I am Walrus, I am the Bassman

By the time October rolls around, it’s a little chilly for racing here in the mid-Atlantic…but there was time enough to squeeze in one more before all the booties, tights and hats come out of storage and I head to my soon-to-be-home-state of NJ for another crack at the Bassman Sprint.

Despite having done the race last year, I headed down the day before anyway to ride the course and get the packet situation sorted. Fall’s late sunrises mean a very cold and dark start and I didn’t want to have to fool around with extra details the morning of. Despite a super early departue, I still managed to get lost trying to find the park entrance (everything looked different in the early morning dark!) Fortunately – as I was quietly cursing my poor sense of direction and imploring the Garmin to help me find my way - I stumbled across the road in to the park entrance. It turns out my horrific navigational skills ended up being a blessing in disguise, as entering the park from the ‘wrong’ side put me ahead of a HUGE line of cars. (This year they put both the half and sprint distance races on the same, increasing the congestion at the entrance.)

Even with having to park a few miles away from the transition area in a campsite the RD had rented out I was still way ahead of the game timing-wise. Besides, the quick ride to the race start made for a nice warm up!

Unfortunately, the traffic situation didn’t ever seem to improve and with the race scheduled to begin at 7, a lot of people were wondering if we would actually begin on time with only half the registered competitors present. There were a few announcements made, theoretically concerning the race start, but the PA was of ‘roller rink’ quality and it was tough to hear much beyond distortion. I kept waiting for the guy to announce that the next song would be a couples skate!

The other fly in the ointment was the buoy situation. The race was marked out for a half iron swim and the sprint course was supposed to incorporate some these as markers. But which ones?! It was tough to discern as the buoys were the same color and there didn’t seem to be any obvious path for us. The rumors flying around amongst chilled athletes waiting to start, however, were rampant! Eventually, around 7:40, the RD came down to announce the start and finally end the suspense with regard to the course we were to swim. It certainly wasn’t the most straightforward one, going from shore to random buoy #1, then on to random buoy #2, then back in.

We finally waded out to the start line and were off. I was grateful that the water was a touch warmer than last year, but less grateful that there were also a few faster swimmers. It didn’t take too long to get clear of the bunch, but at the first buoy I was surprised to see two guys hanging on my feet. Granted, I haven’t been swimming too much as of late, but I still hoped for a little cushion going into the bike. Made the turn and tried to spot the next correct buoy (there were three to choose from!), hoped I had the right line and headed back. Fortunately, I had chosen wisely and was soon heading back in to shore, all while trying to avoid the half iron swimmers who were starting to warm up for their swim start!

Managed to exit with the fastest swim of the day but just barely. This year, to accommodate the two races, the transition area was actually on the beach, which made for more room but also a LOT of sand. I hoped this might give me an advantage over my pursuer as the 300 yard run from the racks to the road was also through sand and definitely made faster by having my shoes already on the bike. (But also made for a long bike cleaning when I got home…)

A little half-mile driveway wound through the park before dumping us onto the main road that started the course but as we exited second place was still only about 50 yards back. Fortunately, my legs felt good and I’d ridden the course twice the day before and knew that it started with a shallow uphill grade for the first two miles before leveling off. If there was ever a place to push the pace, this was it. Hitting the bike hard was key. With the course only 14 miles long, I’d have to ride fast to put in enough time to stay away on the run.

All was going well as I approached the first big intersection where the course made a hard left to begin the long loop that comprised the bulk of the ride. And yet, as I slowed to turn, the policeman stationed there indicated I should go straight. This exchange followed:

Cop: "Straight ahead"

Me: "Are you sure? The course map says left"

Cop: "Nope, straight ahead"

Me: (In my head) "I hope so..."

As it turns out, he was correct, the course map was not. Unlike last year, this year the course ran counter clockwise. And was also two miles shorter! Information that would have been good to know pre-race! Still, kept my head down and made the best of it, hoping I didn’t lose too much time slowing down for this conversation. At the first hard turn I did manage to steal a look back and couldn’t see anyone following, but I doubted I was too far ahead.

Made the turn into the park 30 minutes later and was soon being flagged to the dismount line by a familiar face. While I was out on the course my dad had been convinced to volunteer as ‘bicycle traffic director.’ That was pretty cool, but I had other things to think about as I ran back through the sand and readied myself for a ‘lightning fast transition.’

I hooked my bike the rack, pulled on my shoes and was…wait a minute…something feels REALLY wrong in my left shoe! Pulled it off to discover a roll of electrical tape jammed into the toe! Super pro move there, Will… For all my normal attention to detail, I don’t think I’ve ever actually looked into my shoes before a race. Oh well, guess that will become a part of my pre-race routine from now on.

The run course started in a fashion that has become sadly familiar to me this summer, with me coming to an intersection shouting ‘Which way?!’ It seems this part of the course was also part of the bike out, so at the intersection there was one arrow pointing straight and another pointing left, but no indication about which was which! A few confused seconds later and I was one my down the right running path, but it seems the directional gods were really not on my side at all!

However, after all the long races this summer a 5K is no longer so daunting and I felt confident enough that I was actually put up a pretty good pace to start. With this being my last race until Clearwater and as the ‘defending champion’ from last year, I really wanted to stay at the front until the end. The nerve wracking thing about the Bassman course, though, is that it runs through campground loops, meaning that you get a very good view of how far back the other runners are about halfway through the run. As someone who still has a healthy dose of fear with regard to all foot races, this can be a bit intimidating.

Sure enough, at the turnaround, I saw that second wasn’t far back at all. Actually, 3, 4 and 5 were pretty close, too! Not much to do but keep heading down the road…as fast I could. It was nice to be cheered on by fellow competitors who were just heading out onto the run course, which a cool feature of out-and-backs. I did at least manage to resist the urge to check over my shoulder until there was a quarter mile to go and when I did I was pleased to see that there was no one on my heels. I hit the finish chute just 19 seconds ahead of second place for the overall win. Very satisfying, especially my parents had again made the early drive down to see me race.

So, that’s that. Hard to believe I’ve done 17 races this season with only one more to go. Thanks to those of who’ve been reading these epically long reports. It’s been a great summer. It’s kind of hard to believe it went as well as it did, especially when I look back to my first race at Pinchot last May, when the only thing I could think during the run was that I was NEVER doing another triathlon again.

Oops.

Nations Tri and Some Lessons Learned

“Some days are diamonds…some days are rocks.”

That’s what Tom Petty said, and it certainly applies to the Nations Tri on September 13^th. After a fantastic race last year that saw me finish 10^th overall in my first attempt at the international distance, I definitely had my sights set on moving up. Racing in a big city event, in my adopted hometown…it was the race I wanted most to do well in. So much so, that it provided the majority of my motivation. (Especially during my frigid, rain-soaked, singlespeed rides to work in DC all through January. All I could think at those moments was: No one racing here in 9 months is doing this.

With a run that had nowhere to go but up, more months in the pool and an amount of bike mileage that would have shocked the pre-2005 me, I was more than prepared for the race. And that was exactly the problem: I was more than prepared. Despite a very good season leading up to Nations, that one race had become such a focus that it was tough to keep perspective. Every creak in my bike was cause to strip it down to look for the problem. (Which actually ended up being a very good thing as it led to me discovering a severely cracked steerer tube on my TT bike.) I considered everything I ate. I worried that I wasn’t resting enough, or that I was resting too much. In short, I became a bit of a headcase, which is actually very unlike me when it comes to racing. Even in the hardest races I’m usually having a great time. Ride as fast as you want without having to worry about stop signs?! What could be better?

But this time I was racing as an elite in a race where I really wanted to do well. And I knew that I could. Unfortunately, my body and mind couldn’t quite connect and somehow it sucked all the fun out of it. It’s amazing how detrimental this can be. It’s the difference between riding on top of your gears and laboring to turn the cranks, between letting your body glide forward in the run and feeling like every footstep is carrying you shorter and shorter distances.

Of course, even the biggest case of nerves can’t completely destroy a year’s worth of work and when we hit the waters of the Potomac two decades (!) of competitive swimming took over. A few of the normal fast guys took off at the front and I settled in to a good pace that I felt would keep me close enough to the lead without letting totally frying myself 15 minutes into a two hour race.

I ended up exiting the water in 5^th with a time of 20:19. Not too bad for going the whole way without a draft. Plus the long run up to the shore made the time a little longer than it would probably have been at another race. Actually, that was a bit of a running theme at Nations. For some reason they opened the floodgates of registration this year and allowed a whopping 6,000 people into the race! This made for the largest transition area I’ve ever seen and added well over a minute to my transition times from last year.

I was excited to hit the bike though still apprehensive about it. Finding that cracked fork had left me feeling like I was riding a piece of fine china, not a bike that was meant to be pushed hard. Even though it was all in my head, it was tough to feel my usual comfort in what’s become my strongest leg, but I gave it my best shot. I passed one guy straight away and knew I was sitting in fourth. Not too shabby with 25 miles of riding ahead of us. Last year I’d come out of nowhere to have the fastest bike leg in the race by over a minute as the only person to break an hour on the 40K course. I certainly had no reason to doubt my ability to best that time this year.

As we headed out into Rockville park I caught a glimpse of one thru three at the first turnaround. I knew at least one of them and felt sure I would catch him soon. The other two, though, were looking mighty strong. Sure enough, 10 miles in I made a pass and was sitting in third on the road. I assumed that I was putting distance on the guys behind me as well and hoped I could gain enough ground to keep away from them on the run… So, imagine my surprise when I heard the telltale whump, whump, whump of a disc coming up beside me. I was getting passed.

Now, keeping in mind that I usually start in an age group wave behind any pros that happen to be racing, I think I may have been passed by three

people in an entire year of racing. One was Rick Fesler, the other two passed me at Eagleman using a rather ‘unethical’ riding configuration. (In fairness, a week later, Josh Beck would pass me at Savageman, but only because he ‘spotted’ me a little time on the swim to keep things fair ;) ) So, it was more than a little disconcerting to be passed by three dudes in quick succession, especially when I recognized one as someone that I’d easily outsplit at the Philly tri.

Of course, with our abilities being relatively similar and the course being quite flat, I was very cognizant of drafting. I’ve never done it and wasn’t going to start now. I was pleased to see a course marshal staying close by, but either way the option of sucking a wheel simply isn’t part of my MO. But I also wasn’t going to sit back and let three guys ride away. After all, if you’re in it to win it and you’re a better cyclist than runner, you’d better be prepared to make some moves on the bike.

And so for the next 12 miles there were more than a few surges. I’d pass one or two guys on the uphills only to have them take back the ground when we headed down. The constant accelerations put a lot more strain on me than last year when I never had to worry about be passed, only about how to get around the masses of people ahead of me safely. I did find it very strange that my surges never seemed to put enough distance between me and the guy with whom I was trading spots. This mystery was solved when I checked the results later and saw that he had indeed been hit with one of the few drafting penalties given out that day. Of all that didn’t go according to plan during the race, this is only part that actually irked me after a good night’s sleep. The idea that I was burning matches to accelerate for a pass after dropping back the full required length while my competitor was simply sitting in my draft before making a pass of his own has only reinforced my desire to wear one of Mike and Kara’s awesome ‘Drafters Suck’ t-shirts. If you want one, make sure you hit their website, drafterssuck.com, and let them know! Finished in 1:00:40, about a minute slower than last year, but objectively not a bad time. And we all know how easy it is to be objective in the heat of a race…

Hit the run still in 5^th or 6^th (I can’t recall which) and was soon out onto a course that was much more straightforward (but also more boring) than last year’s. I had been almost excited (if one can actually be excited to run…which I’m not sure is mentally possible) to get to the run because I knew I’d made great ‘strides’ improving over the last year. Since I fell from third to tenth in 2008 on this section by clocking nearly 48:00 minutes, I was ready to really improve my standings with what I hoped would be my first sub-40 10K. It took about half a mile to realize that was going to be tougher than I thought. I was immediately beset by cramps, something that has actually never happened to me in a race of any distance. Whether it was caused by overextending on the bike or something else, I’m not sure, but I passed through the first mile in 6:45, far slower than I usually start out and it felt like I was putting in way more effort.

As the road stretched ahead the cramps worked out and I was again visited by my friend and ‘super fan’ Diz. He was there to cheer me along the run course last year as well and had intended on racing himself in 2009. Unfortunately an injury kept him out, but his moral support on the course was very welcome! My splits eventually started to come down a bit and I was soon holding under 6:30s, but it was tough out there, with the biggest challenge being the mental realization that I was not going to hit my goal.

A few shallow but cruel hills later and I was on the homestretch with nothing left. I even let a guy pass me in the final straight as my legs simply had no speed to answer with. Of course, even feeling that badly, I finished the run in 41:09, only a few seconds slower than my best. Frustrating as it made me realize that a sub-40 would have been easily within my grasp had I been feeling better.

In the end I finished in 15^th overall and was 9^th in the elite wave. Ironically, had I raced an age-grouper I would have won the 30-34 race, but if you want to win big you’ve got to put it out there and not going elite would have been a bit of sandbag after my race last year. However, despite coming home empty-handed, I probably took away more form this race than any other in terms of lessons learned…

One, there’s a lot to be said for relaxing and enjoying the training as well as the racing. I seem to get in better shape when training is fun. I’m no pro, so when it’s not fun, time for a break. Mike H has been very instrumental in helping me believe my fitness will not up and abandon me. I’ve been a bit stubborn to come around, but eating pie and drinking beer leading up to a fantastic race at Savageman has really shown me that accumulated fitness is far more important. (Though I think I’ve maxed out resting on my swimming laurels and have been in the pool more recently!)

Two, I believe it’s important to race for the win, no matter who’s at the starting line, but that doesn’t mean failing to get the victory is the result of a bad race. Any other day my time at DC would have been a very good one, especially considering the looooong run through transition.

Three, like fitness, a proper diet is important, but much more so in the long term. For Eagleman, I did manage to race a few pounds lighter than I would normally be, but I felt fine getting down there. For Nations, I was about the same weight, but it came off a little quicker and I would have been better served eating more a few weeks out. Even on a course like Savageman I felt better with 3 extra pounds than I did at Nations. (Well, except on that damn fire trail…) All part of the learning curve there. I’m a paranoid eater having spent the better part of year losing almost 60 pounds from my post-swimming ‘fat’ days. Of course, a lot you didn’t know me back then, but I don’t want to ever go back there.

Four, it’s OK to be a little selfish leading up to a big race. Eat what you like the day before and when friends make offers, it’s OK to take them up on them. I HATE imposing on others, but my friends Meaghan and Kevin are always my DC ‘homestay’ and letting them take care of me a little bit definitely helped to relax me...well, as much as possible. For once, I should have not worried so much about asking for stuff. 360 days out of the year, you should always be the consummate houseguest, but when someone wants to help you achieve something, it’s OK to let them…and it gives you a reason to return the favor. (Like when Kevin mans up to race Savageman in 2010!) Same with my dad who was more than happy to drive me to race site hours before dawn. I can’t believe he’s still getting up to see me race after over 20 years of swim meets. If I ever have kids (which is looking doubtful due to Speedos and bike saddles) I REALLY hope they are into a nice afternoon sport…

Five, just because one race is your goal, doesn’t mean it’s going to be your best. Using Nations Tri as motivation was great, it always kept me going when maybe I didn’t want to do that extra hill repeat or swim set. But sometimes a goal race isn’t your best race. (So says the guy who chased the Georgetown backstroke recod for years only to break it in a post-meet time trial!) I think there’s a lot to be said for racing a lot and racing locally, as you never know when you’re going to have that perfect day and it may come when you’re least expecting it.

Six, always enjoy the experience. It was cool to have a two-digit number, start in the first wave and have the end bike rack. In big races I don’t often get to race in the front and it was a very different experience. Harder in some ways, easier in others, but certainly not one I will forget. I doubt I’ll look back on this race and have too many fond memories of the actual event, but I spent the weekend with friends and got to ride my bike as fast as I wanted (or could.) Racing is really a great excuse for acting like a little kid.

So, maybe not as upbeat a report as normal, but it helps to examine the good and the bad. Maybe someone else will get something from this and come back with their own good performance as a result. I hope so. Only one more report from PA to come since I’m moving home to NJ in November. I will miss the hills, I will miss the lakes and mostly I will miss all of you. Ever since finding YBR, I’ve felt like the little bee girl in the Blind Lemon ‘No Rain’ video when she finds a whole group of weirdos who are just like her… So, thanks.

Savageman Race Report

Wow. I want to get this one done quickly as I’m afraid my brain might try to purge this traumatic experience from my memory. It must happen, how else could they get people to return for this race year after year? But if you read no farther than this, simply know: SavageMan is quite possibly the best race ever. You have to do it. Seriously. You’ll hate me right around the halfway point of the ‘Killer Miller’ climb (how psyched was I to see that name?!) but this has got to be the best racing experience I ever had.

Where to begin? First of all, Deep Creek Lake is fantastically beautiful. I rented the Maryland Park System’s only Yurt, which is just off the run course in the heart of the park. Amazing. Got here Friday afternoon so had some time to explore nearby Thayerville. There’s not a lot of things to ‘do’ but that’s the point. Two cups of coffee by the lake with a book, really, could I be happier? Went out for a quick ride on Saturday morning before the race meeting/bike racking and took in the first 7 or 8 miles of the course. I’ve never ridden or driven the bike route before, so the other 48 miles would be a surprise, but at least I would know which way to turn out of the park.

Perhaps the most notable thing about bike racking was the number of times I heard “You’re riding a disc?!” I didn’t think it would be so unusual, but in the end only three of us had one. Myself, another guy and Bjorn Andersson. Ironically, Bjorn and I are both sponsored by HED (though I suspect his deal is a little better than mine) so we had a matching wheelset. But I was not to be swayed from my wheel choice, funny looks be damned!

The race itself started at a very civilized 8:30 AM. After lining up in a swim pen at 6:30 last week for Nations, this felt downright indulgent! Not to mention that the start was less than a mile of downhill walking from my Yurt. Got my stuff situated and said hi to Josh and Jan Beck and then headed down to the very clean lake for my 3^rd wave start. After years of morning swim practice I know I’ll never enjoy getting into cold water in the morning, but here the swim is the only part of the race with no hills!

The swim went well. I knew there was a relatively small field of pros and a swim prime up for grabs, but was leery of gassing myself with such a long day ahead. After a few minutes another guy and myself were pulling away from the pack and we stayed dead even until the first turn around. (A giant inflatable turtle, very hard to miss!) Coming back I just kept things long and smooth as we started passing some of the folks from the second wave and by the time we reached the second turnaround at the giant swan (Also hard to miss!) I had a little bit of a gap. At the final run in to the beach I passed a very familiar looking swimmer in a red cap that I thought might be Josh but I wasn’t sure. Of course, I knew that if it was him I’d surely see him again on the bike at some point when he passed me back!

Hit the beach in a time of 24:25, very decent, especially considering how much I’ve been shunning the pool lately! Unfortunately, Bjorn went a low 23 and knocked me into 2^nd, so no cash for me! Headed up to transition and spotted one lonely and familiar Cannondale in the pro rack, but I knew Josh would be flying along minutes behind me. Took a little extra time to put on a vest and arm warmers, though wisely ditched the gloves I’d planned on wearing. The sun ended up staying out and making the extra clothing unnecessary (and the vest wasn’t very ‘aero’ either) but I definitely didn’t want to end up shivering like I did during October’s Bassman, so I went the ‘better safe than sorry’ route. This would end up being my theme for the day!

Ahh, the bike, the part of the course that really makes this race what it is. It doesn’t take long for the road to head up and the signs to start. (They dot the entire course and are perhaps the best part of the day) There’s a short kicker climb up and then a relatively flat section to start things out...it definitely lulls you into a false sense of security. But my legs felt much improved over last week at Nation’s and I was just getting into a good groove when that lonely Cannodale came rocketing by powered by our own Josh Beck. He looked strong and determined to chase down the leaders.

Since I knew nothing about the course except that it was extremely hard and very steep, I thought it would be wise to keep things a bit on the conservative side. After all, this was only my second race of ½ Iron distance! I did pass a few people on the flat sections, but the downhills at this race are nearly as scary as the uphills. Course recon would have helped a lot as I got passed by a few guys here, but some of those turns were sharp and in the early morning light it was tough to see all the potholes!

The first 18 miles went by without incident and it was nice to cruise along the river for a bit, though I didn’t see many other riders. I think I was the ahead of most and the ones in front of me were going pretty fast. And then, Westernport, home of the notorious ‘Westernport Wall.’

I hit the stop light that marked the last level ground for 30 miles and shifted into my small ring, then said a silent prayer that I would make it up the wall…and the six miles of climbing that follow it! Grabbed a bottle of water at the bottom (just to add some weight of course) and started up what may be the toughest 6 blocks in all of triathlon. You can actually stay seated for the first three, but I was fully out of the saddle by the last two. I caught a glimpse of Jan Beck walking back down so I assumed Josh had gone through a while before. Passed one rider who was weaving up the second-to-last incline and then I was on it. Wow. The thing is steep. And if that was all, it would still be damn hard. But it’s also got a surface like an ancient cobbled road and I’m convinced a big part of getting up is luck. I had a nice rhythm going for the first 2/3 and managed to avoid all potholes, then hit a doozy and thought I was going down. How I stayed balanced I’m not sure. My rear wheel was slipping as I leaned farther forward and my front wheel still felt like it was ready to lift off the ground! Somehow I got in one good crank just as I thought I was really done for and then I was clear. Whew! My brick in the wall was secure. It was a close call but I’d made it! Of course, there’s still six miles of relentless climbing up to the continental divide, but at least I wouldn’t have a spectacular wipeout sitting on YouTube in the morning!

Just beyond the wall was a clothing drop where I ditched my vest and arm warmers. I’ll admit, I wasn’t hating the 30 second respite from pedaling, but soon I was on my way again, heading up, up, up.

One great feature of the course is the naming of the climbs, Tour de France-style. Each one starts with a sign telling you the elevation, length and average grade. The key term here is ‘average grade.’ I can easily climb 8% seated, but 8% average here usually meant 200 feet at 18% followed by 300 feet at 4%. Forget rhythm, these things are about survival! I passed a few more guys on the way up to the top of Big Savage mountain, the top of which had a sign that read ‘It’s all downhill from here (if you’re water)!’ Unfortunately they out-descended me and reached the base of ‘Killer Miller’ with about a 30 second gap.

‘Killer Miller’ is the other ‘Hors Categorie’ climb of the race, and though it looks like a passive, almost cinematic hill, it’s anything but! I rode the next 1.3 miles out of my saddle, mostly with a 34-27 gearing, and it was STILL brutal. Managed to pass about a half dozen folks here and with relatively straight descents following I didn’t get passed again on the bike for the rest of the race.

There were more, ‘smaller’ climbs along the way, and they never seemed to end, but the last few miles were relatively flat and I was actually able to assume an aero position again leading into transition. I snuck in with a time of 3 hours even, good enough to give me the 8^th fastest bike split of the day, but my quads felt like they’ve never felt before. Run a half-marathon? Suuuure….

Keeping ‘cautious’ and ‘conservative’ as my buzzwords for the day, I started my run with the goal of keeping it as restrained as possible. Not only did I not know how ‘savage’ the run might be, but I also knew I’d never run on legs this toasted before. Amazingly, I was able to keep my effort at an easy jog and still hold 7:30 miles. I was surprised how decent this felt, but I wasn’t going to question it!

About 2.5 miles in the run headed up into the campground where I was staying so I knew it would be steep, but at least it was relatively short. If figured if that was the worst uphill, it would hurt but I could survive it on the second loop. I headed back down to the main road which rolled past transition and out towards the second turnaround. It’s amazing how ‘flat’ rollers can feel after running up a 15% grade in the campground!

Of course, even though the bike course is the best known part of the race, I think it needs to be pointed out that the run is pretty damn ‘Savage,’ too! The second turnaround comes about five miles into the run, but is it on the road? Oh no. Just as you get to the bottom of a hill you’re directed to a trail that heads up a gravelly washout in the woods! The Pinchot trails have nothing on this. A lot of clearly dejected people were simply hiking up, but I somehow maintained a ‘run.’ Truth be told it was only slightly faster than a walk, but it was more about personal pride at that moment. After what feels like forever the aid station at the top finally appears. Thank God, I thought, we can head back down now. But in a devious twist, you still have to run another 50 yards to get to the actual turnaround! Just cruel…

As I neared transition I saw Bjorn and the other leaders on their second loop. Josh wasn’t with them, but I knew he couldn’t be far behind. Sure enough a few minutes later he appeared looking incredibly fast! It was very strange to see him moving so quickly past other athletes who looked like they might soon need medical attention. (And, yes, I include myself in this group!)

Came through for the end of my first loop and still felt remarkably relaxed. Just 6 ½ more miles and it would all be over. It almost didn’t seem possible. I have to say, the race is so beautiful and the crowds so enthusiastic, the whole thing seemed to go by much faster than Eagleman.

Headed out for the second bit still feeling good. Caught a glimpse of DC Mayor Adrian Fenty and tried to show him some DC love. He kind of acknowledged me, but seemed to be in his own world of pain. Poor guy probably has lots of people shouting to him all day, it must get tiresome trying to respond after a while… I still felt pretty good, but that all changed around mile 8 on my second trip up into the campground. Did this part get steeper?! The piano that had been hovering all day was starting to come down and even the downhill section back to the main road felt rough…

By mile 9 it was tough to keep my miles under 8 minutes and I was really start to look forward to getting around that final turnaround at the top of the fire road. As I headed up the rocky ascent one more time it was so tempting to walk, but I just kept telling myself I could make it for two more miles, two more miles, two more miles…

By the time I made it back down to the road I was cooked and with just a half mile to go the world started to get a little swimmy. It was an…interesting sensation. Finally, about 500 yards from the finish, I succumbed and walked for about 15 seconds. It was that or keel over. Kind of weird being that I was so close to the finish that I could literally hear it, but my body was NOT happy. After that little breather I started running again and was soon in the mercifully short finish chute. Hit the line and immediately found a spot to sit for a good 20 minutes. It was feeling unlike any I’ve felt after a race.

But I wasn’t the only one. That race takes so much out of people that my 1:46 ½ marathon was actually the 9^th fastest of the day! I’m simultaneously proud of having such a strong run relative to the rest of the field and amazed that what turned out to be an 8:07 average pace was able to place me so highly! That says an awful lot about this race…

In the end I won my age group and was the 5^th overall male finisher, 2^nd amateur with a time 5:15, so I was very happy indeed. My prize was a great SavageMan lithograph signed by Dave Scott. Definitely one of the cooler things I’ve ever gotten post-race. Josh Beck had a hell of a day, too, but that’s his story to tell, not mine.

Sorry for the length of this one, but I can’t think of a race that could come close to this one in terms of style, fear, panache, support and overall coolness. If you’re reading this you HAVE to think about doing it.

And for fun, here are some of the other cool signs spotted on the course:

Before the wall: “Welcome to Westernport, where the weak fall”

After the wall: “How’s that aero gear treating you?”

“Course Designer: Kyle Yost” followed by his phone number

“15 MPH minimum speed limit”

“For sale: triple crank. $400”

Starting up Killer Miller: “Killer Miller, ONLY 22%”

On Killer Miller: “Who is Leo Miller, and why does he hate you?”

Approaching the Killer Miller Aid Station: “EPO – 200 feet”

Mile Marker 40: “Last climb on the course” (before 6 more climbs…)

Mile 45-ish: “Make sure you save something for the run!”

And many, many more…

Sugoi Velocity Review

As warm (OK, hot) weather began to prevail in races this July, I knew it was only a matter of time before wetsuits stopped being allowed at some of the races for which I was registered. As one of the better swimmers in most races, I love when warm water keeps wetsuits from being legal, but what to wear? For the first half of the season I’ve had great success with my Sugoi RS Tri Shorts and RS Tri Tank, but I was looking for that extra edge in non-wetsuit swims. Enter the Sugoi Velocity Tri Suit.

Wow. I was collegiate swimmer up through 2002, but it’s simply amazing how far fabric has progressed in the short time since I left the pool. Just pulling the Velocity out of the box I could tell the fabric was something special. What it is, I’m not sure, but I know if feels thinner than even my old-school paper suits used to. Except it’s stretchy. And tough. And light - really light - to the point that it feels fragile, even my experiences thus far have shown me it’s anything but.

Except that’s not all. Despite having a very ‘tight’ look in the box, the Velocity is stretchy in all the right places, in just the right amounts. Even though the shoulders are comfortably flexible and the hips and torso stretch just enough, the fabric remains tight to the skin, which is absolutely essential for speed in the water. It’s why you’ll see so many pros going to the extra effort of wriggling into speedsuits for non-wetsuit competition. Apart from the ‘fast’ fabrics, the ability to squeeze loose fabric into a streamlined package makes a huge difference. But the Velocity practically negates this need. It keeps its tight, streamlined shape all on its own. Even the rear pockets somehow manage to stay flat at race speed. As someone who used to spend years training to drop 10ths of a second, I can absolutely feel it when extra drag appears on my body and I never felt a thing from those little pockets in the back. Amazing, given how easy they are to access during the bike and run portions of the race.

Yet fit is only half the story. Actually, given the nature of triathlon, maybe it’s only a third… Where other speedsuits are quickly forgotten post-swim, the Velocity really starts to shine AFTER T1. The amazingly tough (but remarkably thin) fabric seems to dry almost instantly. As anyone who’s done a hot race knows, it’s only a matter of times before even the best shorts and jerseys are nothing but a soggy mess, loosely flapping on the bike, hanging heavy on the run. Not the case with the Velocity. Even in the most humid of conditions, the fabric holds little to no water. While other tri clothing often has to be rung out at the finish line, this suit is at worst mildly damp. For a group of athletes who obsesses about shaving grams off their gear wherever possible, just wearing this piece of clothing will cut whole pounds off your person by the end of a race. It’s simply amazing and the reason I’ll continue to wear it even as the weather turns chilly and wetsuits start to become the norm again.


http://www.sugoi.com/usa/eng/Products/Tri/Men/Race-Day/Details/1685-29660U.611-Velocity-Tri-Suit

Lums Pond Tri/Drunkman Invitationl

As of August 16th, we have a new triathlon event in the mid-Atlantic region: The Lums Pond Tri/Drunkman Invitational. Please, allow me to explain… Ordinarily, you just race against all the other lycra-clad idiots that are into this crazy sport and if you do well they give you a medal. Or maybe a trophy. (And once a lawn chair!) But that’s it. However, with my friend Kevin and my cousin’s husband, Chris, also registered for the race, we decided to mix it up Pete Rose-style and put some beer on the line. Each of us contributed a 6-pack of decent libation for a winner-take-all smackdown.

But when comparing my training schedule with theirs, plus each of our respective past results, it became very clear that some kind of handicap would need to be put in place. After much discussion, Chris and Kevin were matched up as even with me racing at a 20-minute handicap. (So, for me to take home the brews I had to finish 20 minutes or more ahead of both of them. No easy feat in a sprint-distance race!)

The morning of the race was warm and clear, with the water temperature hovering somewhere in the ‘lukewarm bath’ area. So, of course, it was no surprise when they announced that the swim would be WETSUIT LEGAL. I give up. I am going to start bringing comically large thermometers to races and very obviously taking the temperature where everyone can see. This might be the season’s most blatantly skewed reading yet!

As we lined up in the water for the start I overheard a few younger guys talking about their swim team’s practice sets and figured I had found my feet. The race started and it wasn’t long at all before we were pulling clear. Except I was off the front. This wasn’t the plan. I’ve really been enjoying the drafting thing recently so I slowed a bit to let someone else take the lead. Two other guys came up, went to the front briefly then backed off again. It was kind of cool to have the swim turn tactical and all along the main portion of the swim three of us took turns surging and regrouping, trying not to pull while also not letting the pace get too slow. I’m not sure what this was doing to the group behind us, but all three of us made the final turn towards shore together and came out of the water 15 seconds up on the next guys.

As we exited the first guy out of the water immediately slowed to a walk. He’d been going all out to win the non-existent swim prime and clearly wasn’t too concerned about getting out onto the bike quickly, so it looked like, for the time being, it was just going to be down to two of us unless there were some superbikers just behind.

The other guy and I came out of T1 within about 6 seconds of each other and I planned on just hanging back for a few miles and not showing any cards. With nearly 20 miles of riding I figured there would be plenty of time to make a move on the bike course. What I didn’t count on was the duathlon congestion on the road leading out of the park! Made me wonder about the length of their ‘two mile’ run as with a head start of only 5 minutes it didn’t seem possible that so many runners would have been out of T1 in under 15 minutes.

As we exited the park, my plan to hang back went out the window. I felt good so just made a move and hoped this other guy wouldn’t be able to follow too closely. I’ve been riding a ton of hills lately so I feel like my power is coming up, this ride would be a nice chance to put that assumption to the test.

Unfortunately, it was an exceptionally (like, Eagleman-caliber) flat course, so there was no really opportunity to get a big gap…instead Lums Pond is all about steadily adding to your advantage. So, I just kept my head down and tried to keep it smooth and on pace. Having ridden the course before, I knew it would be slightly tougher on the way back with a headwind and slight uphill grade. Best to just keep it sustainable.

Amazingly, about 10 miles into the bike I saw a group of riders taking up most of the right lane with some sitting up and other at the front pulling. It looked like a pack of racers but I figured it couldn’t be. Who would be so blatant about cheating to sit in a pack of 12? (And why at the local Lums Pond race? There’s no prize money at stake, trust me…) Given that it was a Sunday morning on a quiet Delaware road I had to assume it was just a club’s group ride that happened to wander onto the course. I made myself known with an ‘on your left’ and the group calmly called out that there was a rider back. Yet, as I passed them, I saw they were all sporting race numbers! I couldn’t believe it. Despite seeing some ‘ethically questionable’ riding at a few races this year, this was my first sighting of a full-on pack of cheaters who weren’t even trying to hide it.

The one silver lining - as I found out after the race from Chris, who’d spotted the pack as they came out of the turnaround - was that they had split just after I passed them. Apparently a small group tried to jump on my wheel, couldn’t hold on, and ended up stringing out. So, I guess I did a small part, but really, I just find the idea of intentionally cheating in a race like this so odd…

After some vehicular congestion (and a bit of swerving on my part) coming back into the park, hit T2 leading the tri (though with a few of the ‘du-ers’ still ahead.) Just three miles to go, but as always I was ready for some fleet-footed guys to come up from behind. I felt good and was still in the lead at the turnaround. Spotted second place about a minute back and did my best to look confident and smooth on the run. (For me, this requires some Oscar-caliber acting!) But actually felt rather good and even managed to pass 5 or 6 guys from the Du, including one wearing a duathlon national champion jersey! (OK, so it was from an age-group more than a few brackets above mine, but still…)

Came into the finish feeling strong and ended up taking the overall by about 35 seconds. Interestingly, my ‘3 mile’ run took me 16:50, a 5:37 pace. (No, I haven’t improved that much. I mapped the course later and it ended up being 2.8 miles. But that still put me at 6:02 per mile, by far my best sprint run of the year.) Most exciting was that I finally managed to crack the top 10 for run splits, having the 8th fastest of the day. It’s getting there…

But the real race was still on! I crossed the line with a total time of 1:14:33 so Chris and Kevin had until 1:34:33 to get themselves home if they wanted the beer. I have to say, I could almost taste a cold Honey Moon, followed by a nice, dark Yuengling Porter and then finished off with a Yuengling Lager. Mmmmm…

As the time drew ever closer, still no sign of them… That beer was as good as mine! But then, there was Chris, in the distance (and easy to spot as he’s English and hence one of the mid-Atlantic regions paler competitors) running for the line. He put on a finishing sprint and…well, we didn’t know. I hadn’t bothered to remember the anything past the minutes of my time, thinking he’d either be under or well over. This one was going to go to the clock!

After the typical post-race snacking, the results were posted. Chris’ time: 1:34:26. Unbelievable! He’d beaten the 20 minute handicap by 7 seconds and rightfully claimed an 18 bottle prize. (Actually, it was 17, I dropped one of mine on the way to the race.) I took some solace in the fact that apparently I’m a pretty good triathlon handicapper, but that sure wasn’t going to quench my thirst. Alas, I won the war…but lost the battle. (And yes, just about every day I get some reminder from him about how he just barely has time to do something, but usually makes it by 7 seconds…)

Why I Will Always Ride Argon18 Bikes...

Over the past few weeks my racing bike, an Argon18 E-112, has developed a bit of a creak. I’ve chased it everywhere. So far, my ride has gotten a new bottom bracket, new chain, new brake pads and I’ve regreased and retorgued every single nut and bolt I could find, from the rear dropout screws to bar end shifters. Nothing. Until I checked the tiny bolts holding the derailleur hanger in place. Aha! One of them was stripped. Could this be the cause of the noise? It seemed likely. But I’ve got a race this weekend and there’s no way I’ll be able to find a replacement on Wednesday for a race I’ve got Sunday… But worth a try anyway.

I give Argon18 a ring at about 10:00 AM Wednesday morning and explain my predicament. Though they prefer you work through the shop that sold you the bike, I knew I’d never get a part that had to be shipped to another company and then to me in time for a race. I prepared to beg…
But I didn’t have to. The guy I spoke to said, “No problem, we do keep some spares on hand for racers and emergencies. What’s was your address?” I gave it to him with profuse thanks and he said it should be here by Friday.

Cut to 9:00 AM this morning (less than 24 hours after I made the call) and a replacement hanger and bolts was being delivered to my door by FedEx. Unbelievable. It’s incredible to see a company step up like this. I had the hanger mounted within the hour and as off riding soon thereafter. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the cause of the noise, but it still needed to be replaced as soon as possible and Argon18 made sure I literally had to go less than a day without my beloved bike. Amazing. When I compare it to the offer AT&T made me to replace my broken iPhone for $100 MORE than I paid for it (plus the $18 ‘early upgrade’ fee and extended contract I would need) it makes me hope Argon stays in business for a long, long time. I knew the bike was fast, but now I know the company is also incredibly reliable, and I think that’s probably just as important…

Steelman Sprint Race Report

The weather forecast for Quakertown’s Steelman Tri leading into the weekend looked fantastic. Moderately warm, dry, sunny…ideal. I hadn’t raced a sprint distance tri since the Harrisburg race in June, so I was quite excited at getting to race near the red again, without having to worry about a long run to sucker punch me at the end. Plus, my good friend and fellow swimmer (San Francisco State and faster than me!) Diz was coming to race as well. It was all set to be great weekend.

But as I lay in the back of my van at a local campground near the race venue I was only seeing many, many reports of foul weather heading our way via the Weather Channel app I had freshly downloaded to my iPhone. Visions of triathlon victory glory were fast giving way to duathlon nightmares. No swim? Run Twice?! NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

Despite my misgivings, I soon found myself drifting off to the ever louder sound of raindrops on my roof, apprehensive about the next day, but also fully aware that there is not a person on earth with the ability to alter the weather. What the skies held tomorrow was still uncertain, but there was nothing I could do about it.

As expected, 4:50 came around and the skies were not cooperating. Then again, things could certainly have been worse. The rain was falling in a steady drizzle, but there was also no evident thunder and lightning. Best to just head down to the race site and see what was doing…

Fortunately my campsite was only about 2 miles from the venue, so I managed to be one of the first ones there. Since the racks were only numbered by wave, not by individual spot, my early arrival gave me a primo location in an end spot. Why directors don’t put the bike and swim/run entrances and exits at diagonals to make it fair I don’t understand, but I sure wish they would…I could sleep in a bit! However, these directors were about to completely redeem themselves with the following announcement. “The water temperature is 78.4 degrees, so wetsuits are not legal for this race.”

What? Are my ears working correctly? Am I being punked? It sounded like someone actually took a legitimate reading and was following the wetsuit rule properly! Sad that this is a surprising revelation… But sure enough the tri would stay a tri and, even better, have a legit swim! Finally a chance to see if my Sugoi Velocity suit was up to the challenge when not shrouded by a wetsuit.

Of course, even though the water was warm, the air was not! I was very pleased to be in the first wave as standing around waiting for the race to begin in the rain was definitely shiver-inducing! I felt bad for Karen P. who wasn’t due to start for at leats another 20 minutes. Finally, we were given the go ahead to make our way into the water. Interestingly, the Olympic distance race had already started and the sprint swim course was really just the second half of the Olympic one. Should make for an interesting merge!

As the horn sounded about 5 guys jumped and went into a full sprint. I hung in the middle of this mini pack and in 200 yards we were down to three and I sat comfortably in the middle of the two other guys. The one in the lead seemed to be giving it full bore in an effort to drop me, but I found the pace just easy enough that I could hang and wait a bit to see how things would play out. As we hit the second turn buoy that marked the merge with the other course the guy who’d been at the front was clearly hurting and started dropping back quickly. I made my way to the front and soon was picking off people from a later wave of the Olympic distance. I didn’t know it at the time, but as I struggled to find clear gaps amongst the many swimmers who had switched to breaststroke, I was steadily putting time into the rest of my wave. I hit the beach in the lead by about a minute (and finally picking up a long overdue swim prime, as mine was the fastest of the day.) My time of 11:54 leads me to believe the swim was a bit long as even sans wetsuit I should have been in under 10:00, but a quick run through some slick mud and I was off onto a very wet bike ride!

The cool part about Steelman was the closed (and very fast) course. There’s a quick half mile climb out of the park that goes at about 10%, but after that it’s just long rollers on what is essentially a very boring stretch of country road. It certainly would have been faster without all the rain, but I still managed to get some good speed. This seemed to be a popular race and I always assume there’s some kind of crazed super runner just waiting to take me down…so I’d better build any cushion I can.

Now, if I may digress before I continue… How is it that so many (like, half) triathletes cannot seem to grasp the ‘ride to the right’ concept. Seriously. I actually overheard a few racers talking about how they stayed wide because it was hard/took so long to get back to right. I have to say, I ALWAYS move back to the right whenever possible. And it’s extra annoying to when someone is so close to the center as to make passing them properly dangerous. Anyway, I know that no one reading this is causing these issues, but maybe if everyone tells two people at a race word will spread. Back to our regular scheduled programming…

I hit the second turnaround and headed back for the park entrance completely soaked but otherwise feeling good. I picked off a lot of Olympic tri riders, but since I there was no way to distinguish them from the sprinters, I couldn’t tell if there was anyone from my race nearby. Interestingly, when I turned to head back into the park for the run, more than a few volunteers started yelling, “You have to do another lap!” I guess they couldn’t tell the difference between the two races either. This confusion was actually kind of a theme for the day.

In a cool twist, according to all of the past results I’ve found, no one (not even Andrew Yoder when he raced here) has ever gone that fast on the sprint course, so I’m declaring it a new (unofficial) record!

Hit the run feeling good, though again had to ask which way to run on my way out of transition! It’s funny, the Steelman folks sent along a 45 page ‘athletes’ note’ that contained everything EXCEPT maps of the course. Bummer. But I was soon off and running towards the first turnaround which was a ¼ mile down the shore before the course headed back the way it came and into the woods for the last 2 ½ miles. As I passed by transition no one else had started the run so I knew had a buffer of at least three minutes. That was good! I always like to do calculations on the run and I figured that meant that even if I ran 7:00 miles someone would have to hold 6:00s to catch me. But I planned to hold 6:20s…so if I could do that, they’d have to hold 5:20s, and that’s tough for even the fast runners!

Hit the first mile at exactly 6:30, so my plan to negative split was working. Even better, the run to the turnaround was slightly uphill the whole way, which I figured couldn’t hurt this goal. I passed mile 2 with another 6:30 and was still feeling good so I picked it up a bit. Having not raced a sprint since Harrisburg in June, I wasn’t used to having so much spring in my step at the end of a race. It sure was nice! Saw my friend Diz just before the path split to head up towards the finish, and was told by a volunteer that I was at the loop marker for the 10K! I think Diz’s wife Erinn was correct in her assessment, they really didn’t plan on the sprint taking as little time as it did. They simply weren’t expecting us as we neared the finish. This was even more apparent when I had to run behind the three volunteers who were supposed to by signaling the way. I don’t even think they knew I went past! Good thing I checked out the course the day before as I think I might have gone right by the final chute otherwise!

Hit the finish in first but yet another race with no tape. I know it’s lame, but someday I’d like to break through one of those! But, I did win a cool pint glass, which isn’t as nice as a check, but still more useful than a medal or trophy. I do wish they’d given me something to fill it with though…

NJ State Tri RR

As a long time lover of the greatest state in the Union (better known as New Jersey) the NJ State Olympic Distance Tri has been on my calendar for months with a little star next to it. Besides being right in middle of my two biggest races, Eagleman and Nations, how cool would it be to have the title NJ State Champion? (A distinction I never gained in swimming, despite many attempts…) Unfortunately, sometimes life does not always agree with your plans and I hit the race feeling a bit flat. With my grandmother passing away the Friday before and the combined fatigue of a New York work trip and my epic 3-race weekend, I wasn’t even sure I should toe the starting line. On the other hand, there is something to be said for seizing opportunities, not passing on them and, sure enough, I was lined up at the water’s edge on an early Sunday morning at Mercer County Park, NJ.

Now, I don’t want to sound too pessimistic here, but how are the officials taking water temperatures these days? It was almost laughable when the official reading was given as 77.9 degrees (conveniently 0.1 degree below the wetsuit cutoff, hmm….) It would be nice to actually participate in a race where swimming was a real factor, but I digress…
Despite my recent avoidance of the pool (every once in a while it just gets plain unappealing, what can I say?) I felt good in the water. More and more I’ve been making an effort to keep things mellow on the swim and put a little more into the bike and this was a great race in which to execute this strategy. Unbeknownst to me, there was actually an elite wave on offer, which hadn’t known I could sign up for. That went off first, followed five minutes later by my age group. It would have been nice to know about this as that wave contained some guys I’ve raced against before and it’s always more motivating to go head to head against your closest competition…but at least I’d have some folks to chase!

Came out of the water first in my wave at 19:20, a very good time considering the effort I’ve put in and my recent lack of pool time (Hopefully that will be down to 18:15 by the end of August) but had an uncharacteristically bad transition as I couldn’t get my wetsuit to release its dastardly grip on my ankles. (I blame my wetsuit-less warm-up swim, which definitely knocked a good deal of Pam off of my legs). I hoped I could make it up on the bike course. After a long run up to the mount line (always an equalizer for me) I was off with a good flying mount. I didn’t know how many people were ahead of me, but I made it my goal to pick off as many of them as possible.

The bike course for this race was rather unusual in that we exited the park, went about a mile on the main roads, then had a 3 mile technical ride through Mercer County Community College. After this, it was a long loop around the park, back through the college again and a final return to the park via an entrance on the other side. This was definitely a course where you had to pay attention, as well as one that would reward power AND bike handling. Should be interesting…
I picked up a few guys before the college and knew that I’d get a look at the rest of the field in that section as there was a turnaround halfway through. Sure enough, coming down one of the straights I saw the escort and the race leader. I checked my watch to find the differential between his passing that point and mine, knowing that if it was under 5:00 I’d be the (as the they say in Le Tour) virtual leader on the road. Sure enough, when I went past the same place I was only about 3:45 down on the first rider, placing me in the ‘front.’ I picked up a few more guys as we powered along the long straights the ringed the park, but did have a few ‘exciting’ moments involving boat-towing trailers and a rapid transit bus… Not that things ever got dangerous, but it can get frustrating when all your room to pass is taken up by vehicles, especially if you’re just coming up on someone slower!

I came into T2 ‘tied’ for second (though my later start put me ahead time-wise) with the guy that I beat two weeks ago at Diamond in the Rough. I guess I wasn’t going to be lucky enough that he wouldn’t recognize me. After all, I remember everyone who’s ever beaten me to the line. Cough, Rick Fesler, Cough. Had another bummer of a transition as re-racking my bike caused another to fall to the ground. Annoying as it wasn’t my fault that the bike was tenuously secured, but I wouldn’t want anyone to leave my ride laying on the ground so I did the right thing and put it back on its rack.

As we headed out on the run the sun really started to show itself and I was glad I’d opted to wear a hat. It was getting brutal! I tried to keep the pace mellow for the first few miles (despite several shouts that I was in ‘third!’) but still ended going out with a pair of 6:25s. A good pace, but a bit much for me to sustain in the heat (or the middle of the season for that matter!)
The run was actually two out-and-back loops, the first being used only for the Olympic distance and the second sharing the sprint course’s 5K. As we headed back to the end of the first loop I really started to feel that piano stalking my back. I was still in ‘virtual’ first, but there was no doubt the last 3 miles were going to REALLY hurt. I passed my parents, which made for nice motivation, but with no shade the wheels started to come off and it was difficult to tell if I was still within 5 minutes of the leader.

As he (a cross country runner from George Mason, great…) passed going the other way from the second turnaround it looked as though he had a bit over 4:00 on me, which was a bummer with 2 miles to go. And by now I was really hurting in a big way. Between the heat and my early run speed the race was exacting a mighty toll.

Somehow I managed to drag myself to the finish chute and pick up a little speed to the line…before promptly collapsing on the ground. It was by far the worst I’ve ever felt at the end of a race. Compared to this I was downright peppy after Eagleman! Shoveling ice down my jersey I made my way to the medical tent to see if I could grab a quick minute in the shade. Ironically, they were quite reluctant to let me in, saying they were trying to keep the area clear for people with medical emergencies. I tried to explain that I NEVER ask for any kind of assistance and my wanting to chill in there for a minute was in the hope that we could avoid a medical emergency in the first place. Eventually they relented and five minutes later I was feeling much better, despite coming in a disappointing :42 behind first place. Oh well, you can’t win ‘em all. (Even though I want to!)

Interestingly, the story doesn’t stop there. I hung around to wait for the awards and happened to notice an official posting a DQ/Penalty sheet. Since there was nothing else to look at, I took a peak and was very surprised to see that I had been disqualified for an ‘Entire Course’ violation! The referee said the timer had made the call and I should speak with him. If he felt there was a mistake he would then tell the referee and get everything squared away. Interestingly, the female winner from early July’s Metroman was also disqualified for the same violation. It was nice to make a new friend while seeking out some correction…and probably hilarious for those watching as we both sat in the Lin-Mark camper vouching for the other’s ability, despite having never spoken before!

In the end, her ride was called into question because it was so fast relative to her swim. (She’s a very poor swimmer, but a super-fast cyclist.) My 10K split had come up as 21 minutes because I was misdirected over the sprint tri’s transition mat. Since I still registered a finishing time that made sense the 10K time was removed and I was reinstated to second place. Got a very nice glass plaque, too!

Diamond in the Rough/Metroman Race Reports

At the beginning of the season I scoped ‘Diamond in the Rough’ as a definite possibility. With its long swim (1 mile), long bike (27 miles) and short run (5 miles) it seemed a race tailor-made for me. Unfortunately, as a great procrastinator – and apparently a bit of a commit-a-phobe – I kept putting off registration again and again. Until six weeks ago when I finally decided to just do it. And, of course, the race was sold out.

Since I – apparently – have a racing compulsion I couldn’t just kick back and enjoy a weekend without racing and instead found the Metroman Tri on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park, NJ. While not ideal for me with a short bike (22 miles) and long run (6 miles) it did have the added bonus of being only 15 minutes from my parents' house and on the boardwalk where I spent my childhood summers. Also, it had a cool format: The top 15 finishers of the intermediate distance would get to compete in a super sprint ‘Dash for Cash,’ a $1000 winner-take-all mini tri with a 350 meter swim, 5 mile bike and 1 miles run. Cool.

And then Karen P. points out that Diamond in the Rough is still open! Why the link I used told me it was sold out I have no idea, but I so loved the idea of the long swim/bike, short run format that I signed up immediately, figuring I could cajole a refund from the Metroman people.

As it turns out, race directors are – understandably – fans of keeping money in their pockets once it’s there, so no refund was available. I even asked about switching into the sprint distance race, figuring I’d be on some pretty tired legs by then, but it was a no go, so I just chalked it up to having a REALLY good workout for the weekend.

The nice part about Diamond in the Rough is that it’s relatively close to where my cousin lives, so at least I’d have a place to crash the night before, though an early departure was still necessary given that there was no day before packet pickup. I gave Sarah L. a lift out to the race and after dropping her off spent about an hour riding the first and last thirds of the bike course. I’m glad I did. There were a few technical downhills and one relatively long uphill that were nice to know about in advance. I was surprised! I always thought this area was pretty flat, but the bike course turned out to be pretty hilly. But on a good day, it was the type of course that really suits me.

The morning of (fueled by a huge cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee) I got there plenty early and got my stuff together. Was a feeling a bit flat, but hoped to find some spring in my step once the race got underway. I was pleased to find numbered racks. I wish more races would do this as it keeps the congestion down. Though, a small tip, once you learn the flying mount you can grab some extra space farther down unnumbered racks as you’ll be able to run through transition much faster without your bike shoes on…

The swim was very nice. One mile in relatively calm water at the mouth of the Chesapeake. I especially liked having orange sighting buoys with yellow ones at the turns, makes things much simpler when you’re out there. There was a bit of current, though it seems a lot of people in my wave didn’t realize this until it was too late. I aimed to the right of the first turn and hit the buoy perfectly. But a glance to my left revealed a few of the other swimmers at the front a good 75 yards to the left of the first turn. I even heard that a few people were so far wide that they had to be chased down before they crossed the bay!

I exited the water about a minute back of the leader. Not bad considering I lost the finish buoy in the sun and was accidentally swimming towards a fishing boat that sure LOOKED like a finish buoy in the morning light. Minor correction and a few lost seconds later I emerged from the water in 2nd. As I was leaving transition I saw the leader just heading out onto the road…with a cool police escort! Having been denied that fun ‘pro feeling’ at Harrisburg I had a new goal: Chasing down the leader and getting my own police entourage!

I kept it pretty mellow for the first few miles out of transition, but I knew the course was about to get harder, so I got ready to make my move. 3 miles in we hit the first hill and I closed the gap to the leader quickly and made my pass, nabbing the two motorcycle cops and SUV that were leading the race. (Apparently I also had a truck following me, it was like the President was cycling or something!) I knew the first half of the course was significantly harder than the first, so I decided to go hard early and hope to get some recovery on the back half.

It seemed to work and I was cruising along decently the whole way. Ironically, as cool as it was having a lead vehicle in front, there were a few times when the driver didn’t seem to realize how fast a cyclist can go downhill and I ended up beside the car with him gunning the engine to get ahead. It was a little nerve-wracking descending without being able to see some of the upcoming turns and I did probably get a little more exhaust in my lungs than I would have liked, but I ended up with the fastest bike leg of the day and came into transition with nearly six minutes on the next racer. (Though of course I didn’t know it at the time!)

Hit the run, this time with a mountain bike escort. The guy was super nice, but a little chatty. I responded to the first couple questions he asked me, but clammed up quickly. Race leader or not I had 5 miles to go and for all I knew there was a super fast runner 2 minutes back…


Passed ‘Mile 1’ in 5:13 which led me to believe perhaps the course was not exactly measured properly. I mean..I've attended a few sneaky speeds, but doubted I'd dropped a full minute off my run pace! My suspicions were confirmed when ‘Mile 2’ came by 7:15 later… Hit the turnaround a few minutes after that and checked my watch, figuring whenever the next runner came by I could double the time and know how far up I was. As the seconds ticked by I got more and more excited. It took over two minutes for the next runner to appear, giving me a four-plus minute lead. With less than 2 ½ miles to go I figured that – barring disaster – I should be able to stay away.

As I came into the last mile, I was psyched at how many people heading out the other way were encouraging me. I got lots of cheers and more than a few saw me continually stealing glances over my shoulder and let me know that there was no one back there. Still, I never trust that my run is enough to stay away, so I did check periodically, but in the end I managed to stay clear by about 3 minutes and pulled off my third win of the season, and my first win at a distance over a sprint. It was certainly satisfying. I was even asked for a post-race video interview (though where they’re going to show THAT I have no idea! I wouldn’t bother trying to TiVo it on Versus…)

So, it was nice to stand on top of the podium and enjoy the moment, but I had to rush up to NJ because…it was time to go to packet pickup for the Metroman Intermediate being held the next day on the Asbury Park boardwalk!

I had time for a quick ice bath after visiting with my grandma and family for a bit, then headed to bed early (for me, 10:30) to try to get as much rest as possible. Tomorrow was another long one and had a super-early (6:30 AM!) start. Great… Such an early start meant I’d literally start this race less than 24 hours after starting the last one. Would my legs hold up? I had no idea. But great things cannot be accomplished without trying, so at 6:15 I was standing on the Asbury Park shoreline and considering the orange buoy floating far away in front of Convention Hall (which is best known as Bruce Springsteen’s preferred rehearsal venue, though even the hardest working man in show business doesn’t start THIS early…) There were a few notable competitors lined up with me for the start, including local pros David Silver and John Kenny, plus pro cyclist Saul Raisin, formerly of the Credit Agricole team. Looked like I had my work cut out for me!

The horn sounded and I started my first ever ocean swim tri. Fortunately, as a shore kid, the ocean doesn’t intimidate me, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to swim in! Some big swells made sighting quite a challenge and I broke my normal rule of not following others. I couldn’t see a thing! Hopefully the guys in front could!

Somehow we got to the turnaround, though I only ever spotted two of the four buoys going out. On the way back things got even harder as the swells grew and sighting became a bigger issue. Normally dark goggles are the way to go on all but the cloudiest of days, but this race was so early they were making it impossible to pick anything out! I actually had to stop and pull them off for a moment to get my bearings. Much to my relief I spotted the buoy marking the turn into shore and got underway without too massive a delay. I ended up exiting the water in 5th, about 1:30 behind the leader. Not too huge a deficit, and 10 places ahead of the magic super sprint cut-off.

I managed to make up one place in T1 and hit the bike course determined to give it my best shot. Would the legs respond the day after another race? Only one way to find out. It was nice to have Mike H.’s words in my head as I started. He likes to remind me that racing with confidence is a lot easier than racing defensively, and as I started to reel in the pair of guys ahead of me I decided that today I would leave it to the others to ride with me and we’ll see what happened on the run course.

It worked! Only 4 miles in and I’d moved up to 2nd place. The course was two loops and very crit-like, with probably 25 turns or so to negotiate. Times like this I really dig the new HED C2 rims, on good pavement you can lean the bike WAY over and feel good doing it. It’s amazing how much less intimidating it is to do this during a race!

9 miles into the 22 mile ride I saw the leader and made my pass, which took me past the transition area in 1st place. Very exciting as my mom, dad, sister and aunt had all braved the cold, dark morning to come see me race. I was excited they got to see me come by leading the race – and with another escort vehicle!

I kept pushing it on the second lap, despite knowing there was still a long way to run. I decided if someone else wanted to win the race, that was fine, but I was going to make them hurt a bit on the bike leg to do it. As they say, train your weakness, race your strength…

Hit T2 and my dad shouted that I was 1:40 up on second place. Damn. That’s not much with 6 miles to go, but I wasn’t about to give up now. Had a minor bobble coming out of T2 when the volunteer pointed the wrong way at the exit. Fortunately something felt off to me and I stopped to ask ‘Is this the run course?’ I got a rather shocked look from the next volunteer as she frantically motioned for me to turn around. 10 lost seconds later and I was on my way.

The cool part about the run was that it took place on the famous Asbury Park boardwalk. It was two loops with each incorporating a run through the old Casino and Paramount theater. I was still in first and – despite knowing the run is my weakest leg – determined to hold on to the lead for as long as I could. I figured I could at least make it through one of the loops.

At the first of the four turnarounds I spotted second place, now about 1:20 back. He was making up time, but looked like he was hurting doing it. 3rd and 4th looked a little stronger, but they were a good deal behind. And only one more competitor had made it to the run course but the time I passed transition the first time.

I completed the first loop in just a hair over 17 minutes, which was exciting indeed. Unless I had magically gained incredible speed overnight, the run course was short! I certainly wasn’t going to complain about that! Having less than three miles to run was an enormous confidence booster and at the third turnaround I notice that second place was still :40 back, the same amount he’d been a mile and a half before. Things were starting to hurt, but as I passed through the casino for the fourth and final time I knew I only had to hold on for another 9 minutes or so and though ‘Well, I might as well win if I can…’ I even made a rare strategic decision: If second place was going to catch me it was inevitable anyway, I didn’t have enough in me to up the pace and keep him away...but I’ve discovered I can actually summon a decent finishing kick when need be, so I decided I keep my pace (which was an impressive, for me, 6:15 per mile) even if he got close and try to run him down in the final straight. I have to say, to even be in the position where I felt like I could use the run portion to my advantage was very exciting. Special thanks go out to Josh B. for the sneaky speed and Mike and Kara for keeping my self-confidence high when it starts to wane! And, of course my family, it was extra motivating knowing I might get the chance to win in front of them!

Finally hit the 4th and final turnaround and 2nd place was still :40 back, just had to keep it strong to the end. It hurt to do it, but felt great to cross the line a winner. I still can’t believe I managed to do it two days in a row! Equally as exciting was coming through with the fastest bike split by over 2 ½ minutes. I can’t deny beating a former ProTour rider is a huge confidence booster, even if he has been out of the action for a year or two…

But wait, there’s more! As promised the top 15 in each gender had one more race, this time a super sprint with a winner-take-all prize of $1,000. Got about 45 minutes to rest and rerack my bike in a mini-transition area, and we headed down to the beach for the start of my 3rd race in 25 hours! This time it would be a quick 350 meter out and back swim to the first buoy of that morning’s race, a 4.5 mile bike course and one mile on the boardwalk. Most of us opted to go sans wetsuit given the short swim and long run up the beach and when the horn blew it was a mad dash into the water. The sprint speed of the swim combined with the cold water sent me into the red quickly and it seemed tougher than ever to get to that buoy. Also, my timing chip strap, which had stayed nicely secured under my wetsuit earlier was now unraveling with no neoprene ankle to hold it in place. Though it managed to stay attached, I was dragging a long black strap behind me all the way up the beach and towards T1.
In a repeat of that morning’s performance I exited the water in 5th and left T1 in 4th. I managed to catch 2nd and 3rd in the first mile, but had about a minute to make up on super swimmer pro (and Columbia swim record holder) John Kenny and only 4.5 miles to do it. As I passed the two guys ahead of me, 2nd place managed to go with me and he and I traded places in a bike leg that was a lot closer to a crit than it was a tri. I think we both recognized the uniqueness of the event and, while we may not have always dropped back a full 10 meters with each pass, we did our best to stay out of each other’s draft by staying wide each time. I wish some other athletes could have seen us as I think it was great example of ethical racing, even when you can’t drop the full length back.

Hit T2 in second, but barely and actually got beat out to the run due to an uncharacteristically slow bike dismount. We were only 30 seconds back from the lead, so I had made up some ground, but it wasn’t enough and I could only hold on for third. Still, I did win my first ever cash prize of $100 for my victory in the first race which I found very exciting. Add in the two bagels I ate and you could almost say I made a profit on the race!

All in all a VERY full weekend but very fun, too! Thanks for reading!

Philadelphia Race Report

I would love to say the best part of the Philadelphia Olympic Tri was that I got a best time. Or that the point-to-point swim was a cool new experience. Or even that the weather ended up being nearly perfect after a week of terrible rain.

But I think the best part of the weekend was getting to see the sights of Philadelphia. All of them. From the car. You see, Kara S. and I were both signed up to race and not knowing anyone else there we figured we could meet up, check-in and find something to eat as a pair, thus saving a little time and effort without confronting the city by ourselves. (Despite living in Philadelphia for six weeks during tour rehearsals, I am beyond clueless when it comes to the city’s geography…)

Things started off with promise. We managed to locate the expo with no problem and get checked in. (Even had a celebrity sighting when David Morse appeared at the T-shirt stand!) My hotel was only a mile or so from transition so we dropped my car there and headed out to find the house where she was staying. This is when we got the first hints there might be trouble. You see, I’m what you could call ‘directionally challenged.’ I get lost. A lot. If it weren’t for my Garmin, I’d probably be long since lost to the wilds of the Pennsylvania road system. But we figured between the two of us we’d be able to get around fairly efficiently… The plan was to drop her stuff and drive as much of the route ass we could. Shouldn’t be a problem with one driver and one ‘navigator.’

Wow, was that ever faulty logic! It would appear that two heads are NOT better than one when both are attached to people who get lost so easily. Finding the house where she was staying was fairly straightforward, but coming back over and attempting to get the car on the race course was a bit more challenging. (In fairness, it’s virtually impossible to drive much of it. Some parts were closed and others are ridden against the flow of traffic in the race.)

After a few poor attempts to get on the path we realized things were just not going our way. If I recall the conversation went something like this:
“Is this the way down?”
“I don’t know. It looks like it.”
“Oops, that’s blocked off.”
“Let’s try this way.”
“Hmm, OK, I don’t know what this street is.”
“Where are we now?”
“I think we make a right here.”
“Oops, missed that turn.”
Etc, etc…until at some point (I believe it was me given the language, but I suppose it could have been Kara) one of us said, “F^&% this, let’s just eat. They’ll have signs and volunteers on the course.”

And with that we pulled past Fairmount Park, made a left and promptly found ourselves in the middle of one of the City of Brotherly Love’s scariest ghettoes… After it became readily apparent this was NOT where we wanted to locate sustenance, we headed back – yet again – towards my hotel, knowing that at the very least there was a mall located nearby.

Of course, being the culinary snobs that we are, we were not going to be satisfied with ordinary chain food. After all, the is a major metropolitan city, surely there’s some cool, off-the-beaten path place where we can find a decent burger (Kara’s ideal pre-race meal) and some simple pasta (my own preference.) A trip down City Avenue brought us past a number of options before we hit St. Joseph’s University. Awesome! A college town! There’s got to be good eats here!

Well, I’m not sure where the student population is going for food when classes are in session, but wherever it is, they do an excellent job of hiding it. By the time we’d driven past the entire school, literally nothing appeared. We crossed Route 30 only half-joking that if we made a right, we’d eventually get to Lancaster and at least there we’d know where to get some food.

After a looong search – and helpful hostess at the Olive Garden – we learned the location of a local Houlihans. Perfect. And where was it? You guessed right. Basically across the street from my hotel…so pretty much exactly where we started! But at least we were on our way. We just had a few miles to go, but the highlight of this sightseeing tour had to be Kara’s exclamation just as we were about to reach our location:

“Oh wow!”

I only wish my words could convey the excitement in her voice. My head turned in anticipation as I expected Bruce Springsteen or the Pope or maybe Barack Obama himself to be passing by on our right…then Kara concluded: “It’s the Pennsylvania College of Osteopathic Medicine!” I guess exercise physiologists just see the world a little differently… (Sorry, Kara, but this part was simply to funny to leave out!)
But we had finally reached our destination. Houlihan’s sat just to our left off of City Avenue, just had to… Oops, not left turns from City Avenue! Looks like we were headed back across the Schuykill River again! But there IS a silver lining. Our combined lack of navigational skills DID allow us to see a bit of the bike course (as we attempted to relocate a restaurant we’d already spent an hour searching for) AND a full-size driving replica of KITT, the black Trans Am made famous by the TV series ‘Knight Rider.’ I have to tell you, I am such a Knight Rider nerd that I could have won the race and this moment would STILL be the highlight of the weekend!

As for the race itself (if you’re still even reading at this point!) my dad and I rose at the glorious hour of 4:30AM to arrive at the race by 5. Parking was a breeze and arriving so early almost left TOO much time. With my transition area set up quickly, I couldn’t help but wonder what I should do while waiting for my 7:10 swim start. Philadelphia has kind of an usual format that includes a point-to-point swim from the St. Joseph’s Boathouse up the river, which means you have to board buses in order to get to the start. I’m just glad the weather was decent as this meant a 45 minute wait at the boathouse (since all athletes were admonished to get there very early lest we miss our assigned start time.) Of course, given that mine was the third wave, the wait was relatively short. Some people wouldn’t leave for almost an hour after us. Despite having race amenities like bathrooms and drinks at the swim start, mostly it seems it would just be boring to wait around that long!

Finally, after a hilarious ‘Star Spangled Banner’ that was accompanied by – no joke – ‘Jungle Boogie’ due to some weird crosstalk in the PA, the pros were off and my wave made its way down to the dock at the start. The swim did have a slight current, though nothing like the torrent that graced a recent Harrisburg tri, so I got to T1 a little ahead of schedule. First male out of my wave (Though there was a fast girl who kept pace with me. I never did find out who she was…) but I had to do a bit of tricky maneuvering at the exit. Some people were so excited about completing the swim they stood at the exit celebrating. On the plus side, there is a great photo of me leaping an orange cone to get around somebody on my way to collect my bike!

Dashed out of T1 and onto the first of two loops of the bike course. Because of our poor recon the day before I really had no idea what to expect out there…and I was greeted by a big hill to start my day! A little tough on the legs to start, but the nice part was, being in such an early wave left me a nice clear path for the most part and I had some room to maneuver and pick decent lines on my first trip around the course, which would prove useful on the second loop, which out to be…

THE MOST CONGESTED BIKE RIDE IN ALL OF TRIATHLON! OK, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but only slight. I’ve never seen anything like it. The large packs people stretched across the road actually aren’t that bad. No, much worse are the guys who think they’re cycling badasses, so they park themselves on the far left of the lane rather than have to swing out to pass people. Honestly, staying to the right is not all that hard. Much harder is trying to squeeze into the 3 inches of space between the yellow lines and some guy on his brand new P3C who’s holding about 16 MPH… (Apologies if that sounds elitist, but yelling ‘On your left!’ 500 times in 12 miles can put you in a bit of a mood…

But I did manage a pretty decent split and manage to hit T2 still leading my age group. Now if only I could hold it together for the run…
I have to say, while I had some issues with the course marking and general safety of the Philly bike course, at least the terrain was varied and interesting. The run was anything but. Leave T2, run a mile, turn around, run 3 miles, turn around, run 2 miles. Flat, fast…and boring. Only a half mile in and I was passed by a guy who was absolutely flying on the run, no hope of staying with him. It took the next guy until the 3 mile marker to pass me, but he was running quickly, too, no shame in not keeping that pace. But the one that hurt was being passed by the 3rd guy with only a mile to go. Mostly because he wasn’t a particularly good runner either, just ‘less worse’ than me. Perhaps if this hadn’t been my 5th racing weekend in a row I could have gone with him, or even not let him catch me, but in the end the legs didn’t quite have it and I had to settle for 4th in my age group, 15th overall amateur. On the plus side, I finished in 2:04:25, by far my fastest time at the Olympic distance, and I had my fastest 10K split yet. My ‘Sneaky Speed’ is very sneaky indeed. So sneaky most people don’t even realize I have it!

As a footnote, and not to editorialize too much, I would have to recommend against this race. For the money, it’s rather unspectacular and the crowding and organization really left a lot to be desired. Just my two cents for anyone thinking about their schedule for next year. Unless you can guarantee a Knight Rider sighting, I’d say pass…