Uncategorized – SwimBikeRun

SwimRunNC 2021

Adventure on the trails and water on a beautiful fall day in North Carolina.

Gordon and Tim, aka The Fighting White Squirrels, return for the 5th edition of SwimrunNC. We have toed the starting line in all five years. The event as usual is held in beautiful Hanging Rock State Park in central northern North Carolina.

We arrived Saturday for packet pick up, meeting old friends, making new friends and enjoyed some beverages at the Green Heron Ale House in Danbury.

After dinner we made our way to our AirBNB: a studio apartment in a barn with 10 horses.

My new friend

Race day started at about 45 degrees and quickly warmed to the 60s, welcome as water temperatures were in low 50s.

The scenery in the park is stunning and wonderfully captured by official SwimRunNC race photographers Richard Hill, Christine Rucker and John Segesta.

We arrived injury free at finish greeted by race announcer & friends David and Brian in just over 5 hours after 16 miles of trail running and 2 miles of swimming.

Thanks to race directors Jan, Jeff and Herbert and all the volunteers. We’ll be back in 2022!

Waterfalls, Wasps, and Woodpeckers

A weekend nature escape.

Photo by Josh

Josh and I headed to a little corner of the Nantahala National Forest called Panthertown for a quick backpacking trip. Much quieter than Pisgah or DuPont Forest, this section offers awesome mountain views, a beautiful valley with two creeks that are the headwaters of the Tuckasegee River and several waterfalls.

Along the trail we saw unique fauna.

In the water we spotted native brook trout, crawfish and a pair of 3” fish spawning in the shallows.

Spawning Fish Video

We also managed to stir up a wasp/hornet/yellowjacket nest, receiving about a dozen stings a piece as we tried to outrun our assailants. My face took the brunt of attack.

After 11 miles of hiking we returned to our camp for dinner and a campfire followed by a really good night’s sleep.

A brief rain shower greeted us in the middle of the night. By morning, the birds were up with the first signs of daylight, and in the distance a woodpecker announced it was time to start the day. After some morning coffee and breakfast we broke camp and headed back home with some great memories.

Strange New World: A Primary Care Physician’s Perspective On Emerging COVID-19

PHOTOGRAPH BY STR/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Flatten the curve. PPE. Quarantine. Ventilators. Shelter in place. Social distancing. Terms and words that have found their way into our everyday vocabulary.

Normally I post about running and triathlon. These are still my passion. I exercise for my health, adventure, and to reduce stress…plenty of the latter right now. Just 4 weeks ago I was finishing a half marathon.

There are no races for the foreseeable future. Now I’m “donning and doffing” PPE.

When I come home from work, I immediately take off my clothes and shoes and wash my hands (for the umpteenth time) before going upstairs.

A family trip to New Orleans over Easter, a medical conference in New Mexico in May, and a Sierra Nevada backpacking trip with my daughter in July: all cancelled. I am now part of a medical community preparing for war. The enemy has been identified. Lines of defense are being prepared. Unspeakable discussions about worst case scenarios are balanced with the hope that various interventions will minimize our projections.

This unfolding pandemic is like thousands of hurricanes ready to strike across the United States. The storms will not strike simultaneously. Storm category will depend heavily on population density and other factors like social distancing, governmental response, business shut down, and hand hygiene. I live in western NC: maybe we will only experience a category 2-3, unlike the category 5 that appears to have struck NY City and awaits other cities. Hurricanes have a cone of uncertainty that is affected by trade winds and nearby high and low pressure systems. There is no cone of uncertainty in this pandemic: it’s coming.

I feel like a solder preparing for battle. We have a canopy in front of our office where we triage patients before they enter the building. I have practiced donning and doffing PPE. I have read about PPE recycling. I, along with several other physicians, have volunteered to move from my office based practice to our local or regional hospital when physician reinforcements are needed. To prepare, I was test fitted for one of the infamous N95 masks this week. It’s hard to imagine I might be bedside attending to critically ill patients in 6 weeks.

So, I don’t know how all this is going to end up. I am an optimist at heart, but I am entering this fight with eyes wide open. And during the past 2 weeks, I have made some interesting observations. This year’s spring flowers seem to have just a bit more color.

The sound of wind blowing through the trees seems just a bit more musical. Spring song birds seem more joyful with their serenade. Stream water flows smoother. Blue sky is bluer.

Messaging friends leaves my heart warmer. Food: tastier. My favorite beer: somehow more refreshing than just last month. Strangers: friendlier. Family time: now even more priceless.

I enter the next 2 months sure of my resolve and confident that I can make a difference. Godspeed to all my fellow health care workers and their families.

EightyTwenty

Sometimes I feel that there are more theories about the best way to train than there are athletes.

Two numbers. If you are an endurance athlete, I have either peaked your interest or you are rolling your eyes 🙄.

If you are not into endurance training/exercise, the theory is that 80% of your exercise should be low intensity and only 20% moderate and high intensity. This maximizes your fitness/performance without wearing you out. Lots of bad physiology can occur if you push too hard (high cortisol levels, thyroid dysfunction to name a few). And eventually you crash and burn.

Sometimes I feel that there are more theories about the best way to train than there are athletes.

So this year I’ve been bike training HARD. Running easy. Swim volume is easy. Focus on short triathlon races: 1-2.5 hours. Short and quick. Easy-peasy. Or is it?

Disappointed with my last few races, I took a look at my overall training intensity. Almost 60:40 low:moderate/high intensity 🤨. So the last 2 weeks, I backed off on training intensity, bought the book by Fitzgerald and Warden and am beginning to rebalance my training. My body is just an experiment in progress.

Today I raced just north of Charlotte, at Lake Norman. Best race result of the season. Fastest swim. Best bike power output. Each subsequent mile running split was faster. My legs are back.

So…one good race result doesn’t prove that 80:20 is the magic formula. But it is a start. Two more races (late September, mid October) to test this theory. The physician, scientist and adventurist part of me loves this continual experiment. We’ll see what happens.

Lake Logan 2019

So here I am, 9pm on a humid 72 degree early August Friday night, laying on the futon in the back of my 2004 minivan in the middle of the Pisgah National Forest. Katydids and lightening bugs are all around serenading me with their light and sound show.

It’s been a long time since my last race report. Since SwimrunNC October 2018, I have focused on bike training on Zwift. That is a topic all its own that I may publish someday. Last few months I have cranked up the run training: managed a 21:17 5K on a 80 degree morning at Myrtle Beach on July 4. Got tired of lap swimming at the club and have enjoyed open water swimming in our lake this spring/summer.

I’ve decided 2019 is the year of short distance triathlon. Nothing over 2.5 hours. No half iron or full ironman events. I decided to come to Lake Logan for the weekend. I car camped alone Friday night. Burgers, 🌽 on the cob and ice cold beer on the menu.

Saturday I was on the lake at 0630 providing water support for the half iron distance event. This is a fabulous lake. Daybreak:

On the water:

Spent the rest of day spectating and cheering on friends. No lack of inspiring athletes. This athlete had to work hard to get his chair over the last 0.1 mile through the field:

Maria came up Saturday afternoon.

We had dinner and then spotted a bald eagle that had been flying around during the day.

Race morning started as usual before sunrise. The 1500 meter swim felt good, but a slow time for me, 30 minutes. In past years I’ve swam 25 minutes and my slower time is certainly a reflection of less swim training this year.

Bike went well, 1:06 for the 23+ miles, only about 2 minutes from my best time. However, near end of the bike, my legs felt unexpectedly heavy. Unfortunately a sign of things to come for the run. I fought off leg cramps the whole 6.2 miles to finish in 2:29. Good for 2nd in age group and 23/106 overall men. I was relieved to finish:

Post race food and conversation with old friends ensued, including my buddy David and his family.

Next up: Andy’s race (sprint triathlon in Greenville) followed by 2-3 more triathlons, finally finishing the year with SwimrunNC with Gordon this October.

SwimrunNC 2018

A weekend of beauty, trail running, climbing, waterfalls, cold open water swimming and Chinese buffet.

Gordon and I made our way back for the 3rd edition of SwimrunNC in Hanging Rock State Park, North Carolina. The photos below are absolutely spectacular and courtesy of Brian Fancher, Aaron Palaian, Richard Hill, and Herbert Krabel. I recommend that you view the report on a larger screen platform to fully appreciate their talent. The rest were taken by myself.

Gordon had a consistent run and open water swim routine going for a few months. I was coming off Ironman Chattanooga in late September. We managed to get a solid 2 weeks of swimrun training together in our neighborhood lake:

We arrived the day before the race for pre-race meeting and tasty beverages at the Green Heron.

Last year, we camped at the state park. This year we decided to go 5 star and got a room at a Doubletree.

Doubletree cookies rock!

Gordon spotted a Chinese buffet across the street and said, “Hey, want to go there for dinner?” Various thoughts went through my head such as pre-race meals gone bad…how many port-a-potties did they have at race start?…I wonder if I can get enough carbs there?…I suddenly heard myself say “sure” and next thing I knew we were downing noodles and General Tso’s chicken with reckless abandonment.

The next morning, we awoke rested and drove up to race start with no stomach issues. Risky dinner box: check.

It was a perfect morning, partly cloudy and about 45 degrees.

Last year, I severely sprained my left ankle with about 4 miles to go. To prevent that fiasco, I wore a support brace which gave me a lot of confidence on the course.

Race started promptly at 0800. First mile or so is flat and starts down a gravel road.

We decided to take it easy for the 4.5 mile run up to the lake. The course soon turns into a trail that narrows to single track at times with small stream crossings and eventually waterfalls.

Gordon setting the pace.

Once at the lake, it is a couple of swim and run loops. The water was about 55 degrees, refreshing but definitely took a few minutes of acclimation.

We had plenty of volunteer support on the course, including a rather intimidating figure on the lake.

There was a particularly slick and muddy section near the dam that required focus and scrambling skills.

Next came the arduous climb up Moore’s Wall, a total of about 800 feet elevation in 1.5 miles. The view up top is nothing short of spectacular.

We then made the technical descent back to the lake. Two more swim loops, with play by play announcer and friend David Daggett providing some energy and encouragement for the competitors.

It was then time to head down the last 5 miles to the river.

The final swim was in the brisk and fast Dan River.

Then to the finish line.

Some warm clothes, a hearty meal and sunny 65 degree weather greeted us at the finish. Oh, and free beer thanks to race co-organizer Jan Kriska and his Thirsty Souls Community Brewing in nearby Mount Airy.

Hazy IPA.

I forgot to snap a post race photo of friend and first time swimrunner Brent and his partner Jay. We enjoyed trading race stories at the finish. They were engaged in pre-race strategy here.

Awards ceremony was sunny and festive.

Finally, a proper recognition was given to the wonderful race organizers Jeff, Herbert and Jan.

The 2018 racing season is in the books. Looking forward to some 5Ks, easy training and some indoor bike rides on the Zwift training game platform. See you in 2019!!

Ice Skating

I have fond memories of growing up in upstate NY, especially winters with sledding and skiing. My favorite memory was outdoor skating and pond hockey. My father, wife and I were reminiscing about this today. When we about 10, mom would drop my brother and I off at the town rink after school and pick us up after dark, about 5:30, for dinner.

One year my father decided to build a rink in our backyard: a frame constructed of 2×4’s, a sheet of plastic, water and NY temps. Presto! We had ourselves a 15×30 foot sheet of ice. Every day after school, we had pick up hockey games in the backyard.

Fast forward to 2018 and North Carolina. Harder to find a sheet of ice in the south, but not impossible: Jacob and I used to drive down to Greenville, SC to play on Fridays at a nice indoor rink.

Even more rare in NC: outdoor ice skating. But today, thanks to the recent cold weather, we were lucky to skate our neighborhood lake. Jacob and I strapped on the skates and stayed close to shore. For just a few minutes I felt 12 again, sound of steel against ice, freedom to glide, cold air in the face.

I feel fortunate to pass on this family tradition.