Post by Ed Slovenkay on May 24, 2013 12:13:30 GMT -5
I came to win. Win my age group that is. My goal for the 2013 American Triple T also included shaving off at least 10 minutes from my overall time when I did the race back in 2011. Funny how as time passes you can forget how difficult a race was and actually convince yourself that improvement is possible. I have a deep respect for the Triple T, especially the half ironman (AKA Little Smokies), since that race in 2006 was my one and only DNF in this sport. In the days leading up to this year’s race, I studied my 2011 times as well as others who finished around me to get an idea of what it would take to “win.”
I came into this race in about the best shape I’ve ever been for the month of May. I weighed in on Monday before the race at 166 lbs., the lightest I’ve been in over 25 years. My power numbers on the bike are up from previous years and my swim is really coming along. However, in triathlon, it’s all about the run. For me, the run has ruined more races than I care to remember. Since I don’t have the build for running I often struggle with balancing volume and intensity in training when it comes to this discipline. It was one loop of the run course back in 2006 that caused me to throw in the towel and quit on this course. This course IS that brutal.
I knew that in order to improve on my times I’d have to find a way to run the entire run course during all 4 races. There would have to be NO walking. In 2006 & 2011 I often found myself walking up the hills and running/trotting on the descents. This is a very common pattern for Triple T participants. As you work your way through the 6.55 mile out and back loop, the temptation to walk is suffocating. The run course is an old fire route that is made up of dirt & gravel. As you get further into the trail, the urge to walk is everywhere as you see others walking, faces wincing in pain from burning quad & glute muscles caused by the never ending hills on the bike course. The race quickly goes from a physical battle to a battle between the ears as your mind weighs the benefits of walking against the cost of the clock as every step feels like you’re landing on broken glass.
The kickoff race for Triple T begins on Friday at 5:00pm. It is a super sprint distance race that gets you to focus on the weekend task at hand in a bite size portion. The Friday race is contained entirely inside the park and most people hammer the distance of 250 meter swim, 6k bike, 1 mile run. I finished the race a few seconds faster than last time which helped set the tone for the weekend. I prepaid for a 15 min massage after each race and lined up to receive my due. Bob was my masseuse and I informed him of the constant trouble I have in my right calf. He diagnosed it as a tight soleus muscle and began to work his magic. By the time he was done, no more pain. I felt ready to take on the Triple T demons.
Saturday morning requires an Olympic distance effort in the traditional format, swim, bike, run. I arrived at transition after body marking and obtaining my timing chip to find that I brought the wrong wetsuit. I know what you’re thinking, “really Ed, any wetsuit should suffice.” Since the water temps were tolerable my plan was to go with the sleeveless wetsuit all weekend. Only the one I pulled from my transition bag was a full sleeve and it happens to be the one that doesn’t go on very easily. The only time I wore this wetsuit was at Ironman St. George last year and immediately thoughts of rough waters came to mind. As luck would have it there was plenty of time to negotiate the suit and I had a rather fast and calm swim. I forgot how tough the morning bike course was. I remembered Thompson Hill but forgot that the climb after never actually ended. Other racers were hammering past me. I wondered how they would finish this weekend if they burned all of their matches this early. I ride with a power meter and saw that my normalized power was over 270 watts. This kept me from giving chase to these yahoos flying past me as I knew I had the bike effort under control. As I exited T2 I hit the lap button on my watch and told myself three things. First, do not look at the watch for pacing info. Second, run based on feel. When you feel good push it, but when you feel bad back off. And finally do not walk. I cut out another 3 minutes from last time and was pleasantly surprised.
It was Coach Sean Gilbert who planted the seed about the importance of going by feel as opposed to being a slave to the gadgets. At first this was a foreign concept to me but as the second race on Saturday afternoon unfolded, I began to understand the value of this skill. The format for the afternoon Olympic distance is bike, swim, run. A different bike course from the morning race but again I had forgotten how difficult this bike course really was. A 40k+ out and back on good pavement with a long, technical descent meant that we had more climbing to do before attempting to slide into a wetsuit in order to swim in a rather cold lake. I felt good on the swim and considered myself lucky that I had none of the cramping that seemed to besiege the other athletes. Leaving T2 I once again I hit the lap button on my watch and began to focus on the labyrinth of a run course glaring at me. For the first half mile you inch your way toward the run path on a very slight uphill grade. Once you get into the wooded area you encounter the first climb. It is brief but after that the course continues to roll up and down delivering blow after blow to already exhausted legs. There was another piece of advice on running hills from Coach Sean that I began to draw from at this point. He instructed me that as long as your arms are swinging, your legs have no choice but to move with them. This technique got me through the run without walking and I managed to shave another minute off of my previous years’ time.
The alarm was set for 5:00 on Sunday. As usual I didn’t need it to wake me but as I rolled over and began to drag myself out of bed, I started to wonder why I signed up for this race. I know how tough today is going to be as did my counterparts as we prepared in transition for the final race of the weekend. The aroma of fear and soreness was evident now as the athletes started the swim from the beach of Turkey Creek Lake. People sluggishly entered the water now trying to save any and all energy as opposed to just hours earlier when dolphin dives were the flavor at the swim start. My race number had me seeded near the front for the time trail start format so my first swim loop was full of clean water. As I began my second loop there were athletes beginning their first loop so there was much more congestion to deal with. I have to say that I owe fellow Cleveland Tri Club member Rob Reddy a huge thank you for his help over the years with swimming. I participated in his Oberlin swim clinic again this year and I finally realized what many of the hard swim sets were about. These all out intervals on short rest followed by longer, steady state sets are exactly how I was able to navigate the swim this time without issue and passing quite a bit of folks in the process. It takes a short burst to get you around people then settle back into pace until the next group, just like I had trained for.
The euphoria from a successful swim quickly dissipates around mile 6 on the bike. It is here that we encounter switch back terrain and the climb fest is on. This time there are 2 loops to be completed on the bike course which is yet a different course than the others and arguably the most difficult. The time I made up on my faster swim this time was given back as I labored hard on the 2nd bike loop and lost about 4 minutes. If I had any chance of finishing faster than last time on this race, it would have to come from the run which is truly a monumental task. My friend and training partner, Mark Gorris, has been pounding run advice into my head for years. “Don’t start out of T2 too hard or you’ll blow it.” Apparently Mark knows how I think, or at least how I have raced just about every half or full IM. If my goal pace is 8:00/mile then I have to see the run splits on my watch at 8:00 or I start to stress out which ultimately leads to “blowing it” as has been my experience.
As I exit T2 I look at my watch in order to hit the lap button and begin the run. I embrace the fact that I will not look at my watch again until I cross the finish line. With heavy, sore legs I begin the first half mile toward the woods at an effort that felt comfortable. I must get my run legs back soon without blowing it in order to conquer this run. I began the first climb with arms swinging, mind determined not to walk. I see walkers and hear footsteps behind me. “I must be going slowly if I’m getting passed this early” I thought to myself. Instead my counterpart asked me what pace I’m shooting for. I told him I want to run a 1:45 or 8:00/mile but I’m not looking at my watch so pacing off of me might not help him. We struck up a conversation and that helped to take my mind off the pain. Shortly after the 2nd mile there is a really steep kicker which caused me to fall behind my new friend. I managed to catch up to him on the long descent which ends at the turn around. The trouble with the long descent is that it quickly becomes a long climb as my friend inched away from me but I didn’t chase. I remained focused on swinging my arms, backing off when I need to back off and pushing it whenever I could. I stayed loyal to my demands of not looking at the watch and not walking.
The first lap teases you by looping back near the finish line while the announcer calls out your name. At this point there was more humidity and when the sun peaked out it felt really hot. At every aid station I took either sports drink or coke while dumping water on my head. Still not walking, a second wind began to brew inside. There’s something about the mile 4 sign, which is mile 11 something on lap 2. You are more than half way done with the out & back and the grade is net downhill. I really felt good at this point and finally pushed the pace. Foot turnover, arm swings, aid stations, stay focused, avoid that rock, crest that roller, stay focused, you’re almost done! Just before mile 13 there is one last kicker before the home stretch. I referred to this as a “kick in the teeth” because nothing about this run is easy and before it lets you out of its mighty death grip, it delivers one last blow. I approached this last hill and came up on my friend who I haven’t seen since the first turn around. He was now running much slower than I so I gave him a shout as I sprinted by him. The euphoria had returned as I could almost taste the finish line. I crossed the finish line and finally looked at my watch in order to stop the timer. I saw the number 5:17 and was absolutely ecstatic that I finished faster in all 4 races than I did just 2 years ago. I achieved the first goal of a better time, but was it good enough to win?
I attended the awards banquet hoping to find out whether or not I had won the 40-49 age group. I knew I had to be close. As they called out my name for second place it was bitter sweet. I felt I had raced each race as hard as I possibly could but someone better than me had shown up this weekend and raced well also. The HFP site has been down so I haven’t been able to find out who won or by how much time, but hats off to him. The Triple T is a great way to test your metal. But if you want to win you gotta bring nothing less than your A game and a little patience for this behemoth of a race weekend.
I came into this race in about the best shape I’ve ever been for the month of May. I weighed in on Monday before the race at 166 lbs., the lightest I’ve been in over 25 years. My power numbers on the bike are up from previous years and my swim is really coming along. However, in triathlon, it’s all about the run. For me, the run has ruined more races than I care to remember. Since I don’t have the build for running I often struggle with balancing volume and intensity in training when it comes to this discipline. It was one loop of the run course back in 2006 that caused me to throw in the towel and quit on this course. This course IS that brutal.
I knew that in order to improve on my times I’d have to find a way to run the entire run course during all 4 races. There would have to be NO walking. In 2006 & 2011 I often found myself walking up the hills and running/trotting on the descents. This is a very common pattern for Triple T participants. As you work your way through the 6.55 mile out and back loop, the temptation to walk is suffocating. The run course is an old fire route that is made up of dirt & gravel. As you get further into the trail, the urge to walk is everywhere as you see others walking, faces wincing in pain from burning quad & glute muscles caused by the never ending hills on the bike course. The race quickly goes from a physical battle to a battle between the ears as your mind weighs the benefits of walking against the cost of the clock as every step feels like you’re landing on broken glass.
The kickoff race for Triple T begins on Friday at 5:00pm. It is a super sprint distance race that gets you to focus on the weekend task at hand in a bite size portion. The Friday race is contained entirely inside the park and most people hammer the distance of 250 meter swim, 6k bike, 1 mile run. I finished the race a few seconds faster than last time which helped set the tone for the weekend. I prepaid for a 15 min massage after each race and lined up to receive my due. Bob was my masseuse and I informed him of the constant trouble I have in my right calf. He diagnosed it as a tight soleus muscle and began to work his magic. By the time he was done, no more pain. I felt ready to take on the Triple T demons.
Saturday morning requires an Olympic distance effort in the traditional format, swim, bike, run. I arrived at transition after body marking and obtaining my timing chip to find that I brought the wrong wetsuit. I know what you’re thinking, “really Ed, any wetsuit should suffice.” Since the water temps were tolerable my plan was to go with the sleeveless wetsuit all weekend. Only the one I pulled from my transition bag was a full sleeve and it happens to be the one that doesn’t go on very easily. The only time I wore this wetsuit was at Ironman St. George last year and immediately thoughts of rough waters came to mind. As luck would have it there was plenty of time to negotiate the suit and I had a rather fast and calm swim. I forgot how tough the morning bike course was. I remembered Thompson Hill but forgot that the climb after never actually ended. Other racers were hammering past me. I wondered how they would finish this weekend if they burned all of their matches this early. I ride with a power meter and saw that my normalized power was over 270 watts. This kept me from giving chase to these yahoos flying past me as I knew I had the bike effort under control. As I exited T2 I hit the lap button on my watch and told myself three things. First, do not look at the watch for pacing info. Second, run based on feel. When you feel good push it, but when you feel bad back off. And finally do not walk. I cut out another 3 minutes from last time and was pleasantly surprised.
It was Coach Sean Gilbert who planted the seed about the importance of going by feel as opposed to being a slave to the gadgets. At first this was a foreign concept to me but as the second race on Saturday afternoon unfolded, I began to understand the value of this skill. The format for the afternoon Olympic distance is bike, swim, run. A different bike course from the morning race but again I had forgotten how difficult this bike course really was. A 40k+ out and back on good pavement with a long, technical descent meant that we had more climbing to do before attempting to slide into a wetsuit in order to swim in a rather cold lake. I felt good on the swim and considered myself lucky that I had none of the cramping that seemed to besiege the other athletes. Leaving T2 I once again I hit the lap button on my watch and began to focus on the labyrinth of a run course glaring at me. For the first half mile you inch your way toward the run path on a very slight uphill grade. Once you get into the wooded area you encounter the first climb. It is brief but after that the course continues to roll up and down delivering blow after blow to already exhausted legs. There was another piece of advice on running hills from Coach Sean that I began to draw from at this point. He instructed me that as long as your arms are swinging, your legs have no choice but to move with them. This technique got me through the run without walking and I managed to shave another minute off of my previous years’ time.
The alarm was set for 5:00 on Sunday. As usual I didn’t need it to wake me but as I rolled over and began to drag myself out of bed, I started to wonder why I signed up for this race. I know how tough today is going to be as did my counterparts as we prepared in transition for the final race of the weekend. The aroma of fear and soreness was evident now as the athletes started the swim from the beach of Turkey Creek Lake. People sluggishly entered the water now trying to save any and all energy as opposed to just hours earlier when dolphin dives were the flavor at the swim start. My race number had me seeded near the front for the time trail start format so my first swim loop was full of clean water. As I began my second loop there were athletes beginning their first loop so there was much more congestion to deal with. I have to say that I owe fellow Cleveland Tri Club member Rob Reddy a huge thank you for his help over the years with swimming. I participated in his Oberlin swim clinic again this year and I finally realized what many of the hard swim sets were about. These all out intervals on short rest followed by longer, steady state sets are exactly how I was able to navigate the swim this time without issue and passing quite a bit of folks in the process. It takes a short burst to get you around people then settle back into pace until the next group, just like I had trained for.
The euphoria from a successful swim quickly dissipates around mile 6 on the bike. It is here that we encounter switch back terrain and the climb fest is on. This time there are 2 loops to be completed on the bike course which is yet a different course than the others and arguably the most difficult. The time I made up on my faster swim this time was given back as I labored hard on the 2nd bike loop and lost about 4 minutes. If I had any chance of finishing faster than last time on this race, it would have to come from the run which is truly a monumental task. My friend and training partner, Mark Gorris, has been pounding run advice into my head for years. “Don’t start out of T2 too hard or you’ll blow it.” Apparently Mark knows how I think, or at least how I have raced just about every half or full IM. If my goal pace is 8:00/mile then I have to see the run splits on my watch at 8:00 or I start to stress out which ultimately leads to “blowing it” as has been my experience.
As I exit T2 I look at my watch in order to hit the lap button and begin the run. I embrace the fact that I will not look at my watch again until I cross the finish line. With heavy, sore legs I begin the first half mile toward the woods at an effort that felt comfortable. I must get my run legs back soon without blowing it in order to conquer this run. I began the first climb with arms swinging, mind determined not to walk. I see walkers and hear footsteps behind me. “I must be going slowly if I’m getting passed this early” I thought to myself. Instead my counterpart asked me what pace I’m shooting for. I told him I want to run a 1:45 or 8:00/mile but I’m not looking at my watch so pacing off of me might not help him. We struck up a conversation and that helped to take my mind off the pain. Shortly after the 2nd mile there is a really steep kicker which caused me to fall behind my new friend. I managed to catch up to him on the long descent which ends at the turn around. The trouble with the long descent is that it quickly becomes a long climb as my friend inched away from me but I didn’t chase. I remained focused on swinging my arms, backing off when I need to back off and pushing it whenever I could. I stayed loyal to my demands of not looking at the watch and not walking.
The first lap teases you by looping back near the finish line while the announcer calls out your name. At this point there was more humidity and when the sun peaked out it felt really hot. At every aid station I took either sports drink or coke while dumping water on my head. Still not walking, a second wind began to brew inside. There’s something about the mile 4 sign, which is mile 11 something on lap 2. You are more than half way done with the out & back and the grade is net downhill. I really felt good at this point and finally pushed the pace. Foot turnover, arm swings, aid stations, stay focused, avoid that rock, crest that roller, stay focused, you’re almost done! Just before mile 13 there is one last kicker before the home stretch. I referred to this as a “kick in the teeth” because nothing about this run is easy and before it lets you out of its mighty death grip, it delivers one last blow. I approached this last hill and came up on my friend who I haven’t seen since the first turn around. He was now running much slower than I so I gave him a shout as I sprinted by him. The euphoria had returned as I could almost taste the finish line. I crossed the finish line and finally looked at my watch in order to stop the timer. I saw the number 5:17 and was absolutely ecstatic that I finished faster in all 4 races than I did just 2 years ago. I achieved the first goal of a better time, but was it good enough to win?
I attended the awards banquet hoping to find out whether or not I had won the 40-49 age group. I knew I had to be close. As they called out my name for second place it was bitter sweet. I felt I had raced each race as hard as I possibly could but someone better than me had shown up this weekend and raced well also. The HFP site has been down so I haven’t been able to find out who won or by how much time, but hats off to him. The Triple T is a great way to test your metal. But if you want to win you gotta bring nothing less than your A game and a little patience for this behemoth of a race weekend.