Update: If the Facebook links aren’t working for you, try logging into your Facebook account first and then click on the link. It seems to be hit or miss.

First off, THANK YOU for all the encouraging words leading up to race weekend.

My race this weekend, the Breakwater Triathlon, is a fairly small race and doesn’t offer any official athlete tracking like the fancy Ironman branded races.  Never fear though.  The lovely Jennifer has volunteered to post updates of my progress on Facebook.  She did this back during Racing for Recovery and actually enjoyed doing it because it gave her something to do while I was out being crazy racing.

So, if you want to stalk me follow my progress, just become my friend on Facebook*.  You can view my Facebook profile at http://www.facebook.com/kevinmichaelneumann or by clicking the Facebook icon in the upper right corner of my blog.  If you have managed to resist signing over your soul to Mark Zuckerberg, never fear, I’ll try and post a mini race report shortly after I finish.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!  If your weather forecast looks anything like Michigan’s, it should be beautiful.

*Yes, I realize this can be viewed as a pathetic attempt to increase my friend count on Facebook.  What’s your point?

Ok, you probably didn’t even know I was gone.  That’s OK.  My feelings aren’t hurt (that much). 

Anyways, Jennie and I just returned from a short vacation in Harbor Springs.  After a sprint triathlon on Saturday, we headed up to Harbor Springs for a few days of rest and relaxation.  My Google Reader has a backlog of nearly 75 posts to go through and I look forward to seeing how every one else’s training and races went this past weekend.

Details of our weekend are forth coming, but here is a quick preview:

I finished the tri with a 3+ minute PR from two years ago and took 32nd overall (out of 592).   I had an awesome race and was really in a groove.  Not only that, but my coworker David had an amazing race while his son rocked his first tri ever.  Rob also knocked his first big tri out of the park.

Then, it was up to Harbor Springs for a little of this

a little of this

a lot of this

and way too many of these

Stay tuned for more details and pictures!

Today was my third year of doing Tri Del Sol.  It is a sprint triathlon (.5 mile swim, 18 mile bike, 4.5 mile run) and is nearby which makes it an easy decision to do.  My main goal for this race was to treat it as a brick workout in preparation for Steelhead in 2 weeks.  So, I really didn’t do any taper leading up to the race or anything out of the ordinary.

Pre Race

This was going to be a pretty laid back race.  Both because I have done it before and because it wasn’t an “A” race.  I packed up everything Friday night.  They had posted the water temperature online Friday and there was virtually no chance of wetsuits being allowed, so I didn’t even pack it.  Without a wetsuit, it makes packing much more manageable – everything fit in my backpack.

I did packet pickup on race morning and quickly got my number and chip.  Unfortunately the shirts got held up in customs and had not arrived.  So, they will be mailing them out to each racer in the next week or so.  I wonder who is picking up the fee for shipping 400+ shirts??

I found a pretty good spot on my rack.  We didn’t get there early enough to get an end rack, but the rack I was on only had 5 other bikes so it wasn’t very crowded compared to the end racks with 8 bikes each.  After getting marked, it was time to head down to the swim start.

The Swim

It was a long wait between when transition closed and my wave started.  I had a good hour wait before my wave would go out.  The reason for the delay was that the My Team Triumph Angels started first and were given a 30 minute head start so that they can finish the swim before anyone else starts.

As the My Team Triumph racers were finishing, they started a group of seeded athletes.  This was a new “feature” of the race.  Anyone could request to start in the first heat if they thought that they would be competing for an overall or age group placing.  There was about 60 or so athletes that chose to start first.

After the seeded athletes, there were two waves of women and then my wave.  While waiting to start, I heard familiar voice in the crowd and found two guys that I ran cross country with back in high school. 

The water temperature at the start was 83*F so wetsuits were technically allowed, but without being included in the placing.  I chose to go without a wetsuit and am I glad I did. 

This was by far the most contact I have ever had in a swim.  Most of the contact seemed to happen after our wave caught up to the previous two waves and began passing people.  I took a swift kick to in the chest by someone doing the breast stroke that really took the wind out of me.  Other than that, it was relegated to the standard bumping that goes with an open water swim – just a lot of it.

Compared to last year, my swim time was about a minute and a half longer. However, my ranking in the swim dropped from 175 to 70, so I did better against the field.  I attribute this to three things.  First, I heard some swimmers saying that the course last year was short.  And second, swimming with a wetsuit is generally going to be faster.  My extra open water swim training really helped me swim straight as an arrow.  I accidentally took the final turn a little wide, but that ended up helping me in the long run because it wasn’t as crowded on the outside.

I finished the swim in 14:49 and charged up to the transition area.  As I ran to transition, I really felt like I pushed myself in the swim and was sort of worried I pushed too hard.  My transition time in T1 improved by about 30 seconds which is probably time I saved by not putting on socks.

The Bike

Wow!  What can I say.  The bike rocked!  The course is an out and back course with rolling hills.  As soon as I started out on bike I was flying.  I was seeing speeds of 23mph and 24mph on my bike computer as I flew by other cyclists.  I could have a used a pre-recorded, “On your left” message I was doing so much passing.  As a side note, there were a lot of newbies who didn’t seem to know the “Stay to the right” rule.  They would move to the right as I passed, but them scoot right back to the middle of the road.  I pushed the pace as much as I could, charging up the hills, and riding down the hills at full speed.  I stayed aero for most of the ride after the first couple of miles.  However, it was so crowded during the first 3 miles, that I was constantly popping up onto the hoods to brake or change gears while passing.

Who has two thumbs and just rocked the bike?  This guy!

I only got passed by a couple of people on the bike.  All of which were on tri bikes and had aero helmets.  Never fun getting passed, but it is easier to swallow when the passer still has a bike number on his bike from CdA.

I backed off the last mile and shifted into an easier gear to prep my legs for the run. 

There was a bit of snafu with the bike dismount.  When turning back into the transition area, the road was divided into two paths by a rope.  The two riders in front of me and myself took the path closest to our turn and ended up on the wrong side.  We all had to dismount a few yards earlier and had to climb under the rope.  Inconvenient, but not a huge deal.

I ended up finishing the bike in 50:56, about 3 minutes faster than last year, for a 21.2mph average pace.  I also brought my bike rank down from 130 to 47.

The Run

Like the bike, the run went awesome.  I had a little bit of a brick feeling in my legs for the first half mile or so, but it went away quickly.  I started to pick off runners one by one as my legs felt better and better.  I had one guy pass with a 27 on his calf and I knew that I would have to catch him as to not drop a place in my age group.  He went flying passed me, but pulled up about 50 yards down the road.  As I passed him, I told him to keep it up and was given a grunt as a reply.  I think he must have cramped up or something and did not seem very happy.

In no time, I hit the final stretch.  I somehow missed the 4 mile mark, so I was surprised to see the finish line so soon.  I felt great as I finished. 

The run was a 2 minute improvement over last year at 32:45 (7:17 pace).  I also jumped from 128th to 46th in the run ranking over last year.

Overall it was a great race.  I finished 43 out of 440 overall and 7 out of 28 in my age group so I am very happy with the results. 

I sort of wonder if I should have started in the seeded group?  In the end, I ended up finishing ahead of a dozen or so of the seeded group, so I probably would have fit it.  Though, it may have been mentally defeating though to be be in the back of the seeded group rather than being able to pass the waves that started before me.  I think that if it were an “A” race, putting myself in the seeded group would have made me more competitive.  But as this was just a training session, I am glad I started where I did.

Post Race

As we were leaving, I pointed out a Cervelo P2.  Jennie took a picture of it in case Santa needs something for my Christmas list.

Finally, a big thanks to my support crew and photographer! Aren’t the pictures great???

Official Results

Friday

Friday’s game plan consisted of a long run, long swim, and some wood work.  I ended up doing 10.5 miles in 1:32 (8:44 pace).  It was hot and humid which really slowed me down.  I am still adjusting to the warmer weather and learning what my hydration needs are, so I weighed myself before and after the run.  Despite drinking 2 full water bottles on the run, I was still 3 pounds lighter when I got home.  Yikes!  I spent the rest of the day with a water bottle at my side to rehydrate.

After the run, I did a 2500 yard swim at the pool.  It was a single set of 2500 yards so no resting.  I did give my legs a break by doing 10 lengths on/off with a pull buoy.  Still, my legs were very tired and started to cramp up around 2000 yards.  I think I am going to try and tweak my schedule so that my long swim and long run aren’t on the same day.  The pool is open every day at lunch for the summer rather than just M, W, F, so I might move my Friday swim to Thursdays instead.

After the swim, it was back to the project from two weeks ago.  I built the second cabinet for our bar area as well as built face frames for both the wine rack and cabinet.  I even got to use my new-ish pocket hole jig for the first time.  It was a huge help and really made the face frames come together nicely.  All that is left now is building the door, drawer, countertop, shelves, painting… Ok, so there is still a lot to go, but it is progressing nicely.

Bike Ride

This morning, I embarked on a long bike ride.  My destination was the Johan Trifest in Hopkins, MI to cheer on a co-worker.  Armed with Google Maps Biking Directions, I headed out shortly after 7:00.  A good portion of the ride was on the Kent Trails.  It was nice to avoid the traffic, but the path was littered with leaves and twigs as a result of a rain storm last night.  There wasn’t too much traffic on the trail – unless you count the wildlife.  In fact, there was one stretch that had so many squirrels and rabbits crossing the road, I thought I was stuck in a game of Oregon Trail*.  The Google Biking Directions were very helpful, although one portion would have had me taking a dirt road.  Instead, I jumped over a half mile and took a paved road instead.

I thought that this was going to be a nice and flat ride.  I was wrong.  Not only did a I have a strong wind to deal with, but I also had a few good climbs.

Finally a downhill.  Unfortunately, there were two downsides to this downhill.  First, there was a stop sign at the bottom which really killed my momentum.  And second, I was going to have to climb back up it on the way home.

I got to the triathlon as the last swimmers were getting out of the water.  The last female out of the water really struggled to finish, but managed to make it back to shore on her own.  As she ran up to the transition area, she proclaimed, “I’m alive! I’m alive!”  She sure received a lot of cheering.

I biked out on part of the bike course and saw David at about the 23 mile mark.  I followed him back to the transition area and watched him head out on the run.

He ended up with a great finish for his first Olympic tri.  It looked like a great race and I’m going to add it to my “future” list.  The swim was calm and clean.  The bike was challenging with rolling hills and even more challenging today with a headwind for half of the course.  And the run was flat with lots of spectators out.

The ride back home was much more pleasant because I now had the wind at my back.  Despite bringing 3 full water bottles, I was running really low at the end.  Had the ride been any further, I would have had to find a place for a refill.  As it was, I cruised in on empty and proceeded to pass out in the driveway.

Relaxing

After the bike ride and lunch, we headed up to the Reeds Lake Art Festival.  Lots of cool photographs, paintings, and sculptures.  My favorites were paintings of the original Tigers Stadium and Wrigley field.  Fun to look at, but all very expensive.

After the art festival, it was finally time to relax.  Jennie and I spent the next few hours laying in the hammock, reading, and napping.  With a bright blue sky above us and a nice breeze blowing, it was the perfect day for lounging.

I even prepared drinks and snacks for the occasion.  A bottle of the finest bubbly (Coke) and a sampling of aged cheeses, both the puffed and cracker varieties (Cheese Puffs and Cheez-Its).

In no time, we were both deeply engrossed in our books.

I seem to have a shocked look on my face.  Perhaps this was during the chase and murder scene.

CSA Update

Why am I holding a fresh turnip over my head?  Two reason.  #1 We got a bunch of fresh turnips in this week’s CSA basket.  #2 There were errant Shyguys and Ninji roaming in our kitchen (ala Super Mario Brothers 2) and as any NES geek knows, the only way to dispatch them is a well placed turnip to the face.  We actually cooked up the turnips for dinner tonight and they were very good.  We grilled a veggie packet with chopped potatoes, turnips, onions and carrots along with a grilled chicken breast for chicken sandwiches – delicious.

On a semi-related note, this is the first picture of my Racing for Recovery T-shirt.  I realized I didn’t mention it in my race report despite it being one of my favorite race shirts ever.  It has a classic rock album** cover-esq design on a “broken in” red shirt; reminds me of the Aerosmith Greatest Hits album.  I’m usually not big on red shirts, but the faded look of this one works.

Bird Watching

While relaxing in the hammock, a baby robin wandered right up to us.  It was fluffy with a spotted red breast and still hadn’t learned to fly so it resorted to hopping around.

We spent the better part of an hour watching it hop around the yard under the watchful eye of Mama (or Papa) from a nearby roof. 

For the most part, the adult robin kept its distance letting the fledging fend for himself only occasionally hopping down to feed him fresh berries.

I even got a chance to use the telephoto lens for our camera to snap a few good pictures from long range.  The little guy managed to hop up a log, but never did figure out the whole flapping its wings to fly.

Overall, it has been a great start to the weekend.  Tomorrow looks to be just as nice.  Hopefully we can get some exercise in and possibly even take the kayaks up to the lake.

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend as well!

*I found an awesome Apple IIe emulator along with a copy of Oregon Trail.  I wasted far too much time playing it.  Unfortunately, I tried to ford the second river and lost 4 oxen and Brad (sorry Brad!)

** An album is like an old school CD***

*** A CD is like an old school MP3

Warning: This may will get stuck in your head.  It starts off slow, but picks up about 60 seconds in.

For some information about the song, check out http://www.markwinholtz.com/triathlon/index.cfm.  Unfortunately, it looks like the Download Song and Buy Single links are broken, so you’ll have to make due with the Youtube video.