It's been a while since I've posted, but here's a race report and there will be another one next week!
I woke up at 3am on race morning. This might have been the earliest I've ever woken up for a race. I didn't even have to get up this early for Ironman! Oh well, up early to have a bagel and gatorade. I had to be on the road by 415 to get to my friend Paul's house so we could push off by 445. I went through my usual slow motion morning of checking/sending emails, packing, and eating. I left on time but had to back track after forgetting my helmet. Got to Paul"s house, packed the car, and we were on our way.
We got to the race site a little after 6, which is a little later than I wanted to be. We still had to pick up our packets (which was quick, thankfully) and set up transition. Got everything sorted out and went for a warm up run.
It was hot.
I felt awful.
The last two days before the race I could tell I wasn't 100%. I felt VERY flat and heavy. Sure enough, I felt the same race morning. I ate a quick gel and went to swim. Same story there, arms felt heavy and I had no feel for the water.
So at the starting line I had no great expectations. My initial goal was to go in the 2:05 range but I wasn't even sure if I could break 2:15 at this point. The gun went off and we were on our way.
The first few hundred meters of the swim were physical. I was in the elite wave (which are great) and that meant everyone could swim. There was a good battle for positioning and that took a lot of energy out of me in the 88+ water. We finally get into an organized line but I felt terrible. It was hot and I felt like I was going to throw up. About half way in, two people passed me and I thought I was way out of the top 10. However, over the last few hundred meters I passed a few guys and I think I came out of the water in 5th.
Onto the bike and the nausea wasn't going away. After a few miles I could tell I was in 4th but eventually got passed by 4 people and came off the bike in 8th. I never felt good on the ride. I could never get into a rhythm. I took a gel around mile 15 and that only made things worse. Getting off the bike I was just hoping to hold on to a top 10 finish.
I headed out of T2 and tried to get work my way back. I hit the first mile in about 6:15 and had passed two people. I started to get a little cramp in my stomach and then got passed by another runner. I came through mile two in 6:29 and was not feeling good. There was a slight down hill and I was able to re-pass the guy who passed me. After that section, I started to feel better. From then on I was able to get into a nice rhythm and started running down some of the guys in front of me. By mile four I had moved from 7th to 3rd and everyone I passed, I had passed with confidence. It's always tough to pass people because you never know how they will respond. Each person I passed I was able to get behind them and get a feel for their pace. I would wait a few seconds and then give a strong surge around them. There was a little out and back section and I could see where second place was. I tried my best to find another gear and I was able to close the gap, but was unable to catch 2nd place.
So, in the end, I am very happy with the outcome. I had very low expectations at the starting line and had a very uncomfortable race. I'm not sure if I had a some type of cold before the race, but the two days before I was very run down. Four days later and I am feeling recovered and feeling fresh. I will be racing this weekend at the Pequannock Triathlon and have put in a few strong workouts this week. I am no longer feeling wiped out and am looking forward to a fast race on Sunday.
Congratulations to all those from the Tri Club who raced. It was not an easy day out there and you all powered through for strong finishes. I know a lot of you will be joining me on the starting line on Sunday. I'm looking forward to watching you continue your awesome race seasons!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Wyckoff-Franklin Lakes Tri Race Report
This past Saturday was the 29th Annual Wyckoff-Franklin Lakes Triathlon and my 7th year (in a row) racing here. There's something very special about this race and it is one that I plan on doing for as long as I can. It's the race that everyone talks about all year, the race that everyone competes in or goes to watch, and the race that offers some bragging rights amongst training partners until next year's race. The best part is that no matter the outcome, it's always a fun day of fast racing with great company.
So on race morning, there's always a positive buzz in the air. I got to the race real early and got my bike set up. Then, the Wyckoff Tri Club gathered to take a team picture which came out really great. Especially since we got new running tanks and everyone had it on. It's really great to see how for everyone in the club has come since January and they all had awesome races.
After the picture, it was time to warm up. I got 15 minutes of cycling in to check everything out, then ran an easy 1.5 miles with Ian to shake out the legs. Then I headed back to transition to hang out and get the wetsuit on. The transition area before this race is always fun. It's always filled my all my friends and training partners so the mood is light, but since we're all each others competition you can tell there's some tension in the air. I do my usual scope of the talent and psyche myself out. Eventually I head down to the water with Jeff and Ian to swim a little. We were unpleasantly surprised by the amount of weeds in the water, but nothing we can do about it now! So, that was it. Warmed up and ready to go. National Anthem is sung and the gun goes off. Wait! The gun went off!? All of the athletes who were standing by the water's edge couldn't hear the countdown or the timer start the race. When the race started, I still had my goggles on top of my head. Oh well, no time to complain, gotta start swimming!
The swim -
The plan was to go out hard and settle in once I got past the dock. Since there was some confusion at the start, I didn't get to find the guys I was looking for to swim with. When we passed the dock, I looked around and saw I was slightly out in front. Not where I wanted to be. I have a bad history of "pulling" people through the swim at this race. But I wasn't about to slow down, so I kept in controlled to the buoy. I thought for sure that someone would have beat me to the first buoy, but I got there first. I couldn't tell how close 2nd place was, but I knew I had to make a move or I would have the same fate as in previous years. I know that if I go hard, I can swim between the two buoys in about 1:45 so I picked it up and went for it. I got to the second buoy and knew no one was on my feet. Now I had to try to bring it in as straight and fast as possible. The glare coming in was tough, but swimming in the lake a few times had helped with sighting practice. I knew where I should be and trusted my instincts. I swam until I hit the sand and then did three dolphin dives until I could run out of the water. I saw the clock and it read 10:40 and I was shocked! I ran as hard as I could to the timing pad and officially my swim time was 11:40, which I am told is a new course record. I sped through T1 and was on the road with about 30 seconds of a lead.
The bike -
If only I could ride! I knew that I wasn't in great cycling shape coming in to the race, but thought I could hold my own. I got passed by Chris Gebhardt just after mile 4 and he passed me like I was standing still. I rode solo until about mile 12.5 when Mike Llerandi and some relay guy passed me. I was able to keep them in my sights and didn't let them pull away. All in all, I am pleased with my split. It's the fastest I've ridden the course and I entered T2 with Mike basically tied for 2nd. I had a super fast transition and was on the run in no time. Overall bike split was 44:54, 22.7mph.
The run -
As I was leaving transition, Paul Scire gave me a shout to tell me that Chris was about 1:50 ahead of me. This wasn't going to be easy. I've been running the fastest I've ever been, but Chris is still probably faster than me. I was able to put some space on 3rd place, but gaining in Chris was a slow process. After two miles I picked up a few seconds, but it wasn't looking good. At the 2.5 mile mark I actually got a bad cramp running up a hill and had to walk a few steps. After a few seconds of digging into my stomach, I was able to continue running but it was very uncomfortable. At the next out and back section I was able to assess Chris' position and he still had over a minute lead. We were already over 3 miles in and I was running out of miles. At this point, I basically knew I had to hang on for 2nd. As I came back down the out and back, I had a very comfortable lead on 3rd and 4th place so if I could hold the pace everything would be OK. Just past the 4 mile mark, both Chris and I missed a turn so we ended up adding about 0.15 miles onto our race. No change in the outcome (except for the additional time) so no one was upset. Even with the addition, I still ran a 30:28 for the 3rd fastest run of the day.
After seven years of racing here, I have the following results 80, 19, 9, 2, 5, 5, 2. I'm getting there! This was definitely my best race here. I surprised myself in the swim, plus I had the fastest times for T1 and T2. I always try to be as efficient as possible and it paid off here.
So on race morning, there's always a positive buzz in the air. I got to the race real early and got my bike set up. Then, the Wyckoff Tri Club gathered to take a team picture which came out really great. Especially since we got new running tanks and everyone had it on. It's really great to see how for everyone in the club has come since January and they all had awesome races.
After the picture, it was time to warm up. I got 15 minutes of cycling in to check everything out, then ran an easy 1.5 miles with Ian to shake out the legs. Then I headed back to transition to hang out and get the wetsuit on. The transition area before this race is always fun. It's always filled my all my friends and training partners so the mood is light, but since we're all each others competition you can tell there's some tension in the air. I do my usual scope of the talent and psyche myself out. Eventually I head down to the water with Jeff and Ian to swim a little. We were unpleasantly surprised by the amount of weeds in the water, but nothing we can do about it now! So, that was it. Warmed up and ready to go. National Anthem is sung and the gun goes off. Wait! The gun went off!? All of the athletes who were standing by the water's edge couldn't hear the countdown or the timer start the race. When the race started, I still had my goggles on top of my head. Oh well, no time to complain, gotta start swimming!
The swim -
The plan was to go out hard and settle in once I got past the dock. Since there was some confusion at the start, I didn't get to find the guys I was looking for to swim with. When we passed the dock, I looked around and saw I was slightly out in front. Not where I wanted to be. I have a bad history of "pulling" people through the swim at this race. But I wasn't about to slow down, so I kept in controlled to the buoy. I thought for sure that someone would have beat me to the first buoy, but I got there first. I couldn't tell how close 2nd place was, but I knew I had to make a move or I would have the same fate as in previous years. I know that if I go hard, I can swim between the two buoys in about 1:45 so I picked it up and went for it. I got to the second buoy and knew no one was on my feet. Now I had to try to bring it in as straight and fast as possible. The glare coming in was tough, but swimming in the lake a few times had helped with sighting practice. I knew where I should be and trusted my instincts. I swam until I hit the sand and then did three dolphin dives until I could run out of the water. I saw the clock and it read 10:40 and I was shocked! I ran as hard as I could to the timing pad and officially my swim time was 11:40, which I am told is a new course record. I sped through T1 and was on the road with about 30 seconds of a lead.
The bike -
If only I could ride! I knew that I wasn't in great cycling shape coming in to the race, but thought I could hold my own. I got passed by Chris Gebhardt just after mile 4 and he passed me like I was standing still. I rode solo until about mile 12.5 when Mike Llerandi and some relay guy passed me. I was able to keep them in my sights and didn't let them pull away. All in all, I am pleased with my split. It's the fastest I've ridden the course and I entered T2 with Mike basically tied for 2nd. I had a super fast transition and was on the run in no time. Overall bike split was 44:54, 22.7mph.
The run -
As I was leaving transition, Paul Scire gave me a shout to tell me that Chris was about 1:50 ahead of me. This wasn't going to be easy. I've been running the fastest I've ever been, but Chris is still probably faster than me. I was able to put some space on 3rd place, but gaining in Chris was a slow process. After two miles I picked up a few seconds, but it wasn't looking good. At the 2.5 mile mark I actually got a bad cramp running up a hill and had to walk a few steps. After a few seconds of digging into my stomach, I was able to continue running but it was very uncomfortable. At the next out and back section I was able to assess Chris' position and he still had over a minute lead. We were already over 3 miles in and I was running out of miles. At this point, I basically knew I had to hang on for 2nd. As I came back down the out and back, I had a very comfortable lead on 3rd and 4th place so if I could hold the pace everything would be OK. Just past the 4 mile mark, both Chris and I missed a turn so we ended up adding about 0.15 miles onto our race. No change in the outcome (except for the additional time) so no one was upset. Even with the addition, I still ran a 30:28 for the 3rd fastest run of the day.
After seven years of racing here, I have the following results 80, 19, 9, 2, 5, 5, 2. I'm getting there! This was definitely my best race here. I surprised myself in the swim, plus I had the fastest times for T1 and T2. I always try to be as efficient as possible and it paid off here.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Packanack Lake Race Report
I raced the 2nd annual Packanack Lake Tri on Saturday. Quick recap and then the details.
1st place overall and first place in each segment of SBR. Very happy with swim and run fitness, didn't feel strong on bike but a very tough course.
The details...
I had an uneventful morning before the start of the race. I got to the race around 6am and quickly got my bike into transition and then checked in. Then I went for a 2 mile warm up jog and got the rest of my gear together.
Swim: I really like that swim. It's a half mile swim in a flat lake...what's not to like!? I got out to an early lead after the first buoy and then just settled in to a nice rhythm for the rest of the swim. My official time was 10:15, which was over 90sec ahead of the second athlete. I had a very quick T1 and then it was onto the bike.
Bike: This is a hard 12 miles! The course starts out with a BIG climb which really is a shock to your body after swimming. Then you go flying downhill to almost 40mph to a 90 degree right turn. This year the course was marked much better and the cop on the motorcycle actually knew where he was going. However, on more than one occasion, the cop stopped and talk to someone! Oh well. There were no wrong turns so no complaints here. I definitely didn't feel as strong as I would have liked, but I had the fastest bike split of the day. Came into T2 without any problems and headed out on the run.
Run: I headed out on the run without my watch. Last year I ran a 17:50 so I wanted to try and beat that this year. I just saw the splits and I ran a 17:30, which I am very happy with. I've done a ton of running this year and yesterday's 5k wasn't far off what I ran earlier this year in an open 5k, plus I was alone on the run so no real push from anyone. I held a comfortable pace and didn't have any cramping issues.
Next up is the 5k on Sunday June 12th and the the Wyckoff Tri on June 18th. Goals for those races are to break 17 in the 5k and to go top 3 overall at Wyckoff... I'll have to find some cycling legs to do that!
1st place overall and first place in each segment of SBR. Very happy with swim and run fitness, didn't feel strong on bike but a very tough course.
The details...
I had an uneventful morning before the start of the race. I got to the race around 6am and quickly got my bike into transition and then checked in. Then I went for a 2 mile warm up jog and got the rest of my gear together.
Swim: I really like that swim. It's a half mile swim in a flat lake...what's not to like!? I got out to an early lead after the first buoy and then just settled in to a nice rhythm for the rest of the swim. My official time was 10:15, which was over 90sec ahead of the second athlete. I had a very quick T1 and then it was onto the bike.
Bike: This is a hard 12 miles! The course starts out with a BIG climb which really is a shock to your body after swimming. Then you go flying downhill to almost 40mph to a 90 degree right turn. This year the course was marked much better and the cop on the motorcycle actually knew where he was going. However, on more than one occasion, the cop stopped and talk to someone! Oh well. There were no wrong turns so no complaints here. I definitely didn't feel as strong as I would have liked, but I had the fastest bike split of the day. Came into T2 without any problems and headed out on the run.
Run: I headed out on the run without my watch. Last year I ran a 17:50 so I wanted to try and beat that this year. I just saw the splits and I ran a 17:30, which I am very happy with. I've done a ton of running this year and yesterday's 5k wasn't far off what I ran earlier this year in an open 5k, plus I was alone on the run so no real push from anyone. I held a comfortable pace and didn't have any cramping issues.
Next up is the 5k on Sunday June 12th and the the Wyckoff Tri on June 18th. Goals for those races are to break 17 in the 5k and to go top 3 overall at Wyckoff... I'll have to find some cycling legs to do that!
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