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Land Between the Lakes Triathlon (1/4 Mile Swim, 19.8 mile bike, and 4.2 mile run) May 20, 2007 Pre-race I came down to Albert Lea on Saturday as I was teaching two different clinics in conjunction with this race. Since I needed to be an expert on the course, I needed to check out the course on Saturday, which was not ideal the day before. The swim was not too bad, but the cumulative total of the swim, bike and the hard training I'd done the day before left me feeling less than fresh. Oh well, I was there to put forth a hard effort, results being whatever they may be. I briefly awoke at 5am and was happy to see that the forecast of thunderstorms was not a reality. After going back to sleep, I got a rude awakening a mere hour later as I was worken up with the loud sound of thunder clapping overhead. We were under a serious storm and I was not sure the race would be going off at all. I tried hard to get myself motivated but it was hard with the poor weather. Eventually I got my truck loaded up and got some coffee going and things were looking better. After driving through a few spots of minor flooding on my way to the race, I was happy to see that the weather got a lot better by the time I'd gotten to th race site and started getting ready. Maybe we'd be racing after all. As the weather got better, it looked like we'd be a go and I was happy to hear it. I did a short warm up, and got myself pscyched for some triathlon fun. I was in the second wave and got into the water a little early to make sure it was not too much of a surprise. Even if the water temp was abnormally high for late May in Minnesota, it was still a good bit cooler than a pool and I didn't want to be too surprised when the race started. I lined up towards the back of my wave, not confident in my swimming and was soon off. All was going okay for the first couple of minutes as I got moving and kept out of harms way. Then my chest started to bug me in a huge way. Bug is not the right word, I suddently felt an immense amount of pressure in my chest that largely prevented me from breathing well and keeping my face in the water. This is the second race in a row that this has occurred and I've got to figure it out as I was only able to side stroke and/or do the survival stroke through the rest of the swim. I am not a great swimmer but this was not even a swim. I'm not sure what I did but I'm not going to be doing that again at a race. After what seemed like a long time, I exited the water and headed for the transition area. After getting the wetsuit off in a reasonable amount of time, I was happy to see my bike. I love to ride and the weather had gotten much better so some time on the bike was looking like a nice change of pace. I jumped on my QR, which I like "black beauty" and was off. After a couple of hundred yards, the course includes a steep hill and I felt pretty good as I went up. The power meter was not crazy high and I was moving along okay. I tried hard to not dwell on the swim fiasco, but it was hard for the first few miles. I eventually got my mind where it needed to be and was moving well. The bike course here is real nice, generally good road surface and not too technical. The interesting thing is that at race pace the course seemed much flatter than it had in training. I stood for several climbs when I checked out the course the day before while on raceday I stayed seated and aero far more. Some of that was diliberate but some of it was the product of the fact that I was going faster and when you're moving quickly, false flats just don't influence you as much as when at training speed. As I neared the end of the ride, I knew I'd done what I could on the day. I had looked at the average watts on my powertap a few times and while it was a bit lower than I'd thought it would be, I was sure I'd done a good effort on the day. I came into T2 and was feeling pretty good. I got off the bike, grabbed my visor, sunglasses and number after changing my shoes and was off. Immediately after starting to run, I felt pretty good. I knew I was moving reasonably well and I knew I could keep up the pace for the 4 miles. I was a little disappointed when someone passed me early in the run but he stayed pretty close in the coming miles, and while I was not happy about being passed, I kept him close throughout the rest of the run. The run course at this race is great! It runs by the lake, with nice views, and includes a good amount of tree cover as well. While I would not say I was enjoying myself, who can when trying to run as fast as you can in a race?, I was doing what I wanted to be throughout the run. After about 1.5 miles, I let myself open up the tri suit all the way and I immediately felt better as breathing got a bit easier. I often hold off opening the tri suit until about halfway throught the run as it has a nice way off making me feel a little better at a point in the race when things start to get a little tougher. As I got close to the finish, I knew I was doing a good job of marshalling my effort. I was not getting passed and I knew that I could not go much faster without blowing up before the line. As I hit the last hill, I gain on a guy and I really want to pass him. As we head down the other side, he gets a little gap on me, which is unusual for me as I am a good downhill runner. I hold tough and push up to his shoulder with about 1/4 mile to go. I speed up to pass and keep the effort going to the line and beat him by a few seconds as he can't respond to the move. When I cross the line, I know I've done what I can. There wasn't any more to give on the day and I'm pleased by that fact. Post Race Review All in all this was a good performance. I didn't race as well as I might have with a more appropriate last week of training but that was not the goal here. I wanted to get in some training and race. And that I did. A thorough review of the power file suggests that I did a reasonably good job of marshalling my efforts. The first thing I immediately noticed when I looked at the power file, which you can find here, is that I did not produce that much power during the race. I estimated my Funtional Threshold Power (FTP), the number of watts I could hold for an hour, to be about 265. In a race of this length, I would likely be able to hold close to FTP as the swim and run were relatively short. Well that certainly did not happen. I averaged 244 watts and had a norm power of 251. While these numbers were at first disappointing, I'd hoped to do more, they make sense given the training that I'd done in the days leading into the race. I also find it very important to look at smaller segments of races to see how my power output changed over the course of the event. At first glance, this review suggests that I paced poorly. I averaged 8 more watts for the first half of the ride than I did the 2nd half. In the first half I averaged 248 while in the second half my output had dropped to 240. I am not sure I accept the idea of poor pacing, however, for two reasons. First, my speed increased from the first half to the second half. I averaged almost 2 mph more in the second half of the ride than I did in the first, due to wind. I also did not increase the gap between my average power and my norm power (Variability Index). Typically my athletes will show an increase in VI when in the midst of a power fade brought on by too much work too early in a ride. My VI was constant throughout this whole ride. The final reason that I don't think I rode too hard too early was my run split. It was not fantasitic but was well in line with what I expected it to be. I felt pretty decent and knew I was moving along okay given my training. In short, I was not paying for the bike ride more than I should have been on the run. In the end, I may have been a tad faster if I'd averaged a bit fewer watts earlier in the ride and few more at the end, but that was pretty minor. I did what I could on the bike with the fitness I had on the day and I am happy with that. I really enjoyed this race, come and give it a try next year. See
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January 23 Upcoming Dig It Triathlon and Multisport lecture for the Lakes Area Multisport club on Racing Selection and Season Planning. if you're in Brainerd area on Thursday, January 26, make sure to come. Email Jason for full details. January 16 The cyclocross racing spectacular contined with Coach Jason in Louisville, KY for the UCI Masters Cyclocross Championships.
It was a great weekend of racing, though some tough conditions and competition had Jason ready to go home and train even harder for next year. Check out the mud on the bike.
Jason post race with his finisher medal (muddy of course), and a lot of the course still on his bike. January 9 Coach Jason's been doing some cyclocross this fall and "winter." He was in Madison, WI this past weekend for the USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships. It was a fun and hard weekend, just like cross is suppose to be.
Above is the Dig It kit with pinned number. Always exciting to be putting on a National Championships number.
Above an upward look at one of the uphills on the course, in much better shape than when Jason got to experience it.
Here is the bike on the verge of taking the start. Not the dirt and grime and that's after being pressure washed a few times. January 1 Dig It Triathlon and Multisport wishes you a Happy New Year. If this the year for athletic improvement, we're here to help. December 15 Dig It Triathlon and Multisport's Threshold Thursdays (TT) has begun. It's a free, Facebook based workout group dedicated to training bike threshold. Coach Jason analyzes his first TT session in the article below..
December 12 The 2012 racing season is beckoning. Dig It Triathlon and Multisport and the Buffalo Triathlon are teaming up for a 5 week Introduction to Triathlon Course. Details on the race site at www.tribuff.com/active_training.htm Coach Jason in action at the Badger Cross in Madison, WI yesterday. With only 4 weeks until cyclocross nationals, it was great chance to check out the course on a day with crazy nice weather (for Wisconsin in mid December). December 8 The Dig It Triathlon Facebook page is now live at www.facebook/DigItTri We have a new training group, Threshold Thursdays, starting up. A free workout is presented each week for all who join. November 21 At Ironman Arizona, Andy has a great race, knocking over 40 minutes from his PR and getting oh so close to a Kona slot in the toughest of AGs. Coach Jason has a great time at the MN State Cyclocross as well. November 8 Dig It's Jill rocks the NYC Marathon. Wow, what a month for Jill as she climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and then came home and ran a great marathon. Major props! Coach Jason had some fun at the VeloCX in MN as well this past weekend. October 31 Despite a lack of updates on our part, it's been a busy October for Dig It Triathlon and its athletes. Dan had a solid run at the Marine Corp Marathon with a PR, Kathy rocked the Toyota Cup Tri in Dallas, Coach Jason was in Colorado for a coaching conference. Last and certainly not least, Jill and Cliff put their endurance training to a real test and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa. Now that's how you celebrate a special event! To Learn more about Jason's confernece
October 16 Coach Jason in action at the Cross at the Y in Hudson, Wisconsin
today. A fun event. Here Jason gets ready for some cross fun. October 2 It was great to hear that Dan broke through with his first multisport overall win today at the Half Full Tri in Maryland. Way to go Dan, can't help but love the podiums with Dig It on the top step!
Dig It family also in action at the Twin Cities Marathon, doing our annual 5K time clock volunteer duties.
September 25 The Dig It crew was in action at the Duathlon World Championships in Gijon, Spain today. Rob, Greg and Richard flew their national colors (USA, UK, and USA respectively) for strong races amidst serious competition. Nice work, gentlemen!
Above Rob rocks the run. Below Greg on the bike.
September 18 Coach Jason's cyclocross skills clinic was a big success as we got our CX groves going, and it even rained. Nothing says cross like cool temps and rain. September 11 In Madison, Eric had a strong debut Ironman with a well balanced swim, bike and run. Way to go Eric!
September 10 As the multisport season wraps down, Rob and Tony showed great running fitness. September 4 Tony rocked the St. Croix Sprint Tri today, putting a great and fast end on an IM focused year. August 28 Today was an Ironman kind of day and Dig It's Lindsey was rockin' it in Canada while Keith kicked it hard for a great IM in Kentucky. Way to go crew. August 28 Dig It's Eric showed his fitness is there for Ironman Wisconsin with a 2nd AG placing at the Lakes Country Triathlon in northern MN one day after racing the Tri 111 event. Wow is all we can say. August 27 The inaugural Tri 111 in the United States was in Minnesota and Dig It was there with a strong showing. Andy went top 10 overall and Betsy and Eric were showing their fitness off as well. Nice job gang! August 27 Coach Jason was in action at the Big Ring Flyers TT near Hudson, Wisconsin. It was a great day and Jason had fun while doing his best and getting soundly beaten. Nice way to end the TT season nonetheless.
August 22 It must be a USA Triathlon themed week as Coach Jason's article on bike training into goal races came out in the USA Triathlon Coaches Newsletter and Dig It's Kathy and Dan rocked USAT Age Group Nationals with outstanding performances. Dan earned a berth on the World's team, always a tough ticket and a particularly challenging one this year. Way to go Kathy and Dan. August 9 Coach Jason taught a transitions skills clinic in Buffalo, MN tonight. It was a fun and useful evening. August 8 Always fun to wrap up a weekend when athletes reach new highs of performance as Kathy scoring another strong race and an AG win in PA and Andy notched up another win in MN, toping his own course record along the way. July 17 At the ever competitive Heart of the Lakes Triathlon in Minnesota, Cliff and Jill swelter to AG wins. Nice work! July 9/10 Across the world, literally, and Dig It athletes are having fun and getting it done.
Above Greg wins his division at a local duathlon in the UK.
Kathy scores an AG podium at the Lifetime Minneapolis Triathlon. Dan wins his AG with a 4th overall at the DITR in Maryland. In Colorado, Lindsey had fun racing the the Boulder Peak Triathlon even while living at sea level. July 2 The month might be on its second day but Dig It athletes are already rockin' as Jill scores an AG win at the Minneman Triathlon. June 27 Dig It's Betsy and Tony had great races at Ironman Couer 'd Alene. Dig It couldn't be prouder of these two as they braved a rough winter here in MN for some great training that carried over to successful races. June 21 The Nature Valley Grand Prix was a great time with bike racing fun run amuck. Jason's got a report about it and a TT.
Jason was in action too, as you can see at the Tuesday Night TT.
June 13 Ho hum, another summer weekend, another batch of strong performances from Dig It athletes. Eric, Josh and Tony show their fitness with great races at the Liberty Triathlon, Kathy earns another AG placing at Trinona with her 2nd in the 40-44 AG and Lindsey gets 2nd overall woman and 1st in her AG in Wisconsin. Well actually, weekends like this are never boring! Keep it up Dig It crew. June 7 Tri season is here and Dig It clients came out swinging. Kathy had a great race in Minnesota at the Buffalo Triathlon, taking minutes off her PRs from last year and Jennifer had a great return to multisport racing in Utah with a strong performance. June 6-8 Coach Jason in Colorado for coaching meetings with a bit of riding thrown in when possible.
Above Jason poses for a pic in Ward, Colorado a great ride up and out of Boulder. Note interesting decorations in Ward. May 22 GearWest Duathlon a big success as we had some great performances. May 21 Coach Jason's clinic at the Land Between the Lakes Triathlon was a success as Jason talked about race execution and various other topics in Albert Lea MN. Also of note, Dig It clients Rob and Richard officially in for Duathlon Worlds in September. They'll be rocking the Team USA kit in Spain, awesome work dudes! May 15 Duathlon season in full swin for Dig It crew and the great performances keep coming. In Minnesota, Cliff and Jill won their age groups with Jill 5th overall woman at the Lake Elmo Duathlon and Rob scored his first ever overall podium in Florida while winning his age group too. Nice job gang! April 30/May 1 Wow, what a weekend! In one of the best weekends of action for the Dig It gang ever, and we're not ones for exaggeration, this weekend will go down as a great one.
Dig It's Dan pictured below gets ready for his swim.
Coach Jason was in action to at the Tour of the Gila in New Mexico.
Coach Jason above in Dig It kit during day 3 of this stage race, his first. The article below covers the details.
April 18 On a day for the ages in Boston, Dig It's Jill ran a great Boston Marathon today. Nice work Jill! April 17 The first of Dig It's bike skills clinics was a big success. We fun and improved bike awareness and riding skills.
Above Jason and Eric pose with some of the orange cone course visible in the background. April 2/3 Dig It's duathlon racing gang in full swing as Richard shows off the Dig It shorts in Florida and Greg kicks to a great race in the UK.
March 14 Let the racing begin! Dig It's Dan has a great debut duathlon with a 5th place overall and an AG win in Maryland and the MN crew threw down some good runs at the local 10 miler. All in the name of St. Patrick's day. Weekends like this make us proud! February 4 One of the age old questions regards doing versus teaching. In
triathlon, the particulars relate to coaches and their athletic accomplishments.
Coach Jason writes about it in his article, "Athletic Success and
Coaching, Is there a Connection? January 30 The great performances are starting already as Betsy and Richard rocked the Miami Half Marathon today. It was a great way to start the season and we're expecting great things from these and all the Dig It athletes. November 29 Coach Jason had a roller coaster cyclocross season with some
high highs, such as highest placing ever in a bike race and an category
upgrade, and some low lights. A good way to think about it was these two
images. As the cliche goes, it was the best of times, it was the worst
of times...
November 22 Tony had an impressive race at Ironman Arizona after battling a nasty bug in the last 2 weeks into the race, Tony used his fitness to a PR time, nice work Tony! October 15 Coach Jason’s thinking about 2011. It’s a time of the year when athletes look back on their racing and make plans for the following year. Jason’s got some thoughts on racing goals and the article, “Is Longer Better?” goes into more details. October 10 The multisport season is winding down and the Dig It crew is showing the world how to end a season. After raising her game all fall, Kathy goes to the US Open Championships in Dallas and scores an impressive 2nd place in her AG and top 25 among all the women and she’s only been doing this a year. Watch out 2011!
October 3 On a glorious fall day, Jill rocked the Twin Cities Marathon and Cliff did the same to the 10 miler. Another fall weekend, another great batch of Dig It performances. While it is routine, it never gets old! September 12 Ironman Wisconsin this year was a great day for Dig It’s athletes with great weather and inspired performances from Andy, Betsy, Sean and Alex. With determination and joy they swam a long way, rode a long way and ran a long way. Great performances all around. Way to go guys, Coach Jason enjoyed being there and hanging with you as you rocked it! September 3 The setting for this year’s Duathlon World Championships couldn’t have been better as the event was in Edinburgh, Scotland. Dig It’s Jill and Cliff made the trip and were in action. Jill had a great race and Clifford did his best as he caught a flu bug the day before but hung tough and finished. You don’t go all that way to DNS. Impressive display on both accounts September 1 Apologies for the lack of updates, we're working on a few look Dig It site with expanded features and educational content. A short recap of the summer's accomplishments among the Dig It gang includes more PRs than I can recall, numerous world championhip qualifications in duathlon, at the Olympic and half IM distance. Athletes got on the podium for the first time, won races, moved up to the elite field and no matter their place in the field just had a lot of fun using their fitness to the fullest. The fall's racing looks great as well, watch out Duathlon World Championships, Ironman Wisconsin, and races throughout the country, the Dig It crew is coming and ready to rock and have fun along the way! April 24 Duathlon Nationals weekend was a success for the Dig It gang. April 17, 18 and 19 A great start to the racing season for Dig It athletes across the country. Tony gets it done in the Big Easy at the Ironman 70.3 New Orleans, Debi grabs 5th overall woman and first master at a sprint tri in Virginia, the Minnesota gang throws down some great runs at the Trail Mix and last and certainly not least, Jill sets a PR at the Boston Marathon. Wow, this weekend would make many coaches proud for a given year and it's 3 days in April, awesome!
Coach Jason also raced, in green Nature Valley team kit, at the Durand Road Race, photo courtesy of www.skinnyski.com
April 13 Dig It now serves as an official coach/dealer for Quarq power meters. Contact Coach Jason for pricing details.
Here is the first order on Coach Jason's bike.
March 27 Dig It's Lindsey has a great day in Oceanside at the California 70.3 to grab her first ever world championshis slot. Way to go, Lindsey! March 27 Coach Jason leads clinic for GearWest tri club on duathlon performance along with Kevin O'Connor. March 13-14 Coach Jason was in Texas for a USA Cycling Coaching clinic on teaching bike riding skills. It was great, watch here for an upcoming clinic on bike handling.
Above Jason poses with camp participants outside in the sun, yeah Texas! December 3, 2010 Coach Jason reflects on training in the off season.
November 22, 2009 Dig It's Dan made his Ironman debut in Tempe at Ironman Arizona. He might have been new at the Ironman distance but Dan was fast and had a great performance. Nice job Dan! October 3 and 4 Minnesota cyclocross season is underway and rolling. Michael and Coach Jason got their seasons going with some fun and hard racing this weekend.
Michael in action at the Hudson CX. Photo courtesy of skinnyski.com.
Jason at the Planet Bike Orono CX race. Photo courtesy of Seth Iverson Photo.
September 26, 2009 It was a wet and tough day for everyone at the ITU World Short Course Duathlon Championships. Dig It athletes were out to play and did what they could on a challenging course in the midst of a downpour.
Debi is among this group of fast ladies before the skys opened again.
Here Justin Hurd closes in on the transition after a speedy first run. September 13 Wow, what a day for the Dig It gang. Debi was 12th overall, and 3rd woman, at a sprint tri in Virginia. Maria set a new half marathon PR in Chicago, and Forrest set a 5K PR by over a minute in Kentucky. Oh and then there was Ironman Wisconsin which was the scene of outstanding performances by Andrea, Lindsey and Henry. A successful debut and 2 PRs made it quite the day in Madison. Jason was there to cheer and take it all in.
Here Coach Jason hangs with Andrea after the race.
May 31, 2009 Dig It's friend Justin Hurd captures the US National Long Course Duathlon Championship today in California at the World's Toughest. National Champ baby, that's a good thing to call one's self!
Photo courtesy of Auburn Events October 11, 2008 Justin Hurd, who Coach Jason advises, shows shows his strength at IM Hawaii. On a challenging day, for the big island no less, Justin did great in his first attempt at the World Championships as a pro. September 28, 2008 Jason in racing mode at the ITU World Duathlon Championships in Italy. It was a fun day of action.
Here the bike awaiting its trusted rider.
September 27, 2008 Jason serves as Assistant Coach with the elite athletes of Team USA at the ITU World Duathlon Championships in Rimini, Italy. It was a fun day filled with great competition for Team USA.
Here is the women's team poses for photos immediately after their finish.
October 6 Coach Jason wins the inaugural Kickin' Leaves Duathlon in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The new race had a small field but a great course. Hope everyone can make it there next year.
Jason poses with bike and trophy at home after the race.
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