Survival of the Shawangunks - TriathlonOther

New Paltz, New York United States New York Triathlete Association 70F / 21C Sunny

Total Time = 5h 06m 58s Overall Rank = 22/149 Age Group = M30-34 Age Group Rank = 4/6

if you aren't familiar, S.O.S. is an unconventional tri. you bike first and then after handing your bike to your crew (thanks sis!!!!)you have to carry all your own gear from then on. the course is:
bike->run->swim->run->swim->run->swim->run

we stayed in Newburgh, so we loaded up the cars and drove up to New Paltz for the 6:15am bike check-in. i ate a few granola bars, half an english muffin w/pb and then ate a gu right before the start.

i did a 2 minute bike to make sure everything was ok. we listened to the national anthem and i said my good luck/goodbye's to nate, heidi, and craig. i waved our crew sis, k, earl, amy and ben and we were off.

segment 1 - bike 30mi. 1:43:17 79th

- the bike is point to point. the first 24.5 miles is flat to rolling, but the final 5.5 miles is an 1100+ft. climb. i decided not to ride too hard on the bike. i was trying to hold ~20mph until the climbing started, but i knew it was a long day so i didn't want to go all out. people were passing me like i was standing still and it would have taken a lot of effort to go with them. i felt really slow, but didn't want to put in the effort to chase. i was hoping i could run most of them down and i was also planning on taking in a lot of calories during the bike so i went hard without going into the red zone. not a stellar ride, but oh well.

segment 2 run 4.5mi. net +430ft. 33:59 9th

- pretty easy run. uphill, but fresh legs and not steep. i stayed relaxed and just cruised to the first lake. heidi told me that there was an award for the fasted run 3, so in the back of my mind i was holding back all race for that segment.

segment 3 - swim 1.1mi. 33:13 68th

- i decided to keep my shoes on for all the swims. i bought new balance 920s for the race that are made for getting wet and draining and i'm not a great swimmer anyway, so i thought the fast transitions would make up for the effort of messing with shoes. i had my cap and goggles on as i hit the shore and jumped right in and took off.

- the water was AMAZING! this lake is reason enough to do the race. it was like a giant pool. the temp was perfect and it was literally clearer than our gym pool. you could see the bottom crystal clear. i loved it. like all swimming, it did get boring eventually, but i will never forget that lake.

segment 4 - run 5.5mi. net -215ft. 41:12 6th

- i wasn't cold during the swim, but dripping wet on the run i started very cold. i took a gu to catch up on nutrition as i hadn't eaten since the bike and started chasing all the people that passed me in the lake. this leapfrogging continued all day as every run leg people would mumble "nice pace" as i passed and i'd call back "see you in the lake".

- this is where the scenery really started becoming breathtaking. we started with a steady climb up to ridges that overlooked the lake we just crossed. amazing. i pushed a little harder as i enjoyed the sligth downhills, but again i held back for the next run.

segment 5 - swim .5mi. 20:21 66th

- this swim started kind of choppy, but they had a rope the entire length of the lake to follow. it was pretty uneventful as i just churned along trying to stay on the rope.

segment 6 - run 8.0mi. net -370ft. 54:24 2nd

- this is the run i've been waiting for. i got out of the water and the whole crew was cheering wildly from the cliffs. it was great to see everyone. i stopped short of the timing mat and took my time with some water and gu. i continued to stretch a little and let my heart rate come down. i finally walked up to the mat and took off like a bat out of hell. i think i actually scared some spectators nearby who didn't know what the hell was going on!

- the start of the leg is straight down on pavement with tight switchbacks. it was hard to stay in control, but i knew there was a brutal climb at the end, so i couldn't give up any free speed. the trail eventually flattened out and i just tried to keep the pace high. it was cool to see the scenic overlooks and pass by tons of mountain climbers, but there were no other runners in the area and it was grueling trying to go all out without knowing how far you had left. i had NO idea how far i had gone or how much longer to push it. i almost gave up and slowed way down a few times, but told myself i could just finish at the lake and take the swim really easy.
i finally made it to an aid station right before the massive climb and they said i only had ~1mile left. i checked the clock and i was on pace to break the fastest time the last 2 years! that's all i needed to push to the end.

segment 7 - swim .5mi. 15:54 79th

- the final swim. i really enjoyed this one as i knew i was going to finish and i felt good with what i had done so far. you can see the mohonk house resort the entire swim. it is a beautiful place, but it did make it difficult to find the exit since there were docks and people all over (unlike the other swims that were deserted except for the finish area). i climbed up the rocks and was happy to be done swimming, but a little sad it was all almost over.

segment 8 - run .7mi. net +290ft. 04:41 3rd

- there is also an award for the final run. i didn't think i had as good a shot as the 8 miler, but you know i was going to give it my all just in case. i took a second to compose myself and then took off again. the crowd gave me an awesome boost as i sprinted up the path, but as you kept climbing and climbing, it was all i could do to keep moving faster than a walk. the average grade was 7.8% and the hill just wouldn't stop.
finally i came over the edge and it flattened out to a plateau with the finish just around a corner. i sprinted it in and they called me out as a survivor. i collapsed against a rock. and realized that there is something special about this race.