Track Racing Report 2014

Wow. How did I let this one slip? I wrote this in October 2014 and, well... I have no excuse. OK, I have a long list but none of them are really worth it. So here it is...

Well, another race season has come and gone. And what do I have to show for it? Maybe a cat-4 upgrade? Not quite, but more on that later.

To officially race at the Marymoor Velodrome you must jump through a few hoops-

Take one of their Adult Track Classes. These happen on various Saturdays and Sundays throughout the Spring/Summer. I took mine on June 21, 2014. It lasts 4 hours and give you a great introduction to the track, track safety, and basic race tactics. Bike rentals available just bring a helmet (and your own bike shoes/pedals, if you have them).
Safely compete at least 3 "Cat-5 races" on Thursday nights during the Spring/Summer.
After you have been cleared by the Thursday night racing officials, you can go to Monday Night racing, where the Cat 4 men duke it out.

At least that's what I've heard: I didn't make it to step #3 but I'm getting ahead of myself...

As described previously, I've been having a blast on Monday lunch breaks doing track workouts.

A sunny October day at the track: you better believe I put in a few laps!

I did quite a few practice runs before my personal schedule lined up with a Saturday track class. It showed me quite a few things I didn't know, like how to get on your bike and start pedaling without hanging onto a rail. No, I'm not kidding. Have you ever tried to start-off from a dead stop, with no assistance, with clip-less pedals and 48/15 fixed gearing? That one took a while to learn.

Just under 2 weeks later I made it to my first of three required cat-5 sessions. My son made a video of my first ever time trial (1-lap 400m TT from a standing start).

Not my best attempt but it was enough to get me seeded in the racing for the night. More importantly, I didn't crash and I stayed below the red line for the entire lap.

After that we did a 5-lap scratch race, a 3x4 points race, and an unknown distance race.

Sitting on the rail waiting to start my first scratch race. That's me, second from the rear.

Lap times in training vs. in a race (i.e. drafting)

Riding in a pack is a LOT different than alone on a wide-open 400m track. How different?

Best 400m lap time by myself: 39 seconds
Best 400m lap time in a pace line: 35 seconds

That doesn't look like much but consider this: that's an 11% improvement. The main reason is wind resistance while riding in a pack but the dynamics of pack riding also come into play. I know that the best way to run faster/farther is to find a running partner even if we only run side-by-side for the duration of the race, as I did in the 2010 Issaquah Triathlon.

The dynamics of pack riding are also something I seem to struggle with, especially the accordion action of entering/exiting a turn. I'm sure this will ease as I get more experience but for now it can be unnerving.

Second race night (i.e. I've got nothing)

After my first race night I was very excited for my second of three required cat-5 races. The night of the race something just felt "off" and I couldn't get moving as fast as I had before. After every race I would hang my head and pant like I had just run sprints.

It wasn't until later that night that I figured out the problem: I had a booster shot for T-DAP vaccine that morning and was having a mild reaction. Note to self: do not race within 12 hours of having a shot of any kind. It REALLY slowed me down. The other racers dropped me like 3rd period French, to coin a phrase.

Injury report

While coming home on my commute one night (July 2014) something didn't feel right. I got up the next morning with a familiar pain pattern. After a quick trip to the see the doctor yes, I had another hernia. Surgery ended my season before it really got started. As with 2013 this one had the same story: no riding for nearly 2 months. Ugg.

Just over 2 months later I rode my bike to work for the first time and, as expected, it took me a LONG time to ride to/from work. This winter is going to be a little rough. There is also this sleep issue I'm still dealing with (as in lack-of-it) which totally zaps my energy and motivation.

What about next year? I'm thinking track racing (at least an upgrade to cat-4), RAMROD, and Cycle Oregon. And maybe a triathlon. Only time will tell... }B^)

Magnum PI Ironman - A Race Report

The other day I was watching Magnum P.I. on Netflix, something I used to do with my family when the show was in its original run in the early '80s. Yes, my Netflix queue is full of shows like MacGuyver, Knight Rider, Highlander, etc. What caught my eye is that in episode 18 of season one, the season finale, Magnum competes in the Ironman!

OK, it's not exactly the Ironman Championship in Kona but it is close enough.

SPOILER WARNING: KEY PLOT POINTS DIVULGED. If you haven't yet seen this episode (season 1, episode 18), I highly recommend trotting over to your streaming provider of choice and check it out. The entire series of Magnum P.I. is available on Netflix as of Nov. 1, 2014.

Episode Details

Title: "Beauty Knows No Pain"
Guest Stars: Marcia Wallace (Barbara "Babs" Terranova), Jim Weston (Roger)
Air Date: 16 April 1981

Plot summary

Magnum is hired by Babs to find her missing fiance Roger. She cannot afford to pay for his services for more than one day. Her fiance is... blah blah blah... he needs to find a guy who is also being chased by some other shady characters and the best way to find/save him and the girl is to participate in a triathlon. Cool!

Race Summary

First off, the events are in the wrong order (swim/run/bike) but we'll overlook that and call it creative license. If they did put them in the right order, and called it the Ironman, the producers would have probably had a disagreement with the M-Dot guys (were they even enforcing the brand in 1981?). It fits better in the plot that way because a bicycle race is much more exciting than a foot race: they can do a quick montage of the swim and run while focusing more on the bike.

Training

He runs and swims often, as shown in just about every episode of the TV show, including the opening credits. He frequently does sea-kayaking (surf-kayaking), snorkeling, and is seen playing basketball, softball, and, my favorite, running from the resident guard dogs at the Robin Masters Estate. Overall he is in good shape.

Pre-race

They don't show packet pickup but they do show a Hawaiian band and hula dancers greeting the athletes. This scene also shows a banner with the name of the race, "The Iron Man Classic".

Copyright 1981, Universal Television, Glen A. Larson Productions

The racers do have their numbers written on their shoulders. Magnums's number is 62.

Rick and TC give him a thorough pre-race rubdown while Babs, acting as his "trainer" shoves a salt tablet in his mouth.

They line up for a mass start and are off!

Swim

The first thing I noticed was that the swim was done VERY close to shore, within 75 feet (20-25 meters). The race distance was 5 miles?!?! (not 2.4) He swims without a wetsuit or swim cap, as do almost all the racers, which makes me wonder how much drag is created by his hairy chest and long hair. He does wear goggles with clear lenses.

His stroke isn't too bad and he breathes on every left stroke. His form is wonderful compared to some competitors who swim with their heads completely above the water.

From the start line, Rick, TC, Higgins, and Babs drive along the course in the Island Hopper van to meet Magnum at T1. Here the race team experiences a problem known to many triathlete spectators...

TC: "Which one is he?"

Rick: "He's right there! Can't you see?"

They then show a wide shot of the swimmers coming in to shore and it is not clear where Magnum actually is. The swim is typically the least exciting part of spectating at any triathlon. At least the band and hula dancers are there as well.

T1

The first transition area is a picnic table in the sand, with all his gear brought in by his transition team of Babs, HIggins, Rick and TC. The general public are in and around T1 area, which is not closed or marked in any way. Babs is in charge of his "4 ounces of glucose", TC is in charge of towel, tank top, and shorts, while Rick is handling socks, shoes, and foot powder (!). Rick and TC hold up a towel while Magnum changes his shorts. Higgins attempts to encourage Magnum by giving a rousing speech describing the Greek battle at Marathon as Rick and TC help Magnum on with his socks (with foot powder!) and shoes.

As he sets out on the run Babs shouts, "Knees to chest!" A comment no doubt to remind him of his run technique.

Run

The run goes along beautiful roads and paths with views of the surf. The entire run in a short montage and moves directly into the bike. During the montage Magnum does a voice over to advance the plot. It is here where we get the title of the episode, where Magnum talks about how he had to try hard because "Beauty knows no pain."

T2

Not shown as the montage flows seamlessly from run to bike. Apparently T2 happens but we don't see it. I can only imagine it was like T1.

Bike

Earlier in the show Higgins announces that Magnum will be sponsored by Robin Masters, who will buy him an "Italian Racing Bike", which the internets say is a Bianchi with the decals removed. Magnum's helmet is a typical 80's minimal style (foam core with plastic). Most of the bike course is not closed, moving through "Austin Memorial Gardens" near Waimea Falls Park O'ahu. Inside the garden they have to dismount to walk over a bridge then ride across some packed dirt, not an ideal road bike course but perfect for Cyclocross.

At one point during the bike leg TC counts the riders in front of Magnum and determines he is in 14th place. At that exact point Magnum has figured out a major plot point, thanks to something Higgins says, he decides to turn around on the bike course to go back into the garden to save Roger. As such he never finishes the race. As he gets off the bike he is quite tired and can barely walk, as would be expected after such a ride.

Post Race

After a scuffle involving Roger, Magnum, Babs, and a guy with a gun, Higgins points out that "you know you have no chance of winning." Magnum, now holding the gun, looks at Higgins, then at the pistol in his hand, and back at Higgins as we fade to black.

Magnum is then seen resting in the main house of the Robin Masters Estate with his feet on ice as they watch the news highlights of the "Iron Man Classic". They see footage of Magnum riding backwards on the course, much to TC's chagrin, until the news reporter compliments the rider on his resolve and repeated mentions Island Hoppers, TC's tour company, and shows the logo on Magnum's jersey.

Where might he have placed?

Swim: As far as swimming goes his stroke is slow, short, but not terribly inefficient. Hmmm, sounds like me? His pace would easily put him in the rear 2/3 of the pack. The footage gives no visual perspective of where he might be.

Run: Magnum claims he can "run 8 miles a day in under an hour". That puts him at a 7:30 mile pace, which is moderate but not in contention to win the race. If he could hold that pace for a marathon (doubtful) he would have a 3:16 split, which would have been faster than the real 1981 winner John Howard by about 6 minutes, and only 9 minutes slower than the Men's run best in 2013, Joe Kashbohm at 2:59:48. What is more likely is that he was doing 8:30-9 pace, which would make his run split 3:45-3:55, squarely in the middle of the pack.

Bike: As stated previously, he was 14th up until the point that he turned around. We aren't shown at what point he did turn around so we cannot gauge how much he had left at this point. Based on his swim and run pace as well as his 14th place observation he was no doubt moving up the field. If this is the case he may have finished in the top 10 or just outside it.

Conclusion/Lessons learned:

An Ironman can be a great place to get away from it all and solve an attempted murder case.
Even guys with shaggy hair and a big 80s mustache can get a top-20 finish at Ironman.
Sometimes the most boring person in your life (i.e. Higgins) can give you the inspiration you need when you least expect it.
In the end, saving the life of a petty thief is more important than finishing an Ironman. Wait... what?

}B^)

Finally Getting Back on Track

At 12:30 pm today the countdown officially ended: sunny skies, high temp around 55, and a slow day at work. The stars aligned to allow me to bring out my new training tool...

That's right, I'm finally doing something I've always wanted to get into. And it came about on a whim.

My '07 Scattante has been having some frame issues so I've been shopping around for possible replacement options. This has taken me to Craigslist and eBay countless times in the past several months. As I was browsing frame after frame, I came across a listing for a track frame with a current bid of $30. After considering it for a few minutes, I put in a max bid of $70 and thought nothing of it. A couple days later I received an email from eBay notifying me that I won the auction at exactly $70. I was floored.

You will notice that it is missing a few things, like wheels, a seat, and even a chain. With further searching on eBay I found a set of wheels that fit my needs: tough, somewhat aero (Deep-V rims), and around $200.

That left me with just a few other parts to purchase, which arrived from Amazon over the coming week: a chain, cogs of various sizes, a cog lockring, and a Park Tool Head-Gear lockring wrench.

I had other parts on-hand from previous replacements or stock-ups: Schwalbe Durano S tires, Specialized tubes, a Forte Pro SLX seat, and Shimano PD-R540 SPD-SL pedals.

And then I had to go to the bike store to buy some rim tape. Duh!

Now that I have a track bike assembled and ready to go... I became a hipster and started wearing weird clothes and drinking PBR, right?

Um... No.

Only 5 miles from my house is the track that hosted the cycling events for the 1990 Goodwill Games, many regional Olympic trials, and several National Championships, the Marymoor Velodrome. It is a fabulous outdoor, 400m concrete oval bicycle track with 25 degree banked turns. Most tracks are shorter, which means banking up to 45 degrees.

Panorama of the Marymoor Velodrome, Redmond, WAThe key thing here is "outdoor". That 25 degree banking can be downright dangerous in the wet. With that in mind, the only thing I needed was a dry track. This requires a dry/sunny day. In late winter in the Seattle area. Suuuuuure. It only took about a week of waiting.

My new track bike at the Marymoor VelodromeI came down for a long lunch at the track and took in a few turns. There were only a couple people there, including Rob McD, a track racer I know from work. He had some very encouraging words but in the end I was just there to show everyone how slow and out of shape I have become in the last 18 months.

The circus had indeed come to town. No, really. That big white tent behind me is for Cavalia. Think Cirque du Soleil but with horses. One of these days I'll actually go to one of their shows. Anyway...

I did an even 40 laps of interval training: sprint for 1-2 laps, rest for 2-3 laps, repeat. OK, I did have to stop a few times to adjust various things on my bike like stem position, handlebar height, etc., since this was my first time on this bike.

In the end I didn't kill myself. I didn't even embarrass myself, although I tried a few times. Note to self: FIXED GEAR BIKES do not have a freewheel. Trying to stop the pedals at 25 MPH is a BAD idea.

It was a great day. I can't say enough good things about this track. And I'll be back. My next opportunity appears to be Monday, only 3 days away!

On race night the atmosphere around the track is electric. The competition is fierce and the speeds are high.

Marymoor Velodrome during the 2012 FSA Grand Prix

One of our favorite track events is the "Marymoor Crawl" where they have everyone "race" from turn 4 to the start/finish line for up to 2-3 minutes, at which point they ring the bell and everyone does a 1-lap sprint for a $100 prize. The catch? If you put your foot down or cross the start/finish line before the bell, you are eliminated. It is crazy and looks a little something like this-

GETTING BACK ON TRACK: T-MINUS 5 DAYS Part II

"Hold on a second... Part II? Why aren't you counting down?"

Well, the Brown Santa decided that the final day is actually Monday, as opposed to Saturday, thanks to some big cold, wet thing called Vulcan dropping immense amounts of snow on a few people in the entirety of the eastern US. That's only a slight exaggeration.

And now, I bring out the ever-popular Soapbox...

Yesterday afternoon I took advantage of the gorgeous weather here in the Seattle area to go for a jog. OK, it was more like a fast-paced amble. I went on a local trail (the 520 trail, for any curious locals) for a couple of miles, nothing big, and was passed by many cyclists of all shapes, sizes, and colors (Blue shorts with brown jersey? Seriously?)

To the cyclists who passed me, I have 1 word for you: LUBRICATION.

If I can hear your transmission from more than 50’ away, it is time to invest in some Tri-Flow. Or Finish Line. Or White Lightning. Or even the new WD-40 lube if you are too cheap.

The worst offenders? The 5 guys in matching kits that passed me near NE 40th. WOW. It sounded like a flock of birds squeaking up behind me.

Perhaps this is a new bicycle warning system for pedestrians on multi-use trails?

That is all. I now yield the soap box to the more capable voicing of others.

Anyway, back to the countdown. What is it? Well, it's a way to get my health back to where it should be: right back on track. Any other place would be uncivilized.

How many kids ask for this, along with 3 of their friends? Quite a few, actually. FSA seems to like it.

)

Getting back on track: T-minus 5 days

Where do I start? Let's start with the obvious.

Boy #3, demonstrating the proper way to "soak in some rays" on a cold, sunny, January day.

I love my kids. I really do. But sometimes they are incredibly difficult to deal with, both academically and emotionally. One day we are tearing it up at Soaring Eagle Park on some wonderful single-track and the next we are having the biggest battle of whits/wills I ever imagined. I used to be an extrovert until I had kids, each with their unique learning disability that makes life VERY interesting. And I learned a level of humility and patience I never dreamed possible. That much is true.

I love my body. I really do. But in the past 12 months it has put me through hell. And back. And back again. OK, I'm over-exaggerating a bit because I don't have some incredibly bad/terminal illness. A major injury that required surgery. And more sicknesses, trips to the doctor, and even one to the hospital (not for me, BTW) than I care to talk about. Yep, I'm whining again. I think I should be allowed to whine about gaining 50 pounds over the past 5 years. Time to shed that weight. (Hint: things that you "lose" you might find again. I never intend to find this weight again.)

I hated 2013. There, I said it. No races. None! Not even a basic sprint tri. The biggest bike ride of the year I did with my kids. No tours, no centuries, no athletic events.

But this all stops. NOW. Why?

Because eBay is evil and should always be avoided. Just like Craigslist.

...and because the correct number is always N+1.