Hagg Lake, Fitness and Skill components

I revisited Hagg Lake Triathlon (sprint distance) after a many year absence from racing out there. My first ever Tri was out there, oh, about 8-9 years ago. Lots has changed since then with my racing to be sure.

One thing that hasn't changed in all of my years racing, road running, track, XC, Tri, etc. is a skill component. I could go on and on, share examples but I'm sure you know what I mean: racing smarts.

I'll give my performance at Hagg this past weekend a very generous "B-" because even though the bike and run stood out; as well as a solid overall placing I really did everything wrong along the way.

First, I got very little sleep, it was hot here in town and I should have took an extra fan out, it was restless sleep; I'm fairly certain we're talking a couple of hours at best. In spite of this I actually felt fine in the morning and kept wondering when the fatigue would sink in before the start, it didn't but I was not in the best frame of mind; I was already subconsciously preparing for a sub-par performance even though I kept telling myself I'd be "o.k."

The swim was in my favor, mostly in that it was short-ish. :) It was tight one loop course (three turns counter clockwise) that we would share with Olympic distance athletes who were on their second loop since they started about 15min before we did. I needed to swim hard to the first buoy to get some breathing room between myself and other athletes in my wave (39 and under) and Olympic distance athletes.

I did not and got a little boxed right at turn 1 to turn 2, I did make up gobs as things thinned but still.

On the run I let someone sneak in front of me just before we crested the last hill, my plan was that I would simply kick past him in the final stretch.

Wait. What final stretch?

The run finishes in a confusing set of S curves with no finishing straight to battle it out.. Annoying because I did run this guy down off a great bike and run. But still my fault, I didn't even know he'd hung around, so kudos to him for being a smart racer.

Net, at this point in the summer fitness is not an issue, it's execution and heads up racing. Given how much I spend to race these events I ought to be a little more attentive.

The Blog as a marketing tool

A year and a half ago I happened onto a piece in The Oregonian about cycling in the snow, it was fine for what the objective was: Conveying simple information about riding a bicycle in inclement conditions, author sprinkles some personal anecdotes in about their own experience.

Pretty formulaic.

Then I read the author's bio and there was a trite remark about "triathlete bike handling skills" and I was ready to gag because well, I'm a triathlete, a decent bike handler and I'm thinking, "Oh great, this person is living in Portland.. just jumped on a bike in the last couple of years, is influenced by the hip bike racing crowd who just can't help themselves and sneer at the mention 'Triathlete'. "

And, the anecdotal portion of the authors piece in The Oregonian mentioned not being able to keep up in the snow with the group she was riding with so I seized upon this and zinged the article/author's fitness here on my blog.

A day later all hell broke loose. The author's friends descended on my blog, posting comments which I faithfully published, every last one. I find the author's FB page, which was not locked down and the comments to her wall, and there were alot, were soooo bad, nasty, snarky, what have you.. On top of that, I know a few of those people, who are (or were), gasp, Triathletes.

Seriously?

Alright, so I have a point here, and it is this:

If you claim writing as your profession, not just a part-time gig, then on some level you're obligated to stay above the fray.

For example if someone comments on your work vis a vis the comments page on The Oregonian it's one thing if you respond to a legitimate remark. It's another if you patrol your article and delete every comment that you don't like. Or blog. (Guess what, I've seen this happen and no, they weren't my comments, I haven't bothered commenting)

Or, someone takes a shot at your style, content, point, etc. You're a writer, it's like being an artist actually, not everyone is going to like your work, get your point and you're in the public eye so suck it buttercup. :)

And, if you've positioned your blog as a marketing tool vs. a personal blog then I reckon it's a bit odd that seven to ten of your local followers (uh, friends?) descend on another local blog with caustic remarks.

It's like a fight in the sandbox then isn't it? Someone says something you don't like and your friends rush in to get your back.

Net, it's great to inspire that sort of loyalty among your friends who follow your blog but it's really indicative of having not risen to the level of professional writer.

"It's in his kick"

Another illuminating post that I think is worth sharing.. (link below).. Ever go to a pool w/an uber swimmer? They always have the same feedback:

"Your stroke rate is too high" or "Slow down and reach"

Gah.. Right.. Stroke rate is a function of many things; however the strength of the kick has to be biggest single factor in stroke rate, assuming you finish the pull at the hip.

Uber swimmers forget about their kick because it's second nature to them, for most of us it's far from second nature. This last weekend I did a marathon set of 300s on short rest at FAP (equal to fastest avg pace for 10x100 on short rest).. the back half of the set I focused on kicking, while I was able to hold pace better it was aerobically more trying to be sure.

I do like kicking. I finally started learning a bit about what makes a kick work just this year, so don't get me wrong, I'm not eschewing the kick at all. In fact, I'm pro kick.

Enjoy:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=2846444;search_string=kick;guest=106756579&t=search_engine#2846444