Wow, well almost a month after the race I finally have time
to sit down and write this race report.
With a project drawing to a close at work and traveling for friends'
weddings, I just haven't been able to get a good amount of time to relax and
think about the race. So here we go...
American Zofingen Duathlon is a unique multisport event that
offers three different distances of races.
All running is done on one 5mi trail loop in the Mohonk Preserve in the
Catskill Mountains and all the biking happens on one 28mi loop on roads that some
cars may have difficulty driving due to the hills. There is the Short Course Duathlon (5mi Run /
28mi Bike / 5mi Run), the Middle Course (5mi Run / 28mi Bike / 5mi Run / 28mi
Bike / 5mi Run), the Long Course (5mi Run / 84mi Bike / 15mi Run), and the Individual
Time Trial (112mi Bike (4 loops of 28mi).
The race atmosphere and organization is superb; it is relaxed and
jovial, similar to a group of friends getting together to train and then drink
copious amounts of alcohol. Actually,
that's exactly what it is.
Last year I did the Long Course duathlon in a total time of
08:12:36 and it was a miserable experience.
It was hot, I was paced the whole race very poorly, and I did not take
in nearly enough fluids or calories throughout the day. This year I was determined to do much better.
Pre-Race:
Living close to the race certainly has it's advantages since
I can sleep in my own bed the night before the race! I woke up at 4am to pack the car, eat my race
breakfast (oatmeal with peanut butter, nuts, and raisins) and drive the hour
down to the race by myself, a lonely drive to make before the sun rises. Weather conditions were looking favorable for
the few days leading up to race day.
Unfortunately, some sadists did a rain dance and it ended up being in
the low 50's F and raining when we started at 7am. Needless to say, I was not too excited for
the next 8hrs of racing in the rain.
Here is an image from the race photographer of one of the racers at the top of the Mohonk Climb. What you don't see in this picture is that ahead of this rider is a wicked fast descent with a descending radius turn...on wet roads!
Here is an image from the race photographer of one of the racers at the top of the Mohonk Climb. What you don't see in this picture is that ahead of this rider is a wicked fast descent with a descending radius turn...on wet roads!
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| Not fun riding conditions |
Run #1: 5mi, 1 Lap
Knowing that I was in for a long day of suffering up and
down mountains, I started conservatively.
No point in going anaerobic early in the race and wasintg energy that I
will need later in the day. With about
1000ft of gain per 5mi loop, this is easily the hardest run loop I have ever done. It is more suitable for a billy goat or mountain runners. There were some seriously strong athletes in
this race so I forced myself to hold back on the first run and not stay with
the lead pack on the first climb. Unfortunately
(a stroke of luck for me though) they took a wrong turn and ended up running an
extra half mile. So, I ended up being
one of the first runners back to transition with a sub 40:00 run (fast on this
loop!). I spent the last few miles of
the run with a first timer, explaining what she was in for on the upcoming bike
and I strongly urged her to exercise caution on the descents due to the
conditions. Aggressive descents will
gain you about 1-2 minutes per 28 mile loop, so maybe 5 min total for the long
course athletes. Definitely not worth
the risk in my opinion.
Totals for the run were – 39:50, 8:08/mi, 170bpm, 1096ft
elevation gain.
Transition #1:
Arriving in transition already soaked to the bone and severely
underdressed (I was wearing only tri shorts, tri top, calf sleeves, socks, and
gloves), I was dreading the cold descents in the rain. I stuffed my pockets with gel packs and Honey
Stinger Waffles (my favorite race nutrition, because it so closely resembles
and tastes like real food!). Here is what transition looks like:
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| Transition is stupid wet. Unfortunately what you don't see are the gorgeous mountains in the background |
Bike: 84mi, 3 Laps of
38mi
The very beginning of the ride is absolutely terrible. A dirt road about 1/2mi long leads out of
transition and includes some serious potholes and even a little bit of
climbing. I had a bottle of water that
fell out of the cage and had to stop climbing and pick it up due to the Race
Director’s stern warnings about littering on the course. Unfortunately, when I got back to the bottle
it was already empty. At the time, I didn’t
think it was a big deal because there would be 3 aid stations along the 28mi
loop. Once you get to the main road, you
continue climbing for another mile or so before hitting the storied Mohonk
Descent. Quickly I realized how
underdressed I was because I started shivering uncontrollably. Everything on me was cold. I passed the locations where there were
supposed to be aid stations and no one was there. So now I was absolutely miserable. No fluids, shivering madly while trying to
stay upright, and severely contemplating quitting. I was desperately looking forward to seeing my
girlfriend at the end of the first lap because she was supposed to have a bike
jersey for me. Unfortunately, I didn’t
communicate my timing properly and I didn’t see her at the end of the first lap
and I almost cried because of how cold I was.
My whole body was cold and if I did not have a good pair of gloves on, I
would have stopped racing.
I continued on to the second lap of the bike and it finally
started to warm up a little and the rain reduced to a drizzle, so conditions
were not much better, but at least I stopped shivering. I finally got a bottle of water and HEED and
quickly downed a good amount of fluids and nutrition. I stayed in control on the climbs and worked
the descents as hard as I could while still staying safe. I saw some people I knew from the year before
and chatted with them about how miserable the conditions were and we worked
together for a little while before I backed off to ride more conservatively (or
they were just much faster than me.) I
really started to feel good towards the end of the second loop and I started
pushing hard and caught several people that had passed me on the first
loop. Everything was firing on all
cylinders and I was cruising.
I finally saw my girlfriend and her parents a few miles into
the third loop and it was such a relief as I had expected to see them a few
times by now and I was starting to get worried.
It was fantastic to see them and they really improved my attitude at
that point in the race. I spent some
time riding with a guy doing the Individual Time Trial who was happy to chat
since he had been riding alone for most of the day. Once we got over the climb he eased up and I
continued on at my own pace. The rest of
the 3rd lap was uneventful - frequent nutrition and fluids, just
trying to get back to transition.
Total elevation gain over the 84mi is roughly 9000ft, so
there is a ton of climbing! Totals for
the ride were - 4:47:45, 17.4mph avg, 256W NP, 148bpm avg, 49.4mph max, 55deg
F, 8500ft climbing.
Transition #2:
Coming back into transition I had no idea where I was in
relation to the rest of the field. I
knew there were a few guys ahead of me and I heard that one had dropped out due
to mechanical issues on the bike, so I was still in a good position. I put my soaking wet running shoes back on
and stumbled out of transition to start a 15mi run with 3000+ft of climbing!
Run #2: 15mi, 3 Laps
The beginning of the 1st lap felt decent. I was surprisingly comfortable and I think it
was mostly because I was just happy to be off the bike and away from the bone chilling
effects of convective cooling of the air flowing over my wet skin. My strategy was to monitor my heart rate to
keep it in control on the ascents by walking the steepest parts of the climbs
and letting gravity take over as I cruised down the descents. At the top of the first climb my quads
started to cramp. I started to stretch
it when my hamstring cramped too. Oh
shit, I thought, 1mi into the 15mi run and my left quad and hamstring
cramped. Fortunately, with some positive
thinking, deep breathing, and some quick massaging I got the cramps under
control. I ran the remainder of the 4mi
in fear of this happening again. I took
no nutrition on the first lap as I was still a little full from taking in a lot
of nutrition and fluids at the end of the bike.
The run is a lot of fun because each lap you pass through
the finish line in the pavilion where everybody who did the shorter races is
partying and drinking while you’re still suffering. People like to joke that they do shots of
Jameson through the pavilion, but I have never seen this happen in the Long
Course race. I had a bottle of flat coke
at the aid station in the pavilion so I took a big gulp of that and continued
on to the second lap.
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| Feeling good at this point. Happy to be running strong |
Coke is rocket fuel
during long course racing. The
combination of quick sugars and caffeine and calories is absolutely
perfect. I powered through the second
lap with a small pause in the woods for a “nature break.” Some more coke at the aid station and an
Apple Cinnamon gel really helped me run strongly. The run/walk method on the hills kept my HR
and effort level under control.
Although, at this point I was walking more than the first lap, but there
wasn’t much I could do about that.
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| Running on the flat grass is just as hard because it's swampy and muddy. |
One more pass through the pavilion, more coke, and a good
amount of cheering from the crowd pushed me out onto the third lap with a
positive attitude. I had a minor goal of
being under 8:00:00 as I missed it last year due to poor pacing and nutrition
practices. This year I only had to run
under a 55:00 last lap to make it.
Unless catastrophe struck on the final 5mi, I would be able to make it
with time to spare since I had not run over 48:00 for a lap yet. The same run/walk method on the third lap got
me to the aid station where I learned they had run out of coke. Fortunately, they had the next best thing: RedBull! I had never been “Given Wings” during a race,
so I was a little hesitant. But as soon
as it hit my lips I knew it was a good choice.
Another quick boost of caffeine and sugar as well as another delicious
Apple Cinnamon Hammer Gel (holy shit they were so good!) put me in such a good mood
that I couldn’t help but have fun the last few miles. I chatted with fellow racers, made jokes with
Anna and her parents as I passed them and was truly content with everything that
was happening in those few miles.
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| Blurry photo, but gorgeous setting. The trail run is beautiful if you can find the energy to enjoy your surroundings. |
Coming through the finish was fantastic. I was in good spirits and I didn’t completely
destroy myself to get to there. Once the
timing chip came off all I wanted to do was eat a cheeseburger, and so I did,
and it was amazing. An interesting
comparison between this race and last year’s race is that my final three run
laps last year took just over 3hours to complete. This year, I did all four run laps in the
same time!
Totals for the run (Lap 1,2,3) were – 44:00,47:27,49:46; 8:40/mi,9:30/mi,9:55/mi;
160bpm/158bpm/155bpm; ~1100ft climbing per loop = 4500ft total (including Run
#1).
Overall I placed 5th in the Long Course and 1st
in my Age Group (because there were no other Long Course racers under 30!) It was a solid day in all disciplines and a
huge confidence builder for the coming training months because if I can suffer
through 5 hours in those conditions, I can do it in anything.
I have to say thank you to my coach, JP Severin, for his
words of wisdom and to my girlfriend, Anna, and her parents, Tim&Jan, for
standing in the cold rain all day and only seeing me for a few seconds – your support
really helped me throughout the long day.
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| Everything in this race hurts, even when you're 3 steps from the finish. |
Overall:
Segment Segment
Time Total Time
Run 1 39:50.00 39:50.00
T1 1:02.60 40:52.60
Bike 1 4:47:46.55 5:28:39.15
T2 1:08.98 5:29:48.13
Run 2 44:00.18 6:13:48.31
Run 2 Lap 2 47:27.22 7:01:15.53
Run 2 Lap 3 49:46.04 7:51:01.57
