"Cedar Point Full Rev Race Report"

This past weekend was the most successful triathlon experience I have had to date.  The weather, venue, family, support, and race turned out better than I could have expected.

This was my first Rev3 race and my first full distance triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run).  Just to clear-up any confusion, for the non-triathletes, Rev3 calls their full distance triathlon a FullRev.  Ironman calls their full distance triathlon an Ironman.  Thanks to the Rev3 organization for conducting such a well-organized and enjoyable event.  Cedar Point/Sandusky is a great place to have a race.  There is so much for spectators to do.

On Saturday, as I prepared for Sunday's race, the family (Laura, Luke, Mom & Dad, Emily, Kevin, Tyler, Aidan, Katie, Rylen, and Reese) went to Cedar Point.  Everyone said it was really fun and that there was so much to do.  I was disappointed not to be with them, but so happy they had a good time.

Mommy & Luke riding the Teacups.

Luke and Tyler racing around the track.

My parents and Reese chillin' at Cedar Point.

Tyler and Rylen hangin' with Snoopy.

Hotel Breakers is a nice beachside resort with a very friendly and helpful staff.  The location to Cedar Point as well as the race can't be beat.  Transition was just a short walk down the beach, and the swim start was directly outside the hotel.  On race morning, I, like most athletes staying at Hotel Breakers, setup my stuff at transition and returned to my hotel room to await the start of the race.  This gave me a few extra minutes to change Luke's diaper and get him dressed.  Yep, I'm not kidding.  How many athletes can say the last thing they did before the start of a full distance triathlon was change their 16 month old son's diaper and get him dressed?  But seriously, it helped me stay calm as the race approached.  Most of the family watched the swim from our hotel room balcony.  It was the best seat in the house.

Mom and Me heading down to the swim start.

My mom at the swim start with me in the background.

Dressed for success

"My First Ironman"

The Swim
Swimming 2.4 miles became routine during training for my first full distance triathlon.  These were the long, boring swim workouts in which you usually lost count of your distance at some point.

Mass start

Sunday's mass start (everyone in the water at the same time) for 2.4 miles was a new experience.  I told my parents, "I'm just going for a nice long swim."  Once started, I found a fairly clear path just inside the directional buoys and settled into a smooth consistent pace.  The water was cool and the sun rose behind a mountain of billowing clouds.  I was having a nice long swim.  The end of the first loop brought us back into the shallow water close to shore where we started.  Everyone stood and walked for several hundred meters.  This gave me a chance to look around and see my place in the pack.  As I thought, I was in the front half of the group and having a good swim by my standards.  The pack of 355 athletes had spread out, which made navigating a little easier.  But, Lake Erie had awoken, and the water was much more choppy.  I did my best to stay smooth and consistent.

As I rounded the final turn toward the swim exit, I knew I had put myself in contention with the other amateur athletes.  Although my swim time wouldn't stack-up against the top swimmers, I knew there was a 112 mile bike ride to make-up lots of time.  As I exited the water, I passed my screaming family.  What a great feeling to have them there supporting me.  My overall swim time was 1:15:10 and 60th place overall.  I'll take it.

The Bike
T1 went smoothly as I prepared for the 112 mile bike ride.  However, about a quarter-mile into the ride, my excitement got the best of me.  I veered a little too far right and ended-up in someone's front yard bunny hopping crevices and roadside debris.  After stopping to retrieve my water bottle, I said to myself in a chuckle, "Ok, relax.  Let's start this over again."  I got back on the horse and eased into a 90 rpm cadence that quickly increased my speed to about 24 mph.  Gotta love flat bike courses. :)

I knew it was a long ride (not to mention the marathon that followed) so I focused on taking in plenty of fluids and gels.  I wasn't interested in racing anyone at this point, but rather taking care of the business of staying comfortable, hydrated, and fed.  The volunteers at the aid stations were fantastic as they handed out gatorade and powerbar gels.  The volunteers encouraged us as we passed through with cheers, cow bells, blow horns, and shakers.  Before I knew it, I was at the 56 mile mark.  I recall passing a timing mat and looking down at my watch to see what everyone following online would be seeing.  I was happily surprised to see I was right around 2:30.  Happy might be an understatement.  I was shocked at how well I was riding.  Not to overstate it, but I couldn't believe how quickly the first 56 miles had passed, and I couldn't believe how great my legs felt.  I thought back to my many half-ironman races and how hard the 56 mile bike ride had been.  I guess the training was paying off.  I knew that, if I was able to go 2:30 on the second 56 miles, I would be right around 5 hrs.  That would be exceeding the 5:15 I had planned for.  Somewhere between miles 60 and 70, the bike course for the FullRev met-up with the bike course for the HalfRev.  This was a pleasant distraction as I had been riding alone for quite some time.  I enjoyed seeing the other competitors and took comfort knowing we shared the determination of conquering the day's challenges.

By mile 90 I was getting quite uncomfortable.  I unclipped my pedals from time-to-time and shook-out my legs.  I made frequent adjustments on my bike seat in order to manage the inevitable discomfort in that region.  I checked my watch for reassurance that I would be off my bike soon.  At that moment, I discovered new motivation.  I was on pace to break 5 hrs. on the bike.  I decided this was a goal I wanted to achieve.  I wasn't willing to sacrifice the rest of my race, but I was willing to deal with the discomfort of staying in the aero position and continuing to ride at the pace I had set to that point.  I wanted to be able to look at my online results and see a bike split that started with a 4.

My final 25.4 mile pace was almost as fast as my first 22.5 miles, and I pulled into T2 with a bike time of 4:55:32 (fastest amateur and faster than six pros).  Mission accomplished!  Well, at least two-thirds of it. :)

The Run
"Ok, this is exactly why you signed-up.  You wanted this challenge.  Just run the first mile and we'll see where we're at."  These were the words I spoke to myself as I enter the parking lot on my bike.  I didn't let myself think about the fact the marathon I had to run.  I needed to approach it in much smaller, less daunting distances.

After racking my bike and changing into my run gear, I swallowed a gulp of gatorade and stuffed half a banana into my mouth before easing into a steady jog.  At the first mile-marker, I checked my watch.  8:14.  Well, that was a little slower than the 8:00 pace I was aiming for, but it was only the first mile.  At that moment, I heard the voice of a fellow competitor coming up behind me.  He mentioned Ballou Skies .  He had obviously noticed the uniform I wear for the best Tri Team around.  No, seriously.  Check out my teammates results.  We're setting PR's all over the country and continuing to raise awareness for the fight against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  If you don't know about it, you better check it out.  The voice belonged to Kris Kocan from Meadville, PA.  We talked for a minute about Jason Jacobs, who also races for Ballou Skies and won the HalfRev on Sunday.  Our short conversation was a nice distraction, and I decided to let Kris pace me for as long as I could hang on.  I ran with Kris for about four miles at 7:35 pace and felt good.  I started telling myself it was just a long weekend run on legs that were tired from a hard training week.  This strategy worked because for the first 13.1 mile loop, I felt like I was on a victory lap.  Sure my legs were tired, but I've been in more pain at the half-iron distance.  Well, my victory lap was about to come to an end.

After the first mile of the second loop, I could feel my pace slowing and the pain building in my legs.  At this point, Matthew McDonough from Chicago ran up beside me.  I made a decision to run with him and let him pace me since Kris had fallen back.  Even though my legs did not want to go that fast, I made up my mind that's how it was going to be.  I'm sure Matt knew exactly what I was doing.  The toughest part of staying with him was catching-up to him after the aid stations.  He chose to run and drink, while I chose to walk and drink.  I wanted to make sure I was still getting fluids and calories in me not on me.  At about mile 18, Matt surprisingly veered off to go to the bathroom.  I thought this was a good sign as he might be hurting as much or more than I was.  However, without Matt to set the pace, I slowed and over the next few miles, Matt was able to catch and pass me for good.  My legs were hurting and I was doing everything I could to put one foot in front of the other.  With about 6.2 miles to go, my focus was on finishing the race.  My pace had slowed to over 9 minutes and now Travis Early from Fairport, NY was passing me with about 4 miles to go.  I needed something to rejuvenate me.

A few minutes later, I noticed Travis stop up ahead.  He was cramping!  He stopped and was doing everything he could to massage his legs.  I don't mean to find joy in another man's struggles, but it reaffirmed that others were hurting as bad as I, or even worse.  I checked my watch to assess the situation further (pretty much you're looking at your watch all day).  9:41 and 4 miles to go.  "If I can go sub 9-minute miles from here on in, I could break 10 hrs!"  This became my motivation.  Travis had cramped and I'm hunting a sub 10 hr ironman.  I dug deep and pulled out an 8:45 and an 8:54 mile.  I ran through the remaining aid stations without stopping or grabbing anything to drink or eat simply because I couldn't bear stopping and starting again.  My legs were screaming with each step.  The next time I stopped would be at the finish line.

Em cheering me on down the finishing shoot.

Mom cheering me on.

As I was funnelled into the finishing shoot, my sister, Emily was screaming up ahead.  I passed my mom as she shouted and finally came around the corner to see Laura and Luke.  I had told Laura I wanted to finish with Luke so she handed him off and the celebration began.

Me and Luke, Laura, Uncle Kevin, and Tyler

Well, not #1 buddy, but maybe next time.

High-Five!

Final Results
If you've seen the final results on-line, you might be asking the same question I'd be asking.  How could he finish just one second behind the 4th place finisher?  Well...

You see, when Laura handed me Luke, my legs were hurting so badly that I walked the final 30-40 feet because I didn't want to drop Luke in the event of cramping.  I didn't realize Travis Early, who had cramped earlier, was making a final dash to pass me.  After crossing the finish line, he apologized and said, "I'm sorry, but I had to."  Well, it's all good because I got some spectacular memories and photos of finishing my first full distance triathlon with my son.  And, each of you can determine for yourself whether you would have done what Travis did.  But, my dad did happen to catch the moment on camera.  And Travis, "I'm sorry, but I had to."

4th & 5th place finishers.

Thanks to all my family and friends for their support!

"Columbus Race Report"

Last weekend I participated in the Giant Eagle Multisport Festival in Columbus, OH for the first time.  The event was well run.  The course was fast.  The competition was fierce.  However, the best part of the entire weekend was my fan club.  My sister and her family live in Columbus and were gracious enough to host the entire family for the weekend.  We had a lot of fun.  Anytime the family can come to a race and cheer me on, it makes the entire event more special.


Triathlon's greatest fan club!

The Swim
The race started in Alum Creek Lake, north of downtown Columbus.  I chose to race in the elite amateur division, as I continue to challenge myself against the best competition I can.  I knew my swim wouldn't compare to many of the other elites, but what I lack in the swim I always hope to make up for on the bike.

Ready...Set...

GO!!!

The swim was two laps and was close to the shore so spectators got a great look at the entire swim.  As the swim progressed, I saw the elite field swim away from me, but I kept my composure and exited the water with a swim time of 24:49.  Although it was one of the slower times in the elite division, it was a PR so I can't complain. :)

Sunrise on a beautiful Columbus morning

To the bikes!

The Bike
The bike course was a point-to-point course starting at Alum Creek State Park and finishing in downtown Columbus.  The first half of the course consisted of rolling hills.  It was fast, but definitely got the heart rate up.  My goal was to hammer the bike the hole way so I did my best Bradley Wiggins impression (Tour de France and Olympic Time Trial Champion).  I finished with the second fastest bike split in the elite division at 56:48 (this time included my transition time in T1).

The Run
As I started the run, I knew I was in the thick of things.  I had a good transition and left T2 with the same guys I was tracking on the bike.  I quickly settled in to a steady pace that would eventually jockey be back and forth between two of my competitors.  The run course was a scenic route on the paved river trail along the Olentangy River in downtown Columbus.  With a couple of very scenic views of Columbus from river level, it was a bit easier to loose yourself in the run instead of getting bogged down in the high tempo of the run.  As I came down Neil road and heard my dad cheering me on in the distance, I knew I was close.  I lengthened and strengthened my stride to cross the finish line with a run time of 38:44 and an overall time of 2:01:32.

Overall, the entire weekend couldn't haven't been any better.  Congratulations to fellow Pittsburgher Chris Nocera for his 1st place finish and to fellow Ballou Skies teammates Beth Shutt and Jason Jacobs on solid performances.

Beth and Me

Jason and Me

"Eagleman 2012 Race Report"

As I mentioned previously, there was some unfinished business with the Eagleman race course this year as I returned to Cambridge, MD for the third time to Eagleman 70.3.  In 2010, Eagleman was my first half-ironman distance triathlon.  Consequently, it presented many first time physical challenges.  I finished, "the most difficult physical challenge I've ever had," with a time of 5:26 on a blistering hot day.  As Eagleman 2011 approached, armed with the experience of another year of training and racing, I had some very bold goals, but settled for a disappointing finishing time of 5:02 exclamated by a humbling 42 minute swim. 

This year I entered Eagleman with a lot of quiet confidence.  I have worked very hard on my swimming throughout the winter and was hopeful to start Eagleman 2012 off with a number that started with a 3 (meaning a swim time in the 30's).  After that the plan would be to ride strong but conservatively and then finish with a strong run.


Mom, Dad, and Me on Saturday preping for Sunday's race

"The Swim"
Race morning was upon us and I was poised to have a good swim.  It didn't hurt that the swim was wetsuit legal with a water temp of 75 degrees. :)  My swim wave was quite crowded including everyone in my age group as well as the clydesdales (anyone over 200 lbs).  The starting horn sounded and we were off!!!  I quickly found a comfortable pace that was right in the mix.  In fact, there were a couple times, I picked up my head to find a sliver of open water to sneak through the crowd, but found there was no where to go.  So I cashed in on the rare opportunity to save some energy and draft off the crowd in front of me.  As we made the first turn in the Choptank River, the crowd had dispersed and I focused on staying smooth and strong on each stroke.  I knew I was swimming well, but how well?  I told myself that no matter what time was on my watch when I exited the water, I would stick to my race plan.  As we made the second turn, I caught a glimpse of the blow-up arches that are the swim finish off in the distance.  While continuing to swim within myself, I pushed a little harder and quickly found myself standing at the shore line.  As I ran through the arches, I looked at my watch...what?  32?  Let me take my goggles off.  Wait, they're already off.  Let me blink a couple times.  Ok, I'm not blind.  YES!!!!!!!!!  It was a swim split of 32:40 to be exact.  Finally, I was able to produce a good swim time!



Me & Mom



Me & Dad



Talking with Matt Crummy as we prepare to enter the water


"The Bike"
I was so excited about my swim, it almost didn't matter what happened on the bike and run.  I knew I would finish with decent splits in both of those.  I was playing with house money!  But hey, let's make those winnings a little bigger.  Just as I settled into the 56 mile ride, I saw my life flash before my eyes.  Or atleast a Chevy pick-up.  As I approached an intersection where the course made a blind right-hand turn, the posted police officer waved a stopped vehicle on, as if to say the path was clear of bikers, and he could proceed through the intersection.  Of course, the officer was mistaken and I came face to face with the Chevy pick-up.  I squeezed my brakes to avoid rounding the turn too wide and was able to keep my balance as my back wheel skidded across the road.  "Whew, that could have been bad," I thought to myself.  "Don't wanna' waste that good swim."  I glance over my bike, while still riding, and found that I had lost a water bottle and my seat readjusted to a slightly lower position.  "Oh well," I thought.  "I can deal with this."

The rest of the ride was quite uneventful.  I was passed by 3 or 4 riders in the first half of the course.  This usually motivates me to hammer the bike even harder, but I stayed focused on my race plan and ended up passing a couple of these riders in the second half of the course as they became fatigued.  I pulled into T2 with a bike split of 2:23, about a 3 minute improvement from last year.

"The Run"
I entered the run feeling good about the position my swim and bike splits had put me in.  I wanted to have a strong run so I focused on staying hydrated and cool at each fueling station.  I was keeping about a 7:15 pace through the first few miles, but could feel the pace slowing as the miles went by.  As usual, there was little refuge from the sun.  Once you leave the partially shaded residential area around the park, you are left to bake in the sun for the next 10 miles.  I tried to embrace this by thinking of Superman.  Yes, Superman.  Any superhero fan knows that Superman gets his powers from the sun. :)  Well, there was plenty of it on the run course.  When I hit the turnaround at the halfway point, I knew I wanted to pick-up the pace.  I continued to focus on getting good hydration at each station, but also tried to quicken my pace.  As I neared the 11 mile mark, I realized there was an outside chance of breaking 4:40.  I had to go for it.  I red-lined it for the final 2.1 miles blowing right through the final fueling station.  I'm sure my rhythmic grunting was pretty embarrassing, but I didn't care.  My legs were tired of the pounding they had taken, but there was no feeling of cramping or dehydration.  Under the circumstances, I felt really good.  I passed a few familiar uniforms of competitors that had gotten the best of me during the bike and/or the first half of the run and ended up crossing the finish line in 4:41:09, 21st place in my age group.

Starting the 13.1 mile run

Finishing!

Eagleman 2012 was a 21 minute improvement from last year.  It matched my personal best half-ironman time from last year's Amica 70.3 Rhode Island, and I finally posted a good swim time.  Of course there is room for improvement.  After looking at the race results, there were many athletes that swam and rode like I did, but were still able to run much faster.  That's all the motivation I need.  I'll build upon a great race to get better. 

Congratulations to all my Ballou Skies teammates and other Pittsburghers that conquered Eagleman!  A special congratulations to Joe Vallese who had the fastest bike split (2:07) and finished 15th overall with a time of 4:11.  It must have been that good night's sleep. :)

"Columbia Race Report"

The 2012 Columbia Triathlon was a great kick-off to my season.  Hats-off once again to the people at Tricolumbia who put on a wonderful weekend of triathlon.  For me, this weekend was a chance to put all the winter training to the test on one of the most challenging Olympic courses in the country.  Furthermore, it was my official race debut as a member of the Ballou Skies Triathlon Team.

Saturday morning started early as I left my house at 4:26 to start the drive down to Columbia.  I was looking forward to meeting up with Chad and a few others to ride the bike course.  Driving before sunrise is the best!  First, NO TRAFFIC.  Second, it's cool.  Not hip or popular, but temperature cool.  Third, by the time the sun rises, it's like your trip has just started and its that much shorter.  I'm sure some people would disagree with me on this, but that's how I see it. :)  I arrived at Centennial Park about 8:30 and met up with Chad, Brandon, Eric, and Darren (who was doing his very first triathlon).  Chad and I ended up riding for a little over 2 hrs.  I was happy to get a longer pre-race ride because most of my rides this spring have been on the trainer due to a busy track coaching schedule (riding on the trainer is efficient and can be done in the dark at 4 am).  We followed the ride up with lunch at Noodles & Co.  I got the chance to formally congratulate Chad and Jen on their first pregnancy.  I felt very useful as I answered their questions with my abundance of parenting experience (almost 13 months and counting).  I know the challenges of finding the time and energy to fulfill work, family, and triathlon responsibilities.  I know Chad and Jen will be great parents.  My best advice to them was, "change them, feed them, and love them and you're doing a good job."  After lunch it was race registration, drop the bike off at transition and check-in to the hotel for an afternoon nap. zzzzzzzzzzzz... :)

Race Morning:
Of course I awoke 10 minutes before my alarm went off.  I swear alarm clocks (or alarms on your phone if you're like me) are overrated.  All you really need is a young child (Luke) or a dog (Porter) and you're body will know exactly when to wake up each morning.  The morning race preparations went according to plan and it's always nice to walk to transition with Beth and Oscar.  Since I was racing in the elite amateur division, I didn't have to wait long start racing.



Eric, pull up your wetsuit for goodness sake!

 Swim:
As many of you know, the swim is usually my weakest of the three disciplines.  It was no different on this day.  However, I'm going to blame it more on a tactical error than a poor performance.  I have worked hard over the winter to improve my swimming, but I know I cannot keep up with the better swimmers, especially in the elite division.  Well, I tried to...  After just a couple minutes, I found my self on the verge of hyper-ventilating and had to revert to the breast stroke for several minutes until I could catch my breath and find a rythm I was more accostumed to swimming.  I'm sure I cost myself several minutes, but did feel good once I found my rythm.  Believe it or not, I swam slightly faster than last year.  Perhaps the winter swim workouts have paid off!


Elite Division entering the water for the swim start.

 Bike:
I love the bike leg of a triathlon!  Especially at Columbia, with all the hills.  It plays to my strength and power on the bike.  I rode most the way by myself this year since the elite division starts earlier, you don't have to contend with all the other age groups before you.  It's the other elite athletes and the pros.  So if you're catching someone on the bike, you are moving.  I passed several of the female elites, but didn't manage to pass any males.  This didn't bother me.  It was my own little time-trial.  I finished the bike with a split of 1:05:38.  A rate of 23.3 mph.  I'll take it!

Run:
The Columbia run course is tough!  Lots of hills.  It is a nice course through Centennial Park and the nearby residential area, but there really is no flats for any relief.  Again, I ran the course alone.  No one up ahead and no one behind.  I tried to stay as comfortable as possible on the uphills and as relaxed and smooth as possible on the downhills.  When it was all said and done, I finished about two minutes faster than last year with a split of 40:54 (6:36 pace).  I am very pleased with this considering the challenging course.

The Columbia Triathlon has once again kicked off the triathlon season.  Overall, it was an enjoyable race that provided a lot of feedback for what's next.  It is an Olympic distance that served as a good reminder of how physically hard it is to go fast and the training that is necessary to keep up with the elite amateurs in the field.  Next up is Eagleman and some unfinished business with that course.  More about that later...