Out with a Bang!

For most of the season I have felt really good about the strides I have made in sprint distances, but have started to focus on 70.3 training. The sprint season for all intent and purposes is over for me and I’m happy with how it turned out. During the off-season I will spend a lot of time in the pool and also do more track work to get my 5k times consistently under 20 minutes. But enough of what has already happen and on to what I have been building up too.

I plan on participating in my first half-ironman on September 26^th at Elephant Butte and the training has been rough to say the least. The average week involves 150 bike miles, 25 run miles, and right around 7000 meters of pool time. First the good news, my bike riding has really taken off and I owe it to the group rides in the upper valley on Saturday and Sunday. Most of the rides are right around 50 miles and they are extremely fast!! The majority of the ride is with the hammer dropped and if you aren’t careful you’ll find yourself riding by yourself, because the pack has pulled to far away. Fellow triathletes Rob, Gretchen, Art, and Bobby are out there with at least 25 other bike riders. I plan on riding with this group during the off season and can’t wait to see how my bike splits look next year.

Now the bad, my running is very inconsistent. One day I’ll run 8 miles at 8:15 pace and the next time I run it will be 10 miles at 10:00 pace L On other occasions I’ll ride the bike for 50 miles and then run 4 miles at 7:30 pace with no problems. I’ve tried different rest days, gels, HEED, and the only thing that is consistent is my inconsistency. I know I’ll be able to run the 13.1 miles after the 56 miles of bike at Elephant Butte, the real question is will it be under 2 hours or 3?!

Swim training has been fine and really has never been an issue. The issues arise when you are in the middle of a mass start and get your goggles kicked off, swallow a bunch of water, get swam over, don’t sight well, and generally just panic. Depending on how many of those things happen to me will determine how well I swim that portion of the race. I’m hoping for the best, but have no problems taking a little extra time to gather myself in the water and push on through.

I have never raced a 70.3 distance before, but I have been to Elephant Butte to train and raced in the Dam It Man Sprint earlier this summer and here is what I can pass on to everyone who is going to be out there. 1) The water is very warm and you might want to consider NOT wearing a wetsuit. I know most people are faster with the wetsuit, but the day is likely to be very warm and you might not want to start losing a bunch of fluids during the swim. I’m 90% sure I will NOT wear my wetsuit. 2) The bike course is a good mixture of rolling hills, two climbs for the Olympic distance and three climbs for the 70.3 with a nice slight downhill grade on the way back to transition. I know every rider is different, but if you have a rear disk wheel, make sure you bring it. I plan on riding the course during a training ride with a disk and will let you know if it should be used. The bike course is also pretty easy to follow and shouldn’t be too difficult to stay on course.  3) The run will be very HOT and difficult. The run for the 70.3 goes from sand, to cement, dirt trials, to asphalt and has several climbs. Unlike the bike course, I feel the 70.3 run course can be a little confusing. Make sure you study the maps and then drive the course the day before. Pay special attention to the markings on the road.

Good luck to everyone doing the Eagle in the Sun this weekend! It should be a great event and fun for the whole family.

Vacation and Swim Clinic

Training while on vacation can be a difficult situation and I’m discovering that I didn’t handle it very well this past week. I’ve been out of town for five days and thought that the rest would be good for my body and while I do feel rested to a degree, my legs felt like jelly after my ride yesterday. I didn’t do much but a couple runs during my trip and I’m paying for it now. Next time I’ll try to schedule a few swims to go along with the running.

On the subject of training I want to get the word out that Gretchen McElroy will be leading an open water swim clinic at Elephant Butte this Saturday August 13^th. The group will leave El Paso at 5:30 am and get to the lake around 7:00 am. You need to pay for your entry into the state park and the clinic will be a minimal fee of $20. Gretchen has a ton of experience and has raced this course before, so for anyone interested in getting a leg up on the competition or just wanting to feel more comfortable in the water, make plans to attend. Also, bring your wet suit, bike, and running shoes as Gretchen will also take you out on the bike and run course. The clinic is open to all levels and ages and is a good opportunity to meet other triathletes living in this area.

Odessa Tumbleweed Tri

This week I had the privilege of traveling with my friend Bobby Gonzales to the Odessa Tumbleweed Triathlon and made the most of my time picking Bobby’s brain on all things triathlon. Bobby has such vast experience and his willingness to pass along what he knows is incredible. Since the landscape to Odessa isn’t exactly the most beautiful, Bobby and I had a lot to talk about.

The race itself was pretty straight forward. It began with a 400 meter pool swim, but the problem was that they tried to line everyone up by swim times and they were not very successful in doing so. I know several races use this format, but race directors please consider doing a reverse Tri instead. Not only do you have to deal with a crowded pool, but you have no idea where you stand in relation to other competitors. I’m a huge supporter of all things El Paso, but I purposely do not participate in the Eagle in The Sun Triathlon for this very reason. Instead of a race it becomes a time trial and I can do that on my own for free.  As far as my swim time, I had a smooth swim and covered the 400 meters in 6:39 and felt great coming out of the pool.

The bike course for Odessa is a super flat 12 mile out and back. In years past Bobby had mentioned that there is a nice tailwind giving you a push on the way back into transition, but this year the wind was very light and I can’t say it helped very much. I pushed the bike hard and averaged right around 22 mph, but since the race had a staggered start for the swim I had no idea where I stood.

Just like the bike the run course was a flat 3.1 mile out and back. I felt fine for the start of the run, but slowly began to run out of gas. I average a 7:13 pace and finished the race in one hour five minutes, but had no idea what place I finished in. It turns out that I was second in my age group and ninth overall, but was pretty frustrated with the race set up. Bobby had a great race and finished second overall and Rob showed us all up by participating in both the Midland race on Saturday and the Odessa race on Sunday and finished 2^nd in Midland and 1st in Odessa for the Clydesdale division.

The Odessa race marked my 8^th race of the season and I’m thinking of doing only about three more before December. I continue to train for the Elephant Man 70.3 and hope to be in good enough shape to pull it off. The season has gone well, but I can honestly say that I’m only a strong second level triathlete. In the races that I have placed second in my age group, usually the individual that beats me is a good 3 to 4 minutes faster. In addition, my overall finish is always a good 8 to 9 minutes slower than the overall winner. I will continue to work hard and tighten that gap, but it will probably take several more years to get there.