Race Report: 2008 Greeley Triathlon

The first triathlon of 2008 is in the books and I finished within 1 minute of my overall time goal, so I consider my goals met and the race a success. The day started early at my house, up at 5 am for a shower and breakfast to leave the house by 5:30 am for the 40 minute drive to Greeley. This year we all left at the same time, rather than drive separately, just put the kids into the van in their pajamas and we were off. The weather today was chilly, overcast and sprinkling. I'm 3 for 3 on miserable race conditions this year, hopefully this will be the last crummy race day of 2008! We arrived around 6:20, plenty of time to get the Family Fan Club stuff setup and get my transition area prepared. While I was taking care of pre-race activities, I thought of another t-shirt design, which I'll reveal in the next couple of weeks.










I jumped in the pool for a quick 100 meters, felt good and fast. The negative to that approach was that it was cold, so I just stayed in the pool for the next 25 minutes until it was my turn. The thing I like about the Greeley Triathlon is that it's a pool swim, where everyone submits their expected times, everyone is ranked based their submissions and we snake across the pool. As long as everyone submits reasonable estimates, it works really well. This year I passed two people and got passed by one, so the people in my number range did a good job of estimating their times. The swim started strong for me, but around 250 meters I started to get really tired. I've been battling allergies the last two weeks, which I think attributed to the lack of endurance, but I still finished better than last year in the pool. The nice thing this year was that Kim, Connor and Griffin were on the pool deck cheering me on, so I could see them cheering when I was swimming south in the pool. (I've been working on bi-lateral breathing, but when push comes to shove, I only breath on the right)

After the swim, I quickly transitioned to my bike and I was off. It was a bit cold on the bike, but not to bad to start. I was feeling good, loving the aero bars position, but cautious with the slick roads. I got passed by the top 5 or 6 competitors, but otherwise held my position. By the end of the bike my feet and thighs were pretty cold.

After the bike, I transitioned to the run with heavy cold legs, but I felt good. I kept a consistent pace with no walking, running mile to mile. Having done the race last year, I was surprised that the run course had changed slightly, a good reminder to check the course before the race! Compared with last year, the change made the run a bit harder, over rolling hills, which makes my 5k PR time all the more satisfying. I'm looking forward to the next 5k to see what I can do when I only have to run!

Overall, I finished in 1:21 with a 9 minute swim, 39 minute bike and 29 minute run, all PRs collectively and individually. I didn't make the top 3 in the Clydesdale category, 3rd place was 1:18, which will be very reachable NEXT year. Back to this year, I cut 16 minutes off my 2007 time, which is pretty significant for a Sprint race (500 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run).

The organizers do a great job, it's run by triathletes, so they know what needs to be done on race day. I'll definitely be back next year as long as it doesn't conflict with the Steamboat Springs Half-Marathon. The organizers also invited Family Fan Club to return, which we're definitely excited about.













Next race: 5430 Sprint @ Boulder Resevoir on June 15th.

Greely Triathlon Expo

The 2008 Greeley Triathlon expo and packet pickup went great! We had triathletes, friends and family buzzing around the Family Fan Club tent. Based on today's activity, triathlete support and Family Fan Club will be well represented on race day.

2008 Triathlon season starts tomorrow

The 2008 Triathlon season officially starts for me tomorrow at the Greeley Triathlon. This is where it all started for me and Family Fan Club last year, where I did my first triathlon and Family Fan Club was born. I've been looking forward to the 2008 Greeley Triathlon pretty much from the day after the 2007 Triathlon. 2007 was fun, but I felt I could have done a lot better. Last year I finished in 1:37 with a 00:09:20 swim, 00:45+ bike and 00:37+ run/walk. My goals this year are:

* 1:20 or under
* Under 9 minute swim
* Under 40 minute bike
* Under 30 minute run
* Top 3 in Clydesdale division

Those are some lofty goals, particularly the last one, which in the scheme of things would be icing on the cake. I don't need to be top 3, but it would be nice! My training has been going pretty well. The simulated triathlons that I've done this year suggest that I will be right around 1:20. I think it will take 1:17 to be top 3, so not really counting on that.

In addition to the race, Family Fan Club will also have a booth at the Expo / packet pickup and on race day.

Summer Open Sprint Triathlon - Expo

We had a great time at Colorado Multisport, meeting and introducing FamilyFanClub to over 100 people. The romper and t-shirts definitely created a buzz at packet pick-up.

We also made a great connection with Todd Lowe from the Greeley Triathlon team and subsequently FamilyFanClub will be at the Greeley Triathlon expo and race day on June 7th and 8th. If you're doing the Greeley Triathlon, please stop by and say hello!

Longmont Triathlon - Race Simulation

Longmont recreation has been doing a series of Triathlon clinics to build interest for the 2008 Longmont Triathlon, particularly newbies like me, culminating this past weekend with a race simulation. Unfortunately I'll be out of town during the race supporting Kim at the Steamboat Half Marathon, but I figured I could use the practice. My goals were to go as fast as possible in the swim & bike and run the entire 5k.

The swim is a pool swim, great for anyone with nerves surrounding the swim. I completed 525 yards in 8:30, right on time with my Greeley estimate. Greeley race day I expect to be around 8 minutes.

The bike is a 4 mile loop course, which we did 2x in the interest of time. I had some nagging pain in my lower back, so didn't exactly tear it up like I had hoped.

The run was good. Luckily the nagging back pain is a bike only pain, as I felt good. I ran 95% of the way in 31 minutes, which I'm really psyched about, as that is my PR for "just" a 5k.

All in all it was a good day of swim, bike and run. With another month of preparation I think I'm right on schedule for 1:20 at the Greeley Triathlon.

I'm off to the chiropractor this week (Wednesday) and bike fit (Friday). Hopefully between those two activities, I can find and eliminate/reduce the back pain.

Why do I tri - Part 2

Picking up where we left off with Part I, I completed my first triathlon on June 10th 2008. I arrived early and picked out my spot in the transition area. I staged the transition area with my triathlon gear exactly has I had mentally prepared, laying out each item as I expected to use it. I was a bit nervous, but excited nervous. I took a quick dip in the pool to warm up, as Greeley is a 500 m pool swim. The Greeley Triathlon pool swim is a snake, where you start on one side of the pool and swim up and down the lanes until you get to the other side, completing 500 m in a 50 m pool. Seeding is important and I wondered if the time I submitted was accurate. I used to be able to cover 500 yards in about 5:20, but that was almost 20 years ago. I submitted a time of 10 minutes, hoping to go faster, but at the same time not embarrassing myself.

I waited and watched 105 competitors go and finally it was my turn. I can't recall being so pumped for competition, probably back to high school. I took off feeling fresh and strong. By the end of the first length, I was ready to pass the first swimmer. I passed about 10 other people on route to a 9:20 swim, which I was really excited about. I hopped out of the pool and headed for the transition area. I quickly toweled off and prepared for the bike, just as I had mentally envisioned. In fact, I felt like I had a lot of time in transition. I came out of T1 in about 1:30.

Since this was my first triathlon, I rode my 8 year old Specialized Rock Hopper Mtn Bike, big fat tires, panniers and all. Like Slow Fat Triathlete recommended, no need to run out and buy a road bike or triathlon bike. I completed the two lap course in approximately 45 minutes. I was gassed and getting passed, but I still had a great time. I was encouraged and cheered by my family, in particular my two boys dressed as pirates. Arrrrr!!

As I entered the transition area, my legs were weary and tired. I quickly transitioned from biking to running in about 1:30. I came out of the transition area strong, but I was gassed. I was just hoping to make it past the wave of spectators, at which point I'd take a breather and walk / run. I continued to walk / run and finished the 5k in about 37 mins for a total time of 1:30 minutes.

In hindsight, Greeley was the perfect 1st triathlon. It was small (200+) and an excellent introduction to the fun and friendly triathlon community. We made several new friends, just sharing in the spirit of the day. I also liked that I got a number of door prizes including Road ID braclet, Tifosi sunglasses and a bunch of snacks.

I drove back home with my first triathlon in the books replaying the day already identifying areas for improvement. It took 17 years to get here, but I did it and now I'm hooked! I challenged one of my college buddies and we competed in the Sodus Point Sprint Triathlon in Sodus Point, NY.

June 10th also marked the birth of Family Fan Club. More on that in another post.

Why do I tri - Part 1

I recall watching my first Ironman back in the early '80's on Wide World of Sports. I was around 10 and distinctly recall asking my Dad if he'd ever want to do that. His response was something along the lines of "Heck no". It looked grueling, but as NBC does today, Wide World of Sport told a compelling and interesting story.

My first in person experience with triathlons was as a volunteer supporting a triathlon at Sea World in 1990. I don't recall the name, distance or who won, but I recall saying that someday I would do a triathlon.

Flash forward to 2007, 17 years later. I hadn't forgotten about triathlons, but I wasn't making any active progress towards actually doing one. I'd followed the sport on Wide World of Sports and NBC, I knew who the big names were Dave Scott, Scott Tinsley, Mark Allen, but it never really occurred to me that this event was for regular people like me. The biggest deterrent was the run. I really do not like running. Probably has something to do with not being good at it, it hurts and in general, why run when you can walk? Two contributing factors led me back to thinking about triathlons:

1. I'm not getting any younger, my waistline is expanding and I've got a family that I want to stay healthy for.
2. We moved to a new house on a cul de sac where everyone is running, cycling and doing triathlons. Healthy lifestyle is a way of life on my street!
   

I started again to think about triathlons and the impression it left 17 years earlier, that maybe I could do this. I joined our local recreation center in March of 2007. I started attending Boot Camp class 1x per week weighing in at 240 lbs on a 6' frame, not exactly in shape. For two months or so, it took a full week of recovery. Gradually I built up my endurance to attend twice a week, usually sore between classes. I ran my first 5k at the end of April and although I had to walk more than I wanted, I did well enough to keep the dream alive of completing a triathlon.

I looked online and asked friends for recommendations and finally settled on the Greeley Sprint Triathlon, which was scheduled for June 10th. While I was hemming and hawing about signing up, my neighbor encouraged me to just do it and tell all of your friends and family, then you're committed, so I did. Immediately I started to wonder what I had gotten myself into and doubts creept in and out of my mind. The one thing that really helped me was a book called Slow Fat Triathlete: Live Your Athletic Dreams in the Body You Have Now by Jayne Williams. Great book for beginner triathletes, that you don't have to be Dave Scott or Scott Tinsley or in great shape, basically, just do it. Jayne also let me know that I didn't need all new equipment or a road bike or any of the other fancy nice to haves, just the basics. I trained 6 to 8 hours a week, running, cycling, swimming and boot camp cardio classes for the big day.

To be continued...