Trihardist Vlog Preview: A Short Ride on the W&OD

I bought myself an (inexpensive) action camera! I have some ideas of ways to incorporate it into the blog: I'd like to make some free video cycling workouts; I feel like my audio workouts are a little behind-the-times, now that there are so many cool tools like Zwift and Trainer Road and even GCN's training videos! It's time for me to innovate. I also have ambitions of doing a vlog like Cycling Maven and Vegan Cyclist do. And of course I want to take footage of my races like all the cool kids!

This is my first experiment with the new camera. Let me know what you think, and if there are specific things that you would like to see now that I can do more video!

IMKS 70.3 Video!

From (you guessed it) The Photographer :-D

Race Report: Emporia Spring Migration '10

Thanks to my Photographer for putting together this video and taking all these pictures. I'm really lucky to have such a wonderful and talented . . . Photographer.

Podium.

That's what you need to know, straight off. 2nd place, female overall. Podium, baby.

This has been my first time making it that far up the ranks, and it was my primary goal for this race. Go for it, go all out, and get into the top 3 overall. And I did it.

Still, I'm not quite content. The race was smaller this year than it has been previously. I don't feel like the field was as competitive, especially on the women's side. A lot of familiar faces were missing, including a few friendly rivals. And (as always) I know that I could still go faster. So there's still room to improve.

Pre-race

A certain special Photographer came with me to this race, and it was wonderful to have some company on the ride up, and some support as I readied myself for competition. Also interesting was seeing triathlon in a new way, as I introduced someone new (a tri virgin, if you will) to the wonders of multisport. It makes everything more fascinating; lets you see it through new eyes.

Registration and body-marking were straight-forward. There was only a slight breeze, but it was chilly (not as chilly as last year), and the sky was grey. The main thing that struck me--and I could not get over this--was how few faces I knew, and how the familiar faces were conspicuously absent. It was kind of sad, really. Still, there were a few that I recognized, and I got to chat with some of the folks I've met casually at other races, or in previous years. Also? Got to introduce The Photographer.

Warm up was 15 minutes on the bike--very chilly!--followed by a mile on the track. And several bathroom stops. My stomach was roiling with nerves. Between the bike, run, and bathroom, I ran out of time for a swim warm-up. I went to stand in the snake between numbers 46 and 49 (48 was a no-show) and waited for my turn to come.

Swim: 400m in 7:36 (1:53/100m, 7:35 in '09)

I always feel very restrained in a triathlon swim. I'm definitely not giving my all. Just trying to stay within the pack, within a good effort zone, maximizing every stroke, and trying to set myself up for a strong bike/run. Should I be working harder? I don't  know . . .

Didn't get passed. Didn't pass anyone else. Felt strong and fluid throughout. And time is almost exactly what it was last year. Probably have some room to improve on this leg.

T1: 32 sec (52 in '09)

Estimated about 32 seconds, based on the discrepancy between my official bike time and the time on my bike computer. Did I mention that I did this race without so much as a watch?

Bike: 20 km in 36:40 (20.3 MPH, 40:30 in '09)

For the first year EVER, there was almost no wind at this race. Notice that I said almost.

The bike was where I did my best work, at this race. I was focused. I was intense. I was competitive. I was counting down the women as they passed me on the out-and-back. I was a hunter.

But I still feel like I should be faster.

T2: 57 sec (57 in '09)

Oh my goodness, what a mess this was. I was using my new Giro aero helmet for the first time at this race, and it's much tighter than the old one. So I had to put my sunglasses on over the helmet straps. Well when I went to take the helmet off, I forgot about the sunglasses, and ended up getting sunglasses, helmet, and hair all tangled together. I wasted a good 30 seconds standing there and swearing and trying to yank my hair out of my head, if that's what it took. My apologies to the parents of young children who were standing nearby; you may have to explain to your kiddos what some of those words mean.

Again, note that the T2 time is only an estimate.

Run: 5 km in 25:00 (8:02/mi, 25:48 in '09)

I don't think I've ever felt this good on a tri run. My legs felt good and strong and capable. It was like the hills weren't even there. No one passed me on the run, for once! There were a few muscles that felt like they might cramp, but they held off.

Alan (captain of the KSRVTC) was waiting for me about a half mile from the finish. He cheered me all the way in (as he does every year), and helped me to a strong finish. I came across the line feeling like I was going to toss my cookies, but knowing that I'd done my very best.

Total: 1:10:45 (1:15:42 in '09)

Fastest time I've ever posted at this race. 2nd F overall. 36th overall with the men. I'm pleased. But now I'm anxious to see how I'll do at a bigger race, one with a little more depth (especially in the female field). Although looking at the results from last year, I would still have placed 2nd overall with 1:10. And I've done it, now: I've been on the podium. The real podium. The overall podium. And I'm pretty happy about that.

Happy. But not content.

Hibernation

Does the weather suck where you are? Yeah, me too. Today it's cloudy and rainy, wet and cold with no sun and a biting wind. It's not too cold for running, really. But it's too gloomy to do anything enjoyable, or to enjoy anything. Unless you're really determined. Which I'm not.

I'm grumpy.

I bet you're feeling the same way. The weather sucks, and it's going to continue to suck for the next several weeks, if not a few more months.

It's hard to train when you're grumpy and the weather sucks. It's hard to remember that everyone else--all your competitors and colleagues--are going through the exact same thing. We've all been spending way too much time on the trainer/treadmill. We've all had to bundle up and slow down to the point that it's almost not worth going outside at all. And we're all starting to get so grumpy that we don't even want to do it.

We need some sun.

Unfortunately, I don't have the power to bring you the sun. What I can give you, though, is a little bit of exposure to the stars.

Watch these videos and remember the awesomeness that is triathlon. Remember what it feels like to cross the finish line. Remember that you are a part of all of it.

And remember that the long, boring, grump-inducing hours inside will be worth it come summer.

Geelong 70.3 (2010)

GPI Triathlon (2009)

GPI Triathlon 2009 from Leonardo Felippi on Vimeo.

Des Moines Hy-Vee Triathlon (2009)

Top 5 Reasons to do Cyclocross - plus - VIDEO!

and . . .

Top 5 reasons to do a cyclocross race

5. Smaller field. Especially for women. Still very competitive, and a little intimidating to be starting on the same line as experienced women. But nowhere near as scary as a mass swim start with 100+ other women.

4. Improves bike handling skills. In the same way that throwing a toddler into the deep end of the pool improves swimming skills. By the end of the race, I was fish-tailing--nearly wiping out--and thinking, "How the hell did I do that, and how can I learn to do it again?!"

3. Cross-training. Think about it: high-intensity, anaerobic cycling (one big, long interval). Running through sand (resisted running). Jumping barriers (plyometrics). Pedaling through grass, mud, and gravel (power intervals). Yeah, go ahead and tell me this sport won't do wonders for your race performance.

2. Builds power. Try sustaining your maximum wattage for 30 minutes and tell me what it does to your fitness. Oh yeah.

Number one reason?

Because one badass sport is simply not enough.

And to finish it all off, here are some links to other bloggers' race reports . . .

Wish you were here, don't ya? - Chris Cross

Chainring Tattoo - Chris Cross Race Report

Mark Studnicki - DeStad Series/Chris Cross-Lawrence

Bike-o-Latte: De Stad round Dos - Chris Cross 10-12-08 recap

"Stop Slouching!": Winged Scapula - THE MOVIE

It has been long-promised. Long-anticipated. And now it is here.

Moments in Tri

Note: I was going to title this entry "Moments in Tri-me," but I thought that might be just a little too much.

We have some pretty amazing moments in our sport, captured on video and preserved for posterity. Most famous? The 1982 Kailua Kona Ironman where Julie Moss collapsed 30 yards from a first-place finish.


The drama of this moment catapaulted the sport into the public eye, prompting millions (just kidding; at that point, there were probably only a couple thousand crazies) to internally ponder, "I wonder if I could do that."

Great moment in the sport. No question about it.

Then there's the Dave Scott/Mark Allen "Ironwar" of 1989 (and I know that the commentary on these is inane and annoying; sorry).



You guys might already know that I really enjoy watching the ITU World Cup races; it's a great way to take in the sport as a spectator (because Ironman isn't terribly spectator-friendly). My favorites to watch are the battles between Vanessa Fernandez and Emma Snowsill. Example:




No doubt about it; the visual stimulation to our triathlon sensibilities is pretty well fleshed out, electronically speaking.

Now you wanna see my favorite moment, the greatest moment ever in triathlon videography?



Now doesn't that make you want to hop out of your seat, a little? Doesn't it make you pull up your calendar and check again how many days/weeks/months you have until your next event?

Isn't that kind of excitement what it's all about?

I love this video because it captures so completely the reason I still do this crazy sport. It's exciting. "How many minutes to go? Two? EEEE!" It might be the challenge, the bombastic, "Heck, I can do that if she can!" attitude that drew me to the sport in the first place, but it's that intense excitement, the endless attention to detail to eke out every bit of speed and skill, the constant nitpicking and readjustments to training the schedules, the sleepless nights before a race . . .

That's what keeps me in this sport.

Do you have a favorite moment in triathlon history, be it video, audio, print, or personal? Share in the comments!

Quick Catch Video

I had a few questions about how exactly one does the Quick Catch drill which has been so helpful for me. And what better way to demonstrate than in film? Also see Dave Scott's video, which is actually filmed on a pool deck with real swimmers (not in a bedroom with a webcam)! Any more questions about this drill (or any others), just let me know in the comments.