This race was TOUGH! There was only one finisher that was under 5hrs. Most 70.3 races I’ve competed in in the past have had a handful of finishers that go sub 4:30:00.  This race was all about course maintenance and not running out of matches.

Swim:
The swim started with a dolphin jump over a yellow floating boom.  My plan was to get out fast for the first 200yds and then settle down.  I started on the inside.

After my first 200yds, I looked off to my right and didn’t seen anybody.  I looked forward and could only see 2 other swimmers! But they were gone about 20yds ahead.  I couldn’t bridge the gap.  I felt #4 drafting on my toes.  So, #4 and myself were in no man’s land between the first two swimmers and the rest of the field. The first turn buoy was 850yds out. We hit the first buoy where it was about a 130 degree turn.  For some reason I could not find the next turn buoy.  I looked and found swimmer #2 and could see that he had swam off course a bit. I couldn’t see #1, with the glare from the sun.  Finally #4 found the buoy and pointed it out so we could proceed.  Next, we hit the 2nd buoy and headed back to the swim finish. We were swimming directly into the glare of the sun rising over the tree line onto the water. #4 kicked it in the last 300yds to pass by me, so I ended up being 4th out of the water at 29:49, 2nd AG.

Bike:
After a quick transition, I hopped on the bike and heard someone announce there are now 4 bikes on the course.  I was on the pointy end of the race field.  This has never happened to me before…And it would not last either.  My HR was pegged at 170 as I left the transition area.  Immediately there is a ridiculous 12-15% grade for a 1/4 mile before it levels off to a manageable 5-8% grade for another 3/4 mile.  So, needless to say, it was about 20 min into the ride before my HR could start to come down. 

Eventually I got into my rhythm and just focused on keeping my HR steady between 135-140bpm, and taking in calories/fluid/electrolytes every 20 minutes or so.  There were quite a few rolling hills between the big climbs.  One after another they just keep coming, followed by short flat stretches.  Eventually, I reached the base of Fort Mountain and crossed the (KOM)timing mat, marking the start of a 6.5 mile climb. This climb was about 5.5 miles longer than the biggest hill I’ve ever ridden. I bought an 11-28 cassette for my wife and I about a month earlier(thanks to some good advice from the guys on Trifuel), and it proved to be a lifesaver.  I pretty much was in the 34-28 and 34-24 for the duration of the climb, to keep my HR under 150bpm. Higher than I wanted to be, but I was down to my last gear. Eventually, 45 minutes later I reached the top(yep, Avg 8mph). 

Ah, but the reward was so sweet!  The reward was 6.5 miles downhill, through winding mountain turns, carving through turns like I was on ice skates.  Having topped out at 43.5mph, I was back down the mountain in just under 10 minutes wishing I could do it all over again.  This was most fun I’ve had on a bike in a long time.

Once I got off the mountain, it was back to the business of keeping HR in check and taking in calories, electrolytes, and fluid.  Speaking of business and fluid, I had a nature call at mile 46 while on the bike without stopping(what, this is a race). 

Eventually, I reached the last big climb.  Actually it was the climb before the last big climb. Crap!!! Finally, the last climb, 3 more miles uphill(miles 51-54)…then another 3/4mile hill.  Just chill, I thought. Big tough run coming up.

Bike 03:25:53 17th AG. Elevation Gain: 3682ft!

Run:
Like the bike, the run starts with 1.4 mile straight up! Oddly, and I mean really oddly, I felt good to start off the run.  My legs didn’t feel toasted from the bike.  Which I could not say for most of the folks on the run. I saw lots of 1/2 ironman shuffles going on out there.  The course took part in state park recreation area that was also a neighborhood.  So the roads were narrow and the grade was steeper.  Steep enough to make you wonder if you’re better off walking up and steep enough that you can’t just let go on the downhill’s( or you’ll roll away). About half way through the first loop on the run I saw Ann(3rd wave), flying through a winding curve into the park towards the transition area less than a mile away.  Sweet! She had made it through the swim and bike, and was headed for the 13.1 and looking strong.

I pressed on, pushing through one hill after another(I counted 9), taking in EFS or Edurolytes, and water/cold sponges every mile like my life depended on it.  The heat, started to takes its toll on folks, as well as the fatigue from all of the hills.  Around mile 8, I switched over to Pepsi, water and cold sponges.  5 miles to go!  I tried to push harder and pick up the pace.  I picked it up from 9 min pace, down to 8:34 pace for the last 5 miles. It was all I could do today.  I saw Ann once again with her game face on, and I knew she was good to go! Finally, I reached the last 100yds downhill to the finish. 

My run was 1:57:10 7th AG. Elevation Gain: 1109ft!

My overall time was 05:54:41. Not a PR by a longshot, but this was not a PR kind of course.  I feel like this was a well executed race. I didn’t blow up on the bike, and I actually ran exactly the same time for the 13.1 that I ran at Augusta 70.3 last year(which is a perfectly flat course).  So, I’m feeling much better about my current fitness level.

Ann threw down and finished 5th in her Age Group after only getting back into serious training for the past 3 months.  She has come a LONG WAY and I am proud of her for sticking with it through a really tough race.

Thanks for Reading!

I got to the pool Friday evening at about 5:30pm, peaked through the fence and saw the pool totally quiet…but open.

Saturday called for a 14 mile hilly run at Umstead Park.  Ann and I headed out at about 2pm to knock it out.  There’s something mentally different about 14 miles than 12 or 13.  I just have to think about it for a minute before I start.  The same holds true for 18miles and 22 miles….Weird.  This run called for a nice easy pace, but then push the last 2 miles.  The last mile at Umstead is always uphill, so it’s a good way to finish off a long run.

The horse flies and deer flies are HORRIBLE this year at Umstead.  They are relentless and can fly as fast as I can run.  If I slow down or stop, I will be fly bait.  It’s no use swatting at them, there’s just too many.  You’ll spend too much energy swatting and not have enough to get back to the parking lot.  They’re attracted to movement(like swatting and flailing) and carbon dioxide, both of which I am producing in large quantities while running at Umstead.  I guess that is one of the downsides of global warming.

Fast forward to Sunday, and the plan was to ride a hilly 65 miles, followed by a 30 minute run.  So, the trick with training for this year’s races is finding good hills.  We live about 300ft above sea level, and most hills top off at about 400ft above sea level.  So the training is not as simple as just riding your bike for several hours and calling it good.  We need to do hills on the bike, and lots of them.  And for now, that means a lot of time on the Computrainer.

With the help of ERG video, we can ride the Ironman Mont-Tremblant course over and over to our hearts content.  Doing these courses on the trainer is really tough.  After a moderate first 45 minutes of light rollers, the real hills just keep coming at you one after another.  Some are long, some are short.  Some are gradual, and some are pretty steep, requiring you to stand up out of the saddle just to keep the pedals moving.  Today temps in the garage started out at a nice 69F and 69% humidity.  By the time we finished 3hrs 15min later, the garage was 77F and a sweltering 87% humidity.

So, with just 4 months to go until IMMT, things are looking pretty good. My fitness is steadily climbing(blue line), and I should be in Ironman shape in a month or 2, hopefully with some extra time to improve from last year.

Our first challenge is in 2 weeks, and I’m excited to race a 70.3 again.  And also, watch out female AG’ers 40-44.  Ann is back in the game and ready to roll!!!

Driving to the funeral home felt like I was totally in a different city.  I even had the GPS turned on to make sure I went to the correct location.  Where did all the green places go, I thought?  There’s so much traffic, so many stop lights, so many new shopping centers and apartments everywhere.  In reality, it’s not any busier than Raleigh, it just seems that way because it’s not as I remember it growing up as a teenager. 

I’ve been a runner pretty much all of my life.  I remember being able to run pretty much as far as I wanted…as long as I could make it back home by dark.  So after the funeral, I was kind of at a loss.  I needed to get back to Raleigh, but I also needed something that felt familiar. 

Two things popped into my mind that I knew would be the same.  McAlpine Park and Ted’s Restaurant.  I drove over to McAlpine Park for a nice long run.  I have run hundreds, if not a 1000 or more miles at McAlpine Park.  I know every inch of every trail, every curve, and every hill.  I have nothing but great memories of training and racing this special place. 

This is where the Wendy’s Invitational and Foot Locker Cross Country championships have been held since the beginning of time.  This called for a quick jaunt around the 5k course just for old times sake. 

In my mind, this is quite possibly the greatest 5k course ever.  During a race everyone shoots straight off the starting line flat and fast for about 3/4 of a mile allowing the field to thin out.  Then it’s into the woods, where there are a series of tight turns, allowing you to always know how far ahead/behind you are(great for spectating as well). 

About 1.5 miles into it, there’s a short but steep hill that goes up and around, and back down the other side.  This is where the race can break apart. 

Some will surge the uphill, but forget the downhill on the backside.  If you can hang on to the top of the hill, just let go on the down hill. It’s steep but not long.  Once you’re through that and still where you want to be, then the rest is all in your head.

After clearing the woods, you can see those in front and behind you as you complete 1 lap around the lake.  Make note of how long it takes you to get to the spot where the person you’re trying to beat is.  As you reach the other side of the lake, it’s now back into the woods.  At this point, run like you stole something, because you’ve only got exactly 1 mile to go. 

Eventually, you’ll exit the woods, pass some soccer fields and have 1 lap around the lake again to get to the finish line.  The lake is just slightly bigger that your typical high school track(but not by much).  So if you have some quarter mile speed, this is the time to use it.

After finishing the 5k loop, I had another 10 miles to go.  No worries, plenty of trails here.  I kept on right through the permanent finishers chute….

As I reached the far end of the trail on left side of the picture above, I could not resist going back to check on my old school to take a lap around the track.  As I hopped across the creek I came upon the following scene.

I walked up to the fence and couldn’t believe my eyes.  Everything was exactly the same….well, except that the track was now rubber surface, the football field was now turf, the stadium was concrete, there were about 10 more buildings, and there was now a lacrosse team practicing…What the…? I have to tell you, the last time I was here, there were barely enough kids to fill a soccer and football team at the same time.  Good to see things are going well. 

I couldn’t resist a quick jaunt around the track just to check things out.  What can I say? The gate was unlocked…

A short while later, I was done with a nice 13 mile run and ready to head back to Raleigh.  Lucky for me, Ted’s is still right next door to the park.

Ted’s is still the same as it was 15-20 years ago too, which is nice.  It’s a place where you can get a burger, fries and a drink.  They don’t ask you if you want a frapplattewhat-the-heck-ever, or a biggie size.  It’s a locally owned place(probably by Ted), where they make you feel right at home.

With that, it was time to quit looking in the rear-view mirror and hit the highway back to Raleigh.  Until next time…

Thanks for Reading!

So, one morning I got up early and mounted the Camera to the bike and set off toward Lake Johnson. Here’s the Vid.

So, Instead of dreading being on the trainer in the garage or on the treadmill at the gym, I’ve been outside and hitting the trails as much as possible. 

Anybody else taking advantage of the warm temps?

So Ann and I waited until this past weekend, when it was cold to go back down and check it out.  So we loaded up the truck with some 2x8x10’s and cinder blocks and headed back down on Sunday.

Did I mention that I hate snakes? Anyway, under the house we went to find the source of the sagging floor.  The crawl space under the house is REALLY TIGHT.  There’s only about 18 inches of crawl space height to squirm around.  Notice below, there are only 4 bricks stacked up before the beam.  So I set out with a long rake trying to sweep away any leaves or critters that may get in the way.

We pressed on like a pair of Chilean miners until we found the source of the sagging floor.  It was pretty obvious.  See the 2 joists below.  They were totally disintegrated by termites.  I could literally just push my pinky finger through these floor joist support beams.  Now, there are no active termites at the house, but the house was originally built in 1746, so at some point, there were termites.  Like I said before, now is just our time to take care of the place for while, so we do what we can.

Typically, to correct this, you “sister‘” another joist to the faulty one to add support.  But in this situation, there was just no way to do this as the bad joist was just too far gone.  Instead, what we did, was take two 2x8x10’s and nail them together, creating a 4x8x10 beam.  Our plan was to use the cinder blocks as basically “new columns” for the “new beams”.

Then Ann came up with something brilliant!  The cinder block and wood beams weigh a ton, especially when dragging it under the house on your belly.  So she came up with the “cardboard shuttle system” to slide all the heavy stuff back and forth.  There’s basically 1 rope for under the house, and 1 rope coming out of the house.  The cardboard pad is to make sliding easer in the middle.  Ann loads the cinder block on the cardboard from outside the house, then I pull the rope from under the house.  I unload the cinder block, then Ann pulls the rope back from the outside to load another block on the cardboard.  Brilliant!!

I’m sure Ann’s Dad is looking down laughing at all of our excessive uses of rope over the past year, but not as hard as I was laughing when I took this picture of Ann poking out from behind a cinder block. She’s 5’2”(and a half).

Eventually, we were able to get all of the material and ourselves dragged under the house to make the repair.  We used a small car jack and 2 thinner cinder blocks to jack up each end of the ‘new joist’ so that we could move some larger cinder blocks into place as supports for the ‘new joist’.

Eventually, we were able to get two 4x8x10 beams installed like you see below with the ‘bad termite beam’ behind it.  We were able to use 2 cinder blocks and some smaller wood pieces as shims to get everything level and tight.

The other important thing was not to raise the joist too much.  After all, you don’t want the floor to bow or create other problems like cracked walls.  We just made the floor level, so it doesn’t sag.  If the ground settles(and it likely will over time), then we can always go back and add more wood shims as needed. 

Thanks for Reading!

Interestingly, you could just drive down a neighborhood road until it dead ends. Then there’s typically some kind of trail head that marks a hiking path to some of the best scenery around. 

Our first morning we got up bright and early because we wanted to check out Cathedral Rock.  You can get here by parking at the end of Verde Valley School Rd. The hiking trail is nice. It starts out flat, then starts to climb after about 30 minutes, but nothing too steep where you need to hold onto things.

After a relatively short hike, we made it to the base of Cathedral Rock.  At this point the climbing is more of a challenge.  You can reach the half-way point without too much effort(20 minutes).  To go higher, this is where you need to grab onto things for leverage.  At this point, my smarter half said I’ll wait here.  My dumber half(me) pressed on for a bit climbing up the rock.  I should point out here that the only things to grab onto are rocks. I got to this section where it’s really narrow and steep for about 75 ft. This section started to get congested with people climbing above and below you.  It was at this point that I started thinking what if someone above fell…They would take out everyone below.  Not good. Have you ever read “Into Thin Air” where everyone is getting bunched up just below the summit on Everest? Anyway, eventually I got to a semi-clearing which was about 75% of the way to the top.  Good enough for me.  This is a picture from the bottom.  You can see the people walking around near the base. It’s a kind-of-flat section and a not-so-flat section. Well worth the visit.

Later in the day, we headed over to check out Bell Rock and Courthouse Rock. This was right off the side of the road on Hwy 179.  We just parked the car, found another trail and started hiking.  This was much easier than the trail at Cathedral Rock trail.  Maybe a 45 minute loop. 

After a short time at Bell Rock, we tried to hurry back to our hotel.  The hotel(SkyRanch) was at the top of a plateau of sorts, where a little town airport is located(crop-dusters only).  We figured this would be the best place to catch a cool sunset over the town below.  Ok, so the sunset doesn’t quite beat the Grand Canyon, but it’s pretty cool.  And you can’t live at the Grand Canyon.

The next day we headed out to find the Devil’s Bridge.  For some reason, this one isn’t marked on any of the maps around town.  I just stumbled on it while browsing online.  And I’m glad I did.  This was my favorite spot in Sedona.  This is off of 89A.  Take Dry Creek Rd until you see a sign for FR152, or a small cluster of cars.  This is the road that leads to the trail head.  You can drive farther back in here most of the way IF you have 4×4 drive(you will need it), or if you have really high ground clearance.  We had the Hyundai rental car, so we walked it in about 1 mile to the base of the trail head. The trail itself is less than a mile and not too strenuous. 

Check out the cool rock formation of the Devils’ Bridge.  The Apex of the bridge is only a couple feet wide at best, so I’m not sure how sturdy it is. 

Here’s a view from below and opposite angle.  Really cool to see.

This next picture was also on the path to the Devil’s Bridge.  I was so amazed to see it just perched up there.  This is a really big rock.  Not like kitchen table size big.  More like the size of a dozen minivans.  The bridge above and the rock below really make you wonder how things can form over millions of years.

Later in the afternoon, we decided to check out the Broken Arrow Trail with Pink Jeep Tours.  For some reason, I was thinking this would just be a quicker way to get to the scenic areas. To me, the tour seemed to try to impress you with the capabilities of their 4×4 jeeps.  I don’t have anything against jeeps, but I think they do an incredible amount of damage to the trails out here.  I’m not sure if any restoration plans are in place.  Nuff said…Next time I’ll take the Broken Arrow Hiking trail.  This is located off of Morgan Rd(0.2 miles past the end of Morgan Road.), which is off Hwy 179, near town. 

This view was taken near Submarine Rock.  I looked everywhere and could not find anything that resembled a Submarine

Next, we headed back just in time for sunset and to see Snoopy Rock.  You can see Snoopy on top of his doghouse every day right in the middle of town. 

Our last day in Sedona, we spent late morning and early afternoon at Red Rock State Park, located just off of Hwy89A just a couple miles south of Sedona(5miles or less).  There are about a dozen trails here that are all linked together.  You can walk/hike for as long as you want and are really never too far from the visitors center.  This was a great spot, and there was much less foot traffic from other hikers.

If you’re running short on time, at least drive by Red Rock State Park.  The road loops back around to 89A.  Take the Lower Red Rock Loop Rd direction to the Upper Red Rock Loop Rd for the best views.  This view was literally a point and shoot from the car window. I love the fall colors below in the valley, with the Red Rocks in the background!

It took us nearly 3 days of hiking to check out Sedona, and there were still dozens of places that we didn’t have time to see.  This was exactly what I needed after #IMAZ with all the build up and adrenaline surrounding it.  It’s nice to be outside, away from all distractions, and see what has been there all along.  I love this place!

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The next morning we wanted to see what is was like to see the sunrise at the GC.  We had to do some quick recon the night before to see where the best places are for viewing.  The short answer is, there are no bad places for viewing.  No matter where you look, you can see forever.  The nice thing about this National Park is that there is a trail along the entire South Rim.  Most of it has no guard rails, so your view isn’t obstructed. 

Near Yavapai Point

I would guess that the entire length of the trail is about 30 miles.  We were there for 2.5 days so we were planning on walking most of it.  After about 7 miles the first morning I realized how depleted I was from 2 days ago, and the difference a change in elevation makes.  We walked from the Bright Angel Lodge all the way down, almost to Hermits Rest.  From then on, we stuck to the shuttle bus, which follows the same trail along the South Rim.

Near Yavapai Point

So, after that first morning I realized that the best times for photos are sunrise and sunset.  It’s hard to describe the changes that take place in such a small window.  The colors are changing right before your eyes.  During the middle of the day, the views are still incredible, but the camera(or at least mine), doesn’t pick up the amount of colors that you see during sunrise/sunset.

Yaki Point Eastward

After walking and hiking for most of the day, we decided to hang out at Yaki Point for our second sunset.  We chose this location because it looked like the point that reached the farthest out into the canyon.  So when you are out on the tip of the point, you can look East and West all along the South Rim.

Yaki Point Westward

Initially, I thought(because I’m a newb) that once the final shadows reach the top of the canyon, the changing colors would be over and it would be time to go.  This was actually the best time, as everything started to take on these purple colors and this nice bluish glow came up just over the horizon. 

Near Yavapai Point

The next day we set out East to see points beyond Yaki Point.  Personally, I liked this end of the Canyon better, because there were better views of the Colorado River winding through below.

The color of the rock changes the farther East you go.  I think this is near Moran Point, which is a nice overlook off of Desert View Drive.

Vishnu Temple

Honestly, you could sit at a single spot all day long and just keep looking and looking, and continuously see new things.  The canyon is so big though, that you want to keep moving to make sure you don’t miss anything.

Near Lipan and Navajo Point

Visually, the GC plays tricks on your mind.  Most of the time we were there, I was thinking it was maybe 2-3 miles across, some places maybe 5.  Nope, some of the views are 40 miles across from the South Rim to the North Rim.  40 miles!

Near Lipan and Navajo Point

My favorite spot was at the Indian Watchtower at Desert View.  It just so happens that this is the last place that we saw before we had to leave.  If I had to do it all over again, this is the spot I would want to check out at either sunrise or sunset.  You’ve got the river going North/South here and a great view East/West for the sunlight as it changes all of the colors on the rock.  I bet it’s nice.

Indian Watchtower at Desert View

Better yet, if I had to do it all over again, we would be on a raft, on the river, and just meandering along, taking in all the views from the bottom of the canyon looking up.  Camping out at night on the riverbank under the stars.  Who knows, maybe some other time.

Indian Watchtower at Desert View

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You will see Superstition Mountain as you enter the area.

For me, coming from the East Coast, I thought the scenery was amazing.  The desert plants are so different from the fall leaves that I’m used to this time of year and there are so many different kinds.  You can see forever, and the air is as clear as it gets. I’m amazed at how many shades of green you can pick up in November.

It’s really an exciting drive.  I was constantly looking around the next corner to see what cool landscape would be next.  Just when you think you’re in a vast desert you come around the corner and see the most spectacular lake with these amazing vertical cliffs jutting down into the water.

Along the drive, there are numerous spots to pull off the road for viewing.  I think the rule of thumb here is if there’s no room to pull over, don’t.  Most of the road has no guard rails, but looks like one of the closed circuit driving loops like you see in the car commercials.  We saw an athlete out there cycling.  We would pass her in the car, then stop and takes pictures.  She would then pass us by on the bike.  We would then pass her again, and repeat the process 6-7 times.  I think she ended up beating us since we stopped in the town of Tortilla Flat for a bowl of chili and a glass of special brewed Superstition Beer(though secretly I think it was Coors light).  Only 6 people live there, so we thought we would stop and say hello.

Eventually the pavements ends, and the dirt road begins.  I think this happens around Roosevelt Lake.  Since we were in the Hyundai rental car, we thought best to head back as our last off-road excursion in a similar sized car was dicey, and it was getting later in the afternoon.  Though just in time for a pretty good sunset as a few stray clouds rolled by.

Next up is the coolest of all canyons!  Thanks for Reading.