Hello everyone,

I’m pleased to announce that my partner and I have have launched a new website that’s been a few months in the work.  At a meeting in November, Kenan and I sketched out a plan for a new site that would fill a huge need.  We’re pleased to launch FitEgg.com, a triathlon website.  FitEgg is mostly a review site, focused on evaluating products and items that are useful to triathletes, swimmers, cyclists, and runners.  No need to be a triathlete to take advantage of this site.  We’re also publishing training, nutrition, and gear tips.

You’ll notice that I’ll be updating here a bit less and the focus will probably shift a bit.  Head over to FitEgg and let me know what you think about the new site.  We just got the logos and the overall design should be finalized soon.  Happy to have any feedback from my readers here.  Thanks,

Eric

Great news for the cycling community.  Christopher Thompson, a physician, was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon for trying to kill two cyclists by swerving into their path and slamming on the breaks.

After a good friend of mine was run off the road here in Beaufort, and after I’ve been in a few close calls with cars, both on my bike and while walking or running, I have to say, I’m really glad to see the consequences catching up with these folks.

I just noticed an article on the NYT about slow marathon runners.  I have to admit, as I get ready for my first half marathon, I’m happy to hear that there’s a slow and steady movement afoot.  Ha.

Of course, not all of us can finish the NY marathon in a bit more than two hours.  Hell, I ran 10 miles on Sunday and it took me every bit of two hours.  And I thought I was moving…

I’m pretty happy that I’m not approaching this half as a big achievement.  While I’ll be thrilled when I finish, the race is more something to do in my off season than a goal by itself.  So, if I’m going to do the White Lake Half, which, if the creek don’t rise, I will, then I need to get a half marathon under my belt.  It seems that there are lots of folks who do a marathon as a goal, but don’t use it as a chance to change their lifestyle.

For those of you who don’t know, triathlons can be a bit addictive.  I think this is true for any event or accomplishment that is challenging and rewarding.

I started training for my first tri less than a year ago.  I finished the Parris Island Sprint in the middle of the pack.  Not an award winner, but I was pretty pleased with myself.  So pleased, in fact, that I did another sprint the following weekend.  Again, didn’t embarrass myself.

So I decided that I’d take it to the next level: Olympic Tri.  Pretty big step for me.  Until the week before the tri, I’d never done an open water swim.  To be honest, the last time I’d exercised for over an hour was Recognition Day, more than ten years ago.

So, I placed as a Clydesdale in the Hartville International Triathlon.  Honestly, it was a small class, but still.

I’ve figured that I’ll never win first in any of these tris, and don’t really expect to place at all, but that’s not the most important thing.

So, I’ve decided to sign up for the Charlotte Half Marathon on December 12th.  That’ll keep me busy through the winter and give me a good excuse to work on my run times, which are totally horrible.  I’ll be happy with 10-minute miles for the half marathon.  Hell, I’ll be happy with 11-minutes.

I’ll keep you posted.

After about 10 months of triathlon training, I took a pretty big step yesterday: I competed in the Hartsville International Triathlon.  The first two triathlons I completed were challenging and a lot of fun.  Both triathlons were Sprint distances.  The Hartsville tri is an International or Olympic distance race.  The International distance race is, generally, a 1.5k swim, a 40k ride, and a 10k run.  For the Hartsville race we did 1500m, about 28 miles on the bike and a 10k run.  In general, a sprint is a 500m swim, a 12 mile bike ride and a 5K run.  If you’re interested, you can read my race report for the Parris Island triathlon and the report for the Columbia SC tri.

Overall it was a great day at Hartsville.  The weather cooperated, it was cooler than previous years, and the run course was a bit improved from previous years.  I competed as a Clydesdale, which was a great decision.  More on that later.  I was also very honored to race in support of the Lymphatic Research Foundation.

I started in the second wave, heading out from the shore for a triangular shaped course that was very well marked.  The water was hot and murky; you couldn’t see the person in front of you until you were less than a foot from them.  It took me a bit of time to get into my stride, but by the first turn, I felt good about the swim.  After the first turn, I got into a pack of folks that seemed to be flailing a bit and I got a tad freaked out.  I chalk this up to never being in the water with this many people before.  I made the second turn, lined up for the finish and tried to go a bit wide to get out of the pack of other swimmers.  The final stretch of the swim is directly into the sun, so my clear goggles might have been a bad idea…  I had to breast stroke a few times to make sure I was still heading in the right direction, but nothing too serious.  I hoped to finish the swim in 30 minutes but it took me 33:07.

The ride was a pretty good course, a bit hillier than I’m used to, but that’s the curse of living in Beaufort.  Thank goodness for spinning class.  The ride was a bit long, about 28 miles total, versus 40k for the standard International.  A two lap course with plenty of rolling hills and a handful of serious hills.  I averaged 17.4 mph, a little short of the 17.5-18.5 I was shooting for, but not bad for the first International tri.  If you’re planning to do this race, make sure you’re comfortable on the hills, comfortable standing up in your pedals, and comfortable on slightly rough roads.  After two laps on the well marked and well staffed course, I returned to the transition area, turning in a time of 1:35:33.

After a 28 mile ride, I was worried having to stretch out before starting the run.  My battle against plantar fasciitis is going well, but I didn’t want to push it.  I made sure to stretch in the final miles of the ride and made it to the transition area feeling pretty good.  Without any tightness in my legs, calves, or feet, I headed out without stretching much.  Leaving the transition area, the run starts out on a slight hill, just as the bike did.  However, after an hour and a half on the bike, the hill seemed a bit more daunting.  A left turn, 1.55 miles out to the first turn around, also the halfway point if you were doing the Sprint distance tri.  The route had plenty of aid stations and tons of volunteers, no reason not to stay hydrated, but was in full sun and very hot.  About a mile later the International course turns left to add the additional 5k missing in the Sprint course.  This spur has a bit more shade, but is still pretty hot.  By mile 5, I was pretty tired, but thankfully the last mile was downhill, literally.  As I made the right turn towards the Finish and tried to pick it up as much as possible, sprinting to a 1:07:07 finish.  Not record setting, but not shabby for a first International tri.

My total time, including T1 and T2 was 3:20:18, good enough for a 3rd place finish in my class and less than 7 minutes behind the 2nd place finisher.  Not bad for my third tri ever and my first International.  Maybe a half is in my future?

I can’t finish without saying what a great job the Setup Events folks did on this tri.  There was plenty of staff, plenty of volunteers, tons of aid stations, and a well marked course.  Thanks also to the Hartsville YMCA for providing volunteers and financial support.

I must be going crazy.  First it was the Parris Island Triathlon, then the Columbia Triathlon the next weekend.  Now, I’m heading to Vidalia, Georgia for the Sweet Onion Century.

The Sweet Onion is a multi-distance ride  with 24, 50, 63, 100, and 125 mile loops.  Because I’m not too hardcore, I only signed up for the Metric Century (63 miles).  I’ve don’t ride 63 miles in a week, much less an afternoon.  I’m not too concerned about my legs holding up, I’m pretty sure I can pedal that many miles.  Sixty-three miles is a long time to sit on a bike seat though…

I’m taking the camera so check back in for a ride report next week and some pics.

One of my classmates convinced me to head up to Columbia last weekend for the first annual Downtown Columbia Triathlon. Being a glutton for punishment, I agreed. For those of you non-geography majors, let me point out that Beaufort is an alluvial plain, i.e. flat, while Columbia is, well, not flat.

I had a great time though, in spite of the hills. I turned in a 1:15:36, a little better than last weekend, but on a slightly shorter course. I think I made most of the time up in the pool, 50m lanes and one way traffic. Anyway, I’m taking a few days off and not running another tri until Greenville, or maybe Rock Hill.

Now that I have had a day to decompress and relax a bit, I figured I’d tell you all a bit about my Tri.  I don’t know about anyone else, but the weather was perfect.  It was overcast (no sun in my eyes) and cold (no heat exhaustion.)  Parris Island was the first Tri of the season in SC, so there were quite a few people from all over the state and Southeast.  Pretty intimidating to see folks at that level in the same event…

The swim was 500m and held in the Recruit Training Pool on the base.  The place was a damn sauna.  Heather tried to take a few pics, but most were fogged up because of the temperature difference.  The water had to be 80 degrees, too hot for my taste, but what the hell.  I started 393 based on my self-submitted swim time.  I knew I would be a bit fast and expected to have to pass a few people to get into my stride.  However, I didn’t expect so many people to fudge their swim times.  Heather and my other friends guessed that I passed at least a dozen folks.  Now, that seems ok, but it’s pretty tough to pass in a lane when there is two way traffic.  There were 10 lanes, 25m each way.  So you entered, did a full lap, and then switched lanes.  I almost had a head on collision about half way through.  Then, a lady in front of me absolutely refused to yield, even after I tapped her foot at least 5 times.  Anyway, I made it out of the pool and into the first transition in 10:01, including about a 100 foot barefoot run on shitty asphalt.

T1 took me 1:29.  I hopped on my borrowed bike for the 13 mile ride.  Parris Island is flat and fast, but there can be some serious headwinds.  I averaged 19.2 mph on the ride.  I was disappointed to notice that the course had been cut to 11 miles.  About halfway into the ride, I noticed a young guy, under 18 I’d guess, pedaling with only one foot.  As I neared, I noticed his pedal was stripped out and he could only use his right foot.  I passed him in the last mile or two of the race and he was still plugging along.  Pretty dedicated.  I made it back to the transition in 35:48, not bad, for not pushing too hard.

Now the dreaded run.  About a month ago I started having serious pain in my foot during and after training runs.  A trip to the physical trainer and behold, plantar fasciitis.  I have not pushed myself on the runs lately and it really showed.  The start of the run was a pain, I was a little tight from the ride and it took the first two hundred meters or so befoer I fell into a decent pace.  The out and back was nice, fast and flat, so the run felt pretty short.  I crossed the line with a 5K time of 27:01.  This is about three minutes off my normal, not in pain, time.

Overall, I am pleased and excited.  I went from jogging a few days a week to competing in a Tri in less than 6 months.  I finished OK for a novice.  I had a great time.  I am planning to hit another Sprint this season and then go for the International/Olympic distance.  There’s also a rumor that there will be a Half-Ironman in November at Springmaid Beach in Myrtle Beach.  I don’t know if I have the dedication to make it to 70.3, but, you always need a training goal…

So, I’m still alive.

I just checked the rankings and, right now, I finished 208 in a field of over 600.  My 500m swim time was 10:01, the bike ride was a little over 36 minutes and the run was about 27 minutes.  The run killed me, my arch is still sore and kept me from turning in a decent time.

I’ll write a full report in the next day or two.

So I guess I’m ready.  I’m starting #393 based on my swim time.  I’m a bit worried about this:  I have really increased my speed and think I might start a little behind where I should.  My biggest concern is it’s tough to pass in a pool.  So if I start too far behind where I should, I’ll have to work really hard to get by other folks.

On the other hand, I really want to conserve energy during the swim, so maybe I shouldn’t pass too many people…   AHHHH!!  Oh well, nothing to do about it now.

I start at 10:19am, so keep your fingers crossed…