Race Morning:
My Challenge Quassy weekend started on Saturday when Anna and I arrived at The Heritage Hotel Resort and Conference Center. A short 7mi drive from Quassy Amusement Park, it was a great hotel in a great location. I headed down to the race site after checking in to our room and chatted with some teammates and friends at the expo. I picked up my packet, checked in my bike, talked with more teammates, and then headed back to the hotel for dinner and to prep my gear for race morning.
Alarm clock went off at 4:45am and a cup of coffee was consumed within 10 minutes. For breakfast I ate 2 packets of instant oatmeal with spoonful of peanut butter.
The drive to Quassy Amusement Park was very easy and very low traffic. It seemed like the majority of people came to the park from the east and there was a huge line waiting to turn right into the park. I came from the west, driving east on 64 and there were no cars backed up so I was able to save a lot of time getting into the parking lot.
Found my bike, pumped up the tires, had to get a Challenge Triathlon Team visor at the last minute because I forgot to pack one and didn't realize it until race morning. I asked Challenge Family Americas Director of Operations Eric Opdyke if he knew where I could find one. He got on his staff radio and had a visor delivered to my bike by the time I got back from the Port-a-John.
I applied liberal amounts of my new favorite product, TriSlide, to my armpits, hips, and neck to prevent chafing and then donned my new Rocket Science Sports wetsuit and I was off to the swim start. I got in the water for a quick warmup then headed over to the corral to shiver until my wave started.
Swim:
I lined up in the 2nd row far to the left in the corral. Better to swim a few extra yards in clear, unobstructed, water than to spend the first few hundred yards dodging flailing arms and feet as you try to catch a breath without swallowing water.
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| Age Group Swim Start |
Within 100 yards I was by myself about 20m from the buoy line. I've learned over the years that I can swim straight when breathing to the right, but not to the left. So I aimed for the yellow buoy in the distance, tucked my chin, and swam my race. I hit the first turn buoy and looked up to sight and was staring straight into the sun. Couldn't see the buoys even when I stopped and sighted for a few seconds. A lifeguard told me to swim into the sun and I trusted her. After a few strokes I sighted again and spotted a buoy right in the middle of the sun glare on the water. I then realized that if I was swimming parallel to the light rays in the water, I was going in the correct direction. A few strokes later I breathed right into a wake from a jetski and inhaled a bunch of water. I gagged and almost threw up, but managed to keep it down and keep swimming.
Hitting the second turn buoy I looked up to see white caps from the elite wave. Either there were some slow swimmers there or I was having a fast day in the water. My Rocket Science Sports wetsuit proved to be fast when a few hundred meters later I emerged from the water with the 4th fastest swim overall and ahead of many of the elites that started 5 minutes before me.
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| Thanks to Rocket Science Sports for a dangerously fast wetsuit - the Real J&J MagLock Photo Credit: Challenge Family Americas |
Swim Stats:
Time - 27:42
Pace - 1:26/100m
AG Rank - 1/42
OA Rank - 4/657
Bike:
I charged up the hill to transition and quickly peeled off my wetsuit and put on socks, bike shoes, helmet, and sunglasses and I was out onto the bike.
The bike started with a nice downhill section which allowed me to maintain speed as I tightened my shoes and and let my HR settle down a little bit. My plan for the bike was to ride conservatively for the first hour and re-evaluate after reaching the top of the long climb to mile 30. I was passed by 4 or 5 riders within the first 10-12mi and I had to swallow my pride and let them go. This was a complete change in race tactics for me as I usually hammer the bike and try to hang on in the run. But this was not a course on which to get greedy.
In the first hour of the ride I averaged 21mph and 154bpm. As we approached the long climb up to mile 30 I was accompanied by a few other riders that could climb, but not descend so we traded back and forth as we made our way up the stepped climb. I climbed at a steady effort with a low HR and was keeping up with the climbers. I had hoped to be able to pass them before we hit the technical descent at mile 31, but that was not the case. I feel very comfortable descending technical roads alone, but not with unknown riders. So I sat up and took it easy down the hill. Once we hit the flats though I hit the gas for 2min at 300-315W and gapped them.
Once I had some distance, I sat up and coasted downhill to pee before hitting the out&back section. I counted 10 riders before I hit the turn-around but there were really 11 up the road as the leader was well ahead of everyone else by that point. In the second hour of the ride I averaged 19.4mph and 151bpm, which included the long 7mi climb before mile 30.
After the turnaround I was all alone for the next 10mi of the ride. Every now and then I caught a glimpse of a rider ahead but it wasn't until mile 50 that I caught up to him. By the time I got back to the main road and turned to head towards transition I was feeling great, well-hydrated, confident, and topped up on fuel. I had one bottle full of ~300 calories of Ironman Perform, and 1 gel every half hour until the last 30 minutes when I took two to prepare me for the run, and probably 2 full bottles of water from the aid stations. The last 40min of the bike I averaged 21.9mph and 151bpm.
I came back into transition and struggled for a few seconds getting my bike back into position because a wetsuit was blocking the wheel hole. Shoes slipped on easily and I grabbed my visor, GPS, and race number and headed out on the run. Video below from the #1 Spectator, Anna.
Bike Stats:
Time - 2:42:23
Speed - 20.7mph
Power - 257W
Cadence - 89rpm
Heart Rate - 152bpm
AG Rank - 3/42
OA Rank - 23/657
Run:
My GPS failed to pick-up my location for the first 2mi of the run, so I paced off of HR alone. Coming out of T2 I expected my HR to be high, and it was, up around 175bpm. Too high for another 13mi of running. I settled into what felt like a comfortable pace and I was still around 165bpm. My plan was to run the first 6 miles conservatively and then dig deep for the last 7mi. I stayed conservative on the bike so that I could take chances later on the run. But, here I was at mile 1 of a half-marathon, presented with my first risk taking decision. The pace felt easy, but the HR was high. I had some long hilly runs in training to simulate this and I knew I could run the hills, but this was about 30 seconds faster per mile than expected. I decided to let it roll and hold on as long as I could.
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| Early on the run. Feeling great, but doubtful. Photo credit: Challenge Family Americas |
Around 1.5mi in I passed a runner who I knew was strong and wondered if I would see him again. I knew he could run and I felt relatively uneasy and doubtful with my pace.
Finally at 2mi my GPS picked up signal and I looked down to see 6:30/mi! With the rolling hills there was a lot of pace changes within each mile, but my averages were well below 7minute pace. Even my mile splits fluctuated a lot due to the elevation. But I kept the effort steady and controlled even though the HR was high, I was feeling a bit more confident.
Miles 2 and 3 were 6:22/mi and 7:02/mi average due to the rolling hills. I was taking water at each aid station, sipping half and dumping the rest on my head. Between miles 4 and 5 I saw a runner ahead and felt confident I could catch him. I ran strong up a long steady hill and had some fun exchanges with bikers coming through towards the end of their bike segment. I asked for a ride from the ref and he told me I would "regret it tomorrow". He's right, I was in the zone.
Came through the aid station at mile 5 and took in a PowerBar Double Latte Gel and more water and then ran down my mark. After that I was all alone with my own thoughts for the next 2 miles, 7:26/mi, 6:33/mi, 7:18/mi. HR was still high, but I was more confident this far into my run than I have ever been in a race before. I felt like I was actually racing the run instead of surviving.
Back onto the main road headed towards transition I saw another runner far ahead. It was tough to gauge distance but I would guess at least 500m. I was still on the hunt so I concentrated on form and cadence. Came through another aid station between miles 6 and 7 to grab more water and I dumped some ice down my shorts and held some ice cubes in my hands. I apologized to the volunteers for my crude gesture and it received hearty laughter, it was a good distraction from the discomfort.
I started making progress on my foe ahead and slowly closed the gap as I split miles 8 and 9 at 6:17 and 7:11 pace respectively. As I came up behind him he told me, "you sound strong". Which is something I have always thought when watching or being passed by good runners. Their cadence is high and their breathing is controlled, they sound strong. It was a surreal experience being told this as I passed yet another runner. In my years of racing tri, I can remember only a few specific instances where I intentionally caught people on the run. Usually, if I pass someone, it's because they bonked. Now, I was closing in on my 3rd pass on this run alone and I was still feeling good. I had to ignore the thoughts of doubt popping into my head about when I would start to fade and keep focusing on each mile.
I managed to keep the effort high as I took on my last gel as I up a steep hill between mile 9 and 10, a spot I thought I would have to walk, but I was still strong and holding form as I crested the hill and took in more water and let my legs take me downhill. 7:11 and 7:32 for miles 9 and 10, but mile 11 was a nice change of pace at 6:35. I looked behind me and saw some people coming around the corner about a minute or two behind me. This was going to be close.
One more aid station near mile 12 and I took on some water and coke to help with an uphill climb and to hold off the late surge from these faster runners. The two of them came up and closed within 10 ft. One passed me and surged hard enough that I wasn't going to go with him. I took a gamble and hoped that he was racing in the Elite wave that started 5min ahead of me. The other guy came close as we made it to the flat 200m before the turn to the finish. I looked behind me as I surged hard for another 100m but he was not close enough to close the gap in the chute.
I crossed the line in a time of 4:40:19. Only after I finished did I look to see my run split, 1:28:02!!! My Half-Iron Distance run PR was 1:35:XX, my open half-marathon PR is 1:31:XX, and now on a course that is called "the beast of the Northeast" for a reason, I absolutely smash my expectations and set a new half marathon PR! I was ecstatic.
Run Stats:
Time: 1:28:02
Pace: 6:43/mi
Heart Rate: 170bpm
AG Rank - 7/42
OA Rank - 15/657
Even after crossing the finish line I didn't know where I stacked up against the rest of the field. I knew I was finishing at the pointy end of the race but I wasn't sure where I was placed overall in the Age Group race. I went to the timing tent to print my unofficial results and this is what came out:
Once official results were in, it turned out I ended up 1st Overall in the Age Group race! When combined with the Elite Wave I was 6th Overall! This was my first win at a big race like this and especially against this kind of competition. There were some seriously fast guys racing that day and I had an absolutely perfect race. I managed to eke out the win by a mere 6 seconds from the one guy who didn't pass me in the final few hundred meters. I exceeded my expectations this race. So, maybe it's time to raise the bar a bit.
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| It's not often you win a race in the swim |
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| Overall Age-Group "non-elite" Podium |
Final Thoughts:
A few concise thoughts on how I executed this race so well:
- I found clean water on the swim - battling is not faster than swimming a few extra meters
- Kick, kick, kick, and tuck your chin. Kicking won't ruin your bike or run legs. Tucking your chin will keep your hips up.
- I was conservative on the bike by controlling heart rate.
- I took in more calories than I thought I needed on the bike.
- I ran by feel, not pace, or HR.
- My watch was showing 1 mi lap splits, not overall time on the run. It helped me break down the run mile by mile.
- I had no idea what my overall time was going to be until the finish line and I didn't care. I knew I had executed my race perfectly and I was going to be happy regardless of overall time.
Challenge put on a top notch event all around. The venue was fun and exciting. The expo was busy and the volunteers/staff was superb. I was offered plenty of water/gatorade/coke/ice at every aid station by enthusiastic volunteers. The course was well marked, safe, and hard! I'll be back again for sure. This is my kind of course.
Link to the full results here
Link to the full results here
I stayed after the awards ceremony to cheer on the final finishers and help Challenge Family show how to appreciate all the racers, not just the fast ones. See video below of the excitement.
I want to thank my sponsors - Challenge Family Americas, Powerbar, SBR Sports Inc, and Rocket Science Sports - for helping me get to the top of the podium. I want to thank my family and friends for their support and encouragement along the way. And I would be foolish to not thank my fiancee, Anna, for supporting, encouraging, and tolerating this crazy habit of mine. She is what makes this all possible and I couldn't do it without her by my side. Thank you.
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