Flying Horse Half Marathon

This past weekend I participated in the Flying Horse Half Marathon at Sunland Race Track. I had only done one other Half-Marathon before and it was the El Paso Half Marathon in 2010 and finished with a very blah 1:57.00. At the time I was pretty happy with that time, but hoped one day I could improve five or ten minutes. I didn’t know what to expect this weekend, but I actually did some run training for this one and didn’t just depend on my tri training so I was feeling pretty good about my chances of setting a new PR.

The race day weather conditions were perfect. The race was set to begin at 8:00 a.m. and it was nice and cool with light cloud cover, but no wind. For the past several weeks I had been training with Gretchen McElroy and we both went about our routine of stretching and warming up before the race got started. I was very thankful to have Gretchen there and hoped that I could stay with her for at least six miles and then just take it a mile at a time after that. The first mile of the race was on the actual horse race track and even though the race directors had the dirt compacted; it was still very soft and a little muddy. As the gun went off for the race to start, Gretchen set our pace and made sure I didn’t take off like a bat out of hell. After the first mile the rest of the race course was on flat pavement and made for a fast race. Gretchen had us running anywhere between 7:15 and 7:25 miles and for the first four or five miles I felt great, but I was ready for Gretchen to begin to slow down and settle us into a more comfortable pace. To my surprise 7:15-7:25 was our comfortable race pace and there would be no slowing down. Upon this discovery I knew I wouldn’t last for 13.1 miles but I was determined to stay with Gretchen for as long as I could.

We both had a chance for small talk throughout the race and it made the miles fly by. At mile 9 I told Gretchen that I was getting pretty fatigued, but she gave me some encouragement and we kept going. At last we could see the race track and knew we only had a couple more miles to go. Gretchen increased our pace and we made a strong push for the finish line. The last mile of the race was back on the soft dirt of the horse track and it really began to suck the energy from our legs. We managed to catch a couple more racers and finished the race as strong as we started. I couldn’t believe the pace we kept and I know if it was not for Gretchen I would have finished in a much slower time. Gretchen won her age group and I finished second in mine. I ended the race in 1:37 and set a new PR by 20 minutes over my last half marathon.

Besides racing with Gretchen it was great to see several area triathletes there. Scott Darling had a great race and won his age group. Misha from Las Cruces was also there and she won her age group as well. Michael Castaneda was participating in his first half marathon and did a great job.  Over all the El Paso Tri Club was well represented and made several strong showings.

So Now What?! :/

So now what? If you are new to the sport of triathlons, such as myself, you might be asking yourself what to do during the so called off season. I say the so called off season, because as many of you have found out, just not training or training very little is not really an option. Sure sitting next to a nice warm fire and sleeping in on the weekends feels nice, but sooner or later your body just can’t handle doing nothing. Plus, once you take considerable time off your body will hate you for it once you start training again. A fellow triathlete and coach, Francois Modave, has some great tips and advice on his blog that you should take a look at http://elpasotricoaching.wordpress.com/ .

So what am I doing this off-season? First and foremost I am determined to develop better swim technique and improve my times in the pool. Since I decided to commemorate my first 70.3 with a tattoo, I had to take some time off from the pool, but I’m back at it and working on several aspects of the swim. In sprint races my swim was never a big concern because the distance was so short that I didn’t give up too much time, but in the longer races (70.3) I was giving the strong swimmers a ten minute head start and that is just not acceptable.  I don’t expect to be first out of the water next season, but I hope to at least be able to see the leaders leaving the transition area as I get out of the water.

The second thing I’m focusing on is cadence. In all three disciplines cadence plays a role and I need to get better at maintaining a steady cadence and building up so that it will become faster and faster as my training increases. Just playing back the past season in my mind I can point to specific times when my bike cadence or my run cadence broke down and my pace started to slow. I want to improve on that and make sure I am steady all race long.

Finally, I’m using the off-season to layout my upcoming race schedule and plan my training schedule accordingly. I need to be peaking at the time of my “A” races and not getting to those races so fatigued. By doing long term planning, I can build in the right amount of taper for each race and not just taper because I’m exhausted.

In addition to training I will be doing a few half-marathons and 5k’s to keep the competitive juices flowing. I don’t have a triathlon on my schedule until March, but will do a few duathlons in February to get the season underway. I also promise to post more often and will have a few product reviews for next time.

The Good and Bad

Since I’ve had a little over a week to digest the Elephant Man 70.3, I’ve been able to put this race season into perspective and reflect on the ups and downs of the many different races that I entered. First, the things that I liked this season:

1.       Really enjoyed my new bike. Getting a full carbon bike and aero wheel set made a huge difference in my bike splits. On the average I improved 8-10 minutes on a 30k course.

2.       This season I raced in 8 races that I never had raced in before and was very pleased with the Milkman race in Dexter. Great race staff, awards, ice cream and honey milk for everyone.

3.       I loved the diversity of the Southwest Challenge Series races. You have everything from super flat courses to hilly, cold to hot, open water to pool, and near and far. The many different race locations provided a great mix of racers and many opportunities to race.

4.       New friendships. Getting to train with Gretch, Bobby, Rob, and Art made the season fly by and each one of them has different strengths and approaches to a race. It was great to absorb all that knowledge and also have someone to look forward to seeing at the races. I also, can’t forget getting to know Cody Hanson from Santa Fe and John Gardea from right here in El Paso. Both gentlemen are seasoned racers and even better men.

What I didn’t like about the season:

1.       Time trial races. Either put the swim last or open water, but please no more races that have everyone starting at a different time in the pool. You lose the race aspect of the event and it becomes more of a glorified workout.

2.       The races at White Sands not being USAT Sanctioned. I know it would make the cost of the race more expensive, but not having it USAT Sanctioned just about eliminates it from a race that I will enter.

3.       Skimpy goodie bags. I don’t want a bag full of flyers for upcoming races, I want a water bottle, GU, Powerbar, or at least a candy bar.

4.    Bike shops that treat customers like idiots. I know I'm not an expert, but just because I don't have as much knowledge as you doesn't mean you should treat me like an idiot.

As you can see I don’t have much to complain about this season. The race directors at all the different races have a tough job and I appreciate all their time and effort. I look forward to next season and during the winter I will keep training and race  a few 5k’s to stay sharp. I hope to blog about some of the different products I used this season and also pass along any workout tips that I come across.