Race Report: Challenge Cedar Point Full Distance

A race report - at least for me - has served as a utility for capturing impressions and choices I have made during races to help me in future races. They are a record I use for analysis, not for capturing touchy-feely stuff, although sometimes that creeps in. In this case, though, I have to deviate significantly from the template, as it's my first 'full distance' triathlon. I want to get something out of the way first...it's stupid, but I'm going to refrain from saying 'Ironman' because that's a brand, not a distance, and while most people only understand what you're talking about if you say, "I did an Ironman," this wasn't an Ironman branded race, it was a Challenge family race. Well, I lied, I'll say it once. I am an Ironman. I made it 140.6 miles by swimming, biking, and running. Off we go into RememberLand!

Cedar Point is a jetty out into Lake Erie in Ohio, nestled up against the town of Sandusky. Cedar Point is also the name of an amusement park that claims to be the Roller Coaster Capital of the World. With acres of 400 foot vomit launchers like this...

...it's hard to disagree. I chose not to sample the local wares, preferring as always to keep my ass below my armpits. Sandusky itself is a picturesque - albeit empty - town that seems frozen in time, roughly around 1955. I wouldn't have been surprised to see Marty McFly walk by at any moment.

It so happened that the day before the race the streets of Sandusky had been shut down for an auto show, so with lines of classic cars lining the roads and 50s rock and roll blasting from loudspeakers, it went far over the top in delivering the sensation that it was from another era. I arrived late on Friday, giving myself Saturday to get checked in and settled, with the race on Sunday morning.

On Saturday morning we received an email warning that overnight, high winds had destroyed several tents at the race site, and that the swim was in jeopardy of being cancelled due to riptide conditions in Lake Erie. Additionally, the bike check in was moved to race morning, because they didn't want the bikes exposed to the wind overnight for fear they'd all topple on each other. Well, holy crap. I had heard the race had a bit of a reputation for choppy swims and wind on the bike, but this was a level I hadn't expected. I made the quick trip over to the race site to have a look for myself. Yep, it was windy.

That's not a live shot, but Lake Erie looked pretty wild. The word from the RD was that there was no chance we would swim in it - a boat had capsized the night before while setting the course, and the Coast Guard had to rescue people....whoah. Just whoah. Fortunately, there was is backup plan - there is a 'protected' area that launches off the causeway leading to Cedar point, and we would be able to swim in there, provided an algae bloom didn't make it a problem. Wait, algae bloom?!? WTF? Apparently there is some gigantic algae bloom on its way to shore...? Finally, at the afternoon athlete's briefing we were told the storm that created the big waves also destroyed the algae bloom - never mind it. Uh. Ok. Moving on. Dismiss all thoughts of algae bloom. Sure, no problem.

Nobody had a clue where we were swimming the next day. I put it out of mind, can't worry about things I can't control. I went back to the hotel room to get some rest. I went to bed Saturday early -around 8 - after reading and replying to tons of supportive emails and messages from friends and family. It meant so much to me to hear from everyone on Saturday. I drifted to sleep with a heart bursting with love. After months of training and building, I was ready.

On race morning, I dutifully brought all the bags and my bike down to check in and cowboyed up. Go time!

The swim was a rolling start in pairs, two by two. I lined up near the start of the line and ended up next to someone with a snorkel...there's a first. I know it's legal, but I've never seen it. We started out on the inside of a wavebreaker island, headed up towards the marina with the instructions to turn at the marina, follow the breaker island down the side, come back in the protected side, then loop around and do it again. Fine. Bear in mind nobody had seen this course before outside the race officials. Everything started fine...good strong pace, swimming well, into the marina round the corner, sighted the buoys, great. Super. Then, in what seemed like 30 seconds I went from being right next to the rocks where I thought I wanted to be to about 40 feet out to sea. Then the waves started....three foot swells, getting tossed around. At one point I was in between waves and couldn't see anything...the next moment I was atop a wave and pointed the wrong direction...the next I was coming down a wave and saw another swimmer climbing a wave what looked like vertically...I thought of this immediately...

I saw a coast guard ship off my shoulder as well...this shit was for reals! Nothing to do but just try to do it! I finally made it to the end of the breaker island to make the turn and realized I'd gone well past the turn to the very edge of the lane. A kayaker came up to make sure I was actually intending to turn! Truth was I hadn't seen the edge of the island, and I was grateful for the heads up! Back on track I came into the protected area and couldn't figure out where to go - one set of feet was headed back to the marina and several other swimmers were headed to the entry area where there was a buoy...I went with the pack, which turned out to be the right call. I ended up meeting the lone wolf later, he was pretty pissed he took the course he did, but the 'correct' course information was hard to come by...nobody wanted to be first. The second lap into the cauldron was no more fun than the first, but this time around I angled myself so I wasn't getting pushed out to sea, and I made the turn tight to the rocks. Just as I made the turn though, my right calf completely locked up and I had to hold on to a paddle board to work it out. Note - the paddle boarder atop the board I hung onto was squatting and holding on for dear life as she got tossed around in the waves. She looked green. A minute later I got the cramp settled (quick prayer that was the last I would have!) and set back towards the finish. What a crazy swim. I found out later that the half athletes were supposed to take one loop of the same course, but the RD changed it to be 100% in the protected area due to safety. I believe it. Hardest swim I've ever done. That said, a respectable 1:21 time.

Being that this was an alternative swim location, we had to run half mile to get to the bike. Like most people I had brought a pair of running shoes to the swim out ramp to wear, but unlike most I walked the whole distance, wary of stoking the calf cramp in any way. Did I take an 11 minute transition? Yes, I suppose I did. I wanted to get on the bike ready to go!

So on the bike I got...and on comes the wind. Somehow, inexplicably, the wind seemed to blow in all directions, no matter the heading.

I dialed in to my power numbers, went into my tuck, and settled in for what I knew would be a longer than expected ride. Found out later the winds were a constant 15 knots (that's 17mph) with gusts up to 25...definitely got tossed around a bit. However, to be brutally honest, the ride was incredibly boring....corn field after corn field, no hills, and the only excitement being the turn through the town of Milan, where there were some excellent cheerleaders and supporters. I'm not complaining, though, this was what I'd signed up for - a long flat bike. At the 100 mile point, I pulled the reigns back significantly and 'took it in' - we were within spitting distance of Sandusky again and the scenery improved dramatically running along the lake shore. I probably gave up a good 10 minutes doing this, but I knew from months ago I wasn't trying to lay any law down...I had no idea what to expect, this was about having fun and finishing. My legs felt fine (considering how long I'd been riding of course), energy wise I felt pretty good, and there hadn't been any mishaps, lest for a clip on my wind visor coming off. My eyes were windburned and bloodshot from the dislodged visor, but nothing hurt. I was, however, really mentally tired of pedaling into a headwind for so long. My bike split was 5:48 - about 15 minutes slower than I had anticipated, but again, my expectations were not driving the day. Overall I had chased a lot of people down on the bike like I usually do, and so I hopped off with high expectations that I was going to turn in a boss performance on the run. Or so I hoped.

Another slow transition, I took the time to lube up so I wouldn't chafe and take a whiz (I hadn't peed on the bike...nor had I wanted to? This was a clue, but I didn't know it yet), as well as have someone look at my eyes to make sure I wasn't going blind. Everything was super hazy from the wind, and I was worried it was something else. It wasn't. Off I went.

I paced where I had planned to - between 8:30 and 9:00 minute miles - for the first 9 miles...and then..well, I really couldn't figure out what I felt. Nothing hurt, but I didn't feel good either. I couldn't tell if I was bloated...hit a latrine for a sec, didn't have anything to put out, no that wasn't it...low on salt? Maybe....dehydrated? Maybe? I was putting down water and flat coke, which usually works great for me, but I was having trouble running. By mile 10 it was a run/walk, and it was starting to look pretty bleak. I did my best but was only doing a run/walk. Screw this. I took the turn for the second loop and started taking inventory. No salt marks on the kit; wasn't hyponatremic. Hadn't taken a good pee yet this race. Dehydrated? Possibly...wasn't sweating - because of the wind? Minor headache coming on, that's a clue. No burst of energy coming from the sugar shock of the coke. I bet on dehydration and doubled down...I stopped at the next aid station and drank 5 or 6 cups of water, no coke this time. I also grabbed 2 cups of Gatorade. I was going to force myself to pee. About a mile down the road I found a latrine and finally peed. I walked out of there and suddenly felt much better. I gave running a try...and had a pace! It wasn't great, but I had legs for the first time on the run. I started running 9:45s....methodically. I started to cool - and realized how hot my face had felt. Duh. I started taking Gatorade at the aid stations as well...and finally, I started sweating. So there you go....I was under hydrated. No matter how well I thought I managed my nutrition on the bike, I simply didn't get anywhere near the water I should have. Wind or not, I hadn't planned correctly.

So here I am at mile 16 and finally I'm able to run. Well, hobble, anyway. Of course, by this point, the damage is done - I can basically run a mile, walk 5 minutes, run a mile...but hey, it's locomotion. One foot in front of the other, keep on keeping on. It wasn't pretty, but it got me all the way to mile 25...then I heard all the advice in my head, like the disembodied Obi Wan Kenobi..."Take it in. It's your first Ironman. Take it in." Alright, so Obi Wan didn't really have any triathlon advice, but this is my personal 139-miles-in version of 'Use the Force'.

The last mile of the course is along the causeway leading back to Cedar Point, and the waves were beating along the side of the road, with the sun beginning to descend into what would later become a gorgeous sunset. I realized I had been out there from literally sunrise to sunset...a 12 hour day...and that I was actually going to finish in one piece. I cried. I laughed. I thought back over the whole day...and gave the finger to the waves. Then I gave the finger to the winds. I smiled and knew I had beaten them both, and they had thrown everything at me.

Then I came to the finish chute, and ran it in. It was electric - the crowd was big and loud, there was a smoke machine, the Kona fireman guy was there to high five me (really! I found out later it really was him, the guy that does Kona in full firefighter gear! Apparently he lives nearby!), and I crossed the line.

A disastrous marathon - 4:46 for a finishing time of 12:15 - but it was in the books. Done. Amazing. I stumbled around for a while just uttering to myself "Oh my God," like some blathering moron.

I called my wife as soon as I could. Elated. No words.

[long pause]

At some point later, I found myself enjoying a beer and thinking back. Still no words.

[long pause, including sleep]

I drove home the next day. Everything looked much different.

[the end]

If you don't like analysis, you really should stop reading now. Really.

OK I warned you!

Of course at some point on the drive I began to think about the race as a performance, and the things I could have done better. I can mitigate the cramping on the swim by trimming the wetsuit legs higher. I have felt the twinge of a pending cramp before and I know it's the hot water that pools in the legs that triggers it, I'm just not usually in the wetsuit that long.

Other stuff...Clearly I can speed up transitions, I wasn't moving fast at ALL in the tents, very much on purpose. I was learning. On the bike, data from all the halfs and the full show that for me, a faster overall spin cadence results in a stronger run performance, so that's something. My power target was fine, I just need to hit it at a higher cadence/smaller gear. I can test that out on a half easily. Need to give the bike some new brakes, the stock ones are trashed. Also need to practice refilling bottles while moving. Might also try out a couple of saddle options with an open nose (tried a few flavors of Adamo, didn't work, but there are others), although I suspect I'm ok there with the Tri Strike. I just got tired of sitting on it after five hours, but I think that's pretty normal! The helmet has to go, the visor won't cut it now, I don't trust it. The rest of the equipment was excellent all day, I have no blame to pass on. The power meter is awesome, I can't imagine doing the race without it. The peace of mind it offered to know I wasn't going too hard was invaluable. Learned a great deal about my hydration needs and my body's signs. The same symptoms crept up at Kingston, but I hadn't seen a pattern yet. Now I can fight it proactively. Technique wise, the training was solid i think, although I don't have (nor do many?) experience swimming in conditions like that. A conversation with a guy who had an excellent swim out there (3rd out of the water) was that it's not really driven by technique, it's attitude - you have to love the mayhem, and realize you ARE swimming, you are making progress, and the tumbling around is just part of the process. I feel like I swam the second lap that way, and the fact that it took me 4 fewer minutes to clear the island on the second lap is pretty clear evidence that a cool head goes a long way. That said I hope I never swim in those conditions again soon - it was harrowing!


I'd like to say a full distance is life changing event, but my take now is just that it's just a really long triathlon, and for that, it's wonderful. I didn't find it harder than a half, just different. A well executed half is gutting, just like this was. The same things I do for a half worked fine in a full, they just last twice as long and require a different approach. The hydration was a huge learn, but I don't feel like the training itself was incomplete or inadequate. I feel like I had a really good day, and a really strong first attempt at the distance. There is only one first attempt at anything, and I finished. Will it be more or less fun the next time? No, it will just be different, just like any other race from another. It's possible the story will be more interesting or the scenery better, but it's always fun, regardless of the distance. That said, what I do really like about this distance, is the filter it brings - nobody finishes a full without being ready for it. The distance will just beat you silly if you're not. Therefore, the accomplishment - all the planning and the execution of that plan - is greater than a shorter distance. That's no slight on a half, olympic, or sprint, it's just that the increase possibility of total failure increases the longer you get, which makes it more and more of a challenge. For the amount of time I have (or don't!) to dedicate to training, the full distance represents the absolute outer bound of what's possible for me, and for that, I love it. It does seem like a ridiculous distance and amount of time to do anything, but I can only fathom that concept having actually *done* it. At one point not long ago I thought a half was pretty insane, too. Of course, the whole sport may just be insane! Regardless, it's the sport I love, and I while I can't wait to go back for more next season, this brings 2016's events to a tidy close. A remarkable season by any stretch, and I'm thrilled I got to build all of those memories.

Thanks for reading!

Race Report: HITS Kingston Half

Woke up early enough to get to Kingston right at 5am, a solid breakfast that I use through hard training days that keeps my stomach in check but provides a nice boost through the morning. Started to get an idea of how screwed up the logistics were going to be right from the get go; run gear is at one area a mile away from T1, with volunteers transporting your T1 stuff via marked trash bag. T2 stuff is also in a bag, there are no assigned slots there, you can't set anything up. What? When I asked where my dry bag should go, a volunteer had to ask on the walkie talkie, and didn't get a solid answer...just tie it to the trash bag in T2 "I guess". Nice. One sweet pickles bus transported all athletes - for all distances - back to T2 with bikes in the back. ONE BUS. I'm surprised if everyone made it on time. In T2 - a total of 4 toilets. Four. Again, I'd be surprised if everyone made it to the starting gun.

Once in the water, life improves slightly - the water is a perfect temperature and not at all noxious or weird as the Hudson can be. Sighting markers are easy to pick off, looks good! Countdown...race time!

Took off on the feet of the lead pack and settled in swimming powerfully and sighting like a boss, confirmed later on the watch...1:15/100yds for the first leg on a straight out and back, straight as an arrow. Took the turn with my foot on the gas and started to realize there was a current in my face...we were all slowing down accordingly, as the buoys just didn't seem to get as close as fast as they should be...and we were drifting right. Later confirmed the current took us WAY down to 2:30s and did indeed push right. All of us equally punished, but a good swim. Felt great coming into T1.

T1 smooth-ish, not fast, but better than usual. Had to futz with my helmet visor unfortunately for 30 seconds, socks wouldn't go on quite right for another 5, and bikes were WAY too close together in rows, so had to wiggle out of the row to get out...poor organization/logistics again. Once on the bike...hammer time.

The good: rode like a boss, held 230 NP/20.6 mph over 3500 feet of climbing, a great split, managed nutrition perfectly and had a great confirmation of my iron distance plan and training. Felt strong, heart rate in check, and managed the heat (85 by the time we got to T2) well. The bad: the course was on a highway shoulder for the first ~20 miles. A Highway. That meant riding over shoulder crud, riding across exit ramps with cars going full speed, honking traffic, clover leaf entrance and exit ramps....just ludicrous. About as far from a safe, closed course as you could possibly get. The saving grace was the return trip through/on the south side of the Ashokan Reservoir, which was beautiful, great riding, and fun as hell. Coming back on the highway again, I and another dude literally took the wrong exit ramp (no markings!!! WTF?!) and had to get back on the highway for a couple minutes loss. Still came in 6th off the bike from a rack count and feeling fine, although the heat was getting heavy.

The run SUCKED. Getting into the lower 90s with no shade relief, the run starts on a riverwalk of cobble and brick, hits a hot stretch of rolling hills, then a brutal 1.5 mile climb - all under the sun. Aid stations were spotty - some had ice, some did not. They did have sponges and flat coke, though. Can't blame them, it was rough conditions. After coming down the first lap of the hill, we run by the finish line, then down a stretch of smelly asphalt along the railroad tracks to complete the first loop, and again by the finish line...a very tough way to go. Then back on the brutal cobbles, the hill...ugh. By the time I got to the second climb, I was way overheated and started to wobble. I stopped to cool off and drink for a minute before doing a walk/run up for the second lap. At the top I felt cooler again, but the pause had brought in some early cramping, so I ran down with a shuffle instead of stride. Started getting a headache - a bad sign - so I again stopped at the aid station at the bottom of the hill for ice. I only had 2 miles to go, but I was in rough shape in the head, tasted salt on my lips, wobbly and woozy. I gutted through the train tracks turnaround one last time to finish, drank ice water as quick as it would go down, and sat down for a good 20 minutes.

There was NO food waiting for us at the finish line, save for whatever was left from pre-race, which nobody would have consumed since we aren't at the race head (remember, T2/finish is a mile up the road from T1)...hot orange slices and donuts. Really? I asked, apparently there were pizzas coming (?) but he wasn't sure. I asked for a leader board and was told it would come maybe in an hour. I decided to leave.

Went to collect my bike and was asked by a race director-ish guy how it went...so I told him I was pretty disappointed in the post race. No medic, no massage, no food. He said, wait there is a full kitchen there, we wouldn't do that...ok. I must have missed it. I put my gear in the car, changed and walked over to check. Nope, nothing. Just 8 (only 8) pizzas supposedly on their way to feed 300+ athletes. Riiiight. I asked again about the leader board and was rebuffed sharply, apparently asking for your official results and standings is a no-no. Fine. Saw the sheet come out of the printer 5 minutes later....NICE! I won my age group, 11th overall. It was a partial sheet, I had no idea how many were in it overall, but still a nice result. I asked if I could take my plaque and scoot, got a little attitude for it, but ultimately got it and headed home to finish the day hanging with my brother's family by the pool for the rest of the day. SOLID. Very happy with the day!

I won't do this race again despite the proximity and cost. The bike course was awful, the T1/T2 logistics a joke, and the post race support an insult. If you get what you pay for, then *maybe* you can argue that no post race med or massage or food is acceptable, but it's really not under any circumstances, especially in heat like that. I get that this is an inaugural event for HITS, but they have a lot more experience than this particular execution would make you think. I would be surprised if half the entrants return for next year, if they even have it. Hunter 2014 was executed so much more effectively under much harsher conditions, it makes me think this was just the effect of Mark Wilson resigning as the RD. Last year at this time he said he expected to RD for HITS for 17 more years, and while I understand he had a very rough personal year, something must have gone down with HITS for him to resign. I'm wondering if it was the corners they so obviously cut. A sad demise.

Pat Griskus Olympic Tri

Hadn't planned this one in the calendar, but my buddy talked me into it. I was planning a couple of hours of tempo riding, but an Olympic makes a nice proxy.

Got there nice and early at 5am, picked an easy to find spot near the swim exit and set up. Took a 20 minute nap in the car (love the minivan!). Felt chilly, went for a 1/2 mile run to get the blood moving, helped enormously. Wetsuit on, brief warmup swim to test that the goggles (using the backups, expecting a glare this morning) were airtight, then ready to go!

For some reason I didn't line up on the front and push my way to a lead spot, so I had to watch some slow feet for 50 yards or so until I sprinted past and staked out my own water. From there, I held pace and line wonderfully. Stroke felt really good and even, although the chop after the first turn made it difficult to hold form. By the second turn, everything was very powerful and I motored in to a 45th best swim overall on a 1:30 pace, quite respectable for me and how much I (don't) swim (enough).

Crap transition, still can't get the damn wettie off the feet. I'm going to cut the ankles up a bit to the calf, this is starting to piss me off. Cost me at least a minute futzing with the damn thing. Finally got on the bike and started off.

Hurray the power meter is working today! Quickly dialed into FTP pace and was surprised how I couldn't feel the difference between 250W and 300W. Yay for adrenaline? Anyway, I fought the whole ride with thinking I was pushing hard enough and looking down to see I had more to give. I need to spend some time on the trainer getting those two in sync again! Overall, a nice bike, 17th overall, which slid me in to about 20th judging by the bike count in transition. Average power was 220W, normalized 250. There's a LOT of room in there to ratchet up, could've given myself another couple minutes, but I was pleased. A good T2, no mistakes.

Run felt fine - feet a little frozen, but I'd taken the time to get socks in T1, so they came around fine. Great course - starts out flat, then a nice descent, another flat, turnaround, two loops. You get the nice hill in there at about 2.5 miles and 5 miles, and it's a slog, but it's quick and offers relief afterwards. My cadence was way too quick starting out and I didn't figure out what was wrong until the overall 3rd passed me on his final lap and I got a good eyeful of a nice long powerful stride. The switch went off in my head, I started rotating my hips wider and driving from the core and boom, off like the dickens I went. I couldn't manage much more than a shuffle up the hills, but nobody else did either. My old nemesis\racing friend Peter passed me just before the hill on the second lap and bested me by a minute to the finish, and at the moment it happened I knew I'd lost a podium spot. Crap. Ended up 3rd AG, 27th overall, and could've easily had that minute (or more) back with a better T1. Everything counts!! Regardless, my best run performance to date with a 42:21 10K with solid hills.

Only disappointment was the watch - I tried using 'lo-fi' mode for the bike and run to maximize the battery to see if that would work better for the iron distance, but alas it's useless. I had no pace information at all on the run, and the tracking looks like a 2 year old's art project. I'm going to experiment with the 5s GPS recording mode to see how that drains the battery - I'm skeptical of the 15h advertised time, especially with the 1h swim which records at 1s intervals. If it won't make it 12 hours, it won't cut it.

Superb day, I went to the Bronx Zoo with the kids, wife, and my father who was visiting from out of town, then drinks and grills for dinner to celebrate an early Father's Day. An excellent summer day, with an excellent race. I'd go back for sure, well run and a great course.

Challenge Quassy

Keeping it nice and tight this time.

Woke up early around 3:30, ate a normal breakfast sans coffee to keep my stomach at bay. Worked like a charm, no GI at any point. Got a ride from my pal in town, bikes were already there from the night before. Tried a new bottle for the aero bar cage with a tube and bite valve, homemade. I'd give myself a C+, it worked, but not great. May chuck the whole front bottle altogether, it's a pain. Tires pumped, checklist done, wettie on, down to the beach we go.

A little chill in the air, but the water feels perfect. Skipped warming up, this has worked well for me of late. Countdown, bang, off we go. I had a little flutter in my throat, not really nervous, just not relaxed, but it was gone by the first buoy. Didn't swim particularly well, but not bad either. Just couldn't seem to focus on form as well as usual, but I was swimming wicked straight and passing dudes, so all seemed well. Turned the first buoy and started swimming directly into the big yellow ball in the sky...bummer, left the tinted goggles ashore. Sidled up next to a dude who was pacing alright with mirrored goggles and figured he's be a good ride. He led me straight to the next buoy, nicely done. However, he then turned the wrong direction, so I did as well. After a couple minutes I realized the sun was no longer right in my face, which meant I was going the wrong way. I stopped and got my bearings, wasn't *too* far off course, but definitely smoked a couple of minutes. Blast. Finished the swim in a laser straight line just to spite myself.

Apparently took a nap in transition. No sense of urgency, but honestly, I didn't want a sense of urgency. Hadn't done any course recon outside of a drive, and was keeping my spirits high and expectations low. Off we go, let's ride!

Felt very strong and sturdy, and passed lots of whippersnappers from the under 35 crowd in the first 15 minutes. Started to pick off a few fish from my age group as well, things are going well. Played cat and mouse with a couple of solid riders and settled in to the pod, this was where I was going to be. You'd figure at some point I'd figure out what all the warning signals mean and actually replace the right battery before race day, but alas, no power meter data AGAIN. However, the trusty Suunto told me I was humming along on an average of 22 mph, which was exactly where I planned to start the first third of the ride before the long climbs set in. From feel I knew where I was at roughly power-wise and I knew things would hold together. I was NOT prepared for how screaming fast the descents were, holy crap. Easy 50 mph, clutch for death. Fortunately, I didn't wipe out on the pothole I hit at full bore. Unfortunately I did flat my rear tire. My bomb proof wheel was still true and lovely, but I knocked the stuffing out of the poor latex tube in there. Back to butyl, I don't have time for this. I took longer than I'd like to change the tube, mostly because I actually said a couple of prayers along the way, being that I only had one CO2 cartridge and one spare. Thankfully, fwoop the tire filled and off we went. However, I was definitely riding scared at this point. No recon = riding the brakes. Whole lot of hills, and then more hills, and my back started to hurt. Sat up to spin one of the hills and it felt better, came into transition happy to get on my feet. Tossed on the flash new Hammer visor, XX2i shades, and hit the road.

Some wayward thoughts of quitting were creeping in, I just wasn't sure I wanted to run. Got off to a blazing walking start (guffaw), stopped to take a piss at the aid station a mile in, and saw my buddy through the pisser window. He was looking pretty ragged, and I might have looked worse, so we hung together for some laughs for a bit. Around mile 3 he fell back, and I took off. Everything felt absolutely fine, head to toe. From there I ran like a flaming antelope. Looked down and saw low 7s and high 6s on the flats, and ran completely inside myself. Didn't even try to dance up the steeper hills, just kept the love train going. Warm fuzzies thinking about that run after the fact. With a mile to go I started thinking about the kids and the party, and held back again to give myself a nice boost to run into the chute with. Another friend passed me by and tried to egg me on, but I was really in outer space at the moment and didn't want to share it with anyone but the Mrs. and the kiddos. Found a nice chunk of space to finish grand in and brought it home.

By no accounts a well run race on my part (Challenge, on the other hand, was complete pro!), but fine for a first race of the year, still learning, and walked away intact. The family had a ball at the park while I was out there, and we finished the day with a back deck barbeque with neighbors.

Next day I wasn't too sore, but I was completely exhausted, fell down the stairs in the morning, coughed and sounded like an asthmatic duck, so I called in sick. Wise move. I spent a few hours sleeping on the couch, ate a feast, and started to bounce back. Early to bed, next morning I felt 98%. I'm recovering well and fast, and seem to have a pretty good grip on what I can do out there these days. There's room to push harder, but it's all just training for the big dance in September.

Race Report: HITS Hunter half iron

I got up at 4:30 for a 7:00 am start, had my packet already, just needed to get there (15 min away, I stayed locally) and set up. I downed a protein bar and a Clif bar with some Gatorade, vowing not to eat again until the race to give my stomach a break. I'd also eaten an early and light dinner of a sandwich the night before, really didn't want GI Joe showing up uninvited.

It was a frosty 42 degrees at transition, and I mulled around in jeans and a hoodie to stay warm. I gave the power meter one last try to pair to the Joule, but it seems I was out of batteries on the PowerTap and it wasn't going to happen. Bummer, so much for the power plan, have to ride on feel. I'd seen the course by car the day before and knew it was pretty much down a screamer, then up the same, which I'm used to on the commute course to work. I felt like if I kept it going hard on the downhills, I could pace the rollers and ascents fine.

Swim time! The water was comparably warm, and perfect for racing. The RD (a great guy) led a prayer on the beach, and off we went. I had what felt like a 90% great swim, there were a couple of points where I lost form, but I gained it back. We lost probably a good 2 minutes on the funkiness of the course - get out after the first lap, run down the beach and go back in navigating over some nasty large and jagged rocks. Once swimming, all is well. Popped out and heard 9th out...which was great. Granted, this was a small field, but I knew I had swam well. A guy who had been tickling my feet the whole time thanked me and commented how powerful my kick was, and thought that was a great swim time. Again, I'll take it! Thanks buddy, way to hang behind that two beater! Up the hill and over the mat, I put the swim at about 30 minutes less the weirdness, which is perfect. The buddy's watch confirmed the pace later. Sweet!

Arm warmers on and dried off as much as possible to prepare for a freezefest. I was concerned that I hadn't been able to find my flat kit and was just praying nothing would flat or my day would be over. Fortunately, no bad luck. However, it was COLD. And then the wind started. Oh the wind. It blew in your face on the way up the starter hill, to the side on the way down it, then in your face again (what?) on the way back up. The side wind made me chuck my plan to hammer on the way down, it just didn't feel stable enough. I passed and then was passed by the eventual 2nd place finisher, and given the wind I didn't feel I could chase him down without burning matches I didn't have for the run. I really wanted to nail the run to the wall. I hunted down a rider in Plattsville town, and chatted with him a bunch, another benefit of a lonely ride - no refs. He had the same plan, nail the run. Nice guy. We finished the bike within seconds of each other and left for the run. His brother shouted at him to run a 1:25, which I fessed up immediately was not in my wheelhouse. I told him to take off.

OK, so the run. I couldn't feel my feet, but fine, who cares. I started out. The plan was to relax - sing some Bon Iver to myself, and keep my pace low to start - around 8:30 to 9:00 even. Assuming I could settle in and not freak, start increasing the pace at 1 to 1.5 miles and then lay it down. What can I say, I did just that. I stopped at each aid station for flat coke, but quickly. A whizz at about mile 8 to notr be distracted. A brief, :30 walk over a very rocky portion of the short foot trail to not risk twisting a foot or aggravating an ITB. Other than that....I did it. My best half mary on a HIM, a 1:49. Deep bow. I coasted in what I thought was 7th overall, found out the next day it was 6th. Won my age group handily.

Again, not a deep field, but I know it was a solid effort. In a deeper field I would still have done well, not won the age group, but podiumed in it, no flukes. The run was the key. Was it because I didn't burn too many matches on the bike? Eh, not sure. I definitely took it easy on the bike to be conservative to the wind. I'm capable of better on the bike, but the balance in the performance has to be key. If I keep my bike fitness up, race weight down, and fight to maintain what I have in the other two, I will do well at this distance. I don't have a lot to improve on the swim or run, I don't have the physique or time for it. But I can destroy on the bike, and need to race accordingly. The longer the distance, the more I have to simply hold on the run, not chase people down. Shorter distances will be harder for me because I can't swim as fast. I have a feeling I'm going to plan next year's schedule around longer distances only. They are very fulfilling and speak to my strengths more.

A great way to end the season!

Race Report: South Salem Biathlon

This race is usually the last of my season, but this year I have one more on the 13th. It's an unaffiliated, quirky race put on by friends and attended by friends, within riding distance from the house. The race centers around a roughly half mile hill at about a 9% grade - you get to bike it then run it. The rest of the bike course is highly technical and punchy, albeit short, and the run is no picnic at 4 miles including that hill and a few others. Like I said, quirky. There's an award for KOH (hill) that I was hoping for, as well as a an overall podium.

A humid day, but not oppressively so, things started out just fine. I found my way up to the front relatively. A 16 year old had taken a big gamble and jumped onto the climb and was pounding away, about a third of the way up when I started the climb. He was clearly going to summit first, but I felt I could still be in contention as his climb time could very well be the same as mine, he could have just reached the bottom faster. I put in a very solid climb and was overtaken at the timing mat on the summit - a sneaky maneuver, but a solid play nonetheless. I hadn't seen him as he climbed off my right shoulder and I was peeked off my left. Chapeau. It turned out the kid had ripped up the hill and bested both of us by :30.

All 140 pounds of him soaking wet I figured wouldn't get the job done on the descents as well as I could, so I set to hammering away. I caught the sneak who had clearly burned a few too many matches and held on to his tire for a bit, figuring to blast past him to crush some dreams on a combo of bits at the back end of the course unless he faded completely. Everything fell apart quite literally though on a 90 degree left over slick road, as I fishtailed out and dumped. I managed to spill without injury to myself or the bike, save for having to get the chain back on, but I knew it was essentially over at that point, as a few others passed by while I recovered. I got back on to finish the ride, but I was pretty upset with my luck.

I came into transition and saw I now in 7th. I didn't exactly sprint through transition, but my mind was elsewhere, I started the run without going over the mats. A few people yelled at me and I went back and did the duty, but if there was any question before, it was gone now. I made it about half a mile before my anger seethed me into a walk. I was already on brick legs, and with my asshat, I just couldn't do it. I didn't pull my head out my ass for about another mile, when I finally ran again and came in strong, simply laughing to myself that it was the only way back to my bike.

I cheered in a friend and rode home, disappointed. It's been a wacky season. I'm intolerant of mistakes, and I've made a lot this year. I'll learn from them, but they sting nonetheless. I'm lucky I wasn't hurt in the crash but there was a more conservative way to take that corner and I didn't. I need to keep the bikes up better, with newer tires and lower psi I might not have slipped, and I was ginger on the rear brake when I should have been on both. No excuse for not running harder, but I didn't feel like putting myself in a coffin just for appearances' sake. My goal was the OA, and I was out, so I took myself out. Better luck next time.

Race Report: TriFitness Norwalk Sprint

Got up around 4 for a 6:45 transition area shutdown, planning to get there at 5:45. Had a half hour ride, plus some time to pick up my buddy in town, who was going as well. Warmup was nothing special, some quick sprints up and down the sidewalk, fit test in the water with the wetsuit to get acclimated, but nothing deep. I've been wary of overdoing the warmup of late, after the cramp\tear experience in June and subsequent training.

Settled into a smooth stroke right off the bat, sighting often and staying long as I've been doing in training. The higher my turnover lately, the worse my stroke, but if I keep those points in mind, everything gets good quickly. I moved into the back of the front pack and stayed long, as others started to fade I kept moving up. Zero issues today. Could I have gone a little faster? Yes, but I was so in need of a solid swim performance this year, I just stayed in rhythm and let it go, a comfortable, all day pace of 1:35\100 yd. Hopped out, unzipped and got on the bike ready to lay it down.

Solid bike, stayed right at FTP the whole time as planned - an 11 mile bike, figured the transition would give me the recovery. Made one bad turn (overshot a right turn and had to go through a gas station), which probably cost maybe 5 seconds. Surprisingly I ended up with not the best, but the second best split on the day, behind the overall winner who I didn't know, a very strong female rider. It's not often I get caught on the bike, and it's a first for a female, and on a roadie no less. That's some serious speed, I tip my cap!

Being a sprint, I was redlining pretty hard setting out the run, and held on to a 7:20 pace as long as I could, which turned out to be a mile, at which point I had to settle down for 50 yards before setting out again at a lower pace. At this point I was in 2nd overall as far as I knew, as I hadn't seen any women yet. I burned a lot of matches on the bike and the transition was not enough recovery, and I was paying for it. 3rd OA came up and hung with me a bit before motoring on - I wasn't going to get him - and I saw the two women leaders, including a friend, an ex ITU pro. The one in front was looking very strong and was clearly going to pass me, and in some quick calculation I figured out I was out of the top 3 at this point and wasn't going to get it back....going for the AG win. The course afforded me a long look at the competition and I was several minutes ahead of any in the group, so I stayed easy and finished well within myself. Handily took the AG and sixth overall! My best AG finish to date, albeit in a sparsely attended race, but a win is a win.

Even more good stuff, my buddy surprised himself with a personal best and took home his first podium finish, which elated him enormously. Great to see the sport take root in a good friend!

If I'd dialed it back a tad on the bike I could have run a bit stronger, but it's a trade I won't make. I can make up too much time on a bike that I can give back on the run. The only thing I can do is what I have been - get the bike as dominant as possible and continue to increase my bike threshold to give myself more cushion to get to my run pace with matches to burn. Swim is building well towards Hunter, I'll continue the build for the next 3 weeks and be at peak.

Race Report:Mighty Moss Half Iron

I wasn't sure what to expect coming into this race, both because I wasn't sure my calf would hold up after ripping it up a few weeks ago, and because I'd lost fitness accordingly not being able to do much of anything since the injury. I hadn't put nearly any time in the water, and I knew my swim was not going to be very good. I decided on a plan to swim VERY easy, bike to where I felt like I was going strong but not chunking the run, and do whatever I could on the run, being sensitive to my calf. Thankfully, everything went according to plan.

I swam well within myself, not worried about time at all, just being steady. I was deeply paranoid about cramps, and started very wide to give myself clear water. The first half mile went by without issue, but I was chafing on the neck, so I stopped for a moment to fix the velcro. I really didn't care about time! Once fixed, I felt like it was time to give it a better go, and swam a bit harder to finish off. Coming out of the water, I heard several comments that the course was long, some said 1.4, another said 1.3. The RD said it measured 1.2 even from triangle to triangle, which means I was a dope for swimming the second turn with the sighting buoys to my right unnecessarily (well, that WAS the instruction, but it wasn't a requirement!), probably added the additional 200m. I came out of the water feeling absolutely fine, so I counted it as a victory.

I rode strong, but not hard, focusing on keeping my power around 80-85%. I still didn't trust my calf, despite a couple of good rides. The first 16 miles are a steady climb, followed by rolling hills, a few longer climbs, then the descent back the same way. I passed my way to my 'normal' slot near the front and stayed true, picking the riders I was matched with and pacing accordingly. The calf felt ok, but my quads were starting to bark. Eh, that's a half for you.

Came into transition, slapped on the shoes, belt and visor, off we go. I ran fine for the first mile or so, but could tell there were some cramps trying to bubble out. I took the conservative route and switch to a walk :30\run 5 plan, which I did for most of the run, save for the last mile, which I ran through. It wasn't a great run, but I stayed focused despite not having my legs beneath me. I never fully cramped, which I'm happy with, but I also feel like I was digging as far down as I had in me that day. Psychologically, I knew it was a hard day for everyone - I knew from the bike turnaround and from a quick count in transition I was roughly in the 20s overall coming off the bike, and I was passed by a few on the run, but nothing crushing - all confirmed at the end to find I was 29th overall. The surprise was I also managed 3rd in the age group, which was a little tough to stomach.

My overall time was slower than last year by over 15 minutes, of which almost all was the swim. The takeaways are nothing groundbreaking - I need to put in the time swimming to have a good split. Duh, I'm actually happy I didn't try to go harder than I was capable of. Riding, I don't have any lessons, I was nervous about pushing harder and aggravating the injury, and my split was strong regardless. Fully healthy, I would easily have turned in a better ride. Running - I don't think I made the wrong choice about how I ran. Without the time off I *probably* would have been able to run the whole time, but it's so hard to say. Halfs are NOT easy. I'll try again next year (maybe even this year if I can find one that makes sense for me) and keep trying to improve. Last year I lost focus on the run and mailed it in for the last 6 miles, which I didn't come close to this time. I'm proud of this one, I gave it everything I had.

Disappointed, not discouraged. The dreaded DNF comes a-haunting...

I had my first DNF yesterday- Did Not Finish, for the uninitiated. I'm not surprised how disappointed I'm feeling, and it's not pleasant. I felt feeble, weak, and unprepared, all negative garbage my body knows I'm not, but my mind is more shot right now than my body. I'm certainly humbled.

Forgive me as I recount the morning in high detail. May it help any reader gain knowledge without experiencing it.

I rode to the race with a headlamp while it was still dark out, being that the venue is only 6 or so miles away, the hometown race. It was chilly - around 45F - but I wouldn't say it was cold. Of course, I was riding, so I didn't notice as much, I was wearing a sweater over my kit and didn't feel underdressed. The goal was to get there right as transition opened to get a good spot on the racks. For the next hour and a half though, we basically stood around. I eschewed going for a run - even though I ALWAYS go for a run, somehow rationalizing that any sweat would freeze and cause issues. Why, I don't know. This was bad decision number 1. Instead I chose to put on the wettie at half mast to stay warm, and then get in the water early to reach the same end (water was balmy in the mid 60sF). I swam a bit to get my heart rate up and gathered at the beach for the start.

My race was over literally as it began. I went to jump to start the dolphin dive and both calf muscles cramped and locked immediately. My legs were not even in the water and both legs were barking. Of course, I'd lined up in the front, preparing to draft off a buddy who I knew I could keep pace with, so I spent the next minute getting beat up as other swimmers pushed past me as I was trying to swim with absolutely no functional legs and feet I couldn't point. My left leg unwound slightly enough for me to straighten it out and at least engage in a one beat kick, but at this point I was in the middle of the pack getting clobbered. Any feet I saw I overcame with half a stroke - I was a stronger swimmer than any of the folks I was around at this point - and so I couldn't get out of the melee. I tried several times to veer to the edge, but ended up swimming over another pair of feet to do so, making matters worse. All the while, the right calf is still locked and I am starting to realize this is going to be a bad day. Still, I pushed on. I rounded the last buoy and took 5 seconds to collect myself and try to shake off the juju. I couldn't get the cramp out, and did the best I could to swim out the rest using nothing but arms. The clock on the beach greeted me with a miserable 15 minutes on exit, and coupled with the pain that was grabbing me, I was starting to feel defeated.

I hobbled down to transition and tried to get the wettie off, but of course since I couldn't point my toes on one foot, it didn't work out so well. A friend volunteering saw the pain that on my face and encouraged me to try and walk it off, which I did indeed try. I have no idea how long I spent in transition, I'd guess 3 or 4 minutes at least. Finally, convincing myself that I could somehow shake this off with a good bike, I unclipped the shoes and rubber bands, hobbled out to the mount line and tried to ride. This was bad decision number 2.

The first mile was agony. I couldn't push at all. The meter said my biggest thrust was around 225W...I did what I could and shifted to a small gear and started spinning through it. I have no idea how many people passed me between transition and this mile, but it was a lot. I hit a descent and said screw it, I don't care how much this hurts, everyone hurts. This was bad decision number 3. However, for the next 30 minutes, it felt genius. I shrugged off pain like I have so many times in training and lit the course up. I passed anyone I could see, breaking hearts and crushing dreams. Then I started passing people I knew...from my wave. I'm not a scientist, but I put together how fast I was actually going, and rationalized that I may had actually put myself back in the race. I came down the last descent and saw the lead runners - knowing they were only at most 3 minutes ahead of me. However, on the same descent I tried to stretch out the right calf against the pedal and


SLICE


it felt like someone had stabbed me in the leg. I made the decision right there, the only good one I made, to resign the race. I rolled down to the dismount area, and had to ask for assistance to get off the bike - I couldn't move the leg at all by this point.

The doctor I visited afterwards felt around and decided he felt no deep tears, but of course prescribed a slow and strict rehab. He suggested that if it didn't start to recover or worsen in a couple of days, I should seek an MRI, but he was reasonably confident that it was simply a bad cramp that got worse, and that the damage I did was to try to push through it. He felt the lack of warmup was the culprit, didn't suspect hydration issues, kept coming back to the contrasting temperatures and sudden start. Everything he said was thoughtful and deliberate, and I thank him for his professionalism and attention.

A friend graciously offered to give me a ride home, which he did after sticking around the award ceremony. Many friends asked what had happened, and I did my best to keep the story short and keep the attention on their accomplishments, where it belonged. Nobody needs to hear a sob story while they're receiving an award for a job well done.

My father and I spoke later, and he recalled a sermon he had heard that morning discussing the difference between disappointment and discouragement. How fitting! I feel the former, deeply looking forward to my next chance to train and race and achieve what I am capable of. However, in the meantime I can't describe what I'm feeling as anything other than anger and depression- I simply didn't perform, and the reasons were within my control. Discouraged would mean I don't want to race again...something I can't imagine feeling right now. Right now I want to lay the Wrath of God on the next course I see.

Race Report: Mighty Cow Challenge, Redding, CT

The format was a 5K followed by an opening ceremony, then a half marathon. The road laid to waste wound through the punishing terrain of Redding, where dirt roads are thruways. The weather was poetically beautiful for running, a hint of sun peeking through fluffy clouds with temperatures in the low 60s, a slight gust of wind chilling the beads of sweat on the brow for relief from the internal engine heat.

We began the 5K with few of us knowing quite how to pace ourselves - run a true 5K and hope the break is sufficient to recover? Run at half marathon pace and treat it as a warmup? I did a hybrid, starting out conversational with a new friend I'd met through local training and shifting gears to running comfortably quick, but not all out. Good, long strides at tempo heart rate. Turned out pretty smart, because the course finished on an abruptly steep incline that if taken at full speed would have burned a few matches for the longer leg ahead. The watch said I ran a 7:10\mm pace, the official results say a 7:20 for 22:41, and I overheard the timer say he started the clock late for the 5K because he was confused. I was happy to be in the mix up front, with everyone ahead of me within sight and therefore within catch the whole time. I, the charging rhino with a body that has never screamed to be a runner's body, was running nonetheless, and I was thrilled with the first leg.

We started the half marathon portion with a quick loop around the farm, where I should have busted through the corral and moved up to the pace group, but I enjoyed myself instead by whooping it up with the sizable and fun crowd, clapping along and yelling like a loony. From there I don't remember much until about mile three, where I had scouted that it would be a good time to take a gel for a caffeine boost to conquer some coming hills. I was moving along pretty well at my goal (7:30/mm) pace and the hills weren't giving me any trouble. Some runners with more typical running physiques were not getting ahead of me, and some were falling behind. I decided that I belonged in the group, and that I was out for a good race, not just an extended training session.

Around mile nine came the longest hill of the day, and a twinge in my calf was enough to slow me to a walk for thirty seconds to crest it, knowing there was a long downhill on packed dirt coming up to cushion me for a while of recovery. Something in my head was reminding me that I was quite near the end of having run an actual half marathon already, and that the remaining miles were going to be some uncharted race territory, as I've never raced anything longer. I tired quickly and began to take short walk breaks more frequently, about four of them if memory serves, for about three minutes total. I was convincing myself the fatigue was too much, the hills too brutal, the course too long. I finally fought back against the devil on the shoulder with a mile to go, hills be damned (why were there so MANY?) we're going to run this out. My mind was back in the ballgame but the reality was I had tired significantly, and the best my body could manage for a kick was an 8:00\mm pace. I was toast indeed, and miles 10 through 12 had brought my average pace above 8, which mentally beat me down. Where once I felt I was racing, I was beat up. I crossed the finish line with very little in the tank physically, and of that I was proud and happy. The course had its way with me, and I gave it mental applause for a job well done.

I drank some chocolate milk and water, chatted with a few friends, and took a peek at the results to learn that the course was not merciful to anyone; no one crested 1:20, and only four crested 1:30, which is not a 'fast' half by any measure. I place 71st overall of 480, an achievement for me. The race was hard, the festivities and organization masterful, and I'll come back to see if I can do better.

A strong day. No reversion, pushing the mean.

Race Report: Park City Olympic Tri

Total Time = 2h 16m 20s Overall Rank = 36/287 Age Group = M35-39 Age Group Rank = 0/

Event warmup:

talked with the RD, who has had a stellar race season of his own. Found my main man Rudy, wearing his clown wig and doing body markings as a favor to Team Mossman before heading off for a day of cyclocross. What a beast.
Knew this was going to be a strange race, with a receding tide that was more than halfway out to the far marker. Had a mile run, got in the wettie (which is now getting noticeably too large! Ahem! Time to size down) and got in for a nice zip around.

SWIM

• 24m 58s
• 1640 yards
• 01m 31s / 100 yards

Comments:

I place no stock in this swim performance, we all started swimming and some of us noticed very quickly the floor had come up, and started walking\dolphin diving. The lead pack was up about 100 yards at this point, and my overwhelming thought was "why the hell don't I just train to sprint the beginning?" I can keep up fine, and I'm sick of getting whacked by weaker swimmers going sideways trying to navigate in front of me from some weird angle. When I get in a groove, I'm now swimming in the 1:20 range with a wettie (which as I said is now too big!) and I just need to get out of the middle. Bad on me for not being smarter about this.

What would you do differently?:

Be more aggressive, but more open water swim practice, too. By next year I'll have it put together I have no doubt. This was a weird one, but for the period of time we were actually swimming, I was long, even, and strong. 

TRANSITION 1

• 00m 56s

Comments:

I took the wettie off on the beach, which was smart. Actually walked for a couple seconds to get my heart rate down a bit from running up the sandbar with the wettie on and overheating.

What would you do differently?:

meh.

BIKE

• 1h 03m 24s
• 25 miles
• 23.79 mile/hr

Comments:

I rode really well. Period. I got dinged for a 2 minute penalty which was total Bull$hit, so I'm not including it. I spoke to the two refs afterwards, and one agreed with me, and the other didn't, and the penalty stood. The RD thought it was BS too. The official's motorcycle came up fast behind me while on was on a pass and scared me stupid (it's a MOTORCYCLE) so I quickly ducked right, to the right of the guy I was passing. I finished the pass on the right side because, hey, I was going really fast and the other dude wasn't. The argument was I should have either 1) told the motorcycle to wait (really?????? REALLY?) or 2) slammed on the brakes and resumed my pass on the left after the motorcycle left. Whatever. The ref was pretty sure of herself, and I know what happened out there. Nothing else to say.

What would you do differently?:

Nothing, I had a great bike.

TRANSITION 2

• 01m 5s

Comments:

my back hurt a little at first getting off, so I stretched it for maybe 5 seconds.

RUN

• 45m 58s
• 6.2 miles
• 07m 23s  min/mile

Comments:

Took a little while before I remembered I had a longer stride in me for shorter runs...turned on the jets in the last loop and regained about 15 spots I'd lost earlier. Dumb. I'm still pretty new to running, so the fact that I'm improving to the point where I forget I can go faster is kinda funny to me ;)

POST RACE

Warm down:

My family was there! Hung with the kiddos, wife and my mother on the beach. Gorgeous. Waited WAY to long for the awards ceremony to collect my...Ahem....2nd place overall in the Mossman Championship Series. :)

Event comments:

The post race sucked this year, but that's all. The swim was idiosyncratic to the particular day of the month, can't ding the race for that. Last year was totally different. This is all part of the game. I''m THRILLED at knocking off more than 16 minutes off last year, that's the kind of year I've had, and it's incredibly rewarding. Lots of hard work paying off, and I feel great about it. I just want to keep pushing harder and harder and have more years like this one! I can't believe I started this crap only 2 1/2 years ago, it feels like I should have been doing this for years. So happy my family was there to be with me today at the end of the season, it was really quite joyous and I feel very blessed. See ya next year Mossies!

Race Report:Mossman Sprint

Total Time = 1h 08m 16s Overall Rank = 36/453 Age Group = M35-39 Age Group Rank = 0/

Event warmup:

set up transition, got there early to get a good spot on the rack. Couple sprints to get the heart turned on, 300 yardish swim 

SWIM

• 12m 30s
• 880 yards
• 01m 25s / 100 yards

Comments:

Went off in the elite wave, and got smoked pretty fast as expected. I swam fine for my ability at this time, I haven't worked on swimming as a focus in a while and it's now painfully obvious I need to.

What would you do differently?:

Need to develop a faster stroke - I don't swim fast, and that isn't a reflection so much of stroke fluidity any more, I'm just not turning over very fast, don't have an effective kick, and I'm not experienced enough. This will be the #1 off season focus. 

TRANSITION 1

• 01m 9s

Comments:

Chose to put the shoes on in transition, which I think is a wash when the transition is on grass like this one. The time it saves me to get the shoes on comfortably while riding is lost getting up to speed, whereas if I have them on, I'm at full speed right out of the gate.

What would you do differently?:

nothing.

BIKE

• 32m 24s
• 12.5 miles
• 23.05 mile/hr

Comments:

pretty hard to be upset with a split like this, and I'm not. 20 seconds faster and it's a top 10 OA bike on a sprint. Cornering was a little dicey with the slick pavement from a rain the night before.

What would you do differently?:

nothing. Another year of training with power and I'll be out for blood!

TRANSITION 2

• 01m 1s

Comments:

I talked to a guy in the elite wave who had crashed out on the bike. Lame. I don't know, I wasn't eligible for an AG podium spot due to the Mossman series championship thing, so I softfooted a bit.

What would you do differently?:

meh. Not talked? I like talking to people, so what.

RUN

• 21m 14s
• 3.1 miles
• 06m 53s  min/mile

Comments:

My best run split this season. Just ran. As I knew I could, I let my HR and breathing elevate while my body acclimated over the first mile, and then settled while getting stronger in the second 2. I just gotta do more of this.

What would you do differently?:

nothing, finally happy wiht my run. I'll get better, but this was finally representative of the work I've been putting in.

POST RACE

Warm down:

I had brought a couple beers to split with RudeDog55, back from a long winter and sporting a clown wig. Talked with friends/

What limited your ability to perform faster:

no limits. Just need more training.

Event comments:

I like the venue a lot, the size of the race, and the post race events. So it's a 5.