Race Report - Hagerstown duathlon #2

Those who know me, know I was on a quest to win my age group in this race.  I raced this event earlier this year and came in second; that motivated me to enter the race with the goal of actually winning.  Normally I enter races with some sort of performance goal.  Not necessarily a PR, but a substantially improvement or a new technique aimed at improving my racing in the long run. Here is a progress report on how my training went as I tried to claim first place.

After racing the NYC triathlon in July I took a week off.  I was debating what to do with the remainder of the summer.  Work was crazy and I had a plethora of family responsibilities, so I knew I couldn't attempt anything too grandiose.  I thought maybe a 1/2 marathon or century,  but I decided I wouldn't undertake any event that would necessitate needing to train more than 2 hours at any time.  The week after NYC I got an email from the promoter who ran the Hagerstown duathlon series not to forget about the race coming later in the year.  I remembered liking the first event and thinking this event is short enough (2 mile run, 10 mile bike, 3.1 mile run) that I could train for it and not severely impact the rest of my life.  When I made the decision to try and win, however, this meant a lot more detailed work to get ready for the race.

When you are racing to win everything matters. All those thing that are normally overlooked must be scrutinized.  Old habits need to be evaluated and tweaked or perhaps thrown out completely.  Transitions need to actually be practiced!  Race nutrition must be honed to a science.  I even created a race day plan, documenting exactly what I should be doing right up until the race start. So I now find myself one week out from the race, here how its gone so far......

Week 0: Establish baselines before training starts.

So before I even started training for the race I did a few tests to see where I was and what I need to work on.  I determine my lactate threshold wattage on the bike and my lactate threshold pace on the run.  Next, I looked back at the race in which I came in second place.  The guy who won, finished in 1:15:55, he beat me by about 2 minutes.  So my first thought is, make 1:15:00 my goal in case that guy shows up again!  Right there I know I need to lose roughly 3 minutes off my time of 1:18:11.  So where can I get it?  Well I know I was not at my best on the bike when I did this race so I will try and recoup 2 minutes on the bike and another minute over the 5 miles of running (which is about 12 seconds per mile faster).  My transitions are generally pretty good but I figure with practice I can shave 10 seconds off each.  So that's my game plan going in.

Week 1 - 5 See my previous post here.

Week 6 -10

Work has been extremely busy so I had a lot of late night workouts.  Big thumbs up to @TheSufferfest for making my cycling training challenging.  If you have to get on the trainer for any length of time, have a Sufferfest video ready!

My running was really nothing but interval work.  I didn't have time to do many long runs but I made every run pretty intense.  I was doing my interval work at 7:05 to 7:15 pace, well below what I ran in the first race.  Training was brutal, but I could see the improvement, and despite a very harried last two weeks of training, I went in race ready.

The Race:

I got to the race early, set up my transition area and started warming up.  I was expecting rain for the race, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it reasonably dry and warm.  Since I was racing to win, I started scoping the people in my age group.  I started near the front of the pack so anyone running faster than me would have to run past me and I would see them.  The race director started the countdown and then we were off!  I noticed 1 guy in my age group immediately go to the front.  He was running F*CKIN#& FAST! I didn't want to let him get too far ahead but when I looked down at my Garmin I was running at a 6:44 per mile pace!  Way too fast!  I slowed down to a more reasonable 7:15 pace only to watch 3 more guys in my age group go by me!  Having never really raced a triathlon like this I made a decision that I would bank on my bike strength. I was not going to try and run these guys down only to blow up spectacularly.  I zipped through transition with just one mistake, I left one bike shoe on the wrong side of my bike, that probably cost me 5 seconds.  

The Bike:

I was riding my road bike in this race since that's what I had been training on.  I have a Colnago Flight TT bike but I had been having trouble getting comfortable on it lately so I went with comfort at the expense of aerodynamics.  I was moving quickly, but holding back just a bit as planned.  Problem was, apparently no one told those 4 other guys to hold back.  I watched as they pedaled away into the distance.  I was using my power meeting to measure my effort and it worked out perfectly.  At the end of the 10 miles my normalized power was dead on my lactate threshold power.  My coach would be proud!  I felt pretty good coming off the bike and zipped through transition in 1/2 a minute.  

Run #2:

Coming out of transition my legs felt  a bit heavy, but I knew from experience it takes me about 1/2 a mile for them to loosen up.  I expected to run somewhat slower than the first run and I lived up to my expectations.  I still felt strong and I felt even better as I passed a guy from my age group at the mile marker.  This got the adrenaline pumping and I picked up the pace to slightly under 8 minutes per mile.  I grabbed some water at the turn around and started trying to close on the nearest competitor I could see.  It was a woman who had passed me on the bike just before coming into transition.  I set my sites on running her down, but every time I closed just a little she would open up the gap back up ( I later found out I was chasing the woman who finished 3rd overall, yeah I didn't catch her).  She turned out to be a good rabbit and I ended up with a very respectable 25:02 for the 5k run.

At the end of the day I ended up fourth in my age group.  I can't complain though I annihilated my previous best time on the course.  I dropped almost 6 minutes since my race in April.  I ran over 30 seconds per mile better on each run and knocked 3 minutes of my bike as well as almost cutting my transitions in half.  I think this course suits me, so I look forward to returning next year.  Hope to see some you guys out there next year.

Keep training ......

Peace

Robert

A Strange Training Week

Well week 5 of training for the Hagerstown race is in the books, and it has been quite a strange experience.

Week 3 was a GREAT week of training, I managed to survive two very tough Sufferfest training videos (Blender and Hell Hath No Fury), get in a brick workout, ride in the rain and feel good while doing it.  The highlight of the week was watching the ladies of OnPoint Fitness conquer the IronGirl triathlon in Columbia, Maryland. I have ridden and run parts of that course while doing the Columbia triathlon and I can tell you it is not easy!  Through training and sheer strength of will they all came through with flying colors.  Way to go ladies! It was very inspiring to watch all of you cross the finish line.

It must of been the emotional let down that hindered my training in week 4.  I started the week off by missing my strength routine, my legs were feeling heavy, so I decided rest was a better option.  Wednesday rolled around and I just couldn't pull it together enough to get off the couch ( I was tired and stressed from work) so I skipped my planned run.  Thursday and Friday were tough Sufferfest videos (The Wretched and Local Hero) which I managed to survive, but somehow I managed to miss my Saturday workout (still haven't figured that one out....).  So finally Sunday rolled around and since I was light on running I went out for a long run.  This was probably the highlight of my week as I managed to hold an 8 minute and 20 second pace for the first 4 miles and ran 7:32 (with some effort) for the last mile.  It was nice to see my running was finally starting to get a bit faster.

This week brought a mix of ups and downs.  I missed my Monday strength training again (no excuses this time) and my Tuesday brick was uninspired.  So Wednesday rolled around and I procrastinated and procrastinated and proc.... you get the picture.  Next thing I knew it was 10 PM and I hadn't worked out!  Rather than try to do the long workout I had planned I opted to do a 30 minutes lactate threshold test to see if I have made any improvements over the first 5 weeks.  The week before I started my training I did a test which put my power numbers slightly below where I ended last year.  I was hoping for a 5% improvement.  After a good warm up and bit of reluctance I started the test.  I used the Sufferfest training video (The Long Scream)  as motivation.  You get to time trial against the best riders in the world.  Very humbling.....  Anyway after 15 minutes I was slightly ahead of my output from 5 weeks prior and decided to turn up the power.  15 agonizing minutes later I walked  crawled away from the trainer with a nice 6% improvement. I was happy, but shattered, I need to do these tests before 10 PM rolls around.  To make things worse I was now WIDE AWAKE!  I ended up not being able to fall asleep until after 2 AM.  This did not improve my daily 8 AM conference call any I can assure you.  It also left me tired for most of Thursday so no workout again.  Today ended up being my long run day since I wanted to ride the next few days.  Needless to say that did not go well.  I put in 7 miles or so, but it was ugly.  The heat did little to help and the steep hills, well I have never liked steep hills so all around it's been a rough training week.

I am bloody but unbowed!  Tomorrow is long easy ride day.... I can't wait!  Sunday will be negative split brick day (I can certainly wait for that) and Monday will be a strength session (I'm gonna do this one I promise!)

So goes the very topsy turvy world of training, still when all is said and done, I can see the improvements, even with the hiccups.

Hope to see you on the track or the road.

Peace... and keep training.

Robert





 

Week 2 - Be on the lookout for GERMS!

Week 2 is in the books.  It was a tough week.  As much as I love my almost 3 year old son, he is somewhat of a walking petri dish.  True to form, he managed to infect me last week although this toddler born disease was weaker than most.  Still it caused me to miss a key workout and made me take two days off.  While the week was not a total loss, it made me re-shuffle this weeks schedule a bit.  I had to add back last weeks critical workout and add an extra recovery day to the mix.  No biggie, training is nothing if not an exercise in flexibility and consistency.

The one critical workout I made sure not to miss was my long ride.  This workout is important for a number of reasons.  First it teaches my body to use fat for fuel more efficiently.  Secondly, it helps me maintain or drop weight by increasing my fat burning metabolism for the remainder of the day. Thirdly, it forces me to FOCUS on my pace for a long period of time.  This skill comes in handy during races when hard efforts can cause the mind to wander.

The first 4 weeks of my training plan is a build up for the hard workouts to come in the later weeks.  I am counting on a 2 to 3 pound weight loss to help build some running speed so I am also paying special attention to my diet.  I start each day by monitoring my weight and then eating a good breakfast, oh and before I forget.... by getting a good night sleep (minimum 7.5 hours).  Lunch is my "wild card" meal where I will give myself a little leeway for eating something "fun".  That said I am eating lots of fruit for snacks throughout the afternoon to ward off those hunger cravings.  Dinner is a balanced meal, but I am cutting the calories back by about 100 to help with the slow weight loss I am trying to accomplish.  In addition, I am trying to drink more water (I hate water, I really do) and so far that seems to be working.  On average I have between 7.5 and 8 hours of training a week planned.  This may seem like a little, but it is a short race!  I expect the whole race to take between 1 and 15 minutes and 1 hour and 17 minutes.  At least that's the goal.  I will know better when I start doing some testing this week.  

Key Workouts:

This week one of the key workouts I will undertake is developing my power profile.  I will be testing my power output at 5 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 20 minutes.  The idea behind this is to see what kind of rider my physiology says I am.  Once I have the results, I can begin to bolster my weaknesses and focus on the types of workouts I need to schedule for the race.  The other key workout will be the aforementioned long ride (with hills this week).  Great fitness here I come.....

Random Thoughts:

I want to wish good tidings to the triathletes from OnPoint Fitness who are racing the Iron Girl triathlon this weekend.  You ladies rock!  I will be there to cheer you ladies on (after my ride of course!)

Peace and great training to all......

After years of racing a new goal

I'm going to try something new for my last race of the season.  I am going to try to win.  OK so I am NOT going to try to win the race overall, I am realistic, but I am going to try to win my age group.  I have had some success racing shorter sprint triathlons and duathlons in the past.  In fact, this year I came in second in one and third in another.  But this race has one MAJOR difference, I am training to WIN this race.

What's the big difference?  Normally I go into a race with a goal, sometimes its a time goal, other times it's a training goal, and often it's just an I love to race goal.  But there is a fundamentally different mindset required going into a race with THE goal of being first.  To start, training quality becomes paramount. What do I mean by this?  Every training session takes on a distinct role, as you build toward your higher fitness level.  It is no longer good enough to just get out there.  Each training session has a specific purpose and fits into a specific part of my race plan. Oh and did I mention I have a race plan!  I will approach the weeks and days leading up to this race as a rehearsal.  I will not be satisfied with merely getting fit, I will perfect and practice disciplines I normally take for granted (transitions anyone).

OK, so I put it out there, now I have to execute.  As I write this my training journal is informing me that I have 9 weeks, 4 days, 13 hours, 22 minutes, and 56 seconds until the race.  I already have week one of my training / race plan in the books and it went exceptionally well.  I missed one workout, but I managed to adjust my plan to compensate somewhat.  I didn't stress over missing that one workout.  I have been at this long enough to know that flexibility is just as important as sticking closely to the plan.

My plan involves getting significantly stronger on the bike in the next 9 1/2 weeks.  How will I do this?  With a couple of cool tools!  My Compu-trainer is the main weapon in my arsenal and I have been monitoring my wattage very closely over the last 8 weeks.  As I embark on my race plan, I am just below my best watts / per kilogram ratio and the goals is to hit a new personal best 2 weeks prior to the race.  I am relying heavily on training videos by The Sufferfest (if you haven't used these training videos, you are missing out).  I also plan to drop 3 - 4 pounds which should help immensely.

I am setting my time goal to be slightly faster than the guy who beat me earlier this year.  Now of course, someone faster could show up at the race, but I will tackle that problem during the race if necessary.

My race and training analysis has told me if I am going to win this race, it will come down to the second run.  This has always been my Achilles heel in the duathlon.  Looking at my second place from earlier this year was very enlightening.  I was 1:25 behind the front runner after the first run ,which I ran very conservatively (so maybe I won't do that this time....).  We basically had the same bike time ( I was definitely not at my best in April so I plan to take back some time on the bike) and I out transitioned my nemesis (sounds much better than the guy who beat me) by 35 seconds.  So after the two legs of the race I was 50 seconds behind which means, I would have needed to run about 20 seconds per mile faster than him to win.  Of course that didn't happen and in fact I gave back 1 minute and 16 seconds over the last 5k.  One glimmer of hope in my analysis was that my nemesis ran a full minute per mile slower on the last 5 k where as I ran 38 seconds per mile slower, perhaps I had a bit more left relative to when I started.  This give me hope (although as my boss like to tell me, "Hope is not a strategy").  So it's pretty obvious a big part of my plan will be doing a lot of track work over the next 9 + weeks.

I am looking for some training partners as well, so if you need some very challenging workout (or some really easy ones) look for my posts on Facebook and come join me for a winning good time.

See ya out there......


Robert