Last year 70.3 Antwerp served as my entry into the international level competitions and it opened my eyes to the excitement and incredible feeling you get competing in major events like the Ironman series. One year later I feel like a totally different athlete and have been looking forward to Antwerp to demonstrate my current level of fitness.
In the 2007 edition I suffered dearly through the swim as I was still very new to swimming and had never swam with that many people before. Now with one more years experience and many many kms in the pool, I am much more confident going into the swim.
The bike course is not necessarily the best for me because it is very flat but it will still be an area where I can put time into the majority of the other competitors. Last year I had an average ride because of a knee problem giving me large amounts of pain. This year my injury situation is under control and my fitness is at a very high level. I expect to be pushing very hard during the bike in an attempt to start the run with the leaders or very close.
Running is how triathlons are won and I believe I am capable of a top 10 run time in Antwerp. The course is very flat and fast, which provides me a good opportunity to get into a rhythm that can bring me to the finish in around 1:15 (assuming the course is roughly 21.1kms).
In setting goals for any event I find it is helpful to have best case, average day, and salvage performance set out in advance. For Antwerp I am setting a lofty 'best case' goal of finishing on the podium. Based on last years times, and this years fitness, that seems achievable on a good day. Of course this is impossible to predict, but starting with that in mind helps give motivation. 'Average day' goal will be a top ten placing with a run under 1:20. This is achievable even if I am not at my best on race day. And finally the worst case scenario or salvage performance goal will be a top 20 placing if all goes wrong. Example of this would be a flat tire or cramps or something similarly destructive to my performance. I believe just trying to finish strong, no matter what happens during the race, has an important motivational impact for later races.
Last year I had something in between an average day and salvage performance with the knee problems slowing me down drastically during the race, and I still managed to finish around 20th place. This year I am very optimistic about my chances of having a good day where everything comes together. This whole season has been very positive in the sense that every event has had strong improvements in some of the disciplines, but so far I have not put together a complete performance. Now it feels like everything is coming together to allow a day where I really show my potential. With the added motivation Emilia and my daughter have given me during the past month, I am ready to give a top performance.
Stay tuned...
- darby
Monday, July 28, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Joroinen 1/2 Ironman SM
How do you explain quiting a race while still in a position to win? I don't expect most people to understand this because it is not a normal decision to make. However, when you consider the whole picture, this was the only option I was given at the Joroinen 1/2 Ironman Finnish championships.
Starting the race was even a big question as late as two days before the Saturday race. I had three main things to consider with the race: 1) my daughter was born only one week ago and I did not want to leave her and Emilia at home 2) the last 3 weeks I had knee pain from ITB syndrome, which had stopped me from running at all 3) the last month my training had been very poor because of a new job, a baby coming, and the knee problem. So understandably it was a big question if starting Joroinen was even a good idea.
But after Emilia and I decided it would be ok to travel with our little one, I decided to accept the risk that my knee might not work during the run. This was an important race to me even if I was not properly prepared. I really wanted to show I was capable of winning the national championships after last year's 2nd place. It would have been an honour to take the top spot of the podium in my adopted country's national championships.
The knee pain I had been dealing with was the worst kind. It was not possible to run through this kind of an injury because it gets worse every step and eventually the knee will stop moving completely. I had the same injury three years ago when trying to run my first marathon. I made the mistake then of running through the pain and I paid for it dearly with a mandatory 6 month vacation from any running. I knew better this time that stopping when it started to hurt was the only option if I wanted to race again this season. And with Antwerp Ironman 70.3 only three weeks away, I needed to keep this knee working.
Starting the race I knew there was a chance the pain would return, but I decided to try my best anyways. From the beginning of the swim I had a good feeling and quickly fought to the front of the field and settled into a rhythm. After lap 1 of 2, I was about 5th place and within striking distance of a few more. By the end of the swim I came out in about 4th place with my coach Mika Luoto, and made a fast transition onto the bike.
I knew the bike was my chance to get out in front, so I quickly settled into a fast tempo and began to pull back time on the early leaders of Jarmo Hast and Marko Törmänen. Unfortunately for Törmänen, a flat rear tire ended his race about at about 30kms. And by km 50 I had past Hast for the lead. I continued to push hard to the end of the bike to get as big a lead as possible over the chasing DRAFT GROUP.
Once on the run, I felt relatively ok, but awkward also because of not running at all for almost three weeks prior to the event. I started very slowly to allow my body a chance to warm up to running again. Then at the start of lap two began to feel the pain returning to my knee. I tried to keep relaxed in the hopes it would go away, but it was a losing battle. My knee was already locking by km 8 of the run, so I stopped to put my knee strap on in the hopes it would stabilize the problem. Unfortunately, two kms later when coming through the lap/finish area, the pain was getting to the point it would cause long term damage if I continued. At that point I still had a small lead over Hast, but I knew I could not run any more with this problem quickly developing.
I pulled to the side and took my number off. Game over.
I know I made the right decision to stop the race. Sacrificing my health and possible chances to race well in Antwerp was not worth it. I regret not being able challenge Hast for the win, but there will always be another chance. Plus with my current running fitness it would have been tough to out run Hast who is a well established Olympic distance racer.
The only bad taste left from this experience was with a few other people's comments regarding my withdrawal from the race. Some saw me stopping only because I was getting caught by Hast. This was simply not the case. But I can understand why it may have looked that way. I stopped just before the start of another 5km lap. I was not going to damage my knee for another 5km just so people wouldn't think badly of my decision to drop out.
I proved I am capable of leading after the bike and now need to focus on getting my running to function like it should so I can compete for the overall victory. I have no doubt that given proper training and injury free time, I am can race at the highest level.
I want to thank the organizers of the Joroinen race for putting together an amazing event. I will be back next year and hope to put on a good show for you!
Thanks for reading this ridiculously long post. I try to write more soon and will try to write a little less...
Best,
Darby
Starting the race was even a big question as late as two days before the Saturday race. I had three main things to consider with the race: 1) my daughter was born only one week ago and I did not want to leave her and Emilia at home 2) the last 3 weeks I had knee pain from ITB syndrome, which had stopped me from running at all 3) the last month my training had been very poor because of a new job, a baby coming, and the knee problem. So understandably it was a big question if starting Joroinen was even a good idea.
But after Emilia and I decided it would be ok to travel with our little one, I decided to accept the risk that my knee might not work during the run. This was an important race to me even if I was not properly prepared. I really wanted to show I was capable of winning the national championships after last year's 2nd place. It would have been an honour to take the top spot of the podium in my adopted country's national championships.
The knee pain I had been dealing with was the worst kind. It was not possible to run through this kind of an injury because it gets worse every step and eventually the knee will stop moving completely. I had the same injury three years ago when trying to run my first marathon. I made the mistake then of running through the pain and I paid for it dearly with a mandatory 6 month vacation from any running. I knew better this time that stopping when it started to hurt was the only option if I wanted to race again this season. And with Antwerp Ironman 70.3 only three weeks away, I needed to keep this knee working.
Starting the race I knew there was a chance the pain would return, but I decided to try my best anyways. From the beginning of the swim I had a good feeling and quickly fought to the front of the field and settled into a rhythm. After lap 1 of 2, I was about 5th place and within striking distance of a few more. By the end of the swim I came out in about 4th place with my coach Mika Luoto, and made a fast transition onto the bike.
I knew the bike was my chance to get out in front, so I quickly settled into a fast tempo and began to pull back time on the early leaders of Jarmo Hast and Marko Törmänen. Unfortunately for Törmänen, a flat rear tire ended his race about at about 30kms. And by km 50 I had past Hast for the lead. I continued to push hard to the end of the bike to get as big a lead as possible over the chasing DRAFT GROUP.
Once on the run, I felt relatively ok, but awkward also because of not running at all for almost three weeks prior to the event. I started very slowly to allow my body a chance to warm up to running again. Then at the start of lap two began to feel the pain returning to my knee. I tried to keep relaxed in the hopes it would go away, but it was a losing battle. My knee was already locking by km 8 of the run, so I stopped to put my knee strap on in the hopes it would stabilize the problem. Unfortunately, two kms later when coming through the lap/finish area, the pain was getting to the point it would cause long term damage if I continued. At that point I still had a small lead over Hast, but I knew I could not run any more with this problem quickly developing.
I pulled to the side and took my number off. Game over.
I know I made the right decision to stop the race. Sacrificing my health and possible chances to race well in Antwerp was not worth it. I regret not being able challenge Hast for the win, but there will always be another chance. Plus with my current running fitness it would have been tough to out run Hast who is a well established Olympic distance racer.
The only bad taste left from this experience was with a few other people's comments regarding my withdrawal from the race. Some saw me stopping only because I was getting caught by Hast. This was simply not the case. But I can understand why it may have looked that way. I stopped just before the start of another 5km lap. I was not going to damage my knee for another 5km just so people wouldn't think badly of my decision to drop out.
I proved I am capable of leading after the bike and now need to focus on getting my running to function like it should so I can compete for the overall victory. I have no doubt that given proper training and injury free time, I am can race at the highest level.
I want to thank the organizers of the Joroinen race for putting together an amazing event. I will be back next year and hope to put on a good show for you!
Thanks for reading this ridiculously long post. I try to write more soon and will try to write a little less...
Best,
Darby
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Baby Girl!
On July 4th, 2008, Emilia delivered us a beautiful and healthy baby girl! Mother and daughter are healthy and happy. We are extremely happy and can't even begin to explain how this feels. My head is still in the clouds!
As you can imagine, the weeks prior to the birth have been full of anticipation and restless nights. Now it has happened, it is simply amazing!
Understandably, I have been quite bad at updating this blog but hopefully I can quickly summarize the racing news now...
After Ironman 70.3 Austria, I took about one week of little or no training to recover. Two weeks after Austria was the Finnish short distance duathlon championships and it was one of my smaller goals for the year to win. Unfortunately, with a tough half ironman still fresh in my legs, I was unable to move one step higher on the podium from last year. Again, I was relegated to second by the strong Tuukka Miettinen who was in good form and tuning up for UK 70.3 the following weekend. While second place was not what I would have chosen, I did end up with a good consolation prize... a new motor scooter!
Next on the calendar was the Forssa 1/2 marathon, which was a last minute addition to my schedule as recommended by my coach Mika Luoto. I really do need to focus on my running as that is the only part holding me back from reaching my current goals. The event in Forssa is the 2nd largest running race in Finland and attracts many top runners. I took the tactic of trying to pace off Mika who was also targeting a 1:10 finishing time. After 10km I was on track with a time of 33:30 at that point. Unfortunately, the group I was in started to accelerate of a small hill and that was the end for me. Once I got dropped from that group my pace could no longer be maintained and I ran the remainder of the race by myself loosing time ever stride. Finishing in 1:14 was slightly disappointing, but understandable as I had no time to prepare for this event.
Next up was our club's own event the Juhannus or midsummer triathlon. While the event is small, we always make it competitive for the top spot and last year I was beaten by the veteran Kai Söderdahl. This year I was determined to win despite my very sore legs from the 1/2 marathon. I suffered through the choppy swim and put in a maximum effort in the bike to give almost a 2 minute lead in less than 20kms. Then it was just suffering through the run, which felt like hell from my sore legs.
About 10 days after the Juhannus triathlon was another small event in Kisko where I hoped to test my form. Once again, I got through the swim well and stayed with Mika then put in another strong bike to have more than 2 minutes advantage starting the 10km run. Everything was going well until the 2.5 km mark where there was a water station. I had no idea if there was 2x5km laps or one 10km out and back. So when I reached the 2.5km mark and did not see any sign to turn around, I kept running. The 2 people at the water station said something to me but never tried to stop me. After 500m I knew something was wrong. I turned around and stared to run back, but it was too late. My advantage over Mika had been erased and he was now about 1 minute infront of me. Angry was an understatement and I tried to push hard to make up the difference. In the end, Mika waited just before the finish line to give a sportsman-like finish and share the win.
Now, I have only one week before Joroinen 1/2 Ironman nationals. I had originally hoped to win this event after finishing 2nd last year. Now I will have to decide if I race at all. The combination of having a baby and some lingering leg problems from running will have to be balanced with my desire to win. In addition I am only four weeks away from my larger goal in Antwerp 70.3 where I hope to qualify for world championships. For now I will just continue to enjoy the time with Emilia and my new daughter, then decide later this week if I race Joroinen.
Thats all for now... time to get back to the hospital to see my ladies!
Best wishes,
Darby
As you can imagine, the weeks prior to the birth have been full of anticipation and restless nights. Now it has happened, it is simply amazing!
Understandably, I have been quite bad at updating this blog but hopefully I can quickly summarize the racing news now...
After Ironman 70.3 Austria, I took about one week of little or no training to recover. Two weeks after Austria was the Finnish short distance duathlon championships and it was one of my smaller goals for the year to win. Unfortunately, with a tough half ironman still fresh in my legs, I was unable to move one step higher on the podium from last year. Again, I was relegated to second by the strong Tuukka Miettinen who was in good form and tuning up for UK 70.3 the following weekend. While second place was not what I would have chosen, I did end up with a good consolation prize... a new motor scooter!
Next on the calendar was the Forssa 1/2 marathon, which was a last minute addition to my schedule as recommended by my coach Mika Luoto. I really do need to focus on my running as that is the only part holding me back from reaching my current goals. The event in Forssa is the 2nd largest running race in Finland and attracts many top runners. I took the tactic of trying to pace off Mika who was also targeting a 1:10 finishing time. After 10km I was on track with a time of 33:30 at that point. Unfortunately, the group I was in started to accelerate of a small hill and that was the end for me. Once I got dropped from that group my pace could no longer be maintained and I ran the remainder of the race by myself loosing time ever stride. Finishing in 1:14 was slightly disappointing, but understandable as I had no time to prepare for this event.
Next up was our club's own event the Juhannus or midsummer triathlon. While the event is small, we always make it competitive for the top spot and last year I was beaten by the veteran Kai Söderdahl. This year I was determined to win despite my very sore legs from the 1/2 marathon. I suffered through the choppy swim and put in a maximum effort in the bike to give almost a 2 minute lead in less than 20kms. Then it was just suffering through the run, which felt like hell from my sore legs.
About 10 days after the Juhannus triathlon was another small event in Kisko where I hoped to test my form. Once again, I got through the swim well and stayed with Mika then put in another strong bike to have more than 2 minutes advantage starting the 10km run. Everything was going well until the 2.5 km mark where there was a water station. I had no idea if there was 2x5km laps or one 10km out and back. So when I reached the 2.5km mark and did not see any sign to turn around, I kept running. The 2 people at the water station said something to me but never tried to stop me. After 500m I knew something was wrong. I turned around and stared to run back, but it was too late. My advantage over Mika had been erased and he was now about 1 minute infront of me. Angry was an understatement and I tried to push hard to make up the difference. In the end, Mika waited just before the finish line to give a sportsman-like finish and share the win.
Now, I have only one week before Joroinen 1/2 Ironman nationals. I had originally hoped to win this event after finishing 2nd last year. Now I will have to decide if I race at all. The combination of having a baby and some lingering leg problems from running will have to be balanced with my desire to win. In addition I am only four weeks away from my larger goal in Antwerp 70.3 where I hope to qualify for world championships. For now I will just continue to enjoy the time with Emilia and my new daughter, then decide later this week if I race Joroinen.
Thats all for now... time to get back to the hospital to see my ladies!
Best wishes,
Darby
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