My Life - The Triathlon Way
Great Buckeye Challenge Race Report
After a long week on the West Coast I finally made it home late Friday evening just in time to load up the Nissan. Jen and I packed our gear most of the evening and retired to bed by 9:00 PM. Saturday morning came really fast and we were up and at em and back on the road by 7:00 AM heading West to Springfield Ohio. Springfield is located about 30 miles west of Columbus and was nearly a 4 1/2 hour drive. There were three of us (Jen, Clark and I) in the Xterra which the back of the SUV look like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Trying to fit three bikes, overnight bags and race gear in the car was quite an experience. None the less we made it to Springfield safe and sound around noon Saturday. We drove directly to the race site, checked into registration, drove the bike course and proceeded to do a 45 minute brick workout that consisted of a 30 minute bike and 15 minute run on the course.
The course was rural and had some rolling hills, nothing too big...nothing too small. By 4PM I was beat. This was not the way I should have felt going into a Half Ironman race so I knew I had to work with what I had going. Jen and I headed to Olive Garden for dinner (the all you can eat pasta). We were back in our room by 6:50 and I was asleep by 7:00 PM.
The alarm clock woke us up at 5:00 AM and after 10 hours of sleep I finally felt ready to race. The weather called for no rain but temperatures were going to be out of sight in the mid 90's. We arrived at the race about two hours early, set up transition and waited for the start. This was my second race of the season in the Elite Age group category so I knew I had my work cut out for me. The swim was a beach start, two loop rectangle swim. When the horn went off I sprinted into the water and was first to turn at the first buoy. I then put my head up and looked for the next sighting buoy. I couldn't find it so I just put my head down and swam straight. Two or three minutes passed and I sighted again and realized I was way off course. I readjusted and from this point on I swam really strong and straight. The heats were small so I didn't have anyone to draft off of in the swim. as I came through the first lap I glanced at my watch and it read 18 minutes. Are you serious? Okay, something here is off. I had planned on swimming around a 27-28 minute race and was already four or five minutes behind. I kept pace the second lap and exited the water in 36 minutes. Now I haven't swum 36 minutes in a long time so my only thought was "the swim course was long". Heck about 7-8 minutes long! When I came out of the water I had no idea what place I was in but the good news was, there were still lots of bikes on my rack. As it turned out I was in fifth or sixth and after the first 28 miles of the two loop course I had moved into 3rd place overall and was about a minute or two behind the leaders. I thought there there wasn't any point to push beyond my limit to catch these guys on the bike, and if I felt good on the run 2-3 minutes could be made up easily. Around mile 45 my legs started to revolt and my pace suffered slightly. With five miles remaining two guys passed me and I started the run in 5th place overall.
The first two miles of the run were right on pace (6:40 / mile) but I knew something didn't feel right. I was having some stomach cramping and my heart rate was through the roof. My legs felt fresh, but I didn't have the aerobic engine today to fight through the heat. By mile five I had passed one runner to move into 4th place but soon found myself walking. I still had eight miles to go and if I walked the rest of the way I'd be lucky to place top 20. Miraculously after a minute passed I started to feel better and I was able to run again. I was working hard to hold a very slow 8 minute mile pace. With four miles to go I saw the third place overall guy sucked it up and blew past him probably at a 6 minute pace. I wanted to make it look like I wasn't hurting at all and it worked. The gap grew to 10+ minutes the last four miles between me and 4th place and I began to look for 2nd. 2nd place was about four minutes ahead of me with 4 miles to go and I simply ran out of time. I had one of the slowest runs I've ever had at this distance so was somewhat disappointed. Regardless I placed 3rd overall even on a bad day.
I have two more races to round out the year. My next race is in about 4 weeks and will be a doozie. I'll be racing the Savageman Half Ironman which features over 5700 feet of climbing on the bike (including a 21% climb), a rough water swim, and one heck of a hilly run! I'll then finish off the season in Clearwater at the Half IM Worlds.
Here's to looking forward to the off season!!!
My flight got canceled :(
My flight left San Luis Obispo on time and on schedule, but US Airways simply can not go two for two on flights. Flying lately has been nothing but a hassle. I had to pay $150 to fly home a day early only to spend the night in Phoenix. They said the plane had mechanical issues, so I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. I wouldn't want to have a wing fall off at ten thousand feet. None the less my dealings with customer service were terrible. They are truly the worst in the industry. After about an hour I was placed on the 6:40 a.m. flight tomorrow morning, but could not be confirmed a seat. If I don't get on that flight I'm on a 10:30 flight through Philly (which if this is the case I might be renting a car and driving home). They gave me a hotel voucher for a Clarion hotel which is part of the choice hotels. After traveling 0ver the year's I've come to be very particular on where I stay, so I declined and am staying at the Hilton. The Clarion hotel didn't even have a restaurant. What do they want me to do? Eat out of the vending machine. Obviously I don't have a car, so driving somewhere is out of the question.
Okay so enough complaining. I'm just nervous because once I get home I still have to wash my bike and pack for my half IM race this weekend. Not to mention I want to have a good race. I figure I'm already going to be screwed up with the 3 hour time difference. Oh well. It is what it is. Anyone out there want to start a triathlon coaching service with me so I can quit my day job? This way I wouldn't have to deal with any of this and life would be so much easier. :)
Anyways, so what to do in Phoenix you might ask? My cousin Buddy lives out this way and I already looked him up. We're meeting for dinner in an hour or two and it'll be good to catch up. He's a State Farm agent...maybe we can start a coaching service in Tempe and he can find us a deal on a house? But second thought, it's 106 degrees here (no joke) and it feels like you're seriously in an oven.
I'm coming home from Cali
My meetings are over and it's time to come home. This morning after breakfast I went for another awesome run along the coast and then hung out below the cliffs for about a half hour sucking up the spectacular views of the west coast.
My flight takes off in about two hours. Although this place is simply breath taking, there's still no place like home.
San Luis Obispo
Monday morning I set off for San Luis Obispo California for a week long work conference. When we landed my first thought was, I have to find a pool. After a quick google search I soon found out that the local YMCA had an outdoor Olympic pool! Fantastic, I thought. When I arrived at the pool it was jammed packed. I got a lane, but had to share...no big deal. :)
I swam 4650 yards and didn't want to get out. There's something about swimming outside that makes me love the water. After the swim I met up with some work folks for dinner and called it a night. Tuesday morning I was up and at 'em around 5AM and worked till about 4:30 PM West Coast time. Since my body was still on East coast time, by the time I was done working I was exhausted. None the less I just had to go back to this awesome pool for one more swim. So I swam a quick 2500 yards, again met up with customers, and called it a night. Day three on the West coast was slightly different. I woke around the same time but went for a jog along the ocean overlooking the cliffs of Shell beach.
As the sun came up the views were simply spectacular. I actually met up with a customer of mine from a Nuclear Power Plant in Kansas. He's going to run his first marathon this December and plans on pushing his 25 year old son who is handycapped. We then talked about the Dick Hoyt story and how excited he is to run his first. I told him to cherish the moment because there's never a time like your first.
As for the hotel, the views are just amazing. Here's a picture of what I see from my balcony! I really wish Jen was here with me. She would absolutely love it here.
So tonight we're going to a team building event at the Edna Valley Vineyard. I'm not a WineO, but I'll have a glass or two. I fly home tomorrow at 12:40 PST and get in rather late east coast time. After that I slide into the weekend in preparation for my half Ironman on Sunday. I'll be racing in the elite division, so wish me luck.
The week goes on - Part 2
The weekend picked up right where the week left off. As I'm sitting here, Sunday afternoon, I'm wondering where the weekend went. Let's recap!
Friday5:50 AM - Wake up
7:00 AM to 3:30PM - Work
5:00 PM - Run 16 miles
8:00 PM - Watch Some Olympics
9:00 PM - Bed
Saturday5:30 AM - Wake up
6:00 AM - Bike 2 hours
8:00 AM - Run High School 5K Alumni race
9:00 AM - Bike another 30 minutes
11:00 AM - Head to Sears and Home Depot for continuation of yard work project. Lunch was done somewhere around here...
2:00 PM - Finally home with lots of fun new power tools.
2:30 PM - Yard work (shoveling and digging) aka my lifting workout for the day.
5:30 PM - Indoor project - Hooked computer up to stereo system, so we now have iTunes all through house.
7:30 PM - Dinner at our favorite Irwin Pizza place (Romano's)
8:30 PM - Olympic's on TV
9:00 PM - Bed
Sunday6:15 AM - Wake Up (hooray finally a day to sleep in!)
7:00 AM - 4 1/2 hour ride with Paul and Jeff
12:00 PM - Ice Bath
1:00 PM - Eat and Blog!
So that's a weekend in the life of a triathlete, and a busy new (1 year) home owner. Oh by the way as for the 5K race, I took 1st overall. I was excited to how the legs reacted after a tough run Friday night, and apparently they felt better than all the 15-17 year old XC kids. I was also the oldest runner in the race which was sorta funny. Actually I was so old that I didn't even know the other Alumni runners. I fly to California in the morning for a week long work meeting. I hope to get some solid training in while I'm in sunny Cal!
The week goes on
After a very busy weekend, the start of the week has been just as busy if not busier. The weekend was jam packed with Steeler action, yard work and even dinner with our friends Beth and Oscar (other great Triathletes). Monday ended with me back in the pool. The main workout set was 4x400 sprints which had me completely exhausted by the end. Going all out for 5-6 minutes in the water simply takes everything out of you. Tuesday was to begin with an hour run but yet again I just couldn't drag myself out of bed. I settled on doing my morning run early afternoon right after lunch. From work I have a really fun out and back course that's about 7-8 miles. I was feeling good and probably stayed out a little longer than expected. After I got home it was time to change into my tri clothes of which would become my favorite workout of the summer. So I'm assuming you want the details....well the workout begins with a 10 minute warm-up biking from home to the track. From there, you warm up your running legs for a half mile. Then the fun begins. After the warm-up you bike a 10 minute course all out in zones 4 and 5 then transition to a 1 mile run at 10K pace. You repeat the process three times transitioning from bike to run to bike to ....well you get the picture. I felt really good off the bike running sub six minute miles. Yesterday was another busy day for me. After work I headed over to my doctor's office trying to figure out this passing out problem. Again, the doctor said this happens to very fit people and it's nothing to be worried about. He checked my heart rate and blood pressure laying down, sitting up and standing. My heart rate was 145 at all positions and my blood pressure was around 110 / 70. Hmmm I thought....low blood pressure + low heart rate = low circulation in my opinion. He also said that I probably just have a weak vassal vagal (I think that's what they called it) system when put into situations dealing with medical stuff. Looking back on it, it makes perfect sense. I think every time I've passed out, it's had something to do with medical related stuff. I've passed out giving blood (twice), at the dermatologist office, while getting cortisone injections and most recently at the Sports medicine complex. He said as long as it doesn't happen while training I shouldn't be worried. None the less he would like me to get an Echo cardiogram test just to make sure everything dealing with my heart is okay. After the doctor visit I met up with Jen for a very easy 3 hour ride. We made it home right at dark and really had to work to make it home in daylight. Besides work and training I've been hooked on the Olympics and especially that freak, Michael Phelps. Watching him break every world record in every race he competes in is simply incredible. On the race front, I'm a week and a half from my next half Ironman. I'm not sure what to expect or how my legs will respond but we shall see!
Steeler Training Camp
The alarm went off at 5:30 this morning and we made our way to the car. Our plan was to meet up with Matt by 6:30, but as we approached Elizabeth PA, our plans soon changed. The only road I know that takes me to the bike start of this ride was closed, and we had no idea where the detour was mainly because there wasn't any detour signs. We basically drove around in circles and 45 minutes later we were pulling into the parking lot. Matt and I were on the road finally around 7:00 AM and believe me when I say we made up the lost time. Matt is training for IM Wisconsin right now and is in peak form and I'm still recovering from IMLP, so let's just say I was hanging on for dear life. The course we rode is extremely hilly and we somehow managed to average over 20 for the first 60 miles. I rode the next 10 miles with Jen and Matt went on to ride another 40 miles. After the ride we went home, showered and got back in the car for part two of our Sunday afternoon.
For anyone who's ever been to Pittsburgh, one walk on the Southside or in the strip district will tell you that this city breathes and lives the colors black and gold. Every year around this time the Pittsburgh Steelers get together in Latrobe Pennsylvania (about 30 minutes from my house) at St. Vincents University pre-season for training camp.
When we arrived on campus we went to the guest services area where we got hooked up with field passes. We were seriously on the sidelines while the Steelers were practicing. It was very cool stuff!
(Big Ben and the starters in action)
(Gary, Jen, and I)
(Fast Willie Parker just feet from us)
(The stands completely full and rocking....for practice)
Demolition Saturday
There once was a house on 10th Street with six puffy bushes out front and a sidewalk that although rocked in spots, was fully intact.
Then I came across a backhoe. Let the fun begin!!!
Today I turned from Mr. Ironman to Mr. Heavy machinery thingy operator. With access to my cousin Ricky's backhoe, his greatly appreciated help and bobcat machine we pulled out all the bushes and removed our retaining wall in preparation for our new concrete steps and landscaping.
The morning started off interesting as Ricky dropped this thing off, and gave me literally a 1 minute crash course on how to operate it. There's seriously ten different levers that you need to use to drive this thing. He said, this lever moves it forward. This lever drops the dozer. This lever moves it backwards. To use the bucket you use these two levers. Jen serioulsly thought I was going to end up killing myself. I came close a couple of times but when the day was over there were no injuries to report.
I went to town with this thing tearing up everything in sight. Finally I thought. My video game skills at use. See mom and dad, endless hours in front of the Nintendo as a kid can pay off after all. I was all of the sudden wishing I mastered the claw game at the arcade. None the less, I was having a blast and told Jen that I want one of these things for Christmas!!!
After I got done demolishing everything, Ricky took over and made everything look nice and neat. Now we're ready for a new wall and steps. Very exciting stuff!
I can't wait till it's done......so I can go back to being Mr. Ironman! :) I skipped my run today but still plan on biking 70 miles in the morning at the
Mon Valley ride.
Irwin's Ironman Chad Holderbaum battles at Lake Placid qualifier
My local paper did a little article on me this week. I think I was still delusional when I told him my goal next year at IMLP was a 9:40. I better get training!!!
Click here to go Norwin Star link
by Bill Hartlep
Sports Editor
August 7, 2008
After a year of training and torturing his body, local Ironman Chad Holderbaum fell short in his attempt to qualify for a second straight trip to the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
The Penn-Trafford graduate and Irwin resident improved his qualifying time from 2007 by nearly 18 minutes at the Ironman qualifier at Lake Placid last month, but it wasn't enough to move on.
"Trying to qualify for Kona was somewhat bittersweet," Holderbaum said. "I bettered my time that I did last year by almost 18 minutes, in terrible conditions -- a torrential down pour all day -- and finished in a time of 9:59:57. But, I still fell short of a Hawaii spot. "This was the first time in the race's 10-year history where 9:59 was not fast enough for a qualifying spot."
Holderbaum, 28, competed in the men's 25-29 bracket. He finished the 2.4-mile swim in 59:44, the 112-mile bike portion in 5:27.11 and the 26.2-mile run in 3:26.36.
"That was the first time I went sub 60 in the Ironman swim. This year, I logged endless miles in the pool, thanks to coach Kevin Paladino, and I was glad to see the hard work pay off."
By the time Holderbaum reached the bike portion of the race, the rain was coming in a downpour.
"When I came into transition (after the bike race) I had been out on the bike for 5:27.12 and averaged 20.54 miles per hour. I really wanted to bike around 5:20, but given the weather, I was happy with my time."
Holderbaum was in 12th place in his age division after the bike ride. During the run, he continued to look for other athletes in his bracket but didn't see any.
"As I hit mile 15, my goal of Kona began to slip away and shifted to a new goal -- finishing this thing in sub 10 hours," he said.
The local Ironman maintained an 8-minute mile pace and sprinted the final 200 yards to finish under 10 hours.
His time of 9:59.57 was good enough for 48th overall out of 2,345 competitors and 11th in his age group out of 127. The top four in each age group qualify for the World Championships.
His wife, Jennifer, also competed in the Lake Placid event. She finished with a time of 12:50.36.
Last year at Lake Placid, Chad finished 58th overall out of 2,200 athletes with a time of 10:17.39. He was sixth in his age bracket but advanced to Hawaii because one of the athletes ahead of him already had qualified and another chose not to participate.
At the Ironman World Championships last October, he finished 846th overall with a time of 11:06.38.
Despite coming up short of his ultimate goal, Chad was pleased with his performance and looks forward to the future.
"It was one of those years that brought the best athletes in the world to Lake Placid, and unfortunately, I fell short of a Kona repeat," he said.
"Regardless, I improved my time from last year and have nothing to hold my head down about."
Chad will finish the season with three half Ironman races, which include a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13.1-mile run. He'll begin serious training for the Ironman Lake Placid 2009 in mid December with the goal of 9:40.00.
Another Tuesday in the midst of summer
I headed to the 1/2 mile bike oval tonight for a 40 mile tempo ride, but to my surprise I decided to call it quits about 25 miles in. As I pushed around the oval at 25mph I felt something that didn't feel quite right under my rear. I pulled over, and here's what I found.
Yes you're seeing it right. I was bouncing all over the place because my seat is broken. Now I'm just wondering how long it's been like this and how long it's gone unnoticed. I highly doubt that it happened tonight, because I wasn't riding tough at all, and didn't hit any famous Pittsburgh Pot-Holes. I wonder if it was like this for IM Placid. Regardless, I hope I can find a replacement in time for my next big race (or my 70 mile ride this weekend).
So the tradition continued on the highway. Since I was born my dad has been posting messages on his billboard sign on Route 30. Yes, my dad is Bob and he owns an auto repair shop "
Bob's Service Center" in Irwin (just incase you're looking for a good mechanic to fix your car). Click the link, and give him a call.
Over the weekend Jen's brother and wife brought over little Marty. It's amazing how fast he's growing. He'll start walking soon, and I'm sure two wheels won't be to much longer.
How could I forget
After my pass out episode 3 weeks ago
http://www.chadholderbaum.com/blog/2008/07/scary-times.html), I had another similar, but not quite as bad incident.
This time it happened at work. It was around 8:00 AM as I headed to a meeting. I knew something wasn't right as I walked down to the room, but none the less I kept going as planned. I sat down in the room, and started to get a little woozy. I toughed it out, tried to focus and relax but it just wouldn't go away. I felt like I was sitting there in a fog and finally decided it was best if I excused myself. I left the building trying to avoid making a scene and an ambulance ride. I called my doctor (by now around 10AM) and scheduled an appointment for noon. Went home, layed on the couch but wasn't feeling any better. My parents convinced me it was best to head to the ER just to be on the safe side, so off we went. I arrived at the ER around 11AM, and shortly after that a doctor came, asked some questions, ran an EKG, and said I was fine. Diagnosis "I'm too healty". Seriously? The doctor explained that beacuse of my low heart rate, any sort of stress or anxiety that bothers me will cause my blood vessels to contract (vasal vagal syndrome I think he called it) causing my heart rate to drop even lower thus causing that woozy feeling. Makes sense I suppose, but still not good in my opinion. He said as long as I'm fine while working out, he doesnt' think it's anything to be worried about. Regardless he recommened that I see my doctor, take blood, and schedule some additional tests like an echo cardiogram or a tilt test. So that's where I'm at with that. Maybe I need to find a new job where I'm not sitting in a 8 x 8 cube all day. Boy would that be nice! Anyone out there with some thougths or ideas or if you've heard of this happening to other Triathletes, please share your stories.
Nothing new to report
Nothing new to report. I'm still sluggish and trying to get the body and mind back into training mode. I have a couple of "non" Ironman half distance races coming up and I'm finding it hard to get motivated for them. I'm racing August 24th, and although it's right around the corner, I'm just not feeling the drive. I have to keep telling myself that Clearwater is now the NEW goal for the season and I need to shift my focus from Ironman to half Ironman.
On the training front, I went to the track Tuesday night and the pool last night. My track workout went okay, but my legs were still heavy and I was having problems keeping up with the other guys on the track so I decided to back off and run a little easier. I shouldn't have trouble running 75 second quarters, but still only a little over 2 weeks post Ironman, the legs still aren't recovered. After work last night I drove to the pool for some speed work. 18 x 100's to be exact with a nice warm up and a decent cool down. I felt good, but again sluggish. The last 25 yards of each 100 was slow and I could tell my form was slipping.
None the less I need to get back into the swing of things, build my strength, and return to form. Only 2 1/2 weeks from another half Ironman, I better start shaping up and find my drive soon or I'll be in trouble.
I'm back to blogging...and back to training
15 days since IMLP, I'm ready to get back into action. The past 2 weeks I've really detached myself from the every day grind of swimming, biking and running. I was actually saying "yes" to burgers, cake, beer and chocolate. Now that I got the splurging out of my system it's time to get back to business.
This past weekend I made it out for a 70 mile ride and my legs responded well. Not great, but well. I'll just leave it at that. As for tonight I went up to the track for some higher intensity and again my legs felt well...but not great. None the less, I was back at it. Back on a routine, back on a schedule, back to normal, and back to the basics. I would expect to be back to normal in another week.
Since IMLP, the question "what could I have done different to make it to Kona" keeps popping up. It's very frustrating training for one goal and for me to not reach..it is devastating. None the less I need to move on. Get over it. I didn't qualify....start to focus on next year.
But before next year, I do have three more races for the season one of which is the Half IM Worlds....why am I not excited? Because it's not Kona. So many people out there would be thrilled to be going to Clearwater for worlds, and don't get me wrong...I am looking forward to it, but it's just not the Queen K. Okay, enough complaining!
So my season resumes August 24th with the Great Buckeye Challenge half Iron distance just outside of Columbus Ohio. I then get ready for the Savageman half Ironman in Deep Creek Lake Maryland September 21st. I then finish out the season with the 70.3 Worlds in Clearwater FL.
