It's almost "Go Time"

A week and a half form IMWI.  The work is done.  Just a few maintenance workouts left and then we head north.  The bike is what is on my mind.  Typically, I look forward to the bike, as I'm fairly strong in the saddle, but this will be the hilliest race I've ever done.  I have to really focus on not burning out my legs, which means taking it easy on the bike.  I have a hard time doing "easy" on the bike.  As a wise man repeated to me today, "there's no such thing as a good bike and a bad run."  I've heard it a million times, but it gets no less true.

I've got a week and a half to continue pounding that into my head...

Finding the podium

  

Yesterday was the first time I've won my age group in triathlon.  Katie, Creighton, and I raced the Georgetown Super Sprint.  When looking at the results for the previous event up there, I knew there was a decent chance that we could do well, and I had an even better feeling that Katie could win her AG or get on the overall podium.  However, we all know it really comes down to who decides to show up.  Adding to that, we weren't doing ourselves any favors for this race, as we were throwing down some difficult training.  On Saturday, Katie and I did a four hour hill attack ride on Saturday (attack any hill, no matter how short), and then managed to stay up/out late due to a dinner party and some friends playing a show downtown.

On much too little sleep, we headed up for the race.  After setting up, we lined up at the pool.  I'm typically a slow swimmer, so I was shocked to see how many people were seeded behind me.  Once in the water, I had a little trouble settling into a rhythm.  This was actually the first time I've done a triathlon with a pool swim.  Stopping to turn at the walls really kept me from getting into a good rhythm and getting my heart rate down.  I ended up passing one person in the pool, and then made my way to the bike.  I took my time in T1, and then headed out on the bike.  I tried to keep the pace somewhat easy on the way out to get my heart rate down and settle in.  Once I felt smooth, I picked up the pace and kept it over 20 mph for the majority of the ride.  I passed quite a few people on the bike and no one passed me.  My quads felt completely dead on the ride, but I continued to crank.  There was one small uphill on the course, but it wasn't anything that took too much effort.  Just before the end of the bike route, there was a roundabout that I made a wrong turn on, as there were several directions to head out of it.  They were not all marked.  I lost a few seconds, but it wasn't that bad.

I took my time in T2, and then headed out on the run.  It was starting to get warm, but with only a 5K I figured it wouldn't be too terrible.  Mile one came up too quickly.  My watch read 6:15.  I knew I wasn't running that fast.  Of course mile two was at around 9 minutes, so it became obvious that the mile markers were off.  I got passed by one runner around the 2.75 mile point, but he wasn't in my age group so I didn't give much chase.  My legs were completely dead, and I was just trying to finish without looking like a total chump.

Katie finished not too long after me.  I was pretty sure she had done well, as I had only seen two women ahead of me, and one of them started the swim long before I did.  I suspected I was ahead of her (I was).  When they finally posted the unofficial results, we had both won our age groups.  I actually finished 9th overall, and the 8th male finisher.  Katie was the fourth female and 17th overall finisher.  Creighton also finished 3rd in his age group for his first podium finish in his second triathlon.  Not a bad morning!

Relentless Forward Progress: Review

I've written tips on ultra running on my humble blog, but I might as well save my "breath."  Just go buy this book.  I've read plenty of books about ultra running, but most of them are composed of stories of runners over-coming challenges in life or compilations of race reports.  Until now, I've not found a good "how to" book on ultra running that really gives great insight on getting started.  Bryon Powell has written a fantastic introduction to ultra running and provides a great book to use as reference.

To a veteran ultra runner, there's nothing ground-breaking in this book.  You already know it.  You've pieced it together the hard way: through trial-and-error, through racing, by reading race reports, and by talking to the runners who have already completed crazy distances.  However, this book is fantastic for someone looking to start running ultras or the person who has just started down the ultra path.  Powell even highlights some training plans.

This book is no substitute for experience.  Reading it a couple times and following the advice won't make you the next Scott Jurek, but it'll go a long, long way to making your entry into the ultra world enjoyable.  If you don't find something enjoyable about suffering through long miles, then you shouldn't be running ultras anyway.  Kudos to Powell for finally putting out a fairly comprehensive guide to the world of ultras.

If you are thinking of venturing into ultras, pick up this book.  See you guys on the trail!