Looking back on 2008

I raced in 13 events last year. I did the Cooper River Bridge Run (10k) and Lowcountry Splash (2.4 Harbor swim) so I could compete in the “Get Over it, Get Under it” challenge (combined time). I ended up getting second in my age group to John Glover, owner of Charleston Bicycle Company. Congrats John, and please hurry and move up an age group already.

I also did the AB&T Duathlon on John’s Island, placing second overall. Otherwise, it was all triathlon, and mostly sprints. Here are a few things I learned this year:

Race Fueling
When it comes to race nutrition and fueling, the old mantra “less is best” is key. You can get into a lot of trouble if you overdo it. The body starts working too hard trying to process those fuels and things start going in the wrong direction. I over-fueled at the Parris Island triathlon. Without really meaning to, I had always followed the less is best philosophy. For whatever reason, I decided I would go faster if I ate an extra bar; had an extra gel; and upped my mix ratio for fluids. Problem is that this was a sprint, not an ironman. I ran the slowest 5k I’ve ran in over 5 years. I simply didn’t need those fuels. My tank was fine. Lesson learned.

At the Races
The Cooper River Bridge run is a great event, perhaps one of the premiere 10ks in the country, but it’s a pain trying to get back to Mt. Pleasant after the race. I tried running back over the bridge and was stopped by police. Even the walking lane is closed until noon. That’s ridiculous. Waiting in lines for buses is a pain. I was also trying to get a good time to compete in the “Get Over it, Get Under it” challenge, but there are just too many people. This race is more about having a good time with friends than posting PRs. And actually, I learned this lesson years ago, so let’s just say it was again verified in 2008.

I love duathlons. Perhaps more than triathlon. My swim times are fine, so it’s not that hate swimming. I don’t know why, but run bike run really appeals to me. I think if I could do one race, it would be a 5 mile road race, 25 mile road bike, 5 mile trail run. Alas, I will settle for one or two duathlons I can find each year, regardless of distance.

Getting up at 3:30 to travel to a race affects your performance. You always have to wake up early for races, but anything before 4:30 and you will notice a performance drop. I traveled to several of the SCTS events (Florence, Columbia 2x, and Parris Island). Waking up that early just cuts into those extra hours of sleep. I had decent races, but my body wasn’t as rested as it should be.

The Harbor swim is easy. It’s a 2.4 mile swim (ironman distance) with the current. That means you go an extra mile per hour, or more, faster than you would in a pool. I finished in around 50 minutes. If you can swim a mile and a half, you can do this event. Not really challenging. But it is a fun event, for a great cause, and I do recommend it.

The sprint series at James Island is fun, competitive and humbling. Even though I ended up with a second and third place finish in my age group, I placed 5th in the final race. And that’s with a top 30 time of 1.05. Everybody peaked and came ready to race that final event. After the race, some friends from my age group (who placed 1-4, we all know each other now) ran a cool down mile and talked about how the race unfolded. We’ve all been racing this event 10 or more years and we each got a course PR in that race, so it was fun breaking down tactics. I don’t know why that memory sticks in my head, but it’s definitely one of the things I enjoy about racing. And I like that one of my favorite memories of the season isn’t based on a time or what place I got.

The Kiawah triathlon is still the best end of season race out there. An Olympic distance with everyone in great form. Always competitive and always fun.

I think mostly I learned that I need a little change of scenery. The sprint scene isn’t exciting me as much these days, and race expenses are creeping upwards. This year I picked only a couple long distance races and skipped planning the normal 15-race season. I’m doing a half ironman in May, then a full in November. My focus will be on long distance training, with little cost, and no stress. I picked up a road bike last fall and I’m looking forward to long rides without worrying about MPH and intensity levels.

Even though I'm sure to log more hours training this year, I feel like I’m taking a year off, so to speak. The race fast mentality is gone, and I hope it clears my head.