It's Time

Yep. I've been saying for about 8 months now that I've got to get serious and get my eating on track. Well after that sufferfest of a 70.3, once I got back home, the diet was on.

I decided that I wasn't going to mess around either. I'm going to go with the one thing that has always worked for me in the past. Low Carb or Modified Atkins. Which is terrible for someone training for an endurance event but it's got to be done. Up at the Mont Tremblant race, they had you weigh in at registration. I saw the highest number I've seen since 2008 I think. Not good.

So I'm already 4 days in. The first 2 days my legs were still sore from all the cramping at the race. The only work that got done was Ab Ripper.
Then I had a short bike last night 45 min and a 2000m swim today. Without carbs, there is only so much fuel in the tank. I'm fine with that, as long as the number on the scale keeps dropping.

I'm also bringing back more of the strength work. The pushup plan has started. Ab Ripper is in the mix along with planks. I've got to make it to the gym to do more leg workouts. What I'm able to do at home falls short of what I'd like to get done.

Being 19 weeks out from the marathon, it's also time to start running OFTEN. I think I'm going to up my frequency but keep my distances reasonable for awhile. Then once I've got some carbs back into my diet, I'll start adding longer runs.

I still think a PR at the 70.3 distance is possible this year. I've just got to focus for 7-8 weeks. That sounds do-able. I'm looking forward to it! Other than the weak workouts for the first couple weeks and being hungry... It will be over before I know it.

Matt’s Mont Tremblant 70.3 Race Report

Last year after Timberman, Genine decided she wanted to choose a different race for 2012. When the Mont Tremblant 70.3 was announced, I sent her the link and she was sold on the idea pretty quickly. It looked like a pretty cool place to spend a few days.

As my training fell apart in May, the idea of going to Mont Tremblant became more and more of a concern. On the drive up to the race, I kept telling myself that the goal is to complete the event. Take it easy. Have fun. And hopefully it won’t be too much of a sufferfest.

When we arrived we were glad to find that the room we booked was as advertised. We were going to be here 4 nights. We wanted to save a few bucks by being able to prepare some of our own meals. It had very functional kitchen. It worked out perfectly.

The night we arrived it was in the 90’s but it cooled off for the rest of the weekend and we had clear skies until after the race Sunday Evening.

Friday we did a bit of biking. Went through registration. Went through the Expo. And got a feel for how everything was arranged. Later in the day, I got a text message from Jon letting us know he had arrived. Jon and I have raced many of the same NYRR races in Central Park. We’ve never been able to meet up at them tho. So instead we were finally going to catch up over dinner at the microbrew restaurant in the village.

So far this year, it’s been quite a successful beer tasting tour during race weekends. It’s really been something. I was looking forward to continuing that run. Sadly I have to report there was nothing special about the beer choices at the 5 different places we ate at throughout the weekend. It was underwhelming to be honest.  The good news is that was pretty much the only disappointing part of the entire weekend.

Saturday we got up and went over to the lake for a short swim. We were surprised to find the lake was warm! As in I decided to wear my sleeveless wetsuit for race day, warm.

A bit later Jon drove us around the bike course on Saturday. Genine really wanted to see it to know what she was getting into. Honestly, I was afraid I was going to see more hills than I could deal with right now but figured knowing the course a bit better could only help. At the very least, it would save me from making a wrong turn.

As you know, we love to get good race pictures. Well that’s really hard to do when both of us are in the race. As luck would have it, Jon’s sister Abi, who arrived in the afternoon, was willing to take our camera and take pictures for us. Which was fantastic because this really was a very fun weekend and now we’ve got a ton of pictures to help us remember it.

RACE MORNING: Seeing how we were a short walk to transition, we didn’t have to wake up hours ahead of time. It was also nice not to have to worry about parking so far away that if you forgot something, you probably wouldn’t have time to go get it. Quite the opposite, if we forgot something we would have time to stop back at room and make it to the race start easily.

You definitely wanted to make it to the race start in time. Following the singing of the American then Canadian national anthems. The Snowbirds flew by in tight formation 3 times! And the cannon to start the race? How about they just use a Howitzer? (That link is the beach on race morning). Someone said they felt like they were at the start of the Olympics. Pretty good analogy, it was emotional. 

Swim: The course was 3 sides of a rectangle, swimming clockwise. Clockwise is my nemesis, as I tend to pull left. There were too many people tight to the buoy line, so I started further to the left to keep out of the mess. Especially since it was a beach start. I think this is the first time I’ve had to run into the water.

Because I started to the outside (left) of the buoy line, I had planned on making my way towards the buoy line by the half way point to the first turn. The lake was wonderfully clear so I was able to follow feet quite well. Unfortunately, I still ended up pulling left. It seemed every time I’d look up I’d be no closer to the line than the previous check. It wasn’t until after the race that I realized part of my problem. Every time I’d go to pass someone, I’d always pass to their left. I need to remember to pass right when it’s clockwise. (Glad I finally thought of that)

Anyhow, once I got to the turn and was swimming parallel to the beach, I followed the line better. My only mistake here was when I thought I saw 2 people turning for shore after a buoy. So I started turning in. Then I realized there was nobody towards the shore ahead of them, and I corrected myself. I’m not sure what they did.

The swim towards shore was uneventful. Once I had to stand and run to the exit… Yup my hamstring cramped on me. This has happened for all 3 of my races so far this year. This one was the worst. I was standing knee deep in the water for a good 30 seconds waiting for it to stop. It would have been nice to at least make it to the timing mat to start T1. Then to make matters worse, when I crossed the mat, I decided to go with the wetsuit stripper. He got it to my ankles, then dropped the suit and looked to the next person. Which I suppose was good. I’m not sure he’d have cleared the suit off my ankles quicker than I did. I then hobbled along the path to transition. This cramping after the swim is getting old.

Swim Time 37:44.  Not surprising considering my terrible direction at the start. My lack of swim fitness certainly plays a part too.

Bike: Take it easy. That’s what I had in my head. The course was closed to traffic and the pavement was in great shape for the majority of the course. The ride out to the first turnaround was great. My only disappointment was the fact that I got blocked on a couple of the descents. If I’m going to race 15-20 pounds overweight. I’d like to be able to get the gravity assist on the downhills. Instead I’d have to sit up and wind brake, and sometimes even hit the brakes. Top speed on the downhill 44mph. Of course what goes down, must crawl back to the top on the way back. It was very obvious at every climb how slow I was, as a new pack of riders would slide by each climb. I had to keep it even tho. If I started to power 90 minutes into the bike, I was going to be toast later.

As I said earlier the roads were nice and smooth. Yet I found the largest pothole on the course and hit it square on. Man did that hurt. It was in the shadows on a downhill headed towards the Bienvenue traffic circle. I really thought I was going to be dealing with a double flat. I was thinking at least it was a short walk to transition from there. Fortunately, the tires held. Now I just had to climb the last out and back. I remember thinking that it was quite possible that I could finish the bike in under 3 hours, which would be a personal best for the distance. Unfortunately my quads decided it was time to let me know that they were angry. I had to really keep it easy on my climbs, trying to keep my quads from locking up. I was successful until the 2^nd to last climb back to transition. I had to hop off the bike. (I would have fallen over otherwise). It wasn’t far to the top. So I figured I’d better walk it up so I didn’t have to try and climb the rest of the way on the bike. It had to look hilarious as I was walking without bending my knees. I couldn’t! Eventually they gave up and I got back on the bike and made it back to transition.

For the sake of record keeping. I drank my entire speedfil of Gatorade endurance and 2 bottles of perform during the ride. Guess it wasn’t enough? Or more likely the case, I pushed too hard and my muscles were not ready for the effort that I asked of them.

Bike Time 3:02:16 If I didn’t cramp and stop, I would have been under 3 hours. Grr.

The Run: I picked up a few things in transition. I took 2 salt tabs and I took a bottle of flat coke and my hand flask of flat coke. I also had a flask of mocha EFS that Jon had given me the night before.

As I started my run, I was actually surprised at how quickly I was moving. The run was feeling good. Then the first little hill showed up and my legs let me know that a full on muscle cramp was not far off. I decided to walk rather than deal with that. When I got to the first aid station, I saw that they had coke. So I was able to ditch the bottle I was carrying. I knew I needed salt more than anything. So I’d drink 2 cups of electrolyte drink they had and get moving. Eventually that became 2 electrolyte drinks and a refill of my hand flask at every aid station.

 I’m not exactly sure when my first “stop me in my tracks” cramp happened. Because the entire time I was already slowing to a walk trying to keep them at bay, every time I’d feel one was approaching. The worst one was right after I had handed someone else that was stopped a couple of my salt tabs. I made it 15 seconds past him and I was locked up. It hurt so badly that I broke into a cold sweat. I was just about to tell someone to send medical my way when it eased off. It was strange just how well I was running when I wasn’t cramped up. I tried to see if running slower would help but it didn’t matter. I can’t guess how many times I stopped completely because of muscle cramps. A dozen? More? I guess a GPS watch would have been funny to look at to find this out. It was the sufferfest that I was afraid of. Funny that the running was the easy part. It was when I wasn’t moving that was painful!

Anyhow, I was glad that I was able to run through the finish chute through the village without cramping up. So I got to get the finish line experience, which was cool.

Run Time: 2:22:14  I’m surprised this isn’t a bigger number... Later in the day, I realized that my abs were not sore as they had been after the Olympic races. Either the few rounds of ab ripper helped, or I never ran for a long enough stretch to actually cause them any distress.

My Finish

Total Time 6:10:53

This number definitely reflects where I am right now. I’ll use this as motivation. I’ve got 7-8 weeks to Timberman. I will be in a better place for that event. I’ve got 19ish weeks to NYC Marathon. I really have to be in a better place for that.

I’m really glad we decided to race this event. We really enjoyed being at a new venue. Now the question is, do we pick another new place next year? Or come back to get some revenge on this one? Or both? Or do I just give up on 70.3’s? Unfortunately, I don’t think even get to race Timberman before making the decision to sign up for next year’s IMMT 70.3. I think registration will be before then. 

PS: Craig would love this race. Everything is metric!

Here is a link to a professional video of the weekend.

Just after Genine's finish

Genine Jon and I

Jon, congrats again on a great race. Looking forward to catching up some time soon!
Please thank your sister once again for taking all these great pictures!

IMMT 70.3 Venue Pictures

This place is so cool. I couldn't wait for my race report to post some pictures so here is a set of pictures showing the "Venue".
Link to Pictures.

Another Tubular Install

With the race coming up next weekend. I've been riding the race wheels. Being all carbon, the braking has a different feel. Then there is the being pushed around a bit in the wind. Things I like to be familiar with on race day.
Well unfortunately, that new tire I installed 2 weeks ago got punctured during the ride. And if you click that link, you will see that it's not a cheap tire. Grrrr.
So I break out the spray in latex to seal the puncture. It went in very easily. You don't have to remove the valve stem or anything. Unfortunately, the latex just kept oozing out of the puncture. Fortunately, I've been carrying an extra tire with me on my rides. So I tear off the bad tire. Put a bit of air into the spare. Which turned out to be sort of tricky. I had to use the crack pipe adapter with the CO2 inflator. I pulled the trigger and not much happened. Hmmm. Turns out I had pushed the adapter too far into the inflator. We backed it out a bit and we were in business.
I was surprised that well over half of the glue pulled off the rim of the wheel and stayed on the old tire. Which meant the spare tire's glue which is tacky at best at this point, was going to be the majority of the adhesive. Not a big deal. You know going into this that if you flat, you are going to have to brake and corner very cautiously once you mount the spare.
Because of the problems with the adapter and the inflator, I had to break out my 2nd CO2 cartridge. Only to find out it was the wrong size!! Again not a big deal because between the 4 of us we probably had 6 cartridges but talk about missing a detail in your emergency kit!

So even tho that was an expensive flat. (1 new tubular, 2 glues,  2 CO2s, 1 latex inflator). It was definitely a learning experience.
1) I actually removed the rear wheel to put the latex in. No need to do this. Just wasn't thinking straight. Should have simply hooked up the spray latex and if it worked. I'd be on my way.
2) Now I know what a failed latex fill looks like.
3) I now know the right depth to put the crack pipe adapter into the inflator.
4) I definitely want my spare tire to have somewhat fresh glue on it for race days.
5) I know that once it's determined that I've got to swap tires, that the tear off and new tire install can happen very quickly. Perhaps even quicker than a clincher if things go smoothly. (although with a clincher you are as good as new and don't have to worry about cornering).
6) If you are going to carry CO2 cartridges, you should buy the right size!
7) Not related to the flat but useful for all glue jobs: To check how well your tire is glued. Deflate the tire and try to lift it from the rim. You are just looking for the weak links in your gluing. It should be tight all the way around.

I suppose the expense of this partially offsets the great deal we got on Genine's wetsuit this week. $150 for a QR superfull! (550 new/440 closeouts) She wasn't thrilled about the blue graphics on the suit, but when I told her $150, she didn't mind them anymore.

Since I was in money spending mode. We got a code for 25% off trisports.com. So I hit their winter clearance section and picked out some stuff that we've been meaning to buy. Maybe this will be the year we ride through the winter. (50%+25% off is my kind of shopping.) Heck some of the stuff would have been handy as Mooseman a couple weeks ago!

I wish that was the end of the spending. The bite valve on Genine's speedfil is partially torn. It's working properly but for how long? I also found that I am at the end of the line with the carbon brake pads.

I think I'll try to repair that punctured tubular. I'm not sure that I'll be successful. If I am, I'll be one step closer to being an "Old School" bike guy.

Off the Program

Off the program. That’s probably the best way to describe where I am right now. I fell off the program back in May when my hip was giving me trouble. Then I recovered in time to race Columbia and 2 weeks later, Mooseman. Now we are about a week from our first 70.3 of the year and I haven’t been on a training plan for 5 weeks. I haven’t even been writing down the workouts that I have done. I’m guessing I’m managing 2 swims, 2 bikes, 2 runs a week right now. So this first 70.3 of the year is going to be challenging. I’m looking forward to it though.

After Mooseman my abs were sore. That was an pretty obvious signal that I needed to get back to do my core exercises. So last week I put in the P90X abs workout. I suffered through that. Next day I was sore. Day after that I was even MORE sore. Then I was fine and I did the workout again. I wasn’t very sore the next day. Which was a relief. I’ve got to keep that in the schedule from now on. (Will back off week leading to IMMT 70.3. Lower abs hating me on my runs)

Because my swims have not been awesome, I started the pushup plan again. This will probably happen every 3^rd day. Maybe that will change once I build up some strength again.

My first trip to the pool following Mooseman, I didn’t take a workout with me. I did a reasonable warm up and just thought about how I wanted to prepare for the rest of my race season. I was trying to think how best to get ready to swim these distances and not fatigue. My solution is my old friend the Pull Buoy. I really don’t swim with that as much as I used to because I keep trying to become a better swimmer. Well, I’m putting my technique on the shelf for a bit. It’s time to think wetsuit swim times and for me that means pull buoy.

I think I’ve been swimming 1:50/100m at Columbia and Mooseman, which I’m not happy about.

You get speed by practicing speed. So my first pull set was going to be 5x100 on 2:00 (figuring 10-15 rest). First 100m in 1:37. Hmmm more rest than I was planning for. I’ll probably fall off. Second 1:37. Third 1:38. Fourth 1:38. Fifth 1:39. That went much better than I expected.

Next I figured I’d tax the muscles a bit more and pull 5x100 with hand paddles. 1:33, 1:33, 1:33, 1:34, 1:34. Again, I’m pleased with this. I am not sprinting, I’m being aggressive but these are not all out flailing efforts. As much as I’d like to continue to push and do more. I know I’ve got to slow it down and not do too much. So I lose the buoy and hand paddles and now I’m a tug putting across the pool. For now I’ll just consider my normal swimming as resistance training. I’m glad to see these paces tho. I’ve just got to put it all together again.

I’ve had no motivation to wake up early for workouts before work. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe I won’t get shingles this year!

I’d like to think that once we are back from Mont Tremblant, I’ll get back onto the plan. I’ll have 8 weeks before Timberman 70.3.  and 19 weeks to the NYC Marathon. That should provide plenty of motivation.

I have a pretty good idea of what my Timberman schedule will be. I need to look up a marathon plan tho’. I’m really at a loss as to what I should do differently this year in my attempt to make the start line for the marathon. I’m going to look at a bunch of plans to check my options. I’m looking forward to making another attempt at becoming a distance runner.

Mooseman 70.3 Pictures 2012

Finally got through all the Age Group photos we took.
Here is the link to our photos.

If you would like an unwatermarked picture of yourself. Contact me at catmarlson@hotmail.com

Link to our Dana Farber Cancer Research fundraiser
http://www.rundanafarber.org/2012/mooseman_fundraiser
Please make a donation, even a little will add up!

Racing in the Rain: Genine's 2012 Mooseman Race Report

Mooseman.  My favorite race of the year.  Our “hometown” race, my favorite swim in beautiful, clear Newfound Lake and a house full of friends & family joining us for the race.  It doesn’t get any better than that for me!  Especially with many people (Adam, Debbie and Denise) racing their first olympic or 70.3 triathlon! Exciting!

We drove up to the farm on Wednesday.  It was nice to have Ruth join us and Milo was happy to have a backseat co-pilot for the trip.  A little front door key “mishap” had us back in the car (adding another 2hours to the trip) driving to Matt’s brother’s house to borrow his key for the house.  But the good part to this was that we were able to see Ryan and Tammy (who we were not otherwise) and enjoy dinner at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants in the area.  We finally made it back to the farm (and actually in the house!) around 10:00pm.

Thursday was the typical flurry of activity.  Grocery shopping, cookie baking, meal prep, getting guest beds made, etc.  We also got in a practice swim. The water was unseasonably warm and very comfortable. Newfound never disappoints.   Adam arrived late Thursday night after dropping Denise off at her hotel in Gilford.

We didn’t set an alarm for Friday, figuring everyone could use whatever extra sleep they could get.   After breakfast, Adam went to pick up Denise and we met at the lake for packet pick-up & another quick swim.  Adam was thankful to have the practice time in the water.  This was going to be his first olympic distance triathlon (He had raced only 1 sprint tri 2 weeks prior to this) and I know he was feeling some nerves and apprehension.  After the swim, Matt, Adam, Denise and I went for a quick 20-30min easy ride while Ruth stayed at the beach.  She was enjoying the freedom of swimming in Matt’s sleeveless wetsuit top. 

Genine, Denise and Ruth at Friday's practice swim.

Matt and Adam getting ready to test the water.

The C5 relay team arrived Friday evening, as did Matt’s brother, Eric and nephew, Evan.  The house was filled with food, family, friends and laughter.  All of the things that made Judy smile…for that my heart was happy.

After enjoying 2 beautiful days of sunshine and warm temps, Saturday’s race morning arrived with relentless rain and temps in the low 50’s.  Even though the dismal weather gave everyone all sorts of excuses to complain, not once did I hear a negative comment.  It was time to put on our game faces and get ready to race!  Because of the cold & rain, I was a bit wishy-washy on what I was going to need to wear on the bike and run.  I decided that I would tough it out and left my long sleeve gear in my bag, set up my transition and covered everything in plastic in a futile attempt to keep things somewhat dry. Ha! As if that were possible!

Setting up transition in the rain.

This was the first race that I decided to be confident enough to start in the front row (but far right) for the swim.  Since my wave start was small enough, it worked out just fine.  The swim went well.  I somehow managed to spot Adam out there shortly after the turn buoy.  He was backstroking, but I was relieved that he was cruising along through his least favorite part of the day.  I was hoping to finally break the 30min mark on my swim, but finished in 30:45.  Still a 2 second PR for this course, so I’ll take it!

I was cold coming out of the water, but figured I would warm up on the bike.  That did not happen.  I only proceeded to get colder.  The rain was unforgiving.  My hands lost feeling and became so numb I could barely move the shifters.  I was shivering and my quads were cramping from the cold.  I could not feel my feet.  I trusted that they were still in my shoes as I moved the pedals around.  At times the rain was pelting my face so hard it felt like needles stinging my cheeks & eyes.  I had my glasses on, but rode with them down my nose most of the time as they were fogging over.  Yet somehow, despite all of these crazy conditions, I found myself smiling.  I was loving this moment!  I was gritty, soaked to the bone, shivering and LOVING IT! Many of my Inten-Sati mantras flowed thru my brain as they always do when racing, but what I kept saying most to myself was, “This temporary suffering is NOTHING compared to what Nathan, Judy, Dan, Katie, Aunt Kay, and Mike went thru.  I CAN do this!  I WILL do this!  For them and for all of the other people who can’t be out here riding a bike in this crazy, wonderful rain!”

I finished the bike in 1:35:49.  About 3+ minutes slower than my best time, but I was very cautious on the wet roads, so I wasn’t surprised.  I came in to T2 cold & confused about what to wear & take with me on the run. By that time, nothing in transition was dry, so I put my wet, muddy feet into my run shoes, grabbed my hat & left my glasses there. I started to leave transition, but turned around to dig thru my bag for my long sleeve shirt & grab my Fuel Belt palm bottle.  Then I decided to leave them there.  Then I came back to get them.  Then I decided to leave them there.  Then I came back to get them… for a THIRD TIME! Oh man!  I think my brain was frozen!  I could not make a decision to save my life.  Where was Ruth with her video camera? This was worth recording! Even I started to laugh at myself as I finally started out on the run course…with my long sleeves and palm bottle!

My run, while not any faster, felt much better than previous years.  The only time I walked was going up the hill out of the turn around. And since I had my palm bottle, I did not stop at any aid stations.  My legs felt strong, just need to get them to feel speedier!  Run time 1:02:30.

As I made the final turn in the finishing chute, I saw Matt, Ruth and Denise cheering for me.  What a great support crew they were! It was awesome!  I jumped my way over some giant mud puddles and across the finish line! Wahoo! 

 

 

The muddy finish!

Despite some backstroking and a minor bike crash, Adam made it to the run and was home free!  I saw passed him as he was heading out at mile 2, thankful to have his feet on the ground!  He finished his first Olympic tri in 3:40:55.  The race conditions were not for the faint of heart, but he toughed it out! Way to go, Adam!!

 

Adam happy to be done! Big Congrats!!

 

The C5 relay team all posted PR times in their respective legs of the race!  Awesome job, ladies!!

After the race, we relaxed back at the house.  Matt made a fire in the wood stove (aaahhh…. warmth!) while everyone cleaned up, shared our favorite stories of the day and ate cookies.

Sunday morning was still rainy for the 70.3 race, but it cleared up after the swim so that Ed and Denise were only cold instead of cold and wet.  Matt and I had a grand time spectating, cheering, taking photos and a little pro-spotting on my part!

By Sunday night, Matt and I were back to just the two of us, as everyone had to start their travels back home.  As we sat at the kitchen table recalling the weekend’s events and reviewing photos, my heart filled with joy.  Over the past 5 years, our Mooseman journey has brought some many wonderful people and experiences into our lives.  With the support of these amazing people, we have raised awareness and money to make a difference in the lives of children fighting cancer.  I can only hope that Nathan, Judy and Dan are proud.  Because in the end, it is not about me or my stats, it is about them and honoring their lives.  Lives that were well lived.  Souls that are still loved.

With a grateful heart, I say, “Thank You” to all of our Moosemen and women!  I am already looking forward to 2013!

Mooseman International 2012 Matt's Race Report

Ah Mooseman, I love this race. The fact that we’ve usually got a good group of friends up here racing with us plays a large part.

This year our friend Adam who has done the relay team run twice at Mooseman in the past, did the whole thing this year. He picked one heck of a year to do so, as you will soon see.

We also had a women’s relay team of my co-workers. Ruth and Alexa have both relayed twice before. They added Debbie as their new biker. It’s always fun to have a first timer in the mix. It was a challenging day out there for a first race.

Genine, Ruth and I arrived at the house late on Wednesday evening. We didn’t even unload. I went to the front door to test the key that I thought might be the right one. It wasn’t. We now had to drive 2 hours round trip to go pick up a key from my brother. We made the most of it by stopping at one of our favorite restaurants in the Merrimack Area. A Chinese/Japanese place called Taipei and Tokyo 3. It didn’t disappoint and it gave us a short break from being on the road.

Thursday we went down to the lake to swim. It was a beautiful day. The event crew was already there setting things up. I’m always glad to spend time in the wetsuit, trying to find my balance and stroke with it on. The water temp was fantastic. I had to keep myself from swimming too long. I could have stayed for a full 4000m workout it was so nice.

Friday back to the lake again. This time Adam and Denise were with us. Another beautiful day to be at the lake. After a short swim we hopped on our bikes for a short spin down the road. Then I drove the race courses with Adam and Denise. Before heading back to the house to have some Pizza and catch up with the rest of the crew driving up from NYC. My brother also stopped up for the evening with my nephew.

Race Day Saturday morning. The forecast does not look good. Mid 50’s and rain. I’m glad we arrived early. Genine’s bike was picking up the wet sand from the road as we were walking in. She heard that it was causing friction between the tire and frame. I didn’t have the tool with me to fix it but there wasn’t a line at the bike tech station. They adjusted the wheel and she was good to go.

Into transition we go. I lucked out and had the end of a rack and a no show beside me. Our car was far enough away that I wanted to leave my transition bag in transition, so the extra room was helpful.

I saw a lot of people working hard at trying to keep their bike and run shoes dry. I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to matter. So I kept my setup simple and the same as any other race.

It eventually started to rain harder I ducked into the heating tent and stayed there for awhile before going to put on my wetsuit and heading for the race start.

It’s amazing how small this race has become. Right around 300 people starting in 4 waves. Works for me! I’ll gladly take this venue all to myself.

I put myself near the front and to the far side of the buoy line. If ever there was a swim where you can chase feet, this is it. The visibility is incredible. I felt that I found a good rhythm early with my swim and spent a good portion of the first 750m chasing feet well. At the turn back to the beach, I had to admit to myself that I’m not in great swim shape. I was fatigued already. Unfortunately that typically translates into drifting to the left as I swim. I worked hard at finding feet that I could follow that might keep me on line. I kept working hard all the way to the beach. I stopped for the wetsuit strippers and chose the right team of guys. Off it went and then my right hamstring cramped. (What is going on with this?). So now I’m walking/hobbling over to my bike. Through large puddles that had formed over the last 40-50 minutes and it’s still coming down. I glance at my watch to get an idea of my swim time and I see it’s 30+ already. Oh man! My swim was that bad? Whatever, it’s over. Moving on.

I put my glasses on. They fog instantly. I take them off and put them in my run shoes. I’m going to bike in the rain without glasses. I just think it’s going to be the better decision.

I know this course well. I decide that I’d be smart to hold back a bit on the first third of the course. I don’t bike in the rain much I’m not concerned about it but it would be good to get a feel for the ride. I also have a new GP4000 as my rear tire glued on.

Going up Devil’s Hill wasn’t an issue. The descent on the other side could be tricky with the wet pavement. I only had people ahead of me. I didn’t have to worry about anyone trying to get by me on the descent. I topped out at 37 mph on this descent. Which might be a couple mph slower than normal but more important thing is that I felt in control and I won’t be going that fast again.

Now it’s time to get into a zone and work.

As I was riding down the east side of the lake, I realized that I started my watch for the swim at the “one minute to go” mark. So perhaps my swim wasn't THAT awful.

It was miserable out there. Non stop rain and it was cold. I think my extra 15 pounds may have been helpful today! I was also thankful that the wind gusts weren’t too out of hand. Oddly enough I think the weather kept my mind off of the bike effort. I’m not going to say that it went by quickly. Just that my mind was dealing with issues that aren’t typically there.

1:28:01 Bike Split

It was nice to have my friends cheering for me at the bike finish. It kept me hustling through transition. I always think of that first year when Ruth and Alexa gave me grief after the race for having such a long transition.

I decided I had to put on socks for the run. Otherwise my feet were going to be messed up for a couple of weeks with blisters. It’s one thing when it’s dry conditions but my shoes were already soaked.

I got out onto the course and my feet felt awful. My right foot strike felt awful, and just like last year, it felt like there was something stuffed in the front of my shoe around my toes. About a half mile in, I had to pull the shoe off to check. Nothing there. My feet are just that numb. First mile was an 8:20. 2^nd mile 9:00. Oh man!! 3^rd mile 8:20. 4^th mile I finally felt like I was running and it was still only an 8:00. My HR was very low the entire run, I just couldn’t get going. At least it felt like I was running when I was on my way back to the park.

I got to the finish line with a 52:35 run. 8:28 min/mile pace. 

Total Time: 2:53:24 About 6 minutes slower than my best time. I'd love to blame transitions due to the weather, but most of it was the run.

It turns out my swim was a 28:29. Exactly the same swim as last year! (Which really isn’t good, just funny that it’s the same).

After I finished, it wasn’t long before I started to get cold. I went to the warming tent to find a number of people there already. Some had been there for an hour. They finished the bike went to the tent to get warm. Some figured they’d run once they got warm again. Only they didn’t.

I could be upset with my results but they are in line with where I am right now and these were the worst conditions I’ve raced in. Last year was much colder but dry. Mid 50’s and cold rain is bad news.

I need to remember to be more ready for this. The next day was the same temperature but much drier. Yet the majority of the pros had on toe covers, arm wamers and such. I’m not sure how much it would have helped me but it’s worth keeping in mind.

First order of business after the race was to get everyone warm. Fortunately we’ve got a wood stove at the house and I’m guessing we got that room up to 85+ degrees before we opened the room up. It was nice and toasty!

We went out to dinner. Then we came back to the house, played games and ate cookies. Lots of cookies.

I’m going to leave it at that. I’m sure Genine will get a report posted soon. She will fill in the details I’ve left out.

Less than 3 weeks to IMMT 70.3. Can’t wait to see that venue. I REALLY hope we get some nice weather for that one.

Mooseman 70.3 2012 Pictures of the Pros

We watched a couple of our friends race the Mooseman 70.3 today. They were spared the all day rain we raced in yesterday. Which made taking pictures easier today. Below are some of the pictures I liked.
Here is a link to all the shots I took of the pros. LINK

Clayton Fettell

Karl Bordine

Maxim Kriat

Mary Beth Ellis

Magali Tisseyre

Logan Franks

Lesley Paterson

Mooseman International 2012 Results

Update Pictures of results are available to all now. Didn't notice the privacy settings. Sorry.

Here are photos of the results posted at the race site. link to the results
I'm guessing more pages were posted later. I was frozen and couldn't wait any longer.
I don't know what website has the official results. I thought it might be mylaps.com
If you know where the results are posted online. Please let me know in the comments.

Edit: Here is the link to the timing company results.