New Paltz, New York United States Survival of the Shawangunks 70F / 21C Sunny

Total Time = 6h 24m 52s Overall Rank = 88/140 Age Group = F 35-39 Age Group Rank = 2/4

We rented a house not far from the race site. Was up at 5:00 am for a bagel/PB and coffee for breakfast. Finished the race prep, loaded the car and we left a little after 6:00 am. Made it to the fairgrounds and the start of the bike leg around 6:20 am. Got the bike ready (pumped tires, number on, C02/tubes on) and got body marked before hitting the bathrooms. Took a GU, got some pictures and took off our morning clothes before saying our "good lucks". The timing was perfect...we didn't have any extra time, but there was no waiting around either. I made my way to the staging area of my wave. Brad and Craig were starting 3 minutes in front of me. We inched our way up and the before we knew it, the siren went off.

Segment 1: 30 mile bike - 1:58:15
It was a foggy and cool morning, but you knew the sun was goinng to come up. It was chilly to start (I wore tri shorts, FeXY tri top, arm warmers and aero helmet). I had my sunglasses stuffed in my tri top until the fog burned off. I started out very easy and was passed almost immediately. I didn't quite know what to expect with the race and with Ironman Louisville 2 weeks ago, I wanted to go out and enjoy the race. I rode a moderate pace, but looking back, defintely held back. I think it was the unknown of the day. The first 25 miles of the course take you past fields and through small towns. It's nearly all flat or rollers and I really enjoyed the course. I had 1 bottle of GU20 and ate GU/Chomps every 30 minutes. It was a little frustrating to see people drafting. The course was point to point and with only 150 athletes, you shouldn't be drafting. Passed a pack and gave them shit for sucking each other's wheel. Made the left turn and the climbing started around mile 25. It wasn't as bad as I thought. Maybe I expected the worst. Or maybe St George has me reprogramed as to what hills really are. Passed Craig at mile 28 and it was nice it took me that long - it meant he was having a good day. I kept spinning up the hills as I snaked my way to the finish. The final climb or two are tough, but I knew I was handing off my bike at that point. I had hoped to come in around 1:55, but knowing how conservative I was in the beginning, I'm ok with the time.

Segment 2: Run 4.5 miles - 56:45
This time includes ~4:00 of my transition time. I saw Mitch as soon as I was off the bike. He took my bike from me and told me to follow Sissy. She lead me to my gear where I dumped it out of the bag. I changed socks and body glided my feet before putting the new socks on. I went with the FeXY bike socks because they're taller and tight so I hoped it would keep gravel out and my heels blister free. I had a pack of chomps and a small 6 oz flask of water along with a small tube of Aquafor just in case. I decided to run in the Zoot traithlon shoes. While I am more comfortable in my Newton's, I wanted something that would drain quickly.
The first part starts out downhill and then quickly takes a left turn and is a steep uphill....for quite some time. Being at mile 1.5-2 at this point and knowing the distance still in front of me, I was walking the hills and running conservatively. I made sure to thank all of the volunteers. I took some Gatorade at the aid stations along with Chomps and salt tabs. The aid stations were fantastic and were stocked! I got to the lake and took my shoes off, stuffing them up the back/bottom of my tri shorts. I chose to swim with my socks on since I figured it wouldn't cost me as much time as it would to put on/take off my socks several times. I would have liked to be faster on the first run leg, but I walked anything that was an uphill. I got to the lake feeling good and not feeling like I just ran 4.5 miles.

Segment 3: 1.1 mile swim - 30:43
The volunteers told me to keep close to the right bank of the lake. I had heard how amazingly beautiful the lake was and while the water was a perfect temperature and clean, it wasn't crystal clear. My stomach wasn't feeling great and I was second guessing the Chomps I ate right before getting in the water. I kept it at a moderate pace - not going easy, but not pushing it. My sighting was good and overall, I felt smooth in the water. Before I knew it, I was at the buoy to turn left and head toward shore. I chose to stay in the water and put my shoes on. Since there are elastic shoe laces, there's nothing to tie and I slipped them on easily. And kept dirt and rocks off my feet.

Segment 4: 6.1 mile run - 1:03:12
I grabbed some Gatorade and I took off running. The first part was flat along the lake and the view was so pretty. You could still see swimmers coming in and the sun was shining. It was such a perfect day. There was some uphills within the first 2 miles or so and I walked those. We were making our way up and I knew the last half of the run ended with some downhill. We ran under these cool rock overhangs/cliffs. The course would snake in and out and when you'd run out, you'd have these amazingly fantastic views of the valley that looked like it went forever. I remember someone saying the day before to enjoy the beauty of the course. I tried to take the views in when I could. I was running strong at this point and ticking off the miles...and was passing people. I kept up with nutrition and my stomach never gave me problems. The course advertised the run to be 5.5, but it ended up to be around 6.1. Made it to the lake and did my shoe transition prior to crossing the mat.

Segment 5: .5 mile swim - 15:41
The second swim has a rope that runs on the top of the water the length of the lake. For some reason, I found myself drifting a bit away from the rope and brought myself back to the easy sighting. The swim went quick since it was only 1/2 mile. Similar to the first swim, I felt good. Didn't kill myself, but kept a moderate effort. The end sighting was easy and I slid my shoes on in the water again.

Segment 6: 8 mile run - 1:20:39
I crossed the mat and heard Amy cheering for me as I climbed the rock stairs. She mentioned that I had a good chance of placing in my AG so I had some extra motivation and wind in my sail for the rest of the race. I came into the race to finish and have fun - and admit I sometimes set my bar low - but I'd be thrilled to place in my AG. I hadn't felt like I had run 10 miles already. The swims in between are a good way to break it up and felt great on my legs. The run here starts out with about 1.5 miles of steep downhill on curving pavement leaving the lake. It was tough. It was so steep, it took effort to stay in control. We hit the gravel trail and it was perfect. I was running through these beautiful woods and no one else was around. Every once in a while, I'd pass another athlete, but overall, the course is fairly empty which was nice. I grabbed salt, Chomps and Gatorade at the 3 aid stations along the way. There were some slight uphills which I tried not to walk. I kept remembering that running, regardless of how slow, is faster than walking. The course was a good mix on this leg. We'd have the trail with the forests along the side and vast overlooks stretching as far as you can see. We ran past climbers as they were scaling the rock walls that were over and near the path. It was neat to have them wish us luck or cheer us on. I felt so strong on this section and was probably averaging around 9:30/mile for the first ~6 miles. I just kept ticking off the miles. My piriformis was getting pretty cranky at this point, but I knew it wouldn't feel any better if I walked. I hit the final aid station around mile 6.5 and asked the volunteer if the rest was uphill. He asked if I wanted him to lie and I said no. And he said, yes...it's uphill and called Godzilla. I recalled Brad talking about the last few miles of this run being tough and kept waiting for it. And there it was. It was a steep uphill that looked like it went forever. And when it curved, it kept going up. I was basically hiking at this point, but was moving forward as fast as I could. I took the left turn into the woods and started running until I got to the mat. Again, I did the shoe transition on the run side of the mat.

Segment 7: .5 mile swim - 12:22
We had to climb over this log fence before making our way down the small hill to the lake. The buoys were big and we knew from the meeting the night before to keep the first two on our left and the other 4 on our right as they weren't in a straight line. I felt really good knowing I was almost done. I felt really strong and was passing people. Since there weren't a ton of women, I noticed I passed 1-2 in the water on the last leg. The only time I had any cramping in the water was the last stretch of the final swim. My left calf started to cramp up. I kept swimming and tried to get rid of it by flexing my foot. That helped the cramping, but not my swim speed any. Wasn't a huge issue on the swim though. The end of the swim was again easy to spot. Shoes on in the water and I climbed up the rocks and took off.

Segment 8: .7 miles - 7:19
I immediately heard someone yelling and I thought it was Amy. I turned around and saw Marna yelling and running towards me. What an awesome surprise! Marna, Earl and Jack drove to the race to surprise us! She yelled some words of encoragement and I kept moving up. The final leg is a tough climb/hike up a dirt/root path to the top where the tower and finish line is. I was breathing hard and going as fast as I could so no one would pass me. The finishers walking down kept yelling words of encoragement. I made the final turn, climbed the stairs and was immediately asked my name which was confusing. I answered and all of the kids there starteed yelling my name and running along side me on my way to the finish. I saw Brad, Sissy and Mitch along the side cheering and crossed the finish line with a huge smile. This is one of the most picturesque finishes. You have a 360* view that just goes forever. I found Brad, Sissy and Mitch and immediately said this was my most favorite race ever. Never have I ever done a race where I loved every minute. There is something very special about SOS and I know I will definitely be back.