Redman Half-Iron RR

I raced the Oklahoma City Half-Iron Redman this weekend. It was my first half-iron distance and first Oklahoma race. I wasn't real sure what to expect, other than I'd be real tired.

Training:
I had planned on completing a half-iron since about March or April. However, I thought it would be the Prarieman. That was back when I thought I'd still be in New Mexico. A new job and a move to Oklahoma, my new goal was the Redman. It fit into what was left of my training, given the disruptions. I wasn't too terribly undertrained for the race, but I could have been fitter.

Race Day:
The start is about 1.5 miles away, so if I didn't have to rack my bike the night before, I would have ridden to the race. As it happened, I had breakfast (peanut butter toast, OJ, and yogurt), watched TV, sipped some coffee and put everything together. Paula dropped me off and I got ready. I got everything ready in transition, sipping on water the whole way through. A gel about 20 minutes before go time, and I was ready.

Swim:
I haven't been swimming consistently since the move. I've managed to swim in Arcadia lake once a week for the past three months, but that's it. I knew my time would suffer for it.
I started with the second wave after watching the first wave "wade" through the first leg of the swim. I tried to swim, but with my hand hitting the bottom, I decided to walk. Many other did the same. Throughout the swim, I felt lost. I've been sighting pretty well in practice swims, but based on where everyone else was, I thought I was zig zagging. Either way, I was worried I would have a real slow swim. However, that didn't concern me too much. Today was about finishing the distance.
Time: 39:49 (1:53/100yds)

T1
First time with wetsuit strippers. Awesome. Glad my shorts didn't come off with the suit. Quick hello to Paula, and headed to the bike racks. I went super duper slow. Had to make sure I remembered everything.
Time: 2:14

Bike:
Right out of T1, I notice my rear wheel was rubbing. This annoyed me. I had it tuned up for a decent sum of money and noticed the brakes were rubbing during my pre-race ride. I thought I took care of it. Also, the rear derailleur wasn't properly adjusted. That's another gripe I had with the tune-up. I'm not hitting that shop up again.
Oh, yeah. I had to pee right out of the gate. Luckily there was a well placed porto-potty.

The plan was to keep the HR around 145-150 for the first half or so and 155-160 for the second. I was caught up in the excitement of the first few miles, but settled in nicely. The course was well marked with plenty of support in the form of cops and aid stations. I took the first 28 mile loop in about 1:24/1:25. Pretty uneventful second loop. My back started hurting, and I also decided to ease up on the gas heading into the run.
Time: 2:51:38 (19.58mph)

T2:
Took my sweet time. Needed new socks. Decided against fuel belt. Stretched back. Thought I had everything, but forgot my race number. In the end, it didn't matter.
Time: 3:29

Run:
Wanted to start slow, but steady. First mile was a sub 8. I knew that was trouble. I eased up to about an 8:30 pace, but by mile 5, I was hurting pretty good. It was hot and my shoes became water logged. Eventually, the run became a zombie march to the aid stations, followed by an unnecessarily long walk nursing a gatorade cup. I traded places with one guy for a bit and we chuckled at how slow we were going.
Leading up to the race, I knew it was going to come down to the run. If I could post a sub 2hr run, I thought I'd have a decent time. After I fell apart, my goal became a sub 6 hr race.
One more note, as sad as my half-marathon time was, it was faster than 1/2 of my first marathon time in LA.
Time: 2:16:36 (10:25min/mi, eek!)

Total time: 5:53:45 (97th out of 227 males; 15th out of 29 in AG).

(glad that's done!)

Thoughts:
While I'm not unhappy with my time, I hoped to be around 5:30. I want to try another 70.3 race and put a dent in that time. I now know what to expect.

As for the race itself, it was run very well. Its a great venue for the race. Spectator friendly and flat. I'm not sure about making Redman my first 140.6 race (given the four loops on both the bike and the run).

I'm not sure what's next. I think I'll lift some weights and work on my run. We'll probably join the Y for the pool. I'd like to get my swim form back.

thanks for reading!

OKC - Settled in

I've settled in for the most part in Oklahoma City. I moved here for a new job in June and I've been here for a month or so. I'm afraid I've fallen off my training a bit. There are a couple of reasons for that.

First, there's a ton of stuff you have to do when you move 500 or so hundred miles and start a new job. Its really tiring and time consuming.

Second, I have just figured out places to work out. There's Lake Hefner near by (but don't blow through the stop signs, or you'll get a ticket like I did), and Lake Arcadia with open water swims. I took part in a 100k bike ride in Norman, so I've learned a couple places to bike. I think I'll join the Y for some consistent and convenient swimming, but that's a few paychecks away.

The third reason for falling off the training is the weather. Holy smokes its hot and humid. The sun doesn't rise until 6 or so, and it sets around 9, which makes it hard to avoid the heat. I've resorted to hot lunch runs, I've done two so far (one) and (two).

Finally, nutrition. I've been eating like crap. There's no excuse apart from laziness and novelty.

Tomorrow I think I'll try to ride to work. Its about 9 miles. And this weekend is the La Luz trail run. I lotteried into it. I've wanted to race it for awhile, but I'm afraid moving to the lower altitude and my fall off the training wagon will make Sunday's race hard. It'll be nice to return to New Mexico.

One more thing, I'm training for the Redman. Here's hoping I can get into form by September.

I'm hoping to have a training plan in place within a week.

She will be mine, oh yes, she will be mine

I decided to head to Sportz Systems and check out their bike fest on Saturday after my long run. I intended just to pick up body glide. I ended up drooling over this:




Its not that the 2008 Quintana Roo Seduza was the slickest or most tech savvy bike there. Rather, the Seduza was within my price range. After a quick call to Paula (who gave me her support) and Mr. T (who was 40 miles into a 100 mile mountain bike ride when he fielded my call), I pulled the trigger. I put that sexy machine on layaway. Time to start making payments. Soon, she will be mine. Oh yes, she will be mine.

It'll be nice to have a proper TT bike.

Jay Benson

On Sunday, I ran in the Jay Benson Triathlon on Kirtland Air Force Base. I have wanted to do this one for a long time. It is so close to our house.

My Time:
Total Run Pace T1 Bike Mph T2 Swim
1:03:19.20 20:30 6:50 1:12 32:15 23.1 1:20 8:05

I had a pretty good result. I came in with better training than races past, except that the past week or so, I've been slacking due to law school finals. I wanted to build some confidence before the race, so I went and PR'ed in the pool the day before (6:20/400yds). It certainly gave me confidence, but I think it wrecked my arms during the swim.

My goal was to break 1:10min, and maybe 1hr5min. I really wanted to place in my age group. I met my first two goals, and missed my third by 20 secs. Oh well.

As for the race itself, I started running with the main group. I think I began at about a 6min pace, but quickly slowed up. I need to work on maintaining a fast pace in these short events. When I was hurting on the run, I was dreaming about the bike. I knew it would feel good to get on the bike, and it did. I had a strategy to work hard for the first 6 or 7 miles, and then crank it for the last 5 or 6. But when the time came, I just couldn't push harder. I think it was more mental than physical, so thats another thing to work on.


And the swim. Well, my arms didn't feel like they had much in them (thanks to the previous day's workout). I passed a few folks and got passed by one. I really wanted to open it up, but again, my mind stopped me from doing it. I lost few seconds waiting to get out of the pool.



All in all, I think I did well. My training is paying off, but I need to focus it more. I'm not sure what the next race will be. I have graduation and the bar exam looking at me now, so it may be awhile.

Congrats to Paula for doing the race! And thanks to Mike for supporting us and taking pictures.