I had a great time at Ride the Drive on Sunday. Not only was it especially good for the spirit to wheel down roadways that are usually filled with cars, it was also fun to see all the different types of bikes..from all different eras..that were tooling around.

Not only did I see a bicycle that seemed to have bowling balls for tires… I also saw a lot of cool old vintage bikes…including Schwinn Sting Rays. Now maybe I just wasn’t paying attention, but I don’t think I saw any one doing wheelies. Maybe that’s because they didn’t have an official Wham-O Wheelie bar!

Check out this video to see a great old school commercial, and some pretty awesome bikes.

There’s a couple of things that I’ve been training for lately- I’m getting ready for this weekend’s 100 mile Centurion Bicycle race with a group of friends on a team we’re calling “Something About Mary” in honor of our friend Mary who we lost during Ironman training last year.  I’m also in the middle of training for the Chicago Marathon with Team In Training- and along the way raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  You can make a donation to those efforts here.

Between the two efforts- this weekend was “one step up and one step back.”

Starting with the Centurion training- Something About Mary hit the road early on Saturday morning and rode about 70 of the 100 mile course.  We rode about 35 of it last weekend and I had a horrible ride.  About 25 miles into last weekend’s ride I BONKED- I got dizzy, felt really weak and thought I was going to throw up.

So after last weekend’s debacle- it felt good to get out on this course and ride it like I know we can, or more precisely- like I know I can, as I was the one having problems last weekend.

We started at Uphill Grind in Cross Plains and rode out to the loop- did one loop plus a smaller loop that included the big Enchanted Valley hill.  I felt good throughout the ride- maybe a little tired by the end of the Enchanted Valley loop- but really good overall.

On the course we ran into a couple guys riding from Oregon to Maine.  When we got back to Cross Plains after the big loop we stopped for a water refill at Uphill Grind before heading out for the last few miles.  As we left Uphill Grind, we saw the cross-county travelers again, so we rode back to them and told them about Uphill Grind.  When we finished our ride they were still there, telling stories of their adventures to all the other riders that were hanging out at Uphill Grind.

We finished off the day with a great smoothie- definitely hit the spot after the ride.

That was the “one step up” part of the weekend.  The “one step back” part came on Sunday.  It was a step back, in that I didn’t get out for the planned Team In Training run on Sunday afternoon, but it was worth it.  I spent the day working as the race announcer for the Bicycle Races at the U.S. Transplant Games.  I remember from the last time I was a race announcer (about 15 years ago at Madison Marathon- long before I was active myself), that this is a really tough gig.  Even now that I am a fairly active guy, this is still a tough day- in fact I’d say this is actually harder than racing.

This was a particularly inspiring race to work- transplant patients from all across the country come together once every other year for the games- they rotate through cities- last time Philadelphia, this time Madison.  1500 athletes + family and friends and some doners and their families too.  It makes for a pretty emotional event.

Beyond the obvious emotion of the event and the inspirational part of watching every athlete- fast and slow alike- come across the finish line, the coolest non-race moment came when I was looking down at my notes- I noticed out of the corner of my eye a Felt bike with an argyle patern ride past- I looked up just in time to be staring Christian Vande Velde from team Garmin/Slipstream in the eye.  Christian has had a couple of top 10 finishes at the Tour de France.  Christian’s brother Ian was competing and won his age group in both the 5k time-trial and the 20k race.  A woman who I assume was his grandmother wanted to introduce us, but I was too busy at the moment…maybe next time.

The nerves hit just before the start of the swim- once I get hit or kicked in the water I’m fine, but until that time, it’s all nerves.  The biggest problem with this swim was people in my wave that were even slower than me- a lot of side-strokes and other strokes that quite frankly got in the way.  I just cruised down to the turnaround, staying with the bulk of my wave and making my way around those slow swimmers to get there.

I was a little confused at the turnaround, as I was expecting 2 big yellow buoys, but got only one.  The backstretch is really long, but with buoys every 50 yards or so, it was easy to stay on course.  The next biggest problem came as I got to the last turn- right about the time the bulk of the wave after me caught me- just as we hit the turn.  This is where the bulk of the hitting and kicking took place, but it cleared out by about the time we were about half-way in.

The third problem was that the water was so clean and clear that I thought the water was much more shallow when I stood up and ended up running through knee deep water- I usually swim in much further than that.  Look at me- complaining about clean water.

The last problem was the wetsuit strippers having trouble getting my wetsuit off.  So all-in-all, considering those were the only things I can think of as negatives in the swim- it was a GREAT swim.

T1  (Transition from Swim to Bike)- After my very first TRI two years ago, when I spent something like 12 minutes in T1, I have actually been pretty good in transition.  This was only my second race this year and I see that I need to work on it again.  Transitions kept me out of the top 20.  I spent 3 minutes in T1

Tomorrow: The Bike!

3 days ago

This past weekend was the Door County Half Ironman race- My “A” race for the year.  Heading into the race I felt fit, but also felt like I had not stuck as closely to the plan as I should have.  I was right on the first count and wrong on the second count (either that or it didn’t matter).

As always, I’ll split the race report into 4 seperate blogs.  Today- the PREGAME!

We left for Door County Friday night after work.  I’ve been to Door County before, but somehow never as an adult, so this was going to be a whole new experience for me.  I didn’t realize quite how long it would take to get up there- so leaving at 6pm, it was almost 10 before we arrived at our hotel.  After unpacking the car, we started wandering- looking for the bar/restaurant.  As we wandered through the parking lot having no idea where we were going, we asked a group of people “where’s the bar?”  And from the group behind them I hear “figures you’d be looking for the bar.”  It was my friends Matt & Julie and their family, who ended up in a room two doors down from us.  Unfortunately, by the time Laura and I found the bar they were no longer serving food.  But they were still serving wine!

On Saturday morning me and Matt & Julie drove to the race site where we met our friends Josh & Stef for a swim and eventually also ran into John & Casey.  Having done the swim we checked out the transition area and then headed off to lunch at the Shipwrecked Brew Pub.  No brew for me- remember the wine from last night?  Next, the first of a couple (o.k. a few) Ice Cream stops on the trip, followed by me and Laura riding some of the run course on our bikes.  One hill in particular was pretty daunting- Laura and I rode DOWN the hill, while the race course actually took you the other way- UP the hill.  Lets just say this…it was intimidating going down.

Saturday night was our big pasta feed- the gang that had been hanging out earlier in the day plus Meagan and her family all met for a great Italian dinner.  After dinner, a casual walk down the street for more ice cream!

Early to bed on Saturday night- after obessing over packing my transition bag.  And early to rise on Sunday morning.

Off to the races and it’s time to set up my transition area.  I have a very specific race-day ritual.  That ritual keeps me occupied for the time leading up to the start of the race.  It includes taping GU packets to the top bar of my bike, laying out a towel in transition, with shoes placed neatly on the towel- socks neatly layed over the top of the bike shoes- helmet sitting upside down on the areobars of the bike, glasses inside the helmet, race number belt neatly hanging over the aerobars- what did the announcer say?  We don’t need to wear the race number on the bike…race number belt moved to the towel- neatly layed out behind the running shoes, a banana sitting behind each pair of shoes, a bag of boiled potatoes sitting beind the bike shoes (to be moved to the spot behind the running shoes after I have a potato or two during T1 (first transition- between the swim and the bike) and finally the wetsuit is on- up to my waist and my goggles (cloudy day- clear goggles today) and swim cap tucked into the front of my TRI-top.  Told you I was obsessive.

What did the race announcer just say?

There’s a storm coming.  The race is delayed by 30 minutes.  But I time all of this out so that I have something to do with all of my nervous energy for the entire time before the race.  Now what?  And I’m wave 10, so even when the race does start, I have a 30 minute wait until I get to go.

But I got through it all.

Tomorrow- the SWIM!

For the past three weekends, as we get closer to Ironman, each weekend has featured a long segment of one of the three events…two weeks ago we rode 110 miles followed by a short run (in the heat).  Last weekend we just roade 30 miles (in the thunderstorm), but that was followed by a 20 mile run (in the extreme heat).  This past weekend- a long (2.4 mile) swim, followed by a 30 mile bike ride, followed by a 6 mile run.  Or that was the plan…

We got to Devils Lake at 7am yesterday morning- after driving through several heavy downpours.  Laura was ready to kayak along.  Until she got out of the car and looked out at the lake.  The rain was coming down.  The lake was choppy.  Laura’s NOT going out in the kayak.  Laura’s sitting in the shelter and holding everyone’s car keys while we swim.

The swim iteself went fairly well- the water was choppy and it was raining, but you really don’t notice rain while you’re swimming and you get used to the choppy waters.  You get into a little bit of a rhythm- as you feel your body come to the top of a wave, you breathe.  If it’s time to breathe and you’re not at the top of a wave, you wait until you are at the top of a wave.  Sounds relatively simple- but it doesn’t always work out right. 

About half-way across the lake I went to take a breath and sight on the small shelter on the other side of the lake and instead took a BIG mouth-full of water.  I tried just spitting it out, but eventually had to completely stop swimming and cough a bit until everything was cleared out.  And then the panic hit.  I’m in the middle of the lake and it’s storming (thankfully no lightning- or I really would have freaked out).  Eventually I calmed myself and started swimming again.  Made it across the lake and turned around and came back.

Over the past year I have really improved my sighting technique.  I usually swim 4 strokes, breathe to the right, take 2 more strokes sight forward, 4 strokes, breathe to the right, etc.  I have real trouble breahing to the left, so unless I absolutely have to, I skip it.  That pattern of breathing right, then sighting has turned me into a really straight line swimmer.  To the point where other slow swimmers (fast swimmers can’t do this) will sight on me.  The problem on Sunday was that my goggles fogged and I could just make out the outline of the trees on the shore of the lake.  Those on shore were watching me and said I was swimming perfectly in a straight line towards the shelter, when suddenly I took a hard right and started heading way off course.  I knew exactly what they were talking about.  I was probably 1/4 mile from shore, when a couple of cars pulled into the parking lot to the right of the shelter- and all I could focus on was the headlights of those cars.  So I headed straight for the lights.  And away from the shelter.

By the time I finally did make my way to the shelter- it was still raining.  Hard.  And windy.  About that time we all decided that we have had enough practice riding and running in the rain.  So we called it a day and headed home.

After 5 flats in the last 2 weeks, I have come to realize that bikers are generally a great bunch of people.  Yes- too many of them run red lights, ride on the sidewalk or ride the wrong way on a one way street.  But basically they are really good people. 

The first 3 of the 5 flats came at convenient locations (if there is such a thing)- at home, at the office, 3 blocks from my destination.  The last 2 (hopefully the last 2- but more likely the more recent 2) came at less convenient locations. 

It was only supposed to be about a 30 mile ride on Sunday, but the first flat of the day came 15 miles into the ride.  I happened to be riding past a park when I flatted, so I found a nice spot on a park bench and pulled the back wheel off the bike (why does it have to be the back wheel when you’re out on the road?).   It was at this point that I realized that had had not returned all the proper equipment to the bike bag when I fixed flat #3.  No tire-levers.  So I called my wife to ask her to come get me.  Before I finished on the phone with Laura another rider came along with tire levers- pulled the tire off and rode away (he wanted to get home before the heat advisory at Noon), so I told Laura that she didn’t have to come get me.  I pulled the old tube out, checked the tire for any foreign objects, grabbed a new tube  (the last one in the bike bag) and a CO2 cartridge.  But there was no adapter for the CO2 cartridge.  I called Laura again- “come get me.”  Only this time she was in the shower and didn’t notice the answering machine when she got out.  A few minutes later another rider came along- not only did he have an adaper, but in his car (right across the street) he had a floor pump- so I didn’t have to use my last CO2 cartridge!  Minutes later my tire is changed, I call Laura to tell her not to pick me up and I’m on the road again.

I told Laura that I would call her when I was 10-15 miles from the end, so she could then come meet me for lunch.  When I got to that point I called her and then started riding towards Brasserie V, where we would meet for lunch.  About a mile after turning on to Seminole Highway, I flatted again!  This time I had no spare tube, so I called Laura to tell her where I was and this time she really should come pick me up.  As I walked towards Madison, waiting for Laura to get to me, about 3 out of every 4 riders (and if you have ever been on Seminole Highway, south of Madison, you know that’s a lot of riders) stopped to ask if I needed a tube or anything else.

When Laura picked me up I told her about the experience and told her that I realized that bikers are basically good people.  I also told her that I realized that it’s time for a new set of tires.

5:30am- open water swim class.  The group gets broken up into two smaller groups- the fast group and the not so fast group.  I’m in the not so fast group.  But this morning I was the fastest of the not so fast group.  That honor kind of rotates around and it was my turn today. 

The lake was pretty choppy this morning so Derek (our instructor) had us working on 2 things…

1) Breathing technique in the choppy conditions.

2) Sighting technique in the choppy conditions.

The breathing is a bit of a challenge, as you need to kind of feel when you rise up to the top of a wave and take your breath at that point.  You also need to know which direction the waves are coming from and breath on the opposite side.  If you mess up either of these- you get a mouth full of water.  Dirty, green water.

The sighting is also a challenge- for much the same reason.  You need to again feel when you are on the top of a wave and quickly look up and sight on the next buoy.  Often times there are more big waves ahead of you, so that quick glance doesn’t do it- you need to keep your head up for a while longer to find that buoy.  Keeping your head up for a while longer once again risks taking on a mouth full of water.  Dirty, green water.

So as we finished up the class, us not so fast kids were talking about the swim and I mentioned how tough it was to sight at times.  One by one they all said they had no problem sighting at all- they all knew I swim a straight line, so they just followed my swim cap- never really had to find the buoys.  Just follow Pat- it’s not that tough (so I guess I’m not the fastest- I was just out front so they didn’t have to sight).  Derek and I had a good laugh about that one- you all should have met me a year ago- as Derek pointed out, at that time I couldn’t swim 4 strokes without getting off course- he also used that as an example of what practice can do…

What is it with coaches and their obsession with practice?

Honestly- cool, clear water was not what I was looking for this morning.  On Friday’s I usually meet a group out at Governor Nelson State Park for an early morning swim.  This time of year the water is anything but clear (it’s kinda green) and it’s actually warmed up quite nicely by this point.

Well- the alarm went off at about 5:30 and it was raining.  Hard.  I know what you’re thinking- “your gonna get wet anyway, you might as well go swimming.”  And I thought about it- but then I saw the lightning and decided a swim in the pool at Harbor Athletic would be better.

I got to the pool a little after 6 and ran into two women from the masters swim class (I’m hardly a master- they both are).  Both were feeling the same as I was- we’d much rather be outside in the dirty warm water.  I know that sounds a bit odd, but there are advantages to the open water swim- mainly you don’t have to stop and turn around every 25 yards.

The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend, so there’s plenty of time for open water swimming- but the one time in the pool was a nice reminder of how much I like being in the open water.

So the 4th of July started with a splash this year.  About 20 of us went to Devils Lake to swim.  It’s 1.2 miles across the lake- so swimming across and back is good practice for the 2.4 mile Ironman swim.  It’s got the advantage of having a nice rest stop at the 1.2 mile point (you’ve crossed the lake, stand there and rest for a while until you are ready to swim back) and it has the advantage of being far less crowded than the actual Ironman swim.  Far less crowded, but it can still be a bit confusing…

Confusion #1: My wife came along with a kayak and spent the morning watching over us.  About 1/2 way across the lake I noticed that my normal swim partner (Julie swims exactly the same speed as me- so we are usually right next to each other) was drifting to the right, so I stopped to tell Laura to try to corral people- as I stopped, I noticed that everyone was scattered across the lake- no way for her to corral us all.

Confusion #2: Sighting is nearly immpossible (as evidenced by the people swimming in all different directions- as noted above).  At Ironman there are big- REALLY BIG buoys every 100 yards or so.  It’s real easy to sight.  Swimming across Devils Lake we were sighting on a tiny building on the opposite shore.  Not quite as bad on the way back, as we were sighting on a bigger building- but still tougher than having big buoys every 100 yards.

Confusion #3: As we got to the South shore (we started on the North shore), we did a quick head-count.  We were down 2 swimmers- we could see Laura out in the kayak with one of them, but where was the other?  We looked all across the lake and didn’t even see any splashing anywhere.  Just as we were starting to panic, Laura paddled in to tell us that “the guy in the silver swim cap turned around at the half-way point and headed back.”

Confusion #4: o.k., not really a confusion- just poor planning.  There were a few people that had to get back home early- so they were the first to start swimming back to the start.  What we didn’t think of was the fact that Laura had everybodies car keys in a dry bag in the kayak.  Laura was watching over us slow swimmers.  About half way across the lake I realized that this could be a problem, so I told Laura to head in- give the keys back to people and come back out to make sure we were still o.k. 

Confusion #5: By the time Laura got back out to us slow swimmers there were two other groups out there swimming- the Madison Multisport group and one other that I didn’t recognize.  Now try to keep track of who’s who and keep your group headed in the right direction.  Pretty much impossible- in fact I’m pretty sure she led somebody from one of the other groups in by accident.

So, lots of goofy stuff happened on the swim- but all-in-all a great swim, a real confidence booster and a whole lot of fun.

So, for some dumb reason, we decided to turn the Crazylegs run into a brick last weekend.  I put out the e-mail to my teammates, so I should probably take the blame, but I truely don’t think it was my idea- I just sent out the invite.

Anyway, since it wasn’t an official team event I also invited a few non team members to join us.  A simple route- the stem of the Ironman course- out to Verona and back.  We started at 7am, so we’d have plenty of time to then get up to the square for the start of Crazylegs.

Well, we made it almost to Verona when we saw the first of the lightning- so we turned back.  Hindsight is 20/20- we probably should have just continued on to Verona, stopped in to Grays for a Bloddy Mary and watched the storm pass.  But we didn’t- we turned back.  Which meant- by the time the storm really hit, we were about half-way between Madison and Verona- with no place to seek shelter.  So we rode…through the rain…and the lightning…and I think maybe some hail…until we came to a convience store just outside of Madison.  When we pulled in we saw a police car- so I asked the officer if he knew anything about the storm.  The officer took me to his car to show me the radar and assure me that we were right on the very edge of the storm- we should be alright.

So off we went- back towards Madison, until one of the riders (of course it was one of the non-team members who I ahd invited along for a fun morning ride) caught his tire on the edge of the road and wiped out…into the lane of traffic.  Thankfully there were no cars coming at that moment, although we did need to stop traffic for a bit while he pulled himself up off the road.  I will say- since nobody was hurt- it was a really cool looking crash.  Looked like something you’d see at the Tour de France.  Only those guys would have been going about 50 down the side of a mountain.

After all of that- we decided to skip the run.  Instead I found a nice warm bar and had a Bloody Mary.  Hey- I already had the T-shirt.  Quite obviously, I wasn’t the only one thinking that way.