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Sprint Triathlon Durango Racing Smart Versus Racing Brave Aug. 2 Racing in a sprint triathlon in my town of Durango, my goal was to improve my time from last year. The race starts with a 500 yard pool swim, then a 12 mile bike followed by a 3 mile run. Prior to the race I swam 4 times in the last 4 months. With 2 young boys, I do not to devote extra time to swim training considering I already run and ride on a regular basis. My first race strategy decision was to have a slower swim time than usual. I wanted to have a more relaxed swim and use the extra energy on the bike and run. I didn’t want to get out of the water breathing hard from the swim. So I swam 20 -25 seconds slower than usual. My swim to bike transition went well and I was chasing a rider far up the road. I had a carrot to chase on the out and back bike segment. I patiently worked to close the gap that was about 40 seconds. Before the turn around I could see the gaps between myself and the top 3 riders. I need to catch the rider up the road to move into 4th place. I caught the rider with three miles to go on the bike. With a mile to go in the bike, I backed off a little to recover a bit before the run. The rider caught back up and went by me. My bike to run transition went well and starting the run 4th place was in sight and I made the pass within the first 600 yards of the run. After turning a corner, the third place triathlete was visible up the road. I closed a minute gap on him in just the first mile. Once I caught him, I ran behind him waiting for an opportunity to attack. Each time I did a short fast burst, he stayed right behind me. I may have tried to drop him 7 or 8 times. But he responded each time to stay right with me. So I waited for the last 300 meters to the finish. I took for the finish. I sprinted hard the entire way and he came around me in the last 10 meters to beat me by 2 seconds. For me it was one of the most fun races ever. I enjoy the mental and physical challenges of races. That day I had a very worthy opponent. He confided in me that when I first caught him that had I ran fast by him, he would have given up. Also had my fast attacks lasted at least a minute, he would also have given up. It would have been great to finish in third place instead of 4th, but I very much enjoyed the friendly hard fought battle. I could have been more aggressive, but I wasn’t confident that I could finish off such a strong move. After over 200 races, I still am challenged by racing smart and racing brave. Thinking about racing brave and smart goes through my head during and after every race. I have another race 6 days later. Will I be smart, to brave, to smart not brave enough, or not smart enough?
4th of July 10K Running in my red Running Hope race jersey, I returned to a race I ran for the 7 years that I lived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. My wife and I moved away from Jackson to Durango 7 years ago. This was our firsts visit back to Wyoming. At the race I saw and ran with a number of longtime friends. The course was out and back along Fish Creek Road. I like out and back courses because you get to see people throughout the race. I chased my good friend Barb Lindquist. We used to run together and the workouts were hard and fast. She was in Athens, Greece 4 years ago racing in the Olympic triathlon. She retired from racing and now has 1 and 1/2 year old twin boys. Because of an injury, my running fitness isn’t as good my biking fitness at this time. When I get home, I plan to increase my run training to get ready for a sprint triathlon in a month. A number of people asked me about Running Hope.
Sandia Crest Road Race Snow in Durango the previous weekend cancelled the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. The morning of the race , there was a foot of new snow at the race finish in Silverton. Of course the two mountain passes at 10,600 and 11,200 had even more snow. So it was off to hot and dry New Mexico for a bike road race that finished with a 13 mile climb to almost 11,000 feet. I knew that I wasn’t having a great day when I started the climb feeling that I couldn’t keep up with the lead group. At this race 4 years ago, I finished second in a group of 30 riders. This time I knew that it was going to be a tough climb. I tried to catch riders and not be caught by rider s behind me. At times I wanted to “Pull the Plug” and call it done for the day. I was feeling very sorry for myself. That turned around when I changed my thinking. Instead of being passive, I tried being aggressive. I was with two other riders and I attacked into a steep switchback turn. For the next 3 and half miles , I kept accelerating and recovering. I was very focused in staying ahead of the chasing riders. It was tough and painful, but having my brain engaged in a positive way made the finish line come into view much quicker. When we have a goal and our brain is engaged in a positive way our goals and outlook changes dramatically. Make lemonade from lemons. I had fun with a sense of accomplishment on a day when I didn’t have great legs.
Narrow Gauge 5K On this Memorial Day weekend race, I wore my bright red Running Hope race shirt for the first time. This is one of my favorite running races. The last mile and a half is a gradual downhill. I plan not to run the first half of the race too fast, so that I have the energy to fly down the hill. It was on the downhill that I passed two high school and one college runner to win the race last year. Because 5k races start fast, it is very important to get a very good warm up. Stretching and easy running are good, but getting your heart rate is more important. I run four fast 200 meter sprints on a track if possible. These sprints get my heart rate up to levels that I will see in the race. When the gun goes off, my body is ready to comfortably run at a high heart rate. Because I practiced this in my warm up, my body isn’t surprised and I can run hard more comfortably. On this day my 200’s were fast and comfortable, even though my left leg had been sore for a number of weeks. From the start of the race I had trouble following a group of 10 runners. I was patient and slowly started passing runners that had gone out too fast. I was ready to launch myself during the downhill. For a mile and a half of the race my goal was to catch a local 7th grader that ran a 5:23 mile this spring. I know him well as has attended a number of running camps that I conduct during the Summer. I moved into 5th place when I flew past him on the downhill. For this race, I ran hard and smart, but I wish the first half of the race was faster. I need to do more long runs and hills before my next race on July 4th in Jackson, Wyoming. This 10k is a race that I ran every year when I lived there for 7 years. Remember for fast races, get your heart rate up 30-45 minutes before the gun goes off. Also every race is about being smart and being brave. Finding the right balance is the challenge and at times a mystery. Tri the Rim Triathlon This sprint triathlon takes place at Fort Lewis College on the mesa overlooking the city of Durango with snow capped 13,000′ peaks in the distance. We started with a 500 yard pool swim, then a 12 mile bike leg, concluding with a 3 mile run that had segments of single track trails. My usual finishing place is in the top five, with a second place in 2006. Presently I only compete in two triathlons a year and both of those are in Durango. In preparation for the swim, I do 12 swim workouts over 3 weeks. If I had the time to do more swim training, I could lower my time by at least a minute. I tried not to swim too fast at the beginning. That is a danger in triathlons. People get very excited at the start and expend too much energy. After the swim we ran to the transition area to put on bike shoes and helmet. Starting out the bike segment I was next to a friend of mine. She has raced professionally as a road racer and on mountain bikes. We used each other to go faster. This was not a draft-legal race, but we pushed each other during segments of the course. She is a better bike handler and I was stronger on the uphill segments. During the 3 mile run I felt ok but not great. At times I had some muscle tightness in my chest. That held me back for a while. For large sections of the run no other runners were in sight, meaning that I didn’t have a carrot ahead of me to catch. When you work to catch someone ahead of you, making the pass gives one a confidence lift. I finished in 1 hour 3 minutes and in 9th place. I knew before the race that a top three finish would be very difficult. While standing in line during registration, two college triathlon teams showed up (Air Force Academy and Colorado State University.) I very much enjoyed racing with many local friends in this annual triathlon. I won the over-50 age group and received a dinner for two at a restaurant next to our train station (Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad). Blue Mountain Triathlon This Winter/Spring triathlon was my first race of the season. The race consisted of a 4 mile skate ski, 35 mile bike, and a 6 mile run. The race finished near Canyonlands National Park. Because of our very cold and snowy winter in Durango, Colorado, my cycling training was very limited. The ski leg was uphill for the first 2 miles which meant max heart rate from the gun. The next challenge was the last 10 miles on the bike into a tough headwind. Heading into the 6 mile run, I was hoping to make up some ground and improve my overall place. Starting on the run my quadriceps felt like they were ready to cramp. So I back off my pace some to keep from cramping. Then I employed the “Galloway Method” of taking walking breaks every so often. Olympic marathoner Jeff Galloway instructs runners to take walking breaks in marathons to give their muscles and tendons a needed rest. Using this method has allowed many runners to take significant time off their best marathon times. Despite taking walking breaks, I was able to pass 6 competitors and finish 6th overall with an overall time of 2 hours 27 minutes. If I hadn’t had leg problems, I would not have used the walking breaks and run 3 minutes faster for 6 miles. The bike portion of the race zapped my legs. After the finish I learned that my training partner had won the race. He took the lead in the last mile of the race. We spent the winter running together on cold (sometimes single digits temps) snow packed roads. After the race my family and I went camping at Canyonlands National Park. Our boys Sean - 4 and Noah- 2 loved hiking on the Slick Rock. My legs were sore for a couple days after that tough race.
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Mt. Diablo Danville, CA Oct. 2008
On the first Sunday in October, I had the opportunity to once again to race up Mt. Diablo. From the top of Mt. Diablo (3849 ft.) , one can see most of the San Francisco Bay Area. The bike race to the top is 10.8 miles with 3,300 feet of climbing. I have raced up Diablo for 22 years and it is my favorite mountain in the world. Since leaving California in 1994, I have flown back to the Bay Area on 7 occasions to better my best time. My training this summer had me ready for another fast climb. Over 22 years, my average time for the climb is 53:28. On a cool windy day, my time this year was 53:15. I was hoping for a time a minute and a half faster, but the weather was not ideal for a fast time. Once I finished, I was shivering for 20 minutes despite extra clothes. I still believe that I can still beat my best time on Mt. Diablo, but living a thousand miles away makes it difficult to get there.
This years race was a lot of fun. I was cautious for the first half mile because of the many pot holes in the road. I didn’t want to risk a crash from other riders or hitting a pot hole. When I hit good pavement, I was steadily passing other riders. On the less steep sections, I looked for group to draft with. When it got steeper, I used my triple chain ring to spin away and find more riders to catch. During the last 10 miles I was catching and passing other riders. The 53 minutes of racing went by very quickly. I was pleased with my heart rate management and race tactics. I was very sentimental about once again having to say goodbye to my favorite mountain.
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