2010 Brewhouse Preview

I did the race in 2008 and I don't remember the swim at all. I remember the bike because it is two loops and the roads were pretty bad. Very rough roads, potholes, cracks, etc.

I remember the beginning and end of the run because in the beginning you are going up a long low grade hill and if I remember correctly, near the end the grade increases. You run down this hill on the way into the finish. Finally, a finish at the end of downhill. Also, you can see the hill all the way, no curves, no shade, no nothing. You also have to bike up the hill twice.

I think the run is kind of rolling.

In 2008 the day started off sunny, and then went to partly cloudy, and then cloudy, and then it rained after awards. I don't remember it being terribly hot that day.

In 2008 I ended up staying in a hotel in Silver Bay, I think I was an hour from the race site. It was "Tall Ships" weekend in Duluth and all the hotels were booked. This year it is also the weekend of "Tall Ships", but this time I was on the ball and booked a hotel much closer.

2008 Brewhouse Long Course Results

Swim (1408 yards) - 25:39 (1:44/100yards)

T1 - 2:55

Bike (20.6 mi) - 57:27 (21.5MPH)

T2 - 2:39

Run (5mi) - 38:53 (7:47 min/mi)

Total - 2:07:29

Overall - 86/188

AG - 14 of 23

My plan is the same as always, swim hard, bike hard, and take the run as it comes.

2010 Chisago Lakes Sprint Triathlon Results

My plan, as usual, was to go as fast as possible on the swim and bike, and take the run as it came. I really wanted to have a good bike today, and I had one of the best rides I have had all year (3rd on the bike in my AG).

The weather was nearly perfect, sunny, not too humid, not too hot.

Midwest Sports Events has an interesting arrangement for waves, they are arranged by registration order, not by AG. It makes for interesting waves because they are mixed age and sex.

Swim was the shortest swim of the year. I was out of the water in about 7:30, the swim time includes a run up a fairly steep hill to the start of the transition area. The swim is short, but hectic, the waves are two minutes a part but the area is tight and mixed with slow and fast people, so you have to do a lot of darting around to get through the short course.

Once out and up the hill the transition area is grass, tight, and goes up and down the crest of hill. I got in and out pretty good, no real issues.

The first part of the bike is short ride on the street, quick on a grass area, onto a bike path, through a tunnel, and off the bike path onto the road. The course is mostly flat, with no real tough climbs. I was able to spend the entire bike on the aerobars, except when taking some sips out of the water bottle and turning corners. It was nice to stay in the big front chain ring, and the smallest gears in back for most of the bike. It felt like a really good bike. For about 10 miles of the bike I was back and forth with two other guys, not sure what age group they were in. Being that the waved were mixed, I did a lot of passing and a lot of yelling "On Your Left". There were people going 2 and 3 wide and people riding in the middle of the lane for no good reason, as usual. As usual, I got through it with no issue.

I got into T2 with no issues. I had the usual time with socks and shoes. No biggie. I am used to it.

The run is a 5K and not terribly flat. Getting out of the park is down a decent hill and up a decent hill. Once out of the park you go out on the street and up a large hill. At the top of the hill you get a little relief with some flatness. Then you hit something of a false flat and long incline. The worst part of the run back is getting into the park and having to run a hill immediately into the park, the one you ran up and down on the way you, then the course turns away from the T2 exit to the finish, which is a short and steep switch back hill. Kind of a kill to have right at the finish.

My friends Matt and Jen and their 3 kids were at the finish line waiting for me, which was really nice. After a little refreshment and chatting with some people, I met them at the beach and played in the water with Matt and the kids. I think playing with the kids in the water wore me out as much as the race. I was exhausted after the race, I was really exhausted after playing in the lake. It was the first time playing in the water in awhile and it was a fun way to end the day at the race site.

2010 Chisago Lakes Sprint Results

Swim (440 yards) - 8:44 (2:10/100 yards), includes run up to transition

T1 - 1:59

Bike (21 mi) - 56:23 (22.3MPH), same as two year ago but on a longer course

T2 - 1:40

Run (3.1mi) - 25:03 (8:04 min/mi)

Total Time - 1:33:49

Overall - 59/808

AG - 5/57

2008 Chisago Lakes Sprint Results

Swim (440 yards) - 9:18 (2:19/100yards), includes run up to transition

T1 - 1:54

Bike (17 mi) - 45:39 (22.3MPH)

T2 - 1:09

Run (3.1mi) - 24:25 (7:52 min/mi)

Total Time - 1:22:25

Overall - 68/779

AG - 7/51

Product Review 25 - SLS3 Compression Socks

I reviewed these last year, but I got some new ones this year, so here is a new review

Pros - Fit well and they are comfortable. They feel like they help with recovery, but it is hard to quantify.

Cons - None at the moment

Last year, 2009, I had a pair of SLS3 Compression socks and was injured with a stress fracture so I was not able to test them under appropriate conditions. The socks also did not seem to fit my feet\legs correctly. They seemed to be too tight, to the point where they were hurting my feet and legs. This year I recieved a new pair and I have worn them mainly the day before, the day of, and the day after races. I have also worn them after certain training days, if the day was especially painful or difficult. This pair seems to fit correctly, so there has been no issue wearing them. They are fairly comfortable to wear. They do seem to help with recovery, but it is hard to quantify. I think my legs feel less tired and better rested before and after races. The more I wear them, the more they seem to help. It is hard to quantify something like, "feels better" or "less tired", since so much of that depends on the day, the training, the race, etc. I would, and I am, considering purchasing another pair of compression socks. I am not sure this brand, just because I would like to try another brand for comparison.

Racine 70.3 Results, TNT Results, and Chisago Sprint

So, on Sunday I did my second 70.3 (half-Ironman). The first was Longhorn (Austin, TX) 70.3 in October of 2008, the results of which I put in my last post.

I will cut to the chase, everything went pretty well until the run, then the wheels kind of fell off the cart. I finished, the run was just crappy.

Now I will go back to the beginning. Drove down on Saturday, took care of getting race packet and putting bike in transition. That part did not go too bad. They had things setup pretty good and getting through the process of packet pick-up went pretty fast. They could have done a better job letting people know where the transition area is located, in reference to where we had to pickup the race packet. I didn't see anything displayed that would make the location obvious to people.

Anyway, I stayed at my Dad and Stepmom's house in Kenosha, less than a half hour from the race site. It was nice to be able to stay close and not have to pay.

I got up early, as usual, on Sunday had a breakfast of two yogurt cups and two bananas. This is less than I would normally have, but it felt like enough. I guess that nervousness was making me fuller than I actually was. I got my stuff together and headed out, stopping at a gas station to get coffee and a couple of donuts, my usual pre-race pick-me-up.

Transistion area opened at 5AM, with the first wave (Pro Men) heading out at 7AM and my wave (Men 35-39, A-J) heading out about 8:17AM. I got there at about 5:10ish. They had a lot of people body marking and I did not have to wait. I got through and went right to my bike and setup my area. The quarters were pretty tight, probably the closest transition spots I have seen in a transition. I thought I heard some say that the Spirit of Racine had a limit of 1500 people and now the 70.3 had a limit of 2000, using the same transition space. Even though it was tight, everything still got in ok.

Once setup I kind of hung out in transition. I saw, and talked, to more people from MN than I thought I would have. I saw 5+ people I knew. I was surprised, it was nice to have some people to talk to while waiting.

At about 6:40 I started walking, along with everyone else, to the swim start. It is a point-to-point swim and takes about 15 minutes to walk to the start. As I walked to the start I finished off a bottle of Gatorade and a Clif Bar. I wish I would have had my camera to get a picture of the 2000 people, plus spectators, walking down the beach to the start. It was a very cool sight.

From about the time of the Pro start, until the start of my wave, I was either talking with people I knew or warming up in the lake, trying to keep down my nervousness.

The weather all morning had been cloudy, humid, and cooler than expected. That would change drastically as the day went on.

The start went well, I stayed outside, took the first turn bouy wide to stay out of the usual traffic, and just swam. There was a little wind and chop, but nothing major. I really don't have much to say about the swim, it was uneventful. I was a little disappointed with my time, but at the same time I felt pretty good coming out of the water. I think coming out of the water feeling pretty good is more important. I checked my watch when I got out of the water and under the swim finish arch, I was at about 37 minutes, when I ran up the beach and hit transition, where the timing mat was located, it was about 39 minutes. My swim time, and everyone elses swim time, includes the run up the beach. It would have been nice to have the timing mat at the swim finish, rather than the transition start.

To sidetrack for a moment. My Dad was there, he was right at the swim finish, and then when I was in transition he was right behind me at the gate around transition. It was good to have him there. He was there the whole, long day. I was happy for this.

I got out of transition with no issues. At this point the weather was still cloudy and fairly cool.

The bike starts in the streets of Racine, so I spent some time both in and out of the aerobars, for safety reasons. Once we were more out in the "country" I switched to aerobars. The course has a couple of decent climbs, some rollers, and some flat areas. There were times on the course when the headwind was pretty tough. I am not sure at what point it happened on the bike, but the clouds went away and it got hot and humid. I was taking in alternating water and Clif Lemonde every 5-20 minutes, kind of by feel. Coach Kris recommend every 5 minutes, and I tried to stick to it, but didn't do as good a job as I would like. I did drink all the water and sports drink I had on board. I got water from 3 of 4 bottle stops, I missed the hand off at one and did not stop for safety reasons. A lot of the water on the bottle stops went on my person to cool off. Kris also suggested eating a bar after about an hour and a half on the bike. I ate about a half a Clif Bar, I had trouble stomaching it and chewing it, and most of a gel pack. I also had one of those gummy Clif Shots. I should have probably ate more, but I think the heat was making it hard to eat.

I was doing 20MPH+ for the first 30 miles, then my speed started tapering off. I know the last 10 miles I really started slowing down. My lower back really started bothering me and I had to sit upright a lot of the time and stretch. Like my swim, I would have liked to have gone faster, but I am happy with the results.

About 10 minutes out of T2, it clouded up and downpoured for about 10 minutes. Unfortunately, as soon as the rain stopped it got more hot and humid. Just in time for the run.

I went into T2 feeling ok and was going to go with the plan to run to each aid station and then walk through the aid station taking in fluid, etc. It was hot and HUMID. Nasty.

I wanted to start out slow and build up, I started out slow, and never got to the build up part.

The course has little to no shade and there are three areas where there are uphills and the rest is basically flat. The uphills are not that bad, if you are fresh, I was not fresh.

I jogged the first loop and used the water stops. I walked through them and made sure to sip and not drink and to take in a variety of fluids. The only food I took in the whole time was a few orange slices. I was putting ice under my hat, which occasionally gave me a headache, and/or in the back of my tri top. The ice did help. I started feeling nausea and general crappiness by the end of the first loop. I did very little jogging the second loop and walked most of it.

I wasn't the only person having trouble, there were a lot of people out there sufferring in the nasty weather. I guess there was some solace in that.

In a nutshell, I finished. At the finish we got t-shirts, hats, and finisher metals. My dad was there, and that was really nice. Even though I could not talk to him because there was no saliva in my mouth, nor would there be for a couple of hours. They had bagels, Cousin's subs, and lots of beverages at the finish. It was hot and uncomfortable, and after taking in enough to get me to my car and back to my Dad's, I got out of there.

I took my first ever ice bath when I got back to my Dad's house, it felt great. I picked up an 8 pound bag on the way back from the race. I filled the tub with cold water and let me legs dangle in as it filled. Once it filled I got all the way in and opened the ice bag. Glorious! My dad was afraid to have me do it, he thought I would go into shock or have a heart attack, I assured him it was safe and a lot of people do it. He seemed doubtful. Of course I survived. Would have been pretty bad for me to have spent 6+ hours out in the heat doing a Half and then die in an ice cold bath tub.

I know why the run, and to a lesser extent the bike, are not as good as I would have liked. I don't/can't spend all the time training on those two to do a Half well/better. I am still recovering from my leg injury and have not been able to put in the run volume or speed work. I also need to practice nutrition better at that distance. I don't think I know how to take in solid food well when racing.

Putting everything in perspective, I am happy with how I did. I would rather have had the day I had on Sunday, then sitting on the sidelines like last year.

2010 Racine 70.3 Results

Swim (1.2 miles) - 39:20 (1:52/100 yards), includes ~2min run up to T1

T1 - 3:42

Bike (56 miles) - 2:48:14 (19.97MPH)

T2 - 3:14

Run (13.1 miles) - 2:42:51 (12:25 min/mi), ugh

Total - 6:17:21

Overall - 1016/2002

AG -128/245

I did the Tuesday Night Time Trial this week, two days after a Half. Almost thought better of it, but thought it would be another good learning experience. It actually went better than I thought it would. I could feel my inability to generate power. It didn't hurt, I just could not turn the crank. When I was done, I didn't feel that winded, I just felt more tired. After the race I went for a light half hour jog.

Time (11 miles) - 29:57 (22.04MPH)

Average for 5 races completed this year - 30:11:21 (21.98MPH)

I am doing the Chisago Lakes Sprint on Sunday. I did it in 2008 and I don't really remember anything about it except the run. I remember the run because you go up a large hill at the start, then it is mostly flat. I remember it was hot in 2008. In 2008 the bike was 17 miles, this year it is 22 miles. The website states the bike is all new and a flatter course. I hope that is true. I don't really have a plan except to go out and do it hard. Not sure what will be left in the tank after last weekend. Should be interesting to see. I will post my results from 2008 when I post my results from this year, after Sunday.

Racine IM 70.3 - Some thoughts, a little nervousness

I have only done one half-ironman, or 70.3, and that was the Longhorn 70.3 in Oct. 2008. I will be doing my second one this Sunday and my first of this year. I also plan on doing the Pigman Half in August, about a month away.

I am a little nervous about Racine, partly due to the unknown, partly due to what happened at Longhorn. So I sent my Kris, my coach at OptumHealth Performance, an email with some rambling thoughts. He told me to give him a call, so I did. He gave me a plan, that sounds pretty good and I am going to go with it. I just need to cement it in my brain and make sure I stick to it.
No plan for the swim, just do it. Not worried about it.
On the bike, sip water and/or electrolyte fluid every 5 minutes. At about an hour and a half eat something. Gel is good. Something more solid is better. I am going to carry a Clif Bar (I like blueberry the best) with me, plus some gel. I think I can stick to this plan.
On the run, come out slow and work up to a pace, and walk every aid station. Take some water, or other fluid as needed, at every station. Take a gel every 45 minutes, with water. I think this is a plan I can do also.
It is supposed to be hot, 90s, on Sunday, so getting water on me is a necessary also.
I had a plan at Longhorn, and I did not stick to it. I probably took in enough water on the bike, but not enough other stuff. I came out on the run to fast and did not stop at aid stations until I need it, instead of before I needed it.
I just need to stick to the plan and be patient.
Not that the two can be compared, but below is my result from Longhorn. Longhorn is much hillier course, especially the run, than Racine.

2008 Longhorn 70.3 Results
Swim (1.2 miles = 2112 yards) = 29:23 (1:31/100 yards), I think this was short
T1 = 4:27, what was I doing?
Bike (56 miles) = 2:50:48 (19.7MPH), I was happy with this
T2 = 2:26
Run (13.1 mi) = 2:19:37 (10:39 min/mi), and there is the collapse. I ran the first 4 miles or so and then just walked the rest.
Total = 5:46:43
Overall = 741/1929
AG = 97/219

I don't have a goal time in mind for Racine. I would like to be out of the water around 30, off the bike in 2:45, and I will take what I can get from the run. If I went under 5:30 I would be thrilled.

2010 Timberman Triathlon (Long Course) Results and Racine IM 70.3 Thoughts

I will say up front that I think Timberman is one of the most challenging courses around. The bike is hilly and the run has hill and doesn't have a lot of shade, neither does the bike for that matter.
I drove up to Grand Rapids Friday after swimming in the morning, having coffee, and working at the Gear West area at the Lifetime Fitness Expo for 2 hours. I went by myself because Jackie had school, then had a "Lady's Night" at our apartment, and wanted to get some studying in on Saturday. The drive up to Grand Rapids is about three and a half hours and alternates between being nice scenery and kind of dull.
I got to the Sugar Lake Resort about 5. The swim was already setup, so I gave it a look. The swim looked long, the water looked really nice. I went and got my race packet, no problem. Then I had the 7 dollar all you can eat pasta dinner they had at the resort. I ate with Dan and Suzie, it was nice to have some company for dinner. The all you can eat dinner was simple salad, red sauce, pasta, and meatballs. Desert was a blackberry crisp. It was surprisingly good meal, especially for 7 bucks. I had two helpings everything except the desert.
After I ate I drove the 15-20 minutes to the AmericInn in Grand Rapids. Hotel was ok. Next year, especially if Jackie comes with, I would like to stay at the resort for Friday and Saturday night.
Anyway, I went to bed early and got up about 4:45AM. I brought some stuff for breakfast and picked up some stuff from Cub the night before. I got up, showered, ate, packed, and got to the race site about 6:15. The weather looked a little sketchy at first, but by the time the race started it was clear and sunny, and warming up.
I found a nice spot in transition at the top of the hill , the tranisition is on a hill with the enterance from the swim and bike at the bottom and the exit for the run and bike at the top.
There were more people than I thought I would know at the race, so I chatted a little and did a short bike warm-up. I was feeling a little tired/lethargic, and it felt even more so when I went out on the bike warm-up. I was a tad worried about how I would feel.
The race is in waves, there is no Elite wave, so everyone 39 and under started together. I started on the outside and probably stayed there too long. The water is very clear and the temperature was probably perfect. The swim was very uneventful and felt ok. I didn't feel like I could go much faster than I went. I think the swim was shorter than the stated mile, based on my time.
I got of T1 with no issues and started the bike. The bike for the long course is two different loops. First loop is the same as the short course (10 mi) and then you split off and do another loop that is longer and the last part meets up with the short course loop. The ride was hilly, some pretty descent climbs, some pretty cool descents, and some nice scenery. There were some areas of bad road that made for rough ride on the second part. This was the first race where I had to go into the small chainring on the front, also probably the most I was ever out of the saddle in a race. It was a tough bike. When it was over, I was glad.
I got out of T2 with a little sock trouble, but otherwise ok. There are some short, and somewhat steep hills out of the start. The first 2 miles is on pavement, with very little shade, the next two miles, out a mile and back a mile, is on hard pack gravel/dirt, and the last 2 miles is pavement. It was hot, hard run. I thought about stopping and walking, but I made it without stopping, I kept running. You have to run a nice little uphill before the finish and then when you come in there is a guy on the other side of the finish line with a house and a showerhead type sprayer. I let him spray me, it felt great, but I thought I was going to go into shock. I wish they had more of those at other races.
I was pretty proud of myself. I felt kind of cruddy most of the day, just tired. Making it through the run, actually the whole race, was more of a challenge than usual, and I am really happy with my time. I was thinking something close to 2:40, so just under 2:30 was a nice surprise.
I recommend this race to someone who wants a real challenge, especially if it is a warm day.

2010 Timberman Long Course Results
Swim (1760 yards) - 23:41 (1:21/100 yards), I am not that fast, must have been short
T1 - 1:54
Bike (23.8 miles) - 1:10:01 (20.4 MPH), I am happy with this, considering the conditions and how I felt out on the course
T2 - 1:56
Run (6 miles) - 51:50 (8:39 min/mi), this surprised me, I would have totally been happy at or over 9 min/mi
Total -2:29:20
Overall -60/122
AG -7/13 (including at least two Elites)

Next weekend, the day of Sunday 7/18, I will be doing Racine IM 70.3. My first, last, and only half-iron/70.3 was Oct 2008 at Longhorn 70.3. That effort was a little unsuccessful. I had a good swim and bike and 4 miles into the run I hit a wall and ended up walking 9 miles. I finished, but I ended up in the med tent with an IV. I learned some lessons out there that day. I need more/better nutrition was the biggest thing I learned that day. It was hot and I did not take in enough stuff besides water. Hopefully this coming weekend I can take better care. Racine is supposed to be a flat course, so that will be nice, especially after this last weekend. There is a good chance it will be a hot day and I have no idea what the shade will be like. Basically my goal is to finish this race, I think my training, and extensive racing, will allow me to finish. I also think that because I race so much, and that I do not train specifically for this distance, it will be hard for me to have an awesome performance. I would be glad to go faster than the 5:45 I did at the Longhorn 70.3, but I will take a finish next Sunday.

June 2010 Workout Summary

Here are my numbers for June 2010 compared to numbers from previous years

2010 Includes 4 Tris (one DNF on bike) and 1 TT

2009 I did no races, 2008 includes 4 Tris and 2 TTs, and 2007 includes 3 Tris and 1 Du

Year-to-date totals (6 month total for 2010) and totals since 2007

Average and totals since 2007

2010 MinneMan Tri Results and Timberman Preview

Up and out early, as usual. Got there and setup early enough that I could warm-up and chat with people. I actually talked to a number of people before the start and finally I got to me Brian Mass (visit his blog at www.tundrat-zone.blogspot.com ), who I have communicated by way of FB and blog in the past, but never met until this day. It was great to finally meet him, and get passed by him on the run. It appears that he a had very good day.

The weather for the day was on and off windy, when not windy it was hot and humid. It was a pretty good day to race.

The swim was a little ridiculous. There was a lot of people, the course was tight, water was shallow, and there was some chop. Most people ran half way, or more, to the turnaround bouy. I did not wear a wetsuit, and I am glad I did not, it would have been a waste. I had moment of panic on the swim, the first in a long time. I got jammed up on the turn bouy and my left arm got caught in the rope. It took me too long, it seemed like forever, to get untangled from that bouy. I was right up against the bouy, people were swimming around and into me. I was trashing my left arm around and finally it came free. I did not panic too much, but there was a little panic there. Once around the bouy it was a little less crowded and I could actually swim. I would say this is the worst swim course, swim setup, I have done this year. Possibly the worst in any triathlon I have done. They need to rethink how they do the course. Maybe go to a TT start like Pigman Sprint. I can't remember what was different in 2008, but something was definitely different, and better.

Got through the longish transition run with no problems, got bike, and got out of transition with no problem. Initially, the bike felt windy. I think we were biking south and it was in our face. When the wind was at the side it was not too bad. The last part of the bike was through a residential neighborhood, and for the most of that the wind was mostly a headwind. That made the last few miles tough. This course is mostly flat, so that made the wind slightly more bearable.

I did see one thing on the bike that was disturbing/frustrating. I got passed about 5-7 miles into the bike by 3 guys in the 40+ AG, so they started 3 minutes behind me. That was not the disturbing/frustrating part, the fact that they appeared to be drafting was the aspect that irritated me. Maybe it was a coincidence the 3 passed me at the same time. Maybe they were not cheating. Who knows.

I came into T2 with the intent of trying a flying dismount. I did not. I got my feet out of my shoes and on top with no issues and I have plenty of room for the attempt, but I backed out and just stopped on the dismount and ran barefoot into transistion, rather than run in my cleated feet. I had the usual slow time getting my socks and shoes on and busted ass out of transistion as fast as possible.

As expected the run was painful, not the leg, just whole body pain. It was humid and I had biked hard. I pushed the run as hard as possible and I am happy with the result, even if I would have liked to have gone closer to a 7:30 min/mi. At this point, I have to take what I can get. I think it is going to be a long time before I can consistently run below 7:40 min/mi pace. I got passed by one guy in my AG, there was no way I was going to catch him. I checked the results and he finished about 30 seconds in front of me. He was running at about a 6:48 min/mi, so almost a min/mile faster than I was running. My average speed on the bike was 2+MPH faster, but his run was too much for me. No biggie. I gave it all I got, as usual, that was all I could do.

It was good race, and aside from the swim, it was a very good race.

Swim (something less than a third of a mile) - 6:54 (1:19, yeah, defintely shorter than a third of a mile)

T1 - 2:15 (long run to transition)

Bike (13 mile) - 34:57 (22.3 MPH, same average speed as 2008)

T2 -1:30 (I have to do something about socks and getting my shoes on)

Run (3 mile) - 23:54 (7:58 min/mi)

Total Time - 1:09:29

Overall -60/414

AG - 6/19 (The AG winner was under an hour. I checked the results from the last two years, and no one in my AG was under an 1:05)

I have never done Timberman. I have heard it is a beautiful course. I also heard that Waconia and Timberman are the two toughest races in the series. My sources have told me that the bike course is hilly, with some challenging climbs. Apparently, the first part of the run is hilly and then flattens out later. The run is a mix of pavement and gravel and there is not a lot of shade, so hydrate well. Since I have not done this before, and it is the second longest race I have done this year (1mi swim, ~24mi bike, 6mi run) I will just do my best to get through it.

Product Review 24 - Xtenex Lacing System

Pros

Lock laces, shoe fit, into place and they are good to go. The laces do not slip.

Cons

They are difficult to get through the holes for lacing. If you don’t like the tightness or looseness of the laces once they are laced in the shoe, it is pain to get them out and reposition them so the shoe fits better. I have used other brands of “speed-laces”, and these are the most difficult to adjust once they are in place.

This is the third type of “speed lace” that I have used. I have had the kind that come with anchors that go into the lace openings. I have also had the “Yankz!” laces. These laces are probably the simplest laces, in terms of how they work. They were difficult to get through the lace openings in the shoe and once the shoes were laced they were difficult to get out and reposition. Once in position they stayed in position, were comfortable, and so far have not caused any issues. Not sure that I would purchase these laces again.