When a hard day at the office is a tough race (Rev3 Knoxville Olympic)

Some days are tough. If you race long enough, you'll end up with a  tough day on race day. Sometimes it's because of technical, sometimes it's training, and sometimes it's just "a bad day to have a bad day."

Rev3 Knoxville was Sunday, and it was a tough race. I'd say of all the races I've ever done, it was the hardest day I've ever had on course. (yes, counting a 140.6) I knew going in I wasn't in 100% race shape, but I was thoroughly punished on course for not accepting my limits beforehand. But enough of that, let's get straight on to the report.

-Pre Race-

I spent Saturday morning driving the course and putting the finishing tune up on the Cervelo. The online map of the course was a little off and I'm terrible at directions anyways, but all in all I thought I had a "pretty good" idea of where the Olympic course went.  Then I returned to Knoxville with the bike and got checked in. Heck, I even got the best transition space I've ever had at a big event (right on the corner on a side!) Afterwards I had dinner with my friends Jimmy and Sharon and headed home to get some sleep.

Maiden Voyage of the Cervelo

Sunday morning all goes fairly well, Jenny arrives and we head out to transition (arriving by 6:30) which was good, as my front brake had somehow gotten quite mushy overnight. After a quick freak out I get it set right and get my transition set. Then it's a long walk to the pier and a little work getting my wetsuit on. After a round of kisses I smirk and drop a cocky "See you guys in a little over 2 hours." (tsk tsk... cue bad mojo)

Jenny and my mom helping me get suited up

I jump in and do a little swimming around to stay warm and then get in position for the gun.

-Swim- 25:56 (8/33 49/268)

No problem seeing me right? I'm somewhere in the front middle.

With the wave being m40 and under, there's a fair number of us. Nonetheless I seed fairly far up and had pretty clear water the entire way. I still don't like swimming in a wetsuit at all (It rubs my collarbone plate) but it was a necessity in the cool water. I noticed at about 2/3 of the way through the course my foot and calf were trying to cramp up as I kicked, so I lay off a little bit. After what seemed like forever I was flopping up on the dock and on the run to T1. Honestly, Knoxville is a pretty "boring" swim (up, around, down) but it is a tough swim. I never felt like the current was helping no matter which direction I was going. I was lukewarm to happy with my swim time/placement, especially on the yardage I've been getting in lately.

-T1- 2:14

Swimming is fun, swimming is fun...

It's a pretty long run from the dock to the bike... which was a good thing in this case as I had a hard time fiddling with my zipper. Eventually I get it off and get glasses/helmet/bike ready without much incident. I'm quickly on the bike and into my shoes. Time to do work.

-Bike- 1:08:20 (2/33 12/268)

I really need to practice my flying squirrel.

Or not. The bike started off with a short climb onto the exit ramp out of town. Immediately I was in my small chain ring and not feeling good. I mentally reminded myself to take it easy, drink some water (the Torhans 20 worked out quite well for this race) and not freak out the first few miles. Eventually I start to come around and feel "better," if not good. I am passed at about mile 12 by Andrew (who beat me at Storm the Fort last year.) and despite KNOWING that I'm not in shape to bike with him I decide to try and pace him, once or twice I even manage to pass him when I'm feeling strong. All good things come to an end though, and as we hit the "climb" of the course at mile 15 I am reminded (quite brutally) that I am not in the best shape on the bike. Goodbye guys, have a good ride. I do get a boost from Jimmy, who anyone there will know as the Pink Horse on the bike course... he went all out to lift my spirits. Going down the descent is where I get a little confused from the course "turn by turn" I followed the day before. It said turn right at the bottom of the hill, but the signs (all pink... would it have hurt to put green tape down too rev3?) pointed straight. With nobody around I forge one, but not at full speed...trying to find out if I'm off course. Eventually some volunteers tell me I'm going the right way, so I speed off back toward town. Like a fool it's almost the end of the bike ride before I remember my gel shoved in my pocket. I should have taped it to the top tube to remind me. I down it way too late in the ride.

As I cruise back down the exit ramp I bend down to unstrap my shoe and am hit with a terrible side cramp. I suck it up and get my other shoe off but end up riding sitting up for the last bit of course, trying to get a breath.


Looking back, I would say my bike was too aggressive for my fitness. My intensity factor was very near 1.0 which is just too high, especially having a weaker bike than usual from the get go. I think realistically I was in shape to ride a 1:12 - 1:15

-T2- 2:00 (ish) (t2 and the run were together on Rev3's website)

Riding in on one shoe... the one part of this race I actually looked cool.

I manage to swing my leg over and look pro coming into transition, but as I rack my bike and bend over to put on my Zoots, I'm again struck by a cramp. This one is so bad I have to sit down and take a couple of breaths just to be able to stand back up. In hindsight, I missed out on the podium right here, sitting in t2 trying to breathe. Nothing I could do and thankfully it resided fairly quickly. Time to go suffer.

-Run- 46:30 (ish) (4/33 23/268)

Don't mind me, I'm just heading out to suffer some more.

I've quit races before, both literally (when I was sick on vacation last year) and in spirit. (at Augusta 2012) Never have I wanted to truly quit a race so bad as I wanted to quit on Sunday.
I hurt.
That's the only way to say it.
It was like a snowball of soul crushing. The first few miles I was still struggling just to continue running thanks to my side reminding me that it didn't appreciate the torment I had been putting it through. Eventually I "smoothed" out and actually felt like I could continue on/wasn't going to keel over. Of course the real runners started passing me and it seemed like every one of them had a number on their leg between 30 and 35. I had told myself NOT to look at my watch (as I knew there was nothing I could do about it anyways) but nonetheless I took a look at mile 4 and saw that being around 2:05 had already came and gone with 2 miles left. I sulk a little bit as my pace continues to stagnate at mid 7's, but try to pull myself together and finish as strong as I can for the day. As I'm rounding toward the finish I can hear somebody sprinting on me and I try to pull out what's left...but there just isn't anything there. He cruises by me and I cross the line in an unceremonious collapse.

Toasted and unhappy about it

In retrospect, my run was primarily crushed by my overzealous bike split among some other issues on the day. It's possible my cramp came from too hard a bike as well, although it's hard to be sure. I should have ran somewhere in the 6:50-7 range per mile, and the best I managed was a 7:10 on a (thankfully) downhill section. For a flat course my run was embarrassing, but it's what I had to work with at that point.

I finished with a 2:25:05 (comically a PR at Rev3... considering it's been 4 years since I finished it)
4th in my AG and 23rd overall. Not the day I had planned on, expected or wanted, but the day I had. I came away immediately upset with myself, but having had some days to look back, I've had some lessons drilled into my thick skull that will serve me well come Nationals.

First... It's a triathlon, not a bike race. I have a problem integrating this, but it has to become second nature NOT to try to bike like it's the TdF Prologue. If I had biked even 4 or 5 minutes slower and ran to my potential my day would have been quite a bit better I think, and much less painful.

Second... I still have comfort issues in my wetsuit. My bum shoulder is just a problem it seems... not sure if a sleeveless would help or not, but I might try one out and see in the future.

Third... I can't forget my nutrition on the bike. That was rookie and bone headed. I have to get my head in the game before and during the race.

/ Race Report

So that was Rev3. Bad day behind me, no lingering on it, just learning from it and moving on.

And fortunately I can move on pretty quick, as Memorial Day (next Monday if you didn't want to look at your calendar) is the Springbrook Sprint triathlon. I will be going for the win on the Fleet Feet Sprint series again this year so I'll be there looking to pick up some points.  I guess that means you guys will get two race reports in a row. Hopefully the next one will be a little more exciting.

Thanks for reading, I always appreciate it!

- Christopher Morelock

Ohhh yeah, bonus. Here's a Picture of Jimmy in his pink horse getup. (and me riding him in aero. Yes we are idiots)

All we need now is a PD Lightning Stryke to make him a unicorn.

It's good to try new things. (like a blog with a recipe!)

I must be getting older. I get super excited over things that once upon a time I would have scoffed at. Take, for example, my new rice cooker.

This thing was $35 at Target! Game Changer!

Holy #@%^ this thing rocks. It is completely possible I may die of rice poison before I get tired of it. Of course, it may have something to do with these tasty "energy bars" I read about on the interwebs.

There are a million ways you could vary it, but here's the tentative "perfect" energy bar so far.

What you need:
- Sticky rice (sushi rice worked for me too, and my local grocery store stocked it.)
- Powdered Peanut Butter (PB2 makes it. Works a lot better than *real* peanut butter.)
- Craisins
- Sugar
- Salt
- Cashews (or nuts of your choice)
- Bacon (it makes everything better...duh)
* Cooking spray
* Muffin tray / whatever you are going to shape it in.

Fill the rice cooker with water and rice. Let it sit for a while (an hour or so, makes it stickier) then cook to the directions of your machine. Once the rice is done spoon it out onto a board or baking sheet or whatever. Let it cook a bit (you'll regret it if you don't... burns are bad.) Next cook some bacon (I used that pre-cooked 10" microwave stuff.) let it get crunchy and break it up. Now dump all the other stuff (or whatever you came up with) onto your rice mound. It should look similar to this.



A gooey plate full of awesomeness.

Ok, Now get it all mixed up (coat hands with non-stick spray and mix. Make sure you don't burn the crap out of yourself.) and start scooping it into your muffin tray. (that's what I used. I assume any bread tray would work too if you don't mind chopping it into smaller pieces later.)

This is important... SMASH the crap out of it. You need to pack that delicious rice concoction TIGHT in there... otherwise it'll crumble later. use something to compress it more...put some weight into it for Christ sake. Now, shove it in the fridge and let it cool some more... you should end up with something like this.

Couldn't even resist long enough to take a picture!

And there you have it. Of course I'm certainly not done experimenting, but it's nice to have something other than the same old energy bars to take along on a long ride. You will need some of that sandwich foil (paper on one side, foil on the other) to wrap and take them with you, but other than that these things are quick, simple and CHEAP to make, and you can customize them to your specifications.


Ok, end of the Iron Chef talk... how about trying some new shoes out...

My butt is going to be so shaped.

Runningwarehouse had these guys on sale, and my curiosity got the better of me. I had been looking for a shoe to run in on my *easy* days (and to swap out from my Mizuno's every now and then) and these Hoka's seemed like the perfect thing. I've only ran in them a couple of times so far, but some takeaways I've had.
- They didn't revolutionize running for me or anything. I still prefer my Wave Riders for an everyday shoe and certainly my Zoot's or Adidas for race day.
- They are a legit running shoe. Much more responsive than I had given them credit for and plush without being spongy.
- They have a fairly nice (if cheapish looking) upper and tongue.
- They are EXPENSIVE (msrp was like $160 I think...) - although I suppose you would very likely get a LOT of miles out of them, so it might balance out.
- They are funny looking (but that's ok)

More about the Hoka's in the future after I get more miles in on them. I think that while they probably won't ever be my personal go to shoe, they are a real option for people looking for a bit more cushion without delving into marshmallow land.

Finally... this weekend is Rev3 Knoxville. Historically I've never had the best luck here on the home turf, but I'm hoping to change that come Sunday. It's going to be an important stepping stone towards Nationals... as I'll know just how close to hitting some of the bigger goals I really am. I am feeling pretty good about it overall, my swimming and running are both improved from last year, and I suspect my bike power is close to where it was at the end of last season. (finally...whew) With a good day and semi-good weather I am hoping for a nice PR.

Ahh and the Cervelo gets to come out and play! Maiden Voyage in a race!

Sadly I can't take the C5 ;)

So hopefully I'll have a positive race report for you guys next week!

Thanks so much for reading! Hopefully you'll try the rice cakes!

- Christopher Morelock

Pictures from Paradise

Part Dos (hey, Cinco de Mayo was Monday... or it was Revenge of the Fifth for you Star Wars nerds...)

Before I finish up talking about my vacation, I wanted to mention a movie I saw over the weekend.

The posters are some of the coolest for any film...ever.

The fact that this movie exists is pretty sweet. Check out the Wikipedia page on it and check out some of the covert ops that went into making it.

As far as the movie itself goes, it's...surreal... I think that's the best way to classify it. After reading (but before seeing) about it, my mind placed it first as a horror movie (it's not) and then as more of a "clockwork orange" style (not that either.) film, and finally as a parody (nope). What it actually is is tough to nail down. I liked the movie, but it doesn't fall into any category I can think of. I suggest watching it, but do your best to go into it without any pre-conceived notions as to what to expect. I think you'll be happier that way.

Anyways, back to the beach (I wish)

Nothing near as story worthy happened once we arrived on 30a. So instead of a play by play, here's some pictures I managed to snap with a little musing.

On my ride one day I snapped this picture, entering Alys Beach, which is...bar none, one of the most beautiful "urban" spots to ride that I've ever been to. It's also really fun to chase cars at the 25mph speed limit.  You can also see the trail that lines both sides of the road if you don't want to be battling traffic.

This picture does nothing but prove that you can't take a picture on the Internet at face value. Not pictured are the 50+ times I tried to do a handstand and either fell on my face immediately or didn't get the picture taken before face planting. This made a slick facebook profile picture though ;)

Of course, no trip to the beach is complete without some culinary expeditions. This year was absolutely no exception. Normally in my day to day routine I follow a pretty boring eating schedule. I eat, basically without fail, the same thing for breakfast and lunch 99% of the time, and generally don't branch out too far for dinner. That doesn't mean I don't love different (and, terrible for you) food though.

Bacon, Eggs, Frito chips, a soft tortilla shell, some leftover shredded chicken and rice. Breakfast of Champions.

 Of course breakfast, despite being the most important meal of the day, isn't the most fun. That's dinner.

Salad, Grilled shrimp skewers, barbecue peel&eat shrimp, Scalloped potatoes, Sirloin and grilled Cobia with Pineapple. If you didn't walk away from this meal full, there was something terribly wrong with you. Also, this was my first experience with Cobia fish... which is now in a tight arms race with Tuna as my favorite fish to throw on the grill!

The "awww" photo of this post. She's pretty awesome... even if she did over stuff the washing machine. (which resulted in a broken washer and me doing laundry by hand... the horror.)

I tried to get the sun in the picture, but I'm just terrible at selfies. I thought it was a good picture of Jenny in her gangster hat though. I somehow managed to bungle every picture of the sunset this year. Alas.

 

 

Of course none of my trips to the beach are truly finished without talking a little about vices. Cigars and Booze... is there a more manly way to finish off a trip to the beach.

The last night on the patio Wes and myself spent smoking good cigars and drinking expensive Whiskey. That's how you know a trip has been successful... finish it off with all the vices.

That was a little look into my trip to the sandy gulf. I hope you enjoyed my recounting at least a portion of as much as I enjoyed making the memories.

Play time is over though... Rev3 looms (next weekend actually) and following hot on it's heels will be Nationals. Fortunately my power on the bike has quickly returned (I'm hitting numbers similar to the end of last year.) and my run is much improved. Swimming is holding steady (which is good considering the little I'm managing to get in the water.) so I'm hoping to have some big days coming up.

Don't forget... Mother's Day is SUNDAY. Get your momma a card you bums!

As always, thank you all so much for taking the time to read through. Despite this blog being a "triathlon" blog in name, it's truly more about the "triathlete" and my life, so thanks for sharing in the journey!

Until Next Time

-Christopher Morelock

Losing your Wit (while I'm on vacation)

Hello again dear reader. It's been a little while since we've (actually since I've) spoke. Something about me having an awesome trip to the beach cutting into all my usual free time to muse. Luckily for you, it's currently pouring down rain in Tennessee with no end in sight, so I've got the time to catch back up on my blogging. After a week of sun and fun, I thought I'd give you a little "vacation report." I may even end up breaking this into two parts, as the beginning of our adventure is so outrageous it deserves it's own spot in the sun...

Rocky starts

Our trip began on shaky ground. The White Sands triathlon in Panama City was cancelled, but not before I had already reserved a room in PCB for Friday night and my best friends wife had got a plane ticket to arrive at the airport on Saturday (Being a responsible adult she had to work on Friday) so despite my better judgment myself, the fabulous Jenny and my best friend Wes pack into his Jeep Grand Cherokee and make the 9 hour drive to PCB.

The trip goes uneventfully until we arrive at the motel. (I wouldn't say the name... but if you google searched Aqua...View... and some other detailed information you could probably come up with it.)

Now I want to go out of my way to say that I purposefully found a cheap motel for Friday night. After all, the plan was to arrive on Friday after a 9 hour drive, crash, get up at the butt crack of dawn Saturday, race, then pick up Wes' wife at the airport and move to our condo. I didn't need to stay at the Hilton, I just needed a place to lay down a couple of hours that was clean. And for what it's worth, the motel was clean and adequate to sleep in in my opinion.



Me Wes and Jenny in our motel...

Describing our room was like something out of a mediocre Rob Zombie film. A "classic" motel likely built in the mid 50's and decorated in dilapidation... it somewhat sadly stood as an embodiment to how I find most of Panama City itself, that is built in a time of excess, but not maintained or refreshed, now clinging to it's former glory and cashing in on it's own fame. Jenny immediately protests staying (let alone sleeping) in the room, which is so obviously set up to cater to the spring break crowd that it even has a warning sign that frequent traffic in and out of the room will be monitored by authorities.

As you can see in this picture... Jenny unwilling to sit on the bed ;)

Condensing a fairly long drawn out series of events I'll summarize...
-Jenny was adamant against staying in the room, and sure she's going to sleep in the car.
-Wes certainly wasn't helping the situation with remarks like "man I wish I had a black light to see what kind of bodily fluids are on this bed." (just wait... you're getting your karma very soon.)
-After wandering out on the deck (and seeing our neighbors who were so obviously cooking meth they could have been wearing Los Pollos Hermanos t-shirts) and seeing an obviously belligerent fellow pee directly in the parking lot... she decides that locked in the room with myself and Wes and sleeping on the covers is preferable to tempting fate in the car.
-We leave the motel at 5:45A.M. and sit at a breakfast diner until 10 when we are supposed to pick up Wes' wife... cue ominous music.

Day 2: Judgment Day

So, how do you top a first day like that? We've already seen Ferrari's, a man urinating in the street, a motel whose floor literally bows in the middle and more tattoo parlors than an episode of Inked? Glad you asked.

So after breakfast and many...many cups of coffee, we are off to pick up Wes' wife.

For your own good, if you EVER plan to fly to, or pick someone up in the Fort Walton / Destin area... read this next part.

We plan our arrival to the airport impeccably. I literally pull into the "short term parking" lot right as Wes is getting a text that his wife is landing. Nothing to do but wait.
And wait
And wait some more...

Finally she calls, confused as to where we are parked. I am literally as close to the front door of the airport as you can park...so I'm not sure how there is a mix up.
"Do you see the military planes?"

nope.

Confused... me too. So to lay it out straight, Florida has stupid airport names.
We were at the closest airport to PCB, which is named
"Northwest Florida International Beaches Airport"
Wes' wife however had arrived about 70 miles away at
"Northwest Florida Regional Airport"

This is not the airport you are looking for

So if you were like any modern human being and typed "Northwest Florida" into your iPhone and let it auto fill in for you... you'd get the situation we ended up in... which was nothing but hilarity for myself and Jenny, aggravation and annoyance for Wes' wife, and misery for Wes himself. (Karma)

Finally, with d'Artagnan in tow (admit it, obscure references are what keep you coming back...) we make our way to South Walton. Of course, check in isn't for another five hours, so we occupy ourselves with lunch and some mindless window shopping in Destin and a stop by Publix (and the liquor store...) to get our groceries for the week. When we at long last (it's been a long day for vacation...) check into our condo, it's all I can do to force myself to unpack and not just fall over in bed from exhaustion. After unloading the bikes I get my second wind and manage to snap this picture of me finally relaxing on our deck.

Finally... shaved legs can enjoy some sunshine.

So ends part 1. Next week will be a little bit of wrap up and some talk about the next race... Rev3 Knoxville.

Sorry if the editing on this post is a bit rough... catching up at work has been a little time consuming... but that is what I get for not taking any work emails for a week.

Thanks so much for reading! Hopefully everyone is safe from the rough weather we've been having this week.

Until next time
-Christopher Morelock

Retro is the way to go, all the way to 2nd. (Race Report)

Sunday was the 30th Anniversary Trideltathon. To Celebrate (and I suspect to alleviate complaints about it being to cold in the morning for an outside pool swim first thing.) the organizers decided to do it retro... Reverse Tri style! Of course, as these things usually go, it was the warmest it's ever been at this race... which I most certainly won't complain about!

UT Aquatic Center and a group of 3xDelta Girls ;)

I often think of this race as a measurement to how fit I am coming into the season that year. It's also a race that has riddled me with a roller coaster ride of results. This year I actually showed up refreshed with no expectations. I knew I hadn't been riding very much since last year (power #'s are down) and I had never done a reverse tri before... so it would be very much "by feel." Fortunately both my Nana and Jenny had high expectations of me (In that way that only people who care for you can.) and they had even infected my mom, who is usually a bit more stoic on the outside (she tries to save my ego in case I bomb.) about this kind of stuff.

I got body marked and set up my transition as best I figured I could, then got a fairly long warmup in. I had a chance to chat with some fellas I hadn't seen since last year (both Terry and Lloyd, who both came away with some trophies as well) as well as the guys from Bearden Bike and Trail, who are nuts, but only in the most awesome way.

Finally we're called to line up for the men's wave to begin. I seed myself at the front with the intent of keeping the first group in sight throughout the run. After the National Anthem plays, we're off to the races!

Yellow shoes, blue kit, red visor. Yes, I am styling.

The Run 19:15 (3 miles)

We get started and immediately the thinning begins. Despite not pushing a very "hard" pace I stay out front for longer than I expected... not where I thought (or wanted) to be. It doesn't last and the "top" runners overtake and eventually leave me strung out behind. By the time we pass the 2 mile marker (and the turnaround point) I get to see where things stand. Everyone is still in view (although a little farther than I'd have liked.) and I've got a pretty secure spot myself. The final larger hill zaps me a bit and I'm afraid to push it too hard so I just continue at what I think is appropriate and let the lead group disappear. Everything is still going fine as I didn't expect to be running with the "runners" at the end.

Coming into transition

Transition 1 0:41

I totally flub my transition. Beforehand I had decided not to "flying squirrel" as I haven't practiced it once this year. That means stepping over and pushing off from the mount line... which is fine (and honestly not all that much slower) but it is made difficult when I realize I LEFT MY RUNNING SHOES ON! Total Bonehead move on my part that costs me a few seconds. I shake it off and quickly I'm out the door.

The Frankenbike sitting in transition

The Bike 17:22 (6 miles)

The bike is short but painful. The last hill before you pass transition is short but pretty steep, making an otherwise fairly fast (if curvy) bike course "fair." I have made a decision that all multi-lap sprints I do are going to be on the road bike (with aero setup of course.) due mainly to needing to be very careful on the second lap weaving through "the masses."  My ride is pretty uneventful other than a guy very nearly stopping(!) at the train track crossing on my second lap. I have to take a very awkward line to avoid him (and the cop standing in the middle of the road.) and it throws me out of whack for a moment. I tried to count the guys in front of me that I passed, but once on the second loop it becomes impossible to tell who was in front and who was a lap down. I figured I was somewhere in the top 5 or 6 though.



Finishing the first lap on the bike

Transition 2 1:01

I come skidding into t2 with a little showmanship (riding on one pedal all the way to the dismount line.) and quickly rack my bike, sling off my Kask Bambino and grab my goggles. As I'm running (the fairly long route) to the pool, Randy (from Bike & Trail) is giving me some encouragement (and running beside me like a madman ;) ) and my mom lets me know I'm in 4th place. I can see all the other guys still in the pool so it's time to do some swimming.

The Swim 7:15 (400m?)

I hit the water about a quarter lap behind 3rd place. Before we make it to the first wall I have overtaken him and put enough between us that I'm sure he won't be catching me. Second place is still a good 1/2 a lap ahead but I can tell I have eaten into his lead so I continue my pace although my shoulders are already on fire. It turns out to be anti-climatic however as he has burned himself out and has to stand up and get some air, letting me pass him and put almost a full lane between us before he gets back in the rhythm. I can see first place from under the lanes, but at this point we're at 250m and he has a full lane advantage on me... too much to catch up in 150m. At this point I slow down and just cruise into the finish, (since I can see everyone behind me) and come out of the water almost feeling fresh.

Fresh... if drowned rats can look fresh.

Finish Time 45:32 (2nd Place)

So that was my race. I was almost a minute behind first place and I feel like I could have definitely given him a run for his money if I had done a few things differently, but for my first reverse sprint I was happy with the results. Of course, many of the tough fellas in the area didn't show up either, so that helps.

There are definitely some things I need to smooth out before the big races this year. My cycling fitness is returning pretty quickly, but I need to be stronger than I was last year. I also need to perfect my t1 approach.

Anyways, I get my hardware and that's the end of the 30th Trideltathon.

Cobb Mobb (and a vintage beer visor) representing

Next week (actually, Friday) I'm off to beautiful 30a... to warm weather (it's °35 right now...wtf TN) and to get some solid miles in on my bike. Unfortunately, no Triathlon in Panama City, but I think I may have found a 5k to do... or a Calabash Buffet to destroy if that fails. Anyways, that means there may be a short (or even a lacking) post next Wednesday. 

Regardless, I'll be back for sure the week after, so until then happy racing and safe training.

Thanks so much for reading
-Christopher Morelock

Moving Forward(er)

So I managed to break a 1:30 HM. (If only just barely)

Must...Get...Monkey...Off...Back...

A big weight, if only a self imposed one, has been lifted. I CAN run with some work... at least at a non-embarrassing level.

Monday morning of course I was reminded (somewhat comically) that I'm supposedly a triathlete. Of course you wouldn't know it by the miserable bike ride I had. To say I'm a little out of shape on the bike is possibly the biggest understatement so far this year! (It's still early though.)  I'm sure riding at 5:30 in the morning isn't the best time for setting power records or anything but bleh! Monday was nasty.

Tuesday went a little better. Another ride, this time in the afternoon. Feel and power were again closer to normal (well, normal for the fitness I've currently got) and the world was right once more. Swimming has been going pretty well also, and now hitting 7:30 / 500m sets feels like a pretty leisurely pace. Shorter sets are holding well under 1:20 / 100's.

The start of the season for me always revolves around doom and gloom. I am always invaded by those negative thoughts like " I haven't done enough this winter" "I'm fat and out of shape" "I'm losing it" and other helpful inner dialogue.  Hitting my goal time at the Knoxville 1/2 certainly helped, but until I've gotten a couple of races under my belt I won't have the eased feeling of normality that I usually have for the latter part of a season. 

My first tri of the year, and my first reverse tri ever is this weekend. The Trideltathon will be Run, Bike, Swim... something I'm not sure I agree with (seems like a lot of opportunity for a mess in the pool towards the middle or back of the pack) but something I'm eager to try out. Heck, I might even beat my side stitches at this race if I start off running. (fingers crossed.) At the very least it will be a good gauge of how much my cycling really has dropped off and how much my swimming / running has improved. I will be doing this race on my Cannondale I believe... the hills around UT campus (and the twisty nature of the course) mixed with it being two laps makes me want to have a little better access to my brakes and shifters. (Having a compact crank might also be a good thing)

Sadly, the next weekends tri in Panama City has been canceled. No chance at redemption after nearly freezing to death (and throwing up...and pulling the plug) this year. I'm trying to find a 5k or something else to do that Saturday so that the extra days I paid for aren't a total loss. (Well.. I'm going to be at the beach... so it can't really be a TOTAL loss...right :D )



pre-drowning last year.

And as it's likely about time for the rest of you to be racing as well (heck a lot of you have already got a couple under your belt.) I guess we'll throw in a quick checklist before your first race.

- Check tubes and tires for the race wheels. For some reason, if my latex is going to have a problem it's always at the beginning of the season.

- Clean that chain and cassette. I'm guilty of it. Also, upgrade to rock & roll gold lube, it should save a couple of watts.

- Check your brake pads, and upgrade to something good in wet and dry if you haven't already. (I run Salmon pads on my bikes - that's not carbon surface braking though.)

- New Cables and possibly housing. Be a cheap skate... learn to do your  own tune ups.

- PRACTICE YOUR TRANSITIONS. If you haven't doing a flying squirrel since last September... maybe you should warm back up to it before the first race.

- Make a checklist for race day. First race of the year I almost always forget something... even with a list. I imagine I'd show up naked without one.

- Oh yeah... HAVE FUN! That's why we do it.

So next week I'll have a race report (hopefully a happy one with butterflies and rainbows.) and then I'll likely be MIA the next week, since oh yeah... VACATION!

Oh how I miss the surf and sunburn.

Anyways... as always, thanks for reading. Sorry if this week is a bit jumbled... work is putting a whooping on me.

Until next time, be safe and keep the rubber side down.

-Christopher Morelock

Running down a 1:30 Half Marathon (Knoxville 1/2 Race Report)

The looming wig shop above the start line

The Knoxville Half Marathon is sort of my "how's it going to look this year" race. Last year I made some huge strides in my performance, bringing in a 1:31:52, right at 7min/miles. This year I was looking to break 1:30, with 1:28:xx being my perfect day goal. Of course, that meant averaging 6:49/miles the entire duration... something I have done in training but not for a consecutive 13 miles... so to say I was a bit anxious is a generous way to put it. 

Although all of my training runs were on target, I was a bit worried that sub 7min/miles felt fairly tough, especially when strung together (my 30' run at race pace was a gut check a week out.) Of course as David pointed out I was supposed to feel beat up a week out. The week leading up to the race was pretty easy volume wise, and by Thursday I was feeling fairly good. Saturday's run was an effort to keep it easy as I was feeling pretty great at that point. Nervous still, but good. Saturday night I had a giant chicken breast and a baked potato (dinner with the always charming Jenny... who as usual is nothing but supportive) and got to bed around 8.

Sunday started at 3:30a.m. with Coffee, breakfast and then more coffee. Jenny arrived and we waited on my parents (who were late... ;) ) and then we all headed over to Knoxville. I got there with just enough time to find the bathroom, down a Lar Bar and head up to the bridge to be herded into my Corral to await the gun.

Jenny sacrificed some weekend sleep to be cold and support me ;)

-Rant-
I've mentioned this before... but good lord does NOBODY know how to seed themselves in a running race? The race organizers tried to fix the problem by having everyone sorted by corrals (set up by your projected finish time) but still... when you are falling off pace within the first mile... you didn't have realistic goals set. Are people really so clueless as to what they can finish a race in?
/ Rant


The Race

Somewhere around 8,000 "runners" on the bridge.

The first 30" or so are just shuffling around trying to get through the mass of people. I can't imagine what it's like farther back. Finally I actually cross the start line and find a little free air (on the sidewalk) to move. The strategy is to take the first 10k relatively easy, take a gel (at aid station mile6) re-evaluate how things are going and then either maintain or start head hunting around mile 8 if I'm feeling good.

The first 3 miles are the most dangerous in the whole race in my opinion. There's a ton of opportunity to think to yourself "this is easy... why am I not running faster?" and then burning yourself out with half the race ahead of you. Also when you get into a mass of people it's easy to let them dictate your pace, which usually also leads to the above. Around mile 3 I find two other guys who are holding roughly the same pace I am and I decide to work with them. We stay together all the way through the 10k marker (though Sequoyah Hills, which has the best support / signage of the whole race.) at which point the race starts to take on it's more serious tone. As the plan was set, I was going to take a gel at the 6mile station and have a little fuel in the tank for the "gut check" sections... unfortunately there was no gel at the station... damn. I grab two cups of powerade (spilling most of one of them on myself) and decide to start taking powerade at every station now. At mile 7 the true "F-you" climb* of the race (Noelton) comes up, and it is absolutely miserable. After a very steep section, it levels off and then gives you more of the same. My two compatriots fall off as we crest the top, but I know I don't have the luxury of dropping very far off pace at this point, so despite hurting like hell I have to leave them... I'll just have to trust I can recover on the flatter sections. Nonetheless, at mile 8 I've dropped from 6:4x's to a 7:01 mile... something I can't afford. Fortunately I start feeling better and run into another guy who is holding a 6:30-40 pace.

Faster! Time to PR

At this point headhunting is out. I just need to maintain and save a little something for mile 11. (which is almost exclusively a steady incline grade.) Again, the guy I'm working with starts falling off and I'm forced to set out on my own again. Turning back onto campus the uphill starts again. This time it catches up with me in a bad way and my pace drops to a sluggish 7:17 mile (my slowest mile of the day) by the time I hit mile 12. Now I'm counting seconds in my head. I need to run as fast a final mile as I can to hit 1:30... and even then it's going to be desperately close.

Digging Deep does not describe mile 13. There is a hole... I have a shovel... and I am digging in with reckless abandon. When the shovel breaks I move to digging with my hands. "Tunnel Vision" isn't something I've ever experienced in a race before... but I had it here. If the UT cheerleaders has been standing naked on the side of the road with Giraffe doing back flips on a trampoline I would not have noticed... All I saw was the chunk of road about two feet in front of me. Mile 13 is a 6:33 mile... the fastest mile I ran all day. I see the top of Neyland Stadium looming over me and I pour what little bit of gas I've got left on the final cruel hearted climb to the entrance. I pass through the gates and see the line...and the clock.

Dodging around 5k participants as I sprint for the line.

1:29:59
1:30:00
1:30:01
1:30:02
1:30:03

NOOOOO!!!!

So close. Despite my final mile and all the suffering... 3 seconds off.
I fume for a moment before I realize my chip time may very well be different. I get my picture taken and find Jenny and the parents and hunt down the online results.

1:29:55

YES!!

It turns out digging deep did pay off in the end. It wasn't my perfect day, but it was a big step for me. Running an average of 6:48min/miles was something I would have hoped for in a 5k a few years ago... now it's my half marathon pace! Consistency does work.

In the end I finished 50th overall and 10th in my age group (tough crowd!) but more importantly I learned some things about myself... and found a new level I *can* go to when I have to. That was more important than the results in my opinion.

/Race Report

So that was my exciting race weekend. The rest of the day was spent with me playing dark souls 2 recovering and scarfing down as much food as I could get my hands on. My calves are a little sore but otherwise the body held up remarkably well compared to the last few years.

Unfortunately my revenge on the White Sands Triathlon on the 19th will not be happening... due to the Easter holiday they couldn't seem to get enough roads closed...so race cancelled. I'm not sure how a race organizer lets something like that happen (I have already booked a room a night early... at a fair expense for nothing more than a room to sleep in a day early) but at least they are trying to make it right and give a refund. So now I am on the hunt for a race somewhere in the Destin/SoWal/Panama City area on the 19th... I may have found a 5k but would have preferred a triathlon. Oh well. If anyone out there knows of something let me know.

Hopefully everyone is ready for race season. (and warm weather) As always, thank you all so much for reading. Until next week.

- Christopher Morelock