ITU SPRINT RACE REPORT 2015

I didn't qualify for the ITU championship this year but just a few weeks ago I won a quiz and the prize was a free entry to the race and a kit from Jabra as well as a new Jabra ear piece.  I was pretty excited to learn that I could race in ITU although it was smack in the middle of my ironman training and final peak week before taper.  I figured I'd use it for practice and see how my fitness level was and enjoy the day.  I know the bike course and I really enjoy that lower wacker ride.  I've posted some of my fastest rides on that path.  I was looking forward to it...until the weather report.

This week the weather has predicted serious storms all week for Saturday.  Usually the storms tend to come later than the predictions than earlier (in my experience with sailing) but this storm was not usual.  It began to look cloudy on Thursday and Thursday night there were storms but it cleared a bit on Friday, only to come back with a vengeance on Friday evening.  The race directors adapted to these pretty well but it played a bit of havoc with check in and packet pick ups for a few folks.  I managed to get my packet first thing friday but missed the course talk completely as I had made plans to have lunch at Arlington Race track with a large group where I could network with some interesting connections and that evening I was scheduled for an evening with a CSO board member and friend for the concert at Millenium Park and afterwards a buffet.  She called me on Friday morning to tell me that we would be sitting at Maestro Ricardo Muti's table that night so I was particularly worried about getting back to Chicago in time.  I was also watching the weather.  She had also said that the party would go on, rain or shine.  So Friday was a very complicated and busy day, beginning with a networking breakfast listening to Steve Pemberton.  His story was compelling and very inspriring.  I hope to read his book soon.

The lunch at Arlington was nice and I got a ride home with a friend and arrived at 5:30 on the dot in time to walk over to the concert with my friend.  It was raining a bit but soon became a downpour and the concert was uncertain.  We hung out in the board member tent for an hour and listened to the rain and stood in puddles.  We went over the the pavillion at 6:30 hoping to hear the concert.  I was surprised at all the people who were willing to stand in the rain to hear the orchestra for free.  I was with the board so had dry seats but felt really bad for those folks in the lawn.  As it was the rain was a torrent but the particular Mahler piece went really well with the rain and seemed to have been composed just for that evening.  It was a lovely evening.  Afterwards we had dinner at Muti's table but in my opinion he was rather rude about the music chosen for the dinner; a small quintet of young men to which he objected fairly strenuously to his assistant at the table.  I did not get the chance to speak with him as he as across from me but met a lovely man and chatted about many things all evening.  I left about 9:30, still needing to get my transition bag ready for the race the next day.

I have to say I feel a little like a pro at this these days.  I was mildly concerned I might forget something but managed to get the race numbers affixed, my chip on, my clothes prepared, my nutition ready, breakfast and coffee set up for early morning and all my gear packed in plastic bags and sorted.  I had put an extra jacket on my pack for the morning but decided I did not need it (I had a light jacket on).  This was my only error of the day.  In the future I will make room for that extra jacket.

It was not really supposed to rain today according to the weather report I saw but it was misting most of the morning.  It was cold and I wished several times for that jacket back home.  Transition opened at 3:30 and closed at 6:20, but I was in and out very quickly.  I saw Seph and Sally and then Coach Allen, then Megan and Marni joined us and we all walked up to Buckingham fountain together.   We found a nice "real" bathroom and the gear check area eventually.  It was still cold and I opted to keep my flipflops and my jacket.  I figured I'd ditch the flipflops (hated to do it as I've had these since my first championship race in Dallas) but really didn't want to ditch the jacket.  Normally I stick a space blanket into my bag for pre-swim warmth but I forgot that too.  I decided I'd tuck the jacket into my wetsuit and just swim it to transition with me.

We had a long wait with winds and rain and iffy conditions for over an hour.  Apparently the bouys for the olympic distance short swim north and turn could not be placed because of a rip current that kept carrying them off.  Eventually they decided to shorten the swim portion of the Olympic distance to the sprint distance, but that was 40 minutes late.  While we waited I got more and more cold and I had not grabbed any water or nutrition so I was worrying about my hydration and energy levels.  I told Allan I was cold and he suggested a warm up run.  Best decision ever.  I ran down the path with him and back feeling very strong and warmed up well.  I knew I'd have a good race feeling that strong.

They had predicted the water temps at 60 so I was a bit worried that I'd start out cold and have panic issues yet again.  However, we have swum in such cold temps this year that when I jumped in I was really happy...the water was nice.  I don't think it was 60.  Allan and I guessed it at 68-70 after the race.  I hit the start button on my garmin for the auto multisport and for the first time remembered to hit lap instead of stop for each leg.  I swam a good race this morning.  I was confident and even when it got choppy I felt completely in control.  I passed many people, swam around a few in my way and managed at 17 min swim.  I was happy with that.

Bonus:  Jamie Jacobson was my swim out puller and I got to say hi and thank you to her.  So cool to see your friends.  I hit the lap button and headed to transition.  It's a 800 yd run to the transition area so it was pretty long.  I was surprised and pleased that I was able to run the whole distance, even up the hill.  Had a slight problem finding my bike but got my shoes, helmet and sunglasses on and hit the exit.  I took the first quarter mile easy to get hydration and to settle my HR a bit.  After the turn I hit the gas and pushed it up to 15 mph and took myself to the first turn onto lower wacker.  I then pushed the speed higher and let myself work at 17 mph eventually using the inclines and the course to get to 20 and 22 mph a few times.  I was happy with my ride.  It was a smooth and fun ride, I did the hills  at 10-12 mph, faster than the last time because I anticipated them and managed to keep my speed up even though there are slow and caution signs for the turns leading to the hills.  There was a bit of headwind on the return on the bus route but I was still doing faster speeds than normal.
I was using water, skratch plus ucann and a bottle of water and Base Aminos.  I felt the aminos kick in so used them more than the skratch.  I think that helped my run later.   I got into transition and switched to my running gear quickly, grabbing my sport beans and my empty water bottle.  (I had planned to fill it on the first aid statrion the night before because this bottle tends to leak in my bag.)  

Here's the biggest improvement for me all year:  I managed to do 12 min pace or just under for the whole run.  Normally I have to walk and let my legs recover from the ride.  They always feel heavy and sluggish and painful.  Also I've had feet issues with cramping toes and numbness.  I switched shoes recently to Atras and these shoes have changed my life.  They are so comfortable and no blisters.  I feel energized by this.  My legs are also doing much better these days.  I get off the bike feeling ready to run and today I was ready.  I felt like I was running, not slogging and really enjoyed the chance to high five and cheer for my team mates on the course.  I finished in 1:48, a 4 min PR for me for Sprint, even with the long transition run.  I'm sure if the transition was equivalent to other races I'd be looking at more like a 15 min PR.  I'm very happy indeed!

The most interesting part of the day happened well after the race however.  I had said good bye to friends and decided not to go out for brunch so was headed down along the bike course for home with all my gear.  Suddenly, this man stops and yells at me to give him my rear wheel off my bike.  HUH? He said it again, pleading with me.  I asked him why and he said his wheel was tubeless and flat and he needed a wheel to keep going.  I told him I had just purchased these wheels and they cost me $1000!  He said please!  I said "I can' t believe I"m doing this..."  The people around me were all holding their breath wondering if I'd give them up.  I bent down and undid the rear wheel and gave it to him and he gave me his HED wheel.  A nice lady took his picture and his information down which he was shouting as we worked to make the exchange and texted it to me so I could find him later.  He rode off quickly and suddenly I had to figure out how to recover my brand new race wheel!   People all around me were telling me how great that whole thing was and congratulating me and in the back of my mind I'm wondering if I just said good bye to $500 race wheel?  I turned around and headed back toward the finish to wait.  I was very tired from Friday and the chill air was taxing.  I had packed dry clothes so I put the long sleeve and short sleeve shirt on and sat in the sun on the grandstand.  I watched and snoozed for over an hour while I waited for Ramon Codrington from Panama...my race wheel friend, to finish his race.   He came in on the Olympic distance at 2:30.  He's in the 40-45 age group.  He wasn't first but he was quite happy to have been able to race.  Afterwards, we took photos and the lady who texted me found us and took a photo too.  I asked him what in the world compelled him to demand my wheel like that?  He said "this happened before to a friend and someone gave him a wheel.  I came all the way from Panama and I didn't want my race to end in 30 minutes so I decided to see if I could get help.  You were there. "  He and I chatted a little more.  As it turns out, he began racing in 2013 and he has lost over 100 pounds, maybe closer to 200.  He said I would not recognize him at his prior weight.  We made the exchange of wheels after a long wait at transition to recover his bike and said our good byes.  I hope I can find him on FB and friend him.

I think despite the long wait, this was the most interesting aspect of the day.

Chicago Triathlon Triple Challenge

Every year I compete in the Chicago Triathlon Olympic distance and fundraise in memory of my brother.  I'll put more about him at the end if you want to learn more about why it do that.  

I have annually reduced my time for this event and I have begun to use it as a gauge of my fitness level.  This year I decided to train for a full Ironman on October 11 in Louisville, KY.  I'm looking forward to that race and for that reason and a couple more, my outcomes on this year's OLY were not as important to me.  I decided that this year's OLY would be a training race and I'd work on bike skills.  That meant that I'd be pushing myself on the bike the whole way and possibly ruining my legs for the run after.  I also signed up for the Triple Challenge this year which means I did the super sprint in Saturday, the OLY Sunday morning followed immediately by the Sprint that same day.  

Here's how it went.  

This race is run by Lifetime Fitness.  I want to say thank you to this company and to the race director Scott Hutmacher who managed an amazing race with 9000 people all of whom did what they were supposed to do.  It's a feat of organization that takes a great deal of skill, talent and intelligence.  

Saturday  Overcast and rainy

The rain began that morning so everything in transition was soaked.  I had plastic bags so my shoes stayed dry in transition.  

This lovely short race (350 yd swim, 6 mile bike, 1.5 mile run) started at 7 am for the triple challengers.  The biggest issue facing us all was the water temp.  The announcer gave 60 as the water temp but I knew when I stepped in for the warm up that it was way below that.  I've swum in cold, even icy waters, so I know about what the water temp was.  Later the official water temp posted wass 55.  Maybe he was trying to psyche us into the water or something but that cold water did not help my race.  

I have a tendency to panic in the water.  The race start is the time when this often happens.  I've learned to control this over the last 6 years, but it's worse some days than others.  This race has a running start as opposed to a swimming start.  Running starts tend to get your heart rate up quickly so you enter the water with an elevated heart rate.  The icy water worsens this and the adrenalin and fear response makes that worse.  I ended up with a full on panic attack, heart racing, breathing quickly, struggling to just survive in the water.  I had planned an 8 min swim and ended up after struggling for about 250 yds, finally calming enough to actually swim and got to the finish in 11 minutes.  It was disappointing but I know this about myself and I was ready to just move on.  

I got on the bike.  I wasn't sure if I wanted my gloves so I grabbed them.  I never used them and ended up losing them on the ride because I forgot about them and they slipped away somehow.  I was focused on putting out the fastest ride I could.  I did do quite well, but my bike computer quit reading about 1/3 of the way into the ride so I had no idea what my speed was.  My garmin read about 17mph the one time I checked it.  I know I was getting up above that for most of that ride except for the turns...it was a 2 mile loop we had to do three times.  

I got back to transition. Hopped into my shoes and surprisingly was able to run out of transition and managed to run most of the way.  I finished a bit slower than planned (52 minutes planned, 57 minutes actual).  Not a place finisher, but 9th in my AG.  Since this is a place for beginners, I wasn't too impressed with that finish.  However, I was happy to have made it through the panic and done well on the bike.  That theme continues...

This is the view when you swim in the OLY and Sprint distances

Sunday  (overcast and warm)
OLY  (.9 mi swim, 24.04 mile bike, 6 mi run)

We began the morning at 3:30 AM.  The team (Trimonster and T2EA) met at Randolph and Columbus and walked down to transition for set up.  I had racked my bike the day before so my bike was there for me.  The triples have a special transition area that was nice, separate from the big area and easy to locate during racing.  They also have a valet service for your wetsuit and goggles where they bring those items to you at swim start so you can go from OLY finish to Sprint swim start and get ready.  That means you have to have a second pair of shoes at transition for the second run.

I had not been feeling quite right all after noon on Saturday.  I wasn't nauseated or really sick, but my appetite was depressed and just a little fatigued.  This affected my racing on Sunday.

The triples begin their race first at 6 AM.  The water was now 62, but we start with 150 others in a swimming start.  While I like this start better, I was not feeling great and the panic from yesterday was in the back of my mind.  Sure enough I struggled at the start again and had to back stroke and deal with a second panic episode.  Less difficult than the day before but still annoying and frustrating to me.  I finally got my breath under control but at that point I was feeling like "let this part be over" and swimming is normally the most fun for me.  It didn't make me happy to feel so "over" the swim like that.  I wasn't swimming my best therefore.  I finished the swim in 33 minutes.  I was hoping for closer to 25.

Chicago Tri transition is 1/4 mile from the swim finish so it was a long run.  Unlike years prior I ran most of this distance.  It was still a long transition.  Close to 10 minutes I think.  (results are not posted for me on this event.  I've inquired but no resolution yet.) Ate one pack of sport beans and drank some water.

I got on the bike and this day everything worked well.  Bike computer, Garmin, water bottle stayed in position...clockwork.  That's why racing smaller races is so helpful..you find out what needs to be fixed.  I was averaging 17-19 mph on the ride and never coasted.  I used my legs on the up and downhills to gain as much speed as I could.  It was a fast ride and I enjoyed it a lot.  The lower Wacker portion is a bit technical with turns and initially the light to dark switch as well as some potholes make it tricky but after that it's a fast smooth ride with a few turns.  I loved the bike ride.
THIS IS A BIG CHANGE.  In past years I just endured the bike rides.  I was tired, slow and in pain a lot on these rides.  I bought a new bike this year which is sized properly.  Zip was a great bike but too small for me I think now.  Despite the bike sizing charts, I appear to have slightly longer legs than people my height so Zip was about 1-2 inches short for me so I was using the wrong muscles and ending up with very heavy legs on the runs.  My new bike Ruthless, is a better size and a better bike.  She has racing tires and faster shifters and just a much smoother ride.  It's a joy to be on the bike when you don't hurt!!!  She and I make a good team.  I got back to transition in 1:25 which is a 17 mph average!!!  Normally I post 14.8-15 mph averages.  I was thrilled!  I used one bottle of Skratch with UCAN scoop, one bottle of water and two packs of sport beans and one Huma gel.
Transition was 5 mins on this second pass through. Drank some water and grabbed sport beans.

I got on my running gear and headed out.  I also bought new shoes this year switching from Nike Frees (they changed the design and it wasn't working for me) to Intuition 3 zero drop shoes.  Amazing improvement in how my feet and legs feel on the run.  I had to use my old Nikes on the sprint and I noticed I was getting blisters right away.  There's more room in the Intuition toe box so I was comfortable all six miles.  I did a run/walk of 4 on 2 off for the 6 miles which ended up slowing me but watching my HR and speed indicated that once I got to 159, my speed was dropping to over 14 min pace.  Thus I managed to keep my speed higher on the runs by walking a bit.  I reduced the walk time several times and was doing okay.
However my stomach was now not happy. The off feeling continued into the run.  I had been hoping for a 10 min PR at a minimum but by mile 4 I could see that wasn't happening. I pushed myself to at least match last year's time of 3:42.  When I entered the finish chute I saw the time clock was at 3:39.  I sprinted to the finish to get that 3:40 time and a small PR.  Immediately after I crossed I had to lean on something and throw up twice.  I had nothing to throw up so it was mostly dry heaves but I did not feel well at all.  Dizzy and sick.  I let myself recover and walked with a friend back to the swim start for race 2.

I had told myself that I could skip the Sprint because I never thought I could actually do all three races when I signed up.  But walking back to the start, not starting was not an option.  I decided to go for it.  Not thinking about anything but the leg in front of me, I downed my Ucan plus Base Aminos in preparation for the next two hours.  I got my wetsuit on and got into the start chute.  I saw coach Joy Miles on the side and went to talk to her.  I told her about two days of swim panics and was upset about it.  I was worrying about a third episode.  Joy helped me to change that.  She said what I needed to hear and I was ready to rock the swim.
Here are the results:
Sprint (.5 mi swim, 15 mi bike, 3.1 mi run)
19/29  2:12
Swim 18 mins  pace 2:31 min/100m
Bike  54:46 mins  pace 16.68 mi/hr
Run145:27 mins pace  14:40 min/mi

So yes I was tired on this race.  The swim was very slow for me.  The bike, my chosen focus for the day was again very fast for me.  Nearly 17 mph average!  I think I coasted twice but not for the full downhill, just enough to drink or shift in the seat.  I pushed myself on this course and it shows.
The run was just the victory lap.  It was slow yes but I was happy for the whole run.  (Nike Frees made my feet unhappy but hey, pain is part of the program.)

I crossed the finish line happy.  I wasn't sick, I didn't push my run on this one.  I just enjoyed the day.
The fun part of the Triple was the cameraderie.  Everyone with a yellow bib on was yelling, "go triple!!" all day and especially on the run.  I felt like they truly did want me to finish ths challenge.

It wasn't like a half although it was nearly the same distance.  The back and forth gives you a break from the very long bike portion and the run demands...

So the total distance I covered on Sat was 7.75 miles.  On Sunday I covered 49.5 miles.  A half iron man is 70.3.

Just a caveat:  I did the Michigan Titanium full aqua bike on Sunday the week before in Grand Rapids.  It was cut short due to a thunderstorm.  That day I did 2.4 mi swim in 1:33 ( no panic) and 56 mi bike in about 2:45.  I entered the triple not knowing just how much that race would affect my fatigue levels.  It had no impact whatsoever that I can determine.  I felt completely ready physically.  Perhaps the mental panics were due to residual issues from MiTi. but I think it was more due to the cold water and heightened expectations I had.  I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well.

In Memorium
Johnson Patrick Brian Friel   August 27,1959- January 1, 1986
Johnson was my only brother.  He and I grew up in a rather tumultuous life with aggression, physical abuse and  mental abuse.  He got most of it but I got my portion.  I was his protector from age 4 on.  My mother was very ill when we were young so I was charged with taking care of him.  I can recall bringing him home bloody due to falls etc several times at that age.  There were happy times interspersed in the scary ones but I spent a good part of my younger years being afraid in the house and trying to avoid being hit and trying to keep my baby brother out of harms way.  Thus we were quite close but it was tough because I was kind of like a mom but his sister and only 2 years between us.  This caused us to have a close, loving but sometimes tense relationship.  At 12 I decided I would no longer be afraid.  That's when I stood up to bullies and became rather contrary.  Nobody could scare me as much as what I had been through so what the hell?  Johnson had come to that state much younger and he would often challenge my parents in ways that created the chaos.  He also had a fierce sense of humor that could discharge the tension rapidly.  He was the famly clown.  Full of really funny thoughts and comments.  He kept us laughing.  He became an eagle scout, one of the youngest in the troop.  He was a swimmer in highschool.  I remember seeing him do the backstroke. It was like he was floating over the water.  He was fast.  He as regional NCAA champion in college.  But in college things began to go off.  He was having trouble and I was unaware as I had my own life and moved to Cincinnati for my new job.  Eventually, he drove up to see me and told me he was gay.  The next thing he said was "do you hate me?"  We cried.  Of course I did NOT hate him.  I loved him beyond words.  He was so important to me and my life.  We shared a mutual bond like prisoners of war, like brother and sister and like son and mother.  It was weird and mixed up due to the mixed up life we had.  I supported him as much as I could.  He left for LA soon after.  He was not welcome at home.  In 1985 he began to be ill.  He told us it was Hodgkins.  This is curable and we had hope for him.  However, the treatments for Hodgkins are not good for AIDS.  He actually had AIDS... at that time, doctors were still trying to understand what this was much less treat it.  Johnson declined rapidly due to the misdiagnosis.  He came back to Louisville on Thanksgiving and died New Years that year.  It was a very sad and trying holiday season for us all.  My parents and Johnson made peace with one another and he passed away peacefully I was told.  I had not realized he was so close to dying so I had gone back to Cinti the day before only to return the next day for a funeral.  It was the most devastating loss of my life.  The grief still resides inside me.  I still miss him.
When I swim, I often see him swimming beside me.  I miss him a lot and doing the Chicago Tri, which is often on or very close to his birthday and raising funds for others with AIDS/HIV is my effort to make his death mean something positive.

If you'd like to contribute to my fundraising: Donate to AFC for me!