Rain and GU; Getting it Done the Long Way

Whew, I'm cooked. I did my longest run and longest ride of the season yesterday and today.

The Run:

The forecast on Saturday gave the impression that it was basically going to be raining on and off all day, so I started my run after I got up in the morning when it was during an "off" time. Not being sure how the run would go with a chance of a thunderstorm and my right Achilles tendon teasing to be an issue, I took on a course that would provide me with the option of cutting it short on several occasions.
About 3/4 of a mile into the run I could feel the drizzle on my arms and by two miles a calm, steady rain fell...and fell...and fell. It kept me cool, it kept me company, and in its own way it was beautiful to see and hear. I kept a steady pace and although there were hints of discomfort in my Achilles, it remained as only hints, not suggestions, and the rain kept falling down.
Before every "out" I had to determine my course of action and had to ask myself if it made sense to carry on or cut it short. I asked myself two critical and related questions, "Are you hurt? Are you going to be hurt?" The answer was no to both, so I continued on my longer option.
I was concerned earlier in the week about whether or not doing 14 miles was a good idea or if I should simply go 8-10 miles. Because of the course I chose, as I've mentioned numerously, I had options, but fortunately my body was telling me to move forward with caution. So, I continued to monitor my body and stayed the course to complete 14 miles.
With two miles to go I was tempted to pick up the pace and I felt like I could...a little. However, I had been blessed with such a good run so far it was clear to me that I shouldn't be greedy. I held my pace.
When I walked through the front door I was dripping like I had jumped in the lake. I took nearly all of my wet clothes off, grabbed a towel and then enjoyed a well deserved bowl of Life ceral.

The Bike:

I headed out at 7:00 a.m. in hopes of getting back around 11:00-11:30 a.m. There was a north wind that was supposed to have been around 5 mph, but when I was facing it, it seemed like more. The course was quite varied and offered many challenging hills. I felt steady and strong most of the time, but toward the end of the ride, doubts starting creeping in.
With about 10 miles to go I could feel my body start to protest and fatigue was setting in. I had eaten a Clif Bar around 25 miles or so, and I'd been consuming GU Brew, but it was time to call on reinforcements. I took in a Mandrin Orange GU and my spirits were raised, but I knew by the condition I was in that it would be short lived.
With about four miles to go I took a Vanilla Bean GU and hoped it would bring me home. However, I had a feeling it wasn't just about taking another GU...but I took yet another; this time a Lemon Sublime GU. Normally I don't take this much GU in such a short period of time, nor do I generally need to, but I was getting desparate while feeling the impending bonk.
I wanted to average 20 mph and saw on my computer that I was averaging 20.1 mph at the time. Previously in the ride I was doing 20.6 and I knew the average could plummet if I didn't press on. GU and determination assisted me in taking on this challenge and I hit 80 miles still averaging 20.1 mph.
Mission accomplished.

Peace.

My Day in Del Sol

It could be that I've been doing this for years, but I managed my emotions to the point of minor concern that I wasn't pumped up enough (see previous post). However, every moment closer to my wave to starting, the more excited I became. Not an overbearing excitement, but a "Let's do this!" kind of excitement.
When the horn sounded I was jetting in the water and heading for the first buoy.
The swim went as well as it was going to go without a wetsuit and poor navigation on my part and T1 was as good as it gets.
The bike went well with Kevin Miller both inspiring me and intimidating me (he's one of those long time triathlete stud/local triathlon idol-types of mine). I didn't feel particularly fast, but I knew if I was around Kevin, I must be movin' right along and we finished the bike at the same time.
T2 was quick and efficient.
On the run, I did my best to hang on to Kevin and to not let a gap build. However, my good fortune and my current fitness allowed me to pass him around 1.25 miles, but he kept me motivated for the rest of the run because I knew to never count him out.
Because of the wave start, I didn't really know where I was in the race standings, but later discovered I had finished 5th overall and 1st in the 35-39 age group, which exceeded my expectations for placing in the top ten.
Really...a good day.
Thanks be to God. :)
Peace,
~Sam

Snap out of it and Put the Lumber to Del Sol baby!

Last year while training for Ironman Louisville I recall thinking, "Man, next year's gonna' be great. I'm going to do a bunch of shorter-faster races. I'm ready to put the hammer down. I still have my speed."
This season I've done a short course duathlon, an Olympic distance triathlon, and a sprint distance triathlon. Furthermore, I have two more sprint distance triathlons coming up before I do the 1/2 Ironman distance events. Well, even as I sit here on the eve of the Del Sol Triathlon (sprint distance) I'm not pumped to "Put the hammer down," but instead I'm looking forward to my longer events and next year's Ironman.

I've posted about "Focus" before. I don't know why I get unsettled. Ahh, whatever. I know the closer it gets to "go time" tomorrow the more pumped I'll be. Maybe thinking about longer stuff is my built in excuse that I'm working on in case things don't go as well as I would like. Who knows?

I'm looking for a top 10 overall result. It will depend on two primary factors...
1. I perform to the best of my ability.
2. Who shows up.

I don't want to be too fired up right now. Being mellow like Jello right now is a good thing. I just don't want to be too relaxed when the gun goes off. Perhaps some prerace Dr. Feelgood is in order, or some jam from VH.

This is all part of the adventure which makes life in multisport interesting.

Well, we'll see how it goes.

PEACE!

Ada Time Trials Results June 28

This was my third time at the time trials this year. This was an interesting night with a tailwind for the first half and a headwind for the second half (out and back course 15 miles). My first time trial was 36:42, my second was 36:44, and this week was 36:11, which is averaging 24.8 mph...nearly 25 mph, but not quite. I'll take it though because it was a solid effort. There were 42 of us in the Men's Open Class this week.

MEN'S CLASS
1 Jeff Haney 0:34:15
2 Chuck Grzanka 0:34:42
3 Drew Martin 0:34:54
4 Kurt Swanson 0:35:50
5 Craig Rawlings 0:35:53
6 Dave DeBoer 0:36:09
7 Sam Wilkinson 0:36:11