Nautica New York City Triathlon, Race Report #4

The Nautica NYC marked the beginning of my 2008 triathlon race season. The event, an Olympic distance triathlon (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run), was a pretty lightweight challenge given my Ironman training and was a good chance to just go all out and see how I could do. From the moment I got out of the water, I had planned to go as hard as possible and, in the end, this seemed like a pretty successful strategy.

My only beef these days with Olympic triathlons is that they're pretty short for the amount of preparation involved. Having not raced anything but road races since my Half Ironman last October, I had completely forgotten what goes into a race weekend. On Saturday, I spent an hour checking in at the official race hotel and then took it easy for the afternoon. Later that evening, I hauled over to the west end of Manhattan to get my bike checked in and prep my transition area.

By the time I arrived home from all of this, it was 9PM and I still hadn't started getting my nutrition and swim and run equipment ready. It took about two hours to get everything ready (since I hadn't done real race prep in so long) and by 11 I was finally ready for bed.
I managed to squeeze in 5 hours of sleep and then got up so I could eat a little and get down to the race site. Although my wave didn't leave until 7am, the race started quite early and the transition area was closing at 5:45.

Unfortunately, when I went downstairs, I found that a massive party had gone down and a bunch of drunk people had moved all my nicely prepared gear in every direction. After 30 minutes of scrambling to find my heartrate monitor, shoes, wetsuit, etc. I was finally out the door. I greeted the local corner drug dealer and hopped in a cab headed down to the west side.
The transition area buzzed even though it was only 5am. I took my time doing final preparations on my bike and running gear and laying things out nicely. At 5:30, I met up with other guys on my team; we all Body-Glided up, grabbed our wetsuits and made the 1 mile trek uptown to the swim start.

The race consisted of swimming about a mile down the Hudson River, hitting transition, biking north on an out-and-back 40 km bike course, transitioning again and then making the final haul--a 10km run--into and around Central Park.

The swim went quite well, although currents weren't nearly as favourable as expected. I tried to do some drafting but the group broke up a fair amount and this was tough. Adding to the difficulty was avoiding the many jellyfish--only got stung 4 times-- and navigating around the physically challenged wave. (As an aside, hats off to these champions. Everything from the legally blind to people with various amputations, these guys really made you realize what can be accomplished with hard work and dedication.)

I finished the swim in about 22 minutes, jump up on the make-shift pier and gunned it to transition. I wasn't really sure how far back I was but I suspected that my swim had been pretty weak (I've neglected this leg far too much this year). As I ran towards transition (which was more than 500m away), I passed a bunch of guys. This was all in keeping with my plan to go as hard as possible and not worry about blowing up.

Out on the bike, I blew past a bunch of people in my age category in the first 20 minutes. Then, I just started picking off people from the swim waves that had left 30 minutes before me. My legs were screaming, especially on the hills, but I settled into a decent pace and felt reasonably good out on the bike. The aero helmet and Zipp 404s really added to my confidence and, in the end, I think I took down about 400 people on the ride.

Getting back into transition, I was worried about my legs. I hadn't done much short course preparation this year and was pretty sure that a hard ride was going to kill me on the run. But, in the end, the legs were pretty good. I made it out of transition, worked my way up the first hill and then picked up my pace as I headed for the Park.

Things didn't start to really hurt until about mile 4 of the run and, at this point, I was so close to the end that I just sucked it up. There was a brief moment of in-the-mouth-vomitting but other than that, things went pretty well. Passed a good number of people on the run and gunned it at the end. Crossing the finish line, I had no feeling for how I'd done in my age category, but given that I nearly fell over a few steps after finishing, I knew that I had given it my best. I was also quite happy with my 2:25:29 as it was a personal record.

A day later, I checked online and found out that I had come 3rd for U25 men and had qualified for the age group national championships out in Dallas. Now, I'm just debating if I can race those post-Ironman. More to come on that front.

And now for a few pictures from the race...

On the way out on the bike, drinking from my aero bottle.

Downhill coming back around kilometre 21.

Drinking from the aero bottle.

Goldman Sachs Tech Cup and JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge, Race Reports #2 and #3

These are long overdue, but I figured that they were worth getting down.

GS Tech Cup: This Spring I competed in the "Goldman Tech Cup" for the second time--this race was formerly the "GS Unofficial Corporate Challenge" but we wanted to add a little bit of prestige to it this time round. The race is organized by managing directors in Technology who basically all want to vie for having the fittest employees. Each of the six teams had five runners, one of whom had to be a woman and one of whom had to be the MD. The race course was a 4.2 mi loop of Central Park.

We had won the race last year--a good thing since our MD is extremely competitive and made it clear that it was going to be a bad time if we didn't clean up. This year, we were aiming to take a second win. Oh, and beyond bragging rights, winners get the chance to drink for free!

The teams were definitely much more stacked this year. When we rolled into the Park the evening of the race, we were shocked by how strong the competition looked.

My boss, John, and I had decided that this year we were going to try for 1st and 2nd. We had taken 2nd and 3rd the year before and were looking to improve. Our strategy was simple: run as fast as possible and try not to blow up.

When the gun went off, the front runners bolted. I was wearing my SBR team kit and figured that I needed to stick out front for a bit to at least justify the way I was dressed. (Note: most people we wearing standard t-shirts and shorts.) I took the lead around 300 yards in and lead the front pack through the 1st mile marker. By the end of mile 1.5, the pack had narrowed to 4 runners. Although sticking in 2nd or 3rd place for the first half of a run is probably a better place to be than out front, I figured my best bet was to lead the group and try to control pacing. This worked pretty well and by 2.5 miles in, there were just three of us left out front. At the 3rd mile marker, I started to break down. The two guys I had been leading pulled ahead by about 100 yards over the course of the next minute. At this point, I didn't have any real kick left and I was forced to resign myself to sticking in 3rd (with the hope that one of them would blow up before the end).

I crossed the finish line pretty torn up. The humidity had been awful and I was decently happy with my 6:06 / mile pace. John came 5th with a solid finish considering how little training he's been able to do this year.

Once everyone finished, we all migrated to the bar. After an hour of drinks / suspense, it was announced that we had won again. Nothing could trump the smirk on my MD's face as he walked around and (sort of) congratulated the competition. The night concluded with many more beers than it should have and my boss playing wingman. All in all, a good race!

Some pictures:

My MD, Damian, stretching alongside the competition.

The startline. I'm obscured in the second row in my yellow and black SBR singlet.

The announcement that we won. Damian's immediately pumps his fist into the air!

The winner's circle.

And the second annual champagne Tech cup chug!

JPMorgan Chase Corporate Challenge: This was a race that should not have mattered. Only 3.5 miles and awfully big crowds. But, I had gone in March and made a bet with a friend that a) he could not break 24:30 on the course and b) he couldn't beat me. There was a significant amount of money riding on this run and so, when I showed up feverish and sick from some bad training-related heatstroke, I was reluctantly forced to take things seriously.

I got to the race really early so I could queue up in the elite coral. This was a good decision since there were some 17,000 runners in the race. The humidity was awful and storms were brewing. As I stood around waiting for the start, all I could think about was how sick I felt and how little I wanted to run. Oh well!

When the gun went off, I kicked out of the start as fast as possible. I was across the startline in 3 seconds and proceeded to gun it through the first three hills of the course. The rain had started and slippery conditions made it difficult to really light up on the downhills.

All my training has been for long-course so I'm not really used to the pain of a "short" run. This caused some issues around mile 2 when I started to feel the lactic acid build up and my legs slow down. I tried to pace myself but really couldn't and just ended up throwing as much as I could into the run without blowing up.

I ended up finishing in 22:36, about 1.5 minutes off of my desired time. I crossed the finish right next to another guy from Goldman and we both agreed that conditions had really slowed us up.
The silver lining was that my fever subsided that night, I came 3rd in all of Goldman Sachs and my buddy (failing to break 24:30) owes me some drinks at the bar.

Hanging with the greats

It has been 2 months since my last post has gone up. Training has been going really well save for one week of pretty bad, sun-induced illness. Lots to talk about... Will try to get a few updates posted in the next few days to cover my bases. Well, possibly one of the coolest things to happen in the last few weeks was SBR Tri Team's special event in Central Park with the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). The event consisted of a short run of 5 or 6 miles lead by none other than Dave Scott (6-time World Ironman Champion) and Scott Tinley (2-time World Ironman Champion)... We are talking the best of the best! The event was designed to give people the chance to meet Dave and Scott and to promote the CAF's work.

Scott Tinley

Dave Scott

The CAF is group responsible for promoting athleticism in physically-challenge athletes... And they certainly do not mess around. Among the athletes at the event, for example, was a young swimmer--both of his legs removed beneat-the-knee--who is competing at the ParaOlympics in Beijing for fly and IM. Also in attendance was a remarkable young lady--the first woman with an above-the-knee amputation to complete the Ironman. Absolutely remarkable!

Anyway, the evening was great and really sparked an interest for me in the Foundation. I am now thinking of trying to do some work with the group. Oh, and the run was definitely amazing. Dave and Scott are just the friendliest guys and to spend a short jog with two of the best triathletes in history was incredible. Haha, and along the run whom did we pass? Lance Armstrong, who was out for a short run himself. Only in New York....

And the perfect way not to recover from Saturday's race

... is crowd surfing for 3 hours on Sunday.

'nuf said:

Brooklyn Half Marathon -- Race Report #1

This past Saturday I officially fired up my 2008 race season and ran the Brooklyn Half. I had originally hoped to do the Ocean Drive Marathon back at the end of March, but that plan was nixed when I managed to really mess up my IT band in mid-January. Since hurting myself, I've spent a bunch of time in the pool and on the bike. I know that the break has definitely taken a toll on my running but I have decided this is the year to be smart and take the long-term approach to racing; With my big races later on in the year, recovery is way more important than maintaining fitness and risking further injury. Anyway, with my leg finally recovered, I decided that it was time to test the engine a bit and get a race under my belt.

As a preface, I'll begin by saying that the Half didn't really go all that well. Nonetheless, I took a lot of lessons away from it and, in that regard, I think that it was a decent race.

As usual, I introduced a little pre-race stress by not registering ahead of time and then cutting my timing really close on race day. I always seem to have a pre-race plan but more often than not I find a way to throw it to the wind... Well, on Saturday I woke up at 6:30. Registration was open from 7:30 until 8:30 and I figured 2 hours was more than enough time to make it to Brooklyn. Of course, the subway wasn't as fast as I had expected and I ended up having to run a decent clip when I reached Coney Island to make it to the registration tent. Oh well, call it a warm-up. Lesson #1: sign up ahead of time.

After registering, I headed to queue up in the second corral. The race was relatively small -- 5000 runners I've been told -- so I could actually see the front of the pack before we took off. There were a few pre-gun comments from the organizers and then we were off. My plan had been to take the run pretty easy and just get a feel for my race fitness at this point in the year. Having gotten a lot of course-specific tips from my SBR buddies and a very detailed race strategy from Lidia, I figured I'd run 7:15s or 7:30s for the first 9 miles and then pick it up once we hit Prospect Park. My legs were pretty juiced from 3 hard weeks of periodization and I could always pick up the pace later. I even decided not to wear a watch so I wouldn't be tempted to gun it.

Lesson #2: Not wearing a watch does not prevent you from gunning it. When we took off I found myself moving a little faster than I had expected... Probably about 7:05s. At the first turn-around I caught a glimpse of a my friend who ran Cross Country for Princeton. I remember thinking, "Hmm, I'm only about 300 m back from her, maybe I'm going a little too quickly." Well, needless to say I wasn't running 7:05s. When I hit mile 4, the clock read 27:45. "Uh oh!" Now, back in my day, I have run 1:30 halfs but I knew my running fitness post-injury just wasn't there and this was probably a little fast for me. "Oh well," I figured... My legs were a little tired from my training but my heart rate didn't seem too high... "Maybe I can hold this... maybe I'll even hit 1:30." Well, by mile 8, things starting falling apart and all I could think about was how I hadn't even hit the hills yet.

Anyway, the race got bad quickly. And the worst part was that I basicaly spent the last 6 miles just flipping out on myself in my head. "Why aren't you running as well as you used to?! Why did you take the opening so fast... everyone said to pick it up at the end and you've just done the opposite?! Why isn't my gel sitting as well as normal?! How does this possibly seem harder than the half at the end of a 70.3?!" (Lesson #3: gels go down much better when you plodding along during a slow run at the end of a tri than when racing a half.)

Once we got into the park I just tried to hold the hills together as well as possible, but I really couldn't get my focus back. At some point, Hillary passed me and gave me a little encouragement which picked me up for a mile or so. Then I ended up just trying to hold on. And of course, as a newcomer to the City and having never run Prospect Park, I had no idea that the race was basically some rolling hills for the last 4 miles. Great...

I hit mile 12 and was really slowing down. At some point, a cyclist passed me and yelled out something like "let's hurry up SBR." It was the kick that I needed. Pulled it together for the last mile and gave a pseudo-decent kick at the end.

I ended up finishing in 1:42. Oh, and then I walked the 0.5 mile to the train shivering because I didn't bring a warm-down jacket... Lesson #4: check a bag with warm stuff.

So, I guess the morning was pretty disappointing. In the end, it was even the time that got to me but that the race just felt so bad. I'm doing my first Ironman this year and to have such a bad half marathon was big wake-up call.

The upside of the race was that I then went home and put down about 70 miles on the bike. The legs were cooked at the beginning but I found a good rhythm by the time I was headed back to the City along 9W. Also, my nutrition went nicely on the bike and I had no problems with the gels/bars at all. By the time I got home, I had a smile on my face and was at least proud that I got out and had a nice ride.

So, I think the take-away from Saturday is that a) my running has definitely suffered from my injury and I'll have to put in more time there but b) my riding is coming along nicely. And, I have a good amount of time until the IM so I'll definitely have a chance to get a lot more racing (road races and tris) under my belt and build up that confidence.

Thanks to Hillary and the unidentified cyclist for race day encouragement and to everyone who gave me pre-race advice... I promise I'll listen better next time!

First update in a while

So my friends have been running out of things to make fun of me for and have asked that I get back to blogging so they can pick up steam. Anyway, here's a quick update on my training and how things are progressing.

My ITB really killed running for the last 8 weeks. Having said that, with a combination of stretching and homebrewed physio, it's feeling pretty good and I'm starting to build up mileage again. On Monday, I put down my first 7+ miler in 8 weeks and everything felt great. Even better, with all the riding and swimming I've been doing, I didn't notice that much deconditioning. Ran 6:45/mile and that felt fine.

While I've kept the running mileage to a minimum, I've been riding a tonne. I joined a local triathlon team (SBR Multisports) a few months back and have been putting in a lot of time on the bike with those guys. I've adopted their training system that is heavily based on periodization and it has really helped improve my fitness level. I build up mileage and duration over 3 weeks and then take a low-volume rest week. The 4-week process continues up until about 2 months before my Ironman at which point I start to work primarily on intensity.

Training highlights over the past few weeks have been long 5-hour rides in and aroudn Nyack, NY. I've been trying to get these workouts out of the way early on Saturday mornings to reduce the impact on my weekend. That said, it has been draining a lot of my energy and I've needed a lot more sleep -- in the words of one of my friends, "this Ironman shit has to go... it's seriously affecting fun." Oh well.

My race schedule is pretty finalized at this point, with my A race being the Chesapeakeman and my B race being the Lake Placid Marathon and the NJ State Triathlon. C races include the two corporate challenges and a possible sprint in upstate New York.

Not much other news. Getting pumped to pick up my P2C this month and little bit of other gear. Oh, and for anyone who is interested, my buddy's new bamboo bike business is really taking off and is definitely worth checking out.