Wait - Another Look at My Weight at the End of the Year

I track my weight out of curiosity and to see if there are any trends.  I try to weigh myself every two weeks.  Back in Feb I posted weight data for myself.  Again, I weigh myself in the morning, nude, after going to the bathroom, so it is consistent.  Below some of the yearly data is a graph of the measurements. 2011 was similar to 2010, in terms of average, but in 2011 the standard deviation was the largest ever since 2008, when I lost a lot of weight.  Weight loss probably due to the fact I started training really hard and stopped drinking "regular" soda. 
You can see about halfway through this year I started going up.  I expect that once I get back to "normal" training intensity and time in 2012 I expect to drop some lbs.  I should also start to watch my portion size a little more.  I tend to eat large portions, especially when those portions consist of yummy meats.  This is something I need to cut down on, especially since my doctor remarked on my cholestrol this year.  Uh oh.  She just said I need to take it easy on the meats and fried foods, which I will definitely try to do in 2012.  Though, I don't think I am THAT bad at it.  I will be more aware and cut back.

All weight in pounds

2007 Average Weight = 204.65
2007 Standard Deviation = 1.63

2008 Average Weight = 191.52
2008 Standard Deviation = 6.39

2009 Average Weight = 191.81
2009 Standard Deviation = 2.40

2010 Average Weight = 189.54
2010 Standard Deviation = 1.72

2011 Average Weight = 189.92
2011 Standard Deviation = 4.13

2011 Transitions in Pictures

No words, just pictures of my transition spots from 2011

The Bike I Want - QR Illicito

The Quintana Roo Illicito is the next bike I would like to purchase.  Problem is price and the fact I will not have the money anytime soon for this beautiful piece of bicycling carbon fiber.  The frame, fork, and seatmast is $3200, which is not bad at all, but still out of my price range especially since I have to provide a component groupe, crank, pedals, and cockpit, which could run anywhere from 2500-5000+ more dollars.
A review of the bike from TriSports University only makes me want to get this bike even more.

http://university.tri-sports.com/2011/12/05/2012-quintana-roo-illicito/

I will probably go on about this bike more in the future.  So cool.......

Race Count - 2006 to Present

I put together a table of all my races.  I think all of them, since 2006.  2006 is basically when I started keep track of races.  In 2004 and 2005 I did a lot of road races, mainly 5Ks, but I did not keep track of them. 
Again, 2009 was the year I was injured.  One triathlon was a relay, and the other I walked the run.  The duathlon was a relay.

The two years with the most total races are 2008 and 2010.
The year with the most triathlons is 2008
The year with the most duathlons is 2007
The year with the most TTs are 2007 and 2008
The year with the most road races, running, was 2006
I have done a total of 48 triathlons since 2007 and 24 duathlons since 2006
I have done 33 TTs since 2006
I have done 25 road races since 2006

I would say I have amassed a pretty good amount of race experience in 6 years

2011 November Racing and Training Summary

I am still in my "off-season" mode.  By looking at my numbers and comparing to previous years, this means that I am swimming less, but doing more biking and running than in previous Novembers.  So, I guess I am not taking that much time off.
I did one 5k in November.  It was at the Dakota Athletic Center, I think that is what it is called, out by Mystic Lake Casino.  It is on the golf course, actually it is on the paved cart path, and it is not flat.  It was also windy and cold, below freezing.  It hurt, I was sucking wind the whole day.  I had a slow day.  My time was 24:57, which comes out to 8:03min/mi.  Not terribly impressive, but it is November.
On Thanksgiving Day Jackie and I did the Kenosha Mayor's Run.  There is a 10k and 2 mi, we did the 2 mi down by the Lakeshore.  Nice run.  Good course with a mix of flat and some up and down.
On Monday nights I have been doing the CompuTrainer TT race at OptumHealth Performance.  It is extremely painful.  There is a 12.4mi course and a 27.2mi course, both are not flat, very challenging to go as hard as you can.  I did the short course 3 times and the long course one time.  Below are my times.
1st Short Course - 38:53 (19.1MPH)
2nd Short Course - 40:10 (18.5MPH)
3rd Shourt Course - 38:11 (19.5MPH)
1st Long Course - 1:41:11 (16.1MPH) - The long course is basically all uphill.
The 5 fastest times for the month, plus the course CR, are kept on the white board by the trainers for both the long course and short course, for both male and female.  At the end of the month, the fastest person gets a prize.

I spent one week in November in a Holiday Inn Express Motel (not a typo, it was a motel, not a hotel) in CA.  It had a terrible workout room.  So I did some elliptical and upper body strength stuff on the small weight thing that was in the workout room.

I did a total of 1 hour of elliptical for the month, I don't count this as running, and about 45 minutes of strength work for the month.

Comparison of Novembers

Totals Since 2007 and Monthly Averages

2011 YTD and Totals Since 2007

2011 October Racing and Training Summary

I took some time off in October.  I decided to take it easy after the Dousman Duathlon and through October.  I will start to pick it back up a little in November and December.  I don't plan on really getting going until after the New Year.

In October I did the Baker Orchard Cyclecross race.  It was a cool and beautiful morning.  The coarse is a good mix of flat, climbs, decents, a sand trap (Thinking I could bike through it, I fell on one of the laps), and part of the race went through a barn.  Cyclecross is very painful, almost from the get go I continued for all  4 laps.  I finished second to last overall, which is good considering out of a field of 49 there were 7 DNFs.  Cyclecross is very humbling.

I also did a 5k around Lake Phalen.  It is a run put on by Jackie's PA program.  It was a beautiful day and I had an ok run.  I would have liked to have gone 7:30min/mi, but I will take what I can get.  What I got was about 7:50min/mi.  I was sucking wind pretty hard that day.

By far, this was not my lowest October on record.  In terms of time spent running, it was my highest.  Hopefully, I can build off that and increase my run time through the end of the year and into next year. 

Comparison of Octobers since 2007

Totals and Average Since 2007

YTD Totals and Total Since 2007

Review of 2011 Duathlon Results and Comparison to Previous Years

Below are my Duathlon results for 2011.  I had a pretty big improvement over 2010, again, when I was recovering from my stress fracture.  In 2010, I took the GW Du and Apple Du "easy" to start off the year.
My run is not back to 2008 form, but my bike, and transition times, have gotten steadily better throughout the years.  This improvement has resulted in my overall pace reducing every year, except 2010.

Now that I have all this data, and plotted much it, I have to decide what to do with it.  I can use it to show improvement, or I can try to devise away to use it to improve my training and racing.

2011 Duathlon Results (Click on image to enlarge)

Below are the trend charts for each portion of the race.  Pace is in fractions of minute/mile, bike speed is in MPH, and transition times are in fractions of a minute.
First chart is Run 1, second chart is Bike, third chart is Run 2, fourth chart is T1 and T2, and the last chart is Average Overall Pace, which, as always, is the total time divided by the distance  I have dropped almost a minute/mi from my overall average pace over the course of 6 years, more than a minute/mi from my first run average pace, and 2 minutes from second run average pace.  In 2006 I averaged 17.5 MPH on road bike with bolt-on aerobars, in 2011 I averaged over 21MPH, on a tri-bike with race wheels.  My T2 now averages under a minute and my T1 time is just over a minute.  I think that my duathlon improvments over the years have been greater than my triathlon improvements.  I started out doing only duathlons in 2006 and I was in horrible shape when I started.  I had a lot of room to improve from 2006

2011 September Training and Racing Summary

September consisted of the St. Croix Valley Olympic Distance Tri and the Dousman Du.  After the Dousman Du, basically the last two weeks, I started to take it easy.  I did begin to add a little strength work.  The strength work consists of doing some crunches, squats, tricep extensions, bicep curls, and some step ups.  I would add some more strength work and time as the season goes on.

I took Sept 2007 off, 2008 was my biggest year.  Almost every month in 2008 was my biggest month when compared to other years.  This month was a lower month, taking a little time off.  2009 was a high for swimming and biking due to my stress fracture.

Year-to-Year Comparison of September

Totals and Averages Since 2007

Total Since 2007 and YTD Total

Review of 2011 Triathlon Results and Comparison to Past Results

Below is a table of all my Triathlon results for this year.  I will put my Duathlon results in a seperate post.
Select the image to enlarge.  I am pretty happy with these results. 
I completed 10 races and in 7 of the races I had top ten AG finishes and 2 of them were top 3 finishes.    I had a very good season, probably better than I could have hoped for.

Below I have chartered my triathlon results from 2007 to the present.  The results are my averages for each leg, plus T1 and T2.  I threw out my half-IM and Escape from Alcatraz in 2008 and my two half-IMs from 2010, so that I could compare 2007 and 2011 to 2008 and 2010 for equivalent distances.  In 2009, I did two relays and walked the run at St. Croix Valley Sprint.  I did not count any of the results from 2009.
I have started 50 triathlons since 2007.  2 of those were relays, 2 were dnfs, one was a flat and one was intentional, due to my stress fracture.  One of them I walked the run, mentioned above. 
So, the data below is for 42 races.  You can see that from 2007 to 2008 I had improvement, then 2009 off, then 2010 and 2011 I was a little flat in some areas.
I am not sure that plotting averages per year against training time is useful.  Increased training time does not necessarily improve performance.  Though I might just plot that and post for curiousity sake.

Average swim time is fractions of a minute per 100 yards.  Can I get under 1.5 minutes per 100 yards in 2012?

I had a large increas in speed from 2007 to 2008 and then flattened in 2010 and 2009.  My goal for 2012 would be to get over 22MPH for an average and hit 24MPH, or 23.5MPH average, in a race

I would like to get me average run time below 8 min/mi.  Below is fractions of a minute per mile. Taking most of 2009 off for injury really did affect my run average.  I am back to my 2008 average.  In 2007 I one Oly and rest were sprints, of nine total races.  In 2008 I did 14 races, 12 in the chart data, and 5 of those were Oly distance or nearly Oly distance. 

Below are my T1 and T2 average times.  This year I was a little slower in T1, but every year I got faster in T2

I have also plotted my average pace, which is the total time it took me to complete the race divided by the total time, including T1 and T2.  This time has improved year after year.  I like this measure because it incorporates a lot of information.  2007 is the year I had the least number of tris and the shortest average distance, so my pace has improved at longer average distances.

My next post will have the same type of data except for duathlons

2011 Dousman Duathlon Race Report - Last (Multisport) Race of the Year

This will be my 6th time at this event.  When I was injured, in 2009, Jackie and I did it as a relay, otherwise I have done it 5 times as an individual.
Below are my results for this year and then below for the previous years, except for the relay.

2011 Dousman Duathlon Results
Run (2mi) - 14:02 (7:01min/mi)
T1 - 1:01
Bike (21mi) - 58:44 (21.5MPH)
T2 - 0:42
Run (2mi) - 15:05 (7:33min/mi)
Total - 1:29:31
Ave Overall Pace - 3:35min/mi
Overall - 47/601
AG - 7/40

2010 Dousman Duathlon Results
Run (2mi) - 13:59 (7:00min/mi)
T1 - 1:25
Bike (21mi) - 57:53 (21.8MPH)
T2 - 1:14
Run (2mi) - 15:01 (7:30min/mi)
Total - 1:29:30
Ave Overall Pace - 3:35min/mi
Overall - 86/791
AG - 15/62

2009 was a relay with Jackie

2008 Dousman Duathlon Results
Run (2mi) - 12:58 (6:29min/mi)
T1 - 1:25
Bike (20mi) - 57:77 (20.9MPH)
T2 - 0:55
Run (2mi) - 14:06 (7:03min/mi)
Total - 1:26:39
Ave Overall Pace - 3:37min/mi
Overall - 34/615
AG - 5/54

2007 Dousman Duathlon Results
Run (2mi) - 13:20 (6:40min/mi)
T1 - 1:19
Bike (20mi) - 1:01:50 (19.7MPH)
T2 - 1:17
Run (2mi) - 14:40 (7:20min/mi)
Total - 1:32:26
Ave Overall Pace - 3:51min/mi
Overall - 111/797
AG - 21/55

2006 Dousman Duathlon Results
Run (2mi) - 15:12 (7:36min/mi)
T1 - 1:48
Bike (20mi) - 1:07:48 (17.7MPH), not on tri bike, on road bike with bolt-on aerobars
T2 - 1:44
Run (2mi) - 16:28 (8:14min/mi)
Total - 1:43:00
Ave Overall Pace - 4:17min/mi
Overall - 238/254
AG - 13/24

Big improvements from 2006 - 2008, flattened out after injury.  I still have some work to do on the run, but I already knew that.  Need more speed.

Jackie did not head down with me, so I made the drive alone.  My dad did come with me to the race, which was excellent.  This is the second race he has been to, but the first race he came with me.  Last year he did go to the Racine 70.3.  This year the weather was very decent.  Cloudy, no rain, temperature was in mid-50s to low 60s.  Did not seem like a lot of wind, but I did feel some out on the bike and at time is felt substantial.
I was in the 5th wave of about 14 waves going 3 minutes apart.  Every year they "tweak" the run course a little.  The adjustment is around the enterance and exit for the transition on the run.  No big deal.
Up early, by 4AM, out of the house by 5AM, and in transition by 6:30AM.  Picked up donut and coffee on the way, of course.
I did not know anyone at the race, so I setup my spot in transition spot, went on a short bike ride, and wandered around either talking to my dad or by myself. 

I was in the 5th wave, so  did not have to wait to long.  I was a little nervous.  I have been feeling more fatigued at the end of the year, more fatigue than usual, and I a little worried about my upper left hamstring that had been irritating me over the last 3-4 weeks.  I took off at a decent clip and I was through the first mile in about 6:20, too fast, I was sucking wind bad.  I was at the head of my wave through most of the 1st run, and got passed by one guy in the last quarter mile.
I got on the bike and took it a little slower at first.  Took in some fluid and caught my breath.  Within the first 5 miles I passed the guy who passed me going into transition.  No idea if this guy was in my AG or not, but at least if gave me a marker.  This guy eventually passed me with 2 miles left on the bike and held a constant gap on me during the 2nd run.  I later found out this guy was in my AG and beat me by 6 seconds overall.  No big deal, just interesting.  I congratulated him at the end of the race. 
Back to the bike, I passed a lot people.  There was a lot of yelling, "On your left!".  One guy was riding down the middle and getting handed a bike bottle from a girl, this was new.  I yelled, "On your left!" a couple of times for all our safety and got an angry "I heard you!" back.  Sorry if I irritated you, while you ride down the middle of the road (sarcasm).  Anyway, the bike went pretty good, little slower than last year.  No rain, but I think it was windier than last year.
I got off the bike and started running.  The I mentioned earlier, who passed me in the last two miles on the bike, who I passed in the first five miles, was in front of me the whole way.  I ran faster than I thought, my legs felt cooked.  I was surprised at my splits for the second run, pleasantly surprised.
After the finish I had a little to eat and drink, and then cleaned up and got out of there.
I was pretty happy with how the race went, I would like to have gone faster than 2010, but it is what it is.  I was glad my dad could come and watch.  It was nice to have him along for the last race of the year.
Now it is time for a break......I will probably do one or two 5Ks, or something like that, and maybe a cyclecross race

2011 Tuesday Night Time Trial Summary

This year I felt pretty good about TNT.  My average was up a little from 2010, the year I was recovering from injury, but down from 2008.  2008 is still my fastest year. 
In 2009 I did two races late in the year and they were slower, as expected.
Below are all the results for 2011, plus the averages, and the number of races, for 2006 - 2010, for comparison.
My goal is still to hit 24MPH.  To do this I am going to have to focus on my bike even more than I do, which I am not sure I have the time to do next year.  I have to build strength (core and legs) and, of course, stamina (more time on the bike). 
Can I get away with strength and core work in the off-season, and about the same amount of saddle time, or less in 2012, with more intensity, to get to 24MPH?

Race is always 11 miles of rolling hills.
2011 Results (5 races, missed two for work and one was rained out.  First ever rain out)
West-to-East course

5/24/11 - 29:36 = 22.3MPH (65/93)
6/7/11 - 30:14 = 21.83MPH (37/62)
6/21/11 - 29:25 = 22.43MPH (18/33)
7/5/11 - 28:32 = 23.13MPH (31/52)
7/19/11 - 31:10 = 21.18MPH (41/53)

Average Time = 29:47 = Average Speed = 22.17MPH
Average Finish = 38/59

2010 Results  (5 Races)
East-to-West Course

Average Time = 29:59 = Average Speed = 22.08MPH
Average Finish = 46/61

2009 Results (2 Races)
East-to-West Course

Average Time = 30:44 = Average Speed = 21.49MPH
Average Finish = 52/62

2008 Results (7 Races)
West-to-East Course

Average Time = 28:43 = Average Speed = 23.03MPH
Average Finish = 35/64

2007 Results (5 Races, First year on a tri bike)
West-to-East Course

Average Time = 30:45 = Average Speed = 21.46MPH
Average Finish = 40/52

2006 Results (2 Races, On Lemond Sarthe road bike with bolt-on aerobars)
West-to-East Course

Average Time = 34:13 = Average Speed = 19.3MPH
Average Finish = 51/52

2011 August Racing and Training Summary

This month I had one duathlon (Turtleman Duathlon) and one triathlon (Maple Grove Oly). There were no Tuesday Night Time Trials. I missed the first one of the month due to work and the second one got rained out. I will put a post covering the TNT results of this year and a comparison to previous years sometime soon.

The time I spent swimming this year is lower than previous years, but it has been going well, in terms of race performance.  My bike and run are lower than last year, but July and August of 2010 also include more races and Half-IMs.  I am basically putting time and volume similar to 2008.

Comparison of August from Year-to-Year

Totals Since 2007 and Per Month Averages

YTD 2011 and Totals Since 2007

St. Croix Valley Triathlon (Olympic) - Last Tri of the Season

2011 St. Croix Valley Results
Swim (1640 yards) - 29:00 (1:46 min/mi)
T1 - 2:22
Bike (24.8mi) - 1:10:31 (21.1MPH)
T2 - 0:51
Run (6.2mi) - 49:36 (7:59min/mi)
Total - 2:32:17
Overall - 40/103
AG (30-39) - 12/19
Overall Average Pace = 4:46 min/mi

2010 St. Croix Valley Results
Swim (1640 yards) - 28:12 (1:43 min/mi)
T1 - 1:41
Bike (24.8mi) - 1:10:49 (21MPH)
T2 - 1:31
Run (6.2mi) - 48:49 (7:51min/mi)
Total - 2:31:00
Overall - 26/103
AG (30-39) - 6/14
Overall Average Pace = 4:44 min/mi

I had a mild panic attack on the swim, it surprised me.  I have not had an issue on the swim since 2008.  At Waconia in 2008 the water was really rough and I thought I had no fear, well I was wrong and had my worst swim that year.  I am not sure what happened on Saturday, about a quarter into the swim I just started feeling tight and I had trouble breathing.  Maybe it was a combination of starting off faster/more aggressively than usual and the newness and tightness of my wetsuit.  I came to a stop and took a couple deep breaths, did a little breast stroke, flipped over, did easy backstroke, and then flipped over and swam.  I have no idea how much time I took, it seemed like forever.  If you look at my time between this year and last year there is only about a 45 second difference.  I must have really picked up after my little attack. 
I will back up a little.  When I left the house it looked like it had been storming, the pavement was wet and there was lightning to the north.  While getting setup and ready, it looked like it might rain.  It sprinkled a touch before the race.  Otherwise, it did not rain during the race.  It did stay cloudy until the very end.  This was a good thing.  It would have been hot and humid otherwise.
I did not really know anyone, I chatted briefly with Kortney (who won the women's race and was 5th overall) and Jared.
After the race a woman who swam/swims(?) at OHP chatted with me and the guy she was with, I think his name is Micah (sp?).  The guys said he reads my blog, and knew my name.  Hello to him if he is reading.  Thanks for reading.  Sorry if I was not cheerier post-race.
Once I got out of the swim I moved a little slower in transition and I took it a little easy on the bike to start off.  The roads out of Hudson are terrible, so I stayed out of aerobars until out of town.  Out of town the roads are pretty good.   This bike course is challenging.  It is not flat by any means.  It varies with rollers and some short steap climbs.  It does have some nice flat portions where you can get moving.  I got passed near the end of the bike by one person, otherwise I did a bit of passing, which I needed to do. 
On the way back in on the bike, still out of town, there was a left turn and there was a man down in the road.  Laying almost in the interesection and surrounded by some people.  He did not look bad at the time.  As I kept going, two cop cars passed me at full throttle.  Later I heard he was hit by a car.  As I was cleaning up my transition spot I saw him by his car, I assumed it was him since he was on his cellphone talking about his injuries and how he felt.  He did not look that bad, his face had some cuts and scrapes, and a large bandage on his leg.  I thought I would mention it since I have not seen\heard many on course accidents.
I got off the bike fast, I had a transition time under a minute.  I felt pretty good coming off the bike.  Jerry said my name and asked me as I was leaving transition how many races I had done this year.  I hand signaled 12 as I went by and he got it.  With the announcement of my name and race count I got some cheers, which was nice.
This run is also challenging, I don't think it is as challenging Maple Grove, but it is one of the more challenging runs.  There are some false flats, a number of climbs, and a lot of turns.  The run did not go too bad.  I got passed by a number of people, but that is what happens to me on the run.  Next year I have to do more hill work.  I get killed on runs with hills.  I just don't have the strength.  Both this year and last year I went under 50 minutes, which is pretty good for me off the bike.  No pain in the ribs or in my left butt, which has been bothering me since Turtleman.
I was a minute+ slower this year and 14 places worse overall.  If I was at my same time as last year, I am not sure I would have cracked the top 30, definitely faster competition.  I think the same can be said for the 30-39 AG.
My goal was to go under two and half hours here, less so at Maple Grove.  I thought I could do it here, eventhough I ran a little slower I could have done it if not for the poor swim.    Oh well, I have another goal for next year.  All in all I am fairly happy with how the day went. I think I came back pretty well from a crappy start.

2011 Maple Grove Olympic Triathlon Race Report

2011 Maple Grove Olympic Triathlon Results
Swim (1640yds) - 27:26 (1:44/100yds)
T1 - 2:26
Bike (26mi) - 1:13:32 (21.2MPH)
T2 - 1:12
Run (6.2mi) - 50:15 (8:06 min/mi)
Total - 2:34:49
Overall - 44/216
AG - 9/33
Overall Pace - 4:41 min/mi

2010 Maple Grove Triathlon Results
Swim (1640yds) - 28:26 (1:48/100yds)
T1 - 1:57
Bike (26mi) - 1:13:14 (21.2MPH)
T2 - 0:54
Run (6.2mi) - 52:12 (8:25 min/mi)
Total - 2:37:09
Overall - 31/167
AG - 3/22
Overall Pace - 4:45 min/mi

Getting to be a little later in the season and I feel like I am losing some of that "Pop" I had earlier.  I look forward to racing, but I am having some issues with motivation, especially around training.  I feel like I have lost some "Pop" but I get out on the course and my times are better than last year.  I was over 2 minutes faster this year than last year.
This race felt long.  The swim felt long, even though I cut a minute from last year.  The course was slighly different and went the opposite direction.  The bike felt long, and the run felt long.  Even though I nearly duplicated me bike time from last year, and my run time was almost 2 minutes faster.  It just felt like a long day, maybe I was tired.  Not sure.
Anyway, like I said, the swim felt long but there was little traffic.  Aside from feeling long, the swim went well.  It was only the third race this year that I used my new wetsuit.  I am still getting used to it, definitely feels different from my old QRoo suit.
My T2 time was long, still trying to figure out how to get out of the new wetsuit.
Bike was cooler and less windy than last year.  Once I got to the olympic loop, at least for part of it, I was by myself.  Once I turned and started heading east, I had a few 111 athletes, and then when I got back on the shared portion there was a bunch of sprint people.  The bike went well.
I did not do a flying dismount this year, too much traffic at the dismount line, so my time was a little slower.
My run was faster by nearly 2 minutes, surprisingly.  It did not feel faster, it felt more difficult than last year.  It is a tough run, with a couple decent climbs and a the second lap has something of a false flat on the backside of the second loop.
So, cut 2+ minutes overall over last year.  Last year I was 3rd in my AG this year 9th.  Competition gets tougher all the time.  Overall, I am happy.  How could I not be?  I cut time from last year on what I would consider a challenging course.
My ribs are still a little tender at times, but not enough to affect me.  I started feeling some pain in my left glute, deep in my ass cheek, after Turtleman.  I think I pulled something.  The pain has been off and on, sometimes pretty painful.  I felt it on Saturday, but did not affect my race.

Brian has a good race report for the sprint distance at: http://tundrat-zone.blogspot.com/2011/08/race-result-2011-maple-grove-sprint.html
Brian also had an awesome race that day.  Congratulations to him.

The pictures of me below were taken by Kerry Yndestad.  I took the pictures not of me.

2011 Turtleman Duathlon Race Report

This has taken me forever to get out.  Late in the year, getting lazy
This is not an excuse for my performance, which I am very happy with, it is statement of fact.  I was hurting a bit on race day.  Why?  Because the Thursday night before Turtleman I went tubing, the kind of tubing you do behind a boat, where the driver attempts to fling you off in the most painful way possible.  It was the first time I had been tubing in about 20 years.  I used to go a lot in high school, when I had friends with boats and family cabins in Northern Wisconsin.  I was out on Lake Minnetonka on Thursday night with Jackie's family, and on a two seat tube with Jackie's cousin and her brother-in-law driving the boat.  The first time I was flung off the tube I think I landed with my left arm\elbow in my ribcage and bruised, possibly cracked, a rib, or some ribs.  I got the wind knocked out of me and had some pain, but kept tubing for awhile.  I was in some pain that evening and the next morning at Masters, it was tough to swim and do flip turns.  I was hurting, and I am actually still tender, it is more than a week later . Anyway, surprisingly, I felt little pain during the race, probably adrenaline.  Hurt before the race and a lot more later in the evening, after race.
I went to packet pick-up on Friday and found that my packet could not be found.  I filled out some paperwork and I got a new number.  I later found out my packet was stuck to another packet and they did not see it.  Since it was a numerical order on the start, I got pushed towards the back of the start.
So, on with the race.  I got up and it was barely raining in South Minneapolis. On the way to Shoreview it started pouring and it was raining pretty hard when I pulled in the parking lot.  I sat in the car for awhile, to finish my usual pre-race donut and coffee, and then decided to walk on down and check it out, umbrella in hand.
Before the race I talk to Cliff and Jill.  One conversation we had was about the transition area setup.  The run in and out were the same entrance and exit, the bike in and out were different.  Bike out on the east, bike in on the west.  The discussion, rationalized by Cliff, led to the decision to stay on the west side, near the run in and out, which turned out to be the best side. I also talked to Brian and relayed the discussion to him, he decide to pick the same as us.  It turns out we made the best decision based on the T2 times.  As always, Brian has a great race report at: http://tundrat-zone.blogspot.com/2011/08/race-result-2011-turtleman-duathlon.html
So, before the race I got to chat it up with a few people and the rained had stopped.  It was odd with less than the 200 people at the start.  At one time this race had 1000 people, hopefully it can return to those days.
I started the first run off a little easy and picked up.  I had never done a TT start on a run and I didn't want to go out too fast, with 22 mile bike and a 5 mile run to go.  The run is pretty flat and it felt pretty good.  There is not really too much to say about the short run, except that it was short.  I passed a decent number of people on the run.  In and out of transition went pretty smoothly.
I went out on the bike a little easy, took in some fluid, before getting into an aero position and hammering it out.  In the past, I had hammered the bike right off the bat, this year I have been waiting a little bit to get into the aero position.  First take in some fluids and getting my head about me.  It doesn't seem to have affected my bike splits much.  Also, in the past, when cornering I would go through a corner and get, or stay, in the aero position.  This year, I made an effort to get out of the saddle and crank hard out of the corner and then get back in the aero.  I am trying to get any speed lost going through the corner back as fast as possible.  Basically, this year I am putting more thought into how I exit corners.  I would say in the first part of this race I took the corners slower than normal.  The ground was still wet and I was a little concerned with being too aggressive and going down.  In the latter half of the bike I was more aggressive in through the corners.  Again, I passed a decent number of people on the bike, which feels pretty good.  This bike course is flat, so it is fairly fast, as reflected by my average speed, which is my fastest average bike speed in a duathlon.
I got in and out of T2 fast.  I am glad that I had the discussion with Cliff and Jill before the race.  My bike placement was choice.  I know this run course pretty good, this would be more 4th time running it.  Once out of the park there are 4 turns, basically you run one big block.  The first half is mostly flat, the quarter or so rolls, and the last quarter is mostly a slight uphill until you get to the finishing stretch.  Usually, this run is mentally challenging, partly because of how open it is, partly because it is usually a hot sunny day and there is little shade.  Luckily, it was fairly cool and cloudy.  This was my fastest run time on this course, I really wanted to go under 8min/mi, but I will take what I got.  The first 3 miles felt really good and I think I was on pace to go under 40 minutes, but the last 2 miles, especially the last mile, got to me. 
All in all I am happy with how this race went.

This is was my fastest average bike speed in a duathlon, ever.  Previously it was 21.8MPH, so I just got over my previous best.  Maybe at Dousman this year I can go over 22MPH.

If this race goes back to a triathlon, I think I would be fine with that.  As long as the water level is reasonable and it doesn't stink to swim in the lake.  I think this race also makes a good duathlon.  Either way, I will be back to this race.

2011 Turtleman Duathlon Race Results (with posted results and calculated results based on Brian's Garmin.  I used calculated results from Brian's Garmin in my race log)
Run (Dist = 1.86 Garmin Dist = 1.8) = 12:50 (6:54 min/mi or 7:08 min/mi)
T1 = 1:11
Bike (Dist = 22.4 Garmin Dist = 21.18) = 57:50 (23.2 MPH or 21.97 MPH) - Either way, fastest average speed in a duathlon
Run (Dist = 4.97 Garmin Dist = 5.04) = 40:32 (8:10 min/mi or 8:02 min/mi)
Total = 1:52:59
Overall = 50/139
Age Group = 10/20
Average Pace = 3:52 min/mi or 4:02 min/mi

July 2011 Racing and Training Summary

In the month of July I "triathloned" 5 times, every weekend, along with 2 Tuesday Night Time Trials.  It was a full month, literally.

Year-to-Date TNT average speed = 22.17MPH
2010 average speed at this time = 21.98MPH
Skip 2009 since I was recovering from injury
2008 average speed at this time = 22.88MPH
2007 average speed at this time = 21.46MPH
Skip 2006 since I did it on a road bike and I was just starting out, ok it was 19.3MPH and I only did two of them.
I missed the first TNT of August so it is doubtful that I will bring my average above 23MPH, my average for 2008 was 23.03MPH

Highlights of July, dropping 3+ minutes on the run at Timberman from 2010, finishing 3rd in my AG at Chaska, having a good race at Twin Cities Triathlon, and winning my AG at Waseca Sprint.  Low of July, crappy race at Minneman.

July Comparisons

YTD Totals and Total Since 2007

Totals and Averages Since 2007