Corporate Challenge 2014 - Bike & Run Race Report

The Indiana Sports Corporation organizes a Corporate Challenge each year where companies compete in a wide variety of events ranging from traditional sporting challenges through "school sports day" type events (tug of war etc) to traditional Indiana past times (corn hole etc).  Each event is a team effort being scored in a similar way to Cross Country racing based on individual finishing ranks.  I haven't been able to participate in previous years due to other racing commitments including the Mill Race Marathon last year.  2014 was different, and I was asked to represent Cummins in both the cycling (time trial) and running (10k).

Bike - Time Trial - P2 overall - 13:46 - Strava Data Link via Gamin FR910XT

The cycling event was hosted at the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis on Saturday 20 October 2014.  It was a 6.2 mile time trial with many of the roads being familiar from the Tri-Indy course.  For the team scoring, the best 5 times including one female athlete counted and we had exactly that, 4 men (Glen Alden, Spencer Dell, Josh Knight, Tim Proctor) and 1 woman (Melissa Morelli).  

Glen Alden; Melissa Morelli; Josh Knight; Spencer Dell; Tim Proctor

The team had been selected by captain, Andy Messer who wasn't able to compete this year, based on a qualification event in Columbus a few weeks prior.  The Cummins team has won the Time Trial event in numerous  years passed, so the pressure was on but we were confident of having some of the fastest riders in the field.

Given such a short distance, it's actually hard to judge the effort required - quite a lot more than "threshold" but too much and it's easy to blow-up before the finish.  Warming up thoroughly and effectively would also be key to come out of the start able to push hard immediately.  Glen and I rode a few laps of the Marion College Cyclocross course which is a permanent feature in the grounds of the velodrome at this time of year, it was good to ride instead of just sitting on a trainer, but the course demanded a lot of short sharp bursts which aren't what's needed on a time trial effort - so after getting the blood flowing, it was back to the pop-up and on the trainer for a methodical warm up.

Warming up? More info...

Warming up before the race

My problem for this race was knowing what the target race effort ought to be - 10 miles is about the shortest race I've ever competed in regularly and clearly I would need to be going harder than that with an expected time of under 14 mins.  I think I went a bit too hard on the trainer and didn't allow enough time between finishing my warm up and going to the start because as soon as I set off I could feel the fatigue in my legs - it was going to be a long & painful 14 minutes of racing!

Every time I felt myself settling into a rhythm, I stood up & sprinted for a short burst to up the speed and effort.  I stood up & sprinted out of each corner, I tried to stay one gear higher than I felt comfortable, forcing the cadence to keep the speed high.  I passed the 1 mile to go sign and my vision was slightly blurred, always a sign that things are on the edge, the thought of one more mile was a bit of a blow psychologically, but I knew there was a downhill run in to the finish, I found some additional effort to find the velodrome in sight below me.  I managed a small bit of recovery on the hill and then was able to sprint after the turn into the parking lot for the finish line.

Spencer rolled in just a few seconds after me with Glen close behind.  Josh and Melissa had opted for earlier start times so we didn't know how any of us had done until we regrouped back at the pop-up.  Personal timing only told us it was really close between Spencer, Josh and me so after getting changed, we headed over to the official timing stand for the results.

The team had a great result - we took 2nd, 3rd and 4th overall (Tim, Josh (by only 0.2 secs), Spencer); Glen got 12th overall and Melissa was 9th placed woman.  Despite not getting the overall victory, the points we secured gave Cummins a comfortable win in the Time Trial and the overall lead in the Championship going into the running & other events the next weekend...

Official results for the bike

Run - 10k - P4 overall - 34:54 (PR) - Strava Data via Garmin FR910XT

One week after the bike events, the Corporate Challenge moved to the iconic setting of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 10k and 5k run, 5k walk and other events such as tug of war, basketball shoot out etc.

I was running in the first event, the 10k race, which started at 8am.  This meant an early start from Columbus to get there in time for a warm up run, collect my shirt and bib and be ready for the start - however, the organizers had underestimated the number of participants, or perhaps their enthusiasm to arrive early, so as I turned onto Georgetown a couple of miles from the designated parking lot, I hit a traffic line that was nearly stationary and panic started to mount!

I changed into my new racing flats whilst sitting in the traffic and resolved that my warm up would be the run from the car to the Cummins tent to pick up my shirt & bib number!  So much for the calculated & methodical warm up routine, sometimes you just have to go with what you've got!

Having looked at the results from last years event, I knew it was a fast field at the front, and I felt a bit self conscious lining up on the front row alongside some obviously serious runners - so it was a surprise to find myself in a completely uncontested 3rd place as the race got underway.  The two leaders went through the first mile in close to 5 mins dead, my first mile was 5:26 which I knew was too hot to sustain for the full duration of the race.  I was convinced there were other people who should be running similar times to me so I resolved to slow down a bit, catch my breath and then use the motivation of running with others to force the pace in the later stages of the race.  This seemed to work pretty well.  Just as we came to mile 2 (5:46), I was caught - I thought there would be a bunch but it turned out to be just 2 other competitors so I latched on to them at what felt like a manageable pace with plenty of space between us back to 6th place it seemed that this was the race for 3rd, 4th and 5th.

From mile 2 to mile 4 we were running on the main speedway track - it's a huge and imposing venue that seems to take forever to run around!  During the drag along the back straightaway, our group of 3 was reduced to 2.  I started to worry about holding on to the 3rd place battle but as we turned off the main race track to the infield course I was able to find a bit more drive out of each of the corners and close up the gap, eventually taking 3rd place just before the 5 mile mark.  The final mile was a miserable winding labyrinth through the garage complex before we emerged at the 6 mile marker with only one turn remaining to the finish.  After pushing hard in the 5th mile and maintaining a surge after each of the many, many corners, I just didn't have a sprint left for the line so my partner for most of the race was able to ease away from me in the final minute and cross the line 4 secs ahead of me.

My time of 34:54 was about 30 secs faster than I had hoped for and given the winding, technical course, I was really pleased to set a new PR.

Everyone in the Cummins team (5 places scored including at least 1 female) improved their times from last year and we were able to contribute to yet another overall Cummins victory in the Corporate Challenge.

My race splits worked out like this:

Mile 1 - 5:26 (too fast!)

Mile 2 - 5:46 (waiting for someone to catch me)

Mile 3 - 5:41 (running as 3rd, 4th, 5th)

Mile 4 - 5:34 (stretching it out, dropping 5th place)

Mile 5 - 5:35

Mile 6 - 5:35 (the twisty nature means the time doesn't do justice to the effort involved!)

0.2 Mile - 5:26 (push for the finish line!)

Overall - 5:37/mile

Official results for the run

Cross is here - OVCX Race 1 - Brookside - 14 Sept 2014 - Race Report

Elite Men - 11th place overall; 4th place Masters 35+ - Strava Data via Garmin Edge

In the Pain Cave... Photo Credit - Kent Baumgardt

The first race of the OVCX championship is always a big event, there were over 500 people racing bikes in one or more categories throughout the day.  The first race location rotates between the regular venues and this year, Brookside hosted the start of the season.  The warm weather and sunshine was a strange experience as traditionally this event has been towards the end of the season and last year fell in mid-December as the finale.  Gone were the snow and icy mud, multiple layers, embrocation cream and danger of frost bite, exchanged for a dusty dry course and the need for sun screen!  The Brookside steps, a broken, uneven climb remained as the one constant, menacing reminder of past encounters.

The Brookside Steps - Photo Credit - Kent Baungardt

There was a good representation from the Bicycle Station team and as I arrived, with Jake and Amanda Virostko, team mates Jeff Fetterer and Dylan Wick were already on the course in the Cat 3 race.  I was able to pre-ride a lap with Jake between races and then watch the 50+ and Elite Junior field, had another ride around the course before warming up properly on the trainer whilst the Women's 1/2/3 race took place.

Calm Before the Storm - Photo Credit - Kent Baungardt

The Elite Men's race had a strong field and as I lined up on the 2nd row of the grid behind Spencer Petrov, I knew that it would be a good day if I broke into the top 10 after 60 minutes of racing.

The start was a brutally long pavement sprint up an increasing gradient and as usual it was explosive right from the whistle.  My improved starting for this year definitely helped, but I still found myself being swamped as the field galloped away from the start.  With the long grade taxing everyones legs I managed to regain quite a few places before we jumped onto the grass and headed to the first off camber right hand bend.  About a third of the way into the first lap, a spectator yelled out that the group I was with was "top 15".  It was a relief to know I wasn't further down the field and I could still see most of the lead group as we completed the first lap and in particular a group of 4 riders about 10 secs ahead of me included Eric Anderson, Rob Kendall and Freddy Rose - all racers that normally beat me so I knew if I could stay in sight of them I would be at least be pleased with my performance.

At 60 minutes, the race has the chance to develop some real phases of action, as opposed to being just a mad dash.  For me this race was in 3 parts, at first, I was shocked at the pace, and effort required to stay with the people around me.  This lasted about 3 of the 10 laps making me wonder how I was ever going to last the rest of the time.

Phase 1 - Wondering how I'm going to hold on for 60 mins - Photo Credit - Kent Baungardt

The second phase was marked by people around me and ahead of me who had gone out too hard starting to fade and drop back, my pace didn't change much but I started to feel more in control of things and started to believe I could hold the effort through the end of the race.  It's around this time that they start counting down laps - whilst cyclocross is a time limit race, after the first laps are complete, the officials assess the pace of the leader & determine the number of laps to complete the race at or around the target duration.  When you're already feeling exhausted, it's psychologically tough to see "5 to go" and this is definitely a factor in people starting to crash.  Rob Kendal had a really bad lap (with "5 to go") and he dropped off the Anderson / Rose group, I caught & passed him.  Normally in a race like this, that's it - you fade and there's no coming back so I was pretty amazed to find Rob coming back by me a lap later and then start to ride back up to the group ahead.

This marked the start of the 3rd & final phase of the race for me - I tried as hard as I could to go with Rob and whilst I didn't "stick on his wheel" he did help me pull up to the group of Rose, Anderson and Kendall.  This final part was really about believing I could chase and race with this group of riders that I've previously considered "untouchables" - out of my league.  It became clear that Eric Anderson was fading as Freddy and Rob kept the pressure on with 2 to go.  I was riding on my own but catching up, the frequent switchbacks providing excellent visual cues to judge the time gap.

With 1 to go, it's all or nothing, time to ramp up the effort for the final lap.  I caught & passed Eric Anderson (first time ever in a cross race) about a third of the way into the final lap and had my eyes on Freddy Rose, continuing to close the gap.  Through a slow technical section before the high speed finish to the lap I got off line lapping a slower rider and that opened up the gap too much, Freddy made a very clean and fast run through the barriers for the final time and whilst I made a ceremonial sprint on the pavement section, he was too far ahead to think about catching before the line.

I wound up 11th overall (just as I thought, tough to break into the top 10) but with some encouraging signs from my performance. It was also great to get the first race over - I know that my preparation hadn't been ideal and the fact had been weighing on my mind.  Racing for 60 minutes with some of the best riders in the mid West is a pretty daunting proposition but with the race done, it's somewhat off the pedestal I had built for it - sure it's hard, but I can do it and be happy with the results.  This is the start of "racing to get stronger" for me, I need to build up the volume and intensity of my training during the week and make a conscious plan for some peak in performance vs just training through the whole season.

Here are my race diary notes:

OVCX#1 - Brookside - 14-Sept-2014 dry, rain on Thursday - muddy in a couple of places - tacky, not slippy

A bike - Boone

Tufo Flexus Primus 30psi F&R - glued 12-Sept 2014 (new glue after Lionheart CX)
Last years wheels
PDM-540 pedals worked well
Really powerful brakes - some pulsing from glue on the rim?
Di2 worked well

Saddle is a bit bent after crash at Lionheart CX

 

B bike - Crockett
Tufo dry plus 30psi F&R - glued 06-Sept-2014
New China wheels
Left pedal better - cleaned & lubed since last race
Brakes not great - didn't ride, can't comment if there is any improvement but no changes made since last week

Pre-ride - rode 1 lap at 12:45; rode 2 laps at 1:45; half a lap at 2:45; Race start 3:00pm

Race - grid 13th - middle of 2nd row - behind Dillman (I think) - 60 min race

Start - quite good - but still felt like I got swamped in the initial dash from the line.  Managed to pass significant people on the way up the paved hill (long, long drag to the grass).

First couple of laps two people came past me, could still see the Knapp group ahead and Kendall / Rose / Anderson stayed within sight (10-15 secs ahead)

Middle of the race, felt OK - people started coming back to me - the Kendall / Rose / Anderson group stayed in sight - race data showed I was matching them lap for lap.

Kendall had a bad lap & I passed him, but he recovered & bridged back up to Rose / Anderson

Anderson started to fade & dropped off the group, I took time on him with 1 to go & passed on the final lap

Psychological barrier of racing with & passing Anderson, like Messer last year.

Felt good, final lap was faster than average lap time.

Got baulked by Cat 3 lapped rider on the last turn before the fast run to the barriers.  May have been able to catch Freddy Rose if that hadn't happened.

Cross is Coming... Lionheart CX Race Report

It's the night before the first Cross race in the OVCX championship and I know I've not prepared the way I had planned.  A sinus infection, antibiotics and a hectic work & social schedule combined to limit the time I have spent on the bike ahead of the first race.

However, not deterred by this and in a vain attempt to over compensate, I had a two race Sunday last weekend.  In the morning, I joined Quaff ON! team mates Jane Moisica and Danny Fisher at Tri32 Indy, an Olympic distance triathlon, where we had been challenged by two teams representing Tatum's Bags of Fun.  In the afternoon I took part in Lionheart CX, a non-OVCX cross race organized as a fundraiser for the Lionheart youth development program in Cincinnati.

Lionheart CX - Men's cat 1/2/3 Race - p20 overall; p9 35+ masters - Strava Data (partial)

This was a pre-season Cyclocross race and a great chance to refresh in my mind everything about racing and to check out my new Trek Boone cross bike in a real race ahead of the OVCX championship.

We drove to Cincinnati as a family and I was dropped off at the race venue, Kings CX, with my two bikes and race kit whilst they all went to Ikea - on the drive over, I realized I hadn't picked up my helmet so the first job after registration was to find someone that could lend me one for my race... not an auspicious start.  Fortunately, the friendly faces of Ty and Lilly Peck were there and Lilly loaned me her helmet so I was good to race!

Last season a consistent weakness was my starts and I'd been practicing them at home - I checked out the start and found a similar stretch of grass and made a couple of practice runs, after the Time Trial in the morning, my legs definitely felt heavy but I was pleased that I still felt pretty strong.

I was staged 7th on the front row of 9 racers with a total field of about 40, at the whistle I buried it with my head down and was surprised to see only one person ahead of me, Spencer Petrov who is really in a class of his own.  This was shortly followed by arriving at the first corner a lot faster than any of my practice laps, my bike handling skills got an abrupt wake up as Spencer proceeded to ride away from the rest of us.

Over the first lap, 2 or 3 people came past me including John Gatch who had only just finished racing the Masters race - this was a bit of a relief as I could follow some lines from more experienced racers.  I settled into about 5th place feeling pretty comfortable with the effort to hold this position, but as we entered a right hand bend on the 3rd lap I found myself suddenly on the floor rolling with my bike bouncing beside me, I had no idea what had happened.  When I got back to my feet, the wheels on my bike wouldn't rotate and I realized that both front and rear tires had rolled off the rim, since it wouldn't roll I had to shoulder it for the long run to the pits for my spare bike.  We hadn't long passed the pits so I had just about a half a lap, 0.7 miles, to run with my bike, people continually passing me - most offered some encouragement for my predicament.  When I reached the pit, Ty Peck already had my spare bike (Trek Crocket)  ready for a fast hand over and I was able to quickly jump on and start chasing back into the race.  There was no way I was going to make it to the front again, so this was now a hard training effort - I rode the sand pit every lap although it was faster to run it.  As a new rider became visible ahead of me, I focused on chasing them down & passing as quickly as I could.

In the end I finished 20th overall and 9th in the 40+ Masters category which was still satisfying since I'd been almost dead last after the tires came off.

After the race I was grateful for the advice of John Gatch, long time cyclocrosser who recommends re-gluing tires each season - the tires that failed were glued last year and when I looked at the rims it was clear that a season of cross with repeated cleaning & cold weather had made the glue brittle where it failed.

It was good to have tested everything about racing cross before the championship races started I'd learned the following:

• Remember your helmet!
• Check out the first corners at full-on race speed
• Re-glue tires before the season starts

Here's my race diary notes from the event:

Lionheart CX - Sun 07-Sept-2014 - dry hard pack, dusty, some wind

A bike - Boone
Tufo Flexus Primus 25psi F&R - glued Sept 2013
Last years wheels
PDM-540 pedals worked well
Really powerful brakes
Di2 worked well

B bike - Crockett
Tufo dry plus 30psi F&R - glued 06-Sept-2014
New China wheels
Left pedal hard to enter
Brakes not great

Race - Call up #7 - front row (grid x 9)

Forgot helmet, Lilly loaned me gets. Ty Peck, Lilly and her mum helped me out with somewhere to hang out whilst Clare went to Ikea.
Great start 2nd behind Spencer Petrov
Dropped to 5th by time I wrecked - Petrov - ?? - Freddie Rose - John Gatch
Wind picked up from the camels towards the club house
Wrecked 2.5 laps
Rode 4 laps on B bike
Garmin didn't work all the time
LH pedal on B bike needs to be loser

Cross is Coming.... Tri 32 Indy Race Report

It's the night before the first Cross race in the OVCX championship and I know I've not prepared the way I had planned.  A sinus infection, antibiotics and a hectic work & social schedule combined to limit the time I have spent on the bike ahead of the first race.

However, not deterred by this and in a vain attempt to over compensate, I had a two race Sunday last weekend.  In the morning, I joined Quaff ON! team mates Jane Moisica and Danny Fisher at Tri32 Indy, an Olympic distance triathlon, where we had been challenged by two teams representing Tatum's Bags of Fun.  In the afternoon I took part in Lionheart CX, a non-OVCX cross race organized as a fundraiser for the Lionheart youth development program in Cincinnati.

Tri32 Indy - Bike section 40km 1:03:33 (2nd fastest time) - Strava Data

It was a perfect morning for racing, after a hot week the forecast was for highs in the mid 70's and as Danny and I arrived at Eagle Creek Reservoir it was a cool 52.  Team Triathlons are, strangely, lonely affairs, after we checked-in, Jane got ready for her swim, Danny went on a warm up run and I set up my bike trainer to warm up each of us doing our own thing in preparation for our part in the race.

My race started when Jane ran up the hill from the lake - she'd done a great job setting 9th fastest time overall for the swim, 3rd of the relay teams to hand over. The bike course looked quite complicated on the maps with two pivot points and lots of turns, however, because the relay team start had been staggered by 3 mins, there were other bikes out ahead of me which I could follow - this was especially useful as the course marking wasn't great in places and we were racing into a rising sun at times making visibility a challenge.  After a drop down to the Eagle Creek Reservoir dam and a climb back up the other side, the course was very flat and fast.  I quickly settled into my rhythm and started passing people, chasing down the first of the two team competitors within the first 5 miles.  I caught the remaining team just before the first pivot at 11 miles into the 25 mile course - so now we were in the lead.  With Danny's running yet to come I knew there was no need to build a huge buffer, but racing is racing and so far it was feeling good!  I do enjoy courses with turn around points because you can see exactly where you are relative to the leaders - I was 5th bike at this point and everyone ahead of me had started the race 3 minutes before Jane's swim.

By the time we reached the 2nd pivot, I was 4th and close to the 3rd placed rider.  With a small increase in effort I passed him then settled back down to my pace - after a couple of miles he passed me back.  It was clear we were evenly matched and in a non drafting race, it's really hard to ride so close to another competitor.  I was also aware that we had a big lead in the team race and racing with other people in the solo event was going to impact the results - a bit of drafting and a rabbit to chase makes a huge difference.  Since I had another race in the afternoon, this seemed like a good time to back off & consolidate the team lead instead of racing hard and interfering with the solo race - it's clear from the Strava data at about 18 miles I dropped the effort level with a corresponding drop in heart rate.

I rolled into transition 4th on the road and handed over to Danny - the overall leader in the solo race was several minutes ahead of us and I wondered if Danny would catch him in the 10km run.  In the end the gap was just too big, Danny ran a superb 31:49 and we finished 2nd overall despite the 3 minute offset at the start - our overall time of 2:01:23 was the fastest race time of the day.

After a short cool down jog with Danny, we had to pack up and head back to Columbus so that I could gather my Cyclocross gear, and my family, for the trip to Cincinatti and race number 2 for the day.  This meant we couldn't stick around for the results and awards, but Jane was there to pick up the hardware!

This was a fun event - doing only 1 leg of a triathlon always makes me feel a but inadequate when others are doing the whole thing, but we played to our strengths as Team Quaff ON! and the friendly rivalry with the Tatum's Bags of Fun teams made the event even more fun.  Hopefully we can grow the number of teams for next year....

Columbus Challenge Duathlon Race Report

This was an epic race for me, a challenge which made me dig deeper than I knew I could.  I experienced the lows and highs of racing - emotions swinging from "all is lost", "I'm not going to be able to finish this" to "I can do this!", "I can win this!" on a minute by minute basis throughout the event.  Whilst it was an incredibly close race (only 7 secs separated Danny Fisher and me at the end of it), it was mostly a psychological battle with myself.  Danny and I started at the same time, and finished within sight of each other but through the whole of the race we only caught glimpses, could only imagine how hard the other was pushing and re-run endless scenarios in our minds about what the outcome would be.  Despite this, it was so much more than a solitary experience, there were lots of friends shouting out support around the course and the spectators close to the transition area really engaged with our battle, it was so much fun to hear their excitement as we raced and at the finish.  In the end though, there's a special sense of pride & satisfaction that I take away from this event, knowing that I tried as hard as I could, that I emptied myself completely.

Race report:

1st place overall - 1:13:45.4

Strava data - Leg 1 (Run 5k) - Leg 2 (Bike 15 miles) - Leg 3 (Run 5k)

Only 6 days after the Tri-Indy duathlon race, our local race, our local multi-sport race took place in Columbus, Indiana.  This is a big event for the local community, raising money for Foundation For Youth and their programs promoting all sorts of activities for the young people of the town.  This would be the 19th running of the event which started as a sprint distance triathlon, a couple of years ago an Olympic distance triathlon was added and this year, for the first time, a duathlon (run, bike run).

Whilst the Quaff ON! Racing team is mostly about running, we love to support this event and over the past couple of years various individual and relay teams have competed.  See this year's team race report from Matt Flaherty here.  With the addition of the duathlon, the traditional excuse of "can't swim" was no longer valid and after the fun Firetower 15.3 race earlier in the year, Danny Fisher and I thought it would be fun to have a re-match.

The race format was to be a 5k run (just like the Firetower race), 17 mile bike (7 miles more than the Firetower) and a repeat of the initial 5k run (1.1 miles more than the Firetower).  On paper, it looked like a pretty even match again, with Danny's far superior pace in the run but my speed on the bike.  The lessons of the earlier race hadn't been lost on Danny either - I had taken 40 secs advantage in transition which was a big proportion of my win margin, so he'd been practicing!

Last minute change!

Just a week or so before the race, one of the country roads used on the bike course was resurfaced with "chip & seal" making it dangerous so the organizers had to make a route change which resulted in a course 2 miles shorter than originally planned, at 15 miles.  Now it was going to be close - I started to believe that the balance had tipped in Danny's favor.

Ready for the start

Leg 1 - 17:48 (5:45 / mile)

Danny and I started the race side by side on the line under the finish banner, right from the start he pulled away from me quickly opening a gap, after 1 mile he was out of sight leaving me to a solo effort trying to minimize the deficit.  Danny had run a 5k PR at a local race the night before - I thought his legs would be tired, but he was on great form.  By the time I saw him at the turn around he'd built a lead of 1:40 in just over 2 miles, he was easily going to have more than 2 minutes on me after the first leg.  This was bad news, I thought I could close 3 to 3.5 minutes on the bike, but 4 mins seemed unrealistic and with exactly the same run course to complete at the end of the race, it was looking like Danny would pass me with ease before the finish.  These thoughts haunted me for the rest of the run, I tried to stick to my race plan, not go too fast now & run out of legs before the end of the race, just stick to the plan.  I saw Danny heading out on the bike as the bike & run course overlapped close to the finish area - I was pleased that he wasn't already out of sight, but I knew I had a lot of work to do in the next phase of the race

Leg 2 - 36:59 (24.3 miles/hour)

In transition I quickly got off my shoes & took the time to set them up for T2, with the tongues pulled forwards, ready to go.  I went to grab my bike & realized that I didn't have my helmet on - it's the first time I've missed that part of the transition routine, I think it indicates how much pressure I was feeling to get on the bike & get going.  Quickly fastening my helmet, I ran to the bike out, made a cyclocross re-mount (running & jumping onto the bike) and started to pedal.  Dan Smith, another Quaff ON team mate, yelled "2 minutes" at me - this really meant that the race was on, I had to go as hard as I could and hope I could hold on to the lead in the final run.

Mentally I'd rehearsed this part of the race, I had imagined catching & passing Danny at various points on the course & what it would mean in terms of margin at the end.  But the start was all about getting past the numb feeling in my legs and settling into my rhythm.  The new course had a couple of short, sharp climbs and I figured I had to attack these as hard as possible to maximize my gains - raising the effort level for each of these hurt and took time to recover on the other side of the hills.  Approaching grand view lake, I was starting to give up hope of making the catch early enough, but just as we started on the rolling southern loop of the course I caught sight of a shirtless rider and willed it to be Danny, I finally caught & passed him about half way round the course.  In my imaginary scenarios this was about as late in the ride as I thought it possible to still have a chance at winning - so the race was still on, but still needed to give it everything!

At around 10 miles, I started to get cramps in my calf muscles, it was a very peculiar sensation like the bottom half of my leg had gone numb and wouldn't respond to what I was asking it to do, my ankles stopped articulating and pedaling became much more "lumpy".  This was definitely bad - running on cramped legs was going to be very slow, slowing down on the bike to get rid of the cramps was going to cost me precious time.  I grabbed my energy gel but it stuck to the roof of my mouth, I took a drink but managed to spray it all over my face & helmet and then I started to get an acid reflux from the gel.  I really struggled for a couple of minutes, mentally it was tough to deal with, these things have not happened before, why were they happening now?  One benefit was all this had taken my mind off the cramps, and I'd lost focus on my effort - my heart rate had dropped and the brief moment of recovery seemed to be helping my legs.

After picking up the pace again I felt good coming into transition to start the final run.  The transition area always surprises me at the Tipton event, it's actually a steep down hill and I only just managed to skid to a halt in my socks to rack the bike and pull on my shoes.

Entering T2 at the end of the bike section

Leg 3 - 17:43 (5:43 / mile)

Despite thinking I felt good coming off the bike, my first mile was terrible.  My legs felt wooden and I was struggling to find anything like a comfortable pace.  My watch beeped at 1 mile and said 6:07... nearly 30 secs slower than my target pace and no way fast enough to hold off a fast charging Danny Fisher.  Shortly after this, the course passed the start / finish area and Dan Smith told me the gap to Danny at the end of the bike was 1:30 - and I'd probably lost nearly a full minute of that with my slow first mile.  I had to pick it up.  MacKenzie Caldwell (North HS's Cross Country MVP and 2nd in the State Champs) was running with a relay team and came past me in the first mile.  I convinced myself to hold on to her pace, to hold the gap and use her pace as motivation to elevate my own effort.  This worked and I actually passed her back around the half way mark as her initial pace started to fade, then I just had to keep going!  After the 2 mile mark, the course doubles back with a short loop around a driveway, as I came out of this to head for home, I caught sight of Danny entering the turnaround - he could only be about 20 secs behind me and we still had a mile to go.  I figured that it was "do or die" at this point - the rest of the race was going to take about 5 minutes and you can bear just about anything for 5 minutes.  The final coals got thrown on the fire and I did feel my pace increase just a bit.  After the 3 mile mark, it is all down hill to the finish line but Danny was so close I could hear him yell at me - I started to sprint not really believing I could hold him off but at this point I really didn't care, I knew that I had tried my hardest.

The final yards seemed to stretch out forever but the finish line did come eventually, and Danny hadn't come by me.  I didn't have breath or energy to turn around to see how close it was.

The Finish - 7 secs separation!

Danny vs Tim

Leg 1 - Run 5k - Danny beat Tim by 2:01

T1 - Run to Bike - Tim beat Danny by 9.6 sec

Leg 2 - Bike 15 miles - Tim beat Danny by 3:25

T2 - Bike to Run - Tim beat Danny by 6.7 sec

Leg 3 - Run 5k - Danny beat Tim by 1:33

Tri-Indy Duathlon Race Report

1st place overall - 1:01:27.4

Strava Data - Leg 1 Run 2 miles - Leg 2 Bike 20km - Leg 3 Run 5km

My son, Angus has been competing in the Kids Tri for Kids series of kid friendly triathlons based in & around Indianapolis.  So far this year he has entered 5 of the races which all feature a mass swim start for a 100m swim, a 2-2.5 mile bike and a 0.5-0.7 mile run.  It's been a lot of fun and a great Father-Son bonding opportunity as many of the races we just go as the two of us with an early morning start, leaving the rest of the family sleeping soundly.  The latest round of the series was organized in conjunction with the "grown ups" race at Tri-Indy and included the kids swimming in the downtown canal, just like the adult race!  The timing of the kids race meant that the whole family would come and join in the fun, having a picnic in the park and cheering him on and this opened up the possibility of me competing in the adult race earlier in the morning.

There was a duathlon race as part of Tri-Indy (run, bike, run) which fit really well with my training being only 1 week ahead of the Columbus Challenge Triathlon & Duathlon where my Quaff ON Racing team mate Danny Fisher and I were going to have a repeat showdown after the Firetower 15.3 race earlier in the year.  There's no way to truly replicate the race intensity in training so I was excited to go out & push myself, get comfortable with the transitions under race pressure and to be part of what is always as well organized and fun event in downtown Indy.

One great aspect to racing the duathlon is the mass start - most non-Ironman tri's are now time-trial starts for the swim with racers starting at 3 sec intervals seeded by expected swim performance.  Because I'm such a terrible swimmer, I'm always way back from the front of the race and never know how I'm doing or who I'm racing - with the duathlon starting with a run, we all toe the line, just like any regular 5k race, then the gun goes off and you can see the whole race unfolding around you.  I enjoy this a lot more, it's motivating to be amongst all the other competitors and there's even the opportunity to think a bit strategically about how you race (maybe I should just get better at swimming...).

Leg 1- Run 2 miles

We lined up outside the NCAA headquarters and went on the gun at 7:45am.  There were a lot of people setting out really hot and I settled in to an uncomfortably fast pace keeping the front of the race in sight.  Through the first mile, much of the early enthusiasm had faded and there were 5 people ahead of me and a pretty good gap behind me.  I made a conscious effort to slow down a bit & recover my heart rate through the second mile.  The two really fast runners looked like high schoolers and I doubted they would have my speed on the bike.  Judging the time gap against land marks, it was about 30 secs to the front which I thought was fine to control & overcome once we got out of transition.  Despite slowing up myself I passed 3 more people in the 2nd mile of the leg, finally entering transition in 3rd place overall, about 40 secs down on the lead.

Leg 2 - Bike 20km (12.1 miles)

In transition there seemed to be some confusion - the first two runners hadn't found their bikes and I wasn't certain where we'd entered the transition area - luckily I had made a mental note of the bright orange backpack at the end of the rack where I'd left my bike and I found it easily, and was quickly heading towards the exit.

On the bike, I'm still getting used to the feeling in my legs after the run - it's completely different to the sensation of starting to ride after swimming.  I settled into a pace and allowed my heart rate to come down after the somewhat technical start to the bike course.  Not long into the bike, Paul Smith passed me and this was a bit of a wake-up call.  I dropped out of the draft zone to avoid a penalty and assessed how fast we were going & how hard I was trying then made the decision to push harder and take back the lead.  I did this as we hit the first of two rail road crossings on the course - they're a little unnerving and break the rhythm, so I sprinted briefly after this to create a gap then settled back down and concentrated on maintaining my effort.

With about 2 miles to go, Paul passed me again, clearly my increased effort hadn't been enough to shake him off completely but now I was committed to reducing my effort a bit in order to prepare for the run.  It took a lot of self control to drop back & let the gap grow slowly as we approached the end of the course.  I guess there was about 30 secs between us as we turned off the road into the park and negotiated the pathways to get back to the transition area, maybe by luck or stupidity, I closed a lot of the gap by carrying more speed through a couple of turns and we hit the dismount line with me still in 2nd place, but only a few seconds apart.

Leg 3 - Run 5km (3.1 miles)

With almost identical times in transition, we headed into the run together and I had no idea how fast Paul was capable of going over the last 5k.  I took the lead as we ran over the bridge toward the Indy Zoo, as we turned along the river, my legs started to feel OK and I increased the pace to what I thought was sustainable for the rest of the race - worried that if we stayed together to the end that I'd have nothing left to sprint with.  The breathing & footsteps stayed right behind me for about another minute but then started to fade as I sustained the pace.  By the time we turned onto the bridge to cross back over the river at about 1.6 miles I was able to look back down the course & see a big gap had opened up - I was pretty certain at that point I had the win.  Thinking ahead to the next weekend and the race with Danny, I knew I would need to run as fast as I could through the final miles, so I set about maintaining & even increasing my effort through the final section of the race even though I could have relaxed and maintained the gap I already had - no training like racing, and I put an image in my mind of Danny running me down over the final mile to spur me on!  I crossed the finish line with close to 2 minutes gap, Paul finishing a strong 2nd.

It was a fun race with lots of other friends competing in the Sprint and Olympic distance triathlon races.  The kids race got underway a couple of hours later and Angus had a blast racing on many parts of the same course.

Things to do differently next time (only a week to make it happen!):

• Always rehearse the entry to transition from the run and bike, knowing where to find your rack is critical
• Transition is part of the race, time lost here has to be made up on the race course where it's much harder
• Probably go a bit harder on the bike, I think I was being conservative, but I was very pleased with the final leg run pace

DINO Mountain Bike Race - Versailles State Park - Race Report

12th overall (Pro / C1); 6th in wave (C1); 2nd 40-49 Age Group - Results
Strava Data

My 3rd weekend of mountain bike racing in 3 weeks was another in the DINO race series.  We love Versailles State Park and made a weekend of the race - it was great that many friends were able to join us and we made some new friends whilst we were there.
I just realized that I don't have any pictures from the weekend so this will be a boring text only write-up.

Lap 1
After two weeks of racing leading up to this, I was feeling more confident on my mountain bike and I have ridden the trails before.  The race starts with a long dash on grass and then heads up hill on single track - I was determined to make a good start and use my advantage of climbing speed early in the race.  This worked out for me, hitting the trail in 4th wheel, the front 3 riders quickly separated from me but I was opening up a real gap behind which I held for nearly all of the first lap despite being aware of riders in the woods behind me getting closer in the twisty technical sections that I always struggle with.  I was just starting to feel confident when a momentary lapse in concentration had me hit a tree with my right shoulder and I was on the ground with the bike on top of me.  I really had made a gap, it was some time before the next rider came past me as I tried to unclip from my pedals and find my glasses in the undergrowth!

Lap 2
I chased hard keeping the one rider who had passed me in sight as we grabbed fresh bottles, started the 2nd lap and climbed again.  I closed the gap down but couldn't pass so I took a bit of recovery - this is when I discovered I picked up the wrong bottle and had only water, not energy drink.  After the climb I lost ground and let another two riders pass me, then Denny, a team-mate from The Bicycle Station caught up to me and I let him pass but was determined to stick on his wheel.  Denny is an awesome trail rider and I found myself carrying speed through turns as I followed his lines.  We caught the group of 3 riders who had passed me since the race start just as we hit another rough, steep climb.  Denny went for the pass and I followed him, we really put the pressure on and sticking to his lines I was able to carry the same speed all the way to the end of the lap, pushing hard to try and open up an advantage over the 3 riders we now had behind us.  The lap ends with a split on a gravel road - left to start the last lap, right to the finish - as I hit the gravel I lost the front end of the bike & went down hard on my left side.  This time it really hurt and knocked the wind out of me for a moment.  Two of the three riders came though as I ran & jumped back on the bike (cyclocross coming to good use!).  Still a bit winded, hurting from the wreck I dumped my bottle but failed to grab the replacement as we started the climb on lap 3.

Lap 3
No water, I downed my energy gel which stuck to the roof of my mouth like glue.  I was able to catch up to the two riders ahead of me on the climb but Denny was long gone.  I managed to pass both the other riders before the top of the climb but knew that in the technical section which followed I stood no chance of closing on Denny so I had consolidation on my mind when I wrecked for a 3rd time - lost the front wheel on a root and hit my left side hard again.  By this time, the lack of water and repeated bashing had taken it's toll on my body and I was starting to feel really weak.  Two riders caught up to me & I let them passing, thinking that if I could stick with them I may be able to recover ground on the last climb section & hold position to the finish.  When the climb came, instead of picking up places, there was nothing left and I lost ground - I really did have to consolidate then, I could hear riders behind me in the woods, surely they would catch & pass me as well before the finish.  I found some strength and picked up the pace just enough to stay out of sight finishing the race in just over 2 hours.

As the Adrenalin subsided I realized just how much my arm & leg were hurting - my left glove was full of blood from a large gash in my arm caused by the gravel fall at the end of Lap 2.  After some painful scrubbing in the bathrooms to get the dirt out of it, one of my fellow racers who's a nurse patched me up with butterflies & a large dressing.  Bruised, bloodied and aching I headed back to the campground to pack up the trailer & head home.

This was definitely the most competitive I'd raced, and yet the most frustrating as well - following faster riders makes me painfully aware of how much trail skill I lack.

Things to do better next time:
Don't pick up the wrong water bottle
Carry a spare bottle in case the hand-off goes wrong
Don't fall off my bike