Be Nice to the Volunteers!

Don’t let the blog title put you off – I’m hoping this isn’t going to be too dull or too preachy and isn’t meant to be a rant but I really wanted to put some things out there about the importance of volunteers and how the first three races of this season has changed my outlook on both race organizing and volunteering at races. My plan to volunteer actually started off last year when I was planning my race season (yes, a little early….) and was checking out the Chasing3 race calendar www.chasing3.com . Chasing3 are the folks who are running the New Mexico Triathlon Series this year and amongst other races, they did Benson and Cochiti last year. This year they’re doing more races and a race for free program, where if you volunteer to help at selected races, they give you an entry slot for another selected race for free (more details can be found at http://www.chasing3.com/race-for-free/ ) and that sounded pretty good to me so I volunteered at Coyote Carrera and Benson for slots at Storrie Lake and Cochiti.

The first race I volunteered at was Coyote Carrera down in ABQ and I essentially helped out getting people getting body marked and pointing people in the right direction – nothing too challenging but it was fun being involved and seeing the first 10 or so people crossing the line. One thing that stood out while doing a little crowd control to keep people from impeding racers exiting T2 to the pool was a small number of grouchy people who didn’t like being informed that they probably shouldn’t get in the athletes way – hey I’m trying to do you a favor!

Next up was Atomic Man, I did the Fat Man in the cold and light snow and as it was close to home my wife volunteered and helped out with traffic control and directing on the run course. She’s got a low tolerance to the cold so I’m very grateful she helped out in conditions which would approach her own personal hell !!!! However, she also got a few grouchy people, one who “had kids in the car” and wanted to park in the school parking lot after the Little Boy had started and one classic “I pay my taxes” when told a short section of road was closed. Ah, well you always get a few!

The last race was the ever popular Albuquerque World Championships aka Jay Benson and was as usual a great race. This time I helped John out with timing and the bike out/bike in part of the race. Now here we only had one minor grouch but he came back to apologize so fair play to that guy but what struck me at this race was the amount of effort that went into the race set up. I was involved in the break-down too and if you looked around, all the racks, advertisements, barricades etc. had to be broken down and put away and all the course markers and aid stations broken down too. Angie and John told me the Chasing3 crew had been there since 9pm the night before and had worked right through to after the race – would anyone have guessed that’s what they do? Me neither but I do now!

So I think I’m trying to make a few points:

One is that seriously, be nice the volunteers, you might have pre-race tensions and be trying to get in race mode, but the volunteers have probably been up the same length of time you have if not more and are more than likely doing this for free (or at least a free race ;o) and they don’t have to be there. You don’t want to be remembered at a grouch! I know it’s just a few individuals but I’m not writing about the 99% of nice people. BTW every Triatomic was a credit to the club!!!!!!!

Two, next time you’re at a race, look around and think what might have to be taken down when everyone clears out and remember that someone had to put that up – organizing these races is a non-trivial event and be patient if there are minor kinks during race day. Volunteering has given me a whole new perspective on the amount of effort and organization required to put on a race so hats off to Angie and the whole C3 crew. I only saw a small slice of what happens on race day so I can’t imagine some of the stories they have!

Finally, I’d like to get you thinking about volunteering at a race if you haven’t already done so, not only is it pretty fun and you get to meet a bunch of new people, it’s also an eye-opener to what’s involved and you might be able to pick up some tips on what to do or what not to do - I think I now have an idea what’s the most effective way to mount/dismount the bike!

I also want to thank the C3 crew for putting on some great races so far this year and now I’m just looking forward to Storrie Lake and Cochiti and yes, I'll be back to volunteer at more races!!!

FINISHER: Ironman Arizona 11-21-10

My goal was to finish my first IM without hurting myself and I got that done. I got high value on my race registration investment coming in at over 16 hours, and I have to say that the accomplishment feels terrific. This was not really a race for me, but rather a test of endurance—and I passed.

I had done the practice swim the day before so knew that the water was 61 degrees and would require every one of my cold-water survival techniques (see previous post) to ensure that I could both breathe and swim for 2.4 miles. A positive mental attitude was also essential to get through this cold-water swim that could have been my undoing. I didn’t jump off the break wall into the water until about 3 minutes before the 7am race start. The entry point was about 150 yards before the official start. The gun had gone off about 2 minutes before I got to the start line in the water. By design, this allowed me to have open water for most of the race. I kept an even, steady pace and my breathing was good. At the half-way point I saw that my time was 54 minutes and I felt confident that at this easy pace I was going to finish the swim before the 2:20 cut-off time. My swim time was 1:58. When I got out of the water, I was so happy to have made the cut-off—just laughing and smiling ear to ear. They had warming tents and volunteers checking for hypothermia, but I didn’t need any warming tent and ran off to get ready for the ride.

They had angels volunteering in the changing tents, or so it seemed. These divinely inspired people dried my feet and put my socks on for me. Really. When I had the brilliant idea to put my aero helmet on right away, they helped me realized that it would likely be better to put my bike jersey on first. They were amazing. Other volunteers brought my bike to me in transition and I was feeling like a princess. It felt really good to be on my bike and my first of three laps of the course was good—the elevation is low, the pavement is smooth, and the terrain is flat. They say that the three loops of this 112 mile course is very spectator friendly, which is it, but the best part of this configuration for me was getting lapped by the pros—typically twice. I saw and cheered on Chrissie Wellington, Linsey Corbin, Heather Wurtele, Leanda Cave, Jordan Rapp, Chris Lieto, and Andy Potts, amongst others. I can now say that I rode bikes with all these people. Very cool. You could always tell when the front of the pack was going to lap you as all the motorcycles would buzz around. Unfortunately, the wind picked up on the second lap and it started to rain. There were two episodes of really gusty winds and hard rain, but I have been caught in conditions like this in training and really worked the positive mental attitude thing. The conditions were too much of a challenge for some and there were many that DNF’ed on the ride. Actually, about 20% of the field DNF’ed. I heard that about a dozen people literally got blown over on the ride; I saw two, one of which was taken away in an ambulance. I was hoping for a little more speed on the bike, but the wind didn’t allow—my time was 7:01.

It felt really good to get off the bike as I don’t think I have ever held an aero position for quite that long. Again, the angels in the changing tent helped me get on my way for the run. I felt pretty good on the first of three laps of the run course, as it had stopped raining, but then it got quite cold with nightfall. By the second lap I was feeling the effort of the day and the cold air, and I started walking more. I got one of those shiny thermal blankets on the second lap and started taking hot chicken broth at the aid stations. My run splits really show how I was loosing energy on the run, but I knew that even with walking I was going to finish 26.2 miles before the 17-hour cutoff (at midnight). I finished just after 11pm with a run time of 6:52. Just before the finish line, a spectator told me to start running (if I could) before the next turn as the finish line cameras would be able to pick me up. It was easier to do than I had anticipated since the crowd at the finish started screaming when they saw me enter the chute. I ran down the chute all smiles and giving high 5’s to every hand I saw. That finish line was incredible—I was in a state of extreme bliss at this point. To add to the intensity of the moment, the first person that congratulated me after the finish was Chrissie Wellington and next to her was Linsey Corbin. When I realized who they were, I screamed like a teenager meeting a rock star. It was so amazing that Chrissie and Linsey would be out there that late to congratulate age-group finishers like me. I then got my long-awaited finisher’s medal, got my picture taken, and thankfully, avoided the med tent.

My sister, Michele, was there at the finish for me as my support and she got my exhausted self, my bike, and all my gear from the finish to the car and back to the hotel. Thanks Michele. I also have to thank my coach, Jessica Kisiel for her guidance in my training, and my family for their tolerance of my training. Thanks also to Phil Coe and the “swimmin’ women” of PAC masters for their support; thanks to Scott Beguin, my excellent bike wrench who ensured that my bike was in great condition; and thanks to my friends and family for their support and for sending me energy and inspiration telepathically—I could feel it all day. It is very gratifying to set a goal as audacious as finishing an Ironman, then planning, training, sacrificing, and working towards it, then actually accomplishing it. My little neice, Amelia, gave me a card before the race that said. “I hope you cross the finish line, oh great and crazy Aunt of mine”. I did it. Thanks Amelia.

Cold Water Swim Survival Techniques

As some of you know, I have had a few challenges recently with swimming in cold water at triathlons. Last year, I discovered that 64-degree water induced asthma for me. Although more of a confident than fast swimmer, I was a bit weirded out by this. So, over the last year, I have spent a fair bit of time researching and testing techniques for surviving cold water swimming that I thought I would share in the event that cold water challenges others, too.

An inhaler with Ventolin: Use this right before cold water swims. You will need a prescription for it. It opens up the lungs when the cold water wants to shut them down.

Neoprene sleeves: If you have a sleeveless wetsuit, like I do, you can get neoprene sleeves from Quintana Roo so you don’t have to buy another wet suit.

Neoprene cap: This cap will give you an especially dorky look with the groovy chin strap, but it works really well. Just put the latex or silicone race cap right over top.

Ear plugs: Seems that if you keep the cold water out of your ears it keeps you warmer and prevents vertigo—another cold water induced affliction.

Rash guard shirt: These are worn by surfers and you can get thermal shirts that are made of a fleece-type fabric. If you wear them under your wet suit, it really helps keep body heat in--mine is made by Dakine.

Bengay: I have put this on all exposed skin and, unfortunately, it seems to wash off fairly quickly, but it helps keep you warm before the race if the air temperature is cold. It's a little strange, but I have even put this on my face and it actually works well for the initial stage of cold-water swimming when you just can’t seem to get your face in the water. Be sure to wash it all off either during or after the swim as any residual feels weird on your face during the bike.

Hand Warmers: I came up with this one on my own…take disposable, air activated, hand warmers that you would otherwise use in your gloves while skiing and put them in little zip lock bags (double bag, just in case). I put one in the back pocket of my tri suit and the other between the dorky neoprene cap and the race cap. This works amazingly well. Be sure to have a pocket of air in the zip lock bag or the exothermic oxidation reaction is quenched when all the oxygen in the baggie is used up. The hand warmer instructions say not to put them directly against your skin. This is well advised as they tend to get quite warm.

Drink lots of fluids before the swim: It takes about an hour or so before you will need to “release” any beverages you have consumed. This may be nasty, but it really warms you up. Just keep swimming.

I was out at Cochiti Lake this weekend for my last swim-bike-run brick of the season and the water temperature was 58 degrees. I used every one of my cold-water survival techniques and was able to swim adequately with no asthma. Success.

Hope this was helpful. If you know any other techniques for cold water swimming, please share.

Kona Ironman week

FordIronmanWorldChampionship – it's all one word you know – at least that’s the way it sounds whenever you hear it mentioned.

Dan and I were both racing together again this year. The plan was to actually enjoy the experience together (I was way too crabby during last year's race to make it fun for either of us). Our youngest, Ben, joined us for the trip, although the two older kids got to stay home with my visiting mom (what a terrific person she is).

We met some friends in Honolulu who are now on their third year of spectating on Tuesday, and all made it to Kona just in time for Ben to compete in the Keiki Dip n Dash. (I was going to try to put photos into this blog as well, but think I will go for the wordy version here and you can go to the Triatomics Photos link for commented pictures).

They do a nice job of keeping the kids organized and safe in the water, and Mike Reilly (the IM announcer) leads the runners on a Vespa. Medals were given to all kids – handed out by Paula Newby Fraser and Michellie Jones – the kids couldn't have cared less, but I thought it was cool.

Just like previous years, Dan and I would go out in the morning for a swim along part of the course. Gatorade was not a sponsor this year, and PowerBar Perform drink took its place, including at the gear drop for your morning swim. What a great service – being able to leave your stuff at the pier while you swim without having to worry about it. The scariest part is that the morning swims were simply out and backs, and there were so many people in the water, there was a decent chance of swimming into someone if you weren't careful.

We spent some time snorkeling every day. One day we rented kayaks and paddled the one mile over to Captain Cook's Monument for some excellent snorkeling in Kealakekua Bay. Where we also found Faris Al-Sultan (the 2005 IM champion) and some friends getting ready to SWIM back to our starting point. That's one way to avoid the morning swim crowd, I guess.

There's been a twist this year that a number of people were not ready for (even up until race morning) – WTC and USAT have different rules pertaining to swim skins. Acceptable USAT suits are not necessarily acceptable for WTC, which now requires ONLY fabric (my old speed skin has a slight neoprene portion to it). Luckily for me, suppliers of TriSports.com very generously provided its Kona athletes new helmets and new speed skins, so I was set with the new TYR Torque Pro. We thought Dan's would be OK, but when we checked in with Zoot, they said no, so Dan was faced with swimming in just his tri shorts, and then pulling on his jersey over his wet body afterwards (or buying a new skin – but it's tough to swallow that price tag for essentially a single race).

We also went for bike rides and runs every day, although they were rather short. My new Louis Garneau Superleggera helmet is really cool – literally. It's one of those dimpled aero bullets, but the styrofoam is only around your head, not filling the entire aero void (like our original LG from a number of years ago), and it has some great vent holes, which were terrific not only for the wind, but also for being able to dump water through to further cool my boiling head mid-race. I had just received this new stuff at Elephant Man, so although the smart advice is don't use anything new race day, I'm sure glad I did.

Thursday morning is the annual Underpants Run. It was started 13+ years ago as a way to spoof all of the Europeans who are quite comfortable walking around in their Speedos and nothing else all day. It has grown and grown each year. Multiple hundreds of people participated this year, and outlandish undies were everywhere. Ben chose to wear his conservative Bear Bum boxers although white briefs are the standard. They sell T-shorts to commemorate the event and all proceeds go to West Hawaii Special Olympics. It was a hoot.

Friday was gear drop day. You get multiple colored / labeled bags – one each for Bike Gear, Run Gear, Pre-Swim Gear (morning dry clothes), Run Special Needs, Bike Special Needs. We dropped stuff off, and saw Julie Dibens getting ready to drop off her gear. We did not have as much pro-spotting this year as we have seen in the past – don't know why (although Kate Major was on our flight back to the mainland). As you enter transition, there are a large number of people with clipboards lining the entrance chute – I am guessing they are company reps doing gear counts. You get a personal volunteer tour guide as you take all of your stuff into the transition area. They literally take you by the arm and walk you all the way through, going over the route you will take during the race. The day was now ours, so it was off to the City of Refuge for some more excellent snorkeling – this time while a pod of dolphins swam around us during their mid-day snooze.

Saturday 10/09/10 – Race Day.

Big news in the morning - Chrissie Wellington had dropped out due to illness. We had a bit more of a n understanding of that than we would have liked. A few days earlier, Ben had learned the term “praying to the porcelain god” as he hurled multiple times. And the following day Dan had been fairly under the weather with an upset stomach as well. I am guessing that I did not get sick less to my iron stomach, than to my lack of grazing at a local farm co-op earlier in the week. Ben seemed to be free and clear after 24 hours, but Dan was still not feeling great come Saturday.

We were up and out early, having dropped Ben with our friends well before the crack of dawn. Body marking is a serious endeavor there, with all of the block numbers and the India ink. You are not allowed access to your gear bags, but you can get to your bike to pump tires, add your nutrition holders, etc. We hung out together and then finally I needed one more critical bathroom stop so we parted ways and I went off to find the shortest line possible. Afterwards I still had time left over to wait but couldn't find Dan, so back to transition to quietly hang out when I ran into a TriSports.com teammate Karin Bivens, who we had spent part of race morning with last year. Her husband was a volunteer in the gear area, and told us how people were still wearing illegal swim skins, and were being told last minute to take them off or be DQ'd. (He had just taken one guy's suit to his gear bag). I'd love to know how that all played out in the end...

The pros go off half an hour earlier than the age groupers. I tried to postpone the inevitable and didn't get in the water till 5-10 minutes to go. I hung towards the back a bit, trying to strategically avoid the combat swimming I encountered last year. And who do I see treading water in front of me but Dan! Of course, we soon went our separate ways again but it was nice to see a friendly face before the cannon went off. I was pleased with my “don't get caught in the fray” idea, as the swim was much more pleasant, yet still strenuous, and there were still enough people around me the entire time that I did NOT have to worry about sighting, which I have had issues with in the past. And only one serious elbow to the forehead clobber (OK, I don't know how it could have been an elbow, but something really hard smacked me right in the middle above my goggles). I was pleased, that is, till I saw my time when I got out. I thought I should have been faster. Oh well. At least the speed skin worked out really well, and is truly a neat piece of swim gear – even if I will only use it once or twice a year.

Out on the bike, it was fun. I saw Dan and was able to yell to him after the turn around on Kuakini before we headed out of town, and got a big yell from Ben and our friends as I headed up Palani at the Sack n Save hill - always a welcome treat during a race. The wind and the heat really weren't too bad, until we went around a bend up the long hill toward Hawi. Then it was spectacular Hawai'i wind and I worried about getting blown off my bike. Lots of leaning sideways, and almost being blown into the center line simply because you couldn't keep it on a straight course – you know, all of the classic stuff. I felt pretty good till the last bit home – it just becomes a really long ride. 112 miles will do that to you.

Onto the run, thinking that perhaps I had conserved enough energy at least to not blowup on the run like I did last year. And where was Dan? I had seen him after the Hawi turnaround, but he was still behind me – a very unlikely position for him to be in. I saw Ben and friends at our condo on Ali'i Drive about 2-3 miles into the run, which was great. The whole run along Ali'i was actually going pretty well for me, and feeling pretty good, although I knew there were quite a few people in my age group already well ahead of me. With so many already in front of me, I figured it would be great to be able to run with Dan, enjoy the experience, and overall have a nice race. Then I saw him after the Ali'i turn around and he was not a happy camper and was encouraging me to go ahead rather than wait for him. Which I did. Still feeling good, I again pass Ben, but then I hit the little Palani hill. Three years ago, I remember this as a welcome break from the flat course and a nice way to stretch my legs. Not so this year. I felt like I slowed to a crawl, and could not get it back once I got up onto the Queen K Highway. The death run now took over and the world's longest 10k out to the Energy Lab ensued. Finally downhill into the Energy Lab and a grab at my Run Special Needs bag (some Gus and Enervitene) helped. Kept looking for Dan, having expected him to have come along and passed me miles ago. Finally found him heading down as I was heading back up and out. He did not want to run with me, and had been visiting all portajohns possible along the route. BUMMER. Ford sponsors an Inspiration Station around this point, where family members can leave their athlete a 25 character message that gets flashed up on a Jumbotron screen for you to read as you pass by. We always try to make each other laugh, or at least cheer up. Ben had submitted something from earlier in the trip that totally cracked me up, and with the B-52's “Love Shack” blaring in the background as I ran through, I have to admit that I was inspired and totally picked up my pace. And I had a very strong last 10k. Of course, that's what I felt like, and that's what the various people I passed said (“ooo, nice pace,” etc), but the 9:12s that I clocked out on my watch certainly told the real story. Well, at least I was back to being consistent and not feeling like I was dying and when will this thing ever end? As usual, sunset came way too early, and I was way too far out on the Queen K to be happy about it, but I once again dodged the glow-stick bullet, and did not need one before I got back into town. That last half mile up Ali'i truly is a cool one, but someday I'd like to feel good enough to really enjoy it – at that point I mostly just wanted to be done.

I waited for Dan at the finish, but he was much longer than expected, poor guy. Turns out his heart rate monitor stopped working on the bike so he could only go by perceived exertion; he had been unable to really eat anything on the bike; and was down to only taking on water by the run. Never do a Hawai'i Ironman without nutrition – it's really hard.

Elephant Man, Olympic distance, Elephant Butte, NM 09/26/10

Another great race weekend at Elephant Butte thanks to Kori, Scott, and the entire Elephant Man race crew. I love this race – in a town of 2500, they get 150 volunteers to help out. How cool is that? A new twist this year was the kids race (Elephant Kids) held Saturday evening at 5:00. Made it easy for you to get registered, get your kid registered, and then watch him race, AFTER a day of soccer in Bernalillo, or whatever. Lots of age groups, different distances for each. Very well run and a great experience for the kiddos. Free T-shirts, race number belts and chip bands (thanks to Dam It Man leftovers – a lot like our Splash n Dash (Atomic Man) swag this year), real timing chips, open water swim point to point parallel to shore, then into the Elephant Man transition area where their bikes and shoes were waiting. They had a nice way of identifying kid ages (straight from Kona Ironman last year) – not only were they body marked with their number and age, but each age group got a color-coded swim cap and wrist band – which made it very easy for the volunteers to identify the proper turn around spots on the bike and run for the different aged kids. There’s a hill immediately coming out of transition for the bike, but the littlest ones (6 and under) got to simply do flat laps around transition in the large parking lot before heading out onto the run. I love those training wheels speeding around the corners. The older ones headed up the hill and out into the state park a certain distance depending upon their ages (oldest: 13-15 age group), before returning for their run. And did I mention that Ben crushed the 9-10 year old competition?! (Just a little proud mom crowing here).

OK, Olympic distance report: weather is always nice down there this time of year; it doesn’t get real hot till the end of the race, however there was more wind than in the past – never a good feeling to watch the strongly flapping flag early in the morn. Four waves of athletes this year – all the women except the athenas went first. A huge group got off in the front; I certainly was not one of them. The wind caused a decent chop so one leg of the triangular course was tougher than the others. Out on the bike the wind made the ride more interesting than usual. We headed out into the wind, though the tough hill is situated such that the wind was actually helpful. It’s still a steep section, though, that separates the strong from the not-so-strong. I had passed a number of those good swimmers by this point but there were was still some unknown number ahead. Came into T2 and took my good ol’ sweet time, just as I had in T1. As Dan reminded me later, you can’t transition an Olympic distance the way you do an ironman. Oops, that sure cost me.

The run was its usual scenic self – sandy for almost the entire first mile makes it tough, but then it’s up onto the dams with nice views. I saw the first four women way ahead of me and had little hope of catching up. Then I saw Mary Uhl, always a very tough competitor, coming at me as I was coming up the hill to the turn around so she became my goal. Finally caught her around the 5 mile mark (lucky for me she hasn’t been able to train much this year!). There’s nothing like running downhill and along a sandy trail hoping someone’s not right on your tail. I ended up 5th OA, 1st AG. As usual, an early race start gave me plenty of opportunities to cheer for fellow Team TriSports.com people, as well as fellow Triatomics. Speaking of which – a great Los Alamos club showing this year: Bill Bearden, Frank Cherne, Chuck Farrar, Greg Geoffrion, Matt Heavner, Char Latham , Amy Lee, Max Light, Clay Moseley (overall winner – congrats!!), Dina Pesenson, Sanna Sevanto, Andy Sutton, Karen Young, were all there (sorry if I missed somebody). A decent number of cool bottle opener medals and a signature EM beer were awarded to our club members. For those of you who missed it – put it on your calendar for next year – the last Sunday in September. It’s a fun weekend and a great race.

Elephant Man 2010

This was my first attempt at Elephant Man and my last race of the season. We headed down to the lake on Friday to camp for a couple of nights and take advantage of free fishing day that Saturday (there's a reason we tend to only fish on free fishing day - we caught nothing!). Anyway, packet pick up was Saturday afternoon and I was really impressed with how professional the whole set up was. Its all centered down at the beach and there were a handful of tents up with the packet pick up underneath and it was operated with great efficiency. I got my stuff and numbers and headed back to the camp ground for a nap. Later in the afternoon we headed back to the lake for a quick swim and everything felt pretty good and me and Jaclyn bumped into Clay, Dina and Sanna enjoying the beach and Frank when we were on our way out.

The morning of the race we packed all the tent and stuff up and headed to the lake. I racked the bike next to Frank and picked up my chip and got everything set up in transition. Didn't really get chance for a warm up but saw a bunch of other Triatomics - Bill, Amy Regan, Chuck, Amy Lee, Karen and I've probably missed a few - as usual my apologies if I've not mentioned you! The swim started in 4 waves, women first, then men under 39, men over 40 and Clydes and Athenas. I was in the second wave and the swim started about 30 mins later than scheduled. The first leg of the triangle swim was OK, the wind had got stronger and there were some white caps throughout the whole swim, after the first buoy it was into the headwind and the water started to get pretty rough and I was bounced around while trying to make forward progress and probably swallowed more of the lake that would be ideal! I finally got to the second buoy and made the final turn to the shore - I think I tried to overcompensate for the wind and in trying to stay straight ended up heading too far right rather than staying to the left and had a couple of attempts to get back on track before finally getting to shore which probably added a little bit to my swim. I got my wetsuit off at the lake front while it was still wet and did the short run up to transition. The transition was set up really nice, they had these wooden racks on the floor which just had slots in for a wheel - the good thing about this is that it forced you to be a certain distance from your neighbor so everyone had a good amount of room, especially when alternating slots had bikes pointing in the opposite direction. T1 was pretty good, I didn't rush and just got everything done before heading out on to the bike.

The initial climb out of the lake area wasn't bad, it was definitely no Cochiti! The wind was still blowing pretty hard and it was full on into the face, kinda like early spring riding around here. And of course there was the hills, it was mainly rollers so it was easy to crank on the downhill and see how far you could get up the other side with the momentum which was a little tricky with the headwind. The hills went on for about 12 miles or so before the 17% grade climb I was warned about - thankfully it wasn't a long climb but there was another incline after it which was a gentle grade but seemed to go on for about 2 or 3 miles. At around mile 15 we crossed I-25 and the terrain seemed mainly flat or a slight downhill so it was easy to tuck into the aero position and try and get that average speed up. The last couple of miles were through town and back to the lake to T2. Every bump or uneven pavement was marked with green crosses so they were easy to avoid and there were arrows marked all the way on the bike course - couldn't fault a thing about it and if you're used to riding the Bandelier Loop there's nothing about this bike course to scare you.

This is where things got a little tough, transition was fine, no problems, but as soon as I started running I had terrible stomach pains (which I thought were cramps up until after the race) and it seemed like it was going to be when, not if, I launched. It was at this point it stopped being a race and turned into something I just wanted to complete. I was hoping that the pains would stop at some point but they kept with me throughout all 6 miles coming back in waves and slowing me to a slow jog and I had to stop every so often to let the pain subside. - at one point it crossed my mind that maybe my appendix had burst!!!! I have two theories on what caused this - the first year I did Splash'n'Dash I used to get stomach pains on the run from swallowing air on the swim - if I did the same on this swim and with the bike leg in there, that swallowed air would probably be lower in my GI tract and could be causing the pain I was having. I managed to fix this for SnD by paying more attention to not swallowing and swimming faster also helped as I was forced to take deeper breaths. The other possibility is that what I was drinking in my bottles was heavier than my usual stuff and I seemed to drink more of it that I possibly should have done - this could also have had an effect on my GI tract and maybe in conjunction with the amount of lake and air I swallowed may have added to the problem. I'd used the same fuel for a Brick the week before though doing the Loop and doing a hilly 6 mile run in White Rock with no problems but consuming less of it. Unfortunately every step I took hurt and the downhill, which was more physically jarring hurt even more so the run was a little disappointing for me. The run course itself was pretty nice - it starts off with a sandy section and a good climb for about a mile or so and then its out onto the dam and around the lake before a final slight climb to the turn around. There was a good crowd at the finish line and I dragged my butt over the line before heading to the lake to cool down and have a soak. Everyone seemed to do really well, there was plenty of silverware taken home, Clay won overall, Amy Regan got 5th woman and Dina, Amy Lee, Chuck, Frank, Sanna, Char, Greg all took home awards. The organization of this race I was outstanding, it was definitely the best Tri I've been to, its well organized, efficient and the course support was excellent, I couldn't recommend it enough.

Patriot Triathlon 2010

This was my first time doing a race down at the Rio Rancho Aquatic Center, they do a few races there throughout the year, the Spring Fling in April and the Jingle Bell in December there too. My race prep had not been the greatest, I’d only been back from a week in England for my brothers wedding about 2 weeks and had just about recovered from the over indulgence and excesses that brought with it. I decided to train right up to the Friday for this one and didn’t do a taper, I figured that I’d rather train a little harder with a focus on Elephant Man which is 2 weeks after this one. I even had a couple of beers the night before, something I never do before a race – some residual Englishness from the trip coming out I think! The venue is close enough to Los Alamos to do the 1h30m drive down that morning so we set off pretty early after grabbing a light breakfast and arrived there just after dawn. The parking was a little tricky with a full parking lot and no guidance on where else to park! Thankfully we still had some shreds of common sense and drove further down the road and asked someone at the race venue entrance who directed us to another lot 100m down the road which was about half full with plenty of space remaining.

After that it was a short walk to do the pick-up and get the chip, all of which was really well organized and ran pretty smoothly. Then it was racking the bike and having a look at the race. The racks seemed a little cramped and pretty tightly packed together, when I got my bike out for a quick warm up, I was knocking back wheels with the row behind me! The indoor pool swim was interesting, it’s a 25yd pool so its 16 lengths Splash’n’Dash style and the swim start is seeded time trial start. Thankfully you had the chance that morning to adjust your swim start position so I jumped up 30 or so spots as I’d given them my 50m pool time rather than 25yd time. This did lead to a bit of confusion and there was a little jostling for position in the line before the start as I wasn’t the only one trying to do this – the numbers were almost meaningless! The swim went pretty well for me, the lanes seemed a little narrow but thankfully I’d positioned myself well and didn’t have to pass or be passed during the swim.

T1 wasn’t the greatest, for some reason I spotted my bike and turned into the wrong side of the rack so I had to u-turn out of to get to my bike so I lost a little time there and then a photographer was capturing this magical moment at the end of the rack so I had him to navigate too! Anyway, I was soon ready and off onto the 15 mile bike which starts with a climb up and out towards the Santa Ana Star Center and through some mini-roundabouts which caused a little havoc when the traffic was slow moving. I confess that I did pass a car on the inside - hopefully I won’t get a barrage of emails for unsafe bicycle riding but I was in a race dammit! There were police or volunteers at most of these so it made things a little easier and finally it was onto quieter roads with much less directional assistance in a more industrial area. There were some spots where I had to search out cyclists ahead of me to see which way to turn. The gentle climb turned into a few rollers and a few more ascents upto about mile 8 or 9, then it flattened out into a residential area and it was downhill for a long stretch. The last mile was a pretty good climb up to the transition area and I had a horrible suspicion I’d be seeing this hill again on the run.

T2 went smooth and uneventful and I was onto the run. This started on the same stretch of road the bike did so it was a good sized climb before a left turn and more of a climb. Eventually the course diverted onto a dirt trail with a little more climbing and lots of sandy spots which led to pretty soft footing and seemed a little hard on the legs. Then there was finally a downhill section which I managed to get a bit of speed going for about ¾ mile or so. Then it was another left onto the same hill the bike finished on which I wasn’t looking forward to, I also seemed to get a bit of a headwind all the way to the finish so needless to say I didn’t really enjoy the run too much. It seemed like an Escher staircase where the downhill and the uphill didn’t really seem to add up.

Anyway, I got over the finish line in a reasonable time and was pretty beat by the whole race. It seemed pretty challenging for a sprint with a good number of climbs both on the bike and the run (the pool thankfully remained flat) and I kind of wish I’d tapered a little bit for it so I could crank a little more on the run, although I was really happy with my bike split. Afterwards there was a good amount of refreshments but the downside to starting near the front of the swim and it being a time-trial start was that there is a huge gap waiting for the results and the awards. Oh and it’s about exposed as it gets, not much shade and it was a pretty hot morning so we nipped off the Lowes and got a few things while waiting around but still didn’t escape the race site until about 1.30ish. Another thing - a few Triatomics got led the wrong direction on the bike, I don’t know the full details but I think it was a race official on the back of a motorbike who led them off. The official line is that it’s down to the athletes to know the course but to be honest with you, if I had a race official in front of me I would expect them to know where they were going and it would have been very difficult not to follow them. Anyway, a bunch of Triatomics were there and we seemed to do pretty well as a club bringing home some silverware and plenty of the new uniforms were on show too!