Computrainer 3D

A few weeks ago, I created a course map for the Evergreen Sprint Triathlon. When I rode it on my Computrainer, I thought, there is no way the course elevation and climbs are right. Well, I raced Evergreen last weekend and although the climbs might have been slightly easier, it was every bit as tough as the Computrainer course.

Greeley Computrainer Impact

I was talking with Chris after Greeley and he said that my run at Pelican and Greeley had been really strong and surprised a lot of people He then said that I must have worked hard on my run. My reply was that I worked on my bike hard using my Computrainer and that had made my run so much faster.

The PIG progam helped me improve my bike by two minutes and my run by forty seconds. Overall, my total time went down just over 2:20 seconds. Not too bad for a sprint triathlon.

Computrainer - PIG Improvement Review

The PIG training plan guarantees to improve your performance by ten - twenty percent. The improvement is based upon the amount of watts that you can produce during the CP30 test. While it may be one way to measure performance, how does it translate to performance on the road?

To determine how my improvement went, I competed in the Pelican Fest triathlon that I've done three times with a ten mile bike course. Checking my training logs, the race conditions were relatively the same so it should be a close comparison.

2009 Time: 26:29, Pace: 2:38.9, MPH: 22.66
2010 Time: 26:26, Pace: 2:38.6, MPH: 22.70
2012 Time: 25:42, Pace: 2:34.2, MPH: 23.35

2012 is a three percent improvement over 2011. While this is short of the ten percent quarantee, I think this validates the PIG program.

There is also one other impact that should be reviewed and for a triathlete that is the run. Part of the bike leg is to get to the run leg with something left. If you finish the bike and you can't run, you went too hard on the bike. The Pelican Fest triathlon has a five kilometer run which I used for comparison.

2009 Time: 19:34, Pace: 6:18
2010 Time: 20:38, Pace: 6:39
2012 Time: 19:01, Pace: 6:08

The 2012 run was approximately 8.5% faster than 2010. Reviewing my training logs again, my run training has been realatively the same as 2010 so I believe the run improvement is a result of finishing the bike with fresher legs. I think that the PIG program improved my cycling performance more than the increase at the race because I still had enough in the legs to improve the run leg by over eight percent.

If your a triathete and you haven't tried PIG, your run is suffering.

Ralston Creek Half Marathon

After a week of recovery from the PIG, it was time for the in inaugural Ralston Creek Half Marathon. The race season for me usually waits until the end of April but this year, Racing Underground started a new half marathon in Arvada on the Ralston Creek bike path. The course runs west, around Arvada Reservoir and up the switchbacks.

I was worried with all the snow we've had the last couple weeks that the path would be covered in snow but early reports have the path as mostly clear with patches of snow and ice. Race morning and the temperature was around fifteen degrees and it wasn't supposed to get much higher.

After trying to say warm at the start, everyone was off. To make the temperature a little more bareable, the race had a late, 9:45, start time. The first mile was down a closed road to the path. Not wanting to start too fast, I picked someone I thought would be a good pacer and settled in. The first few cruised by and around mile five, I caught up to the first of the early starters. Up the southern hills of Arvada Reservior I met my pacer who was a two time CDA Ironman. I was going to make a move on the switchbacks, but I felt good on the descent so I decided to stretch it out.

I've ridden the switchbacks and they are about a mile long, five switchbacks and 4.5% grade. I like hills so I kept the cadence high and began to climb. By the time I was at the top, I had caught several people and was feeling good. The descent was long so I took it easy to not beat up the quads too much.

After looping all the way around the reservoir, the course joined back up with Ralston Creek and it was time to head for home. I was caught by one runner I passed going up the hill but I caught a couple more runners from my wave. Off the path and the last mile was back on the road with a slight uphill.

Overall the race went better than expected. I knew my fitness was good but I expected it to be my cycling that was improved. Even on the hard course with the rolling hills and switchbacks, I managed a PR with a 1:31:41, an improvement of about twenty seconds over last year's Westminster 13.1.

Race Time

New tires, new wheels, quick wash and it's time to race again. This time, no flats.

2007 Review - Part 2 - The Running Races

The whole season wasn't just about triathlons, I also completed a few road races. The running season started in my backyard with the Warrior 5k. The weather before the race was wet and the dirt course showed it. Some people joked it was like cross country but everyone in the lead group went around those puddles. After catching the overly enthusiastic youngsters on the rec center hill, I settled into fourth and stayed there until the end. Not a bad way to start the season.
Memorial Day saw me in Boulder for my fourteenth Bolder Boulder. Since I had completed the Pelican Fest triathon two days prior, I wasn't sure how I would do. My strategy was to stay with Kara as long as possible and try to finish strong. I felt good and made my move at the four mile mark and held on to the end. I wanted to finish under 38:20 but I was very happy with my 39:07, especially two days after a strong triathlon.
In July, I took a couple days off and went to Grand Lake. Since I was in the neighborhood, I had to do the Buffalo Days 5k which I've done a few times. The plan was to relax and run easy since Boulder Peak was the next day. I started easy and passed a lot of people on the long climb. I passed a few more on the steep rollers coming back and finished second in my AG. A really good finish especially since I didn't push too hard.
September saw me racing in my backyard again at the inaugural Panerathon 5k. This race was worth doing for the post-race food. Panera supplied the bagels and sandwiches which were very yummy. Oh, yeah, I finished fourth overall.
October took me to Chicago for my big race of the year. Barry and I signed up almost a year before the race. Unfortunately this was year of the big heat. The temp was close to 80 at the start without a breeze in the Windy City. I was doing fine until twenty-three when I decided to pull back on the speed to avoid heat problems. I finished in 3:09 which was pretty good considering the conditions. Over 10k people didn't finish so I guess I did really good.

2007 Review - Part 1 - The Triathlons

2007 turned out to be a very successful year for me. I became sponsored which started the season right. I've been trying to get a sponsor for a few years and it finally happened. Whether it's a club or sponsor, racing in a team kit is a great experience.

Part of the sponsorship requirements was that I compete in at least six races and since it was a triathlon team, I focused on triathlons and did fewer road races than usual.

The triathlon season started with a new race for me, the Pelican Fest Triathlon in Windsor. I did pretty well on the swim and the bike but lost a position in the last kilometer of the run. It was early in the season and a better mental focus would have gotten me on the podium. As it was I finished fourth in my age group.

A couple weeks later saw me racing at the Mini Ha Ha. Extremely short, extremely quick and extremely fun. A lot of my friends were competing which made the race even more fun. I took the lead quickly upon leaving T1 and held it for most of the bike. I was passed with about a half-mile to go. I stayed close going into T2 had a fast transition and took off on the run scared. Fortunately the other triathlete wasn't a strong runner so I held on for the fastest time of the day. Afterwards I was talking with another triathlete and he told me he didn't think transitions mattered until he saw the two of us come in together and me take off.

The results from Mini Ha Ha look a little peculiar since I was racing in the team category. I had the fastest time of the day but was excluded from the overall and age group categories. It didn't matter much since Holly, Bruce and I handily won the team category.

The next race saw me return to Loveland Lake to Lake (L2L). I first competed at L2L in 2003 and I've always wanted to return, it just took a few years. Things that make L2L fun are the grass transition area, the grass run from swim to T1 and the post-race party. The food is always good and there are people wandering around handing out popsicles. Except for a close encounter with a truck on the bike, the race went really well. I didn't finish as well as I would have liked but I was happy with my performance. Post race I was chatting with a race official and he thought I did well and would do better during the rest of the year.

July saw the return to Boulder Peak (BP) for the biggest race of the year both in terms of competitors and depth of talent. This was my seventh BP and I was hoping to improve upon last year's performance. I had a solid swim and the run was good but bike was outstanding. I dropped over three minutes off my previous bike split and finished four minutes faster than my previous best. I also had a best age group finish of tenth which given the caliber of competitor at BP, I was extremely happy.

Most years I host a breakfast in August for the Holy Cow Trail Stampede but this year with so many friends running Pikes Peak, I didn't race the Holy Cow. That freed the weekend for the Rattlesnake Triathlon at Aurora Reservoir. Although I hadn't done the race before I am familiar with the venue since it's the home of the Harvest Moon triathlon. The swim used an individual start which was great for me. I instantly fell into my rythym and had a great swim. Although the bike and run were a little slower than BP, the swim more than made up for it and I won my age group. I was pretty stoked when I saw the results. It was especially satisfying since it was open water and the competition was tough.

Fate played a hand in getting me into my next race, the Fall Frenzy (FF) in Parker. I waffled between doing the race and not doing the race and then it sold out. Unfortunately or fortunately my brother who was entered became sick and I got his slot. FF is really nice not requiring you to rack your bike before the first competitors start. That worked in my favor since my heat wasn't until 11:00 AM and the first heat was 7:00 AM. I showed up around 10:00, got set up and put in a solid performance. I finished third overall and first in my age group.

The triathlon season wrapped up at Harvest Moon in mid-September. I had my new bike and had a few weeks in the saddle. After the long season, I was just ready to have a relaxing day and let the race come to me. The swim was good and the buoys didn't move like in 2006. The bike course was changed and it was either the new course, the new bike or a combination but I flew. I battled with a Kestrel rider for a while and finally broke away on the rollers. I paid a price for the bike on the run but it wasn't too much and it was worth it. I dropped my time from 5:13 to 4:43. A thirty minute difference and twenty of that was the bike. I finished second in my age group to a semi-pro which isn't bad at all.

GPS

I ran a local 5k last weekend (4th overall, 2nd AG) with several friends and afterwards we were talking about the course. Since everyone these days wears a GPS, we were comparing distances. They all ranged from 3.2 to 3.4 miles. About two miles of the course format was out and back which gave me a good chance to see what my GPS measured.
I uploaded my run and switched the route view to satellite. The scale in the picture is one into to 200 feet. The course is on a paved bike path so the maximum width of the course is eight feet. You can clearly see in two areas where the out and back don't overlay. I try to run the tangents and since going out, I was near the front, there wasn't any problems cutting corners. You can also see where it looks like I'm running off the concrete path and through a field and a parking lot.
A GPS is a great tool for mapping runs and estimating distances but it's only as accurate as it's reception. While this path had very few trees and only on building over two stories, the GPS wasn't perfect and I don't think it's right to expect it to be. It's worn on the wrist so it's pretty small with a small antenna. It has a rechargable battery so it's not very powerful. So if you have GPS, enjoy your ability to measure your runs anywhere you go but remember, it's not perfect.

Chicago - D Minus 17 Days and Counting

There's one way to get into Chicago but two ways to run it. The only way in is to register early before it sells out. The best way to run it is to have a fast qualifying time from another marathon. What's a fast marathon time going to get you? I just received my race brochure with my starting wave and I'm in corral A. Corral A is the third group behind the professionals and the 100 elites. That means there will be about 200 people in front of me and 44,800 people behind me. That means a minimum of swerving and dodging and being able to get into a rhythm right from the start. How cool is that?

Tour of Missouri

The third major US stage race kicked of today in Missouri. I think it's a great day for US cycling to have another week long stage race with some of the UCI Pro teams in attendance. Several teams are here including Discovery in one of their last stage races as a team. I hope this race becomes established and survives next year when Discovery is no more and Chipolte-Slipstream is the major US team.

The web coverage hasn't been as smooth as the Tours of California or Georgia but it's only the first day. Hopefully everything will get worked out.

Boulder Peak - 4 days and counting

Four days and counting until Boulder Peak Triathlon. This is the one I've been training for most of the summer. If I have an A-race, this is it.

They posted start times yesterday and I get to start at 7:10. Just once I wish I could start around 6:30. I guess the advantage to starting late is that I don't have to wait around to see the pros. A couple of my friends get to start even later so maybe I'll have a chance to take pictures.

The only thing left to do now is rest, relax and get ready to race.