Hey Gang ... I'll apologize in advance as things may be thin here for the next couple weeks with the wedding on the horizon. Until then I'd like to leave you with some athlete updates from the last couple weekends.
Above is a picture of Tom Anderson at California Ironman 70.3 this past weekend. Tom finished 4th in his Age Group and sorry to say missed out on any of his desired World Championship slots available. The hard part is Tom can compete with the best athletes in the country in his age group and this time he had to do it under the weather. Tom caught the dreaded Nor Cal Cold that has been running around these parts and it left him short on power (bike) and finishing ability. He still gave it quite a go but fell a tad short. Please read Tom's race report below. Good on ya Tom!
Some Athlete & Team TTE updates:
Jen Surprise (soon to be Latourette) - Jen Had a great half marathon (Shamrock) to cap off her winter season before transitioning to the wedding season ;). She had a PB over the distance and has now run injury for free for 18 months after a long battle with re-occurring lower extemity problems. Both impressive results!
Phil Johnson - Phil has learned the benefits of doing some consistent training through the winter this year and the result in a PB Half Marathon. Big thing form Phil this year ;)
Marie Muchow & Layne Scoggins - Admittedly both not on their best days but I'll give credit where it's due and give them Kudos for just getting it done. We often learn alot from our days that are not 100%. Well done you two!
Dana Chance - Dana is in the red in the picture above with race winner Kelly Lear-Kaul. After opening the season with a PB half marathon Dana kicked off the triathlon season with a magical performance. Good training, good solid race pacing and execution net Dana a season opening age group win and 2nd OVERALL at the Lone Star half in Texas. A great way to start her next block of training in preparation for Ironman Brazil.
down and two go for The Wing Man as he starts his quest for the California Triple Crown of double centuries. Scott started things off in Solvang this past weekend and exceeded his expectations!
Hopefully I can get a quick post up her later this week. I have some thoughts in my brain about race simulations sessions and being creative to achieve what you need ;) ... more on that later!
Tom's Race Report ... enjoy!
Something is dreadfully wrong for I feel a deep burning pain in my side…
Marty Robbins
El Paso
The Oceanside event was very well presented and I would be hard pressed to find fault with any phase of the race or any of the ancillary activities, (e.g. registration, organization, venue, post-race food, awards).
The swim might have been the most enjoyable ever during a race. We swam in the Oceanside harbor that has a jetty and breakwater to protect the boats (and in this case swimmers) from the ocean turbulence. This made for calm water and recent weather brought the water temp to a balmy 60 0. I got out with the front group and had little traffic except for passing through slower swimmers from earlier waves. I remember one fellow back-stroking at a right angle in front of me at one point. There were plenty of volunteers to help us up the boat ramp at the end of the swim and when I reached back to unzip my suit I realized it was already done for me. (I think I would know if I’d swum the course that way) I lucked out on my assigned transition spot; right in the first row with plenty of room.
Above is a picture of Tom Anderson at California Ironman 70.3 this past weekend. Tom finished 4th in his Age Group and sorry to say missed out on any of his desired World Championship slots available. The hard part is Tom can compete with the best athletes in the country in his age group and this time he had to do it under the weather. Tom caught the dreaded Nor Cal Cold that has been running around these parts and it left him short on power (bike) and finishing ability. He still gave it quite a go but fell a tad short. Please read Tom's race report below. Good on ya Tom!
Some Athlete & Team TTE updates:
Jen Surprise (soon to be Latourette) - Jen Had a great half marathon (Shamrock) to cap off her winter season before transitioning to the wedding season ;). She had a PB over the distance and has now run injury for free for 18 months after a long battle with re-occurring lower extemity problems. Both impressive results!
Phil Johnson - Phil has learned the benefits of doing some consistent training through the winter this year and the result in a PB Half Marathon. Big thing form Phil this year ;)
Marie Muchow & Layne Scoggins - Admittedly both not on their best days but I'll give credit where it's due and give them Kudos for just getting it done. We often learn alot from our days that are not 100%. Well done you two!
Dana Chance - Dana is in the red in the picture above with race winner Kelly Lear-Kaul. After opening the season with a PB half marathon Dana kicked off the triathlon season with a magical performance. Good training, good solid race pacing and execution net Dana a season opening age group win and 2nd OVERALL at the Lone Star half in Texas. A great way to start her next block of training in preparation for Ironman Brazil.down and two go for The Wing Man as he starts his quest for the California Triple Crown of double centuries. Scott started things off in Solvang this past weekend and exceeded his expectations!
Hopefully I can get a quick post up her later this week. I have some thoughts in my brain about race simulations sessions and being creative to achieve what you need ;) ... more on that later!
Tom's Race Report ... enjoy!
Something is dreadfully wrong for I feel a deep burning pain in my side…
Marty Robbins
El Paso
The Oceanside event was very well presented and I would be hard pressed to find fault with any phase of the race or any of the ancillary activities, (e.g. registration, organization, venue, post-race food, awards).
The swim might have been the most enjoyable ever during a race. We swam in the Oceanside harbor that has a jetty and breakwater to protect the boats (and in this case swimmers) from the ocean turbulence. This made for calm water and recent weather brought the water temp to a balmy 60 0. I got out with the front group and had little traffic except for passing through slower swimmers from earlier waves. I remember one fellow back-stroking at a right angle in front of me at one point. There were plenty of volunteers to help us up the boat ramp at the end of the swim and when I reached back to unzip my suit I realized it was already done for me. (I think I would know if I’d swum the course that way) I lucked out on my assigned transition spot; right in the first row with plenty of room.
The bike leg takes you through Camp Pendleton Marine Corp Base which is both good and bad. The good was at least one lane of traffic was available to us throughout the entire race and automobile control was managed and enforced by Marines with guns. I never saw anyone challenge their authority. On that subject, the Marines also donated hundreds of individuals to the race as volunteers and all did a wonderful job keeping things organized and running smoothly. The course was also picturesque with rolling hills and rolling hills and rolling hills and steep hills! The pavement was good and divots, manhole covers and the like were clearly marked for identification and avoidance. The bad, at least for me, was the lack of accessible preview to the course and not having competed at Oceanside before left me with some surprises and unknowns. It was also kind-of boring. I suppose we’re spoiled by living and riding where we do but I can’t help judging rides by comparing them to what I’m familiar with. It’s hard to beat Sonoma County for beauty and diversity. If only they’d close the roads to traffic. The bike leg was hard for me because of the affects of a recent and current cold. My heart rate ran high with any surge and felt managing it into acceptable levels was most important to the ultimate outcome. So the bike ran long, probably 20 minutes longer than I think I could do but that’s the way it is. I couldn't wait for the run.
The run course is a double out and back along Oceanside’s Beach Boardwalk and parallel streets. Whenever I leave the transition area for the run I never know fully how my legs are going to feel until I try running on them. This time they felt great and found an 8:20 pace to my liking. There was an abundance of crowd support throughout, well staffed aid-stations and plenty of cold water. The air temp was in the 60’s and in spite of a brilliant sun the run was quite comfortable. The second lap was more difficult than the first (of course) and began to feel some of the cold’s affects with coughing fits etc. All was manageable until mile 12 when I realized I was leaning forward much more than I should. It may have been the fact I had to raise my eyes to see the tips of my shoes that gave it away but no amount of straightening myself could bring me back the correct posture. It was as though the back muscles had shut down and could no longer do their job. So I finished nearly vertically, under 6 hours and within 30 minutes was well on my way to eating my weight in pizza.
With the Oceanside race behind me I find myself analyzing my pluses and minuses and what I would have done differently if I could. I suppose it’s only natural to do that, particularly when the results aren’t as good as expected and you want to second guess yourself or assign culpability to too much of this and not enough of that. So the bottom line was 5:52, and if your goal was to be under 6 hours then I suppose that’s fine. But I really saw myself as being at least 30 minutes faster. I finished 4th which earned me a neat placard and a spot on stage for the award ceremony. I also got to meet triathlete Paula Newby-Frazer a long time idle and really wonderful person.
What would I have done differently, it’s hard to say. Illness can’t be predicted or prevented and northern California winters certainly have their restrictions for available riding conditions. Do more strength training, but at the expense of what else? The Oceanside race was certainly hard and I knew that going into it, I suppose its challenge of new adventure that makes all this tri-stuff so fun.
Tom
Thanks Tom ... DL
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