Garry Bjorklund 2015

Heading into Grandma's weekend this year I had put in some solid run training. With that in mind, a PR should have been in the bag. The hard half iron the week prior was the one caveat in the plan. Well that and the weather...  Leading into race day the weather forecast was for steady rain at the start and heavy rain during the run. 

Pre Race

With a 6:15 start, I set the alarm for 3:30. Damn is that early. I got up, had my toast for breakfast and rolled out. I had to pick up Serena at 4:30 prior to hitting the DECC. She would be running her first half, so I was hoping to make the pre race challenges a bit easier for her. As we approached the DECC we passed by the long line and swung into the parking lot by the Irvin with no wait at all. Score one for having done this before. We grabbed our clothes bag and final snacks and got ourselves in line for a bus. 

No drama on the ride and we were happy that it was not raining as of yet. We both had a throwaway warm shirt on the stay warm at the start, and snacked over the short ride. When they dropped us off, we slowly wandered towards the gear trucks where we dropped our bags. We looked for fellow DRC group runners and said hello to a few. We then hit the porta potty line and took care of business. 

We found a couple runners that she was planning on starting with, and I found Brian and Dave so we wished each other luck and went to our respective areas of the corral. Our plan was for 7:00 flat to start and see where it went. 

Race Time

Off we went and I tried to get in a groove quickly. Mile one went by in 6:50 so a bit quick, but not worried. At about mile 2.5, the light rain started. Not pouring, but rain none the less. We kept rolling along and soon we were approaching London Road. At the Lester River, I started to notice my legs feeling a bit tired. Last weekends race was coming back. I tried to keep steady and see what I could do over the next couple miles. 

As we approached Lemon Drop Hill I was starting to struggle. The uphills were real tough. I really focused on taking advantage of the downhill after Lemon Drop because I knew the small hill at Super One would be tough also. By now my mile splits were in the 7:10 range, but a PR was still an option if I could keep it together on the flats through downtown. 

After passing DRC I really focused on turnover. After we passed Wells Fargo and turned onto 5th Ave West it was just one mile to go. Muscle up the hill and use the downhill to get my speed back. Around the DECC, by the Irvin and onto the homestretch. A PR was going to happen, and I ran strong through the finish line. All in all, a good effort. 

Post Race

As it was still sprinkling, I grabbed my clothes bag and changed to stay warm. I was looking for friends to see how everybody's space went. I caught up with Kris, Skeeter, Tiffany, Noah and Halie who all seemed pleased. I was really looking for Serena as her sprained ankle was a big question mark for her. I finally saw her in the crowd and she gave me a big hug. I was so happy for her to be able to get a great time for her first half marathon. She even got that time running with a really sore ankle. 

Early Tri Season Recap

Tri Season Kick Off

I signed up for my first ever indoor tri this year at the Essentia Health Indoor tri. This race runs with an equal time format where you spend 30 minutes at each discipline. For the swimming and running, this would be pretty basic. For the bike, the exercise bikes we would ride rewarded high rpm spinning. Not my forte, and with total distance being the goal I was pretty sure I had no chance at the overall. 

For the swim, I had a goal of 1600 meters and I ended up hitting it exactly. That was a solid start and I worked to change quickly and get to the bike as they only gave us five minutes. When the bike time started, I gave it my best shot. I held close to 125 rpm for most of the time which was very uncomfortable for me. However, the wide seats lead to some even more uncomfortable chafing. After thirty minutes of torture, it was down to the treadmill. At this point, I was .5 miles behind my buddy Ryan Dewey for our personal bet for breakfast after the race. With this in mind, I set the treadmill to 6:15 miles and off I went. 

When it was all said and done, I could not make up the last .2 miles. Although my 4.7 miles ended up being the best run effort, and my swim was third for overall distance. Not a bad start to the season. 

GW Du 

I had been doing some good run training so I was curious to put it to good use at Gear West. I had not been out cycling as much as I had wanted, but still felt I could ride hard. With this in mind I challenged tri studette Lisa Lendway to a heads up beer challenge. With her swim, I figured a duathlon would be my best chance against her. She has rocked some great times early this season, so I hoped the fact that I have raced this course would help me out. 

Mother Nature thought a good dose of rain as we setup would make for a fun race course. I chatted with buddies Nick and Mike (IM Wisconsin race mates) and we all predicted our finish times for a beer. Soon we were off on the soggy cross country run. I ran fast, but a touch reserved as I knew the second run would be tough. On the approach to the final sharp hill I saw Lisa (started a couple minutes back with the ladies wave) and made a mental note for the second run. 

On the bike, the gusty winds made for some mildly sketchy moments. First time this year with the disc cover and I need to remember to keep the power down and relax. I felt confident with my effort, but was unsure if I had ridden hard enough. When I hit T2, I moved quickly into my shoes and onto the run. I was able to get into my goal pace and roll. I saw Lisa about the same place on the second run and was not sure if that was good or bad. In the end, she got me by less than a minute!  Nice effort all day by her. 

I did manage to be within 40 seconds of my time prediction, but Mike was less than 15 seconds form his prediction for the win!  So in recap, a solid effort but two beer payouts when it is all said and done. 

Buffalo

We had a huge Duluth contingent heading to Buffalo for a season opening effort. Ryan Dewey and I cruised down together and bumped into Tiffany at packet pickup. Nick, Mike, Ryan Dewey, Skeeter, Clint, Kris, Tiffany and Michelle were all racing, so this was going to be fun. We put together teams for a beer bet and everybody put down a finish time estimate for another beer to the winner. 

Everyone was amped to get the season underway and we had perfect race weather. After swimming in Pike Lake on Tuesday, Buffalo Lake felt absolutely toasty. I got rolling and turned left into the waves after the fountain. On this stretch I took a few gulps of lake water, but had a solid draft for a good chunk of the leg. Around the farthest buoy and heading back to shore and I felt pretty good. As I stood up and started taking my wetsuit off, I looked down to see Kris swimming in. Only losing a couple minutes to her was a good sign. 

I made my way through T1 quickly and onto the bike. It turns out I should have left my shoes on the bike as the wet grass in T1 got in my cleats a bit and made clipping in a challenge. Once I got clipped in, I went to work. For the first 15 or so miles we would be going over rolling hills and into the wind. I worked hard and managed to pass Tiff early, and with her running ability I needed to bike hard to keep her behind me. As I turned onto the out and bike I passed Clint and Michelle in quick succession. I then caught Ryan Dewey and figured that was it for race buddies I would actually catch up to. When we turned for the final stretch with the wind, I actually ran out of gears. With the tail wind and flats to slight downhills I really could have used a 53 front chain ring. 

Through T2 and onto the run. The goal was to try running 7:00 pace and see what happens. Right away I was a bit slow as we were headed up a small hill. At the top a lady went by at a good clip and I figured let's see if I can match that pace. Between the down hill and my new pace setter I made good time to the short course turn. Now I started seeing the long course leaders and Mike came by looking good with Nick on his tail. After three ladies I saw another Duluth athlete Elaine Nelson. With only 2 miles to go I figured even her running ability would not be enough to win. As I approached the turn, I passed a guy in my age group and made a push to help it stick. 

On the way back, the heat was noticeable. Couple that with the hills and my pace was a bit slower but still pretty good. On the way back I saw Ryan Dewey, Michelle, Clint and Tiffany in order. Based on their pace, they would have a close finish between the four of them. I finished with a solid time and felt good for the first race of the year. I beat my prediction by a few minutes so I knew I would not win that beer, but I was cheering on the rest of my team for the group bet. Tiffany and Michelle raced well and finished strong, but our team lost by 26 seconds. So, I have now started the year with five straight losses in the side bet department...  I need to work on that. 

Liberty/Capitol City Double

One week later and my first big race of the season. I was using Liberty as a check on my prep for IM Canada and IM Wisconsin. The goal was a PR, and if things went well a sub 5:00. The race was also supposed to be a showdown with old race buddy Lou Hughes, but he pussed out and signed up for the Olympic race instead of the half. 

Race morning arrived to gray skies. The weather forecast was for clouds, but no rain and light winds with upper 60's as temps. Perfect for racing fast. Into the water and I tried to keep a nice steady pace. As I exited the lake, I felt like it was a bit slow, but focused on the trek to transition and getting the bike rolling. At this point I noticed it was raining.  Really, rain for the bike?!?  

Try to ignore the rain and got into my groove on the bike. I felt good and focused on keeping my effort level steady. The first loop went well and I was keeping a solid pace. For the second loop I was a bit slower to make sure I was ready for the run and also the last 9 miles which would be with the wind back to T2. As I turned onto the road heading back to Rockford, I made a point to pick up the effort a touch. I wanted to use the tailwind as much as possible. Once through Delano I knew I had about three miles left on the bike so I focused on getting mentally ready to run. At this point, I realized I needed to piss. This is not a normal issue for me in a half iron. Luckily, I racked next to the porta-potty in transition. Of course, wearing bib shorts and the rain made it a bit of a challenge. It is a lot harder than you think to get out of a singlet when you are wet. 

After a quick visit to the porta-potty was done, I grabbed my race number/hat/gel/mountain dew and headed out. I took the gel in the first mile and sipped the dew through the run. I checked my split at mile one and saw I was sub 7:30. Not quite sure I can hold that pace, but I felt good so I kept with it. As I ran I noticed that this run was going up or down a hill at all times. After mile one, the next two had a good chunk of down that would be a challenging finish to our run as it was an out and back. 

As I hit the turn around, I was still holding 7:30 or so every mile. With the clouds holding on, I was feeling pretty good still. I tried to stay steady and even reeled in another few runners in front of me. As I approached the final mile I started to try and pick my pace up a bit. With about a half mile to go, I saw one guy just ahead. I was catching him pretty easy, but would he pick it up as I approached/passed. At the .2 to go point I went by him. As I did, he noticed I was in his age group and he sprinted by me. I just held steady and bided my time. With about 100 yards left I picked up the pace to make my move. I was able to pass the guy again and make it stick this time. When it was all said and done, third in my age group with a half iron PR. Not bad. 

After a quick break, I packed up and cruised over to St Paul to register for the Capitol City tri. The legs were feeling good, so I figured why not. CC was a nice sprint distance and the weather was looking good. Plus I had the beer I owed Lisa from Gear West with me and she left Liberty long before I was done since I am a bit slow. With CC being a sprint I figured I could get her the beer before she had to head home this time. 

With a nice short swim, I was just focusing on smooth swimming and sighting well. It went well, and I was back to T1 soon. I was not sure how my legs would feel after the hard effort the day prior, but with a closed course and 13 miles I figured a strategy of just hammering as hard as I could would work. I caught a couple guys early, and then went back and forth with two guys the rest of the way. As I hit T2 my legs were a bit sore, but I figured it would be good to see how hard I could push the tired legs for three miles. Straight out of transition there was a nice hill that really tested me. Once on top, I tried to get to a nice pace of just under 7:00 per mile. Outside of the hills, I held that pace pretty good and brought it home to a good overall time. 

Recap

Overall, I was pleased with how he season started. Specifically I felt I had strong efforts at Buffalo and Liberty. The PR and really good run at Liberty left me feeling good for the rest of the season. Now I need to get the miles in so Canada goes well in a month. 

Loony Challenge 2014

Similar to last year, I signed up for the loony challenge to get myself a guaranteed entry into the TC 10 miler. Last year I decided that after my late September romp through the Sierra Nevada mountains that running training was done. Instead I focused on finishing some important weatherproofing things on my house. So I showed up at the 10k Saturday morning not having done any exercise in two weeks. 

I figured this year could only go better as I was running a reasonable amount this fall. Should have been more, but it was better than zero. Included in this training I was showing up for the weekly trail runs that NMTC was putting on. On the Wednesday prior to the loony challenge, the weekly run was at Bagley Nature Center by UMD. Just to make life interesting, I found a way to roll my ankle at the race. 

So, limping around on Friday collecting my packet had me a little worried about the weekend events. Since it was paid for already, I figured I would show up and see how things rolled.

10K

At the start line I figured I would take it easy at the start to see how it felt. I also knew that running uphill or downhill was rougher than flats and the race started with a good climb. After a nice easy first mile I started ramping it up. The foot felt ok, and I finished in a decent time overall. 

5K

Less than 45 minutes to wait for the next go round gave me enough time to get something to drink and re-assess my race wear. I then decided to head back to the start line and get ready to run again. Waiting to start I bumped into Stacie from the DRC running group. We chatted about our goals and got ready to go. She was shooting to go a touch faster than I wanted to so she went a couple rows ahead of me just before the gun. I took the start a touch faster than the 10k, but still a touch easier than I might really have been able to. At the top of the hill I once again picked up the pace and held it through the finish. 

Recovery

Last year I did not do a good job recovering from the Saturday runs in preparation for Sunday. This year I made a point of getting my legs ready. I rode the exercise bike at the hotel for a bit to get some lactic acid out, and then used my compression socks for a bit too. 

10 Miler

So this year I stayed at the Courtyard at the corner of Washington Ave and 35W. This was about 3/4 mile from the start line. With no Metrodome this year, I figured I would simply jog over from the hotel as a warm up and arrive with 20 minutes before the race started. Perfect plan. I packed up my clothes for after the race, got into my race clothes and jogged over. I then threw my bag onto the UPS truck (best race sponsor ever; UPS as the bag transfer folks!  Genius!). I then bumped into Tiffany and Leslie, two killer fast ladies from the Duluth area also running the ten miler. They were looking ready to rock, and when I talked to them after the race they both had nailed good times and seemed happy with their race. 

I headed over to the start line and got ready to roll. With the road construction, the first three miles were going to be all new until we joined back up to the standard course at the three mile mark. When we hit the flag markin one mile, my watch said 0.86 miles. Based on the reaction of everyone around me, I was not the only one thinking it was short. We proceeded over to the east bank or the river and the U of M campus. It was pretty with the leaves, campus and the river. When we met up with the standard course at mile three, my watch still read over 0.1 miles short. 

At this point we were on the only real sustained flat portion of the course so I tried to maintain a nice even pace and assess how my foot and legs were feeling. The ankle/foot was doing ok as long as I did not step on uneven ground. The legs were doing pretty good also. I think the clown shoes (Hoka's) I wore for all three races were helping out in that regard. 

Back to the hills with the long slow climb up Summit and I was trying to stay focused. I was able to stay pretty consistent and soon enough I was on the flat portion of mile 9 getting ready for the big downhill to the finish. I kept a smooth and relatively good pace down the hill and the foot still felt ok. Through the finish and I was happy with my time and the weekend of races overall. 

2014 Tri Season Review

So I should have been blogging more, but I slacked off. So, I will wrap up the entire 2014 multistory season in one blog post...

Tinman (Morris, MN; 1100 yards pool swim, 18 mile, 6.2 mile)

Good start to the season with no hiccups. 

Blaine Triathlon (Blaine, MN; 0.25 mile, 16.7 mile, 3.5 mile)

51 degree water. Enough said. 

Gear West Duathlon (Orono, MN; 5k, 28k, 5k)

Good weather and ran the second run well for a good day. 

Grand Rapids Triathlon (Grand Rapids, MI; 1.2 mile, 56 mile, 13.1 mile)

"A" race for the year. Terrible swim, solid bike and solid run for a half iron PR in 5:04:xx. Did not earn a spot to worlds in 2015, but still happy with my race. 

Lake Waconia (Waconia, MN; 0.5 mile, 20 mile, 4 mile)

Tired legs from the Garry Bjorklund the previous weekend, but still a fun day. Lost my heads up race bet with Lou, but I will get that as soon as he gives me a rematch....

Z Tri (Grand Rapids, MN; 1/3 mile, 14 mile, 3.2 mile)

Great weather and a fun way to start the Fourth of July. Really happy with my run here as biked hard and ran sub 7:00 still.

Duluth Tri (Duluth, MN; 1.2 mile, 56 mile, 13.1 mile)

For all that went right at my last half iron, it all went bad here. Could not find a good rhythm on the back half of the bike, and the heat crushed me on the run. 

Moose Lake Tri (Moose Lake, MN; 0.4 mile, 12 mile, 5 mile)

Great weather to start. Solid swim with a decent bike to follow. Ran a little slower than I wanted but ended up with my first overall win ever. 

Brewhouse Sprint (Duluth, MN; 820 yards, 12.4 mile, 3.1 mile)

Signed up the night before for the sprint as a bunch of buddies were doing it. We split into teams for a beer bet with Nick and I taking Mike and Ryan down when Ryan crashed coming into T2. Biked well and once again kept my run pace sub 7:00 to have a solid race and set my age group record. 

Green Lake Tri (Spicer, MN; 0.75 mile, 22 mile, 6 mile)

Rolled down to Spicer with Nick and Mike for Tri road trip. Kris, Skeeter and Meirs met up with us so we put together another beer bet for the day. I had an average swim, and hammered the bike.  On the run I still ran decent for a good race overall. However, Mike, Kris and Skeeter won our bet this time. Great race road trip overall. 

Superior Man Tri (bike course director...)

Completely different outlook on race day. Tiring and busy, but had a good time. 

Burrito Union (Superior, WI; 600 yards, 12.4 mile, 3 mile)

A fun race to end the multisport season with. 

Overall ten triathlons, one Duathlon and one Tri as a course director. 

Burrito Union 2014

For this years running of BU, I thought I would try the one-and-done version. One swing though the race course and get a beer to watch all of the 5&10 hour competitors still rolling.

Race morning dawned and it looked nice, although a touch cool with the temp in the upper 40's. 

I cruised over to Pattison State Park just south of Superior Wisconsin and got my stuff setup in transition. Pretty basic setup with it being a sprint course. I then figured I should check out the start of the bike course since it has changed since two years ago. I jogged through the start and saw the grassy and gravel sections we were warned of. Nothing to bad, so it was time to get going. 

Swim

63 was the stated water temp as we watched the ten hour competitors take off. I then slipped into my batman costume, aka wetsuit and waded into the lake. 

Shorter hair, and no beard but you get the idea...

A quick countdown and off we went. Things were going fine until the second buoy. There we turned directly into the sun making the next buoy impossible to see. Swim in the general direction of the woods and hope I was not too far off. Finally into the shade of the trees and I can see I took an amazingly good line. I will call it skill, you can call it luck...  Around the final buoy and out of the water. No watch and no clock so I don't have splits, but it felt ok for time. 

Bike 

Came onto the bike right behind a couple folks, so I had to be patient through the campground as they told us it was a no pass zone. Once on the road I ramped it up. Slight tail wind on the way out, so had to keep pressing hard. By the time it was done, I managed to catch all but one person from our wave.

Run

They had changed the run course since the last time I did this race also. It was still a trail run, so it was a matter a running hard and trying not to trip and fall. There are a lot of steps and a couple times I came at them a touch fast but I managed to stay upright. I ran hard, but could not catch the one guy in our wave ahead of me. 

Recap

In the end, the guy ahead of me was a 5 Hour competitor so I took home the win. It also happened to be a course record. Since I raced the Duluth Tri and the Brewhouse Sprint in addition to the Burrito Union I got a golden growler to go with my finishers pint glass and winners bowl. 

Superior Man 2013 - aka Epic Heat Round 2

I remember saying last year that the high heat and SW winds for the inaugural edition of Superior Man were the worst weather conditions we could see for a late August Tri in Duluth. I was wrong. Very wrong...

Short Version

Swim - epic chop. Felt like we were swimming uphill at times. Toughest swim ever for me. 43:xx. Five minutes slower than Boulder. 

T1 - massive wrestling match with the right wetsuit arm on the run in.  Otherwise smooth and controlled. 

Bike - knew we had a tailwind to start so I went out fast but controlled. Hit Two Harbors in 1:10. Nothing exciting, which is good, and simply fought the headwind on the way home to a 2:32:xx.  

T2 - how much crap do I need to run?  Hat, glasses, race number belt, salt, GPS watch, cold water bottle...  Quick and efficient though.

Run - hot. Beer at Canal Park Brewery aid station, dip in Lake Superior, and lots of ice down the Tri bibs...  Did I mention it was hot?

Long Version

Pre-Race

Alarm at 4:30 and boy does that seem early...  Had a quick breakfast of toast and juice. Threw all of my stuff in my car and rolled out. As I pulled into the DECC the temp reads 79 degrees at 5:30 am.  It was fitting that the song "Hate My Life" came on at that moment...  Just remember, you paid for the opportunity to race today...

Setup my transition spot and chatted with everyone I knew doing the race, and plenty of random others. Lots of excitement, along with anxiety over the heat and wind. 

Swim

Boarded boat number two and headed to the top deck so I could once again jump off dead last. The chop from the wind looked rough and word was it delayed the take off of boat two. The Vista Fleet crew did a great job mooring the boat by Bayfront so we could get our race underway. 

Macarena?!?  That was the last song I heard prior to jumping in...  Thankfully it did not get stuck in my head for the ride...  As I got to the bottom of the stairs, I gave Clint the question and got the ok to dive in again. The one perk I get for going dfl.  And in I went!  

The water felt brisk but not too cold. I quickly got out and into a rhythm.  The chop on the south side was noticeable. About 1/4 of the way down the first leg, a kayak was right by me and asked if everything was ok.  Do I look that bad when I swim?  I kept plugging along and noticed I had a lady drafting off of me.  Not a problem, but I needed to pee and did not want to do that with someone right behind me so I waited. But she was on me like white on rice for the whole first lap.  I finally ditched her after seeing someone swimming the wrong way!?!  He was swimming well and I did not notice him until he was behind me so I did not say anything to him.  

On lap two the chop was even more apparent and it was like swimming uphill at times. There were strokes where my hand was still vertical as I was bringing it around and it would be hit by a wave and be totally under water. I drank plenty of Lake Superior and felt like a sock in the washing machine at times.  But finally the ladder was in sight. 

T1 

Once on dry land I started running because I was happy to not be getting tossed about.  Got to my bike and grabbed a gel while I put my helmet and socks on.  Threw my Gatorade chews in my pocket, flipped the camera and computer on and I was off.  

Bike 

Knowing we would have a strong tailwind up to Two Harbors (and a strong headwind home...), I wanted to make sure I took advantage without going too hard on the way out.  I also wanted to make sure I was drinking because it would be hot for the run and if I came in dehydrated from the bike, well that would suck...  

The chunk through town went by smoothly. I navigated the turns etc with no issues and soon enough was climbing the first hill on the expressway.  Maintain my pace while not going over my power threshold were my thoughts. With such an epically slow swim, I was passing quite a number of folks early on.  With the time trial start, there never seemed to be groups or drafting so that is nice.  

Just after the first aid station I came up behind my friend Caro.  This worried me a bit as I did not expect to see her so soon.  She was borrowing my Cervelo and I hoped it was not causing her issues. As I went by she was in good spirits so that was a good sign.  She would later pass me on the run on her way to third lady overall.  Rocking a great bike and run split using a bike she had never ridden that was less than ideal fitting (it was close, but she wanted her aerobars a little further away from the seat). 

Once we turned the corner at Two Harbors we felt the wind...  So that is why I was pushing 25+ on the flats with little effort...  Stay aero, and keep pedaling. Don't worry about a low speed number, everybody is seeing them...

The wind coupled with the rougher roads after Knife River had me in a little bit of a low spot.  Sore legs, sore lower back,  no energy...  All the things that can creep up on me in longer races. After the water stop I tried to drink a little more and get back into my groove. The wind decided to really smack us around by McQuade harbor. Flat road and 15 mph...  Ouch...  Finally got to London Road and got to ride "against traffic" (on the left shoulder) which is a little odd for a biker but fun too... 

As we approached 40th ave west I saw a guy running his fat tire bike because the tire was flat. Dude.  How on earth did you ride almost 50 miles on a fat tire bike that fast!?!  Thought about throwing him my flat repair stuff but quickly realized it would do him no good...  Yup, that is your brain at mile 50...  Heard later people saw him get back to T2...  Hope he finished.   He is hardcore!

T2 

Where did all of this shit come from?  Slip the bike on the rack, ditch the helmet, on with the shoes.  Pick up my hat, glasses, salt tablets, race belt, water bottle, GPS watch, kitchen sink...  You know it is hot out when a bottle of water frozen over night is not that cold when stored indoors out of the sun for six hours...

Run (Shuffle) 

My plan was to manage the run.  From the get go I panned on walking the aid stations so I could get in plenty of water. I would walk the uphills when that became an issue.  From the get go I kept a nice easy pace, if it was cool and I had not just biked 56 miles after swimming uphill like a salmon for over a mile.  At the aid stations I planned on ice and water at all of them.  Gatorade or Pepsi would be a station by station decision.  

The first lap was steady. Walk the aid stations grabbing water and ice from the great volunteers and staying as hydrated as possible.  The wind that plagued us for the last 27 miles was now going to be our friend at times. Whenever it was a head wind on the run, it did help cool you off.  Heading down railroad street it felt nice as a watched the string of runners ahead of me.  It reminded me of a bunch of semis driving up Thompson hill.  Nobody was moving fast, but we were all moving forward with purpose. At the end of lap one the stint through Bayfront Park was nice as the wind was coming off the harbor and felt cooler.  

Lap two...  I had a plan to dip in Lake Superior at the first aid station if it was really hot.  Well, it was really hot 5-10 degrees ago...  Below is the GPS track showing my little detour for my cool down.

As I approached the first aid station by the Canal Park Brewery, I grabbed my water and ice.  On a whim I asked for beer since it was mile 8 and all...  Low and behold they had Growlers and poured me a glass. I took it and headed for the lake. 

Jumping in felt great. Nice and cool all over. I got out and got back to the run. Same story, run to the aid station, grab ice and water, and get rolling. My mile splits were not great, but I was still running. As we headed back on the Lakewalk, I noticed my doctor volunteering and wondered what the official advice would be on completing a half iron race in high heat and humidity...  

After the final aid station, I got back to pace. Time to run it in to the finish line. I picked off a few racers in the last half mile, and finished with a hard earned 5:45 or so.  

Overall 

Not my best time of the year, but i was very pleased with how I managed the race based on the conditions.  The run in the heat was tough, but I felt like I handled it well.  Not exactly my best run time, but I was still running strong at the finish.

I have to give Clint and the whole Superior Man crew a tip of the hat.  They made some nice changes to the race that were noticeable upgrades; carpet mats for transition to keep us from slipping, taking the bike course off of the railroad tracks, and a new two loop run course.  On top of that, I have never seen a run course aid station setup handle that kind of heat with no problems so well.  They never ran out of ice and the volunteers were great.  

Garry Bjorklund 2013

In my preparation for the Garry Bjorklund this year, I tried joining the Duluth Running Company training group. With my solid PR I set two years ago, and the inevitable aging process I figured it would be a chance worth trying to see if I could coax a little more speed out of my running. The biggest advantage I found from the group was the incentive to get out early in the season when the weather was crappy because I knew there was a group waiting. 

Race Day

As race day dawned, the weather looked good. Not too hot and no headwind. My goal was to go out around 7:10 pace as my PR is right at 7:11 pace. As I waited for the start it was nice to chat with everyone I knew who was running. I have never been much for warming up, so it was a nice way to pass the time. As the start edged closer, I downed my gel and lined up with the 7:00 minute area towards the lake side. 

I got off to a solid start and felt good right away. My first few mile splits were low 7:00's with mile three being in the high 6:50's. I tried to back it off ever so slightly to make sure I was not going to crash at Lemon Drop Hill.  The middle few miles were right at 7:05 to 7:10 so I was happy. 

London Road

As we headed down London Road, a large group of college age girls started slowly passing me. They were a group of CC runners. At the same time I was passing a younger guy.  Everyone was chatting and I heard the guy was a senior at East. As the ladies pulled away, I tried to convince him to stay with them. He just did not have it in him. Too bad. 

Moment of Truth

Lemon Drop Hill...  I was still feeling pretty good as I approached the hill, but I knew that could all change as I went up it.  I made a point of taking it easy to not aggravate my calf and instead wanted to focus on getting back up to pace at the top.  Once over the top, I was able to get back on my pace quick. On top of that, I still felt strong. On the gradual decline into mile marker 10 there were some college age spectators with Stella Artois in cans. They offered so I took one. A little carb with my hydration...

Finish Strong

As we headed down Superior Street, I focused on keeping my pace solid. With only a couple miles left, I just needed to stay on my pace and I had a PR in the bag. When I crossed the line, I had a PR of 1:32:49, 7:06 per mile average. Overall it was a good race for me. 

Post Race

With the chilly temps, I did not stick around for too long. Basically I changed, got some snacks and bailed out. 

New Bri Tri - Season Kick Off

Short Version

Cold swim, flat tire, solid run. 

Long Version

So after some back and forth discussions with Mike and Clint from Duluth Running Co., we all decided to head out for the New Bri Tri as a season starter. The weather forecast was 50/50 on if it would rain, and in the end we had great race weather. No rain, and the temps were in the mid 60's for the race.

We all showed up early and signed up race morning.  I went to work getting everything set up for the race. Happily I did not seem to forget anything needed for a good race. Mike would be in the first wave, Clint in wave two, and I got to go off in wave three. With two minutes separation, I knew Mike would be up the road the whole time. I figured Clint would be seen on the run out and back, but most likely not able to be caught. 

Swim

Cold.  With our lingering winter around Minnesota, everyone knew the water would be brisk. The RD said 62 degrees. I was glad to have a full sleeve wetsuit for this one. The first few strokes felt a little chilly, but after a minute or two it was just another swim. Since I had not been swimming much so far this year, I focused on staying smooth and straight.  No sense swimming any further than I had to.  When I hit shore, I felt like I had a good swim.  As usual, I totally forgot to hit my watch for a split, but later saw in the results it was a 13:41 for a half mile. Solid for me overall. 

Bike

I have not been biking as much as I would like.  The poor weather has been keeping me from getting out some times. Being in the third wave, and also a little slower in the water, there were plenty of bikers on the road in front of me. Heading out of the park, I had to pass a minivan and got stuck behind a group of slower cyclists taking up the whole lane at one point. 

Once out of the park, I tried to settle in and get a good pace going. This course has a bunch of turns and it helped to have ridden the course last year. Knowing the corners before you got to them helped me carry a little more speed. Just after I passed the half way point as I was navigating the 170 degree corner I hit a pot hole with my back tire. I saw it in time to get the front tire up over it, but the back tire hit it straight on and blew. It was flat within one second. 

I set to changing my tire and in just over five minutes I was back on my way. I was now back in the pack and trying to pass people again. I once again got caught up behind a couple of bikers who would not pass a car that was stuck behind a slower biker. After getting by them, the remainder of the ride was uneventful. 

Run

I was feeling decent for the run, even if the legs were a little heavy. I was hoping that had more to do with it being the first race of the season and the fact that I had not run off the bike much yet this year. After about half a mile and cresting the first hill my legs started to come around. Now I started to pick off the other runners. SKINNYSKI.COM was at the race taking pictures and just after I started getting in my groove I came across the photographer. The following pictures show me coming up on the photographer with the final picture with me front and center looking pretty good for me. 

Far left in the distance.

Under the guys right elbow in the distance.

On the right.

I rarely look this happy during a run...

I kept the pace strong and tried to build as I hit the two mile mark. Right after the far turnaround, I had a lady behind me that helped push me for a half mile or so before she finally passed me, and then just as I came to the finish line someone made a push to pass so I had to give it one last sprint to make sure it did not happen. 

1:17:08 when it is all said and done. Take out the flat changing time and I would be really happy with that time. Bottom line, a good first tri of the season.

TC 10 Mile Race Report

Short Version – 1:09:04 PR by 52 seconds

Long Version

Came into this race with decent run fitness, and some up and down results throughout the summer.  No great run race results, but I have had some good results from triathlons so I was thinking I had a 50/50 shot at a PR.  The weather was decent for the race with very cool temps (30 at the start) and the wind would not be a headwind for us.

Pre-Race

Nothing special here.  Wake up and have my standard two pieces of toast and some Gatorade and water.  Head to downtown and park in a nearby ramp.  Walk over to the Dome…  Of course, seeing tailgaters for the 3:20 Vikings game already setup at 6:00 am was a little bit of a surprise. 

Once in the dome I ran into Dave and wished him luck.  Then I went to look for a short bathroom line.  I found one where I walked right in and did my business.  Once that was over with I finalized my race wardrobe and headed to the exit.  Ran into a few other runners I knew and said hello, and then made it to the bag drop and on to the start line.  When I got to the corral I bumped into Kraig and we chatted a bit.  Wished each other luck and off to find the correct spot to start my race from.  I also took in my gel and some more Gatorade to finalize my pre-race fueling.

Off We Go

On your marks, go…  With that we all started running.  I was close to the front (12 seconds to the mat) and had no trouble with the crowd.  Quickly got into my groove and tried to not take the race out too fast as is typical for me.  Take advantage of the downhill, but don’t burn yourself up is all I was thinking.  As we were going through the second mile I started to peel my outer shirt I was wearing just for that purpose.  I wanted to be ready at the aid station to ditch it.  Up the steep hill to the bridge I simply concentrated on keeping the feet turning over and soon enough I was on the bridge heading to the water stop at mile 3.  Ditched the shirt and grabbed a water making good time.  Knowing what was ahead I wanted to work on staying smooth on mile 4 and then really stay strong and not slow down too much on the hills.  When I hit the halfway mark I saw 34:XX on my watch and was pleased.  I had a little in the bank, but I did not want to waste it on the hills. 

Through the three miles of uphill I worked hard on staying strong and was glad to see my slowest mile was 7:10 in this section.  Exactly what I wanted to do.  When I got to the flat area at the top I tried to put in a little push as I was feeling good probably due to the cool temperatures.  My last three mile splits were all good and led me to a negative split for the race. 

Finish

I knew I would have a PR as I was approaching the finish line so I was very happy.  When I saw how close I came to 1:08 I wished I had a little more somewhere, but overall a great race for me.

Post Race

Right at the finish I saw Dave again and he said he did a 1:04 and was very pleased with his race.  Roger was right behind me at the finish and we all congratulated each other on a strong race.  With the temps still being chilly, I went off to get my dry clothes and needed to bail out so I did not freeze.  I went and caught a bus back to the start line and back to the hotel for a shower.  Overall, a great day at the races…

Details

Here are the mile splits.  Overall, I was very pleased with my pacing for the race.  I came through the five mile mark in 34:47 official time so 17 seconds of the extra 28 belongs spread out in the first five and the other 11 gets split up over the last five mile splits.  Bottom line, I managed a well paced negative split effort.

6:41 – mile 1 adrenaline and a little bit of a downhill.

6:40 – solid downhill mile, try not too go out too fast now.

7:13 – toughest single hill on the course getting up to the Franklin Ave. Bridge.

6:52 – nice flat mile to get back to pace before the hills start.

7:04 – start of the hills.

7:10 – work on staying strong as there is another mile of these hills.

7:01 – last mile with real hills in it.

6:44 – course flattens out, time to get back to pace.

6:45 – hold the pace because I know mile 10 is downhill and quick.

6:22 – let gravity help on the downhill, and give it everything I got.

0:28 – miscellaneous GPS time/distance.

Race Profile

Burrito Union Race Report

Pre-Race

Morning of I arrived for setup at about 10 minutes after 6:00 am.  First order of business was to grab a nice spot and a picnic table so we would have a place for 10 hours of transitioning.  I then got all of my bike gear setup so that in the case of a mechanical, I would be able to take care of it quickly.  Clint arrived shortly after I did and he had a wonderful pop-up tent the Duluth Running Company uses at events he was able to bring.  This would be key later to protect us from the intermittent showers and keep us dry.  Lou showed up next and we were ready to go. 

Left to Right, myself, Lou and Clint.

 Strategy

Going into the race our plan was to stay in our specific sport for at least the first 3-4 rounds and then decide after that.  Clint would be our swimmer, I was biking and Lou was running.  For our overall goals, we wanted to win our category, win the 10 hour overall, and therefore also win a growler of beer. 

Start

At the start of the day, all of the 10 hour teams and individuals take off 30 minutes before the 5 hour folks.  Right off the bat, Clint pulled in behind the growler teams swimmer Howie.  He drafted for most of the way.  I had to get prepped so I did not see the finish, but Clint pushed hard to be the first out of the water and into transition.  He sent me out on the first bike ahead of the field.  I wanted to push a little harder on lap 1 to make sure every other team knew we were planning on racing hard.  I was able to stay out in front for the entire ride and sent Lout out first.  On the bike, it was apparent early on that the wind was going to be an issue all day.  It was early morning and it was already blowing pretty hard.  Lou took off and ran well.  We came off the first lap with a good lead on everyone else in the 10 hour race.  So far, so good.

Note the profile and the corresponding speed profile for the first triathlon...

Lather, Rinse, Repeat…

It now became an effort in quick recovery and trying to spot your athletes.  As noted in lap 1, Clint was clearly one of the fastest swimmers here today.  On top of that, he was basically our transition athlete.  So while his event might have been the shortest in time, he was really kicking ass by hammering the transition from run to swim and from swim to bike.  We actually had me setup right at the bike mount line with one foot clipped in and he would sprint the entire way from the lake so that we could take every last second out of transition possible. 

For myself, I would be biking a lot with less than 30 minutes to recover in between.  For me it was all about staying hydrated and fueled while also not having stomach issues on the bike.  As the day went on, it really became an exercise in surviving the wind and the rain.  Talking with athletes throughout the day the wind was what all of the bikers talked about.  Considering it rained on 6 of the 9 laps, you know the wind was bad. 

Running had to be tough.  In the end Lou ran 27 plus miles.  I am not sure it would have been harder to run it back to back as cooling down for 45-50 minutes in between had to make it tough later in the day.  Factor in the cool temps and the hilly course; well I think our runner had a tough task and did well.  I was most impressed with Lou’s ability to strip in no time flat.  More than once I was coming back from the bike and he was still in his warm clothes and he had them off and was out running in no time flat. 

Video from third time through the bike course...

Finish Time

As the time started to wind down we were chatting strategy again.  As Lou was out for our 8^th run it was obvious we would have more than enough time for 9 laps.  There were only two other teams that would be allowed to start their 9^th lap.  Talking to them in transition, neither of them were going to start the 9^th lap.  So, we were guaranteed the overall win for the 10 hour race.  So, go out for 9 or not?  Clint wanted to win in style, so we decided to knock out a 9^th lap.  He hammered the swim as usual and off I went on the bike.  At this point, I had already ridden 114 miles on the day.  I have never ridden that far in a single day ever.  I now was heading out for 14 more…  It went well and I was glad we did it as there were many racers still challenging themselves on the course as the 10 hour time limit was coming. 

In the end, 9 laps was the count.  A nice bowl, and a growler of beer.  Basically a great day of racing with friends.

The Spoils of the Day

Superior Man Race Report

Superior Man Race Recap

Short Synopsis:

Slow but steady swim in 38:XX.  About what I expected.

Solid bike pace, until I got a flat (10 minutes to change) and then got stung by a wasp: 2:45.  Take away the break for changing and I am pleased with my bike time. 

Run…  Not so good.  Over two hours of run, shuffle, walk.  Problems with a side stitch right from the get go.  Need to figure this out.

Long Version:

With a 6:30 start for the first boat, it was going to be an early morning.  I rolled into transition about 5:30 am and set about getting the bike and transition spot ready.  Being indoors made this very easy as it was well lit.  It cleared out as the first boat folks went to board and I took care of the last few things and headed out to watch them jump in and get my chip. 

Swim:

I will be the first to say I was a little disappointed when they changed from a straight in swim to the rectangle arrangement.  After watching the first boat start, and then swimming it myself I will say it was a great decision overall.  From a safety perspective the kayakers and medics on the breakwall were able to watch both  of the long legs of the rectangle with ease.  Also, the spectators were able to watch everything happen right in front of them. 

Once on the Vista Fleet boat I went up top as I wanted to start DFL.  I figured since I got roped into the “faster” wave it would be better to start last in the time trial start so any of the faster folks would not have to navigate around me.  It also worked out well as myself and Adam Swank, the other guy to jump last (two jump doors…) were “allowed” to dive in.  They said for safety purposes everyone needed to jump in feet first in case there was any floating debris.  Adam coaxed Clint into letting us dive by saying after 300 other folks have gone in, it should be clear of debris.  So I gave it a good jump, and realized mid air that with the height I jumped, and the door height above the water I was going to go pretty far under.  No biggie…  It was a pretty sweet way to start.  Kudos to Clint, SuperiorMan, and the Vista Fleet for the boat start.  It was a highlight point of the race.

My swim was uneventful, as it should be.  With the time trial start for each boat load, and the two boat loads, there was very little crowd on the swim.  Of course, it was tough to catch a draft though.  The chop was a little rough for your average swim.  That really was to be expected as Lake Superior is a little larger than your average lake.  I had no problem with the chop overall, I just drank a little lake a couple times; this should test if the lake really was clean enough for us.

T1:

Once out of the water, it was a little bit of a jog to the arena door.  I made a point of running as I did not want to waste a minute of race time.  Once in the arena they were warning folks to walk as the smooth concrete floor and wet feet did not mix.  I kept rolling though.  Bottom line, in a straight line no problem.  Simply slow down when you need to turn the corner…  Saw story with the bike in hand out to start the ride. 

Bike:

The bike started simple enough.  Kept it easy on the out and back over the railroad tracks.  Continued to take it easy through the first miles in town.  Once onto London Road, I tried to get in a groove.  With the tail wind on the outbound leg, I figured I had to be careful to push but not too hard.  Take advantage of the wind while we had it. 

I was passing lots of people the entire bike ride.  I saw absolutely no drafting.  However, there were a couple guys that need to work on their position foul understanding.  I am guessing they thought since they started so late there would not be any strong bikers behind them.  Sorry guys, there is someone who swims worse than you do…

Everything was going to plan until I turned the corner at Two Harbors.  This pavement was brand new, finished only two weeks ago…  Yet for some reason my bike seemed to be bouncing a little.  I checked my tires and it appeared my rear was a little low.  I pulled off and sure enough it was probably at 50 psi and going down slowly.  Better change it…

I took my time because I still had 23 miles to go and did not want to miss some small chunk of whatever that was causing a problem.  Ten minutes later I was ready to go.  Once back on track, I really started to notice the head wind.  It was really making us work.  I paid special attention to my Quark so that I would not be frying my legs before even getting on the run. 

Things were going smoothly and I was staying smooth as I traveled down London Road again.  Just before I get to the bike trail with about 5 miles to go in the bike a wasp/hornet/bee stings me in my right leg below the knee.  A few curse words later and no mishap of bike handling later and my leg hurts like a sonofabitch…  Nothing to do here, so I keep rolling and make my way towards T2.

T2:

I made my way through T2 with my normal quickness.  Nothing good can come of sitting in a nice cool hockey arena when your run is out in the sunny 85-90 degree heat.  Total time was 1:13 in T2.  Only the relay folks were in and out faster than me.  That would be the end of things that went well for me…

Run:

Starting out my legs felt great and I headed out.  I knew the heat would be tough, but I think I started the run a little dehydrated.  Add to that the side stitches that flared up right away, and the fact that my right leg was a little numb from the knee down from the wasp/hornet/bee sting and I knew I was in for a rough afternoon. 

I tried to make the best of the run.  When the opportunity arose I chatted with other athletes.  I tried to thank the volunteers when I could, and even had the luck to be coming under the aerial lift bridge when there were big boats coming in on two of my three laps. 

Finish:

Once I finished I grabbed a cool bottle of water and laid down on the grass.  My side stitch was still pretty bad.  It was so bad I could not breathe in very deep at all.  I said hello to the family and thanked them for cheering me on.  They asked if I wanted to go out for lunch, but I was a dirty, sweaty, salty mess so I said they should just go.  I then chatted with a bunch of other athletes and had my complimentary brat from Canal Park Brewing Company.  Based on the brat alone, I cannot wait for them to be open so I can try the other food and beer they will be offering. 

Overall I will say I thought the race was well run.  Sure, there were a few things they could have done a little better; maybe some carpet for the smooth concrete floor in transition, slight tweak to the run aid station placement, improve the stairs out of the swim.  All of those things were minor issues and for transition they were adding carpets as they could and had a slew of volunteers telling us it was slippery.  For the run aid stations, on the longest hottest stretch without an aid station they had bikes and a golf cart going up and down the road handing out water on the later laps as it got warmer.  So they were doing a good job of identifying these items as they happened and doing what they could to improve them on the spot.  Kudos…

The highlights were many though:

• Swim course – starting from the boat was cool and the course was easy for safety personnel and spectators. 
• Transition – indoors was neat, but the overall organization and assigned rack spots was nice.
• The volunteers were everywhere and did a very good job overall.  People were all over in the water and on the breakwall for the swim, every corner in town had people and signs telling us where to go on the bike, and the run aid stations had smiling volunteers along with many more at the turns and areas where we would be crossing over popular tourist walkways.  If you volunteered, thanks.  I tried to thank many of you, but I know I missed many. 
• Bike – I may be an unfair opinion on the course as I rode it four or five times in its entirety prior to race day so when I say it was easy to follow, well…  I thought they had well educated volunteers telling you about the turns and the areas to take a little extra caution though…  I did see a few flats out there, but since I was starting from the back I probably saw almost all of them, along with getting one.  When you factor in there were 246 finishers, that means there were a total of 13776 miles biked on the day.  Many of those miles were on slightly more fragile tires than your average training tire.  So, I cannot say there was really a flat issue.  I am sure everyone who got one may beg to differ though…
• “Big” Time Race Feel – this is my own interpretation I guess.  The whole venue choice from the arena for transition, to using a boat to start, and having the wonderful Bayfront Festival Park for the finish had a very big time race atmosphere. 
• Logistics – ever go to a race and have no place to park?  Well, if you were willing to pay $5 you could park no more than 100 yards from the front door to transition.  If you did not want to pay, there was a lot one block away that was less than 100 yards from the finish line that was free.  Both had plenty of open spots because they were designed for events with 1000’s of people instead of 100’s of people.
• Cool finishers medal...

Overall, a good race to have as a late season goal race.  See everyone next year,.

Duluth Triathlon Race Day

This morning I got up bright and early to volunteer at the Duluth Triathlon.  Today was the inaugural event for the Duluth Triathlon.  The day started off with wonderful weather for a triathlon.  It was in the low 50's as the racers prepped their transition areas, and they hit the mid 70's by the time the run was underway.

Pre-Race

I started my day as a body marker.  Like I said yesterday, I got to ask women to take their (long sleeve) shirts off so I could get their (race) number, and write it on them.  I am pretty sure I did not write the wrong number on anyone.  It was fun to ask people their age, USAT age no less, so I could put that on their calf.  One gentlemen did a triple take before he settled on the age I would end up writing on his calf.  Only one lady had the misfortune of having USAT age her up a little early...

Swim

As the mens wave took off, there was one lady who had the wrong color swim cap.  For some reason this seemed to cause her concern, so with about 4 minutes prior to her wave I ran back to the registration area to grab her the proper green colored cap.  I hope this helped her start her race off on the right foot.

Ladies Swim Wave Ready to Go

Once all of the swimmers were in the water I was able to relax for a little bit and watch them churn their way through the water.  Something I have never noticed before was the wonderful sound a group of swimmers makes as the take off at the start of a race.

As the swimmers made their way towards the end of lap two, I prepared to man the water/gatorade station at the swim exit.  Not the most popular aid station, in fact more than one athlete turned the water down because they had enough of Island Lake to keep hydrated.

Bike

Do you remember where you parked?

After all of the swimmers were out onto their bicycles, I headed over to help out with the bicycle turn around aid station in front of transition.  The course was a fourteen mile out and back that the athletes did twice.  As they came around the turn around, we were there to get them a fresh water bottle if they needed it.  After a few of the athletes came through, the sag truck pulled up with an athlete and her bicycle.  I headed over to see what was wrong, and the athletes rear tire was in sad shape.  A simple tube was not going to help her out.  Since I had my bike in the back of my truck, I ran and got my rear wheel and swapped it our so she could keep racing.  I was happy to see her make it in off the bike with no further problems.

Transition

As the bikers started returning to transition to head out for a run, I moved over to help manage traffic as the runners had to cross the road from transition to the run course.  Luckily this portion of volunteering went without any issues.

Run

After directing traffic for a while, I jogged out onto the run course to help man an aid station for a little while. When I got there, they had enough folks so I headed out to the turn around since there was only one volunteer there.  At the turn Sara and I got to hang out cheering the runners on as they were starting there half marathon out.  Shortly, another volunteer stopped out to tell us the last of the runners had gone by.  Once that happened, we packed up the cones and headed back in.  When I got to the finish line I helped cheer in the finishers and also helped them with removing their timing chips.

All in all, I got to see the race from a little bit of everywhere.  I had a fun time chatting with the various volunteers and athletes as the day went by.  I hope I was able to help a few athletes have a better race in some way.  I am looking forward to helping out at check in on Saturday for the Superior Man Triathlon.  Sunday will be race day, and I think I am ready to put up a solid time.

Northwoods Tri Recap

Summary

So in my pre-race post I noted the following goals:

bike - maintain a 250 watt average
run - run sub 7 min/mile pace
overall - top 10 placement

Check, check, and triple check...

Swim - 7:29 (1:42/100 yard)

The swim was about what I can expect from my swim.  Standard pace for me, and with the small number of folks in the waves minimal contact with other swimmers.  As I hit the shallow water and stood up, I had a little trouble with my wetsuit zipper.  So instead of pulling the suit off in the water I ran to my bike with it on.  Once in T1, I tried to move quickly.  Ditched the wetsuit, threw the helmet on and got my socks and bike shoes on.  Onto the bike...

Bike - 34:37 (24.3 mph)

Once on the bike I had some work to do.  I really wanted to work hard to see if I could still run solid afterwards.  I started off well with only a little trouble getting around some slower traffic in the first couple miles.  After a bit I caught up to another biker that began to leapfrog with me.  He was the only biker to physically pass me while on the bike, and even then I came into T2 before him.  Overall, the second fastest bike split and I was pleased with my effort and average of 269 watts which met my stated goal.  Into T2 I took it a little easier running in trying to make sure my shoe did not clip the ground and cause my bike to bounce around like the last couple races.  It worked and then I tried to quickly ditch the helmet and don the running shoes.  I had a bit of a slip with my left shoe, but on the second try got it and off I went.

Run - 20:32 (6:37 min/mile)

As I went out for the run I tried to count the bikes in transition, and there were not many.  This had me feeling good about the potential for a top 10.  As I hit the extremely flat run course I tried to get a good pace going and hang on from there.  The first mile marker showed a 6:3X on the watch which had me feeling good.  As I approached the turn around I had only counted 5 or 6 runners heading at me.  After that I tried to make sure I was keeping the pace up.  At the second mile marker, I once again saw a 6:3X.  So far so good...  On the last mile, one runner did catch me, but he was from the wave ahead, so no loss of placement if I could keep running strong.  I did start feeling a little bit of a side stitch in the last half mile, but I made it to the finish with no issues.  As I approached the finish line I could see it would be close to come in under 1:05 for a total time.  So I put on a little extra push and hit the line in 1:04:59.  Personal best overall finish time on this course for me.

Overall - 1:04:59 (4th overall, 3rd age group)

Yup, I was in the fast age group.  Fourth overall and barely snagged an age group award...  Overall I was very pleased with the race.  I set a new bar for how hard I can really push on the bike and still be able to run strong for a sprint type event.  Now, I need to put in a few last good workouts prior to Superior Man and nail my taper.

Brewhouse Race Report

So I have not posted in a little while, and I thought writing up a race report for the Brewhouse Triathlon would be the perfect return post.

Ready for the race in the morning.

Synopsis

A real quick run down: cut your foot, swim slowly, fight the wind and rough roads, run like you are being chased, and relax with a smooth root beer...

Details

I woke up early so that I could get to the race site right at 6:30 am to get a good transition spot.  Based on my recon on Saturday at packet pick up, there are better spots even though everyone is assigned a group of racks by number.  It is nice that they group you by numbers to a rack, but it would be better if they had put the same number of bikes on each group of racks.  On Saturday I looked through transition and found that each row was four racks with a sign for which numbers should rack there.  Some rows has 20 numbers assigned, while others (including my row) had 30 numbers assigned.  So, since it would be crowded I figured I should get there early and get a good spot on the rack.

Once I had everything setup in the transition area, it was time to wait.  With the short and long course sharing the same course, they had the short course race start first and then had a very long gap before the long course got going.  The race starts at 8:30, and my wave did not take off until 9:06 or so.  With the cool weather we were having, I basically shed my warm ups and then put my wetsuit on to stay warm as I sat on the beach watching the short course waves start, and even finish the swim portion.

It was fun hanging out on the beach chatting with other long course athletes waiting for our start.  I chatted with a couple and another young lady.  Both of the ladies were competing in their first long course triathlon.  I don't think any of us was a good swimmer and we all were discussing our plan for making our way out of the lake.  The urge to empty my bladder came over me so I decided to wish them all good luck and that a warm up swim was in order.  Emphasize the warm up...  Once that was taken care of it was getting close to the long course wave starts so I stayed in the water waiting.  While waiting I was chatting with another athlete.  Right as the elite wave left he commented that he just missed his wife start.  Turns out they were on their second race of the weekend and his wife had won at Graniteman the day before.  We wished each other luck as our wave was getting ready to go and we both found our spot on the start line.

Swim: 24:46 (74th)

Once the count down was over and we started, I took one step and my right foot found a very sharp rock or zebra mussel and I was immediately swimming...  On the outbound leg of the new swim course we were swimming directly into the waves and wind.  With my poor form, this does not really affect me other than that I took in quite a few mouthfulls of Pike Lake when I would happen to breathe right as a wave was cresting in my face.  When we turned left at the far end of the outbound leg, we turned into the sun and the field immediately spread out searching for the next buoy.  Being the lazy ass that I am, I took a second to sight the next buoy and picked my line and it was way left of the majority of the field.  After the next buoy, we turned left towards the beach and now the waves were coming over our left shoulder and rolling us a little.  Soon enough I was able to stand up and I yanked the wetsuit off and jogged to my bike.

After effects of stepping on a rock/zebra mussel.

Transition was a little hectic as long course athletes were running one way to their bikes, and the short course athletes were running the other way with their bikes or out on the run.  When I got to my bike I quickly sat down to put my socks and shoes on after putting my helmet on.  I then flipped my Garmin Edge 500 and ContourRoam on and headed out.

Bike: 56:31 (10th - 241 watts, 22.6 mph)

Note the discrepancy between my swim and bike performance...  Couple that with starting in the second to last wave and not a single soul passed me on the bike.  As much as I would like to think that is because I am a great biker, I know it has a lot more to do with my slow swimming...  The new bike course was better that last years course for racer flow.  I passed a lot of bikers, both short and long course, and I never had trouble with the course being crowded or having tight turns.  The wind happened to be in our face on the section of pavement that was the smoothest.  This of course then meant that we had a tail wind on the roughest section of pavement.  All in all I was happy with how the bike section went for me.  I pushed hard and set myself up well for the run.

Coming into transition I did my standard flying dismount and for the third time this year my drive side shoe caught the pavement and popped my bike in the air as I was running to my rack.  These instances have all happened since I began using the wheelcover this year and it seems it rubs the cassette just enough to spin the crank and put the shoe closer to the ground after I jump off the bike.

Power File w/Elevation

Run: 34:07 (45th - 6:50 min/mile)

Leaving transition my plan was to run hard and see how long I could hold on.  The cooler weather had me feeling confident I could run strong the whole way.  Immediately out of transition I passed my plant manager who was having a solid race.  Once out of the AAA grounds and onto Midway road I tried to lock onto a strong pace and go.  There were a couple racers up the road that I set my sights on and went after.  They were running strong, so it worked well.  As I rounded the corner onto the old hwy 53 I saw race leader Brian Bich heading in for the win.  He was looking strong and had a big lead.  I grabbed a water at the aid station and kept running.  Mile 2 was kind of boring in a good way.  I held my pace but did not catch or get caught by anyone.  As I turned the corner and headed down to the turn around I was getting closer to the two runners ahead of me.  I managed to catch one just as I hit the turn around.  Once heading back I also saw that there were a couple runners not too far behind me.  As I powered up the hill I wanted to stay smooth and keep ahead of the runners I saw at the turn.  Once back onto the old hwy, I got back up to pace and knew I had two miles to go.  At this point I was feeling the start of a side stitch but kept pushing the pace.  I wanted to see how hard I could push it.  As I turned back onto Midway road with about a mile to go I was doing everything I could to keep the pace high.  The side stitch was starting to be noticeable, but I was confident I could handle one more mile of it.  At this point I could not catch the runner up the road, so I simply focused on running as fast and smooth as I could to the finish line.  In the end, it was about 40 seconds faster than last year on the same run course.

Overall: 1:57:46 (26th)

Once finished, I made a point to congratulate the racer who finished just behind me.  Seeing him at the turn around kept me focused on the return leg of the run and helped push me to a very solid run split.  He made a similar comment that he was trying to chase me down the whole way and it helped push him also.  I then made a beeline to the signature of the Brewhouse triathlon, the free Brewhouse Root Beer they have.  Next to a cold beer, a cold Root Beer is a great after race refreshment.

I wanders around after the race and chatted with fellow racers and familiar faces from the Tuesday night Duluth Running Company tri training nights.  I then cleaned up my gear and loaded it in my truck and headed back for awards.

All in all I am very pleased with my race.  My time was slightly better than last year with a more challenging swim and a longer bike course.  My race execution left me feeling pretty good as I look forward to Superior Man.  I really pushed on the bike and ran very well afterwards.  If I can get some solid workouts in over the next week before my taper I will be ready to roll come August 26th.