Mighty Magnolia 2013 Race Report

As I mentioned previously, there were a lot of changes (2013 training and prep) since the last time I raced the Mighty Mag (2011 Mighty Mag Race Report).

SWIM -

Well, the equipment for the swim was the same and the starting lineup was similar.  I started at number 16 towards the very front of the 350+ line.  I had not been swimming much the past year but my times were close to where they have been in the past.  Without many people in front of me I just cruised the swim.  I was alone except for the 4 or 5 people that I passed.  I gave them a wide berth and did my own thing.  I ‘water jogged’ the swim 18 seconds faster than 2011 (2013 – 8:20 / 2011 – 8:38) and placed first in my age group, go figure.  That being said I was 1:13 slower than the fastest swim of the day – that is a lot of time in a third of a mile swim.

T1 -

I ran out of the water as soon as I could stand.  I unzipped my long john wetsuit and ran up the short rise to T1.  I had some trouble getting the wetsuit off of my legs and sat down in transition and pulled the legs off.  I felt like I gave back the 20 seconds I gained in my swim in T1.  I was actually 5 seconds faster (2013 – 1:11 / 2011 1:16).

BIKE -

I made the decision to not race on my race bike due to lack of conditioning.  I am a better cyclist this year.  The course is tough with lots of rolling hills.  I was out on my own for the entire ride passing only a couple of people that were ahead of me.  I also got passed twice, I think.  The bike was uneventful except that being in the aero bars and the slammed stem I was not able to produce the amount of power that I should have.  There is a compromise between aero and power and by not practicing or adapting to the position I think I left a lot of time on the table.  I finished the 16.5 mile bike 92 seconds faster than 2011 (2013 - 46:10 @ 21.4MPH / 2011 – 47:42 @ 20.8MPH).

Me on the bike testing the position.

T2 -

I grabbed my running visor and race belt and headed out.  A volunteer noted that I had my swim goggles in my hand as well.  I dropped the goggles prior to leaving the transition (a great volunteer put them back next to my bike – super cool).  I was 5 seconds slower than 2011 (2013 – 53 / 2011 47).

RUN -

Running has been my strong suit.  Not during this race.  I blame a lack of bricks (1), low run mileage (15 – 20 miles a week) and being heavy (10 lbs).  I remember running this in 2011 and while it hurt I was running well.  I was charging through the few people ahead of me.  This year I was over cooking the run and not moving as fast as I wanted.  I had to back off and actually walk for 10 seconds around mile 1.  Looking at my heart rate average (after the race) I really was working hard – I just wanted more.  In 2011 I ran the ‘3 miles’ (it is a little short) in 19:01 (4th best overall for the day).  This year I gave up a whopping 2:41 – almost a minute per mile (2013 – 21:42 @ 7:14/mile / 2011 19:01 @ 6:21/mile).

I finished the race in 1:18:19 (57 seconds slower than 2011).  However, I did legitimately win my age group (Sam was the only 40 – 44 male that was faster and he won the overall). 

In my age group I was 1st in the swim, 2nd in the bike (behind Lance) and 4th in the run.

Not a bad overall showing but there is definitely room for improvement.  I feel like this race was a high school test – sure I got a B but what if I would have studied?

Mighty Magnolia 2013–Training and Prep

Congrats on your come back – Ginger – Living the Tri Life

Don’t call it a come back, I’ve been here for years – LL Cool J

Before the race, the last triathlon I did was the Mighty Magnolia (clears throat) 2011 and I did not do any running races since RnR NOLA 2012 (half PR).  Well, there was a trail run that I ran in a banana suit last fall (Rattler Ramble).  It is not like I have been sitting on my duff – it is just I have not needed to toe the line.  My bike volume has been the biggest ever (I have averaged 130+ miles per week since March), the run volume has been low to moderate but consistence and the swim – well, I got in the pool some before this race.

Packet pick up the night before

I signed up for the Might Mag way back early in the spring.  I made a commitment.  I put down my money for accountability reasons (and the race is much cheaper the earlier you register).  You also get to start earlier (time trail start based on when you register – I was number 16).

I ended up having a good race, not a great race but a good, solid race.  I generally only sign up for races (triathlon, running or otherwise) when I can do my best.  I like to push myself, test myself and reach for PR’s.  I have a good track record of achieving these because I don’t race every weekend.  I am not interested in doing a training race – training is training and racing is racing.

But this race would be different.  I haven’t exactly been sitting on the couch the past year (remember, lots of biking) but I am at the very upper limit of my comfort zone in weight, which is defined as all of my clothes still fit me just fine but they might be a little snug.  I’m not hitting the big and tall racks but I could stand to lose 10 pounds (and 15 to get to my absolute leanest).  And when it comes to racing light is right – nowhere around that fact.

TRAINING AND PREP -

SWIM -

I often say that I am a proficient swimmer – I’ll get through the swim but I’m not going to win any races in the water.  Looking it up (well advanced in an art, occupation, or branch of knowledge), proficient that might be too strong of a word.  I am more of a confident swimmer.  I am a water jogger and like most triathletes the swim is just a way to get to the bike.  I am not a line watcher and I would much rather being playing water basketball or water volleyball than swimming laps.  I tallied my swim training sessions for the year the breakdown is nothing to brag about.

MAY	4
JUNE	2
JULY	5
AUGUST	7
SEPT	7
OCT	4
TOTAL	29

 

One of those (the weekend before the Mighty Mag) was actually an open water swim.  I also wore the wetsuit for the first time on race day since the last time on race day (2 years).  I tried it on the night before and hoped that it would fit (I did have to get some help from a big strong man to zip me up – thanks Chris).

 

BIKE -

 

I have been biking a lot this year – more than ever AND better than ever.  I have travelled to 3 large group outings (century rides and the type) and I have been training with a lot more focus.  I have embraced the training with intensity and concentrating on longer power efforts.  This has meant that I have participated in fewer group rides.  I have found that when I am in a group ride I am very rarely riding where I need to ride.  Depending on the group, I am either coasting along in the draft or in fear of being dropped.  A lot of my rides have been solo (early morning) and at my intensity level.  Guess what?  I am riding better than I ever have.

 

Last year I rode my race bike twice, for a spring time trial on the trace (I got a PR - 30:21 @ 23.33 MPH (for 11.85 miles)) and for a fall (late summer) time trial on the trace (I got another PR and finally broke 30 minutes – 29:46 @ 23.78 MPH (for 11.85 miles)).  I did not ride my race bike at all this year – all miles were on my road bike (even a hilly Epley Road TT – road bike no aero bars – results).  I also got a new road bike in mid September (a Litespeed C1 – I will tell you all about it in another blog post, promise).  I brought my race bike and my new road bike out to the Mighty Mag race site the weekend before the race.  I wanted to do some aero testing.  I have a powertap power meter and with a careful consideration for details you can extract the difference in CDA (coefficient of drag) using the Chung method (pdf and calculator).  I used the same wheels and tires on my race bike and my road bike.  I did a couple of test runs to establish a base line.  After about 30 or 40 runs (8 combinations tested) I determined that my HED-3 wheel (with Bontrager Aero TT tire) and my Rocket Air aero helmet is the fastest combination on both the road bike and the race bike.  The race bike was a good deal faster than the road bike (riding in the drops).  However, the race bike was very uncomfortable (soft tissue issues – in fact I wondered to myself how I could have ridden this bike in an IM – oh yeah, actually riding the bike more than once a year, that’s how).  Even though the Mighty Mag is only 16.5 miles I decided to stick with the road bike (it was not as fast but pretty fast for a road bike).  I then sent out the call to triathlete community to see if I could borrow a set of clip on aero bars.  They responded, in fact Lance even brought me two pairs to my house.  I slammed the stem on my road bike and bolted the bars into place.  I only got a short shake down ride of about 10 minutes the morning before the race with the new set up.

 

 

Road bike in race trim

 

 

 

Slammed stem

 

RUN -

 

I went out to the race site two weeks before the race to ride the

course with some friends.  After riding the course and a slow transition I ran most of the run course (skipped the little out and back sections).  This was my first brick in two years (since the last time I did this race).

 

So that was my training and prep for the race – lots of things were not optimum -

 

1. Very little swimming and zero practice in the wetsuit
2. Changed everything on the bike (including the bike)
3. Running mileage way down, weight up and zero bricks

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This started as a race report but ended up being a short training / prep / triathlon year in review.  Stay tuned for the race report!

 

 

Mighty Magnolia 2011 Race Report

To tell you the truth, I was not looking forward to the Mighty Magnolia. This is the 4^th year of our local race and I have never done it. I have volunteered several years but there was always a reason I was unable to compete.

I let things get in the way so I would not have to race. You see, I hate racing this late in the year. By the time October rolls around I have already peaked, crashed and peaked again. I am worn out from the summer. I have also already started my marathon base building.

But this year was different. I signed up for the race the first week registration opened. I knew that if I waited I would have another reason to not sign up. Heck, last year I even had a promotional entry (that I won at an auction) that I donated to another athlete. I wished that I had gone ahead and raced last year. I regretted not competing.

But once again, by the time race week rolled around I was not excited. I must admit that it was nice sleeping in my own bed and waking up at a reasonable hour and still getting to the race site with plenty of time to spare.

Enough about my motivation, the swim was changed this year to be a point to point across the lake. The water temperature was a brisk 71 degrees at race start. I had gone out to the lake for packet pickup the night before and swum across the lake and back. I needed to try out the wetsuit. I had not worn it for about 18 months, not since the Dragonfly or Heat Wave last year. I was not concerned about my swim but I really have not been in the pool much since the summer session of Master’s Swim ended back in early August. I have been going through the paces and swimming twice a week but never more than 1500 yards at a time.

I have done this twice before, while walking across the dam to the swim start.  Even though I was wearing flip flops my foot slipped and got cut. It was not enough to have an impact on the race but it was disturbing.

The start of the race is in time trail fashion. You enter the water every 3 seconds. I was number 27 so I would be in the water pretty quick. Most of the really fast swimmers were in front of me and I would never see them. When it was my turn I ran into the water and started my swim. I just swam a nice steady pace. I never got in any danger of blowing up. I never needed to slack off and catch a breath. I just motored through the water. I passed several people and got passed once or twice. My swim effort is what I call ‘water jogging.’ I often say, “I not going to win the race in the swim but I sure can lose it.” I am a much better swimmer than in years past. I exited the water knowing that I had an efficient swim. I had forgotten how much the wetsuit aids my swim. I ran up the hill into T1. I was surprised at how well I removed the wetsuit. I mean, I have not practiced this at all this year. I completed the 500ish yard swim in 8:48. Swim age group rank 2 out of 15. T1 – 1:16

I rolled out of transition and started the bike. I was surprised at how much I was struggling. I was biking hard up some of the small hills exiting the subdivision. I was not making any progress passing the bikes up ahead. I had my race wheels (HED3’s) on my bike with my race cassette. I have not had these wheels on the bike much and the shifting left much to be desired. I was already looking for another gear going up the easy rises. Turning onto the surface road you could start to feel the wind. It was whipping everyone around. I am not a strong enough cyclist to punch through a head wind. It was a challenging bike with the hills and the wind. A couple of miles into the bike my legs started to come around. I wasn’t riding any faster but I was not hurting as much. I was reeling in several riders that were in front of me. It was the second group of riders. The super fast guys were long gone, never to be seen. It took a couple of miles but soon I was in between the groups riding out in no man’s land. I never had another cyclist near me. My heart rate was steady. I was trying to cycle right near my biking LT level. I know that during our 11.8 mile TT my heart rate will average 175 BPM. However, at that level I cannot even stand after the bike, much less run. So I kept it in check and rode a solid bike. My heart rate for the bike averaged 170 BPM for the 16.5 miles. I finished the bike in 47:42 with a 20.8 MPH average. Bike age group rank 4 out of 15.

I hit the dismount line and ran through transition. From out of nowhere there was a guy racking his bike next to me. He must have come on me quick. We were right next to each other and I mentioned how windy the bike was. I racked the bike and changed shoes. Grabbed my hat and race belt and ran out of T2. I knew that I was still at the front of the second pack. There couldn’t be many behind me. T2 – 0:47

Starting the run (clipping on the race belt)

I just started off on the run. I could see someone just ahead of me. I started to pull them in. Once again I was keeping my heart rate in check. This time I was letting it rise an additional 10 BPM to 180. I made some progress and passed the next runner. I also got passed by the guy that was next to me in transition. This is a hilly run but I was feeling strong. I kept the pressure up and kept the heart rate at a solid rolling boil. This was not an easy simmer on the back burners. This was front of the stove, pot uncovered, steam filling the air, making a mess. I was having a good run. I kept the guy that passed me in sight but I was really in no man’s land again. My heart rate averaged 180 BPM for the run.  This will be my new run LT training range – about 5 BPM higher than it has been.  I finished the 3 mile run in 19:01 with an average pace of 6:21. Run age group rank 2 out of 15.  (If my math is correct it was also the 4th fastest of the day.)

Talking with friends post race.

Total time for the race was 1:17:22 which placed me 3^rd in age group (I was helped because the guy who won the race was in my age group) and 11^th overall.

I had a great time at the race and I am glad that I participated. I had a solid swim and a solid run and a good enough bike. I know where I need to work.

I am proud of the intensity!

Bike, Run, Swim–Mighty Magnolia warm up

On Saturday a group of us met at the Heritage race site. It was mostly b-teamers and a few close friends. Believe it or not there was a chill in the air. I had planned ahead and grabbed a pair of arm warmers and a wind vest for the ride.

We headed out on the course and rode the Mighty Magnolia route. If you have been on hills all summer you will definitely notice the lack of flats. I had brought a new friend along for the ride. They are just getting into triathlon and they have been build base miles on the trace. That first loop was an eye opener. About half way through the course he had dropped off. I held back and finished the ride with him. It took it in great stride. The ride had highlighted some weaknesses (new rider, hilly course) and he started to mentally construct his winter cycling plan know that come spring he would be better, stronger, faster.

The group got another loop of the course. This time without the arm warmers and wind vest.  The temperature had turned perfect with the rising sun.  We regrouped at near the lake and after a slow transition Robin pumped up the crowd and wanted a handicapped, staggered start to the 3 mile run course. He was the only one wanting to time trial. Robin and I are cut from the same cloth. Many times I am the instigator. The other times it is Robin. I said I was not looking for an all out effort. Robin looked at me and said, “Isn’t everything a race?” He knew he had me. I am fond of saying, “If this is not a race then how am I winning?”

I told Robin to treat this like a race and give me a minute a mile head start and chase me down in the last quarter mile. This has happened in so many races. I build a slight lead on Robin to just have him pat me on the shoulder as he passes. He usually says, “Come on let’s go!” I am always gone by that point but somehow I muster something more – just not enough.

I took off on the run at a hard effort. The run course is equally hilly at the Mighty Magnolia. I decided I wanted to just run by pace and zeroed in on 6:30 miles. This would be a hard effort on such a challenging course. There were no cones to mark the course. There was red paint from last year but it had faded. I was running hard and my breathing was very labored but the legs came good. I was enjoying the run, enjoying the suffering. I have been running a lot of intensity but it does not compare to being chased. You find an extra gear. You can do more.

I ran the first 2 miles at exactly a 6:30 pace – while the run was hard it was a measured output. Even on such short run I did not want to blowup and fade. Unfortunately I missed a short out and back section on the course. I had picked up the pace for a strong finish and hit the start / stop line with 2.71 miles on the Garmin. Robin never caught me – and wouldn’t have but I wanted the full 3 miles. Just for the record I was not the only one to get turned around. About half of us ran different courses.

My splits for the effort were – 6:42 / 6:29 / 6:13 (last split was 0.71 miles) for an average of 6:29. It was a solid effort on tired legs. I am glad Robin was there to throw down the gauntlet. His splits were closer to 6:00 even – much faster than mine but not by a minute. I believe he has run this course in the 5:30 range!

After the run we headed towards the lake. The water was in the mid-70’s and was cold when we waded in. We had a short swim and we warmed up to the water. The lake now felt awesome. It was refreshing and good for the legs.

Adult swim and FIRST training

So Sunday afternoon we met at the race site to set up the racks. We had enough people that including travel and pounding the posts into the ground for the fencing it still only took about 3 hours.


Morning came quick for Adult Swim. I was very tired – I tossed and turned – probably too much sleep from the night before. The working set was demanding. It consisted of 200’s, 100’s and 50’s times 2. I have noticed, as well as Coach Steve, that there is very little difference between my speeds at different distances. It takes so much more energy to go just a little bit faster. I was trying to slow down for the 200’s and finish them on 3:15 but the first few sets I was coming in at 3:00. And then on the 100’s I was coming in at about 1:28-29 and the 50’s it was like 42 seconds.

My endurance trumps my speed. This happens in cycling and running as well. I guess I am built for distance but I sure am working on the improving the fast stuff.

I have actually put pen to paper (pixel is screen) and I wrote a training plan that should help me achieve my running goals without allowing my swim and cycling to deteriorate. The main difference is replacing quantity with quality. The running and cycling will follow more of a FIRST (Furman Institute) training plan – just three demanding breakthrough workouts a week – intervals, tempos, and long distance.

On a side note I received my USAT Level I Coaching Certificate!
 

Mighty Magnolia Pre-Race Ride

I sent out a broadcast email to see if anyone wanted to meet on Saturday morning to ride the Mighty Magnolia Course (and maybe get a swim). We would get to the race site at 7AM. The race takes place in an undeveloped subdivision on the west side of town. I was surprised to see all of the cars when I got there.


There were between 30 and 40 of us starting out on the course (16.5 miles). We were going to ride the first loop at a nice warm up pace and then hammer the second loop. We started out slow but, per normal, the pace picked up a little bit. Both loops ended up being at about the same pace. The B-team turned out in near full force. It was nice to touch base with JD after successfully completing the Redman last weekend. I had also not been on a ride with Lance or Dan in a while. I see Raland a couple of times a week at Adult Swim and on the bike.

After the two loops there were a few of us going for a swim. The water felt cool – about 79 – 80 degrees. If legal I would definitely wear a wetsuit but once you were swimming the lake felt great. It was near perfect temperature for racing.

After the ride / swim many of the same people met up to stuff the race packets for next weekend. We stuffed 390 packets! With 10 or so people the work was done in about an hour. This is where just having bodies’ helps so much.

After packet stuffing Jodie and I went to the October Fest. We met up with some friends from the university. I ate a bit and had one (1) beer – that was it. Later at home we ate some dinner and planned on watching a movie. I had been wearing my contacts all day and had a slight headache. I almost never feel bad but wearing contacts for too long is something that affects me. I usually only wear contacts when I exercise and then take them out for the rest of the day.

I looked in the medicine cabinet for something. I found some generic pain reliever and popped a few. Funny thing is that I did not realize that these were PM type pain relievers (pm = pain medication – nope). Well, we put in the movie around 7PM – I was out cold by 7:30PM. Jodie figured out what I had done and sent me to bed. I was a little grouchy from trying to stay awake.

I got up at 6AM for a total of 11 hours of sleep. I probably needed it.

Last weekend I rode 50 miles on Saturday, ran 14 miles on Sunday and rode another 30 something on Sunday afternoon. It was good fun but I took forever to recover from the weekend. I was run down the first half of the week. What good is working out if you can’t come back bigger and better? So I was going to run shorter (but faster) this Sunday. I decided to do my normal base building pace (right around 8 minutes per mile) but run a couple in the middle faster. So I ended up with only 6 miles but miles 2, 3 and 6 were at a 6:30 minute per mile pace. The cooler temperatures helped. I am going to start throwing in tempo runs more often. Sunday afternoon I would miss the group ride due to setting up the racks for next weekend’s race.

Mighty Magnolia Race Entry Winner

I have tabulated the results for the Mighty Magnolia Race Entry. If you recall, the race filled up pretty fast this year. The race is at 365 regular entries. Ben, the race director also offered up 10 additional charity slots – there are only two of those entries remaining ($125 each).


To get the results I assigned a number to each eligible entry (you must be local and be committed to doing the race – I do not want the entry to go to waste). I tried to use random.org to pick the number but it did not work. Ah, the heck with it – I stole this from Lindsay over at Chasing the Kenyans. Very creative –

As you can see, everyone that wants to do the Mighty Magnolia is already signed up to do the Mighty Magnolia. I had planned on volunteering for the race (I am still stuffing packets and setting up racks – I you would like to help out this weekend please shoot Ben an email – He can use all the help he can get – 165 entries – that is a lot of bike racks to set up this Sunday afternoon) – but I guess I am racing after all. That is right – I won my own contest (I was the only eligible entry)!

Contest: Mighty Magnolia Race Entry

You know, our local race is coming up on October 9th. The Mighty Magnolia is just two weeks from now. If you have been sitting on the fence trying to decide if you want to race – well you are too late. The race is sold out. It is at its limit – 365 people have registered. The race is touted as follows:

Perfect for beginners. Unique, One-of-a-kind Awards for standard 5-year age groups, Athena, Clydesdale, Beginners, Fat Tire division, and relay teams.
Lots of food, fun, raffle prizes, hospitality, and great racing.

Time-Trial Start. Athletes are assigned their race number in the order their registration is processed. The earlier you register the sooner you start on race day!

Chip Timing.

Top 3 Male & Female Overall. Top 3 Male and Female in each Age Group and Category. No Duplication of Awards.

What if I told you that I had spoke with Ben Hughes, the race director, and I had procured a race entry. What if I told you I was willing to give this race entry away? And, in case you have reservation, I was willing to sit down for a consultation to help someone plan out their race strategies.

Well, all of these things are true. Obviously this contest is for local residents only, so if you would like to get in on this one of a kind contest then leave me a comment telling me that you would like to participate in the Mighty Magnolia. For a second entry simply 'like' Power Multisport on Facebook. And finally, for a third entry follow Power Multisport on twitter.

Please only enter the contest if you would like to participate in the Mighty Magnolia – we do not want to keep anyone out that would like to do the race.

The contest will end next Thursday night at midnight Mississippi time. Please state in the comments whether you are local and will participate in the race if you win. Also state how many eligible entries you are entitled.