Location: San Antonio, TX
Date: December 12, 2009
Placing: 2nd Overall, 1st Master
Race Photos
Results: Click Here

It seems like only yesterday that my 2009 season ended. When I was strictly a bike racer for so many years I completed a lot more races in a year...but I also went a good solid 4 months during the Winter without a race. This year will mark my 30th year of racing - which I'm sure comes as a surprise to some of you since I barely look like I'm 25. One really unique thing about kicking off my 2010 season is that I did it in the same town where I entered my first race; San Antonio, Texas.

Unlike back in 1980 when I was 15 and took 2nd place in my first ever bicycle race, this season would start with a running competition. My younger brother still lives in San Antonio and I decided to pay him a surprise visit while my wife paid her family a visit in Wisconsin (hmmm, who do you think the smarter one is now?) I had originally planned my shot at vengence this week - aiming to take home another coveted "Pelican" trophy from the Kiawah Island Half Marathon. Last year I struggled through a bit of sickness to take the 2nd place Masters award. Although my 2nd place Pelican looks exactly like the winner's, there is one subtle difference to the trained eye...mine says "2nd Place" and theirs says "1st Place"...but the race filled very quickly this year and by the time I went to register, it was already full.

That's OK. Plan "B" was nearly as enticing; the Paris Mountain 20k. The oldest and toughest 20k in the Southeast. Plan "B" looked good until I found a cheap airfare and a chance to visit my family. Family ALWAYS trumps racing (at least that's my story). As luck would have it, I would be able to have my chocolate bundt cake with a ribbon of chocolate pudding and cream cheese icing...and eat it too. I found a local 10-mile race in San Antonio - the "Mission 10-Miler". The race was so named because it was run on a paved running trail that followed the San Antonio river south of town and passed by several of the famous Missions.

Besides being my first event of the season, it would also be my first event in my new Fleet Feet team singlet, my first event being coached by - and representing - TeamKattouf, and time to break in a brand new pair of running shoes. Unfortunately, it was not also the first time I got to run in 70 degrees in December. No - that would happen the very next day. On race morning, it was unseasonably cold and wet in South Texas.

Probably the funniest story about this event was not the race itself. I had stayed up a bit late the night before with my family and my 5:20am alarm came early. I dragged myself out of bed, got ready, ate something, and went about finding the race. It started at 'pavilion #2' in a large park south of town. Finding the park was not such a problem but I had assumed once I got there, I would drive around the park until I saw all the cars. And drive around I did. It was a fairly good distance from my brother's house so I left with plenty of time to arrive by 6:30 - when packet pickup was scheduled to start. Here I was at 6:20 and there was no sign of anyone. Wow, I though; this IS a small race.

Finally, I saw another vehicle pull up next to a gated driveway and stop. So I did the same. A few minutes later, another arrived. Two men exited from the vehicle and chatted for a moment in the near-darkness. They walked over to my car. I asked if I was in the right spot for the race. Their response? "Yes, this is it. But they won't open up the gate for us until just before 6:00". Uh, my watch says 6:35. If you haven't guessed by now...I own two watches and had only set one of them back to Central time. I had used the other as my alarm clock which means I actually woke up at 4:20am!! Aaaaaaarghhh.

I ended up helping the volunteers set things up before I picked up my packet and then went back to the car to warm up and take a cat nap. It was about 45 degrees and 'misty'. I struggled a bit about how to dress; reminding myself that I should be cold when I start in order to be comfortable during the race. I hate being cold. Without my wife Janis around, I had no team photographer, no team cheering section and nobody on the start line to hand off clothes to. I'm pretty much lost without her but I somehow managed to muddle through. Myself and the runner who turned out to be the eventual winner both made use of a post in the ground near the start to trust our headbands to. I was lined up near the front on a fairly narrow starting trail when the gun fired.

Yeah, I wish it was a giant check too.

My coach and I decided that I would stray from the "old Chris" and try running the race with a slight buildup in heartrate. My eyes were glued to my Garmin the first few hundred yards as my HR reached it's prescribed level. I fought the urge to stay with the lead runners and instead, focused on staying steady. As we crossed mile 1, I could see that I was in 6th place with the 5 runners ahead of me spaced out slightly. My Garmin beeped 5:54 which concerned me a bit. It was the anticipated time and heartrate - but it felt more strained than I would have expected. I pushed on and a half-mile later, I moved into 5th.

The course was flat to rolling so it was a bit easier to maintain a steady heartrate - and that's what I did. Little by little, I was closing back in on 3rd and 4th place who were now running nearly side-by-side. They had well over 15 seconds on me at one point but I was reeling them in. Closer and closer until I was only 10 feet behind them - at which point, something unexpected happened. The three of us reached a water station at mile 2.5 and right in front of me, the two of them swung a quick u-turn around a sign in the middle of the path. A second later, the volunteers yelled at me just as I read the sign "Relay Turnaround". The 2 runners I had just caught were doing the 2-person, 10-mile race. It only took me an instant to grasp what was going on and I let out a "Sweet!" loud enough for the people around to hear me. They were also quick to catch on to my elation as I was suddenly in 3rd place.

By mile 3, I could see the lead runner getting further and further ahead but I maintained my pace with a 5:52 and 5:56 mile. I also found myself rapidly gaining on 2nd place. It seems he was dealing with some harsh side stitches. I can't ever remember having to deal with those in a race - my 'iron stomach' has always allowed me to eat and drink anything with almost no consequence. As a matter of fact, I had only moments earlier sucked down a gel that I had hidden in the palm of my glove. Shortly before mile 4, I moved into 2nd place. It would've been a lonely run from that point on if the course had not been an out and back. As I made the 5-mile turnaround I could see how much cushion I had and felt fairly confident that I had 2nd place locked away. But could I break 59:00?

I kept my HR right on schedule through mile 7 but right at the point where I was really supposed to 'let it all hang out', my body really had nothing left to give. I seemed to be a bit prematurely tired. My last 2 miles were only a few seconds off of my other miles but I was expecting them to be a few seconds FASTER. I would cross the line in 59:16. 2nd place. The winner was a real speed demon taking almost exactly 3 minutes out of me...but he was a young pup. We were the only 2 to break an hour.

Because I was visting family (and had their car captive), I told the promoter that I needed to leave early. He not only obliged me by giving me my award, but he actually gave me a full blown presentation to the crowd over the loudspeaker and even let me speak a bit. Someone even volunteered to take a photo for me. The SARR (San Antonio Road Runners) really put on a great little event. I just wish I could've hung around for the rest of the awards, the door prizes and the Christmas party!

OK; this has nothing to do with the race, but it's a great shot of the instant my nephew hit my older brother with a snowball.

Race Notes:
* I got an email comment on my website the next morning that said "When a cycling legend comes back to his stomping grounds and is ranked #1 in the nation in the duathlon, he is supposed to do the "Hel of Du" out on your tuesday nighter loop and dominate and restore order to the progeny you have left behind. Not do the "mission 10 miler." Maybe I wasn't just a legend in my own mind?
* As I was walking away from the venue, I guy jogged up beside me and said that he had shown up to win the Masters - which he would've done if I hadn't shown up. That's me, the dream-crusher ;-)

Next Up: A fun New Year's 5k and then some serious running events including the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon...

Location: Washington, DC
Date: October 25, 2009
Placing: 41st Overall (21,211 finishers)
Race Photos
Results: Click Here

The human body never ceases to amaze me. Take for example the ability to run 26.2 miles...not really THAT amazing. But running 26.2 miles and having to pee the entire way and not stopping? How does the body do that? Unfortunately, that unsavory nugget of information is absolutely true. Lucky for me, the feeling came and went throughout the course of the race and only reached 'critical mass' 2 or 3 times - primarily on downhills. At one point I seriously debated jumping into a wooded area and told myself that I would only loose about 30 seconds. The day I was having, I wasn't willing to take the chance...

I have found through past seasons that an end of the year running race typically plays out well for me. I am usually pretty fit from the traithlon season but I suddenly only have to train for one sport and that makes for a perfect situation both physically and mentally. And since I knew it would end my season, I decided to pick a venue where Janis and I could enjoy a few extra days...and we have always loved the culture and history behind our nation's capitol. Of course, we are also not big fans of the 'uber'-large events but you've got to do some of these to see how you really stack up. I mean, first place at the "Country Bumpkin Festival 5k" is awesome, don't get me wrong. But for me, I gotta put that in perspective and the Marine Corps Marathon is the 5th largest marathon in the US...I figured that should do it.

An awesome view of a huge event. Notice the cannon in the lower left; I knew it was coming but it still scared the bejeezus out of me.

I'm going to cut right to the chase because this event was unlike any distance event I have ever done. It was one huge experiment. Now people experiment a lot when they do races - but usually in small chunks. Not me. Not today. I broke the biggest rule of experimentation; "don't change multiple variables". If you do, you'll never be sure which variable created which outcome. The way I saw it, I had 30 years of learning my body - as well as some empirical data from thousands of runners before me. In essence, I KNEW what things would most likely make me faster; I was always just too nervous to change my ways. But the stars aligned for me. Which basically means that this race had absolutely no importance to me. 2:30? 4:30? It did not matter. I wanted to do well, but truly did not care if I didn't. And that situation made for what I term as "The Perfect Storm".

In order to see my experiment through, I had to have an idea of what I was 'trained' to run. The last 3 marathons that I trained for ranged from a 2:52 down to a 2:42 and seemed to be comesurate with my training committment. On a scale of 1 to 10, I trained about a 6 for my last marathon (2:52), about a level 8 for my Boston qualifier in 2005 (2:47) and a level 9 for my Boston run in 2006 (2:42). I would call my level of training for this marathon right at about a 7 and fully anticipated to run almost exaclty a 2:50.

So, what was going to be different in DC? Let me give you a quick synopsis of my typical marathon: 1. Start out fast. My first mile is always under a 6:00 mile. 2. Take a gulp of liquid at every aid station - no food. 3. Slowly and methodically 'fall apart' in such a controlled manner that I manage to hang onto a great time even though my last mile is 1.5-2 minutes slower than my first mile. Most runners can spot some of what 'conventional wisdom' would call 'obvious flaws' in my strategy. Racing this way would most assuredly spell disaster for many people but the 2 things (I beleive) that have made it work for me are that I raced bikes for so many years; and in criterium racing you take off like you were shot out of a cannon with no regard for the miles ahead (recovery during a bike race is easier than recovery during a run). The other thing is that I seem to have a unique ability to suffer which translates to the fact that I rarely ever die suddenly. My body somehow manages to keep squeeking out miles (although slower and slower).

The single biggest piece of empirical data that I keep hearing over and over again is that every record ever set for every distance running event was done at negative splits. This means running the second half of the race faster than you run the first half. I'm still not sure that I beleive this works for everyone, but I do believe that a small difference between the first and second half produces better results. So my goal was to try not to slow down so much over the course of the race. To accomplish this, here was my plan:

1. First mile slower than 6:00 - could it be I over exert myself initially and have trouble bouncing back?
2. Eat a lot - my body has always seemed to burn more than most endurance athletes. Am I simply running out of calories to burn?
3. Run by heartrate - am I prematurely spiking my HR and building lactic acid too quickly?

Here's how it all went down...

Based on my submitted time estimate, I got one of the first 500 numbers and had the privelege of starting in the first coral. Being the 'cold weenie' that I still am, I was the last person still wearing tights, a long-sleeved top, gloves and a ear-warmer. With 2 minutes on the start clock, I slipped all of these things off, excet the gloves and threw my disposable clothing into the crowd. I was cold but knew that it would only last for a minute. I also knew the 50-degree temps and sunny skies were perfect conditions for me. The weather mirrored my Boston Marathon from 3 years earlier. I had all but forgotten the fact that the race began with the firing of a cannon, but "remembered" the instant it went off and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Away we went. I was wearing my Garmin as I always do in running races but instead of looking constantly at my pace, today the only screen I would be looking at was my heartrate.

I look like I'm about to start a polar bear run. Having a low body temperature is rough on cold days but it's a godsend when others start overheating.

Mile 1: The group charged ahead but for the first time ever, I pretended like none of them existed. I would not be sucked into a 5:45 first mile. Only once - when a small group came running by - did I have to remind myself that the race did not end at mile 1. As I ran by the first mile marker, they called out "6:12". I pretended in my mind not to hear it...but I smiled just the same. My first goal was accomplished and I felt as relaxed as ever. Mile 2: Since I was running purely based on HR, I never even looked at the elevation charts...and boy was I surprised to see a long climb in the second mile. I started glancing at the HR and made sure I never hit 150 on the hill even as others passed me. Mile 4: I passed the 5k mark at 18:55 and was happy with how 'easy' I was running. I caught the 2 lead women and stayed with them for a mile as the crowd yelled things like "looking good, ladies!"...I was pretty much invisible. At this point, I began implementing part 3 of my strategy. With the help of Rick Kattouf, we decided that I should eat early and often. I told Rick that I had an 'iron stomach' and that I could probably eat a pizza at mile 10 and keep running. With that in mind, he suggested an energy gel every 4 miles in addition to water (more than just a gulp) every 2 miles. That's 6 gels in 26 miles. I was used to eating 1 or none. It felt wierd to be eating so early in the race but in my head I knew that I was selling myself short on calories in the past so as the mile 4 sign came into view - I slammed my first gel.

Mile 6: For the 3rd time, I found myself next to a guy who was sporting sideburns and 'chops'. He had elicited several comments from the crowd as we passed and I made a little small talk with him; I told him "you shall forever be known as 'sideburns guy'". We traded small talk and laughed about it. A group of about 12 caught us and we merged in. Mile 8: A good hill forced me to back off of the group so as not to get my HR over 150. Although the group would dwindle much later in the race, I stayed within 15 seconds of them for the next 11 miles.

Mile 9: Out of nowhere, I heard someone cheer for me in the crowd and looked over to see Greenville runner Martine Mumford (who recently moved to DC). It was funny to see a familiar face this far from home. Mile 10: "Sideburns guy" pulled up next to me yet again. This time we chatted about our goals. He was a sub-2:30 marathoner but had not trained to be that competitive at this race. When I told him that I too had not trained for my fastest race but was expecting a 2:50, he responded with "you realize you are currently running a 2:39?". I responded that I hadn't really thought about it and was trying to run based on heartrate. He then imparted some wisdom on me just before he ran ahead. "just remember, there's no such thing as a cushion - only a sponge". Oddly enough, I had run all my marathons with the opposite thinking. Trying to build up a huge time cusion so that I could afford to slow down. Based on the outcome today, I'd say he knew what he was talking about.

I've said at this point that I was ahead of schedule. In reality, I was running by heartrate and had no time schedule. According to my average heartrate, I was right on time.

I still felt as though I was hardly working but my watch read just over an hour and 1 minute. Since I had to give Janis an estimated schedule and didn't know how successful my experiment would be, I had told her that I would pass the 10.25 mark at an hour and 6 minutes ...I was about 4 minutes ahead of that schedule when I saw her through the crowd. Miles 11-15: I hated this section. It was the flattest and straightest section with little change in scenery as we ran around a piece of land that jutted into the Potomac. I started the section staring at the backs of the runners in the group that had caught me at mile 6 - and next to 2 runners. After 4 miles, we were all in the exact same position. I crossed the half-marathon timing mat at 1:19:39. I knew this was a sub-2:40 pace...but I'd been there plenty of times before when my pace deteriorated rapidly late in the race. Would it happen today? I had no idea. All I knew was that my average HR at that point was 144 and I had already consumed more calories than I ever had in a marathon.

I would later come to learn that my splits through the first 20k (12.4 miles) were unbelievably even without even watching my pace once:

1st 5k: 18:55
2nd 5k: 18:53
3rd 5k: 18:50
4th 5k: 18:54

Mile 15-18: For the first time today, I started to feel it. I gave Janis a smile as I passed her in the crowd again at mile 16 shortly after sucking down energy gel #4 and I hoped that I could produce a result that she would be proud of by the end of the day. I noticed my HR creeping up very slowly. As I ran down the Mall towards the Washington Monument, I forcibly slowed down several times when I saw 148 or 149 on my watch. I felt like I was really slowing down but I stuck to my guns and found that I was also catching more runners. I knew my HR would eventually begin to climb but I wanted to control it at least until mile 20. What I would learn after the race was that my pace DID slow down from 20k to 30k but only 5 seconds per mile...and I held it even again:

5th 5k: 19:12
6th 5k: 19:11

Mile 16 was about the time I started feeling the effects of the effort. Fortunately, it was also the time that we were greeted with distractions of some inspirational monuments.

Mile 19-22: Halfway through mile 18, I saw Martine again and she made me smile with all her excitement. I also hit a short hill and glanced down to see my HR hit over 150 for the first time today. I had a feeling that the flood gates were opening and I immediately fell back into my old habit of thinking that my body would now deteriorate rapidly and that I would still do OK even if I averaged 7-minute miles. Apparently, some of the things I did today worked even better than I could have anticipated...but I wouldn't know that for several more miles. I was completely alone when I saw Janis for the last time at mile 20 and I hammed it up for her photo. I slammed gel #5 and for the next mile, it was almost like I found a little something extra in the tank. We had 2 good hills in this section and while I felt a bit slower, I was amazed to top the hill at mile 22 without feeling like I was working beyond myself. Normally by this mile, I am in 'survival mode'; almost in tears to push my body to the end. Here I was at mile 22 and so far...?? At mile 20, I could no longer keep my HR below 150. The distance was taking its toll but in a much more controlled way and my body was fine with my heart reaching higher.

7th 5k: 19:42

Even in a race of 20,000 I still manage to find myself in 'no man's land' at mile 20. I ham it up for Janis.

Mile 23-26.2: I remember these miles well in Boston. It was all I could do to keep moving. I made deals with myself just to keep from walking. Today, the thought never crossed my mind. It was tough - but I didn't feel like I had to dig so far down that I was ripping my soul out. I focused on runners that were ahead of me. One by one I ran down 6 or 7 in the final miles. When I hit mile 24, I skipped my last and final gel but took some calories in the form of energy drink instead of water. I distracted myself for a minute or two as I realized that my pace never really plummeted - at least not yet - and that unless I fell off a bridge, I was pretty much going to crush my expected goal. There was even a chance that I could set a new PR. That thought was in my head for no more than a few seconds when I reached the top of a ramp and was instantly smacked in the face with an unrelenting headwind for nearly a mile. It was a brutal thing to deal with less than 3 miles to go and it took a bit of the wind out of my sails. The last and final nail in the PR coffin was the final .2 miles as we passed the line where we started the race...and then climbed up to the site of the Marine Corps War Memorial; a pitch so steep, I might as well have been walking. As always, they fumbled with my name as I gutted out the final steps to the line. 2:43:13. 25 seconds short of my personal record and nearly 7 minutes faster than anticipated. 41st overall out of 21,211 finishers. I could not have been happier. Oh yeah, the first thing I did was find a port-a-potty.

8th 5k: 20:21

The last .2 miles of this race single-handedly robbed me of a PR. An unbelievably short, steep climb. At one point, I could reach forward and pick things up off the ground. OK, not quite THAT steep...

Did the experiment work? Hell yeah. To put it into perspective...at Boston, I was 3 1/2 years younger, had trained quite a bit harder for a course that is downhill (point to point). It was a great way to end the season and give me a new goal for next year: Master's National Marathon in October in Minnesota. By breaking 2:48, I earned Masters Elite status for the event and I think I have the ability to eclipse the 2:40 mark - and a good shot at a podium spot. But for right now...the season is over and it's chillin' time!

Thanks to our marines - and all members of the military for helping make the USA a great place to live, work...and RUN!

Race Notes:
* Racing around some of our nation's most cherished monuments was simply amazing.
* The day after the race, Janis and I did a night tour of DC...on Segways! What an amazing technology. If you've never ridden one, take the opportunity.
* For the 'umpteenth' time this year, I raced outside of the Greenville area...and experienced a huge drop in my allergy/asthma symptoms.
* Every chance I got - I made sure to personally thank the military volunteers. Not for their help at the marathon, but for their service to our country.

Next Up: Time to rest a bit and to enjoy some group runs and rides. Janis and I will do the Tree Greenville 8k on turkey day and my training partner Dan and I will do our "2nd Annual Ride to Atlanta" in November...

Location: Conyers, GA
Date: October 18, 2009
Placing: 1st Overall Team
Race Photos
Results: Click Here

I lied. Sort of. I said that after Duathlon Worlds that I just had one event left for the season but I actually kept forgetting about this event. I'm sure it's because I kept thinking of it as a more of a 'fun' event rather than a race. And quite honestly - although I put my heart into it - that's exactly what it was. Fun. With a capital "F".

This was the second time this season that the Greenville Track Club has managed to gather together a group of 'old farts' (aka 'Masters') to go out into the world and act like we are teenagers. Teenagers with jobs, mortgages, falimilies, etc. - but teenagers none the less. Our local club is fortunate to have some pretty talented Master runners who share some great comeraderie. We had such a great experience last month at the National 10k Trail Championships that we HAD to find another event...and Joe Hammond was just the guy to do that.

We were all 'pimped out' in our tent thanks to Joe.

An 'ekiden' is simply a long distance relay race. The term is Japanese and dates back to the early 1900's. The formats can vary widely and the Atlanta Ekiden's format was: off-road (trail) race for teams of four participants. The distance was 40k (24.8 miles). The course was 8 - 5k loops. You could opt to run your team however you wished. Some teams ran A A B B C C D D. We thought it would be faster to run A B C D A B C D so that each runner would do 2 legs seperated by a rest. Since we had the wisdom of the ages on our team, we decided on the exact strategy with as much logic and scientific thinking that we could muster..."Let's split up our legs because it will hurt too much to do them back to back...and Joe, you go first because it's cold and this was your idea...". Very scientific.

Because this was a team event, the age groups were determined by adding up the ages of all four participants. The ranges were set so that your average age mirrored the normal age groups. There was an 'Under 120' group (average age under 30), a '120-160' group (average age between 30 and 40), a '161-200' group (average age between 40 and 50), and a '200 and Over' group. We were in the 161-200 group. Myself, Ed Hughes and Joe Hammond were so far at the end of this age group that we were able to hire a 'Master-wannabe', Kevin Mosteller, to be our fourth member. At the 'baby' age of 37, Kevin was able to help carry our walkers and administer our Geritol when needed. We could have gotten someone as young as 22 years old and still met the 121-200 age requirement but then would would've ahd to deal with changing diapers and feeding schedules...

Joe wastes no time darting to the front of the group.

The close to 40 teams lined up in the 40-degree, sunshine and the start gun was fired. Joe immediately jumped up towards the front of the group as we watched them disappear into the woods. About 17 minutes later, Joe and another runner emerged neck and neck into the finish clearing with a 3rd runner not far behind. Joe went through the finish chute and quickly stopped in the transition zone while Ed grabbed the ankle strap from Joe's leg, affixed it to his own, an took off. The runner that finished alongside Joe did not stop. Apparently, his team had decided to run back-to-back legs and by not stopping he had opened up a 15-20 second gap on Ed.

No, Ed is not proposing to Joe. At least I think he isn't...

Ed would emerge from his leg almost exactly where he started - a handful of seconds behind the leader. I was up next. Still 20 seconds behind the lead team, who themselves had just transitioned to a new runner, I took off in pursuit. Once in the woods, I completely lost sight of my quarry until about mile 1 when I rounded a curve and he suddenly appeared. I closed in quickly; caught and passed him. This runner was not quite as strong as their first runner and I wanted to be sure and put as much time gap as possible in case their last 2 runners were really fast. I'm not sure how much time I gained but when I came into transition, the gap was sizeable...and I was about to hand off to our speed demon.

Kevin kept telling us that he didn't want to have to run too hard so we had better have a big lead when he took over. Anything else we can do for you, Kevn?

Kevin smoked his 5k lap - even after posting a 2:36 marathon time just a week earlier at the Chicago Marathon. From this point on, we never looked back. Our second laps were each slightly slower than our first but not by much. In the end, we took first overall with a time of 2:39:20 (a 6:25/mile pace) and had taken 6 minutes out of the second place team - a team competing in the 'Under 120' age division. The most impressive thing was how consistent were were as a team. Not a single one of our 8 laps was slower than 21:00. There was not another team out there that broke 21:00 on every lap.

Kevin Mosteller, myself and Joe Hammond enjoying the day...and the "V".

In our 2nd appearance in 2 months, the Greenville Track Club's Master contingent has managed to not only produce an awesome result, but have one hell of a great time doing it! We'll all be keeping our eyes open for more team events in the future...maybe the Greenville Track club can incorporate an event into next year; or tack one onto an existing event. These are way too fun to pass up.

One event left - the Marine Corps Marathon on October 25th. I'm anxious to try something new at this event

Location: Charlotte, NC
Date: September 26, 2009
Placing: 1st 45-49 Age Group (Gold Medal)
Race Photos
Results: Click Here

Somehow, I made it. We each have our own little 'circle of life' and for nearly 30 years, a big part of my circle has has gone something like this: 1. Love the long bike rides wrapped in layers of clothing and group runs with friends. 2. I gotta race. 3. I need a BIG race. 4. Stoked to fill my race calendar. 5. I can go faster. 6. "I'm king of the world". 7. What? another tempo run? 8. Is it ever gonna get cooler? 9. Just a few weeks more. 10. C'mon, you can stay fit. 11. Amen. The last race is here. 12. Let's catch a flick - I don't have to workout today. 13. Love the long bike rides wrapped in layers of clothing and group runs with friends...last week, I reached step 12. Well, sort of.

Although I still have one more event on the calendar - the Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October - my multisport season is over, and focusing on just one sport is kinda like realizing you only have to take one more class to graduate...and you really just need a 'C' in the class to qualify for Boston. Well, you get the idea (not that Boston is on next year's schedule - but just in case...)

So how did I finish off my multisport season? Glad you asked. I claimed the Gold Medal in the 45-49 age division at the Duathlon Short Course World Championships. With a title that long, it has to be important. To be honest, my performance was not quite up to par. As I pointed out in my cirle of life, I had been struggling a bit the last few weeks with motivation and was spending most of my training time running and hardly any time riding or lifting (two crucial components for an aging duathlete). Turns out, all I had to do was beat a bunch of really old guys to win the title ;-p

In essence, the race itself was like any other race but because the ITU (International Triathlon Union) is in charge, there were a lot of differences surrounding the race. For starters, all the athletes had to wear an outfit with their name across their chest and butt (thank God I have both a massive chest and butt, otherwise the people behind me would probably have thought my name was ORDANEL). When mine arrived in the mail, I learned that people in the US must be giants compared to the rest of the world because my 'mediums' would have been tight on a 10-year-old boy. They might as well have sent me finger paints to paint the outfit on (to the elation of everyone - they did not do this). These state-of-the-art outfits were designed to be ultra fast in the water. Oh wait. We don't swim in a duathlon. Hmmmm, could it be that duathletes are still the ugly stepchild of the multisport world? Sorry, cheap shot. Well, at $180 - not really a "cheap" shot...

When you have a long name, you'd better have a big butt. Wow - that's a quote I'd like to be famous for.

Well, as you can see, it's getting tougher and tougher for me to fight my 'bitter old man' tendencies; after all, it is a rite of passage - like wearing black socks with bermuda shorts, no shirt and sneakers (I can't wait to show up at a race this way). So I'll just throw this one last tidbit out. This event was just a couple of hours up the road for me and it cost me nearly a quarter of my entire race budget for the year. There. Now I feel better. On to the race...

We arrived in Concord, NC on a beautiful Friday afternoon through no small miracle. We followed the directions in the race manual to a tee...and ended up in someone's driveway on a tiny back road. We know we followed the directions correctly because the address was in fact the address in the manual. Unfortunately, it was NOT the address to the race hotel. Using our navigational skillz we successfully found the hotel and registering was relatively painless. Next, we headed over to Lowes Motor Speedway - a huge NASCAR venue, which was a really cool race site. We had to rack our bikes nearly 24 hours prior to our event and with the pending rain, I made sure to 'super lube' the chain. I also took a spin around the outside of the stadium to make sure the bike was ready.

I had so little expectations for my performance that I was really relaxed - even after seeing that both the run and bike course had just short of a billion twists and turns. I got lost just looking at the map. No worries. They'll either have the course marked well...or they won't. Besides, I imagined that I could just follow the trail of bodies from all the 'wipeouts' in the rain. If Christopher Columbus had used this map to find the New World, we'd all be living in Norway.

Oh - My - God. After 30 years of racing, someone finally figured out that a 2-hour race does not have to start at 3am. Years from now, when someone sees my Gold Medal in a hermetically sealed box in the middle of the living room and says "tell me about this race". I will smile wide and begin with..."I didn't have to set my alarm." to which, I imagine I will ge the rebuttal "Liar!". I swear it's true. I got to sleep until there was no more sleep in me. The "junior" racers raced in the morning hours and that's simply how things should be. I paid my dues - it's their turn. Plus it's harder for me to get out of bed, what with the arthritis and all. I had both breakfast and lunch at normal human hours. It felt so wierd. What wasn't wierd was the rain. A steady misting/sprinkling all day. I didn't care. Some of my best races have been in wet conditions; but I hated it for Janis. She never complains but for her, it has to be a pain in the ass.

Over 30 years, I've raced through a lot of different weather conditions. On these days, the most important thing is what you wear (or don't wear). If you dress correctly, you don't even notice the impact the weather is having on you. For instance, I know it rained all day at Ironman Wisconsin but I don't ever remember getting wet. If you dress poorly, you might not realize it until late in the game - like when it comes time to unbuckle your helmet and your hands are so frozen that you can't operate them (Powerman Alabama '07). There was little fear of getting too cold today, but with the weather, I went the extra mile to lube myself up with Body Glide and Vaseline. Water = blisters. I was so lubed up that if Janis had hugged me, I would have shot out of her arms like a wet bar of soap. It feels a little funny, but you get used to it

Any day is a beautiful day for a race...it's just that some are 'less beautiful' than others.

I was in the 4th of 5 waves and would be starting with all the men ages 35-49. The older men and all the women were starting ahead of us and the 'young' men were behind us. The rain continued as the athletes warmed up in the infield of the track and I jogged a bit with fellow G'Vegas resident Gail Kattouf. Gail is a phenomenal athlete and I anticipated that she would actually place in the top 5 overall (regardless of age group). We wished each other good luck and then lined up across the width of the track for the start. I watched Gail's group take off and 10 minutes later, it was my turn. I glanced around me to see and hear the athletes from so many different countries. I thought about how we are all really the same no matter where we're from. We race. That's what we do. The gun sounded and that's what we did.

Lead, follow or get out of the way.

Immediately, I found myself surrounded - and at the same time, falling behind. This was a far cry from Nationals where I was racing only with my age group and American athletes. I kept having to remind myself that many of the runners ahead of me would be 5 or 10 years younger. The first run was 2 laps of a 5k course. Lots of turns and plenty of hills. The first mile snaked all through the infield on what could be described as a 'go-cart' track. As ususal, I over extended myself simply because I thought that if a couple of dozen runners are ahead of me, I must be going slow. I realized how hard I had started when we dove down a bit into the tunnel that goes under the track and then had to climb up the tunnel to the outside world. The climb was so steep that a wheelchair athlete was turned backwards and inching their way up the incline. I was passed by several runners and struggled to get out of oxygen debt. I managed to finally gain composure as I re-entered the track near the end of the first lap.

On lap 2 of the run, I found myself felling stronger now that I had settled into a more even tempo and I passed a few runners back. At mile 4, we doubled back on ourselves and I could see 2 of the best US athletes over the age of 45 - John McGovern and Jeff Terry. It sure made it easy to identify people with their names on their uniforms. Both athletes were probably a minute ahead of me. I found myself running near another American named Riley and the two of us helped each other set a tempo for the last couple of miles. Running back through the tunnel was almost painful it was such a steep little descent; I thought for sure someone would trip and fall here. Riley and I entered transition together and exchanged a couple of quick words of encouragement. A quick glance at the watch revealed that I was not running slow at all - everyone else was freakin' flying! My 5:36 pace looked like I was a mall walker

Ahh, the bike. I had hardly been riding the last few weeks trying to get over the 'end of the season' motivational hump. But really, I've been riding for 30 years. I think riding a bike is more natural for me than walking. Riley and I darted out of transition together and we started by doing some short, quick turns in the infield. I felt like he was practically coming to a stop and as soon as I had room, I bolted around him. It was like a sudden rush coming back to me, my years of doing semi-pro bike racing in the rain. It was an absolute blast pushing the limits of my bike in every turn. I may not have been my fittest on the bike today, but I sure made up time using my "skillz". It may well have been the most fun I've had on my bike all year. YEE-HAAAAAA.

Knowing the limits of your machine is a huge plus on a day like today. My bike and I had a lot of fun out there.

I caught both Jeff Terry and John McGovern and felt great. I could tell I was missing some power but I was still moving well. With just a few miles to go, I was caught by 3 riders - the 2 eventually overall winners and Casey Williams - last year's Master Duathlete of the Year. I stayed relatively close as they pulled away ever so slightly. I had them all in sight as we entered the Speedway and took a lap of track. As I approached the turn into transition, I pulled both feet out of my shoes, and slammed the bike to a perfect stop. My first thought was "try to unbuckle your helmet to make sure your hands aren't too cold". They weren't...and I did.

Finishing the bike leg on Lowes Motor Speedway, I get ready to transition to the run

Just then a volunteer yelled at me "your shoe!". I assume he didn't realize that I had intentionally left my shoes on my bike but something made me look back. There was my shoe about 50 feet behind me lying on the road. I debated for an instant before I continued on my mission. It wasn't until about 5 minutes into my second run that I pondered the fact that leaving my shoe behind could be construed in the rules as 'abondoning equipment' even though the shoe was physically inside the transition area. But that was 5 mintues from now. Right now, I had something else on my mind as an official stepped towards me holding up a yellow card. I looked at him and said "What?".

He told me to stop immediately and buckle my helmet. I did as he said but not before muttering about not even being on the bike. It's a rule I was not aware of - although it is apparently a rule (helmet must be buckled until you rack your bike. Since it was a warning, there would be no penalty but this made me as mad as I have ever been. Why, you ask? Because Janis and I are huge proponents of wearing helmets and we get severely angered when we see people riding around before and after the race without wearing them...and THIS IS ALSO A RULE - but nobody has EVER been penalized for this. Amazing. I'm running into the transition area off of my bike and they think it's more important for me to have my helmet buckled NOW! And not as I ride into the transition area with 2, 10-pound bags of gear hanging all over me an hour before the race. Un-freakin-believable.

I wish I could say that I channeled my anger into a great second run but it wasn't so. I exited the transition area almost side-by-side with Casey. I felt quite sluggish and spent the entire 3.1 miles playing accordion with Casey. For nearly 20 minutes I could almost reach out and grab him - and yet I could never catch him. By the finish, he had gained only 8 seconds on me. Fortunately for me, Casey is in the 40-44 age group. Hmph...young pup. With so many people on the course - and having started with several age gorups together, it was nearly impossible to tell where I was at the finish in relation to my competition. Something told me I was 3rd...

I don't care what country you are from - or what language you speak. We all understand 'FINISH'.

It was only after standing around chatting with Gail, Casey and some of the other athletes that the realization set in that it was still raining...and my body temperature was dropping. By the time I grabbed the riding shoe I lost and my bike from transition, I was shaking and my lips were blue. I made Janis drive back to the hotel with the heat blasting. Unlike most of my races, my initial reactions today were less about my placing and more about how much fun I had on the bike course and reflecting on my up and down season as a whole.

I learned a few hours later that I was just hallucinating when I thought there were other 45+ athletes ahead of me...I had won the Gold for my age group. I was elated to see my multisport season end on a high note; it made me almost wish the season would keep going...almost.

Race Notes:
* After spending Friday night in a 'non-smoking' room at an off-brand hotel - where the overposering smell of air freshener was a poor attempt to cover up the the smell of smoke - Janis and I vowed that it's Holiday Inn or Marriott from now on (our 2 usual hotels).
* I had a bit of an 'incident' at the awards ceremony. Guests were not allowed in to see the ceremony unless they paid $35 to partake of the lunch buffet. That's extortion. Period. So I asked for my medal (as did another athlete who had 5 family members with him...that's $175 just for his family to see him win a medal). The two of us were leaving when Skip Gilbert (the President of the US Triathlon Assoc.) grabbed us and told us he would take of it for us. Janis and I had the money - that's not the point I told him. He told us that the UTI was in charge and it was their rule. This is the second time I've dealt with Skip Gilbert and I've got to say, he's truly a stand-up guy and I'm glad he's running this sport in the US.
* I had an awesome first run...and yet, even with all my time off the bike, my bike split (13th fastest overall) still outperformed my run splits.
* Rick Kattouf - the husband of Gail Kattouf, who is also from Greenville and took second overall amateur woman - was there to cheer his wife on. He cheered me on as well...from everywhere. Seriously. It was like something out of an eerie movie. He would be at the side of the road cheering and five minutes later, seemingly miles away, there he would be again. Thanks, Rick...but that was eerie.
* I was sad to see my neighbor, teammate and training partner Dan Moss having to skip this event due to injury. Dan had a good shot at placing highly overall.
* At the awards ceremony - when the Italians found out that both Gail and I were Italian heritage, it was like they had known us all their lives - we were like family. It made us proud - and certainly answered a lot of questions about where I get my outgoing, loud and carefree traits from.
* I don't care who you are - racing your bike around a huge NASCAR motor speedway is cool. Way cool.
* Next year is Janis' and my 10th anniversary over Labor Day weekend and we are looking to travel somewhere new and different. On a completely seperate note, next year's Duathlon World Chamionships will take place in Edinburgh, Scotland over Labor Day weekend. That's somewhere new and different. I'm just sayin'...

As always, a super-special thanks goes out to all my sponsors especially Go Tri Sports, Fleet Feet, Rudy Project, NutraFit

This ends my multisport season but I have one big event left - the Marine Corps Marathon on October 25th. I'll be trying a little experiment at this marathon so stayed tuned

Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Date: September 6, 2009
Placing: 41st Overall, 20th Amateur, 5th Master
Race Photos
Results: Click Here

Here's one record that I'm glad did not get extended...see how many times I can register for the same event - and NOT do it. Yeah, this is the third year I've tried to do this one and it finally came to fruition. Two years ago, I signed up with my friend and teammate David Duchan and if memory serves me correctly (which it rarely does these days) we both were lacking - what do you call it - motivation. Yes, that's it. Then last year I was just starting to run well again when I got IT. And when I say IT, I mean iliotibial band problems in my left leg. That killed last year. But they say the third times the charm...and so it is.

After 3 years of trying, I finally make it to this race.

Now fate sometimes has a wierd way of playing dirty tricks on you; at least it does for me at times. I have just started training for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. and it's been going great. Most marathoners will run a half marathon a month or so before their full marathon as a stepping stone in their training. Based on my training, I felt as though I could break 1 hour and 17 minutes, which would be a personal best for me. And being the student of statistics that I am, I summized that meeting this goal would put me as first or second - and certainly no worse than third - in the Masters competition. A 1:17 flat would have taken 2nd place each of the last 2 years that I DIDN'T do the event. I had visions of a cool trophy and $$$$ (yes, there was money to the top 2 Masters runners!). I merely had to follow the task as prescribed and I'd be renting a U-Haul to carry home my trophy and using my winnings at www.graeters.com to buy a year's worth of the best ice cream in the world...but here is what ACTUALLY happened...

Janis and I both actually hate "big" races. It's not that we 'don't play well with others', it's just that 20,000 racers - plus their family and friends - can bring a town to its knees. And we're a bit more laid back than that. We don't like spending 2 hours the night before a race trying to make a plan of attack just so that we can arrive at the start line waaaaay too early. Last year I did another one of the "Rock n' Roll" race series - the San Antonio Rock n' Roll Marathon. Fortunately, I was doing it for fun with my brother because our shuttle bus didn't even depart the pick-up zone until AFTER the race had started!! We ended up getting to the start line with only a few of the 33 corrals left to be released. One of the many reasons why I'm not a fan of races that size. Now if I am doing the event as one big party with friends, then sure - 20,000...50,000...bring it on.

We packed our bikes for this trip. A spectator on a bike often can move around a lot better on race day and I thought Janis could take advantage of that. We enjoyed a nice ride around town on Saturday afternoon after I picked up my race packet (which went very smoothly). This is where we learned that when you ride a bike in a beach town - you make up all your own rules, like "feel free to ride the wrong way down any road in the middle of the lane" or "if cars are in your way, use the sidewalk". Don't waste your time with a helmet; it will simply ruin your tan. We must've looked like some kind of 'forners' with our helmets and hand signals. It was one of many adventures we had over the weekend.

At least at these huge races, someone got smart and invented the corral system. Although it is not infallible, it is the sole reason I will do an event this big. Runners are seeded into starting corrals based on projected finish times or submitted results. It's easy to know if someone is in the correct corral because their race number corresponds to their corral number. ie everyone in the first corral had a 1000-1999 number. In corral #27 were numbers 27000 - 27999. Each corral in this event had about 850 runners (which explains why there were 27 corrals but only 20,000 runners). Theoretically - and I say that while making the double-quote hand gesture - nobody should have to be tripping over the people in front of them. And since everyone in the world is honest and NOT self-centered, they all put a completely accurate estimate of their finish time, right? It works much like estimating your swim time for a triathlon that has a pool swim. Some people intentionally put a faster time estimate down. After all, they shouldn't have to swim over anybody, right. I mean, it's OK if people have to swim over them because they are more important than everyone else, right? I digress. For the most part, people ARE honest and the corral system makes it better for everyone.

"Release the hounds!"

One last thing about the corral system is that it's fun to look at the people in the first corral. Janis and I make a game out of it. These are supposed to be the top x number of runners according to their time estimates...but they don't all look that way (I'd ceratinly go so far as to say that I don't particularly think that I look fast). We try to pick out people who may have "fudged" their time estimate. It's great to be right at the end of the race, but it's way cooler when one of the people we picked - because he is wearing long socks, no shirt and looks like a weightlifter - passes me at mile 10. This rarely happens, but when it does it always makes me laugh. Maybe I'll start dressing like a first-time runner at my events and have some fun with it.

Contrary to my fears, the shuttle system worked like a charm and Janis and I arrived at the start with no stress. Plenty of food and drinks and plenty of bathrooms made things almost too stress free. With a couple of Fall-like days in Greenville before we left, I was dreaming that Winter would suddenly be in full swing. It was not. Temps were nice however (upper 60's) especially when many of your training runs have been above 90 degrees. As usual, my warmup was short and simply entailed running the first half-mile of the course and back. As we waited in the corral, the wheelchair athletes were sent off first; then the pro(elite) women. The pro(elite) men and the first corral would start together. With the road being 5 lanes wide, the bodies in our corral had a good bit of room and we were not packed in like sardines (like I was at the Boston Marathon). The gun went off and away we went.

In the first hundred yards I already got anxious when I found myself 'trapped' near the middle of the group. From way back in my cycling days, I learned that if you aren't with the leaders, you aren't in the race. That's something that is not necessarily true in running but it is a hard habit to break and it's why I've never been able to start slower and finish faster. My brain always tells me that the race is ahead of me. It's the same reason you will never see me look back in a race. I can't worry about what's behind me - I need to worry about what's ahead of me. I had my trusty Garmin on for this event and if I was going to meet my time goal, I had to make some deals with myself. The first deal was - no sub-5:30 first mile! I glanced at it about a quarter-mile into the race...5:25 pace. I backed down ever so slightly and held steady. Half a mile in, I saw Janis in the crowd and I moved to the side of the road so she could get a good photo. Already, a "fast group" had formed ahead of us; and at the same time, several of the runners who took off too fast were shooting backwards. I crossed mile 1 in 5:35 and already I had assumed my position in no-man's land; between the true elites - and everyone else. This time however, I had a few fellow no-man landers just ahead of me and as the road behind me became more and more quiet, I could visualize myself pulling away from the masses behind me.

Already establishing my dominion over no-man's land. The runner in front of me pulled away at mile 2 and slowly gained time on me until he disappeared around mile 8 or 9.

Miles 2-3: It was basically me chasing one other runner who was chasing the fast pack (the pros were already way out of sight). As I passed the crowds of people, I would wait to hear them cheer for the next runner(s). It was a good gap.

Miles 3-5.5: I crossed the 5k timing mat at 17:40. My Garmin said I was averaging 5:40 and that I had settled into about a 5:45 pace. The runner ahead of me was slowly gaining time...and now I could hear some runners behind me. I could hear - and sense them for over 2 miles and when the two runners finally caught me at mile 5.5 they told me that they had been just several yards behind me for a while. Since they had caught me, I decided to duck in behind them and let them set the tempo.

Miles 5.5-8: I chatted with one of my newly-found companions a bit. He was obviously a very good runner who didn't seem the least bit strained. He mentioned running sub-5:00 miles at some of his track workouts in the past and I said that I've never run that fast. He commented "yeah, but I'm sure I can't swim and bike like you." I laughed and said, "There's 2 things I'm sure of and that is: yes, you CAN swim like me and no, you can't bike like me". We had a bit of a laugh about that and it helped pass miles 6 and 7 by. At this point, we had caught a few stragglers and shortly before mile 8, we were caught by another runner and that split us up as everyone adjusted their pace. I crossed the 8-mile mark at almost exactly 46:00...5:45 pace.

Miles 8-10: I was on a good schedule but shortly after mile 8 were the first signs of weakening. Both of my cohorts had left me - one was flying up the road - the other was inching ahead of me. For the first time, I noticed one of the bands actually playing as I neared. They were palying Tom Sawyer by Rush and it helped to egg me on a bit. I remembered my GU energy gel that I brought along and quickly sucked it down. As I neared mile 9, I turned back onto the huge wide road from the start of teh race and on the other side of the grass median were thousands upon thousands of runners. I could barely hear myself think - and that was good. My pace suffered slightly during these two miles and I crossed mile 10 at exactly 58:00. This left me with a 5k left to do and 18:59 to do it in to reach my goal. That's just over a 6:00 pace.

Miles 10-12: As we began mile 11, we were confronted with our only hill (which we also had at mile 2). It was a moderate-sized causeway overpass. It actually felt kind of good to run uphill for a minute and I started to feel the GU kicking in a little bit. I was passed by 2 runners just before the hill, but slowly reeled in one of my original running mates from back at mile 6. The crowds were huge now that we were on the ocean "strip" and the 2 runners who had recently passed me were not making much headway on me. My eyes were glued to my Garmin. I just ahd to keep it under a 6:00 pace. The Garmin read 5:58 when I finally hit mile 12.

"C'mon...can't this watch move any slower?...cause I sure as hell can't move any faster..."

Mile 12-finish: Shortly after mile 12, I was passed one last time and followed this runner onto the beach boardwalk. Holy...sh**! There was about a 20mph wind blowing right into our faces with jsut under a mile to go. At this point, it was purely just "sucking it up". I looked at my watch - would I break 1:17? Unfortunately, the view on my watch that showed my elapsed time was no longer showing seconds (since I had been running over an hour). So when I saw 1:14. I had no idea if it was 1:14:01 or 1:14:59. Seconds mattered, dammit! For the entire length of the boardwalk, I could hear a runner behind me, and see the other runner just in front of me. None of us could make up time on the other in that wind. When I was finally close enough to make out the time on the finish clock, I knew I had succeeded. The finish clock read 1:16:49. Shazam!

The last band was playing "Jessie's Girl" as I ran by. I thought to myself, I wish that I had Jessie's legs...Jessie Owens, that is

I walked through the "Hall of Goodies" - where they ahnd you all kinds of free stuff when all you really want to do is eat a hamurger and sit in a pool. Finishing early really has a lot of advantages. Janis was easy to find. So was my dry-clothes bag. I was changed and on the shuttle bus in no time. I was extremely happy with my performance...and we still had the rest of the day to enjoy.

As they like to say..."and now for the bad news"...my joy turned a bit sour later in the afternoon when Janis logged on to view the official results. Wow, I was the 20th amateur out of 20,000 runners. But wait, what's this...4th in my division?! (40-44 age group) Not only that, but the last runner that passed me and finished 7 seconds ahead of me was in the 45-49 age group! Not only had I failed to make the top 3 in my age group but I was the fifth place Master! Egads! Out of the top 20, 5 of us were over 40. I would have placed in the top 3 in ANY other age group besides the 25-29 age group. there's no other way to put it other than: that sucks. How could I be so happy about my time and now be so disappointed. Statistics be damned! I guess that's what happens when you offer money to the old guys - you get old guys that make me look like a slug ;-)

Maybe there was no big trophy or $$$ but I can't really be unhappy with either my time or placing at what is touted as the largest half marathon in the country. At least when people ask me how hard it was, I can honestly say it was a day at the beach...

Race Notes:
* As I crossed the finish line, they announced me as Chris Giordanelli...from Richmond, Virginia. Even my hometown got gyped on this one.
* We found a really awesome park in town. A unique one-of-a-kind place called Mt. Trashmore Park. It used to be a landfill and they turned it into an awesome park. We went over there later in the day so Janis could get her exercise in.
* You will never again hear me say that roads around Greenville suck. Virginia Beach makes our roads look as smooth as ice and as wide as the Champs-Elysees.
* Two words: awesome seafood.

Next up: Blue Ridge Relay - 208-mile running race - NC

Location: Chattanooga, TN
Date: July 12, 2009
Placing: 21st Overall, 4th Master, 1st 45-49
Race Photos
Results: Click Here

Well, after looking at the final results, I was tempted to simply write "See last 60 triathlon reports" but if results was the whole story there would be no such thing as epic tales of triumph and tragedy. I got to thinking this weekend about how racing has changed for me in the last 29 years. As a matter of fact, I thought about it WHILE I was racing, which in itself is a major difference. For about the first 5 years I raced, the world was a blur while the clock was ticking. The only things that existed were the competitors around me and the sound of my heart beating in my own ears. It's like the whole thing happened in a black hole. As the years went by, I slowly reversed that phenomenon. Nowadays, I see and hear everything; the people, the landscape. I never know where Janis might be, but nowadays I always manage to see her and hear her. The best example of this was when I heard her voice out of thousands - standing six rows deep in the last 2 miles of the Boston Marathon. I didn't even know she would be there and yet I somehow heard her and saw her. Ocassionally, this awareness slows me down because I can lose focus; but you'd be surprised how sometimes it can speed me up because I think clearer and plan better as I race.

Another way things have changed over the many years is the way I manage stress before an event. On a scale of 1 to 10, my nerves before a race used to be 11. Now, we're down around a 2 or 3. I think that's because what most peole stress about isn't the actual physical effort. For goodness sake, we do that every day. No, it's things like 'do I have my number?', 'will I forget my helmet?', 'will I miss my start?', etc. I've been racing so long now that I could get ready practically in my sleep. If I miss my strart time? They'll just put me in at the end. If I forget something, I'll make due. As a matter of fact, I rarely take a spare tube and tools with me on the bike anymore at races. These days, I arrive at the race site and in 10 minutes, I have my chip, my body-marked and my transition set up. Gee - now what am I going to do for an hour and a half? We stayed a mile from the transition area at this event and learned a back way into the parking area. 15 minutes after we left the hotel, I was already done with everything and waiting around.

25 years after we created the 'Dr. Doolittle Death Loop', Bob and I are still at this stuff...ask me about the death loop some day...

They had buses taking athletes to the start about a mile away but that seemed like even more stress. Janis and I - along with my teammate Dan and his wife Becky - opted to walk/jog to the start. What a great way to relax before the race. We arrived at the huge fenced in field but I opted to sit outside of the area where it was calm and quiet. This was to be my first ever 'time trial start' for a triathlon. We were to go in order of number every 3 seconds starting at 7:30am. At number 614, I estimated I would start just after 8:00. I did about a 2-mile run at about 7:25 for my warm-up then sent Janis on her way back to the transition area. I got in the slow-moving line to the dock when they called the "600's". You couldn't even see the dock or the water until you were on top of it because we went from the field - across a running path - through some heavy trees and BAM! There it was. No time to admire it; we were hearding at a rapid rate. "Watch your step on the ramp" said the first volunteer...10 feet later..."put on your goggles". I had thought I would have a chance to sit in the water for a few seconds so I never cleaned my goggles. I was looking at the world through fog-colored glasses. "Be careful when you jump in and start swimming along the dock" said the thrid and final volunteer. All of this happened in a matter of seconds. As soon as I got into the water, I 'shuffled' along the edge of the dock. The official starter, timer and a referee were at the end of the dock calling out numbners as one of them entered the numbers into a small hand-held device. I wonder if that dev..."614!...Go!". Say wha?

Does anyone see a brick tied to my leg? Because I'm running out of reasons for swimming half as fast as...or twice as slow...you get the idea.

The first minute or two seemed to be confusion in the water. It was instantly obvious that even though people train for these events day in and day out, they somehow are unable to correctly estimate their swim time (your number corresponded to your estimated swim time - fastest to slowest - within your age group). Fortunately, the river was plenty wide enough and about the time I was free and clear was about the time I realized that I hadn't started my watch. The first time ever that I've forgotten to do this. I was so not ready for this type of fast moving start that I had no time to think about it. Although I don't use a computer on my bike, I do like to have my timer going for two reasons: 1. I set intermediate time goals for the race, and 2. I've been doing this for a long time and I learned many, many, many years ago when doing bike time trial races - always time yourself because it is the ONLY way to be sure that there was no error in your finish time. I remember times when the timing would get messed up at an event and there would always be a few guys who would say, "that's not right - I know I did faster than that". If you didn't time yourself, then...no, you don't really know, do you? Giordanelli Rule #872: Always time yourself.

I remembered glancing at my watch as I stood in line to start and it was 8:08am. So I went with the assumption that I started at 8:10 by my watch. As is customary, I had written my time estimates for Janis before the race...

Swim: 28:00
T1: 2:00
Bike: 1:01:00
T2: 1:00
Run: 37:00
Total: 2:09:00

Now is as good a time as any to remind the studio audience that the Olympic-distance format is my worst because it is weighted more towards the swim than other triathlon distances (1500 meter swim, 25 mile bike, 10k run). I knew this going in but several friends were attneding this one, the swim was point-to-point WITH the current (although not wetsuit legal), and there was money to the top 3 Masters racers.. Plus the bike was a mile longer than normal. Not a bad set of reasons I thought. After looking at last year's results and evaluating my fitness I concluded that I was fit enough to break 2:10 and that should put me in the top 3 Masters and the top 15 overall. Not too shabby considering I planned to give everyone a 'free 6-minute' card in the swim (or so I thought).

Back to the swim...It was a nice swim without much chop in the water and also not much congestion from other swimmers. The view of the shore was rather nice and I enjoyed that we swam under 3 bridges because it gave you 'mini-goals' to aim for as you went. Much like my good experience up in Wisconsin a few weeks ago, I managed to catch the draft off another swimmer for a good 5-10 mintues before she darted away - presumably to catch the draft of another swimmer herself. As soon as I got behind, I could see us catching and passing people who moments before were staying right next to me. I hated that she lost me but I had a feeling she definitely helped me out for a while. I tried to grab another swimmer's draft near the end but they swam in all different directions and I gave up after about a minute. For the 2nd time in as many triathlons, I exited the water NOT feeling a bit disoriented which was good because the trip to transition was moderately long and included a lot of stairs. As I entered T1, I wondered if my friend Bob - whom I grew up racing bikes with in Texas - was still ahead of me. Bob had started about 1:30 ahead of me at the dock and I joked that I would try to catch him by mile 8 of the bike.

With 1300 bikes, I made sure to memorize some landmarks that would take me right to the correct row and had no problem finding my trusty steed. Giordanelli Rule #512: Pick some landmarks to ehlp you find your bike (try not to pick people; people move) Here's a good example of my race awareness...as I ran to exit the trasition area with several other athletes, I saw one of them running with their helmet on backwards. Too funny. I heard Janis somewhere in the crowd just as I clipped into my pedals and took off - remembering first to glance at my watch - 8:41 and change. Hmmm based on my start estimate, that's a little over 31 minutes. What I didn't know at the time was that my start estimate was off and I had actually hit my first two times nearly right on: swim = 27:19, T1 = 2:00. I was 41 seconds haead of plan. Unfortunately, there was no bonus for guessing your EXACT transition time.

If you are not a really fast swimmer, the first 200 yards of the bike leg are the most dangerous 200 yards in a triathlon. They really need a seperate chute for those people who think that having their riding shoes on their bike is faster than simply puttin them on in transition. Aside from the most seasoned of triathletes, these people are going to kill someone someday. I narrowly escaped with my life today as I darted past one of these riders and they were so focused on getting their foot in their shoe that they basically made a 90-degree turn in front of me. They were doing about 5mph - I was doing about 27. After making it through what I call the 'land mine' area, I tried to settle into a pace but had trouble getting my legs to respond. It didn't help that we did a lot of up in the first few miles including a pretty nasty hill around mile 3 or 4.

The bike section was on a highway - which I loved. People were spaced out fairly well and I always had plenty of room to pass. The terrain was like rollers on steroids. There were no 'climbs' to speak of, but the road was either going up for a mile...or down for a mile (or more). It wasn't until about mile 5 that I suddenly clicked into fast mode. I had just seen my teammate Dan on his return trip on the other side of the highway. Every mile, I just kept feeling better and better. The mile markers ticked away rapidly as I continued my normal trend of passing the masses. Just as we were in sight of mile 8...I caught my friend Bob. Gotcha, Bob! I grunted a 'good job' and Bob responded in kind. I reached the halfway point - mile 13 - in a little over 30 minutes. Unfortunately, even though I felt good, it was a hair more uphill and headwind coming back in. I had missed my opportunity for an exceedingly fast bike split in the first 5 miles.

As is always my plan, I slipped my feet out of my shoes on the last downhill (much easier than putting them on while riding) and made sure to ride all the way up to the dismount line. Giordanelli Rule #84: At the turnaround and the finish of the bike, you came in way to0 slow if the volunteer doesn't yell at you hysterically to slow down. I ran out of transition with my race number, my Rudy sunglasses and an esspresso-flavored gel in hand. My watch read 9:44 and change. Which I thought put me at about 1:34:xx. I told Janis if I was going to break 2:10, I definitely needed to be running by 1:33. I was more than a minute off; bike = 1:02:57, T2 = 1:08. I had lost 2 minutes to my estimate on the bike and was in actuality now 1:16 slower than my estimate.

"Oh hey, Janis; just gimme a sec to put on my gla...OK. Never mind."

As I rounded the first corner out of transition, Janis yelled to me. I would have posed for her picture but I was busy trying to put on my glasses and number. The first half-mile was a fairly good climb. I like this because it means we get to finish with a good downhill. That first half-mile was also the only section that was wide open. Shortly after cresting the hill we made a sharp left and then ran up a flight of stairs that took us to a jogging trail that we had just run underneath. I had an 'innocence of youth' moment at this very point. I had run past most people at a pretty good clip on the way up the hill but when I crested, I could suddenly hear footsteps right behind me. When I reached the top of the stairs a 19-year-old kid ran around me (I know this because his age was written on his calf - as all of our ages were). For a moment I thought "wow, he's obviously a runner". But I was wrong. Apparently he was one of those people that I meet on ocassion that has a certain idea in their head about who should be able to beat them. Apparently, a 45-year-old man was not supposed to be ahead of him. About 10 seconds after he passed me, I passed him back as he was now in major oxygen debt. He probably took 4 or 5 minutes off his time by doing that...

The run felt like it often does at this point in a tri - I didn't feel like I was going real hard...but I didn't feeel like I could go any harder. On the trip out and back, I spent all of my time: 1. dodging people, 2. Looking for people I knew, and 3. trying to determine from the racers numbers if anyone was running close to my time. This last thing was really impossible and it would have been easier to count the blades of grass as we ran by, but it certainly kept my mind busy. I don't remember my turnaround time, but I do remember thinking that it was not as fast as expected. The slow descent that was not so bvious on the way out, became blaringly obvious as I neared the end of the return trip. With about a mile remaining I simply decided that whatever my time was going to be, that's what it was going to be. I shuffled a little bit more up the final hill knowing that I was losing a little more time but hardly caring. The final downhill into the finish inspired a half-hearted effort to gain a few seconds but I was done racing a mile or so back; run = 39:45.

Here I am pretending that none of it hurt at all...easy to do with a downhill finish.

I already knew that I had missed my time mark but the reults delivered the sad news that 3 Masters had finished ahead of me - all from the 40-44 age group. For the first time that I can remember, I failed to finish in the top 5 overall or the top 3 Masters. Today, I would roll down to taking an Age Group win in the 45-49 age group. For a guy that is very numbers and logic focused, today's race was certainly one of misperceptions and ill-logic. For starters, my swim was the only discipline where I met my goal; and I felt good about it. But I never expected all three Master's winners to beat me by 7 minutes in the swim - and at 27:19, I never thought my time would be 654th! Oddly enough, I don't blame my swim for any lost places. Sure it's a slow time and it's frustrating, but I expected it. My run truly failed me today. Nearly 3 minutes off my estimate. And in an opposite turn of events, this 'terrible' time was 18th fastest overall? I almost ran the same pace today that I ran for my half-iron event 2 weeks ago. (6:24 pace vs. 6:31 pace). Had I run up to my expectations, I would've finished right at 2:10 and in the top 15 overall. But I didn't. Giordanelli Rule #151: No matter how long you look at the results, they will not change.

To help me out at my next traithlon, I made a list of things I could do better:

1. Swim faster
2. Ride faster
3. Run faster

Race Notes:
* I crossed the line just as they were announcing the pending rain storm which suddenly became clear to me in the distance. I had just enough time to grab my bike and head to the car. Janis, myself and my bike were safely in the car for about 10 seconds before the sky opened up with a steady rainfall. I guess you could say I also finished just ahead of Mother Nature.
* The venue was really cool and Chattanooga is a nice place - maybe worth a few extra days next time.
* Although disappointed with my run - and a bit slower on the bike as well - my Bike/Run split combined was the 5th fastest. I'm still looking good for Duathlon Worlds as well as my next half-iron race.
* Some more amazing swim stats: Only 5 people in the top 200 had worse swim times than me. The next best placed behind my 21st? 140th. Fastest swim of the day? 17:06...so much for the fast guys only taking 6 minutes out of me.
* Tons of shout-outs at this event for the crew from G'Vegas (Greenville, SC): Dan Moss (teammate) - 5th Overall Male, Gail Katouff - 1st Overall Female, Ashley Long - 8th Overall Female. Thems some fast people I hang around with!
* Also congrats to my longtime friends and hosts from Atlanta Bob & Sue. Bob placed well enough in our age group to qualify for Nationals and Sue WON the women's 50-54 age group!
* And just a 'hey' to a few good people I has the pleasure of chatting with while I was there: John O'Brien, Ted and Stephen Harvey (you've got great potential, Stephen) and of course the Neurath's 'ontourage'...you know who you are.

Next up: Xterra 7k Trail run - Greenville, SC (Tentative)

Location: Sherwood, WI
Date: June 20, 2009
Placing: 4th Overall, 3rd Amateur, 1st Master
Race Photos
Results: Click Here

In my last triathlon race report (Clemson Sprint Tri), I commented that "...as long as I continue to have some stellar days mixed in with bad ones, I have a pretty high probability of writing a report in the near future that speaks of valiant efforts and feats of athleticism...that day is just not today." Well, that day IS today which helps prove the statistical theory that if you enter enough events you will have some days where your house is built of bricks and mortar - and some days where your house is built of Shot Bloks and GU (for those of you not familiar - let's just say it wouldn't make a very sturdy house). Next week may be a different story but next week isn't here yet so I'm prepared to rest on these laurels for the time being.

The long and the short of it is - well - the long and the short of it. Meaning I've always excelled at longer events whether they be running, cycling, duathlon or triathlon. You definitely lose fast-twitch muscles as you get older but to be honest I'm pretty sure the only fast-twitch muscle I ever had was the one that grabs food faster than my brothers at a dinner free-for-all. I didn't always win, but I was competitive. I'm not upset about it. Someday my SLOW-twitch muscles will come in handy like if I ever have to escape the law and I have a 5-minute head start. I'll be in the next state by morning while they're still searching a 3-mile radius. In reality, it's simply the ability of your mind to fool your body for copious amounts of time; to endure when others can't. Mostly to endure pain and discomfort but at times to endure the weather, solitude, mind-numbing courses, the urge to stop at every eatery that the course passes. Sometimes - as witnessed by the photo below - I must even endure people who are too self-centered to care about the world around them...I hope that's not you. (I can't believe that I had to call these people out in a blog!!)

Dear people raised in a barn, this is inappropriate...

The venue for this event was a good-sized park along the shore of Lake Winnebago in central Wisconsin. You may have noticed over the years that I am freakishly drawn to the area to do big events. No, it's not a secret cheese curd fixation (although don't test me on that), the truth is that my wife grew up in Appleton and most of her family still lives there. Let this be lesson #1 to any budding triathletes out there: when choosing where to do a big race, make sure there's something in it for your spouse. Janis' family is wonderful. She gets to see them and I get to race. High Cliff Park is so named because of the bluff overlooking the lake. You can see it in the background on this photo. Quite scenic. The cliff is certainly not a climb like we are used to on the outskirts of Greenville, but it is quite the hill and I wouldn't want to have to run up it...but unfortunately I DID have to run up it.

The "High Cliff" looms in the background as I prepare to hop on my bike...

Now, I'm only going to say this one more time (right) but I still have yet to find a race with the organization and control of a Setup Events race (our regional race promoter). But if you are reading this, Jeremy, the folks at High Cliff had you beat on one very important thing - at least it is important to my wife at every event - and that is concessions for the spectators. Oh yeah der hey; them Wicsonsin cheese heads know how to throw a BBQ, eh?. Janis got a brat, chips and drink for $3. And for that I say 'Go Packers!' (they love their Packers). Just having something to eat and drink for the spectators makes it a bit more bearable for them when these races exist miles from the nearest Starbuck's Latte.

We arrived for packet pickup on Friday afternoon and the registration process was a snap. I sat and read through the race info and when I finished taking it all in, I had 3 concerns: 1. Athletes must wear swim caps. No swim caps were provided. This was silly on several levels. Obviously, if you are going to require something that costs a buck to buy in quantity, why don't you just supply it?! So I was forced to buy one right there at the expo. The more troubling part of this was that how would they know if everybody was starting in the correct wave? I would love to simply trust everyone but I finally gave that up big time when I witnessed Ironman Florida firsthand. Oh well. 2. The water temps were rumored to be in the very low 60s. Last year, I did a lake swim early in the Spring and even with a wetsuit, it was the closest I had ever come to hypothermia. Hopefully, this concern was simply unfounded. 3. I learned that the run course was not only through the park, but it was on park trails. Hiking trails and horse trails. Less than 2 miles of the entire course was on-road. I was double-concerned here becuase I wasn't sure I was prepared for trail running with my shoe choice or with my training and also - how well would a trail be marked? I could just see me missing a fork in the trail and winding up on someone's hunting land with a white number hanging off my butt like a deer's tail. Again, there was little use in worrying about it...although I did.

Now most people in Wisconsin will laugh at me for this next comment, but thank goodness they were having a bit of a heat wave. The morning was just about perfect and the forecast was sunny and 88 degrees. My kind of weather. It gets light out really early here (before 5am) but that didn't make me feel any better about getting up at 4:30. With this being my first half-iron in a year and having so many ups and downs, my race prediction was more of a sliding scale rather than science. A time of 4:30 is usually my starting point. If nothing goes 'wrong' I should be able to break 4:30. And to break that time, I just tell myself that I need to be running by the 3-hour mark (knowing that I can consistently break 1:30 for the run portion). That's all I had today. No real time estimates. No predictions to give Janis. I was just going to let it all happen today. Be smart. Take advantage of every strength I have and be aware of every weakness. And that I did...starting with the swim.

There was no 'elite' wave at this event like many of the other events. Instead, the promoters allowed you to submit a prior race result in order to get put into the first wave of 50. Your race number dictated which wave you were in but most people were wearing long-sleeved wetsuits so as I mentioned before, there was no way at all to tell if people were in the correct wave. I was wearing a sleeveless wetsuit and my warmup consisted of walking out into the water until it was waist deep. Then I walked back in. Truly a monumental warmup. I didn't even get my shoulders and head wet because I was afraid it would be too cold. We lined up on shore and waded into the water to the start banner. The water was shallow for a good distance and I always tell Janis that I would just as soon 'run' the swim course than swim it at these events so you can rest assured that if the water is shallow enough, that's what I'll be doing.

The water was quite choppy and pretty shallow for the first several yards, as you can see from this group of sprint racers...

The gun fired and I was in for the most eventful swim I'd ever done. For starters, the water remained shallow for longer than I anticipated. I ran through the water until the water finally neared my armpits. I estimated I 'ran' for nearly the first 40 yards before diving in and finally feeling the chill on my dry head. The next part of the swim adventure was the waves. Not just chop - but actual mini waves lifting us up a foot or so. This made it easy to drink a lot of the lake and difficult to site the bouys but I dealt with it. The next thing I noticed is that since I didn't have to start with my usual group of 'motorboat' swimmers that leave me alone as soon as the gun goes off, I actually had several swimmers around me and that made it nice for me to set a pace. About 8 to 10 minutes into the swim, I saw a woman who seemed to be doing a good job of swimming straight and slowly creeping past me. I sped up for an instant and angled in behind her. Holy cow! I was actually drafting someone in an open water traithlon. I told myself I would stay behind her as long as she swam straight. I ocassionally came out from behind her just to make sure that she was not actually slowing me down since the effort felt much easier behind her. I was amazingly comfortable and did a great job of staying stealth. I think in 20+ minutes of drafting her, I only tapped her feet 3 or 4 times. To top things off, when we made the final turn to head directly into shore the current and waves actually made it feel like we were body surfing. It was an awesome swim.

I don't know how he did it, but this photographer should get an award for making me look like swimming the English Channel would be no problem for me.

I glanced at my watch as I exited the water and my time told the real story: 32 minutes and change. 4 to 5 minutes faster than my usual time. I was shocked. I hoped that the course was not short (based on relative times, I concluded later that it was not). I knew the drafting helped but I also hoped that I could attribute some of that to my large increase in swim yardage the last 6 weeks. Wouldn't that be cool. Maybe all the cheese curds made me extra buoyant? Whatever. I also was not as dizzy as I often feel when exiting the swim which was good since we had to climb Mount Everest to get from the shore to the transition area which brought my official swim time to 33:53. After my nutrition fiasco last year in West Virginia, I told myself that I was sticking to my intake schedule no matter what - starting with slamming an Ensure in about 4 seconds in the trasition area. I also took a few extra seconds to put my socks on now rather than in the second transition. If I'm going to put them on anyway, might as well be comfortable during my ride too. I glanced one last time at my watch as I mounted my trusty circa 1980 steed so that I could guage my ride time.

The climb to the transition area (aka "Mount Everest")

The instant you left transition, you made a right turn and within 100 yards, you climbed the road to the top of the 'cliff'. In total, about three-quarters of a mile with varying gradients - none of which was incredibly steep but it was a good up. I stayed in the saddle all the way over the top. As a matter of fact, I stayed in the saddle and in my aerobars for all but about 200 yards of the 56-mile course. We were actually told that a short detour on the course dropped the distance officially down to 55.5 miles. The roads were entirely wide-open country roads through America's Dairyland. The course had about 5 to 7 miles of truly flat roads and about 5 to 7 miles of some medium-sized rollers. The rest was made up of looooong ups and downs. The kind where I am doing 28mph for a couple of minutes going one way and 22mph going the other direction. There was also quite a breeze blowing off the lake. For the majority of the ride, it was a crosswind but the final 5 miles were directly into it. I was only about 10 miles into the ride when it was already thinned out to a point where I would see one or two cyclists per mile...and it would seemingly take several miles to catch them. One by one, I did my usual job of picking people off. I felt better than I had in a long time. I was staying well within myself. I passed the 25-mile marker on the ground and quickly checked my watch. This marker is a great gauge for me since I typically strive to average 25 mph. The best I could tell using oxygen-deprived math was one hour and one minute. Good - just shy of 25mph with plenty left in the engine. Even with my complaints about power loss recently, it seemed like I really pulled people in whenever it was a headwind or uphill - and these are the places where more power comes into play.

I passed one last rider into that nasty headwind in the last 5 miles and stuck to my usual plan of backing down slightly the last couple of miles in anticipation of the run. I was also good about finishing both of my calorie-packed bottles that I took on the bike. I slammed into the second transition - now close to 7 minutes ahead of my 'be running by 3 hours' plan. I took a quick inventory of the bikes on the rack:4. That assumedly put me in 5th. I threw down another Ensure and off I went. Once around the grass field and then straight back up the 'cliff'. Not too bad on the bike 2 hours ago but not a lot of fun on a run. I mentally looked at the bright side which was that we ran down the hill to the finish. At this point in a long triathlon, it's all about trusting your training. Unlike a lot of people, I do a decent number of long brick runs (back to back riding and running) so I know exactly what pace range I will run when I am tired. So I never really start out to 'race' the run...instead, I sort of set it on cruise control and assume that I am running between a 6:20 and 6:40 pace. I 'shimmied' up the climb the first mile and onto the trail. I was exactly where I thought I would be at this point - all alone in the woods. Every time I got concerned that I would go off course, another trail marker would show up. As it was, I never once had to question the direction. Whew. Also, the trail was mostly soft dirt, with some grass running and an ocassional sand section. No problems for the feet.

Now this photo does it justice. Here you see about a third of the climb we had to endure in the first mile. Fortunately, the last mile took us back down!

I was happy that my first mile was a little over a 7:00 pace considering that it should be the most difficult mile. I tried calculating my pace as I passed some of the mile markers but the best I could tell was about a 6:45 pace around mile 5. Which is about where I encountered my first human being (other than the plentiful drink stations set up in the woods). I passed the runner handily and just kept going. Just after mile 6, I completed the first loop and crossed the road that came up the cliff. Suddenly, I was joining other runners who were on their first loop and that seemed to spark some life into me. I made it my goal to catch each one as defiantly as possible. I could feel my pace increasing. It was time for the mind tricks. Mile 9. Mile 9 is always my magic mile marker on a half marathon. It just seems that after you complete 9 miles you only have 4 more and that's less than half of what you've already done! As I approached mile 9, I passed a runner that was a little harder to catch and I was happy to see that his race number was in the top 50. He had to be one of the people ahead of me. I kept my pace high and aimed for mile 10...then 11. Now I was getting tired but I knew once I saw that mile 12, I had a huge downhill to finish on.

There were runners scattered all over the course and it would be hard to tell who was in what position until the magic moment when I popped out onto the cliff road for the second time. This time - instead of going across for another lap like most everyone was doing - I turned right. Even though there was a little over a half-mile to go, it was all downhill and I was so elated that I ran several yards with my arms in the air as if to thank the Lord. I instantly snapped back to reality when I looked ahead and saw someone running just about 50 yards ahead of me. There were no more sprint racers out on the course so that could only mean one thing...I was surprised to find a hidden afterburner in my legs and slowly began to run him down. I was moving in on him rapidly but was trying my best not to slap my shoes on the ground so as to take him by surprise. I backed down as I approached him and waited for the right moment to sprint by him. You can see my excellent sprint form after 4 hours of racing in the photo below. You'll also notice the runner several seconds behind me. He must have been completely spent because he didn't even react as I raced around him. I realized at that point that I had a little too much left; I should've squeezed out a little more the last few miles. I was 3rd across the line.

The runner in light blue behind me didn't even respond as I sprinted past him in the final 200 yards. Maybe I had too much left?

As it turns out, there was a competitor who started in a later wave that beat my time - giving me the 4th best of the day - and I congratulate him on his day. On the other hand, I would have a tough time congratulating either of the top 2 finishers (one of whom turned out to be a professional triathlete from New Zealand) for reasons which have me biting my tongue. But I am not an official, this is not the world championships and the only person I am judging is me. And I judge that today I had a stellar race - I hit all my marks today, had perfect nutrition, no blisters, no injuries. My final time was 4:18:08 - and I did that without the use of my walker OR my Geritol...

Ahhh...the sweet smell of a sub-4:20 half. Time for a brat and saurkraut.

Race Notes:
* It cost one-third the price to ship my bike FedEx than it would to fly it (and it was probably handled better).
* The park was great (except for these things they call 'lake flies'...but they weren't that bad) and I enjoyed my obligatory cool off swim in the lake.
* Hips and glutes were sore for 2 days because I stayed in the areo position for the entire ride.
* I was originally nervous about so much trail running but in the end, I think I preferred it to being out on the open road.
* It's not like I'm looking for prize money or anything, but you'd think for the effort they would give more than a cheap framed certificate that says 'Age Group Winner' - the exact same thing that everybody who placed top 3 in their age group received. Anybody need an 8 x 10 picture frame? I don't care how many awards an event gives out but here's a simple rule promoters should use - the amount of pride that the recipients have in the award is equal to the amount of pride the promoter has in their race. If you have to spread the awards so thin that all you can afford is 100 cheap picture frames, then you're giving out too many awards. I'll go out on a limb and say they have little to no pride in their event.

Next up: Go Tri Sports Sprint Tri - Greenville, SC (Tentative)

Location: Simpsonville, SC
Date: June 13, 2009
Placing: 5th Overall, 1st Master
Race Photos
Results: Click Here

Apparently it's true. I'm getting older. After today's race, I've finally resolved myself to the fact that I will be getting slower. A year ago, I completed this course in 28:14.21 and today - a year later - my time dropped to 28:14.92. Since this was not a 'chip-timed' race, there may be some who would argue that the person running the stopwatch at the finish this year might simply have had a slower reaction time as I crossed the line, but you are probably just being too kind. This kind of sharp decline in my time can only be attributed to age. At this rate, in two years, I won't even break 28:16. And yes, I'm being sarcastic...

I enjoyed another good running event today and although my time was the same from the prior year, the feeling was remarkably different. Let's start with one of my favorite things...history. Now that I have been doing multisport for 4 years, there's a certain bit of fascination about looking back at events that I've done multiple times. In past race reports this year, you could see how my consistency at times has been uncanny. This race is certainly no exception. I'm going to add one more dimension to this 'history report' and that is the dimension of Stephen Sykes. If you read my report in February about the Green Valley 10-miler, I made light of the fact that Stephen and I seem to be eternal shadows. He continues to prove this point...

YEAR	ME	Stephen	DIFFERENCE
2006	28:20(2nd)	28:48(5th)	+:28
2007	27:55(4th)	27:58(5th)	+:03
2008	28:14(8th)	27:55(6th)	-:19
2009	28:14(5th)	28:11(4th)	-:03

Of course I get a bit of extra credit for being literally twice his age but by the same token, he is young for a distance runner. Anyway, some interesting food for thought. And no, I am not stalking him. Maybe he is stalking me?

This race draws a good bit of local talent and it seems that every year, there are one or two 'really real' runners that 'run away with the victory'. This year, some 21-year-old collegiate runner took the honors. The Masters turnout at this event rivals just about any other event in the region with 8 of the top 20 placed runners over the age of 40. The race itself is a nice loop that starts with 2 fairly flat miles, then a downhill mile, an uphill mile and the final mile has a little of both. At my last running event (Swamp Rabbit 5k) I tried something a little different for me - starting slower. It worked very well so I decided to try it again. in '07 and '08 both, I crossed the first mile mark in 5:20. Today, I was looking for about a 5:30 start.

The race lives up to its name and we all lined up promptly at 6:25 for a 6:30 start. Although I hate really early starts, it helps that this race is just 4 miles from my house and registration has always been quick and painless at this event. I chatted with friends and teammates around me and was in mid-sentence talking to Mark Render when half the field suddenly jumped off the line. I had been waiting for someone to come to the front of the group with a bullhorn or something but that never happened. I felt a bit like Superman after he secretly heard a call for help with his super hearing. Without so much as an 'I gotta go...', I turned away from Mark, pressed the start button on my Garmin and took off. It was a pleasant distraction the first 100 yards or so as I wondered how many of us were caught off guard by the start.

I settled just behind the lead point of the group about 10 spots back. Ahead of me to my right was the distinctively tall, thin Stephen Sykes in his mandatory blue shorts (we all have our favorite shorts). It took about a third of a mile for the speed demons to create a group of 4 to dangle off the front and at the same time, to shed ourselves of those runners who started the race with a bit more "ooomph" than they really had. At the half mile mark, all I could see in front of me was the lead group of four with a gap on Stephen - who was about 20 feet in front of me. I resisted the urge to race up to him remembering my idea about pacing myself a bit better.

I crossed the first mile at 5:28. Excellent. I was working, but did not feel the least bit over-extended. For the next half mile I continued to close in on Stephen at a slow motion rate of about 1 inch every 10 seconds and finally came shoulder to shoulder with him shortly before mile 2. Now the other funny thing about Stephen and I is that we never actually run together. One reason for this is becuase he goes up faster than me...and I go down faster than him. But also I think we both probably feel that running right next to someone takes you off your tempo. I rounded the turn at mile 2...11:07 (5:39 mile) and instantly was glad to be going down. I vividly remember reaching the end of mile 3 last year in total pain and exaustion. Today, I was steady as a rock.

Stephen re-passed me on the way to mile marker 3 and for the first time in the race - on a downhill - I heard feet pounding behind me. I took advantage of a right turn to glance back and there was 48-year-old Ed Hughes. "Son of a b****". The only thing that kept me from being too concerned is that this year, I was still well within myself at this point in the race; there would be no falling apart for me. If Ed was going to beat me, I knew that he would have to have something extra in his tank today. Mile Marker 3: 16:44 (5:37 mile). Stephen and I were methodically catching one of the lead runners who apparently started too hard and looked a bit like I did at this point last year. Stephen caught him first and actually put in a bit of a burst that seperated us even further. I kept my pace and passed the other runner shortly thereafter.

The climb to the top of mile 4 is not really steep but it's a few hundred yards long and after 4 miles of near-maximum effort, it's not a happy thing. As I reached the turn at the top, I glanced back to see that I had gained some ground on Ed - as well as Stephen. Mile 4: 22:38 (5:54 mile). As I ran the entire last mile just 3 strides behind Stephen, my brain kept saying "OK - wait until the very end then just sprint around him". Yeah; whatever. Neither Stephen nor I ever broke stride and it didn't matter what I told myself, my body simply would not listen. Oddly enough, I still had not overextended myself and yet my body was content. No sprinting today. Maybe there needed to be some promise of a deserving reward - a better reason than bragging rights. Something like an Olympic medal - or a chocolate cake. But my body knew that neither of these things were waiting for me.

I finished out the race with a 5:36 mile (in reality, the final .96 miles since 8k = 4.96 miles) taking 5th place. Stephen finished 3 seconds ahead of me and Ed was 11 seconds behind me. Fleet Feet teammates Elliot Taylor and Matt Pryer both broke the top 15 as well. I felt good not only about my time but about how I felt with the pace this year since most of my training has been geared toward longer distances and my half-ironman event next week.

Race Notes:
* I turned this into my last good half-iron training day by turning around and running a second lap followed by a 52-mile bike ride.
* As usual at this event on an early morning in June, my socks and shoes were pretty much soaking wet although I never felt hot enough to drink much.
* I am slated to do a relay race in September with 3 other Greenville Track Club members. We will be racing the Master's division (ages for 4 team members have to add up to 160+). My other team members for that event are slated to be: Kevin Mosteller - 37 (2nd today), Ed Hughes - 48 (7th today) and Joe Hammond - 47 (12th today). We should be a pretty impressive group of old guys!

Next up: High Cliff Half Iron race - Appleton, WI

Location: Clemson, SC
Date: May 16, 2009
Placing: 15th Overall
Race Photos
Results: Click Here

This is not so much a 'race report' as it is a scientific thesis. I remember the days back in science class where we learned to conduct experiments by changing variables and noting the effect on results. I used to love that. I still enjoy problem solving which is an integral part of my job. I just never thought I would be having to investigate the mystery of my own health.

Keeping up with me this year means you've had to listen to a lot of guessing, uncertainty and well, for lack of a better term - excuses. I've always hated that word because of its negative connotations, when in fact an excuse is merely a reason. For the most part, people see an 'excuse' as a false or invalid reason. But that's not really part of the definition. If I said that I did not finish a race because I crashed, isn't that an excuse that has no negative bearing? It simply is what it is. The problem with excuses is the way they make you feel - valid or not.

I know that all sounds lot a lot of mumbo-jumbo but what it means is that if a person says "I can't jump over my house today because I have a headache" most everyone would be sceptical. But if you had ever actually seen the person jump over his house, you would be a lot more inclined to believe that a headache is in fact stopping them. It's basically throwing scientific evidence into the mix. Here is my scientific evidence for this year: 5 running races - 4 of them at or near PR speed; one of them minutes off of normal. 2 duathlons - both of them producing podium finishes. 2 triathlons - both of them well below normal performance. The bad races didn't happen in succession. As a matter of fact, they were sprinkled in between some of my best races. And it's due to the evidence I have just placed before you that I am continuing to train hard and sign up for races. The evidence says that I "can" still go fast. The problem is knowing if I "will" go fast.

In some way that I can't figure out or comprehend, it's all based on my allergy-induced asthma. According to my allergy panel, I have little to no reaction to 'grasses'; a modest amount of reaction to some trees and ragweed; and the real culprit - mold! My mold allergy reading was pretty much through the roof. The worst thing about this is that there is no "mold season". It can be in a number of different places throughout the year.

I warned you this was going to be more science than race report...so let's continue. I have really been working on my swim lately. No, this time I'm for real. I joined a Masters Swim Class a couple of weeks ago and I believe I've done more meters in the last 2 weeks than the prior 2 months. I've always said that Clemson is the worst ratio triathlon for me that I will do all year (swim:bike) but I had been going good for a week and a half and the numbers told me that I should be near the top 5 or 6 so I was actually excited to make amends from my poor showing at Lake Murray.

I was glad for once that I was able to pick up my packet on Thursday for this race considering I hate getting up so darn early to race. Yet somehow, I still ran short on time and managed only about a 1-mile run for a warm-up. But what the hey, that's what the swim is for, right? The horn sounded and for the first time ever, I was actually able to draft one of the other swimmers for close to 100 meters before I had to back down and catch my breath. I also noticed how much more comfortable I was in the water - able to recover from my 'sprint' start without having to come to a near stop. One of my big guages in the water is how long it takes the fastest age-groupers to catch me and it appeared that I held them off much longer than usual and that less of them passed me - at least that's how it appeared. I exited the water and made the long run up the beach to the transition area. I'm not sure I've ever mentioned this before, but everytime I exit the water in a tri, I am a bit disoriented and somewhat dizzy. I typically can barely muster a jog...which is about what I did. I felt much faster but the results would later show the following:

2006 - 15:42
2007 - 15:32
2008 - 15:26
2009 - 15:30
Each of these years, I was somewhere around 100th swim time. (I'm not sure the atomic clock is this consistent)

At this point if you stopped me and asked what kind of day I was having, I would probably have said "pretty good". That's the thing with me and swimming; I can't tell a good day from a bad one. After one of the most stellar wetsuit-strippings I have ever done, I mounted my steed and took off. Now - just 5 minutes later - if you asked me what kind of day I was having, I could tell you in an instant: "not so good". No power on the hills. No speed on the flats. Based on one of the event photos you might literally believe I was asleep on the bike. I pushed hard because I was hoping that I just 'felt' slow but deep down inside I knew better. The only reason I probably placed as high as I did on the bike was because of the slightly wet conditions that allowed me to take advantage of my bike handling skills. In the last quarter-mile, I passed another elite male - 21-year-old Taylor Shoulders and we entered transition right after each other. Stats?...

2006 - 26:51 (1st fastest)
2007 - 26:56 (2nd fastest 9 seconds behind fastest)
2008 - 27:21 (2nd fastest 3 seconds behind fastest)
2009 - 28:26 (4th fastest 1:36 behind fastest?!)

In T2, I also saw my teammate Kat Welling well on her way to a women's victory. She teased me that she had a goal to finish the bike before I caught her...and she did. Kat ran out of T1 with me a few seconds behind and Taylor was right on my heels. Taylor immediately sprinted by me like I was standing still and I thought to myself "huh, young kid - that's way too fast. I'll be seeing you soon." But I didn't. NOW if you had asked me what kind of day I was having, I would have stopped, wrestled you to the ground and used my last ounce of energy to pummel you. I literally could not get my legs to run. I was in an unwavering jog from which I could not break loose. Taylor left me in the dust as I raced the catepillars on the sidewalk. I had nothing to give. I relunctantly made it to the finish line. The run course has changed over the years so it's hard to make a comparison but my run times were the 5th fastest both of the last 2 years and on this day I considered myself lucky to have the 13th fastest.

Discouraging? Yes. But as I pointed out at the beginning of this report, as long as I continue to have some stellar days mixed in with bad ones, I have a pretty high probability of writing a report in the near future that speaks of valiant efforts and feats of athleticism...that day is just not today.

After the race, I joined my friend Ashley Long for a few extra meters of swimming in the lake. I had planned to run but was in no mood - and I probably still needed the swim more. On the drive home, Janis listened to me psychoanalyze the events of the day. I'm not sure at what point this came up but I believe it was Janis who made the observation that I've done 4 lake swims this year (2 races and 2 practices). After one of the practice swims, I went for a run with Gail Kattouf. It felt like we were running a 6:00 pace when in reality we weren't even running a 7:00 pace. That's 3 lake swims where I felt poorly immediately afterwards. Could there honestly be something in the lake water that is affecting me now that my lungs are hyper-sensitive? Logically, it does make sense. I intend to run my own little experiment in the next week or so to test the theory.

Adding fuel to my above theory is the fact that I went out the next day and had a pretty amazing 3-hour workout...and the same goes for every day since the race. Only time will tell.

>

The guys at Bird's Eye View really captured the spirit if today's race for me...drunk after the swim; asleep on the bike; and out for a jog to the finish

Race Notes:
* My teammates all had pretty good days with Chris Olson taking the men's race and Katharine Welling taking the women's race.
* My teammate Pete Edge pulled out a 6th place overall at the ripe old age of 51.
* In contrast - just 3 places behind Pete - was the future of triathlon. 13-year-old local Greenville resident Sawyer Willingham was "puttin' it" to a lot of guys in their athletic prime.

Next up: Not sure at this point...still debating about entering a half ironman in a week's time based on how well I am going (of course that's what I thought before this race)...

Location: Travelers Rest, SC
Date: May 8, 2009
Placing: 5th Overall
Race Photos
Results: Click Here

The Swamp Rabbit Trail is just one more great initiative that's been moving Greenville towards a rejuvenated community with more focus on healthy living and active lifestyles. I must say, Greenville has come a LOOOONG way since I moved here 11 years ago and the downtown area was like a ghost town. If you want to check out the trail initaitive, you can read about it here. I'm not so sure about the name...

Let me just start by saying to all the race promoters out there...never underestimate the power of a $5 entry fee ($10 for late entry!). For a 3-mile race, this turned into quite the adventure. Without sounding too brash - it's days like these that I am glad to be one of the faster runners - read on. The premise of the race was to 'anoint' a newly-paved section of the trail that encompassed the Northern terminus of the trail leading out of Greenville. The venue was a small town (Travelers Rest) that is basically the doorway to the mountains in South Carolina. The race would start on a wide side road for about 200 yards and then turn abruptly onto the trail. The lead runner at that point would break through a small banner and the trail would 'officially' be 'open'.

Sounds like fun, right? It all started well. Getting to the start was a little tight for me since it was a Friday evening race and I had a pretty decent drive to get there from work. My wife Janis hitched a ride with my teammate Dan Moss' wife so that we wouldn't have 2 cars for the drive back home. The race actually started in a nice park and we had no trouble finding a parking spot. It took me about 30 seconds to register which was nice. After they handed me my number they pointed to another line and said "You get your t-shirt there". The line was quite long and to be honest, I could probably open up a 'used race t-shirt' store if I wanted to retire next week so I simply opted to pass on the shirt. If it had been something unique and stylish like a hat in the shape of a swamp rabbit, I would have thought twice...

With it being a short race, I didn't partake of any of the food, drink or festivities but it looked as though they had most of that covered. Since we both were feeling the effects of a good training week, Dan and I decided to do a pretty good warmup by running an entire loop of the course. We had both glanced at the map online and it appeared that we ran a little over a mile along the trail and then did a loop around a large cemetery and then back in adjacent to the trail. We reached the end of the trail during the warmup and there was no indication of which way to go so we started guessing. We were lucky that we both have a good sense of direction otherwise they might still be out there searching for us.

We managed to find our way back to the trail and back to the venue shortly before the start. When we made our way over to the line, I was shocked by the hoards of people. The race promoter announced that they had planned for about 700 entrants and there were 2200! Now, in case you are picturing a 4-lane wide trail allow me to squelch that optimism. The paved path was 8-10 feet wide; comfortable enough for 3, maybe four runners side-by-side.

This was a last-minute race for me. I had been feeling poorly since I came back from Duathlon Nationals but had a good couple of days leading up to this event so I decided to see if the running legs were coming back. I also decided I would try something a bit different for me - starting slower. I typically take off like a rocket and end up getting slower and slower as the race progresses. This works for me since I get a fairly good advantage early on and my degradation is slow, but I wanted to see how I would do with a more steady pace.

I was pleased that the promoter announced several times that the front row(s) should be reserved for those runners who would be running a 6:00/mile pace or better. I found a spot at the front where several people knew me and they were very polite in allowing me to start in front. My plan of starting a bit slower was good but unfortunately, I was going to have to start fast - for at least the first 200 yards - becuase I had no intentions of getting 'boxed in' on the path. Apparently, a lot of people figured this out. When the gun sounded, it was a mad dash to be the first runner onto the trail. I just wanted to be near the front. Mission accomplished.

I settled into a tempo in the first few hundred yards and resisted the temptation to 'catch up' to runners ahead of me. Dan caught and passed me about a half-mile into the race and moved about 5 or 10 yards ahead of me. Unlike other times when Dan had passed me in a race (usually further out) I wasn't maxed out and dropping back. I just kept my tempo, which seemed to be extremely close to Dan's tempo because he stayed the same distance in front of me for the next 2 miles. We gradually picked off runners and shortly before mile 2, up a hard grinding hill in the cemetery, we caught and passed the last of the runners in front of us except for the 2 leaders who had a sizeable gap.

What happened next was like something you would see in a chase scene in a movie. Right after we crested the cemetery hill, we curved downward and were suddenly just a few yards from the trail...facing about 2000 people! Dan didn't know what to do and I was just a few step behind him. He ran into the crowd for an instant and then I saw him emerge on the other side, run through the grass, across two lanes of highway traffic (that were also currently filled with runners), and into the lane-wide median. I initially followed him into the crowd on the path but I immediately envountered a group of four stretched across the path - and they had no plans to budge for me. I nearly twisted my ankle hopping off the path - running around them - then back onto the path at full pace and then sharply across the path like Dan had. I barely brushed a woman and probably would have knocked us over if I had been an inch closer.

Ahh - the median. I could now see quite a ways up the road to the two leaders who apparently opted for the same choice. Dan was alone; still about 20 yards ahead of me. I glanced back to see one runner not far behind. Everyone was playing a huge game of 'follow the leader'. As we neared the park, the people disappeared and now we had two lanes of slow moving vehicles to our left that were backed up...and we had to get back over to the trail. I trusted Dan could see what the leaders did, so when he cut through the cars and back onto the trail so did I. I was tired as we entered the park and I simply did not have a finishing push in me. The runner behind me passed me in the last hundred yards or so and I just watched him go. Dan had gained a few extra seconds on me as well at the end.

With a couple of pretty good hills and turns - and the craziness on the course - everyone's times seemed slow, which is a good reason to always judge your performance by your placing and the placings of those you compare yourself to. I was happy with my top 5 to say the least. It was another 'yo-yo' week for me but this time it 'yo'd' in my favor.

Race Notes:
* My finish time was 18:00 flat. Good enough for 5th overall.
* If you look at the results, you will see that the 40-44 age group wasn't messing around; we finished 5th, 6th, and 7th. My friend and constant competitor, Mark Render was right behind me in 6th.
* The "Every Woman" women's cycling team did a fabulous job of being course marshalls...and looked good in their team outfits.
* Everything about this event was wonderful...EXCEPT for the way the course was designed. Hopefully, they will work out some of the kinks in the future.
* This one's for my friend, Eric LaFontaine who avoided being 'chicked' right at the finish line. What, you didn't think I'd see the photos?...
* Dan and I were on our bikes early the next morning for an epic 85-mile ride. Ouch?

Next up: Clemson Sprint Tri