Last year when I was looking for races to do in preparation for Ironman Mont Tremblant, I searched the internet and forums and consistently found recommendations for Musselman. Located in Geneva, NY at the north end of Seneca Lake, it is an absolutely gorgeous venue. This was only my second visit to the Finger Lakes but now I know that I need to spend more time out there. Wineries galore, miles and miles of lakeshore, and cute lake towns with a good amount of history mixed in. Will definitely be back in the future.
Musselman offers two races over the weekend, the MiniMussel - a sprint tri on Saturday and the MusselMan - a half iron tri on Sunday. If you sign up for both you are entered in the DoubleMussel. For a few extra shekels on top of your MusselMan entry fee you get to do a fun sprint the day before, a nice warm-up race I guess.
MiniMussel - Saturday, July 13
Pre-Race
9am start meant I could wake up at a normal time and not feel like death after waking at 4am. It was a short drive to the race and since it was only a sprint, I skipped my traditional peanut butter oatmeal breakfast and opted for a simple bagel with cream cheese, coffee, and some water.
We arrived at the race site and did all the normal pre-race check-ins - body marking, timing chip, race numbers, etc. Nothing unusual here.
I was really excited to race as this would be the first short race I've done since early May. With all this long course training, I knew it would feel good to race short course and feel speedy.
Swim - 750m
I started in the Elite Wave again since I would have cleaner water and less congestion on the roads when I got out on the bike. With a deep water start and a wide canal to swim down everyone had plenty of space and there was hardly any contact at the start. Aside from the zebra mussels which impaled my feet when I stepped in the water, everything felt great.
With such a short swim I figured I might as well push hard and try to latch on to a faster swimmer and just hang tight for the short duration. I swam hard for 200m and really tried to create some distance. I settled in with a few other swimmers and drafted for the remaining 500m. Everything felt controlled and I knew I had a good swim when I came out of the water 3rd.
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| Shear race top is crucial for success |
Swim Stats: 09:49, 1:19/100, 4th fastest overall.
T1 - 01:08
Off with the wetsuit, on with the socks, sunglasses, and helmet. I haven't done any training without socks so I didn't want to risk any blisters the day before a HIM. Passed a guy in T1 and was out on the bike in 2nd place.
Bike - 16.1mi
Knowing how hot it was and that I had a HIM the next day, I decided to stay controlled and not race after 1st place. I was quickly passed on the bike by a pro who looked like he was going to pedal his cranks off he was pushing so hard. The first 6mi of the bike was nearly all uphill and into the wind. I just relaxed, pushed a decent cadence and kept my heart rate in check. I had to remind myself that I was racing the DoubleMussel, not just this sprint, so there was much more racing to be done over the weekend. I was not passed by any more riders and came back to T2 still in 3rd place.
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| Middle of the bike |
Bike Stats: 42:00, 23.6mph, 284W, 91rpm, 167bpm, 7th fastest overall.
T2 - 00:49
Nothing noteworthy except that I had the 5th fastest T2 of the race. These short ones are all about a few seconds here and there. And transition is ripe with time savings if you can move in and out quickly.
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| Coming into T2 |
Again, the key during this race was to stay controlled and not dig too deep that I hinder myself for the HIM the following day. The run was nice and quiet as there were only a few people ahead of me. With a beautiful view of the lake the whole time it was actually quite enjoyable. I was passed after a mile or so and then moved into 4th place. Again, this was an exercise in control and I had no reason to run after these guys as they probably weren't racing the following day.
I worked on keeping strong form and a high cadence. Ran through the aid station at halfway and had some water, no need for much else as there was only 1.5mi left in the race. After the aid station I really calmed down and settled into my pace. I was passed again by an older racer who went flying by me in a bright red speedo with about 3/4mi left. No worries I thought, there's more time to gain in the half than in the sprint. Saw my buddy Chris as he was starting the run and he looked strong, though in need of some water. I picked it up a bit towards the end and put on my best happy finisher face for the finish line pic, crossed the line in 5th place. One of one things I have learned in the past few years of racing is that finish line pictures of men are much better when the race number is placed in front, for modesty reasons. So if I'm not in a dead sprint for the finish line I will try to adjust my number for a better finish picture. In this case I also had to adjust my shear race top.
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| Coming into the finish. Time to get pretty for the finish picture. |
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| After a high-five to the ninos with 100m to go. |
Run Stats: 21:48, 6:49/mi, 172bpm, 71st fastest overall
I ended up in 6th overall as an AG guy raced 10sec faster than me. Overall I felt fantastic afterwards. Time to chow down on some food and recover and hydrate for tomorrow.
MusselMan - Sunday, July 14
Pre-Race
After a good night of sleep and another short drive to the race I was ready to see how well I would handle a long course race in the heat and humidity. As all my training the previous few weeks had been in stupid hot weather. So I was looking forward to trying a few new ideas to stay cool during the run, I'll explain those later.
Swim - 1.2mi
This time the race started in waist deep water and again I was with the elites so that I would have cleaner water. I barely got any warm-up in so I figured I would take it easy and draft off some of the faster guys. I settled into a pack after the first buoy and felt like it was too slow. I tried to move around but ended up getting pinched in at the second buoy. Hung in the pack until we made our way into the canal where I heard there was a favorable current that would help speed things up towards the end of the swim. With about 500m left I saw a different color cap so I knew that someone had already made up 2 minutes on the elite wave. I got a little worried because that meant that my pack was swimming really slowly or that this guy was just wicked fast. I hopped out of my pack and tried to stick with this guy but there was no use. I couldn't swim straight enough to stay behind his feet and it was too much energy to try to get back behind him after every breath. Fortunately, it turned out that he was just a fast swimmer and my pack was swimming very well.
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| Gorgeous start. Lots of space, not much crowding. |
I came out of the water in 5th or 6th place and quickly passed a guy on the run into T1. I still had no idea how fast we had swam and I felt like it was really slow until Anna yelled that I had swam 26:50! Last month I swam all alone for a 29:45 and now I was 3min faster, wow! A bit hard to believe, but maybe Patriot was long and this was short with a favorable current. Anyway, I was excited.
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| Into T1 after a stellar swim. |
Swim Stats: 27:00, 1:17/100, 9th fastest overall.
T1 - 1:26
I had some trouble getting my wetsuit off in T1 and lost a bit of time trying to pull it off my ankle. My socks did not go on easily either but I made my way out of T1 in 5th place.
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| Out of T1, holding my bouncing pocket of gels. |
Bike - 56mi
I had a specific plan for nutrition and fluids on the bike. Since it was hot I knew I would have to pound water and heed while keeping a steady flow of calories coming in the form of gels. I have been using 2-3 gels per hour plus heed and water. It yields roughly 300Calories per hour and enough electrolytes to prevent cramping.
The first few miles were again all uphill and into the wind but I passed the super fast swimmer that I could not hang with in the water. He was wearing a Capital District Tri Club jersey so I gave him a holler and told him to keep it up. He recognized the Bethlehem Tri Club shorts I was wearing and returned the support.
I rode off at a controlled effort and watched my HR drop to a very comfortable level and I was worried I was not pushing hard enough, but my watts were on target so I just stayed with it and kept moving into the wind. A few glances behind me showed a rider gaining slowly but I was not too concerned since it was still early in the ride.
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| Middle of the bike. |
The ride continued rather uneventfully. Once Doug passed me I didn't see anyone else for the next 30 miles. It was rather pleasant. I went through aid stations at full speed because there wasn't anyone else around and I was able to ride at my own pace and enjoy the scenery, of which there was plenty. I passed several Amish horse-drawn carriages and waved at the kids in the back, talked to the gigantic Clydesdale horses when I passed them, and dreamed of the delicious wines that were available at the 8 wineries along the course.
Volunteers were fantastic and there were several families out enjoying the race that morning that cheered as I went by, telling me I was in 4th place! I couldn't believe it. I must have passed a few people in T1 and came out of transition in 2nd place.
One section of the course was a bit rough but they had to route us through a park on an un-maintained paved path - I'm deliberately not calling this thing a road. It was like the Paris Roubaix of the non-Xterra triathlon world. OK, that may have been a little hyperbolic, but considering the rest of roads were in fantastic condition, this was not a pleasant ride through miles 42-44.
I was passed by one more guy towards the end of the ride, around mile 50, who looked like he was really pushing hard. I kept him in my sights and eased off the gas a bit as we descended into transition.
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| Nearing the dismount line, ready for a speedy T2. |
T2 - 00:57
One secret of fast transitions is not standing still. The only thing you have to stand still for is putting on your shoes. I rack my bike, take off my helmet, put on my shoes, grab my visor, race belt, watch, and any nutrition needed and run out of T2. I can put everything on while moving forward. Doing this gave me the 2nd fastest transition overall. Unfortunately, it also led to awkward race pictures.
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| Trying to put on my watch during the run. |
Off onto the run in 5th place felt like a good place to be. I was comfortable and was ready to try a few new things to keep my body temperature down during the run. In the past I have had trouble with this and I break down mentally once I think I'm too hot and then it is all over. However, this time would be different.
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| ...still trying to put on my watch. |
Through the 2nd aid station I took only water and sponges again since I was still feeling strong. I was passed by someone who literally left me in the dust. He came flying by me on a dirt section and kicked up some dust as he went by. There was no way I was going to hang with him, back to 5th place. We came up to a big hill and the guy who passed me hard towards the end of the bike looked rough. Well, that's what you get when you push big gears into T2, dead legs. I walked up the steep hill since it was the only way to control my HR and then came to the third aid station. This time I really had to pee but there were no porta-potties around, so I took a few extra cups of water to help wash things out and I let it flow. I love that this is the only marginally-acceptable time to urinate on yourself, it's one of the main reasons I like long-course racing. My tolerance for gross is probably higher than most others.
Once I hit mile 4 I started to lose focus a bit. Coming through another aid station I grabbed some coke, water, sponges, and a gel. Gel and coke went together, followed by the water, and held the sponges in my hands to keep my palms wet, which helped keep my body temp down. More families were alongside the course and had their hoses out to spray racers. I told them to hit me with everything they had and instantly felt refreshed.
A few more hills and then I was out in farmland with no shade. Up to this point we were on tree-lined streets which was nice because it was considerably cooler out of the sun. Now it was time to see if I could cool my body temp. Mile 6 I grabbed a cup of ice and dumped it straight down the front of my shorts. The femoral artery runs close to the skin and carries a significant amount of blood flow. Ice in that area will help cool your body, at least it will make you feel cooler, even if it does nothing for your actual core temperature.
I continued this process through each aid station, coke, water, sponges, and ice down the shorts. Heart rate stayed controlled, my mood was high, and I was ticking off miles at goal pace. I was passed again near mile 8 and then saw nobody for the next 4 miles. I was all alone and I could run my own race. A few more rollers and then I was running back through the aid station where I peed myself. Luckily, nobody noticed it was me and I got a lot of cheers from racers who were only a few miles into their runs. More ice down the shorts and I was greeted back to the main stretch by a Tenor Saxophone playing some sweet blues.
With 2 miles left I let my HR rise and started to push a bit towards the finish. I was in 6th place and knew I would at least be on the podium for the DoubleMussel. I was passed again by the guy who wore the red speedo yesterday. He was properly clothed today and he blew by me as I was starting to pick up my own pace. I was near my limit at this point so I decided it wasn't worth it to dig that deep to stay with him. I knew he was in the DoubleMussel race and he beat me by 45seconds yesterday, so I would have to catch him, then gap him by at least a minute to beat him overall. Not enough time or energy left at this point in the race.
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| 200m left in the run. Already prepped for the finishing picture with my modesty bib number in place. |
Run Totals: 1:40:20, 7:33/mi, 32nd fastest overall.
I ended up 2nd overall in the DoubleMussel because the guy who rolled his ankle didn't finish the race. So, the guy who passed me towards the end of both runs placed first and I trailed him by a total of 02:20 for combined time.
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| Local wine from one of the wineries I was dreaming about during the bike. |
I feel obliged to write that while I had two fantastic races this weekend, both were juxtaposed with tragic events. Two athletes died in non-swim related accidents in the races, one athlete in each race. Both occurred on the bike and nobody really has a clear picture of what happened, but the end result is nevertheless tragic. It is a clear reminder to anyone participating in this sport that anything can happen to us in the water or on the roads. In the water we are not only responsible for ourselves but for our fellow competitors. Race your race, don't impede others, and watch your elbows. On the roads we are just as vulnerable and are at the mercy of drivers and other cyclists with whom we share the road. Be vocal, ride responsibly, and remember that everybody just wants to hug their loved ones after crossing the finish line, regardless of time or place.
