STX 2012: Race Report! [UPDATED]

Webb: The season-opener is in the books. Elle and I competed in our first triathlon of the 2012 season and it was a doozy: short, hard and a fast field. This sprint is significantly different than most in that it does not award the top age groupers. It is man against man and woman against woman with prizes going to the top 5 overall. Looking at the top 5 times from the last five years, I thought I had a good chance. Rather than gun for it though (or get cocky), I came up with a race strategy and a goal time of 1:20:00.

Elle: Last year it was the same old story. I came in 6th for the run, 6th for the bike, but my horrid swim time pushed me out to 9th place. Except this past year I started taking my swim seriously, and actually trained in the pool. But I wasn't really planning on placing, I feel that I still have so much more work to do, that for this race, I took the pressure off myself and just went out there to have fun.

St. Croix Sprint Triathlon


Elle: We got up at 4am, and were out of the house by 5:30am, on our bikes, equipped with headlamps, making the 7-mile trek to the race start. It was raining. Our bike race numbers got soaked, and flew off. Damn. I decided to accept the fact that it was going to be a wet day.

Webb: Wet it was. The race marshals told us to forget about the bike numbers, as they weren't even going to bother with body marking.

The Swim: 750m ocean water.

Elle: I like this swim start, since you have to swim about 150M out to an island, where the swim start is. So you get a little swim warm up built in. Last year it was sunny and gorgeous. This year is was cold and cloudy. To keep warm (the water temp was warmer than the air temp) all the triathletes were huddled together in the water while our lips turned blue. Brrrrrrr....

Distances not to scale, or are they?

Webb: This course has to be one of the oddest shapes in competition. You swim back to the main island from whence you just came and take a looping left turn after about 30-50m, then swim out to sea until you take a right to head back to shore. Just before you reach the boardwalk you take another right and swim parallel to the shore for 150-200m, then turn left to access the boat ramp/swim exit. There are always two volunteers to yank you out of the water.

Elle: My swim time for the course last year was 23:58. This year my time was 20:15. That's almost a 4 minute difference. 4 minutes is a lot of time. Looks like 30 for 30, as well as a crap-load more time training in the pool actually worked.

Webb: I wanted a sub-15:00 swim. That should have been well within reach since my best mile (in a pond) is under 26:00. Last year the current and swells made the swim a bit of a battle of Man vs. Nature. This year the water was calm and easy. Things were working towards my plan. Still there is something funny about the St Croix waters. Last year when I swam the 2k for the 70.3, I came in 5:00 slower than expected - as did most everyone else. But, like I said, it was Man vs Nature out there. Still, none of the past swim times for the 750m were marvelous. The overall top 5 men usually swim around a 2:00/100m pace. Is it the course or the field? Who knows? Whatever it is I was surprised (but not disheartened) to see my watch read just under 17:00. Goal: 15:00. Actual: 17:00.

The Bike: 8 miles


Webb: The St Croix 70.3, akaThe Beauty and The Beast, is mostly known for its difficult bike course. The sprint's bike course while not difficult per se, is pretty damn hard for a local sprint. It is a series of rolling hills with a nasty bit of steepness here and there. Add to that some sketchy road conditions from the previous day's torrential-tropical downpours and you had the makings for generally slow bike times (especially for the 70.3's 56-miler). The island had lots of flooding so the roads were generally wet with some run-off debris here and there.

My goal was a 35:00 bike-split. That may seem like a lot of time for 8 miles. It is. In addition to the hills, your "bike" time includes your T1 and T2 times. I don't know why WTC cannot manage separate splits like all of our local race directors. Anyway, back to the ride. I tried to hammer it without hammering myself, caught 5 guys and was caught by one. Let's be honest. The guy who caught me cast me aside like a plaything. Man, was he moving. I tried to ride fearlessly knowing most people don't like wet roads. I ended up with a 30:00-31:00 T1-bike-T2 split. All of sudden my slow swim wasn't looking so bad ... wait, or was it looking worse? Race goal: 50:00. Actual: 48:00.

Elle: This is the toughest sprint bike course I've ever done. Even though it sounds easy, since it is just 8 miles, as Webb explained, it's 8 miles of hills, hills, and some steeper hills. With the unusual amount of rain that the island has been getting, there was one spot on the course that I'm referring to as 'The Lake' that I think must have been 6 inches deep, I felt like I took a bath in it. It was a wet day.

The Run: 4miles


Webb: Pretty easy description here: 1.75 miles out and back with a .5 mile fast section tacked on the end to bring you home. Oh yeah, and more hills. Not really the kind that loom above you and make you gulp, but the kind you think you can overcome up to the point where you are about to overcome them, then you think you just might not make it after all.

I dry-heaved pretty much the first 3.5 miles. I made no attempt to hide or even control them. The aid station volunteers must have been horrified by my spastic, body convulsions as I ran up and down the hills. I can honestly say it did not affect my performance. I really believe I was just going so far above threshold for so long, my body was in physical revolt. So I compromised with myself, I could go ahead and dry-heave or vomit all I wanted, but I was not going to stop or slow down until I crossed the finish line.

Meanwhile, I began counting the men as they doubled-back towards the finish line. One (Ok, that is an impossible lead). Two. (Is he old enough to race?) Three. (Uh-oh, there are at least three more guys on my side of the road.) Turns out there were five more in front of me who had not yet made the turnaround. I pulled the throttle back a bit with hopes I could keep everyone in striking distance for a final push. At the turnaround, I checked my watch: 1:01, one-minute ahead of pace. I had my eye on Mr. Currently-5th and his high-visibility yellow shirt. He was maybe :30 seconds in front of me, with 6th, 7th and 8th in a steady line. By mile 2.5, I began ramping my speed up again. And so did the other guys. By the time I was ready to put the big push on Mr. Currently-5th was simply too far out in front. I passed one guy to finish in 8th. Damn that swim. Race goal: 1:20:00. Actual: 1:18:44.

The good news: I beat my goal time. The bad news: My race time would have put me in 2d place the previous three years. That is not so bad. As Joe Friel writes, your goals should be things under your control. Who shows up at a race is not one of those things. I was not racing the 2009-2011 field, I was racing the 2012 field. I raced hard, gave everything I had and beat my goal by more than a minute. That is success. Well, until I get fast enough to compete with anyone.

Elle: The run is always my favorite part because, whew, I'm finally on the run! The swim and bike are over, woohoo! The upside of the nasty weather was that it made the run much nicer than last year, when the red-hot sun was beating down on us like it was 2-feet away. This year the cloud cover helped to alleviate the heat. But not completely, it was still pretty hot, low 80's at least. After the first mile or so I had passed a bunch of people, so I decided to look down at my Garmin. 6:47! 

"Whoa, gotta slow down. Damn, I forgot to have my gel at T2. Oh well, I'll just run hard and see what happens. Hmmmmm, I'm pretty thirsty. I probably should have had a drink at T1. Or on the bike. Oh well, I'll just keep running hard."

I tried to count the other women on the course to get an idea of where I was in the line-up. I wasn't planning on getting on the podium, but I was still interested. I passed a bunch of people, men and women, and lost track of how many. As I was coming down the final stretch, I did a move that made me feel like a 'real' athlete. I was going pretty hard at this point (I love a big finish), and I just had to know if I was in danger of being caught, so I did the big 'look behind' to see who was back there. No one. Woohoo! I launched into a sprint and crossed the finish, where Webb was waiting. He snatched me up immediately into a bear hug. I think the other people around thought it was cute. Meanwhile, I literally couldn't breathe. But I put on a big smile. I felt good about my race.

Elle's trophy

UPDATED with Official Results:
Webb: S-16:55 (16th Overall, 12th Men), B-30:34 (7th Overall, 6th Men), R-31:20 (13th Overall, 11th Men) Total: 1:18:48 (9th Overall, 8th Male)

Elle: S- 21:19 (55th Overall, 24th Women), B-32:30 (16th Overall, 3rd Women), R-31:39 (15th Overall, 3rd Women) Total: 1:25:27 (17th Overall, 5th Women - podium!)

Next Post: The Pros!

*As of time of publishing, the official results have not been posted. The numbers above are based on the unofficial numbers and estimates that most closely match-up to our data.

Off to the 1st Triathlon of the season!

The house we rent in St. Croix

Elle: So we're off to St. Croix for the 1st triathlon of the season, the St. Croix sprint triathlon (which hides in the shadow of the 1/2 Ironman, which Webb did last year)!
I'm looking forward to seeing how I've been progressing, I think this race will be a good indication of what I've improved on since last year, and what I need to work on for the season ahead. Last year I was coming off the Boston Marathon, so I may have had a little more fitness behind me...

Webb: This seems like a good time to announce our race schedule for 2012:

5/6: St Croix Sprint Triathlon
5/17-18: Reach the Beach 24 hour relay (Ultra Team)
6/2: Escape the Cape Sprint Triathlon
6/10: Purgatory Road Race (cycling)
6/23: Captain Pond's 1-mile Swim Race
7/08: YMCA Old Colony Olympic Triathlon
7/14: Massachusetts State Triathlon - Olympic (maybe)
8/19: Timberman 70.3 - 1/2 Ironman

But first, I know you're all dying to hear how Steinerman went...

Steinerman Semi-Sprint Triathlon:
Swim- 1600m (w/u- 700m: 300 swim, 200 as IM order drill/swim, 200 pull-buoy; TEST! 3x300 (:30) FAST)
Braveheart Brick: Bike, Run, Bike-Run, Bike-Run, Bike-Run

Webb: This isn't really a sprint because we took a lengthy break (about 60:00) compared to a typical T1 (1:00-1:30). Oh yeah, and because the Braveheart Brick (aka my new favorite workout) involves three intervals of getting on and off the bike.

Elle: I wasn't feeling so great for the swim portion, which was also my swim test. I did, however, shave 3 seconds off my average 100M time, which Webb tells me is good, but still somehow doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment. But a win is a win, so I'll take it. Now that I'm really changing up my stroke, I hope that I continue to see seconds shaved off for the next swim test.

Meeting Rinny @ last year's race

Webb: Three seconds is excellent! Trimming :03 off a 100m time over 900m is a time savings of :27. I'll take that into any T1. The swim test was definitely hard as all fitness tests should be. I had somehow forgotten how mentally taxing it can be to stay on task to push and push some more. Or pull and pull some more. Anyway, it is easy for me to be lulled into the easy motion of swimming and let my effort lax. Tests are good workouts for me to help me stay mentally sharp.

Elle: The bike wasn't too bad, but Webb was smoking me on the run. I don't know if I've been slacking or he's been improving, but either way, I need to make sure I don't miss any more SEAC running club track workouts when we get back from our trip. Gotta get faster...

Webb: I think I just love the Braveheart Brick. It makes me wonder if I would be better at triathlons if they followed that format. And yes, Elle should come to SEAC track workouts more often because I will catch her if she doesn't.

Next up ST CROIX: Among the pros expected to race are Andy Potts, Frederik Van Lierden,
Terenzo Bozzone, Angela Naeth, Mary Beth Ellis and Kelly Fillnow. If we can get some photos we'll be sure to share. Oh wait. Lance Armstrong will also be there. Well, if the media throng allows us to move freely in the transition area like last year, we'll try to get photos.

Elle: ALSO, time-willing (that means no airport delays, luggage arrives on-time, rental car is ready, etc.), we plan on making it to the 5pm triathlete group photo in front of the Christiansted live web cam this year. So tomorrow, Friday, around 5pm EST (2pm for you West Coasters), if you check out the St. Croix live web cam, you may just see us...

Puttin' money in the bank.

MONDAY: 9.15-mile run followed by strength & stretching

The Charles River at night

Elle: We didn't leave the house until after 8pm, 'cuz when you need to nap, you need to nap. But as luck would have it, the weather ended up being perfect, outside of a big 'ol head wind on the way out. The city was all dark and peaceful. Sometimes when we go long, I pretend Webb is Dave Scott and I'm Mark Allen, I stay right on his elbow, waiting for him to take that fateful cup of water to make my big move. But then Webb put a big kick on at the end, just as 'Panama' came on my headphones. But he took off so fast, it took everything I had to keep up. I just love a big finish.

Instead of doing a big strength workout afterwards and possibly damaging our tired legs, we did some plank work and a whole lotta stretching. Mmmmmmmm, stretching feels gooooood.

Webb: This was a great run. The goal was to stay in HR zone 2 or lower for 1:15. Twenty minutes into the run, we decided to extend the run to 1:20. Our Timberman 13.1 goal is under 2 hours or 9:00/mile pace. We finished the 1:20 with an average pace of 8:45 with only the last mile being out of HR zone 2. (We felt so good we couldn't resist a brisk finish.) I am thrilled we can hold a sub 9:00 pace in zone 2 for that long more than 3 months out of the race.

TUESDAY: Spartacus Workout & Biking (Steady Effort Pyramid)

Elle: The Spartacus workout: Holy crap, this took a lot of energy out of me. It was fun, but you don't even notice it kind of creep up on you, then all of a sudden, you're sweating buckets and all of your muscles are fatigued. Just like when the real Spartacus would sneak up on you, I suppose...

Webb: This workout is not to be confused with Spartacus or the Spartacus, but this Spartacus. I can't remember where I came across the workout. I nearly wrote it off as a typical, gimmicky unlike-the-last-breakthrough-workout-to-shred-fat-and-build-muscle-this-one-really-works workout. Having dabbled in functional workouts and CrossFit, it actually looked pretty good. So we gave it a shot. We used fairly light weight for our first endeavor. I suggest the same for you. It does sneak up on you. Final assessment: Excellent total body workout.

Elle: 1-hour Bike Trainer W/O: With little energy left, Webb led us on a sweat factory, energy-sapping endurance bike workout on the trainers. The Celtics were on, which Webb enjoyed, but all I could do was stare down at my handlebars and occasionally at my Garmin to make sure my cadence and speed were where it was supposed to be. It was a good workout, but I was too tapped from Spartacus to enjoy it.

Webb: I sorta came up with this workout on the spot. Let's call it a Steady Effort Pyramid:
    5:00 at 65-75 rpm followed by 5:00 at 95-105 rpm
    4:00 65-75, 4:00 95-105
    3:00 65-75, 3:00 95-105
    2:00 65-75, 2:00 95-105
    1:00 65-75, 1:00 95-105
    5:00 of soft pedaling at 80-85 rpm
    then reverse the above order.
You want to maintain a steady effort throughout, so choose gearing that will allow you to accomplish that. (Think of it has rolling hills and/or headwinds on the trainer.) Anyway, I liked it a lot and not just because the Celtics' bench beat the Heat bench. I think it is a positive workout for pacing and muscular endurance at a relatively low heart rate (zones 2 and 3).

WEDNESDAY: Pool Swim

Elle: What a confusing swim set for me. Ever since the Total Immersion Swim clinic, and especially after seeing myself swim on camera, I feel like I have to completely re-tool my stroke. So I've been swimming differently, and I can't tell if I'm turning the corner to finally become faster and better, or if I'm just totally messing everything up. Swimming is hard.

Webb: I'm not talking about this swim. If I would, I'd call it a "Mixed-bag of Failure." I had serious problems breathing. Chlorine? Allergies? I don't know. Air wasn't getting past my throat. So I changed up the workout. Then my chest and arms failed me (Damn you Spartacus workout!). So I changed up the workout again. Failed. I finally settled on just swimming what and how I could for an hour.

THURSDAY: SEAC Runng Club & Bike Fail

Elle: So I was all pumped up to do a Sufferfest by myself while Webb went to SEAC running club. I got all set up, re-arranged the living room, got down the bike trainer, got out the bike, pumped up the wheels, got dressed, turned on the computer so it could feed the video to the TV, said "So long" to Webb as he walked out the door, and got on the bike, ready to do 'Fight Club'.
Hmmmmmm, there must be some issue with the server or something, 'Fight Club' doesn't seem to be loading, I guess I'll do 'Revolver'.
So I start the workout. Just after the warm up, the video stops loading. Crap.
I get off the bike, go over to the computer and click around, trying to figure out what is going wrong. It starts loading again, so I get back on the bike, and get going. About 5 minutes later, the same thing. Get off the bike, try to figure out the problem, get back on, start pedaling. Then 3 minutes later, no video. AAAARRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!
Now I'm all sweaty, mentally want to get this workout in, but it's a no-go, as the video has stopped loading all together. I don't know if it was Comcast, or Webb's computer having a melt-down, but I was on the verge of my own melt-down. I accepted defeat, broke everything down and put it away. No workout for me today. Dammit.

Webb: Elsewhere, we had a rocking set at the track. My rotten swim provided me some fresh legs to do 6 x 200m with 200m jog recoveries. We did our typical drills after and 800m of jog the turns, stride the straights. We returned to the store for monkeybread and beer. Man I love our running club.

SATURDAY: Endurance Bike Ride - Weston Hills 50-Miler

Elle: Equipped with my newly fitted Cervélo, I was ready to kick some butt on the road today. And indeed, this was a great ride for me. I was able to keep up with Webb like never before, even on the hills. It was glorious. I was working hard, but I felt like the bike and I were one organism, working together.

Webb: The plan was to do 3:30 of aerobic work on some rolling hills. We went out to my Weston Hills loop. The loop is 5 miles and has a nice mix of hills. It begins with a gradual 1 mile climb that hits upwards of 11% grade towards the top. From there the next 4 miles are rollers that over time can really tax your legs. But our goal was to do what Joe Friel calls "walking on your bike." Imagine if you went for a 3.5 hour walk with some hiking. Even though you keep your intensity low, you still get pretty damn tired. That is what we did on the bike.

Elle: At one point, on our way out to the circuit, Webb pointed across the street and yelled something I couldn't comprehend. Then I saw what we was yelling about, it was Lenny, on the way back from his workout! We both turned around and met up to chat for a bit. Another high point of the day was when I successfully ingested a Gu gel going 20 mph. Helloooooo sticky fingers...

Say 'hello' to a brand new bike. Not really...

Webb: This week we had some fun workouts.

NOTABLE WORKOUTS
Swim: Force 500
Bike & Strength: Spinervals Vol. 5 Total Body Conditioning.
Run: Split Run!
Brick: Lesley Paterson's Braveheart Brick

Spinervals Total Body Conditioning
Elle: This is one of my favorite workouts. As I've said before, I like the 2-for-1 (biking & strength), I like getting on and off the bike. So it's fun for me. But in a pukey way, as I definitely had some serious vurpage going on. And I'm starting to feel stronger on the planks (front plank and side plank), so that's good news.

Webb: I'm starting to adapt, or at least that is what I tell myself. It is still hard but I'm able to manage it better while still putting forth the same effort. (Is that the first sign of denial?) Except. Except I could not do the first set of lateral lunges due to knee pain. Then I couldn't do any squats or lunges. It feels like patella tendinitis. Damn.

Elle: On Tuesday I had a bike fit scheduled with Grady at Landrys. What a freaking difference. I felt like I walked out of there with a brand new bike. At least a whole new different bike that feels really good to ride on. And not recumbant-y, like it was before. Perhaps I won't be Schlecking on those long rides anymore (fingers crossed).

RUN: Split Run
Morning: 1 hour Tempo Run
Evening: 30:00 minutes easy on Treadmill

Elle: We were finally able to pull our butts out of bed to do a morning tempo run along the Charles River. It was sunny and nice, post-miserable Boston Marathon weather. I'm feeling really glad I ran last year and not this year, everyone we know who ran said it was pretty miserable. Props to Mike, Chad, Emily and Ed for some great run times in such tough conditions.

Webb: A quick note about the Boston Marathon: Terrible, terrible conditions. You had to have a lot of heart to fight through that heat.

Onto the Split Run: It was a beautiful morning. I neglected to tell Elle what we were doing. I took off much faster than normal. About 0.5 miles in she finally asked me what was up. That is when I told her we were doing a tempo run. Oops. Oh well, she is that much faster than me that it didn't faze her. We were doing well until about the 33:00 mark, when my knee (from the Spinervals night) started bothering me. A couple of minutes later I told Elle if I slowed down to speed home without me. It wasn't much longer that she picked it up and left me behind. At 45:00 I was done with the tempo. I had to run/walk/stop'n'stretch the last 15:00 because my ITB band flared up on the leg opposite the knee pain.

SWIM: FORCE 500!
500 swim, 500 swim with pull-buoy, 500 swim with pull-buoy and paddles, 500 swim
Total: 2000 meters

The HD GoPro

Elle: Pool swim during Masters Swim Class always means lots of splashing and waves. They leave one lane open, so Webb and I took that. I got a couple of mouthfuls of water when I went to take a breath on several occasions. And got beat up a little too - some of the guys in the Masters class get a little excited when they do butterfly stroke, and cross over the lane, under the lane lines. Webb took the new camera out for a spin and we saw some pretty interesting stuff. Webb apparently swims like a minnow, and I have zero glide. Awesome.


Webb: The new camera (HD GoPro) is going to be valuable for us finding flaws in our swim stroke. That assumes we know what the flaws look like. I have to say, it is cool though, watching yourself swim.

BRAVEHEART WORKOUT

New 2XU suit!

Webb: I came across this workout as link on Lesley Paterson's "Sh*t Triathletes Don't Say" video. With our first race of the season coming up in a few weeks, it seemed like a good time to start brick sessions. We did three intervals. The first was definitely the toughest for me. Luckily HDNet was airing the Little 500. It provided a good distraction for the bike intervals. For the run intervals, I mapped out a 0.6 mile loop starting and ending at our front door. The weather, although a tad warm, was really nice for the hard efforts.

Elle: This was a challenging workout for me. By the time we got to the last bike set, my quads were really feeling it. And Webb wasn't letting up on the run sets, I guess he didn't feel like getting beat by a girl today. We should probably add this workout to the rotation. The best part was that I got to test out my new 2XU tri suit, can't wait to get it out on the race course.

Temporarily Not Succeeding

Webb: We are going to experiment a bit here with a slight change to the format. Rather than go through each and every workout, we'll highlight a few.  Hope you like it, tell us if you don't.

Key Workouts

SWIM: 
w/u: 600m
main: 3 x 400m at tpace on :40 rest
c/d: 100m

Webb: This swim set was a little tough. We did a strength workout a couple of days before with some pull-ups and push-ups. Apparently I had some residual soreness in my lats, so it took a little while to warm up. I also did the workout in the sole free lane while a Masters Session was going on. My guess is most people would hate swimming at such a time. I kinda dig it. It is the closest you can come to an open water experience in the pool. 

BIKE: Hell Hath No Fury
Webb: Yep, this workout still rocks. The bike training has been going well. Even though you must always suffer when doing these videos...

Elle: Yeah, this is a good one, one of my favorites. And the music really helps to make this workout, it's a bit like a dance party. But with more sweat and gasping for air.

Webb: More sweating and gasping than a dance party? You need to go to better dance parties.

Elle: You are correct, sir.

RUN: Dave Scott Treadmill
Main 1- 6x {45 seconds at 5%, 45 seconds at 6%, 30 seconds at 7%, "recover" 60 seconds at 2%}
Main 2 - 12x {20 seconds "very fast" (not all out, no sprinting) with 20 seconds passive recovery}

Elle: This workout is a killer. I did it once before on my own, and I was glad to have Webb there this time to experience the hell along with me. Near the end, I honestly had a fear of flying off the end of the treadmill, so I just pushed it hard until it was over.

Webb: I put it on the schedule as a muscular endurance workout because that is how Dave Scott describes it. I guess being a multiple Ironman World Champ and coach of champs (ahem, Chrissie), means you might know a thing or two. Well, this is definitely a tough workout that must improve your muscular endurance.

I actually found the "recovery" efforts to be tougher because as far as recoveries go, it sucks. Sure 2% is easier than 5, 6 or 7%, but not so much as you are all "Ahhhhh, whew, this is better." The cool thing is that when you do the speed skills after, they are pretty easy. Hell, that was a better recovery and a great way to end a workout. It definitely stretched out and loosened up the legs.

The Boston Marathon is in Effect ...

Karen, Bill and Mark

Saucony event: Find Your Strong
Webb: On Friday we attended the Saucony event on finding our strong. There were four speakers scheduled to inspire us and they did not  disappoint. The evening opened with Luis Escobar talking about his friend Micah True, aka Caballo Blanco, of Born to Run fame. Sadly, a couple of weeks ago Caballo Blanco was found dead in the New Mexico desert a few days after he went out for a 12-mile run. This is a terrible loss for the running community and the Tarahumara people of Mexico.

Elle: I couldn't believe it when I heard the news, I was devastated. I never met Caballo Blanco, but was super excited to do so at this event. I never even changed it in my calendar, which still reads, 'Meet Caballo Blanco!'
A sad loss indeed.

Webb: We also heard from Mark Herzlich, Karen Smyers and Bill Rodgers. Herzlich defeated cancer at age 21 and went on to win Super Bowl XLVI (2012) as a linebacker for the NY Football Giants. He had bone cancer in his left leg and after undergoing chemo and radiation treatments, doctors inserted a titanium rod down the length of his femur. Karen Smyers might be one of the best athletes you've never heard of - unless of course you are a triathlon junkie. Karen is in the Triathlon Hall of Fame because she has won at every distance and overcome amazing set backs: cancer, severed hamstring (home improvement accident) and multiple injuries from being hit by an 18-wheeler on a training ride. She was part of one of the most dramatic finishes in Ironman history. Finally, Bill Rodgers, 4-time winner of both the Boston and NYC Marathons gave a high-energy, if not a little wacky, speech about how we are all different yet, fundamentally the same in that we need to get out there and take on challenges.

Elle: It was seriously hard to tell if Bill Rodgers was drunk or just a little crazy. I've never heard him speak before, so maybe he's just kind of wacky. Meanwhile, Karen Smyers was inspiring as ever. I'll definitely be remembering her words while I'm out on the 1/2 Ironman course at Timberman later this year. It's always good to hear that even Ironman World Champions get down on themselves every now and then. The difference is they pull themselves out of it and go on to win the race.
Best quote of the evening, from Karen Smyers, "It's not failing, its temporarily not succeeding".

@ HHRC on Heartbreak Hill

Marathon Expo

PRE-EXPO BIKE WORKOUT
Webb: As the weather warms up, weekends are for nice and easy long bike rides. Since the schedule called for 3 hours and Elle was to meet Laura at the expo, I chose a route I call The Weston Hills. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who calls it that. Anyway, it is a 5-mile loop of rolling hills (of varying grades) - long enough not to be boring, short enough that you can control how long you are out on the ride. Since it was to be an easy, aerobic ride it was also good practice on applying steady effort on the climbs. Had we been out there trying to hammer the pace, we might have blown up on some of the steeper grades.

Laura and I with Bart Yasso

On our way back into town, and through the famous Newton Hills (which include Heartbreak Hill), we stopped at SEAC's new sister store, Heartbreak Hill Running Company. The store has the same look and feel of SEAC. And after meeting Eric and Jill, the same great employees.

Elle: Even though I'm not running this year, the Boston Marathon Expo is still a fun time. So I met my friend Laura there, and Webb met up with us later on. There were lots of interesting booths of vendors. Of course everyone who's anyone in the world of running was there. Laura and I had a photo taken with the great Bart Yasso. And he gave us each a signed cartoon of himself. He was there with Runner's World, and editor David Willey was there too.

Bart Yasso!

Look, it's Meb!!!

We also saw the famous Meb Keflezighi signing autographs. The line was too long for me to stand in, but I got a quick shot of him with my camera phone. I ended up buying some running socks and a cool triathlon-themed t-shirt made of bamboo. Webb got a wind jacket from Puma, where our good buddy Dan (from SEAC) was helping out. It was fun to see the women from RunningSkirts.com and I probably had too many free samples of Clif Bars, Gu, Gatorade; you name it, I tried it. It was fun, but pretty exhausting. Especally after the 3 hour bike ride earlier that day.

Me & Laura with some dude at the Expo

Sweet Recovery

Webb: Recovery week! After our last 3 weeks of solid training, with massive amounts of pool time and an event-packed weekend, it was time to scale back the hours and intensity. This week saw us diverge from doing workouts together. For example, one night Elle went for a solo run and another I played basketball with some friends and New Balance guys. (By the way, I was a little worried I wouldn't get out of the gym without an ankle or knee injury. It was worth the risk though. While we are still in the base phase of training, cross-training with something like basketball could prove to be better for injury-prevention and if I did stumble, I should have time to recover.)

Elle: We did one workout together, the weekly SEAC workout, which is back at the track, after the winter months of hill training. Since SEAC was busy opening up their sister store, Heartbreak Hill Running Company, Dan, our fearless leader, was unable to attend. But he had a workout planned for us, so Mike (aka Keebler, Keebs, etc.) read us the damage and we all headed out to the track. We did the workout and a long set of walking lunges. That's all the workout called for, but since Dan usually has us do 2 laps before heading back, SOMEONE suggested that we tack on the extra laps. Okay, it was me. But we all did, and are better runners/people for it!

Good times @ SEAC, post-run w/ Jessi and Mike (Keebler)

SEAC Track Workout
w/u - 1.5 jog
main - 200m, 400m, 400m, 200m (w/ 200m recoveries)
drills - 3x lunges (10 each leg)
shake out - 800m as 100m strides, 100m jog
c/d - 1.5 jog

Elle: A lot of us saw each other again on Saturday night when Mike Slowik, a long-time SEAC run club member hosted a fundraiser at the Harpoon Brewery to raise $$$ for his Boston Marathon run (for The Red Cross). There is still time to donate. The party moved on to The Atlantic Beer Garden, and eventually on to the South Street Diner. Which was an interesting scene...

Webb: I just came across this interview with our speed leader Dan. For you non-Bostonians, there are some shots of my favorite New England landmark, the Charles River. Unfortunately, the video was shot in winter so you don't get to see the river in its full-verdant state. Maybe I'll post some shots this spring and summer. You also get a glimpse of the Saturday SEAC crew, including Elle. (This may have been the day we bit off more than we could chew.)

On Saturday, I rode with the guys from the Evil Racing Cult and was allowed inside the World-wide Headquarters. It was a great day for a ride, even if it began more than a bit too chilly for my taste. Our small pack met up with a Masters group and then the 12 or so us of headed out for about 45 miles. I was definitely the weak member of the bunch. Thankfully it was a friendly ride, otherwise the couple of times I was tapped on the hills, I would have been dropped. Who am I kidding? I would have been dropped before the hills. Anyway, they are great guys which reinforced my decision to buy their race wheels. Also, you can't beat it when you have a chance to hang out and talk to people who do your hobby as a profession.

We ended the week watching Paris-Roubaix, or what is now to be called "The Tom Boonen Show." Wow. What a dominating performance. I hear there is even talk in Belgium of replacing the Easter Bunny with a dust-covered figure on a bicycle called "Tommeke." The kids will have to race over cobblestones in their search for eggs. Good luck kinderen / Bonne chance les enfants / Viel Gluck Kinder

Next Week: Begin Base Phase 3

Big Weekend Wrap-up: The End of "30 for 30" and the Annual Double-down

Webb: In like a lion out a like a lamb my ass. We began March with a plan to swim 30 days. This past weekend we concluded our swim-focus experiment and celebrated by opening April with our annual Double-Down event.

DAY 30: SWIM WORKOUT
4 x 500 as:
500 swim,
500 swim with pull-buoy,
500 swim with pull-buoy & paddles,
500 swim
total - 2,000m

Elle: I can't believe '30 for 30' is over. And we did it. I didn't know if I'd be able to see it through, but I pushed really hard, and came out the other end a better, more confident swimmer, and learned some interesting things about myself in the process. It wasn't easy, but I'm really glad I fought through.

DAY 31: Global Sufferlandrian Day! and The Multisport Expo

GLOBAL SUFFERLANDRIAN DAY
BIKE WORKOUT: 
TheSufferfest.com's "Revolver"

Webb: March 31st/April 1st was Sufferlandrian Day. With the Multisport Expo on the schedule, we had to be sure to get in our Sufferfest workout. So we woke early and were on the trainers at 7:30. (Not our usual Saturday wake up time.) I still love this workout. We had not done it in a long time. I feel strongly we should hire a coach for next season. I just worry s/he'll forsake our love for Sufferfest.com. I can't train without Sufferfest.

Elle: Nothin' like a good, vomit-inducing session to start your weekend! I didn't actually throw up, but I definitely felt that I was flirting with that line several times during the workout. Which is par for the course for Revolver.

MULTISPORT EXPO
SWIM WORKOUT: Total Immersion Swim Clinic
75:00 clinic focusing mainly on distance-per-stroke and balance

Webb: Three words to describe the clinic: Cold, shivering and cold. Take some advice, never attend a clinic in a freezing pool. There was far too much time not-swimming while the clinician did his thing. The drills between chattering teeth were helpful. We swam with little electronic metronomes in our swim caps. Every time it beeped we initiated a stroke. We then progressively slowed down the metronome, effectively deconstructing our form. By doing this you can definitely feel where your form is out of balance. Fixing it, well that is another issue. I'm glad we went; it would have been nice if it hadn't been so damn cold.

Elle: Yes, it was cold, but I think Webb is exaggerating just a tad. I'm glad we attended the clinic, I did learn some things I need to work on, about my particular stroke, and about proper form in general. But I too was glad to get out, since, if you're in the pool and NOT swimming the whole time (i.e. listening to an instructor), it can get a little frosty.

Webb: Not exaggerating.

With Ironman Hero Mark Allen

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: MARK ALLEN (6-time Ironman World Champion)

Elle: It was great to hear Mark Allen talk about stories that you've seen on tv and read about, but to hear it straight from him was pretty cool. He talked about the 'Iron War', and about his journey to finally winning Ironman world championship after so many years losing to Dave Scott. Definitely inspiring.

Webb: As a sports fan, it was a little surreal at first when Mark Allen emerged from behind the curtain to present to the audience. I am in my 4th full-time season doing triathlons, but I remember the late 80's trying to find info about it in the days before the Intertubes. Like Dave Scott (last year's keynote speaker), his affable style belied his accomplishments. (The one that blew me away is that he finished on the podium in 90% of his races!) If you get a chance to see him speak, do not miss the opportunity.

Elle: After the keynote speech, Webb and I explored the Expo, which is always fun. A room full of people who have the same interests and experiences as you is such a treat. Usually we end up boring people with our stories of training and racing, but now we were surrounded by folks who all know exactly what we're talking about/going through! And all the booths of race directors and triathlon vendors, it was a blast. One of our favorites is Tim Richmond, the race director of Max Performance races, and he's a really nice guy.

With Team Water.org

We also got to meet the guys behind Team Water.org, which we've discussed joining after we watched the documentary, 'Running the Sahara'. Water.org was co-founded by Matt Damon & Gary White, and Matt's brother Kyle is an Ironman-distance triathlete and the team director of TEAM water.org.

Of course the guys from Landrys were there, and the Boston Triathlon Team. And at the TriBuy.com gear swap, I picked up a pair of Rudy Project sunglasses. I had a great time.

Webb: We also met Mark Allen after the speech at his booth. He's a great guy. If you do not know who he is or maybe you do but you do not know about the Iron War of 1989, check out the link above. (It does not take you to Matt Fitzgerald's book of the same name. I have heard there are questions about that book that need to be resolved until I'll read it.) Meeting the Team Water.org guys was second only to meeting Mark Allen. Be sure to check out that link too. They are doing important work globally and should especially hit home to endurance athletes. You do not take water for granted.

Rudy Project Sunglasses

Celebrating Sufferlandrian Day
Elle: After the Expo we headed over to the Asgard to properly celebrate Sufferlandrian day with some food and pints. All I can say is, when are going to the Asgard again? Holy cow, the food was so super tasty - the truffle tater tots were out of this world. And while we were there I noticed at the table next to us some folks wearing BeginnerTriathlete.com shirts, so I chatted with them for a bit. We were pretty exhausted at this point, so after some food and beer, we were pretty ready to call it a day. Especially since we had to wake up in the morning for TWO road races...

With Ron Shea, founder of
BeginnerTriathlete.com

April 1: DOUBLE-DOWN!

Race #1: Cambridge City Run, Cambridge, MA (Fresh Pond)
Start time: 10:30AM
Interval plan: 1:00 sub threshold, 1:00 no max HR, 3:00 descending HR; Recovery 5:00 HR zone 1

Webb: In the past, I have run the races but not raced them. (No surprise to readers of the blog, Elle always gave them effort.) This year we had a different plan since we have been trying out a non-swim program from a coach. We were supposed to do two interval runs this week. I made the decision to do those training sessions during the races. For Race #1, we did the "easier" of the two sessions. It was a little tricky and we were probably hated by all the other participants. But hey, they are C races, so we were just training through them.

Elle: It was tough to do intervals during the race, especially through the narrow parts that looped around the pond. But holy cow, it made the race go by fast! After we crossed the finish line I grabbed a water bottle, and we went straight to the car to head down to race #2. After a quick stop at the supermarket for some provisions, we drove to Cohasset, arriving with enough time for a pit stop before heading over to the start line.

Celebrating Sufferlandrian Day

Race #2: Race by the Sea, Cohasset, MA
Start time: 1:00PM
Interval plan: 2:00 easy ascending HR, 3:00 super-threshold; Recovery 3:00 HR zone 1

Elle: Again, doing the intervals made this race just fly by. Instead of counting off the miles, we were so preoccupied with our heart rates and intervals, that before I knew it, we were running by the 'Mile 5' sign. One guy noticed that we were up to something, and called us out, which was funny, since we would pass him for the super threshold sets, and then he'd pass us back during the recovery.

Webb: I'm tired. I think I'll take a day off.