The American Triple T - Race Report

Holy Cow!  First response, but I will digress to give you my race experience.  I flew out Thursday to see my sister and her family.  I awoke at 5am to catch my Chicago flight and final flight to Columbus.

I arrived around 3:30 and called Chelsea to let her know I arrived.  I spent the evening with my sister and brother in law Joe and my nephew and niece, Spencer and Schaeffer.  Wow incredible!  Dana and I are looking at kids in a few months.  But Chels and Joe are really in the thick of it and it is awesome.  We dropped Schaeffer off for soccer, then saw Spencer get recognized for his all A's report card, smart little dude,.  Then we went to baseball practice for Spencer.  Reminds me of T2, switch out and get ready to roll.  Then we headed back and helped Schaeffer with her history test, I hope my New England Patriots analogy helped.  Family dinner at 8pm, wow I eat at 8 after training.

I woke up in the morning and everyone had to roll.  I loaded up the car and headed out for Portsmouth, OH.
1.75 hours with some wrong turns and a Wendy's chicken sandwich (same sandwich as before my 1st Ironman in Couer d'Alene so seemed appropriate) but I made it.  I headed over to pick up my race packet.  Then on to the Comfort Inn, Wheelersburg, OH.  Check in was no hassle.

I go up to unpack and check out my race packet.  Apparently a SINGLET is a race top.  There were no bottoms.  WTF!  Oh man sick to my stomach as my first race is now about and hour and a half away.  So singlet to my uber tri friends Scott and Barb means a top.  To me, my wife and Chris (former MSU wrestler turned triathlete) a singlet means a one piece uni (uni means you are good to go).  I brought no bike shorts.  The problem was when I packed, the race rules said MUST WEAR SINGLET AT ALL TIME OR YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.  Ugh!!!

I wanted to go home but I tried to find bike shorts.  I called 2 sports stores but no love.  So then to Walmart Super Store.  This was backcountry.  I asked for bike shorts and the first dude looked at like me like I had 3 eyes.  Do we have bike shorts?  Um I don't know let's ask bobby?  Bobby we got bike shorts?  Um I don't know let's ask Billy. Wow.  So my panic says find shorts or race the first triathlon in running shorts which means no pad for on the bike, ouch.  The first race is so short this would be manageable. But for the weekend, I need to drive to Chilicothe or worse Columbus.   I had emailed my mental support Barb and she said hopefully there would be a race expo.   No race expo but there was a dude in a van with some stands set up.  Oh, jackpot I bought a pair of 50 dollar shorts, but that dude probably could have got close to 200, 100 easy.

 Race 1:  ready to roll, 250 yard swim, 5 mile bike ride and 1 mile run.  Before the race I met my friend Ben, who told me about this crazy weekend.  Swim was in this disgusting muddy water, given all the floods in southern Ohio recently.  The whole weekend was like this, swimming in a mud puddle and happy I had a recent Tetnus shot.  I finished race one in around 29 minutes.  I didn't bother with nutrition during the race, given the length.  Back to the hotel I decided to order pizza for take out.  I got enough for Saturday night as well.  Off to bed.  BLARING SIREN at 4am, well before my alarm, tornado warnings.  I went back to sleep.

Race 2, 1500 meter (1 mile) swim, bike 25.2 and run 6.5.  Before the race I recognize Joe, from Facebook who knows the aforementioned Chris from Chicago.  We chatted briefly, and he was still deciding whether to gut it out with his injured soldier (side note he did, and did well).  The weather was still cooler but starting to warm up.  I got out of the swim in around 31 minutes.  Hopped on my bike and begin to learn what the hills of the TTT were all about.  Wow, crazy long grinding hills.  My bike took about and a half, around 16 mph.  I've averaged 20mph for 2 different half Ironmans (56 miles) in Colorado if that hints at the grueling nature of these hills.  I was a little bummed but realized there was a lot to go.  Later my GPS would show close to 2,000 feet of climbing.  I hopped of the bike and begin my run on a rocky muddy trail through the woods, which was also, wait for, friggin hilly.  GPS showed this close to 1,500 feet.  I ran around an 8:15 per mile pace, so I felt pretty good, getting done in about 3 hours.  Fuel for this race was a mixture of Heed, Cran-Grape Juice, EFS Gel, and Hammer Gel.

I drove back to the hotel to prep and rest for race 3.  I had some coffee, some fruit and some Ultragen recovery drink.  Got my same fuels prepped and headed back to the race.

Race 3.  Same as race 2 but this will be bike, swim and run.  I am faster in my events but slower in transition.  Putting a wetsuit on after a bike is ridiculously hard even with plastic bags over your feet.  Swim was seriously scary, leg cramps left me sort of swimming with my legs forced straight to try and uncramp my hamstrings.  I make it out of the water and headed up to T2 to get ready to run.  I hammer the run at 8:04 pace and finish about 1 minute slower than Race 2.

Back at the hotel I finish my pizza, nicely microwaved.  I barely sleep the last night.  Oh well.  The alarm goes off at 4:45 (that's 2:45 to me being in Colorado).

Race 4, Half Ironman 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.2 mile run.  I've done 4 halves and 1 full.  So the half iron started out fine and I have reasonable expectations.  No way.   6,000 feet of climbing or there bouts.  Ironman California - 2800, Ironman 70.3 distance Harvest Moon - 2300 feet.  Oh my god, first race I thought about bailing.  Primarily because I thought I would miss my flight home.  So I decided I would miss my flight and finish the best I could.  I got out of the swim in about 36 minutes.  Transition is uneventful.  On the bike I realize I am missing a water bottle, ugh need to conserve and the temperature is rising.  It would get to be 85 degrees with 80% humidity.

First lap of the bike registers 28.5 miles so seems long (lots of distances this weekend seemed inaccurate).  It takes me over 1:50 this is not going well, the hills are killer and the downhills have switchbacks u-turn style that kill your speed.  2nd lap I get more water and fuel and have further fuel issues as the humidity builds and my other fuel bottle splits open.  Oh well, keep grinding.  About another 1:45 for lap 2, slow as my first FULL Ironman speed-wise.  I hop off for T2 and the run.  My legs are beat.  I start out the run and struggle on the hills.  First 3.25 miles I am pushing on my thighs to go up hills and hitting a 10 minute mile pace, wow I haven't run this slow in awhile.  Legs aren't working and I am wondering why I am doing this, it's so hot and muggy.  Finally I start to get some turnover and push myself.  I bring my average for the whole half marathon down to 9:14 pace and crack the 2 hour mark.  Not too bad, I'll hang my hat on the effort.  3 days, 4 tris, 140+ miles and 15,000+ feet of climbing.  My official time was 13:00:14.

The best part of TTT is the camaraderie.  You are in the same transition area all weekend based on your best half IM time.  So you see all your neighbors running back and forth during the races and setting up and breaking down their areas afterward.  Also the way the run course is set up I got to see my friends Ben and Joe multiple times through the weekend and exchange words of encouragement or fist bumps.  Very cool setup.

I rush through the finish and say bye to Joe and his crew as I now have to run and break down my bike and quickly pack.  I grab a shower and head for the 1:45 drive to the airport.  I arrive 30 minutes before departure.  Crap I figure I am stuck.  But Southwest late checks my bags not promising they will be on my flight and let's me board.  YEAH!  We get to Chicago for my transfer to Denver.  I grab a slice of pizza and inhale it then snag a sandwich for my backpack and go to board my last flight.  I quickly fall asleep.  Wake up eat my sandwich and we get back to Denver.  Happily all my bags and bike arrive.  You rock Southwest!  Great experience overall, crazy hard.

Happy Training!

Wildcat Mountain Trail Half Marathon - Race Report

Saturday Nov 14, 2009 - I woke up for race day around 6:15. The race started at 8:30 and was 2 minutes from the house but I wanted ample time for breakfast, coffee and just to stay relaxed. It was snowing the night before so I was happy to see minimal accumulation outside as this was to be an offroad trail run. I looked outside and saw the temperature at a brisk 38F. It also would have been my Mom's 52nd birthday. She passed away when I was 16. I thought this race would be a good healthy way to celebrate her life.

I arrived over at the race around 7:45. It was pretty packed but well organized. I picked up my race packet and headed over to Southridge Rec Center to change and put my stuff in a locker. One of the big pluses of the Ranch is the Rec Centers, along with the ample trail system. After changing, taking in some EFS gel and a banana I headed back to the starting area. I was looking for my friend Scott Swaney and also Jackie Branch. Both were racing today and they happen to be very fast. Scott's a world class adventure racer (he'll laugh that I wrote that, but it is true) and Jackie is a Boston Qualifier in marathon. Anyway I found Scott (easily recognized by his ginormous calves) and we chatted near the start. I saw Jackie too and wished everybody luck. I scooted back a little from them since I didn't plan to be up too close to the front of the pack.

The start went off at 8:30 and we were off down the hill. This was the first time I ever ran a half marathon without it being at the end of a half Ironman. So I wasn't real sure on strategy but figured I should hold some back for the first half. If a few people passed me on the way out then I was probably doing it right. I felt very good from the start and my heart rate stayed in a pretty good range for me. The first 3 miles seemed mostly up hill. This was an extremely hilly race. The race organizer Mark Geibel said nobody should plan for a PR today. Anyway after the uphill we got some rolling hills and I was still feeling pretty good. I was going below 9 minute miles at this point and happy with that given the hills. I had a rough target of 1 hour 50 minutes which would be a 10 minute PR for me. I figured no swim or bike first should more than compensate for the hills.

Around mile 6 there was a big aid station with porta potties, etc. The race was incredibly well organized with aid stations every other mile and even a pretty good crown considering the temperature and general overcast day. I was still feeling good and so I started to push a little harder. I felt very relaxed and was able to stroll down the hills and muscle up the next hill. The course was relatively solid with minimal mud.

As we meandered through the remaining miles my strength held and I started to pick off people. I counted around 11 people I passed and was passed in the final mile by 2 people. So net +9 turnover ratio (a football term) on the second half and like football I guess the best defense is a good offense. The whole race was a very fun experience. I thought about my mom a lot and smiled and said hello and thank you to every volunteer I saw on the course. I finished the race in 1:52. Good enough for an 8 minute PR and 41st out of 245 people. Not bad for me at all. The hilliness and elevation of the course is probably worth about 12 minutes for me (rough estimate comparing other people's times). So my speed is coming along in the running department.

My wife Dana was at the finish line and made sure they got my name write not Benzon or Benson. We chatted with Scott, Jackie, Scott's wife Jenn and others at the finish line and waited for the awards ceremony. Congratulations to Scott, finishing 3rd in his age group...which would have been better sans his late night of watching midget wrestling, but enough for a medal. And congratulations to Jackie, winner of her age group and 2nd overall female.

Happy Birthday Mom and happy training!