Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Behold the Amazing Flying Schleck!
Well today was a slow day at work, so I was able to watch the athlete tracker of Le Tour. I was glued to the updates as I watched Cadel Evans hopes and dreams disappear with ever kilometer up the the Col de le Madeleine. I watched as Contador and Andy Schleck dropped the hammer and unmercifully ran down the break away. I watched as Lance regained his old form and Levi established himself as a contender. Essentially I had enough motivation to get me pumped up to ride for the next week. Ok so the Tour maybe full of the best medical enginering known to man but still I'm drawn to it. I love seeing guys push it to the limit, it's awe inspiring. Essentially it's a motivator, because let's face it 90% of us have the Paul Sherwin, Phil Liggett commentary going in our heads when we're out on our long rides. We push that little bit harder on our group rides to try to summit before the other guys and gals. When we feel good we are "dancing on the pedals and turning ourseleves inside out not to be denied." So where was I oh yes Andy Schleck. Homeboy is the real deal and he's making Contador look bad. Back in 2007 Contador won both the Yellow Jersey and the White for best Young rider, and Schleck looks like he's going to do it this year. To day he was flying, he essentially grabbed Contador and said "let's grab that breakaway." and they nearly did Sammy Casar just barely held on, as they caught the break in the final Km. Schleck is my pick for this year as much as I would like to see Levi shock the world, Andy is the real deal, and barring Contador making a massive charge, he is an unstoppable force.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
A decent into Hell: The 24th Annual Pat Griskus Sprint Triathlon
Alright before every one thinks that this a race report bashing Tom Wilkas and company, it's not. The race is one of the oldest in Connecticut and runs like clockwork every year, this year was no exception and we even caught the eye of NBC 30 out of Hartford who, ran a story about the event. Likewise it's an oddball among the major races it's run on a Wednesday night.
The conditions however where a different story. Over the last 4 days the mercury in the Northeast has been climbing in the upper 90's and low 100's. Yesterday was no exception. It was HOT people. I believe temperature at race time according to my car thermometer was a brisk 97F.
I took the day off from work and showed up to registration about 4:30PM got my bag and topped off the water bottles, and did about a 10 minute spin on the bike. I got back to Transition and met up with New Heatster Ken. My buddies Alex and Max from the Waterbury YMCA tri club were there, with Max itching for a little payback from the Griskus Olympic, in which Alex beat him by a little under a minute. As hot as it was the water was still wetsuit legal so I pulled on my Helix in the sweltering heat. I got some razzing from some of my training partners from the Y about not having a sleeveless. As usual I was in the first swim wave along with Alex, Max, Vin from HEAT and essentially all the old time regulars.
The swim: Welcome to the bath tub.
As Alex and I scouted the swim course there was a noticeable absence. The "Speedo Army" of high school swim champs didn't show up in their massive numbers this year. I seeded myself just wide of the buoy, to avoid the carnage that usually engulfs the inside track. When the starting gun went off, I had a couple of bumps and tugs, but overall not a lot of contact. By the third Buoy I was able to cut back inside and at the turn around I could count only a handful of swimmers in front of me. I managed to pick off one or two, and got out of the water in 5th place. I hit the Timing mat at T-1 in 12:55.
The Bike: Hammer Hammer Hammer!
I managed to get out of T-1 in about a minute flat and just began to pedal like a mad man. I decided to ride barefoot down the first hill until the 1 mile mark when I would be good and up to speed and could slip my feet in comfortably. I got passed by two guys ( ironically enough these would be the guys who would finish first and second overall. Chris Thomas and some kid John from Old Saybrook.) I was surprised at how well I was riding early in the ride. I managed to tear through the early down hills loosing very few spots. I managed to pass a guy from my age group at the toughest hill at mile 4. After this point the wheels started to fall off. After the down hill and three rollers at mile 5 I got picked off by a pack of 4 riders including the women's leaders. At mile 6 another group of 4 riders came around and then 1 guy on a Red Specialized that I would leap frog with over the last hill. He passed me going up I passed him going down and he passed me on the straight back to the park. The ride took about 32:26 just averaging a tick under 20mph.
The Run: This side hurts and that side hurts and my lungs feel like they're on fire.
I tore out of T-2 in :37 seconds ( my transitions are a far cry from the minute and change they were last year.) and took off trying to run as fast as possible. I took two cups of water at the aid station just outside of transition and tried desperately to find a rhythm. I ran the first half mile with my eyes closed. Just trying to keep myself in a happy place. It was oppressively hot. All I could flash back to were the Kona highlight shows where they talk about the heat and humidity. I got passed by a relay runner, as I went through the first mile at about 7:22. I was starting to get a stitch in my side, likewise my face and lungs felt like they were on fire, but I had to push harder. I saw the runners coming back from the turnaround and I knew I had to push it if I wanted to break 22. I went through the turn around and I saw a guy ahead of me doing the run walk. Mike Maxemenko came along side me and we paced through the next aid station. I grabbed some more water and tried to pull away on the flat hoping I would have enough in the tank to pull away on the hill. I managed to pass the guy in front of me. Mike got around me on the hill as I started to get another wicked side stitch. At the top of the hill I tried to reel in Mike but he had too much of a gap to bridge. I didn't dare look behind. I managed to come across the line in 1:08:27 pulling a 21:32 for my 5k one of my slower runs but just about average.
A few minutes later Max came across 1:11:39 ( he managed to get 3rd in his AG as 2nd and 3rd overall were in his AG.) Alex got pipped by Vin at the line as he crossed in 1:13:08. ( Max and Alex had been neck and neck on the run the last time I saw them.)
At the award ceremony I found out I had earned 2nd in the 25-29 AG and was 22nd overall. I held off 3rd in my AG by only 11 seconds. The performance marked the first time I had finished 2nd in my AG since I silvered in the 17-19AG back in 2003, hopefully this will not lead to 2 years of medal anguish as that result did.( 2006 and 2007 I finished just outside the medals.) Alex managed to pull a top 5 in the 25-29 and Max as mentioned Earlier got 3rd in the 20-24 overall it was a good night in Middlebury, now it's off to begin planning the next endeavour.
R.D.
The conditions however where a different story. Over the last 4 days the mercury in the Northeast has been climbing in the upper 90's and low 100's. Yesterday was no exception. It was HOT people. I believe temperature at race time according to my car thermometer was a brisk 97F.
I took the day off from work and showed up to registration about 4:30PM got my bag and topped off the water bottles, and did about a 10 minute spin on the bike. I got back to Transition and met up with New Heatster Ken. My buddies Alex and Max from the Waterbury YMCA tri club were there, with Max itching for a little payback from the Griskus Olympic, in which Alex beat him by a little under a minute. As hot as it was the water was still wetsuit legal so I pulled on my Helix in the sweltering heat. I got some razzing from some of my training partners from the Y about not having a sleeveless. As usual I was in the first swim wave along with Alex, Max, Vin from HEAT and essentially all the old time regulars.
The swim: Welcome to the bath tub.
As Alex and I scouted the swim course there was a noticeable absence. The "Speedo Army" of high school swim champs didn't show up in their massive numbers this year. I seeded myself just wide of the buoy, to avoid the carnage that usually engulfs the inside track. When the starting gun went off, I had a couple of bumps and tugs, but overall not a lot of contact. By the third Buoy I was able to cut back inside and at the turn around I could count only a handful of swimmers in front of me. I managed to pick off one or two, and got out of the water in 5th place. I hit the Timing mat at T-1 in 12:55.
The Bike: Hammer Hammer Hammer!
I managed to get out of T-1 in about a minute flat and just began to pedal like a mad man. I decided to ride barefoot down the first hill until the 1 mile mark when I would be good and up to speed and could slip my feet in comfortably. I got passed by two guys ( ironically enough these would be the guys who would finish first and second overall. Chris Thomas and some kid John from Old Saybrook.) I was surprised at how well I was riding early in the ride. I managed to tear through the early down hills loosing very few spots. I managed to pass a guy from my age group at the toughest hill at mile 4. After this point the wheels started to fall off. After the down hill and three rollers at mile 5 I got picked off by a pack of 4 riders including the women's leaders. At mile 6 another group of 4 riders came around and then 1 guy on a Red Specialized that I would leap frog with over the last hill. He passed me going up I passed him going down and he passed me on the straight back to the park. The ride took about 32:26 just averaging a tick under 20mph.
The Run: This side hurts and that side hurts and my lungs feel like they're on fire.
I tore out of T-2 in :37 seconds ( my transitions are a far cry from the minute and change they were last year.) and took off trying to run as fast as possible. I took two cups of water at the aid station just outside of transition and tried desperately to find a rhythm. I ran the first half mile with my eyes closed. Just trying to keep myself in a happy place. It was oppressively hot. All I could flash back to were the Kona highlight shows where they talk about the heat and humidity. I got passed by a relay runner, as I went through the first mile at about 7:22. I was starting to get a stitch in my side, likewise my face and lungs felt like they were on fire, but I had to push harder. I saw the runners coming back from the turnaround and I knew I had to push it if I wanted to break 22. I went through the turn around and I saw a guy ahead of me doing the run walk. Mike Maxemenko came along side me and we paced through the next aid station. I grabbed some more water and tried to pull away on the flat hoping I would have enough in the tank to pull away on the hill. I managed to pass the guy in front of me. Mike got around me on the hill as I started to get another wicked side stitch. At the top of the hill I tried to reel in Mike but he had too much of a gap to bridge. I didn't dare look behind. I managed to come across the line in 1:08:27 pulling a 21:32 for my 5k one of my slower runs but just about average.
A few minutes later Max came across 1:11:39 ( he managed to get 3rd in his AG as 2nd and 3rd overall were in his AG.) Alex got pipped by Vin at the line as he crossed in 1:13:08. ( Max and Alex had been neck and neck on the run the last time I saw them.)
At the award ceremony I found out I had earned 2nd in the 25-29 AG and was 22nd overall. I held off 3rd in my AG by only 11 seconds. The performance marked the first time I had finished 2nd in my AG since I silvered in the 17-19AG back in 2003, hopefully this will not lead to 2 years of medal anguish as that result did.( 2006 and 2007 I finished just outside the medals.) Alex managed to pull a top 5 in the 25-29 and Max as mentioned Earlier got 3rd in the 20-24 overall it was a good night in Middlebury, now it's off to begin planning the next endeavour.
R.D.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Getting back into gear.
Well as I write this Steph has come down to Connecticut for the 3 day weekend. My training has finally started to get back on track granted today was sort of a lazy day, but I have a long brick on tap tomorrow. This week I was able to get two swims in, a run and a 30 mile bike with 3 mile run brick. The 30 mile bike went well as I refamilarized myself with the Griskus Sprint bike course. This Wednesday night I'll be towing the line at the Griskus for the 7th time (5th in a row.) My 30 miler consisted of a lot of big gear work trying to increase my overall power. I found that climbing with a bigger gear in training has really helped my climbing in races. I'm not competing for the polka dot jersey in le tour, I was able to keep some tabs on the competition in the Griskus Oly. As for my season after the Griskus Sprint I'm hoping to get some more races in. I'm thinking of volunteering at Mossman to get half off my entry into Park City. Likewise I'm debating a late season Iron or Half Ironman. For the Ironman I'm tossed up between Firm-man Narragansett, Pumpkinman in Maine, or the Vermont Journey. Vermont Journey is the cheapest, but charges for spectators. Pumpkinman has a nice course and is more spectator friendly but has a slightly higher cost. Narragansett, well I learned with the Providence 70.3 that Rhode Island isn't flat.
Depending on how my Navy boards go in September, I may be heading off to training at the end of that month. If so it would put the cabosh on Ironman, as I have been batting around the idea of entering Great Floridian. Like I said it's just an idea at this point,but I want to try to get the miles up there so I would survive it. If anything it would get me in decent shape for a September half. So the training mileage will be getting upped So the challenge lays in the distance and I've got to start reaching toward it. I've done Ironman on 4 months training before and I know I could do it again. So here it goes.I'll either be towing the line in Clearmont, Narragansett, or else where but I'll be in good shape to do it.
Happy training everyone.
R.D.
Depending on how my Navy boards go in September, I may be heading off to training at the end of that month. If so it would put the cabosh on Ironman, as I have been batting around the idea of entering Great Floridian. Like I said it's just an idea at this point,but I want to try to get the miles up there so I would survive it. If anything it would get me in decent shape for a September half. So the training mileage will be getting upped So the challenge lays in the distance and I've got to start reaching toward it. I've done Ironman on 4 months training before and I know I could do it again. So here it goes.I'll either be towing the line in Clearmont, Narragansett, or else where but I'll be in good shape to do it.
Happy training everyone.
R.D.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Holliston Lions Sprint Triathlon Race Report.
Well yesterday was my second race of the 2010 Tri season. Just like the Griskus Oly it was a game time decision, in that I entered the week of. I had been looking forward to doing this race for a while because it combined visiting my girlfriend and racing. So Friday night I braved the Mass Pike and made my way up to Holliston to Steph's place. On Sunday morning Steph drove me to Stoddard Park and helped me lug my gear about a quarter mile through the woods to transition. She took a seat next to the bike rack as I set up my gear and started communing with my fellow tri geeks. I took my bike out for a quick spin so I could mount my shoes to the pedals and get my gearing right for the hill leading out of the transition area. I got my bike back on the rack and slid my self in to the wetsuit. I had really greased the calves of the suit up with suit juice. Funny thing about suit juice is it looks a lot like snot and other slimy sticky body fluids... I had gone for a swim the previous day on the swim course and Steph had round two of the "Honey could you zip me up?" After a struggle in which another athlete also tried to get my zipper together Steph and I managed to my neoprene beast zipped and ready to go.
After meeting up with fellow HEATster Raf, I got a few yards of warm up swimming. The space between the first and second buoys was sort of a weed bed but the water cleared about the third buoy in. I swam back to the beach just as the national anthem started playing. After the anthem and the pre race announcements the field was set to go.
After meeting up with fellow HEATster Raf, I got a few yards of warm up swimming. The space between the first and second buoys was sort of a weed bed but the water cleared about the third buoy in. I swam back to the beach just as the national anthem started playing. After the anthem and the pre race announcements the field was set to go.The swim: Was it 400 meters cleverly disguised as 1/2 a mile?
A just a little after 8AM the first wave received a "Ready Go!" and we were off. The beginning was a little choppy and again I found myself bunched up in traffic until we cleared the weed bed. 
By the 3rd buoy I had found my groove and started to reeling the leaders. By the turn around I found myself catching some of the stragglers from the lead group. I started trying to catch the leaders and managed to get some distance back to the main group. I hit the beach in 8:06 and tore to transition. The wetsuit came off easily and I managed to get out of T-1 in just about a minute.1:03 even.
By the 3rd buoy I had found my groove and started to reeling the leaders. By the turn around I found myself catching some of the stragglers from the lead group. I started trying to catch the leaders and managed to get some distance back to the main group. I hit the beach in 8:06 and tore to transition. The wetsuit came off easily and I managed to get out of T-1 in just about a minute.1:03 even.
The Bike:
The bike course was a 15 mile/ 3 loop crit. I managed to get my feet into my shoes about a half mile in. I was amazed that I was still pretty high ranked on the bike. I didn't see anyone in front of me. So I tried to find a rhythm. By mile 2 the train started to roll on by first one rider. Then 2 then 3 or 4 at a time. By the first real "hill" I had fallen back to 5th or 6th. Then the course flattened out and at mile 3 there was the only true climb and a descent into the center of Holliston. I managed to keep some spots on the descent and was slowed up by volunteers as we made a hard right from MA 16 past a crepe shop, the fire station and about 4 body shop. About a 1/2 mile down the road there was a right hander and a false flat and small rollers back toward Stoddard park. By the beginning of 2nd loop I had dropped to 10th overall and was beginning to come up on lap traffic. The traffic served as sort of a pump up in that I was able to get some passing in. I managed to get around the 2nd kid who came out of the water. I shouted out some encouragement to him as he was racing the way I began, doing the local sprint in a pair or running shorts on a mountain bike. I sort of reached equilibrium as only 2 or 3 more riders got around and I was able to keep a few of them in sight. By the third lap I was in about 20th spot. I managed to roll into T-2 and perform my dismount, flawlessly. The bike course took me about 42:57. I tore through T-2 in 52 sec. as I got my shoes on a took off on the run. It was sort of a pump up as Steph cheered me out of T-2.
The Run: Do you guys have any gatorade?
The run was a loop of the bike course in reverse. I left T-2 with a runner from the Cyclonaunts tri club just in sight. I made it my goal to reel him in. Like with the Griskus the week before it took me a bit to find my rhthym. I got passed by a flying 30 year old at the one mile mark. We hit the first aid station and I grabbed a water. I was still closing in on the cyclonaunt but was losing ground to the the other runner. Likewise a runner from team Amino Vital passed me at about mile 2 and I had to let up in my pursuit as a tow truck pulled right out in front of me and was not going to yield. I had to jog in place as it slid into traffic. Once again proving that "traffic control" is a relative term. After my mini time loss I took off in hot pursuit. Partially filled with rage at nearly being struck down, the other with determination at trying to salvage a top 20. I kept the Amino Vital runner in sight and noticed that the Cyclonaunt was within striking distance. I really pushed up the last hill and caught the cyclonaunt as we passed the third aid station. "Got any gatorade?" I asked knowing I needed the salt. " "Just water." the volunteer responded. I took it as I needed to hydrate. I got around the Cyclonaunt and in my head kept trying to tell myself that "once you make a pass late in the race it doesn't get undone." We made our way up the last little hill and I could still hear his feet fresh on my heels. As we passed the last aid station he came along side. "Thanks for pacing me the last mile." He said. " Thanks for giving me a target for the first two I said back." We started to talk and pace one another running shoulder to shoulder for the last mile. I found out the guy's name was Steve and that he'll be running at the Griskus Sprint next Wednesday. As we turned into the park he looked at my calf "You're not in the 45-49 Age Group are you?" We both sort of laughed. "25-29" "Well you can go on in ahead of me." he said back. As we hit the down hill back into the park I really started to sprint. I could hear Steph cheering for me, and saw the clock ticking away. I made it over the mat in just under 1:29. Steve was in about 6sec.behind me. My totaltime was 1:28:56 my run Split was a 35:56 not a PR for 5 miles but good considering.
After the race I got a finish line kiss from Steph. Met up with Raf as he came in about a minute behind us, and won the Cyldesdale division. After waiting for the results to post, I found I had finished 19th overall and 3rd in my age group. ( the over all winner was 25-29 and second was only 3 minutes ahead.). Steph and I made our way back to her place after awards to chill for the rest of the afternoon. Then I had a 3 hour car ride back to CT which was an epic in itself due to the traffic from the Nascar race in New Hampshire.
All in all it was a good weekend.
R.D.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
I'm shipping up to Boston... ( and other tales)
well ok Holliston for the weekend. I'm up in Holliston, MA visiting my girl friend and getting some racing in. Tomorrow I'm doing the Holliston Lions Sprint tri tomorrow. For a sprint the distances are a little longer than most. 1/2 mile swim, 15 miles on the bike and a 5 mile run. The course for the bike and run is the same. Runners turn left out of T-2 for one loop Bikes turn right out of T-1 for three or vice versa on the direction. I went down to the race site with Steph today to swim the course and ride a loop of the bike. The bike loop is decivingly tough for a short distance. It's fairly flat but it has some little hills to make it interesting. Likewise the swim course has some major weedage, but having the GF support me in her hometown race is a nice bonus. My training this week had been a little off a 7 miler and a 10 miler, and about 8k in the pool. I did a 20 miler on the bike before I had to send it to the shop for a new deraileur housing. ( I had the cable changed last week but we didn't touch the housing and on my 20 miler on Wednesday I noticed some wires mixing with my shifter cable on my shifter lever. )Needless to say my mechaninc made quick work of it on Friday morning.
This week after this race I've got to get some hard core mileage in. I'm not signed up for anything particularly long, but I would like to do a half or a full Ironman to close the season. Next week Steph's coming to CT and I don't want to make her a "triathlon Widow" So I may attempt to do some longer rides during the week or on Saturday after work. The longest ride I've done so far this year is a 75 miler at Calhoun so I want to get a century in by late August.
On the Navy thing. I spoke to my recruiter I've got to sign some papers and take my physical and tests, and then submit my application for OCS. Hopefully I'll have a good package and I'll be wintering in Newport, RI. Otherwise I'll be playing the wait game.
Life seems to be moving at a rapid pace and I'm just trying to keep up with it right now. As I'm trying to catch up on bills, find a place for the fall,( the place I was looking at I'm not going to be able to come up with the security in time.) and juggle the job, training, and a relationship.
Well all that said and done I'd better get back to the GF and get some shut eye. It's going to be an early morning tomorrow.
R.D.
This week after this race I've got to get some hard core mileage in. I'm not signed up for anything particularly long, but I would like to do a half or a full Ironman to close the season. Next week Steph's coming to CT and I don't want to make her a "triathlon Widow" So I may attempt to do some longer rides during the week or on Saturday after work. The longest ride I've done so far this year is a 75 miler at Calhoun so I want to get a century in by late August.
On the Navy thing. I spoke to my recruiter I've got to sign some papers and take my physical and tests, and then submit my application for OCS. Hopefully I'll have a good package and I'll be wintering in Newport, RI. Otherwise I'll be playing the wait game.
Life seems to be moving at a rapid pace and I'm just trying to keep up with it right now. As I'm trying to catch up on bills, find a place for the fall,( the place I was looking at I'm not going to be able to come up with the security in time.) and juggle the job, training, and a relationship.
Well all that said and done I'd better get back to the GF and get some shut eye. It's going to be an early morning tomorrow.
R.D.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
And so it begins...The 2010 Pat Griskus Olympic Triathlon Race Report
Well this year I've Age Grouped up. I'm no longer in the "I just came here from a kegger." Age Group. While I was hoping my first Foray into the 25-29 Age group would have been at a half Ironman, circumstances and the fates had a different plan. And so for the first time since 2007 I kicked my season off at the Pat Griskus Olympic Triathlon in Middlebury, CT. For all of you who did REV3 we race out of the Quassy Amusement Park but this course is just a tad more forgiving. If the race name sounds familiar it should. I do the Griskus Sprint every July but when the schedule of the Patriot Half in Freetown, MA changed last year I decided to shoot at the longer distance. This year with scant resources and scant training I rolled into Middlebury just hoping to get through the race in one piece, hopefully in the top half of my AG and try to gauge where I'm at at this stage in the game.
The Swim: 23:51
The swim for this race is somewhat easier than the Sprint as it is a point to point loop instead of a straight out and back. Still the dash to the first buoy might as well have been the Ironman. It was a really chaotic jostle for position, and I found myself stuck in traffic for a while. After the first buoy I broke a little wide and found some free water and began to close in on the leaders. By the third buoy I had found my rhythm It took me half the swim to reach the chase pack but I managed to get out of the water in 8th place nearly 3 minutes behind the leader in a time of 23:51.
The Bike: 1:16:59
I had a really quick time in T-1 as I had really loaded up both my calves and wetsuit with suit juice so I could yank it off fast. I had just had my cleats redone on the pedals so I was able to do the whole preclipped pedals mount maneuver which also helped save some time. The only thing that might have cost me was I forgot to take my Gu's out of my transition bag and as this was an Oly, I didn't mount my bento box to the frame. As I pedaled out I sort of realized thhis mistake and decided I was going to have to take my calories from Gatorade as I had no substantial nutrition. The first mile was kind of hesitant as I slid my feet in my shoes. I know I'm going to have to work on this for next weekend's sprint and the Griskus Sprint coming up in July. Once I got in I developed a pretty good pace. I lost some positions on one of the major down hills at mile 4 but I was surprised at how much my power climbing had helped me develop. For some of the major climbs at mile 6-10 I was leap frogging with a guy from my age group, an older guy on a guru and a kid Chris on an Orbeca. The older guy and the kid on the Krestel got away from me on the descent and Chris got around me on Weekeepeemee Rd. ( probably the ancient Indian word for many pot holes.) Weekeepeemee is dangerous as most of the road is pitted and patched but it is also a downhill so it turns into a risk vs. reward area. You can make up a lot of time going aero and hammering but just as easily find yourself going over the bars. The course marshalls sent us up a detour as one of the sections on the course was covered with pea gravel. The detour took two miles off the bike course but sent us up a brutally steep grade. I managed to get around Chris again and tried to climb the best I could. My lower back was killing me and I was really needing a Gu/ Hammer Gel/ Banana some sort of nutrition. We were rewarded with a much shallower grade up Flanders Rd. Once we were directed back to the Original course and then the descent down Rt. 61 ( where Josie had crashed last April.) I managed to stay infront of Chris on this section and pulled away as we went back up Middle road Turnpike and up the familar hills of the last 4 miles of the Sprint course. It was about this time I got passed by the women's leader. So I made it my mission to keep her in sight. I got passed by a kid from Georgetown on the final climb and managed to limit my losses. I had started the bike in 8th and maybe lost about 20 spots which for me isn't great but isn't horrible either.
The Run: 41:32
I managed to execute my dismount perfectly and got in and out of Tranasition really quickly. Josie was working as a transition marshall and was screaming for me along with Robin Griskus and some of the other race directors. I started the run really hard granted part of me felt like I was running on an empty tank. I managed to catch up with and pass the kid from Georgetown on thhe downhill at the first mile marker. He caught me by the turnaround and would run the hill together. We passed some volunteers and I made a comment about more cowbell. That seemed to give a little light hearted ness to the situation. We talked about pace and strategey and how sweet that beer was going to be at the finish. As we ran up the hill I knew my opening pace had been too hard as I got a wicked side stitch. I managed to keep Mike from G- town in my sights at the turn around at the park, but he left me in the dust as we began loop 2. The second loop I find tends to be a little better as you have more targets to try to catch. Indeed I was starting to regroup and was feeling a little bit better at the bottom of the hill. People kept screaming I was flying and crusing on this run but I wasn't feeling it. My legs felt like lead, I was bonking hard core, essentially I was just hoping to match the 42 minute run I did here back in 08. At the aid station before the uphill. I caught Marc from Staten Island. Marc and I had swapped the lead in the 20-24 AG last year at Park City. We touched base real quick and then I was past and started cranking up the hill. The entire second loop I noticed I kept gaining ground on the women's leader. If I could just get up to her and around I might salvage 42 minuutes. I also nooticed the guy directly in front of her had a "C" on his leg the symbol for the 25-29 AG. I had to pass him. As I ground up the hill the gap got closer and closer. At the top I managed to get around the guy with the "C" on his calf and set my sights on Cassie Maximenko the women's leader. The gap dwindled and as we approached the park I was on her shoulder. Part of me thought " Maybe I should back off and let her celebrate her victory as there is not another chick in the same zip code." The other part of me was thinking about the dude I just passed I didn't want to get punked at the line yet again. I kicked it into gear and got around Cassie, she kicked right back and got me by a foot on the timing mat. I looked at my watch 41:45 ( I had hit start in T2). It was my fastest 10k ever.
Total time: 2:23:57 66th overall 10th out of 27 in AG
Looking at the stats from the race which also was USAT's Northeast Regional Championship I'm pretty pleased with my performance. I did take away a few lessons that I sort of already knew:
1. Take gels with you on the bike!
2. Pace sensibly
3. In a short race it's alright not to use every one of the aid stations, you don't always need water or gatorade every mile.
4. Practice the barefoot mount as it might have cost me 30sec.-1 min. in the opening mile.
5. Ride more.
6. Lift more.
Likewise I have made some major improvements:
1. Big gear work on the bike means more climbing power.
2. Work on transitions pays dividends.
3. A properly executed dismount is not only a thing of beauty but quick and pain less.
4. Lift more.
I still have a somewhat long training season ahead and I'm hoping to do a late season Iron or Half..so hopefully I can iron out some of the bugs and get my first AG win since 2007. It's been a while but if I can pull a 10th in the midst of a meltdown, what am I capable of when everything is together.
R.D.
The Swim: 23:51
The swim for this race is somewhat easier than the Sprint as it is a point to point loop instead of a straight out and back. Still the dash to the first buoy might as well have been the Ironman. It was a really chaotic jostle for position, and I found myself stuck in traffic for a while. After the first buoy I broke a little wide and found some free water and began to close in on the leaders. By the third buoy I had found my rhythm It took me half the swim to reach the chase pack but I managed to get out of the water in 8th place nearly 3 minutes behind the leader in a time of 23:51.
The Bike: 1:16:59
I had a really quick time in T-1 as I had really loaded up both my calves and wetsuit with suit juice so I could yank it off fast. I had just had my cleats redone on the pedals so I was able to do the whole preclipped pedals mount maneuver which also helped save some time. The only thing that might have cost me was I forgot to take my Gu's out of my transition bag and as this was an Oly, I didn't mount my bento box to the frame. As I pedaled out I sort of realized thhis mistake and decided I was going to have to take my calories from Gatorade as I had no substantial nutrition. The first mile was kind of hesitant as I slid my feet in my shoes. I know I'm going to have to work on this for next weekend's sprint and the Griskus Sprint coming up in July. Once I got in I developed a pretty good pace. I lost some positions on one of the major down hills at mile 4 but I was surprised at how much my power climbing had helped me develop. For some of the major climbs at mile 6-10 I was leap frogging with a guy from my age group, an older guy on a guru and a kid Chris on an Orbeca. The older guy and the kid on the Krestel got away from me on the descent and Chris got around me on Weekeepeemee Rd. ( probably the ancient Indian word for many pot holes.) Weekeepeemee is dangerous as most of the road is pitted and patched but it is also a downhill so it turns into a risk vs. reward area. You can make up a lot of time going aero and hammering but just as easily find yourself going over the bars. The course marshalls sent us up a detour as one of the sections on the course was covered with pea gravel. The detour took two miles off the bike course but sent us up a brutally steep grade. I managed to get around Chris again and tried to climb the best I could. My lower back was killing me and I was really needing a Gu/ Hammer Gel/ Banana some sort of nutrition. We were rewarded with a much shallower grade up Flanders Rd. Once we were directed back to the Original course and then the descent down Rt. 61 ( where Josie had crashed last April.) I managed to stay infront of Chris on this section and pulled away as we went back up Middle road Turnpike and up the familar hills of the last 4 miles of the Sprint course. It was about this time I got passed by the women's leader. So I made it my mission to keep her in sight. I got passed by a kid from Georgetown on the final climb and managed to limit my losses. I had started the bike in 8th and maybe lost about 20 spots which for me isn't great but isn't horrible either.
The Run: 41:32
I managed to execute my dismount perfectly and got in and out of Tranasition really quickly. Josie was working as a transition marshall and was screaming for me along with Robin Griskus and some of the other race directors. I started the run really hard granted part of me felt like I was running on an empty tank. I managed to catch up with and pass the kid from Georgetown on thhe downhill at the first mile marker. He caught me by the turnaround and would run the hill together. We passed some volunteers and I made a comment about more cowbell. That seemed to give a little light hearted ness to the situation. We talked about pace and strategey and how sweet that beer was going to be at the finish. As we ran up the hill I knew my opening pace had been too hard as I got a wicked side stitch. I managed to keep Mike from G- town in my sights at the turn around at the park, but he left me in the dust as we began loop 2. The second loop I find tends to be a little better as you have more targets to try to catch. Indeed I was starting to regroup and was feeling a little bit better at the bottom of the hill. People kept screaming I was flying and crusing on this run but I wasn't feeling it. My legs felt like lead, I was bonking hard core, essentially I was just hoping to match the 42 minute run I did here back in 08. At the aid station before the uphill. I caught Marc from Staten Island. Marc and I had swapped the lead in the 20-24 AG last year at Park City. We touched base real quick and then I was past and started cranking up the hill. The entire second loop I noticed I kept gaining ground on the women's leader. If I could just get up to her and around I might salvage 42 minuutes. I also nooticed the guy directly in front of her had a "C" on his leg the symbol for the 25-29 AG. I had to pass him. As I ground up the hill the gap got closer and closer. At the top I managed to get around the guy with the "C" on his calf and set my sights on Cassie Maximenko the women's leader. The gap dwindled and as we approached the park I was on her shoulder. Part of me thought " Maybe I should back off and let her celebrate her victory as there is not another chick in the same zip code." The other part of me was thinking about the dude I just passed I didn't want to get punked at the line yet again. I kicked it into gear and got around Cassie, she kicked right back and got me by a foot on the timing mat. I looked at my watch 41:45 ( I had hit start in T2). It was my fastest 10k ever.
Total time: 2:23:57 66th overall 10th out of 27 in AG
Looking at the stats from the race which also was USAT's Northeast Regional Championship I'm pretty pleased with my performance. I did take away a few lessons that I sort of already knew:
1. Take gels with you on the bike!
2. Pace sensibly
3. In a short race it's alright not to use every one of the aid stations, you don't always need water or gatorade every mile.
4. Practice the barefoot mount as it might have cost me 30sec.-1 min. in the opening mile.
5. Ride more.
6. Lift more.
Likewise I have made some major improvements:
1. Big gear work on the bike means more climbing power.
2. Work on transitions pays dividends.
3. A properly executed dismount is not only a thing of beauty but quick and pain less.
4. Lift more.
I still have a somewhat long training season ahead and I'm hoping to do a late season Iron or Half..so hopefully I can iron out some of the bugs and get my first AG win since 2007. It's been a while but if I can pull a 10th in the midst of a meltdown, what am I capable of when everything is together.
R.D.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Homelessness, Stress, and I want to compete damn it....
Well the past three weeks have been an emotional roller coaster to say the least, I've been thrown through the ringer and on top of it all I just want to sign up for a couple races and get some primal rage out of the system.
Three weeks ago my parents lost their house. A friend of the family offered us a place to crash while he vacations on the coast for the summer so that was an exceptional act of kindness on the part of him and his family. I'm still planning on moving out but to know I've got a semi stable roof over my head while I scrounge together a security deposit is a good thing. I've had some anger and resentment building and it was approaching a head but thankfully I didn't do anything too rash.
Josie got married last weekend and found out she is expecting a baby girl.
After Josie's wedding my car's battery died so I was left car less and homeless in the same week. Without the car ( which was storing my bike) there was no way I was going to get to the pool or go for rides so my training nosed dived as did my endorphins leading to a massive break down on Tuesday night.
I spent some time with the GF but I had a mini melt down mid-week. Seriously this girl should be up for the medal of honor for having to deal with my crap. essentially my breakdown was I felt unworthy of her. The breakdown went along the lines of she comes from a decent fairly stable family. She has worries that would be considered more or less normal. She cute, she's smart, she's emotionally stable what does she want with a freak like me that's homeless, car less and living off the stop and shop 2 for $0.89 Ramen Special, when she could have a strong, stable, financially secure gentleman ( read : Angry Runner.) that could buy her anything her heart desires annd give her the time attention and stability every girl should have. So essentially I just sort of broke down because I felt like she could do better than me. Which led to a whole long tearful conversation which I will not discuss here but essentially that girl is a keeper.
My plans to keep my perfect steak alive at the Patriot Tri came to a violent end as I looked at the bank account this morning and there was no way I was going to swing the $200 entry fee. I still have meek hope for the Griskus Olympic but I've got to see what hits the account overnight. Despite all the crap that has happened to me in the last 3 weeks I still want to race. I'm a triathlete it's what I do. It's in my blood. For too long I've sat round as a whiny bitch I've got nothing left to lose so I should go out and make my competition pay for my pain and pay dearly.
People have always marveled that I can take the beating of half and full ironman's pretty well, essentially it's because the physical doesn't hurt as much as the mental. I mean you run a marathon your legs cramp tough shit. I'd rather run 3 marathons back to back than to try to keep the stoic face and try to keep it together on the outside like I've had for the last couple of months. People speak of mental toughness, I'll be the first to say I'm not mentally tough I just know I've got to get up in the morning and go to work, and try to do something. I sulk, I bitch but I got to keep moving though I feel like I can't. There were days still are days I look at my situation and feel hopeless, but I still get up and still keep doing what I have to do, because nothing is going to change if I sit on my butt crying and watching CSI dvds all week.
So I really want to compete this year...maybe because it's an escape of the torture daily life has become or maybe it's my way of "sticking it to the man" I've got talent and somedays it feels good to know you just laid the smack on the guy with a $10k P-4, a $200/month training plan, personal massuse, thearpist for his cat, and the executive challenge grab bag hanging from his handle bars. It makes the ramen taste a little better and go down a little smoother on Monday afternoon.
R.D.
Three weeks ago my parents lost their house. A friend of the family offered us a place to crash while he vacations on the coast for the summer so that was an exceptional act of kindness on the part of him and his family. I'm still planning on moving out but to know I've got a semi stable roof over my head while I scrounge together a security deposit is a good thing. I've had some anger and resentment building and it was approaching a head but thankfully I didn't do anything too rash.
Josie got married last weekend and found out she is expecting a baby girl.
After Josie's wedding my car's battery died so I was left car less and homeless in the same week. Without the car ( which was storing my bike) there was no way I was going to get to the pool or go for rides so my training nosed dived as did my endorphins leading to a massive break down on Tuesday night.
I spent some time with the GF but I had a mini melt down mid-week. Seriously this girl should be up for the medal of honor for having to deal with my crap. essentially my breakdown was I felt unworthy of her. The breakdown went along the lines of she comes from a decent fairly stable family. She has worries that would be considered more or less normal. She cute, she's smart, she's emotionally stable what does she want with a freak like me that's homeless, car less and living off the stop and shop 2 for $0.89 Ramen Special, when she could have a strong, stable, financially secure gentleman ( read : Angry Runner.) that could buy her anything her heart desires annd give her the time attention and stability every girl should have. So essentially I just sort of broke down because I felt like she could do better than me. Which led to a whole long tearful conversation which I will not discuss here but essentially that girl is a keeper.
My plans to keep my perfect steak alive at the Patriot Tri came to a violent end as I looked at the bank account this morning and there was no way I was going to swing the $200 entry fee. I still have meek hope for the Griskus Olympic but I've got to see what hits the account overnight. Despite all the crap that has happened to me in the last 3 weeks I still want to race. I'm a triathlete it's what I do. It's in my blood. For too long I've sat round as a whiny bitch I've got nothing left to lose so I should go out and make my competition pay for my pain and pay dearly.
People have always marveled that I can take the beating of half and full ironman's pretty well, essentially it's because the physical doesn't hurt as much as the mental. I mean you run a marathon your legs cramp tough shit. I'd rather run 3 marathons back to back than to try to keep the stoic face and try to keep it together on the outside like I've had for the last couple of months. People speak of mental toughness, I'll be the first to say I'm not mentally tough I just know I've got to get up in the morning and go to work, and try to do something. I sulk, I bitch but I got to keep moving though I feel like I can't. There were days still are days I look at my situation and feel hopeless, but I still get up and still keep doing what I have to do, because nothing is going to change if I sit on my butt crying and watching CSI dvds all week.
So I really want to compete this year...maybe because it's an escape of the torture daily life has become or maybe it's my way of "sticking it to the man" I've got talent and somedays it feels good to know you just laid the smack on the guy with a $10k P-4, a $200/month training plan, personal massuse, thearpist for his cat, and the executive challenge grab bag hanging from his handle bars. It makes the ramen taste a little better and go down a little smoother on Monday afternoon.
R.D.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
