeting. (3) Three major changes to the bike route since it was first announced, the final one traveling over 2 sets of oblique RR tracks, which were not in the previous versions. Two late changes to the run route, including more hills in a route advertised as "downhill".
The course management, however, was excellent. Plenty of traffic control, wet-suit strippers (THAT was cool), and sensible transition area.
Bottom line: if you know a non-branded race is athlete-friendly, my recommendation  is to choose that. The little things can make such a difference in overall enjoyment. IM 70.3 Syracuse did the little things very poorly, and did not seem to care. It was more as if they were doing us a favor by letting us participate in an M-Dot event.

Final Training for my First Half Ironman

Sorry to have just a summary on all of August & September training, but I've been training instead of writing. Twice a day, six days a week. Did a 50/12 bike/run brick. Swam a very boring 1.2 miles in the pool. Moved my life from Connecticut to Charlottesville, Virginia to begin a new job as a professor at the Army's Law School (The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center & School, or JAGLCS, or just LCS). Ran my first ever 13.1 miles without stopping. Planned a lot. Missed my family: Nancy has stayed for now in CT (with Libby the dog), Katie is at UVt Medical School, Christina is at Simmons College Clinical MSW program in Boston. Rested every Monday.

Longest brick of my career! August 7, 2010

Saturday, August 7, 2010
Did my first 40/10 brick today, and it gave me hope that I can really complete Syracuse 70.3. My bike route was way more hills even than the rolling Syracuse course. I kept it steady but light, and managed 18mph for 40 miles, which is fine for an intentionally conservative ride. The transition to the run is always painless for me (I am one of the lucky ones: stories of intense pain in the bike/run transition are legion), and I have finally figured out how to run high cadence, short steps. It really helps, and for me, is almost the only way to run off the bike. So my quite hilly 9.5 miles (Syracuse is overall downhill on the run) was 1:31, or about 9:30m/mile, a pace I would be very happy with in Syracuse. Best of all, though clearly tired, I could have pushed through a few more miles at least. My interval training has helped, my change in running style has helped, and I think I can do 70.3. Swimming is not an issue, and I don't use a whole lot of energy during the swim, so it should be OK. Next Sunday I'm doing the Park City Mossman Olympic, so probably my next brick (50/12) will be 8/22. If that one goes well, I'll try the full distance Labor Day weekend. 6 more weeks start Monday!

Mossman Sprint Triathlon, Norwalk, July18, 2010

Mossman has been my baseline race: I have participated every year since 2006, to gauge how well I am doing keeping ahead of father time. This year was special, because my daughter Christina agreed to do her first real triathlon as a Christmas present to her Dad. She did great! Her swim time was outstanding, and her run time well ahead of the pack. The bike, however, was a disaster. She's not a cyclist, and did not have enough time to use a road bike, so she did the race on a heavy mountain bike. Just to make things more difficult, she ran over a huge nail about a mile from the end, and had to bike that last mile with a flat tire! But even with that disadvantage, she managed 12.6 mph over the course, and her finishing time was within a few minutes of my time on my first tri. Best of all, I think she might be close to hooked. We are going to try to borrow a decent road bike for her, and show her how much better things can be.
I hope she does it.
Back to me (that's what this blog is about, right?):

For the first time in a USAT sanctioned race, I placed: 3rd in age group 60-64 (out of seven, but still. . .).This year, the organizers had to change the bike course, so there is no direct comparison to prior years. About .6 mile was added to the normal bike route, and it was far more technical, with many turns, and a short section where passing was not allowed. So, although my time was about 45 seconds slower than last year, and the bike average was .7mph less, I feel REALLY good about the run time. I don't believe I have ever run a 7:30 minute mile at any age, any time. When I was 32, I ran a 10K at 7:46 pace, but nothing even approaching that since.
So, here's the numbers:

Time: 1:20:22

177/571 all = 31%

140/344 men = 40.6%

Swim: 15:19.5 ; 1:51.5/100yds

Bike : 13 miles : 38:43.9 ;  19.4mph

Run + T2 : 24:24.8 ; subtract 50 s for T2 = 23:34 ; 7.35 m/mile

Sunday was just 63 days to my 1/2 Ironman in Syracuse, and I really need to work on endurance, so at about 7:30pm on Sunday, I did an 8 mile training run. I will now start to do both morning & evening workouts 6 days a week (to the extent possible), and a long brick each weekend for the next 7 weeks! (Taper has to begin after that).
Anyway, I was surprised at how smoothly the 8 miles went. I could easily have extended to 12 miles, if I had not run out of daylight. More of this to come.

July 13, 2010 : New Wheels!

My father in law, Ken Walker, died in June (we all attended a memorial service & family gathering in Medford, OR over the July 4 weekend), and left a bit of money to his daughters. In my family, we have a rule that part of any inheritance has to be spent on something we otherwise would never have done.
I decided to spend mine on an Easton EC 90 SL carbon clincher wheelset for my tri bike. For me, this is a real splurge. They arrived yesterday, and are very light, aero, & beautiful. Short a pair of brake pads (special pads for carbon wheels), though, so I won't be able to ride them until next week. I'm looking forward to it, though.
One little life pleasure to counteract the bubbling anger about the Charlottesville fiasco.
{Explanation: look back to April 22nd post here: I was supposed to start a new job in Charlotteville, VA. It was a 'sure thing'. Then it wasn't, as the Secretary of the Army decided to effectively eliminate the position, AFTER I had moved down to Cville in anticipation of that "one, last signature". So riddle me this: when The Judge Advocate General (a three star general) has approved a position that he says he needs, what is the Secretary of the Army doing personally reviewing the contract of a single civilian employee? Does this explain some of the lack of direction in 2 WARS he is supposed to be running. Talk about micro-managing!} Are you feeling the anger? This was a costly & depressing development.

July 12, 2010 : Recent training

Cramping seems to be gone from my legs. Did an 8 mile hill run with my spectacularly fit friend Tammy, and it was not too bad. Several 20+ bike rides, too. Really getting used to my Slice 5 tri bike now, and I really liked it at Philadelphia.
This Sunday is the Mossman Sprint Tri in Norwalk, CT, and my daughter (21) Christina will be doing this race as a Christmas present to her Dad. She's very strong, will certainly beat my swim time, and maybe my run time, but she does almost no biking, and is using a 27 pound mountain bike for the race. So, I'll probably pass her on the bike, depending on the starting order. But she'll do much better than she expects to do. Her first open water swim last Saturday was a struggle, but she's experienced it now, and will be fine.
I also swam in Long Island Sound Saturday, then did a full bike/run brick on Sunday.
I have done Mossman every full year I have been doing tri (5), so it provides a yearly check on my progress with training and the process of aging. So far, I've improved my times each season, but last year's 1:19:XX could be hard to beat.

Training for Syracuse 70.3 begins

TUESDAY:  got back into the gym, now that I'm a Nutmegger again. Legs still in pain from the not-quite-cramping & the9.3 miles of running Sunday. But the pool really helped make it better( temporarily).
WEDNESDAY (6/30) : decided to bike to work, 26+ miles each way. Over Meriden mountain. Felt like it was uphill all the way, but made it. Found my TT bike to have a flat tire. Must have had a puncture late in PhilyTri & lucked out, b/c it did not go flat there!
With ride home, that will be 53 miles, roughly, for the day. Can I have a chocolate chip cookie? I should swim tonight, but probably will save it to the morning. My legs will be tired, and I'll be home late, and there's lots to do just to support our contractor remodeling the kitchen (maybe done in 2 more weeks?!) -- we've been cooking under a tarp on the deck, using a Coleman stove, since mid-May.

Philadelphia [Triathlon] Duathlon, June 27, 2010

The Philly Tri was changed to a Duathlon for the worst of reasons. A triathlete in Saturday's Sprint race did not exit the water, and the search continued for his body (found 5:30pm, Sunday) in the Schuykill River.

The organizers announced the change at about 5:30am before Sunday's Olympic Race. I really do not enjoy the run portion of Triathlon, and have been struggling with serious cramping in my left calf, so this addition of a 5K run at the front end of the race was not welcome. But it was necessary, obviously. So, my first Duathlon.

The weather was warm, and became hot, but my age group started third, after only the Pros and Elites, so I gained some advantage by being as much as 45 minutes before the last age groupers. The last four miles of the 10K were un-shaded, so the earlier the better.

This was my first race on my Cannondale Slice 5 tri-bike, and I think it was a success. I averaged 19.6 mph on the bike section, a typical flat course with maybe four real hills on each of two circuits of the course.

To my surprise, my calf behaved: signs of stiffness, always threatening to cramp, but never doing so, even with two runs to deal with. I started conservatively, running very comfortably for the 5K, at a 9:15 pace. Many people went out too fast, apparently, and paid in the 10K. See the stats below.

I really love starting in an early wave. Sure, lots of people passed me, but there is so much less waiting around. And you can gauge performance by looking at who passes you. In this case I felt pretty good about who blew by me. In training for this season, I consciously increased my base cadence to 85-95 rpm, from 75-85 in the past. Much less energy. And the bike shifts like a dream since I put on a DuraAce derailleur (gotten for a pittance on e-bay) in place of the 105 that came with the bike. I'm hardly a component-snob, but my! what a difference.

So, despite my concerns about my left leg, I am pleased with my performance. Except for the 18 seconds that put me fourth instead of third in my age group. It would have been a huge thrill to get an award, and there were a bunch of places I could have saved 18 seconds.

PHILLY TRI (Duathlon due to swim cancellation: 5K run, 24.8 mile bike; 10 K run)

Jim Clark time: 2:47:41

bike rank = 609/1820 =  33.4% ; (19.6 mph)

Run 1 rank = 1502/1820 = 85% ; 3.1mi, 28:32 = 9:13 min/mi.

Run 2 rank = 803/1820 = 44%;  6.2 mi, 58:54 = 9:30 min/mi.

4th of 17 men in age group; 4^th by 18 seconds behind 3^rd!

588/1260 male FINISHERS = 46%

724/1820 all FINISHERS      =39%

DNFs were not counted

I am always happy when I can finish in the top half of a race. This one, I was in the top 39%, and even in the top half of the men, although only 23 male finishers were my age or older.  But oh, those 18 seconds will haunt me for a while. That will teach me to suck it up & not give in to walking even for 30 seconds (which I did 3 times during the 10K). I saw the #2 in my group pass me on the run, but not the #3. I had beaten both of them off the bike. The #1 was way ahead of me all day. 

So, my favorite sprint (Mossman, in Norwalk, CT on July 18) is up next. My daughter Christina is joining me, for her first USAT sanctioned triathlon (her Christmas present to me). It should be fun! Tomorrow, I begin organized training for my first Half Ironman (Syracuse 70.3, September 19). I have never run 13 miles at one time, so there is a lot of work to do. I don't expect to finish in the top half of that race!

Training Slows

It's been a busy April already, and I took a recovery week around the 10th. Running has been a chore, but I have stuck with it: several short, sharp runs (4-5 miles), a few 7-9 milers. Nothing longer. April 18, as TnT mentor, I went out hard with a "red" (lead) group for a very hilly 55 mile bike in Southbury area. Got back & bricked: ran maybe 4.5 miles following the bike. My good fortune continues, as I have never had much physical difficulty or pain with the bike/run transition.
I've been discovered to be anemic (low iron), and have been doing testing to see if there is an organic rather than dietary reason (I eat no red meat, not enough green leafy vegetables). Results should be available next week. I have added ferrous sulfate to my vitamins.
Have been frustrated by the Army's inability to produce an actual contract to support my hiring as a teacher at the JAGLCS (Judge Advocate General's Legal Center & School) in Charlottesville, VA. I am supposed to start there on June 1, but the bureaucracy has not moved the papers along so that I have a legal (as opposed to verbal & almost certainly secure) offer of employment. "We're working on it." Sigh.
Assuming the contract is done, I will be moving Memorial Day weekend. Nancy will be staying in CT for as much as a year. We have 28 years of foundation for a long-distance relationship, so all should be well.

It's Spring! Training intensifies

What a weekend! Great, warm Spring weather to herald in real Spring. 31 mile hilly bike ride with TnT Tahoe/Bloomin' Metric combined group out of Monroe. Then I biked home to North Haven, another 26 miles of hills, to make it 57 miles, or about the length of the 1/2 Ironman. More hills, though. Which is good, since I need to do it much faster on raceday.
Sunday, I ran 7 miles on tired legs. It was OK, but I need to get in a good 11 mile run very soon. Swimming regularly, but still working on my "new" Total Immersion stroke. Not sure I have 1.25 miles in me right now. But it's getting there..
By the way, I have taken a new job and will retire from State service (and prosecution) to start a new job June 1, teaching & writing curriculum to improve the Army's response to sexual assault allegations. I will be at the JAG Law School in Charlottesville, VA for the next 5 years (assuming they like my work). An exciting, and sobering, life change as I approach 60.

Broken wrist?

Few things suck more than injuries. My visit to the orthopaedist today leaves the likelihood that I broke the scioid bone in my right wrist when I crashed skiing in VT on 12/31/09. Thought it was just a sprain until it kept hurting too long. MRI tonight to confirm or disprove the break. See MD again Monday. If there is a break, it will require surgery , with at least four week recovery. I am in a formfitting cast, but it can get wet, so I may be able to swim. Obviously, I can run, and spin class is OK. Could be worse. And better. we'll see. Very cold this weekend. Maybe I'll get out & run on Sunday.

January 24, 2010

Actually, I hate training in cold weather. I begin to understand "Snowbirds" as I age.
Ran on Thursday, 8.6 miles in 1:19, including up & down East Rock & up & down Prospect Hill. That 9.1 min/mile is very encouraging. Continue to swim four or more days a week, trying to get the new stroke down. Sunday (today) I had the advantage of Nancy watching me for a while: she saw some flaws, & I now have something to work on for the next week or so.
Nancy also signed up on Saturday to do AMMBR (Tahoe Century Ride I did last year). I will be a "mentor", meaning I help people with fund-raising strategies. But Nancy will be the family fund-raiser this year. We will get to do Tahoe together, however, June 5. Should be fun. Look for letters in the mail soon.
Going out for a run, I'm going to try for 10 miles today. (Maybe only 9.2)

It's 2010 -- training begins

Well, it's the new year, and I am trying to train again. Ran with my good friend Stephanie for the first time in forever last Saturday. Friendly, chatty 6+ miles in pretty cold weather. Got out Monday (MLK day) at 40 degrees on my tri-bike, did 30 miles. It will take a while to break my body into the different position. My back is only about 2" lower, but the whole geometry is different than my road bike, so it will take a lot of time to get completely comfortable in the bars, especially if I am to hold that position for most of 56 miles!
Swam twice on weekend, again Monday, again Tues, and Thurs. My Total Immersion form is looking pretty good. Now I have to manage not to be totally winded after just 300 yards. (It's mostly due to learning to breathe on both sides, and consequently breathing 50% less often. We'll see if I have to go to one side for races.
Also ran 8.7 miles on Thursday, including East Rock. Stayed on my mid-foot the whole time, and ran 9.1 min. miles. With all those hills, that is a real advance.
This is the only time I will mention this unless I manage it in September. I had thought that 7 hours was possible for the 70.3. Well, it turns out that if I can finish in 6:45 or less, I automatically qualify for 2011 nationals in the 60-64 age group. A new goal. It would be SO COOL to be able to say I made Nationals at 70.3! But I am going to keep that goal otherwise private, since I am still intimidated by the time & distance I have taken on.

Winter Training

I signed up for Syracuse Ironman 70.3 to force myself to train for a half ironman, something I have talked about doing for more than a year. Now I'm committed.
My big city Olympic this year is Philadelphia.
And I am going to do the Tahoe Century Ride again, as a Mentor for Team In Training. My wife, Nancy, is going to do the ride as a participant, so she will be the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society fund-raiser for 2010.

As a birthday/Xmas present, Nancy gave me a weekend clinic for Total Immersion Swimming. An almost complete change in how to swim. I hope that by Spring, I will get the technique relatively locked in, and maybe improve swim times next season.
At the same time, I started last spring running less on my heels, then this Fall, I changed my running over to what is called the "Pose" method, or sometimes "barefoot running." It has really changed things: my knees no longer hurt after a run, and I think I have more energy. It relies on using the calves and the back of the leg to cushion the pounding of running, but requires some strengthening of those muscles, and care not to injure the Achilles' tendon. So far, so good. For a great book, and one which explains why you might want to make the change, try "Born to Run" by Christopher MacDougall. Great read, even if you don't change your running form.
I also bought a new bike : Cannondale slice 5 triathlon bike, all carbon, set up for time trials.
So, I've changed all three segments of my triathlon training. Dumb? or smart? I guess the 2010 season will tell.

New York Triathlon -- under 3 hours, 28th of 78 men in my age group!

An overall good day! But it started really poorly. So here I am, 4:20am Sunday, bike and bike shoes already at transition (required), and I walk out the door of my hotel to find a torrential downpour. A foot of water in the gutters. Everything is soaked. I waited, and walked the 18 blocks to the site in drizzle. Rain got heavier. I forgot to put my cyclocomputer on the bike, and forgot to mix my G2 with my filled water bottles (I did the G2 mix during the swim to bike transition, but not the computer). A bit disorienting.
Then the mile walk to the swim start, with 3400 other racers, and probably an equal number of specatators. Two of those spectators were my ministers, Bill Goettler and Maria LaSala, who happened to be vacationing in New York. We had dinner on Saturday night, and Bill managed to cheer me on as I left the swim, returned on the bike, and started the run. Maria joined him at the finish. It is so great to have support. Thanks, guys.
There was also tremendous support from the Team In Training fraternity: I wear my TnT triathlon suit, and the cheering by anybody who has ever been connected with TnT is great! This was not a TnT race for me, but I got huge cheers as I entered the Park on the run, and "Go Team" throughout all 3 parts of the race.
The swim is all downstream, and to my eternal joy, the 55+ racers were the first age-group group, after the M & F Pros, and the M & F Elites. Start was delayed almost 25 minutes by the weather (they thought there might be some lightning), but by start time (for me, about 6:30am) it was not raining anymore.
Here's the numbers: 28/78 in my M55-59 age group (36%).
TOTAL TIME: 2:49:05 (breaking the magic 3 hour mark! hooray!)
SWIM: 21:22 (.9 miles; 1:17 per 100 meters)
Transition 1: 8:12 (this really big time is because the swim time stops as we exit the water, and then my group had to run, barefoot on tarmac, for 450 yards to transition -- all that running is counted in the transition time) -- its tough on your feet. My time was typical of the people in my "yellow" transition area
BIKE: 1:21:36 (18.3 mph) -- this was a very hilly course, with lots of up & down (see below)
T2: 1:38 -- pretty good, only a 13 of 129 M55+ were faster
RUN: 56:19 (9:05 min/mile) -this was really good for me on a brutally hilly course

The course: Swim was downstream from 99th street to 79th street in the Hudson River; I started in a group including all 55+ men, and all 129 were in the water, holding onto a rope so the current would not whisk us away. I was about 20th from the back of the group of 129. Obviously, I don't swim fast, although I can swim very long distances -- speed will be next winter's training priority.
Out of the water on a ramp, with volunteers standing ankle deep inwater, helping to pull us up onto the dock, then the long run on pavement to get our bikes.
Bike course ran from the 79th Street boat basin (where transition was set up) onto the North Bound Henry Hudson Parkway (totally closed to traffic!), all the way up Manhattan, through the tolls, across the bridge into the Bronx, and about four more miles to Mosholu Parkway, onto Mosholu for about 2 miles, reverse course, head back on the opposite side (still the Northbound lanes) of the Henry Hudson, all the way south to 59th street, then back north to 79th Street exit & to transition. VERY hilly course, a real challenge, and slower than my other Olympic Triathlons, but still a very good time, I think. I was 33/129 in the M55+ group. So, faster than 75% of the riders. The Bike is my strength in Triathlon, and always has been, and probably always will be.
The Run: brutal. It began with a steeep climb from the River to 72nd street, west on 72nd into Central Park, then immediatly left, to head north on the west side of the park road, all the way up to the top of the Park, across to the East side road, and back south to the Tavern on the Green, more or less. There were at least 7-8 major uphills during this run, by far the most climbing of any triathlon I have ever done. But my time was not too bad for me. I was almost exactly in the middle of the M55+ group.
But I broke 3 hours, which was my goal, and on this very difficult course, I am very happy about that time.
The race was very well organized, and all the logistics went very smoothly: it was always obvious where we were supposed to go next, and there were lots of volunteers, who seemed to know what they were doing. I was showered and packed up by 11:30am, and back in North Haven by 2:00pm.
Nothing like a great day of early morning racing.