long ride

I rode solo to Ceasars Head today.  64 miles.  It was hot and lost 5 pounds.  Left knee sore a little.  Did the climb in under 43 minutes.  Felt like I lacked power today.

Lake Murray Triathlon

THe night before the event I ate 3 huge burritos or soft tacos and much more at about 8 pm.

I got up at 2 am by the grace of God.  It took me until 4 am to get it all ready and into the car.  I hoped that the little worn out car would get me there.  That was goal one. I drove down I-385 and I-26 with no problem.  Then into Newberry and down route 76 into Prosperity.  A quaint little town.  I got to Dreher Island State Park at around 5:30  am.  Plenty of time to prepare.  I went down to the boat ramps just before 6 am and contemplated swimming in the lake.  My second goal for the day was to survive the lake swim.

At 6am the packet pick up opened up and I got mine and my timing chip.  Went back to the car and got the bike together and put my numbers on helmet, bike and shirt.  Took my stuff to the transition area.  Talked to Al Olivetti of Go tri Sports about renting a wetsuit for $30.  Thought about it and knew it would be an advantage (increased floatation)to have one but decided to go without. I figured that the experience would be tough but mainly because of the crowd and being disoriented not from the "cold" (77F) water. I ran easy from about 7:20 to 7:35 for some warm up.

At 7:50 we all headed to the boat ramps and listened to the announcements and then to Leighton Lord who is a triathelete and is running for Attorney General.  Then the national anthem.  The open males went first then age groupers 35 and below I think..  Then us age groupers 40 and older got in.  I just walked down the ramp and hoped for the best.  The wind was light or none at all and thankfully the lake was fairely calm. We tread water and moved out to the dock end and waited. A guy on my left said "please dont kick me in the face". 

At about 8:08 am we were off.  I hit my stopwatch. I mainly did breast stroke for a while as we all got going.   Then I would try to do freestyle and I would get bumped and get all disrupted and kind of freak out.  Guys would come up on you and swim on top of you kind of.  I kept looking out to the bouy all the time to make sure I was headed for it.  The water was murky and you could barely see your hand in front of you as you swam.  At the first turn it was crowded and I did breast stroke.  From then on I did back stroke and side stroke, but not a lot of freestyle.  Free style is the fastest, but also is harder to breath and such. I kept working and wishing for it to be over.  The ladies that started several minutes after our group were coming up on us and then there was more bumping and crowed conditions.  After the second and final turn I made another attemp to do free stroke and head towards the boat ramp.  Had trouble making it out without vision correction.  Just follow everyone else.  I made it to the ramp and struggled to get my legs moving up it.  I hit the stopwatch and it said 18 minutes something.  I would find out later that I was 161 out of 220 guys in my swim time.  I stank at this segment in a way but I was glad just to have survived my first open water experience.

Run up the ramps into the parking lot to the bike and change.  I was a little cold and tired. Got on my socks, shirt, sunglasses and helmet.  I forgot to put on my heart rate monitor chest strap but not a big deal. I would later realize I had lost my nose plugs after I had gotten out of the water.  Maybe they fell off in the lake and I didn't even realize it. Anyhow I ran with the bike  to the line where you were allowed to get on.  I struggled with my shoes which were attached to my pedals already.  I got going and soon felt incredibly cold.  The water was evaporating off me as I rode.  I started passing other riders as I got going.  I think I downed a powerbar gel.  I kept passing riders.  These were men and women that were much better swimmers than I was.  I was constantly passing people as I rode.  I now think I must have passed hundreds of riders over the 16 mile course.

I would later find out that I was 35th fastest male on the bike segment and averaged about 22 mph.  My homemade aerobars and helmet cover got comments.  One guy thought maybe they were not so bad after he saw me pass by him.  I did the 16 miles in about 43 minutes which was ahead of my estimate of 48 minutes.

Got to the transistion area about 1hour and 5 minutes into it and dismounted ran into my spot and changed into my running shoes.  I laced them up and tied them up.  Real triathletes have speedy zip laces or velcro or otherwise real quick ways of getting their shoes on. 

I started my run with the feeling that I now had enough time to make my goal of 1 hour and 30 minutes.  I thought I could do the 5K in about 25 minutes.  The first mile was done in 6:45 so I knew I was doing ok and needed to be careful and slow down the pace a little.  The 2nd mile was a 7:40.  I was hurting but I kept on trucking.  I wanted to stop and rest but knew that was just my body talking.  As I came near the finish line a guy sprinted past me somehow.  Why did he save his energy to the end and not meter it out? 

I crossed the line as a guy announced my last name (wrong pronunciation).  I knew they would be hounding me for my timing chip right away so I spotted a guy and just sat down on the ground as he took it off.  I stayed down there a minute or two before I could get the strength to get up.  I had finished in under 1 hour and 28 minutes.  Beat my goal.  Satisfied.

As I reflect on the event I remember thinking I am not going to do this again soon.  Maybe not soon but I will again after a good long "rest".  I wonder how to get faster on the swim mainly but also on all the segments.  The swim in open water will need some work.  A wetsuit (if legal), better vision correcting goggles, practice in open water, improve my swim technique and speed are some  ideas.

Saturday ramblings.

USA triathlon membership !

I sent in the forms and money to Colorado to join USAT.  I plan to do 3 triathlon events this year. Hopefully.

Ceasars Head with Rob Dempsey. 75 miles

I noticed on facebook that Rob was going to do a 75 mile ride in the mountains. THis was right before I was headed out the door to do the same thing. I responded that I would like to join him. I did not think there would actually be a connection. But about 10 minutes later as I was just about to leave he called. I told him I would try to intersect him along the Miracle Hill route before Ceasars Head. He was starting at Furman University.


I rode hard from 11 am for about an hour at 18.5 mph average up to TR and up to Merrietta and over toward Pumpkintown on 288 and got on the MH route. I tried to guess if Rob was ahead of me or behind me. (Along the way a big butterfly hit me on the mouth. Yuk!) I eased up and was not sure but I guess a higher power helped me to guess right. I stopped a few miles ahead on the Saluda river to watch it a while (then a horse fly started terrorizing me) I went slow and then I saw in my rear view mirror a rider coming up. It was Rob!

We rode on to the mountain and he told me his expected climb time and it was perfect for me at 42 minutes. We rode together til near the end when I decided to sprint to the finish. It was 41-1/2 minutes of climb. We got water and I ate. Rob said his computer said he had burned a whopping 3600 calories so far. We had a chilling ride down and rode back toward Furman. I was really having to work to stay with him. He is a big strong rider.

We said good bye near Paris Mountain. I still did not know if I would climb it. I did. I went so slow though. It took me 20 minutes. Lots of repaving still going on on the mountain. I saw about 6 team United Healthcare riders coming down. I got one of them to say a few words and I told him I followed them on email updates. I said goodluck for tomorrows race in Spartanburg.
Ended up with75 miles and 5700 feet of climbing. A great day!

run Greer HM

run in Greer eartday half marathon tomorrow (Sat  morning).

after the race:

I woke up at about 330am and then ate a big breakfast of 700 to 800 calories at 4 am. I hoped it was not too much.

I got ready and got to Greer about 6:45 am. It is only 6 miles away. I parked and walked about 5 minutes to the city park. I got my timing chip and ran and walked around a little but not much more than a mile. Retighten shoe laces and had a Powerbar gel. At about 7:20 I went to the starting line and spotted Chris Giordanelli. I had been wanting to meet him. He is an elite runner/triathlete/bicyclist my age also with asthma and allergies. We chatted breifly. I went to the back of the starting group and did little running back and forth because of the adrenaline I had.

The gun went of at about 7:34 and we all proceded. It was very slow at first and i was impatient. I tied everything to pass people by runnning on the sidewalkes and snaking in between. I must have passed 200 people in the first mile. It was hard work.

The first few miles my pace was about 8:00 but then I started to pick it up a little. At mile 4, I grabbed a cup of Gatorade and proceded to spill it all over my face and front as I ran. Opps. I learned. But I did need a little fluid. It was overcast and a little drizzly so not a day when you sweat a lot. I noticed my times were under 8:00 pace. At mile 6 or so I had some downhill sections and I roared down them allowing my heart rate to rocket as well. I did a 7:00 mile then. I was all the while passing people. I was passed by one guy during the whole event. I guess he started late. I hoped that I was not going too fast and going to burn out too soon. I had done this distance before but not at this speed. I had another gel pack around mile 8 or 9. I got a bit of water after this.

At about mile 9 or 10 I noticed a dime in the gutter and I did not stop to get it as normal. I thought to myself that this (I) must be serious. At mile 11, I really openend up and my heart went to about 165. At mile 12 I stopped for about 5 seconds to drink Gatorade. I had done a 6:55 mile so I was doing well. The last mile I passed a guy who said "looking good" and I said back "feeling bad". I gave it all the closer I got to the finish. The last full mile pace was 6:43 and average heart rate of 168.

I would later find out that I crossed the line in 45th place with 1:38:20 gun time. My chip time was 1:37:34 which was actually faster than 44th place. Next time I should start not in the back of the group. I was pleased with my time as I had beaten my goal of 1:44.

After the race I wondered around but did not see Chris. I went home and planned on some easy riding. I ate a little and got on to the bike. The rain still was not coming down. I rode in the country and then back to Greer but the "proceedings" were over by 11:30 am when I got there. I found someone with some results and saw that Chris had come in 3rd with a time around 1:16:30. I rode back home and on the way went and got that dime that was still there. None of the other runeers had picked it up either! I am obsessed.

Went and took Kristen to her friends house and went back out on the bike for another hour or so. It started to rain. Another rider came allong and passed me. I sped up and stayed with him. We were hammering the rolling hills. It was a young guy. After a bit he turned off the busy rode and I turned with him. He slowed down and we chatted. He put on a rain jacket and I went ahead. I got in about 40 miles that day. Time to get my daughters and recover.

Paris mtn p.r. 16.6 min frontside. Also Audubon 3.8 min. Sleepyhollow 2.65 min n

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