tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34892832024-03-07T19:53:13.769-07:00LiberalDesertSince January 8, 2011, this is a personal blog only. Comments? Email the author, Sam Coppersmith, at SCoppersmith at Charlie Bravo Lima Alpha Whiskey Yankee Echo Romeo Sierra dot com.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.comBlogger732125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-75288791731060629442024-02-27T14:15:00.005-07:002024-02-29T10:54:59.330-07:00Quartz Peak<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7BdmiiYmueQ7hmYGmcrfBKR7PPhQPZh5BaOWMrRN2hIIVd-5Gin3N-XrWCRpXmjhw5koSldUNOuPq3_eGpnp_jYyU_esOapu6lxHRc3cpkJ5F2UUA1Uavf31DetU13aXb0ueQUODq3t79eMkFudFQm-XRGFvmGDpC9LpAVCyHdSxGGahtEU4G/s1440/BSWW8778.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7BdmiiYmueQ7hmYGmcrfBKR7PPhQPZh5BaOWMrRN2hIIVd-5Gin3N-XrWCRpXmjhw5koSldUNOuPq3_eGpnp_jYyU_esOapu6lxHRc3cpkJ5F2UUA1Uavf31DetU13aXb0ueQUODq3t79eMkFudFQm-XRGFvmGDpC9LpAVCyHdSxGGahtEU4G/s320/BSWW8778.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1V8Tci_lc8VdTH8HnIqs5HqUAtsRV08_paLNlUVNn-6fGfP0uh21ENZ0tD3t60CtgzZ4Q5rHCEQ1GlM1P4INmRV_lnzYrd6gRvpp_EahKieBezvcawRt6TYqjZvSRO-zH-ngwe20uU5sYj9s2VihR527oEI7jg1Ht_0xWw5n-Hwq8NNTMNxvv/s4032/IMG_1567.JPEG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1V8Tci_lc8VdTH8HnIqs5HqUAtsRV08_paLNlUVNn-6fGfP0uh21ENZ0tD3t60CtgzZ4Q5rHCEQ1GlM1P4INmRV_lnzYrd6gRvpp_EahKieBezvcawRt6TYqjZvSRO-zH-ngwe20uU5sYj9s2VihR527oEI7jg1Ht_0xWw5n-Hwq8NNTMNxvv/s320/IMG_1567.JPEG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGswuNLwnZTFrJtHP2kIp9sK_POY0rt8p7cR-wdgeGXLd96XgDzjzKlRtCa4HgESz1v8jpE9yPc62wYmeDcapAdXHhvpujxOErqnN1uQD2z3cGTzgzfGSnDiEmn-D0t53jXApOG7E9E_9Hqkmt7aONbi1i6VZRJHsmO8ST7Q0ZS8wsfUF53Xcq/s4032/IMG_1534.JPEG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGswuNLwnZTFrJtHP2kIp9sK_POY0rt8p7cR-wdgeGXLd96XgDzjzKlRtCa4HgESz1v8jpE9yPc62wYmeDcapAdXHhvpujxOErqnN1uQD2z3cGTzgzfGSnDiEmn-D0t53jXApOG7E9E_9Hqkmt7aONbi1i6VZRJHsmO8ST7Q0ZS8wsfUF53Xcq/s320/IMG_1534.JPEG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGgMEFqWdm3auYSfFqju4275xSAtWrJlkVWFKbmVHP0CGP24A9svJb_LlnChE_LfkyqcViyq9HHtpfhT6uYuOk9pG11D63sWZ7_5W0dpMnPmj9Xrjimk__FsQJSnA2w0ei1BKrUWOaY_eaI8zMtcu8pu0RLlUnm5WH8DIyK08ar0FJp5srmGbF/s1440/RSYL8047.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGgMEFqWdm3auYSfFqju4275xSAtWrJlkVWFKbmVHP0CGP24A9svJb_LlnChE_LfkyqcViyq9HHtpfhT6uYuOk9pG11D63sWZ7_5W0dpMnPmj9Xrjimk__FsQJSnA2w0ei1BKrUWOaY_eaI8zMtcu8pu0RLlUnm5WH8DIyK08ar0FJp5srmGbF/s320/RSYL8047.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_PPkIth8Lu_qAF_4cbK5n5VGfqsTg-HammO4dTKbdjNoW60T5C6L7_QMH7LeEB5m9cMoMHU6SiFSEK1K_1dw_kvbB9M8k4jFRwwi2J6U4YMWLkQ-Q0C7LVil4db2y9Elo59r2XLy8YwxXK0kfgwCWJym1MAcoN4gvz6c95Dh-PAE_mgajfu2f/s1440/RZQM9052.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_PPkIth8Lu_qAF_4cbK5n5VGfqsTg-HammO4dTKbdjNoW60T5C6L7_QMH7LeEB5m9cMoMHU6SiFSEK1K_1dw_kvbB9M8k4jFRwwi2J6U4YMWLkQ-Q0C7LVil4db2y9Elo59r2XLy8YwxXK0kfgwCWJym1MAcoN4gvz6c95Dh-PAE_mgajfu2f/s320/RZQM9052.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Another hike that had been on my internal list, </span><a href="https://www.blm.gov/visit/quartz-peak-trail" style="font-family: arial;">Quartz Peak</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> in the Sierra Estrella Wilderness southwest of Phoenix. 2,500' elevation gain to over 4,000' in less than 3 miles. Photos by friends, as my phone locked up from trying to search for a signal in this remote location.</span></div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-23959148664975884422023-10-16T11:54:00.004-07:002023-10-16T11:54:48.527-07:00SGC R2R NS 2023<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Another one from the list of things I always meant to do but hadn't done yet: see the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and do a rim-to-rim hike. Based on how I still feel, I'm glad to know this was "<a href="https://www.rimtorim.org/hike-it/">an extremely difficult hike</a>." With special solar eclipse fun, too. 11:30 all in, with all the rest stops and with hiking as a group.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdv0BHNkZ20wWy-QnUfI2qx-trU8uOflagCXN3ycVhcxZZmquIUcjUBsZbY7U8SMB_RoZtBFZLFy4RnplfbzlmZoLmbd731VAFftZVa-Fxzm5MKSTE7ZORw9c7KK6N7Ccqy-ctIyJVSFHRLwLyAxO2WlXTLijsVQhKvw5umzkORlZe2qx0e0XK/s2079/IMG_6108.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2079" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdv0BHNkZ20wWy-QnUfI2qx-trU8uOflagCXN3ycVhcxZZmquIUcjUBsZbY7U8SMB_RoZtBFZLFy4RnplfbzlmZoLmbd731VAFftZVa-Fxzm5MKSTE7ZORw9c7KK6N7Ccqy-ctIyJVSFHRLwLyAxO2WlXTLijsVQhKvw5umzkORlZe2qx0e0XK/s320/IMG_6108.PNG" width="148" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO99YuwAj3dHVWKC_u4QxMoG9ZkAij5ajPtwLL_FQjPvHWd_MVzjZiXZ6NtMFV-6IicqHlBXXrNWOkDrrq0JZ0MKkn1ULHtrVpi-795HrX_Z2Dt5Tpc3EgOWsGF-nPLnd1WUm0yNngxGXIZZtdziqktUZ4Q8sXs8z5ibrqt_ZS0ICd3fdvd0g2/s4032/IMG_0598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO99YuwAj3dHVWKC_u4QxMoG9ZkAij5ajPtwLL_FQjPvHWd_MVzjZiXZ6NtMFV-6IicqHlBXXrNWOkDrrq0JZ0MKkn1ULHtrVpi-795HrX_Z2Dt5Tpc3EgOWsGF-nPLnd1WUm0yNngxGXIZZtdziqktUZ4Q8sXs8z5ibrqt_ZS0ICd3fdvd0g2/s320/IMG_0598.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97mL1wGttvOTfAU2e2ww2geRkdiB6_XX0oIqVyme5bk6Aic9VNi9c7KpI4bK4VG1iC6R6yE-cgWk5X6ekf9uLF3xxejHvbjp1STJnYyomqjRAfl_WDhKPEG0Zt-Znqy7WGec0jswUcVDp40TsGRtjGFRt1cj1z1P3gF1YR4cXVgOHqTGtFos4/s4032/IMG_0639.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97mL1wGttvOTfAU2e2ww2geRkdiB6_XX0oIqVyme5bk6Aic9VNi9c7KpI4bK4VG1iC6R6yE-cgWk5X6ekf9uLF3xxejHvbjp1STJnYyomqjRAfl_WDhKPEG0Zt-Znqy7WGec0jswUcVDp40TsGRtjGFRt1cj1z1P3gF1YR4cXVgOHqTGtFos4/s320/IMG_0639.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRC1G47SkWvBK1-jABLwvQkDFHA6DaJvungwRJWG_b6MJTGfihlye6nDVIAW62LJ2KtTVAqmdql5ezJXBugr2esRg7EqITJkwjVi1Gi6ndOlj__vUMR-BKy7ELHa23yS3zpSvm9XnBjfkadXA_uJ0AxeYDSOKw_rawIV7rI98vl0mRHfkD65bQ/s4032/IMG_0652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRC1G47SkWvBK1-jABLwvQkDFHA6DaJvungwRJWG_b6MJTGfihlye6nDVIAW62LJ2KtTVAqmdql5ezJXBugr2esRg7EqITJkwjVi1Gi6ndOlj__vUMR-BKy7ELHa23yS3zpSvm9XnBjfkadXA_uJ0AxeYDSOKw_rawIV7rI98vl0mRHfkD65bQ/s320/IMG_0652.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNhKSWARQrQHv4VV0gZEgxSRiV6z2j4YwGU57WRGe163vjiwgCRt504OYj-Lzf78Hjl7pV4VvXRztvdiF3EjB0N-KXYyj6VVG1e5PZZ_uUnc7XHgcu2QPYwaxgoMvnsnsxSzs2y6GqZahagtnL1pRd51Ro3HmNnvLt0RvWQzGtTcGoEVg13BD/s4000/20231014_165052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCNhKSWARQrQHv4VV0gZEgxSRiV6z2j4YwGU57WRGe163vjiwgCRt504OYj-Lzf78Hjl7pV4VvXRztvdiF3EjB0N-KXYyj6VVG1e5PZZ_uUnc7XHgcu2QPYwaxgoMvnsnsxSzs2y6GqZahagtnL1pRd51Ro3HmNnvLt0RvWQzGtTcGoEVg13BD/s320/20231014_165052.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8zcdQt5jRpQ14A19t9RSAkAVFPE9qleYNfzY1JydPYZFBhpCxC_4TgqnpcLbueFtzo3mqd3p21L76R_nvvMpuvp8ZOBN882TpP-KPS62rpOcap8bozxb-e3_UVEcXFBWUppkqc5Lt2VyIhdf3NCLJDUQC2grckj5LqM6ZgzK_d8_iKhhGTNW/s4032/IMG_0627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8zcdQt5jRpQ14A19t9RSAkAVFPE9qleYNfzY1JydPYZFBhpCxC_4TgqnpcLbueFtzo3mqd3p21L76R_nvvMpuvp8ZOBN882TpP-KPS62rpOcap8bozxb-e3_UVEcXFBWUppkqc5Lt2VyIhdf3NCLJDUQC2grckj5LqM6ZgzK_d8_iKhhGTNW/s320/IMG_0627.jpg" width="240" /></a></div></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-68040103076421088672023-10-10T16:19:00.021-07:002023-10-16T11:38:07.506-07:00The (Increasingly) Old Band Returns!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We're back (more or less), and the undergrads (the "real Band") were great.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDW918rplbKVhTeppwuDDVyl9D56BNzZZMdBE8I4SHD0pLl4xYgyq7rymybpX2InH65C7egJHKPrd9a6kGCcDwjZdXkKomYQOzDJHXXB8u4nmlMiW3TzQp6OfHDlMn8PpihLweD_k3XD3ffD-66aSIJPch1_FZt5p9wQGpJbd9eDXt6Z3wVCY/s512/QJWO8126.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="512" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkDW918rplbKVhTeppwuDDVyl9D56BNzZZMdBE8I4SHD0pLl4xYgyq7rymybpX2InH65C7egJHKPrd9a6kGCcDwjZdXkKomYQOzDJHXXB8u4nmlMiW3TzQp6OfHDlMn8PpihLweD_k3XD3ffD-66aSIJPch1_FZt5p9wQGpJbd9eDXt6Z3wVCY/w252-h189/QJWO8126.JPG" width="252" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUMGrY6RduoTK3tZ6AtmVm2WYLqxAEt58evMTd7m6LRsbMJBG73AdXAiHAKprmBKNJrPE2GRD20ACJ_4KlJMQ3DHbar9olP6p4GoHIHrUFEwdG6yjBBw1eJTwlxxQ5dEzKaD0wW-4FKXYPRUQlZOstsqBPNAdCAkjz8df7qe6Oyb0AlP71aCK/s5712/IMG_0101.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5712" data-original-width="4284" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBUMGrY6RduoTK3tZ6AtmVm2WYLqxAEt58evMTd7m6LRsbMJBG73AdXAiHAKprmBKNJrPE2GRD20ACJ_4KlJMQ3DHbar9olP6p4GoHIHrUFEwdG6yjBBw1eJTwlxxQ5dEzKaD0wW-4FKXYPRUQlZOstsqBPNAdCAkjz8df7qe6Oyb0AlP71aCK/w199-h265/IMG_0101.JPG" width="199" /></span></a></div></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0UeIrj1HMtkglMZVpzBEmJLuyj0OiNTQRbCRb8plhSlijKd9NO6YSPVuT_1c5f69-xPl7fc0MkRXgiAYDhHq-YaXAqROjhEtZBxYIDCsH2_vtrbAtgzpX8JJtJlwSj0Cs0rVm_nuCMBQAg10aCJYGVXzJjNHJEcsmox-4zy270Y0ByusqRtt0/s4032/IMG_0095.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0UeIrj1HMtkglMZVpzBEmJLuyj0OiNTQRbCRb8plhSlijKd9NO6YSPVuT_1c5f69-xPl7fc0MkRXgiAYDhHq-YaXAqROjhEtZBxYIDCsH2_vtrbAtgzpX8JJtJlwSj0Cs0rVm_nuCMBQAg10aCJYGVXzJjNHJEcsmox-4zy270Y0ByusqRtt0/s320/IMG_0095.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-50333342341735288222023-09-11T18:18:00.004-07:002023-09-14T14:42:54.301-07:00Humphreys Peak<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8747Ajm6OWq1Uf5uxZPdRM3oBGYWRL03Fd7pULLgqREYX9mE0-kU6IUoohQLMxIuExE9m_inIpXaKbTuYtAp_W5DrPimlmTlENBWYKijsDG0aH73CZdZBMqfeN5t4D1ydB8PEeF0VYVKvwiWJpFHQlrJCNXC0hL5cC0UTPvKWuHAMb-sbNYyA/s4032/IMG_5980.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8747Ajm6OWq1Uf5uxZPdRM3oBGYWRL03Fd7pULLgqREYX9mE0-kU6IUoohQLMxIuExE9m_inIpXaKbTuYtAp_W5DrPimlmTlENBWYKijsDG0aH73CZdZBMqfeN5t4D1ydB8PEeF0VYVKvwiWJpFHQlrJCNXC0hL5cC0UTPvKWuHAMb-sbNYyA/s320/IMG_5980.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Highest point in Arizona. I'd never been before, and now I have.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">All downhill from here (as some would say, and as my birthday cake at 19 actually did say - thanks, college roommates).</span></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-43709175035185416902023-08-20T16:02:00.001-07:002023-08-20T16:04:40.262-07:00AZ Open Water Swim<p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgupR5Pu_7aSBhdFfJqlvid3-Cjp3vNLw_5pz03qTpBU51YUcaQH1ebIoeLjIN3NzDCM8k2PFJyEN3yqTRMkkVjfqiOd5QshV1N-etTVqkON0FwzHguUPISnpThZP6j8xiP-dXXNFxZ0U7cXOCU5krZVw0APA2f1Gw8iRuxUytIGL8Y7y3j9Xki" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="3894" data-original-width="3300" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgupR5Pu_7aSBhdFfJqlvid3-Cjp3vNLw_5pz03qTpBU51YUcaQH1ebIoeLjIN3NzDCM8k2PFJyEN3yqTRMkkVjfqiOd5QshV1N-etTVqkON0FwzHguUPISnpThZP6j8xiP-dXXNFxZ0U7cXOCU5krZVw0APA2f1Gw8iRuxUytIGL8Y7y3j9Xki" width="203" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;">Simon and Suzanne Percy, of <a href="https://swimdevils.com/">Swim Devils and Swim Devil Masters</a>, took over the <a href="https://www.azopenwaterseries.com/">AZ Open Water Series</a> in 2023, after a 4-year pandemic hiatus - and the first race had to be cancelled due to the algae bloom this spring at Bartlett Lake. But the second race went off not-exactly-smoothly at Bartlett on August 19. 4000 meters, "more or less"; probably 4200 but they adjusted one of the turn buoys after our first lap, so we didn't get to 5000 after all.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I finished in 1:32:06.9. I'm not sure that kind of precision is warranted but 1:32 seems right; I had 1:35 on my watch but stopped only after getting out of the water. That put me 35/41 overall (35/43 with 2 DNFs), 17/22 men (17/24 with the DNFs) and 9/12 in men's masters (9/14 with 2 DNFs), but in swimming they lump everyone 45 and over in the masters category, and if there was a 65-69 age group (or even just 65+), I would have been 1/1. If there had been a 60+ age group, I would have been 3/3 (3/5 with the 2 DNFs). Not the best time, but not the worst, as 6 people finished behind me, and all of them were under 60. Results <a href="https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=325319&did=403497&cid=2004373&gender=M">here</a> for men's masters, and <a href="https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=325319&did=403497">here </a>for overall.</span></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-23055097641503239252023-08-11T08:48:00.011-07:002023-09-02T13:45:42.122-07:00Maine 70.3<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6X_85YndXskrNzy_K0hYcHbkMcbDK5Jf7fYHP2Pt3rU483qgD5E_bideuWfDVfZad9MwrW712FePtv09wb16V3LlCurJCpUeuTjJI1opMb-qX1cG3RfjmM2Kf5Zqlj3w3BOTdLqjfBpDokDKLTbxDDxr0NOjBBEKyiHOrmZhMxrd1D5SVmOx/s4032/IMG_9076.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6X_85YndXskrNzy_K0hYcHbkMcbDK5Jf7fYHP2Pt3rU483qgD5E_bideuWfDVfZad9MwrW712FePtv09wb16V3LlCurJCpUeuTjJI1opMb-qX1cG3RfjmM2Kf5Zqlj3w3BOTdLqjfBpDokDKLTbxDDxr0NOjBBEKyiHOrmZhMxrd1D5SVmOx/s320/IMG_9076.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>I hadn't planned on doing two 70.3 races this year, but after signing up last summer for Oceanside, I was one of the lucky winners of a complimentary entry to a IM 70.3 race (exclusions apply) at the Tri Scottsdale holiday party. Augusta, Maine was the farthest race from Arizona on the list, both in distance and in latitude north, so I picked it. And as it turned out, we picked about the best week of the summer to be in Maine. It was hot and sticky on the Friday we traveled and on the Saturday before the race, but that afternoon, it rained for 4 hours, and all the humidity went away.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1O2iwiAAyK9g5MjUaoIuZoABzRnYfgvpap9Nm-KIFa5u4TNcqRwNXgqh7PlGRJAI2wHkkm0QaLQoulC_PsKQ9Ma-41xXMaWaHpRnWDbHCmXpkLlPboCk2Fb4y4yIOeGgEfU2Z9cqA_x4MYwS0Iq8E60R0AukFO1HYcLzBvhv-fIrbToXb2QDh/s4032/IMG_9077.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1O2iwiAAyK9g5MjUaoIuZoABzRnYfgvpap9Nm-KIFa5u4TNcqRwNXgqh7PlGRJAI2wHkkm0QaLQoulC_PsKQ9Ma-41xXMaWaHpRnWDbHCmXpkLlPboCk2Fb4y4yIOeGgEfU2Z9cqA_x4MYwS0Iq8E60R0AukFO1HYcLzBvhv-fIrbToXb2QDh/s320/IMG_9077.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>The race was very nice. It just seemed nicer somehow than Western triathlons, with more spectators and variety of scenery. The swim in the Kennebec River was great, we weren't just swimming downhill, there was a pretty good current - so that my swim was 22 minutes faster than in Oceanside harbor. The water was also very warm; while it was wetsuit-legal, the temperature was about the same as the pool at Gainey Village when the place opens at 5 am, so I went without a wetsuit and saved another 5 minutes in transition not wiggling out of one.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The bike course was hilly, at least by Eastern standards; it actually had greater total elevation gain than Oceanside, but none of the hills was very long. The electronic shifters on my tri bike went out of tune, so I only had 6 gears, but it wasn't a big deal to power over the relatively short hills. The transition area seemed smaller and more manageable than other races I've done, and the run course was pretty nice. We were on a trail for much of the first half, and about half the race was in shade. The other half took us through downtown Hopewell and downtown Augusta (peaking at the former site of the state mental hospital), with diners out, toasting us with their beers, and urging us to finish to join them. I managed slightly more than a minute faster on the bike than Oceanside, slightly less than a minute faster on the run, 20 minutes faster on the swim, and 8 minutes total faster in transition, for a time 30 minutes better than O'side. You don't usually get 30 minutes faster at my age (or else I was really, really slow at Oceanside).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Of course, that made me 16/20 in my age group, those darn fast 65-year-olds again (16/21 if you count the DNF). But a fun day - topped off by driving from Augusta after the race to the Portland (Westbrook) REI to turn in the tri bike for shipping back to Arizona, then lobster rolls at <a href="https://lobstershacktwolights.com/">The Lobster Shack</a> at Cape Elizabeth, then a long drive north through Bangor (stopping for <a href="https://www.giffordsicecream.com/scoop-stands/bangor/">ice cream</a>) to Gouldsboro, where we spent 3 days tooling around Acadia National Park, then a great day-and-a-half in Portland. Just a beautiful time, and each lobster and lobster roll we had was the best one of the trip. H/t to both <a href="https://www.eventideoysterco.com/portland">Eventide </a>for their lobster roll with brown butter and to Sarah for the recommendations for The Lobster Shack and Eventide.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVSLhehdnj1EFL-YFAV9VRqAejnuA23FeS9Cih_tmLChDyqdezwMUEHMA-y5e1Qz2WsdpmMW7Y-05N1psm5YEsdzMyDi-Va2hYYVkKizhpMrS-5KnjHlWUW-R0cjUOra8R8MlL17A-U5pQLAe4lUFiDGmgzrVFKJ_pl8U4X7DS2kn3SVh65e_/s3201/Coppersmith.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3201" data-original-width="3021" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVSLhehdnj1EFL-YFAV9VRqAejnuA23FeS9Cih_tmLChDyqdezwMUEHMA-y5e1Qz2WsdpmMW7Y-05N1psm5YEsdzMyDi-Va2hYYVkKizhpMrS-5KnjHlWUW-R0cjUOra8R8MlL17A-U5pQLAe4lUFiDGmgzrVFKJ_pl8U4X7DS2kn3SVh65e_/s320/Coppersmith.jpg" width="302" /></a></div>Plus I got to have a beer and bar food at <a href="https://www.coppersmithtavern.com/">Coppersmith Tavern & Table</a> in South Portland (walking distance from our hotel). Not a relative but the beer was cold, the fried pickles crisp, and the burnt ends very nice indeed.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Maine 70.3, </span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">July 30, 2023<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">Swim 20:48 (no wetsuit)<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">T1 9:55<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bike 3:28:14<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">T2 5:32<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">Run 2:46:07<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">Total 6:50:36, Div 16/21 (20 finishers), Gender 1046/1197, Overall 1455/1814, IM points 1657 (so Tri Scottsdale finished 161 out of 200 clubs).</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">More pics <a href="https://www.finisherpix.com/en/photos/6491/1668">here</a>; I've never been photographed in my tri bars as much as at this race. I may have to actually buy these.</span></span></div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-46738969798818249852023-05-01T14:02:00.003-07:002023-05-10T12:14:02.953-07:00Cactus Man Triathlon 2023<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsqjyeDjhD5tllk-203-AkF89GQky0jzDknyLuReQy3wq47upVwxgRH0VDEwvO6wZOueBB7IBpHauyRd9znoFGqJ33XJaYm91jO1yCzn47_ZmsPogXeSR-OuoCQU2a8XV28QJ7frnsihqiunm8EDfdebhpO1--CMCHEO0b_8Hl7TNa_mRjDw/s1000/Cactus%20Man%204.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="666" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsqjyeDjhD5tllk-203-AkF89GQky0jzDknyLuReQy3wq47upVwxgRH0VDEwvO6wZOueBB7IBpHauyRd9znoFGqJ33XJaYm91jO1yCzn47_ZmsPogXeSR-OuoCQU2a8XV28QJ7frnsihqiunm8EDfdebhpO1--CMCHEO0b_8Hl7TNa_mRjDw/s320/Cactus%20Man%204.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I completed a busy month of racing with the Cactus Man Triathlon in Tempe, Olympic distance. My times were almost identical to last year, I was 1:10 slower than in 2022 overall (1:15 faster in the swim, :36 faster in T1, 1:07 slower on the bike, :20 faster in T2, and 2:14 slower on the run), but instead of finishing 3rd of 6, I finished 10th of 15. So while 90% of life is just showing up, it now means who else showed up, now that I'm one of the older guys in my division.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The water was very cloudy, and there was a slight current because the lake is still getting runoff from the dams upstream, but with all the fresh water, the lake actually seemed "fresher" than in past years despite looking like it was thick enough to plow. The bike course was the usual Tempe route, with lots of turns, including 2 tight U-turns, so I used my road bike and not the tri bike. And the run was very hot, and not just my watch, but some friends also thought the course was longer than 6.2 miles. As it was the same route as last year, I'm not sure how that would have happened. (But if it really was 6.5 miles, then that would explain the additional 2 minutes for the run.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I ran a very "technical" race, in that in finishing 10th in my division, I finished 11 minutes behind the 9th place finisher (no way to catch him), and 20 seconds ahead of the 11th place finisher (that's pretty close). Much better than the reverse.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Before the race started, and as I slogged through the run, I did think how grateful I am that I can still do this stuff with my friends. I'll never be great but it's great fun to still be able to participate. Results <a href="https://4peaksracing.racetecresults.com/myresults.aspx?CId=16494&RId=6342&EId=2&AId=187656">here</a>, photos <a href="https://www.captivatingsportsphotos.net/event/photos?event=2023-cactus-man-tri&bib-number=161&first-name=&last-name=&album=">here</a>.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Data:<br /></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">Swim 30:37 (wetsuit)<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">T1 4:43<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bike 1:26:43<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">T2 3:18<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">Run 1:14:30<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">Overall 3:19:51, d</span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">ivision 10/15, gender 184/240, overall 237/327</span></span></div><p><br /></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-14058679875958979432023-04-17T09:31:00.001-07:002023-04-17T09:31:30.832-07:00Arizona Road Racers Spring Cleaning 5K<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJUY3r9aNyXw_-dCMvuNlSFl5IfAuPe0HuydScjDSg2ph6Z0EExzDXEwpILF4MPOPRbtxxrksZM81gjEgnr9HIO-QHwEQwct5sJfFWN9v10CqRwCs0OAqKIzstiOY14khzO-ovd3dZ8jVNPeBp3i4wVCWDjHlmA7Cg2n6sNDxkDqDUHGbfOA/s2048/341580351_714963840629201_1995878484332977401_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJUY3r9aNyXw_-dCMvuNlSFl5IfAuPe0HuydScjDSg2ph6Z0EExzDXEwpILF4MPOPRbtxxrksZM81gjEgnr9HIO-QHwEQwct5sJfFWN9v10CqRwCs0OAqKIzstiOY14khzO-ovd3dZ8jVNPeBp3i4wVCWDjHlmA7Cg2n6sNDxkDqDUHGbfOA/s320/341580351_714963840629201_1995878484332977401_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><span style="font-family: arial;">ARR called it the "Spring Cleaning" race because with your free (with membership, of course I'm a member, I join everything) race entry you got a shirt, which was a leftover from a prior ARR race. So I got a 2014 race shirt along with the chance to run in my old neighborhood, starting and finishing at <a href="https://www.srpnet.com/grid-water-management/water-recreation/canal-trails/arizona-falls">Arizona Falls</a> and running along the ol' south bank of the Arizona Canal. I visited my old street and saw what the new owners are doing to the houses (short answer: McMansioning big time).</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://results.racetimers.com/myresults.aspx?uid=16432-4279-1-93774">Results</a> 29:12 (division 5/7, gender 37/50, overall 50/81). The 50 overall was nice, in that I was the last person on the <a href="http://results.racetimers.com/results.aspx?CId=16432&RId=4279">first page</a> of results. But I don't know about ARR, with 7 guys in the 65-69 age group; didn't everyone get the memo that no more than 3 are supposed to show up at an event, so everyone gets on the podium? And my time would have made me 5/5 in the 70-74 age group as well.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I did learn that waiting an hour after eating may be fine for swimming, but not so great for running a fast 5K (by my standards).</span></div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-60472728264415784612023-04-03T10:48:00.010-07:002023-08-11T08:52:55.373-07:00Oceanside 70.3<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Post coming soon but a great day, a tough course, I finished, and I'm happy about it. 7:21:28.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagqoA645eI0S5DwVA9SMrjA_iKr-bUvLrE4-iqTrx-zG4v_ElMoO0zREvr3IWlvSG1mY9CKpvoMFdCFIqL2QISbTt4_4iAJEuY9-N4sIeWRmvvCxBF6NLuicvZFXYR9jdDhmUT9KOiHRYPU_scSzv94sz7z2ij9pDvfTab_3GuJzzqfZyXA/s1266/IMG_6434.JPEG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="585" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgagqoA645eI0S5DwVA9SMrjA_iKr-bUvLrE4-iqTrx-zG4v_ElMoO0zREvr3IWlvSG1mY9CKpvoMFdCFIqL2QISbTt4_4iAJEuY9-N4sIeWRmvvCxBF6NLuicvZFXYR9jdDhmUT9KOiHRYPU_scSzv94sz7z2ij9pDvfTab_3GuJzzqfZyXA/s320/IMG_6434.JPEG" width="148" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">More photos <a href="https://www.finisherpix.com/en/photos/6041/2037">here</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now for the post. Oceanside 70.3 is a big favorite of Tri Scottsdale, and we had a huge group again this year. Most people did a relay (and to them, congratulations, but relay people suck) but a large number of us still were doing the whole thing. It's a relatively easy drive, a very nice venue, and fun to see lots of people you know. I'd been a spectator once before, but now I've been a competitor and have much better memories.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The weather was good. The swim got moved back to the harbor instead of the beach start, apparently due to excessive currents. The harbor course seemed cramped and it was hard to get a rhythm with all of the other swimmers, plus after the turn, we were sighting into the sun, which made spotting the marker buoys difficult. A fair swim, not great.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">About two thirds of the bike ride was on Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, which is a huge tract of much undeveloped California coastal property. It's a beautiful but hilly course, over 2,700' of climbing (some cyclists back with me had to walk their bikes up the steepest hill around mile 28), but where else are you going to see "Caution: Tank Xing" signs? A very good bike ride; I used my road bike and not the tri bike and was glad I did. We had wind on the final 8-10 miles after all the hills but it all worked out.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Finally, the run is two loops around the beach area of Oceanside, with lots of spectators showing as much endurance as the competitors. By the time I got to the run, it was clear this was not going to be a very good day, and any time there was a slight uphill grade, I started walking. Still, I had a lot of Type 2 fun and am proud of finishing.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Results:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Swim 42:39 (wetsuit)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">T1 14:37</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bike 3:28:55 (very nice)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">T2 8:09</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Run 2:47:11 (not great)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Total 7:21:28, division 27/47 (42 finishers), gender 1483/1776, overall 1885/2301. Probably where I should be (have to be?) at age 68 in the 65-69 age group.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Chelsea Sodaro, who was the first American woman in decades to win Kona in October, finished second among the pro women, and donated her winnings to <a href="https://momsdemandaction.org/">Moms Demand Action</a>. Here's her <a href="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/previews/sFG5sYKN">post-race interview</a>. Good for her, both for acknowledging her <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/30/sports/ironwoman-kona-chelsa-sodaro.html">mental health issues</a> earlier this year and for making triathlon seem a lot cooler by being right on the issues.</span></div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-40767174924364367722022-08-16T13:19:00.005-07:002023-02-02T15:30:40.423-07:00Mackinac Island Swim<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I really can't remember how I heard about the <a href="https://www.swimaroundmac.com/">Mackinac Island Swim</a>, which only started in 2020, so this was the third annual. Somehow, I found it online last December, registered late because the date could have conflicted with a Lawler family event, sat on the waitlist with 35+ people ahead of me for months, then suddenly got in off the waitlist in mid-June (36 hours to decide; what the heck, let's do it!)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, I didn't have enough time to train but still thought it looked like fun, and it was amazing. Very tough, 65 degree water and we had heavy winds from the east, which is unusual as that's the leeward side of the island, so that meant the water was rougher on the last 4 miles than on the first 4, and as the event director said by email the day after, it was "a washing machine" out there. UPDATE: The website describes 2022 conditions as "</span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial;">62 - 65 degrees, SE winds = fast and calm start with a slow and brutal finish (think washing machine)." So I wasn't imaging it.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It's not a timed event, you have a chip only so they can make sure that everyone who went into the water got out of the water. I am very happy with my 6 hours and 2 minutes of swim time for 8.2 miles. Mackinac Island is beautiful (once you get out of the most touristy area near the ferry docks), the people were great, Lake Huron is very clear and shallow for most of the coastline, and the weather was amazing for a guy from Phoenix ("Hey, this is what we condition air to.") It was, to use a cliché, epic.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">More pictures later, I hope. [UPDATE: Photos were <a href="https://stellapuppy.pixieset.com/mackinacislandswim2022/?fbclid=IwAR27M_R9vGMxGflBKLPoS034xSqUAtbRWUYeTIKKFfNgW460yAhOpTdYKyc">here</a>, password is MacSwim24, but last time I tried the link, it didn't work.] A fun day and now I've swum 8.2 miles in open water (that's 3 times the IM distance, plus an extra mile).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTLDvnWu2BMuAiiu2tNzM_zMzXoCH8l4-ItLmjTsE0aTFKJYmOi7E7sFMZSp0CTl_UBIqwZNiApO5va2hCapDHI7t_3dXw12l6qwEb6dBrq_T7XQURf60wFHW51W8NQw8QK_GAOB1q-Lv1eTnZRb8v-59QyAbJ_Ybv6vwtrHH3Be_jvpLnw/s2532/IMG_1511.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2532" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTLDvnWu2BMuAiiu2tNzM_zMzXoCH8l4-ItLmjTsE0aTFKJYmOi7E7sFMZSp0CTl_UBIqwZNiApO5va2hCapDHI7t_3dXw12l6qwEb6dBrq_T7XQURf60wFHW51W8NQw8QK_GAOB1q-Lv1eTnZRb8v-59QyAbJ_Ybv6vwtrHH3Be_jvpLnw/s320/IMG_1511.PNG" width="148" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfYj4uDcEMb3N83fErTFQMz_FrwFh_ZhzU4spOCGRGwzM_bQgHemSgODs_SK5M5yzwEm0IOCM9xabi1aqXhOSccpr4yload6QM2hqoxWm2Yh4C6cWJOErPhBxU4a15NJi1-5fdoMft4Nv3lE516keoQTiSLn1YQWhvdgqvymZJKA30vpZgw/s240/IMG_1631.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="180" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfYj4uDcEMb3N83fErTFQMz_FrwFh_ZhzU4spOCGRGwzM_bQgHemSgODs_SK5M5yzwEm0IOCM9xabi1aqXhOSccpr4yload6QM2hqoxWm2Yh4C6cWJOErPhBxU4a15NJi1-5fdoMft4Nv3lE516keoQTiSLn1YQWhvdgqvymZJKA30vpZgw/s1600/IMG_1631.JPG" width="180" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yBjTnN4qS80jy21bgEqu2b4U5J4qYQ6UMofcmBB9o6VVKUKuLoapIyjdyPqwXosySUwjn-zPs3twDlGney1C5RG5wdNN38i-NGkgkB-bZSdUIlQJjbYKsJyDDndcsKMf8NiYBeLEwIyvPmuD6TpG19Ggezq3RMVyErIAqpL99Qv269uzig/s2100/IMG_1561.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2100" data-original-width="1574" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yBjTnN4qS80jy21bgEqu2b4U5J4qYQ6UMofcmBB9o6VVKUKuLoapIyjdyPqwXosySUwjn-zPs3twDlGney1C5RG5wdNN38i-NGkgkB-bZSdUIlQJjbYKsJyDDndcsKMf8NiYBeLEwIyvPmuD6TpG19Ggezq3RMVyErIAqpL99Qv269uzig/s320/IMG_1561.JPG" width="240" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuG532n-unKwvVStilVL-ta9VFoGN5VAPLv9vkn2GPBMPJQ6Md-_AqsoPoB_N_Ghx7qpUXuU9hiU58iefW_tWsEHwI2TBDtxthGYv0WgSDZp3CT8_oYtQlGpepeE-S1HelQTFvJrfQelI_MhKoCd7OOt18gRV7z7gD5VD988sFirTUyn_k2Q/s3600/DSC_9460.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3600" data-original-width="2384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuG532n-unKwvVStilVL-ta9VFoGN5VAPLv9vkn2GPBMPJQ6Md-_AqsoPoB_N_Ghx7qpUXuU9hiU58iefW_tWsEHwI2TBDtxthGYv0WgSDZp3CT8_oYtQlGpepeE-S1HelQTFvJrfQelI_MhKoCd7OOt18gRV7z7gD5VD988sFirTUyn_k2Q/s320/DSC_9460.jpeg" width="212" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lgze6DgssiJFZKl-2jt9xJa-VufUiHloeRJtBS-NP7KglAQd4gAtr8zmXLXqx0g20Ame3WhV0bQ486b_C0wGUXYz2vNiJn1i83YmTpsONG9j5vj1C4gcH94XGtt6d16cM2vITBSSVQHRbN6YkhCStfRx0SuqIEoTCwq5OSgB5viCvIeuxA/s240/IMG_3733.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="134" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5lgze6DgssiJFZKl-2jt9xJa-VufUiHloeRJtBS-NP7KglAQd4gAtr8zmXLXqx0g20Ame3WhV0bQ486b_C0wGUXYz2vNiJn1i83YmTpsONG9j5vj1C4gcH94XGtt6d16cM2vITBSSVQHRbN6YkhCStfRx0SuqIEoTCwq5OSgB5viCvIeuxA/s1600/IMG_3733.JPG" width="134" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2U9EPKVEVFiSi1KjzAppdPQRcV4GIF3U-Ezqt6bjHLFoucBD7KLRwyKx8U0ij0xWHn7aAusNaJnQ2W2Rlelg_sGkUpIxRabI872OgHsax_nj68nxN_SxoA4j3o5-bsffOdAeMBhJ2BDP9dpR1WvSkRvZMx9GrV_pU8H_kMAY7mb50U_eOQ/s320/IMG_7972.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB2U9EPKVEVFiSi1KjzAppdPQRcV4GIF3U-Ezqt6bjHLFoucBD7KLRwyKx8U0ij0xWHn7aAusNaJnQ2W2Rlelg_sGkUpIxRabI872OgHsax_nj68nxN_SxoA4j3o5-bsffOdAeMBhJ2BDP9dpR1WvSkRvZMx9GrV_pU8H_kMAY7mb50U_eOQ/s1600/IMG_7972.JPG" width="308" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-51375604430706766672022-05-07T14:37:00.001-07:002022-05-07T14:37:39.223-07:00Cactus Man Triathlon 2022<p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCE0lR0hwAhPFXAkwpWzN5lcgTLm1bid-6_T5DU0y9nZU4WBAf7fXSQJmxKkIk_g9dt0SIWb79kHxtZmbNqnddstvg9D3dhb2hatL_-xyHFnPUyR5L90CtDma3GSsBgnIKBWTNkJecp41jwjWhoE8n9fTHPhDqyoKoJakR0mQJC48AcT1WhA/s988/IMG_E3658.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="988" data-original-width="952" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCE0lR0hwAhPFXAkwpWzN5lcgTLm1bid-6_T5DU0y9nZU4WBAf7fXSQJmxKkIk_g9dt0SIWb79kHxtZmbNqnddstvg9D3dhb2hatL_-xyHFnPUyR5L90CtDma3GSsBgnIKBWTNkJecp41jwjWhoE8n9fTHPhDqyoKoJakR0mQJC48AcT1WhA/s320/IMG_E3658.JPG" width="308" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;">I thought I might do well this year, given the base fitness left over from IMAZ in November plus some good rest ahead of the race. I even thought maybe I could get close to 3:00 for the Olympic distance again. But the week before the race, I saw that there were 10 men (!) registered in the 65-69 age group, and my friend Jeff said that if I'd been racing 3:10 or 3:15, dropping 10 minutes in an Olympic is a very tall order, and he was too nice to say it, but I figured out I was unlikely to do it.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">And when I got to the race, I did fine in the swim and was happy with my bike time, but my transitions were slow, and once I started running, I realized that my 3:00 days are long gone, and I am now at the point where 3:10 is a really good day, and I wasn't going to get to 3:10 today.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">But I was determined to see it through, and I finished in 3:19. I got some water and then hung out at the Tri Scottsdale tent, satisfied with the effort but figuring that with 9 other guys racing, I was in the back of the pack, figuring that I finished well below the median.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">To my surprise, it was a podium finish - third in my age group, and I actually had to beat out 3 guys to get it. I had no idea; they don't post finishes anymore, you scan a QR code at the finish and check your results on the website, but my phone was back in transition. I learned I got third when I was congratulating another Tri Scottsdale athlete on her third-place finish, and she told me I did as well. (Of course, she's about 30 years younger and finished about 20 minutes sooner.)</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">Results: Swim 31:52.8<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">T1 5:19.0<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bike 1:25:35.6<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">T2 3:38.1<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">Run 1:12:15.7<br /></span></span><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">Total 3:18:41.3 (3/6 division, 160/220 men, 214/329 overall)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="cf0"><span style="font-family: arial;">Results <a href="http://4peaksracing.racetecresults.com/myresults.aspx?uid=16494-6285-2-169887">here</a>, photos <a href="https://www.captivatingsportsphotos.net/event/photos?event=2022-cactus-man-triathlon&bib-number=167&first-name=&last-name=&album=">here</a>. I went to lunch after the race and drank about 64 oz. of water and didn't need to go to the bathroom for hours. So I guess it was a hard day.</span></span></div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-74824905537809285812022-03-03T14:53:00.001-07:002022-03-03T14:53:13.412-07:00Iceman Triathlon 2022<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJhQSMMBCCDV5AEUGLgebcwHYzak5k3XC38Vgj-XSfd4_HApRayZnYtigvo_bbRIQfetRC4eAcJOxFyZXXm9Ph371-Vv1Lyqk5pEgyiZJ2vGCWKddl1dhFcVgicQAOL0MJwlgsGo7dsMb-GLX-5Y57FLjNoyYKKvBK3MbsOZUFQ3AubXuyuA=s1008" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="756" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJhQSMMBCCDV5AEUGLgebcwHYzak5k3XC38Vgj-XSfd4_HApRayZnYtigvo_bbRIQfetRC4eAcJOxFyZXXm9Ph371-Vv1Lyqk5pEgyiZJ2vGCWKddl1dhFcVgicQAOL0MJwlgsGo7dsMb-GLX-5Y57FLjNoyYKKvBK3MbsOZUFQ3AubXuyuA=s320" width="240" /></a></div></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We had some unseasonably cold weather during the second half of February, so the Iceman Triathlon at Lake Pleasant, which is never warm, was about the coldest water I'd ever (and hopefully will ever) swim in, unless I'm on a boat that sinks. It was a challenging day and my time for the swim was almost 8 minutes slower than in 2020, so even though I didn't get a flat tire this year, I still finished 4 minutes behind my prior time. But I'm chalking that up to water temperature, and if my problem at a tri is the swim, I know I can do better next time. I still managed about the same percentile as 2020, so there's that.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Plus, it truly was a race where 100% of the podium was showing up at the finish line. First in my age group! Of course, I'll never tell how many were in my age group, but you can check the results <a href="http://4peaksracing.racetecresults.com/myresults.aspx?uid=16494-6276-1-166725">here</a>.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2TNyGzk7EJmCCf-QXlD9ZCp7TtPdB0NBmBtMqEkWskceaNOrgVpOzgjFvTJE7udxl2joZ5vK16aiOZduljiYqUey5Bwa8yk4TBd6EGdmrKKSEXfU2gAGXELE90rykh0XQ3_gAgioJ-EgzBtGWMkAi98pQQRsvNNlkftMRzQls6c_GAC3vBA=s476" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="476" data-original-width="349" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj2TNyGzk7EJmCCf-QXlD9ZCp7TtPdB0NBmBtMqEkWskceaNOrgVpOzgjFvTJE7udxl2joZ5vK16aiOZduljiYqUey5Bwa8yk4TBd6EGdmrKKSEXfU2gAGXELE90rykh0XQ3_gAgioJ-EgzBtGWMkAi98pQQRsvNNlkftMRzQls6c_GAC3vBA=w198-h269" width="198" /></a></span></div><p></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-71727080945472004992022-02-21T11:13:00.002-07:002022-02-21T20:26:22.882-07:00Powerman Arizona 2022<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgf0LFhTUUhFoBNFHknsj6WaQxZv70VNBupdcxaLMkfMDNkPKFrUqVfUcheTzuhugkY1SbWrKhRTTryBstyxm7sZtEfgkBo3qgC3ujjaVBF0JDhgwCoL3csmeHdCT6DZFMKlARuzLF4L_Wj4K6npmL8i7cY8acf1sMYFPxJi3fIb6OhhyyPdQ=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgf0LFhTUUhFoBNFHknsj6WaQxZv70VNBupdcxaLMkfMDNkPKFrUqVfUcheTzuhugkY1SbWrKhRTTryBstyxm7sZtEfgkBo3qgC3ujjaVBF0JDhgwCoL3csmeHdCT6DZFMKlARuzLF4L_Wj4K6npmL8i7cY8acf1sMYFPxJi3fIb6OhhyyPdQ=w219-h292" width="219" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgSZT6F36CnVerBKhWnmSDlAfmN0ytqs2iBIydm5FcWcOi2pU1BCGKLFHL1b7N_gmPSpRyCG_ENTuBWsrh2p7hBAPdKLppEjDJGPgViIGqOy3HmMPhmNwm9HZ9dx6sTmOImLEc9U4jFjDi9fgs1plbymJG5xIklRk6Aus6gIyp3NU3AOJQUrw=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgSZT6F36CnVerBKhWnmSDlAfmN0ytqs2iBIydm5FcWcOi2pU1BCGKLFHL1b7N_gmPSpRyCG_ENTuBWsrh2p7hBAPdKLppEjDJGPgViIGqOy3HmMPhmNwm9HZ9dx6sTmOImLEc9U4jFjDi9fgs1plbymJG5xIklRk6Aus6gIyp3NU3AOJQUrw=w216-h288" width="216" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">This is the race where </span><a href="http://liberaldesert.blogspot.com/2019/02/powerman-arizona-duathlon.html" style="font-family: arial;">in 2019</a><span style="font-family: arial;">, I fell on the second run and broke my finger (but still finished, and 3rd in my age group - of 3, of course). I signed up again in 2020, but had to cancel due to illness, and they didn't hold the event in 2021, so this was my memory-replacement race, where I redo a perfectly enjoyable experience but with </span><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-flaming-lips/2018/mtelus-montreal-qc-canada-3be8e88c.html" style="font-family: arial;">bad memories</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-flaming-lips/2021/marquee-theatre-tempe-az-38c917b.html" style="font-family: arial;">removed</a><span style="font-family: arial;">.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">This used to be a very popular event but numbers were really low this year. The setup was pretty low-key, the numbers were low enough that the park restrooms were more than adequate. I also appreciated, if that's the word, the plastic finisher medal that can double as a coaster and the cheesy plastic podium award (see above). Still, it was an almost perfect day, except for a pretty stiff wind heading uphill on the bike leg. It wasn't too cold at the start, and not too hot at the end.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The interesting thing is that my age group, in the "short" distance (5K run, 40K bike, 5K run) was one of the most competitive. The winner of 65-59 finished 4th overall. There were 4 of us (out of 26 total, including both men and women), spread out with each competitor finishing at least 20 minutes ahead of the guy ahead. So I got third in my age group, but this time, I actually had to finish ahead of the fourth guy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">I pretty much used everything I got, and I finished 9 minutes behind my 2019 time, when I ran the last 0.6 miles with a broken finger. Everything took longer, both on the runs and on the bike. You can chalk up some of the bike to the wind, but that doesn't excuse the runs or the transitions. Moving up into a new age group isn't the great deal I was hoping. Sure, people drop out, but you've gotten older and the other people remaining apparently were on the 1972 US Olympic team.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">We have to get used to the new race results system; there are no computers or postings anymore, you instead use your phone to see how you did on athlinks.com.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="cf0">Results <a href="https://www.athlinks.com/event/213111/results/Event/996221/Course/2159008/Bib/92">here</a>. </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">2:52:59, 23/26 overall, 18/20 men, 3/4 age group</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="cf0">Run1: 33:07<br /></span><span class="cf0">T1: 3:34<br /></span><span class="cf0">Bike: 1:38:01<br /></span><span class="cf0">T2: 3:03<br /></span><span class="cf0">Run2: 35:16 (1 minute slower than 2019 with broken finger)</span></span></div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-77518992011590759762021-11-26T16:24:00.000-07:002021-11-26T16:24:37.239-07:00Ironman Arizona (at last)<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYWrKESV1lnPSruF9lC2VWb0CSQTyPENFnRG8G6oFbSaIx83bfxOqzwBKl5GaeVQna6Q03oMWOM3-pPbromRSIBF62ww7a4o4MrG7r_lsuy_rW1JgG1RppEe_KCnjIW_G1WUJ/s2048/IMG_5612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1049" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUYWrKESV1lnPSruF9lC2VWb0CSQTyPENFnRG8G6oFbSaIx83bfxOqzwBKl5GaeVQna6Q03oMWOM3-pPbromRSIBF62ww7a4o4MrG7r_lsuy_rW1JgG1RppEe_KCnjIW_G1WUJ/s320/IMG_5612.JPG" width="164" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While recovering this week after the race on Sunday, November 21, I cleaned out some saved emails, and found I had registered on December 2, 2019 - almost two years ago. The 2020 race was cancelled with 2 weeks to go due to the pandemic surge, so I did all the training in 2020, and then again in 2021. I didn't have the best day, but there's no way I was going to defer and go through this for a third year in a row. And, as they say, I am an Ironman. Again.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I now know how great conditions were in Florida in 2015, with no wind on almost the entire bike leg. We had a 10-15 mph headwind outbound (and uphill!) on the Beeline Highway, so on each of the 3 loops, I averaged 10-11 mph going east and 20-22 mph coming back west, but the push coming back wasn't enough to make up for the slower times heading out. I knew I went too hard on the bike, and still finished 45 minutes behind 2015, but I knew the run would be a walk anyway, and I really, really wanted to be off the bike. The run was a real slog. I tried to run-walk, but my average speed run-walking was less than just power walking, and toward the end, whenever I tried to run, nothing came out.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Definitely fun to do a race in my hometown. The TriScottsdale tent was a highlight each loop through the run course, and it was great to see people I knew, and of course also fun to be cheered on by people I didn't.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Data:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Swim 1:20:22 (actually, a great swim for me, but it was wetsuit legal, so that helped)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">T1 20:32 (not sure where all the time went)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bike 7:15:42 (do not do the Beeline with no drafting in a headwind if you have a choice)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">T2 13:15 (acceptable)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Run 6:39:09 (a real slog)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Overall 15:49:00 (not great but once I got off the bike and saw where I was and how I felt, my goal was finish under 16 hours, and I did)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Those results were </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Division 18/20, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Gender 1317, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Overall 1712 (it looks like 1932 finished under the cutoff). The searchable results page is <a href="https://www.ironman.com/im-arizona-results" target="_blank">here</a>. And my (low-res) photos are <a href="https://www.finisherpix.com/en/photos/4210/1406" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Around mile 22 of the "run," I decided that I should reevaluate my relationship with pain - just not that night, later after I finished. But I finished! Not bad for a 66-year-old, except who knew there were all these fast 65-year-olds?</span></div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-17242077781755352692021-05-08T19:42:00.000-07:002021-05-08T19:42:29.237-07:00Cactus Man Triathlon!<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGfO653rrIA4E3XvkmVvUojH3BrVN1TaH_bNpScBVbxzKTSCWvxDuXKqe6rofxZ_RDgPNHkqpL9VCSGiEE5QnJmSeOneaYx8fMIyO1BLbmAxRiRqoyQBlW_IykunYoJwk4ppO/s1568/Cactus+Man+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1047" data-original-width="1568" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGfO653rrIA4E3XvkmVvUojH3BrVN1TaH_bNpScBVbxzKTSCWvxDuXKqe6rofxZ_RDgPNHkqpL9VCSGiEE5QnJmSeOneaYx8fMIyO1BLbmAxRiRqoyQBlW_IykunYoJwk4ppO/s320/Cactus+Man+01.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />The Cactus Man tri was cancelled in 2020, and my registration rolled over to 2021, when 4Peaks Racing successfully pulled it off on May 2. Registration was capped, spectators were not allowed (although it's Tempe, people can hang around if they want), you picked up the finisher medal at registration, and when you crossed the finish line, you got 2 water bottles and a mask. There also was no food at the finish, so I got home and then had to decide, which was more important: being ravenously hungry, or needing to wash Tempe Town Lake off me before I touched food (the shower won out).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">They also changed the course from 2019. No more wave start, and instead you entered the water 5 seconds apart (after general seeding by expected swim time finish) from a boat ramp west of the Mill Avenue bridges, then exited the water via a different boat ramp east of the bridges, with a half-mile run (or walk, in my case) back to transition.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It was a hot day, and I finished 4th in my age group in the Olympic (no Sprint for me!) by far enough behind #3 that I can't complain. I plugged through the race steadily, kept running (except up one hill on the second lap, at that point I figured the heck with it), and when I finished, I really had nothing left. You can't ask for more than that, the triathlon version of a foamed runway.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Results <a href="https://www.racetecresults.com/MyResults.aspx?uid=16494-6235-2-153482">here</a>: Swim 29:33, T1 5:00, Bike 1:24:34, T2 4:53, Run 1:08.11, Finish 3:12:12. 4/7 age group, 155/201 men, 214/297 overall. Fairly consistent with my 2019 times, given the changes to the course.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">One thing I lost in the pandemic was my year being the youngest in my age group. Who were those 3 really fast 65-year-olds?</span></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-42294982393641698762021-03-27T16:01:00.001-07:002021-03-27T16:01:56.094-07:00ARR Fountain 5-0<p><span style="font-family: arial;">First event in 13 months! That's how I celebrated passing two weeks from my second shot.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">ARR is Arizona Road Racers, and of course I'm a member, I join everything. ARR was founded in 1970, so this was supposed to be the 50th anniversary race in 2020, but got rolled over to this year instead. I apparently registered for it months ago, and had totally forgotten about it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Town of Fountain Hills let ARR go forward this weekend. The race start was staggered, you estimated your finish time and they gave you a specific start time. Of course, there was a line anyway at the start, but single file, no clumps of people, it was outdoors, and almost everyone was masked until crossing the start line. The famous <a href="https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tripsavvy.com%2Fthmb%2Fw_w479xSq3_bjlcET1YelwRDS5s%3D%2F1500x1000%2Ffilters%3Afill(auto%2C1)%2Ffountainhills006_1500-56a724b95f9b58b7d0e74b11.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tripsavvy.com%2Ffountain-in-fountain-hills-2681067&tbnid=7e_ipK71OR-ZoM&vet=12ahUKEwia-obyyNHvAhX4AjQIHUk3AYIQMygDegUIARC4AQ..i&docid=zqCUT8mJI02xKM&w=1500&h=1000&q=fountain%20hills%20fountain&ved=2ahUKEwia-obyyNHvAhX4AjQIHUk3AYIQMygDegUIARC4AQ">fountain</a> didn't go off during the race, but we ran around it twice.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">47:00 official, which was good for second place in my (delightful) age group (2/4 finishers). 26/45 men, 54/93 overall. Very casual race, no pictures, but there were aid stations that had 8 ounce water bottles out for pickup. Full results <a href="http://results.racetimers.com/results.aspx?CId=16432&RId=4216">here</a>.</span></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-73388015066391356752021-02-25T10:47:00.006-07:002021-02-25T10:48:03.106-07:00Actually, I should have played for the Washington Senators<p><span style="font-family: arial;">I can get <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Senator-Coppersmith-Signed-Index-Card/dp/B07QXDJ4NS">this</a> for you cheaper.</span></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-67669063422437193732020-03-03T13:44:00.000-07:002020-03-03T13:44:07.541-07:00Iceman Triathlon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3vvGs7imkoxV2Wa41EUmCiFGptBT1-vItyskEtRc9tjmTaDm9Le92L947ddBT-ctiTqCrr2BPFikjNprOcErCbNZnMUJgDb3IGHCY0dFYDdieJo0qudKiEjS0jBO3J9kncmSG/s1600/IMG_2131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="756" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3vvGs7imkoxV2Wa41EUmCiFGptBT1-vItyskEtRc9tjmTaDm9Le92L947ddBT-ctiTqCrr2BPFikjNprOcErCbNZnMUJgDb3IGHCY0dFYDdieJo0qudKiEjS0jBO3J9kncmSG/s320/IMG_2131.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, podium!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I signed up for <a href="https://4peaksracing.com/events/iceman-2020/">Iceman Triathlon</a> at Lake Pleasant after I had to scrub the <a href="https://www.powerman.org/events/powerman-arizona-2020/">Powerman Duathlon</a> earlier in the month after coming down with a 48-hour flu. I wanted to do <a href="http://liberaldesert.blogspot.com/2019/02/powerman-arizona-duathlon.html">that race again</a>, to prove I could finish without breaking a bone this time. Also, it would have been my first race since aging up to the 65-69 AG, and it's great being the young(er) guy in a new cohort. There was only 1 person in my group at Powerman, and he finished way behind my time with falling and breaking my finger, so I lost out on a podium, and decided to sign up for Iceman (put on by the same 4Peaks people) to see if I could get it back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I normally pass on sprint triathlons (not great at races where your finish is determined by how fast you can change shoes), and I'm not a huge fan of cold water. But this was a great little race. Late 9 am start, which meant getting there and setting up after sunrise, and it was plenty warm enough on the bike and run. The water was probably 60 degrees, but it was fine in a wetsuit for the 750 meters. I didn't need my booties or full "squid lid," or the dishwashing gloves I brought for my hands (4Peaks got a special USAT exemption for rubber gloves for this race).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Everything went well until the last 500 meters of the bike, when I got a flat. I tried to fill it with CO2 and float out to the finish, but it was a bad flat (2 small stiff pieces of wire pierced my tire), and being that close to T2, I got off my bike and walked the rest of the way, figuring that would be faster than trying to find the damage and fix the flat. (That was correct - when I got home, it took me a while to find the wires, and that's with being calm and with reading glasses. Out on the course, it would have been nearly impossible for me.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEAOCOMUMZslHTGQW8xhPExDH05Ockz2DLHsoNRyP_kXn0C5akahN0V05WmCV6V3nG5XrLHP6d3vP0jUTBs8PszteZPWAOPzkr9dpFIWsOTtnFVXd5II8NKCFdUWGJMKtqcBgF/s1600/Iceman+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1281" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEAOCOMUMZslHTGQW8xhPExDH05Ockz2DLHsoNRyP_kXn0C5akahN0V05WmCV6V3nG5XrLHP6d3vP0jUTBs8PszteZPWAOPzkr9dpFIWsOTtnFVXd5II8NKCFdUWGJMKtqcBgF/s320/Iceman+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had a fine swim, an OK-but-below-average T1, and was doing fine on the bike (and was in the lead in my age group) until the flat, when I gave back all the time I had garnered on the swim and bike. I strolled back to T2 in my cleats, switched to running shoes, and had a pretty good run. It was a challenging run, and with lots of up and down, felt like it was uphill in both directions. Lake Pleasant is a canyon, so that's no surprise, but knowledge didn't make it easier.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the run, which usually is my weakest event, went very well. I kept moving, and passed 9 men (according to <a href="http://4peaksracing.racetecresults.com/myresults.aspx?uid=16494-6194-1-138807">the results</a>), which never happens. I caught (fellow TriScottsdale member) <a href="http://4peaksracing.racetecresults.com/myresults.aspx?uid=16494-6194-1-138895">Ralph Ray</a> early in the run, and wound up making up what I lost on the bike and in transitions to finish first in my age group by 1:30. I haven't been on a podium for a while, and when I was before, it was never better than finishing third. I really like my new age group.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, first place AG. Not bad for the week I signed up for Medicare.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Swim 16:19</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">T1 4:52</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bike 52:02 (flat tire)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">T2 2:34</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Run 30:30 (passed 9 men on the run!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Total 1:46:27 (1/2 division, 40/52 men, 54/74 overall)</span></div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-63253615719871690042019-12-21T20:55:00.001-07:002019-12-21T20:55:08.123-07:00Scottsdale Half Marathon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I try not take this race too seriously - or at least, I regret when I do. The one year I trained hard, I went out fast and <a href="http://liberaldesert.blogspot.com/2017/12/scottsdale-half-marathon-2017.html">got injured</a>, and had to walk the last 3 miles. I'm better off treating this like an end-of-year running party, in this final (10th) year for the NWLB team</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more casual treatment, in 2016, I drove to and from Yuma the day before for a friend's funeral, and this year, I was in NYC visiting Sarah, Matt, and Mayer (now 8 weeks old!) and flew home the afternoon before. But it all worked out fine. We had perfect weather and I got to run with a lot of good friends. I finished in 2:07:30 (19/38 division, 323/513 men, 611/1138 overall, 9:44 pace, so right around the median for the older guys), and this year's time was a good 3+ minutes faster than last year. I did a 2:05 in 2016, and maybe that's in reach for next year - but next year, I age up to the next division, where instead of 19th, this year I would have been 7th. Full results, and some pictures, <a href="https://www.athlinks.com/event/28281/results/Event/838708/Course/1513456/Bib/229">here</a>. NWLB won the 5K team event, and placed third for the half marathon (not that my time had anything to do with that accomplishment).</span></div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-59652807221862713472019-09-17T17:12:00.002-07:002019-09-17T17:13:50.018-07:00Life Time (2 words!) Tempe Triathlon 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not the fastest race for me, and a surprisingly fast group of older guys in my bracket, but a very good day racing, even if it wasn't the best performance from Life Time. Of course it was hot, and there was a lot of construction on the bike course, but things were good and well-organized until the run, where the course markings didn't match the map. For the International race, it's 2 loops of the course, but toward the end of each loop, at the northwest corner of the map, instead of sending us directly to Mill Avenue, the course markings sent us up to Washington Street, then down Mill Avenue on the west (old) bridge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That shouldn't have mattered too much, at least not if the scale of the map is correct, but everybody showed a much longer run course. Instead of 6.2 miles (10K), the run was 7.03 miles (on my watch; some showed longer, but pretty much everybody I talked to had over 7 miles). That meant when I was psyching myself up before the bridge that there was only 1.5 miles left , there really was almost another mile (or, worse, 1.14 K!) more. Pretty dispiriting to have your watch telling you that you were finished, but in real life, you were a mile away from the end.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were 17 registered in my age group, but only 11 showed up and finished. It was a fast group, too, especially in the heat. I finished just ahead of a TriScottsdale friend who always beats me, especially on the run, so I must have been doing OK. My time isn't great, but the swim took 3 minutes more than in May (which was wetsuit-legal, while the water Sunday was too warm for wetsuits), and the run with the extra distance took 9 minutes more, so it was about the same rate but more heat. I also had slower transitions, but a faster bike time - but the bike course was shorter. Whatever, I was happy with how hard I worked in the heat, and it was fun.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Time and splits:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Swim 31:10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">T1 4:24</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bike 1:19:35</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">T2 3:48</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Run 1:17:32 (7.03 mi)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Total 3:16:277, 7/11 age group, 146/231 men, 196/372 overall</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Results <a href="https://www.athlinks.com/event/31083/results/Event/843740/Course/1538266/Bib/250">here</a>, photos <a href="http://www.finisherpix.com/gallery/photos/en/usd/3555/250">here</a>. Life Time still hasn't explained the over-long run course, and probably never will.</span></div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-44162910514196058022019-08-03T18:21:00.002-07:002019-08-03T18:21:28.443-07:00Santa Rosa 70.3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the beginning of the year, I wasn't planning on doing a major race this summer, but when the group which did <a href="http://liberaldesert.blogspot.com/2018/06/victoria-703.html">Victoria 70.3 last summer</a> (Camp Aliesha!) announced they were doing the <a href="https://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman-70.3/santa-rosa.aspx#axzz5vaayEcoI">Santa Rosa 70.3</a> in July, I signed up. We again had a great group doing the race, sharing a house and cooking duties. It's a great TriScottsdale group, and I was delighted to join them again this year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for the race, I foolishly flew to a nonprofit board meeting in Weehawken, NJ the week before, sitting next </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">on the flight to Newark to someone who sniffled the whole way. I started feeling a bit off the Monday before the race, and it just didn't get better. I made a game-day decision to do the race, and I'm glad I did, but while whatever I caught may have held off for Saturday, it gave me the full force treatment afterwards. So I dodged that bullet, at least for the race, even if the next week was pretty draggy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As for the race itself, despite a sort-of sore throat and mild fever, I had a good swim (same time as last year; the temperature was warm but the swim stayed wetsuit-legal) and a very good bike (20 minutes faster than last year). I went out pretty fast (for me, anyway) on the run, but started running out of gas halfway through, and slowed considerably for the last half, which was uphill, too. Still, I finished 20 minutes better than Victoria, and almost made my third-level goal of finishing under 6:30 - had to settle for 6:32. A very satisfactory day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Swim 37:18</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">T1 11:50 (long 400m uphill climb to transition, so this isn't bad)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bike 3:11:10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">T2 7:35</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Run 2:24:57</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall 6:32:48 (20/42 ag, 860/1316 men, 1171/1974 overall). </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was 29/32 in my age group in Victoria, so 20/42 is a nice improvement. Results </span><a href="https://www.ironman.com/triathlon/coverage/athlete-tracker.aspx?race=santarosa70.3&y=2019#/tracker/RSHGAXBC" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, and photos </span><a href="https://www.finisherpix.com/gallery/photos/en/USD/3067/2435" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Santa Rosa 70.3 has replaced the old Vineman 70.3, which I recall had a beautiful bike course. This course went over much of the same territory, but I can't really say anything about the scenery. In 2011, I used a road bike and was riding upright and could see the scenery, but this year I used my tri bike and mostly saw pavement about 30 feet in front of me instead of the vineyards and hills. I'm told it was very pretty. And while this time I didn't get to stay in the partners house at <a href="https://www.callunavineyards.com/">Calluna Vineyards</a>, David and Marla had the entire group over for a tasting on Sunday.</span></div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-33303764166357289072019-05-20T16:21:00.001-07:002019-05-20T16:21:19.949-07:00Early Birthday Bike-Swim Weekend<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll be out of town (at Louis's law school graduation) on my birthday, so I swapped out the usual year X 100s swim and bagels at the Village for a bike-swim weekend. Saturday, Tri Scottsdale and the Village (great cookies, Abby!) organized a ride up Mount Lemmon in Tucson, then Sunday was Arizona Open Water 4000m at Bartlett Lake. I was a tad slower in the swim than 2 years ago, but nobody who finished ahead of me had ridden their bicycle up and down Mt. Lemmon the day before. A very nice weekend. Saturday, about 3.5 hours up, 1.5 hours down, 59 4 miles, 7,871' vertical gain. Sunday, 1:20:33 for 4000m, with full swim results <a href="https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=181206">here</a>. And now I get a rest week - with NYC bagels, too.</span></div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-52633594327970145112019-05-06T16:33:00.001-07:002019-05-08T10:30:08.616-07:00Cactus Man Triathlon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was hoping for better, but I started feeling poorly Friday afternoon, and had a sore throat Saturday night, so once I started the run I threw out my sub-3-hour goal time. I hoped to finish only without getting really sick, and my stretch goal was in under 3:15, and my really optimistic take was 3:10. But I must have been doing better than I thought, because my final time was 3:05. Solid swim, OK bike, and while I had to walk through each water stop and twice on the second loop, I still had about the same time on the run as I did in September for an Olympic tri: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Swim 27:57; </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">T1 3:21; </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bike 1:22:43.4; </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">T2 2:33; </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Run 1:08:36.1; </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Total 3:05:10.7, 9/18 ag, 145/214 men, 177/322 overall. Not a bad day, all considering. But w</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">hat's with these fractional seconds on a 4Peaks Racing event?</span><br />
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Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-83813380329582524612019-05-02T09:40:00.001-07:002019-05-02T15:55:06.014-07:00Splash & Dash #1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A sweet little event at Tempe Town Lake, with 2 swim options, then a set run, which can be dropped for people who only want to do the swim, plus relays. So, 6 different race categories, then all the age groups. The weather was nearly perfect; the water temperature was 74 degrees, so it was wetsuit legal and pretty much everybody wore one, as did I, for the open water practice. Results <a href="http://4peaksracing.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=16494&RId=6150&EId=1">here</a>; 1:04:33 for the 1500m swim-transition-run, which was 30/58 overall, 23/40 men, 3/4 a.g. in that category. That's nearly 5 minutes faster than last year (over a minute faster on the swim and over 3 minutes faster on the run), probably because of the weather but also a stronger run than last year. </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">On to </span><a href="https://4peaksracing.com/events/cactus-man-2019/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Cactus Man</a><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> on Sunday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Photo credit: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pedrogomestricoaching/?__tn__=kCH-R&eid=ARDf-s1VgQShtEMahfyw20jqb8-iRVRNvzaSAXXA8mF2_VnIX5Efsaw9yke-2D-WLYkFhQGn0-XcCLkT&hc_ref=ARQkkcG3tYaunwSs1QHMBHj3Nn2Bac1XKhOmpWHmQqGsbIw5FXmaCV3BEHmaCEh6q7I&__xts__[0]=68.ARAZ40WuwhmPSv2ARkSyhDJ9xHNDbycg2BxhFiRFPbTj4m8j2lHTOwdhtHTxpOUq09VOpyw-_at_foMoJqnc3QAmEB9zXL6W18sfLr9QBaiNnQvmFTIuZFepdA6LRIwKP2N3l_34lBFryahYiSURhSMddp8k88hJmzueXeFDsI9Avw0dB3RDs2hnAaXzZaH94XD9y-I4OKTCFkBoUVYbGeBvQjGT2TAd5xJog5BdLJDqjaH3RuuMGr8s6UjUj-oaQ18mGreI6Ui_RYAPnMnsj_27u_VtBF8boriYEes1emMNXyIjxyyuGPzQnxTffH3KcR_W">Pedro Gomes</a> (the triathlon coach who gave us the only advice I remember: "With 17 hours, you can do pretty much anything.")</span></div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3489283.post-66673931435264600202019-03-20T17:19:00.002-07:002019-03-20T17:21:59.843-07:00Ladies and Gentlemen, The Harvard University 100th Anniversary Reunion (pause) Band!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course I'm going to embed the HUB 100th Reunion hype video as soon as I saw it.</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PB4OOKQRkyg/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PB4OOKQRkyg?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's not clear anymore if I was ever as young as those current Bandies in the video, but the records say otherwise.</span></div>
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Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11891443087499337731noreply@blogger.com0