Peregrine Charities 2011 Triathlon - Race Report

Sorry it took me so long to get this up here.  

Peregrine Triathlon photo album

Registration, Transition Setup, & Course Talks

Sat Afternoon I packed up all my "race junk", that's how my wife and I refer to the equipment I have spent all of our money on.   I loaded it all into the van broke the bike down and took out the back seat.  Not in that order.  We packed an overnight bag and all the stuff for a new baby and took off.  Despite speeding all the way up the drive took a lot longer then I thought it should, and in hindsight I cant explain why cause the drive home didn't take nearly as long.

We arrived at the lake at about 5 pm.  Lots of people milling about but I found my way to the registration table and got my race packet picked up.   Unpacked my gear and got my bike tagged and headed over to transition.  Transition area looked 1/2 filled with bikes.  I found a nearly empty rack and picked and outside edge.  I then realized they were going to shove 7 bikes on each rack.  these racks were not big enough to do that. Uggh!  I knew in the morning my bike was going to be crammed in hard.   I did what I could and put a garbage bag on my seat and handle bars and taped 2x GU packs to my repair kit bag I was not going to risk not having a GU pack because of clumsy hands or improperly secured nutrition again.  Stepped back and surveyed what was sure to be a mess in the morning.   I walked to the boat ramp and looked out across the lake.   I smiled to myself and in my head I thought "Tomorrow I would be a triathlete".  Then I looked at the posted water temp 63*.  "Well maybe next year I can be a triathlete."

Wife and I talked with Amber the race director for a few minutes.  She was getting ready to give a course talk which I was not sticking around for and she gave me a quick run down.  Nothing special I didn't miss anything.   We hopped back in the car and then went and drove the bike course.   It was going to be a good day tomorrow.  Nice bike course.

We headed over to the hotel and checked in then I made a crazy decision to eat pizza hut.  Ya Ya Ya I know not necessarily the best idea.  But man it was good I ate a half large Pan supreme with Jalapenos  It was divine!  I haven't had greasy pizza in a long time.  I know it was really stupid It could have ruined my race, but I didn't! :)

Back at the Hotel I prepped all my gear for the morning.  Fell asleep to the sound of my son crying.

Race Day

OMGIC - OMG Its Cold!  Wake up and WIN!   I showered ate apples and peanut butter and drank crappy coffee.

Got dressed and loaded my cheering section into the car.  I felt bleh! not great just OK.  I was getting race butterflies big time.  Im always astonished at pre-race traffic.  Its was still dark and 100's of athletes are making there way to the same place while others dream about pancakes and sleeping in another hour.   Ok I too was dreaming the same things.  No place to park...Im going to end up walking a half mile to transition.  I hope this doesn't count against my time.  I grabbed all my stuff and started trekking to transition.  

Really glad I covered my seat and handle bars.  Super Dewy!   There was an extra bike on our rack.  Already crowded with 7 bikes somehow we got lucky and some awesome racer decided they could fit there bike on too.  I set up my area and decided I needed a second shirt which I didn't bring.  I ran back to the vehicle and grabbed the long sleeve technical shirt that came with my packet.  Glad for that I needed it.  I ran over and grabbed my timing chip and barely made it back into transition before it closed.  I through my wet suit on and got ready for the waves to start.   

Swim 

Standing at the boat ramp a few of us ask about waves and no one really knows we keep getting told someone will tell us.  No one told us and All AG Men and Clydes took off at the same wave.  which is Ok but no one knew that so there was alot of confusion at the whistle  people standing on the boat ramp as half the swimmers took off.  Already nervous, blind, and not disorganized my swim start sucked!

As I waded out and dove in I literally felt my chest implode from the cold.  I immediately begin to have problems.  The water was so cold I couldn't keep my face down.  Every time I tried it would take my breath away.   It was horrible.  For all the swimming I did It seemed to not help at all I shudder to think how I may have reacted with less practice.  I was 200 yards out and began to panic... a combination of not being able to see not being able to breath and the cold caused me to freeze up and forget what I was doing.  I almost lost it.  I managed to get control and breath and I told myself.  "IF you stop you will sink and you will drown."  It was really the only thing that kept me going.  I felt so heavy and so slow.  People were passing me like crazy.   I just kept stroking knowing that I would eventually hit the shore again.  I was 100 yards from shore and I looked over and saw a kayak and thought momentarily about swimming over to it to rest but realized it was 50 yards to the kayak and only 100 to shore.  What a waste...so I kept going.  I'm glad I did I was only wimping out.   I hit the boat ramp and really felt like crap as I took my first 4-5 steps out of the water.  Then I kind of cleared my head and ran into transition.  I'm glad that's over.

Official time: 16:07.7

T1

I knew my swim time was slow but there were other green caps in transition with me and there were at least a handful of green caps coming out of the water still so I wasnt last.  I shucked off my suit and got my cycling gear on.  I knew my transitions was slow and I was really still trying to get my head clear from the swim.  I didnt realize how slow until later.  Wow time was standing still.  Oh...I forgot to put on my Chest Strap for My HRM.

Official time: 5:01.2

Bike



Running out to the mount line and I am off.  Its a little chilly and the wind is not strong but makes the temperature feel worse then it is.  I felt really good on my bike until about 6.5 miles.  I took my GU and instantly became acutely aware that my right foot felt weird.   Annoyingly weird.  I could not get it out of my head.  I couldn't figure it out.  was it numb from my posture? Or Just really cold?  I wasn't sure.  As I was mentally wrapped up in this I lost concentration during a small hill climb and geared my bike to far and Derailed my freaking chain.   I was really making good time too.   I stepped off my bike and my right foot hit the ground and I couldn't tell I was standing on it.  I think I was stopped for more then 2 minutes.  I could not get the chain unjammed from the derailleur.  I did finally manage to get it back on and then carefully pedaled up the remainder of the hill in a gear far to low.  I crest the hill and there is the turn around at halfway.  I try and make up time but my foot is jacked up.  Im convinced its the cold now as no other parts of my body feel numb or anything.  I must have gotten my sock wet.  As far as performance goes I dont feel im doing too bad.  I feel much better then Hickory Grove at halfway.  I come out of the rolling hills and only have a few small hills  left and all flat I decide to really crank and try and make up some lost time.  The wind is not quite at my back but it is helping me a little.  I pass few of the people who gained on me from the chain issue.  I know Im still down.  I make a turn as I'm approaching the intersections before heading back into the park and Im hit by a wall of wind.  I'm only 2 miles from the finish and I approach this poor girl completely in arrow wearing almost nothing.  A sports bra and some short Spandex Boy Shorts.   As I passed her I told her I felt for her cause I know she was way cold.   You could see how cold she was in her eyes.  I later found out she swam in the same outfit no wetsuit.    I hit the no pedal zone and preform a Perfect running dismount !!!

Official time: 52:45.2

T2
What do I do in transition?  Seriously  I have no clue how I managed to burn almost 2 minutes in T2.  I did have to move my Garmin from my bike to my wrist and I switched gloves and I grabbed a 2nd GU that I had to dig through my pack for OK I see BUT...I didn't have to switch shoes Or any clothes other then putting on a hat and gloves.

Official Time: 1:58.8

Run


Do you know how hard it is to run with only one foot?  Wow...My foot is jacked up! I was actually gimping along.  Im really struggling to get my pace down while my foot doesnt seem to exist.  The almost naked girls passes me.  I realize the stupid feeling in my foot is all in my head and push it out and just focus on being smooth, light, and easy.  I check my pace and breathing and try to get loose and stay focused.  Finding my groove actually came pretty quickly.  I felt however that I was struggling to maintain my pace.  My foot was warming up and feeling was starting to come back.    It was nice to see the groups along the way cheering people on and despite it only being 5K it seemed much shorter.   I managed to keep my pace at 10 Min or faster the whole way which was a feat all its own.  I have never until 4 days prior to this race ever done a sub 30 min 5K and it appeared as long as I could hold this pace I was going to pull this off in competition.  My goal was to just keep pace and finish.   I had put 2+ miles under my belt on the run when I began to realize my really was irritated.  If it hadn't been cloudy and zero sun all day I would have guessed my neck was sunburned.   Some girl had put a Lei around my neck and I thought Oh crap its causing the irritation so I pulled it off even though I only had it on for a few minutes.  I just focused on hittign my pace and pushing out to the end.
As I come around the curve I see the crowd, and the cheering is louder, the finish line is right there and try and give it a really good speed boost but just dont have a lot left and only manage a real minor surge.

Official time: 29:49.8

Race Summary and Results

Well there you have it my first Official Triathlon completed. 1:45:40.7
Im somewhat confused to my finish time because when I actually crossed the line the time above the finish read like 1:41 or 1:42 or something similar.  I was in the first wave of swimmers so Im not really sure how the time got off.  I know I wasn't penalized.  Meh whatever.

This graphic shows the comparison to the other guys in my AG  Its pretty obvious where my weak issues are.

Things for next year
Lots of swim training
Improve my 5k time to as close to 25 min as possible
Pedals & Shoes
Potentially a Gearing upgrade
Lose 15-20 more pounds by spring

An accomplishment a long time coming

Friday morning I ran 5k in Madison WI. inspired by all the collegiate cross country kids in my hotel. Friday night I did 2 miles of sprint intervals and felt pretty good about myself.  My whole body was sore with DOMS by Sat afternoon from the effort I put into the sprints.  

Sunday I decided that I would run long.  My goal was to do 10k which I have never done.  I mostly run 5k and have been focusing on speed.  So my runs are generally 3-3.6 miles always in that range and always in a 28-33 min time frame.

Lately I have felt like I haven't really been pushing myself to my absolute limit and I feel like I'm cheating myself by not making progress.  Why or how I got into this rut I don't know but I'm set on getting out of it.  The sprints were one way and me pushing to do faster and faster miles and faster 5K times is another.  Sunday I got this crazy Idea that I had the ability to do 10K so I did.

I felt pretty good starting out a little sluggish mostly from poor diet.  After the first mile I had settled into a pretty good rhythm and was keeping a careful eye on my pace to make sure I wasn't trying to go to fast my first time.

I did start out a little fast but managed to get things slowed back down to my "safe speed".  I brought a water bottle with me and was glad I had.  Running 5Ks without water is fine but I didn't want to run twice the distance without anything.

At the halfway I was feeling awesome which was good but I figured by mile 4.5 or 5 is where I would feel the hammer.    I just kept spinning my legs with keeping my head up and tried to focus on my form so I didnt get tired from running inefficiently.   Mile 4 came and went without even a twinge of fatigue.  As Mile 5 ticked by I felt invigorated by the distance and the thought that I was actually going to get this done.  I did catch my pace slowing but I think it was more from not being "aware" of my slow down more then anything else.


As mile 6 clicked by I was beaming.  My smile must have freaked people out who were driving.  I felt awesome and actually considered continuing just to see how far my body would let me go but decided since I normally only go half that distance I didnt want to strain anything. 

I ran a total of 6.4 miles in 1:10:08  Actual 10K time was 1:08:01

Reflection on Old photos

I found this old photo of me tonight and it reminded me of how bad things had gotten.  I think this maybe the worst photo of me ever.  Even worse then my semi-naked ones I took before I started losing weight.

I cant believe this is me.  I cant ever go back her EVER.

Race Reports

I owe you a race report for my triathlon...Ugghh Uber busy.  Lots of stuff at work goign on Ill get to it soon. I promise

Just exactly when I needed it.

Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours. - John Galt

Sept 17th, 2011 Jacob Krumm - 2011 Off the Beaten Path Trail Run

Jacob Krumm - Off the Beaten Path - News article about the winners

Sept 17th, 2011

I decided to do the 3K race even though I know the 6K would have been a breeze for me. I had my Triathlon the following weekend the so I didn't want to risk stressing my knee or my hip. So I stuck with the 3k ya short distance but I really wanted to see how much I improved from last year anyway.

I alos convinced my sweet daughter to run it with me. By "convinced" I mean forced. She whined about it the whole time..."Its so cold" It was a little cold.

We got her registered and then I took her out on the trail to show her the hill. She seemed unimpressed and cold. We wandered around mingling and talking to other racers a bit waiting for the race to start. I found there were about 3 other guys in my age group that would definitely give me some competition.

The race was getting ready to start so I grabbed a quick drink of water and got to the start line with my daughter.

Ready, Set, Go!

We start of carefully pacing and I watch my pace closely on my Garmin because going out to fast before the big hill ruins you. I had planned for us to be near the front but not in the front. So we were out in front with the majority of the crowd behind us. On our way up the hill we maintained a good steady pace and I had one of my direct competitors right beside my daughter and I. Man that hill just goes forever. We get to the top of the hill and I keep my pace the same and recover from the hill for about 100 meters before I increase my pace to a full min/mile faster. My Daughter pick right up with me like I didn't even make a change. We drop several people as we move out in front there really is only 1 or 2 guys in front of me as we merge with the 6K runners the path becomes filled with other runners we get passed and pass some others One Old man smokes my daughter and I man he was booking for a 6K pace. 7min/ mile maybe?

We are on the back side of the lake now and the rolling hills start short steep inclines one after the other. Nice run completely secluded by trees. I pick the pace up more and we settle in for the back half. I feel real good and My daughter is rocking it good too. I think she is hanging back with her Dad so she can run with him. We approach the last big hill and I slow down a little. My quads are burning Last year this is where I stopped and walked. Not this time!!! I did slow down though and I told my daughter not to wait on me Go ahead and push hard to the end. I told her to bring the speed now you have less than a 1K. She took off and left me in the dust. As I crested the Hill I see her making her way across the dam with only a few people ahead of her. She is moving pretty quick and looks good. I get up on the Dam and realize this is it. Its time to push hard I increase my pace to full speed, just as I see her cross the finish. I really power through the last 100 meters and finish hard. Coming in at a about a 6 min/mile pace. I cross the finish line and look at my Garmin...Im very happy.

As I wait for results I talk with my wife and daughter and the few other racers who have finished. Its a good sign when there arent many people at the finish line yet.


Results start getting posted.

Official time 16:49 w00t!!! 5Min and 10Sec improvement from last year.
My daughters official time 16:15

I took 2nd place in my AG and 3rd OA Male

My Awesome daughter took 1st in her AG and 1st OA Female

Male and Female OA Winners

So you wanna be a triathlete

So you wanna be a triathlete? 

Fact: you will not become efficient at swimming, biking or running over night. Sorry to burst your bubble. This is NOT an easy sport. 

Check your ego at the door because chances are someone fifty pounds heavier than you will lap you in the pool. Not to mention she will be ten or fifteen years older than you. 

You will be passed on the bike many times and you will never be the fastest runner in your town. 
You will have early morning workouts. Really early. 
You will plan your weekends around your swim, bike and run. 
You are up while others are sleeping. 
You are training while others are sitting. 
You will discover others who also follow this blood, sweat and tears cult. 
You will eventually get a flat tire... and have to change it all by yourself. 
No matter what you hear, triathlon is NOT an inexpensive sport. 
Warning, it is extremely addictive, hence the impulse spending on wetsuits, bikes, running shoes, aero bars, aero helmets, speed suits, power meters, GPS heart-rate monitors and many other ‘gotta have items.’ 
You will hate swimming more times than you like it for the first year. 
You will suffer through road trips with whiny fellow triathletes. 
You will suffer set backs. 
You may experience an injury. 
You will develop a love/hate relationship with a foam roller and ice baths. 
You will at some point realize you need a coach. 
You will hate swimming for the first year. 
You will wear tight clothing. 
You will not like how this tight clothing fits or looks.
Your age will take on a whole new meaning. 
You will discover a whole new meaning for tan lines.
Food will become an extremely important part of your life. 
You will learn new words such as GU, cadence and brick. 
You will hate swimming for the first year. 
You will spend more time on your bike than on your couch. 
You may lose a friend or two because you spend too much time swimming, biking and running, and they could careless about your heart rate training, foam rolling pain or 20 mile bike ride. 
You will learn patience. 
You will be humbled. 
You will start to realize you are paying money to put yourself through pain and suffering, but for some odd reason, you LOVE it. 

This sport called Triathlon, becomes a part of you. You start to plan your entire year around sprint, international, half-iron or full-iron distance races. Your vacations become racing, and you start to realize that this sport called triathlon could become a life-long adventure. 
Many people settle for things in life. They settle for a crappy job, marriage, friends, food, place to live and overall fitness and health. 

Those who desire more or those who want more out of life than a drive-thru window and boring sitcom, will choose triathlon or an activity that makes them happy. An activity that will change their life. Triathlon will change your outlook on life, your career, your marriage, your goals, your friends and many other things you thought you had figured out. It’s not just crossing a finish line or a boring finisher medal. It’s the countless hours that got you to that point. A moment in time that you will NEVER forget. A moment that you will discuss with your family and friends for hours if not days after the event. These discussions will most likely be about how you could have done better. At what point could you have swam faster, biked harder or ran more efficient? This is what will go through your head everyday until you get the opportunity to suffer again. 

So you wanna be a Triathlete? Enjoy the ride and train hard!