Race Report: Rogersville Wildcat Duathlon - 1:20:26.7

The  2009 Rogersville Wildcat Duathlon in Rogersville, Mo was my very first multisport event in the Ozarks.  It was a very small race with only 43 participants and 10 year age groups.  It was a fairly cold morning, with the temps just breaking 40 and 7mph gusts of wind.  This was certainly a "C" race for me, and I was planning on taking it pretty easy since I had an 11 mile long run to do the following day.  I did well, those things considered, and overall it was a great way to stretch the race season just a bit. 

Also, I have to brag just a little bit...  There was a 5k going on at the same time and Lana placed 3rd in her AG as well.  Thats right, 3rd in a 10 year age group.  Thats impressive!  I'd say all that long slow low intensity running is really paying off on the 5k times for both of us.

Overall Place:  21
AG Place: 5

Age Group 30-39M

Run 1
This was a bit of a wildcard for me because I haven't done a duathlon before.  I was running somewhere between "go for it" and "take it easy, this is a C race and you have 11 miles to go tomorrow" so overall I was happy.  There were a few rolling ozark hills on the course (read mountains) but I felt really strong.  I found myself pushing a 7:/34 at mile 1 and actually pulled way back. 

Overall Rank: 24
Time:  16:51.9
Distance: 2 Mi
Pace:  8:26/Mi

T1

I really took my time in transition.  I was trying to be fast and efficient but I was wearing my pearl izumi shoe covers because I wasn't willing to freeze my feet off for a few seconds of speed and they took a while to get right.

Time:  2:38.5

Bike
All summer I've been grumpy about my bike speed in Missouri.  This was a bit of vindication however.  My 20Km PR pace this year was just under 21 Mph, so 17.7 Mph is pretty much the worst 20Km bike split I've ever seen.  That being said, my overall rank jumped from 24 to 13 on the bike, and there wasn't a biker I saw that I didn't pass.  What I'm getting at is that biking in the Ozarks is very challenging to say the least, and that I did about as well compared to other riders in the Ozarks as I do on land not best suited for mountain goats.

Overall Rank:  13
Time:  41:25.4
Distance: 12 Mi
Speed:  17.7 MPH

T2

Not sure what happened here, but the timers didn't get my T2 time for some reason. 
??
Run 2

Run 2 was kind of bad.  I had some really serious cramps in my right calf.  I had to walk for a few minutes in the beginning.  Eventually I ran with the cramp and that was a bigger mistake.  This week I'm spending most of the time on the sidelines with a calf injury...  Even with the walk though, I don't think I was at 10:53/mi.  I have a feeling my T2 time got factored into this. 

Overall Rank:  34
Time:  21:45.8
Distance: 2 Mi
Pace:  10:53/Mi



Overall Race Time:  1:20:26.7

Afterwards I went in and tried to get warmed up and ate some post race goodies.  It was a great race that I would do again, but I REALLY hope I'm not in the Ozarks at this time next year to do it...

Running towards the finish

Running out of T2

Rev 3 Cedar Point – The Race Report That Didn’t Happen

So here it is.  Cedar Point was my A race for the year.  The goal of this year was to build on the bike, and build on the run, so that I could get some revenge on my 140.6 performance at IMWI. 

The Plan

Swim - I worked hard in the pool this year.  I suffered a lot.  I swam so hard that I spent as much time gasping for breath at the gutter as I did swimming I think.  And I improved.  A lot.  My best guess is I’d have gone around 33 minutes in a wet suit, give or take a minute.

Bike – My 20K TTs have always been strong.  This year I really worked to spread that fast out over 56 miles.  My best 56 miles was done in 2:38 in training.  That was two months before Cedar Point, and I was sharp.  On a clear day, on a very flat cedar point course, with agreeable wind and a taper, I was optimistically expecting 2:23.   The power numbers were working out.  It would have been great.

Run – My run still really wasn’t where I wanted it, but with some help I have been able to improve my comfort at the marathon pace speeds tremendously.  I ran a 2:09 on a hilly course, a month before, but my coach and I believed I had 1:55 in me on race day.

So, That’s 33 minutes + 143 minutes + 115 minutes + 10 minutes for transition = Right at 5 hours, give or take. 

That would have been a phenomenal time. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.  The day before the race we did the normal pre-race stuff.  I stood in lots of lines, got my bike set up, did some 10 minute shake down workouts, etc.  Then we got some food at the Outback Steakhouse in Sandusky and went to bed. 

I jumped up out of bed around 4am, ran to the bathroom, and threw up.  My brain went into triage mode “Maybe it was just nerves, I thought.  I’ll be ok… that’s stupid, you don’t get that nervous…ok, first thing is you need to get your prerace breakfast in you so you’re ready to race in three hours.  PB&Banana sandwich time!”  But I was nauseated at the thought of eating, and found myself in the bathroom throwing up again.  There was no way.  I was getting sick over and over, and I knew that was it.  My race was over.  I told Lana, and posted something on facebook so people wouldn’t be watching for my splits.  And I went back to bed.  The next 24 hours were a blur of vomiting, watching myth buster reruns, and sleeping.  At about 2pm I trudged through transition to pick up my bike.  For the most part I hurt too bad to be sad I wasn’t racing, but when I saw folks out on the run course my heart was broken. 

The next day, I was mostly back to normal.  I woke up wanting food, which was a good sign.  And as I ate, the feeling of loss really came over me.  I was so fit, would I have really broken 5 hours?  I don’t know.  I never will know.  I remembered back to a day a few months ago.  I worked all day with Lana to stain our deck.  Then I went out and did a long run.  And then I finished staining the deck.  I was so tired I was dead on my feet.  There were so many days like that, were I had sacrificed sleep, comfort, and sanity to build for my race.  I felt really cheated; I worked really hard, but didn’t have anything tangible to show for it. 

And then something great came out of it!  No, just kidding, not really.  There’s no happy turn of events to report.  I still feel cheated.  I still don’t have anything to show for it.  I may or may not have broken 5 hours, and I may or may not ever be in that place again.  I’ll never really know.  All I can really do though is move on and focus on the next race. 

Fighting Illini Triathlon 2010 1:13:48.7

This is my second “Fighting Illini” triathlon. The first happened in May of 09 and was called “Tri-The-Illini.” The course changed slightly, with the run between the pool and T1 signficantly increasing and the addition of about 2 miles on the bike. My 2009 times are denoted in parenthesis because it’s kind of fun to see the improvement a year can bring.

This was also my last triathlon of the 2010 season, which is both a little happy and a little sad. I like to race, that’s for sure…but my body and mind are both ready for the break that a reduction in volume will bring post season. It was rainy, my legs were still trashed from my long run two days before, and overall I was kind of “meh.” Of course I still have a marathon to run before I can call it “off season” officially. Anyway, here is the race report.

AG 2/14 (17/25)
Overall 47/332 (153/301)

Swim 300m
Rank 5 (18)
Time 6:07.6 (7:26.95)
Rate 2:02/100m (2:48/100m)

I forgot my goggles at home…Oops. Luckily I was able to buy some at the U of I ARC. They were not my awesome Aqua Sphere Kayennes, and immediately leaked, but they were better than nothing.

I really suck at those indoor pool snake swims where you have to swim under a lane line. I blow it and lose time at the wall every time. In other news, I saw a purple Tri-Shark jersey in the lane as I was passing and didn’t want to impede a team mates swim, so I swam right on top of this poor college girl (sorry, and welcome to triathlon…).

T1
Rank 2 (10)
Time 2:27.9

It was a LONG run into T1, but I really rocked it. My secret weapon was all the barefoot running I’ve been doing. Run an 1/8 of a mile barefoot on asphalt? Sure…I do 4 miles barefoot on asphalt all the time. Zoom!

Bike
Rank (2) 6
Time 40:06.5
Speed 21.6 mph

I was pushing hard on the bike, but there were a lot of turns and the course was wet. I’m a little skittish turning still after the accidents, so I took things slow and lost some speed. Also, there was a ton of slow traffic on the course. College kids rocking out the swim crazy fast and then jumping on their Huffy Mt. Bikes. Overall, I’m a little disappointed in my late season bike performance. My NP was only 218 W, and VI was 1.04. I can do better.

T2
Rank 8 (22)
Time 1:31.0

I’m slow in transition. Something I’d work on if my focus was short course, but for now it isn’t. Nothing really interesting here though, I just did my thing.

Run
Rank 4 (24)
Time 23:35.7 (28:33.40)
Pace 7:36/mi (9:13/mi)

I was really happy with my run. I’ve made huge improvements over the last year in running. In this race I went from second to last in my AG to 4^th. Not too bad! Off the bike I was doing about 7:45, and once my legs opened up I was able to really start pushing. I negative split the 5k, finishing my last mile around 7:00/mi and the last .1 at around 6:34/mi.

Overall

I’m pretty happy with my overall performance. I felt my bike was weak, but my run was pretty strong and my swim was much improved. It was a great way to end the season. Post race was cool. I got to catch up with some friends and fellow Tri-Sharks, I got an awesome beer mug as an award, and I got some great harvest bread(they were a sponsor of the race)…which is like the best bread in the world. I wish I could bake like they do. YUM! 

 

It was a great way to end the 2010 Tri season.

Ironman Wisconsin 2011 14:18:09

I woke up at 3:30am on 9/11/11, and I knew the day was finally here.  Ironman.  The race I’ve been aspiring to for the last three years, was going to happen in three and a half hours.  Even if everything went exactly to plan, I knew this race would test me. But that wasn't the case.  Almost nothing went how I planned.  

The first indication of the challenges that were ahead was apparent as soon as I opened my eyes.  The head cold I had been dealing with all week was still in full force.  It was probably worse than the day before in fact.  That was outside of my control though; all I could do was manage it the best I could with the medicine I had stuffed in all my bags. 

I ate my typical race breakfast, drank coffee, and left for the race. 

Swim

Distance – 2.4 Miles

Time- 1:20:50

It's an amazing thing to be in the water at an Ironman Swim start. Thousands of athletes were lined up in the murky but very glassy water. Mike Reilly was telling us we were all going to “be an ironman” today. The cannon went off, “Beautiful Day” by U2 was blasting on the PA, and suddenly the water erupted into chaos. 

For the first 400 Yards I went hard. In mass starts I would rather be swam over than swim over other people...

I felt really good, and I was shocked and happy to see 1:20 on the clock when I got out of the water.

T1

Time – 12:30

I carefully ran through T1, did what I needed to do, and got going. I was not going to be heroic running barefoot in T1 and screw up my day with a fall.

Bike

Time – 6:45:24

Distance 112 Miles

As the bike started out through Madison we entered a bike path that went under a city street. Unfortunately, with less than two miles in, a rider crashed her bike and was being attended to by paramedics, which stopped the bike course. It was frustrating to have my foot down while the clock was running, but the woman that fell off her bike had bigger issues. She was being taken off the course on a back board. I hope she was okay.

I made it through the “stick” and hit the first aid station, where I threw my bottle and picked up a bottle of powerbar and a bottle of water, and very nearly avoided a second pile up, when a rider went down at the aid station.

About ten minutes later, I grabbed my powerbar bottle to take a drink. It was empty. The volunteer that handed it up to me didn't screw the cap on tight, and the bottle drained out. The next aid station was water only, and the combination of those two issues meant I was going to be short about 200 calories in my first hour.  I typically eat a cliff bar in T1, but that didn’t happen today.  My stomach wasn’t feeling up to it, possibly because of the rough swim or because of my cold. 

I was still biking very well and making many passes. My bike was set up well, and I was happy to see that with the addition of my aero helmet, wheels, and removing my two training bottles + holder I was averaging about 19 mph on the bike.

At about 25 miles in I was passing someone and I hit a BIG pothole I didn't see. I was immediately worried that I damaged something. A few miles later I felt the back of my bike bouncing. I looked down to see the rear tire flat and my heart broke. I knew my bike split was ruined. If I couldn't get moving again, my race was over. I'd been training for 12 months for this day, and it was hard to think this might be the end of my day.

I got off my bike, closed my eyes for 5 seconds, and got some perspective on things. An accident, nutrition problems, and now a flat and the clock wasn’t even at 3 hours yet... I’d like to say I was totally calm and prepared, but that would be a lie.  I was a mess. 

Okay, I thought, some things are happening that I don't want, but flats and colds are completely outside of my control. Regardless, I can quit now, or I can keep moving forward...those were my options.  Walking away would have been very easy in that moment.  Quitting becomes exponentially easier when you know that no matter how the rest of the day plays out you can't perform to the best of your ability. Continuing meant suffering a lot, for a sub-par performance. This was my first Ironman though, the race I've had my eye on doing for at least the last 3 years. I've sacrificed a lot to get to this day. My wife was out on Old Sauk with my parents, cheering for me. So, I decided to keep going, and just make it the best day I could.

I pulled my back wheel off and checked for damage. It looked ok, other than the flat.  I grabbed the razor blade out of my flat kit and cut the flat tubular in half and peeled it off the rim. I pulled my spare on and inflated it. I was moving forward again, but I had lost about 15 minutes.

At about mile 32ish I finally hit an aid station that had calories. I drank some perform and supplemented with my EFS, just like in training, but things weren’t working like they did in training.  My stomach went from feeling bad to feeling awful.  My hamstrings/quads were starting to cramp. I was covered in salt and the day was proving to be a bit hotter than expected. I needed salt, calories, and water and I was struggling to get sufficient amounts of them.  I was totally unprepared for all of this, as my nutrition had always been pretty much perfect in training. 

At mile 46 I saw Lana and my Mom cheering for me at Old Sauk. I tried to smile and wave, they gave me such a positive lift, and I didn't really want to expose them to the badness I was going through.

I was doing the best I could to ride in my power zone on the bike, which was difficult as I had a lot of slower bike traffic to pass now, but overall things were getting better. By the time I went through Verona on my first loop I was feeling pretty strong and my stomach issues seemed under control. Unfortunately I had to stop at bike special needs to get my spare tubular / co2 from my special needs bag. After flatting once, I wasn't going to ride without a spare and risk a DNF, but that meant again my foot came down, more minutes gone.

On a climb about 60 miles in I saw my friends Seth and Jessica.  I had no idea they were going to be there, and I kind of had to do a double take when I saw them.  Seth ran next to me briefly as I climbed and I told him about my flat.  I had this odd thought.  Ultrarunners talk about how they get these hallucinations after running for hours, of ghost wolves chasing them and things like that.  I wondered briefly if I was being chased by a ghost Seth, but I quickly dismissed the idea, as that would probably be the lamest hallucination ever.

I saw Lana again in Verona on my second loop, probably around mile 90. Again, it was a much needed pick up. The cramps were back again. I was now about 700 calories under plan, putting me at around 150-200 an hour.  Not nearly enough.  I was struggling to balance getting more calories and water in with not vomiting, and I was losing.  I only peed once on the bike, around mile 60, so I was dehydrated as well. I was beginning to struggle with holding power.  I’ve never had nutrition problems in a race; I can normally eat anything anytime, and be fine.  I was totally unprepared for a nutritional emergency.  I was getting really frustrated and angry, which happens when my blood sugar is low.   I was cramping badly, something else that doesn’t really happen to me, especially on the bike.  I took some of my emergency salt; it was more likely a function of my lack of nutrition/hydration.  I didn’t really understand at the time how far gone I really was though.  By now I was struggling to hold 60% power and my focus was really slipping. 

But the decision was made, I was going to keep racing. Finishing would have to be good enough. I was going to finish.

At mile 102, on my way back to town, I noticed my back wheel starting to bounce. It was low on air...I had no idea how. I still don't, in fact. My first intention was just ride it for the last few miles. It wasn't quite flat, and it was a tubular anyway, so I figured it would maybe make it to 112. Unfortunately about 107 I noticed it was getting worse.  I knew I was working harder to pedal on a flat, I was worried I was going to roll the tire off the rim, and I knew my bike time was screwed anyway… So, I stopped for a third time, and put another CO2 cartridge into the tire. Luckily, this time it held until I got back to transition, but I lost more time with a third stop.

Yeah, I was having a bad day. But, things could have been worse. There was a guy I passed riding into T2. He was carrying his bike, covered in blood, back into T2 to start his marathon.

T2

Time 11:39

T2 was a mess. There was lots of carnage, and a lot of folks looking less healthy than me. I did my thing, changed socks and shoes and went. The cramps were still there so I took more salt and drank some water.  I tried some gel but it didn’t stay down. 

Run

Time 5:47:46

Distance 26.2 Miles

I was very worried when I started the run. Scared may be a better word. Running a marathon isn't an easy thing on my best day and I knew I wasn’t in any shape to do it at the moment.   I was running very easy 10 minute miles, but my stomach was still wonked and my nutrition was worse. Every time I tried to drink anything with calories at the aid stations I'd throw up. My calves were and quads were cramping very badly. I stopped taking in calories at about mile 6 because I was worried that they'd see me get sick and pull me off the course. I was also worried that it would make my hydration situation worse.

I saw Lana, my parents, and our friends Seth and Jessica at Mile 7.5. By the time I saw them again, around mile 14, I was in the weeds. I was walking. I was totally bonked. I couldn't feel my teeth or look at the ground without it spinning. I was cramped beyond belief. I remember asking Lana if I could make the cutoff if I had to walk. I was pretty much done. Luckily, Mom and Dad went to eat, I really didn't want them to see me like that. I knew they'd be worried enough. At that point someone made the suggestion to try pretzels at the aid stations. I figured that I had nothing to lose, besides more walking and vomit. Sure enough, that did the trick. I only ate a few pretzels per aid station, but it was something and they were staying down. I was able to add bananas, chicken broth, and a little coke on top of that. Things got just a little better, and I was able to run most of the last half of the marathon. It wasn't a fast or pretty run, but it was a run.  The cramps got slightly better too.  In the end I think I probably ran the entire marathon on 10 pretzels and a quarter of a banana. 

On Being an Ironman

As I turned towards the finish, it seemed bittersweet. It was a day that had lots of downs, and very few ups.

When people asked me how fast I was going to finish this race, I told them my goal was 16:59:59, but I knew I had a 12 hour IMOO in me.  Maybe I did, I’ll never really know.  As it turns out, my first Ironman was going to be more about perseverance than performance. 

It's cliché to say things like “well, just play that hand that you're dealt” or “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” but things are cliché for a reason. In the end, I turned down the carpet, “hi fived” the fans, and smiled when Mike Reilly called out “Michael Bernico, 34, of Bloomington Illinois, you are an Ironman!” 

There’s no question that putting together a 12 hour race where everything went to plan would have made me very happy, but fighting for a 14:18:09 where nothing went right is probably better. 

 

Almost nothing went how I planned.  I finished anyway. 

Cedar Point 70.3 - 05:29:01.830

After a stomach flu related DNS at Cedar Point last year, and a terrible DNF at the half distance this year, I really wanted Cedar Point to go right. 

Please be sure to read this post on how I revamped my nutrition for a cramp free (but still very colorful) experience.

Lana had to work until Friday evening, so we drove half way from Illinois to Ohio Friday night and we stopped at South Bend Indiana, in this awful hotel.   It was right on Notre Dames campus, and there were groups of drunk hockey players out playing bags in the parking lot until 3 in the morning.   The next morning they had ‘breakfast’ that both of us were pretty afraid of, but since there was no microwave in the room we made do.

We made it to Ohio and got a quick swim in, then registered.  After registration I was shaking down my bike when I discovered my front wheel was flat.   I fixed it and noticed the wheel was once again leaking from the valve.   I changed the valve extender, and my problem was fixed so I checked my bike in.  To say I was on edge would be a massive understatement.

That night we made dinner in our room, as extra food poisoning prevention. Unfortunately Lana said her stomach was already upset.  I walked down the beach to check my bike one last time that night.  The tire was holding…  I set the alarm for 4am and went to bed.

That night, at about 2 am, Lana was sick.   It seemed very similar to what I had the year before.  After the tire stress, and then this, I had really had my fill of this race.  Two years in a row…

I thought about it, but I knew Lana would want me to race.  She went back to bed.  I felt terrible for her.   When I got dressed that morning I had a problem with the zipper on my new jersey.   I’d only worn it once before, so Lana suggested I take her bike jersey with, just in case…

Swim

Time  35:19

Distance 1.2M

Rate 2:00/100

AG Place 13 / 75

The lake swim was moved to the bay this year, because a 25ish mph wind was creating some rip currents in the lake that made swimming too dangerous, according to the coast guard.

It was a TT start, and I had to wait forever (it felt) to swim.   The swim was at least half a mile from T1. 

My swim went really well.   I had a new wetsuit I was looking forward to wearing (Tyr Hurricane Cat 5).   My only complaint, and it happens a lot in triathlon swims, is that the distance just doesn't add up.   My GPS reported 1.33 miles instead of 1.2.  That’s the difference between a 1:33/100 swim and a 2:00/100 swim.   Admittedly, I could have sighted poorly or my watch could have been off, but I rarely swim as slow as 2:00/100, even on a cool down lap, and I doubt very much that a 2:00/100 pace would have gotten me 13 in my AG.   So, I choose to believe I swam the 1.3 miles.  :)

T1: 09:35

Note previous comment about long long run to T1.

Bike

Time 2:36:07

Distance 56 Miles

Speed 21.53

AG Place 16 / 75

Well, the good news is I had air pressure in my tire!

Conditions were pretty bad.    It was very windy and misting rain, enough to make the cornering slow.

After the first 10 minutes I started working at my goal watts.  My RPE was way too high though, like time trial high.  But I was still missing my numbers by about 5W.  I looked down and noted I was averaging about 23 Mph.   Nope, too hard.  Something’s wrong with the quarq maybe.   I was questioning everything, trying to figure out if I should push it, back down, or something else.  What’s the plan?   I spun the pedals backwards a few times to try to zero the quarq out.   Still, things aren’t feeling right, and I seriously doubt my electronics.   Then I remember that I calibrated the quarq when it was in the rev3 rack.  Maybe that?  

 Then comes a wave of doubt.   Have I already blown it?   Did I go too hard chasing that number to run later?   In the end, I made the call to flip to my plan B screen, which has heart rate but not power on it, and rode by RPE and heart rate. 

By mile 56, I was ready to get off the bike, and my average pace was right in line with what I did at route 66, on a worse day.   So, even if I wasn't hitting my numbers, I was going hard enough for today. 

The last ten miles of the bike were with a wicked cross wind coming from over the beach.  It was like being sand blasted.  I was holding on for dear life, and sand was everywhere.   Up my nose, in my mouth, everywhere.   I was happy to be done, but unsure about the run.  

  

T2: 04:13

Right off the bike into T2 I noticed the zipper had broken on my new jersey.   Seriously?   Luckily I had Lana’s bike jersey at her request earlier.  

I took my time in T2, changing into dry socks, plan B for wet weather on the bike.  I glanced down at my HRM and saw that the sock change brought me down into zone 1, so I figured I’d go out and run a few miles at low zone 2 and see what stuck, I was wanting to be careful at this point.   Thinking about Lana sick in bed, I didn't want to drive all the way out here for another DNF, so a conservative approach was warranted.

Run

Time 2:03:48

Distance 13.1 Miles

Pace 9:31

AG Place 25 / 75

After the first few miles ticked by, I was pretty pleased to see I was sitting right around 9 minute pace, at the lowish end of zone 2 heart rate.   Combined with quick aid station walks, I was averaging about 9:20.   Not speedy, but I knew at even that pace I was lined up for a huge PR.  I was running really well, and decided to stay at that conservative pace.  (Yes Laura, your run training is working!!!)  

At about mile 5 I picked it up into upper zone 2, but I was really staying at about the same pace.  

Around mile 10, I finally let myself hit zone 3.   Running back into the park the last two miles, I was running directly into the wind and I was very glad I was as fresh as I was.   I was right at threshold, running a 10 minute mile.   Once we finally turned, I was all out, trying not to barf, and running to the finish.  

And finally, having executed every plan B in my race plan, thinking about my poor wife with the same stomach bug I had last year, my jacked up quarq, and the flats the day before, I turned down the finish chute to smile for my finish line picture, in my purple woman’s bike jersey, relieved to cross the finish and happy that an anvil didn't fall from the sky to bonk me on the head.   Good grief, what a race.

Great Illini Olympic Triathlon - 2:41:37.1

AG 3/4
Overall 17/55

I was a “racing spectator” at this race. My primary goal for this event was to support Lana. This was her A race. Other than that, I had no real goal other than to have fun and get a good workout in. 

 

It was a very small and somewhat poorly organized race, which is kind of too bad, I would have liked her first Olympic distance race to be met with more grandeur. We didn’t really know it was as small as it was though.

Anyway, to the race report…

We woke up early and had a PB / Honey sandwich on Great Harvest bread (which is becoming a tradition for us) and some hotel room coffee. Then we set out for the race.

Swim 1500m
Rank 3
Time 30:24.4

The swim was pretty nice. We were in Lake Mattoon, which was as nice of a lake as you could hope for in South/Central IL. There was a little bit (a very little) of chop once we got out into the water, which made things interesting.

T1
Rank 4
Time 2:51.85

I was totally wonked out of my head in T1. I was very dizzy, rapid breathing, and just in general feeling out of my head. Why? Caffeine. Too much of it in fact. Yeah, in the right dose it is ergogenic, but too much is bad. Two Caffein pills are about right for me, but not when combined with my morning coffee. Oops. Lesson Learned.

I saw Lana in T1 and she was looking strong. I cheered as much as I could and kept moving.

Bike 24.8 M
Rank 2
Time 1:12:59.35
Speed 20.4 mph

It was my first race after changing from pedals from SPD-SL to Speedplays, and it took me forever to get clipped in. After I got clipped in and got going things were ok. My NP was right around 220W, which is ok for a 40k tri split. My time was bad though and was caused by a very bad headwind for a lot of the course combined with sitting on the mount line trying to get my pedals to work. Everyone was a bit off though, so that’s ok.

I was a bit surprised to not see Lana on the bike, but I could have just missed her when I had my head down, hard to say.

T2
Rank 3
Time 1:31.80

Just another T2 really…

Run 10K
Rank 3
Time 53:49.7
Pace 8:41/mi

I didn’t really enjoy this run. It was out on country roads that were in bad shape with real big crowns, which are hard on my hips. I set a moderately hard pace and just cruised for the most part. I had no idea how I was doing because I didn’t really see anyone on the run. I was behind the fasties in the Oly, and ahead of the fasties doing the half ironman distance, so it was a bit desolate. 

 

About 4 miles into the run I saw Emily S and Mark G, who were running the half. Emily was a rock star as always, making the 13 miles look as effortless as a jog on the trail. She would later go on to win 1^st overall female. Mark passed me looking strong as well, and let me know that Lana had flatted on the bike course. I said something like “nuts” but it might have sounded more like “&*#$@!” He said she got it changed though, so at least there wasn’t a DNF involved. I can’t believe it. A second flat in 4 triathlons this season. Awful luck.

Overall

So, after that I finished the run and got cleaned up / switched in to spectator mode. It was really cool watching Emily S. win. It was a great learning opportunity to hear her talk about the race immediately afterwards. It was also awesome seeing my friend and fellow Tri-Shark Scott R. finish his first HIM strong and healthy (way to go Scott!!!). Mark G.’s continued bike awesomeness never ceases to amaze me as well. It’s very cool to be surrounded by so many great people.

Most importantly though, it was awesome to see all of Lana’s hard work pay off when she reached her goal and completed her first Oly. I saw the daily work that it took to get there. She worked hard and she did very well. Even after changing a flat, she managed to capture 1^st in the Athena category. I also ended up with 3^rd in my AG.

Post race there wasn’t really much food, other than pizza they quickly ran out of. The trophies were cool, but they were HUGE. I’m still not sure where I’m going to put the thing.

Overall, a great race!

Whirlpool Ironman 70.3 Steelhead – 5:44:34

This race, and the training leading up to it, is what my entire season has been about.  I’ve worked hard, and I’ve learned so much about triathlon, training, nutrition, and myself along the way.  That knowledge was expensive.  It came at the cost of lots of money, a little bit of blood and pain, and some serious psychological fatigue.  Honestly, it took a lot out of me.  I can happily report that, now, a few weeks later, I can look back and see everything it added as well.  Yeah, living like this is hard sometimes, but hard isn’t always bad. At this point I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Anyway, enough of that, here is what happened…

We were up at about 3:30 to get to transition.  It was a very early morning. 

For breakfast I had a peanut butter and honey sandwich on some delicious bread from Great Harvest bread in Bloomington.  Yum!

Race morning was COLD.  I was freezing, it was pouring rain, things were looking pretty bad.  Lana did her best to keep me warm in the two hours I had to wait between the close of transition and my wave start.

About an hour before my wave start I was getting hungry so I had a cliff bar and a bottle of Gatorade.  I sipped another bottle on the 1.2 mile walk down the beach to swim start. 

Age Group Place: 105
Overall: 956

Swim

My goal on the swim was 45 minutes.  I was planning on going out easy, cruising, and setting myself up for a good day.  I expected a slow swim because the end involved a ¼ mileish run up a sandy beach to T1. 

The rain had stopped by the time the race started.  The course was awesome and the water was even better.  I could see the bottom, even when the water was 10+ feet deep, the entire time.  It was really a beautiful place to swim.  

There was a bit of contact, but I kept a careful easy outside line and tried to play it safe.   I drafted a bit.  In the end, the swim was over fast and I was on my way to the bike.

I saw Lana and my parents on the way to T1, which was very nice.  I also passed a few fellow Tri-Sharks and their families/fans.  It was cool to see so many friendly faces. 

Distance: 1.2 Miles
Time: 38:08:00
100m: 1:59
Swim Div Place/Overall Place:  123/1110


T1

Iron Distance transitions were a lot different.  There was a lot of chatting and screwing around in T1 by many of the participants.  I mostly just smiled and did my thing however.   Sun block, socks, shoes, helmet, go! 


Time: 5:37

Bike

For the most part my nutrition was pretty straight forward.  I alternated between 3 Cliff Shot Blocks and 8 oz of Gatoraid every 15 minutes.  This worked out to about 300 cals/hour.

I did have one minor emergency.  I was planning on eating cliff shot blocks that I had in plastic bags in a bento.  Well, the rain had gotten into them, creating shot block soup.  It made things very sticky, and screwed my nutrition plans a bit, but I just drank a bit more Gatorade instead.

And wow, aid stations on the bike.  That was awesome!  I loved pitching bottles and grabbing fresh nutrition from the volunteers.  It felt like I was really doing something important and big.  Super cool!  

Things went really well for me on the bike.  My goal was 3 hours @ 180W.  I ended up riding 179W and did the course in 2:45:53.  I was about 1 Mph faster than I predicted, which I’m guessing is due to a combination of my race wheel, aero helmet, and good winds.  

Distance: 56 Miles

Time: 2:45:53

Mph: 20.3

Bike Div Place/Overall Place:  98/762

T2

I saw my parents and Lana again on the last mile of the bike, which should have really counted as part of T2.  We were corralled so tightly we could only ride about 14 Mph around the boardwalk.  Still, it was nice.  It felt like a victory lap!  

I put on fresh socks and sun block in T2, and in general caught my breath and took my time.  Things were going well, and I didn’t want to screw that up…and there was a big potential for that with me running a half after that great of a bike split. 

Time: 5:27

Run

Running off the bike is weird.  You get used to the bike speed and want to run that fast, but you have to remind yourself not to over and over.  Especially in the first few miles before things start to suck.  The first mile for me was spent seeing my pace on the garmin hit 7:00/mi and then saying to myself “no, you run 9s dummy…slow down” over and over. 

By the second mile I had found my legs, rounded a corner, and saw a huge hill.  Having just read “Born to Run” I remembered a quote from one of the ultra runners that was something like “if you can’t see the top, walk.”  That sounded like really solid advice, so I did.  At the top I started up my run again, quickly walking each aid station to get more fluid into me.

It’s hard to do nutrition with Gatoraid on the run, since it’s hard to know how much you’re drinking in those little, often highly diluted glasses.  I did my best and supplemented with gu every 3 miles to try and shoot for about 200 calories per hour. 

About 3 miles in I saw a hill on the 2 lap course that was even bigger than the last.  This time I knew that because of the laps I’d have to run it twice.  Cruel and unusual punishment I think…

Four miles I went through an aid station, smiling and feeling good.  I took on Gatoraid and some water.   They were also offering ice, and I saw a guy in front of me put some down his shirt.  That sounded REALLY nice, so I thought I’d do the same.  At first, that ice did feel GREAT.  Unfortunately, unlike that guy in front of me, I was wearing a one piece tri suit…and as the ice worked its way down to my crotch, I discovered a new motivation to run fast and prayed that the ice would quickly melt.  (Note to self: if you didn’t practice it, don’t do it…no matter how mundane it seems)

For the most part I was running the best half I’ve ever ran.  I felt strong and good the entire time.  My pace was sticking around 9/mile, but walking the hills and aid stations was driving the average up into the near 10s.  Around mile 5 though, I figured out that as long as I kept it under 10 I was pretty much guaranteed a sub 6 hour finish time.  I REALLY wanted sub 6, so I decided to keep things pretty cool, not push it, and hit that goal. 

I walked the monster hill on both laps, and started back towards the finish. 

It wasn’t until the very last mile that some of the stress of the race started affecting me.  I definitely found myself becoming a bit emotional.  My hydration and nutrition were pretty much spot on, but I did have some stomach issues.  I’m guessing that might have been related to 6 hours of liquid foods.  I think next time I’ll practice some race breakfasts with less fiber. 

I was able to pick up the pace for the last mile and finish very strong.  It was really cool to see my parents and Lana on my way to the finish and hear the announcer say “Congratulations Mike Bernico, nice to see you!” as I crossed the finish line. 

Distance: 13.1 Miles
Time: 2:09:29

Pace: 9:54/mi

Run Div Place/Overall Place:  105/1051

So that’s it.  That’s what my first half felt like.  I hit all my goals, and executed my plan pretty much without a hitch. 

What would I have changed?  Well, I’d have probably built my milage up faster in training, backed down earlier, and worked on more speed.  I would have focused more on running form and less on the numbers.  That’s just all in the details, things to tweak for next time.  For the most part I ran a great race. 

Post race I had some cheese pizza from pizza hut (they were a race sponsor) and spent some time with Lana, Mom, and Dad.  We went out to eat later on and got some sleep.  The next morning we all met for a great breakfast that included blueberry pancakes with fresh Michigan blueberries (the best EVER) and then Lana and I went to pick some blueberries (which was a blast) before we headed back home. 

70.3 done, I see you 140.6…

Dairyland Dare 8/13/2013

Sometime last winter Lana and I were thinking ‘you know, we need some more glassware.’  Well, rather than doing what a normal person would do, and  buy some, we decided that if we both completed the three triple crown rides, we’d take home a combined total of 6 commemorative pint glasses.  That clearly seemed like the smarter choice.   So, off we went to sign up.

Every year Spree Touring puts on the Wisconsin Triple Crown, which is a series of three very difficult bike rides.  If you can complete all three you get a cool Triple Crown Jersey.   This year Lana and I had worked all three into our schedule.   I rode the 100K with Lana for the first two, Arcadia’s Brute and The Kickapoo Kicker.   The plan was to cap off the series with the 200K Dairyland Dare route.

So, that was the plan.   Ride 126 miles, and climb almost 11000 feet.   The terrain is such that the ride would take me about 8-9 hours to do.   Here’s what happened.

Race Day -1

I’ve been so busy lately, that details have been falling through the cracks.    I finally got around to cleaning my bike and checking it over on the Friday we were supposed to leave.  As I was going over it I noticed a bulge in the carbon on my handlebars.   I took a deeper look, and sure enough, they were damaged.   I’m not sure how, or what happened, but they needed to be replaced so I had an emergency to deal with.  

Luckily, Bloomington Cycle and Fitness was able to save me (yet again) and had a very nice set of s-works shallow drop carbon bars.   Unfortunately those bars had to be installed.   So, I spent a few hours racing around getting that done before we left.   Nothing new on race day, right?  Oops.

In the haste of switching out my bars, I forgot to reattach my garmin mount, and I had to attach my bike computer with electrical tape.

I didn’t sleep well at all that night.

Race Day

We woke up about 5 am, and I had coffee and a PB&Honey on white bread.   My goal was to practice ironman style nutrition all day, so that included my normal pre-race breakfast.  I’d also be aggressively hydrating, taking salt, and eating cliff bloks. 

Once we got to the start, I realized I forgot my phone and had to bike back to the hotel (we couldn't get the car out), but that was cool, I like a nice long warm up before I do a 200K bike ride anyway.   That's 4 bonus miles, bringing my daily total to 130 btw...

Mile 0 - 60

The first few hours were pretty uneventful.   I was averaging about 16 mph with the climbs and targeting .68 IF.  My NP was up near 80% most of the time, in an effort to keep my cadence in at least the 60s on the big climbs.   The climbs were frequent rollers most of the time, with a fairly steep 20% climb.  At about mile 30, Lana caught up with me and we rode together until about mile 58. 

Miles 60-87

The hills got just a bit worse, but in general Dairyland Dare was the easiest of the three rides.  Don’t get me wrong though, it’s still plenty hard.   We ended up on some bike path on this portion of the course and that wasn’t so fun.  It was soft, slippery, and a little dangerous.  

Also of note was the absence of Roberts Road.   From 2010, I learned about this massively steep climb, at about mile 90, that was something like 22%.   It was gone this time.  I wasn’t sad about that.

At the mile 87 aid station I snagged a PB&J, I had been eating bloks for about 6 hours at this point...and I could have kept doing it, but PB&J just looked way better.

Mile 87 – 107 (The Dark Times)

This part of the course was a bit surreal.  I swear I was the only cyclist on the road.   It was quiet, lonely, surreal, and, well, hilly. 

 I started coming up with some theories that I decided I was testing, including:

• Wisconsinites are really sadists that lure us here to suffer on their hills, put numbers on our backs, and race us for sport.  Bonus points for their ‘miles until beer’ signs.  (Thus far I haven’t disproven this theory, and am of the opinion that it’s true.)
• Riding a bike is fun, but riding a bike for this many hours is kind of stupid.
• Am I lost?  I’m not sure…I’d ask that cow, but, well, I don’t speak cow.

Mile 107 to the End

At the mile 107 aid station I lingered a bit.   I tend to do a bit of a self-assessment, and I felt like I was doing good.   Let’s see:  Body?  Butt sore, back sore, hands sore, legs…doing ok. Shiney.   Energy…meh, well, I just rode a bike 107 miles, felt worse.   Hydration?  Still peeing at reasonable intervals.  Food?  Never want to see another cliff blok, other than that, pretty good. 

All in all, I was a bit shocked.  The last time I did the DD 200K I’d have ranked it as a 10/10 in difficulty.   This time through, I’m holding steady at about 7/10.   Feeling good, just keeping my head in the game.

So, then some of the hardest climbs hit.   There were a few 12-15% grades that just went FOREVER at about mile 118 I think?   I was riding with a few other guys, but they were holding me back and making things take longer, so I decided to just go and drop them.   They were very nice, but I was just ready to be off the bike.   At about mile 120 I was on a flat into town, and I decided I might as well get this over with so I got down into the drops and pushed at about .85 until the finish.   Someone caught my wheel and I pulled him all the way back home, which I’ll admit felt pretty good.  

In the end, my moving time was about 8.5 hours.  Not stellar, but not at all bad for a heavy guy, untapered, on a very hard course.   I finished strong and, honestly, could have ridden another 100k, but I was plenty glad I didn’t have to.

Post race was at the Lands’ End corporate offices.  It was a really awesome post-race event.   I got a shower, a massage, some beer by capital city brewery, and some post-race food. 

The next day we ran 6 very very slow miles and checked out “The House On The Rock” which was, the best I can tell, an interesting collection of junk in the middle of nowhere, assembled to separate tourists and their money, but to be honest it was totally worth it, definitely a must see place.

Race Report: Dells Rev3 70.3

Finally, I’ve made it to my first real race of the year.  On one hand, I was really happy to be racing a 70.3.  On the other, I knew this wasn’t the course for me.  The bike was hilly enough that it would use my weight against me, and kill my bike strength.  The run was hilly enough to be dangerous to my weak hamstrings and overall poor running.  It was going to be a tough day.  But, I was running better than I had been in a while.  My bike was strong.  And most importantly, I knew I was out to enjoy the day because the course took the pressure off of a PR. 

I was really excited for Lana though, this was her first 70.3.   She sure did pick a hard one!  Anyway, on with the race report. 

Swim

Time  35:38

Distance 1.2 Miles

Pace 1:51/100m

The swim was at Tommy Bartlet’s Water Show.  It was probably the coolest swim venue I’ve gotten to swim in.   I remember being 7 years old, watching the water show with my parents on vacation.  It  was pretty cool to be swimming in that same spot. 

It was a TT start, which is odd, but it was run well and things went off great. 

I metered my effort by breathing, and I think I left way too much on the table in the swim.  I finished feeling like I put out a pretty leisurely effort, and I was shocked and surprised by my time. 

There was a long uphill run, on asphalt, up to T1.  That part wasn’t so much fun. 

Bike

Time 3:00:45

Distance 56 Miles

Pace 18.58 Mph

I had ridden the course, so I knew the bike was gonna be tough.  And, it was.  I targeted .8 IF and felt great at that power level.  I was averaging about 21 mph until the 3 big climbs hit.  Then things got slow.  I tried to hold my power even, but just getting up the hills and making forward progress meant riding at 100% IF a lot of the time.  It was a climber’s course, which favored the very lite.   That isn’t me.  On the second climb, Seth flew by me looking especially strong and I’m pretty sure saying something like “weeeee, this is fun!”  Ok, so, maybe that wasn’t what he said exactly, but I sure did wish I was built to climb!

I operated in 15 minute intervals.  Every 15 minutes I’d do my best to hold .8 IF, eat a ¼ of a poptart.  Drink, and reset the clock.  Lana and I were recently watching Battlestar Galactica, and I was reminded of an episode we had recently watched where the cyclons attacked every 33 minutes, and so for days, the fleet lived 33 minutes at a time.  Every 15 minutes I’d “reset the jump clock” and go again.  It worked really well, and was a great strategy I’d use again.

After the big climbs, my pace picked up again.  I’d have averaged 21 mph, if I could have just removed those stupid hills.  Maybe I’ll stick to courses that work for me a little more next time.

I was feeling just a little weak towards the end.  I think I could have used some more calories overall, but it was a good ride in a bad place. 

Run

Time 2:09:12

Distance 13.1

Pace 9:51/mi

Out on the run I felt pretty good.  I knew it was hilly, I knew I was a weak runner, I wasn’t expecting much.  I held back on the first 5 miles, and kept it fairly easy.  I saw Emily (aka Captain Blood) right out of T2 .  In the athlete meeting the day before, we were warned NOT to swear at volunteers, and there was Emily in a volunteer shirt.  I suppressed the urge and kept jogging. 

About 5 miles in I picked it up a little bit, and turned the effort up to about a 7/10.  I saw Seth again, and he was going really hard.  And then came the hills.  They were rough, and the downhills were worse than the ups.  My hamstring issue flared back up again, and I was just hoping to avoid injury.  I walked a few of the hills, and I knew it would kill my pace, but there was just nothing I could do.  I saw Lana, about 3 miles behind me, after the turn around.  She was looking tired but strong, and I was really relieved to see her.  We both always worry about each other when we’re racing at the same time, and I was glad to know she got off the bike without any mechanicals. 

About 10 miles in I tried to turn it up again, but it wasn’t happening.  I was pretty much done, and I just held my pace.   I rolled into the finish feeling like I had raced, but with just a little in the tank.  My push was limited, because the PR was off the table.  But I had a great time, and had a good race.  I was saving that PR for cedar point in a few weeks.

Post-Race

Post-race, Rev had Brats and potato salad.  It was very “Wisconsin” and pretty tasty I thought.  I ate A LOT of potato salad, which is a bad idea in general, but it was pretty tasty that day.  Later on I watched Lana finish and we walked over to recover our bikes before joining Lana’s parents for pizza, and pancakes the next morning!