Showing posts with label Ironman Maryland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ironman Maryland. Show all posts
Monday, October 2, 2023
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
What makes a good triathlon training City? My take on Bowie.
You hear this a lot and not just on the Slowtwitch Forums! "I might be moving to XXX town, what's it like for triathlon training" and just recently I got thinking about how this applies to where we live. It's probably one of the first things I would think about if ever we were to move from Bowie, MD but 10 years ago when we came to the USA, it was really all about "how close to the office was it?" and "what is there nearby?".
Fortunately we really lucked out with where we chose after a fleeting four day trip from the UK in 2004 and Bowie, MD has turned out to be awesome in more ways than one but especially good for training. Ironman listed their top ten locations in 2014 here....Bowie didn't make it (unsurprisingly when you look at the list) but here's my take. What do you like about your training town?
Bowie, MD
Training
Year round you can train outside, sure it gets cold and a little snowy/icy at times in the winter but sustained periods of indoor training are few and far between. Riding out from Bowie to the better cycling routes in the South Counties are easy and relatively light in traffic. Over the years I have built a good library of routes depending upon on the desired length ranging from a simple 10mile loop to a 120mile loop. Running around town again is pretty good with some flat paved trails away from traffic (WB&A trail) as well as some off-road trails. The majority of the Bowie roads have wide enough shoulders that running on the road is fine (such as this past week when the sidewalks are a little icy).
I guess the only major downside, but this goes for the majority of the eastern side of the State is the lack of decent climbs in the area. We have rolling hills and the flats but nothing that can count as major climbs with the nearest being an hour or so away in Frederick or beyond at Skyline Drive.
Training partners in the local area are plentiful - a ton of cycling teams and clubs (personally I am biased towards the Annapolis Bicycle Racing Team and the team sponsor Parvilla Cycles) that range all abilities and goals. There are bunch of different triathlon clubs although none actually located in Bowie itself (check here for USAT registered clubs).
Possibly the only training aspect in Bowie that is lacking is a public swimming pool both indoors and outdoors. I swim at Sportfit Bowie, a private health club, which is fine for a 25yd lap pool but it lacks a masters program and has competing demands for its use (swim lessons, aerobics etc). The closest public pools are either at PG Community College or at the Arundel Swim Center just outside of Annapolis. A year-round outdoor 25m pool would be awesome!
Racing
With not having a body of open water of good enough quality, a local race is asking a bit much but the central location of Bowie in the Mid-Atlantic region means that you can pretty much race every weekend in the season with only a 2-hour drive or less. The stand out races are the Eagleman Ironman 70.3m and Ironman Maryland, both of which take place in Cambridge, MD an 80min drive from Bowie. If an M-Dot race isn't your cup of tea there are some quality races put on by Set-Up Events, Piranha Sports and Racine Multisports.
For some distractions you can also race on the road from Spring to Fall with the Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association or any numbers of running events year round!
After 10 years in Bowie I am no doubt bias when it comes to liking the City as training town....It's all I have ever known from a triathlon training perspective as I was purely a cyclist back in the UK (and living towards the end of an Estuary gets old when you cycle the sames routes to get in and out!) but it fits the bill for me.....now should I get an offer to live in Boulder, San Diego or St. George then I might be packing my training gear!
Fortunately we really lucked out with where we chose after a fleeting four day trip from the UK in 2004 and Bowie, MD has turned out to be awesome in more ways than one but especially good for training. Ironman listed their top ten locations in 2014 here....Bowie didn't make it (unsurprisingly when you look at the list) but here's my take. What do you like about your training town?
Bowie, MD
 |
| Bowie Location |
Training
Year round you can train outside, sure it gets cold and a little snowy/icy at times in the winter but sustained periods of indoor training are few and far between. Riding out from Bowie to the better cycling routes in the South Counties are easy and relatively light in traffic. Over the years I have built a good library of routes depending upon on the desired length ranging from a simple 10mile loop to a 120mile loop. Running around town again is pretty good with some flat paved trails away from traffic (WB&A trail) as well as some off-road trails. The majority of the Bowie roads have wide enough shoulders that running on the road is fine (such as this past week when the sidewalks are a little icy).
I guess the only major downside, but this goes for the majority of the eastern side of the State is the lack of decent climbs in the area. We have rolling hills and the flats but nothing that can count as major climbs with the nearest being an hour or so away in Frederick or beyond at Skyline Drive.
Training partners in the local area are plentiful - a ton of cycling teams and clubs (personally I am biased towards the Annapolis Bicycle Racing Team and the team sponsor Parvilla Cycles) that range all abilities and goals. There are bunch of different triathlon clubs although none actually located in Bowie itself (check here for USAT registered clubs).
Possibly the only training aspect in Bowie that is lacking is a public swimming pool both indoors and outdoors. I swim at Sportfit Bowie, a private health club, which is fine for a 25yd lap pool but it lacks a masters program and has competing demands for its use (swim lessons, aerobics etc). The closest public pools are either at PG Community College or at the Arundel Swim Center just outside of Annapolis. A year-round outdoor 25m pool would be awesome!
 |
| Now if only Sportfit converted the summer fun pool into a year-round lap pool! |
Racing
With not having a body of open water of good enough quality, a local race is asking a bit much but the central location of Bowie in the Mid-Atlantic region means that you can pretty much race every weekend in the season with only a 2-hour drive or less. The stand out races are the Eagleman Ironman 70.3m and Ironman Maryland, both of which take place in Cambridge, MD an 80min drive from Bowie. If an M-Dot race isn't your cup of tea there are some quality races put on by Set-Up Events, Piranha Sports and Racine Multisports.
For some distractions you can also race on the road from Spring to Fall with the Mid-Atlantic Bicycle Racing Association or any numbers of running events year round!
After 10 years in Bowie I am no doubt bias when it comes to liking the City as training town....It's all I have ever known from a triathlon training perspective as I was purely a cyclist back in the UK (and living towards the end of an Estuary gets old when you cycle the sames routes to get in and out!) but it fits the bill for me.....now should I get an offer to live in Boulder, San Diego or St. George then I might be packing my training gear!
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Better Late than Never....ChesapeakeMan 2012 race video
Due to a little bit of formatting issues, this video has come a little late, but better late than never, this is my race from ChesapeakeMan Ultra Distance Triathlon (Ironman) 2012. Get comfy it's a long one........enjoy!
Thursday, October 25, 2012
ChesapeakeMan 2012 Power File Analysis
 |
| ChesapeakeMan Power File
Above is my power file from the ChesapeakeMan Ultra Distance triathlon 2012. For background, I raced on my custom Guru CR9.01 (from Parvilla Cycle & Multisport) with Rotor Quarq crank based power meter, Mavic Cosmic Carbone 80 front and Mavic Comete Disc and Spiuk Chrono aero helmet.
With an Functional Threshold Power of 295 watts and a racing weight of 165lbs (3.94w/kg), my goal power for the race, taken from training sessions and calculations was between 195 - 205watts. From experience and training leading up to the race I knew that this would be what I needed in order to run well after the 112 miles. Overall the bike split time was 5hr 14mins at 21.4mph. Through the first half of the bike (0-56miles) the data was: Normalized Power: 208 Average Power: 204 Average HR: 131 Training Stress Score (TSS): 120 Kilojoules Burned (KJ): 1845 Intensity Factor (IF): 0.69 Variation Index (VI): 1.02 This was pretty much spot on and importantly the variation index was low at just 2%, which meant that the ride had been a consistent power level with very minimal changes. The IF was about right and the HR had remained at the same intensity. The wind kicked up a bit for the second half of the bike (56-112miles) and the data was: Normalized Power: 192 Average Power: 188 Average HR: 126 Training Stress Score (TSS): 111 Kilojoules Burned (KJ): 1853 Intensity Factor (IF): 0.64 Variation Index (VI): 1.02 As you can see the power (NP and Ave) went down by about 8% over the 2nd half, which is often the case over the Ironman distance but the HR remained similar. Importantly the VI stayed at 2% so the bike throughout was very consistent from a power perspective. The wind definitely played a factor in the power reduction but it was also expected and part of the race day strategy to ensure a good run.  Ultimately the good run did happen for a 3hr 17min marathon and a 10min Ironman marathon PR. So now the goal for 2013 is increase that power level leading to a faster bike split but still keep the run speed! It's a tricky process....... |
Friday, October 12, 2012
2012 ChesapeakeMan Nutrition Report (9:44:53/5th o'all)
Coming into ChesapeakeMan I had taken a serious review of my nutritional needs for racing long distance. I felt as though IM St George and Eagleman 70.3m hadn't gone to plan from a nutritional perspective and I wanted to make some adjustments. These are always made from race to race, based on conditions but I felt that I needed to go back to the drawing board. As such, I spent the summer testing out numerous different approaches and found one that I thought would work on race day. This report is my own personal strategy and is not meant as an guide of what you should do, but a reference to help what you could do when developing your own strategy.
Here goes......
ChesapeakeMan Ultra Distance Triathlon (Ironman) – Sept 29, 2012
Race Totals: 9:44:53
Swim: 1:08:42
Bike: 5:14:12 (21.4 mph)
Run: 3:17:46 (7:33 per mile)
5th place overall
BREAKFAST: Consumed between 4:30am – 4:50am
PRE-SWIM: (1) bottle w/ (2) scoops EFS + (1) SaltStick
SWIM TOTALS: 1:08:42
Bike Nutrition:
*~140oz total fluid intake on the bike or approximately 27oz per hour
Bike Nutrition Totals:
*For reference, I raced at ~163LBS [Hourly Caloric Intake (Bike): 2.45 calories /LB per hour]
BIKE TOTALS: 5:14:12 - 21.4 mph
Run Nutrition:
Run Nutrition Totals:
*The run was assuming ~2.5oz of Gatorade and 2oz of water consumed at each of (24) aid stations (~108oz total fluid on the run or approximately 33oz per hour)
RUN TOTALS: 3:17:46 - 7:33 per mile
Report format taken from Brian Shea at Personal Best Nutrition
Here goes......
ChesapeakeMan Ultra Distance Triathlon (Ironman) – Sept 29, 2012
Race Totals: 9:44:53
Swim: 1:08:42
Bike: 5:14:12 (21.4 mph)
Run: 3:17:46 (7:33 per mile)
5th place overall
BREAKFAST: Consumed between 4:30am – 4:50am
- (2) Magnesium capsules
- (1) Vitacost multivitamin
- (2) Fish Oil capsules
- (2) Spiralina capsules
- (2) packets Glutenfreeda oatmeal with water
- (1) ProBar Superfruit Slam
- (2) SaltStick capsules
PRE-SWIM: (1) bottle w/ (2) scoops EFS + (1) SaltStick
SWIM TOTALS: 1:08:42
Bike Nutrition:
- Starting Bottle: (2) scoops EFS + (4) scoops CarboPro
- 2x EFS Liquid Shot Flasks (Kona Mocha/Vanilla)
- Approx (0.5) bottles of on-course Gatorade (90 calories)
- (7) 20oz water at every aid station (probably 2/3 of each)
- (4) SaltStick capsules
- Special needs Bottle: (2) scoops EFS + (4) scoops CarboPro
*~140oz total fluid intake on the bike or approximately 27oz per hour
Bike Nutrition Totals:
- Calories: 2100 (400 per hour)
- CHO: 524g
- Sugar: 164g
- Sodium: 4560mg (868 per hour)
- Potassium: 1432mg (273 per hour)
- Caffeine: 120mg
*For reference, I raced at ~163LBS [Hourly Caloric Intake (Bike): 2.45 calories /LB per hour]
BIKE TOTALS: 5:14:12 - 21.4 mph
Run Nutrition:
- 1-2 'cups' of Gatorade & (1) 'cup' of water taken at every aid station
- 4-6oz of coke consumed at (2) aid stations which had coke
- SaltStick Capsules: (24) capsules total, consumed at (2) every two miles.
- (1) Clifbar Shot Blocks
- (2) Hammer gel
Run Nutrition Totals:
- Calories: 800* (246 per hour)
- CHO: 195g
- Sugar: 133g
- Sodium: 4700mg ( 1445 per hour)
- Potassium: 1312mg (403 per hour)
- Caffeine: 770mg (236 per hour)
*The run was assuming ~2.5oz of Gatorade and 2oz of water consumed at each of (24) aid stations (~108oz total fluid on the run or approximately 33oz per hour)
RUN TOTALS: 3:17:46 - 7:33 per mile
Report format taken from Brian Shea at Personal Best Nutrition
Friday, October 5, 2012
ChesapeakeMan 2012 Race Report
I needed some redemption and was hoping that ChesapeakeMan would provide some.....over the past few months and to be honest the last couple of years, although feeling strong and doing well in shorter distance triathlons, my Ironman races had kinda sucked. I had been training well only for it to fall apart on race day, not since a sub-10 hr performance at IM Louisville in 2009 had I felt like I raced how I am capable. Obviously there were some good ones during that time such as the Duathlon National Champs earlier this year, but I hadn't gone into a race (long-distance) confident that my run would be able to finish the race off.
ChesapeakeMan was going to be different, I changed my training program and made substantial changes in nutrition and overall race strategy, was I confident it would work?.....No is the simple answer, let's find out on race day! Some of the training changes I'll go into in later blog posts but for now let's talk about race day.
SWIM: 01:08:48
As per usual for the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the day started out with a blowing wind that didn't let up at all. The Choptank River was aptly named and after wishing luck to the Parvilla Crew we were off at 7:00am. I purposely swam a steady and easy pace, too often it is easy to get caught up with the crowd and zoom off at way too faster pace.....if the strategy worked I would see everyone later in the day! It's a two-loop swim and it was choppy! Although aiming for something in the 1:05 range I exited at 1:08:48 and was pleased based upon how easy it felt. With the race being pretty small and the swim field at only 300 people there wasn't a ton of feet to follow so the time was acceptable (Note - swim more! how often have I said that, but seriously winter 2012 is the season of the swim!)
T1: 02:57 - Took a little extra time putting armwarmers and socks on.
BIKE: 5:14:12
Once onto the bike I could settle down. The swim is never my favorite part of the race so it is when I get onto the bike that I feel happier. I had my power numbers to keep to, my nutrition plan to keep to, and no matter what happened around me I was going to stick to that. I have seen others, as well as myself, go way beyond their ability just to keep up with people around them or those passing. The first 10 miles of the bike is an out and back so I calculated I was sitting around 25th (including the Aquavelo field) and I was gradually moving up the field. The power numbers were a little high so I made a conscious effort to dial it back. I knew my goal watts from the long training rides that would enable to me run well off the bike. Kona Kev blew by me at mile 15 and I just let him go....he ended up with the 2nd fastest bike split of the day!
The wind was relentless and never backed off the whole day. It seriously felt like a crosswind or headwind all day long, I'm sure it wasn't but by the end of the first loop (65miles) it would have been nice to have gotten off. I picked up more nutrition at special needs and set about the final 47 miles, again just sticking to the power goals and remembering the nutrition. With the course being pancake flat, it was important to change the cadence and stretch every so often to get the body into a slightly different position.
Coming into T2, I was perhaps a little disappointed with the time but I knew that the time was what the power had given me....I was spot on in terms of power (more detailed analysis to come in later blogs).
T2: 1:11 - simple, grab salt sticks, race belt, watch and put shoes on!
RUN: 3:17:48 (Garmin file here)
Leaving T2 and looking at the race clock, it told me I needed a 3:32 marathon or quicker to get sub-10....the goal for the day! The strategy was to run slow the first 2-3 miles, warm into the run and then let it loose if I could. Warming into a run may sound odd after 114.4 miles already but my training runs hadn't lied, I run much better that way. The first two miles were done at around 7:30min/miles but there was a distinct gurgling coming from downstairs, I needed to void and pretty quickly....it ended up being time well spent in the porta-john at mile 3. Coming out of there I felt awesome and the watch started showing descending mile splits.....now that is a good feeling at an Ironman! Miles 5 thru 13 were all sub 7min/miles and there were a few targets ahead of me. I had seen 1st thru 3rd and they were too far ahead but 4th thu 6th were in catching distance.
The run is 3 laps at just under 9 miles a lap, coming round at lap 1, I shouted to Sarah that "this run will either be glorious or crash 'n' burn". I was still at sub-7's and the legs were feeling great, it was an awesome feeling and I was on course for a 3:10 - 3:15 marathon. I was keeping up on the saltsticks, water and gatorade at each aid station....no issues with the right glute (thanks to Dr Michie). I had passed into 6th place and was rapidly moving up on Kona Kev in 5th place and passed him just over half way in. At that point it was just a case of seeing how I could actually finish this marathon as it seemed like I had the sub-10 locked in unless something drastic happened.
It was at around mile 16 that the pace finally begun to drop a bit and the day started to take it's toll. Fortunately it wasn't a matter of all the wheels falling off but it was just a temporary dip in energy as the miles were still sub 8. The gurgling downstairs did make a repeat appearance though around mile 20/21 which lead to some discomfort. Funnily enough it probably ended up being very fortunate. The energy levels were definitely getting low and I felt a little "bonk-ish". The stop at the porta-john during mile 21 was a god send, as what did I find, a complete unopened pack of shot blocks.....awesome, just what I needed to give me a sugar rush for the final 5 miles. By that time the gels were not very appealing and I needed some sugar, whoever left them there...THANK YOU!
The final five miles were hard but a good hard, I had finally put together a run that I knew I was capable of (with a stand alone 2hr 40min marathon I should be low 3hrs for IM marathon's) and I had run into 5th and the prize money.
TOTAL FINISH TIME: 9:44:53 - a little sprint down the chute to get in at 9:44 and a 12min PR.
A good way to end the season and get some redemption at the Ironman distance. The best part?....getting amped for 2013 and looking for an Ironman to race :-)
ChesapeakeMan was going to be different, I changed my training program and made substantial changes in nutrition and overall race strategy, was I confident it would work?.....No is the simple answer, let's find out on race day! Some of the training changes I'll go into in later blog posts but for now let's talk about race day.
SWIM: 01:08:48
 |
| Just before the off at 7:00am |
T1: 02:57 - Took a little extra time putting armwarmers and socks on.
 |
| Lets get outta here...onto the bike |
BIKE: 5:14:12
Once onto the bike I could settle down. The swim is never my favorite part of the race so it is when I get onto the bike that I feel happier. I had my power numbers to keep to, my nutrition plan to keep to, and no matter what happened around me I was going to stick to that. I have seen others, as well as myself, go way beyond their ability just to keep up with people around them or those passing. The first 10 miles of the bike is an out and back so I calculated I was sitting around 25th (including the Aquavelo field) and I was gradually moving up the field. The power numbers were a little high so I made a conscious effort to dial it back. I knew my goal watts from the long training rides that would enable to me run well off the bike. Kona Kev blew by me at mile 15 and I just let him go....he ended up with the 2nd fastest bike split of the day!
 |
| Beating the wind all day long |
Coming into T2, I was perhaps a little disappointed with the time but I knew that the time was what the power had given me....I was spot on in terms of power (more detailed analysis to come in later blogs).
T2: 1:11 - simple, grab salt sticks, race belt, watch and put shoes on!
RUN: 3:17:48 (Garmin file here)
 |
| Trying to reign it in coming out of T2 |
The run is 3 laps at just under 9 miles a lap, coming round at lap 1, I shouted to Sarah that "this run will either be glorious or crash 'n' burn". I was still at sub-7's and the legs were feeling great, it was an awesome feeling and I was on course for a 3:10 - 3:15 marathon. I was keeping up on the saltsticks, water and gatorade at each aid station....no issues with the right glute (thanks to Dr Michie). I had passed into 6th place and was rapidly moving up on Kona Kev in 5th place and passed him just over half way in. At that point it was just a case of seeing how I could actually finish this marathon as it seemed like I had the sub-10 locked in unless something drastic happened.
It was at around mile 16 that the pace finally begun to drop a bit and the day started to take it's toll. Fortunately it wasn't a matter of all the wheels falling off but it was just a temporary dip in energy as the miles were still sub 8. The gurgling downstairs did make a repeat appearance though around mile 20/21 which lead to some discomfort. Funnily enough it probably ended up being very fortunate. The energy levels were definitely getting low and I felt a little "bonk-ish". The stop at the porta-john during mile 21 was a god send, as what did I find, a complete unopened pack of shot blocks.....awesome, just what I needed to give me a sugar rush for the final 5 miles. By that time the gels were not very appealing and I needed some sugar, whoever left them there...THANK YOU!
The final five miles were hard but a good hard, I had finally put together a run that I knew I was capable of (with a stand alone 2hr 40min marathon I should be low 3hrs for IM marathon's) and I had run into 5th and the prize money.
TOTAL FINISH TIME: 9:44:53 - a little sprint down the chute to get in at 9:44 and a 12min PR.
A good way to end the season and get some redemption at the Ironman distance. The best part?....getting amped for 2013 and looking for an Ironman to race :-)
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