2011 Triathlon Season

Here's my tentative schedule for 2011:

04/03/11 Great Bay 1/2 Marathon
05/22/11 King Pine Triathlon (state championships)
06/25/11 Aggieman Triathlon (Relay)
09/10/11 Pumpkinman Sprint Triathlon
09/11/11 Pumpkinman 1/2 Bike and Run Course Director :)
11/24/11 Portsmouth 5k Turkey Trot

I have started the Prep stage of my 6 month triathlon training. My body is a little sore from lifting weights, since I haven't in a while. Running and biking is feeling good but I definitely need to work on my swimming.

My first tri last September was the Pumpkinman Sprint. It took 2 years of training to do the swim. I did it in 15 minutes. My new goal is to do it in 7 and if I can, I have a shot at the podium.

Let the games begin.

2010 Portsmouth 5k Turkey Trot

This morning I ran the Seacoast Rotary Clubs 2nd Annual 5k Turkey Trot. We got there at 7am (too early) and got a parking spot on Pierce Island. We were the first ones there.
At 8am, I did my 15 minute warm-up run. My legs didn't feel up to it. I think I need to taper more. 2 days was not enough. When I got back, Barbara and Daisy were at the car with Jenifer, Ryan and Krista. I did my stretches and went to the start line. I was pretty far back.
At 8:30am (start time), the race hasn't started yet. When the race started, it took just under a minute to cross the start line. No PR today :(
Because there were so many people at the race (1500), I mostly walked to Marcy St.
It was crowded on Marcy St.. I ran on the sidewalk to pass people.
Heading up South St., the crowd thinned a bit. I saw Diane Jackson and said hi.
By the time we reached Middle St., there was much more room to run.
I kept looking at my heart rate monitor and stayed in the 180-185 bpm range. I picked up the pace a bit when I passed the church. When I turned right for the finish, I picked it up some more and made sure that my feet stayed under me, instead of in front of me.
It felt great crossing the finish line but I was pretty winded.
After catching my breath, we went to get some water and treats.
Overall I was 241 out of 1243. 35/129 in my age group. My pace was 7:49 (I have to check to see if that's a PR) and my total time was 24:17. Guntime was 25:11. If I started closer to the start line, my overall would have been better.
This was an excellent race to end 2010. I learned so much this year and starting in December, I will start training for the 2011 Aggieman Triathlon and the 2011 season.

9/11/2010 Pumpkinman Sprint Triathlon

I slept pretty good the night before. I was all nervous that I wouldn't sleep. My alarm was set for 5am and I woke up 15 minutes early.

I ate breakfast, got all my gear in the truck, and my parents showed up. They came from Pompey, NY to watch the triathlon.

As planned, I got to the tri at 6am. I did my warm-up drill sets, stretches,warm-up run and bike ride. I grabbed my tri bag, got body marked, and went into transition. I was on schedule.

I was surprised how small my transition area was. When I set up my bike , half my transition towel was under my front tire.

Once I set up transition, I put my wetsuit on. 7:45am, not on schedule. I was planning on getting in the water for a 15 minute warm-up swim but I was rushing to get to the pre-race meeting. I also didn't have time to study the transition area.

Walking down the hill to the swim start, the nerves started again. I saw Russ Lord down by the start and we chatted. My goggles kept fogging up.

My swim wave was 3rd. "30 seconds before the start". Deep breaths. "Go!"

I let the crowd go in first. I took my time getting in. Once I was near the first buoy, I was surprised that there were still people swimming behind me.

Between the 1st and 2nd buoys, I kept getting water in my mouth. Rounding the 2nd buoy, it seemed it took forever to reach the shore.

I made it. Now I have to run up the hill.

As I was stripping the top off my wetsuit off, I put my swim cap and goggles in my right sleeve. As I was running up the hill, they fell out. I saw the green swim cap but not the goggles. I'm not going back to find them.

Towards the top of the Hill Challenge, I started to walk.

T1 went well. Half way through the bike ride, my left calf cramped up. It was very painful and almost knocked me off my bike. I slowed down a bit and it got better.

The bike ride went well. It was my fastest time riding the Sprint course. 47 seconds and I was out of T2.

Shortly after starting the run, my calf cramped up again. Turning onto Junction Rd., the cramp was gone.

I picked it up for the last mile to the finish. Once back at Spring Hill, the adreneline kicked in. I pushed it down the hill to the finish. "Yes? I did it". Thanks to everyone that has helped me learn how to swim and train for traithlons.

1:27.10

172 out of 471

22 out of 38 age group.

142 out of 474 for the Hill Challenge.

It was a great 1st tri. I'm psyched! I'm looking forward to the 2011 season.

8/1-2/2010 Ellen, Abraham, and Mansfield Backpack/Hike

8/1/2010

I left my house at 3:45am and arrived at the Appalachia Gap in Vermont by 8am. The Long Trail (LT) crosses the road here. I geared up, put on my 48 lb pack, crossed the road and was hiking by 8:15.

The LT starts off steep. Pretty soon I had to climb up metal pipe steps and a ladder to get up the trail. Once I was a mile into the woods, I started looking for a campsite.

I couldn't find one. The woods were so dense. I thought I saw a few sites but I didn't want to tred on the fragile vegetation. Soon I was at the Spur path to Theron Dean Shelter. This is were one of my water supplies was so I checked it out. It was dry. I knew of another water site farther up the trail. I headed back to the trail and started ascending.

I climbed up a boulder and slipped. My left shin smashed on the boulder. A small flesh wound.

I was still looking for a campsite, and water. Nothing.

While I was heading up towards Stark's Nest, I saw two hikers heading towards me. I found out that one of them was thru hiking the LT and was heading north.

Soon I was at Stark's Nest ski area with a single chair lift. I can camp here. From the warming hut, I followed a road and camped on the side. I pitched my tent and I headed towards Mt. Ellen.

The trail was up and down and long. It was muddy in spots and some parts were eroded. I kept my eye out to find Holt Hollow. This is where I needed to get water. Thinking I missed it, I continued down the trail. "What does that sign say, Holt Hollow, Yes! I followed the spur trail and found a small puddle of water. I knew it was ok since I heard water trickling into it. I filled two water bottles (should of filled more) and headed back to the trail.

Once I climbed up to another ski area, I thought I went right by the summit. I ate lunch here and treated my flesh wound. Then I headed south on the LT towards Mt. Abraham.

1 minute back on the trail, Mt. Ellen. There's a small cairne on the summit in the middle of the trail.

Again, many ups and down. I met a hiker that was heading to Canada, Cool!

Now the trail got steep. Once I was at the top, I was on Mt. Lincoln. There was an observation deck on the summit and I could see Abe off in the distance.

I hiked over Baby Abe and headed down for the last climb up Mt. Abraham.

The views were great. I could see Lake Champlain and the Adirondaks Mt. Marcy to the west. I could see Mt. Ellen, Camel's Hump, Mansfield and the Jay Peaks off to the north. Looking east I saw Mt. Adams and Mt. Washington in the Whites. Killington was to the south.

Now for the hike back.

It went pretty well. I started to get tired and my left shoulder was hurting.

Once back to camp, I took a break. Then I made dinner. Hamburger Helper Stroganoff. Not good. I need to find something I can eat for dinner cold, no cooking required.

After dinner, I organized all my gear and headed into the tent for the evening.

I hiked 15.5 miles today. My plan was to hike up Camel's Hump on the next day but I don't think I could hike 25 miles round trip tomorrow. Plus in the morning I have to hike 2.5 miles down to Apps Gap. Instead, I'll head over to Mt. Mansfield tomorrow.

8/2/2010

I was surprised. I slept pretty good. I got up at 4am and wrote yesterdays trip report. Around 5am, I got up and made breakfast. After breakfast, I packed up and was on the trail by 6:15am.

My back was sore from yesterdays hike. I was surprised when I put my pack on, that if didn't hurt my back. Also yeserday when I found water, I only filtered 2 liters. I used most of it for dinner and the rest for breakfast. I had not water for the 2.5 mile descent, but I knew there was water in my truck.

I took my time on the descent. The trail was slippery and foggy. When I got to the several boulders with steel steps, I took my time and had no problems.

I saw a couple of hikers heading up to Abe. Then I hiked through a wild bluebery patch. I was able to get a couple, MMM!

Close to the trailhead, my left shoulder started to hurt again and I was feeling dehydrated.

Once back to the truck, I had water, lots of water. I had some GORP, and more water.

I'm going to drive over to Mt. Mansfield now.

On the way over, the sky was blue except over Stowe and Mansfield.

I got to the trailhead and there were many cars and people heading up the mountain. Oh well.

Since I didn't want to carry my heavy pack again, I decided to go alpine style (minimal gear). So I grabbed my fanny pack, put on the water bottle parka with a 1 liter water bottle, camera, GORP, and I put a peanut butter sandwich inside the fanny pack.

I put the fanny pack on, grabbed my LEKI Khumbu's and was on the trail. I decided to have this hike be a triathlon cross training hike, so I hiked fast up to the summit. Mt. Mansfield is 2.3 miles to the summit from Rt. 108 on the LT south.

The beginning of the trail was easy. Then it got a little steep. By the time I got near the summit, it was boulder climbing time. YES!

The scramble up to the summit was very steep in spots. It leveled off towards the summit. I made it to the summit in 1 hour and 30 minutes. There was a panoramic view but clouds covered most of the summits. I could see Jay Peak and Big Jay (on my to do list). After I ate my sandwich, I looked around a bit. I saw an airplane heading towards the summit and it was pulling a glider. Then the plane let go of the glider and I watched him turn and fly away. After that, I headed down. It took me 1 hour and 15 minutes to descend, or what I like to call "controlled falling"

This was an excellent hike. I learned so much and a few what not to do's in the future.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/578309430SUIjmi

7/23,24/2010 Parker Mountain backpack

7/24.
I left my house at 2pm and drove to the trailhead for Parker Mountain in Strafford, NH. I came to Parker for 2 reasons. First, to check on and replace an Ascender stamp for my "If Parker Mountain was Mt. Everest" Letterboxing series. Due to the past ice storm, I had to change a few clues, since some of the Spencer Smith Tr. was damaged. Second, to do a backpacking warmup trip to get ready for bagging 4 peaks in 2 days in Vermont in August.
When I returned to my truck after fixing the Parker Mtn. series, I gave
Jenifer a call. Then I grabbed my 41 lb pack and headed back up Parker Mtn.
It took a little while to get use to the backpack again.
Soon the trail got steep and I took my time heading up. I took a side trail to a lookout. I could see Blue Job mountain off in the distance.
Heading back up the steep, eroded trail, I got use to the weight of the pack. Soon I came to the downed tree that points to my campsite I found last year.
I dropped my pack, then set up my tent. The tent went up easy but I couldn't pound down a few stakes since I was camping on Parker Mountains Ridge.
I unloaded my backpack. Somethings went inside the tent, and the food and stove stayed out. I found a deer run that went through a wild blueberry patch but there were no berries. Soon I found a nice flat rock to set up my stove and cook dinner, Hamburger Helper 4 Cheese Lasagna, minus the hamburger. Believe it or not, it tastes good. The sky became overcast.
After it was done, I sat on a boulder along the ridge and ate. It was very peaceful, but I could hear a dog barking off in the distance. When I finished eating, I cleaned up and threw my food stuff sack over a tall branch to keep the amimals from my food. I also brought an extra piece of rope so I could hang my backpack near my tent so I could have much more room in my small 2 man tent.
I changed into my sleep shorts and headed into the tent. I organized inside and set up my latern. It's almost 9pm and it's dark outside.
I'll work on my LEKI Khumbu Speedlock trekking poles report, read a little Chi Running, then try to sleep.
7/25.
A few times during the night, I heard a few animals. Once I heard one sniff next to the tent fly. It was a little scarry, but neat at the same time.
Around 2am it started to rain. I also had a very hard time sleeping. I may have gotten 2 hours of sleep.
My watched beeped and it was 5am. Time to get up. It was still raining so I put on my rain gear and headed out. I set up my kitchen in the same spot and made oatmeal and coffee. Once I ate, I grabbed my coffee and went back into the tent. I also grabbed my backpack.
I drank my coffee and loaded the backpack. Then I packed up the tent and put it on top of my pack.
The descent was slippery and slow. I took my time and made it down without any problems.
It was an excellent backpack and I learned a few new tricks.
Now it's time to bag some peaks.

Here are some pictures:

http://sports.webshots.com/album/578252860LeFScz

P1 Sprints bike workout

After my morning nap, I did a P1 Sprints bike workout. Warmed-up, then 6x30 sprints in big gears. I stood for the first 10 seconds while increasing cadence to 90-100, then kept cadence for 20 seconds while seated.
When I was heading back on Blackberry Hill Rd., I saw a mother and a son up the road. I looked behind me to see if a car was coming and there was, but when I started to look ahead, I drove onto the shoulder. I stopped pedaling and held on for the ride. As soon as the car passed, I got back on the road. Phew!
It was a great workout, minus the headwinds.

35'53
11 miles
18.2 average mph
35 max mph

Todays Time Trail

After my morning nap, I did a T2 bike Time Trail. 15 minute warm-up on trainer and then a 10k TT. Its suppose to be done on a flat course but I enjoy the hills. The 5k out was easier than the 5k back.

When I returned, there was a headwind. After I took a right to go up Berwick Hill, a tractor trailer was following (pushing) behind me, but wouldn't pass. Towards the top of the hill, he passed.

It was an excellent ride and a good workout. This is the last week of my Build 1 traithlon training.

I ended with a strawberry/blueberry smoothie

20'20
6.3 miles
18.5 average mph
37.2 maximum mph

A wet Sunday Brick

This morning I did an E3 Intensive Endurance Brick on he Hills of the Berwicks. The Brick was a 1 hour bike ride and a 1 hour run.
T1 went well and I was on my way.
Shortly after I started, it began to rain. I rode for a half hour then turned around. I had to stop for a train crossing the road. Once I started up again, I saw a red fox cross the road.
Heading up a hill, I noticed that there were tiny pebbles in my wet shoes.
I made it back home in 59.05, wet. I rode 17.7 miles, 17.9 average mph, and 32.4 maximum mph.
T2 took a few minutes. My feet and fingers were numb and my sneakers were wet.
Once I started the run, it took a few minutes to loosen up my legs. I ran a half hour and turned around.
Coming back, the sun was trying to come out, but it didn't. I picked up my pace and made it back home in 56 minutes.
I ran 6.4 miles and ran an 8.45 minute mile. Total Brick in 1.58
This was an excellent workout. Now it's time to start Build 1 training.

2010 Triathlon Training

Here's a picture of me working out on my bike trainer during my Preparation period of my triathlon training. I will be starting my Base 1 training this Monday.

I'm still working on my swimming and hopefully I'll be ready for the June King Pine Tri.