Mud's Journal

Milkman really is my favorite race. It's put on in an awesome little town by some awesome people. I looked forward to it so much this year that I managed to get my parents, my brother, and one friend signed up for it too.

Last year Milkman was difficult from the outset because I waited until I got off work on Friday to leave town. This meant that my pre-race consisted of entirely too much driving, too much fast food, and not nearly enough sleeping. We fixed that problem this year by making it into Dexter early enough to have a spaghetti dinner at the house of a kind local before pitching tents near the lake. It was just about perfect. Everyone was quiet and in bed by 9 because everyone was preparing for the race the next day.

Of course, the pre-race period was not without some stress. First of all, my friend Ryan forgot his id and so couldn't pick up his packet. Then I had to wait for my other friend, Justin, to bring down my bike because there wasn't enough room on the bike rack for five bikes. He didn't make it to the lake till 5:00 am. Lastly, my father discovered that his helmet predates the BHSI and consequently didn't have an approval sticker. He had to find someone to lend him a spare helmet so that he could race.



The race finally started. I was expecting the swim to feel incredibly short, since I've been doing Olympic length races, but I had no such luck. I didn't find my groove till after the turn around point and even then I took it pretty easy. I came out of the water at 9 minutes, 22 seconds, which is a few seconds slower than last year but I felt much better. I took a leisurely 3 minutes 25 seconds to catch my breath and prepare for the bike leg. It has been my habit recently to take as long as I like on this transition but I think I should speed it up a bit next time.

Last year I said that I didn't notice the hill on my bike. This year I understand why I missed it. With my old bike, everything was a difficult slog the the hill wasn't much different than the flats. This year the hill seemed pretty formidable in comparison to the easy flat stretches. The wind didn't seem nearly as bad, though. I finished biking after 46 minutes 32 seconds which is a good 7 minutes faster than last year. I still need to get better at biking but I'm not really sure how to do it. The second transition took me 1 minute 23 seconds. This is slightly longer than last year but I ate a packet of goo.

The run is really the most difficult part of this race (admittedly, runs are always the most difficult for me). It is hot, humid, and disorienting. It took me 37 minutes 39 seconds as opposed to 36 minutes 35 seconds from last year. This surprises me somewhat as I felt absolutely miserable last year and, while I didn't feel good) this year I felt I was coping better. Oh well.

Total time is 1 hour 38 minutes and 23 seconds. I'm really not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, it is faster than last year and I think I worked pretty hard all spring to earn that. It certainly isn't all just a new bike. On the other hand, I felt too good after the race. I don't think I pushed as hard as I should have during the race itself. Some of that may have been that I was pacing myself for a race twice this length. Over all, I really just need to learn to run.



How did my friends do? Tyler blew past me while I was slogging up the hill on my bike. He finished with an unimaginable 1 hour 9 minutes 40 seconds. I never saw her pass me but the results insist that Becca beat me with 1 hour 34 minutes 46 seconds. My brother Tom passed me with a 1/2 mile to go on the run and finished with 1 hour 35 minutes 37 seconds. My dad finished at 1 hour 49 minutes 47 seconds. My mom finished at 2 hours 5 minutes 15 seconds. Special props go to Ryan, who finished at 2 hours 9 seconds. He had never swam that kind of a distance in one go before and was quite confident that he would drown. But he completed it and didn't even take advantage of the shallow nature of lake van.

Nationals was awesome. Lubbock was really great. I was pretty good too!



The swim was a frigid 58 degrees, but after the first 1/4 mile, I stopped noticing how cold it felt. Major thanks go out to Matt O for giving me a pair of earplugs and some hammer gel before the race (you can have the ear plugs back if you really want them, Matt). It was really interesting starting in the last wave instead of the first because it made it easier to track my place while in the water. I know I passed people from the blue, yellow, and light blue waves. It felt pretty good and I stumbled out of the water at 35 minutes 12 seconds (slower than Havasu but I was trying to relax and take it easy). I took a leisurely 2 minutes 9 seconds to change, eat, and regain some balance before heading out with my bike.

There /were/ actually a few pretty decent hills as we climbed out of a few arroyos, despite Lubbock's barren, flat landscape. There also wasn't nearly as much wind as I feared. At one point there was a noticably annoying headwind but I tucked into my aerobars and it toughed it out (the first time I've been comfortable/happy with my aerobars). Early on in the cycling leg, I picked out two cyclist to pace myself with. Then I noticed a rock in my shoe and had to pull over and fish it out while they zipped into the distance. My shoe clear, I rejoined my fellow athletes and completed the cycling in 1 hour 38 minutes 56 seconds (12 minutes faster than Havasu). The best part: before I finished I caught and passed both cyclists I had chosen for pace. I also drank from my bottle and replaced it 4 times without dropping it! My second transition was also slow, at 1 minute 33 seconds, as I got disoriented and took some time to swallow some ibuprofen as my knee hurt a bit.



The run was slow, as expected, and I was passed by both bike pacers, but it was scenic enough and many of the lake-side dwellers came out to cheer us on. I reused the technique I discovered to late at Havasu by running for 900 paces before allowing myself to walk for 100. This kept me moving at a decent pace and allowed me to figure out that a 10 K takes me 4,700 paces (within a tolerance of 100 or so). I crossed the finish line after 1 hour 12 minutes 18 seconds of running (faster than Havasu, slower than Elephant Man), giving me a total time of 3 hours 33 minutes 34 seconds. 12 minutes faster than Havasu, a new pr!



All in all it was a good race. I think there should have been a bottle swap in the bike leg, but other than that it was very well supported. The other athletes were great and we received much love from the Tricats. My biggest lessons learned during this race involved pre-race preparation. Always bring flipflops to wear after you leave your running shoes in the transition area and don't forget to leave your glasses in the transition area for after the swim.

Well, I ran a mile on Saturday and my knee didn't hurt any more than it would have from walking a mile so I decided to give Bataan a try.

We showed up at White Sands Missile range at 4:30 and sat around shivering in the dark till the race started at 7:00.  I ran up till the split, maintaining a 10 minute per mile pace.  And then I hit the sand.  At mile ~8 for us 15 milers and mile ~21 for the full marathoners there is a long hill that it covered in deep loose sand.  Everyone I know gave up on running it pretty fast.  After the sand it took me a little while to get my knee moving quickly again but I maintained a system of running 20 minutes and walking 5 for the remainder of the course.  The finish line snuck up on me and I crossed it at 2 hours 59 minutes 17 seconds.  This was the farthest I've ever run by a sizable amount.

I was favoring my uninjured knee during the run so now they're both pretty sore.  Good thing I have a few weeks to let it rest before nationals...



Bataan is a challenging and rewarding race.  It will be helpful for any runners considering this (either for the half or the full) to bear in mind that it's not really a race*.  It's a march.  There will be thousands of people walking the course in large groups and as a runner, you will probably be frustrated about having to find creative ways to pass people for the first 5 miles or so.  There often won't be space on the path to pass people.  The prerace might also be frustrating.  You will have to get onto base ridiculously early in the morning to avoid long lines at the check point.  Then you will have to stand around in the cold for hours till the sun comes up and the race begins.  However, this race is organized and supported in a way that only the military could pull off.  There are neat lines to get everything you need form people who know what they're doing.  There are water tables everywhere along the course (offering water, gatorade and sometimes goodies like fruit and trail mix) complete with latriens and frequently medical personel.  There are even people (armed people) zipping along the course on atvs to take care of anything that might occure in between the water tables.  The course is difficult (including the 7 mile hill and the sandtrap for the full course) but I can honestly say that shaking the hands of the little old men who survived the real Bataan Death March as you cross the finish line is much more meaningful because of it.

Getting to the Havasu Triathlon was quite an exertion in and of itself. Two friends and I crammed into my truck and left Las Cruces at 9:00 on Thursday evening. I drove like a demon all night and sang like something worse to keep myself awake. We arrived in Lake Havasu City around 6:00 the next morning. We tried to nap in several places while we waited for the rest of the team to catch up but kept getting kicked out. Apparently I do not have what it takes to be a good hobo if I can't sleep in public. Fortunately, I slept pretty good Friday night so I had some energy for the race. Even more fortunately, our wetsuits reached us at some point during the night (Our buddy Alex chased down a UPS truck to get them and deliver them to us) and they fit too!



I came out of the water feeling good. Slowly but surely, I'm figuring out how to swim in open water. Not that there weren't difficulties. I stayed closer to the pack this time so I had o endure more kicking and grabbing. And then there was the swim up the channel, directly into the sun, when it was impossible to see where I was headed. And there were a few waves too, as we emerged from the channel. I hopped out of the lake at 27 minutes and 5 seconds, which is a good 8 minutes faster than at elephant man, feeling great except that I couldn't figure out how to unzip my wetsuit.

Very early in the bike portion (during the first couple of miles, I think) I dropped my water bottle again, which did make the bike portion any easier. Still, I didn't have to walk up any of the hills (they looked terrible when we drove the course, they were actually kind of fun). I was slow and got passed alot but I coasted across the dismount line 1 hour 51 minutes and 13 seconds later, nearly 12 minutes faster than elephant man.

The run was pretty miserable. There was a nasty sand trap and a long flight of stairs in the first and last mile and the rest of the course was brutally flat and exposed to the sun. I just couldn't keep my legs moving and breathing was painful. Some of this was that my trisuit top was constructively tight and I didn't dare take it off for fear for burning. It wasn't till the last two miles when I developed the strategy of counting my steps to keep my mind off my discomfort. I ran for 500 then allowed myself to walk for 100. The run took me 1 hour 26 minutes 57 seconds, a whole 10 minutes slower than elephant man.

Total time was 3 hours 45 minutes 15 seconds, which is 14 minutes better than elephant man, a new pr. I feel pretty good about this but I also feel that I clearly need to work on the last two legs. I dropped from being the 42nd collegiate male out of the water (squarely in the middle) to the 87th across the finish line (the very last). I feel that I need to work on the bike the hardest, so that I have some energy left for the run. I've learned a few things for next time. I need to bring my own marker so I don't have to wait in mine to be marked. I need to sunscreen my entire body, even if it's under a trisuit, so that I can peel off my top if need be. I need to stick close to my group (after swapping my glasses for goggles) before the race because your friends become indistinguishable from the rest of the crowd when everyone is wearing wetsuits. I also need to NOT DROP MY WATER BOTTLE!  I will do better at nationals next month.



If you are going to competing in this race here's what you need to know. It is not the most organized or best supported race ever. Carry your own nutrition and plenty of water during the bike. Drive the course the day before so you know where the hills are but don't be too freaked out. Go to the awards ceremony at the Javalina Cantina after the race and order some $1 tacos. They will make the race worth it.

Saturday I ran the 6th annual Sweetheart Run in Albuquerque with my two buddies, Justin and Ryan. Justin and I signed up for the 5k and Ryan accidentally registered for the 10k.

It was a pretty nice race. Rather scenic as it crossed the Montano bridge over the Rio and then ran along a river side path. There was also a well placed water station, about a third of the way into the race so that you hit it again on the way back, equiped with water and gatorade. My only problem with the race is that there were alot of people running on fairly narrow paths. It frequently felt alittle tight.

If you run this, be forewarned that it does not end where you start. And even after you see the inflatable arch that marks the finish line, it's not a straight shot. You will have to run a lap around a small track before you reach the end, so don't sprint until you hit the track or you will burn out prematurely.

I took it pretty easy for this race, hanging back with Justin, who had never done a race before and didn't think he could run a whole 5k. I pushed him a little faster than I think he wanted to go and crossed the finish line at 30 minutes 41 seconds. Just finished a minute after me and should be very proud of himself.

Yea, I know that I haven't a training log in more than a month but I have an excuse. I haven't really been training for more than a month (which is not a good thing, especially when it is taken into consideration that I didn't really train for two weeks before elephant man either). I have been swimming, running and doing yoga sporadically, but I've been loosing ground physically.

Still, I was invited to run the Zin Valle Grape Race 10k this past weekend and I just couldn't turn it down so on Saturday I drove toward Texas with Ryan, who was running with me, and the rest of my crew, who were doing the 2 mile fun walk. Maybe we should have left on Friday, though, because we got lost and didn't make it to the starting line until the race had been under way for a good 12-15 minutes.

Ryan and I took off to catch up with the other runners and I think we may have run the fastest mile ever. We caught up with the very back of the pack by the end of mile two. By the end of the race we had passed an old woman, an old man, a young couple with a stroller and a four year old girl, and a rather round fellow. Final time was something like 1 hour 15 minutes but I didn't bother to check. All in all, it was a pleasant run through a flat section of farm land.

What really made this race, however, came after the race. There was a dinner for everyone catered by P.F. Changs, a glass of wine, and live music. It would have been a very nice evening except that Ryan has the amazing ability to attract the wrath of nature, wherever he is, and was so plagued by mosquitoes that we woofed down our meals and made a quick getaway.

My quads were quite sore yesterday and today until I went to yoga, which managed to swap out stiff legs for a stiff back.

The long and short of this race is that it has potential to be a lot of fun but remember to leave early for the race, don't trust google maps, and bring bug repellent.

What a weekend!



You can read all about it...

( after the cut. )

Well, the race was difficult for al lthe reasons I suspected plus poor sleep the night before and a stiff head wind through the last half of the bike and first of the run. Plus, I don't know why the put the lane line for the swim route to the right of the swimmers. It makes it very difficult to stay on course when you can't see the course.

Still, I finished and that should count for something.

The swim took me 9 minutes 12 seconds. This is more than a minute better than last time but I think that just shows that I didn't have to run and bike a considerable distance before hitting the water. I definitely need to get my bilateral breathing down before I can do well in a lake swim. The transition to the bike portion took me 2 minutes 15 seconds. This is a little longer than any of my transitions last time but then I had to put on my shoes and my shirt and my glasses so I think that is acceptable.

The bike portion took me 53 minutes 29 seconds. Obviously this is alot faster than my last race but then the ride was 6 miles shorter. Even though I never encountered the hill I had read about (it was really quite flat) it was a difficult ride on account of the wind. It took me 1 minute 8 seconds to drop off my bike, take a swig of water, and head out for my run. That should have been faster but, honestly, I wasn't rushing that too fast because I was quite winded. I don't much like the idea of starting a run out of breath.

The run is what really killed me. It took me 36 minutes 35 seconds to complete it. I refused to actually stop "running" in a technical sense (i.e. both my feet were off the ground at one point in every stride) but my pace was positively crawling. It was nearly impossible to set a pace for myself as I couldn't see any other runners through most of the run (they were obscured around the bends of the road by prolific salt cedar) and it was hard enough just to keep moving due to the cramp I had for at least half the race. All in all I simply felt completely drained. I had no energy left. I didn't actually feel good about running till the last half mile or so when my pace picked up.

That gives me a final time of 1 hour 42 minutes 40 seconds. I'm not upset with this in the least. In fact, it places me 4th in my age division. I won't neglect to mention, however, that there were only 5 racers in my division and the last one never completed the race.   I would have placed third  in my age category of Clydesdales if I had figured out how to register as one.

After the race there was free ice cream and chocolate milk and other good things to eat as well as a petting zoo of baby cows. It was quite alot of fun. I want to do this race again next year. And next year I want to do it right. I will train for more than 2 weeks. I will eat well the week before. I will drive down early and get a good nights sleep. These will all help, I think

That's it gang. I completed a sprint triathlon. That is, for those of you keeping count, a 5k run, a 25k bike, and a .5k swim. And you know what? It wasn't that bad. I didn't get the greatest time in the world but I did some things that really impressed myself and I didn't feel too bad afterwards. My sit-bones have been sore all day and my knees are beginning to ache a bit. I'm sure tomorrow I'll hurt a bit but all in all, I think I did good!

Here's the run down. I came in from the run at 28 minutes 39 seconds. This is a personal record for me, beating out my last time (from when Chris and I ran the Mesa del Sol 5k about 8 years ago) of just seconds shy of 30 minutes. It took 1 minute 59 seconds for me to transition to the biking phase. It took 1 hour 1 minute 48 seconds to complete the biking portion. I really should have spent more time in the saddle preparing for this. It seems like the section that would be easiest to improve. It took 1 minute 5 seconds to strip down for the swim portion and 10 minutes 23 seconds to do the swim. This could also have been improved if I had remembered to put on my goggles. Also I was blocked during the final 50 meters, when I could have passed an extra person and cut out a bit of time I think, but it wouldn't be much. This totals up to a final time of 1 hour 43 minutes 54 seconds.

There's a duathlon as the classes final and I think I'll aim for doing the Milkman Triathlon on the 7th of June. Anyone care to join me?