Swim
Comments: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/591662041 There were no time goals for the swim. I had fun being out there and trying to enjoy the moment. It feels good knowing that I'm in much better control of everything at the start of races. The OWS that I've done at Crystal Lake with Tony and the Cyclonauts have helped immensely. I did very little swim training to try to improve and my time would have been a PR if I'd stayed on course, so I'm quite happy with the results. What would you do differently?: Hug the right buoys on the second leg between the turtle and the swan. Even though the sun is challenging, you can see the shore and I was unaware of a whole other stream/line of swimmers much closer to the land than I was until much later. No worries, though, as I wasn't here to swim in the crisp waters of Deep Creek Lake. Transition 1
Comments: I came out of the water, stated 'Im aliiiiiiiiive!' with enthusiasm this time. Then walked up the winding path towards the parking lot acting as transition. Took the junk off my head, pulled down the suit a bit and sat down at the bike on the pail. Took off the wetsuit and dried myself off twice. Put on arm warmers, second tri-top, second tri-shorts, long socks, toe warmers stuck on top of my socks, bike shoes, gloves with hand warmers in them, glasses and helmet. That's a lot of sh*t to put on! It took forever, but I didn't care. Goal was to be warm and of sound mind and body at Westernport. What would you do differently?: I could go much faster in transition, if I ever race this. I'm good with the time on this day. Bike
Comments: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/591662083 It was all about the challenge on Rock St. My heart was racing before I even got there in anticipation. Got my mental game on and felt very ready this year. Super stoked to make it all the way up the wall and get a brick!! I had my teeth grinding and my face sneering until the very top when there was definitely a little self-cheer. All I wanted was to make it up that wall and seeing people fall in front of me didn't help. Lots of cheering and the noise is a bit overwhelming. I had to try to focus and stay calm. I laughed when I heard someone yell out 'sexy bike, sexy rider!' right before I went up the last part of the wall. it distracted me for about 2 seconds then I got my focus back. Up I went... then I had to keep going up for a long while...I did pee on the bike for the first time ever. (There are very few places where one can say this and expect people to understand-when I told my wife, she just kind of looked at me funny) I hit my Hr goal of 135 square on. Power was higher than I wanted, but what can you do? It was super hilly and I couldn't stay aero with constant back spasms and pain. NP was 192. My FTP was 232 and I had done a 20min test which reconfirmed that it was not significantly changed, about 1-2 weeks prerace (that came out at 227). IF for the race was 0.82, TSS=259. What would you do differently?: Nothing. Transition 2
Comments: Nice and steady transition, shedding clothes and drinking a bit of Red bull. This was not a good decision as it unsettled my stomach. What would you do differently?: No Red Bull. Run
Comments: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/591662101 I was happy with the pace overall. Would have liked to see faster, but I go by effort/heart rate, not pace. Adjustments always need to be made and nutrition/hydration seemed good. I met and chatted with so many people to pass the time. Was fun pacing Zach Bittinger, an 8 timer, who wanted to go sub6. He was on his second loop and I my first, so I paced him up/down the firetower road and dropped him off at the finishing turn. He thanked me a dozen times, which was cool. We dropped the pace from 9:30's at the begining to 8:15 by the end. (I saw he finished 3rd in his AG and ran 5:52xx). I could not go that fast for my finish and I was happy to just be done at the end. What would you do differently?: Train with much higher volume if I really want to go sub 2hrs. Post race
Warm down: Cooled legs off in the lake. Ate some BBQ, had ice cream then packed up to go back to the Inn for a shower and a drink. 104 224 53 M Dale Toce South Windsor CT 133 00:41:17 126 00:05:49 111 03:51:34 110 00:02:24 109 02:11:46 06:52:48 http://www.setupevents.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=event_results&id=42... What limited your ability to perform faster: Overall training, but faster was less important than staying upright. Event comments: This is a race that will long be remembered. The physical challenge, the beauty of the area, the variability of the weather all add to it's reputation. Setup took over from Kyle Yost and seemed to do a pretty good job. I will not be back next year, but I think I might do it again when I am in the 55-59 AG. Last updated: 2014-07-28 12:00 AM
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United States
Set Up Events
41F / 5C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 104/242
Age Group = 50-54
Age Group Rank = 6/21
I drove down early this year, so I could be more relaxed on race day. Still, driving 500 miles to a race will wear on you physically. Plan was to check out the 'Wall' early. This helped-and on Friday, I drove over, took pics and rode up it 3 times. I fell the first time and rolled with my bike but was close to the grass so there was no real damage. That startled me, but I vowed to go even harder the next time around. I made it up the next two times without falling, but it takes big power. It was a huge confidence boost as the section is quite steep and has a very rough surface with deep holes. Additionally, it takes some good balance to find the right lean to keep enough weight on the back of the bike despite being so far over the front wheel...tricky...very tricky...I rode a bit more on Saturday, after the rain stopped and did my usual warmup. I could not bring myself to do a 'Rusty pre-race brick'. Sorry Tankboy, not this time, but I am definitely planning on doing it the next time I actually race.
After dealing with the heat over the past months, to me, it was freezing! 41 degrees at the start and I did no specific warmup, other than keep myself fully dressed with sweat pants/two extra shirts, hat, socks and gloves with hand warmers. Transition was all set up so I could make choices once out of the water. My spot was by the bike out exit, so I was going to be able to do the long walk slowly and bring down my heart rate. Left transition, shed clothes and stood on hand warmers near the water until the start, then slowly went into the water and shivvered until the race began...Brrrrrrrrrr......