So a few months have passed since last July. In that time a few exciting things have happened.
1. I got a new bike!!! My biking can use all the help it can get so I looked for an affordable yet fast triathlon racing bike. My previous had just been a simple road bike. With pedals shoes and accessories the whole thing cost me about $3000... Yeah, I justify it by saying it's my first car...
2. My second and final season of cross country came and went. Once again my goals were to finish every race and never finish last. I never finished last and I finished every race, even the one that I stopped and threw up after three miles. Jamestown caf food. Nuff said. I finished the season with a PR of 31:42 at our home meet. Over a minute and a half faster than last year's PR.
3. I'm going to Australia!!! At least I hope so... I have been accepted to study abroad at the University of Western Sydney! I just need to make sure my credits over there will transfer otherwise I can't go. Crossing my fingers!
4. Indoor track is over and we are on to outdoor. I took the final weeks of February and the first couple weeks of March off to avoid the same mistake of that need for recovery in late April of 2011. Learning how your body works is key. Unfortunately my motivation level has been down lately. I think I'm just getting tired from the day to day craziness of the life of a college student (who seems to commit to way to much...) It is getting to the point where I don't feel good on my easy runs, keep pressing and hope it's just a lull.
5. I had a first, and not a good one. I got hit by a car two weeks ago on my run. I stayed on my feet but still got nailed pretty hard on the hip and butt. A setback that I could've gone without. The worst part is he kept driving after blowing a stop sign and hitting a runner... not cool! But I'm feeling fine now.
That's it for now! The next blog should be about my upcoming summer races and then on to blogging about the current track season and workouts. We are all caught up to present day, I hope you enjoyed the brief history! Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Timberman Triathlon
Finally.
I had wanted to do this race since 2007, it was now 2011. Better late then never. I would like to say that with the many years of anticipation leading up to this event that this was a perfect race. That didn't happen. Racing is about mentality, if something goes wrong in your personal life an endurance race can really tank. Triathletes of all levels, even the pros, have bad races when they are having bad days. I was having a bad day...
We don't need to go into too many details but long story short: I was in the process of being dumped, so my head wasn't in it. I was convinced that I could show up and still race at my peak level, but when you are out on the course for over two hours there is a lot of time for thinking, and when that thinking is missing some positive thoughts, your best is not what is going to happen.
I don't mean to blame my ex or make excuses for a poor race. She is a wonderful person and I respect her decision, at the same time I won't pretend it didn't effect my race. But enough of that, how about the race!!!
Timberman Triathlon, June 9th 2011: 1 mile swim; 22.9 mile bike; 6 mile run
Race plan/goals: Go out hard on the swim, do your thing! Improve on T1 from Buffalo's disaster. Steady on the bike, working too hard will screw over the whole race. Even paced run, assess level of fatigue and decide on a pace that can be held for 6 miles. Crank it up at the end! Goal time 2:28:00
Swim: Rain delay for the start, not a pretty day. I sprinted out the first couple of minutes and then settled into a long strong stroke with little kicking. I held on a guys wake for the first half and then pushed ahead of him at the turn around. Came out at 20 minutes, not great but not bad. Also I wasn't really tired so that was a good sign. 20th overall 2nd in my AG
T1: I made some improvements. I had my clothes on under the wetsuit however I still struggled getting it off, maybe removing the timing chip will be faster? Try it next year. 2:26 not bad.
Bike: Long... Slower course and my weakness. Huge 4 mile climb that is repeated as it's a two loop course, however that climb is undone by a fast 1 mile steep downhill. 2nd time around I missed the turn and ended up doing probably an extra 3/4 mile, oh well. The 2nd loop the climb killed me. Rough bike time, especially with that extra distance. 1:24 104th overall 7th in AG
T2: Smooth and fast, highest ranking of the day at 12th, counts for something. 0:51
Run: After a bad bike I really needed to make up ground. I flew for the first mile at a 6:45 and realized it was too fast. I settled at about a 7:30 pace for the next two miles but I was getting tired. My pace dropped dramatically and I hardly had any kick. 47:30 an average of 7:55. 52nd overall and 6th in my age group.
Final time: 2:35:27 69th out of 120 and 7th out of 7 in my AG. Definitely room for improvement. These Olympic distance athletes were far better than the sprint course athletes I had encountered in buffalo. But it was a start, I had completed my first triathlon season.
I had wanted to do this race since 2007, it was now 2011. Better late then never. I would like to say that with the many years of anticipation leading up to this event that this was a perfect race. That didn't happen. Racing is about mentality, if something goes wrong in your personal life an endurance race can really tank. Triathletes of all levels, even the pros, have bad races when they are having bad days. I was having a bad day...
We don't need to go into too many details but long story short: I was in the process of being dumped, so my head wasn't in it. I was convinced that I could show up and still race at my peak level, but when you are out on the course for over two hours there is a lot of time for thinking, and when that thinking is missing some positive thoughts, your best is not what is going to happen.
I don't mean to blame my ex or make excuses for a poor race. She is a wonderful person and I respect her decision, at the same time I won't pretend it didn't effect my race. But enough of that, how about the race!!!
Timberman Triathlon, June 9th 2011: 1 mile swim; 22.9 mile bike; 6 mile run
Race plan/goals: Go out hard on the swim, do your thing! Improve on T1 from Buffalo's disaster. Steady on the bike, working too hard will screw over the whole race. Even paced run, assess level of fatigue and decide on a pace that can be held for 6 miles. Crank it up at the end! Goal time 2:28:00
Swim: Rain delay for the start, not a pretty day. I sprinted out the first couple of minutes and then settled into a long strong stroke with little kicking. I held on a guys wake for the first half and then pushed ahead of him at the turn around. Came out at 20 minutes, not great but not bad. Also I wasn't really tired so that was a good sign. 20th overall 2nd in my AG
T1: I made some improvements. I had my clothes on under the wetsuit however I still struggled getting it off, maybe removing the timing chip will be faster? Try it next year. 2:26 not bad.
Bike: Long... Slower course and my weakness. Huge 4 mile climb that is repeated as it's a two loop course, however that climb is undone by a fast 1 mile steep downhill. 2nd time around I missed the turn and ended up doing probably an extra 3/4 mile, oh well. The 2nd loop the climb killed me. Rough bike time, especially with that extra distance. 1:24 104th overall 7th in AG
T2: Smooth and fast, highest ranking of the day at 12th, counts for something. 0:51
Run: After a bad bike I really needed to make up ground. I flew for the first mile at a 6:45 and realized it was too fast. I settled at about a 7:30 pace for the next two miles but I was getting tired. My pace dropped dramatically and I hardly had any kick. 47:30 an average of 7:55. 52nd overall and 6th in my age group.
Final time: 2:35:27 69th out of 120 and 7th out of 7 in my AG. Definitely room for improvement. These Olympic distance athletes were far better than the sprint course athletes I had encountered in buffalo. But it was a start, I had completed my first triathlon season.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Grandmas Marathon
The race!!!
Goal time: 3:56; a 9:00/mile pace
Plan: Start off easy, stay easy, keep running, do what it takes to finish. Simple.
Pre race athletes drop off the warm up clothes and water bottles in their marathon bag into huge garbage bins at the start line which are then driven to the finish. After dropping my bag into one of the many garbage bins and walking toward the start line I'd realized I had left my timing chip in the bag. I ran back but had no idea which bin I'd used. A volunteer was carting a bin off to the truck and so I called at him to stop, I frantically dug through the bin and found my bag and chip. Finally something had worked in my favor! Maybe I'm not so unlucky after all!
The gun went off as me and 8000 other participants surged towards the starting line, and then we were off. The first 5 miles we are blur, I was dodging in and out of much slower runners and just having fun. I couldn't help myself, I was having a blast and just laughing out loud. Emotional reactions are sometimes weird... With so many participants to distract me I don't even think I lost an ounce of energy those first 5 miles.
Turns out after starting way at the back of the pack, I'd already passed 5,000 runners!!! No wonder I had been so distracted...
But the racers were thinning out and now it was time to check where I was. I hit the 10K/6.2 mile point at 45 minutes, whoa! I figured I'd start out at about 8 minute pace and see where things took me, telling my parents at about what time they should be where in the race to cheer me on. But I was flying at a 7:20 pace. I felt good so I just kept plugging!
The speed stayed strong and before long I was at 13.1, halfway with a time of 1:35. I couldn't believe my pace! I was hoping to hit this point at about 1:48, I was well ahead of that. I kept on going but the infamous 20 mile Wall was creeping into my consciousness. For those of you who don't know the Wall is something many newcomers to marathon hit at about mile 20 in their marathon, it is a complete physical 180. You are feeling fine then suddenly you feel like you can't go another step. They say you can't possibly describe it, but anyone who has ever hit it knows just what it feels like.
At mile 20 my time was 2:28, I had been averaging 7:24 per mile... and no wall, mile 21 passed, mile 22 passed and then I hit the legendary "Lemon Drop Hill" of Grandmas marathon. It is a short but steep hill that inconveniently sits at 22 miles into the marathon. Any cross country runner knows that after a steep hill you have take a little time to "get your legs back under you" before you return to pace. After 22 miles, this does not happen! I had hit the Wall!
Those last 4 miles felt like the second half of the race... My body was done but my mind wasn't. I wanted to stop running so badly but I knew if I did I wouldn't be able to start running again. So I plowed on at a high 8 to low 9 minute/mile pace... One foot in front of the other and repeat... and repeat...
The physical part was over. This was all just a mental game. Cramping was coming into my legs and side aches were appearing but I hobbled on determined to reach my goal. Mile 25 passed. I wanted to push the pace but just couldn't do it, it all hurt too much. With 1/4 mile to go I found sudden energy in my legs, the end was in sight!!! I burst forth and crossed the finish line with my arms in the air and hearing the announcer's voice, "Robert Heinzen! What did you just do? You just ran a marathon!!!"
A little over two years earlier my all out mile was a 7:47. On June 18, 2011 I ran 26.2 miles at a pace of 7:44/mile to finish at 3:22 minutes. A whole 34 minutes ahead of my goal.
Success.
Goal time: 3:56; a 9:00/mile pace
Plan: Start off easy, stay easy, keep running, do what it takes to finish. Simple.
Pre race athletes drop off the warm up clothes and water bottles in their marathon bag into huge garbage bins at the start line which are then driven to the finish. After dropping my bag into one of the many garbage bins and walking toward the start line I'd realized I had left my timing chip in the bag. I ran back but had no idea which bin I'd used. A volunteer was carting a bin off to the truck and so I called at him to stop, I frantically dug through the bin and found my bag and chip. Finally something had worked in my favor! Maybe I'm not so unlucky after all!
The gun went off as me and 8000 other participants surged towards the starting line, and then we were off. The first 5 miles we are blur, I was dodging in and out of much slower runners and just having fun. I couldn't help myself, I was having a blast and just laughing out loud. Emotional reactions are sometimes weird... With so many participants to distract me I don't even think I lost an ounce of energy those first 5 miles.
Turns out after starting way at the back of the pack, I'd already passed 5,000 runners!!! No wonder I had been so distracted...
But the racers were thinning out and now it was time to check where I was. I hit the 10K/6.2 mile point at 45 minutes, whoa! I figured I'd start out at about 8 minute pace and see where things took me, telling my parents at about what time they should be where in the race to cheer me on. But I was flying at a 7:20 pace. I felt good so I just kept plugging!
The speed stayed strong and before long I was at 13.1, halfway with a time of 1:35. I couldn't believe my pace! I was hoping to hit this point at about 1:48, I was well ahead of that. I kept on going but the infamous 20 mile Wall was creeping into my consciousness. For those of you who don't know the Wall is something many newcomers to marathon hit at about mile 20 in their marathon, it is a complete physical 180. You are feeling fine then suddenly you feel like you can't go another step. They say you can't possibly describe it, but anyone who has ever hit it knows just what it feels like.
At mile 20 my time was 2:28, I had been averaging 7:24 per mile... and no wall, mile 21 passed, mile 22 passed and then I hit the legendary "Lemon Drop Hill" of Grandmas marathon. It is a short but steep hill that inconveniently sits at 22 miles into the marathon. Any cross country runner knows that after a steep hill you have take a little time to "get your legs back under you" before you return to pace. After 22 miles, this does not happen! I had hit the Wall!
Those last 4 miles felt like the second half of the race... My body was done but my mind wasn't. I wanted to stop running so badly but I knew if I did I wouldn't be able to start running again. So I plowed on at a high 8 to low 9 minute/mile pace... One foot in front of the other and repeat... and repeat...
The physical part was over. This was all just a mental game. Cramping was coming into my legs and side aches were appearing but I hobbled on determined to reach my goal. Mile 25 passed. I wanted to push the pace but just couldn't do it, it all hurt too much. With 1/4 mile to go I found sudden energy in my legs, the end was in sight!!! I burst forth and crossed the finish line with my arms in the air and hearing the announcer's voice, "Robert Heinzen! What did you just do? You just ran a marathon!!!"
A little over two years earlier my all out mile was a 7:47. On June 18, 2011 I ran 26.2 miles at a pace of 7:44/mile to finish at 3:22 minutes. A whole 34 minutes ahead of my goal.
Success.
Running 26.2!
The Ironman Triathlon consists of a 2.4 mile swim; 112 mile bike; and 26.2 mile full marathon. To do the whole thing you have to be able to do each one, so for my second race of 2011 I chose to run Grandmas Marathon in Duluth, MN.
For my race preparation I had to compromise, I was more focused on triathlon and less focused on the marathon, thus my longest runs during the spring and early summer had just been 10 mile easy runs. I had two weeks between the Buffalo tri and Grandmas to get ready for a whole 26.2 miles so I decided to do an 18 mile run with 8 days to go... This was a gamble with being so close to the race but I needed to know where my body was, I vowed to maintain a very easy pace.
The run was a comfortable and relaxed out and back. I made sure to stay above an 8 minute pace for the first half and then let fatigue govern my pace on the way back. I began to notice the rubbing of my shoe was getting to my foot after about 12 miles. I forged on and got back to my house in just under 2 and 1/2 hours with a huge bloody blister on my foot. Perfect... just what I needed: a minor injury that could just be the end of me for a 26.2 mile race.
I spent the next few day cleaning the blister and helping it to heal and avoided running until the final two days leading to Grandmas. I did an easy 30 minute jog both days, the first day making me realize there was no way I could do the marathon without help for my blister. I found some old corn bandages that divert the pressure to the other areas of your foot that the bandage doesn't cover and then wrapped my foot for the next day's 30 minute jog. Considerably less pain. It would have to do.
The night before the race, I was nervous. It was such a daunting distance and with pain in my foot I was so worried that I would end up going too hard and getting tired or just not being fit enough to run the whole thing. I was talking my girlfriend on the phone when she assured me "I know you, you are going to be running that race and realize, 'I don't need to stop, I got this.'" That small assurance completely settled me mentally. Sometimes the little things make all the difference.
For my race preparation I had to compromise, I was more focused on triathlon and less focused on the marathon, thus my longest runs during the spring and early summer had just been 10 mile easy runs. I had two weeks between the Buffalo tri and Grandmas to get ready for a whole 26.2 miles so I decided to do an 18 mile run with 8 days to go... This was a gamble with being so close to the race but I needed to know where my body was, I vowed to maintain a very easy pace.
The run was a comfortable and relaxed out and back. I made sure to stay above an 8 minute pace for the first half and then let fatigue govern my pace on the way back. I began to notice the rubbing of my shoe was getting to my foot after about 12 miles. I forged on and got back to my house in just under 2 and 1/2 hours with a huge bloody blister on my foot. Perfect... just what I needed: a minor injury that could just be the end of me for a 26.2 mile race.
I spent the next few day cleaning the blister and helping it to heal and avoided running until the final two days leading to Grandmas. I did an easy 30 minute jog both days, the first day making me realize there was no way I could do the marathon without help for my blister. I found some old corn bandages that divert the pressure to the other areas of your foot that the bandage doesn't cover and then wrapped my foot for the next day's 30 minute jog. Considerably less pain. It would have to do.
The night before the race, I was nervous. It was such a daunting distance and with pain in my foot I was so worried that I would end up going too hard and getting tired or just not being fit enough to run the whole thing. I was talking my girlfriend on the phone when she assured me "I know you, you are going to be running that race and realize, 'I don't need to stop, I got this.'" That small assurance completely settled me mentally. Sometimes the little things make all the difference.
Monday, April 2, 2012
My First Triathlon
Many go into their first triathlon with the simple goal of finishing, these are the newcomers to the sport. I was a newcomer and this was my first but since I had been training for nearly two years I had higher expectations for myself than just finishing a sprint tri. I wanted to have a "good race." Fast times and smooth transitions. My swimming should be strong, my bike just needed to happen, and my run would hopefully help me to chase down a few of those strong bikers.
Multisport is a tricky thing. There are three disciplines and if you have a weakness it is unlikely that you will be a top finisher. I know my weakness, it is on the bike. I will continue to work at that but as a collegiate runner I really only have time to work on the run, but I have many years to come when I can get stronger on the bike.
I was however stuck in a place of uncertainty. I had been running cross country and track well into the spring and I was getting tired. Every now and then you need a recovery period of easier workouts to just good old time off. Time those recovery periods incorrectly and you could find yourself out of shape at the wrong time... Like I said, multisport is tricky. I realized I needed recovery all to late around the end of April. Things to improve on in the future.
I took a few easy weeks and then hit training hard in mid may with about three weeks to go, I crossed my fingers that I hadn't gotten too out of shape in the recovery period.
I was entered in the Buffalo Triathlon in Buffalo MN on June 5th, I had been suggested this race by a friend who insisted it was "fun and friendly." It was just that.
1/4 mile swim; 13.3 mile bike; 3 mile run about 900 participants
Race plan: Go out hard on the swim get in front of your wave and don't worry about getting caught in the punching and kicking of the middle of the wave. Transition to bike and feel out the course, don't go too hard to soon, keep comfortable in the first 8 miles start to push a little for the last 5. Transition to run. Longer strides for first half mile, loosen up those biking muscles. Shorten strides and increase cadence after loosening up. At turnaround increase effort to maintain pace, start your kick with about 1/4 mile to go. Never settle during the race, keep that slight edge of pushing.
Not too complex. Just a few things to keep in mind.
Race:
Swim: There were about 20 waves of 50 racers, I was in wave 8. The gun went off and I rand til mid-thigh water height and dove in. Streamline under water glide with strong dolphin kicks to get ahead of the pack. My adrenaline was pumping and I came up sprinting. Before long I was already in the middle of the wave ahead of me. Passed them and moved onto the next wave. First out of the water in my wave @ 5:07 7th overall in the race. Good start!
T1: Pardon my language... it was a shit show! I'd practiced many times but my brain was overexcited. Taking my wetsuit off getting it caught on my timing chip made me panic. Got it off and threw on my helmet before my bike jersey, took of the helmet and threw on the jersey, wet body + tight jersey = stuck. I pulled and yanked at it to get it down heard a few stitches rip and tried to calm myself. Shoes on I grabbed my bike and forgot the helmet, ran back and grabbed the helmet and hopped on my bike. 3:42... humorous after the fact.
Bike: Flat and fast but a bit of headwind for the first few miles until the turns t turned into a wicked crosswind, I was able to ride that wind on the way back and recover a little. Definitely getting passed by a lot of stronger bikers. Like I said it's my weakness. Legs were tight but ready for the run. Bike time: 44:00, 18.1 mph pace, around 250th overall.
T2: Much better than the first transition. Dropped off the bike grabbed my watch and took off the jersey, it was hot!!! About a minute flat.
Run: Flat! Stretch out the legs and felt loose after about 4 minutes, shortened stride and tried to pick up the pace a little. At the turnaround I felt it in my gut, I had to take a crap!!! 1.5 miles to go, suck up the pain and hammer down! Pick off runners one by one and keep looking ahead to the next guy. Finish line was in sight and started the kick. Before I knew it I had finished my first tri. Run time 20:30, 6:50 per mile, about 60th overall.
Awesome experience! My chip malfunctioned and didn't have me finishing the run but I had my time on the watch, total time about 1:14:30 placing me around 120th. Funny thing is my finish line photo was one of the main pictures used to advertise the event for 2012, but the race results had me at DNF, nut it's all good. I knew I had finished!
Multisport is a tricky thing. There are three disciplines and if you have a weakness it is unlikely that you will be a top finisher. I know my weakness, it is on the bike. I will continue to work at that but as a collegiate runner I really only have time to work on the run, but I have many years to come when I can get stronger on the bike.
I was however stuck in a place of uncertainty. I had been running cross country and track well into the spring and I was getting tired. Every now and then you need a recovery period of easier workouts to just good old time off. Time those recovery periods incorrectly and you could find yourself out of shape at the wrong time... Like I said, multisport is tricky. I realized I needed recovery all to late around the end of April. Things to improve on in the future.
I took a few easy weeks and then hit training hard in mid may with about three weeks to go, I crossed my fingers that I hadn't gotten too out of shape in the recovery period.
I was entered in the Buffalo Triathlon in Buffalo MN on June 5th, I had been suggested this race by a friend who insisted it was "fun and friendly." It was just that.
1/4 mile swim; 13.3 mile bike; 3 mile run about 900 participants
Race plan: Go out hard on the swim get in front of your wave and don't worry about getting caught in the punching and kicking of the middle of the wave. Transition to bike and feel out the course, don't go too hard to soon, keep comfortable in the first 8 miles start to push a little for the last 5. Transition to run. Longer strides for first half mile, loosen up those biking muscles. Shorten strides and increase cadence after loosening up. At turnaround increase effort to maintain pace, start your kick with about 1/4 mile to go. Never settle during the race, keep that slight edge of pushing.
Not too complex. Just a few things to keep in mind.
Race:
Swim: There were about 20 waves of 50 racers, I was in wave 8. The gun went off and I rand til mid-thigh water height and dove in. Streamline under water glide with strong dolphin kicks to get ahead of the pack. My adrenaline was pumping and I came up sprinting. Before long I was already in the middle of the wave ahead of me. Passed them and moved onto the next wave. First out of the water in my wave @ 5:07 7th overall in the race. Good start!
T1: Pardon my language... it was a shit show! I'd practiced many times but my brain was overexcited. Taking my wetsuit off getting it caught on my timing chip made me panic. Got it off and threw on my helmet before my bike jersey, took of the helmet and threw on the jersey, wet body + tight jersey = stuck. I pulled and yanked at it to get it down heard a few stitches rip and tried to calm myself. Shoes on I grabbed my bike and forgot the helmet, ran back and grabbed the helmet and hopped on my bike. 3:42... humorous after the fact.
Bike: Flat and fast but a bit of headwind for the first few miles until the turns t turned into a wicked crosswind, I was able to ride that wind on the way back and recover a little. Definitely getting passed by a lot of stronger bikers. Like I said it's my weakness. Legs were tight but ready for the run. Bike time: 44:00, 18.1 mph pace, around 250th overall.
T2: Much better than the first transition. Dropped off the bike grabbed my watch and took off the jersey, it was hot!!! About a minute flat.
Run: Flat! Stretch out the legs and felt loose after about 4 minutes, shortened stride and tried to pick up the pace a little. At the turnaround I felt it in my gut, I had to take a crap!!! 1.5 miles to go, suck up the pain and hammer down! Pick off runners one by one and keep looking ahead to the next guy. Finish line was in sight and started the kick. Before I knew it I had finished my first tri. Run time 20:30, 6:50 per mile, about 60th overall.
Awesome experience! My chip malfunctioned and didn't have me finishing the run but I had my time on the watch, total time about 1:14:30 placing me around 120th. Funny thing is my finish line photo was one of the main pictures used to advertise the event for 2012, but the race results had me at DNF, nut it's all good. I knew I had finished!
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