Alex McDonald Pro Triathlete

I returned to Bristol, NH for the third time on June 7th to race the third annual Mooseman ½ Iron triathlon. Keith Jordan and the folks at Endorfun extended a generous invitation for me to return as the defending champion form 2007.

There was an Olympic distance race on Saturday so Ashley and I arrived Friday night to enjoy Saturday’s festivities as well. However, before I get to the race I need to share a little experience that my home stay host provided. A common friend of mine put me in contact with Jim as he is a triathlete and lives less than 10 minutes from the race site. He provided an amazing pasta dinner Friday night for Ashley and I, as well as a few other triathletes racing. During diner the topic some how arose that Jim built a cannon…that’s right a homemade cannon. After quite a few questions clarifying this “cannon,” as well as a few stories involving the police and fire department investigating an “explosion” the first time that he set the cannon off. After all this we needed a demonstration which Jim was happy to provide…all I can say it wow! The noise was amazingly loud and the 3-4 feet of flames that shot out of the cannon were incredible.

On to the race! Returning as the defending champion added a little more pressure, but it was the kind of pressure that I love. There was also a small prize purse this year which I knew might bring a little more competition. Also I had not raced since Ironman 70.3 California at the end of March, so I was excited to see where my fitness was after some solid training. Race morning was my normal routine, except I made a major mistake!! I left my nutrition in the refrigerator at Jim’s house, of course I didn’t realize this until I got to the race site. Ashley saved me by going back and getting it for me, which meant waiting in long lines of traffic. Thank you Ashley!

The Swim: 25:55, 5th position
The water temp was only slightly above 60 degrees and it made for a chilly start. However, my Blue Seventy Helix felt great and not only kept me warm it also helped me to catch a good draft group and come out of the water in a great position.

The Bike: 2:19, fastest split of the day
After passing a few people in T1 I set out on the bike in 3rd place 2:30 back from the leader. The New Hampshire roads had taken quite a beating after the winter and the pavement was pretty rough in some spots. The course also has several rollers and a few short steep climbs that required patience in order to be able to run well. My goal was to hold a steady power throughout the ride and be patient. After seeing a few cyclists on the first loop I began the second loop still in 3rd position 2:30 behind the leader…I wasn’t gaining any ground, but I wasn’t loosing any either. As the race progressed the day began getting hotter and hotter (eventually hitting about 90 degrees) and I was working pretty hard to keep a consistent pace/power, but my patience began paying dividends. As the second loop continued people would shout my position and the gap up to the leader, “3rd place 2:15 back”…”1:50”…”1:30”…”1:10”ect. I began catching glimpses of the 2 riders ahead on the long straight stretches. The three of us rolled into transition together.

 

The Run: 1:19, First Overall
The two other guys had very fast transitions and left transition about 10-15 seconds ahead of me. The first mile they set the pace pretty fast and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to keep this pace. It usually takes me ½ -1 mile to settle in and find a good rhythm and as a result I let the two guys open up their lead a little. However after about 1.5 miles I moved into second place, giving my friend Charles a little encouragement as I went. At that point I found a steady pace and caught up to the leader at about mi 2.5. We ran together for a few miles at a hard pace. I noticed that I had a little more power up the hills than he did and as a result I used a hill to surge ahead and didn’t look back. At the half way point at ~6.5 miles I had a 30 second lead. I kept the pace steady until the last turn around at about mi 10 where I had a ~1min lead and knowing that I had to race Kansas 70.3 the following weekend I cruised in the last 3 miles enjoying the experience…after all racing hurts, but I love it, but that’s why I work so hard the other 355 days of the year.

 

I had a great day at Mooseman and I was able to see a lot of the New England area triathletes who I will not see together for awhile since I was moving to North Carolina. I also later found out that the reason the 2 guys with me in T2 had such fast transitions is that they did not put on socks, a decision they regretted. I, by the way, always wear socks in anything over a 10k.

Mooseman ½ Iron Race Resutls

Wow what a whirlwind week!  I raced Mooseman half Ironlast weekend in Bristol, NH for the 3rd time and claimed my second win!  As the returning champion I knew there would be some pressure and stiff competition, especially with a prize purse this year, but I was excited to race!  Needless to say it was a great day despite the 90 degree heat and sun.  I am in Kansas right now getting ready to race Ironman Kansas 70.3 on Sunday and with my move to Durham, NC on Monday and preping for Kansas I am a bit to preoccupied to write a full race report, so I’ll have to get back to you on that one.  Check back soon for a full race report!

Train hard! Rest harder!

I have never been hunting, but last year I bagged a Moose…Mooseman that is. Training in the spring can be tough, but knowing that this race is coming up gives a little extra motivation. Tucked away in quiet Bristol, NH is pristine New Found Lake where in early June the triathlon season officially begins inNew England. Moving toDurham, NC almost threw a kink in my plans to defend my title, but Ashley and I managed to arrange our travel/moving plans to accommodate this awesome race! Keith Jordan and the whole staff at Endorfun Sports do a great job with this race, as well as Mooseman’s big and more popular brother, Timberman 70.3. So if you get the opportunity make your way toNewFoundLake this June, I’ll see you there.

 

After 5 years and I lot of blood (literally) sweat and tears my wife Ashley and I graduated from medical school this past Sunday!  So, now I can remove that asterisk from my name when I say “almost a doctor!”  Now Dr. Ashley, Zoey (our puppy) and I have to pack up our lives and spend the next 2 weeks homeless, bumming off of family and friends, attend our 5^th year undergraduate reunion at

Connecticut

College.  In the same 2 weeks I’ll race Mooseman buy our new Prius and then drive down to

Durham, NC! J  It has been a busy week and there is no end in sight!  I’ll keep you all posted!

 

Graduation garb is pretty ugly and uncomfortable…but I at least perfer this hat!

 

 

This past Saturday I went out for a 4+ hour ride in the dreary cloudy weather with a temperature hovering around 50.  It was cold, gloomy, windy and I was pretty grumpy.  I didn’t see another cyclist the entire ride.  On the flip side, yesterday it was sunny and 70 degrees and I saw a plethora of cyclists!  It makes me appreciate those nice spring days even more. So what do I do for motivation when the weather is not helping?  I think of the quote I heard awhile ago, but can’t remember where…”good athletes train when they want to, great athletes train when they don’t.”  So go out there regardless of the weather and (as PowerBar says) “Be Great!”

 

The weather in Vermont is always hit or miss, particularly in the spring. Well I have gotten outside on my bike 3 times in the last 4 days!! That’s incredible for this time of year! Granted I had to bundle up, but hey there was even some sunshine out there. On a side note, when did they add a traffic light to Heinsburg!? I got very confused when I came riding through this intersection, the same way that I had a million times before, only to discover a traffic light. I thought I taken a wrong turn at first. On a 2:30 ride I discovered 2 new traffic lights within a few miles, which for Vermont is A LOT considering on many of my usual loops I hit maybe 3 traffic lights. It made me realize that I had not ridden outside in VT since last August! I was in Durham, NC (my soon to be new home) last September and then Hawaii in October and then this nasty little winter thing interrupted my training!

Coming from Vermont and racing California 70.3 has been an interesting experience the last 2 years. I arrive knowing that I am not in top form yet, but excited to kick off the season. To make things even more interesting this year I was making my pro debut. Lastly, adding another level of complexity to the race was the fact that the participant list read something like a world championship race!

I arrived in Oceanside Thursday, got a quick tune up from Doug, the stellar Timex mechanic and a quick ride, the first outside on my new orange Trek TTX 9.9 SSL , man that bike is fast, hence forth referred to as the flaming rocket! 

My home stay host Rob, his girlfriend and her son were incredibly gracious and welcoming, giving me a great pasta meal, a private bedroom and bathroom as well as anything else I could have needed. Thank you again!

Race morning the water temperature was 60 degrees, significantly warmer that I expected, yet still a little chilly. I placed myself right up front opting to BE swum over rather that have to DO the swimming over. I wasn’t able to get the first pack, but caught the main group and was following a good draft until the turn around where the group began to spread out and swimming into the rising sun made for some guess work on exactly where to swim. All in all not a stellar swim, but respectable exiting with the main group around 27 minutes. I definitely need to work on my swim start and hanging on a little longer to catch the faster feet.

Running through T1 I saw many familiar faces and got some great encouragement from a lot of the age groupers lining up for their respective swim starts. I was off the back of the main pro field, but used my PowerTap , to focus on a consistent/steady effort at my goal power. This bike course is great, the first half is pretty fast and flat with a few small climbs and on the back half there are a few tough climbs, this year there was a pretty stiff head wind on the back side of Camp Pendelton as wel,l which made it slightly more challenging. I was able to pace myself well and pass several cyclists in the last 10 miles of the race. Overall normalized power of 288w with a VI 1.02.

I was feeling very good heading into T2 and ready to run hard to see if I could make up any ground. However, within the first few hundred feet of the run my lower back began to cramp very badly and I was forced to hobble most of the run. Many of my friends and family who were watching the race commented on how “not myself” I looked while running. Let me tell you, I didn’t exactly feel like myself either. This cramping was probably due to a combination of an early season race where my body was just not accustom to the high intensity efforts, lack of stretching over a very busy previous month and just bad luck. My goals changed and it became a survival run to just finish. I have never considered dropping out of a race before, however, at mile 3 I was seriously considering it. I always finish what I start and in addition there are many people who struggle through a triathlon and just because I was having a bad day I was not going to let myself quit. I pushed a little bit the last 3 miles to try to salvage what was left of a frustrating run.

Disappointing as it was, I finished 25th in a field of almost 50 pro triathletes and ultimately, I am pleased considering it is only March and I have a long season ahead of me. This race was not perfect and as a result it has only sparked my motivation to train even harder which will ultimately make 2008 a great year. Lastly, even though it was a “bad day at the office” it is truly a privilege to be following my dream racing as a pro triathlete.

Train hard, train smart!

 Ok so I haved blogged anything since October!! It’s been a busy winter and now that triathlon season is upon us I’ve decided that I need to do a better job keeping up with this blog. Soooooo…I officially kicked off my pro triathlon career and my 2008 season this past weekend at Ironman California 70.3.   Although I had a great experience and finished with a solid effort, it was not exactly what I was hoping for. I had a pretty good swim exiting with the main pack and had a solid bike considering it’s only March. I rode myself into 15th position after the bike. However, exiting T2 my lower back cramped pretty severely and I shuffled 13.1 miles in quite a bit of pain, almost 10 minutes slower than I know I am capable. I finished 25th in a field of almost 50 pro triathletes and ultimately, I am pleased considering it is only March and I have a long season ahead of me.   Full race repor to follow.

After the race I was in Carlsbad for 3 days for fun in the sun at the Timex Multisport Camp, which was a blast.  The people that compose this team, both athletes, managment and the Timex corporation are all truly great and inspiring in so many ways.  I’m very excited to be back on the team this year and looking forward to a great 2008. 

Well it has been a VERY busy and whirlwind week!

The Brief Version:

I had an amazing race here in Kona finishing as the amateur champion and 29th overall in a time of 9:00:09…I know 9 seconds…don’t ask! Then on Tuesday I got married to the most amazing woman (Ashley), in the most beautiful and picture perfect ceremony on the beach in North Kona.

The Long Version:

Ash and I arrived in Kona on Oct 2 with plenty of time to take care of wedding stuff that week and race stuff on …well…race week. Having spent the month of Sept in Durham, NC and 90 degree heat, definitely helped as it did not take long at all to acclimate to the conditions in Kona. Even though this was not my first experience here in Kona, I was still blown away and a little bit intimidated by all the über athletes that can been seen at all hours of the day all over Kailua-Kona. At any rate it was great watching the town come to Ironman-life as race week approached. Of note, the day before the race, my now sister in-law who has a business relationship with Oakley, introduced me to Greg Welch, VERY COOL!! J

As usual I was not able to sleep much the night before the race but used the time to visualize the perfect race. The clock hit 3:30am, breakfast time, and before I knew it I was walking to the pier. WTC and the Kona volunteers are amazing and the whole pre-race process, including bike check-in the day before, went very smoothly. Ashley was also able to secure some pier passes so she was able to walk out onto the pier to give me one last good luck kiss and take some fun pre-race picture, including a shot of my “lucky sea turtle.”

Swim: 59:29, 212 overall

I got into the water just before the pros started and did a quick warm up to ensure I got a good spot right at the front of the starting line next to the pier. As more and more swimmers approached the starting line I felt a strong nudge, ready to return the nudge and ensure my spot in the increasingly crowded water I turned to find fellow Timex team mate Luis grinning at me!! J As the anticipation mounted Mike Reilly called out 4 minutes and then within a minute or 2 the cannon went off, caught off-guard the thrashing began!! I was able to escape relatively unharmed and get into a pretty good draft group and swam right along the buoy line. After the turn I lost a little steam and fell off the pack I was hoping to stay with, but overall I was satisfied with my swim breaking the 1hr mark.

T1: 1:58,

Aside from a few rude people cutting me off, nothing special just went through smooth and relaxed, it’s a long day!

Bike: 4:56:26, 57th off the Bike

I was looking for vindication after what I viewed as a sub-par bike at Ironman Lake Placid earlier this year. Although I biked only a minute faster than last year on this course the conditions were more difficult, although not as bad as they can be. Especially the climb up to Hawi the head and crosswinds were taunting us making things interesting. I tried a slightly different tact on the bike here using my power tap to race at Half Ironman power for the first 20 minutes until I got out of town, then settled into my steady IM power and kept it steady for the rest of the ride. For those of you who are power savy, I averaged 237w with a VI of 1.03 for the ride. I saw several Timex teammates and other friends out on the course which was a great pick me up in the middle of a lava fields.

T2: 1:51, fastest in the WORLD!!

I just went, again I thought about being smooth and relaxed but efficient (I have a great transition coach) J Also I passed 7 age-groupers in transition, free speed.

Run: 3:00:27, 4th fastest amateur run of the day.

I was hoping to break 3 hours, but I need to save some goals for next year! J Leaving T2 Ashley told me I was the 10th amateur and was 13:30 back. As I had done at Ironman Lake Placid I knew that I could make up a few spots as long as I was smart and ran strong. Once I established a rhythm the first 10mi down Alii drive felt pretty good, and I was passing a few people, but it was hard to tell who was a pro and who was an amateur until I was right next to the person. At about mile 10 just before I began running up Palani hill Ashley again saw me and said I was in 7th about 3:30 back. “Wow!” I thought to myself “lets keep it steady but relaxed.” Running out to the Natural Energy Lab (NEL) on the Queen K there was a tail wind, which made the heat pretty noticeable, but I wanted to save a little for the trip back into town, so I allowed my pace to slow a little. Running down into NEL I passed a few more amateurs and right in the middle of the NEL just after the 17mi check point I moved into first. At this point there was a tail wind while climbing out of the NEL which felt good, and I kept telling myself a good mantra I once heard “champions are born or crushed in the NEL.” OK that maybe overly dramatic, but it was working. By the time I got back up to the Queen K highway at mi 19 I had a 30sec lead. This is what I had been preparing for all day that last 10k of the race so I picked it up. There was a head wind the whole way back to town and my legs were on fire, but I kept going!! At mi 23 my watch read 8:39 and I really wanted to break 9 hours so I turned it up a little more, although kept going the same pace and I knew it was going to be close. At the top of palani hill I gave it all I had, my then future father in–law was at the top and yelled at me “7 MINUTES!!” As I turned right on to Alii drive for the final several hundred yards I was overcome with the power and magnitude of this race and what I was about to do…I began sprinting as fast as my legs would carry me. The only problem is Samantha McGlone came into view ahead. She had such an incredible race and is such an amazing athlete in her first ever Ironman that I did not want to be one of those obnoxious amateurs who blows past a person at the last minute and wrecks their finishing picture…so I slowed a little…it was not a difficult decision and my legs almost did it for me. I knew that I had a large enough lead over the second amateur or any other pros that I would not jeopardize my finishing position. Shortly after the race the 9 seconds did not bother me, but the next day they did!! I just have some work to take care of next year!!

All in all it was the race of a lifetime and my last race as an amateur for awhile, the only problem is I am never satisfied, even if I did miss my time goal by 9 seconds!!! I could not have raced so well with the constant support of my now wife Ashley, the Timex Multisport Team, my coach Kurt Perham, and a slue of friends family and volunteers.

As for the post-race festivities, Ashley and I got married on Tuesday at Sunset in a small intimate setting with just our families at Kikaua beach just north of the airport. The bright blue water, black lava rock, white sand, bright green grass and the most beautiful woman I have ever met made for a fairytale wedding! I know it sounds cliché but it was really an amazing experience!! We’ll post pictures shortly for those of you interested. This is a whole separate post and I’ll post it at my website http://www.alexmmtri.com/ in the near future.

Thanks for an amazing season I have been indulging a little as you can see I ate a cinamon bun from Lava Java the size of my head!! Now I’m excited to spend a week in Kaua’i with Ash and I’ll keep you posted with all my off season adventures, only next time I’ll try not to be so long winded!!

Thanks

Once an athlete is confident and strong enough in both cycling and running there is a third step, combing the two into one smooth, seamless transition which is vital for success in triathlon. Learning to comfortably move from a hunched over biking position to an upright running position can be tough, especially at first, however, you can teach your body to adjust to this transition. Below are a few ideas to incorporate into your training that will help this process.

The T-run: After a long bike ride practice a quick transition and go for a short 10-30min run at a nice relaxed pace. Have your run gear laid out in advance and spend less than 5 minutes in transition, the faster the better. This will help your body become more accustom to the dramatic difference between cycling and running.
Neuromuscular conditioning: After your body becomes adjusted to comfortably running off the bike try incorporating some very short busts of speed into your T-run this helps to develop the Neuromuscular connection and allows the brain to better and more accurately control the muscles. Example is 20” sprint, 40” easy running begin with no more than just a few of these and gradually increase the number.
Nutrition: The 4th and mysterious component of triathlon is very important for a solid run split. There is no way to eat as many calories as you are burning while running so we have to make sure the tank is full before we get off the bike. As a result practice race day fueling on the bike and complete a T-run where you continue your nutrition protocol to see if your stomach is able to handle it.
Recovery!! This is important for all aspects of triathlon, not just running, however, running tends to be the most damaging, especially when we are in a pre-fatigued state from cycling. As a result hydration, calories and supplements are vital to all triathlon success, however, especially after a T-run off the bike.