Rev3 Quassy - Half Rev : Official Thread

I found the BT list...

amusic20, bdenehy, brunolardosa, BxHBxH, ctbrian, davetri1, dtoce, hdhtri, JMart, littycm, MForger18, mirthfuldragon, revbmac, rjkeeney, TriToy, VeggieTriGirl, wintersky, zee744

Good luck people!
It's getting closer...

CT is such a quite group. Even the CT forums are silent.

still recovering from running Boston on Monday but first swim and bike will be this weekend! at least my run base is there. lol

hey i'm in. psyched to be part of an "Official" race thread.

kind of feeling in over my head for this one, but plan to have a great time nonetheless.

true...



well let me 'officially welcome' you to the Quassy: where the swim is uphill, the bike is 4300ft of pain and the run course will force you to walk

(it's not quite as bad as that really, but read a few reports from the past in the Race Report Section of BT to get an idea from those that have experienced it)



congratulations on Boston Doc! I'm sure it was quite the experience. You should be able to walk downstairs forwards soon, if you are not already doing so. If you can jump to the M as quickly as you did, you'll be fine

Edited by dtoce 2014-04-26 7:14 AM

thanks, and yeah i signed up eyes wide open after reading a bunch of race reports here and on people's blogs. looking forward to swimming up hill and the rest of the torture.

As a Chicagoan still recovering from a cold winter (with all the lakes in the area still around 40 degrees), I think my first OWS of the year might be at Quassy . . .

Looking forward to the hills as training for IMWI. Quassy will be my first half-distance race.

For the returning Quassy veterans, what sort of gearing are you running (and your FTP and weight, if you don't mind sharing)? I'm waffling about jumping to a compact crank for this race.

I'm in! First time Quassy Sufferer ... watched my wife race the half last year in the scorching heat. Looked like so much fun I had to try it for myself. This will be only my 2nd Half, so it should be interesting. Warming up the season with the Columbia Olympic down in MD a few weeks before. That's another hilly nightmare of a course - should be a good tune up. Planning on ending the year with SavageMan 70 ... lots of suffering to be had this year.

Has anyone pre-ridden the course yet this year? Any word on road conditions?

I'm pretty sure they will have a 'preswim' on Saturday afternoon for the 1/2IM athletes, if I remember correctly (?12-2pm), along with the warmup the morning of...I know the lakes around here in CT usually warm up a lot the week before this race and the last 2 years, the water has been like a bathtub-very comfy for my wetsuit. Good luck in finding something in your WindyCity!

(I should have used the sleeveless wetsuit last year...it was too warm for the full even though I was worried about the water being too cool. I usually swim in Crystal Lake, which is 40-50 miles northeast from Quassy and have always been able to get a few OWS's in the week before.)

For the last 2 years, I used my 11-28 cassette on my bike, with a compact crank, on my P2. I did IMLP 2 yrs ago, and last year did the full revolution here and Savageman later in the year, so I needed the 28. Spinning the 28 made life pretty easy, but I changed to 11-25 for this year (NOT recommended) as I wanted something on my bike for more all-around terrain and distances.

You can survive with a 12-23 or even a 12-25, without a compact, but it is a LOT easier to bring gears with you that you will likely need. I raced without power prior to this winter and have no numbers for you. I weighed in at 155 last year (165 this year), so I will once again carry momentum on the downs and pay the price on the uphills.

My plan, right or wrong, will be to attempt to spin the course at an IF of 0.80-0.85. I will correlate this with my HR data from past races and hope it is around a HR of 135-140 on the bike. I will make adjustments on race day.

The bike course is a tease, as you start out with a few little rolling hills, lots of shade and a lot of net downhill, especially past the dam where you just fly! The first 20 miles took me a little over an hour last year, and I was going easy. The real hills start at mile 24... and keep going for 7 miles...and by then it's hot and often sunny.

Quassy was my first half and first overall tri, so you chose a great venue for your first 70.3!
(When it gets closr, I'll give some details to those who wish to partake in an after race beverages.)




Quassy Sufferer is a very appropriate description of athletes on this course.

I have not prerode the course this year, but did it the last 2 years and the roads always have a few, a very few, rough spots. As I always warn people to be careful of the S plunge after cresting the long hills from 24-31. This sharp downhill comes around mile 31.5-be CAREFUL.

Yes, it was pretty hot last year. Glad your wife made it through, and hopefully unscathed. I remember those ice-chilled towels so fondly...Have you done Savageman before or was your first 1/2IM some other venue?
I would agree anything in MD will be a challenge. Savageman was the most beautiful course I ever hated. In some ways Quassy is like a little brother to Savageman, as there is always another hill coming but it's not nearly as severe as those at Savageman.

Im in. found this thread to be pretty quiet for a while.

I am a Quassy Newb but I have done Pat Griskus before and I know that part of the courses are similar.

More then the hills, we need to get some sun on that lake, it will be pretty cold come race day. Its still in the high 30s-low 40s at night and it has only been getting up to about 60 during the day. Gonna be a cold swim. I am looking forward to it actually, coming from a swimming background the cold never bothered me for that long and with a wetsuit and double cap if needed it should be fine.

I am going to try and get up there over the next few weeks and ride the course. This is a tune-up for me for Placid.

Hope everyone's training is moving along.

Thanks for the gearing and course tips. Yeah, my wife made it through, but she was very unhappy with her performance. The one thing that got her through though was watching all of the others around her suffering just as bad as she was. Some of the most fit people around ... and many were forced to walk the hills because the heat had taken so much out of them.

This will be my first attempt at the Savageman 70.0 - shooting for getting my brick... if they have any room left in the road. I did the Pumpkinman Half in Maine last year as my first half. Great race.

I'm a little concerned too about the temp of the lake. I've read some stuff online elsewhere that echo's the comment about the lakes warming up in May.

Anyone know if this site is reliable for water temps?

http://www.fishingnotes.com/lakeinfo.php?id=3350

I am on the fence with this race. I am signed up for Syracuse 70.3 on 6/22. I'm worried this might be too close. Any Thoughts?

Screw it, I just registered. I am in.

sorry I didn't see this...but I'm glad you are 'in'!

I do not think you will have any problem doing well at syracuse-it's a good time for a long, hard workout (3 weeks prior)
Which is your 'A' race?

Quassy will not be as fast as Syracuse...but you will learn hill pacing-ha!


I don't know about that site, but I would not worry about the water temp on race day. It'll be fine-better if it's a bit cool. It always seems to be very hot at Quassy and I'll be quite happy with temps in the 50-60's.

It won't happen though...as the tri-weather-Gods love to hurt us here in NE; especially in early races...

Edited by dtoce 2014-05-02 11:34 AM

My A race is IMFL in NOV. At 220-225lbs, I am looking just to survive for these next 2 races. You are right, I am going in thinking of it as a long hard workout with thousands of my friends. There is a pit in my stomach thinking of the hills.

thumbs up

I did a short recon on the course yesterday. WOW, your either going up or down. The group I was with is doing the Olympic but wanted to check out the 1/2 course. We went 15 miles in and back. They were spent after 2200 feet gain. I am going back to do the whole course on Saturday or Sunday. I am going with 165mm Compact 50/34T with 11/28 Cassette without a doubt. We did not get to the big climb that's around the middle of the course but I figured that gearing should get me up. Anyone who is on the fence about what gearing to go with needs to recon that course. Very Challenging.

my training is just not where it needs to be for this.

I will not panic. I will suffer, but I will enjoy it.

Two more weeks to get in whatever training will give me comfort, then taper . . . .

I just pulled the trigger on my compact on Thursday - I'd rather spin out on the descents than have to stand and grind (or worse, walk) up a climb. Especially for my first race of the season, I'd rather have two much gear than not enough.

27 days!

I just pulled the trigger on my compact on Thursday - I'd rather spin out on the descents than have to stand and grind (or worse, walk) up a climb. Especially for my first race of the season, I'd rather have two much gear than not enough.

27 days!

I posted this question a few months ago in another forum and didn't get any responses -- i figure I'd take another shot here

Have any of you Quassy vets also done HITS Hunter HIM?

I did HITS Hunter last year, I'm curious how the courses stack up in terms of bike and run difficulty. Based on all I've read and my review of elevation charts etc. Quassy is harder, but I guess what I've looking for is advice along the lines of

"Quassy is harder, but if you did OK at HITS you shouldn't have that much of a tougher time at Quassy" versus

"Hunter was child's play -- If you don't feel like you smoked the bike/run courses there, you're in for a real hurtin at Quassy" etc.

I struggled some at the end of the bike at HITS, but i think it was mostly because of bad pacing throughout. I'm riding this year with a power meter which will help that, and I've also switched from a standard to a compact crank.

I have not done HITS Hunter HIM, only Quassy and Savageman, so I cannot compare.
I believe that you will be able to do it well, no matter how it compares-because you are riding with power and have the ability to pace yourself at a higher level using the PM.

The trick is to figure out what NP/IF is needed for race day, then execute your plan.
Many people advise 0.8 IF or even lower for the 1/2IM distance. I am still learning, but have practiced this and did a recent 56 mile bike at my own goal IF and ran OK afterwards, so I'm feeling pretty good about my power goal for race day. (now if I can remember how to swim...)

The compact crank will help, bringing a 27 or 28 cassette will help more, and even pacing is recommended. I loved my 11 gear for the downs and I believe it helped. (I rode an 11/28 last year with a compact crank.)

I would advise dividing up the course roughly into 4 sections:

0-24 one moderate uphill with a net down that will not tax you too much at all if you don't push too hard early on. You can settle into the bike pacing and get some nutrition going during that first hour.
24-31 the long, steady hill-just spin at a reasonable cadence and get to the top; it will get hot so drink if thirsty
31-45 small rollers then long downhill
45-56 bigger rollers and lots of up/down-even power pacing and higher cadence in the last several miles to flush the legs and get ready for the run

http://rev3tri.com/quassy/course-info-3/elevation-charts/

You'll be fine. Don't stress too much about it. Hills are hills. The key is figuring out pacing: what power you will go out at...and try to hold it in practice to get an idea if it will work and leave enough energy for the run. Having the powermeter is a big advantage, IMO.

Now, about those hills...

Edited by dtoce 2014-05-06 11:17 AM