Sick and tired of being sick and tired

I cannot stand getting sick. It screws up my schedule and it's inconvenient.

With three kids under age 10, it's hard to avoid the funky bugs and germs they bring home, regardless of how much you wash your hands and disinfect the house. It happens, but usually in the winter months.

I caught something two weeks before a race in mid May that put me out of commission for a week and a half or so, and with a race looming that weekend, I decided to rest my body instead of squeezing in a few workouts. I was feeling better by race day, but not good enough to "race" the event. My body just wasn't recovered, and it showed. I struggled through the swim and bike, then finished off with a 30 minute 5k, about 10 minutes off my normal pace.

Over the next two weeks, I began to feel better, and improved with each workout. At the end of that two weeks was another race. I was feeling pretty good and actually posted a decent time (my 5k time back around 21 minutes). I thought I was back in action.

Monsters Inside Me
However, that same night I began to have body aches and other flu-like symptoms. I took the next day off work and slept for 8 hours. I was exhausted and weak. It took another two weeks for me to exercise again, and when I did, I could only maintain a very slow jog. I went to the pool to swim a few laps, but my warm-up became my workout and I headed home. This was very discouraging because, of course, I had another race on the weekend. That one, however, I decided to withdraw from.

In all my years of racing I have never had an illness hang around for so long. Actually, I'm not sure if it's the same one flaring up, or multiple viruses. I'm crossing my fingers I didn't catch something nasty from the pond I swam in during the second race. I don't even want to consider that as an option. I'm not prepared to be on an episode of "Monsters Inside Me."


More Bad Results
Still not 100%, I did a race in Columbia in late June. I knew I couldn't "race" the event, so I went out easy and just tried to maintain a good effort the entire race. My times were slow, but I was happy to at least be able to race at 80% effort and not burn out. I was getting better!

After that race, I had two weeks to return to form before race #3 of the CSTS. Although my training times weren't where they were earlier in the year, they were improving. The closer I got to race day, the better I felt. I even decided to go a little harder than planned. I had a solid swim, but didn't push it. My bike split was slow, about 2 minutes off my normal time, and I ran a 23 minute 5k.

That night, I started feeling sick again. And indeed, woke up with a cold. Unlike the Ebola virus, or SARS, or whatever I had earlier in the summer, this seems to be more of a common cold, an upper respiratory thing. And I can usually bounce back quickly from a cold, but my season is over. I have two more races in the next month, and I know won't be up to task.

Bottom line, this has been a disastrous summer of racing. At the time when I'm supposed to be peaking, I'm rebuilding. It's very frustrating, but it happens I suppose.

I think the lesson learned is not to sign up early for so many races. And as much as I hate to admit it, when you get sick, it's probably best to see a doctor and get it treated, instead of letting it wreck your body for several weeks. Oh well, there's always next year.

Great video, great song

A friend sent me this video of Danny MacAskill doing his thing on his bike. It's worth a watch for sure. The song is awesome also. It's called The Funeral, by Band of Horses. Good stuff.

2010 East Cooper Coastal Triathlon

This was my 3rd race of the year, and finally, I was able to put together a good race from start to finish with no mechanical issues.

Training-wise, I had a productive winter and did a decent job of both maintaining my 2009 fitness, and integrating speed work back into my workouts. I was ready for my first race in March, but had some brake issues that cost me several minutes on the bike. During my second race, my chain snapped and I was unable to complete the bike portion of the race. Very disappointing considering how good I was feeling.

All I wanted to do last Sunday was have a good race with no problems. The swim went well, and although I got a little tired in the final push, my split was OK. I had a fast transition, and, finally, a good bike leg. I averaged around 20.75 MPH for the 16 mile course. My run split was 27 minutes for the 4-mile course. Grabbed 19th overall and 2nd in my division. That works for me.

Click here for 2010 race results and photos.

2010 Downtown Columbia Triathlon Recap

I might have found new favorite race. I thought the course sounded sort of cool when I signed up, but I honestly didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did.

The race is set, obviously, in downtown Columbia, an area typically not equated with beauty. I often hear Columbia described this way: railroads, trains, brown fields, asphalt, and stifling heat with no wind. But that’s not really a fair assessment. While some of that might be true in areas of Columbia, it certainly isn’t the case in the heart of the city on the USC campus.

I think to really appreciate the campus and downtown area, you have experience it on foot. My wife went to USC, but it’s been years since we’ve spent any time in Columbia. I’d actually forgotten how nice it is to walk around down there. Super clean, lots of green spaces and shaded parks scattered between academic buildings and dorms, beautiful facilities, and a good college vibe. And that college/urban setting offers a unique backdrop for a triathlon.

The course

The 500 meter swim is in the Platt Center – the USC swim/dive team pool. It’s a beautiful 50 meter pool with a large deck, bleachers for spectators on the second floor, a diving well, SEC banners on the walls, and giant open-air windows around the entire pool. Just a cool place to swim. Plus, because it’s a 50 meter pool, swimmers do not come down and back in the same lane like the 25 meter pool swims. You go off two at a time every 10 seconds and switch lanes after each length. That’s much easier for passing.

The 10-mile bike leg is the shortest I’ve ever done in a sprint. It’s a 3.3 mile loop through downtown which you do three times. I don’t remember all the streets, but you do blast through 5 Points on the third mile. The first 1.5 miles is all up hill, so be prepared. I like the 3-loop style racing. It feels more like a crit than a TT. The road conditions weren’t too bad. There are, however, lots of intersections, and even though there were police officers directing traffic at each one, I would recommend you be extra alert. There was a lot of traffic during the race, and with police letting vehicles through when there were openings between bikers, you just have to be paying attention. After all, you are on downtown streets at 9:30 in the morning – not out on some country road.

The 5k run is through the campus down sidewalks, breezeways, and overpasses. Really different, but really cool I thought. You finish on the intramural field next to the Platt Center.

This is a Setup Events production and part of the South Carolina Triathlon Series. There were 400 participants this year and early registration will cost you $55, late registration $65. Decent long-sleeve t-shirt, but not wicking material. The post race spread was pretty good – grits, scrambled eggs and sausage. My kind of meal for sure.

I’m going to give this event two thumbs up and definitely add it to my race calendar each season.

2010 Parris Island Race Recap

Fun race. Decent splits. Great weather. Can’t complain….we’ll maybe just a little.

I had a pretty decent swim time, despite having to deal with the log jams caused by slower swimmers not submitting the proper 100 yard swim times. With swimmers going off every 10 seconds and swimming down-and-back in each lane (based on submitted time), it can get very crowded quickly, especially if you are way off in your projection. Oh well, while it did slow me down some, it was nice to get a breather. I knew I wasn’t vying for a podium spot, so it wasn’t as frustrating as it could have been.

The other issue I ran into was a mechanical problem with my brakes. After a couple miles my rear brake began rubbing my rim. I wasn’t sure if it was because of my brakes becoming offset after hitting a pot hole, or the cable sticking. I tried to fix it on the fly and couldn’t. I opened the brakes to decrease the rub, but it was still there. Why I just didn’t stop and fix the problem is beyond me. I did manage to average 19.5, but undoubtedly lost a couple minutes.

At least my run was solid. I’ve been doing very little speed work, and I’m racing about 5lbs heavier than last year. Running a 20:53 5k is fine for an early season race. I’ll take it.

One other random note. There was a dude who raced in a long sleeve shirt and jeans. He was an older guy, probably in his 50s, and he looked like a spectator upon first glance. I’m not sure what he swam in, but I’m assuming it wasn’t jeans, so he must of changed in the locker room after the swim. He obviously wasn’t too concerned with his T1 split. I saw him again on the run and I had to do a double take when I saw his race number. I’ve never seen someone do a triathlon in jeans. I admire his ability to ‘keep it real,’ but maybe go ahead and go with some shorts next time. Less chaffing.

Downtown Columbia Tri
This weekend I’ll be racing the downtown Columbia tri. This is a second year event, and one that I’ve never done. I’m looking forward to a new course. It’s been a while since I’ve raced a sprint on unfamiliar territory.

The swim is in a 50 mtr pool, so we won’t have to deal with the down and back scenario – should be plenty of room to pass if necessary. The bike is short and sweet, and I’ll have my brakes race ready. I just hope the weather is as nice as last weekend.