Moving on to 2010

It's been great enjoying a long end of season "recovery period" - short for slacking off from my training schedule.  Based on everything I'm reading, this is as important as any other training "period".  It is when the muscles rebuild allowing you to consolidate the fitness base built up during the season - creating a higher platform for the following season.  We'll see.
I've been using my free time to do some studying, goal setting and planning for next year.
The big goal is to finish in the top half of my age group at the USAT Age Group Nationals in Tuscaloosa, AL.  The primary limiter in that quest will be building up my power for the cycling leg.  So, my workouts these days are including lots of squats, and other exercises to build strength in my legs.
Since I will need to re qualify for the Nationals (I qualified in 2009, but did not feel I was ready) I've entered several events where that can happen - including a regional special qualifier (Wilkes Barre) where the top 10% get qualified. 
Here's my schedule for 2010 - in case you want to follow along.
(Note: as events approach, check the website for Twitter updates in real time - or follow me on Twitter.)

The big prize

Here's some evidence of the benefits of training for the past 6 months, or so.  This is a belt that I bought last fall.  Perfect fit - center notch in the belt with room to spare in either direction.  Hard to believe that I lost more than 3 inches around the middle.  Amazing.
That's the best "prize" from my first season in the sport of Triathlon!

Welcome to real competition!

Real competition - in a wildly growing sport

If the Nation's Triathlon is any indication of where the sport of Triathlon is going we should all invest.
In last year's event there were 2,400 finishers.  This year - 3,933!  Last year the top time was 2:01:50.  This year - 1:55:55.  So the best time dropped by almost six minutes!  The average time dropped from 3:10:31 to 3:02:40.  WOW!  That is a nearly 8 minute drop in average time.  So, the new guys that showed up brought some game.

In my age group the number of competitors went from a robust field of 68 men to 160!  I'm pretty sure some of them had elite athletic pedigrees.  Two guys in my age group passed me like a freight train on the bike (at least I beat them out of the water) and they were not looking back.  They were playing a game with which I am unfamiliar! The top age group time dropped from 2:21:36 to 2:11:58 - nearly ten minutes. I might be able to find another 10 minutes in this old body of mine, but it's clear that I am probably never going to find 25 (which is what I'd need to take off my time to win, 15 to get on the podium)! 

One happy athlete! 

On the other hand, I'm not discouraged.  Being a top athlete was never the goal.  The goal was to be able to say that I am an "athlete" again - with a straight face.  I think that goal is accomplished.  If you had asked me back in January if I would be happy to be in the top 10-11% of finishers at a premier Olympic distance Triathlon like the Nation's the answer would have been - "Are you nuts?  There's no way!"
This season has exceeded my expectations in a grand way.  I feel great and hope that the effort has inspired someone in some way that makes their life better.  It has certainly improved mine.

Race analysis (17th of 160):

I was quite pleased with my performance at the Nation's Triathlon.  In light of my comments above, I'm pretty satisfied with being 17th in a field of 160 athletes in my age group.  Overall, I was fairly close to the goal I set for the event - time-wise.  All of the splits for swim, bike, run were fairly close or better as a whole:
Swam in 25:56 against a goal of 30:00 (probably cut myself a break on that one).  Still pretty happy with my level of competitiveness in this discipline.  Swimming with the leaders!
Cycled in 1:12:34 against a goal of 1:10:00.  Since I averaged 20.5 mph, I may have miscalculated the goal since my plan was to try and average 19 mph.  Relative to my competition, this is still by far my weakest discipline.  Something to work on over the winter.  I wonder if there is such a thing as "thighroids"?  My legs are just too darn skinny.
Ran in 48:56 against a goal of 49:00.  Slightly faster than my goal.  With a little work my run times could get into the right zone to be competitive. 
Transitioned in a total of 6:26 against a goal of 3:50.  This was my biggest "miss". The fact that they dramatically expanded the size of the transition area (244,000 sf.!) certainly was a factor in that.  Could have probably saved 30-60 seconds if I hadn't got lost finding my bike.  It was a long run from the swim "in" to the bike "out" and then from the bike to the run. 
Overall: 2:34:50 against a goal of 2:32:50.  So, the transition thing really hurt - but it was the same transition for everyone.

Ready for the Nation's Triathlon!

The final event of my first season in the sport of Triathlon is on Sunday morning!  It will be fun to look back through this blog to remember how far I've come to get to this point.  I'll wrap up the blog with a few thoughts about that, but for now I'm thinking about this event.
My overall objective for Sunday is just to soak in the atmosphere around competing in one of the largest events at what has to be the finest venue in the sport at the Olympic distance. The opportunity to swim from the base of the Lincoln Memorial and then ride and run through our nation's most famous landmarks is really awesome to me.
Competition-wise, I'm feeling like I can really just give it everything I have.  It is my "A" race that I have been shooting for all year.  I know I'm capable of going the distance - so, I'm planning to "lock and load".  There will be no ounce of effort left beyond the finish line.  My goal?  I want to finish in the top 3 for my age group.  Reasonable?  Probably not, given the strength of the field - but why not go for it? 
There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month about how athletes over 50 should really focus more on participating rather than "competing" - keep the heart rate below 120 and all that.  I hope my competition read it.  It talked about how after so many years of competing our bodies are all breaking down and we shouldn't press them so hard.  My secret is that I took the last 30 years off!!  BOO YA!  What a great strategy I've been quietly plotting!  It only seems fair that I have an advantage now after watching my peers get bigger and stronger than me in our teens - I was a late bloomer.

Here's the goals rundown:

Swim - 30 minutes or less.  Not sure what to expect from the current in the Potomac, but hopefully it will help as much as it hinders.
Bike - 1:10 hours.  Where I need to be to be near the leaders.  That might be tough.
Run - 49:00 minutes.  Should be able to go under 8 minute miles.
Transition - 3:50 minutes.  This should be my easiest way to lower the time.  I'm going to try a faster transition technique to the bike that should be worth at least a minute.
Overall - 2:32:50 hours.  That would have been third in 2008.

I will be posting "Tweets" over the weekend that you can see on this blog (top right hand corner).  Stay tuned!  If you are in the DC area and want to find me or Jodie the best place to look is the "transition area" (there will be about 2,000 bikes there - you can't miss it).  Click on the Nation's Triathlon logo above to get more spectator information.

Three down - a podium finish at my first Olympic Tri!

Sunday presented with another excellent morning to compete. The Chesapeake Bay was calm as glass and the atmosphere was electric. Jodie rolled out at 4:30am to get ready for the drive down to North East (that's the name of the town, not the direction - though it is in the northeastern part of MD) for the North East Olympic Triathlon. Thanks Jodie!
As has become the standard practice here at "Tri2 do good" I clearly articulated my goals for the event. The bottom line was that I really had no idea how my body would respond at the full Olympic distance (my first two events were Sprint distance - roughly half Olympic). So, the "prime directive" was to pace myself to make sure I finished. Everything worked out pretty close to plan.

The swim: As the swim approached my feelings included fear. The buoys extended across the Chesapeake Bay and it was quite intimidating. But, having a couple of open water swims under my belt it was relatively easy to relax and just start swimming. Got smacked around a bit (as you always do) at the start - had to empty my goggles once. Goal - 30:00 minutes | Actual - 27:32 Not bad.

The bike: Felt as good as I've ever felt on the bike. The new aerobars I added are great. Not only is my riding position more "aero" they take a LOT of stress off my shoulders. Very comfortable. Also, the bars give me a place to mount a water bottle for easy hydration without having to sit up - just sip through the straw! Sweet! Since I was out of the swim transition pretty early I got passed a lot by the youngsters I smacked down on the swim - but if I was old enough to be their father I just let 'em go! Goal - 1:18:00 hours | Actual - 1:16:36 Averaged 18.4 mph - better than I expected.
The run: Felt good coming off the bike, but it is always hard to get the legs going. Plus, I had a nutrition failure (my "gel" wouldn't come open) that raised some concern that I could run out of fuel. So, until someone my age passed me I decided to focus on the prime directive and maintain a pace I was pretty certain I could maintain to the finish. 6.2 miles seems like a long run after the swim and ride! I plodded along and took plenty of water (none of that yucky "HEED" they were peddling!) - and MAN those iced towels they handed out (it was 90 degrees running on asphalt with little to no shade!) sure felt good. Had enough energy to sprint the last 100 yards just in case those steps I heard behind me were in my age group (turns out it was another 20 something). Goal - 50:00 minutes | Actual - 52:30 Not too far off - definitely room for improvement next time!
Transitions: Goal - 4:45 minutes | Actual - 4:20 Pretty good. Thinking about getting some "sock free" shoes that might save about a minute.
Total time: Goal - 2:42:45 hours | Actual - 2:40:56 So, a bit better than expected overall.
Outcome: Good enough to place 2nd in my age group of 12 competitors between 50 and 55 years old. This was a great confidence builder for my "A" race coming up in September - The Nation's Triathlon in Washington DC. I'm really looking forward to that one - the last of the series I set out to tackle.
To all my friends and family - thanks for your support!
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AND - a big congratulations to my niece Angie who competed in the Indy Triathlon on Sunday. She brought home some hardware too with a 3rd in her group - which is a very competitive age group! If you've been following this blog from the beginning you will recall that she is the one who inspired my adventure. Thanks Angie!

Feeling positive

The long awaited leap to the Olympic distance (from Sprint) will happen early tomorrow morning. My training sessions have been good, with increased duration and intensity. So, I'm feeling positive about at least finishing and maybe even being competitive in the over 50 age group.

Goals for tomorrow:

1. Finish; Still not sure what will happen physically at the full distance. As long as I don't have an injury or major mechanical on the bike I should finish.
2. Swim; It will be a close call regarding wet suits tomorrow. If the water is over 78 degrees they won't be legal for folks that are wanting to be included in the official results. It would be nice to have the comfort of extra flotation, but I should be better off than a lot of others who aren't strong swimmers. At 1,500 meters, I am hoping to finish in about 30 minutes. Based on the results from the same event last year, that would be in the top three "out of the water" - but, since cycling is my weak suit I better capitalize on the swim. Goal: 30:00 minutes
   
3. Bike; My goal will be to maintain an average speed on 18 mph for the bike. That would be consistent with my speed at the Sprint distance, but I have worked pretty hard on the cycling. Hopefully, the work will pay off. The course is "rolling hills" which means it will be tougher than the Philly course - which was basically flat along the river. Goal: 1 hour and 18:00 minutes
   
4. Run; It's hard to say how I'll be feeling at this point. 6.2 miles after the swim and bike will be interesting. If my body is willing, I'll try to maintain a pace of around 8 minutes per mile. Goal: 50:00 minutes
   
5. Transition; If there are no wet suits, the T1 should be fairly straight forward. I'll use my actual from the Philly tri as the goal here. Goal: 4:45 minutes
6. Total Goal; 2 hours 42:45 minutes. Phew!

If I can achieve these goals the result should be a solid upper "middle of the pack" finish.
I will post an analysis of the actual results by Monday morning. In the meantime, you can check back to this blog and watch "Twitter Updates" (upper right hand corner of the page) for developments before and after the event. Or, follow me on Twitter for live updates (bradkingrec)

Some brutal facts

It was a lot of fun, and very encouraging, to get an age-group third in the PhilyTri Sprint event. One interesting outcome of that finish is that it qualifies me to enter the USAT National Championships in Tuscaloosa, AL. Jodie encouraged me to give it a go - but, let's just get some perspective:

• As well as I did on the swim, if I were to extrapolate my pace over the Olympic distance event I would not even have been in the top ten swim times of my age group. That is a pretty clear indication that, given a choice, the better athletes will go the Olympic distance. So, the competition is much stiffer at that distance.
• If we go ahead and extrapolate pace for distance at last year's USAT Nationals (which go the Olympic distance) I would have finished at the top of the bottom third of the field. And, who's to say I could maintain the same pace at that distance? Unlikely, I think.

So, while I'm still encouraged by the PhillyTri results it is clear that I have no claim to any unusual prowess in the sport of Triathlon (or any other sport for that matter). On August 16 I will take on my first Olympic distance triathlon at North East, MD. Since the distance is roughly double any event that I've entered so far it would probably be a good idea to start thinking "middle of the pack" again - as far as finish position goals go. Better yet, let's just get a "finish" and try to achieve some respectable times from a "personal record" (PR) perspective.
If I surprise myself at the Olympic distance I can think about Nationals next year. If not, I'd be happy to become a "Sprint" distance specialist. Then, I could just settle into a reasonable training routine and avoid a lot of complicated logistics around nutrition (which becomes an important consideration at the longer distance).
Something I could do for a lifetime - and enjoy it.
What do you think?