08.22.09 - Lake Norman YMCA Triathlon

750 yard swim, 13.3 mile bike, 5K run (not)

I think it was after White Lake I started with the plantar fasciitis issue. Probably from a combination of things, but nonetheless, it was with me. I struggled through the month up until Latta, sort of knowing in the back of my head I had an issue. Then by post-Latta, I was faced with the reality of having to address it. I had also started working with friend, coach and local pro, Lance Leo. I’d hooked up with him to help me better prepare for my next half and ‘A’ race in November.

I’d actually started with Lance before I had to come out with the plantar issue. The first few weeks of the schedule were not fun. Or at least the morning after any run workout was not run. Overnight, my plantar fascia would tighten up and when I woke up and tried to walk, it felt like I had a knife in the bottom of my foot and heel. I found myself hopping or scooting to the bathroom in the AM due to the pain. I love racing, but life and walking is much more important. It was time to address the problem.

Long story short, this put me out of running for 11 weeks. As a substitute, I ramped up the bike volume and was working in water running, which was very, very not fun. I also started hitting our chiro/active release doc regularly to really stretch and work out that plantar area. The combination of all these activities seemed to be helping, however I knew I had a bit of a long road ahead of me.

A couple of months into this process was the local Lake Norman Triathlon race. This would be considered the ‘home race’. Part of the NC Triathlon Series. Two day event. At the Y where we are members/regular attenders, Sela’s preschool. 3 miles from the house. Where I swim train. You get the picture. I talked with Lance about the race, my chiro and my ‘other coach’ (Allyson) and the resounding answer I got was no way. After this much hard work and healing, it did not make sense to go out and hammer this race. So I didn’t. Sort of.

The agreement was that I could do two-thirds of it. The swim and bike. No run. This also meant no barefoot 200 yard run from the water to the transition area. So the plan was go hard as I could on the swim, exit the water, walk slowly to the TA, get on the bike, go hard as I could on the bike, and park it. This was going to be tough to do, but I had coach and family eyes watching me.


I worked my way toward the front of the swim wave and the horn went off. Luckily, no traffic at all in the water. Must have found a good pocket and line, as well as got off to a fast start. I felt great on the swim. Of course there is the blinding sun that hits you on the long stretch back to the shore, but that is a LKN race norm. I came out of the water, hit the mat and my split button on the watch and gasped. 13:10! Holy cow. This same race last year was a 15:20. Two full minutes. Since I was in no hurry whatsoever to get to the bike, I stopped to high five Lance who was there at the exit. Also said hey to Allyson and the girls, and patiently made my way to the TA. Smiling, of course. I learned later that just about everyone in the field had demolished their times from last year, which meant the course was probably a tad short. However I did certainly improve, because as a percentage of the entire men’s field, the LKN swim was the best swim finish I’ve ever had.

So onto the bike… which this year was shortened by several miles due to some construction on the course. This was a quite a bummer as we train often on this course and looked forward to seeing what we can do on it. The course ended up taking us down the familiar and very, very hilly Grey Road. Since I had no run to save for, I pretty much went out and rode as fast as I could for the 13.3 miles. It was fun. And a blur. Felt like I was out there for 10 minutes. I got passed late in the ride by a couple of guys from the age group that started behind me. Other than that, it was quiet, smooth sailing. I didn’t pay any attention to stats on the bike. Just pedaled hard. I pulled in and snuck a peek at the Garmin and again was shocked. I’d improved on last year’s mph average by a mile per hour. So I was certainly pleased with that.

There was a very brief, hard rain shower just as I was finishing the bike. Allyson and the family were there cheering. I parked the bike and the day was over. Given the good efforts on the swim and bike made not running more palatable for sure. Until the awards ceremony, which was a bummer. It ends up that if I had just matched last year’s run split, I probably could have placed in my age group. It’s not about winning or awards. It really isn’t. But the chance to place in an NCTS race at the ‘home track’ would have been really cool, especially in the very difficult 35-39 age group. But it wasn’t meant to be. Not on this day. But no big deal.

The day was a blast. So many friends out there racing. Great to be with them and the family enjoying a near perfect day in Cornelius, NC. And probably the best moment was walking back to the car when Allyson told me she was more proud that I didn’t run than if I had and placed. That made the decision all worth it. And I would live to see the next race. And hopefully pain free.

07.25.09 - Birkdale Animal Hospital Kids Triathlon

50 yard swim, 1 mile bike, .3 mile run

So at this point, Sorelle had obviously been to a few triathlons. She’s talked about wanting to do one, but Allyson and I made a firm commitment that we were not, under any circumstances, going to force her to do one. She was going to have to want to do it on her own.

Here in Huntersville, they have a summer kids triathlon series that is run by two gals we know, Kathy Goody and Sarah Matchett. It is sponsored by the Birkdale Animal Hospital and timed by Setup Events. The races are held at Huntersville Family Fitness and Aquatic, same place as the MAP Tri from the last two years. And the race distances vary depending on the age of the child.

Well, Sorelle decided it was time for her to take on a tri. We were excited and supportive, however a bit leery as Sorelle had one good size limiter she needed to overcome, and quickly. The bike. She had never really loved riding her bike, approaching it with fear and timidity. Now she was going to have to ride in a gaggle of 7-9 year olds for a mile in fairly tight quarters. So we headed out to the local middle school a couple of times where they have a painted blacktop running track. Perfect training ground. Sorelle worked hard and got to a point where she was comfortable. It was time to race.


We had at least two-dozen friends/families out there that we knew either racing or cheering. We also had a good crew from the tri club helping out. And needless to say, the race site was complete mayhem. Chaos. Children everywhere. Parents everywhere. Frenzy, especially in the pool area where everyone was getting ready. Once the 4-6 year olds had cleared out, they opened up the starting area to the 7-9’s. Unfortunately, the kids tri is subject to the same ‘age up’ rule as the regular races. So 6 year old Sorelle was going to be racing against a bunch of 7-9 year olds.



We went out and got her T1 area all set up and walked through her exit strategy, all of which I was fully prepared for her to forget. I did the first time I raced. Parents are not allowed to assist the 7-9’s, so she was all on her own. I dipped her in the pool so she could get used to the water. A minute or two later, she was off and did so great. So cool to see her cruising through the water. She exited the pool and did fantastic on her transition. She slipped on her shoes and had about a hundred yard run to the bike area. I don’t know what was funnier – watching the kids exit and run to the bikes or watching the masses of parents running out of the building with cameras in hand frantically chasing after their kid. Me being one of them.


Sorelle got on her bike and took off. Unfortunately, it was at about half the speed of most everyone around her. Let’s just say she rode a very careful, calculated race. She was saving up watts for the run. I was so proud of her overcoming her fear of even getting on the bike. In spite of all the kids zooming by her, she was out there giving it her best and doing something she’d never done. Couldn’t be more proud.

The bike was four laps on a walking path around a ball field. She dismounted the bike with the assistance of a bunch of my tri club buddies and took off for her quarter mile run. She took off, bonked around half way and had to slow down to catch her breath, then kicked it in for the finish. A best moment of the day was her being greeted at the finish by her little sister, who gave her a huge hug. Sela was prepping for her big kids fun run that was coming up after the tri.

To this day, she thinks she won, and that is fine by us. In many ways, she did. I love the fact that she decided to take it on herself, put in the practice and overcome some fears. Can’t ask much more than that from a 6 year old.

We then watched Sela and a crew of little ones do a 100-yard fun run starting at one corner of the ball field and ending in the finish chute. So stinkin’ cute.

There was much to celebrate. And everyone was big hungry. So we and the Guthe’s went and refueled at none other than health food heaven, Five Guys. It was bliss. And messy.

06.13.09 - Tri Latta

750 meter swim, 17 mile bike, 5K run

This was the sophomore attempt at Tri Latta. While not literally in the backyard like Jetton, Latta is only about 10 minutes down the road in a fantastic setting on Latta Plantation. Won’t go into too many details as I provided them in last year’s write up. I was really looking forward to doing this race again. They did change the run course a little from the previous year, which I think ended up being for the better. I was also going to be riding the new bike – Look 576.

Setup and prep for the swim were business as usual. Like the previous year, Mountain Island Lake was hot. Like high 80’s. Really too hot. It is one of those swims you can’t wait to get over. And it really takes it out of you. I sat in the water in that lovely first age group 35-39 wave waiting for the horn. The field looked pretty stout and I was worried about the swim start being rough. The first 50 yards or so definitely were. Got kicked and punched a few times, but surprisingly it thinned out pretty quickly and I found myself toward the front of the pack, which was cool. And not a common occurrence. Swim split was almost exactly a minute faster than the previous year. I’ll take it.

I came out of the water and made the trek up to the TA. No issues on the transition and off on the bike. I felt really good on the new ride. And overall, was very pleased with the bike. There was one guy I ended up trading off and on with for a good bit of the bike, which really helped. We took turns jumping out front and setting the pace. All legal and non-drafting of course. I didn’t get caught by anyone from the next wave until the last couple of miles. Ended up turning in a 45:06 on the bike, which was 4:00 minutes and change faster than the previous year, which I’ll definitely take. And other than some mild calf cramping (which I often experience on the bike, especially after swimming in hot water) I felt great off the bike.



Then it was onto the off-road sprint. About 95% of the new Latta run was off-road. And the new part that was added was pretty much a big downhill then uphill. I was pretty stoked because I actually saw the leaders on the course. Typically on these sprints, the front few finishers are done. I actually passed the winner on the out and back, which boosted my spirits.

Coming off White Lake a month prior, I didn’t feel fast on the run, but I put the pedal to the floor and went for it. And it was hot. Shaded, but hot. I love out and back courses because you get to see where everyone is on course. Got to high-five lots of friends coming the other direction. Good times. The big hill they added took quite a bit out of me. I struggled the last quarter mile to the finish and ended up turning in a 21:17. Actually 10 seconds slower than the previous year. But given the great bike split and swim improvement, I’ll definitely take it. All in all a 5:00+ improvement from one year ago.

Allyson was with me at the race. Also, we were able to set up all of the FCA Endurance stuff at the race, which was fantastic. We had some great traffic at the tent and opened some more doors with the folks at Run For Your Life for future events. Nearly everyone from the area does this race, so it was a big social event for the hour or two after the race. Despite the improvement, I was still way off placing in my age group. Welcome to the real world of 35 to 39ers.

Another really cool thing about this race was attending the novice day on Sunday. This race and now the Lake Norman Tri are both done as two day events, with Saturday being pros and age groupers and Sunday all novices and relays. I went out Sunday to work the FCA-E tent and cheer some folks on. I actually ended up running into three people I knew from my childhood in OHIO. Yes, Ohio. Brad and Molly Snyder are brother and sister and attended the neighboring Wooster High School. They were doing a relay with Brad’s wife. And Alex Johnson, who attended Northwestern High School where I gal I dated went. Such a small world sometimes. And very cool to see them.

Not sure I have any major takeaways from this race. Quite honestly, it zapped me. I was completely spent after the race and pretty much the entire week afterwards - more so than the White Lake Half six weeks prior. These sprints are hard. You pour it all out for an hour and a half. Full bore anaerobic. Not sure I am wired best for that type of racing. I had also been wrestling with a plantar fasciitis issue since White Lake that was really flaring up around the time of Latta. The week after the race, I realized I definitely had an issue on my hands and was going to need to do something about it. Stay tuned…