Scenic Sandpoint Half Marathon

Race Date:  9/15/2013
This was my first time running the new Sandpoint Half course.  It use to be an out and back for 13.1, but now it is an out and back for about 10.2 miles, then there is an out and back near the finish for the remainder of the distance.

Jeremy's bib was blowing in the wind

I haven't been running long in a while because I have been doing more weight lifting since it is sort of off season right now.  Rosi and Emily decided not to do this race after all so Emily gave me her registration.  Thanks Emily!

I found out Jeremy was running this race so I was glad to be able to carpool with him.  I was hoping Jeremy and I would both go sub 1:30, his plan was to go out at 7:00 pace but agreed to go 6:50 pace with me.  Paul chatted with us at the starting line and I told him I was going to try and go out at 6:50 and hold it, his plan was 7:00 pace also but said he would run with us.  The temperature at the start of this race is usually about 45F or so but today the sun was out and it had to be at least 65F at the start.

The sun was out this morning!

Once we started I realized this heat was going to effect my race goal.  At mile 3 I was already sweating and warming up.  I started to fall back, Paul and Jeremy tried to hold the pace but we all eventually dropped back to 7:00ish pace.  Paul was holding a consistent pace in front of us as I was losing my momentum quickly.  The heat was taking its toll on me and I knew I wasn't going to go sub 1:30.  My goal at this point was just to hang on and keep Paul within striking distance, he was my carrot most of the race.  The wind was at our back for the first 5 miles but at the turnaround we had the head wind.  So now it was hot and windy.  I bridged the gap and caught Paul and some other fellow and started to draft off of them due to the major headwind as we crossed over the bridge (mile 7?).  I was pretty much dieing at this point, barely holding on.  Paul and the other guy were taking turns drafting off of each-other but I couldn't  gather enough energy to pull ahead of them to lead.  They took turns as I benefited from it.  At about the 10 mile mark I passed the guy I was drafting off of and Paul was still ahead of me.  At the second turn around (mile 11?) I was finally closing in on Paul.  My body was doing everything it can to tell me to stop or at least walk!  It took everything I had to keep going.  I had about 1.5 miles left and I turned off my headphones and listened to myself breath (pant actually!) .   I knew I could keep going and maybe even pick up the pace knowing I only had about a mile to go!  I passed Paul and then a couple of other guys.  I said to myself, "Steady Rene.  Hold on.  Keep the legs moving!  Just keep going!". There was another guy in front of me I was trying to catch.  The finish line was now in site.  I picked up my pace and caught the guy.  I started to go even faster, he picked up his pace and he wasn't going to let me pass him.  We both sprinted to the finish and he beat me by 3 seconds, lucky for me he is in the 20-24 age group.  I was happily surprised to grab 1st place in my AG!

Empty the tank...

...and leave everything on the course!

Snake River Canyon Half Marathon

Race Date: March 2, 2013

I have Plantar Fasciitis so I wasn't sure what to expect for the race.  My goal was to PR (personal record), but I didn't know if my foot would hold up.  I learned how to tape my foot from a couple of videos on YouTube so I taped it the evening before.

I rode down with Rob, Danielle, Cheryl and Sherri.  Once we got there it was pretty cool outside (49F) and I couldn't decide what to wear, the wind made it feel like it was 34F.  I was considering a tank top but decided on the long sleeve Elements shirt.  It is light and very comfortable to run in.  I saw a lot of familiar faces from the Spokane racing community so I knew it was going to be a good race.   I did notice there was a headwind which this race is notorious for.  I ran a half mile warm up then took off my sweatshirt and pants and put them by the fence.  I hope they are still there when I get back!

Miles 1, 2  Pace: 6:16, 6:31
I have always taken a gel before a race, but have heard lots of debate if that was the right thing to do.  I decided to not take a gel this time pre-race.  The gun went off and we all took off.  The fast dudes disappeared quickly, I was in the second pack and there were two familiar faces in this pack, Ted and Shawn.   I looked at my watch and knew I couldn't hold this pace for 13.1 miles.  The pack started to break up, Ted stayed in the front pack and three of us dropped back to form a separate pack.  Within my pack Shawn was in front and I was drafting in the tail.

Miles 3  Pace: 6:40

Photo by J. McCabe

I stayed tucked in and adjusted when needed to find the best area to get the least wind resistance behind the runner in front of me.  I carried three gels in my fuel belt, I took my first gel at mile 3 and slowly ate it.  I was feeling really good.

Miles 4, 5, 6 Pace: 6:44, 6:46, 6:45
I was cruising along and noticed a couple of runners catch our train and ran behind me.  There must have been two or three guys.  My body and mind felt good.  I took my next gel a little before mile six so I can wash it down with water at the aid station.  Due to the unpredictable winds, I didn't know if we would also get a head wind on the way back.  I was relieved we didn't have the headwind at the turn-a-round! 

Miles 7 Pace: 6:39
This is where things change a bit.  Since there wasn't a headwind I didn't need to draft anymore. I felt really good and started to pick up my pace.  I ran past the guys I was drafting off of before and a caught a couple of guys in front of them and then it happened!!  My left foot PF flared up which caused me to slow down.  Once I slowed the soreness subsided.  I was taking more short choppy steps with a quicker cadence.

Miles 8, 9, 10  Pace: 6:45, 6:41, 6:45

2nd AG

All the guys including Kercher pass me, I could not respond. Shawn, the guy I drafted off of earlier was still behind me.  I tried to maintain good running form, head up, back straight and chest out.  I was running by myself at this point.  I was getting really hot so I took off my winter hat and shoved into the pocket on my fuel belt.

Miles 11, 12 Pace 6:46, 6:46
Still running by myself and getting tired fast.  Still trying to maintain good running position and hoping my foot won't flare up again.

Miles 13,  Pace 6:34
I see a guy in front of me and want to catch him before the finish line.  I ran with him earlier around mile 8.  If only I can just pass him!!  I pick up my pace, open my lungs and exerted myself!  I pass him finally and then I cross the finish line.

I was super excited to PR!!  Once I stopped, my foot got sore again.   Shortly after finishing, I put my legs in the ice cold river which helped my feet and legs feel better.  Ahhh

Finish Time 1:26:53
Avg Pace: 6:38
Avg Heart Rate: 174
Max Heart Rate: 184

Race the River 2012

Before a triathlon race, it is always nice to do the swim course or a portion of it before race day.  In this case the day before was packet pickup so I was able to swim ~150 yards and the finish.  The swim finish is up a ramp onto a dock for this race so it was a good reminder of what I had to do when exiting the water.

I did this race two years ago and it was the first time I got on the podium for a triathlon.  I placed 3^rd and a guy named Brian Read placed 2^nd.  Brian was also doing the race again so I was able to chat with him while setting up our transition.    During the swim I had my eye on him because I knew he would probably be in the top five since I noticed he also raced this last year and did well.  As we started the swim I decided to draft behind Brian to conserve energy.   About 300 yards into the swim he started to slow down so I started to go around him then he picked up his speed again, I got behind him again.   Then at the half way point he slowed again so I went around him and took off.  I knew I needed to get out of the water near him or before him.  I ran up transition and heard cheers from my family, cool!!  I took my wetsuit off on the black mesh material pathway near the bikes since transition was on dirt.   I noticed at least one other bike was gone from someone who is in my age group!  Yikes!

2010 Swim: 14:48
2012 Swim: 13:09

2010 T1: 1:50

2012 T1: 1:12

Aero!

Got on the bike and I was off!  I red-lined the whole time.  I passed many other bikers since some get on the course before us and some after due to the wave starts.  The only person that passed me was Tim who is in a younger age group than me.  He said something as he passed but I couldn’t hear what he said.  I tried to stay as aero as possible and pedaled hard!  The course is three loops and it was GREAT to see and hear Rosi and the girls cheering for me each time I passed transition area.  I felt good on the bike and was happy to transition to the run.  There was one bike already racked (from my age group) so I knew there was someone in front of me. 

2010 Bike: 00:29:19
2012 Bike: 00:29:29

2010 T2: :50

2012 T2: :44

The hunter and the hunted

I saw two guys in front of me and within a mile I caught them both but unfortunately neither of them were in my age group.  I was pretty tired and started to warm up as the sun started do get warmer.   I felt good the first mile but then I started to feel fatigued.  I have always considered my run the strongest leg of a triathlon, but I wasn’t feeling it today.  I felt I should be running at 7:00 pace but at times I was running slower.  At about 1.5 miles in a guy from my age grouped passed me, darn!!  I couldn’t respond… I was in survival mode.  I was breathing hard, uncomfortable but I KEPT GOING!!   There are many turns (too many!) near the finish and I couldn’t wait.  I looked back and didn’t see anyone, but as I neared the last 150 yards I pushed as much as I can.  I didn’t notice but Brian (who beat me two years ago) was right on my tail.  I only beat him by 4 seconds!

2010 Run:  22:12
2012 Run:  22:27

2010 Finish Time: 1:09:00
2012 Finish Time: 1:07:01
 

3rd in my Age Group

I am so happy to be healthy enough to race triathlons and it was great to see so many friends and acquaintances out there on the course Tri-ing.  It is also great to have them competitors who give you motivation to push harder and go faster.  A big thanks to Rosi for taking pics and the kids for the huge cheers!

Best cheer team and photographer!!  Thank you!!

Radiant Lake Triathlon

Race Date:6/10/2012

The weather has been uncharacteristic over the week so I didn’t know what to expect for the race.  The day before I swam in Radiant Lake with Mike and Virginia so I was confident I could get in and swim in the 58F water.  Race day was cold so I was glad I brought a cap and a fleece jacket.  I won’t go much into detail about the preparations, but I did start both my bike and run GPSs before I went to the swim start.   I have forgotten to start these in past races.

I went into the water before the race started to wet my face and acclimate my body to the water.  I got out and waited for the start.  The swim had multiple wave starts, the first was M10-39 (white caps), the second wave start (mine, red caps) was M40-59 and so on.  I tried to position myself so I could draft off some of the faster swimmers.   After about 20 yards someone stopped in front of me so I had swerve to get around them.   My only thought was to keep going!  The buoys were on the left and since I breath to that size it was perfect.  We started catching some of the white swim caps about 300 yards in.  We caught and passed more of them shortly after the turnaround.  I was glad to be halfway done. I did a lot of drafting on the swim which I felt help my time.  Once out of the water I felt a little disoriented.  In addition to everything else I usually do, I put on my bike vest before heading out of transition.

Once on the bike I caught a few other racers and saw Jeremy ahead of me.  At about four miles in I passed him and waved.   He stayed on my tail the rest of the bike.  The bike route is like a big square so the wind would get you in different directions.  Because of the wave starts I didn't see many other racers on the course.  I got off my bike and transitioned to the run.  I started running and realized I still had my thermal bike vest on!  Oh no!!  I ran back to my transition area and threw the vest on my other stuff and I was off.  I caught a couple more runners including Jared.  There are two or three turnarounds so you can see the other races.  I saw Jared, Ron and Russ.  After the first half mile I don't remember passing anyone else.  I pushed on and finished.  I saw Derek Garcia at the finish and chatted with him and a few others.  Shortly after I saw Ron again and he said, "You got 1st in your age group!"  Wow, cool!  That was the first time I got first in my AG!  I was pretty excited! I called Rosi and let her know and posted a picture on Facebook announcing my result!
My goal was to beat my time from two years ago (1:19:22) which I did.
Swim: 15:54 Pace 01m 49s /100 yards
T1:  00:01:27
Bike: 37:36  Pace 22.98 Mi/hr
T2:  :52
Run: 21:44 Pace 07m 01s
Total Time:  1:17:33

 The Results 

This is where things get messy.  After the younger men age group awards they started announcing the 40-44 age group awards.."Third place Aaron Gwin" ....in "second place Rene Guerrero".  Huh?!  WTH?  " and in first place Russ Abrams".  I was puzzled and shocked at the same time.  What am I missing here?   I told the MC I thought I had 1st place and he said "You and Russ have to sort this out".  I ask Russ what is going on?  He said today he switched categories, he went from Clydesdale to 40-44 and he beat me by 12 seconds.  The problem I have with that is Russ didn't start in the second wave (which included 40-44) he started in the third wave which was Clydesdale's and others.   I saw him on the run and he was behind me so I didn't think much of it.  I spoke with the Race Director and she felt she made a mistake by letting him switch categories the day of the race.  She would like to make this right so we are emailing each other about it.

I couldn't enjoy my 1 second of triumph because I was shocked at the results and was trying to figure out what happened.

Overall I was happy with my race.  The result was stressful and overshadowed my race.

 

EWU Iron Eagle Sprint Triathlon Race Report

Swim done, getting ready to climb out of the pool

 Race Date: 6/3/2012

Rosi cheering me on after the swim

Some people would think this "sprint" race would be easy for someone who has done Ironman, but it ISN'T.  No race is easy!!  Whether it is a 5K, a sprint tri or a marathon.  Each race is different and challenging in its own way.

I did this race two years ago and really enjoyed it.  On the drive up I ate full bagel for breakfast.  I always try to time my eating so I am done (eating solids) one hour before a race.  I arrived at EWU and registered for the race.  The swim portion of this tri is done in the pool so they have to do "heats" because only 10-15 can start at a time.  People that register the day of the race are all put into the last swim heat, for me this was heat five.  I finished my bagel by 7am and found out I wouldn't be racing til 9-9:15am.  Rosi warned me about this, but I didn't time my eating appropriately.

Coming into the finish with Reanna cheering me
on  in the background ♥.

The swim went well, I shared a lane with David, who went on to win the whole race.  He lapped me a couple of times and I later found out he swam competitively in college.  I wore my tri-top during the swim and noticed I was the only male in my heat who did.  Not sure if I will do that again next time?  I was glad Rosi was there to count laps for me, two years ago when I did this race Rosi said I swam an extra lap when I counted them myself! :-)   I was happy to be out of the water and off to transition onto the bike.  The bike felt great, I thought the course only had one turn, but it is actually two turns then an out and back.  There is a nice hill on the way back that slowed me down, but through the bike I passed a couple of guys that beat me out of the pool.   There was no one directing racers back into the transition area and there were no signs!! So I missed the turn, it is a major turn and no one was there!!  There were two people right behind me when we passed the turn, then I quickly realized what we had done so I did a U-turn in the middle of the road to get back on course and they followed.  I got through transition and onto the run.  I remember the run being hilly, but that hill right after the transition is HUGE for a sprint!  :-)  The run was pretty exhausting.  At about mile 2 or 2.5 Matt (a tri-club teammate) was coming down a hill and joined me for the run.  He had already finished the race since he started in  heat three.  He paced me all they way back to the finish which helped.  Because everyone starts in different heats it is hard to be competitive when you are running alone.  We were hitting 6:30 and 7:00 pace and that was all I had left in me.

I loved that my family came out to cheer me on.  My time two years ago was 1:03:56, so I PR'ed on this course by over three minutes!
Finish time was 1:00:28
2nd in AG
6th Overall

Matt pacing me in for the finish!

NAME	DIVISION	RACE #	HEAT	OFFICIAL TIME
SCARBOROUGH, DAVID	M(31-40)	229	5	0:54:20
BROWN, BRYAN	M(21-30)	159	1	0:57:54
ALLEN, SCOTT	M(18-20)	231	5	0:58:40
FALL, DAN	M(51+)	214	1	0:59:23
NEALE, BRIAN	M(41-50)	194	4	0:59:40
GUERRERO, RENE	M(41-50)	225	5	1:00:28
STANTON, JARED	M(21-30)	166	1	1:02:30
PETERSON, BRAD	M(21-30)	161	1	1:05:02
SIEGEL, MATT	M(21-30)	163	3	1:06:26
BUDD, KARI	W(21-30)	174	1	1:07:22
STEVENSON, JERRY	M(51+)	226	5	1:09:38
HUMPHREY, RHETT	M(21-30)	160	3	1:09:41
MCCARVILLE, DANNY	M(21-30)	167	1	1:10:11
PARR, AUSTIN	M(18-20)	154	3	1:10:46
DIXON, TROY	M(41-50)	195	2	1:10:51
ASSONKEN, BLONDEL	M(31-40)	178	3	1:11:02
ROBERTSON, PAUL	M(41-50)	179	3	1:11:05
BURKE, JENNIFER	W(31-40)	221	5	1:11:08
DUGENET, FREDERIC	M(31-40)	181	1	1:11:18
PITTMAN, TROY	M(21-30)	227	5	1:11:27
SHANKS, PATRICK	M(21-30)	230	5	1:12:18
ROBINSON, STACY	W(41-50)	206	3	1:13:08
ALADE, TIM	M(21-30)	157	3	1:14:46
HANSEN, MICHAEL	M(21-30)	158	3	1:15:09
MURPHY, KELLEY	W(31-40)	189	3	1:15:32
CINDRIC, M. JANE	W(31-40)	183	1	1:17:51
OLSON, SCOTT	M(41-50)	200	4	1:18:34
BLAKELY, GARRETT	M(31-40(	228	5	1:18:36
HAUER, JESSICA	W(21-30)	172	3	1:18:53
GALBREATH, CHRIS	M(31-40)	180	2	1:18:58
ENGLAND, LES	M(41-50)	193	4	1:19:06
CABALUNA, FRANCES	M(21-30)	162	2	1:19:44
ARLAND, APRIL	W(41-50)	203	1	1:19:46
MCINTOSH, RUSTY	M(21-30)	164	2	1:19:47
IRMER, ANNE	W(51+)	224	5	1:19:47
SIMS, AUDRA	W(41-50)	202	1	1:20:28
ANDREWS, IKE	M(51+)	212	1	1:20:45
URBANIEK, LEE	M(51+)	211	1	1:21:11
ANDERSON, MICHELLE	W(41-50)	201	4	1:22:04
VANGELDER, KAYLEE	W(21-30)	170	2	1:22:06
SIMMONS, ANGELA	W(31-40)	182	2	1:22:06
TINNIER, TARA	W(21-30)	220	5	1:22:15
CRON, BELINDA	W(51+)	217	1	1:22:57
SIMMONS, PAUL	M(31-40)	233	5	1:23:18
CLOUSE, PAULA	W(21-30)	169	3	1:23:20
LOUGHERY, KYLE	M(41-50)	196	3	1:24:18
TUELL, ERICA	W(21-30)	175	2	1:24:26
HIAM, JOSHUA	M(31-40)	222	5	1:25:09
DAVIS, STEVE	M(51+)	210	1	1:25:09
FILLIS, LLOYD	M(31_40)	223	5	1:25:37
BIVIANO, ANREW	M(31-40)	234	4	1:25:40
SEVIER, HEATHER	W(21-30)	173	2	1:26:41
NEALE, HANNAH	W(18-20)	156	4	1:27:00
MCMILLIN, DAVID	M(41-50)	197	4	1:28:27
FORD, AMBER	W(21-30)	168	3	1:28:32
KIPP, LAURA	W(31-40)	185	2	1:28:36
HATTEN, DAVID	M(31-40)	177	2	1:29:11
KASPAREK, TULLY	W(41-50)	208	4	1:29:27
MIETHE, DEBBIE	W(31-40)	187	4	1:30:00
BIVIANO, AMY	W(31-40)	235	4	1:30:05
PIRCH, KEVIN	M(41-50)	199	4	1:30:05
MAY, DAVID	M(41-50)	192	4	1:30:18
FERGUSON, TAYLOR	W(21-30)	171	2	1:31:53
RIVAS, KIM	W(31-40)	188	4	1:32:04
PURVIANCE, PATRICK	M(18-20)	205	3	1:35:03
JENKINS, SHERI	W(31-40)	191	4	1:37:35
ASSONKEN, STEPHANIE	W(18-20)	155	3	1:37:46
PURVIANCE, CHRIS	W(41-50)	204	3	1:38:18
AKINS, STEVE	M(41-50)	219	5	1:39:58
MCNEILLY, FRANK	M(21-30)	165	2	1:42:56
SLOPER, EMILY	W(21-30)	176	2	1:46:04
BAILEY, KIM	W(31-40)	186	2	1:47:41
CRON, HOWARD	M(51+)	213	1	1:53:53
VASECKA, KATY	W(41-50)	207	4	1:54:30
HANSEN, ANTHONIE	W(21-30)	232	5	2:08:30
LARSON, MICHELLE	W(31-40)	184	2	2:09:29
JOHNSON, HEATHER	W(31-40)	190	4	2:12:17
DUHON, MARY	W(51+)	216	2	2:18:09

* Note to self for next time I race this.
1. Plan breakfast accordingly
2. Reconsider tri-top on swim
3. Know the turns in case no one is there to direct

Bloomsday

Race Date: May 6, 2012
I wanted to do Race for the Cure a week before Bloomsday to qualify for second seed, but my foot was sore and I figured I should only do one or the other.  I didn't train specifically for this race but was happy with my result.  It was a Bloomsday personal record (PR) for me!
After the finish line I got interview by a local station, check it out...

Winderemere Half Marathon

Race Date: May 19, 2012

My foot was still achy so I wasn't even sure if I was going to participate in this race. This race happened to land on my birthday though so I was pretty excited about that!   My feet felt good, but wasn't sure how they would react to running hard for 13.1 miles.  :-)  I rolled the dice and hoped for the best.  My goal was to go 1:30 on this race.  I started off pacing Grethen and Loralyn, but after mile six they started to drop me.  Near the end of the race I caught Gretchen and paced her the last mile. 


Time: 1:30:17.6
Pace: 6:53.6

2nd in Age Group out of 40