Portland Triathlon Almost Sold Out!

Well, that's what they're saying anyway.

So if you're interested, you better get on it fast.

Northwest Running and Triathlon Race Calendar

The Bellingham Bay Marathon is getting quite a reputation for great looking race shirts. The blue one is the 2011 shirt and the green is this year's version. They're just great looking shirts. Sign up while you can.

Let's race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 24th TO SEPTEMBER 30th

September 29th / Multnomah Falls Trail Run 5.6m / Corbett, OR

September 29th / Tread Lightly Trail Festival Run 8k / Helena, MT

September 29th / Enchanted Forest Wine Trail Run Half Marathon and 5k / Grants Pass, OR

September 29th / Team Red Lizard Stumptown XC 8k and 5k / Portland, OR

September 29th / Lions Strides Trail+Road 10k and 5k / Springfield, OR

September 29th / Trails to Health 5k / Raymond, WA

September 29th / Wild Moose Chase Trail Run 25k, 10k and 5k / Spokane, WA

September 29th / Race 2 the Summit Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Horseshoe Bend, ID

September 30th / Bellingham Bay Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k / Bellingham, WA

September 30th / Kirkland Triathlon Sprint / Kirkland, WA

September 29th / Albany 2 Rivers 10k and 5k / Albany, OR

September 29th / Summer's End Fun Run 10k and 5k / Covington, WA

September 29th / Puget Sound Classic 10k and 5k / Olympia, WA

September 29th / Bite of Broadview 5k / Seattle, WA

September 29th / The Naked Foot 5k / Seattle, WA

September 29th / Ridges Fun Fun 4m / Albany, OR

September 29th / Riverbend 5k / Springfield, OR

September 29th / Great Columbia Crossing 10k / Astoria, OR

September 29th / BIG Run for Medical Teams International 5k / Redmond, WA

September 29th / The Epic Grind 10k and 5k / Gaston, OR

September 29th / CFC Fun Run 5k / Bremerton, WA

September 29th / Richard's Run 5k / Medina, WA

September 29th / Run the C Trail 10k and 5k / Lake Stevens, WA

September 29th / Hope for Haiti 5k / Helena, MT

September 29th / The Color Run 5k / Portland, OR

September 29th / Tough Mudder 11m / Black Diamond, WA

September 29th / Ramble for Recovery 5k / Roseburg, OR

September 30th / Issaquah Rotary Run at Salmon Days 10k and 5k / Issaquah, WA

September 30th / Run of Hope Seattle 5k / Seattle, WA

September 30th / Sunset Run to Drums 10k and 5k / Seattle, WA

September 30th / Beat the Burn 5k / West Seattle, WA

September 30th / Scrubs Run 10k / Lebanon, OR

September 30th / Wilsonville 10k and 5k / Wilsonville, OR

September 30th / Run for Your Mama 10k and 5k / Bigfork, MT

September 30th / OTC Masters Ten Miler 10m / Eugene, OR

September 30th / CMY5k / Boise, ID

Shamrock Run Race Report!

Well, that was a hilly mother!

So why didn't anybody tell me the Shamrock Run 15k is just the Portland Triathlon Bike course run backward? Remember...the Portland Tri? Here, let me quote the important line from that post, "Finally, made it to the top and had a super fast, and a bit scary, long curvy downhill." Now remember that the Shamrock Run ran the course backward...yesh.

So anyway, back to the Shamrock Run. The best part of the whole race...I found a free parking spot about four blocks away from the start line. Score!

After watching about 14 waves go for the 5k, and standing freezing in the 35 degree weather, although nice and sunny, and wishing I had stayed in the car for about 20 more minutes, they finally called the 15k runners to the start line.

A few minutes later, we were off. From the start at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, we meandered through the city streets for about a mile before we hit the hill and I belatedly realized where we were running. Crap. I recognized the course from the Portland Tri and knew I had a long uphill staring me in the face.

I'm just not in good enough shape for a long, steady uphill like that. Rolling hills? Maybe. But this was no rolling - this was up and up and up and up.

Then we finally hit the halfway point and it was down, down, down. Ah, I love running downhill. A chance to go past all the people that blew past me on the uphill. And I got past a few. Felt good all the way to the finish...of course, there were no more uphills after the halfway mark.

Fought the same potholes on Naito Parkway that I fought when I rode my bike over them in the Portland Tri...I'm sure the City will fill those in any day now.

Finished up with a 1:25 time - about 10 seconds per mile slower than I was looking for, but with that uphill, I'm not feeling too bad about it.

Cool shirt and useful finisher medal. I'll get some photos and show them both off soon.

Water Bottle Ahoy!

So I opened up the mailbox this morning and there was a long, skinny box sitting there. Oooohh, and it's got my name on it! I love packages in the mail!

I give it a little shake...clank, clank, clank. Hmmm...sounds like metal.

I check for a return address. It's got a Portland address, but it doesn't say who sent it.

Oooohh, I don't love pipe bombs in the mail!

Hey, you know the blogging upper crust, of which I am surely a member, does draw some strange stalkers...maybe somebody out there doesn't like running. Or writing. Or AMERICA (wave flag in background now!)

Well, I don't like shrapnel, you pinko commies!

Drawing on my years of experience watching bad cop TV shows, I smack the box against the mailbox three or four times, hoping to dislodge the yellow wire...or maybe the red one...I don't remember which one you're supposed to cut.

Anyhoo, it didn't blow up, so what the hey, I opened up the box, and HEY, it's a Portland Triathlon stainless steel water bottle.

Odd.

There's no note or explanation of any kind. Just the bottle.

You know, I sort of remember some people walking around with these after the race. I figured they bought them or something. Now I'm thinking the, ahem, late-arrivers to the finish line didn't get one because they had run out for some reason.

But I've got one now, baby!

Last Portland Tri Post...I Promise!

You know, it's easy to figure out how the elite athletes train. Pick up Runner's World or head over to Running Times' website and they'll be only too happy to show you how the elite train. But, you want to see how an old guy, with two kneebiters at home, a normal 9-5 and a horrible addiction to dark chocolate trains? Where do you go then, right?

Right here, that's where.

Here's a little movie from the Portland Tri weekend showcasing my pre-race, race, and post-race. Note the extreme lack of preparation, confidence and sleep. Also note the large cheesey bagel in my hand shortly before the race - I swear to you, that thing was my wife's! I was just holding it! Listen closely to where I explain to Carson and Payton how the race organizers must be planning on getting us out of the water and back onto the dock, "They must put a ramp or ladder over it."

I'm so naive sometimes, it actually hurts.

Portland Tri T-Shirt Review!

"Flail, Flap, Flee...Triathlon is not for chickens!"

You have to like a race that has a sense of humor. And I've got zero complaints about this shirt. High-Quality tech, 55% Bamboo fiber, 45% polyester, a nice color that matches with everything, good graphics. And although it seems sort of silly to give away a long sleeve shirt in August, I'm sure I'll enjoy it in another month or so.

Overall:
A-

The Mayor of Portland owes Nick $3.99!

About that photo...

Nick over at A Year of Amazing Feats says he not only lost his water bottle, but also lost his tire kit while hitting one of the killer potholes at Sunday's Portland Triathlon. Hey Nick, I think I see it there!

The photo shows just a few of the water bottles lost in the huge cracks and crevices of the downtown streets of Portland. These were collected by a Portland Police Officer, stopping traffic at an intersection, where a particularly nasty pothole resided.

You know what I say?

The sidewalks don't have potholes - get off your bike and let's run!

RACES FOR WEEK OF AUGUST 31st TO SEPTEMBER 7th (Labor Day!)

September 5th / Scoggins Valley Olympic and Sprint Triathlon and Duathlon / Forest Grove, OR

September 5th / Lake Padden 10.35 mile Run or Relay / Bellingham, WA

September 5th / Umpqua Ultimate Olympic and Sprint Triathlon, Duathlon, 10k and 5k runs / Sutherlin, OR

September 5th / MTCC Garden City Olympic Triathlon / Frenchtown, MT

September 5th / Sunrise to Summit (3 cool but weird races - go to the website and check it out) / Bend, OR

September 5th / Titanium Man Olympic Triathlon / Richland, WA

September 6th / Steve Braun Memorial Sprint Triathlon / Eastsound, WA

September 7th / Little Cross 5k / Pasco, WA

September 7th / Wildwood Trail Trial 10k / Portland, OR

September 7th / Super Jock n' Jill Half-Marathon and 4 Mile Runs / Woodinville, WA

Portland Triathlon Race Review!

or...

This Little Piggie Had None.

Hey, I finished the Portland Olympic Tri yesterday, and today I'm only limping slightly with a sore left knee and a broken next-to-little-toe on my right foot.

A perfect race!

So let's review:

The race day started out beautifully. All signs pointed to perfect weather for a race, but then what would you expect for late August?

Temperature readings from earlier in the week had the Willamette at 72 degrees and I had all but talked myself into swimming without a wet suit. As I slouched around the transition area on the morning of, however, they announced the river temp at 69 degrees and I saw a whole lot of people suiting up...so I gave in. As you may know, the swim is the only reason for me to do triathlons, I don't need the extra buoyancy and I'm faster without it, but I'm also a bit of a wimp about cold water, so I usually err on the side of warmth.

As we gathered down by the river for our pre-swim briefing, I realized that the crowding in the first wave was going to be even worse than I had imagined. There were a lot of white swim caps around. Since we were starting the swim from a boat dock, with no ladders or ramp of any type to get back onto the dock, the race official giving the pre-race brief assured us, "we put a 2 x 4 under the dock and netting over the edge. Just put your foot on the 2 x 4 and pull yourself up with the netting. You'll pop right up," she said.

There was much laughter all around. Then we realized she wasn't kidding.

For some reason, they didn't let us down on the dock before the swim, so we had no warm up time. Ah well, with my total lack of preparation, warm up time doesn't really matter one way or another. So we went straight down to the dock, jumped into the water and had about two minutes to try to find enough room to line up over 150 of us along the dock. As we all squeezed along the dock, holding on with one hand, they started a countdown from ten. When they got to five, I thought, "I'm not going out with this mass hysteria. I'm fast enough in the water, I'll just wait for these guys around me to take off, then I'll get behind them and pick my way through once everyone loses their early speed. 5,4,3,2,1...go! I hang there and look at the guys beside me...they hang there and look back. No one is moving. Everyone is staring.

Crap. I take off.

And immediately get into a maelstrom of arms and legs. I got to the front left pretty quickly, but not before I kicked some guy, really hard, in his leg (I think - it's hard to tell one wet suit part of the body from another). So under the Hawthorne Bridge and to the turnaround without trouble. It was pretty cool, you could hear the cowbells they gave out ringing from up on the Bridge as you swam under it. Then back under the Hawthorne Bridge on the way back to the dock. And there was the netting...and the infamous 2 x 4. I got my foot on it and realized a small problem - it was about a foot from the top of the dock...if it were two feet lower, it would have done some good. I struggled up the netting and went across the timing mat at 23 minutes and change. Good enough.

Into T1, and the first thing I do is forget to unzip the calf zippers on the wet suit before I tried to pull it down off over my feet. Crap. It's been too long since I did a tri with the wet suit. I yanked it back up to my waist, undid the zippers, and yanked it back down again. Threw a shirt and my helmet on and I was out onto the bike course.

The bike course consisted of three 8-mile loops. Started at with a slight uphill, then a little steeper uphill, then a short but nasty uphill that had some people throwing their chains. Finally, made it to the top and had a super fast, and a bit scary, long curvy downhill. Two 180 degree turns, which are never welcome in a bike race, and a section of potholed downtown streets where I almost lost a wheel were some highlights, but over all the bike course was decent. I'm just slow.

Felt a little tired on the first loop, really good on the second loop, and my bum started to hurt by the third loop. After dodging one biker that just fell over right in front of me going up a hill, I finally finished up the bike leg.

Into T2 and I was dragging a little bit, but got the running shoes on and headed out.

The run leg was fun, with us doing two 5k loops. First across the Hawthorne Bridge, then down to the Steel Bridge and back across the Willamette for the return trip. The first loop was full of runners, but not so many on my second loop...I was clearly bringing up the rear. By that time the sun was out and the scenery was fantastic.

I also had a serious pain in my toe by the second run loop. I figured it was just a cramp...until I finished the race and saw how bruised and swollen it was. That's right! I kicked that guy during the swim. Man I hope I didn't break it, but it doesn't look too good.

So anyway, a good race with a few quirks, but overall, a winner.

Still to come, a review of the very cool race shirt, and a iMovie of the Portland Triathlon!

Portland Triathlon Results Now Up!

And a race report is coming soon.

Check out the results right here:RESULTS

Is this the new math?

OK, what?

I mean, just...what?

So we got an e-mail from the Portland Triathlon yesterday, stating that they had split us up into our waves for the swim leg. Cool beans, right? So I check it out. Hmmmm...they split the Olympic Tri Swim into two waves. OK, that's over 100 per wave, seems like a lot of people in the River, but whatever. Then I look more closely. They've got us split up into two waves alright: men and women. Hmmmm...OK, that's not so good. That means the women's wave will have 69 swimmers (good, good) and the men's wave will have (wait for it) 144 swimmers! Wait...what?

Come on...that's really the best they could come up with? 144 guys - in the Willamette River - starting at the same time - beating and smacking each other for the first 500 meters...I'm not real happy about that.


The Willamette River temperature is up to 72. I'm happy about that! I might just do it without a wet suit.

One Week to the Portland Triathlon!

And I had my last long workout before I start to taper a bit. Went to Dixon today to do all three legs, but they had already closed the pool for the annual maintenance work...Doh! OK, so we'll do a bike-run brick instead! Did a 20-mile bike and a 5-mile run. Didn't feel too bad. I think as long as I rein myself in during the swim and the early part of the bike, I'll be ok next week. Looks like we've got 206 in the Olympic race and 231 for the Sprint, but you can still sign up on the day of the race! So get out there! Swimmin' in the river! It just doesn't get any better than that! I'm really using a lot of exclamation points!

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF AUGUST 24th TO AUGUST 30th

August 29th / Hells Gate Duathlon / Lewiston, ID

August 29th / Another Dam Run 5k / Cascade Locks, OR

August 29th / CIS Whatcom Race for Education 5k / Bellingham, WA

August 29th / Lake Sammamish Sprint Triathlon / Issaquah, WA

August 29th / La Center Centennial/Our Days 5k / La Center, WA

August 29th / Newcastle 5k / Newcastle, WA

August 29th / Run-a-Muk 10k and 5k / Mukilteo, WA

August 29th / Foster Kids 5k / Redmond, WA

August 29th / Run for Your Rights 5k / Bellingham, WA

August 29th / Cutthroat Classic 11.1 miles run / Winthrop, WA

August 30th / Tails of Summer 6 mile run / Portland, OR

August 30th / Paws in the Park 5k / Tacoma, WA

Two Weeks and We're in the Willamette...

A scant two weeks until we're in the, hopefully, clean water of the mighty Willamette River for the Portland Tri! I swam a 1500m in the pool today in just over 27 minutes. Not great, but I'll take it. The River swim will be a bit different than the pool though. I've done swimming races in pools, lakes and oceans...this will be my first swimming race in a river. Bring it on!

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF AUGUST 17th TO AUGUST 23rd

August 21st / Aquaman Duathlon / Richland, WA (Friday night swimmin' and runnin')

August 22nd / Running with Hat-titude / Corvallis, OR

August 22nd / Booking It 5k Run / Lakewood, WA

August 22nd / Anne Jackson Memorial 10k and 5k / Burlington, WA

August 22nd / Kelly Butte Classic 8k / Springfield, OR

August 22nd / Tase T. Lentil 5k / Pullman, WA

August 22nd / Run Like a Dog 5k / Olympia, WA

August 22nd / Snoqualmie Railroad Days 10k and 5k Runs / Snoqualmie, WA

August 22nd and 23rd / Apple Capital Sprint and Olympic Duathlons and Triathlons / Wenatchee, WA

August 23rd / Portland Triathlon, Olympic and Sprint / Portland, OR

August 23rd / Summer Madness Sprint Triathlon and Duathlon / Elma, WA

August 23rd / Lake Union 10k / Seattle, WA

Thanks to Eve for the Photo - go visit her site already!

No backing out now...

Yes, it's official - I'm on the Portland Triathlon Confirmed Entries page. Me and 130 others for the Olympic race, at this point. It looks like about 118 are signed up for the Sprint race. Still about a month away, so lot's of time for YOU to sign up.

This race has a ton of truly "green" features that other races should emulate. First, you can agree to buy Carbon Offsets for your travel to the race. I only have to drive about an hour, so my offset was all of 26 cents. The biggest "green" offset donor so far: Matt Worstell, WE SALUTE YOU! Matt is traveling from New York, NY (the city so nice, they named it twice) and he decided to pay $28.87 to cover his carbon output to get to the race and back. Nice job, Matt!

There's also the Bamboo Race Shirts! I've never had a bamboo shirt before...I'm a little bit excited.

Bike racks from surplus steel and bamboo.

And one of the absolute coolest features: body marking (race numbers on arms and legs) by the Portland Society of Calligraphy! Now that's High-Fallutin Body Marking!

Check out all of the Portland Triathlon's sustainable efforts here. They're really going all out. I think they should be commended and I think you should sign up immediately and race this baby!


Photos courtesy of the Portland Tri. Swimmin' in the mighty Willamette!

Portland Triathlon six weeks away...

My first Olympic Tri of the year is a short six weeks away. I'm not ready to do it now...will I be ready in six weeks? One way to find out.

Let's run.

RACES FOR WEEK OF JULY 20th TO JULY 26th

July 25th / Lake Como Off Road Triathlon / Darby, MT

July 25th / REI Peak Challenge 5k / Eugene, OR

July 25th / Manzanita Beach 10k and 5k run / Manzanita, OR

July 25th / Padden Duathlon / Bellingham, WA

July 25th / Samish Bay Bivalve Bash Low Tide Mud Run / Bow, WA (the toughest 250 yards you'll ever run - kneedeep mud)

July 25th / Seafair Torchlight Run 8k and 5k run / Seattle, WA

July 25th / Enumclaw Street Fair 5k / Enumclaw, WA

July 26th / XTERRA Wild Horse Creek Offroad Triathlon / Bozeman, MT

July 26th / Headwaters Half Ironman Triathlon / Three Forks, MT

July 26th / Seaside Beach 10k and 5k runs / Seaside, OR

July 26th / Lacamas Lake Half-Marathon and 4 mile runs / Camas, WA

July 26th / Swedish SummeRun 10k and 5k runs / Seattle, WA