It's Official!!!

Here is an email from the race director of the New Jersey Triathlon:

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From: "michele redrow"
To:
Date: July 31, 2008 01:26:37 PM EDT
Subject: Re: 3rd Place Clydesdale

Yes you got 3rd place - but understand it may take us some time to "dig" out the awards but as soon as I do I will send it out to you.

Can you forward me your address?

MER
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I am officially 3rd Place Clydesdale at the 2008 New Jersey Triathlon, the Mid-Atlantic Region Club Championship.

Results

John W. Hobgood, R.I.P.

The DC Tri Club is sending flowers to Mr. Hobgood's funeral service and we are taking up a collection to donate to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in his name.

Obituary

WEST WINDSOR - John W. Hobgood, 52, died Sunday competing in the New Jersey State Triathlon at Mercer County Park. Born in Orange, he was a resident of Lawrenceville for 23 years until recently moving to West Windsor. John was a mortgage banker with National City Mortgage for the past 20 years and was vice president of the Freehold branch.

He received both his bachelor's and master's in business and finance from Seton Hall University. He was involved with the Community Development Association Scholarship Committee for the past 10 years. John was also a member of the Montgomery-Rocky Hill Rotary Club for the past 14 years, currently serving as the treasurer, and was a member of the scholarship committee. He was also a recipient of a Paul Harris Fellow.

John was an avid cyclist and a member of Team Journey participating in the "MS 150" benefit ride for Multiple Sclerosis. He was very proud of his substantial fund raising goals he accomplished with this particular benefit. Son of the late John Hobgood Sr. and Lucille Adornato Hobgood; he is survived by his daughter, Ashley Carunchio and her husband Michael of Smyrna, DE; his son, Bryan Hobgood; his fiancee, Carol Stasko and her children, Nicole Mazurick and Jamie Stasko; his sister, Rozanna Cupo and her husband Anthony; a niece, Cassandra Cupo and his extended family of cycle club "Team Journey."

John's funeral will be held 9 a.m. Thursday at Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Directors, 650 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. at the Church of St. Ann, 1253 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville. Burial will be in the Lawrenceville Cemetery. Friends may call Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Central and South Jersey Affiliate, 2 Princess Road, Suite D, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 or to the Montgomery-Rocky Hill Rotary Foundation Inc., PO Box 333, Rocky Hill, NJ 08553.

New Jersey Triathlon Results

The results are in. I placed 3rd in the Clydesdale Division with a time of 2:31:33. Well, this is still not official as when they handed out awards today at the race site, I was listed as 4th place finisher and someone else got the third place award. Either way, it was still a Personal Record (PR) for an Olympic Distance Triathlon. PR by over 13 minutes. If the web site turns out to be correct, it will the first time I've ever placed at a race. The race was the Regional Club Championship, too... so there were a lot of good athletes there. For the fourth year in a row, the DC Triathlon Club won the Regional Club Championship.

Although this post won't be a race report, it will be a long entry. There are several things I have to write about.

Triathlon Gear


There is so much gear that is required for triathlon. One of my biggest fears is that I'll forget something. And, even though there is all this stuff, it is all necessary for a good race. For the swim you need goggles and a swim cap. I also need a nose clip and ear plugs. For the bike, you need a helmet and bike shoes. I also wear a fanny pack with an extra tube and bike tools in it. I wear sunglasses on the bike, too. For the run, you need run shoes, a race belt for your number and I wear a hat. Of course, you need nourishment, too. Race bottles, gel flasks and I also wear a heart rate monitor.



Funny Story
I get to the race site on time without any problems. I didn't have to sit in traffic and was there in plenty of time. I setup my transition area and then hob nobbed around and chatted with other club members. Then I sent to the porta potty. Then I hob nobbed around some more and then went back to my transition area. A USAT official was standing there and appeared to be looking at my bike. I nonchalantly walked up and he asked me, "Is this your bike?" I replied that it was and then he told me, "well, you're in the wrong rack." Sure enough, I was. If I was number 2041, I would have been in the right rack. Unfortunately, I was number 2401. So, there are like 10 guys standing around setting up their transition areas, witnessing this. I feel like a total boob but turn it into a comedy routine. "Just making sure you guys at USAT are on the ball." I then wear out that I'm growing old and may need help with the swim start time or directions on the course. "I get confused!" It was funny but still... after my fall the day before, I'm starting to get a little worried about my mental faculties.

Swim
This is the third open water swim in a row where I have felt no fear or nervousness. Totally oblivious to any risk. The total opposite of my first three open water swims as a triathlete. Essentially, I panicked each time. Now... don't even give it a thought. My swim cruised along today but the third turn had us going into the sun and I had a very hard time sighting. It definitely cost me some time as I slowed my stroke and also weaved a little.

Bike
I smoked the bike course. It was very flat and there was a little wind but not as bad as yesterday. There were a lot of turns, too. But, I felt great on the bike. I was anaerobic the whole ride. My average heart rate was 162! My average cadence was 97. I was really working it and kept a great pace. The fact that my bike time was only 19 seconds off that of Eric Goetz is very encouraging to me. I know he's still recovering from RaaM and Total 200. My time was only five minutes off that of the first place male.

Run
There is no doubt that I got stronger as we went along. The worst mile was the first. The best was the last. This is very encouraging as this is one area that I've been working to improve. Historically, I have faltered on the run. I want to have negative splits... where the second half of my run is faster than the first. I believe I did that today and I managed to run down some people in my division.

Triathlon in General
I love triathlon. I felt very happy to be out there today. I enjoyed every minute of it. I like the people, especially those in our Club. We have an eclectic group. The variety of the disciplines, the challenge of the clock and the other athletes and all the other idiosyncrasies such as gear, transitions and nourishment, just make it all the more interesting. I LOVE THIS SPORT!

I need to be careful not to rest on my laurels. This was a checkpoint on the way to my A race... Ironman Florida. Progress so far has been right on target and schedule. I need to stick to my plan so that I can achieve my true goal... 12:15 Ironman Florida time.

Live Report from NJ Triathlon Race Site

This is cub reporter Tj Collins breaking news from the site of the 2008 New Jersey Triathlon. The lake is nice but warm. 86 degree water dictates that wet suits will not be worn during the swim. The bike course is flat, fast and relatively uneventful. Some corn fields and some residential areas. I'm happy to report that I did a test ride with newly minted Ironman Joe Coyne.

Prior to that, I had done a half hour loop and wouldn't you know it... I fell off my bike at the end of the ride. In full view of like thirty people. I had returned from the ride, was riding up to the pavilion where you check in... I was looking at the signs for my race number range (I'm #2401)... as I had taken my eye off the road surface I didn't see the pile of sand that made me come to a halt and fall to my left. I skinned my knee and laid on my back and laughed out loud.



Extremely large contingent of DC Tri Club members are present and on site already. I think a full 10% of the race participants will be DC Tri Club members. Pretty awesome.

Trust the Taper

"The harder I work, the luckier I get." So said Sam Goldwyn who obviously never tapered for a triathlon.

It is undoubtedly one of the hardest things for the triathlete to do. Cut back on the volume and more importantly, the intensity of workouts. I've done it a couple of different ways... no activity at all... which I don't think worked out too well for me... and the opposite, training as if there was no race on Saturday (or Sunday)... leaving me a little gassed when exiting T2 on race day.

This week, I've been trying to do what I have been told to do. I rode Tuesday, but only for 15 miles. I kept my heart rate in Zone 2, for the most part. Yesterday's run was only about 7.5 miles and the average heart rate was 134. Just kind of trucking along. I lifted on Monday and yesterday. Last nights session left out a couple of lifts so I could keep the session to 35 minutes.

I took a tip I learned from this guy I rode with in Rehoboth on 4th of July weekend. He said on his EZ bike day, he rides his beach cruiser bike. That way, he CAN'T overdo as the bike simply won't let him. I got out my old Schwinn yesterday and rode it to the gym for the weightlifting session. I cruised around the neighborhood and up Sligo Creek Parkway for a little bit before cutting over to LA Fitness. So, I rode for about 20 minutes there and back. I didn't wear bike shoes (or a helmet!) and just dawdled around.

Of course, in my mind, I'm going... "this can't be good. I should have been at Hains Point this morning". "Maybe I can get in 20 - 30 miles Saturday on the bike course in NJ."

Relax TJ... TRUST THE TAPER.

So, here it is... 5:43 am on a Friday morning... I'm heading over to the YMCA for my Friday swim... low volume... low intensity. I'll probably do three 500s and call it a day. Nice and easy. Leave some gas for Sunday.

Murphy's Law of Triathlon

Recognize this feeling? It's the final week before a triathlon. Your one goal switches from training hard to avoiding a freak injury or getting sick. Household hazards appear out of nowhere. Strangers appear to turn in your direction and cough. Someone wants you to help them lift a heavy object and move it "over there". This is the plight of the triathlete and I suspect it happens to professional athletes, too.

So, Jessica Rose has come down with a virus and has been sick all week. Our nightly "tuck in bed and kiss goodnight" have turned into loud "good night" admonitions from the door. At work. a guy who works for me has been hacking up a lung all week. I won't let him in my office and I've been using a paper towel in my hand before opening any doors around the office. Then, last night, I took Mike W. down to Annapolis for the Sterling dinner and he announces as we pull away from my house that he's had a cold all week! I'm in a car with the windows up, recycling air with a guy who has the sniffles and is coughing!

Evidently, I am destined to come down with something. Normally the way this works is that the night before the race, the sore throat will start with a little sniffle, and then I'll wake up race morning and be achy all over. Great.

The week before Eagleman 2005, I got a sinus infection from swimming in Reston Lake at the Jim McDonnell Lake Swim and was not feeling well at all on race day. Ironman Florida 2006 found me with a crick in my neck. The kind where if you turn your head in one direction, it is uncomfortable and you look funny. Always a joy riding a bike 112 miles with a crick in your neck. And the swim! Of course the position of the sun dictated that I turn my head in the direction of the crick. The Thursday before Columbia 2007, Jessica Rose ran down the steps and jumped on me at the bottom, full force. Her leg jammed into my quad giving me a charlie horse that didn't go away until about three days after the race.

So, today is Thursday. I feel good now but I have a wary eye on events around me. Murphy's Law of Triathlon dictates that what can do wrong, will go wrong. Motorcycle ride, anyone?

Swim Team Banquet

I'm really proud of the Franklin Knolls swim team. My daughter made her first A meets this year and was a first place finisher in one of her meets. That was a first. The coaches were all great, all of the kids appear to have bright futures and the parents showed their commitment by volunteering and making sure it all happened. Even *I* manned the grill at a couple of meets and cooked for over 150 people in 90+ degree weather over a hot grill and did timing at a couple of meets.

But... golly gee... did the banquet have to be 5+ hours long? Last night, we were at Argyle Country Club from 5 pm to 10:15 pm. My opinion is that if a swim team banquet is longer than a high school graduation that there may be an issue with poor time management. Just my opinion...