TexasMan Olympic Tri 2017

4.30.17

2nd time for this event, 4th OWS swim event ever (Austin 70.3 cancelled swim), 1st Olympic distance Tri.

I'd avoided this distance for awhile, as a mile swim felt daunting.  I'd even registered a couple of times for this distance, but, either dropped down to a shorter distance, or, in one case, was injured.  With TRI FW and Buffalo Springs coming up, it was time.

I'd been swimming more this year, and had mixed in a few OWS at Marine Creek before this event.  Time to suck it up and get it done.

TexasMan is a great event coordinated by Dallas Athletes Racing.  It takes place at Lake Ray Roberts, and offers a Sprint, Olympic, and X50 distance.  While the X50 would have been a good test 3 weeks before TRI FW, I knew I could be ok on the bike and run.  I just needed to conquer the swim, which was the same 1 mile distance for the Olympic and X50.

When I picked up my packet on Thursday, we were told that the swim had been changed to 3 smaller loops, rather than 1 large loop.  It seems that last year's choppy water had the race organizers wanting to keep swimmers a little closer to the shore.  I actually liked the change, as I figured, "swim 10 minutes, rest, swim 10 minutes, rest, swim 10 minutes, transition."

The weather had turned incredibly cold overnight, so we arrived to temps in the upper 40's. It was downright chilly and incredibly windy.

I prepped transition, and headed to the beach for the long, cold wait.

When we hit the water, it was actually a relief, as it was warmer than the air temps.  I waded into the water slowly and began to swim.  It took me a few hundred yard to get comfortable, but, I finally settled in a bit.  That said, I still struggled to go more than 8 - 12 strokes before lifting my head and getting my bearings.  We hit the 1st buoy, and were headed parallel to the shore.  That would be the choppiest part of the swim.  Soon, another buoy and we headed back to shore for loop 2.  As soon as I could touch, I did, and walked in.  Not the fastest option, but, the most comfortable.  I took my goggles off to clear fog, jogged down the beach, and reentered the water.  Loop 2 felt for more comfortable, other than me swimming crooked to the point that the kayaker had to tell me to take a hard left to get back on track.  Loop 3 was much of the same.  While I'm not a fast swimmer, I did hope to be faster than I was.  The results had me at 43:20, or, 2:53 per 100 yards, but, Strava has me at 2:19 per 100, as I extended by over 100 yards.  If only I were a straighter swimmer.

I exited the water and made the long trip to T1.  It was still incredibly cold and windy, so I took the time to put on a jacket and gloves in T1 for the bike.  While I knew I'd spent a lot of time there, it wasn't until the results that I saw I spent 7:57 in T1.  Unreal!

I mounted the bike and headed out for the 40k ride.  Other than my feet (I rode sockless), I felt ok temperature-wise.  We made the turn out of the park and the crosswinds were brutal.   My race wheels had me shimmying down the road.  We made a right turn down another road, and the ride got incredibly fast.  At the hairpin turn to head back to the main road, I actually unclipped and took in some nutrition before heading back.  The ride back up that road was incredibly slow due to a killer headwind.  Another right, more crosswind.  Another hairpin, again, unclip for rest and nutrition.  back to the park up its and fighting crosswind.  BRUTAL.  The results show me at 15.7 mph.  Strava at 16.2.  It was a really hard day on the bike.

Back to T2 where I shed the gloves, but, kept the jacket.  3:38.  Still slow.

I headed out on the run and saw a few friends cheering.  It was awesome that they were out there in the cold, windy weather.  While I wasn't quite sure what pace to target on the run, I knew I wanted to just keep moving.  By mile 1 I'd shed the jacket, and would toss it to a buddy bile mile 2.

I made a brief pee stop in a campsite a little before mile 3 and kept moving.  I would walk water stops for liquids and gels and run the rest of the way...slowly.  Fortunately, due to the looped course, there was a lot of interaction with other athletes, which was nice.

I continued my slow steady pace and picked it up a bit at the end.  10:13 pace per results, 10:24 per Strava.

Total time:  3:30:53.  Slower than planned, but, box checked.  It was a tough day.  But, some confidence built for TRI FW.

I got some clothes back on and cheered for friends coning in and several that podiumed.

Not a bad day...

Stockyards Easter 10k 2017

4.15.17

This would be the 3rd race in 7 days.  And, my 1st 10k since December.

My two previous 10k's had netted back to back PR's, and, finally had me averaging paces in the upper 8's.

I ran this race in 2013 and 2104, but, had not been back since.  With it being a close, cheap, small race, I figured I'd give it another shot.

I talked Jan and Jeff into going for this one, so, I'd have some racing buddies.

My running had decreased significantly since Cowtown, but, I'd had a few fast training runs of late, so felt decent about posting a decent time.  However, I tweaked my left hamstring badly on the Thursday before the race, which was a concern.

I arrived early and connected with my race buddies.  I did quite a bit of stretching to the hamstring, but, it was still incredibly sore.  I was wavering between pushing for a good time and scaling back so as to not make the hamstring worse.

When the race started, I got out to too quick of a start and the hamstring really hurt.  I was hopeful it would loosen up quickly.  I booked a 8:31 1st mile.  Too fast, and, wouldn't last.  I got progressively slower for the 1st 4 miles, but was still pacing at an overall pace of sub 9 minute miles.  I'd passed Jeff and Jan (who was having a tough day), but, was having trouble holding a consistent pace, and, due to light crowd for 10k, wasn't able to find anyone to pace with.  Mile 5 was slightly faster, but mile 6 was slow.  I'd had enough and the hamstring was pretty tight.  However, due to the small crowd, my 55:37 (8:57 / mile) was still good enough for 3rd in my AG.  While I didn't feel great about it, it was my 3rd fastest 10k out of 20 races.  I'll take it, I guess.

Caveman Tri 2017

4.9.17

Year 2 for this one.

Year 1 was a mess due to heavy rain...more on that here: http://riderunrepeat.blogspot.com/2016/04/caveman-tri-2016.html

The format:  275 yard swim, 10.8 mile bike, 5k run.

This event would be the 1st for Remi and Jan, and we would have a big group for FWTRI, so, looked like it would be a fun day.

We all arrived early, picked up packets, and set up transition.  All fairly uneventful.  We hung out in the gym waiting for our turn to swim and visited for a bit.

I'd been a bit ambitious on my swim time, registering at 4:21 for the 275 yard swim.  This would be much faster than the 6:08 that I swam last year.  As a result, I was to be 93rd in the water.

Swim:  I hit the water and felt good,  I passed a few folks and got passed by a few.   As can be the case with pool swims, this one had moments of congestion, but, all in all, uneventful.  Total time: 5:41.  Much slower than my registration time, but, an improvement over last year.

T1:  Uneventful, but, a huge improvement over last year's rainy mess.  Time:  1:36...decent.

Bike:  The bike route had been adjusted and extended from 10.8 to 11.3.  While a windy day, the bike felt fast.  I felt good in the saddle and mashed the pedals.  36:55 total time.  17.7mph in results, but, 18.7mph on Strava due to longer route.  Much better than the 39:20 (16.6 mph) from a year ago.

T2:  again, uneventful.  1:32.

Run:  My running legs felt a little heavy due to the race the day before, and I was feeling a few minor aches and pains.  Early in the run, I had a guy catch up to me and mention that he usually finds himself chasing me at races.  We paced together for mile 1, and, he helped me continue to push.  Mile 1: 9 flat.  I continued the pace and had a 9:01 mile 2 and a slightly slower 9:15 mile 3. 27:36 overall. Not terrible, and, much better than my 29:56 of a year ago.

total time:  1:13:22.  Much faster than my 1:20:40 in 2016 (even with longer bike course).

Rem and Jan both crushed their 1st Tri... Remi even made the podium.  We hung out for awards, as several of our FWTRI buddies podiumed.  Good day!

Victory Over Violence 5k 2017

4.8.17

Now that I have the boys every Friday Night / Saturday, racing on Saturdays has proven to be difficult, and, racing both days in a weekend is impossible.  Unless...

One of the great benefits of living next to Trinity Park is easy access to races.

Griffin has always been willing to run races with me, and, now that I know that Gage will let me push him in the stroller, my options have opened up a bit.  I was able to talk the boys into this Saturday 5k.

I knew that I could push Gage and still run fast(ish), and Griffin would have no trouble with this route or distance.

We arrived to a mild and comfortable day.  It would be a great day for a run.  This is a big event, and, as a result has lots of crowds to navigate, including LOTS of walkers.  As a result, I moved closer to the front of the corral than I typically would with a stroller.  My previous 5k PR w/ Gage in Stroller was 27:56 at Cowtown.  I wanted to be faster than that.

When the horn sounded, we got out to a good start.  Even with being towards the front of the corral, we were passing lots of people.  We posted a 8:37 mile 1.  At this point, we had passed Griffin.  We continued to push as we turned onto the trial, and posted a 8:41 mile 2.  We turned again at the circle drive and headed back.  Mile 3:  8:38.  We paces at 7:43 for the .1, and booked an overall 27 flat.  8:43 per mile pace.  Faster than I would have expected with a 7 year old in a stroller.

Griffin posted a 33:23.  Not bad, but, certainly not one of his faster days.

We hung out at the afterparty for a bit, and headed back to enjoy the reminder of our Saturday.

Disco 15k 2017

4.2.17

Year 2.

I ran this event last year, and, enjoyed it.  Dallas Athletes does a good job with their events, and, this is no exception.  I signed up late for this one, but, was ready to race again after a week off, and wanted to jumpstart my training again.

I was up early and off to Dallas to pick up my packet and prep before the run.  There had been a threat of storms, but, the race was supposed to go on as scheduled.

About 20 minutes before race time, the storms rolled in.  Due to the lightening, winds, and heavy rain, the event was canceled.

While it sucked to get up and drive to Dallas and not race, DAR made the correct call on cancelling.

Maybe next year...

RNR Dallas 13.1 2017

3.19.17

Up next, Rock N Roll Dallas.

Rock N Roll always does a great job with their events, and, in my opinion, this is the best 13.1 in Dallas, as it highlights some great parts of the city.

This would be my 4th time to race in this race, and, the 2nd time on this course.  I knew what to expect:

• Good, scenic course, but hilly.  
• Well coordinated event
• good after party

As with any race that begins at the Dallas Convention Center, one point of frustration is the expensive parking.  I was reminded of this as I went to pick up my packet on Saturday.  

While my running mileage had decreased since Cowtown, I had finished some fast runs over the past few weeks, and hoped to push a little at RNR.   It was my hope to break the 2 hour mark, or, keep it under a 9:10 pace.

When I arrived on Sunday, I hooked up with several racing friends prior to the race.  It's always good to see buddies at these events.

When our corral was released, many of us were pacing together.  As the group began to separate due to desired paces, it appeared that Hider and I would run together.  However, the thoughts of a PR day went out the window quickly, as it was incredibly hot and humid.  A BIG change from the cold temps just 1 week prior.  By mile 5, it became nothing more than a training run.

Jeff had gone ahead early, Debbie had fallen back, and at mile 5, Hider slowed up significantly,  I was on my own.  I kept a decent pace through 7 miles, then slowed significantly.   began to walk hills and water stops, and try to enjoy the day.

I pushed through the heat and humidity and posted a 2:09:15.  9 minutes slower than my target time, but, still my 3rd fastest 13.1 to date.  The Cowtown Training has definitely helped my speed.

To my surprise, I'd passed Jeff somewhere along the course, so, actually finished ahead of Jeff, Scott, and Debbie.  The after part was cut short, as I had personal business t attend to, but, not a bad day.  I've already registered to run again in 2018.