St. Timothy's Spring Sprint - Race Report

Yesterday was the St. Timothy's Spring Sprint - a friendly local charity event held at St. Timothy's School in Raleigh.  The Puppeteer suggested I find a local 5k event to do as a "C" event and this one fit the bill.  It was also a fun opportunity to run with the family (She Who Must Be Obeyed and the kids did the one mile fun run) and to spend some time with The Snitch and her family and some other locals.

Thankfully start time for this one was pretty civilized (9:00 am for the mile and 9:30 am for the 5k) and it's not too far from home, so no ridiculously early alarm calls were required for this one!  SWMBO had already picked up the shirts and race numbers, but I still had to collect my timing chip, so we were still relatively early arrivals.  We soon ran into The Snitch and Family and the kids soon found their friends, so we were able to spend some time relaxing and stretching before things got busy.

With the lovely SWMBO (she's scarier than she looks!) :-)

Mr. and Mrs. Snitch

The Crazy Gang



 For a small race the organisation was excellent.  Packet pick-up and timing chips were in the gym; there was a nice vendor area set-up in the school courtyard; a very professional looking finishing corral, complete with balloon arch and, importantly, an excellent public address system.

I went for a mile jog on Six Forks road to warm-up and didn't feel particularly special, but finally started to "feel it" a bit more after some short sprints and warm-up exercises.    Soon enough the milers were called to the start.  The Snitch was running for time, so she headed to the front while the other ladies in our party who were running for fun held back a bit.  It was an out and back course so I stayed at the start line to watch everyone go past on the way back to the finish.   The Snitch soon came back into view running strongly for third overall and first lady.

Go Snitch Go!

The other ladies all appeared in good time with smiles on their faces....

At least someone in tha family has good form!

Once the milers were all over the line and tucking into more breakfast the 5k racers were called to the start.  The race is part of the Second Empire series, so there were some serious runners as well as wannabes like me and many casual runners and walkers.   The course has the reputation of being the toughest in the series because it's unusually hilly for a 5k (I guess they don't call that area North Hills for nothing!).  The course is an out and back - here's the elevation profile for the way out....

The start was downhill, so I held back slightly to let the fast guys and some of the more enthusiastic kids take off, but soon found a nice rhythm and focused on high stride turnover rate, especially on the uphill sections, and "light feet".  Things went pretty well - the hills made things interesting but I kept things well controlled on the way out knowing that there were a couple of good hills still to deal with at the finish.  I made one mistake, which was to take a cup of water from one of the scout troops manning the water station.  I didn't need it (it's only 5k after all!) but stupidly took it and managed to get some "go down the wrong way" and had a bit of a coughing fit which gained me some strange looks from fellow competitors and probably cost me a few seconds.

I was soon heading to the finish and dealing with the final hill....

Not pretty, but putting in some effort on the final hill.

I crossed the line in a time of 24 mins 27 seconds, which I was reasonably pleased with given the nature of the course.   Splits for the first three miles were:  7:37, 8:31, 8:22 and overall average pace was 8:10.  I would guesstimate that the hills cost everyone a minute or so, so I'm going to declare victory and call it a pretty reasonable effort!

Overall a nice event and very well organised.

The Team......

So several people (presumably those disinclined to go back and read some of my earlier rants and raves!) have asked me to explain who some of the characters who appear in this blog are.

I'm lucky enough to have a great support team.  Here's a quick recap of the Dramatis personae:

She Who Must Be Obeyed (SWMBO):   My lovely wife who puts up with my foibles and (in general) encorages my participation in Planet Triathlon.

The Puppeteer:   Should really read "The Evil Puppeteer".  My coach, Stacey.  Professional triathlete and fountain of knowledge.  She seems to control my life via her computer and a program called Training Peaks which delivers a never ending stream of workouts and instructions.

The Snitch:  Our friend Lisa who also works with The Puppeteer - it's all he fault for the introduction.  The Snitch is a great cheerleader; a talented triathlete and occasionally rats me out to The Puppeteer if I misbehave.

The Beast:  Holly the masseuse.   The purveyor of deep tissue massage and evil incarnate (she actually loves her nickname because in real life she's pettite, demure, charming and looks as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth!)

The Peddlar:  Matt - the "Cary Cycle Surgeon".   Bike whizz and all round good guy. 

Thanks to every one of them for their support!

So there you go.   Now please try to keep up!  :-)

American Tobacco Trail Half Marathon - Race Report

Sunday March 20th.

The day started early with a rude alarm call at 4:05 am.  I had gone to bed early but, as seems to be usual before a race, had tossed and turned a bit through the night and woke up numerous times to check the clock.  It's the same when I have an early alarm set because of an early flight - some "worry center" deep in your brain seems to prevent you from reaching REM and getting some really good shut eye.

I had picked up my race number (2947) at the race expo. on Friday afternoon and soon had it pinned to my fluorescent green running shirt.  I managed to remember to apply some Body Glide and was soon dressed and eating breakfast.   I had strict instructions from The Puppeteer not to take any solid food within 1.5 to 2 hours of the race start (scheduled for 7:00 am - more on that later) so I needed to eat early.  Breakfast comprised of:   one bagel with cream cheese; one banana; one bottle Ensure; one cup of freshly brewed coffee - aaaaah!   The plan was then to have a GU gel about 20 mins before the start and to sip water pretty much continuously between breakfast and the start - this all seemed to work well.

The Snitch had (very wisely as it happened) purchased a parking pass that allowed her to park near the start, so I had arranged to meet her along with her good looking cheering section (husband and daughter) at their house at 5:15 am to share a ride so that I didn't have to deal with the off-site parking and a shuttle bus to the start.   Last year the transportation logistics were apparently a mess and this year it seemed to be worse!

I was a couple of minutes late arriving at The Snitch's house as I blew past their exit listening to NPR's coverage of world events, but I turned around and still got there in plenty of time - it was still dark when we arrived at our designated parking area at Brook's Park.  After spending a few minutes in the car watching all of the fit looking people arriving, The Snitch and I said goodbye to the cheering section and walked the half mile or so to the start area.  It was cool, but nothing like as chilly as the Outer Banks Half Marathon was back in November, and the forecast was for temps. in the 50s for most of the race - just about perfect!

The staging area was the usual mess of tents, tables, flags, porta-potties and lots and lots of people milling around.  We found a grassy area and did our prescribed stretches before jogging around a parking lot and doing a few sprints to warm-up.

At about 6:40 am the half marathoners were called to the starting corral (the full marathoners were scheduled to start 15 minutes behind us).  I quickly ran into my friend Dan Phillips and chatted for a while before wishing The Snitch good luck (she's much faster than me) and heading further back in the corral to find a spot close to the "2:00" pace runners who were wearing bright yellow shirts and carrying yellow balloons.

This is where race organisation started to fall apart a little!   Apparently they were having huge traffic and logistical problems at the parking area and there were still many people waiting for the shuttle even as we were already lined-up and ready to start!   To make things worse, the public address system was awful, so those of us further back had absolutely no idea what was going on.  7:00 am came and went....   7:15 came and went....   we could hear the busses on the other side of a hedge and see harried runners rushing to their preferred start position, so we worked out what was going on, but it was frustrating.  Soon there were a wide assortment of people of both sexes, who I'm sure are usually modest folks, jumping out of line to pee in the bushes - quite a spectacle!   The 30 minute wait for the start gun was pretty annoying and at one point a chant of "start this race! start this race!" went up from the disgruntled masses!   The only good thing was that I found myself next to my friend Chantal, so we were able to enjoy some friendly banter while we were waiting.

Finally, long after the scheduled time, the gun went off and we were underway!

My previously fastest half marathon time (of the two that I have done recently!) was 2:05 and some seconds.  After chatting with the Puppeteer I decided that breaking two hours may be possible and that this would be my goal, so my plan was to stay with the 2:00 pace group for the first few miles and then take it from there.   The first mile was the usual consfused mess as we ran through Brooks Park and there was a lot less room available "side to side" than in the Outer Banks Half.   Why, oh why, do people who are running slowly (and by that, I mean even slower than me!) feel the need to line up near the front?

Eventually we got out on to the real road and were able to start looking for a rhythm.  I felt pretty good and stayed with the pace group, as planned for the first couple of miles.  Without really trying I found myself running with a group of people slightly in front of the pace group somewhere around mile three.   I checked over my shoulder a few times and felt good about seeing those yellow balloons continously about 100 yards behind.  As we turned onto the American Tobacco Trail itself (http://www.triangletrails.org/ATT.HTM) I was feeling comfortable and moving pretty well.  I had a GU gel (with caffeine) at around mile 4.5 and took a little water at most water stations.

The course took us north on the trail to a turn around point at somewhere around mile 8.  I was concerned that the trail might be a bit "tight" with runners going in both directions, but for the most part it was fine.  On my way to the turn I didn't see The Snitch going in the other direction, but was happy to see both Dan and Chantal running well.  I also saw my friend Nas absolutely bombing it - she ultimately finished with a personal best of somewhere around 1:36 - that's freakin' fast!

Here are my splits for the first 9 miles (Avg. Moving Time):

9:09   8:36   8:46   9:16   9:03   8:44   8:51   9:18   8:59

Required split for a sub 2:00 time is somewhere around 9:09, so at this point I was feeling pretty good.  Then came......  the grade!......

I was aware that I had been running on a slight downhill gradient for a while, but it wasn't until a little after the turn that I started to realise for how long.   Going in the other direction on legs that were starting to tire was noticably tougher.  This is by no means a steep gardient, but it was long and steady (2 miles plus) and, in the end, it was this that dashed my hopes of a sub 2:00 time.   My splits for miles 10, 11 and 12 were:

9:26   9:34   9:46.......   a significant drop-off

By the time we turned off the trail and back onto paved road those darned yellow balloons were right behind me and soon sailed past.  I tried a bit of a kick to keep up, but my legs just didn't have it.  Then, frustratingly, they stayed in eye shot for the rest of the race as my final two splits were:

9:46   9:14

As I neared the finish I was feeling pretty tired but was happy to hear the cow bell and "quacker" being enthusiastically employed by the support team and to see The Snitch with them, having already finished in a great sub 1:45 time!   Soon I was passing the line with a final time of 2:02:10.

While this was a new personal best (at least in recent years!) I have to admit that I was a little disappointed not to have been able to push to keep up with those bloody yellow balloons!  Now I keep asking myself - was it my legs or was it mental toughness?  I'm not sure if I know the answer, but I can say with complete certainty that I gave it a good shot and my legs are still a little sore two days later!

I soon met-up with The Snitch and family and got to meet Martha, who is another one of The Puppeteer's "victims".  I was pleased to hear that both The Snitch and Dan achieved their target of going sub 1:45 and especially proud of Chantal for going sub 2:00 for the first time - way to go!   :-)

Close but no cigar for me.   No more halfs scheduled for this year (unless you count the last leg of the Beach-to-Battleship Half Ironman distance race in October) but I will break that 2:00 barrier soon!

Happy finishers:  The Snitch; yours truly; Martha

I wasn't going to get lost in that shirt!

Fast ladies!

Baby's Got New Shoes....

No, not these.....

or these.....

but these......

and these.....

I met with The Puppeteer on Tuesday and she took one look at my running shoes before essentially calling me a frickin' moron and telling me to replace them!

When I statred this endurance sports oddessy I bought myself some Nike shoes that were comfortable enough but seemed to wear really quickly on the outside of each heel.  I had a feeling that they might have been contributing to some knee discomfort that I was having, so I went to Bull City Running in Durham http://www.bullcityrunning.com/ to get properly fitted.  The guys there did a great job - measured my (wide) feet, examined my running style and watched me run in numerous pairs of shoes before we finally settled on my trusty New Balance 769s.  They have been great and have seen me through two half marathons and a lot of training but, as The Puppeteer quickly realised, they have now seen better days and are also showing wear in the same place that my Nikes used to, so after my 12 miler on Tuesday I headed back to Bull City Running with two objectives...

1.   Get a pair of general utility shoes to replace the New Balance 769s.
2.  Find an additional pair of lighter shoes (as recommended by The Puppeteer) to use for shorter races.

Objective number one was pretty easy to achieve as I used the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mantra and went for the latest New Balance equivalent of the 769s - the 760 ST (in blue in place of yellow).  Basically a very similar shoe that immediately felt very comfortable.  Cha-ching!  Ring 'em up!

For the lighter shoe I was specifically instructed not to get racing flats.  I tried on a lot of different shoes, including Mizunos, Nikes, Sauconys etc. before finally settling on a natty orange and blue pair of Brooks Racer ST 5s.   The ultimate deciding criteria was comfort for my "big old wide" feet.  Jason Page ( the owner) at Bull City Running was meticulous and in the end the rounder toe of the Brooks shoe won the day.

Will these shoes make me faster?   Probably not.  But will they help reduce injuries and keep me healthy?  Absolutely!

Here are a few shots showing the wear on the old New Balances and comparison vs. the new ones......

 Old 769s.  Note the significant wear on the outside of the heel....

New 760 on the left, vs. worn 769 on the right.....

New 760 on the left and worn 769 on the right....

Looking forward to putting some miles on these babies!  Now all that is left is to donate the old ones to the charity box at BCR for donation - a great cause!

Chicked!

To anyone who has seen me ride this won't come as a great surprise, but I thought that I would share my experiences from last Saturday morning.

Several athletes who work with The Puppeteer were scheduled to meet and do a run through of the Cary Duathlon course.   Run short course and bike long course (31 miles).  We met up at 8 am in the parking lot at the baseball fields at Brooks Park in Cary and it pretty soon became obvious that it was going to be a small group and that, yet again, I was going to be the only guy.  

My work out buddies were Maggie Rougier-Chapman, Caroline Kratz and Lili Fernandez.  I had already been warned not to try to keep up with Maggie and having riden with Caroline previously I knew that she was no slouch either!  She was also trying out her sleek new tri bike for the first time, and I had a feeling that she might be ready to put it through its paces!

The first run was uneventful - a nice easy 8:30 pace.  Then back to the parking lot and on to the bike.....

31 mile course around Jordan Lake with some rolling hills, but nothing too bad.  Maggie took on pace duties and I was primarily at the rear yelling "car back" when someone came up from behind the group in something motorised.  For a change the drivers seemed cautious and considerate!

Things were fine for the first 13 or 14 miles.  A nice steady pace and we stayed nicely grouped.  Things were about to change, however, when we turned off Route 64 and Caroline (who is comfortably over 6 ft. and a former international oarswoman) took over "the pull".   Holy Crap!  I stayed in touch for about another mile but couldn't hang any longer.   Lili (who is only 16) was struggling too, so she and I stuck together and let the other two go.

I triathon circles there's a phrase for when a guy gets beaten by a lady..... he has been "chicked" and I was completely, totally and utterly "chicked" on Saturday.  I'm not feeling bad though - I'm completely in awe of how fast these ladies are!  It's a privilege to watch them ride.  They may be 15 or so years younger than me and I was struggling a bit with allergies, but I could have been 20 years younger with 110% of my normal lung function and I would still have been completely, totally and utterly "chicked"!  Awesome!

Lili and I finished the 31 plus miles together at an average moving speed of a little over 18.5 mph.  That's not altogether embarassing, but I'm pretty sure that my new heroines were probably somewhere well over 20 mph moving average.  Gives me motivation to work harder on the bike!

More my speed at the moment........

Bike fit update

After my "I'm fit...." post detailing my visit to see Matt Lodder - the "Cary Cycle Surgeon" to have my bike properly fitted several people asked for an update on how it feels and what difference it made....

Here goes....

It's way too early, of course, to make any "before and after" direct comparisons re:  speed etc.  I need to ride a regular course several times before I'm ready to make that call.   I did, however, take th bike out yesterday for an hour and can make some observations.

Firstly a reminder of the major alterations that were made:

Position of cleat on shoes was moved forward slightly
Saddle was raised quite considerably (2 cm plus) and tilted very slightly further forward
Stem was lengthened by about 1 cm and stem angle was increased to 17 degrees
After handlebars were moved "up and forward" based on the new stem, the aerobars were adjusted back again slightly

I went out for 60 mins on a flat road (in somewhat blustery conditions) and simulated 8 x 2 mins of hill work by slamming it into the highest gear and pushing hard.

The big general observation was that it felt great!  Definitely felt more "powerful" at the 12:00 position at the top of each pedal stroke.  Had no great problem pushing things along at 20 mph plus.

At the bottom of each stroke (6:00 position) I could clearly feel that my toes were more pointed downwards - a fairly obvious one I guess based on the increased saddle height.

I felt very much less "confined", especially when riding on the drops and on the aero bars.  Felt as if my legs had more room.   This made me happy!   :-)

It was noticeable, especially when riding on the hoods, that my face was more "over the handlebars" than previously.   I also found that my arms found a more natural slightly bent (and, hopefully relaxed) position.  this is something that The Puppeteer has me working on. 

A minor thing, but previously when riding up on the hoods a few people have commented that I ride with my hands relatively far back (further from the brakes).  In the new set-up I felt that my hands went much more naturally to the front of the hoods.

Importantly, it felt comfortable.  No issues with the....ahem....  under carriage and nothing unusual after the ride.

All-in-all, based on just the one short outing, I'm pleased any feel that I am in both a more powerful and aerodynamic position.   Hopefully this will translate to a couple of mph on the road - I'll keep you posted!

I'm stripped........

.....and ready to be primed!

I worked from the coast today as we are re-modeling our kitchen and needed to be present when old work surfaces were removed and templates made for new ones.   As part of the project we are refinishing the kitchen cabinets and part of the work involves a lot of sanding.  Well.....   I know now how those cabinets must feel!

The Puppeteer scheduled me for a 1 hr 40 min run today.   I waited for the contractors to leave and decided to head out later in the afternoon.   I knew that it was windy and that it was basically blowing from a southerly direction so, being smart (or so I thought) I decided to run five miles south on the Old Oregon Inlet Road (basically into the wind) and then head back north again on the beach.

Holy crap!  It was an "interesting" run!   On the plus side, it was pretty mild - 70 F (about 20 C for my European friends) and the thunder showers that came through earlier were already heading off towards Bermuda somewhere and the sun was out, but boy, it was REALLY windy!   I checked the weather channel when I got back and apparently the winds were sustained at 30 mph plus with gusts of between 50 and 60 mph!   It was very difficult to find a rhythm going south and at one point a really strong gust caused me to trip over my own legs and I came very close to wiping out.  I struggled south for five miles and looked forward to getting onto the beach for the return leg and getting a little bit of shelter from the dunes......

Well, the dunes did provide a little bit of shelter but, rocket scientist that I am, I completely forgot to factor in....   sand blasting!    It was like being in the middle of a sand storm out there!I was very pleased that I had dedcided to wear running tights and not just shorts - my legs were continuously peppered.    The wind turbines on the new Jennet's Pier were turning so fast that I thought that the whole structure might take off.  To add insult to injury there was an unusually high tide that forced me to run the entire 5 mile return leg on the soft sand - brutal!

By the time I got back my left arm was very red and my neck was coated in sand which was stuck to the sweat.  The last couple of miles felt like running in treacle and I was struggling to maintain even 11 min mile pace!

On the plus side, I did get in my 10 miles and I got a lot of fresh air!   Best of all, for most of the return leg, mine were the only foot prints on the beach.  Nice!