Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Physical Fitness the Old Fashioned Way

30 October 2012, I attempted some Crossfit exercises.  I'm coming off of a long weeekend of recovering from the cold.  I'm not as strong as I was when I was completing Triathlons and my diet has not been great.  I forget the name of the specific exercise but the goal was to copmlete five rounds of the following: 20 Pullups, 30 pushups, 40 situps, and 50 unweighted squats.  I completed 3 rounds in 26:49. 

Pull ups were by FAR my weakest event, I think I was able to complete about 4 or 5 on my own.  The rest I gave mysefl a boost by pushing off with my toes.  If it wasn't for the level of exhaustion that resulted from completing the pullups, there is an outside chance that I could have completed five rounds of this exercise.

Below are two awesome, motivational links:

http://triathlon.competitor.com/2012/07/features/the-natural-entrepreneur-sami-inkinen_57869

http://www.samiinkinen.com/

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Claytor Lake Triathlon

On 22 September I participated in the Claytor Lake Sprint Triathlon.  The distances were 500 meter swim, 12.5 mile bike ride, and a 3.1 mile run.

The race started at 0800, for breakfast I had a bagel with cream cheese and coffee.  Because southwest Virginia had received some cold weather recently I was worried about the temperature of the lake.  I did not have a wetsuit and was worried I would be setting myself up for a painful shock.  Fortunately the water was about 74 degrees, very comfortable.

This was probably the smallest of the triathlons I've competed in thus far.  Only 99 males participated.  This made the start on the beach very crowded.  I'm always concerned that a beach start will end up with me getting cloberred with an elbow or a knee in my eye or groin.  Fortunately this did not happen.  I'm generally larger than most triathletes, so maybe I shouldn't worry about their inferior elbows.

The swim start was quick and I felt there were many swimmers passing me.  I also felt crowded by all the swimmers near me and I was swimming at a quicker pace than I probably should have been swimming at.  About halfway through I detected that I was very out of breath and found a place to start cruising at a comfortable speed.  When I did finish the swim portion I was panting and struggling running towards the transition area.  I did not feel like moving.

No big change to Transition-1 activities, I did not fill up my tires before the race, I don't think it hurt me but something I should have done.  No issues getting through the transition.  Tke 12.5 miles on the bike were the most hilly that I've completed on the bike portion of the triathlon.  They were not as drastic as Harding Avenue, but they took some strength out of me and I got passed by some lighter, smaller riders.  I did hang around the same groupd of riders for most of the race.  Some would pass me going up a hill and I would pass on a flatter portion of the race.  At the turnaround I was able to use my weight to my advantage going back down the hills I had just climbed.  I don't have any data to show how slow I was oging up the hill or how fast I was oging down the hill, and my bike speedometer was not working during the event.  That is something I should optest during warmups.

Transition-2 had no significant issues.

The run was absolutely awful and awesome.  There were hills, a lot of them.  I am not a good runner and these hills forced me into the old man shuffle while climbing them.  I did enjoy being in the woods running on a dirt trail.  That definitely preserved my ankles, knees, and lower back.  The shade also helped to keep me at a reasonable temperature.  At the end of the run I got passed by a group of about 4 runners, I didn't konw how much energy I had left and how close the finish line was.  I think I could have passed them had I known where I was on the course and how much energy I had left. 

In the Clydesdale Category I placed 7th out of 20.  My split rankings for the swim, bike, and run, were 4th, 5th, and 13th.  Overall Men I was 49 out of 99, my spilt rankings for swim, bike and run were 30, 35, and 87.  I really need to work on my run.

http://www.setupevents.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=event_results&id=3138




Place Bib Age Sex Code NAME CITY/STATE Rank SWIM Rank BIKE Rank RUN PENALTY TIME DQ
1. 145 37 M C Eric Vance Blacksburg VA 6 11:42 1 39:13 1 24:32 1:15:27
2. 3 33 M C Emmitt Adkins Roanoke VA 5 11:29 2 40:04 3 26:13 1:17:46
3. 128 52 M C Tony Roth Flemingsburg KY 3 11:17 3 40:08 7 28:00 1:19:25
4. 21 34 M C Logan Brooke Newport VA 1 11:00 4 41:11 9 28:07 1:20:18
5. 14 25 M C Taylor Blair Blacksburg VA 8 12:43 6 42:34 4 27:02 1:22:19
6. 79 36 M C Brett Jones Bristol TN 14 14:33 10 44:07 2 24:54 1:23:34
7. 17 34 M C Jacob Braun Norfolk VA 4 11:23 5 41:11 13 31:25 1:23:59
8. 49 22 M C Joe Ferrara Montvale NJ 7 12:30 8 43:39 8 28:05 1:24:14
9. 35 46 M C Travis Chattin Moneta VA 11 13:52 9 43:58 6 27:55 1:25:45
10. 73 42 M C Charles Jessup Beaver WV 13 14:12 11 44:23 5 27:30 1:26:05
11. 82 46 M C John Keightley Alexandria VA 2 11:05 14 45:09 12 30:36 1:26:50
12. 4 46 M C Joe Albert Monroe VA 18 16:05 7 43:36 11 30:16 1:29:57
13. 78 52 M C Wayne Johnson Roanoke VA 19 16:25 15 46:20 10 29:27 1:32:12
14. 39 22 M C Sean Dallachie Williamsburg VA 9 13:47 17 47:03 14 31:34 1:32:24
15. 117 41 M C Kevin Paar Blacksburg VA 15 15:03 12 44:41 17 35:09 1:34:53
16. 44 37 M C Richmond Dugger Blacksburg VA 12 13:59 16 46:44 16 34:17 1:35:00
17. 86 47 M C Mike Lambertson Blacksburg VA 10 13:49 13 45:06 18 36:31 1:35:26
18. 43 33 M C Kristopher Dugger Blacksburg VA 17 15:57 19 52:19 15 31:49 1:40:05
19. 137 21 M C John Sima Blacksburg VA 16 15:40 18 48:09 19 36:31 1:40:20
20. 178 49 M C Russell Shock Blacksburg VA 20 24:46 20 57:45 20 54:03   2:16:34

Monday, September 17, 2012

Sandman Triathlon

On 16 September 2012 I participated in the Sandman Sprint Triathlon at the oceanfront in Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

With a 0730 start, I awoke at 0430 to eat breakfast, pack, and begin the trek to Va Beach.  For breakfast I ate a peanut butter and banana sandwhich, heavy on both the bananas and peanut butter.  I also drank a large coffee. 

Parking wasn't detailed in any of the race information posted on the race's website, so Cary and I followed the car in front of us into a parking garage and paid 10 dollars.  I have never paid ten bucks to participate in a triathlon for parking, and I would have expected that to be annotated on the website but, whatever.

The transition area was easy to find and I began to setup my station.  The bar to hold up bicycles was a little lower than normal, and would not hold up my bicycle by its handlebars.  I was able to lean it on a wooden pole and that appeared to keep my bicycle upright.  I also recently purchased a "Tri-shirt" that I could wear while swimming, running, and biking.  This was an attempt to decrease the amount of time that I spend in the transition area putting that bicycle shirt on after the swim.  I also purchased a cheap-o speed indicator for my bicycle that displays how fast I'm going.

This Tri was also the first ocean swim for me.  Competitors started on the beach and ran into the ocean at the sound of the horn.  I, and the rest of the Clydesdales, started in the 8th wave.  Earlier waves of contestants did get pushed around by the waves breaking on the shore, but once one got out to the buoy and made the turn to parallel the shore it looked OK. 

When the horn sounded I began a quick sprint to the ocean, did my best to high step some waves and dove over the first large wave that came close to shore.  I fought through a couple of waves between the beach and the turn buoy, but nothing that pushed me way off course or made me eat salt water.  Once I made it to the turn buoy and began to parallel the shore I started looking for the next turn buoy, couldn't see it, and other swimmers so I could avoid their legs and start passing them.  I felt very comfortable on this swim, I didn't swim too hard and loose my breath while I was out there and was passing swimmers regularly.  I did swallow a couple mouthfuls of water but this also appeared not to affect me.  I could have probably saved time on the second buoy and my approach to it.  I did several course adjustments as I approached, something was going on in the current there that I Was unable to figure out.  The swim back to shore was fine, I did the help of some waves.  I also had a hard time finding the exact spot where one was supposed to exit the water and head on over to the transition area.  When I did find it I was almost there and then began my 400 pound log jog.  As I was jogging up the beach I did hear Cary cheering me on which always helps.

In the transition area I quickly put on my socks, with some sand, bike shoes, glasses, and helmet.  Then it was off to start the races.  Not having to deal with putting on a shirt after the swim is great for saving time.  The air temperature for a 15 mile bike ride was great, I never felt that I was overheating and using my speed indicator I was able to determine when I was at 21, 20, or 19 miles per hour.  For most of the race I was able to stay at 21 and not feel that I was getting my heart rate up to high.  I think, without any scientific proof, that this was the fastest bicycle leg on any triathlon I've competed in.  I will give part of the credit to being able to determine exactly how fast I was going and not doing that sprint at the begining of the swim.

During the ride there were a couple of packs of slow riders that I had to go around and one errant water bottle.  The course was a strait forward out and back. 

Returning to the transition area I changed shoes and removed my helmet and proceeded to the run.  I left my sunglasses on to look cool, which is very important.  Other than not being a good runner, the most difficult part of the run was being exposed to the sun on the Virginia Beach boardwalk.  Having this race any later in the day would have made that leg very difficult.  I also experienced some chaffing in the groin area that gave me some discomfort.

About 500 meters before the end I knocked off my timing chip.  I carried it by hand the rest of the way, fortunately it still worked.

Overall I did very well compared to the other participants.

Overall Males I places 74 out of 270.  In the Clydesdale category I placed 5th out of 38.  Had I been low enough weight to compete in my age group I would have also gotten fifth out of 21 (30-34).

82nd was my overall place including women and the relay teams. 

Place 
First Name  Last Name  Bib  City  State  Gen  Age  Swim  T1  Bike  T2  Run  Total  Penalty  Group  Grp Pl  Gen Pl 
82
Jacob Braun 707 Norfolk VA M 34 0:20:08 0:01:46 0:42:11 0:00:59 0:26:17 1:31:24   Clydesdale 5 74


Sunday, September 9, 2012

Patriot Sprint Triathlon

Sunday morning, 9 Sep 2012, I completed the sprint tri in Yorktown, VA.  The start was at 0730, and I woke at 0400 to leave by 0430.  The early start was a bit of a shock to wake up to, but I truly enjoyed completing the event and traveling home, all before noon.  Prior to the race I had a nice large cup of coffee and a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich, heavy on the peanut butter.  About 45 minutes before the race I was feeling a little dry and guzzled some water from one of the water stations.  Throughout the race I didn't feel overly dry, famished, or lacking for food.

The swim portion was in the "brakish" James river which had a slight current headed downstream with the falling tide.  The Clydesdales were lumped in with the 40+ men.  This made our swim start group a little smaller than earlier groups which were populated by college aged kids and other go-getters.  My least favorite portion of the tri is the begining of the swim where everyone is climbing over each other to begin swimming, so I positioned myself near the front and sprinted at the begining of the race.  I think I sprinted a 50m-75m distance before I got exhausted and had to slow down significantly to catch my breath.  At this distance I was still able to see other participants wading energetically in waters around me.  By one third of the way in, I felt like I was in a grove and was able to keep that up for the rest of the distance.  I thought the markers were a little small and sometimes I struggled to see them when I popped me head up for a look.  Other than that I thought I did a pretty good job of aiming for the halfway buoy and ending marker ashore.

As I got out of the water I felt very heavy.  There was a long jog through the transition area to the bike racks.  I thought my transition was pretty quick, no real wasted effort.  I did struggle a little with my socks, but I don't think it ended up being a great big time suck.

The bike was out and back on the same path.  I did not have my Garmin with me to give me an idea of how fast I was riding.  I would like to have one of those bicycle mounted gizmos to give me an alert when I fall below 20mph, or 19mph, or whatever seems to be my cruising speed for the day.  The course had a few gradual hills that are more significant than what I experience in Norfolk and Pungo, but nothing that threw off my time. 

Transitioning from bike to run I also thought I went pretty quickly, though my times indicate I did not.  I had a gel pack of energy-goo that I fumbled with as I ran out of the transition area and grabbed a water from the volunteers.  I suspect this was where my extra time came from.

The entire portion of the run I felt as if I was lifting 200 pound logs with my legs.  My worst performing event.  I saw a brief glimmer of hope prior to the race because I had increased the amount of running I was doing in training but not in an organized or structured manner. 

In the Clydesdale category I was 4th out of 8.  Had I participated in my age group, 30-34 I would have been 9th out of 16.  Overall among men I was 183rd out of 314, bottom half.  Though this performance is similar to my results and output in the Breezy point triathlon, I think my relative placing in the Overall category was so low because of all the college aged kids participating in this event.

My overall swim rank was 120, not bad, but I'm usually a lot higher ranked.  I think this was due to all the college aged kids participating.  The first transition I was 154, top half, but I thought I would be higher because I made an effort to run quickly to the transition area.  The bike portion I was also 154, top half, and this is normally where I fall out, somewhere in the middle.  The second transition I was 215 which is the most puzzling.  I thought I was pretty quick through the transition area, but trying to eat some energy and waiting for water may have been my downfall.  The run portion ranked me out at 244, which isn't suprising but still disapointing.

http://www.setupevents.com/files/PatriotsSprint_Clydes_2012.html

Place Bib Age Sex Code NAME CITY/STATE College Rank SWIM Rank T1 Rank BIKE Rank T2 Rank RUN PENALTY TIME DQ
1. 463 35 M C John Dragseth Washington DC 1 19:30 2 2:56 1 34:45 2 0:54 2 23:58 1:22:01
2. 467 38 M C James Dillon Chesterfield VA 5 22:12 1 2:40 2 35:53 3 1:07 1 22:28 1:24:18
3. 465 35 M C Benjamin Harrison Manassas VA 3 20:05 4 3:46 5 42:17 7 1:48 3 24:44 1:32:37
4. 462 34 M C Jacob Braun Norfolk VA 2 19:58 3 3:18 3 39:54 6 1:31 4 28:42 1:33:22
5. 461 32 M C Adam Heming Sterling VA 4 22:02 6 4:27 4 41:17 5 1:28 6 30:19 1:39:32
6. 464 35 M C Brad Poore Centreville VA 6 22:52 5 3:53 6 43:20 1 0:51 7 30:25 1:41:18
7. 466 35 M C Leon Simms Arlington VA 7 26:24 8 5:13 7 45:35 8 2:56 8 32:29 1:52:37
8. 460 31 M C Jas Carter Williamsburg VA 8 28:59 7 4:52 8 50:23 4 1:28 5 30:18 1:55:58  

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

2012 Franklin Omnium

The 2012 Franklin Omnium was the most difficult bicycle experience I have encountered on my journey to fitness through Hokie Respect.  The Omnium was held in the city of Franklin, approximately 1 hour from Norfolk, and consisted of a 9 mile time trial, 30 min criterium, and 28 mile road race. 

I received last or second to last in each event.  I'm proud of myself for completing each one of the events but also humbled that of the lowest class of riders I performed the worst.  That's just more motivation during my rides.

In my defense I had a couple of things working against me, a sore neck that has yet to heal and I doubt I had put in the same amount of hours that the other riders were.  I overheard one guy saying he put in 80 miles the day prior to the road race.  That's insane, I don't think I've ever completed 80 miles on a bike.

I was happy with my performance during the time trial, I was tired but not exhausted during the event.  It was about 9.4 miles and I averaged just over 21 miles an hour.

The criterium was the most frustrating of the events.  So far this year the criteriums that I have participated in have been in race-track like courses.  This one weaved through downtown Franklin and included a right hand turn at the bottom of a hill. I'm confident that for the 2 or 3 laps I was with the main group I was frustrating any riders who were behind me.  I did have to brake going into the turns and did not have "a line" as I went through each turn.  It became a $20 workout after the third lap, I only got lapped twice, which I good I think.

I lasted 3.4 miles on the road race before I fell off the main group.  At one point we were going 29 miles an hour, even while drafting I do not have the legs/lungs to keep up with that pace for an extended amount of time.

I managed to finish the road race in under an hour and 30 minutes, averaging around 19 miles an hour. 

This year I've been very adventurous about entering races, for the time being I might see if I can put in some long rides on the weekend so my next performance isn't "last place" across the board.

http://www.franklinomnium.com/

The results are posted below.

Time Trial: Cat 5

1       270 Chris Karmilovich Celerity Cycling p/b Brooks Systems/Celerity Cycling 22:48 M 364916
2       268 Peter Foytik           unattached 23:10 M 369515
3       260 Stefan Blomkvist   unattached 23:11 M 382490
4       279 Bob Zywiak             MVBC/Mohawk Valley Bicycling Club 23:46 M 64488
5       276 Daniel Spagone     Fat Frogs Racing 23:56 M 261092
6       264 Larry Dean             JRVS/American Pride/James River Velo Sport 24:14 M 367487
7       263 Robert Brewbaker VTV Outreach Team 24:20 M 374611
8       267 Reed Foster            unattached 24:20 M 383847
9       273 Nick Mossing         Maumee Valley Wheelmen 24:28 M 367918
10     278 Carl Frankenfield   unattached 25:22 M 384118
11     277 James Bradley       unattached 25:27 M 192922
12     266 Tim Ellenwood      Evolution Cycling Club p/b Long & Foster 25:45 M 343384
13     261 Jacob Braun          unattached 26:26 M 282728
DNF 269 Robert Kaiwi          unattached 26:27 M 331578
         274 Eliud Omollo          unattached M 383433

Criterium: Cat 5
1 260 Stefan Blomkvist unattached M 382490
2 263 Robert Brewbaker VTV Outreach Team M 374611
3 268 Peter Foytik unattached M 369515
4 270 Chris Karmilovich Celerity Cycling p/b Brooks Systems/Celerity Cycling M 364916
5 264 Larry Dean JRVS/American Pride/James River Velo Sport M 367487
6 273 Nick Mossing Maumee Valley Wheelmen M 367918
7 276 Daniel Spagone Fat Frogs Racing M 261092
8 275 michael prewitt Tri Power M 329896
9 271 Matt Keiper Atlantic Velo Virginia p/b Walt's Racing M 37136
10 266 Tim Ellenwood Evolution Cycling Club p/b Long & Foster M 343384
11 269 Robert Kaiwi unattached M 331578
12 261 Jacob Braun unattached M 282728

Road Race: Cat 5

1 260 Stefan Blomkvist unattached M 382490
2 284 Jeff Moulton Richmond Velo Sport M 361041
3 273 Nick Mossing Maumee Valley Wheelmen M 367918
4 270 Chris Karmilovich Celerity Cycling p/b Brooks Systems/Celerity Cycling M 364916
5 263 Robert Brewbaker VTV Outreach Team M 374611
6 268 Peter Foytik unattached M 369515
7 285 Gregg Palmer Team 3Sports/Richmond Velo Sport M 362388
8 286 Matthew Balderston unattached M 384084
9 264 Larry Dean JRVS/American Pride/James River Velo Sport M 367487
10 281 Christopher Clark unattached M 381958
11 267 Reed Foster unattached M 383847
12 287 Leslie Newman unattached M
13 275 michael prewitt Tri Power M 329896
14 271 Matt Keiper Atlantic Velo ‐Virginia p/b Walt's Racing M 371360

15 276 Daniel Spagone Fat Frogs Racing M 261092
16 269 Robert Kaiwi unattached M 331578
17 282 Adam Croft Slipstream‐Craddock Junior Development M 306523
18 280 Marc Fly unattached M 378645
19 299 Brandon Nero unattached M
20 261 Jacob Braun unattached M 282728
DNF 266 Tim Ellenwood

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Peter Teeuwen Mem TT #1 Virginia AGE-grade
This Time Trail took place on a lollypop course in the Great Neck area of Virginia Beach. This is the third time overall that I've participated in this event, I do not recall any of my previous times.  I did not use my aero bar, and I kept the bag under my seat with emergency tire repair gear in it.  Maybe that weight would have made a difference, maybe not.  Before the race I did clean my chain and re-grease it.

I should probably warm-up more than I did.  I think I maybe bicycled a mile prior to this event.  I achieved a small about of perspiration, but the begining of the ride felt awful.  I even had some pain in my stomach, never had that before.

I also found that I was pedaling in a lot lower gear than I was used to.  I was way out of breath at the begining of the ride and found myself panting to try to regain my heartrate.  It wasn't until the last six miles that I realized how low a gear I was using, and promptly started to use the three most difficult gears.  I'm not sure if that affected my time. 

I managed to pull out a 12th place beating four actual people.  This was in the CAT 5 race though.  All 5 of the Women 40 + beat me.  I guess that is my goal for the next race.

    1    Stefan Blomkvist 0:53:04.25 139
2543.33Jeff Moulton Glen Allen, VA0:53:10.65 361041 150 Richmond Velo Sport
3546.67Brad Onofrio Glen Allen, VA0:53:58.43 358585 152 Richmond Velo Sport (RVS)
4550.00Christopher Kurtz Chesapeake, VA0:54:36.02 337828 148 Team Kainer
5Paul Talbot 0:54:54.96 155
6Michael Wolfe 0:55:57.97 157 Fat Frogs Racing
7560.00John Dragseth Washington, DC0:57:45.96 375133 145
8Christopher Clark 0:58:27.35 144
9566.67Daniel Spagone Moyock, NC0:58:44.61 261092 154 Fat Frogs Racing
10570.00Ben Nippert Virginia Beach, VA0:59:25.12 276715 151 Fat Frogs Chesapeake p/b Timba
11573.33Erik Petzing Lynchburg, VA1:00:21.93 60820 153 Dire Wolf Racing
12576.67Jacob Braun Norfolk, VA1:05:16.20 282728 141
13580.00Paul Lucha Salisbury, NC1:05:38.00 130812 149 Team Portsmouth Cycling
14583.33Anthony Bream Norfolk, VA1:09:05.46 337926 142 Celerity Cycling p/b Brooks Systems
15Chuck Hollowood 1:10:59.70 147 fat frogs racing
16590.00Edward Torres Norfolk, VA1:11:07.26 333880 156 Fat Frogs Racing
DNSMark Braithwaite DNS 140
DNSJon Cencich DNS 143 Blue Ridge Cyclery
DNSMatthew Haralson DNS 146 Fat Frogs
DNSKenneth Spence Chesapeake, VADNS 356686 158 Team Kainer

http://www.usacycling.org/results/?permit=2012-1973

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Breezy Point Triathlon

Today I completed the Breezy Point Sprint Triathlon.  The event eas held on Norfolk Naval Station at 0800.  This is the first triathlon I've competed in that had the swim in open water.  The bay was sheltered, but I did have to deal with murky conditions, eating saltwater, and swimmers colliding with me.  The bike was on most of the same course that the Tue/Thu bike rides (from East Coast Bicycle in Ocean View) travel through.  I felt like it was my home court.

In the Clydesdale Category I finished 9th out of 37.  Had I competed in the 30-34 Age Group I would have finished 10th.  Though I can do relatively decent in each of the events individually, I still don't think I'm in the elite group of triathlete's (Clydesdale style) who continually finish in the top three.

Results below.

http://www.breezypointtri.com/bpt12.htm