Books: No Meat Athlete & Faster plus Winter training

 

 I found an interesting book called No Meat Athlete by Matt Frazier.  It's full of information and stories by Matt and a host of Ironman triathletes and ultrarunners.  If you want to go vegan and still compete this is the book.  There is plenty of other great data that pertains to nutrition in general.  I'm not sure if I'm ready to go vegan.  A friend, Dr. Deva, is vegan and that's what got me interested.  I stopped at Hoover's last week and bought 4 packets of vegan protein powder.  Compared to the Publix Whey Protein Powder I have been using, these are pretty bland.  The Vega Sport was the only one I would use again but I'm sure they all would work in a fruit smoothie.  All the directions had me mix them with water but almond "milk" might be better.  My friends at Hammer Nutrition have a new line of vegan products so I may try those too.

It's cooler here in Florida now and I've been training for the Town of Celebration Marathon coming up on January 26. I've stepped up my road and trail running and am aiming for a PR of 4:30 there. The course is a double loop, very flat, and is a Boston Marathon Qualifier; for my age, that is 3:50 so I'm not even close.  On December 21, I did my fastest trail run, 14.45 miles with 10:30 mile splits and early Christmas morning, I ran my fastest 5.5 mile road loop in the park (with hills) in 49:55, translating to 9:05 mile splits.

 

I found another book about triathlon called Faster by Jim Gourley.  Lots of practical information and advice on how not to spend money on things which will not improve your speed.  He found that on the bike, an aero helmet has more benefit than aero wheels and an aero frame has little benefit at all.  A properly positioned rider is the best aerodynamically.  He also found that trail running is 43% harder than road running, a notion I agree with.

 

 

# 125 Fall Festival Olympic Triathlon at Moss Park

I had a great race this morning at Moss Park, southeast of Orlando.  It was an Olympic-distance event and was combined with a sprint tri which started after me.  It was nice to have a crowded bike and run course because of my enjoyment in chasing people down.


Beautiful sunrise!

Swim, Bike, and Run!

The .9 mile sunrise swim took me 32:39 minutes and the water was warm on top and cool a foot down.  The temps were in the low 70s at the start of the 22.6 mile bike and I pushed as hard as I could to average 20.0 mph for the distance.  There was a new competitor in my age group who I had never seen before and was unsure what to expect from him.  However, after not seeing him on the bike, I took off on the run and cranked out 8:40 minute miles hoping to catch him, if he was ahead.  I spotted one guy with 62 on his leg but as I closed on him, it turned out he was doing the sprint distance.  My finish time of 2:34.26 was one of my best there and I discovered after the results were posted, that my competition was 4+ minutes behind me after the swim and fell further back all during the race.  I'm glad I drove myself as hard as possible anyway because you never know who mught be closing on you.  I was glad of the win too and met several other "Jeff Cuddeback coached people" as we were wearing the same kits.  One guy, Luis Pou, took 1st Overall!  Another, Charlie St. Cyr Paul, grabbed 2nd OA in the Tri Sprint.  Luis' wife Pam was racing also.


Jack with Luis and Pam Pou

# 124 Moss Park Olympic Triathlon

Today was the 4th Annual BelieveStrong Moss Park Olympic-distance Triathlon in Orlando.  The field was small today and from now on all the Epic races will have the Sprint and Olympic on the same day.  One cool incident at the start was the announcer couldn't get the Star Spangled Banner to play so one of the competitors sang it acapella; she was great! 

My longtime rival, Bill Floyd from Tampa, was there and he beat me by 4 + minutes as my finishing time was 2:35:13.  We were the only men in 60-64, so I got second.  I had a great race, feeling strong throughout.


Jack and Bill Floyd

At the same time in Winter Park was the Celebration of Running 5 K and my friend Kevin Casey (see photo from last race) had his whole family run with him including 5 year old Kyle.  The picture below shows Kyle with his mother Linda and sister Rachael in the background.  He finished the race and had a great time!

Kyle and Linda race to the finish!

# 123 Clermont Sprint Triathlon

Thursday, August 8th, was the 20th Anniversary of my first triathlon, way back in Chicago.  This Saturday was the 3rd in the new expanded Clermont Sprint Tri Series.  Kevin Casey, a co-worker I've been guiding through the world of triathlon, made this his 2nd race ever, as well as his first hilly event.  I surprised him by showing up too.  His wife, Linda, and their 3 children came out to.  Longtime competitor and friend Ken Junkins was there too, albeit at 59, he was 1 year and 1 age group behind me.


All dressed up and ready to go!

Kevin Casey and Jack

The weather was warm and clear at the start, with quite a big field (347!) participating.
Kevin was in the 3rd wave and I was in the 5th.  Lake Minneola was flat and warm and we both exited the water together.  I lost sight of him after that and began the hilly bicycle portion.  The hills did not disapoint as I crawled up some and hit 38mph on the biggest going down.  The run leg through town has some nice hills too and I kept feeling better and the last mile felt like I was flying.  I never saw anyone else in my age group so I was surprised to find that I placed 1st out of 7, my 21st win, with a time of 1:19:11.
I wore my Central Florida Tri Club kit so I posed for pictures with the other members who placed,  Kelly, Karen, and Luis.


Jack, Kelly, Karen, and Luis

# 122 Inaugural Sylvan Lake Triathlon in Sanford

Pushing hard on the bike!

This morning was the first ever triathlon in Seminole County at Sylvan Lake Park on the south edge of Sanford.  About 150 people competed as the first race in a 4 race series.  The few glitches didn't dampen anyone's spirits and everyone looked like they were having a great time.  I met up with Cerena and Valerie from the Central Florida Triathlon Club and was very pleased when Cerena won her age group...by 2 seconds no less!  Billy Price and the Seminole County Tri Club was much in evidence too and I did get to chat with an old friend, Deanna.  My race was OK, with a 4th place finish after I thought I was getting a 2nd to my old nemesis, Randall Brown.  Better luck next time!

Valerie flying along!

Cerena, Jack, and Valerie

60th Birthday today!

Today is my 60th birthday!  When I was 40, I couldn't run a mile without stopping! 

Last Friday, I rode my trail bike in the woods for 17 miles, Saturday morning I ran 16.6 miles on those same trails, Sunday morning I rode my tri bike 66 miles from my house around Lake Monroe, and then went to Lucky's Lake on Memorial Day and swam 2 kilometers.  I'm not ready for the rocking chair yet!  I could not have done any of this without the support and love of my wife of 34 years, Sandy!  Thanks to all my swimming, biking, and running friends and my friends and co-workers at Ernst & Young!

Sandy & Jack at Garden Gate in Mount Dora

Memorial Day 2k swim at Lucky's Lake on May 27

# 121 Orlando Triathlon at Baldwin Park

Today was my 9th time competing in the Orlando Triathlon at Baldwin Park.  The location is a new urban center located on the old Orlando Navy base, just east of downtown.  Located around the town center, this venue is unusual for 2 things: the weedy lake swim and the 4 lap bicycle course.  Over the years, the schedule has been modified to let the Elites start 20 minutes ahead of everyone else.  This cuts down on passing issues on the crowded. multi-lap bike ride.  I met 2 ladies,  Kim Fitzgerald & Leslie Adams, in transition before the race as Leslie had a flat tire and I helped her with it.

I had a great swim (19:54) but was surprised when Bob Weller, who I've met before, passed me on the long swim exit to transition area run.  Bob then exited transition 20 seconds ahead of me.  I caught him on the bike inside the first mile and pushed hard, averaging 20.5 for the 12 miles.  I finished my 4th lap over 3 minutes ahead of him and added a bit more through a fast transition.  While his run time was a little faster than me, I finished 1:23 ahead of him with a final time of 1:15:16 for 1st place.  After two 2nds in my first two races, I was ready for my first win of 2013, which was also my first for the 60-64 age group.  Mike Johnson finished 3rd and we all posed for a picture at the awards

Bob Weller 2nd, Jack 1st, Mike Johnson 3rd

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