Harryman Triathlon - Triathlon1/2 Ironman

They sent all 100+ of us into Lake Welch as one wave; originally it was supposed to be two waves. No biggie. We were casually just sauntering into the water toward the start buoy, and then we heard the horn! I did a few dolphin dives and was quickly in a fast but comfortable rythym. I sighted very well for both loops. Had good form and consistentlyt strong pull from start to finish. Zero body contact. I drafted a few short times and felt people occasionally tickling my feet. It's amazing how much less energy you use drafting, I really need to work on my drafting.

I came out of the water and was shocked to see 40+ minutes on the time clock. The swim time included a run up the beach and through the front parking lot to transition. The general consensus was that the swim was very long, around 1.5 miles. The two fastest times were 33 mins, and half the top 10 finishers were 40 mins plus. My guess is my real pace was somewhere around 1:55. I'm eager to see what my time is at REV3 in 2 weeks (which is also in a calm lake, and I have a feeling the Rev3 swim will be spot-on accurate). It's frustrating to spend so much time in the pool working your butt off, have what you know is one of your best HIM swims ever, and then quickly realize it's by far the most inaccurately measured swim you've ever done.

Draft more.

18th fastest transition overall.

This is a beast of a course. They had to close one of the descent parts of this course which made it a three time 21-mile out & back. The descent used to give you a nice break before a grueling 2-mile climb, but now we had a super-short screaming descent and then a 180-degree turn and immediately climb back up it. All things being fair, we only had to do the grueling climb three times instead of the normal 4, but all the climbing back to it made it basically the same elevation gain as previous years.

I took the first loop Super-EZ, I coasted all the downhills by tucking super-aero and clenching my knees around the top bar. About midway through the first loop my sciatica started acting up. Since I upped my bike mileage this year, I've been experiencing some wicked pain in my lower left back. On training rides when I take pee breaks, after standing for just a few minutes it disappears entirely and stays gone for a good 30 to 45 minutes. In a Race situation however there are no breaks, and I feared this would happen. I was hoping my taper would resolve the issue, or perhaps Race Day adrenaline would overcome the pain. It didn't.

I finished the first loop in 1:12 and the second loop in 1:14. My sciatica felt like a dreadful, fist-sized toothache in my lower left back and I just hung on for the 3rd loop and was in total survival mode. Many of the roads were mottled with huge frost gaps, and the bumpy conditions did not help matters.

I started with one Gatorade Endurance, followed by 1/2 a perp bottle, 1 water bottle with GU gel, & then another Gatorade. I think this nutrition was spot on for the length of time I was on the Bike. It wasn't too much, but as I found out during the Run, may actually have been too little.

I need to ride more hills. If I do this race again next year (which I probably will) I need to try and get up to Harriman three of four times for a nice long training day.

I have a bike fit appt tomorrow to address my lower back issue.

I'm very glad I went with a 12-27 cassette for this course.

16th Overall. Took my feet out of my shoes and did a perfect flying dismount. I was so happy to be off the bike because my sciatica instantly disappeared.

I can't express how beyond-frustrating it is to Run such a terrible 13.1 miles when Running is my best discipline. Two months ago I ran a 1:31 half marathon. Last month, on very sore banged-up legs, I ran a 1:34 half marathon. I train consistently. I went as easy as I could on the Bike (coasting all the downhills, using my easiest gear on all the grueling climbs, and my sciatica keeping me in all easy gears on the flat). I was hoping to have a really good run and 'run my way up in the standings' as I knew I was around 50th OA at that point. My first few miles were around 8:30-ish, I started getting my legs beneath me and then BOOM!! I felt like crap. Just an overwhelming feeling of nauseau came over me. (A feeling I know all too well during the HIM Run leg.) The muscles in my leg felt strong but the day just took it's toll on me, as well as the hills.

The Run course was also altered due to the Bike Course change. Some athletes remarked before the race that it would be easier, and by the end of the day everyone realized it was the same or perhaps harder. Aside from the 1/4 mile run in and out of transition throught the parking lot, the entire Run course was either UP or DOWN. There was very little flat.

I finished the first loop in 59 minutes without stopping and figured to myself, "Okay, I'm having a Bad Day. The hills are smacking me around somthing good, let's just put together a 2 hour half marathon and be happy with a 6:3X OA time." But after I finished the second loop I was done.

Harryman Course: 2 ... Dream Chaser: 0

I threw in the towel. I walked. I contemplated quitting this silly dumb sport. My new friend Derrick (sevenride) -- who'd raced the AmZof Long Course a week prior, who passed me on the 3rd loop of the bike and was just 10 mins ahead of me the whole 1st loop -- was no longer enough of a Rabbit to motivate me to chase. Racer after racer passed me as I did the death march up and down the hills. I stopped off at both aid stations and hung out, chatting, eating cookies, banana's, sipping gatorade like I was on a lunch hour at work just trying to pass the time.

My friend Rick from the Sunrise Tri Team (who Raced the Olympic earlier) was nice enough to shuffle with me for 3 miles of the second loop. He was also kind enough to call my wife and let her know I was having a rough day of it and that I would be calling her later than expected.

I went to a dark place during this Run. I didn't like it. I don't want to go back there. I got through it. If something similar occurs during Lake Placid I'll know how to handle it, perhaps.

I think for one, again, I was ill-prepared for the hills. I was also starving for a lot of this run. I'm thinking perhaps for Bike Rides over 60-miles with a long Run afterwards, I need to get some solid food in me on the Bike. I ate breakfast at 4 AM and then at 2:30 (halfway through the run, and 10.5 hours since I last ate something solid) all I could think about was food.

The more I think about it, between the long-ish swim, long Bike, (for once) I didn't have enough nutrition.

Walked around gathering my stuff feeling like death warmed over.


Gross lack of Hill Training. Sciatica on the Bike. Perhaps some under-nutrition going into the Run. Inability to HTFU on the second loop of the Run.


This is a grueling course. With the Bike and Run it is close to 9,000 feet of combined climbing. The roads are brutal, there were maybe 20 people cheering us on in one single section, the course is open to traffic, it's a very No Frills - low budget event; And that's why I like it. This course is hard, makes no apologies for it, and it makes you a stronger better triathlete for it. I did this Race because I needed a Reality Check. I needed the ass whooping. This is not a flat Sprint on smooth closed roads; there is no one cheering you on - you have to motivate yourself. It's a long hard day and it's well-earned MONEY IN THE BACK for me toward Lake Placid.