Damn, what now?

So, my 2010 racing season - as meager as it was - has now come to an end. Cath is doing the Indianapolis marathon in November, but I'm not a huge fan of marathons, so I'll be spectating that one. And, as happens every year at this time, I start chomping at the bit to figure out what to do next year. So, bear with me as I think out loud a little here...

The tide definitely seems turned toward Ironman Florida in November, so, depending on how successful we are in getting registered, that may be the "A" race of the year. If, not, we are also looking at IM Cozumel, which is also in November. We had briefly flirted with the idea of an IM Wisconsin-IM Florida double (roughly two months apart), but sanity prevailed, and we'll stick with "just" the one IM-distance race.

I'd also like to do some kind of hiking/climbing/camping adventure, which we didn't get to do this year. We've discussed with friends the possibility of climbing Long's Peak in Colorado (a 14,000-foot peak that doesn't require extensive climbing experience or skill), or perhaps hiking across the Presidential Range (http://http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Range) back east. Either would be great in August.

Triathlon-wise, we'll likely to another sprint race in the spring, probablyTri Shark again, or a return to Galena (sorry, Cath!), and a 70.3 in the early summer. Cath has become enamored of the Vineman triathlon (http://http//www.vineman.com/triathlon.htm), mostly because of its proximity to all.those.vineyards (!). We've done Muncie, Racine (twice), and Steelhead already, so a change might be nice. But I kinda have a problem with all the travel (and expense) associated with "only" a half-ironman. Elitest much? Perhaps, but that could be a lot of cash for a "B" race, especially if we do some of the other travel-related things I've mentioned. Hmmm...we'll have to discuss that one further.

Well, that's a start, I guess. I'd also like to do the following things at some point, although not necessarily in 2011:

- Climb/hike to Crater Lake, OR (thanks for the idea, Jen!);

- Mountain bike hut-to-hut from Telluride, CO to Moab, UT (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0210/photo_details.html);

- Hike to Machu Picchu along the Inca Trail (http://www.inca-trails.net/);

- Survive the Shawangunks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_of_the_Shawangunks);

- Climb the Grand Tetons (http://www.exumguides.com/).

So, what do you think? Any other suggestions?

The North Face Endurance Challenge - Race Report

I'll apologize right off the bat, because we took no pictures, so I don't have any good eye candy for this report. The weather was crap - pouring rain and lightning right up until the race started - so the pics just didn't happen. So, sorry about that.

(I did, however, find this yummy looking shot of a Five Guys burger and fries online, and figured I'd throw that up here because that's what Cath and I had to eat the night before the race. It was pretty good - I'd definitely recommend it).

Anywho, as for the race itself, we got up to Middle-of-Nowhere, Wisconsin, otherwise known as Eagle, WI, around 2:00 p.m. on Friday, checked into our Holiday Inn Express and moped around the surrounding strip mall for a bit before chilling in the room until our burger dinner. The weather on Friday was extraordinary - very fall-like temps, clear skies, perfect for running. Unfortunately, the race was on Saturday. Thunderstorms started rolling through
in the early morning hours dumping all kinds of rain, and I was seriously wondering if the organizers would let the race proceed in these conditions. It was looking ugly out there. Regardless, we gathered our stuff and made our way to the park where the start/finish area was assembled, and, luckily, the storms seemed to be making their way east and the rain eased up. By 7:00 a.m., all systems were go, and all 142 of us made our way to the start line. The Ultramarathon Man, himself, Dean Karnazes, was there to give a little pep talk, and we were off.

As mentioned previously, Cath and I had decided to run the race together, and employ a run/walk split in order to conserve energy. I can't remember exactly why we chose to run 9 minutes and walk one, as opposed to, say, a 8-2 or 7-3, but that's what we went with and it worked pretty well. I was actually surprised that nobody else seemed to be doing a run/walk, as they all made their way past us on our first walk segment, but I figured our system would pay dividends in the end.

The course if divided into six sections, each approximately five miles long, seperated by aid stations. It seemed like we hit that first aid station in no time, with Cath and I running somewhere between 8:30s and 9:00s (I wasn't running with a watch, so my numbers could be totally wrong, but that's what it felt like), and feeling pretty good. I had started to get a head cold a couple days before the race, and had taken a decongestant hoping to keep my head clear, and it seemed to be doing it's thing. The weather was cooler than the day before, but humid because of all the rain. The trail, however, was a complete mess - mud, mud, and more mud. That thick, slippery mud where you think you might lose a shoe if you try to run through it. But the scenery was spectacular. Just really beautiful trails, and so, so quiet out there. I can't imagine a more scenic place to do a race. Just lovely.

We hit the second aid station and I was still feeling pretty good. The weather was holding - a few sprinkles, but nothing major - and the terrain had changed for the better. We'd find that each section of the race showcased a different type of trail running - some horse trails, some single-track, some wider cross-country ski trails, etc. It was great to get away from all the mud, but this section had a ton of steep sections, choked with loose and slippery rocks. Cath turned her ankles a number of times, and I was worried that she might be risking a sprain. Luckily, the third section of the race was through a series of relatively flat - but soggy - fields along the Ice Age Trail. They apparently use the Ice Age Trail for a number of endurance events, and I can see why - the views are just incredible and the terrain is challenging, but very doable. The only bad part of this section was that it was all single-track, which made passing - and being passed - a bit of a pain.

It was at the end of this section that I started to feel kinda crappy. My head and chest were getting congested, and I just wasn't really getting into a good running rhythm. Just laboring. We hit the fourth (of six) aid stations at mile 22, and, as I pushed another gel into my mouth, I got that feeling like I just really didn't want to run any more. I started to panic a bit because I knew we still had nine more miles to go, and I was not feeling good. We started out again, but it wasn't long before I told Cath to go on without me. She was running really strong, and I didn't want to hold her back. It was also making me kinda nauseous running directly behind someone, and I hoped that a little distance would do me some good. But, first, I figured I'd walk a spell and try to re-focus. I kept Cath in sight for about another mile or so, running for stretches and then walking a bit, but she was soon out of sight and I was pretty much by myself out there. Unfortunately, the solitude didn't make me feel all that much better.

The run/walk stretches started to get about equal, and my legs were really starting to rebel - my feet, ankles, hamstrings, and hips were all telling me to stop. The last aid station was just 3.7 miles from the finish, and I thought I'd be able to finish relatively strong - or at least run the whole way in - if I could just get to that last station. I was then run/walking with a couple of other guys, which is always a nice way to spend the time when you're not feeling great during a race, and we finally hit the final aid station. One of the guys I was with said that we had 50 minutes left in order to break six hours, and thought we could make it if we did a 4-minute run, 2-minute walk split. We started out running, but I just didn't have much left in me. Everything just hurt really badly, and I was also mentally pretty burnt - focusing on the trail all day, picking a good line, avoiding big rocks, and the head cold had left me really drained. The run/walk splits were now pretty ridiculous - seriously, like 50 yards of each, over and over again. I'd run the downhills and walk the uphills, hoping the end of the trail was just over the next hill.

We finally got back to the main road, which I knew was just a half-mile or so from the finish. I did manage to break six hours, barely (5:59.56!), but it wasn't a world-dominating performance by any means. I pretty much just slogged through those last nine miles. In fact, if Cath hadn't taken a wrong turn near the very end, and thereby run two extra miles, she would have beaten me by at least 20 minutes. She was strong from beginning to end, and I surely was not. But I'm trying to be positive about it - I wasn't feeling 100 percent, I hadn't trained (and taken it as seriously) as I should have, and I probably didn't take in enough nutrition out on the course, and still was able to run/walk it all the way in. I actually lived up to my nom-de-blog, finishing 73rd out of 142 competitors, 20th (out of 35) in my age group, and the 62nd male (out of 112).

And I can say that I've done an Ultramarathon. Dean Karnazes might not be too impressed, but I can live with that.

Cheers!

The North Face Endurance Challenge

So, although Cath and I decided to take a step back from Ironman racing this year, we came upon another challenge that we figured might be equally fun/physically demanding for the latter part of the summer - the North Face Endurace Challenge.

Sponsored by the popular clothing manufacturer, the North Face Endurance Challenge is a series of trail runs ranging in distance from 5k to 50-miles put on in five locations across the country, including one just southeast of Madison, Wisconsin, on September 18. Seeing as we have a couple friends who have done a few ultra-distance running events, Cath and I have discussed giving one a shot sometime, and the North Face Series seemed like a good place to start.

At first we considered going all out and registering for the 50-mile race, but I was pretty sure that I was not going to be in a good position to pull that off this year, so we settled on the 50k instead. Which is still a daunting proposition, seeing as I've never run more than a marathon at a time, and never run a race off-road.

Cath has been leading a marathon training group at work, and I've tried to glean some measure of fitness by dragging myself to their weekly long runs for the past six or so weeks. We've ramped up to 19 miles a couple of times, but it hasn't really done a lot to make me feel very comfortable or confident going into this race. In fact, it's made me wonder how I ever managed to get through a stand-alone marathon in one piece. Running for more than two hours straight is just a ridiculous thing to do, really. It hurts quite a bit. People say, "but you've done three Ironman races, each with a marathon tacked onto a bunch of other stuff..." Which is true, but an Ironman race can be broken down into a series of one-mile (slow) repeats, with a snack break between each one. It's much easier than thinking about - and then doing - 26+ miles without stopping.

I have tried to convince/delude myself into thinking that this course is generally considered the least technical of the race series, and Cath and I have agreed to stay together and tackle it in a run-walk fashion (ie, an 8 minute run, 2 minute walk sequence), so there's really nothing to worry about, but I'm still a bit scared. It's still a lot of miles to cover over uneven terrain.

Regardless, it will no doubt be an adventure, and something we'll remember for quite a while. And that's always exciting.

Racine 70.3 Race Report

First off, a little history (not because it's been so long since I've posted anything that I'm feeling extra verbose, but rather because it's actually relevant to the report) - having completed IM Wisconsin in September of last year, I had just mid-packed my way through my third Ironman distance triathlon in four years, to go along with four half-IMs and a handful of sprints and Oly-distance events during the same period. My buddy Drew had done all that, plus another Ironman event, and Cath now had two IM races under her belt, in addition to a couple of injury-aborted training cycles.

So, needless to say, we all came into the 2010 "season" a tad burnt out by the whole triathlon training process, and opted to take a more chill approach to things this time around. Most importantly we decided no IM races at all for this year, but we'd throw a half-IM on the schedule more-or-less just to have something to train for. We chose the Racine 70.3 race primarily because of the timing and close proximity to Chicago, and perhaps a bit because we did this same race in 2005 and it kicked the boys' asses - especially me, as the high temps and humidity forced me to walk almost the whole run leg, while the wife ran away to family victory. So, a little sweet, sweet revenge over the town of Racine, WI was also on the agenda.

Unfortunately, and perhaps not unexpectedly, training for the event never really got off the ground - I had been swimming and running pretty regularly, if once a week can be considered regular, but the biking thing was pretty much forgotten. I'm thinking I did - maybe - three rides of over thirty miles all year (and they were just a hair above 30 miles, as that), and most of my saddle time had taken place inside on the Keiser bike. And most of those indoor rides were about an hour long, and included some short intervals, but still weren't all that taxing. So, really the "training" was nothing more than some daily exercise, and I was worried that I hadn't give the distance the respect it was due.

Cath and Drew had also been a bit down on triathlon training, so we all went into this past weekend a bit apprehensive over what 70.3 miles of racing was going to feel like.

We hit hit the road on Saturday afternoon, and check-in was rather uneventful - the old Spirit of Racine Half Ironman was taken over by WTC this past year, and is now an IM branded affair, which (in my humble opinion) is typically a good thing - IM events are usually very well-organized and the routes very well-planned. More on this later, but I think they dropped the ball on this one.

Our friend Ross, who's in the midst of training for his first IM, joined us for the race, and is no doubt the most fit of us all right now. We had a pre-race dinner with some members of his training group, and then hit the Best Western for some zzz's. I didn't sleep very well, but woke up ready to roll - ate a couple slices of some cinnamon bread we picked up the night before, and headed down to transition to set up. The morning was slightly cool and bit cloudy, which was a great surprise since the forecast had called for sun and high humidities. I drank a Red Bull as I got set up, along with most of a Powerbar.

The swim in Racine is a point-to-point, and you have to walk the mile down the beach to the start line, but we got down there in plenty of time. Ross and I were in the second wave after the pros went off, about 7:15 a.m. What's nice about this swim is that you've got a nice, wide section of beach to start from, and the waves are four minutes apart, so there's very little contact between athletes. I think I brushed into someone maybe once or twice, and it wasn't anything violent. Just a bump, and then they were gone. Nothing like the chaos that is an Ironman start. The swim actually felt pretty good - water was pretty calm for Lake Michigan, and it ended just when I was getting tired of swimming. I didn't see the clock coming into T1, and I was racing without a watch, but I they say I did it in 42.09. Pretty good for me.

Hit the port-o-let, and got ready to ride. Given my limited training, I knew going in that the end of the bike was going to be hard, but I actually felt pretty good the whole way. The ride started well - the skies were still clouded over, and the temps were in the upper 70s, with little wind - but things changed about half-way through. I actually cursed when I first saw the sun's rays as they broke through the clouds, as I knew the day was about to get a lot hotter. But the air was still feeling pretty cool and the miles ticked slowly by. In fact, the only distress I had on the bike was hunger - I had about 575 calories during the ride, but my stomach started to rumble with about five miles to go - and the mental fatigue of being on a bike for so long.

Rolled into T2 most thankful to be off the bike, and scarfed down about half a Powerbar in the transition area. Jogged out toward the exit, and the heat really hit me for the first time. Yikes. Those first two miles were just brutal. Decided right then that I was just going to run aid station to aid station, stopping at each to drink and throw water over my head. That worked pretty well until about mile 8, when I had to stop between aid stations to let my heart rate settle back down. It seemed like my brain wanted to run a certain speed, but my body couldn't go that fast and my heartrate would spike. So I'd walk about 15 steps, and then force myself to jog again (to describe it as a 'run' would be an exaggeration). That happened two or three more times over the next couple of miles, but I got into a pretty good rhythm with about two miles to go, and even had enough left to sprint it to the finish.

In the end, I'm happy with my times - swim: 42.09; bike: 2:46.23; run: 1:59.54; overall: 5:36.16. Not the best I've ever done, but not the worst either. The weather and my conditioning were pretty second rate, but I was happy with the mental effort that kept me pushing on the run. And it's always fun to do a race with friends - grumbling about all the trial and tribulations we experienced out there is like the fourth leg of triathlon, and I was thankful to have Cath, Drew and Ross up there with me. Very good times.

I don't think I'd do this race again, though - the course really blows. The bike especially. The road quality is for crap - bad pavement, and the course spends way too much time on narrow portions of the highway. The website also boasts that you run through the Racine zoo, but that's a lie - you run *past* the zoo, or maybe it's more accurate to say next to the zoo, and the only animals I saw were the a couple of dogs watching from some spectator's front lawn. And, while I really can't blame the organizers for this, the weather was complete crap. Again. I don't even like to be outside in weather that's ninety degrees and humid, let alone race in it. So, I don't think the Racine 70.3 will be on the agenda again any time soon - there are too many other quality half-IMs in this area to do a dud like this one - but I was happy that we did it. Next time, we might even train a bit for it.

Cheers!

Tri-Shark Race Report

Hey, remember me? The Tales From the Mid-Pack guy? Yeah, I'm back with an exciting new update on my 2010 racing "season" (which, so far, amounts to two races). I actually participated - and completed! - a triathlon on June 5, which I believe allows me to continue to describe myself as an "athletic person." At least for another few months.

The event in question is a long-standing sprint-distance triathlon in scenic Normal, Illinois, which is about 130 miles south of Chicago. The participants included Cath, Drew, our resident Ironman-in-training Ross, and myself. We drove down to Normal on Friday and arrived with plenty of time to register at the lake start. "Register" might be a little strong of a word, considering the whole process amounted to basically crossing our names off a list and handing us our swim caps and numbers. A nice thing about Tri-Shark is that they allow you the option of forgoing a t-shirt in exchange for bumping a few bucks off the registration fee. Considering that about 10 percent of all race shirts ever get worn in our household, this was a nice option. We all took a moment to gander at the lake, which would be the site of our 600-yard swim, and then head back to the 'ol Hampton Inn.

Now, honestly, I wasn't completely sure that this race was going to even get off the ground - the forecast called for a series of major thunderstorms to come crashing through the area all evening and deep into the following (i.e., race day) afternoon, and I know that race directors are typically quick to abort a race - or at least scrub the swim portion - when the dark clouds roll in. My fears were only compounded when the first storms rolled through at 3:00 a.m., and it was still raining and very dark at 6:30 a.m. Hmmm, not looking good.

But a confidently-written mass email from the organizers bolstered our hopes that we'd be racing, so we soldiered on to the race site. We had all gotten settled in the transition area when they told us that the start would be delayed "until further notice" because of the surrounding storm activity. Crapo. Is this going to happen today? But then, all of a sudden, the director is again on her bullhorn telling everyone that we're back on schedule, and looking at an on-time departure! Boo ya!

Drew, Ross and I take off in the same wave - sporting the mighty powder blue swim caps! - and I quickly remember that: 1. I haven't swam in open water since last September, 2. swimming with a wetsuit feels totally different that swimming without a wetsuit, and 3. triathlon swim starts are very. physical. affairs. These people were in it to win it, and swimming like they were in a bar fight. Yikes. Gotta say that the starts are probably my least favorite part of triathlon - it can be just brutal out there.

Luckily, I managed to survive the first 500 yards before I literally had the watch knocked right off my wrist as I made my way to the swim exit. Luckily, it was just my old Nike and not something I'd be losing tears over, but it was still a surreal experience realizing that some catfish would likely be eating my watch for breakfast. Oh, well. Moving on...Swim - 12:19.

Transition was smooth and easy (1:55), grabbed the bike and headed out - legs didn't exactly feel great, but I hoped that they'd warm up as I moved along. The course was super-smooth (gotta love the rural roads), with just a few short hills, but it still felt like a lot longer than 13 miles. I obviously didn't have my watch anymore, and I don't ride with a bike computer, so I had no idea how fast I was going, but I tried to keep up a pace that felt somewhere between good and just a little bit hurty. My bike fitness is admittedly pretty poor right now - longest ride is right around 35 miles, and not exactly a hard 35, either - but I came into T2 feeling fine, and saw Cath just as she was entering the transition area. Bike - 36:30 (21.4 mph); T2 - 1:37.

We started to run out together, and I actually had a hard time keeping up with her - I hadn't taken in any liquids on the bike, and I was feeling a bit dry. Stopped to grab a cup of water, and started to feel a little more normal. I just wanted to hunker down into a steady groove and stick with it until the end. The first half of the run felt like it was all uphill, so I was thrilled to see the turn-around point, but - of course - the way back wasn't exactly an express elevator down to the finish. But you've gotta love a 5k run - it can only hurt for so long, and then it's over. I even had a little sprint left in me at the end! Run - 22:17 (7:11/mile); Total - 1:14.40.

All-in-all, this was a really fun race - really well organized, good size, nice distance. I've never done a legitimate sprint distance triathlon (I've done the Galena tri a couple of times, and also one in Terre Haute, IN, but the bike and run legs were slightly longer for each), and it was a nice change of pace. Not my favorite distance, but it sure was nice to finish the race in time to get back and shower at the hotel before check-out time! I've still got a long way to go, training-wise, to be ready for the Racine 70.3 next month, but this was a really nice practice run.

Now, if I could just get in some serious riding...

Cheers!

So much to say!

Okay, not really.

I just didn't want this blog to be repossessed or condemned or sold to some high school kid in Des Moines.

Training is still going, although I'm a bit irked because I had a rash of stomach issues a week or two ago that set me back some. At the risk of TMI, I tend to go through bouts of stomach upsets - bloating, gassy spells - that I think are somehow related to some sort of food sensitivity (dairy? gluten? soy?). Anywho, these spells usually last a week or so, and then tend to clear up, but I tend to eat less during these things, which makes me weaker, and the workouts aren't nearly as good. So, having just come off one of these periods, I feel like my fitness has taken a step back.

We did have a great trail run out in the suburbs two weeks ago a couple friends of ours, and it was amazing - almost a 10-mile loop on a rolling course almost entirely in the rain. It felt wonderful to just smell nature again. Our friends were a week out from a 50-mile trail race, so we did a 8-minute run and 2-minute walk pace with them, and it was fantastic. Apparently, the run/walk combo is is a very common practice for ultra-runners, and I can see why - those two minutes can do wonders for your legs, and it felt like we could do that pace all day. Cath and I are actually interested in giving it a go next year! Here's the link:

http://www.mcnaughtonparktrailruns.com/index2.htm

There's a 100-mile option, as well, but, um...no, thanks. Fifty would be plenty challenging. Could be "fun."

Anywho, not to much else going on here. Our first race this year is in just less than two months, although I have yet to take the bike out into the real world in 2010. Hoping to get her tuned up this weekend, and, weather-permitting, hit the lakefront to clear out the cobwebs. It's been a l-o-n-g winter.

Blogger freak out.

Apparently, Blogger thought I had died. Or was on vacation. Or just had nothing interesting/important to say. Because it hasn't been letting me log-on to post anything. But, thankfully, after much ado, I was able to bum-rush the show and hack into my own blog.

The crops are saved!

Anywho, maybe Blogger was right to keep me out, because life in these parts are pretty vanilla - I've been training, but nothing too crazy. I'm hitting the gym six days a week, but I don't think it's been with any great intensity. Or maybe it just feels that way because the sessions haven't been all that long in duration? Ironman does weird things to your exercise-based perspective. Now, if it doesn't last more than 90 minutes and/or isn't the second workout of the day, it doesn't seem like a "real" session. Oh, well.

Whatever, I've been working out. The running is probably going the best, which isn't much of surprise since running is probably my best discipline. I've been hitting the pool at least once a week for 2,000 yards, and I've been biking (on the trainer or the Keiser bike) for either 45 minutes or an hour once or twice/week. I cranked it up to an hour and 15 minutes on Saturday just to start building a little endurance in the legs. And I'm still doing at least one strength session each week, mostly core stuff like planks and dynamic movements with weights.

Not bad, I guess, considering we're still a ways out from the summer. I'm not really following any kind of training plan as yet, and I'm not sure that I'm going to - 70.3 really isn't that big of an investment, time-wise, and I think I can trust myself to get in adequate amounts of base, interval and endurance work on my own. But that might change if I feel like I'm sloughing off.

In other news, we sorta scrubbed plans for a Spring vacation - the taxman is taking us to the woodshed this year, so money is a bit tight. However, the wife might get sent to Vegas for a work conference around Memorial Day, so we might be able to turn that into a little getaway. We'll see. And we've made a tentative commitment to climb Colorado's Longs Peak in late summer/early Fall with the same crew that did the Grand Canyon last year. Fingers crossed that this comes together, because I think it would be an amazing adventure.

Other than that, nothing new to report. Hope y'all are making it through the final days of Winter with sanity intact. The sun is out today, so maybe that means that warmer temps are on the horizon.

Cheers!