The triathlon season has come to a close in the Phoenix area with the last big event, The Arizona Ironman, this Sunday. I look forward to attending this race as a spectator and will miss triathlon racing over the coming months. My next scheduled tri is the Lifetime Tri Marquee in Tempe on 4/13/14 and it seems far away.
In the meantime there are plenty of running events in the coming months. I am currently training for the Phoenix Rock n' Roll Marathon on 1/19/14. I will participate in a couple of half marathons and shorter distance races before this event but the marathon will be my "A" race. I will follow this marathon shortly after with another, the Phoenix Marathon, on 3/1/14. My goal for the Phoenix RNR is 3:30 and 3:25 for the Phoenix Marathon.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Monday, November 11, 2013
Race Report - 11/09/2013 - HITS Lake Havasu Half Ironman
Location: Lake Havasu City, AZ
Race Type: Triathlon
Distance: 1900 meter swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run
Participants: 252
Overall Place: DNF
Age Group Place: DNF
I had a good taper the 10 days before the race with a few shorter runs, rides, and swims. Kristen and I headed out on Friday in time to make the pre-race briefing and drop of the bike in the transition area. This was my first HITS event and my first half ironman distance. I was excited and felt that I was ready both physically and nutritionally for the race. The weather looked great for Saturday with no clouds and temperatures starting in the low 60's and reaching mid to high 70's by the end of the race.
We arrived in Lake Havasu City and drove directly to the race site right next to the original London Bridge. Registration was quick and I was informed that there would be ~325 participants in the half. This was great as last year there were only ~60. There were a number of vendors and the transition area setup was fantastic. I'd heard that HITS does a great job with the transition area but it was still something great to see. I had been assigned a spot with a bench and box that my front tire would go into and with plenty of room to store my gear. The only downside was that I was right in front of the bathrooms but I was also right next to the bike exit.
The race director/owner started the pre-race briefing shortly after we arrived. He was funny, patient, and informative. After the briefing I racked my bike and headed to the hotel. Later, Kristen and I ate dinner by the bridge and then I was able to catch about 7 hours of sleep.
The morning of the race was chilly but not bad with the wetsuit on. The race director gave another briefing and a few minutes later the horn sounded. I stayed near the back and walked in with most of the other men in the half and full distances. The women were to start three minutes later. The water temperature was 66 degrees and the clarity was great! This was my first race where I could see the bottom of the lake in areas and could also see other participants through the water. This helped immensely for drafting.
There were two large 10x10 buoys in the water that made up two corners of the triangle swim with smaller buoys on the beach and between the larger ones. I had no problem sighting the large buoys and was feeling good until mid-way between the 1st and 2nd turn when I realized that I had not been paying much attention and had drifted off track quite a ways. I picked up speed and caught up with the other participants when rounding the 2nd buoy. The swim to the end was uneventful other than a sandbar that was present about 200 yards out that allowed me to walk a little ways. I finished up the swim mid-pack in ~43 minutes.
I felt great coming out of the water and jogged to my transition area past the strippers. Transition was quick and I was off to the bike course.
The bike course consisted of a 28 mile loop that was to be repeated 2x for the half and 4x for the full. About 14 miles in there were a few hills with steep grades of ~8-10% and even steeper drops on the backside. When climbing the 1st hill I realized that I had a flat in the back. I changed it out and removed a small thorn in my tire. I ran up the hill and passed a few people on their bikes. I then hopped on the bike and launched down the back side. It was such a fast drop that it felt like a roller coaster ride and made me a bit nervous. Seven miles later I had another flat in the back. I swapped out my last tube but couldn't find the cause. At this point I was starting to worry and had given up on making my time goal of 5:30 but was still in relatively good spirits. I was also out of tubes...
The rest of the 28 mile loop was uneventful and I passed a number of people. If it wasn't for the flats I would have been on target for a 20 mph bike average. After finishing the 1st loop and 4 miles on the island of the 2nd I had another flat on the London bridge; also in the back. I had to walk a half mile back to the start where a volunteer procured another tube. He helped me pump it up and I was off again. I was really nervous now. I still hadn't found what caused the last two flats and I felt that I wouldn't make it through the next 24 miles. Well, I didn't. My fourth flat came around mile 48 immediately after passing a woman who was walking. I waited for her to catch up so that I'd have someone to commiserate with. She had a blown front tube and a hole in her tire sidewall. I had given up at this point after having lost ~1 hour with all the flats. I offered to swap front rims with her, she accepted, and was gone. A short while later I took a ride from someone in a buggy back to the bridge. On the way I noticed that two women were down on the road from an accident. One of them looked like the person I'd given my rim to.
After getting back to the transition I packed up and waited for the woman to come in. After ~45 minutes I gave up and spoke with the race director. He had heard that a woman and her mother had gone to the hospital but didn't have details. Luckily, another HITS employee walked by and heard our discussion. He informed me that he just brought back two bikes. The person I'd given my rim to had not been hurt but her mother had. They had gone to the hospital together. The HITS employee brought me to her bike and I swapped my rim back.
I have never had a flat during a race and never had four during any ride that I've taken. It was just not my day. Having said that I was really impressed with the staff, professionalism, and quality of the event. I would definitely do this one again; after all, I need to redeem myself!!!
Race Type: Triathlon
Distance: 1900 meter swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run
Participants: 252
Overall Place: DNF
Age Group Place: DNF
I had a good taper the 10 days before the race with a few shorter runs, rides, and swims. Kristen and I headed out on Friday in time to make the pre-race briefing and drop of the bike in the transition area. This was my first HITS event and my first half ironman distance. I was excited and felt that I was ready both physically and nutritionally for the race. The weather looked great for Saturday with no clouds and temperatures starting in the low 60's and reaching mid to high 70's by the end of the race.
We arrived in Lake Havasu City and drove directly to the race site right next to the original London Bridge. Registration was quick and I was informed that there would be ~325 participants in the half. This was great as last year there were only ~60. There were a number of vendors and the transition area setup was fantastic. I'd heard that HITS does a great job with the transition area but it was still something great to see. I had been assigned a spot with a bench and box that my front tire would go into and with plenty of room to store my gear. The only downside was that I was right in front of the bathrooms but I was also right next to the bike exit.
The race director/owner started the pre-race briefing shortly after we arrived. He was funny, patient, and informative. After the briefing I racked my bike and headed to the hotel. Later, Kristen and I ate dinner by the bridge and then I was able to catch about 7 hours of sleep.
The morning of the race was chilly but not bad with the wetsuit on. The race director gave another briefing and a few minutes later the horn sounded. I stayed near the back and walked in with most of the other men in the half and full distances. The women were to start three minutes later. The water temperature was 66 degrees and the clarity was great! This was my first race where I could see the bottom of the lake in areas and could also see other participants through the water. This helped immensely for drafting.
There were two large 10x10 buoys in the water that made up two corners of the triangle swim with smaller buoys on the beach and between the larger ones. I had no problem sighting the large buoys and was feeling good until mid-way between the 1st and 2nd turn when I realized that I had not been paying much attention and had drifted off track quite a ways. I picked up speed and caught up with the other participants when rounding the 2nd buoy. The swim to the end was uneventful other than a sandbar that was present about 200 yards out that allowed me to walk a little ways. I finished up the swim mid-pack in ~43 minutes.
I felt great coming out of the water and jogged to my transition area past the strippers. Transition was quick and I was off to the bike course.
The bike course consisted of a 28 mile loop that was to be repeated 2x for the half and 4x for the full. About 14 miles in there were a few hills with steep grades of ~8-10% and even steeper drops on the backside. When climbing the 1st hill I realized that I had a flat in the back. I changed it out and removed a small thorn in my tire. I ran up the hill and passed a few people on their bikes. I then hopped on the bike and launched down the back side. It was such a fast drop that it felt like a roller coaster ride and made me a bit nervous. Seven miles later I had another flat in the back. I swapped out my last tube but couldn't find the cause. At this point I was starting to worry and had given up on making my time goal of 5:30 but was still in relatively good spirits. I was also out of tubes...
The rest of the 28 mile loop was uneventful and I passed a number of people. If it wasn't for the flats I would have been on target for a 20 mph bike average. After finishing the 1st loop and 4 miles on the island of the 2nd I had another flat on the London bridge; also in the back. I had to walk a half mile back to the start where a volunteer procured another tube. He helped me pump it up and I was off again. I was really nervous now. I still hadn't found what caused the last two flats and I felt that I wouldn't make it through the next 24 miles. Well, I didn't. My fourth flat came around mile 48 immediately after passing a woman who was walking. I waited for her to catch up so that I'd have someone to commiserate with. She had a blown front tube and a hole in her tire sidewall. I had given up at this point after having lost ~1 hour with all the flats. I offered to swap front rims with her, she accepted, and was gone. A short while later I took a ride from someone in a buggy back to the bridge. On the way I noticed that two women were down on the road from an accident. One of them looked like the person I'd given my rim to.
After getting back to the transition I packed up and waited for the woman to come in. After ~45 minutes I gave up and spoke with the race director. He had heard that a woman and her mother had gone to the hospital but didn't have details. Luckily, another HITS employee walked by and heard our discussion. He informed me that he just brought back two bikes. The person I'd given my rim to had not been hurt but her mother had. They had gone to the hospital together. The HITS employee brought me to her bike and I swapped my rim back.
I have never had a flat during a race and never had four during any ride that I've taken. It was just not my day. Having said that I was really impressed with the staff, professionalism, and quality of the event. I would definitely do this one again; after all, I need to redeem myself!!!
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Race Report - 11/02/2013 - Desert Grande Triathlon
Location: Coolidge, AZ
Race Type: Triathlon
Distance: 400 meter swim, 10.2 mile bike, 3 mile run
Participants: 215
Overall Place: 23rd
Age Group Place: 5th
Time: 1:05:43. Swim: 9:38, Bike: 34:16, Run: 21:49
I signed up for this race last week. I had been debating on this race and a 100 mile road cycling club event; The Heart of Arizona. With the 1/2 ironman distance tri coming up next week I felt that it would not be beneficial to ride that far and be gone from my family all day. Anyway, on to the race...
This race was the 22nd annual Desert Grande Triathlon. I had never been to Coolidge, AZ although it is only 30 minutes south of my house. After having reviewed last years times I felt that I could come out fairly well if the participant field was similar. With that in mind, I had the goal of pushing myself hard throughout the race (except the swim) and was shooting for a time of 1:01.
The race was held at Central Arizona College. The campus was nestled against a mountain and was quite beautiful. After racking my bike near the beginning of the transition area I then picked up my registration packet and walked around the pool. The pool had 8, 50 meter lanes. Having never swam in a 50 meter pool, I was looking forward to it. Next I walked the transition areas and asked questions to ensure that I knew the route to take. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that it was really cold out! It was 50 degrees (that is practically freezing for Phoenicians) and I was beginning to dread the bike portion.
At 7:15 I stripped down to my tri suit and headed towards the pool. My feet froze while walking on the grass but the sun was starting to warm things up a bit. The race director gave his speech and people started getting in the pool in 10 second intervals. We were all lined up by our estimated finish time so I stuck with the 8:30 group and waited as more than 1/2 of the participants started ahead of me. Once in, the swim was uneventful. I passed a few people and was passed by a couple. There were also a couple of points where I had to wait due to lines being blocked by slow swimmers. Oh, well. I came out of the pool a bit slower than expected but I was feeling good.
The bike transition went well. I put on a long sleeve shirt and was off. Unfortunately the lane was narrow exiting the bike area and I was stuck behind a slow rider for a quarter mile. Once out of the way I started pushing hard and was averaging 23 mph. I was able to hold this until we made a couple of turns and ended up in a mountain valley where the winds were moving strong against me. At that point I could barely push 18 mph and my average dropped down lower than expected. I ended the ride with a 21 mph GPS average but was pleased that I passed ~25 people and was not passed at all. The official results are skewed because both transitions were included during this leg.
The run transition went well. I stripped off the long sleeve shirt, put on the race belt and started chasing people down. After less than a 1/2 mile the course turned onto packed dirt. I wasn't expecting this and would have brought different shoes. I pushed hard and passed 10-15 people during the run. Once again, nobody passed me. There was a woman ahead of me the entire time and I used her to pace off but could never catch up.
I had to head for home immediately after the run so I did not see my results. For some reason they weren't posting any data real time. There was good food available that I missed out on but I did receive a finisher medal and a long sleeve shirt.
All in all, a good race that was well run and had a good showing. I will do this again next year.
Race Type: Triathlon
Distance: 400 meter swim, 10.2 mile bike, 3 mile run
Participants: 215
Overall Place: 23rd
Age Group Place: 5th
Time: 1:05:43. Swim: 9:38, Bike: 34:16, Run: 21:49
I signed up for this race last week. I had been debating on this race and a 100 mile road cycling club event; The Heart of Arizona. With the 1/2 ironman distance tri coming up next week I felt that it would not be beneficial to ride that far and be gone from my family all day. Anyway, on to the race...
This race was the 22nd annual Desert Grande Triathlon. I had never been to Coolidge, AZ although it is only 30 minutes south of my house. After having reviewed last years times I felt that I could come out fairly well if the participant field was similar. With that in mind, I had the goal of pushing myself hard throughout the race (except the swim) and was shooting for a time of 1:01.
The race was held at Central Arizona College. The campus was nestled against a mountain and was quite beautiful. After racking my bike near the beginning of the transition area I then picked up my registration packet and walked around the pool. The pool had 8, 50 meter lanes. Having never swam in a 50 meter pool, I was looking forward to it. Next I walked the transition areas and asked questions to ensure that I knew the route to take. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that it was really cold out! It was 50 degrees (that is practically freezing for Phoenicians) and I was beginning to dread the bike portion.
At 7:15 I stripped down to my tri suit and headed towards the pool. My feet froze while walking on the grass but the sun was starting to warm things up a bit. The race director gave his speech and people started getting in the pool in 10 second intervals. We were all lined up by our estimated finish time so I stuck with the 8:30 group and waited as more than 1/2 of the participants started ahead of me. Once in, the swim was uneventful. I passed a few people and was passed by a couple. There were also a couple of points where I had to wait due to lines being blocked by slow swimmers. Oh, well. I came out of the pool a bit slower than expected but I was feeling good.
The bike transition went well. I put on a long sleeve shirt and was off. Unfortunately the lane was narrow exiting the bike area and I was stuck behind a slow rider for a quarter mile. Once out of the way I started pushing hard and was averaging 23 mph. I was able to hold this until we made a couple of turns and ended up in a mountain valley where the winds were moving strong against me. At that point I could barely push 18 mph and my average dropped down lower than expected. I ended the ride with a 21 mph GPS average but was pleased that I passed ~25 people and was not passed at all. The official results are skewed because both transitions were included during this leg.
The run transition went well. I stripped off the long sleeve shirt, put on the race belt and started chasing people down. After less than a 1/2 mile the course turned onto packed dirt. I wasn't expecting this and would have brought different shoes. I pushed hard and passed 10-15 people during the run. Once again, nobody passed me. There was a woman ahead of me the entire time and I used her to pace off but could never catch up.
I had to head for home immediately after the run so I did not see my results. For some reason they weren't posting any data real time. There was good food available that I missed out on but I did receive a finisher medal and a long sleeve shirt.
All in all, a good race that was well run and had a good showing. I will do this again next year.
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