Detour to Ramstein? - 9th at Tri-Pfalz Triathlon

Last weekend saw the second of four league races that I have committed to for my club, Tri Pfalz Triathlon in Kaiserslautern. For the Americans reading this: It's the city next to Ramstein Airbase and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center you know from the news. Set in and around one of the Soccer craziest cities of Germany the finish line was staged on the top of famous Betzenberg right next to the local Soccer stadium. That got everyone on our team excited even though two of our best guys did not make the start line due to injuries. So a podium finish for the team was quite impossible even before the race had started. Nonetheless all five of us gave our best and as much fun as possible:



Jörn, me & Andreas having fun on race morning

When the gun finally went off, my swim was right there. 22:00min for 1.500 meters is a good time for my and I got onto my QR cd 0.1 in around 20^th place. There I put the hammer down. Everything on the bike on Sunday felt great. The legs were spinning steadily at around 300 watts and I made my way through the field on one of the most beautiful bike courses I have had the privilege to ride. With around 1.300 feet of climbing the bike course of 40k cannot be considered flat but still I was able to complete it in under one hour. My bike time of 59:45min was the second fastest of the day and saw me dismount my noble steed in 2^nd place overall. Well done, my carbon friend.

This seemed to set me up for a top ten result at least. Regrettably not every volunteer was at his post when the first athletes hit the run course and so I and two other athletes took a left turn at about 300 meters into the run. There was a barrier right in front of us and to our right. No chance to run straight ahead. We noticed our mistake when spectators shouted at us to turn around and “Get back there!!!”. When we got back to the intersection the assigned volunteer had finally taken his post and sent us straight ahead. The problem was that this detour had taken some 90 seconds and in the mean time we had already been passed by four other guys. My run is not where it should be but still the speed sessions of the last two weeks had some impact: Running 6-minute-miles fast felt a lot easier than two weeks ago and in the end I was pleased with my time of 42:50min for – incluiding the detour - 11.2 km. That is especially true as on the last kilometer of the run we had to make out way back up the hill where T2 and the finish line were. That last kilometer included some 100 meters of climbing through steep streets as well as a staircase with some 70 steps. Nasty stuff and easily where my heart rate was highest on Sunday:

I crossed the line some nine Minutes behind the winner and in 9^th place overall, coming in 2^nd in my AG. We were there for the team race in which we finished 8^th. Not bad but not great either. For the team rankings they add up the times of the fastest four athletes of each team. Adding it all up 7^th place was five minutes ahead of us. The winner of my AG also had finished some three minutes ahead of me and it thus made no sense the file a formal protest in order to get back the 90 seconds I lost due to my detour. For myself though I subtract those 90sec from my time and see myself in (virtual) 4^th place.

For me personally the race was superb as I see that I am getting into shape as the season highlights come closer. For the team the result was as good as we could hope for on the day and with the team that we got to the starting line.

Next stop: Cycling at Challenge Roth Relay competition.

First Olympic Distance of 2012: Swim & Bike OK, a lot of work left to do for the Run!

Having fun on the new QR Cd 0.1

Once again lacking sufficient running mileage I headed off to my first Olympic Distance of the season last weekend. I thus did not expect much of the race but still wanted to give my new bike, a 2012 Quintana Roo CD 0.1, a first try at the races. This absolutely sleek frame had arrived at my doorstep two weeks before the race and I had wasted no time building it up. The new Cd 0.1 has a few improvements over the 2011 model that really make things easier and better if you are the one to build up the bike. There are torque numbers printed for all crucial screws you have to fix on carbon material on the frame as well as the seat post. In addition to this the frame set is compatible with traditional mechanical shifting as well as the electronic alternatives. Nonetheless I still opted for the mechanical alternative as I had all the parts at home already. The first three rides on the frame were promising and the wattage was in a range to be expected three months before my season highlight at Ironman Wales. But that’s enough bragging about my new bike, let’s move on to Saturday’s race:

The “Short Track Triathlon” in Griesheim served as the season opener for our team in the Regional League, the third tier of triathlon leagues here in Germany. So the level of competition here is quite fierce and last year my best result had been coming in in13^th place at Westerwald Triathlon in late August. In addition to my lack of run mileage the course on paper did not look to favour my strength aka the bike: It was set out as a three pool course on pancake flat terrain. Race day though had at least one good thing for me which was a constant wind from the south west at about 30 miles. So there was hope after all.

With some decent training results in the pool I was quite confident to be able to hold on to the second group of swimmers in the lake and positioned myself on the lake shore accordingly. Nervous as I was there was still time for some fun when some water caught in the legs of my wetsuit during my five minutes in the water prior to the start:

Shooting for a good swim today?

When the gun went off I was still a bit nervous, as I am not at all a fan of land starts where you have to sprint the first 50 meters into the lake. But with only about 120 athletes in our wave the washing machine was not too violent. I so finished the slightly long swim course in 15^th place and was all set for playing catch up on the bike.

Here the wind had really picked up and with a tail wind you went 55+ kph while when heading into the wind the needle went down to the low 30s. Still my CD 0.1 worked like the machine it was built to be and in the end carried me to the second fastest bike time of the day (if you consider that in comparison the my teammate Alex I put on socks for the run, that is ;). Damn, priority goal # 1 missed! Second - or third if you like - bike split again. Just like in the first race of the season. On the first loop there were a lot of athletes to overtake but as I moved forward in the field, overtaking became less frequent. The advantage of such courses is that you get splits quite often and our entourage did their job quite well. So I knew that after loop one I was in 6^th place and after loop two had progressed to 5^th. 

Max. effort after a U turn

I overtook one more guy on the last loop and so put on my running shoes in 4^th place. My bike split which included both transitions was at just over 60 minutes and my Garmin had my average at 41kph. On a course with ten 90° turns and two U-turns per loop, adding up to thirts 90° turns and six U turns over the 40k that’s still quite fine with me.

Heading out onto the run I immediately realized that it would not be my day on the run today. The legs were just not doing their work properly. So I settled for a speed of approximately a six minute mile after the first kilometre but had to slow down even further when heading directly into the wind on the out and back course that had four laps in total. On the first two laps I was overtaken by four guys and thus found myself in 8^th position. Still it looked as if I would be able to get in a new personal best placing at this level of competition. 

Redefining the term "Blowing up" on the run! 

With four other athletes of my team out on the course a quite unique possibility for teamwork presented itself lest in the race. The rules in these races are that for the team result the times of the first four athletes of each team are added up. When my teammate Juergen caught me on the run (he was a lap back and some two minutes behind our fourth athlete) at about 7,5k we teamed up for my last stretch into the stiff head wind. With Juergen in front of me I was able to pick the speed up a little to run km 8-10 in under 4min. When Juergen turned right for his last lap I finally could turn left to the finish, still in 8^th place. Even though I suffered a lot out there on the slightly long run course (about 10.5k) that I completed in the really slow time of 42min flat I thus still had my best performance as of yet.

With Alex (5^th) and Joern (12^th) we hoped for a team podium on the day which in the end was not to be: We came in 4^th. The second race, 4^th a second time. I just hope this year does not continue like this.

Team spirit

The lesson I have learned from the race is that my swim and bike are working out quite well. On the other hand there’s a lot left to do on the run and a lot of weight to lose on the road there. Compared to my race weight in Kona last year I still have to lose some 10 lbs. This is especially true as I tend to overheat much faster when being heavier. So Monday is going to be the first day of a stricter diet – if I can keep it up!

The next race is on next Saturday already: With two of my girls I head out for a family relay at the Hesse State Champs over the Half Iornman distance. It’s the bike portion for, as always.

CU at the races