Orlando and Lake Elmo - the Tale of Two Cities

This was a pretty good week for me!  Lots of business and personal successes during the past few days....

Orlando Trip Successful

I attended the Fusion 2011 conference in Orlando this past week.  I originally found out about the event by submitting a request to speak about one of the tools my team developed at work.  After being accepted to speak, I looked at the venue and elected to attend the entire week. 

I flew out on Sunday with no issues.  The conference started on Monday morning.  During the week, we saw some really excellent speakers on a variety of topics.  One of the most exciting parts of the event was on Monday when I accepted the Huntington Innovation Award for AP, an award my team received in recognition of a creative product we developed in house.  I received the award on stage in front of about 2200 people.  Right before I went up, they asked if I'd speak 2-3 mintues on the product - on the fly.  Sure!  I got through it and shamelessly plugged my session for the next day.

My session on Tuesday was packed with standing room only.  The presentation went really well with lots of interest.  I felt great about it!

On Wednesday night, myself and a colleague were invited to a backstage meet and greet with the entertainer for the evening, Kevin Nealon.  He was a nice guy and super funny.  I made it home Thursday night with no issues, bumping into a couple of people I knew on my MPS to RST flight.

The weather in Orlando was super hot - mid to upper 90's every day.  Needless to say, I didn't have much time nor a strong desire to do much outside.  I did one run after dark but being no trails, settled for the traditional Orlando run around the hotel parking lot (a 1.33 mile loop no less - it was a huge hotel).  Otherwise, I spent the limited time I had in the gym.  I met some great people at this event and it was one of the best conferences I've attended. 

Oakdale Duathlon Today!

This morning, Kathy and I traveled to Lake Elmo, MN to compete in the Oakdale Duathlon.  This is the first and likely only race Kathy and I will do together this year, given she does more tri's and I'm not yet swimming...

We woke up this morning to rain - when the dogs went out, they didn't roam around long before wanting back in.  I was hoping/praying for it to rain itself out before the race started.  On the way up, Kathy was reviewing the radar and it looked promising.  She showed me the largest portion of the rain was upon us and it looked descent west.

We arrived at the race site early as is our standard.  It was just misting and sprinkling a little so no major issues.  Everything was set up and I was debating tri shorts versus running pants.  I went out on a brief warm up run, trying to figure out where in the world the run course was.  After Falls two weekends ago, I wasn't willing to take any chances.  :) 

After putting in a few miles on the bike, I decided I would switch to shorts, though I was concerned about how cool it was.  Still no major rain.  It was looking good.

This is the first week I've felt any real nervousness pre-race.  My stomach was doing funny things and I began to worry more and more about how my body would respond to the past week of eating poorly, drinking more than usual and not being on any kind of consistent training schedule.

By the time we lined up to start, it was starting to rain again.  Nothing too heavy or anything, but a bit more constant.  The elite group started in wave 1 and I was up next.  The run started in a weird loop around the parking lot and right back to the start line, causing everyone to dart off on the right to let the waves past.  Strange.  I took off in my wave and the rain was picking up...and I was getting cold.

R1 went pretty well.  I did my first mile in 5:51....usual for me with the adreneline.  However, this time I felt as if I could sustain that pace for all 3 miles.  I was much more confident about this course than Cinco - I knew it was generally flatter and kinder.  My mind and legs didn't seem to be synced though and my second mile was a 6:20 - I was a little surprised.  At T1, I'd come in at a 6:09 pace in about 7th in my individual wave.  It was now raining pretty good.

The transition out was a little rough.  It was getting colder and wetter now, though I'd wisely worn my gloves on the first run.  At least my fingers weren't freezing.  My biggest issue was getting clipped in - still something I continue to struggle with, especially when it's so wet.  I eventually got in and going...I was off.  I remember seeing a couple of the guys in my wave out ahead of me and said to myself, "time to put the hammer down."

It wasn't long before I was passing people on relay teams and those in my wave.  I don't really remember how many I passed - in hindsight, it must have been more than I realized.  I was cooking along pretty well, though I didn't feel as if I was killing myself or going extra hard.  The first part of the bike features the toughest hill of the day - a steep up hill followed by a deceptive second hill.  I wasn't exactly cruising yet passed a handful more people.  However, as the ride continued, the rain got heavier.  I don't yet have unshaded sunglasses, so the rain was hitting me directly in the eyes (ouch!).  It wasn't all out pouring, but I was drenched and cold.  The wind just added another slap in the face.  By the end of the bike, it was raining steadily.

I came in off the bike feeling pretty good - no calf cramps this time - a first.  My feet were predictably VERY cold but everything else was fine.  When dismounting the bike, I forgot what cold feet can do and nearly fell right over.  I finally got my leg swung over and hobbled like a handicapped guy into the transition.  My only saving grace was that I'd experienced this feeling before and knew my feet would thaw out in about a mile.  I got through T2 in what seemed like a longer time than normal and got out on the run.

R2 started out okay.  The first quarter mile is always just getting your legs back used to running again and I felt pretty good.  I got passed by a guy right away, but concluded he was likely part of a relay, so I didn't worry much.  I rounded a corner on a hairpin turn and looked back, seeing a couple of guys I thought were in my age group/wave.  Here we go!

I felt exceptionally strong on R2 today - better than the first two weeks by far.  Once my feet thawed, I was moving pretty well, running a 6:30 first mile.  I felt as if that was sustainable and kept my foot on the gas, constantly glancing over my shoulder for anyone sneaking up.  My watch beeped the second mile:  another 6:30.  I knew I had a half mile remaining and felt as if I could push the tempo a little.  I realized soon thereafter that the final .5 featured some quick up and down hills, with arguably the hardest one right at the end.  I kept looking back and saw no one - I was pretty comfortable coasting in where I was.

As I rounded the final corner with about 100 yards to go, there was a guy in the first wave standing there cheering.  As I ran past, he said, "Finish strong.  There is someone closing on you!"  I turned the corner and looked back - crap, where had that guy come from?!  I knew by his jersey he was in my wave because he'd shot off the first run and was a little ways ahead of me - I'd subsequently passed him about half way through the bike.  I saw the finish and turned it on - full out sprint to the end.  I looked back again at about 20 meters and knew he wasn't closing anymore.  If he'd had another half mile, he might have caught me.  My final .5 miles was at a 6:18 and I hadn't been passed on R2 by anyone other than the relay guy at the beginning. 

As is usual, I was spent at the end.  I also had no real idea where I'd placed for a couple reasons.  First, when you're in waves, you never know where people are and if people in later waves will beat your time.  Second, I had no idea how many I'd passed on the bike who were in my wave.  As it turns out, I must have passed all of them.

I took 9th in this race, 18 seconds behind my new arch nemesis, Charlie Roach.  Charlie beat me by about a minute last week - he's the 53 year old guy who is a crazy fast runner.  Both of his run splits today were sub-6.  Amazing.  The first 7 in today were all elite guys - 2 of which I wasn't that far behind (I came in faster than 4 elites).  I also won my age group.  The guy I held off at the end - by 10 seconds - took second.  Whew!  (Incidentally, I beat him last week by about 50 seconds.  Our times - mine, Charlie's and this guy behind me - were a lot closer this week!)  Here are this week's splits.  I'm also posting links to Cinco du Mayo from last week.

Next week:  Gear West Duathlon!  A very competitive and large event.  After Gear West, I get to take a month off!

Oakdale results:  http://www.frontrunnerusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/oakdaleduathlonresults2011.txt

Cinco 'du' Mayo results:  http://www.andersonraces.com/_uls/resources/TRI_FIT_CINCO_DU_LONG_INDIV_RES_2011.pdf