American Zofingen Long Course Duathlon

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!

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:

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 3^rd 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 1^st 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.

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.   

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.

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 5^th in the Long Course and 1^st 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.

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