The Return of Chesapeakeman

Holly and I are doing the Chesapeakeman iron-distance aqua velo on Saturday, in training for Beach 2 Battleship iron-distance triathlon in November. (Swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles.) Weather forecast (*knock on wood, obeisance to the Tri Gods*) looks near-perfect: Cloudy. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the low 60s.

I just cleaned up my bike Buttercup, checked her all out (yes, the new red tires look fine), took off the behind-the-seat chandelier bottle holder for race day, and restocked the under-seat-pack. She looks ready to rumble.

Predictions? I haven't done a huge amount of swimming this year, but instead of an extra-long mid-river point-to-point, it's a 2-lap course in a shallow protected cove this time around. Shouldn't be too bad.

Of course I'd like to beat my 2006 times:
SWIM 2.4 miles: 1:52:11 (2:39/100 yards) (8/11 women)
SWIM TO BIKE TRANSITION: 11:51 (10/11 women)
BIKE 112 miles: 6:58:50 (16.0 mph average)(8/11 women)
FINISH: 9:02:51 (10/11 women)

Let's say for 2009 goals:
SWIM 2.4 miles: 1:45:00 (my typical pool pace would give me about 1:48 for 2.4 miles)
SWIM TO BIKE TRANSITION: 10:00 (try not to collapse in a chair and start chatting this time) BIKE 112 miles: 6:48:00 (16.5 mph average)
FINISH: 8:43:00

Not sure I can do that, I've been slow lately! Race day will tell the story!

I've got a few friends doing the full - the plan is to slap on my running shoes and go out on the run course after I finish to the first mile marker and back just to test my legs and warm down and see if I can spot them.

Any last-minute recommendations for me?

Final touches

Doing the final touches for my Snow White costume for the Disney Princess half marathon. I sewed the bow that came with the Snow White costume on my red stretch headband (instead of leaving it on the stringy ribbon it came with). If it gives me a headache it's probably coming off during the race.

Hmm, maybe I should see about getting another haircut before race day. It's looking pretty shaggy right now! And no, I'm not going to attempt to temporarily dye it black just for the race! I don't want fake black dye streaming down my neck!

Here's how the pros do it. I'll bet my version will be a lot more comfortable to run in than that stiffly glued wig version! And I think I'll have to skip the heavy eye makeup for the race, though I might be able to pull off some lip color.

Update: OMFG. I just discovered that there's a Flickr group devoted exclusively to Disney's Snow White. With 904 photos and 112 members (now, including me). I never would have guessed. Go and indulge in some seriously hardcore Show White.

And I just picked her because she wore short sleeves.

Update 2: I set up a Flickr group for sharing photos from the Disney Princess Half Marathon weekend at http://www.flickr.com/groups/princesshalf/ - if you will attend, please join and share your photos with us!

Princess forecast

Orlando forecast for next weekend: lows 54-56*F, highs 78-81*F.

Lovely for spectators! Death for cold-acclimated runners running in hot costumes!

I got in a fairly comfortable 4-mile run today on a miserable icy drizzly day, but I was happy to remain within a short jog of the construction-site portapotties within my own neighborhood. Looking forward to next weekend, heat stroke or no!

New sport

I'm starting in my first official cycling individual time trial tomorrow morning. 40 km (24.85 miles).

I'm nervous!

Any last-minute advice for me??

I know I need to wear a jersey with sleeves.

Anything else I'm forgetting? I'm worried I'm going to unknowingly violate some arcane rule. Plus it will be my first standing start.

This is the same course on which I'll be riding the Maryland State Senior Individual Time Trials later this summer, to hopefully qualify for the 2009 National Senior Games, so this is really just my first practice ride to preview the course.

I'll get a good warmup and cooldown, since the start is 5 miles from the parking area. My only other plan is to go hard to the turnaround, then go harder.

Goals? I'd just like to get the experience, not screw up too much, not crash, and maybe if I'm lucky break 18 mph.

Heart rate and heat

This is a nice 4-mile jog around the neighborhood on a 78*F day. The blue part is pace, the red line is heart rate. Notice how the heart rate keeps climbing steadily up and up and up, moving up from 150s to nearly 170?

That's really BAD news on a hot day. Because on very hot humid days, my body starts accumulating heat and even at a nice steady modest jogging pace, the heart rate continues to climb up beyond what I can maintain. So I bonk and have to walk.

These are my past times to beat on Sunday - race day - at Eagleman. If I improve or hit close on all of them I have a chance of finally going sub-7 hours.

Swim (2007) 48:50
Bike (2007) 3:24:55
Run (2006) 2:42:02

However, the Race Gods may have other plans. Intellicast is calling for a high of 87 degrees and partly cloudy, the same as does weather.com. Which, combined with ultra-high humidity (surrounded by open water on three sides and an ocean not too far away in the fourth direction), baking sun, radiant asphalt, and no shade -- spells a melt-down for many people (such as myself) on the run course.

Accuweather, however, is calling for 84 degrees and mostly cloudy. I sure hope they're right. *fingers crossed*

In any event, you can be sure I'll be keeping a close eye on my heart rate meter any time I race in hot, humid, tough conditions. I have no intention to push myself into heat stroke if I can help it - not even for a sub-7. I'm doing this for fun and health, and have no desire to wind up in an ambulance (the antithesis of health!).

---

Update: Uh oh, now the forecasts are a couple of degrees higher. MUST. STOP. LOOKING.

Eagleman final preparations

Eagleman half ironman is one week from today. It will be the fourth time I tackle that course.

I had optimistically planned a tough two weeks of training immediately after Columbia two weeks ago. When I made that ambitious plan I had forgotten about all the end-of-school activities, field trips, art show, twin birthday, doctor visits, etc., that would interfere. That's life!!

So here's what I actually got done:

Swimming: 5000 yards planned, 2600 yards done
Cycling: 175 miles planned, 120 miles done
Running: 34 miles planned, 24 miles done

I still have 6 days to get in some easy taper workouts - which will probably bring up the running total 10 more miles to the goal, but I'll probably only get perhaps another 800-1500 yards of swimming and 10-25 miles of cycling done this coming week. That will have to do!

I am very encouraged by today's ride: 56.3 miles at a reasonably comfortable pace (heart rate average about 5-10 bpm below my planned racing heart rate) on a hot, humid morning that ended up equaling last year's Eagleman pace (16.4 mph). I'll be pleased if I can replicate that on race day - but especially pleased if I can follow it up with an actual half marathon run instead of a nine mile run and a four mile bonk. If I can skip the bonk part, I should be able to (finally) break 7 hours - but that's still a big IF since I've lost so much training time this spring.

I still need to give Buttercup a good pre-race cleaning and swap out her climbing cassette for the flatlands cassette. I'd like to try the new wheel cover but I may not have time to put it on and test it before race day, and I don't want to race on it without fully testing it first. But the extra bit of gearing will help - if I have a lovely tailwind on race day next Sunday I want to make full use of it!

Marathon finishing times

I'm looking ahead and tapering hard for Marine Corps Marathon next Sunday. (Forecast continues to look slightly on the hot side, sunny and dry, low 47*F, high 68*F).

The median time for US marathon finishes is, as of 2005:
Men: 4:32
Women: 5:06
According to:
http://www.marathonguide.com/features/Articles/2005RecapOverview.cfm
So fully half of all 382,000 US marathon finishes are slower than those times.

Sometimes I get the impression that faster runners have a very distorted idea of the pace and finishing times of the typical runner. (See many discussions rebuking slower runners for "poor pacing" or "lack of fitness" or "disrespecting the distance" in this year's Chicago Marathon, for example.)

I looked up the median time for finishers in my age group (50-54) on this course last year (2006) and it was 5:19.

So I have a huge set of tiered finishing goals for the 2007 Marine Corps Marathon, my 10th marathon:

1. Dream Goal: Any chip time beginning with a "4" (under 11:27 min/mile pace)
2. Under 5:06:00 (faster than the average USA female marathon) (under 11:40 min/mile pace)
3. Under 5:19:00 (faster than the average finisher in my age group on the MCM course last year) (under 12:10 min/mile pace)
4. Under 5:51:34 (PR - faster than my fastest previous marathon, Richmond in 2004) (under 13:25 min/mile pace)
5. Beat my previous 2001 Marine Corps Marathon time (~6:17)
6. Upright and smiling

If you would like to track my race position online next Sunday, the race goes off at 8:00 AM EDT and runner tracking is available here.

My MCM mantra: The race starts on the 14th Street Bridge. And oh yeah, BELIEVE!

Only a ten-miler today

Heh. Heh. I said "only" and "ten-miler" in the same sentence.

I'm heading out in a few minutes for my last longer run before Marine Corps Marathon.

I'll probably have to return home going past the Bush entourage on his visit here today. Hopefully they won't scream through our little town with sirens blaring and lights flashing and block the entire street - that's just tacky, calling attention to yourself that way.

Updates later. . . .

---

The helicopters kept zooming overhead while I was running, in advance of the presidential visit. When I finished up and headed back through town to go home there were numerous state, county, and local cops hanging around along with plentiful and obvious Secret Service. Before 9 o'clock in the morning. I can't imagine how expensive a little trip across the Bay was, nor why he can't sit in the traffic at the toll plaza like everyone else. . . .

I don't take great photos while simultaneously driving, but here's one in front of the Inn at Perry Cabin with the ominous black Suburbans all lined up toward the rear:

Here's an AP photo of him today in front of the lighthouse at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, about a half mile from my house:

Meanwhile, I had cleaned up and we escaped the traffic tangle in town on the ferry to the next peninsula and enjoyed the beautiful autumn afternoon next to the Tred Avon River in the quaint little town of Oxford, Maryland. Appropriately, the girls wore their "Little Oxford" shirts that grandpa brought back from England.

Marine Corps Marathon weather

In keeping with my usual obsession with the weather at long events, I've been checking out forecasts leading up to Marine Corps Marathon in two weeks.

The long-term forecast isn't out for race day yet, but it's still looking pretty warm for at least the next 10 days: http://www.intellicast.com/Local/Forecast.aspx?location=USDC0001
70*F to 82*F for the highs, lows only down to 50-53*F.

Here's the climatological data on race day, just in case you were wondering - yeah, if it's full sun and no wind and 65 degrees, that can feel pretty darned hot on those 4-lane concrete roads when you're trying to run:
Day: 28 Oct
Record High 83°F
Record Low 25°F
Normal High 65°F
Normal Low 40°F
Mean 52°F
Normal Precip 0.11in
Normal Snowfall 0in

I'm betting on a warm race day. I'm going minimalist again - my standard shorts and my sleeveless jersey that I wore for a couple other PRs this year. I'll wear a throwaway long-sleeve tshirt to the start, and then run with as little as I can after that. If I get cold, I'm not running hard enough. :-) I'll also have to wear a waist-pack too to hold all my tons of Clif Bloks (26-30, 1 per mile plus a few extra) and salt caps (~20 if I use Endurolytes) and my phone. I might leave a jacket and my phone with baggage check, though.

I do like several of the MCM clothing items that are being sold this year - I might spend a little money at the expo!! http://www.brooksrunning.com/cat.php?k=70546

Preparing for the Annapolis Triathlon

Went over and checked in today at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for the Annapolis Triathlon tomorrow. T2 and the finish line will be at the stadium.

I'll be wanting some jet engines tomorrow. . . .

One of the nicer approaches (below) to the finish line of a triathlon! You can see the fences getting set up for the finish line at the 50-yard line. (Um, aren't victorious touchdowns at the end line? Why the 50-yard line?) I'm not sure I will like being on the Jumbotron (hey, I'm Jumbo enough as it is!), but if I fly in there under 3:30 I'm going to airplane it in all the way to the finish. Unless it's too close on the clock to mess around playing airplane.

T1 will be downtown, directly behind the biggest boat in the center of the photo below, along Ego Alley.

I'm not sure exactly where we will be entering and exiting the water, but it will be somewhere along these docks (below).

Buttercup in her place and all ready to fly tomorrow!

Annapolis is a charming city - a beautiful race venue - and it was a lovely day for a stroll around town. Both the tourists and the plebes were taking advantage of the fine weather. I won't be noticing much of the scenery tomorrow!

---

Update: It's 8:33 PM, both my girls are sick (one threw up today, the other has a fever) and I have a stomach ache. WTF!? I sure hope it's gone when I have to drag myself out of bed tomorrow morning at 3AM.

Ready or not

I have the inaugural Annapolis Triathlon on Sunday. It has all the potential for being a fantastic race venue, but I'm still a bit concerned.

Swimming - I did a short swim today including one 500-yard set in 10:38 with a pull buoy, which I think may be a pull buoy PB. Cool! I'm very concerned about the sea nettles since it may not be a wetsuit race, though. They're thick this time of year. I have the anti-sea-nettle lotion ready. I'm also considering wearing running tights and some kind of long-sleeved top (or even pantyhose on my arms) during the swim if wetsuits aren't allowed. They may slow me down a bit, but not having to be distracted by sea nettle stings will balance that out.

Setup - it's a 2-transition race and they're not allowing cars down by the docks, so we have to ride our bikes there to set up in T1 from the football stadium (T2) tomorrow. Normally I'd never consider riding my bike through downtown Annapolis since it's so crowded and congested and the streets are narrow. This sounds like an adventure unto itself.

Hills - I've run the hills in Annapolis many times before and it's always been ugly.

The Bike - the shop is inspecting my bike today and they called to say that the chain ring was installed incorrectly. WTF!?? I didn't like the service that I got at that other bike shop when it was there, and now I found out months and months later that they did something ELSE wrong? Bah! I'll pick it up tomorrow and hope it gets through the race okay. . . .

Weather - it's looking pretty good! ~72*F in the morning, high humidity as always, chance of showers and high of 85*F in the after noon. It may be a hot run, but that's to be expected.

Now to think about packing up all my stuff. . . .

---

Update: Woot! I just took a second look at the course maps and they've re-drawn the run course! They have taken out the wicked hills over the Severn River bridge and up and down the riverbank on the north side. That's good news for me - those are nasty inclines that always reduce me to a trudging demoralized wreck! I may actually have a good chance of RUNNING the run on this new course! (Of course everyone else will too - I guess I have to count on my familiarity with jellyfish as my only advantage tomorrow!)

Back from Eagleman check-in

The wind was howling and screaming, but everything else is looking great for tomorrow!

Saw our accident victim Dave on the way there - he's looking pretty good despite some swelling remaining in his knee, but aside from some stiffness that will take a while to work out, I'm quite hopeful that he will make it to his Ironman finish line in two weeks!! I left him my bike trainer to use as soon as the knee permits.

In Cambridge I saw Chip, Chuck, Michele (who is going to race a demo bike tomorrow! Is that crazy, or what!!), Sandy, had the pleasure of meeting Triathlonmom (who I think is in my wave, see you tomorrow!) and I think I saw Carrie (whose husband Jude is doing the 4.4-mile Bay Swim tomorrow) riding a bike through town sporting the CMS colors. Talked to Holly who was still on her way driving there. It sure makes it more fun, knowing more people there in my third consecutive year doing the race.

The transition is all different this year, I'm not qute sure where I'll be going, but since I'm starting in the next-to-last wave I'll be one of the last ones going through both T1 and T2 I can just follow along behind the others. If anyone is in sight, that is!!

The water was SUPER-warm. Perfect temperature. I'm debating between the long sleeves or the sleeveless wetsuit, but I think I'll err on the side of extra flotation.

GOOD LUCK tomorrow, everyone!! And thank you, volunteers!!

Race-day forecast still looks excellent - 68*F to 71*F and 6-7 mph winds during the race. BELIEVE!!

Are you superstitious?

Are you superstitious? Do you have any bizarre pre-race rituals?

I just clean my bike. You have to respect the bike. A clean bike is a happy bike. A happy bike is a fast bike.


And oh yeah, I usually freshly color my hair. Because, as we all know, red is fast. (Brown and gray is not fast.) And I really don't want to look like I belong 2 or 3 age groups above where I am, thankyouverymuch.

Ten days until Columbia Triathlon

It's coming up fast! My third attempt to survive the Columbia Triathlon Olympic-distance course. It's going to be hilly and it's going to be tough. Am I ready? Let's do an inventory:

1. My back is still cranky and painful and hurts when I roll over in bed. No telling how it's going to act on those dreaded hills. I have a hunch it's not going to be happy.
2. I haven't had an open water swim since Ironman Florida last November. I've swum once per week, if that, this year.
3. My longest bike rides this year have been under 36 miles. Slowly. The last of those being last February. 99.99% on completely flat ground.
4. My running has been going well, but I have to complete Leg One and Leg Two in order to get to start the run. Hopefully without becoming exhausted!

So we have Situation Normal - I'm woefully unprepared. It wouldn't be a triathlon if I didn't show up undertrained, right!??

Bring it on! If I improve my time on the course, that's all to the good. If I'm slower, well, that just gives me a benchmark to improve on in the two other Olympic-distance triathlons that I have scheduled later this year (at Annapolis and Walt Disney World).

I just won't be placing any bets on my performance, that's all. I might end up like these guys.

This coming weekend my training buddies are preparing for their Ironman Coeur d'Alene by heading up to Lake Placid to ride and run some hills, so I'm left to my own devices. Wish I could go too, but instead it's going to be my last long solo training sessions before race day. I'll run today a few miles to see how the back feels (keep your fingers crossed!), swim tomorrow, then do a longer ride and a longer run over the weekend. And then start getting Buttercup cleaned up for her first event of the year!