That's My Girl!!

So after deciding to compete at the Grand Rapids Marathon this year, one of my training partners (we shall call her 'Trixie') encouraged me to go for a long run.  16 miles was my farthest single run to date.  I did it, we ran a planned pace of 8:22, but after 3 planned breaks our overall pace was 8:30.   Good stuff, not too much pain.  I should have been doing these regularly.  It was fun, a bit painful, but a great marker of where I could be at for pacing during the marathon.

So Friday we ran the 16 miles at Kensington Metro Park.  Then Saturday I entered a 10 mile run - the Mint City 10 Miler.  I was told... again by Trixie, that this would be great for my marathon training.  I failed to see the real significance at first.  The 'plan' was to run at a 8:15-8:30 pace and see how it feels to run on 'dead' legs (named due to the previous days' run).

Before the race, I did some lite stretching.  I was very happy to see my chiropractor at the race site - he was offering free ART treatment to the runners.  Since he already knew where I needed the most help, he hooked my up!  I felt great... as soon as I was off the table.  I toe'd the line and the gun went off - I started out as planned, but simply felt great running.  I jumped up my pace and held 7:30's for most of the run.  The last 2 miles were mostly a slow grade uphill.  This caused me to slow down... funny thing: I slowed to my pre-race planned pace.  Near the finish the grade leveled off and I finished very strong with my last .25 mile at about a 6:11 pace.  Post race, everything felt good.

Then I took an afternoon nap on the sofa couch.  I may have felt a bit of discomfort in my legs at that point.  All is good, did some easy stretching and walked around outside with my family, and I'm good again. 

All in all the race was very well organized and there were plenty of volunteers across the course.  I was very pleased with event as a whole.  They offered a 5k run, a 1 mile kids runs and a 200 yd dash for the littlest runners.  Becky didn't have to do very encouraging to get Anna signed up for the run.  But at the last minute the RD changed the little kids run from 200 yards to a 300 meter dash.  Becky describes that Anna was a little gun shy at first, but once she rounded the last turn on the track, she was off like a bullet!  That's my girl!!  It won't be long and my little Sophia will be out running me as well.

Congratulations to Anna for a race well run!

Race: St. Johns Pumpkin Trot 10K

Where do I even start for this event???

I started off real strong. I started at a 5:20 pace per mile - way too fast to maintain for 6 miles, but I figured that if I could maintain a super fast pace for the first mile, then I could settle in to my groove (7:15) and finish well. Last year I took 1st in my AG at this race so I assumed I could do the same again. I quickly found out that there were only 4 of us in the lead pack. We stuck relatively close together... let's say that at the farthest - the leader was in sight. First climb was up the city sledding hill. I powered up it, and looked back. The next closest person wasn't even at the bottom of the hill yet. I've been training on this hill over the past 2 months, so I knew what to expect. First mile was a mix of paved walkway and trails.

Mile 1 at 6:22 - ok, time to settle in. Paved road for about a half mile, then dirt roads to the turn around. Return back towards town and run into the residential area of the city. Mile 4 was just back into the city with an aid station... but NO marking telling us which way to go. So I yelled out to the 1 guy at the aid station - he shrugged his shoulders in disconcern. The runner in front of me yelled back saying that the pavement had markings to go straight. So I followed them. Mind you, still in 4th. At the next main intersection 2 volunteers pointed us to our left. Ok, we're good... I thought.

This was the poorest race course marking I've ever seen. We followed what we assumed was the course as it was marked 10 with an arrow. Then later realized that those markings were from the 10 mile run earlier this year. At the point where we neared the city park (starting point of the race) I yelled out that we had to be going the wrong way. I KNEW that this race did not have any loops. We stopped for a quick second and agreed to head back towards the last main street. As we rounded a quick corner, we realized that about 10-15 people were following us.

Got back to the main road and past the volunteers who told us the wrong way. Ran north to the point where we figured the course crossed back over. I had my Garmin Forerunner, so as we talked between breaths we assumed we would still be close to 6 - 6.5 miles at the end of the race.

Then two guys sprinted out and left me and another guy back. I picked it up, dropping the other guy. I wasn't sure whether to just walk back to the start/finish or keep running. This had never happened to me before... being in the lead group or getting lost. I kept at the race and found the cross street that the course takes back to the park. I turned left. The 2 leaders went straight. They were too far ahead to hear me yell. I caught up to another guy and asked if he was in the 5k or 10k - 10k it was. I had no idea that he was the 'race leader' at that point. Turns out that after our group deviated course, this guy was left leading.

Pissed, I took off. Back in the 6 minute pace I felt like I was going to puke. The last part of the course was back up a hill. A bigger climb than the sledding hill and over a longer distance. Then gave it everything I had to cross the finish line strong. Sure enough - first overall finisher for the 10k. Now I felt like crap and went to the race director. Moments later the other leaders were by my side.

My FR showed a total distance of 6.29. So we ran the distance, just not the course. The director says that he had no way to know that some people went off course and didn't see any problem with our finish.

All in all, I unofficially ended up finishing first OA...

Looked at the race results and it showed me finishing 2nd OA... What??

First place finisher had a time 10+ minutes faster than my finish. Not possible as I was with the top finishers from the very start all the way until that last turn when the 2 made that last wrong turn. So I guess this other guy missed a turn somewhere too.

Many of us were so frustrated. I should have ended up 3rd OA. I took my 2nd OA medal and walked. I wasn't sure that I should have taken it. I took my AG last year and knew I would be faster this year, and since I still put in the distance, I just took it.

But the 2 turns that we missed were not marked on the pavement and once we asked a man at the aid station which way to go and he shrugged his shoulders. Another set of volunteers pointed us in the completely wrong direction. I'm trying to justify my feelings here. I'm not sure who really won that race. Not me. Even though we went farther and still finished on top, something just doesn't sit well in my gut.

Another friend of mine who ran just behind us would have been the first female finisher. The extra distance set her back by about 24 seconds and some other girl who was in front of her got the trophy for 1st OA Female.

*So pissed*

Finished with an avg pace of 7:24 per the Garmin. That's good, but I would have been faster without the confusion.

I'm not asking for any type of sympathy, but what would you have done? ever have an experience like this before?

Capital City River Run Half Marathon 2009

Capital City River Run
2009-09-27
Lansing, Michigan
United States
Impression 5 Science Center
60F / 16C
Overcast

Running
01:37:00 | 13.1 miles | 07m 24s min/mile

Entirely Z4/5. 59 min in Z4 and 49 min in Z5! Craziness! I guess I was running hard. Slowest complete mile was 7:47. Fastest complete mile was 6:59. Fastest single pace was sub 6.

Pre-race routine:

Not as much running as I should have been doing. I did a couple distance runs recently and some tempo runs.

Event warmup:

Basic stretching as I was 'running' behind after coming off of a 24 hour shift. I felt pretty good and was ready to race, but didn't feel like this was going to be a PR.

Comments:

I went out a bit too fast, as I always do. Found myself feeling great and running past the pacers (I started right behind the 8min pacer knowing I would pass him, but wanted to use him as motivation so that I would never be passed by him). Little did I know that I would quickly catch up to and pass the 7:30 pacer. I figured I would get passed by him and his group before too long.

HOWEVER, I was feeling great. My tempo runs have been pushing the 7:15 pace but only for 20 minutes and then I'd be whipped.... but after my last few distance runs I thought that pace was out of my range. Low and behold I looked down at my FR305 and saw a sub-6 pace. I completely knew that was out of my jurisdiction. So I *slowed* to a 7:15 and tried to stay there, but I was a horse chomping at the bit - so I cruised on the flats and downhills.

At mile 5 or 6 I expected to start feeling sore and tired and to slow, but I took a GU Roctane and took some water. By mile 8 I figured I'd be pushing the 8:30 pace but Not Today! I felt a slight rush, not the euphoric feeling, but probably the Gu taking affect.

Anytime I looked down and saw my pace fall below a 7:30 I picked it up. I did slow a few times to the 7:45 pace, but never to an 8. I passed the 9 mile mark and took a GU Chocolate. I didn't think that I *needed* it, but assumed that I would feel it like the last Gu. I grabbed a water at the next aid station and only sipped a bit.

At the 11 mile mark I had settled into a 7:30 pace but knew how close I was to my goal. I picked back up into a 7:15 pace and pushed faster on the last few straight-aways. The finish was up a slight hill but I didn't slow.

I saw the finish, my wife, daughters and family were there. I grabbed a high five from my wife and finished strong as they called my name and bib #. I was done.

I looked at my Garmin, 1h 37m. Earlier my goal was to be as close to 1h30m as possible. My last HM was 1h44m. Early August I started to focus on my speed and distance work for this race. But after 2 months of training runs I decided that an 1h40m time would be a more realistic goal. This past 2 weeks have been rough and I thought that there was no way I could break my last HM.

Today was a good day! My slowest complete mile was a 7:47 pace.


What would I do differently?:

You take what life deals. Sick children drain you, and over the last couple of weeks I haven't put in the work that I should have. But family first and training got put on hold.

I'm very happy with my results, but if I would have started training a month earlier and been able to stick to a plan, then maybe I could have been even more close to an 1h30m finish. But again, I'm pretty stoked with what I got after these past 2 weeks.

Warm down:

Easy walk and stretching. Food.

Event comments:

Great course with plenty of Volunteers to help out. Aid stations about every 1.5 miles. Good venue. Michigan Ave had unfinished construction so there was a brief bit through that mess.

Inter-Rockin' Triathlon

Race Report from Interlochen's Inter-Rockin' Triathlon

Click the image to view full size / readable image.

RR from BeginnerTriathlete.com

Starkermann TT and Du

This past weekend I had the Starkermann 40k Time Trial and Duathlon (5k/30k/5k). I did very well and placed in both races. For the TT I placed 1st in my AG, and in the Du I placed 2nd in my AG.

Race Reports on BeginnerTriathlete.com:
40k Time Trial
Duathlon

This was a lot of fun and challenged me physically and mentally. The hills were shear pain... That's it, pain. Part of the TT involved climbing what is locally called the "Big Nasty" hill, it's part of the Tree Tops Resort ski hills.

During the TT I had more than 1100 ft of climbing and for the bike portion of the Du there was more than 660 ft of climbing. The runs for the DU were the same out and back course that entailed more than 100 ft of climbs.

I did hit 46 mph on my bike during 1 portion (downhill, of course). That was just plain insane!!

All in all I had a good time. I will consider this event in the future. Today I'm pretty sore, so I went for a very easy trail run at Sleepy Hollow State Park (MI). Nice trails and lots of mud. Put in an hour and covered about 4 miles.

Here's a photo of one of the hills, not the 'Big Nasty'


2 weeks out from now is Hawk Island Sprint Triathlon. I'm so excited for this race because I know I'll hit the bike and run hard. I feel very confident that I'll do well. I'm still leary about the swim, but I've spent some good time in the water over the last few months. I need more time in the water and need to practice some open water swims over the next two weeks. But I am expecting good things. My goal will be to finish in under 1 hour. Last year I finished in 1 hour and 9 minutes. Since the course is pretty flat and I've done this before, I should do well.

Starkermann Epic Challenge Coming This Weekend

This coming weekend will be the Starkermann Epic Challenge. I will only be competing in 2 of the 4 events. Saturday night will be a 40k Time Trial and then Sunday morning will be the Duathlon. I'm excited.

While I feel prepared, I feel lame doing the whole 'taper' thing. This week will be easy in terms of training so that I avoid possible injury and overtraining. I did strength training with the kettlbells yesterday and did a fairly difficult incline treadmill jog.

So wish me luck and speed for Saturday night and Sunday morning. After this I'll have 2 weeks off and then my first triathlon of the year.

The Start of May

May has started off strong! I built well last month with some good totals and that puts me ahead early for the season. I have 4 races on tap for this month. My first race was an impromptu 5k run simply to see if I could break the 20 minute mark. While I gave it my all, I fell short by 56 seconds... I'm perfectly OK with this for now, but I had to give it an honest attempt. I finished 58th overall out of 677.

My next races are back to back. I'm competing in two of the four Starkermann Series races in Gaylord, Michigan. My first event will be Saturday night with a 40k Time Trial (bike race). This will push me as I've been riding at that distance for regular training rides. I will then awake early to race in another duathlon. While I do not plan to medal in this race, I do hope to do better than my last du as the distances are the same. (Maybe here I will break the 20 minute 5k)

And my final race for this month is the Hawk Island Triathlon. This was my first triathlon last year. This is a sprint distance race, so the swim is 400 yards, bike ~12 miles, and run 3.1 miles. I'm certain that I'll break my time from last year, but can I break an hour?

From there, the rest of the season is up for whatever comes along. I am considering a few other races that I pooled together early this year. I will also consider a 3 race series that takes place at the Island Lake Rec Area. These would all be sprint distance races, just slightly longer than the Hawk Island Tri; Swims of a half mile, 12.4 mile bike and 3.1 mile runs. And then lastly, I need to decide about an Olympic distance race in August and consider a Half Ironman in November... Hmm. What do you think?

Steelcase Grand Duathlon

Sunday (4/26/09) I ran my first multisport event this year. It was the Steelcase Grand Duathlon. It was a 5k run, 30k bike and a second 5k run. I feel like I rocked it!

I've spent a lot of time on my bike this year, both outside and on the rollers. In fact I've put out over 650 miles on the bike alone. I've been running about 40 miles per month in hopes of hitting the 600 mile mark this year.

For the Steelcase Du I planned to race the first 5k as a race in itself. I've felt strong in training doing bike/run bricks. So pre-race I went near the front of the group... not in the front, near the front. The gun went off and I took off. I felt strong, looked at my FR305 and found my pace to be sub 6min/mile... Wow! My first mile was 5:46. I had to slow down or my heart was going to pop out of my chest. I hit the turn around and took another quick sprint. I was able to keep my eye on the front runners, so I knew I was in good pace.

A quick side note: I've had great anticipation of running a sub 21min/5k. I didn't think it was within my reach this year as I've been focused on my biking.

As I neared transition 1 I saw the clock - 20:56! I crossed the chip mat into T1 at 21:03. I was so excited about my time that my fingers were shaking! I actually had a hard time putting on my biking shoes. Grabbed my bike and I was out of T1 in 55 seconds.

The wind was a cross/head wind for most of the route. Good thing I spent some windy days on my bike charging into the wind. I faltered climbing some of the hills. The course didn't have huge climbs, but with the wind I did have to stand up a few times. I was only passed once on the bike, by another Cervelo owner, he deserved to pass me as he was flying. My fastest speed on the bike was only about 34mph. We never really got a tailwind. As I neared T2 I started to get my feet out of my shoes so I could hop off the bike and run into T2. I had a hard time getting my left foot out of the shoe and I actually had to unclip, stop and dismount and carry my left shoe into T2. My time for the 30k was 53:20. Not outstanding at an avg speed of 21mph.

I still ran into T2, racked my bike, donned my running shoes and I was out like a bandit in 33 seconds. Yeah!

As I rounded the first turn on the run I felt slow. I looked at my FR and realized that I left it on my bike, no big deal, I just wouldn't be able to tell my pace and heart rate (2 keys I use to help me run and finish stronger). I do normally feel slow running after my biking. So I figured that I was about an 8ish pace per mile. I could feel my calves were a bit sore, nothing bad, but I could feel them getting tight. I didn't want to bomb my second 5k as it would prove that I went too hard on the first run. I pushed on. There was a group of 3 guys just ahead of me, I couldn't catch up to them, but I figured that if I could keep the distance between myself and them that I would be ok. As I neared the finish I started to sprint again. I heard the announcer call out "Jeremy Hagerman of Saint Johns with the RACING GREYHOUNDS finishing strong!"

After first round of results were posted I saw my overall time of 1 hour and 38 minutes. I was pretty stoked. I thought that I surely medaled. Nope, the 30-34 age group is hardcore! The third place finisher in my AG finished more than 12 minutes ahead of me. Wow! I'm still excited. My previous fastest 5k time was 23:54, so I broke that by more than 2 minutes.

Steelcase was a fun race with a good course. The run was on a totally closed course. The bike was good and the intersections were well covered by the police. I had a lot of fun and will plan to run this race again!

March 2009!

March of 2009 has been a great month for me in the training department. I got my new Cervelo P2 - A carbon triathlon bike. With all of the excitement surrounding my new bike and a biking challenge through the BeginnerTriathlete.com website, I logged more than 279 miles in the month of March.

My total biking mileage for 2009 so far is 451.57 Miles. This is great because that means that I have already surpassed my total mileage for ALL of 2008. Craziness!!

My total running mileage for 2009 so far is 136.19 Miles. This puts me right on the baseline goal for the year. I wanted to have an average of 41 miles per month by the end of 2009.

My swimming total so far is 7700 yards. This is by no means great, hardly even good. However this is almost half of the total distance that I got in 2008. So while I still need more time in the pool, I feel more comfortable.

This year I have already competed in 2 races. The first was an indoor triathlon at a local YMCA. I took first place in my age group. For me personally, the higher achievment in this was that I swam for 20 minutes straight. I had not done that before. In this race I ended up with 975 yds. This gives me hope for the upcoming race season.

I also competed in a 28k Time Trial at Fisk Knob (near Grand Rapids). I placed 61 of 120 Overall. So right in the middle of the pack. That's not bad for my first ever TT. The weather was 38 degrees F and per Weather.com it felt like 27. We had snow flurries mixed with some light misty rain. It was rather miserable weather, but I raced well. I hit my fastest speed on my new bike at 39.6 mph per the Garmin Forrunner 305 gps. The hills were hard, but I feel confident that I will improve my overall biking ability this year.

Upcoming races that I am already registered for:

4/05 Martian Half Mary
4/26 Steelcase Duathlon
5/16 Starker-Mann 40k TT
5/17 Starker-Mann Duathlon
5/31 Hawk Island Triathlon

That completes the first half of the race season for me. I hope to race 1 to 2 races per month. We'll see how these first few races go and then I'll complete my schedule for the rest of this year.

I'm excited about some new opportunities. This year has great potential!

Thank you all for your encouragement and support! I look forward to racing this year. Give me a call and let's ride sometime.

February 2009

While February was only 28 days, it did go by pretty fast. So far this year I have stayed on track with my basic training for the upcoming triathlon season. As always, I should be spending more time in the pool.

For the most part, February was uneventful. I put in over 110 miles biking and over 50 miles running.

The exciting part of February was that I was able to buy my new bike. Cervelo P2C. It's pretty sweet. It will be a few more days before it's finished and delivered.

Today, March 1st was my first official triathlon. While it was an indoor tri, it was a good opener to the season. I swam 975 yards in 20 minutes. That's potentially one of my best swims to date. At the end of March I'll also race in a time trial event and then early April is my first half marathon of the year.

So I'm excited for this year and I hope to see some serious gains. Wish me luck!

January 09

January has flown by super fast! I was able to meet my personal goal of 41 miles for the month in running. I actually hit just over 51 miles.

I still need to get in the pool and stretch more. I feel comfortable with my lifting, but ideally I would be spending a bit more time in this area. I recently did a P90X routine, I loved it. I'm not sure that I have the time to dedicate to the actual program, but I will do a P90X session here and there. I did complete over 180 push ups and 47 pull ups during the 50 minute workout. I was pretty sore for a day or two. I started doing some Spinrvals dvd's while biking on the rollers. Those workouts kick butt. Google it.

February is here now and I have put some time in for training (mind you we are only 3 days into the month). I'm confident that I'll get my 41 miles running in for the month. Next month I will start up some outdoor biking too, that will help my mileage increase.

All in all, training has started out strong for me. This year will bring good things!

2008

2008 has come and now gone. As many of you know, this year has proved to have moments of extreme joy and a few moments of sadness. It's hard to believe that my mother passed away almost a year ago. A friend once told me that the days never get easier; however, each day you find a new way to get by. I have found the joy of life displayed through laughter, hugs and kisses of my daughter; love of my wife; the never ending love from my family and the support of my friends.

This past year I accomplished fitness goals that I set for myself over a year ago. A few goals I even exceeded. My first goal for this year was to complete a triathlon, and that meant that I had to learn how to swim. I also planned to train harder than I ever have before by increasing my endurance and speed in running and biking. I hoped to be in the best shape of my life by my 30th birthday.

I completed 2 sprint distance triathlons in 2008. I finished just above mid-pack in both of those races. I also ran a half marathon and set a new personal best for the 5k distance run. I placed first in a 10k race and also took medals in two 5k races.

My annual goal for running in 2008 was to complete an overall average of 1 mile per day, totaling 366 miles: My final total was just over 400 miles running.

2009 brings new challenges and while I haven't set any specific goals for training, I do plan to complete with the RACING GREYHOUNDS. I was accepted onto the team this past week. I'll compete in 5 races / events that include cycling as per my contract. Ideally I will race in the same 2 triathlons that I completed this year and then I will also add another tri and enter into a couple of cycling events.

This month my family will grow with the birth of our second child. I will need to learn to balance my family with work and training. This may be my single most difficult goal of this year. I am excited to see what the future holds for my family.

As always, thank you all for your support. I look forward to this coming race season, meeting new people and learning more about the sport of triathlon.

13.1 Miles!

I ran my race at my pace and I finished in my goal time. I ran each mile as it's own event. I call it equal opportunity racing - each mile deserves a change to prove itself better than the last. My overall average pace was an 8 minute 41 second per mile pace.

I planned to Gu at mile 6 or 7, and so I did just after mile 6. I felt good and ran well until about mile 11. Then my legs started to get tight. I didn't bring my second Gu gel as I planned. It wouldn't fit into my pocket where the other one was, so I left it behind. I drank water at every station, but only a few sips from each cup. At one station I took a Gatoraid. It didn't sit well in my belly. I never drink that stuff, so I don't know why I tried it now.

I didn't see the 12 mile marker and the next thing I saw was the trail moving back towards the Lansing Center. Up a short hill and I was back on Michigan Ave (right where the race started). A few more turns and I see mile marker 13. Only 1 tenth of a mile to go. I felt strong even as my calves and quads were tight.

As I crossed the finish line I see my time. I planned to finish under 2 hours. I did it, 1 hour 53 minutes. I feel successful.

I finished overall at 434 of 1216. Age Group - 43 / 63

My BT Race Report Below:

Race info: Capital City River Run
Entry by:
spacer JHagerman

Capital City River Run
2008-09-28
Lansing, Michigan
United States
Impression 5 Science Center
Sunny

Run - Half Marathon
Total Time = 1h 53m 36s
Overall Rank = 434/1216
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 43/63


Pre-race routine:
Routine? I attempted to follow a training plan, but I didn't get my weekly times in.

Event warmup:
No warm up as I figured I'd have 13 miles to warm up.


Run

Comments:
I ran well. I slowed down after the 11 mile mark as my running partner stopped to stretch. I still pushed, but probably not as hard as I could have. However, I was very satisfied with my run performance.


What would you do differently?:
I would attempt to follow the training plan more strictly. I'm not sure I would have finished a whole lot faster, but I think I would feel better near the end of the race.


Post race

Warm down:
A brief walk through the food area! I drank a TON after the race!


What limited your ability to perform faster:
My legs were getting really tight at the 12 mile mark, but that's when the most people were present to cheer us on.


Event comments:
I should have taken an extra Gu with me as I planned. I decided no to take it last minute as I didn't have an extra pocket. I would have taken it at mile 10 or 11 and maybe wouldn't have felt so crampy.