Hammerfest 1

How do you follow a half marathon?  Extra sleep? Check.  Massage? Check. Plenty of slow movement to limit muscle lock up? Check.  Bicycle time trial? Check.

Several weeks ago I entered the Southern Indiana Triathlon Team's May edition of the monthly Hammerfest time trial series.  Then, about a week later, I acquired a bib for the Indy Mini.  I had a decision to make. And I made the one that made the most sense to me. I chose to race both events - provided that I did not get injured running the Mini.  Well, if you are following this blog you know about my Mini experience. Now for a short tale of a 12-mile bicycle time trial called the Hammerfest that took place about 58 hours after I finished the Mini.

Details.  The Hammerfest took place in a tiny burg called Hatfield, IN, which is about 15 miles east of Newburgh, IN.  Due to flooding, the 12-mile course was rerouted for this first month.  We rode an out and back course with seven turns on pancake flat roads that ranged from smooth asphalt to wrinkled and patched chip and seal.  It was a course sufficient enough to produce fast speeds if the legs were able and the mind willing enough.

I was scheduled to start near the end of the starting order at 6:32 pm.  Due to appearances at a faculty meeting and a track practice after school, I arrived at the Panera on Evansville's east side with little time to spare.  In fact, I would not have stopped at all accept that I was famished.  Well, not really famished, but I certainly was hungry having eaten only one meal on the day.  I knew my body was going to rebel against a hard ride anyway, so I wasn't going to give it another reason to quit by racing on an empty stomach.

So, I inhaled half of my bowl of black bean soup before standing up to rush out with the mocha as soon as the young lady had prepared it.  I was in and out in 6 minutes. Or so I thought.  A man sitting next to me asked me to help him install his new Norton Antivirus on his laptop.  Go ahead and laugh! I did! The poor guy had no way of knowing about my neanderthal computer abilities.  Why and how I was able to read the instructions and tell him how to do it, I do not know.  I laughed and shook my head thinking about the Geico caveman commercials. But the four minutes that took would turn out to be crucial.

It would be an outright lie to say that I did not attempt to speed all the way through Newburgh.  I tried!  But the cars in front of me would have none of it.  They formed a perfect three-car wedge across the highway. Grrrrr! Luckily for me, those same cars continued through the construction zone east of town - and most of the way to Hatfield.

I pulled off of the road in Hatfield about fifty meters from the start/finish line.  My watch said that I had less than four minutes to get to the line.  Both Kristy and Faith were in the back of the RAV with only their front wheels removed.  I chose Kristy, the '09 Kestrel Airfoil Pro, simply because she did not have a tool bag under the seat. I wonder now if Faith, equipped with Hed 3's, would have been faster on the flat course under the influence of 5-10 mph SSW winds.

While running to the start area I told Jeff, an old running friend and the guy in charge, that I did not want them to wait for me or to have me go out of line.  Then I moved quickly to shed my pants and don my aero helmet and race number (which was quickly pinned to my back by an expert pinner who drew not a single drop of blood!).  Then I hopped on Kristy and road a short loop of a couple hundred meters.

When I returned to the line Jeff told me that I would be started as soon as the next rider finished.

Once rolling, I was surprised at how peppy my legs felt.  I clicked off the first mile in 2:10 - hey, I'm a runner, so that is how I think.  Everything was working well as I shifted through the first couple of turns and hit miles in the 2:1x's.  I knew I had a tailwind, so I surmised that I would suffer greatly on the return as the wind and fatigue from the Mini would surely unite and rise up against me in the closing miles.

At about 1.5 miles I steered Kristy across a steel grid bridge surface. Oops! Tires danced and slid side to side while the rims gently bottomed out several times. Oops!  In my rush I did not even think of inflating my tires.  Since the bikes had been in the RAV for hours on a hot day, I had lowered the pressure that morning. The front had maybe 50 psi and the back less, maybe 40 psi.  Dang!

As the miles passed I caught up to a few of the riders in front of me. One of those riders was a 12-year-old boy who was showing some great form and grit near the turn-around.

The wind did attack me, but it was minimal. And the fatigue did set in, challenging my form and making me want to stomp on the pedals, but I resisted. A couple of the splits hit the upper 2:2x's and I got really mad. I'm certain many cyclists know what I mean when I say the fire was burning in my thighs and arse. Luckily, it was burning hotter in my mind.

The dancing tires on the bridge did not surprise me on the return. A minute later I made the last right-hand turn into an arrow-straight mile long stretch of road to the finish. I ignored the building pain, clinched the aero bars tightly, and started concentrating on smooth powerful pedaling as I steered Kristy toward the finish line. The last mile was as fast as my first - 2:10.

The total time for the 12-mile ride was 27:39 for a 26 mph average. Though it was not a stellar time, I am more than happy with it since I have ridden less than two dozen times since the thug attack of last August. I am more than satisfied with my overall fitness and extremely happy with my ability to fend off pain. I will have to ignore much worse pain in the upcoming months.

This was a well-run, low-key event that can be described as fun. It was also, for me anyway, therapeutic.

I am thankful to be able to ride at all, let alone fast. When I consider the lingering nerve damage from the attack las August and having recently had more skin cancer removed from my body, I am taking nothing for granted. I also do not want to sit idle while my life passes by. And I want to GO FAST whenever I can!!



The Hammer I won and the award I gave myself!


Throughout the ride this Paul Thorn song played in my head , , ,

Indy Mini Report

Thirty-five thousand is a large number, especially when it is the number of people standing behind the start line of a race.  Until Saturday I had never participated in America's largest half marathon.  With my training already devoted to the two CO fifty milers, I knew that I was not properly prepared for a strong effort in a half marathon, so I decided to treat it as a training run and hold to an honest and even pace.  And that was what I did, most of the time.  What fun!

Race day weather was near perfect; cool, light winds, and cloud cover.  A low pressure system was moving in and it was a bit humid. (Rain fell for about ten minutes 90 minutes after the start.)

I entered Corral A and took a position about forty feet back from the start line. Gene Mesker, a running friend for thirty years, appeared beside me just before the start. We wished each other well as the announcer led the crowd in a NASA-like countdown to the start.

During the first mile I found myself talking to Sarah, another running friend.  A major goal for the day was to make certain I did not go out too hard. A first mile of 5:57 was slower than I anticipated, but I smiled at the fact that my pace goal for the day was to average 5:57-6:00 per mile.  No time lost or gained on the first mile.

The next four miles were a different story.  By holding to the crowd around me, I went through several 5:4x miles to cover the first five in 29:17.  It was then, after five miles and with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway dominating the horizon, that I decided to slow down to my goal pace.  From that point on I ran each mile between 5:55 and 6:04.

The 6:04 was the result of my poor feeding abilities.  I ate an Espresso Gel just before an aid station during the seventh mile.  It was pathetic!  I broke stride while taking the gel, while grabbing the water, and while drinking the water.  The group of runners I had been running with were suddenly about thirty feet ahead of me.  The 5:55 8th mile was a result of my frustration.  Interestingly enough, the other two miles over 6 minutes occurred when I took aid. I better work on that!

After going through 10 miles in 59:15, I easily held onto the 6 minute pace until as I finished in 1:17:59 by my watch and a rounded up 1:18 by chip time - which shouldn't matter at all, but it does. (Why is that?) I should have sprinted harder near the humorous ending!

It was as I approached the finish line of the Victory Mile that the announcer, standing on the roadway, leaned in and congratulated a guy sitting on his couch at home.  I smiled and put my arms up as I kept the 6 minute pace. And, while I was doing this, two people came sprinting past me! A woman passed me on the left and a man on the right. The announcer became excited and asked if the guy on the couch could respond.    They both admitted a few minutes later that they were going for each other and, more importantly, that 1:18 mark. (Why do we do that?)

I burst into a sprint that was blocked when they veered toward each other.  I redirected left and dug a little deeper, passing both of them within meters of the finish line.  If I had been paying attention to the clock I would have picked it up earlier, making that final sprint and the 1:18 mark nonexistent.  Oh, well.  It was fun to engage that seldom seen gear.

My friend, Jeremy, and 24 other members of his extended family, including his 86-year-old grandmother, Gertrude, competed in the 5K and Mini that day. They were interviewed by an Indy Star reporter whose piece was in today's paper. Jeremy won the family race and set a PR by finishing in 1:22:37.  It was a fine day for the Aydt family.

Something I found most exciting about the Mini was the fact that I encountered so many friends in the huge crowd. Before the day was finished I had met up with more than two dozen old friends that I came to know through running and multisport.  Friendships always brighten a day!

The post-race party was awesome.  Bands played on two stages.  A few dozen tents of varying sizes were set up for businesses and organizations.  I came across a Purdue tent where I logged my race information and collected a tasty real fruit popsicle. Then I found Bob Kennedy's Running Co./Bluemile tent where I had a fantastic meal that included a some veggie burgers and great tasting beer.  I am usually not a big fan of beer after hard efforts, but I have to admit that I went back for seconds and thirds.

I really have come to like the half marathon distance.  This was my sixth half marathon in the last seven months.  It was another memorable experience that included a first-class race and continuation of many long-standing friendships. And it was a confidence building day for me as I look 6 weeks forward to the SJS50.

Rolling Along

It's been far too long between posts.  Things are going well for me lately.  The training has gone along quite well, despite Mother Nature's repeated attempts to flood my world.  My life has been busy and full as I have been wearing many hats, including those of track coach, robotics sponsor, and help session host while trying to fit in the training.

There have been no trips or races of note since the JD Oak Barrel Half last month.  My athletic endeavors have been limited to squeezing in all of my intended runs and half of my rides between rain storms.  That record month of rain put a damper on my cycling comeback.  That's OK.  I don't have any scheduled goals regarding pedaling until the end of the summer, and even that one is iffy.  My main goals for 2011 are still the pair of 50 milers I'll run in Colorado.

Reviewing my training log this morning I came to the conclusion that my training has gone well in the last month.  I am not super fit, but I have begun to build a solid running foundation for this summer.  Each week has seen me finish 100-140 minute runs at about 7-minute pace on hilly courses.  Each week has also included some solid pace work in running shoes and on the bike.  Again, the cycling is far from race worthy, but I am starting to push the pedals hard after only 15 rides since my forced six-month layoff.

What is next?  I will test my fitness on Saturday by throwing down a training run over the half marathon distance.  It should be interesting and I will certainly post about it on Sunday.  Then I will travel to Chicago to move Brandon home on May 13.  While there I intend to rise with the sun on the 14th and put in a long run on the lake shore pathway.  If life goes well, I will be able to log some long trail miles on the 15th. Then, hopefully, I will return to NC at the end of May to log some mountain miles in preparation for the San Juan Solstice 50 Miler.

Big runs with big vertical are coming.  I've got to get ready.  Meanwhile, this half marathon addiction is nearing a critical point.