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| Pro Swim Start |
I headed west from Albany, out I-90 around mid-morning on Saturday, after helping my brother Dan set up for the Delmar Farmers Market. Dan's cafe, The Perfect Blend http://www.perfectblend.com/ is one of the vendors at the seasonal farmers market in Delmar, New York. It was an amazingly beautiful morning with blue skies and crisp, September Autumn air. I was looking forward to the trip west, as I've always enjoyed the drive along the Mohawk River through the beautiful pastoral lanscape of upsate central New York. It's a drive that most describe as "boring," but I've never really understood this. What would they rather be looking at?
After athlete check-in on Saturday afternoon and the mandatory pro athlete meeting -- I wasn't sure why the pro meeting was mandatory and the amateur/age group meeting was optional, oh well -- I made my way out to the race start at the Jamesville Reservoir County Park. It was a beautiful venue for a race, clear water and an abundance of space for 2000-plus athletes, their families, friends and cars. That's always a good thing, as some races really lack parking space. The race course layout was a bit different than most 70.3 races because it was a point to point race, meaning the swim start and the transition area were at the county park, but the finish line was in the city at the Inner Harbor on Onondaga Lake. This type of layout is typically a bit of a pain for both the athletes and the spectators, as it requires some serious logistical planning and oftentimes results in a hassle of some sort, at some point on race day. Most often for the spectators who are trying to get to the finish line before their athlete gets there; and then for the athlete, it usually comes after the race when they're on a reconnaissance mission to pick up their bike and wetsuit at the race start. Basically, everything happens at the race start and then the run finishes in a different location. Yup, it's sort of weird! Providence 70.3 is set up the same way. Okay, I promise the race report is coming, but first I have to tell you about my 'CUSE' BIG ORANGE experience.
After checking out the race start in Jamesville, I decided I would check in at the hotel in Syracuse. I was staying at the Sheraton Inn at Syracuse University...bad idea! As I made my way towards the college, I had to navigate through the masses of BIG ORANGE fans decked out in orange hats, shirts and jackets with orange flags flying, kegs stashed under tables with orange tablecloths and orange cups, and ticketless fans in orange begging for a pass into the DOME, not only to see their beloved ORANGE, but to see their team's first home game on the 30th anniversary of the Carrier Dome -- yes that structure that looks like something that belongs on the moon. I quickly knew this was no place for me and I bolted for the Hampton Inn, where the rest of my family would be staying. I could only imagine what it would be like at the Sheraton following a Syracuse win; and if they lost ??? This was a serious display of some dedicated BIG ORANGE fans and they were ready to party on. I guess this is what tailgating is all about, and WOW! They did win!
Okay -- the race! Race morning started for me at the usual time -- 3hrs before the race start. The pro swim start was at 7 am, so I was up at 4 am swallowing down my unsweetened apple sauce along with my Powerbar Sports Drink http://www.powerbar.com/ one banana and oh, that wonderful scoop of whey protein. This breakfast combination is the QT2 Systems http://www.qt2systems.com/ race day nutritional protocol. It sounds tough, but after a few times, it's really easy and it works incredibly well. I have had my struggles with race day nutrition prior to working with QT2 Systems Coaching and prior to using Powerbar products; but after starting with both last season, I have had great success. Nutrition is the fourth element of long distance triathlon racing; a good nutrition plan is key to having success with long distance racing. I have seen and known many athletes who fail to cross the finish line because of a failed nutrition startegy, not because they were physically unprepared. We headed for the swim start around 5 am in a little drizzle, with temps around 60 and a water temp about the same -- yes, wetsuits were allowed. The road in was a bit congested, so they pushed the race start to 7:15 am.
There I was for the second time in line at the swim start with some of the best triathletes in the world -- pretty cool! And yup, once again it wasn't long before they dropped me like I did something to piss them all off. Although, this time I managed to hang on for a few hundred yards, but that was it -- gone. And there I was with the entire reservoir to myself. The lake was as smooth as glass and I was swimming pretty well until about the last 600 meters, when I spotted a few pink caps -- "ah man, they got me again." Yes the fast pro women swimmers caught me again, but this time it was just a few of them and it was a bit later than Timberman 70.3, a little bit anyway. I think ,with some more swim volume, the 1.2 mile half-iron swim distance will be smoother all the way through. At this point, I feel like I am swimming well for 1200 or so yards and then my form begins to suffer, and with that my pace slows. Anyway, I was out in just over 32 min, not bad, not great. I think the swim distance was a tad long, and the with the cold water temp, I was pretty stiff.
The transition zone was a few hundred yards from the swim exit and I felt like I was running on the bottoms of my tibias (lower leg bones); my feet were very cold and my hands were hardly functioning. Wet suit strippers please, I need all the help I can get. In T1, I was a bit slow from the cold water, but I managed to get out of there in under 3 min, including the run from the swim exit. Popped the helmet on, stuffed the Powerbars/Power gels http://www.powerbar.com/ into my jersey pocket and out on the wet pavement I rolled. It was misty, really foggy and eventually very lonely out on the rural roads of Onondaga and Madison Counties. It wasn't the landscape, the terrain or the aesthetics -- as most of my riding over the years has been in upsate New York and Northern Vermont -- but the fact that most of the pro men were out in front and I had caught the few female pros who passed me in the water. See, on training rides, I have instant company with one touch off the IPOD: BOOM -- Jim Morrison and LA Women or maybe some Janes Addiction; but today I was on my own, although I had developed a few mantras to help me through. Anyway, for the next 40-45 miles I was solo, occassionally passing some local spectators and a few cows here and there -- man, I wish they could talk back to me -- but more or less on my own. This made for a difficult course, and with hills and long flats making it even more challenging, it weighed on my mental strength. My goal was to average around 23.7 mph at around 143 average heart rate, which were the numbers coach Jesse http://www.qt2systems.com/ had given me the night before. This course was described as hilly -- it was, but it was also relentless: If you weren't climbing, you were grinding out a long flat, sometimes into the wind; and there was very little free speed (downhills) until the last 10 or so miles, where I did end up reeling in a couple of pro men. I battled my way into T2 a little spaced out but managed to average 23 mph = 2:25:54 bike split.
Dazed and confused into T2, I fumbled around with my Powerbars/Gels, managed to pull on my running shoes and attempted to strap my Garmin to my wrist. I eventually stopped completely to fasten the watch to my wrist. In T2 I could hear the cheers coming from my family and friends, as the fence was very close to the pro bike rack, but I never looked up. I had all I could do to get myself out on the run course. I eventually made it out to the road and was greeted by my brother Dan. He asked his typical question: "How you feelin man, you alright? You look great, come on, go get it." I acknowledged him, but without any real response; that was a dead give away. Dan knows me well, and he knew I was a little off. Suprisingly, I quickly settled in and was actually running very well, but way to fast -- around 5:15-5:30 pace coming out of T2. Not for long, as I knew Coach Jesse' s plan was to hold 6:25 for as long as possible. Based on that, I knew that if I didn't slow down, I would probably blow to pieces at some point. So, I settled in to a 6:20-6:30 pace very comfortably and maintaned it really well for most of the run. The aid stations along the run were amazing, with cheering volunteers, some dressed in costumes and just full of smiles -- pretty cool. One station had a Hawaii theme; that was very cool as it reminded me of being on the Big Island in Kona for the Ironman World Championship. I was there as an amateur in 2007 and in 2009, and my biggest atheletic accomplishment would be to get back there as a professional -- that would be amazing and would fulfill my life beyond words. It's possible, but will be very difficult! Anyway, the run course was mostly flat, but there seemed to be a head wind and it wasn't the most scenic run -- well I guess it depends on what you like to look at ???? I maintaned my pace well and was actually running with ease until about mile 9, at which point I began to work a bit harder to hold my pace, but was still running pretty well. Again, I was in no-man's land on the run as well, as the pro men were mostly in front and I wasn't catching them, and the pro women were behind and they were not catching me. So, there I was for the 13 mile run, like the 1.2 mile swim and the 56 mile bike -- solo, but I did have the wonderful aid station volunteers -- thank you. At this point in my season with only a few months of training, it's difficult to hang with the pros, as these guys can swim, bike and run fast. As an amateur, it wasn't uncommon for me to be several minutes back coming out of the water, but I would typically catch up with most on the bike and then usually a few more on the run. It's diffirent now that the guys in the pro field are rock solid at all three disciplines. My hope is that as I move along with what's left of this season and in to next season, my bike and run strengths will return and my swim will improve. This, hopefully, will put me in the mix down in Miami at the Miami 70.3 in late October and will set me up for a solid season next year and maybe, most importantly, I won't be out there in no-man's land! Run split 6:22pace/1:23:20 run time. Overall finish time -- 4:26:00 17th Pro.
The finish was very cool along Onondaga Lake at the Inner Harbor. My family and friends had made it from the County Park (race start), most by car; but Dan, he chose to ride my old Specialized Tarmac along the run course. It was fun for him and fun for me as he would disappear from time to time and I would wonder where could he be and then he would reappear. At one point, late in the race around mile 10, I had not seen him for some time. Suddenly, I heard "ha, what you thought you could lose me? You ain't losin' me boy, hah, hah!" and he reappeared again. Pretty funny!!! Over the 5 years of my triathlon career, my brothers Dan and Mike would often find their way out to the run course on some old bikes of mine. It's diifferent for Dan and me now without Mike, but I am sure he is always with us. Thanks for reading. And a special thanks to my friends and sister Kelly who made the trek west, out "boring" I-90, and a very special thanks to my Mom and Dad for their support and generosity.
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| Nearing the finish,Pop's on the video camera in the background. |
