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Sentinel Triathlon |
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We returned to
Sentinel again this year but didn’t have high expectations as our training had
been geared towards ironman and half-ironman events. Nevertheless, it would
be fun to race locally on a course we knew well. Sherwick’s race:
I had a solid, but not spectacular performance. Racing has become easier and
easier under Mark Allen’s plan and I was looking forward to more gains at the
end of the season and into next year. I came out of the relatively calm ocean
swim in 12th, had a smooth transition and was settling into a
moderate pace on the bike when my calm was suddenly broken with a loud “on
your left!” I had been riding about six inches to the left of the white line
marking the edge of the road and was not about to move over into the debris
and risk a flat so I held my line. I was not blocking and it is the responsibility
of the passer to make the pass. No sooner after I confirmed my position, the
fellow stormed alongside me and literally shoved me with his shoulder as he
went by. Luckily I was able to keep both hands on my aero bars while focusing
on letting the incident pass and not affect my race but I did gain some
additional motivation to build my pace all the way to the turn-around at
Davenport! Nevertheless, I was only
able to produce the 16th fastest bike which was not the results I
expected from my new position from our recent bike
fit. I came out of
T2 in 21st place but fortunately I was able to pass 13 competitors
on the run to finish in 8th place! Jami’s race: Like Sherwick, my race was solid and landed me in
4th place. But even with perfect conditions, my overall time was
slower than the prior year.
This was a challenging disappointment to admit which forced a lesson of
humility upon me and making me wonder why I put myself through such pain.
But, reality quickly set in and I remembered that it’s not just about the
outcome, but also about the process. This race was only one step in the
development ladder to arrive at the top for next year’s Ironman Austria. So,
I moved on in anticipation of our next event: the SOMA Half-Ironman. |
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Jami 2:36:54, 4th
age-group, 24th female |
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Sherwick 2:17:35, 8th
age-group, 48th male |
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SOMA Half Triathlon |
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SOMA would be a new venue for us (Tempe ASU campus) and we were excited
to finish the season with a destination race: Tempe, Arizona. Along with new
faces and a fresh course was an excellent race organization turning out a
truly professional production. Sherwick’s race:
The competition was fierce! My time would have landed me 4th in my
age group last year but was only good enough for 18th out of 105
this year! The swim was a little difficult due to being kicked in the goggles
(ironically just as I was thought, “wow, no contact!”), having to struggle
with a swim cap that was too thin and wandering up my skull and navigating
directly into the sun with a pack all veering towards the middle of the
rectangular course. Although my swim time was rather slow, I felt good coming
out of the water glad to be greeted by wetsuit strippers in 15th place.
Due to a slightly shortened course (to avoid construction) the bike times
were all fast (even with 15 turn-arounds, 5 per lap) but my speed consistently
hovered between 21-24mph with the single climb on the course seeing 17-18mph
in the big chain ring! Traffic increased with each of the three laps as
slower Quarterman competitors filtered onto the course but they were not
difficult to overtake. The bike is still my weakness over the last few years
and I dropped down to 23rd. The run consisted of two loops around
the lake and had plenty of trails, open road, a little shade and even water
sprinklers! I had a good run regaining five spots to move up to 18th
although I developed a matching set of blisters on both balls of my feet due
to the heat (93°F) and lack of cushioning in the Newton Distance S shoes - we'll have to do something
about that for our next race. Overall, I felt great and my efficiency continues
to improve as the season progresses. I had no nutrition problems and
absolutely NO cramping (a first for me at this distance). Overall, a great
race with a great production and highly recommended! Jami’s race: I must admit I wasn’t anxious to start this race:
I had a bout of stomach distress (from the Motrin I took on race morning for
my headache) and didn’t eat any of my pre-race food! However, I knew that my upset
stomach would be gone in a matter of time. My swim started off fine, but I
soon found myself navigating in the wrong direction as I tried to swim into a
relentlessly blinding sun. So went a good part of my swim, but apparently
most others in my age-group had similar troubles because I was 8th
out of the water! On the bike, I increased my effort every lap of the three-loop
course, but it didn’t measure up to the competition as I was demoted to 13th
after the bike. My running has come around more quickly under the Mark Allen plan
so I was looking forward to moving up through the field as I passed women one
by one. I’m confident I would’ve maintained my position had I not taken a
wrong turn! Before I realized my mistake, I had run at least two minutes in
the wrong direction and relinquished those spots (and then some) that I had preciously
gained. That’s what I get for that brain fade (not hard in the Arizona sun)!
I planned to push the last four miles of the race, but after my blunder, I felt
the need to start earlier in order to make up for lost ground. As I picked up
my effort on the second loop, I managed to re-pass some of those same athletes
(for sure confusing them). My zealous effort to make up those spots
eventually caught up with me by mile 11 when I began to hyperventilate forcing
me to literally stop in order to catch my breath. I finished in a
disappointing time, but was happy with my ranking on the swim and how I was
able to increase my effort with every lap of the bike. I echo Sherwick’s
thoughts on this awesome venue and flawless race execution! I’d do it again
if for no other reason than to have a “do over” the run! |
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Jami 5:28:29, 12th
age-group, 55th female |
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Sherwick 4:43:43, 18th
age-group, 61st male |
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Big Sur Half-Marathon |
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Since SOMA, we
consulted with Newton Running to address our foot problems. Apparently the
stability model in combination with our orthotics was over-correcting our
over-pronation by not allowing our feet to naturally to absorb the shock
which seemed to be exacerbated by their patented lug design. Newton advised us to wear
their cushioned model instead. We ordered a set to test this theory but they
wouldn’t arrive in time for Big Sur. We decided to remove our orthotics and
add some foot padding instead. Due to the increasing
popularity of the race (4258 competitors in 2008), the Big Sur race
organization decided to not only divide up the runners into waves as in
previous years but stagger each wave by 2 minutes (ala triathlon starts). We
were in Corral A, the fastest group. The course had also been changed with
the first starting further east before looping back west in order to spread
out the field but we would find out later that the course was long by .2 to
.3 of a mile according to our GPS. We would be using our Garmin’s “Virtual
Partner” function for the first time. Sherwick set the distance to 13.10 miles
and a goal time of 1:25:00 (6:29/mi); Jami set a goal time of 1:30:00
(6:52/mi). The display would show graphically whether we were ahead (or
behind) our goal in addition to the distance to our “Virtual Partner”. White
meant we were ahead of our “Virtual Partner” and black meant we were behind. |
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Big Sur Half-Marathon course (~13.4 miles) |
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Sherwick’s race:
I started off in the white and built up only 30 feet before I was in the
black. It was only mile 1 and it began spitting rain – “Not a good start to
the race”, I thought. As I ran into the tunnel past Fisherman’s Wharf, the GPS
signal disappeared along with my virtual buddy. My sarcasm vanished once out
of the tunnel, as things started to come around. I was now in the white and
.17 miles ahead of my virtual buddy thanks to the downhills! The ground was
slippery from the rain and corners warranted caution. I was able to pass a
group up the only real hill in the race at mile 5 when the course gave us a scenic
tour of downtown Pacific Grove. The headwinds picked up as we turned to run
along Monterey Bay, but nothing like the conditions in 2007. I pushed hard to catch a
group of six runners in order to catch a break from the wind. Even though I
was able to find my way up to them, I struggled to keep their pace at first but
soon I was able to settle down into a rhythm. Again (due to our training
under Mark Allen), I was able to let calmness overtake me and progressively
found this new pace easier to maintain. It was at this point, the only woman
in the group (Masters champion from 2007) broke away to push ahead. I
immediately jumped onto her feet. I was slightly stronger on the uphills but
she would storm past me on the downhills. It was fun working with each other.
At the turn-around after mile 8, she pulled ahead at an aid station. I
patiently worked my way back up and in turn pushed ahead at mile 9 feeling
good. After a few miles devoid of any heavy breathing, I thought I had
dropped her but she came back by, this time with a partner! His name was Mike.
These two must have been famous because every few seconds I would hear “Go
Christine!” or “Go Mike!” from the waves of runners still on their outbound
trip. Mike had blood smeared on the inside thigh of one leg from chafing - ouch!
As we approached Lover’s Point, my feet started to burn, but unlike SOMA,
this was at mile 11 with only 2 miles to go. All I could think about was that
Mike must have been in pain too, so I blocked it out. We dropped down into
Cannery Row with cheers from the spectators bouncing off the walls of the
buildings – this is why I love this race! I passed Mike on the final trail
section with 1 mile to go. But Christine had a gap on me which would result
in her finishing 6 seconds ahead to again claim her Masters title. On the other
hand, my virtual partner finished a quarter mile back! After the race, I
thanked Christine for pushing me and she replied, “Thank YOU! I knew that
since you were a triathlete you would be strong and push me to the limit!” My
Garmin showed 1:23:51 (6:24/mi) but the official results were two minutes
off! My final placing had me in 7th out of 223 in M40-44 and 10th
out of 811 male masters. Jami’s race: I took off with a smile, excited to race my
“virtual partner”! The pace was swift, but I didn’t want to back off and let
my partner get ahead. I planned to start off with a higher effort and carry
that momentum to the finish line. The initial pain of my effort soon gave way
and suddenly it felt easier (relaxing and focusing on my form helped). As
Sherwick mentioned, it started to rain. I smiled knowing that I was familiar with
racing in undesirable conditions. Next to challenge was the wind, which swept
its way along the coast. I tucked in behind other runners to catch a draft (as
if in an open water swimming race), pushing to stay with them knowing that
every second in the draft helped. I would also use them to leap-frog from
runner to runner which is how I caught and passed two women! Meanwhile, I had
built up a comfortable lead of .16 miles over my virtual partner. I held this
lead just beyond mile 8 when the 180° turn whipped me right back into the
stiff headwind. At that moment, a woman passed me and I jumped on her heels
for a draft. I pushed and pushed, but I couldn’t match her pace to find myself
caught out in the wind. My focus was intent on bridging the gap to the others
ahead. Meanwhile, my “partner” took the lead and somewhere between miles 11 and
12 had gained over 200 feet on me! My sole focus from that point forward was
to chip away at this deficit, which I did finishing only seven seconds off my
goal in 5th place! |
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Jami 1:31:39 (1:30:07 GPS), 5th
age-group, 24th female |
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Sherwick 1:25:50 (1:23:51 GPS), 7th
age-group, 49th male |
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Enjoy the ride! --Team JaS
Special thanks to our sponsors: Drive
Systems USA / AFAM Parts |
