Bike Vs. Run

   This last weekend I went up to Duluth for a Half Ironman.  After encouraging races at Buffalo and Minnetonka I was also forced to realize that I still have a long ways to go before I get back to the shape I was in 2009 and early 2010.  I worked hard on my bike in the last month and realized that pushing hard for short periods of time didn't work very well with my hips and legs being so uneven.  Rather longer slower distances were easier to maintain balance thus I decided to jump into the Duluth Half Ironman instead of doing some other short course stuff.
   In preparation I started hitting my tri bike in training more.  Especially on long rides.  I actually like the tri bike better which a lot of people would find strange.  I just like to go fast and straight.  I was also hoping that it would help my running as well.  Two weeks prior to the race I did a 54ish mile bike and followed it up with 7 x 1 mile repeats. Avg. pace was 6:20ish with 1 min rest in between.  This was an awesome workout but I wish I had done it the week prior since it beat me up pretty good.  By the beginning of last week I realized I was in trouble with over training.  Tuesday I rode my bike in the morning and had to shut it down early.  then I essentially stopped training for the week with the exception of a light swim on Wednesday and some light yoga until my Friday pre race workout. Luckily I felt good and was even hopeful that the hard taper would pay off.
     I stayed with my Buddy Josh Blankenheim in Duluth Friday night.  Josh has been battling an achilles surgery and unable to race this year.  Josh hooked me up with a great homemade meal and a bed to crash in.  It was ideal since Josh's place was about 25 mins from the race site not to mention free, which is a pretty good price.
    I knew my main competition was going to be Jmatt Keil.  We raced against each other at Buffalo where he blew by me on the run like I was going backwards just a mile or so in on the run.  I was hopeful that I could have a better swim and bike to hold him off on the run this time.
   Jmatt had introduced himself to me before Buffalo as we have a mutual good friend, Ross Weinzierl.  Jmatt is one of those guys that you instantly know is cool as ice, super friendly and a hoot to be around. I messaged him on Friday to talk some friendly smack.
    Race morning was nearly perfect.  Cool with a light breeze that would make the way out on the bike interesting but not too difficult.  Then a nice push on the way back in.  I knew my best chance would be to push as hard as I could on the bike without totally wearing myself out for the run and hope I could hold him off.  I figured I would need about a 10 min lead off the bike to do that.  I also hoped that if I could put 12 min on him it might break him to the point of racing for second instead of trying all out for first.
    The swim went well at the beginning.  I caught a good draft until the turn back towards shore on the first loop.  Then we were going against the wind and everyone seemed to break up.  I would try to catch up and get on someones feet but just could never seem to quite make it.  About 3/4 through the swim someone grabbed my leg and my calf seized up.  I had to stop and try to message it out to no avail.  At that point all I could do was just swim and hope it would loosen up.  Luckily it did until my other calf cramped in the same way.  This time I just slowed down and shook it out.  I came out of the water with a few others and figured I was about 10-15th out of the water. I had a solid transition and got on the bike in front of almost everyone I got out of the water with.
    I stayed in the small ring for the first 10-15 mins on the bike to find a rhythm.  Since I was going into the wind a wasn't loosing anything.  I could tell my calves and inner quads felt like they were on the verge of cramping so I started hitting the water pretty hard.  Regardless of the legs my turnover was perfect and the bike felt almost effortless.  I soon started passing a few guys and started wondering how far out of first I was.
     The first part of the bike was very smooth.  Then about 2-3 miles in it got bumpy, really bumpy.  It didn't bother me too bad so I just kept chugging along.  I then came on a guy who was pushing pretty good and started thinking I had to be in first or close.  Then I saw the next guy ahead of me and the lead motorcycle ahead of him.  I figured it was Jmatt and it was.  We exchanged a few pleasantries as I passed.  I don't have a computer on my bike so I had no idea how far into the bike we were. I knew it wasn't too far which was good for me. Then I saw a mile marker that said 13 miles.  At that point I thought I was in really good shape.  This would give me over 43 miles of bike to make time.  Then I made a huge mistake.  I refilled my aero bottle but when I went to put my bottle back in the cage I missed it.  On my P2 I train on the cage is on the seat tube but on this one it's on the other tube.  In the end the mistake probably cost me no more than 45 seconds if that and made no difference in my place.  In the past this type of issue might have caused me to panick but this time I was very calm about it.  Jmatt did pass me but I retook him shortly after.
     At the turn I looked at my watch to see how far back Jmatt was.  I clocked it as around 1:30.  Doing the math meant I had a 3 min lead.  Doing more math I figured I would have a roughly 9 min lead off the bike.  I know Jmatt can run and my running has been suspect this year so I wanted an even bigger lead but I thought 9 min might be enough.
     The trip back to T2 was one I will never forget.  The bumpy 11 mile section on the way out was even bumpier on this side of the road.  Every bump made my taint feel like I my seat was razorblades.  It was the longest 11 mile stretch of road I've ever ridden. It was also very flat so very few opportunities to get out of the saddle.  In fact I stood on a few mediocre hills that I would not have otherwise.  This was unfortunate because I loved this course and would do it again if it weren't for that section of road.  I talked to someone after the race who said they were going to fix that stretch until the rain storm last year that washed everything out. Now there's no telling how long until it gets done.  They also mentioned that they may adjust the bike course next year.  If something isn't done I don't know if I'll come back.  It was that painful.
     When I did finally get to T2 my quads and calves that never felt right on the bike definitely weren't.  My calves cramped up as I was getting off my shoes and my inner quads were already sore and tight.  My transition was very smooth and not too fast.  I later found out that I had about a 9 min lead off the bike as I thought.  Problem was my legs were very tender. For the first three miles I just tried to run easy and hope they loosened up.  Then the soreness went away and I was able to put together a pretty good stride.
    The run course was interesting. It was about a 3 miles and change to an out and back then it utilized a two loop run course before heading back to the finish.  At the out and back I looked at my watch to time how much of a lead I had over Jmatt.  The first time I clocked him at 4:30 behind.  What I didn't know was that he erased half the lead in the first 4 miles.  I thought he just came off the bike sooner than I hoped.  Although I was able to push just a little harder with the added motivation that he was coming. After the second loop I was 2:30 up and new it was going to be close.  Unfortunately not that close.  Jmatt had some sort of turbo boost waiting and erased the lead in the next two miles.  Then put another 2 min on me in the last 2 miles to take his first win. 
   While I was destroyed after the race I felt like I ran it as well as I could.  I suffered but not so much that I melted down.  A problem I've had in the 70.3 distance.  Jmatt and I hung out with his buddy that came up to watch while we waited for the awards.  Jmatt and his buddy were a total hoot to hang with and we added Chuck Jensen to the mix for some drinks.  We dominated the menu and had a couple of beers to rehydrate while waiting for Rod to hand out our Plate Trophies.  In all it was just what I was hoping for in a race.  While I didn't get the win I did get was I was hoping for... an awesome race with drama.  Jmatt definitely served that up and I look forward to every race we have in the future.
   

Buffalo Recap and Minnetonka Pre Race

     Well it's been almost two years since my last post.  Since then there have been a few setbacks.  First was a torn Posterior Tibial Tendon that is still not 100%.  While recovering from that I decided to check out my right hip.  I then found out both my hip sockets are too shallow, have arthritis and the labrams are torn.  I opted to fix my right one last year which has taken some time to heal but is now finally feeling pretty good. 
      Since I was going to be off my feet for a while with the hip scope I decided to fix my bunions at the same time.  While this was by far the most painful of the three surgeries it took the least amount of time to heal.  All in all this has been a long recovery and have been looking forward to getting back on the starting line since September of 2011.
      I had intended for Minnetonka Sprint to be my first race back but as the season got closer my endurance was up and training times were decent.  Since Buffalo fell on the weekend I was going to do my first brick I decided to jump in.  I had the hopes of doing a 2:05 and thought given the start list this might land me on the podium or close.  While I fell short of that mark by nearly 5 mins I would have to say this was one of my favorite races I've ever done. 
     To start there was no pressure.  I was relaxed and new that I can only do what I can do.  Before the race I also got a lot of "good to see you backs" from friends which was awesome.  Buffalo is an awesome race with a lot of great people.  I knew this was not going to be my fastest race ever so I concentrated on keeping a steady pace and not blowing up.  Normally I finish and nearly need medical attention but this time I finished and while I had pushed it I didn't need a ton of recovery time.  I finished 12th overall and even got chicked by Cathy Yndested.  No shame there as she will be in the hunt for national Athlete of the Year honors this year.  Still I had a warm and fuzzy after the race and was super happy with a 2:10.
     Since then I've gotten back to training like I used to.  My times are still not where they were in 2009-2010 but I feel good about them and enjoy my workouts more than I have in a long time.  I keep showing improvement and my energy level is still up.  The problem has been that my left hip and knee are showing real signs of wear and tear.  I'm already scheduled to have my right hip scoped in September and my knee may need to be scoped as well. It's an issue that has plagued me for nearly 8 years now and I need to get something done before there is a real problem that would keep me from running all together.  I'm hoping the doc says fixing the hip will fix the knee but something tells me there's been too much damage done.
     Having said all that I still hope to have a great race tomorrow.  The competition will be stiff with my buddies Patrick Parish, Scott Swensen and Ross Weinzierl there along with three time winner Brett Lovass and last years winner Brooks Gossinger.  There will more than likely be a couple of other fast guys in the mix as well.  I'm hoping for top 5 but realize that top 10 will be a victory. 
    After Minnetonka my future is uncertain.  My knee and hip are not responding to training well on a regular basis.  Some days they feel great while others I wonder if I should continue or move up the surgery date and scratch the rest of the season.  I want to get in at least one more race but health is a priority and believe getting the surgery(s) done sooner will help me get back close to 100% by the start of next season.