2016 Umstead Marathon recap

It has been a while. Hope you're doing well. We should talk more, really.

So things have been going well all in all. Training is good. Life is good. Yah dee yah.

The Umstead Trail marathon is on the first weekend in March every year, now in it's 13th year. Last year was cancelled due to atrocious snowy, wet weather the week preceding. They gave entrants from 2015 a half-price entry for this year so I decided to give it a go.

Training went well. I haven't trained to 'race' a marathon since 2002 when I did the Ocala marathon in Florida, gunning for a BQ.  Missed it by a couple minutes.  These days I train to participate - without hurting myself - which is a fine goal in and of its own right.

The training: 25-30 miles on average per week with a couple weeks closer to 35 miles.  Long run progression: 12, 14, 16, 18.6.  Tempo within long runs: zero.  Interval workouts: 2-3 per month. ~100 miles per week riding so that counts as some additional aerobic development but you know all this stuff is pretty specific. I take myself soo seriously. Want to know my heart rate training zones?

The goal: break 4 hours. Umstead marathon has about 2,400 feet of elevation gain and loss.  The downhills hurt way more than uphills later in the race. There are also 5-6 miles of singletrack early on. I run in this park 2-3x a week and have covered all the terrain before, so nothing was a surprise.

Miles 1-2: 7:45 minute pace to get a bit of space. ~40 people ahead of me.

Miles 2-5: singletrack on the rocky section of Company Mill. Passed a couple people. ~9 minute pace.

Mile 5: Greeted by the family cheering section!

Coming in for a smooch with the Goddess Bri

Mile 5-9: Singletrack on Sycamore trail. Passed 2-3 people.

Miles 9-10: Old Reedy creek road down then up. 8-9 min pace. Felt good.

Mile 10: Mind-altering potty break. Felt sooo much better, man. Lost five spots and two minutes.

Miles 11-15: Turkey creek section of Umstead. Up down down up up down down up. Passed 5-6 runners.

Mile 15: Turnaround and a visit with my family and friends. Yay!

Mile 15-20: Turkey creek. Up down down up up down up down up up. Passed 5-6 runners.

Miles 21-22: Old Reedy Creek road downhill then uphill. 8s to 9s. No one in sight.

Mile 22-24: Out and back on Cedar Ridge. Painful downhill. Felt fine uphill. Passed 3 people.

Miles 24-26: Back to the camp.  Passed 1 person cramping with just a few minutes to go. low 8s was as fast as I could git'.

Photo by Dennis Geiser

Finished. 3:48.03 clock time. Watch time 3:44.40 (stopping for drinks, smelling flowers, slapping high fives).

They gave out the top 15 awards for both 2015 and 2016 and I was the 12th 2015 male finisher, 20th 2016 finisher. 23rd overall (3 women ahead of me).

Photo by Dennis Geiser

Energy held up well, legs held up well, quads always hurt in the final miles.  Maybe I'll do more drop and depth jumps and see if this helps for the Triple T and Ironman Chattanooga.

How boring was this report on a 1-10 scale - with one being super duper awesome, and ten being I just scraped my eyeballs out with a spoon?  Would more vivid imagery help, or should I fill in the gaps with runner dementia and deep seated neurosis?

Yarrr.

After the race I headed to Inside Out Sports for the Slowtwitch Road Show, and was able to catch a presentation by none other than 6x Hawaii champ Mark Allen. It was about his journey to beating Dave Scott in the 1989 Ironman. It was good!

Next up is the Inside Out Sports Olympic distance at Beaverdam on April 30.  I'll be biking lots between now and then.  After that it is go time at the American Triple T in Ohio. That adds up to an Ironman over 3 days of racing.

Shameless plug: Check out our 2016 clinics if you want to improve your swim technique and open water skills.

Happy New Year, Again!

Don't you feel like you just said that?  And then whammo, it's another one gone.  It is flying by.  Grab hold and have some fun along the way.  Smell some flowers and blow some dandelion seeds across your HOA.  The destination unknown in year 20xx or 21xx or 38xx whatever depending on how the cybernetics and gene therapy work, is coming for all.  Bwah hah hah hah!

Trying to keep up with this web journal is harder than it used to be.  As my son Junior Awesome fondly says, "It takes a little time."  However he says that in reference to the 'gate' he puts up with his arm while his Mommy and I wait to see his poo-poo.  Yes, that's right.  We have to pay twenty seventy dollars sometimes for the privilege.  You would, too.

On that note I'll share some Junior Aweome-isms at four years old before I forget them all.

"Tickets, please." To get past the gate to see the aforementioned poo-poo.

"I peed my pants, but just a little bit."

"Hey Daddy, talk about Star Wars," pronounced Star Werz.

"MOMMY POLAR BEAR!" then Mommy comes crashing into the room roaring like a polar bear.  You'd have to be there.

"Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't," in reference to putting his pants / underwear / shoes / socks on.

"I lub you guys." (V is pronounced with a soft B in our house)

"When I'm big, I'll be soo big, like this many tall!"

"Don't eat the piggies!" In reference to Mommy Polar Bear's desire to eat those yummy four year old piggies (toes).

"Grrr, smash! Awrrshhhkaboom!" Playing with cars. Duh.

"Abwa cababwa!" It's magic, you know.

"Yeah, let's do that!" Something fun.

"And after we go to to Trader Joe's, we'll go to the TOY STORY!" (Target toy section)

"Daddy another hug!" After the goodnight routine and how can you say no?

"You be the bad guy, and I'll be the good guy! Ah! Smash! Kshhp! Bam!" (tiny fists and legs pumping)

"Kin' I have a chocolate bar, please, pretty please, pretty pretty please?" After sleeping till 700am when he knows that let's us recuperate enough for another day with his most awesome presence.

There are more but those come to mind.

Tri Talk
Triathlon training is going well.  I have recovered from a calf strain that took a few weeks of very low intensity running/riding to get back from.

My 2015 training totals were not bad: 3000 miles riding, 1019 miles running, and something like 217 miles of swimming.

Looking forward to doing some challenging events this year with the Umstead Marathon, American Triple T, and Ironman Chattanooga on the horizon.

I'd blab more about this but action is more valuable than talk in this area, so see you on the road.

Our One Step Beyond clinic schedule for 2016 is updated if you're interested.

Peace out.

Christmas is coming - so let's talk about me

Yes, yes, yes, I am sure you're all wondering what has been going on in our very important lives. Many, many, super duper things have been done.

1) I finished Wool and Shift from the Silo series, and read the Thrawn Trilogy which was the first series of books in the Star Wars expanded universe.  If you didn't know, there is a new Star Wars movie coming out. I do not have first night movie tickets or an outfit.  Holler.

2) Junior Awesome picked up on Star Wars somewhere so now instead of telling stories about Gru and the Minions on their adventures, we've been making up Star Wars stories.  Except I like Gru and the Minions better, because those don't always end with multiple stormtroopers getting killed dead by a blaster.  Paw Patrol adventures are not too bloody either. There is some definite editing going on with our ongoing Star Wars narrative.  I also don't want to ruin the experience when he's allowed to watch in a few years.

 Junior Picasso

his buddy Girlie Awesome

watcha doin?

3) Bri hasn't packed up and run for zee hills despite number 1), which is good.

4) We have posted our 2016 clinic dates and updated osbmultisport.com to be mobile friendly, which apparently is a thing.  Like the cloud and sh*t.  Only better.

5) I am dealing with a soleus calf strain that is keeping me at a very easy jog pace on runs at the moment. Not fun but not awful.  Swimming and biking are fine. Still heading out for the Run at the Rock 7 miler tomorrow morning.  Super, duper easy. Haw River Brewery after with buds.

5.1) Other races
5.1.a) Pittsboro 5k on December 12, UGTB .
5.1.b) UGTB Grinding 10 miler January 30
5.1.c) early January TBD - maybe Little River trail run 10 miler
5.1.d) Umstead Marathon March 5. I received an offer for half priced entry since they cancelled it last year and thought that sounded better than driving somewhere for a half-marathon.  I am getting sort of lazy about travel for races.  When you're 22 it is exciting.  When you're 44 it's a pain in the ass.

6) I turned 44.  Duh. Reading comprehension. Some people celebrated with us.

Peoplez

7) We had a nice T-day with some friends in town, none of us had family in (and weren't going out!).  Bri won the local Turkey Trot 5k that morning.  I super slow jogged with Junior.  After he did the 200 yard dash!  Despite stumbling and getting some boo-boos, he finished strong.

Strolling

Primal screaming

dashing

Winners

7) We had a quick visit to my sis and Mom in O-town for my Mom's 70th bday. It was nice.

8) Junior Awesome is becoming a pretty good bike rider.  We went from the balance bike directly to an islabike on the recommendation of a friend.  He is not quite 4 and you can watch a bit of riding here.



9) We wish you happy holidays and all that stuff.  No Christmas cards from us but we'll send something online.

More racing and 2016 plans

I competed in the Swim the Loop 3.5 miler a couple weekends ago and felt strong.  Finished 4th overall but moved to 3rd after one competitor in front of me was penalized for having a personal kayak escorting/guiding her.  This is not OK in open water unless the race specifically mandates a guide. The swim was choppy for the first 1/3 then pretty calm for the remainder, other than a bit against the tide for that portion.  I finished much closer to the overall winner than in years past and was happy about that!

We had to postpone our own open water swim from October 3 to October 11 as the Carolinas were being swamped by rain.  Our safety rescue boats could not commit to being on the water with us if there were potential emergencies elsewhere.  Our final swim went off without any issues, it was a little choppy but that's what wind and open water can entail.

A bunch of us also ran in a local 5k on Saturday, the morning before the swim. I haven't broken 20 this season but guess what?  Guess what?  You'll never guess. Oh, you guessed it.  I did break 20!  Yay for me! By 12 seconds. But, who's counting?  Oh, you are. Whatever.

Next season is shaping up to be an in-depth return to long distance events. A couple of our friends have talked us into doing the American Triple-T in Ohio in May.  This is a 3-day 'stage' race where the total distance adds up to the same as an Ironman.

Day 1: Super sprint
Day 2 morning: Olympic
Day 2 evening: Olympic
Day 3 morning: Half-Ironman.

If that sounds nuts to you, that is because it is.  Bri and I have entered as a team, meaning we can suffer together and do some bike drafting on the final two events.  Our plan is to start slowly, then ease off.  This will take the place of our 12-year anniversary vacation.  Ha!

But wait, there's more!  I have signed up for Ironman Chattanooga in September, 2016.  So there will also be a big block of miles in July and August.  I plan to be pretty dedicated in March and April, then take late-May early-June pretty easy.

So 2016 is already planned out.

March: half-marathon either Wrightsville Beach or Tobacco Road
April: local race or Charleston Half
May 20-22: Triple T & Low Country Splash 5 miler
June: OSB summer training camp
July: local event only TBD + long rides
August: local event only TBD + long rides
September: Ironman Chattanooga
October 1: Swim the Loop

Do you know what you'll be doing one year from now?

Last two races of the season mashup race report

I totally did two more races this season but haven't told you all about them.  Battle at Buckhorn, followed by the FS Odd distance triathlon (~1k, 36m, 10.6k).  My fitness has been slowly going from high at Lake Logan to low(er) but I never hit zero and enjoy getting out there.  I got a few 12+ hour weeks in for Lake Logan but have dropped back to 6-10 depending on the week.

Battle at Buckhorn is a great venue and I really do like the course.  You need to be in shape for the bike as it is 17 miles and rolling hills.  I was in decent shape but the week prior was very exhausting for a variety of reasons and I felt wiped out the night before.  During/after the race I also discovered and confirmed my seat post had slipped a bit.  This happens every season with my Cervelo bike and I'll be damned if I can figure out how to stop it.  I have marked the level but it's not the sort of thing I check every time I ride, although now I do most of the time, so I guess I do check it every time I ride, really.  F**#.

Anyway, I raced, I was a little tired, but had a decent run split and was happy with that, and finished 13th and more importantly, ahead of my wife Bri Bri the almighty, who won her first belt buckle.  Super happy for her.

Onto the next one which was the FS Odd distance.  I new the run would not be great for me as the past few weeks the long run has only gotten into the 5-6 mile range and it is tough to run a hard 10k+ on those sorts of miles.  Whatever.  It was fun.  I felt great on the swim, much better than expected on the bike, and felt decent till mile 3; OK till mile 4; and then pretty poo-poo-ey for the last couple miles of the run.  Finished 3rd and was happy with that.  My overall pace on the run was 7:30 but my last half mile was like 9:00 pace, the wheels were coming off.

All in all, I try to stay happy about racing, because life is too short to be sad about recreational activities. As in, imagine all the other horrible stuff you might have to be doing rather than playing around on your bike, in the lake, etc.

Bri went on to win the Wilmington YMCA triathlon over this past weekend, and that was fun to watch.

Bri rocking the bike

Bri rocking the run

Next up for me is Swim the Loop, a 3.5 mile against the tide open water race in Wrightsville Beach. This is a great open water swim if you're into that sort of thing.  I finished 5th the last 2 years and would like to improve on that, but we'll see.  Have gotten in a couple 5k swims in training so far.

And finally, Junior Awesome rocked out another 50 yard dash!  Pictures:

Lake Logan Half race report

as promised before
this report is written in
poem haiku form

lake logan was cold
brrr, so chilly. not really
'twas seventy-two.

i swam very fast
swoosh, speedily through water
with my cool wetsuit.

then ran to the bike.
got on the bike. and started
pedaling the bike.

up the hills. slowly.
down the hills. more quickly like
a bird with the wind.

a dude passed me at
mile twenty-two. then two more.
those f-ing bastards.

there were many hills.
so many god damn hills. bah.
agh, where is the end?

i finished the bike.
and was happy. clouds and sun
the trees are all green.

time to run. up hill.
stay smooth like creamy butter.
peanut butter rocks.

three miles up. three miles
down. then do it again. roll.
keep your head down. grunt.

to the finish thus
we sprint across to look cool.
we cross the line fifth.

four hours and forty five
minutes of moderate hard
zone three to four pace.

geek out on numbers.
time is meaningless. Logan
joyful and happy.

This year's A race!

Oh my gosh.  My big race for the year is just around the corner and I haven't told you all about it. Are you so excited to read this?!?? OMG.

But seriously.  We have lots of goshes and gollys and oh boys up in this household. No potty mouth talk with a 3 year old running loose.

This Saturday is the Lake Logan Half-Iron triathlon near the Asheville / Hendersonville / Waynesville area of North Carolina. Lake Logan is in the Blue Ridge Mountain range, meaning it is much cooler than the external east coast.  Much more mountainy, too. While the 'feels like' temps have been regularly hitting 100+ in the Raleigh area, Lake Logan is predicted to have a high of 77 on Saturday.   I think that's super neat!

It is a beautiful lake and the whole area is really nice.  We usually get over this way one or two times a year for a weekend visit.  Asheville is the bomb for beer knurds, and there are tons of hiking, running, and cycling options.  The Waynesville Recreation Center has a fun kids pool and nice lap pool.   We spent at least three of our anniversaries around here.  We did look at moving to Asheville when we relocated from Florida to NC, but opted for the larger Raleigh area for more work possibilities.

Anyway.  There's a race.  I'm doing it.  Training has been going well.  A few ups and downs but mostly a steady progression of fitness. Riding at a moderate hard level for 56 miles does not induce mild panic, like it did earlier this year.  Running comfortable fast for 13 miles doesn't make me break out in a cold sweat. I have been mildly aware of eating a good diet and am closer to ideal race weight than I have been the past couple of years, which makes running and riding up hill a lot easier.  I did a 3:19 300 yard swim a couple days ago without killing myself.  So all in all, I think I will do somewhere between pretty good to really good.
I would tell you all about my power numbers on the bike, but instead of getting a power meter this year I got us a summer family vacation and another weekend at Tweetsie Railroad in a couple weeks.  Boom.

The swim is flat and will be wetsuit legal as it is mountain-stream fed by some super duper chilly water.  The bike is mostly rolling/peaceful with just a couple of tougher climbs as they manage to stay in the valleys for the majority of the course.  The run is about a 2-4% grade for 3+ miles and then back down, then do it again. My goal is to be able to push the last 3 miles downhill without feeling nauseous.  I don't know about you, but my Half-Ironman events are almost always about managing effort and staying on top of nutrition so that I can race the last few miles rather than survive.

Time predictions:
swim: 26-27
bike: 2:35 +/- 10 minutes (not sure how tough it will actually be)
run: 1:37 +/- 6 minutes

I did break down and buy a Wheelbuilder Aerojacket and a new Mavic Cosmic Elite a couple of weeks ago.  My old Renn disc has just seen its day - 12+ years of racing.  Had a lot of fast races on that thing!  The Mavic Elite has some good wind tunnel results against much more expensive wheels, and the Aerojacket runs 100 bucks.  So I get about 90% of the gain of a disc with about 12% of the cost.  The rest can go to Junior's college fund.  I tested it out at the Buckner Mission Man Triathlon a couple weekends ago and it did well.

Holy moly, I love to hate writing these things.  My post race report will be entirely in haiku form.

Peace!