HITS Kingston Half - 7/11/2015

Well, long story short, I ended up with a big, nasty, disgusting DNF.  If you want the full story, you can read on.  But a forewarning, it will not be positive and it will be verbose.  I do not have kind words to say about how this race was managed.  So, if you only want the details, just look for the race results online (on which I'm not included).  If you want my frustrated rambles, proceed on my friend.

Race Morning

The race was held in Kingston, NY, which is only an hour south of Albany, so it was an easy drive down in the morning from home.  Except of course for having to wake up at 3:15am, but that's all part of the game I guess.

Breakfast was oatmeal with peanut butter, 2 cups of coffee, and some water.

Packed up the car and left Albany at 4:15am.

An hour later we got to Kingston.  This race had two different transition areas so I had to organize all my gear for that after picking up my packet. I knew about this ahead of time so I was mostly prepared, but at packet pickup there were others who were completely surprised.

I packed my run stuff into the provided garbage bag marked with my number and dropped it off at T2.  It was nice that they provided staff/volunteers to handle the bags, but it would have been nicer to let us take the bags to our transition spots so that we would know where to go when we came into T2, but that was not the case...more on that later.

HITS provided a shuttle to take racers to the swim start a mile down the road, but it was 6am and it was a nice morning, so Anna and I walked into the sunrise together.  It was pretty and a really nice way to relax before the race start instead of cramming on to a shuttle with a dozen other jittery nervous triathletes.  The shuttle did not take spectators back to T2/Finish after the swim though, so spectators had to walk back.  No problem for Anna, but possibly an issue for others.

When I got to transition the first thing I noticed was a huge line at the 2 porta-potties (yes, only two!)  Then I noticed how tightly packed the bikes were in the racks.  Tight enough that there would be no way to run out of your rack beside your bike.  It looked like everyone would have to pick up their bike to avoid hitting race wheels with their pedals on the way out.

I finally set up my spot and started putting on my Rocket Science Sports wetsuit and made my way to the swim start to find out that the course had been changed the night before.  WHAT?!  Now, instead of a two-loop swim for the Half distance, it was a straight line of buoys out and back - buoys always on the left.

Swim

The swim start was uneventful.  I quickly found myself leading the swim by the first buoy a few hundred meters in.  But without turns, I had no idea how far back anyone was.  So, I settled into a steady pace, tried my best to swim straight, and avoided swallowing as much Hudson River water as I could.

Not a bad place for a swim start

I got out to the far buoy and made the turn to see a few people 50-100m behind.  I started making my way back with the same mindset - calm, strong, and controlled; there's nothing like over-swimming to ruin the rest of your race.

They had started the Olympic distance athletes after the Half and Full racers, so on my way back to shore, I swim right into some Olympic athletes. With a few hundred meters before the shore I nearly smacked a woman in the face who was swimming the Olympic course.  There were Olympic race colored caps all over in the water and it looked like they were all swimming toward different points on the shore.  One hundred meters to the beach and I swam into a rope that sectioned off the public swimming area of the beach.  It tore my goggles off, but my contacts were ok and I was close enough to shore that it wasn't a big problem.

I ran up the beach and into T1 and heard Anna tell me that I was the 2nd Half into the transition.  I was surprised because I was leading the swim the whole time, but oh well.

I got to my bike, stripped my wetsuit, put all my swim stuff in my T1 bag, and then had to carry my bike out of my spot to avoid hitting the other bikes crammed into the row.  It may not have delayed me at all, but it was just annoying.

When I mounted my bike I heard the announcer say I was the first Half athlete out of T1.  Off to a good start!  The guy Anna saw must have been wearing the wrong colored swim cap.

Heading out onto the bike in first place

Swim Stats:
Time - 27:10
Pace - 1:24/100m
Overall Rank - 1/65 - Fastest swim of the day! Thanks Rocket Science Sports!

Bike

The bike started with a steep uphill.  My heart rate was soaring from the swim but I let it stay high for a bit as I climbed the hills out of T1.

The lead motorcycle stayed in front of me and guided me onto the bike course.  Let me first say that if you have to take an on-ramp onto the bike course, it may not be the best road to bike on.  It made me nervous to ride on to Rte 9 and I was following the lead moto!  I can't imagine what people behind me with no one to follow thought of the course.  Even worse was that without the lead moto pointing out the turns, I would have missed several of them.  The bike course turns were printed on one 8.5"x11" sheet of paper, taped on small A-frame stands, then placed right at the corner of the intersection at which we were to turn.  This happened at every intersection on the course - no warning of an upcoming turn until you got there.  Luckily, I had the moto.

I was alone for the first hour of the ride with the moto which was mostly uphill.  There was a lot of debris on the shoulders and a lot of patchwork paving on the road, plus a ton of traffic on Routes 9, 29, and 209.  It was a little scary.  The first hour I averaged 21.5mph, 252W, and 163bpm.

Around mile 25 I looked behind me and saw my buddy Colin coming.  I have raced against him, and not beaten him, on multiple occasions.  He caught me in a few minutes and we lamented about the road surfaces, traffic, signs, etc for a few seconds before we settled into legal spacing.  Once we got off the main road, the biking was great.  The road around the reservoir was well paved, very low traffic, and mostly downhill! However, each aid station was manned by only 1 volunteer who was not ready for Colin and me to come through when we did.  Luckily, I was the last person in the group so by the time they saw the moto, it was too late for Colin but I managed to snag a water at each station.

I stayed within 20-30s of Colin at all times because I didn't want to risk giving him a few minute lead on the run.  I had a great run last month at Quassy, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to repeat that today with the heat and the pace we were biking.  So, I hedged my bets and went with him at a slightly higher pace than was comfortable.  The second hour of the bike was fast.  23.8mph, 248W, 156bpm.  Max speed was 45mph!

We got back onto the main road, Rte 28, and followed the moto as he tried to point out cars that were merging onto 28 ahead of us.  Colin almost got hit by a car that was merging and didn't see him.  I was 20ft behind.  I yelled and waved my arms so that the car would notice me, luckily it did and it let me pass before merging onto the road.  Overall, in general, this section of the bike course was downright dangerous and careless.  HITS is lucky nobody got hurt.

The last half hour on the bike I did some things that no person should ever do, in a race, on a training ride, and probably in the eyes of the law - I ran red lights at intersections.  Although most of the intersections on Routes 28, 209, and 9 had police, some of the intersections had officers that were not controlling cross-traffic to let the bikers through safely.  The moto, Colin, and I raced through several intersections without being assured by officers that there were no cars coming from the cross street.  We hardly slowed and I guess we just got lucky.  I'm not sure if this was a problem with HITS planning or the specific officers at the intersections, but the fact that it even happened is unconscionable.  If HITS was putting on a Gran Fondo ride, stopping at red lights is no big deal.  But this was a race and HITS should have treated intersections on the course as such. Frankly, I'm damn surprised that nobody got seriously hurt.

When we got back into Kingston and down the hill into T2 I was just thankful to be off the bike safely.  I managed to stick with Colin for the last 30min of the ride, despite him pushing the pace, and we came into T2 together.

When we ran into transition, neither of us had any idea where our shoes were nor where to place our bikes.  A volunteer was directing Colin to his spot and I assumed I was nearby so I followed and happened to see my number.  A quick T2 and I was off onto the run course in 1st place.

Bike Stats:
Time - 2:30:10
Distance - 57.2mi
Speed - 22.9mph avg
Power - 253W
Cadence - 90rpm
Heart rate - 159bpm
Elevation - 3,314ft
Overall Rank - 2/65

Run

The first mile hit me like a ton of bricks.  It was hot, sunny, and I could not get my HR under 170bpm, probably because I slightly over-biked.  It took 1 mile before my GPS found satellites, so I was running off effort and HR.  I have had a few HARD long runs since Quassy and I knew I could hold 168-170bpm for ~12mi on a good day.  Maybe today would be one of those days, I thought.

Start of the run.  Legs feeling like garbage.  At least my form was on par though.

I turned to go up the one big hill on the run -1.1mi, 145ft.  I felt strong and averaged 7:11/mi on the way up the hill while keeping my HR mostly controlled.  When I got to the top and turned around I started counting the seconds until I saw Colin.  I saw him about a minute down the hill so I figured I had 2min on him by that point in the run.  If I kept gaining time on him, I would be able to hold him off.  But it was still early on the run, so who knows what could happen in the next 10mi.

The next few miles were mostly downhill and flat - 6:48/mi, 6:45/mi, 6:59/mi.  Felt good but HR was still high and I was starting to feel it.

When I got back to transition I knew I had about a 0.4mi out and back section to run on the backside of transition.  But when I ran by the sign for the turnaround came up very quickly.  I asked the HITS volunteer (black shirt, maybe a staff member?) if this was the turnaround for the half.  They said, yep, right here.  So I thought the course was marked incorrectly, but didn't think to ask again, but I should have...hindsight is 20/20 I guess.  I didn't know it yet but that turnaround sign was for the Olympic distance race, not the half!  Oops.

I started heading back out for the 2nd lap and saw Colin again.  So I was starting to get thoughts of taking the win.  I still didn't know I had cut the course short.

About 1km back onto the run course I started getting very nauseous.  I doubled over and thought I was going to puke, three times.  I managed to get to the aid station, got some water and headed up the hill again, although this time there was a decent amount of walking involved.

When I got to the top I started counting the seconds until I saw Colin again, but it took over 4min for me to see him.  At that point he told me that I cut the course short.  Apparently, the half course turnaround sign had not even been set up when I had come through on Lap 1.  After the race Colin, who had been about 2 minutes behind me, told me that as he was coming through the spot where I turned around, he was following a HITS staff member who was running in front of him with the turnaround sign to place it in the correct spot, 0.4mi down the road.

After I heard I had cut the course, I immediately became disheartened and many thoughts started racing.  First was, well, shit, I was right!  I should've pressed the volunteer again at the wrong turnaround point.  Second was, well that's a big DNF for me!  Third was a unique thought - what if I just continued and ran the missed section twice?  I would end up running the whole distance, just not in the right order.  But would that be ok?  If I won the race, would it feel right?  It probably wouldn't.  I think the win would require an asterisk.

I thought the most straightforward and honest thing to do was to DNF.  So, I got to the bottom of the hill, took off my chip, grabbed some coke, and started walking my way back to the finish line to turn in my chip.  After a few minutes Colin caught up to me and I tried running with him for a bit.  He told me about the volunteer running with the sign and said he didn't really want to take the win this way, which I completely understand.  But I couldn't hang with him at that pace after I had been walking for 6min so I told him to enjoy the win and I'd see him at the finish.

I made my way back to the finish line and turned in my chip. Then I walked away and saw Anna running up to me a few minutes later.  She told me that the officials knew about the mistake and would have counted my run as legit if I had just run the missed section twice like I had thought about.  But at that point I had already turned in my chip and I was resigned to the DNF.

What really irritated me about this is that the HITS Timing official at the finish told Anna they were trying to find me on the run course to tell me to run the missed lap twice.  But they were not actively trying to find me, they were just waiting for me...at the far end of the turnaround that I missed once already!  There were no lead bikers on the run course and the aid stations didn't seem to have any communication with the staff at transition/finish, so there was no way for anyone to communicate with me on the course.  That was the most annoying part of it all.  They knew about it and were "trying" to inform me how to fix it, but they weren't actively trying to catch me on the course or communicate with me.

In the end, I'm just disheartened in own my decision to follow the direction of the volunteer/staff at the turnaround.  I thought it wrong, but with the swim course change at the last minute, I wouldn't have been surprised by another course change.

Run Stats:
Time - 1:34:21
Distance - ~11.5mi
Pace - super varied, lots of walking after DNF
HR avg - 163bpm total, probably 170bpm while running


Overall, I'm underwhelmed and relatively upset after my experience with HITS Kingston and my first impression of the HITS race series.  The last minute swim change, the disorganized and cluttered transitions, the frightening bike course, the confusing course markings, the lack of volunteers to direct athletes, the lack of volunteers at aid stations, and the misdirection on the run course were enough to make me not want to do another HITS race if that is the way all their races are organized.  I heard similar comments from friends about HITS Hague last month, but I wasn't there so I don't know how that one really went.  All I know is that my first experience at a HITS race was awful.  Some of these things taken alone would have been fine.  I can understand the swim change, especially because of river currents, but they didn't do a great job publicizing the change ahead of time.  The misdirection at the turnaround sign was frustrating, but that kind of stuff happens sometimes.  But the general feeling of disorder and a lack of attention to detail all over the course and throughout the entire day, as well as the terrifying bike course left me with a feeling of revulsion.

So yea, that's the whole story.  Sorry for the negativity, but I did warn you.  I do truly hope that HITS improves the quality of their races.  It is important to have non-Ironman options for long course racing in the US.  It benefits all triathletes to have competition in the long course triathlon market. Anyway, that's all...thanks for reading!

Challenge Quassy 2015 - A Perfect Race

This was my A race.  I have wanted to race here for years and after being accepted to the Challenge Triathlon Team, it was finally time to sign up and toe the line on the beach of Lake Quassapaug.  I was excited to race my first Challenge Family event as part of the team, so I was hoping to perform well.

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.  

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.

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.

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.

It's not often you win a race in the swim

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 

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. 

Race Report: After the Leaves Have Fallen Half Marathon

Apologies for the delay on getting this out.  It'll be short and sweet with some good pictures.

For the past 2 years, I have raced the Stockadeathon 15k in Schenectady, NY.  A huge 15k race that attracts some real talent throughout the Northeast.  In 2012 I ran 1:01:55, in 2013 I ran 1:00:55, and in 2014 I was hoping to run sub 1:00:00.  However, a course change earlier this year discouraged my return to break 1:00:00.

So, instead I decided a month ago to sign up for a low-key half marathon in the Gunks at Minnewaska State Park.  This has easily become my favorite place in the area to train and race because of how stunningly gorgeous it is.

Who wouldn't want to run around here?

Race morning I drove down with some friends and quickly started to regret the 20 chicken wings and multiple beers I ate the night before while watching the MSU vs OSU football game.  Let's just say this, if the toilet was a Baskin-Robbins, I would have earned a free scoop for my frequent visits.  The race started at 11am and I was in the porta-john at 10:55 for a last minute emergency visit.  I stuffed some TP in my shorts pocket and prayed to the gastrointestinal gods that I would make it through the race unsoiled.

Fortunately, the race started late and I was able to settle down a bit before starting to run.  Here's a video of the race start:

I don't really know much about the area except that it's gorgeous.  So, I'll spare you the details of where we ran and on what trails and just show you a couple pictures and tell you the highlights of my race.

1.  Despite having the following elevation profile, I managed to run an average 7:02/mi pace for a finish time of 1:32:19.  Which is my second fastest Half Marathon to date.

The hill at 12.5mi was the worst part of the entire day

2.  I finished in 16th overall, good enough for 2nd in my Age Group which won me a delicious loaf of bread!

3.  I got to run along trails that looked like this:

Borrowed this pic from another Race Report

3.  I ran hard the whole time and was thrilled with my effort and result.  I wasn't positive given the elevation profile and my relative lack of distance training that I could dip under 1:35:00, but the 4mi of downhill certainly helped.  Nevertheless, my slowest mile was 7:44 pace and that was to the highest point in the race and had 200ft of gain within the mile.

4.  This might be the most important point of the race, I didn't poop myself. :)

5.  Downhill running hurts, a lot!  Even if you're wearing Hoka's and running on soft carriage trails.  It gets very painful over the course of 4mi.

Seriously though, this is an amazing race.  If you have $15 (yes, only $15) and can make it to the Catskill Mountains next November, I would highly recommend coming to run with me.  Because I'll surely be there again.  

Runvember 30 for 30 update:

I am 3 weeks in and have not missed a day yet.  Last night was my shortest run yet (00:30:26), but was still over the 30 minute minimum requirement.  

Total mileage is currently at 120.01mi for 20 runs.  Feeling great and starting to get anxious about next week's Turkey Trot 5k where I hope to break 18min!  We'll see how it goes!

Runvember 30 for 30

For no other reason that wanting to get back into shape and do something arbitrarily challenging, I decided that I am going to run at least 30min each day during the month of November. A challenge I have dubbed Runvember 30 for 30. 

Unfortunately, I am not as unique and creative as I thought since a quick search of the internets revealed that Runvember is a common challenge for many runners.  Alas.

Nevertheless, I have run every day this month so far and I feel great. At this point I have covered 55mi in 9 runs which is almost 10km per day. Most of these runs have been and will be easy so that I don't get injured throughout the month.  I have done two hard days this month - one track workout on Nov 6 and a trail half marathon race on Nov 9.  The only other planned race this month is a Turkey Trot 5km on Thanksgiving Day.  

In general, my plan is to hold to a 5/1/1 plan. That is, 5 easy runs, 1 speed/tempo workout, and 1 long run (~90min) each week. It's simple, easy to follow, and will not keep me from running myself ragged throughout the next 3 weeks.

I'll try to post an update here at the end of each week to keep track and stay accountable. Race Report for yesterday's Half Marathon will come later this week. It was a fantastic course and I had my fastest half marathon since 2011 so there is plenty to write about.

Rev3 Poconos Half Race Report

I had high expectations for this race.  It was supposed to be the pinnacle of my season.  With the recent addition of a prize purse for AG athletes, maybe I could win some money if I could put in the work all summer long.  Even better, I wasn't doing this race in preparation for a longer distance event, so I could really dig deep and test myself at the HIM distance.  It was even more special because I received a free entry to this race last year for almost making the Rev3 Age Group Team.

But then my fiancee (I got engaged last week!) and I decided earlier this year that we should buy a house.  So, most of the summer was spent being frustrated with the housing market in Albany and searching desperately for a house that was in our price range and within the neighborhood we wanted.  Finally, after a few months of searching, we found one we both really liked and signed a contract early in July.  No less than 8 weeks later, we closed on the house, just 3 weeks shy of my A-race for the year.  Needless to say, the last 3 weeks did not leave me much time for training.  So, I was a little under-cooked and less than confident about this race.

Regardless, I was thrilled to finally race a Rev3 event to see what the hype was all about.  Let me spare you the suspense and tell you that I was not disappointed, I had an absolute blast!  Rev3 put on a top-notch event and I set a 5min PR at the HIM distance - almost making it to the line under the 4:30:00 barrier.

Pre-Race:
My fiancee (it's fun to say that now!) and I drove down to PA on Friday night and arrived at the condo about 9:30pm.  My parents drove out from MI on Thrusday and it was great to see them just a week after my fiancee (is it getting old yet?) and I got engaged.  The condo was just a few miles away from the Expo/T2/Finish and was huge, spacious, and animal friendly so we got to bring Timber!

Saturday was a drizzly cold day which made the packet pick-up and expo a bit underwhelming.  There was nothing Rev3 could do about it but the place was still flooded with enthusiastic volunteers, sponsors, and Rev3 employees.  All my questions about the confusing two-location transition race were quickly answered at the info tent and I became a bit less worried about all the logistics for the following morning.

We tried to wait for the rain to stop before driving up to T1 to set up my bike.  The rain finally settled to a sprinkle and we drove up to Tamiment "Resort" (it used to be a resort, but is not just a scrubby area with a lake in the middle of it) to drop of my bike.  I covered it with some trash bags and then checked out the swim and got a feel for how to execute T1 the next morning.

Had dinner at a local sports bar and then hit the sack about 9pm so I wouldn't feel like complete trash when I woke at 4am on race day.  Had a little trouble falling asleep, but the Benadryl quickly solved that problem.

Race Morning:

Woke up at 4:15am, after only one snooze of the alarm clock.  Started the coffee pot, cooked some oatmeal, and hit the toilet about 3 times in the next 45min.  I applied my race number tats the night before so I didn't have to worry about that in the wee hours of the morning.  Useful tip - rub baby powder on the tats after application so they don't stick to the bedsheets when you're trying to sleep!

My Dad and I drove down to the Shawnee Inn/T2/Finish to drop off my run gear and my car so I could drive back to the condo after the race.  I put a GU, my Garmin 310XT, visor, and race number belt in my Hoka Bondi Speeds and set them in my T2 spot.  Got in a few hundred meters of jogging as I went back to catch a ride back to the condo from my Dad.  Arrived back at the condo at 5:20am, grabbed my Swim and T1 bags and got back into the car with my parents, fiancee (still smiling about this), and dog and left for T1 just after 5:30am.

High 40's and windy made for a chilly T1, but I topped off my tires, clipped my shoes in, and prepped my socks and arm warmers quick enough to hit the john one more time and get in the water for a 10min warm-up swim.  We spotted a bald eagle in the treeline before I started my warmup and it was the first time I've ever seen one in person, so no matter what happened, it was going to be a good day today!

Wading in to the swim start.

 Swim:

We waded out to the first buoy and waited for a minute for the horn to go off.  I got a fast start to get some clear water and then settled in after the first minute or so to see where everyone else was.  I saw some decent swimmers and latched on to their feet.  I wasn't too concerned about the pace, but more about the place.  I tried to stay with two guys but they gapped me even though I was right on their feet.  I settled in with another guy that I was swimming beside who did not seem to appreciate me drafting as his kicking exploded when I accidentally touched his feet a few times.

Sighting into the sun was a disaster but we finally made it to the far buoy and made the turn back to shore in 3rd and 4th place, with a sizeable gap to 1st and 2nd as well as 5th and above.  I noticed my leader was slowing a bit after we made the turn but we still had a decent gap the other swimmers so I let him guide me into T1 and broke out 200m before the exit to kick hard and get some blood in my legs for the run up to T1.

I ran up the chute to T1 and saw the swim leaders still in T1.  I was excited and knew I was going to make up the gap with a fast T1.  Unfortunately, the wind blew my T1 bag off my bike and I had to wait for a volunteer to grab another one for me to dump my wetsuit, goggles, and cap in.  While waiting, I put on my helmet, socks, arm warmers, but accidentally forgot my gloves as I was stuffing my wetsuit into the bag. I guess I would suffer with cold hands for the first hour of the ride to save a few seconds in T1.

Time: 29:06
Pace: 1:30/100m
AG Swim Split: 2/17
OA Swim Split: 6/223

Coming into T1 in 3rd place.

 Bike:

With good experience descending thanks to American Zofingen, I passed the leader early on the 4mi descent out of T1.  My max speed on the descent was 53mph!  Leading the bike early in a race like this was not something I thought I would be doing before I got there.  I was happy, excited, and a little nervous all at once.  I settled in and tried to let my HR come down a bit as I got into the rollers on the course.

I figured I could hold about 260W, which puts me at about 85% FTP, and still run decently well off the bike.  So, I worked off that and controlled myself on the uphills and pushed hard on the downhills.  After 20min my HR was finally down in the right zone and I was cruising in the 23-25mph range.

About 45min in I looked behind and still didn't see anyone behind me so I started getting a little worried.  Was I over-biking?  Was I going to fade late on the bike and blow-up on the run?  Finally, after an hour, someone caught me and moved into first.  The out and back course made it easy to gauge your position after the turnaround at mile 25 and I figured 1st place had about 1 minute on me and I was about 2min ahead of 3rd place.  The gap stayed about the same until the next turnaround at mile 45.

The RD warned us about a sharp corner that we had to take after the 2nd turnaround and I exercised a little caution going into it knowing the roads were still a bit damp.  Despite my caution, my rear wheel locked up for a second and I fishtailed but caught some dry pavement and stayed upright.  The next 10mi were on poorly paved roads and had potholes and patching galore all hidden by the shadows and sunlight through the trees.  I was fortunate enough to not hit any big ones the rest of the ride.

One thing I did not like about the course was the bike-run interaction around mile 53.  The Oly distance runners had a turnaround 3mi from transition and in my case a woman did not stay on the runners side of the road and almost ran right in front of me as I was coming in at 20+mph.  It was a close call and I'm happy it didn't ruin either of our days.  But next time, when someone is screaming, "ON YOUR LEFT!", don't move to your left!

A quick 30 second transition to the run and I was out on the course in 2nd place.

Time: 2:21:07
Speed: 23.5mph avg
Power: 264W NP
HR: 163bpm avg
Cadence: 95rpm avg
AG Bike Split: 2/17
OA Bike Split: 2/223

8mi into the bike in 1st place.

Run:

I started aggressively because I knew I would be able to suffer through about 90 minutes of running, but I'm not confident enough to leave the speed to the back half of the run in hopes to negative split.  For the first 2mi I was wondering what happened to the GU that I put in my shoes in T2 and figured I must have forgot to put it in there or maybe it fell out as I was putting them on and I didn't see it.  My feet were numb, so I couldn't feel anything anyway.  Around mile 3 I started to feel a bulge in my right shoe under my toes and realized that the packet was still in there.  I stopped and grabbed it out of my shoe.  It was nice and warmed up so it was easy to swallow, mmm...Strawberry-Banana-Foot GU.

My first 4mi were sub 7:00/mi pace and I was starting to fear the upcoming catastrophe of a positive split run.  Around 4.5mi I still hadn't seen the uber-biker in 1st place or anyone behind me until I looked once at a clearing, and then 30s later I was passed as if I was standing still by the eventual winner (1:19 run, btw!)  The aid station at mile 6 was crucial as I got my first cup of Coke on the day.  I knew it was going to be a tough run back to the finish, so I might as well use all the caffeine and sugar that I can. Half a mile before the turnaround I saw the lead runner and the fast runner just a few seconds behind him.  The pass was imminent but I was still in 3rd overall almost halfway through the run.  I got passed right at the turnaround to move into 4th.

A short walk break through the aid station to get some water and coke and I was off to running again.  I saw some fast runners coming through that would be catching up with me shortly if I kept running this slow.  But 3 weeks without any real training left me with the fitness that I had and I had to settle into a 7:30/mi pace to make sure I wouldn't blow up in the last 3mi.

I got passed again around mile 8 to move into 5th, and then again a mile later to move into 6th.  At this point, I was out of the money and was just racing for myself.  I took another walk break to get some coke and did my best to run up the hills knowing I could easily cruise the downhills (thanks Hokas!)

Another coke at the aid station at mile 10 and my mile splits were climbing towards the 8:00/mi mark with the walk breaks included.  At this point I at least had some Oly runners to spot ahead and work to catch.  Even though we weren't in the same race, they still worked as a decent target.  Fortunately, I never really hit a low point in the race because I knew I could manage to hold 8:00 pace for the last 3 miles.  Around mile 12 I looked behind and only saw Oly runners and knew I had the 7th spot secured for the 40 and under age group.

A few twists and turns through a neighborhood and I had the finish in sight without anyone behind me to make me sprint for the line.  I saw my fiancee (woot!) and dog and had a big smile on as I knew I was coming in for a Half Distance personal best!  I crossed the line and threw my hands up because I had nothing left.  I put it all out there and had a great time.  Unfortunately, it wasn't good enough to come in top 5 and get some cash.  But nevertheless, I ran 4min faster than any of my Half races last year and I just barely missed the 4:30:00 time barrier, as my official finish time was 4:30:06!  I'm going to blame that on not having my T1 bag on my bike when I got there.  So, can I claim a sub 4:30?

Time: 1:36:33
Pace: 7:22/mi
HR: 172bpm avg! (this was surprisingly high for me!)
AG Run Split: 5/17
OA Run Split: 24/223

Coming into the finish.

Excited to be just a few hundred meters from the line.

 Total Time: 4:30:06
AG Place: 3/17
OA Place: 8/223


Overall I had an absolutely wonderful time at my first Rev3 event.  I know that I will be returning to race more Rev3/Challenge events next year as soon as I can.  The venue was gorgeous, the volunteers and race coordinators were spectacular, and the execution of a two transition race was flawless.  I loved the race, loved the experience, loved the PR, and loved that I got to see my parents just a week after getting engaged to my fiancee (yea, I had to put it in one more time!)  Thanks a ton Rev3, hope to see you again soon!

M 25-29 AG awards.

Post-Race family pic.

Escarpment Trail 30K Race Report

First of all, the application process for this race is nearly as arduous as the qualifying standards:

At least one of these standards must have been met after August 1 of last year.

• Anyone who completed the previous year's Escarpment Trail Run in 6 hours or less.
• Anyone who completed a half-iron man triathlon competition in 6 hours or less.
• Anyone who completed a full iron man triathlon in 13 hours or less.
• Anyone who completed a 50 miler in under 10 hours, a 50K under 5 hours, or a marathon under 4:15. Add 1 1/2 hrs. for a trail race.
• NO ONE UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE.

In order to get an application, you have to mail a self-addressed-stamped-envelope (SASE) to the RD.  Ok, that's weird, but whatever.  I put an envelope in another envelope so that the former could be returned to me containing a race application.  Waited a few weeks until I got an envelope in the mail addressed to me in my handwriting.  Is this like that episode of The Office where Jim sends faxes to Dwight from future Dwight? I filled out the application and mailed it back with another SASE so if I was accepted to race they could send me instructions for how to register.  Ok, so I wait a few more weeks and finally another envelope addressed by me to me (seriously, this is a joke, right?) shows up with registration instructions that describe how to go register online.  Yes, after all that, it turns out I have to go register ON THE INTERNETS!  Me thinks a step or two can be eliminated in this process somewhere?

Anyway, on to the race.  A few days before I looked at the weather and saw a 50% chance of isolated thunderstorms, great.  Time to catch up on lightning safety in the mountains and how/where/when to shelter from the storm.  Then, I spent pondered all the wet muddy rocks that I would have to run down and all the possible ways that I could die by slipping and falling into a rock or off a cliff.  How do I splint a broken leg/ankle again?  This trail crosses no roads and there is no easy access to any part of the trail, so if you get seriously injured you either have to make it out yourself or be hauled out by an emergency response team.  So, with that in mind, it was time to start running...
yay?

See?  No roads, just mountain wilderness for many miles.

The race start was rainy, but I hadn't noticed any lightning or heard any thunder until I lined up with my wave 5min before the start and then there was a loud crack and the rain started coming down even harder.  My wave lined up at the timing mat and stood still, shivering for 3 minutes before we started.  One thing about this group of runners (just clarifying that I'm not generalizing all runners, although...nevermind) is that they were incapable of understanding of wave starts or counting to 15 (each wave had a maximum of 15 runners).  There was quite a bit of confusion when less than 15 people were lined up to start in earlier waves and people were given the option to move up a wave.  Some common questions I heard more than once: 1. How many can move up? 2. How come he can go, but I can't? 3. What wave is this?  4. When does my wave start?  ... My internal answers to these questions were:  1. Math:  15 - 13 = 2.  2 can move up. Or, did you not hear them saying, "2 runners!?!?"  2. He did math faster, or was here before you.  3. Math, not even math...counting  4. Math, 5 minutes between waves bro.

Ok, rant over.  Race started and we darted into the woods and a rather leisurely pace.  A nice gradual uphill and good trails made for a good warm-up for the rest of the race to come.  I stayed with a group of 5 guys that were running a steady 10-11min/mi and we quickly caught some of the runners in waves before us.  It started raining even harder and there was more frequent thunder and lightning.  In in some spots on the trail that were covered with dense trees I almost wished I had my headlamp.  But I stayed conservative because I was unsure of what was to come.  I had a handheld bottle and 3 gels to fuel me for the race and would top off the bottle and grab some extra nutrition at the aid stations if I needed it.

At 3.5mi I crested Windham High Peak (3,524ft) and was feeling great.  I passed a lot of people on the climb and was motivated to keep the effort going.  But with the wet muddy rocks, I was extra cautious on the descents and was passed by a few runners who had more stones (or maybe less brains?) than me.  These guys weren't even in the first wave so I wasn't even surrounded by the fastest guys, but shit they were flying downhill.  They would leap over boulders before looking.  Just flying down at a rate that would cause me certain death and/or facial impairment, it was absurd and marvelous at the same time.

Around mile 6 I reached the next aid station which was about 2mi after my armpits started chafing and there was a rather suggestive exchange with a female volunteer about my liberal application of vaseline and whether she could be of any assistance (yes, that was a run-on sentence...thanks for noticing.)  And just to clarify, she was the one being suggestive, not me.  Maybe my short shorts and nearly shear white tri top meant I was asking for it?  It was a wet t-shirt contest and running race, was it not?  What a good idea for a multisport event!  Or maybe it was my pheromones from the pee I splashed all over myself when I marked about 100ft of trail the mile before.  Either way, it was entertaining.

With lubed up armpits and some pretzels for the road, I was back to running and ascending again.  The next big peak was Blackhead a few miles ahead and I knew it was the steepest.  So when I wasn't thoughtfully planning my next step from wet rock to potential ankle-breaking muddy rock, I was thinking about the 1,000ft ascent over the next mile.  Again, I passed a bunch of guys on the uphills and started to doubt if I was running this race correctly - hard on (giggle) the uphills, easy/safe on the downhills.  Would the other way around be faster?  I was making significant gaps on the faster descenders and didn't feel like I was trashing my legs so it must have been working well enough.

The ascent up Blackhead (3,940ft) was more of a rock scrambling on all fours kind of deal.  The wet muddy boulders made for some tricky footing and required a lot of verbal sounds of effort.  I averaged about 16:00/mi up to the summit and by the time I got to the top my legs were screaming, and I was only just halfway through the race.  The next 2mi was all descending, over 800ft total and some really nasty grades.  My pace slowed considerably as I was again more concerned with my ankles than my overall time.  

Finally we got back to some climbing by mile 13 as we ascended our last peak, Stoppel Point (3,418ft), and we passed the plane wreckage that is infamous in this area.  I put a lot of time into the one guy with whom I had been going back and forth for the past 6 miles.  I passed a few people on the climb up to Stoppel and all of them seemed to be in a lot more pain than me.  Which was good news for me because after cresting at mile 14 the rest of the race was descending.  I hoped I had put enough time into the descenders that they wouldn't catch me, but I could only manage 12min pace as I hopped from rock to rock.  Even though it was dry now, the rocks were still treacherous.  Finally, I got to North Point and knew it was only 2.2mi to go.  One last gel, some more water, and I was set for another 500ft of descending.

By this point in the race I was looking down at the rocks the entire time and I had to stop a few times to make sure I was still on the trail.  I caught my toe on a rock and almost stumbled face first into a tooth-crunching jaw breaking eye-socket rupturing pile of rocks.  At which point I decided that I didn't care how slow I was going to descend this last mile, I was going to get there without bleeding.  I started to see more spectators and casual day-hikers on the trail which meant I must be close to the finish.  Butt-scooting down another scramble as a photographer took pictures and spectators cheered was undignifying and probably comical for everyone watching.

I think this face says it all.  I just want to be done already!

But on the bright side, I was not caught by the runners I passed a few miles back.  I somehow managed to stumble and hop my day down from Stoppel fast enough to stay ahead.  A few hundred meters more and I emerged from the woods and finished.

It was an unremarkable way to end such an epic day, but it was so fitting for those of us who participated.  I didn't do this race for bragging rights, a finisher's medal, or to win anything.  I finished in 3:45:38, in 26th overall, almost 50 minutes after the winner.  I learned a bit about myself along the way and experienced some of what these mountains have to offer.  There were many beautiful moments in the woods that I wish I could have stopped to enjoy.  But, it was a race after all and I wanted to test my limits.  I did that and more, all without breaking any bones or injuring myself.  So, I'd say it was a successful day!

Full Results Here