Tri, Jeff, Tri! posts from May 2011

Week two for my crazy six-races-in-six-weeks early season racing schedule. This week was the Columbia Triathlon, ( local blog magic -> hocoblogs@@@ ), a race with a very interesting and somewhat involved story. I grew up in Columbia, Maryland, and have spent my entire life here, now living in Elkridge, which is literally a stone's throw from Columbia. The Columbia Triathlon is where I got my start in racing triathlon, competing a few years ago as a relay with the wife and my sister as team Will Play for Gumbo (yes, based on the Jimmy Buffett song), where I did the bike leg. A year later and I do my first sprint triathlon and then race Columbia as my first Olympic. The Columbia Triathlon is recognized as one of the hardest Olympics in the business and greats such as Chris McCormack and Chrissie Wellington have raced in the past few years. This year, Andrew Yoder was in town and destroyed the course. The race is also one of less than a dozen that has been operating for over 28 years and the Race Director and head of the Columbia Triathlon Association is recognized as one of the most influential in the multisport world today. So, it's a storied race. And, come 22 May, it is where I am on race morning.

The wife and I arrived in our truck around 5.45am, which is a little later than we are used to arriving at this race. Based on last week's Florida Ironman 70.3 race, we both had hesitated a bit about racing Columbia but I had recovered quickly and felt fine, so we decided to do it. However, I was fully prepared for a crappy race due to the much longer race I had just completed with a minimal amount of recovery time (plus, amount of training completed between Florida and Columbia = ZERO). However, this morning seemed inviting. First of all, it was sunny and just a bit warm, which is a sharp departure from the raining, cloudy, windy, stormy, mornings that are ALWAYS what set Columbia apart. This is the first morning I can remember in recent history for this race with good weather. I got to my transition area and, amazingly, the three people to my right had chosen not to race and the space was empty so me and the guy four bikes down had a huge amount of space to set up in. Awesome sauce. I got bodymarked by my good friend Gwyn who opted not to race as she did a different 70.3 race last week (and hates the Columbia course :)). I then got all my gear in place, inflated the tires in the bikes, and walked over to the start, just missing the start for the pros and the amateur elites (including the best cycling instructor in the world). A little waiting and then off for the swim, this time with me a full wave before the wife and no where near the end like it was at Florida last week.

The swim started off with heading directly towards the sun. This is the downside of the unusually nice weather we had for this race. The first buoy was directly under the big ball of stellar fusion, so we all headed directly to the sun. My wave of 30-34yo men was very competitive and there was a lot of pulling, grabbing, etc, going on...more than I can remember from any previous race (this reminded me of when, a few years ago, the ITU circuit was in DC and the wife and I raced the amateur version of that race where the swim was in the Potomac River and the swim environment was very cutthroat like this). This cleared up as we approached the first turn buoy but it was still worse than usual. It took me about 800m into the 1500m swim to get my rhythm going, which did not help. Luckily, the water was cool (probably in the low 70s) and felt great...with my wetsuit on. :) I finished with a time of 27:38, which is decent for me but a full minute slower than last year. Got out of the water, had a horribly slow transition time, and headed out on the bike.

Now, I said that Columbia is a hard course. It is hard because of the hills. Howard County, Maryland, is hilly. VERY hilly. The bike course is unrelenting with the hills. Some hills are very gradual but are long as all hell and some are short but extremely steep. Columbia has one hill where you go downhill right to a T-intersection, make a hard left turn so you get very slow, and then start a very steep and very long climb...this one is brutal. So, yeah, it's hilly...if you are a good hill rider, you'll love the Columbia course. If not, you will hate it. So, while much shorter than Florida was last week, this course is much more difficult. I spent more of my time out of aero to better control the bike and the headwind that poped up on the (very small number of) flat portions did not help either. I also have something of a mental issue with this course, as I wrecked on my very first ride on it (at the Columbia Triathlon where I competed as a relay a few years ago) and have been very hesitant on that downhill every since. Nevertheless, I felt pretty good on the bike and found some portions I could really push out. I also did pretty good with the bad downhill, relaxing off my brakes a little more than I usually do. I ended up finishing the bike leg in 1:28, which is almost ten minutes faster than last year. Nice! A decent T2 and I was out on the run.

The run continues with the hilly theme that the bike set up. The initial three miles are all around Centennial Park and are mostly flat with a few hills...including one right when you start. Here, you run about 0.25mi and then make an almost U-turn to run up a steep and long hill. My friend Gwyn was waiting at the bottom and running up with people as they started the hill...this was an awesome break from the nothingness in my head and a wonderful service she provided. It is fortunate that her day to do hill repeats coincided with the race. :) When you turn out of the park around mile three, things get hilly. And by hilly, I mean crazy hilly. The run through the neighborhoods is crazy hilly and challenging and, at this point, things were getting very hot. I was able to push through it and get myself back into the park with a good time...energy levels were falling rapidly but I was still moving at a good clip. I ran up Gatorade Hill, which is the last, and hardest, climb on the run course, and back around the lake. A short mile later and I was done...with a 56:16 on the 10K run, which is a good time for the run leg of a triathlon for me. Hot, tired, and exhausted, the race was over.

Overall, I finished in 2:59:17, beating the 3hr mark by a whopping 43 seconds. This is pretty impressive for me, as my previous best time on this course was 3:06:26, from last year. Columbia is a very hilly course and that is not the type of course I typically excel at, as I am able to do much better on a flat bike course, and my running is about even between flat and hilly courses. Between that and the previous week's 70.3, I'm extremely proud of and happy with that time. Setting a PR on a difficult course, after a small amount of rest from a major race, is an awesome feeling.

So, there you have it. Columbia is my hometown race and I have a lot of memories and feelings for it. I was interviewed by the local Patch newspaper about this race and here is what I had to say.

"Columbia is always a race that I have a hard decision about racing. It is the first Olympic-distance tri I ever did, but as I've grown and gained experience racing in triathlon, I've learned that it is not a course that fits my racing strengths well, with its extremely hilly composition. Nevertheless, I keep coming back to race due to the awesome experience, the hometown feel and national recognition that this race has, and the sheer inspiration I get from it. [Sunday] was no exception, and despite the mismatch between my triathlon strengths and the course, and my back-to-back weekends of racing (last weekend, my wife and I competed in Ironman Florida 70.3), I still finished strongly, and with a course personal record for Columbia. Columbia has given me a lot and, despite my lack of strengths in racing such hilly courses, I was very happy to be out there again, racing the course, and giving back to the Columbia Triathlon."

I think that about sums up my feelings. You can check out others' perspectives on this year's Columbia over at the Patch article (including, in addition to myself, the wife, the best cycling instructor in the world, and our good friend Tamir).

So, I'm not really sure how this happened. I knew that my triathlon season this year was front-loaded. I was prepared for that. But, when I went over my upcoming schedule today, I realized that in the next six weekends, I have a race scheduled for each and every one of them. Yep, six weeks, six races.

Now, in the off-season, I created two primary goals for myself and my training plan. First, I was going to ride the bike a lot more than I usually do, as my bike performance was the weak leg in my triathlon races last year. Second, I was going to improve my running with speedwork and modifications to my training plan to allow me to run a half-marathon in under 1:45. Goal #1 was accomplished with long hours on the trainer. Goal #2 was accomplished when I ran a 1:42 at the National Half-Marathon in March. I decided that National was going to be my A race this year and, because of that, I did not plan my season out in too much detail; I knew which races I liked from last year, the wife and I decided to do Florida Ironman 70.3 (that's the first of the six and is in only four days!), and I missed The North Face Endurance Challenge last year and wanted to do that one this time around. So, without realized it, I ended up signed up for six races in a row, with the first one being a 70.3. Whew.

Here's what I'm doing.

• Florida Ironman 70.3 - This is a half-Iron triathlon in Orlando. The buzz about this race is that it will not be wetsuit-legal (this is a big deal for both me and the wife - positive for her and negative for me), the bike is flat and fast, and the run is extremely hot and painful. Luckily, we're staying down there for a few days for a short, and badly needed, vacation at Disneyworld.
• Columbia Triathlon - This is the hometown race, an Olympic triathlon that features bike and run courses that are among the most hilly I've ever seen. I did well at this race last year, but this year I'm going to be happy to just finish it, as I will have done a 70.3 the week before.
• The Jim McDonnell Two Mile Lake Swim - This is a two mile swim in a lake in Virginia, near Dulles Airport. The wife and I did this swim last year for the first time and really enjoyed it. It's well organized, very chill, and a good time that doesn't take up the entire day. I actually came pretty close to placing at this race (in my age group) last year so I'm going to swim this one hard.
• The North Face Endurance Challenge - This is a series of trail races put on by The North Face, ranging from a 5K all the way up to a 50 Miler. I did this two years ago, at the 10K distance, and loved it. It was my first trail run ever and led to a 10K PR at the time. I'm doing the half-marathon this year. While I don't expect to beat my PR from National, I think I can run this in under two hours. We'll see.
• Tri-It Triathlon - The wife had done the DiamondGirl Delaware triathlon the past few years, until it got cancelled for this year. It was replaced with the Tri-It Triathlon, which is a super-sprint triathlon (0.25mi swim, 10mi bike, 2mi run) and is co-ed. I've never raced a super-sprint before, so I'm looking forward to seeing how I can do.
• Baltimore Ten Miler - This is a ten mile running race in some of the hilly regions of Baltimore City. I've never done this race before, but people tell me it is good and the premium you get when you finish is top-notch. Honestly, I signed up for this race because my friend Mo is doing it and the wife will be otherwise occupied this Saturday morning. I have no time expectations or goals for this race.

So, that's it. Six races in six weeks. At least it is a mix of different events and my real A race for the year is already done. Once I make it through these six weeks, I intend to take a week or so off. Then...on to planning the rest of the season. And let's not forgot about needing to ramp up at the end of the summer for a particularly Goofy race. :)

Until then, dear friends, I have four days until the Florida Ironman 70.3. I was good on the swim, until I realized it may very well not be wetsuit-legal and I love my wetsuit. The bike will be the true test, as the longest we've hit so far this year has been 40 miles. The run...I'm not worried about. So, we'll see how it goes. I want to finish and finish feeling good, and if I do that, I'll be very happy. Four days and counting...here we go!