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.
