Peasantman "Steel" Experience

This weekend I completed the Peasantman "Steel" distance triathlon.  The "steel" reference is based on a slightly longer distance than the traditional IM distance.  I did the 1/2 distance, 72.3 miles.  This is my 2nd 1/2 IM distance, first one this year.

Let me start by saying that I love this area of our country.  The New York Finger Lakes Region is absolutely beautiful.  The lakes are clean, cool, and deep and the surrounding areas are mostly rolling hills (I'll come back to this), farms, and small towns and cities.  The race took place in the Town of Penn Yan, NY, in the center of New York's wine region.

At the start we had a nice misty rain and calm waters.  The swim part of the race was uneventful other than to say that the mostly upstate New York crew can swim.  I don't fancy myself a great swimmer, but usually I'll find myself in the top 1/3 of a swim and this time I was likely more towards the middle.

Next, of course, was the bike .... and the hills.  Biking is my least favorite part of the triathlon and where I do the least training.  It showed in the results.  The bike was two 29 mile loops and between the wind from the North, which covered about 19 miles of the loop and the rolling hills, this bike was unlike my rides to Sandy Hook and rides to Asbury Park.  I was shocked at how many times I looked at my computer and saw mph's of 8,9,10,11.  As a result I averaged 17.5 mph, which was not my goal.  On the positive side, the ride was beautiful.  This area has a very large population of Mennonites (think Amish).  These wonderfully nice people get around in horse and buggys .... and bikes.  I was happy that their Church was in the opposite direction I was heading so I didn't get passed on one of the hills by a group of Mennonites.  I did pass a few horse and buggys, which made for a few great pictures.

My run was solid.  My goal was to run around 1:40-1:45.  I ran 1:43.  I was really happy with this outcome.  I ran a consistent pace, except for the 7:15 13th mile.  Perhaps I could have run a bit harder throughout, but at the time it didn't feel that way.

I highly recommend this race, it is worth the trip and the area is a great destination for a long weekend visiting wineries and enjoying all that the area has to offer.

By the way, I was 16th and 2nd in my age group, although it was a relatively small group that started.    The official results are not in, but I think the full had 12-15 people and the 1/2 had 65-70. They had a few relays and an Olympic distance as well.