Triathlon Race Series and Companies - Simplified

Today is the Hy-Vee 5150 Championship race. 5150? Hy-Vee?

The 5150 indicates it's the Olympic/International distance championship race for the 5150 series, owned by World Triathlon Company (aka Ironman). Hy-Vee is the sponsor, a chain of grocery stores in the midwest.

We are now in championship race season and it can quickly get confusing. There are a number of prominent race series - Ironman, Ironman 70.3, 5150, ITU, Xterra and prominent race production companies - Rev3, HITS, Challenge series. They vary on race distances offered, types of venues (i.e. city or amusement park), and drafting. I thought I'd take a few minutes and try to sort out some of the biggies for myself as well as others. Let me know if I've missed anything major or have anything incorrect. 

There are other race series in addition to the major ones I list below including many popular regional series. For instance, I participate in the Virginia Triathlon Series races as part of SetUp events. While there is no year-end championship race, they do offer overall and age group awards for season-end standings for each participant's five best races. I only race in USAT sanctioned events, which would include (I suspect) most of the races below.

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These are some biggies with championship races:

World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) - controls all things M-Dot branded. Races that use the same distances as Ironman, but that are not owned by WTC, are often called iron-distance or "full" triathlons. Similarly, half-iron or "half." The 5150 series corresponds to an Olympic or International distance race, with 5150 indicating a 1.5k swim, 40k bike, and 10k run. (Technically they are off by a factor of ten and it should be 51500 but that makes for an awkward logo). These races are all non-drafting (bike), and each of the race distances has a championship race.

• Ironman (140.6) - Championship is in Kona, HI
• Ironman 70.3 - Championship in Las Vegas
• 5150 - Championship in Des Moines

ITU World Triathlon Series - the International Triathlon Union series features draft-legal cycling, with multi-lap bike and run courses that are designed to be spectator-friendly. This is the style of racing that was used in the Olympics. The series culminates with a Grand Final World Championship, that is run as part of a multi-day event that includes World Age Group Championships, Paratriathlon, and Aquathlon. wts.triathlon.org

Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series - This features six non-drafting Olympic distance races culminating in the Toyota U.S. Open Cup race in Dallas Texas in October.  Noteable races include Nautica South Beach Tri, CapTex, and the Life Time Chicago Tri. www.racetothetoyotacup.com

Xterra - This is an off-road series of generally shorter races (i.e. 1.5k swim, 30k bike, 10k run) with single-track mountain biking rather than road biking, and trail running. There is a championship race. xterraplanet.com

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You'll see these series too, though none feature championship races.

Rev3 - The Revolution3 company focuses on "family fun" races that take place at amusement parks around the country. They offer one Full Rev (140.6), Half Revs (70.3) and Olympic Revs. rev3tri.com

Challenge Family Race Series - This is a European-based alternative to Ironman races, with primarily full-distance races and a few halves. They boast some of the fastest and most difficult courses including Challenge Roth, Challenge Cairns, and Challenge Barcelona. challenge-family.com

HITS Triathlon Series - This is an offshoot of the Horse Shows in the Sun group. This new race series offers a full "desitnation" weekend of racing with events at every distance from sprint to full and an "open" race of a 100m swim, 3 mile bike, and 1 mile run, that is free to enter. hitstriathlonseries.com



While the expansion of triathlon is terrific, one hopes it doesn't get so complex and fragmented that it turns people away. I've seen that happen in other sports. As an age-grouper, I'm glad to just race in anything USAT sanctioned and and leave it at that.

Matching run routes to mood and workout

Do you have run routes for different types of runs or different moods? I definitely do. Part of the fun of running for me is picking just the "right" place and the "right" route for each workout - rolling or flat, busy or quiet, loop or out-and-back, town or country, asphalt, gravel, or trail. Here are a few of my go-to places:

Valley road with wide bike lane, close to house -- This is where I run if (1) I want something easy, close, and quiet (2) I have intervals where I want to focus on effort and speed and not the surface or navigation.  It's smooth asphalt with wide shoulders and a bike lane on both sides, about 8 miles out-and-back, and perfect for dark winter morning headlamp runs. My brick workouts depart from here.

I've run and biked through this tunnel more times than I can count

Rails-to-trails Huckleberry Trail -- This 12 mile out-and-back suits weekend runs when I am feeling more social and want to be out amongst the walking-running-biking community. It's a small town so it's hard to run there and NOT know someone!

Main Street -- To watch the hustle and bustle of the world go by, I run on our main thoroughfare that stretches from the north end of town to the south, but there are a lot of curbs. It's not a good route to hit specific paces or intervals.

Pandapas Pond in the Jefferson National Forest -- I run here for the head and for the soul and to give the legs a break from the pounding roads. I've had some really transcendent moments on these trails. I've also had a few wipeouts  as well as one major navigation error resulting in an epic trail run.

The Annual Brush Mountain Breakdown race

Virginia Tech Track -- Although our (old) high school has a track, when I have serious speed work goals, it happens here. It's a gorgeous collegiate track, and more often than not, I have it to myself. This is where I hit my first sub-6 minute mile a few weeks back.

Virginia Tech Rec Fields -- The 40 acres of manicured recreation fields are perfect for strides. I am reasonably confident that the surface is level and hole-free so I can bound across shod or barefoot. It's alongside the Huckleberry Trail so I can combine the two.

Rural roads -- I used to really enjoy marathon-buildup long runs on the back roads, with water and fuel planted along the way. Last year, I did more in-town running for my marathon prep but it's nice to have this option.

Tour de Tailgates -- I usually run the November Richmond Marathon (not this year with Worlds), so often my long runs would coincide with football Saturdays. I'd plan to run through campus toward the end when I needed a "Hokie" boost, plus it was nice to have all those port-o-johns around if needed! (Tour du Tailgates blog post)

New River Trail -- This is a 57-mile long rails-to-trails that is packed gravel and quite scenic in sections as it meanders along Claytor Lake and the New River. I hit it for long runs, but I have to drive a ways to get to it. I have run for miles and miles without seeing a soul, which out there can be a little disconcerting.

Town/Campus -- My default standard aerobic running happens through town and campus. It's nice  after four years of running to have a pretty good idea of times and distances for various loops so I can head out without much planning. The Weight Club is just beyond the edge of campus so I can run before or after strength training and make better use of time.

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You really get to know your community by running (and biking) through it. You discover how the look, the smells, the sounds, the plants, the animals, and the "vibe" changes through the seasons. Times of the year for me are defined by things like scents of honeysuckle, bright yellow birds, fuzzy caterpillars, bunnies, and wild Hokies.

Rather than feeling like I spend my days going from one "Hobbit hole" to the next and missing all the in-between, I have a sense of inhabiting the whole community and not just my assigned parts of it. That sense of freedom to roam throughout my surroundings is a big part of what I love about running.

Race week niggles and hitches

Relieved after my Vermont Shake-Out Run

Bodies have a remarkable way of "knowing" things. Mine ALWAYS knows when it's race week. There's a definite pattern -- I feel tired and a bit lazy. I may get a bit irritable and out of sorts. And I become very aware of little niggles and hitches that heretofore had been unnoticeable.

The Monday before Nationals I had a short run that included some 5K pace pickups. Right from the start, I felt a definite tightness and pulling in my right calf and Achilles; that's not an area where I typically have trouble. I should have pulled the plug on the run but didn't (I need to work on that) and it was sore and tight. Frankly, I was worried.

I shared my concern only with my coach, close friend, and family. I was in to see my chiropractor and he concurred that it was tight and inflamed. I iced, gently stretched, and took care of it the next few days.

I did not run again until a short shake-out run in Vermont on Thursday. It was still tight but I felt it could at least get me through Saturday's Olympic race. If there was any question, I would pull out of Sunday's sprint.

I went on to race both the Olympic and the sprint without ANY problems or ANY thoughts of the calf whatsoever during the race or since. I PR'ed on both the 5K and 10K run legs.

What is up with that?

While the soreness and tightness were real, there's got to be an unconscious psychological element to it also. This is not the first time I've had a race week issue resolve "just in time" for the race.

I've learned my own race week patterns and I try just to deal with them, ignore them, or ride them out. It's like dealing with a temperamental child; giving them too much attention only makes things worse!

 

Flat Fixing Merit Badge - Earned!

Today I fixed my first flat. Luckily it happened right at the end of my ride.

I've had this fear that if I fix/touch/tweak anything on my bike, the bike will no longer be "as good" (fast, smooth) as it was before I fixed/touched/tweaked it.

I've watched the bike shop change my flats before but then as I tried to do it, I didn't remember which way the tire levers went in, if I was supposed to pull the bead out of the rim (yes, but just on one side), etc. Duhhh.

It seems to be fixed. I decided I needed to give myself a little "award" for finally fixing a flat, and none seemed to exist, so I made one. Feel free to award yourself the merit badge, or distribute to others who may need the motivation!

Poor little Roo :-(

Home Sweet Home, London, New Shoes

I got back late Monday and although it's been non-stop around here since, it's always nice to be home and part of the daily churn with the kids and family. I'm quite a homebody at heart. In the four days since I've been back, I've caught up on work, biked, swam twice, hit the gym, and had a trail running "meeting" with Coach Jim!

There's been a flurry of post-Nationals team activity (Endurance Films Racing Team), talking about new gear, sharing photos, and recounting events of the weekend.

The professional race photos came out (that was fast) and I spent the small fortune to get them. They really do a heck of a job. I put a few on my blog's photo link, but will include my favorite here. I don't know where these recent goofy finish line poses have been coming from, but I think it's clear I have fun out there.

We've already had to commit to our spot for London 2013, which meant I had to choose between Sprint and Olympic distances. While my best placings have been at the sprint distance, everything in me says go Olympic. Despite placings at Nationals (11th Oly, 3rd Sprint - which are only an artifact of who shows up to race), Coach Jim showed how I actually had a better race at the Olympic distance in Burlington. And if I'm going all the way to London, I want to be out on the longer course, to soak it all up!

I have a fun story related to London. My favorite author/triathlete Andy Holgate (Can't Swim, Can't Ride, Can't Run: From Common Man to Ironman is from northwest England. I've been following him online for some time and we exchange comments and follow one another's training and racing. He's a librarian, husband, dad, and age-grouper just like most of us, but with a true gift for writing (and predilection for odd and humorous things befalling him!).

When I found out about making Team USA for London, I thought of Andy, and immediately wanted to post a big "ANDY!! The family is coming your way, let's meet up!!" But online things like that can easily appear sorta creepy. As it turns out, he beat me to it, suggesting the same, perhaps arranging a trip to London for business and then to watch the race. By then his second book, a sequel, will be out and flying off the shelves (so read that first book now!). Of course, September 2013 is a long ways away, but I'll need that year just to learn the language (they say things like "knackered" over there). I appreciated the nice mention in his IronHolgs blog post too!!

Other things of the week...I broke down and ordered new bike shoes (another small fortune...sigh), identical to what I have. Despite repeated scrubbings and sun-baking, my four-year-old shoes that I largely use barefoot, well....let's just say taking them could be bad for US-New Zealand relations.

I'm also breaking out the backup pair of yellow running shoes! I ordered another pair of my favorite neon green stretchy Xtenex laces to go with them. There was some sort of snafu with my web order and the owner's wife called me. We got to talking, and I told her how I've probably bought 24 pairs of them and how the whole family uses them, and she sent me two extra pairs in neon yellow and silver! Awesome!! Seriously, these are THE best triathlon/running/hurry-the-kids-up shoelaces ever.

Not that I couldn't go on and on about shoes more.....but I shall stop.

Have a safe and happy weekend.