Saturday, October 5, 2013

Heading Into the Offseason

After completing eight triathlons over the past three years I offer the following thoughts entering the offseason.

I am not a good runner. Two examples illustrate this; the first is my performance in the Monticelloman Olympic distance triathlon. After the bike portion of the race, within the 35-39 age group, I was in fifth place out of 28. After the run I was 17th.  The previous year I participated in the Claytor Lake sprint triathlon.  Out of 98 participants my run time ranked 89th.

During this offseason I am hanging up the goggles and bicycle. The fitness efforts I make this winter will be solely focused on improving my run time.  Reading books, increasing leg strength, core strength, and increasing running workout distance and intensity will be the priority.  A subset of the increased fitness shall be a loss of weight.  I've often thrown around the ratio of 2.3 pounds (weight) to inches (height) as a goal weight.  For all 6 feet 3 inches of me that means 172.5 pounds. I am currently 215 pounds and believe that weight to be an unrealistic goal.  I therefore make my goal weight 190 pounds by April 2014.

I will likely look for a couple of reasons to hop in the pool and go for a bicycle ride.  I do not plan on having a workout that specifically includes those disciplines for a while.

While focusing on running/weight, I will establish a secondary goal of increasing overall muscle tone.  My arms are flabby, legs weak, and belly soft. Jiggling across the finish line is no way to go through life!  Enhancing muscle tone twice a week is already one million times more than I focus on muscle tone now. That frequency sounds about right, and I reserve the right to adjust as I go.

I've spent about one thousand dollars on gear and entry fees. For the most part I've bought on the cheap and I have showed up to all the races I've entered. If I make another purchase it will likely be a bike.  Tri bikes are expensive and I still want to ensure an investment in a bike is returned with exercise and physical fitness. I have also yet to find a pair of tri-shorts that don't fade after exposure to sun or chlorine. Those two items are on my watch list, but I have a feeling I am going to "go with what I got" for the time being.

My swim and bike times are not elite, or great. They are always in the top half of athlete performance  and that gives me the confidence that a pause in training for those disciplines will not adversely affect  my overall performance.  Losing weight and increasing overall physical fitness will contribute to my performance in the swim/bike as well.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

2013 Virginia Beach Sandman Triathlon

15 September 2013 I completed the Virginia Beach Sandman Triathlon (Sprint Distance).  This was my second year competing in this event.  Overall I finished in 1:26:23 and 20 out of 38 in the Men 35 to 39 group.  My rankings in the three disciplines tell a different story.  Of all the male and female age-group participants I was ranked 56 out of 361, 99th in the bike, and 223rd in the run.

For breakfast I ate my traditional peanut butter and banana sandwhich with two cups of coffee.  While driving to Virginia Beach I drank a spare bottle of water, to increase the volume of water I had in my body prior to the race.  I also tried to eat early dinner the previous evening, so I didn't feel the urge for an immediate bowel movement during the race.

The only piece of new equipment I had was the elastic shoelaces.  I did not wear socks in an effort to reduce time in the transitions.

Wetsuits were legal for this race, I love how much less energy I have to use when wearing a wetsuit.  When swimming in the ocean I tried really hard to focus on my form.  Today I felt as if I was reverting to splashing with open palms at the water and had to specifically tell myself that my form was incorrect and to start swimming properly.  All the other participants behaved themselves, which made for a generally pleasant swim experience. This was not the same "750meters" that I swam last year.  Last years race also had rougher seas, but there is no way that the wetsuit took off 7 minutes (Last years time was 20:08.)

No issues during T1, a little slow getting the wetsuit over the timing chip.

I felt like I was working harder than normal during the bike.  I hadn't trained particularly hard on the bike in the weeks preceding the race.  That's OK, I still think that weight loss and leg strength will help me get better at the bike, even if I'm not riding it every other day.  I ended up 37 seconds slower than I had ridden the previous year.  I suspect it is mostly due to the lack of time on the bike.

No issues during T2, I did like not having to tie a double knot in the shoes.

The run is my least favorite of the disciplines, 1minute 37 seconds slower than the previous years run. My legs did not feel as rubbery during the start of the run, but towards the end they felt like they were drained of strength. 

Overall my time was faster than the previous years, but I think that was mostly due to a shorter swim.  Between now and my next triathlon (next spring maybe) running, weight loss, and leg strength are my priorities.


Place Name               Swm Rnk ----- Swim -----      T1   Bike Rnk ----- Bike -----   Rate   T2      Run Rnk   ----- Run ----- Pace Time Total 
121 JACOB BRAUN          56             12:16            2:15         99           42:48         19.6    1:06       223               27:56           9:01      1:26:23

https://www.raceit.com/results/default.aspx?event=14958&r=6371

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Monticelloman Olympic Triathlon

On 5 May 2013 I participated in and completed the Monticelloman Olympic distance triathlon.  This was my first Olympic distance triathlon.  The distances were a .9 mile swim, 24 mile bike ride, and a 10K run.  I had completed a Sprint distance Tri the day before but didn't feel too exhausted.  I had convinced myself that I was here to finish the race.  My shoulders were more sore than I expected, due to increased resistance from swimming in a wetsuit, but nothing I couldn't overcome.

The .9 mile swim was in Lake Monticello, the "coolest" part of the swim course was that from the start line one could not see where the turn buoy was indicating the last leg back to the beach.  It was around the bend from a promontory and out of view.  Never done that before.  This start was a beach start, and I didn't care how I entered the water.  My priorities were not to get injured and not to get tired.  A couple of annoying people swam near me at the start and their flailing arms hit my legs.  No adverse effect, but it was annoying.  Lake Monticello was significantly warmer than Smith Mountain Lake.  Towards the end of the swim I could tell that the buoyancy of the wetsuit was helping to keep me afloat.  As long as I kept my arms moving I would keep skimming along the surface. Achieving a sub 30 minute time in the .9 mile is kind of a big deal.  Though I only got 29 minutes and 58 seconds, I am still proud of myself. 

No issues in T1. Another smooth exit from the wetsuit and easy transition to the bike.  I did not drag my foot across my gear and scatter it all over the place.

The bike had some big hills.  BUT, there were plenty of big hills to go DOWN and I fully took advantage of the aero bars and I burned calories going downhill and tried to conserve energy going uphill.  Somehow, in the 35-39 age group, I was 5 out of 27 after the run.

T2 was also very quick, under one minute.

I still suck at running.  I only stopped running to drink water from the aid stations, and still posted a 1 hour 2 minute time for the 10K.  That dropped me back to 17 out of 27 in the 35-39 age group. 

Overall I was 113 out of 225 males. 

Swim

LocationArrival TimeTotal TimeSplitPlace 
Split TimeCourse TimePaceDistanceDivisionOverallGenderWave   
Swim Finish5/5/2013 9:40:53 AM00:29:58.54029:5929:5902:04 /100m1.45 km10 / 2795 / 35174 / 22536 / 101    

Bike

LocationArrival TimeTotal TimeSplitPlace 
Split TimeCourse TimePaceDistanceDivisionOverallGenderWave  
Bike Start5/5/2013 9:42:34 AM00:31:39.76600:0000:000.00 mph0.00 mi6 / 2769 / 35155 / 22530 / 101    
Bike Split5/5/2013 10:19:14 AM01:08:19.50336:4036:4018.57 mph11.35 mi5 / 2772 / 35163 / 22529 / 101   
Bike Finish5/5/2013 10:57:39 AM01:46:44.95038:251:15:0519.02 mph12.18 mi5 / 2779 / 35167 / 22529 / 101   

Run

LocationArrival TimeTotal TimeSplitPlace 
Split TimeCourse TimePaceDistanceDivisionOverallGenderWave   
Run Start5/5/2013 10:56:59 AM01:46:04.25600:0000:0000:00 /mi0.00 mi5 / 2768 / 35160 / 22524 / 101  
Run Finish5/5/2013 11:59:52 AM02:48:57.7831:02:541:02:5410:09 /mi6.20 mi17 / 27136 / 351113 / 22555 / 101   

Transition(s)

TransitionTime
Swim to Bike01:41
Bike to Run00:41

Appalachian Power Smith Mountain Lake Triathlon

On 4 May 2013 I participated in a Sprint Distance triathlon at Smith Mountain Lake.  The temperature in April and May has been very cool lately, and even cooler in the mountains.  The water was so cold for this event that the swim distance was shortened to 400m from 750m.  This triathlon was also the first I competed in with a wetsuit.

The swim was an in-water start, I think I prefer those to the running beach starts because there are less flailing elbows.  I know from previous experience that I can tire myself out at the beginning by sprinting a little too hard.  I consciously swam at a consistent pace for the brief 400m swim, enough so that when I finished the swim and entered T1 I was not out of breath.  The transition will mostly smoothly, I did drag my bicycle shoe across the towel holding all my gear and that created a little catastrophy but nothing significant.  By applying the stick of lube to my feet prior to the race I was able to remove the wetsuit quickly.  Removing the wetsuit did not prove to be an impediment at all. 

The bicycle portion was 20K, there were more hills on it than I practice on in Hampton Roads.  I had installed my aero bars and bounced between using them and the "drop-down" bars.  I remember nothing remarkable from the bike ride.

T2 I thought went pretty quick, again no issues.

I stink at running.

I ended up 90th out of 196 men.  In the 35-39 age group (Clydesdales are now >220 pounds so I have to compete with skinny little twits) I was 14 out of 15.

Place Bib Age Sex NAME city/state  Rank SWIM Rank T1  Bike  T2 Rank RUN PENALTY TIME DQ
1. 220 39 M Edwin Garita Henrico VA 1 6:56 3 1:42 2 35:22 3 1:03    1 19:51 1:04:52
2. 16 35 M John King Christiansburg VA 8 8:18 10 2:46 3 36:04 1 0:53    2 20:11 1:08:10
3. 54 37 M Steve Burtis Roanoke VA 6 8:06 12 3:00 4 36:29 6 1:06    3 20:50 1:09:29
4. 76 38 M Andres Marte-Grau Roanoke VA 11 8:39 1 1:21 5 36:45 2 0:59    5 22:05 1:09:47
5. 262 37 M David Sellars Hardy VA 13 10:18 4 2:13 1 35:20 11 1:36    4 21:57 1:11:22
6. 261 39 M James Dillon Chesterfield VA 9 8:20 9 2:43 6 37:05 4 1:03    7 22:34 1:11:44
7. 100 38 M Jay Bass Blacksburg VA 3 7:47 2 1:34 8 39:33 5 1:04    6 22:27 1:12:22
8. 146 39 M Richard Diz Eldersburg MD 2 7:20 6 2:41 9 40:20 7 1:11    12 25:01 1:16:31
9. 279 36 M Justin Hendrix Fairlawn VA 12 9:11 8 2:42 7 39:07 10 1:30    10 24:23 1:16:51
10. 138 37 M Jeff Woodford Vinton VA 14 10:26 11 2:51 12 42:19 9 1:23    9 23:10 1:20:08
11. 156 37 M Benjamin Eib Fairfax VA 7 8:16 14 4:55 13 42:20 14 2:03    8 22:39 1:20:10
12. 163 39 M Erik Anderson Columbia MD 4 7:59 13 3:54 11 41:40 12 1:39    13 25:15 1:20:25
13. 200 37 M Todd Melby Durham NC 10 8:34 7 2:42 14 43:05 13 1:47    11 24:30 1:20:36
14. 211 35 M Jacob Braun Norfolk VA 5 8:00 5 2:31 10 40:27 8 1:13    15 28:53 1:21:02
15. 127 35 M Andrew Mokey Silver Spring MD 15 10:39 15 5:07 15 44:12 15 2:18    14 27:15 1:29:30

Friday, November 23, 2012

Turkey Run and Seal Team Memorial Challenge

Thanksgiving morning I participated in a 10k AND 5K race.  The idea of two races sounded neat.  I also appreciated the extra calorie burn in the morning of Thanksgiving.  Overall I placed 65 out of 163 participants, 47 out of 91 males, and 10 out of 25 thirty to thirty nine year old males.  I finished at a slightly better pace than I had completed a training 10K the previous week.  I experienced no significant pain during or after the run. 

The 5K started about 15 minutes after the 10K.  I was exhausted after the finish of the 10K and did not change clothes or rehydrate as I had planned on.  As I waited at the start line I stretched and tried to dry out my gloves and cap.  It was a little chilly on the morning of the race, but not enough to prevent me from starting.

There were more participants in the 5K, but after running the 10K I did not produce the same level of output.  The run did feel a lot shorter and I knew quickly after I started that the run would be over soon.  That felt good.  I was 95 out of 393, and 19 out of 46 30-39 year olds.  I may have had a better placing had I not run the 10K before, but I'm still pleased with my results.


5K Results
Bib FName LName City State Div Age Sex ChipTime ClockTime Overall SexPl DivPl AgeGrade
287 Michael Register Chesapeake VA M 30-39 35 M 21:10 22:20 11 11 1 62.2%
304 Wade Rohrer Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 39 M 23:24 24:34 30 26 2 57.8%
214 John Mannino Portsmouth VA M 30-39 32 M 24:12 25:18 38 33 3 53.7%
44 Matt Burrell Washington DC M 30-39 34 M 24:34 25:45 42 36 4 53.3%
17 John Morris Batchelor Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 32 M 24:56 26:10 51 42 5 52.1%
204 Seth Lonsk New York NY M 30-39 32 M 25:02 26:18 54 44 6 51.9%
277 Nitin Patel Arlington VA M 30-39 30 M 25:03 26:23 56 46 7 51.6%
514 Robert Wagenman Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 37 M 25:10 26:22 58 47 8 53%
816 Edward Fuqua New York NY M 30-39 30 M 25:12 26:35 59 48 9 51.3%
16 Todd Bartnik Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 32 M 25:20 26:44 60 49 10 51.3%
847 Quinn Tann Newport Beach CA M 30-39 32 M 25:34 25:36 68 55 11 50.8%
585 Steve Brown Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 35 M 25:34 25:36 69 56 12 51.5%
15 Aaron Bartnik Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 36 M 25:37 27:01 70 57 13 51.7%
24 Derek Bintz Chesapeake VA M 30-39 32 M 25:45 26:58 73 59 14 50.5%
109 James Foley Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 34 M 26:05 27:27 82 65 15 50.2%
43 Mark Burrell Norfolk VA M 30-39 31 M 26:33 27:43 87 68 16 48.8%
29 Derek A Bozman Chesapeake VA M 30-39 37 M 26:35 28:04 88 69 17 50.2%
544 Maximilian M Yeager Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 32 M 26:57 28:32 92 72 18 48.2%
31 Jacob Braun Norfolk VA M 30-39 34 M 27:05 28:14 95 74 19 48.4%
61 Robert H. Clapper II Manassas VA M 30-39 38 M 27:19 28:42 102 79 20 49.2%
150 Andrew Hood Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 34 M 27:35 29:15 104 81 21 47.5%
48 Jesus R Camarena Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 30 M 27:50 28:57 107 83 22 46.4%
252 Cameron Mitchell Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 36 M 28:11 29:42 113 86 23 47%
265 Vince Nelson Chesapeake VA M 30-39 34 M 28:15 29:32 116 87 24 46.4%
832 Evan Woollis Fort Bragg NC M 30-39 31 M 28:17 29:35 119 89 25 45.8%
348 Robert Trimbe Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 31 M 28:21 29:32 123 91 26 45.7%
835 Jon Clarke Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 30 M 28:56 30:30 134 98 27 44.6%
191 Michael Wynne Leveridge Jr Yorktown VA M 30-39 34 M 29:47 31:37 156 111 28 44%
33 Brandon Ross Breitberg Norfolk VA M 30-39 34 M 29:51 32:29 158 112 29 43.9%
79 Luke D'Lima Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 35 M 31:02 32:51 180 121 30 42.4%
247 Allen Miller Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 33 M 31:50 33:40 201 131 31 41%
143 Christopher Hines Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 33 M 31:58 33:17 205 133 32 40.8%
142 William Francis Hill Norfolk VA M 30-39 34 M 32:16 33:50 210 135 33 40.6%
527 Ben Weers Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 35 M 32:39 33:56 222 140 34 40.3%
341 William Stutz Chesapeake VA M 30-39 32 M 32:39 33:57 223 141 35 39.8%
232 Patrick McDuff Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 31 M 33:19 33:22 234 144 36 38.9%
91 Edward Thomas Doherty Yorktown VA M 30-39 39 M 34:58 36:46 264 160 37 38.7%
327 Shane Smith Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 33 M 35:11 36:34 266 161 38 37.1%
22 Wynter C Benda Norfolk VA M 30-39 39 M 36:51 38:27 293 168 39 36.7%
545 Ron Ylagan Chesapeake VA M 30-39 37 M 40:34 42:20 326 178 40 32.9%
510 Lejandro Villanueva Leesburg VA M 30-39 38 M 40:35 42:21 327 179 41 33.1%
337 David Stinson Youngsville NC M 30-39 37 M 40:36 42:29 329 180 42 32.9%
258 Don Nash Norfolk VA M 30-39 37 M 41:09 42:27 331 182 43 32.4%
306 Robert Andrew Ross Ashburn VA M 30-39 32 M 41:15 42:47 333 184 44 31.5%
27 Jason Brian Blundell Norfolk VA M 30-39 31 M 41:28 43:14 336 185 45 31.2%
90 Sven William Doebler Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 39 M 44:31 49:54 348 187 46 30.4%


10K Results
Bib FName LName City State Div Age Sex ChipTime ClockTime Overall SexPl DivPl  AgeGrade
595 Rob Ragsdale Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 37 M 44:17 45:13 9 8 1 62.7%
109 James Foley Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 34 M 47:04 48:05 17 14 2 58%
304 Wade Rohrer Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 39 M 47:37 48:34 20 17 3 59.2%
514 Robert Wagenman Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 37 M 50:32 51:28 34 27 4 55%
24 Derek Bintz Chesapeake VA M 30-39 32 M 51:58 53:05 44 33 5 52%
204 Seth Lonsk New York NY M 30-39 32 M 52:16 53:23 46 34 6 51.7%
348 Robert Trimbe Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 31 M 52:17 53:20 47 35 7 51.6%
326 Matthew Smith Chesapeake VA M 30-39 31 M 54:50 55:51 58 41 8 49.2%
226 Tom McCandless Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 31 M 55:28 56:27 64 46 9 48.6%
31 Jacob Braun Norfolk VA M 30-39 34 M 55:32 56:37 65 47 10 49.1%
17 John Morris Batchelor Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 32 M 55:52 56:51 66 48 11 48.4%
532 Timothy Whiting Norfolk VA M 30-39 33 M 55:56 57:04 69 49 12 48.5%
545 Ron Ylagan Chesapeake VA M 30-39 37 M 56:08 57:18 72 51 13 49.5%
560 Justin Chivas Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 30 M 56:43 58:23 75 53 14 47.5%
191 Michael Wynne Leveridge Jr Yorktown VA M 30-39 34 M 58:43 59:42 88 61 15 46.5%
27 Jason Brian Blundell Norfolk VA M 30-39 31 M 59:00 1:00:07 89 62 16 45.7%
79 Luke D'Lima Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 35 M 59:29 1:00:26 92 64 17 46.1%
265 Vince Nelson Chesapeake VA M 30-39 34 M 59:34 1:00:31 94 65 18 45.8%
527 Ben Weers Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 35 M 1:00:36 1:01:34 102 69 19 45.2%
91 Edward Thomas Doherty Yorktown VA M 30-39 39 M 1:07:28 1:08:33 124 76 20 41.8%
510 Lejandro Villanueva Leesburg VA M 30-39 38 M 1:07:57 1:09:08 126 78 21 41.2%
90 Sven William Doebler Virginia Beach VA M 30-39 39 M 1:20:22 1:20:27 157 86 22 35.1%
138 George Herring Newport News VA M 30-39 36 M 1:39:06 1:39:06 160 88 23 27.8%
33 Brandon Ross Breitberg Norfolk VA M 30-39 34 M 1:49:24 1:50:22 161 89 24 24.9%
341 William Stutz Chesapeake VA M 30-39 32 M 1:51:49 1:51:49 162 90 25 24.2%

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/