Payton MacDonald
Point Pleasant Sprint Triathlon Race Report
600 meter swim, 10.5 mile bike, 3.1 mile run
Swim: 9:37; 1:31 pace
T1: 3:35
Bike: 31:19, 20.1 mph pace
T2: 1:10
Run: 23:17; 7:46/mile pace
Total time: 1:08:56
Place: 23 out of 98
Pre Race
Point Pleasant. This is where it all began for me. I’ve written about this elsewhere, so I’ll skip the details, but I did my first triathlon here in 2007 and then again in 2008. Both times I trained on my own. Since I don’t have an athletic backround I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I had fun. And most importantly it set me on a path to a more active lifestyle that has been a profound change in my life. But this time it was different. Last year I placed fifth from last and it took me 1:39:40. This year I placed in the top quarter and it took me 1:08:56. Big difference.
But I almost didn’t make it to the race. I got directions to the town of Point Pleasant and figured once I was there I would remember how to get to the race site. Wrong. I stopped three times to ask but no one know how to get there. By this time it was 8:15 and the race started at 8:45. In a panic I called home and thankfully Jessica answered and was able to guide me to the race using Google maps. She had decided not to come because it was raining, but was still the most effective director of Team Payton ever. If it weren’t for her I would have ended my season in frustration rather than victory. From now on I will ALWAYS bring directions.
I got to the race site at 8:30, checked in, did my best with getting my transition area set up, pulled on my wetsuit, and was down in the water at 8:44. That warm up run and bike ride I had planned? Nope. That nice arrangement of my stuff for transition? Nope. Oh well, at least I got there. I had also been sick all week, coughing and hacking, and as of the day before I wasn’t sure I was even going to be able to race. In hindsight it probably wasn’t the best choice to race while sick (and for the record my coach wisely advised me against it), but I knew I needed to test out my new race skills on this familiar course after 10 months of dedicated training or I would forever regret it.
Swim
This was my best swim yet, both in terms of comfort and time. There weren’t that many of us and the path was wide, so I had no trouble finding a nice clean line. I passed a lot of people from the first wave, but still never had to fight traffic. 1:31 is a PR for me. I plan on making that my average race speed next season.
I mostly remember feeling surprised at how short the swim was and inevitably a tinge of sadness when I got to the end of it. Many triathletes dread the swim, but I actually like it, especially when it’s smooth like this one was.
T1
I have no idea why this took me so long, but I think mostly it was because my transition area was messy. I really need to keep working on my transitions, though. The fastest guy did his in 1:29, so my 3:35 is really slow. It doesn’t take any superior level of fitness to have fast transitions, just practice and planning. If I had trimmed off just a two or three minutes from my two transition times combined I would have placed five or six places higher in the final results. Lesson learned.
Bike
No problems here, I just cranked and cranked. I love riding my bike, even in the rain. I’m surprised that my pace here was only 1 mph faster than last year since this year I was on a road bike and last year I was on a big old cruiser bike, but it wasn’t pouring rain last year and that cruiser bike was actually pretty fast once you got used to it. I passed a lot of people and was only passed by two guys, but not by much.
T2
A little slow, but otherwise fine.
Run
My best yet and another PR. I was hoping to average a 8:30 pace so coming out at a 7:46 pace was a pleasant surprise. I’ve only run that fast during speed work runs, so I didn’t know I had it in me, but I guess I do. I’m a little tall and heavy to ever reach elite levels of running but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to eventually get my pace down to, say, 6:30 for short races, and 7:00 for longer ones. It will take a few years, though. Running seems simple but is actually very complicated and it’s easy to get injured if you do too much too soon. I didn’t really run as much this season as I should have because I suffered an overuse injury earlier in the season that sidelined my running for almost a month, but still this was huge improvement for me and gives me confidence that I can do even better next season.
Post Race
I’ll never forget crossing that finish line. I wasn’t wearing a watch or heart-rate monitor during the race, so I had no idea how I was doing. I was hoping to break 1:15 and secretly really wanted to break 1:10 so when I came in at 1:08:56 I was elated. The feeling of finishing a race successfully is a lot like turning in a great performance on my instruments. I was flooded with feelings of joy and goodwill and I felt so happy to be alive and to have these kinds of opportunities. In fact, I was in such a great mood that I couldn’t even take a nap later in the day!
The past year has been life-changing for me. I never used to think I had any athletic potential. And frankly, I never really liked the world of athletics. My memories of athletics from high school and college are pretty negative. The athletes always got special treatment, were not always that gifted academically, and seemed overpaid and useless to society. I realized that the games provided entertainment for a lot of people, and entertainment is certainly a necessary release from the pressures of working life, but I just didn’t see the fairness in athletes getting millions of dollars a year while many of best artists and intellectuals were struggling in poverty. It’s not like Michael Jordan was solving our energy problems or writing great symphonies. He was just throwing a ball around!
My feelings about the distribution of wealth between the arts, sciences, and sports still hasn’t changed, but I have a new love of athletics. I realize now that Michael Jordon wasn’t just “throwing a ball around,” but he was demonstrating human physical potential, and he was doing it with grace and humility. The human body is an incredible work of art. From the structure of the skeleton to the harmony of the organs, to the way the muscles work, to the interplay of mind and spirit—it is truly remarkable. And even more remarkable is that most of us have a lot of potential. Unfortunately some of us don’t, and especially when I see kids who are stricken with terminal illness I feel so very, very sad. But for those of us are lucky enough to have working bodies, there is nothing more empowering than putting them to work and realizing our potential.
My body has changed in the last 10 months. My weight has stayed right around 170, but my waistline has gotten a bit narrower (I went from a 34 waist to a 33 or 32) and my shoulders got a bit broader. I now have muscles in my legs that I didn’t even know existed, as well as my back. And my view of my body has changed as well. I always used to have a slightly negative view of my appearance. I knew I wasn’t hideous looking, but after 30 years of people constantly teasing me about being thin and tall, I also knew that I wasn’t an “ideal body type.” Well, fuck them! For triathlon, you’re supposed to be thin. In fact, at 6’3” and 170 lbs, I’m actually on the big side! Most elite triathletes are four or five inches shorter and 15 pounds lighter. I realize now that my body is just fine, in fact, it’s beautiful. And people who tease me are usually doing it because they’re jealous or ignorant.
Being physically fit has increased my confidence more than anything else. Not so much because I feel superior to the masses of fat, doughy people in the world (especially the U.S.A.), but more because it feels good to walk around and feel my muscles working. I don’t need any prescription drugs, I don’t need to use the elevator, and I definitely don’t need to whine about my back hurting or whatever. Okay, I’ll admit I do feel a little superior to the masses of unfit people, but I deserve that feeling, as do the millions of other fit people who work hard to stay fit. True, I’m blessed with genetics that make obesity hard for me, but no one is getting up for me at 5:00 a.m. to get in those workouts. That’s all me.
There are many ways for people to get fit, but for me this sport is a good fit. I like the complexity of the sport and I really enjoy the variety. Between the swimming, biking, running, weight lifting, yoga, hiking, etc, that go into training it’s impossible to get bored. I’ve also really enjoyed the social aspect of the sport. My closest friends are still the musicians that I went to school with and perform with (especially the Alarm Will Sound family), but it’s been nice to broaden my social circle. I’ve met some really fabulous people and I’ve developed some great friendships. I’ll never get tired of partying with AWS or my other musician friends, but the hedonistic musician lifestyle is becoming increasingly foreign to me. I suppose part of it is maturity, what with a family and all, but a big part of it has been getting fit.
I’ve had a lot of conversations with my musician friends about what makes a given person particularly creative. Especially Alan Pierson and I have talked about that a lot. The prevailing attitude in the arts still seems to be that the most creative people are screwed up in some way. They’re drug addicts, or mentally unstable, or socially backwards, or all of the above. That attitude is really a throwback to the 19th century when the Romantic era was in full swing and artists like Belioz, Liszt, Schumann, or Chopin had problems like that. But we don’t live in that era any more, despite Kurt Cobain. We now know that creativity takes many shapes and forms and creative people live many kinds of lives. I’ve noticed in the past year that as my fitness level has increased my music has become more free, less academic, and much more personal. In short, I’ve seen a direct coorelation between healthy living and more creative power.
That doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone, but it is definitely working for me. And with every day that passes I see my life coming into focus in a way that it never was before. I thank Keith Cook for his guidance, as well as Jason Santarcangelo and the other folks on Team NRGY. And of course I really thank Jessica, the most perfect woman on the planet.
For next year, this is what I want to accomplish:
1.) get my race swim pace consistently down to 1:30
2.) develop more strength for increased speed up hills when I’m on my bike, and start looking into getting a tri bike
3.) get my running race pace for Sprint distance down to 7:15 or better, get my Olympic distance down to 8:00 or better
4.) have fun and don’t take myself too seriously
Now for some time off for a few months. I’ll go into off-season training and focus on my various musical projects, and then start up again in January or February.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Buckman sprint triathlon, “Going to the Movies Alone”
Buckman triathlon
.5 mile swim, 17 mile bike, 3.1 mile run
Swim: 16:08
T: 2:07
Bike: 55:59, 18.2 mph average
T2: 0:56
Run: 27:03, 8:44/pace
Total time: 1:42:11
40 out of 136
Pre race
A few days before the race I was fighting a little eye infection and I saw a doctor. He wisely advised me not to do the race, but I ignored him. Sometimes it’s good to listen to doctors, usually it’s not. The eye is fine now, and I’m glad I raced. But other than that, I went into the race feeling strong and ready to go.
Buckman Triathlon takes place in Round Valley State Park, in Central Jersey. Back in April I took a long bike ride there with my coach, Keith Cook, so I was familiar with the area. There are hundreds of horse farms there, with rolling hills and old mansions. It’s a beautiful place, and that bike ride convinced me yet again that New Jersey is actually a scenic state in places. True, the industrial sections around Newark and Eastern Philadelphia are hideous, but there are many other places in the state that are quite beautiful.
I was hoping that Team Payton (Jessica and Madeline) would join me, but it was raining steadily when we got up that morning and we decided it would be best if I went alone. I’ve only done a few races alone and the feeling is a lot like going to the movies by oneself. It’s fun to be alone in a quasi-social setting, anonymous and undisturbed. I enjoyed being able to really focus on the race and not worry about whether Madeline and Jessie were bored. But it’s not something I’d want to do all the time. There’s nothing more satisfying than crossing that finish line and seeing those two pairs of brown eyes twinkling at me.
Swim
No problems on the swim, except that as usual the first half was chaotic and I got bumped around a lot. At this point I can consistently swim a 1:50 pace in the pool or in the open water by myself, so it’s a bit frustrating that I keep coming in slightly over two minutes in the races, but I’m losing a lot of time in the first half of the swim, before the congestion eases. Perhaps I just need to be more aggressive when I’m swimming, but I’m not that keen on contact sports. Eventually I hope to get my T-pace down to 1:30 or better and then I’ll just be ahead of most everyone, with a nice clean line for swimming. For now, though, I’m fighting traffic.
T1
No problems here, though I’d like to get this under two minutes. But 2:07 isn’t bad. I just need to work on getting out of my wetsuit faster.
Bike
I really cranked on the bike. And cranked. And cranked. I wasn’t wearing a watch or heart-rate monitor, which was a good thing. If I had known that I was cranking that hard for 56 minutes straight I probably would have let up once in a while. I never felt sick or dizzy, but my heart rate was definitely in one of the higher zones for a long time. The hills were pretty intense and at times I was only going about seven or eight mph. But what goes up must come down and I also got up to 34 mph on several occassions. It rained the whole time, but I was careful. As much as I love the speed, I also don’t want to crash any time soon. I suppose a bike crash is inevitable at some point, but I do try to be as careful as possible. Things change when you have a beautiful baby girl at home and another on the way. I’m not as reckless as I used to be.
I passed about eight or nine people and was passed by two folks. I took much pleasure in passing several guys that were riding $3,000 bikes. As Lance Armstrong said, “it’s not about the bike.”
T2
My best yet. Under a minute.
Run
This went pretty well. I can easily run a 8:30 pace in training, and the other day I ran my first 7:30 mile, so 8:44 is a bit slow for me, but those hills on the bike really chewed up my legs and I was really feeling it the entire run. I felt a mild cramp coming on about mile two and walked a bit to let it go, but otherwise I plodded along with confidence. I remember that in the last quarter mile there ended up being a pack of six or seven of us sprinting towards the finish line. No matter how much I try not to be competitive with my colleagues on the course, I still try to pass as many of them as I can. Sometimes that competitive spirit can make you go even further. I did end up passing several of them, but there was this one 20-something girl that I just couldn’t catch. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t catch her. She went over the finish line only a second before me. Who knows, deep down maybe I didn’t want to pass her. She was quite attractive!
Conclusion
This was a great race for me, and in terms of placement I set a new personal record. I ended up 40 out of 136, which puts me squarely in the top third. Considering that only a year ago I was placing fifth from the bottom, this is HUGE improvement. I’m grateful to Keith for his guidance, and also Jason and the rest of the crew at Team NRGY for all their help. And I’m especially grateful to Jessica for being so supportive. I’m looking forward to next summer when this pregnancy is over and we can start working out together again. I definitely won’t pass Jessica on the run. She’s the most attractive woman of them all!
.5 mile swim, 17 mile bike, 3.1 mile run
Swim: 16:08
T: 2:07
Bike: 55:59, 18.2 mph average
T2: 0:56
Run: 27:03, 8:44/pace
Total time: 1:42:11
40 out of 136
Pre race
A few days before the race I was fighting a little eye infection and I saw a doctor. He wisely advised me not to do the race, but I ignored him. Sometimes it’s good to listen to doctors, usually it’s not. The eye is fine now, and I’m glad I raced. But other than that, I went into the race feeling strong and ready to go.
Buckman Triathlon takes place in Round Valley State Park, in Central Jersey. Back in April I took a long bike ride there with my coach, Keith Cook, so I was familiar with the area. There are hundreds of horse farms there, with rolling hills and old mansions. It’s a beautiful place, and that bike ride convinced me yet again that New Jersey is actually a scenic state in places. True, the industrial sections around Newark and Eastern Philadelphia are hideous, but there are many other places in the state that are quite beautiful.
I was hoping that Team Payton (Jessica and Madeline) would join me, but it was raining steadily when we got up that morning and we decided it would be best if I went alone. I’ve only done a few races alone and the feeling is a lot like going to the movies by oneself. It’s fun to be alone in a quasi-social setting, anonymous and undisturbed. I enjoyed being able to really focus on the race and not worry about whether Madeline and Jessie were bored. But it’s not something I’d want to do all the time. There’s nothing more satisfying than crossing that finish line and seeing those two pairs of brown eyes twinkling at me.
Swim
No problems on the swim, except that as usual the first half was chaotic and I got bumped around a lot. At this point I can consistently swim a 1:50 pace in the pool or in the open water by myself, so it’s a bit frustrating that I keep coming in slightly over two minutes in the races, but I’m losing a lot of time in the first half of the swim, before the congestion eases. Perhaps I just need to be more aggressive when I’m swimming, but I’m not that keen on contact sports. Eventually I hope to get my T-pace down to 1:30 or better and then I’ll just be ahead of most everyone, with a nice clean line for swimming. For now, though, I’m fighting traffic.
T1
No problems here, though I’d like to get this under two minutes. But 2:07 isn’t bad. I just need to work on getting out of my wetsuit faster.
Bike
I really cranked on the bike. And cranked. And cranked. I wasn’t wearing a watch or heart-rate monitor, which was a good thing. If I had known that I was cranking that hard for 56 minutes straight I probably would have let up once in a while. I never felt sick or dizzy, but my heart rate was definitely in one of the higher zones for a long time. The hills were pretty intense and at times I was only going about seven or eight mph. But what goes up must come down and I also got up to 34 mph on several occassions. It rained the whole time, but I was careful. As much as I love the speed, I also don’t want to crash any time soon. I suppose a bike crash is inevitable at some point, but I do try to be as careful as possible. Things change when you have a beautiful baby girl at home and another on the way. I’m not as reckless as I used to be.
I passed about eight or nine people and was passed by two folks. I took much pleasure in passing several guys that were riding $3,000 bikes. As Lance Armstrong said, “it’s not about the bike.”
T2
My best yet. Under a minute.
Run
This went pretty well. I can easily run a 8:30 pace in training, and the other day I ran my first 7:30 mile, so 8:44 is a bit slow for me, but those hills on the bike really chewed up my legs and I was really feeling it the entire run. I felt a mild cramp coming on about mile two and walked a bit to let it go, but otherwise I plodded along with confidence. I remember that in the last quarter mile there ended up being a pack of six or seven of us sprinting towards the finish line. No matter how much I try not to be competitive with my colleagues on the course, I still try to pass as many of them as I can. Sometimes that competitive spirit can make you go even further. I did end up passing several of them, but there was this one 20-something girl that I just couldn’t catch. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t catch her. She went over the finish line only a second before me. Who knows, deep down maybe I didn’t want to pass her. She was quite attractive!
Conclusion
This was a great race for me, and in terms of placement I set a new personal record. I ended up 40 out of 136, which puts me squarely in the top third. Considering that only a year ago I was placing fifth from the bottom, this is HUGE improvement. I’m grateful to Keith for his guidance, and also Jason and the rest of the crew at Team NRGY for all their help. And I’m especially grateful to Jessica for being so supportive. I’m looking forward to next summer when this pregnancy is over and we can start working out together again. I definitely won’t pass Jessica on the run. She’s the most attractive woman of them all!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Xterra Schiff Scout race
Payton MacDonald
Xterra Schiff Scout Race Report
August 30, 2009
.5 mile swim, 10.5 mile mountain bike, 3.1 mile run
Swim:16:12
T1: 3:06
Bike: 1:01:10
T2: 1:03
Run: 31:13
Total time: 1:52:45
Place: 81 out of 164
PRE RACE
I expected this race to be much more comfortable than the Trimax Xterra I did in June. Trimax was in a beautiful setting, but the mountain bike portion was very technical and frankly far above my present ability level. Keith recommended Scout Schiff and it was a good recommendation, especially for folks like me who aren't crazy about carrying their mountain bikes over miles and miles of craggy rocks.
The course is situated on a boy scout camp in Wading River, on Long Island. It's a good two hours to drive there from Jersey so we made arrangements at a hotel just down the road and traveled there on Saturday. The hotel was overpriced and a bit seedy, so next year we'll try for something else. Jessica has an old friend from Interlochen in Wading River and we spent Saturday afternoon with her, her husband, and two young children. Madeline had a blast running around with the other kids and it was a low-key way to spend the day. The weather forcast was for heavy rains, but fortunately that didn't happen.
The next morning I got there by 7:00, ate a few bites of a powerbar and some water, rode a bit of the bike course, visited the toilet several times and just got comfortable. I was relieved to see that the bike course was mostly flat and smooth with no rock gardens.
SWIM
The swim was set up as two .25 mile loops, with a short run on the beach separating them. I started off strong, though I was unable to find a clear line for most of the first lap. I'm now solidly in the middle of the pack in terms of speed so I'm constantly swimming under and over and next to the other racers. Seems like no matter where I start this is the case now. The only problem I had in the first lap is that I got a big foot to my face and my left eye piece on my goggles instantly filled with water. With all the thrashing around of hundreds of racers it wasn't really convenient to tread water and fix it, so I just kept going. I fixed it while running on the sand before the second lap. The second lap was nice and smooth. The run up to the transition spot is long, but I enjoyed seeing Jessica and Madeline. Jessica waved at me. Madeline had her thumb in her mouth and looked thoroughly perplexed. I can't imagine how bizarre triathlon must look to a one-year-old.
T1
I had decided before the race to not hurry through my transitions. Especially with the first one, I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed. I had also decided to wear elbow pads for the bike as my right elbow is still a little tender from the fall I took in June. (I should probably get that checked out . . .) But I got suited up and out of there in a little over three minutes.
BIKE
The bike course was really fun, especially as I was riding my new 29er Specialized Rockhopper expert with clipless pedals. That thing just rolls over everything. The course was fairly flat and smooth, and it was mostly a narrow trail that wound through the woods. In that sense it was technical. Some of the turns were sharp and if you weren't careful you could easily slam into a tree. But I was careful and I had no problems. The only frustrating thing is that the trail was so narrow it could be hard to pass. I lost many minutes putting along behind slow riders waiting for a safe place to pass where the trail widened out a bit. Overall, though, I passed about eight or nine people, but probably 15 or so passed me. Clearly I need to work on my speed on the mountain bike, but speed on a mountain bike is made of three things: 1.) cardiovascular and muscular strength, 2.) handling skills, 3.) being completely insane and unafraid of grisly crashes. There's still much I can do in terms of numbers one and two but with a family and a career as a musician (who depends on his hands and arms), number three is out of the question. So be it. The most important thing is that I had a great time and I am excited about riding that bike course again next year.
T2
No problems here, just in and out. Hopefully I can get this down to about 45 seconds next year.
RUN
The run was probably my best run of the season, even though my pace wasn't that fast. It was a challenging run, with some steep hills and even a stretch through knee-deep water, but I felt strong for most of it and I ran pretty fast. I also enjoyed it, which isn't always the case with the run. The only problem I had was around mile 2.5. I was cruising along, feeling strong and buoyed up by the run into the final stretch, when all of a sudden I seized up with a very painful cramp in my right side. I literally stopped in my tracks, breathless, and walked slowly for several minutes until I recovered. This was disappointing because I probably could have made my goal of about a nine-minute mile pace, but I lost several minutes with this. I deserved it, though. I clearly remember that right before I cramped a few people passed me. My emotional state had been very high for the entire race, with clear and noble thoughts. But as I got to the end of the run and got more tired I remember feeling less charitable towards the other racers (" . . .she's fast, but she isn't that attractive . . ."). Those are shameful thoughts, but if these race reports are to mean anything, I have to be honest. I have this vision in my mind that as those thoughts crowded into my head God looked down from Her throne on a fluffy white cloud and sent a lighting bolt of cramp straight to my right side. "That'll teach him," She must have said. But I recovered and finished strong. Jessica and Madeline were waiting for me and Madeline even gave me a big smile and shouted "Da Da!"
POST RACE
In closing, I felt that this was my best race of the season in terms of smoothness and my effort level. I cranked hard and even though I wasn't wearing my HR monitor I would guess that my heart rate was in Zone 5 for almost the entire race. I came out right in the middle, 81 out of 164. That is a HUGE improvement from the previous years before I received proper training and I would place almost dead last. But most importantly I had fun. I recommend this race to anyone who wants to try an Xterra but doesn't want to deal with a dangerous and technical mountain bike course
Xterra Schiff Scout Race Report
August 30, 2009
.5 mile swim, 10.5 mile mountain bike, 3.1 mile run
Swim:16:12
T1: 3:06
Bike: 1:01:10
T2: 1:03
Run: 31:13
Total time: 1:52:45
Place: 81 out of 164
PRE RACE
I expected this race to be much more comfortable than the Trimax Xterra I did in June. Trimax was in a beautiful setting, but the mountain bike portion was very technical and frankly far above my present ability level. Keith recommended Scout Schiff and it was a good recommendation, especially for folks like me who aren't crazy about carrying their mountain bikes over miles and miles of craggy rocks.
The course is situated on a boy scout camp in Wading River, on Long Island. It's a good two hours to drive there from Jersey so we made arrangements at a hotel just down the road and traveled there on Saturday. The hotel was overpriced and a bit seedy, so next year we'll try for something else. Jessica has an old friend from Interlochen in Wading River and we spent Saturday afternoon with her, her husband, and two young children. Madeline had a blast running around with the other kids and it was a low-key way to spend the day. The weather forcast was for heavy rains, but fortunately that didn't happen.
The next morning I got there by 7:00, ate a few bites of a powerbar and some water, rode a bit of the bike course, visited the toilet several times and just got comfortable. I was relieved to see that the bike course was mostly flat and smooth with no rock gardens.
SWIM
The swim was set up as two .25 mile loops, with a short run on the beach separating them. I started off strong, though I was unable to find a clear line for most of the first lap. I'm now solidly in the middle of the pack in terms of speed so I'm constantly swimming under and over and next to the other racers. Seems like no matter where I start this is the case now. The only problem I had in the first lap is that I got a big foot to my face and my left eye piece on my goggles instantly filled with water. With all the thrashing around of hundreds of racers it wasn't really convenient to tread water and fix it, so I just kept going. I fixed it while running on the sand before the second lap. The second lap was nice and smooth. The run up to the transition spot is long, but I enjoyed seeing Jessica and Madeline. Jessica waved at me. Madeline had her thumb in her mouth and looked thoroughly perplexed. I can't imagine how bizarre triathlon must look to a one-year-old.
T1
I had decided before the race to not hurry through my transitions. Especially with the first one, I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed. I had also decided to wear elbow pads for the bike as my right elbow is still a little tender from the fall I took in June. (I should probably get that checked out . . .) But I got suited up and out of there in a little over three minutes.
BIKE
The bike course was really fun, especially as I was riding my new 29er Specialized Rockhopper expert with clipless pedals. That thing just rolls over everything. The course was fairly flat and smooth, and it was mostly a narrow trail that wound through the woods. In that sense it was technical. Some of the turns were sharp and if you weren't careful you could easily slam into a tree. But I was careful and I had no problems. The only frustrating thing is that the trail was so narrow it could be hard to pass. I lost many minutes putting along behind slow riders waiting for a safe place to pass where the trail widened out a bit. Overall, though, I passed about eight or nine people, but probably 15 or so passed me. Clearly I need to work on my speed on the mountain bike, but speed on a mountain bike is made of three things: 1.) cardiovascular and muscular strength, 2.) handling skills, 3.) being completely insane and unafraid of grisly crashes. There's still much I can do in terms of numbers one and two but with a family and a career as a musician (who depends on his hands and arms), number three is out of the question. So be it. The most important thing is that I had a great time and I am excited about riding that bike course again next year.
T2
No problems here, just in and out. Hopefully I can get this down to about 45 seconds next year.
RUN
The run was probably my best run of the season, even though my pace wasn't that fast. It was a challenging run, with some steep hills and even a stretch through knee-deep water, but I felt strong for most of it and I ran pretty fast. I also enjoyed it, which isn't always the case with the run. The only problem I had was around mile 2.5. I was cruising along, feeling strong and buoyed up by the run into the final stretch, when all of a sudden I seized up with a very painful cramp in my right side. I literally stopped in my tracks, breathless, and walked slowly for several minutes until I recovered. This was disappointing because I probably could have made my goal of about a nine-minute mile pace, but I lost several minutes with this. I deserved it, though. I clearly remember that right before I cramped a few people passed me. My emotional state had been very high for the entire race, with clear and noble thoughts. But as I got to the end of the run and got more tired I remember feeling less charitable towards the other racers (" . . .she's fast, but she isn't that attractive . . ."). Those are shameful thoughts, but if these race reports are to mean anything, I have to be honest. I have this vision in my mind that as those thoughts crowded into my head God looked down from Her throne on a fluffy white cloud and sent a lighting bolt of cramp straight to my right side. "That'll teach him," She must have said. But I recovered and finished strong. Jessica and Madeline were waiting for me and Madeline even gave me a big smile and shouted "Da Da!"
POST RACE
In closing, I felt that this was my best race of the season in terms of smoothness and my effort level. I cranked hard and even though I wasn't wearing my HR monitor I would guess that my heart rate was in Zone 5 for almost the entire race. I came out right in the middle, 81 out of 164. That is a HUGE improvement from the previous years before I received proper training and I would place almost dead last. But most importantly I had fun. I recommend this race to anyone who wants to try an Xterra but doesn't want to deal with a dangerous and technical mountain bike course
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