What is going on?

It has been a roller coaster ride the past few months. A few races, lots of miles and now it is time for taper. IM Louisville here I come!

Fly by night Race Report

Looks like this blog is getting filled with Race Reports. Nothing is going to change for next week either. This week I had the chance to race the Fly by night F1 Duathlon.

I did this race back in 2008 when I was first getting started in the multisport world. Since that day I have been wanting to get back to Watkins to once again ride banked turns and transition in pit row. This year I blocked out the schedule and made sure that I had the green light come race day.

Being that I did this race two years ago I figured I would be a veteran and be able to use the course knowledge to my advantage. Well the bike course was now backwards and the run course had changed so this was basically a new course for everyone, so much for that course knowledge advantage.

I rolled over to check-in and picked up my race stuff, they gave out arm warmers with the fly by night lettering on them. Nice touch, I have been getting a collection of race shirts and it was nice to see the race do something different, plus I could use some arm warmers for those chilly rides.

The race was pushed back about 15 minutes to 6:30 P.M. so that the Porsche classic could finish up and transition could be set up in pit row. I found a spot in transition and racked Ms. Scott. This was what I consider a fair transition, the run entrance and bike exit were on opposite sides so wherever you were racked, the run distance with the bike was about the same. I met some interesting people in transition, there was the tuxedo team, the fast looking team kit guy and a the large man with dreadlocks (who I later met at the campsite, he seemed like a cool guy who played soccer in NY and never really rode a bike before today).

I did a slow run over to the start line with Steve and Charlie and then ran into the local legend Curt Eggers all decked out in his Train-This gear. We all exchanged some words of encouragement, a few lines from the great Ricky Bobby, and we were off.

Run 1:

I wanted to take the first run fairly easy and play the entire course by feel. I had my garmin on but never bothered to look at the thing during the race, it was solely being used for post race graphs, charts and other nerd-like analysis. Early in the run we ran over a bridge that crosses above the track you have to watch out for those poles on the way down. We all called out “poll” and then one guy yelled “German” now that is funny stuff. Then we ran to an underpass that went under the track. The hill on the other side of the underpass was steep, short, but steep. I caught a few walkers there. After climbing back to the infield the track was relatively flat with only a few slight up or down grades until the last half mile or so where there was a long steady downhill onto the track and then a heartbreaker of climb back into transition. I was never really pushing the pace on the opening run, but was just running along with a relatively large pack of runners. I finished up the first run in 13:56 (7:58 pace) not cooking but a pretty good pace to start the night.

T1:

Running up to Ms. Scott I noticed that I forgot to throw my shoes back onto the pedals so I had to slip them on in transition. This may have added 10 seconds or so but I could make that up later. Official time 58 seconds.

Bike 1:

All right finally out on the bike and the best part of the race, to bike on Watkins Glen International Speedway. Immediately, my legs felt heavy, I had nothing in the tank. Was I training too much leading into the race, did I go too hard on the run, was I just flat out tired or was the ghost of Little Baby Ricky Bobby cursing me? Who knows, who cares I am riding a bike on a course built for race cars. While this engine couldn’t quite put out the type of power the typical machine puts out on this course, I probably look better covered in spandex. The bike course is a 3-loop course, each loop being pretty hilly. Even though this was a race course there really are no flat sections, you are either going up or down. Being that there is no traffic the bikes kind of take over the entire course. It was not uncommon for people to pass on right or the left, you really had to keep your head on a swivel out there. Early on in the bike there is a nice descent that leads into a hairpin turn followed by a solid climb. I may have hit single digits on the speedo had I checked, but I didn’t. After the climb it was smooth sailing until, like the run, the bike ended with a climb through pit row and back into transition (or along the front stretch for the other loops). A few people were taking it easy once they saw transition so it was a good time to pick up a few spots. Bike time was 33:03 (18.5 mph) not real fast but there was still time to get these legs moving.

T2:

Feet out of the shoes leading up to the dismount line and a quick hop off the bike into stride back to transition. Helmet off, running shoes on and I was off in 48 seconds.

Run 2:

Strangely I did not have that jello leg feeling to start the second run, it must be that those runs off the long bike are paying dividends. By the time I hit the steep hill I saw a guy in a red jersey that was running a good pace about where I wanted to run so I just stayed on his tail for the rest of the run using him as a pacer. I gained some ground on the field this run. As we run up the hill to transition I was getting a little hot, it was refreshing to throw some water on my head and cool off just a little before getting out on the bike. If only the concession stands where open, I would have opted for the rainbow snow cone. I hit the timing mat a little quicker than the first run with a time of 13:50 (7:54 pace) and was starting to feel a little better.

T3:

This time the shoes were on the bike so I just lost the running kicks, grabbed the helmet and I was off in 48 seconds.

Bike 2:

The legs still felt a bit sluggish on the bike. About halfway through the first loop I really tried to start pushing the bike a little. Because the course is three loops you are not always sure if people ahead of you were fading or if you were just lapping people. Either way, it felt good to be moving along on the bike again. I was pushing a little bit of a harder gear this time and could feel the pace picking up. I rolled in a bit faster than the first bike with a time of 32:24 (19.1 mph).

T4:

Again feet out of shoes before hitting the dismount line, this might be my best part of the race. Racked the bike, helmet off, running shoes on and out of transition in 38 seconds.

Run 3:

Pushing that last bike, I could feel that the running legs were a bit heavy. After a few minutes I was back to hitting my stride and I was just trying to real people in as I saw them. One guy ran by me early on and he was cooking the run, no way I was going to hold his pace so I let him go and just kept trying to reel in runners ahead of me. I saw three guys in the distance as I started the final climb to the finish and pushed it to try to catch them. I was getting close and passed one of them on the climb. When hit the top they turned it on and I had burned up my legs trying to catch them on the uphill to finish with a sprint for the finish. They got me by a few seconds. Final run split was 13:46 (7:52 pace) and the fastest of the day.

Post race:

We went back to the cars to change into some warm cloths and grab a PBR, which I think stands for professional best recovery. We grabbed some burgers and dogs at the cookout to go with the PBR’s and hung out so Charlie and Steve could collect their hardware. After the awards it was time to head back to the campsite to play in the wilderness for
the rest of the long weekend.

Flower City half marathon

The day after the inaugural Flower City triathlon was the inaugural Flower City Half Marathon. I have only ran a half marathon twice, and both were a part of a half ironman so I was pretty sure I was going to at least PR.

The run started at Blue Cross arena and ran through some historic Rochester areas. A few miles mimic the Rochester marathon held in September. The first half of the course is fairly flat and the second half has a few good hills.

The plan for the day was to run the first mile around 8:20 and then hold a pace near that for the rest of the day. The first 6 miles I was right on pace, a little fast but I was holding pretty close to the goal. Then the hills of the course came into play. About the same time I ran into Alexa and we ran a few miles together. From miles 6-8 there were a few good climbs around highland park and the first part of the cemetery. I slowed down a little bit, but that is expected when climbing. I felt pretty good making the climbs but the downhill caused the calf to flair up. I was nursing a nagging calf injury and running downhill was not helping. I let Alexa run ahead as I huffed it down the hill.

Once I got out of the cemetery (and all the downhills) I was feeling a little better. The course was fairly flat and I was able to put together a good run to the finish. After mile 12 I really started pushing the pace to try and make it home in under 1:50 but I think I missed it by a few seconds. It was fun to fly by some runners in that last few hundred yards. I am not sure what my official time was yet but the pace was about 8:19, right on plan.

Post race, I walked around and said hi to few local triathletes and then I turned into the cookie monster and ate everything in sight. For the second straight day the people at fleet feet but on a great race!

Train safe

Flower City Triathlon

Getting ready for a solid race weekend I felt like a caged puma, ready to pounce on the flower city tri. Saturday leads off the weekend with a run-bike-kayak and Sunday bats clean up with the flower city half marathon. This should be fun.

First off let me set aside any worries about the course. Yellow Jacket racing put on a great race, tons of volunteers, the roads were all watched and traffic was held off where needed.

I started off race morning around 5, got some pre race grub and headed to GVP. We rolled into GVP around 6:30. Ms. Scott and I rolled into transition to find a nice spot a few bikes from the bike exit. Some of the athletes were taking up way too much room on the racks so I asked if they would mind sliding down a bit. Loaded up Ms. Scott and because it was cold I hung a jacket and a pair of gloves from my aero bars. Then I dragged my borrowed 8’ kayak over to the boat transition. Put the life jacket, paddle and a bottle of water in the boat. After transition was all set up I walked around shook some hands, kissed some babies and met a few of the other athletes before the gun went off.

Run:

Being a little chilly I ran in a pair of long pants and a long sleeved full zip jersey (red of course), just right for today. I have not run a 5k in about 2 years so right from the go I was going to let it all hang out. Coach had a simple plan for this race, go for it on the run, go for it more on the bike and kayak the best I could. I like to keep it simple. At the gun I took off with the lead pack and then dropped back few places to settle into a good pace. I hit the first mile in 6:39, and new that was going to be a little too fast so I eased it up just a bit. Running through GVP was a nice, views of the canal, lots of green trees and the only real elevation change being the four bridges over the canal and Genny. After the final bridge, knowing that there is still some race left, instead of sprinting to T1 I just held my pace and hit it at 22:03, yep that’s a big 5k PR.

T1:

The day seemed to warming up quite nicely so as I ran up to Ms. Scott I grabbed the gels out of my cycling jacket and stuffed them in the jersey. Shoes off, helmet on and off for the bike leg in under a minute.

Bike:

I had a little problem getting into my shoes on the bike once I was up to speed. Normally I am pretty good at this so I waited until making the turn onto a wider road to avoid any mishaps with oncoming bikers. I tried to take it a little easy for the first mile, although I felt like I was dragging an anchor (more on this later). After the first mile we turned onto river road the first couple miles were a little rough but after crossing Jefferson everything was smooth. River road has a few rolling hills and a little bit of a head wind for the day. The race organizers did a great job staffing the bike course with volunteers and police at every intersection. Being one of the first on the bike, I did not get the chance to do too much passing, in fact I felt like everyone and the mother was cruising by me. Now I am exaggerating a little bit but I really felt flat on the bike. I didn’t find out until after the race, but my rear quick release was left open. Fortunately, I have vertical drop outs so the wheel stayed on for the ride, that could have been a disaster. I guess when cruising along the wheel stays pretty straight, not 100% safe but it works. On the way back to transition there was bit of a tailwind which made for some nice cruising speed. I rolled into T2 in about 63 minutes, slower than anticipated but still in a pretty good place.

T2:

With feet out of the shoes beforehand T2 was pretty quick. I had a little trouble slipping my running shoes back on (the end run was going to be on gravel) but I got out of T2 in about a minute and half.

Kayak:

Only being in a kayak about twice in my life this was going to be a big wild card. Before the race an experienced kayaker told me that the longer boats should be able to average about 6 MPH and my little short boat would be lucky to do 4 MPH. Cool, my goal is around 45 minutes then for the 3-mile paddle. The day was really starting to warm up and it was a good day to be on the water. I was a little wobbly to start, but I stayed in the boat. A few of the volunteers might have wanted to rescue me, but I steadied the boat and was on my way. Kayaking was fun, I was able to power through the paddling without any major problems. I was passed by quite a few of the longer boats but I feel like I held my own out there, especially for the second half, it pays to be an endurance athlete. The boat took a little over 47 minutes, not too shabby for my first paddle race. Next time I am going to try to get a long kayak and see if I notice any difference in speed

Finish:

I made the short run up to the finish with minimal cramping and came home with first in my age group. They gave us flower pots with the flower city logo on them for placing.

Me and Richy flashing some hardware, apparently I am also a little teapot

Richy took third in the age group so he got a pot (smaller haha) to take home too.

Post race:

I had a burger and chips after the race (provided by the race) then got home to re-carbo load for Sunday’s half marathon. Iced the legs, did some stretching and took it easy for the rest of the night.

The half marathon is a subject for next time.

Train smart and stay safe!

Flower city overview

It has been a while. I am clearly a poor bloger, but hey spring is in the air and I have been running, biking and remodeling the house. These things take up precious time. That being said lets try to get the thing back on track.

And speaking of tracks I had the chance to ride the bike course for the upcoming flower city challenge triathlon/duathlon. Being the super elite athlete that I am, this weekend entails a paddle triathlon on Saturday followed by a half marathon on Sunday. I have only been in a kayak about twice in my life so this should get interesting.

As a good preview to anyone racing I thought it would be a good idea for me to give an overview of the bike course. The bike is going to start in Genesee Valley Park near Elmwood Ave. Coming out of the transition area you take a right on Elmwood and there is a slight downhill that leads into a very sharp right turn onto Moore shortly after transition. Moore road is fairly smooth and winds threw the park. There should be little to no traffic so a good place to get settled into biking.

At the first mile the real course begins. Turning onto East river road miles 2-3 could be treacherous. This really is the only bad section of the course. It is a narrow two-lane road with no shoulder and the right side of the road is riddled with some serious pot holes. I assume this section has to be shut down to traffic being that it would be very dangerous to have so many bikers out there in traffic on a Saturday morning. If it is not, extra caution will be needed just to ensure everyone’s safety.

At mile 3 east river road crosses a set of train tracks and then Jefferson. From here there is a fairly nice shoulder and the road is pretty smooth. Miles 3-8 go along this road which has a few rolling hills. There will be a lot of shifting because you are either going up or down for this section. Nothing is very steep or long but there are a few small ring hills. If the wind is out of the north I would recommend taking it easy on this section to save some legs for the return trip.

About 8 miles in the course turns onto Erie Station Rd. Starting with a slight downhill this section seemed pretty fast. It was mostly flat with a wide shoulder and a good time to cruise in the aero bars. The road does wind a little and at the end (about mile 10.5) there is the biggest climb on the course. That being said, the climb is still relatively minor and should not cause too many problems. I think the total climb took me less than a minute and I was going fairly easy.

At the top of the “hill” the course takes a right Scottsville Rd. and this is the longest section of the bike. The course pretty much takes this road back to transition. There is a nice shoulder and most of this time should be spent in the aero position. This is part of the course is fairly open and if the wind is coming out the West or North the bike splits will be a little slower. If by chance mother nature wants to lend a helping hand and send in a nice warm wind from the South look out because you can really crank up the speed on this section. Near the end of the course the shoulder is no more but there are four lanes of traffic so hopefully one lane can be closed for the race. After that there is a slight right turn back onto Elmwood and into the park for transition to the boat.

Overall It seems like a nice course with the only exceptions being the first couple miles of river road and the last few miles with no shoulder.

To all those racing this weekend, stay safe and best of luck!