EARTH DAY DUATHLON 2018

So, this was it . After a full weekend of Triathlon camp, this was the big show. It was showtime. I was after AG glory. A rare chance and I was coiled up like a viper and I wasn't going to be denied. Period. 

I got up early that morning and then got packed up. Luckily it was going to be a beautiful morning for this so I lucked out. I had about a 50 min drive , so I got my protien shake breakfast, and got on the road pretty quickly. 

I would be racing in my aero helment today. Today was the right situation to christen it. Once I got there, I grabbed the spot closest to BIKE OUT where I would be able to roll. I was going to go for it. 

I warmed up by taking the bike out for a lap around the parking lot before go time just to cycle through the gears and set the starting point. I was ready to go . 


Once I re-racked the bike, and got everything situated, it was time to line up. The first leg of this was a one mile run around the mall. I got amped and it was time to roll. 

I settled in next to one of my RTMSC teammates. I looked at the watch, and knew a half mile in I was going to hard, but i was rocking and rolling. I was like the match is already burnt, so I just went with it all the way into transition. a 1.1 mile run in a 11 min or so. Fastest I have run in a long time, and I was feeling great. 

Then I took my time, got myself organized in transition, and mounted the bike and off we went for the 2nd leg, a 11 mile or so ride. This was an up and down ride . I felt good . I had some food in my mouth as I headed out. I also had my sunglasses on . But, this was a change I made quickly. They fogged up , I couldn't see shit through them. So I pitched them as I rolled away. Time to make some good time. 

The bike ride was good. I felt really strong and was loving it. I made a couple of gearing mistakes I thought would cost me, but I kept fighting. Around the 6 mile mark, I caught site of the girl in front of me. My mission instantly, catch her, and then drop her and not look back. It took me about 2 more miles, and I finally got her. Once I got to her, around I went pretty quickly. I was on . Around mile 10 my hands started to cramp. I looked at my body position and realized why this had been an issue. I was tense. So I relaxed. Before I knew it , I was back into transition. As I went to pull my bike shoes off I realized I had rode with my shin splint wraps on, so that was one less step. 

Grabbed the bottle off my bike and my handheald, along with food, and headed out for the run. 

The run was a lap and a half in one direction, you flip around, and go a full lap in the oposite direction. Then come into the finish. As I headed out, I saw my glasses where they landed. I grabbed some water, picked them up and then headed on. My plan for the run was to let my legs come too me. I would take my time and just go with it. I was eating as they came to me, so this was working. I managed to pick up the pace quicker than I thought I would. When I saw the first mile come and go, I was like thats solid. I might can neg split this run and really have a good day. Before I knew it, mile 2 and the turn around was behind me. I was even quicker mile 2. So now it was not can I it was I WAS going to neg split the run and pr the run off the bike. 

When I made the turn into home, I felt great. Everyone was cheering us in, so I let it go. Everything I had left, I poured out on the dash for home. When I came across the line , I had nothing left to give , so I knew I had done it right. I tossed my timing chip away and that was that. 

I had just Negative split the run, and Pr'd the run off the bike by 5 min so I was a happy man. I now had to wait out the kids dua and then awards. I was curious what awards would be. 

I went ahead and got my stuff out of transition and enjoyed the kids race. So much potential in those kids! It was acutally cool to watch. 

Then awards! Finally I was gonna know. Like I said , a small race, so I REALLY wanted this. I saw people asking, and I couldn't stand it any more, so I asked Muna. I had done it ! 2nd AG! I was shocked and thrilled at the same time. I HAD DONE IT! 

Our awards were a tote bag that would be perfect for transition, and FOOD! FREE BREAKFAST ! Which hit the spot, because damn, I was hungry. LOL!

After we got done, I stayed around to hangout again with the guys, and just shoot the breeze. Afterall, had to celebrate this , right? 

As the old saying goes, no rest for the weary. It's time for a fast build, and then another taper before my FIRST O.W.S. (Open water swim) Triathlon. Time to go racing again! Can't wait for this one. Should be outstanding. 


So, until we talk after the race-


From one "Idiot" to another- 

John
-IRC # 2148-

TRIATHLON CAMP 2018

Triathlon Camp 2018 

I was fortunate enough to join a local multi-sport club, Rocky Top Multi-Sport. I first found these folks at the Knoxville Marathon Expo booth and knew this is what I needed to help me accomplish my Triathlon Goals and dreams. As it would turn out, they put together a really nice spring training camp for us before the season started that would conclude with a duathlon on Sunday. To say I was super excited for this would be an understatement. 

On Friday, we had a get together at cyclebar for a private spin class. Knowing how much I love spin, I was all up for this. This was a top notch facility that even provided shoes for us. However, due to comfort and knowing how mine fit, I went ahead and took mine as I use the same clips that most spin bikes do. 

After class was over, and we had our butts thoroughly kicked, we all hung out for a informal party. I mixed and mingled with folks and was one of the last to head out just taking time to get to know people. I was really ready for this weekend and was looking forward to it. 

Saturday Morning I got up and drove up to the YMCA in north Knoxville. We started the morning off with an hour swim. We drilled and drilled and drilled. We had a couple coaches from the Knoxville Masters swim class come and teach us. I personally discovered that my big issue is breathing. So, coming out of the pool I knew I had to get better at breathing. I was given some drills to help me work on that , which I greatly appreciated. 

Once we were through the swim, we took time to change and then moved into a classroom setting for the next while for class. The first thing we talked about was cycling. Of course , I really got into this. We went through the gearing, and do's and don'ts. Talked about the importance of using the bike as a tool. I had a couple big realizations about this. #1 was I was a king at cross chaining. Understanding the bike gearing now, I really understood how bad cross chaining was and what it was. Immediatley I knew how to fix that. The other part of my realization was that I needed to RELAX on the bike. I had a bad habbit of tensing on the bike when I get tired to gain more control. Actually , its doing me the opposite and wearing me down faster. So, I realized that  I needed to RELAX yo! Bike class was REALLY informative . I learned so much. 

After Bike Class, we had lunch, and had a nutritionist come in and talk to us. I found this information REALLY USEFUL ! I had some light bulbs go off as well about why I would crave this or that and really understood some nutrition things even better than I did before.

After Lunch, we had an informal chat with the RD , Muna , who was in charge of tomorrow dua. It was nice to get to hear things from a rd point of view. Very eye opening. 

Then, it was time to head outside and discuss the 4th discipline of triathlons, the transition. Where you can make up time or loose time. I again found this EXTREMELY helpful. I had done some research before my first TRI, but really found some nice takeaways about organization and such. So, again, really beneficial for me. 

The last activity of the day was Running. So , naturally we all suited up in our running gear not knowing what to expect. This was probably the most benifical thing in terms of running for me. We went over injury prevention and then went through some stretches and drills for warmups, and discussed about form and doing self checks during runs. I realized right then why I have had some of the best runs of my life and some that I couldn't get anything to go right for me. Its all about the form. When you get tired, your body starts to slip. You have to pay attention and check these things periodically. When you do that, you have great days. When you don't you don't. That's just the facts of it all. 

After the day had concluded, I was talking bikes and the N+1 rule with some friends from the club and about the race. I curiously asked Muna how many people would be there tomorrow . She said maybe 30. Almost immediatley my eyes lit up . I knew right then, that the plan had just changed. 

See, the plan was to NOT race this as this was after my first tri and treat it as a recovery brick. But, when the moment presents itself, you have to go. I called coach on the road. Appologized in advance but said, the time is right , I gotta race this here is the situation. She was like YES you do ! GO! 

Once I got home, I got out the bike and then rode down through town. Immediatley, the things that I learned in class were put to use, and I was over in the BCR steaming along with ease. It was then I for sure knew, I was set on kill. It was time to shine . 

After I got home and got the bike cleaned up , I packed up the gear and relaxed. Because , tomorrow ...... ITS SHOWTIME!!! 

So, in a nutshell, that was camp. Tomorrow we go RACING for AG GLORY at the Earth Day Dua. 

So until then- 

From one "Idiot" to another- 

John

-IRC #2148- 

TO THE DARK SIDE: TRIDELTATHON 2018

I told ya'll I was going to the dark side. So , here we go. My first Triathlon, Trideltathon2018! 

The weather was about as bad as you can get . Rainy ! Buckets of rain. Got up early that morning and then got ready and headed out as yet again, dumb construction on the roads would force me to go the long way. I got there and started setting up my transition area, laying out all my gear for the final 2 legs , and then I heard them announce that due to imment weather, they were cutting the bike down to 1 loop instead of 2. Great- That killed what momentum I was planning to really build. That means I had to go for it. 

Once I had everything setup and planned out, I went ahead and headed into the aquatics center at UT to get my number marked and get my chip. Something so stupid as marking numbers on your arm I was so excited about. LOL! 

As I was prepping to hit the water to get a feel for it and do a quick 100 to warm up, I ran into one of my friends. I was so excited that I actually had someone there to cheer for me . LOL!

Once I was warmed up, I hopped out and just relaxed. Knowing what was about to come. We lined up by swim time . I hopped in the 10-12 min group thinking I would be OK. It wasn't long before it was time to go. I dove in and within about 4 strokes, was caught and passed by the girl behind me. I settled into a decent little pace. What I was not prepared for was the turblence of the water and how it would slow me down. I never really checked my watch, but knew I was a LOT slower than what I thought I would be. They had it setup in 100M laps, so up and down through 5 different lanes for a total of 500M. It was tough. I finally at long last popped out of the pool and then went to check my time. My watch had gotten hit so I had no swim data, great. 

Once out of the pool, we went out the doors into transition and the rain. The rain actually helped speed me up , because i just dried my feet and my hands, put on my helment, bike shoes, socks, put some food in my mouth, got a drink, and unracked the bike and headed out. 

It was business time. The bike, the strong part for me. As soon as I jumped on , i geared up and was gone. I took it easy the first part because we had a set of tracks to run across and I didn't want to blow my tire. Once accross, i hamered it the last half of the loop. I managed to pass 20 people on the bike. I was rocking and rolling. In about 20 min I had made the loop , and was back to transition. 

Once back to transition, I re-racked the bike, grabbed my water bottle off, and then put more food in my mouth, and then got my running gear on and headed out. I realized about this time that I had pushed to hard on the bike , but screw it. I just let my legs come to me. IT was about a mile and a half in that I really settled down. Before I knew it, I was headed home. 

As I came up the hill, I am sure I had a look of damn am I glad this is over. I was soaked to the bone, and cold , and just wanted done. In the end , it was over. 

I wound up finishing 2nd to DFL and only 3 min total off the podium for my first tri. Not a bad way to start things. 

So, there we have it . First Tri is in the books. Up next I have a training camp and then My first Dualathlon. So, the multi sport fun continues. 

So until next time- 

From one "Idiot" to another- 

John 

IRC#2148 

ROCKY TOP 2018

"Oh, Rocky Top, you'll always be

Home, Sweet Home to Me, 

Good ole' ROCKY TOP

(WHOOO) 

Rocky Top Tennessee" 

So, here we go, the A main for the spring, and my final distance race for a solid while as I am now going to transition into Triathlons for a while. Knoxville, where it all began . 

This was going to be a different race though. I was pacing this year. I was running the 5:30 full for the first 10 miles. So, about 12:35 a mile. I woke up early to get everything on and make final gear selections as it was cold and I wasn't sure how to proceed. I finally decided on a short sleeved shirt under the singlet and I could go to singlet only if I needed too. I took the back way to avoid construction and traffic and got there still early. I was the first pacer in the house. It wasn't until later that everyone showed up. I wanted to give myself plenty of time to relax and enjoy this. 

I finally got to meet up with the crew, and it turns out the guy I was pacing with was a hoot. We were already cutting up and carrying on before we got out there. I couldn't have been more relaxed or ready to go . 

As we loaded in, we were still laughing, but I was mentally preparing myself for the run. This is no easy task, and I wanted to put it all together finally in Knoxville. I have NEVER had Knoxville be a complete race. There is ALWAYS something that happens during that race. 

I was going to be carrying the flag the first 5 to 7 miles. I was ready to work. Once we started moving it took about 5 min to get up and across the line. I was bummbed this year because they normally send us out with Rocky Top and someone screwed that up this year. 

Because I was pacing and due to the threat of weather, I didn't carry my phone this year. Which was nice. I can't carry it when I am in Triathlons either. So, I figured get used to it now 

The first 2.5 miles were solid. Looking back now, we started WAY to fast but I see why the guys that did the full did that. They were saving time for the back half. Dangerous way to run, but alas. 

I began to get winded through mile 3 but was hanging on . We had to climb a large hill at mile 3.5 . One of the pacers stopped for a pit stop and I was freaking cramping so I stopped with him to stretch it out and catch my breath. 

Mile 4 and 5 i was ok, but knew something was off. I knew I had a job to do and was gonna have to grind hard. 

By mile 5 , lights went out in ktown . I don't know why, I think because I OVER hydrated, but I just didn't have it. I talked with our organizer who fittingly enough was pacing with us. He said it would be ok, just to run the race and finish it. 

The next 3.5 miles were a pitty party. I was kicking myself. I couldn't believe what I was having to do and not being able to keep up. However, I was still managing a pretty good pace out of this. 

By Mile 10, the 3 hour group caught me. The girls knew I was in trouble. But luckily, the girls told me to come on . I was finally re-ganing some giddyup when I met a girl. We started talking. She asked me what pace I was running. I told her just kinda flexing it. Apparently I looked strong. She asked If I would take her in. I told the 3 hour group GO! I have her . Through talking to her, I was able to find out that she had chronic Tendinitis in BOTH achilies and was told by doctors she would not ever run more than a mile. She did this to proove them wrong and for herself WHILE being a full time PRE MED student at UT. I wound up staying with her until the end. 

We crossed the line and shared a special moment. If you want to see the finish , then here is a link of us coming across both a little worse for wear: https://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?race=6572&email=1&rid=1848

I actually had some friends I tried to meet up with, but frankly it was so cold on the field the wind cut you in half. But it was perfect running weather. 

The funny thing about this is after the race, as I sat down on the bus to go back to the car, we were reunited , which provided the oprotunity for this picture. 

GOODBYE DISTANCE! I am not sad to see you go! It's time to now venture into the darkside. I couldn't be more excited to get home, recover, and then get into a whole new element. 

So, until then.... 

From one "Idiot" to another- 

John 

IRC # 2148