hits naples fl international distance race - 1/8/17
the hits naples international race on sunday 1/8/17 was my first triathlon since 2006 when I had to stop running due to degenerative disk disease and spinal stenosis that made me unable to run anymore, even with spinal epidural and spinal facet injections. however i started to feel better in 2016 when i turned 65, so after 10 years, i decided to try to run again and started running in mid October 2016 and then joined EN because of my respect for Rich and Patrick, and entered the November OS training group.
a few weeks ago i signed up for the Hits race because its only a few miles from my home here in Naples fl and i thought it would be a good first test to see if i could still race, even though with 2-1/2 months training i was not really ready
it was 80 degrees here all week and 75 Saturday morning @ 4:45 am @ the transition area for the full and half distance races where i was a volunteer controlling athletes entry into the transition area. however winter storm Helene blew in on Saturday and on sunday morning at 6 am the temperature was 42 degrees and 35 degrees with wind chill due to a 16/17 mph wind out of the north.
the night before the race i checked the internet on how to dress for a cold race and i was advised to take the time to dress warm in T1 and to not rush my transition, or else risk getting cold on the bike and quickly freezing up and then slowing down (which i saw had happened to many who i later passed on the bike who were underdressed)
i was advised to put toe warmers on my cycling shoes and wear socks, put on cycling tights and wear a wicking SS shirt over my tri suit, as well as to put on a cycling vest and arm warmers (i used a vest and a cycling jacket, instead of arm warmers) and a cycling beanie under my helmet and to close up as many helmet vents as i could, and to wear full fingered gloves. all of which i did.
(splits below are per my gps watch)
"swim" - do to the heavy surf the swim distance was significantly shortened and was not even a swim. i never took 1 swim stroke . we "ran" 2 laps thru waist deep water while getting knocked around by the surf pulling us into shore and fighting the rip tide pulling us back out to sea. the water was 70+ degrees so this was the warmest i was all day. but after standing around on the beach freezing for an hour before the swim it hardly seems worth it
"swim" time - swim plus run to T1 - 12 minutes (it seemed much longer) - ave hr 142 bpm
T1 - 5 minutes - due to getting dressed as described above
bike - i was dressed fine, and was not cold or hot, i passed many racers, and got passed myself by only 3 riders - i felt the OS bike FTP workouts had me well prepared. i held back a bit on the bike because i wanted to be fresh as i could be for the run, since i am only a beginner runner. the gatorade in my water bottles was too cold to drink from the weather, do i didn't eat or drink on the bike.
40K bike time - 1:08, ave hr 144 bpm
T2 - 2.5 minutes - i left on all my clothes
run - since my EN OS 5k run test was 7:59/mile my goal was to average 9 min/mile. i live on the beach so all my training runs have been with shoes on the sand, to avoid as much impact as possible, as i started up running again, all at base pace, with no intensity yet, except for the 5k run test which was also my only run on the road to date. to cushion my feet for todays run on the roads, i bought a new pair of Hoka Clifton 3 shoes for their plushness, which i wore for the first time today. running with the HOKA shoes was like a magic carpet ride, or so i imagine, i am very pleased with them.
i was also pleased with my run today, and believe its the fastest i can run right now, today, and that the EN OS plan, to date, as i executed it as above, was had me as ready as i could be at this time. my mile splits were all very even, i only have 1 running gear at this time, and its steady, but not fast. i did enjoy my run today.
10K run time - 55:23, 8:54/mile, (8:37 mile per my gps watch for 6.44 miles - 8:37/mile), ave hr 152 bpm, max hr - 170
total time - 2:22:57, ave hr 146, max hr - 173
results - OA - 41/136, AG65-69 - 1/4, AG60-69 - 2/14
i am pleased with my overall race for today, such as it was, and i think its a good start. i look forward to a triathlon with a real swim as i am relatively, a much better swimmer then cyclist or runner. i am confident that if i stick with EN i will be ready at some point
i haven't signed up for any other races yet, but i am thinking about either Puerto Rico 70.3 on 3/19, or 70.3 FL on 4/9. but i don't know if i can be ready to run competively 13.1 miles off the bike and that seems to mean running under 2 hours (9:09/mile pace) , is that realistic?. my swim is race ready today, so that wont take much additional training allowing me to focus on the bike and really the run. any thoughts?
Comments
I think your run is outstanding for M65; better than mine for sure and I just aged up to M60. I would only caution that it is much easier to run in the cold than in the hilly furnace that is the PR70.3 run. Whatever you can run a 1/2M in cool weather on the flat you will have to modify for hotter weather and hills.
Hey, Arnold, aren't you the guy I raced against ten or more years ago in a bunch of Xterras? Deep respect to you for getting back into your running shoes and competing. It's clearly deep in your bones.
Should you ramp into half irons within the next few months? Here are my thoughts:
Take your time, and don't feel as if you have to follow the entirety of the EN running plan, especially the frequency of its intervals. We OFs can keep up with the daily frequency, and the overall volume, but sadly, no longer the same amount of intensity on a weekly basis, is my suggestion.
al and paul thank you for your thoughts
al - I do remember you from the xterra California and world championship races. I loved xterra racing and it was the most fun I ever had out of the hundreds of triathlons I did, but I got tired of crashing and I think riding and running down mountains is what hurt my back
paul - I also worked hits registration on Friday and came across your file and I looked for you at the race - hope to meet you another time