Vineman 70.3 Race Report, July 14, 2013

Training block leading into this race was littered with stumbling blocks including, but not limited too; beach cruiser bike accident, sprained ankle and to top nasty little virus that left me keeled over a toilet violently throwing up the night before a long brick workout.  

This race has always been on the bucket list; years ago I participated in a rain drenching Napa Valley Marathon; Brian (The Other Cullen) and I knew we would be back for another race one day as nothing beats this endless beauty rain or shine.  The race is extremely well run, the expo had good vendors and the efficiency of picking up your packet was easy.  One disappointment was the swag was lacking, the shirt is good and finishing medal is cute, but could use a little more.

     I used Race Day Transport to ship my bike out to CA. The guys could not be nicer and more accommodating.  When I arrived, my back Zipp wheel was completely flat and in "non Maureen fashion" I just asked if they could fix it and calmly watched them futz with my bike to try and get to the bottom of the problem.  All fixed after a little bit a time and I was off.

     

Pre Race: The day before the race one cannot help to get excited about the course and the spectacular views.  Brian and I had a relaxing afternoon sitting out on a terrace tasting different wines looking out over the vineyards (in the shade of course).  We also did some re-con work; and I swam in the Russian river, plus an easy morning run through a vineyard and a quick bike check.  Early dinner and off to bed which is easy when you are still on East Coast time.

Race Morning:  From past experience and speaking with nutrition expert Brian Shea we decided to try an all liquid approach to my pre race fueling:  

Awoke 1 cup coffee

GU Brew with 1 scoop of Carbo Pro

Few gluten free pretzels to snack on.  

2 hours prior to the race I had my Mudd/Carbo Pro and a few generous squirts of EFS Gel Flask Mocha.

Sip GU Brew and Carbo Pro mix up to Race start and snack on some gluten free pretzels.

My swim wave was late, so I did not go off until 7:54. The race started at 6:30am for the pros, each of the waves were 6 minutes apart but since the Russian River is so narrow they are not able to send out huge numbers at anyone time.  FYI it is very chilly in the Russian River Valley in the early morning hours temperature at race start 48 degrees.

Swim:

Once the swim started I went out hard but not blasting it, I felt much better then what I had felt at Eagleman 70.3, 5 weeks earlier.  I did not have the stomach distress as in the previous race, only a little bit of burping.  The Russian River is very shallow and if swimming is not your thing this is the race for you as I swam buy I noticed some people standing along the banks of the river.  The turn around was crazy shallow and I had caught up with the people from the previous wave that were taking advantage of the shallow water and standing up and walking, this was frustrating as I was trying to swim and kept running into people standing.  It was so shallow at one point I myself stood up and tried to find some deeper water, I preceded with a few dolphin kicks to move through.  I was able to get past the shallow area and start swimming again.  When I came out of the swim I took a quick peak at my watch and I saw 31 minutes and change which I was thankful for, still not the swim I wanted (about a minute and half off) but knew that I should be in a decent position.  I  used a few fast transition tricks that fellow NJ Tri Devil Caitlin Dorgan shared (securing my goggles and cap in the arm of my wetsuit) and was off getting on my bike.

Bike: At the pre race meeting they mention a new WTC rule and that you are not allowed to start your bike with shoes clip in (not that clumsy me was planning on this).

As you exit transition you immediately go up a little hill.  I always start out a race in my little chain ring to spin my legs out a little, I was about 2 miles into the bike and figured there might be a few girls in my age group ahead so I decided to start and turn it on, immediately my chain drops, thank goodness this is something I have gotten used to with this bike and I was able to get it on within about 30 seconds or so. The course is very technical with a bunch of sharp turns (one that if you are not careful will land you in a pile of black berry bushes).   Not only was the course technically challenging but there was many small climbs and rolling hills. Which kept things interesting and exciting.  But unfortunately after I had to switch to my small chain ring for a little climb when I tried to go back into my big and hit the down hill hard once again chain drop #2.  At this point I figured who ever might be in front of me I was not going to be able to catch.  I tried to just focus on my race and get my fuel/nutrition in.  I switched to GU Roctane Grape Flavor and 1 scoop of Carbo Pro as my fluids and used a EFS Flask of Berry Flavor. The Russian River valley is cold in the morning, there is a thick fog that stays over the area with temperatures in the 40s during the morning.  But I wanted to make sure I did not fall behind on my fluids as it can get very hot on the run.

Approximately at mile 40 into the race I took a GU Roctane with Caffeine knowing the hardest climb was ahead of me up Chalk Hill (The Alexander Valley Region for my wine people).  I had at this point put two and two together with the chain dropping from my small to the big (I later found out it was a de-railer problem hence why the chain kept dropping off the outside) but was faced with do I try and climb in my big and take the chance of blowing my legs out or hope that the chain would not drop for a third time.  I made up the hill and on the decent I was cruising back down and ever so gently I tried to make the switch to the big and then bam #3 chain drop.  But at this point I am cruising down a hill at a good clip so I had to tuck down and try to keep my legs as steady as possible so that the chain did not get tangled or stuck causing me to have more problems trying to get it back on.  I was beyond frustrated when I had to pull over in an area I should of been accelerating, down a hill and watch the people I had passed going up the hill passing me.  I got the chain on and once again tried to get my head back into the race and this point figured that there was no way I was close to the top few people. At mile 50 or so I saw Brian and the first thing I yelled to him was about the chain, in my head I wanted him to know I was not dogging the bike but having some challenges.  But a VERY hard lesson was learned here as I did not hear him say I was actually in first place (since I was too busy talking).  As I came into transition I notice that there were really not many bikes rack so I figured I might be able to make top 5.

Run: Goal here was to go under 1:40 for the half marathon, my legs felt great as I started the run I can only contribute this to the rolling terrain on the bike. My nutrition was good I got in a lot of fluids on the bike and calories.  Through the first few aide stations I took some gatorade.  My pace was quick the first few miles and I was well under a 7 min mile pace, I was concerned I would not be able to hold it, so I try to settle into a pace around 7 mins/mile.  The race directors were not done with the hills and the run course had those rolling hills thrown at us once again.  The sun had burned off all the clouds and there was no shade on the run course, just rolling hills and miles of vineyards.  At about mile 6 I was passed buy another girl in my age group, who was cruising I had slowed to about a 7:15 mile pace at this point and she passed me at a good clip. I just stayed focus on trying to break the 1:40 half marathon having no clue that I had just loss the race.   Before the race my awesome husband said to me just win me a bottle of wine, so I had hoped I was still in the running for a bottle and they would go 5 deep.  Nutrition on the run after mile 4 I went to water and then coke, there was no ice on course so I just dump the water over my head to cool down and drank a few ounces of coke at each aide station.  At about mile 10 the girl who had passed me was close and at the aide station she heard me call out for coke, turned around saw me and to her credit took off.  This imagine will play in my mind over and over, as I could of had it.  I should not of taken the coke and tried to do a sneak attack from the outside and passed with dominance.   Brian walked up to mile 12 and once again I did not hear him. He said she was 15 seconds in front of me, but I did not hear the part that said 1st place was 15 seconds ahead I knew she was ahead I thought he was just telling me someone in my age group was 15 seconds ahead.

Summary:

Lesson Learned: Shut up Maureen and listen. You can tell Brian everything at the end of the race.   I ended up with 2nd place with a time of 4:50:40

Swim: 31:51

T1: 2:34

Bike: 2:40:54 (3 Chain drops, I am not bitter about this!)

T2: 2:16

Run: 1:33:05

The beauty surrounding me through out the 70.3 miles was amazing.

Everyone should have this race on their bucket list, by far the best venue (Outside of KONA of course I have ever raced at).

After years of racing hard and chasing down my dreams it was good to let the 70.3 champion slot go and reflect on why we do this. 

Here's to racing hard, smiling often, experiencing new adventures and having new motivation; 17 SECONDS!

NJ State Olympic Triathlon - Race Report

"Dust off the cob webs, hope you are sober enough to race and accept the large piece of humble pie!"

This is the best way for me to start off my first ever race report report I could think of.  This was essentially the thought that ran through my mind Saturday night and Sunday morning.  I am not a newbie to triathlons, but it has been just over 2 years since I competed in a triathlon.  Apparently spectating, reading numerous articles on the latest tri technology and training methods does not replace actually participating, as my body found out.  I am sure that spending a week in Wine Country (Sonoma, CA) drinking/eating and flying in Saturday morning was not the best way to prepare for Sunday, but it was not the culprit for my performance and bodies reaction.  I needed to prepare and train in all 3 disciplines much more than I had in the weeks leading in, so I need to only look in the mirror if I am not pleased with the outcome.
Race Morning:
     - Woke 4:30 (ugh that time change hurt!)
     - Nutrition:  This was not very scientific for me.  I essentially asked Maureen what she was doing and tried to basically mimic, so everything leading up to the start was liquids. (Coffee, Gatorade Endurance, Gu Brew Roctane and Carbo Pro).

Swim (29:05): This was my lightest trained discipline leading into the race, so my strategy was stay relaxed, make sure I maintain consistent breathing and if I come in under 30 minutes that would be OK.  Mission accomplished as I was never winded during the swim and finished under 30 minutes.

T1 (2:53):  Stomach cramps started kicking in after finishing the swim, but I think my slow trot into T1 was offset by utilizing Caitlin's transitions lessons.  My transition spot was very simple and clean with only the things needed for bike (helmet, socks and shades).  I had my shoes already clicked onto my pedals with rubber band,s as we were shown by Caitlin.  This helped a lot because my slow trot was much quicker than those running in their bike shoes.

Bike (57:53. 23.3 mph): Legs were not responding very well.  They just burned and hurt almost immediately. The language in my head became very loud, angry and would not be appropriate to put into written words.  Let's just leave as I was not happy with myself, body and my head was expressing it bluntly.  Got passed by 2 riders in 1st lap early. Towards the end of the first lap I started finding my rhythm, cadence and that noise in my head became more positive.  2nd loop.. Passing a lot of people, feeling good, than WHOOSH!!! I look up and watch Derek hammer past me.  He gives me his unique "thumbs-up" as he buzzed bye.  It was great to see a fellow Devil blasting the field and passing some many riders.  The normal reaction after he passed  a rider was they looked at their wheels (nope your wheels aren't flat), then check their computer (as their mind tries to do the math) and finally watching them shake their head (realizing that catching him was an impossibility). My good feeling took a bit of hit after getting the Derek fly-bye, but I started getting back into my own rhythm again.  I did wonder how I swam faster than Derek, but I'll let him explain. Moments later........ "On your left" I hear from a very soft FEMALE voice.  Oh Sh$t, I'm getting chicked! Sure enough, seconds later I get passed.  Finished the 2nd loop and prepared to dismount.  I tried my newly learned method of getting out of your shoes while riding towards T2.  This worked well when I practiced it, but after finishing the ride my legs were tired and started cramping as I was attempting to work my feet out.  After a bit of working I got them out, but I bailed on the running dismount as I was cramping and was not confident in my legs actually supporting my body dismounting in motion.  The thought of falling like a drunk and launching my bike into the spectators flashed through me head, so I decide to come to a complete stop and take my time dismounting.

T2 (1:14):  running shoes on. Started to leave with belt and visor in hand.  Good transition

Run (48:29):  This was not pretty.  As I left T2 the cramps in my right abdomen began to hit hard.  My original goal and plan was to run as hard as I could and try to hang on.  My idea of running hard is to push my body into anaerobic zone (heavy breathing, legs burning, etc...).  The sharp cramp pains however prevented me from taking my normal stride and I needed to modify it into a sort of quick shuffle.  I walked the water stations taking in fluids and pouring several cups over my body and hoped this would help the cramping.  Unfortunately it did not and continued through all 10K.  Again, that voice in my head became loud and angry, but this time the only salvation was the finish line.  "Every step makes the finish line closer and the quicker I can move my feet the sooner the pain stops".
Finish (2:19.33)

Parting thoughts:  Sunday turned out to be the best day for me.  I made promises to myself during the race, similar to a drunk leaning over a toilet does about never drinking again.  However my promises to myself were to get going with training, have fun and no excuses because you reap what you sow.
Brian - the Other Cullen

My First Triathlon

Before the NJ State Olympic distance Triathlon I had never competed in a swim, bike, or triathlon race.  I also sort of fell of the wagon with training and my last ride was about 1 month before the race.  When I ride my bike, I fall a lot (like almost every time I stop) and I'm scared of cars, so I just sort of found excuses to not go out for rides. I might have gone into this race, not fully realizing what I was about to step into.   I've run competitively for 18 years, I've run a marathon....how difficult could this be?   I found out the answer about 400 meters into my 1500 swim.  I felt like I couldn't breathe, and I was gasping for air with every stroke.  Even though I was working really hard, I felt like I was falling behind.  There were people all around me, feet in my face, and I didn't know where to go.  I felt like I had already gone SO FAR and I was only 400 meters in!!  I wanted to quit...but I don't quit.  I rationed with myself to ease up, relax, and to focus on your stroke.  I did that, and then I started to realize I was beginning to pass people, and I was no longer being passed, and I felt good.  I found my rythmn and I was ok. 

Swim:  28:31

When I got out of the water, still breathing so heavily, I couldn't believe I wasn't done with the race and that I still had to bike and run!  I was so tired from the swim, my breathing was heavy as I ran back to the transition area, but at least I was out of the water.  When I got to my rack, which was assigned according to age group, I realized that almost everyone else's bikes were still there.  That was good.  It meant my swim went well.   I got to my bike and ran back out.

T1: 2:31

 It took me a bit to mount my bike because I am slightly challenged with getting on and off my bike.  I need to practice that.   As I began my ride, the negative thoughts began to creep back in my mind.  "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"  I couldn't believe I was going to have to ride two 11 mile loops.  I was barely off the first road, and I felt so tired and thirsty.  I tried to grab my water bottle, but with every attempt, I felt like I was losing my balance was going to fall.  I wasn't going to be able to drink during the ride without falling, so I decided to wait.  So thirsty.  Just after I was thinking about how terrible it was, my teammate Caitlin rode by and had some encouraging words and said Good Job.  That helped.  Yeah, this is fun, this is a race, you have a team, you did a good job on the swim, RACE!  My mind got back in it and I started to pass people.  I kept having to remind myself not to relax too much.  I feel like on the bike, it can be tempting to just cruise.  It reminds me of the longer distance running races when you need to keep reminding yourself to run fast and not relax too much.  Then along came Maureen on her 2nd loop and she reminded me to pedal like I run.  That was really helpful!  I have fast turnover and I can use that.  Once I finished the first bike loop, I was excited and I think I really picked up the pace for my 2nd loop knowing that I was almost there.  One thing I could really work on with the bike is the turns.  I am really bad at the turns, I slow down and brake and am scared I am going to fall, probably because of my balance issue, and I sincerely apologize to anyone who was unlucky enough to be behind me on any turns.   As I came down the last straightaway for the bike I was SO EXCITED, until I remembered that I was going to have to stop.  The last couple times I ended my ride, I fell, clipped in, and it really hurts.   As I approached the dismount area, with a look of fear on my face, I said "I am going to fall.  I always fall!"  Great, now I had an audience, and everyone could watch me fall.....but miraculously I didn't fall.  That was a small victory for me. 

Bike: 1:04:19 (21 mph)

Now it was time to go to transition for the run!  My favorite part.  BUT I WAS SO THIRSTY, since I still hadn't had anything to drink since about an hour before the race.  When I arrived at transition, I decided to use some of my time to hydrate.  I probably spent a lot of extra time drinking my gatorade.  I really need to learn to grab my water bottle while moving on the bike.

T2:  1:38

 I started to run.  Wow, it really hurt.  I am a runner.  This is supposed to be the fun part.  I felt like I was shuffling along and jogging.  I was getting chills and goosebumps, which are the first signs of heat exhaustion.  I felt like I couldn't take a deep breathe.  I've never been as good at racing in the heat, but I know that if I am struggling I can ease up my pace and make it through.  I had brief thoughts of giving up, just as I did in both the beginning of the swim and bike, but I felt like I had a good swim and bike.  I can't give up on my best event!  Even if I eased up, I knew it would still be faster than most of the other competitors.  Despite feeling like I was going to die, I kept passing people, and nobody passed me.  At the first water stop, I thought water might help, but when I tried to chug while running I starting choking on it.  As the chills and goosebumps grew worse, I knew I needed fluids.  At the following water stops, I stopped running and drank.  The only other time I can remember feeling this bad in a race is when I ran in the women's pro start of the 2004 NYC Marathon, went out way too fast and died the last 10 miles.  I went into that race unprepared, undertrained, and ignorant to what I was about to put my body through.   Similar to today!  This 10k run felt like the last 6 miles of a poorly paced marathon.  PAIN!  But I was passing people!  I usually pick it up the second half of a 10k, but that wasn't going to happen.  This wasn't the usual 10k race.  Normally, I have a kick ass kick the last 1/2 mile, but that wasn't happening today either.  With 200 meters to go, I knew I could finally give it my all, and I sprinted it in.  I have never been so proud of myself for finishing a race. 

Run: 40:10  (6:29 pace)- I felt slow, but I must have been running a lot faster than I realized.  Miraculously, I somehow ran the fastest female time of the the day!

Total Time: 2:17:09 and 3rd in my age group.

Afterthoughts:  As of 8PM after the race, I am shuffling around like an 80 year old woman.  Muscles I didn't know I even had are sore.  My knee hurts, my body aches, I have at least 7 blisters on my feet (why did I think not wearing socks was a brilliant idea?).  I can't wait to do it again.

RACE REPORT: NJRC Long Branch Ocean Mile Swim

Today, July 13…

Neptune was mad, very mad today.  Showing-up at the parking lot in Pier Village, I knew I would have a battle on my hands… I kept my GO-camera on so this harrowing story could be told with pictures…

 

Given most elite swimmers had difficulties at the start in what felt like a washing machine (that’s Brian Shea in the pic below), I was relieved after passing the first buoy and thought the trouble was behind me...

With the extremely strong current taking the few remaining swimmers (only the tough NJ Tri Devils remaining) being pulled into the gulf stream, I came upon a cruise ship that was capsized…

Yes, it was the infamous Poseidon Adventure.. After pulling Earnest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, and Red Buttons to safety (I left Gene Hackman under water), I was off to the third buoy.  I thought my troubles were over when I saw him..  yes, Jaws was after a fellow Tri-Devil! 

 

I rode the infamous Jaws under water with THREE barrels in tow. 

After having a few beers with Capt. Quint, I stuffed a fire extinguisher in Jaws’ mouth and was back on my way..

Headed back into shore and my heroics were rewarded when I came upon a mermaid named Madison…

Another great day at the Jersey Shore…

Eagleman 70.3 Race Report 2013

Eagleman 70.3; June 9, 2013
This was my second trip to Cambridge Maryland; I like this race because it is an easy drive from NJ and it is flat and fast like our terrain here at the shore. Due to the popularity of this event and the flat hot course I learned a few things from 2012 that I took into this year’s race. The host hotel, The Hyatt Regency in Cambridge was a wonderful place to stay with my family.

Night Before the race:

Last meal was finished by 7:30pm, as my swim wave was set to go off at 7:50am the next morning and my general rule is to have this complete 12 hours prior to start.

Dinner: Grill Chicken/veggies and some French fries plus 2 scoops of Ice Cream. My stomach was already going south on me the night before the race. This could be due to the antibiotics I had to start 3 days prior or something else all together.


Race Day: Awoke 4:30am

Small cup of coffee/attempted to eat a peanut butter/choc chip Bonk Breaker, however could not get it down, so switch to P&J Bonk Breaker not much better but was able to get most down before 5am. Sipped a bike bottle of GUBrew. Woke up the family, packed up my things and headed to T1/start.

5:45 am drank my bottle of 2 scoops Carbo Pro/2 scoops Mudd and a big squeeze of EFS Mocha Gel Flask, as this is always easy to get down and lots of cal/energy.

I then sipped two 24 ounce bottles of Gatorade Endurance (which was on course) and a scoop of Carbo Pro leading up the start since I do not do well with solids, but I am able to get the liquids down before a race. Ate some gluten free pretzels to settle my stomach down.

1.2 Mile Swim:

I have been working hard on my swim and really trying to focus on getting out with the lead pack and staying on their wave/draft. Apparently this did not happen on Sunday. I thought I was out there with the lead group since I saw open water in front of me, but must of just been off course or imagining things as this was not the case. During the swim I had some stomach issues and numerous times kept burping/throwing up in the water. The swim often feels long, but I think the currents must have shifted and my head was not in the swim 100% causing me to fall behind and not even notice the shift in currents. When I should of dug harder and concentrated more on proper stroke technique, so as not to fall too far behind, I lost focus and time. Swim time 35:51 UGH!

56 Mile Bike:

Bike Nutrition: 3 scoops of Gatorade Endurance and 2 scoops of Carbo Pro (total calories in each bike bottle was 440) I had two 24-ounce bike bottles with this same mix; Plus 2 GUs during the bike portion of the race, which took me 2:27 according to race clock.

Since Eagleman is a very flat course and crowded there often is pack riding as I saw last year (which can be frustrating). This year I was smarter about my bike and instead of avoiding the packs I decided to legally situate myself 4 bike lengths off the bike in front of me. A good measure I used is the distance between the white dotted lines on a road. There have been studies done that show even up to 12 bike lengths there is still a benefit. I was able to pace myself and stay mentally in the race. It is easy to check out when you are out there on your own, but with lots of people around you and working hard to stay 4-5 bike lengths off the wheel in front of you the time goes by quickly. The reality is on a crowded flat bike course if you do not race smart you will be left behind. According to my Garmin I was able to maintain a good power wattage (214 Normalized power avg.), which would explain why towards the end of the bike I pretty much fell off due to pushing so hard and legs fatiguing.   Garmin Computer Report

My hard effort on the bike and the lack of being able to grab the water bottles through 3 aide stations (I should of slowed down more) started to take a toll. I started to decline as I think my hydration volume was too low for the effort/time on the bike combined with the heat. My calorie intake was high enough possibly too high, but I needed to consume more volume of liquids.

Next time I plan on making sure I can grab the water and add it to my TorHans Aero 30. Bike time 2:27.

Run 13.1 miles:
The last 8 miles of the bike were awful, my left leg was killing me and I was finding it hard to turn the crank. I was not sure how I would be able to get off and run with out my leg seizing up on me. As I dismounted the bike I had the usual soreness in my hip flexors, but my left thigh felt as if I had been punch in the leg numerous times. I normally at this point in the race love to get off my bike and start running. Not this time! The first half of the run I was very concerned and fearful that my leg would seize up on me. Finally after I was able to take in some nutrition, throw some ice down my pants to bring my body temperature down I was able to put in more of an effort on the run. At mile 7 I switched to cola. Honestly I would have gone sooner had it been offer to me at the earlier aide stations. I love the boost cola gives me on the run. It is pure heaven. In the end I was 2 minutes off the run time I was shooting for, but my left leg pretty much killed me the entire 13 miles, so I was still pleased to go 1:41.

New Equipment that Work well:
As always special thanks to Brian Shea of PBN and Melanie Fink of Ironfit Training for all there advice and support.

My gorgeous perfectly fitted Cannondale Slice (Thanks to RETUL session), I cannot thank the guys at ThePeddler Bike shop in Long Branch enough for getting my bike race ready.

Pearl Izumi Tri Pro Racing Kit, this is the same fabric that our awesome NJ Tri Devils kits will be. The kit was awesome, felt great the whole day, and never rode up on me during the run or bike. I topped my all Pearl Izumi kit off with their new tri racing shoe Project Emotion which felt light weight, easy to get on and look really cool!

G2T ParaTriathlon Camp & Race Report from a Handler

Background
The NJ TriDevils are a TriTeam in the New Jersey shore area and are expanding our current roster of able-bodied athletes and trying to recruit paratriathletes to join the team. www.njtridevils.com. As part of our networking efforts, we were invited to join the Getting2Tri Foundation’s annual National Paratriathlon Training Camp.

The camp is an intensive 3-day event for all classes of physically challenged athletes. The camp is sanctioned by USA Triathlon and was held in Charlotte, NC and surrounding recreational areas from June 7- June 9. The camp's curriculum is designed for the beginner who is looking to start a training program or for experienced paratriathletes who wish to further their development. G2T also welcomes those interested in learning more about programs for athletes with disabilities and triathlon, including coaches, trainers, and volunteers. www.getting2tri.org.

Camp
After a 600-mile drive from NJ down to Charlotte, NC, I was warmly welcomed by Mike Lenhart and a bunch of the early arrivers. Nothing could have made me happier than pizza and beer, both of which were thrust into my hands before I could even park my car.

A busy day 1 included indoor swim training with amputee and wheelchair coaches Deanna and Dobe, respectively. Then we split into ambulatory and wheelchair groups. The wheelers went to handcycle class and the ambulatory folks went to bike fitting with Lee Childers, who is an awesome asset to the camp. Transition clinics followed. Dobe had some great advice, and I felt bad about asking so many questions for fear of hijacking the session and making it into one about how to be a handler. After that, the ambulatory did running workouts while the wheelers went to the track with their racing chairs. After a quick shower back at the hotel, we had a wonderful BBQ dinner hosted by the Junior League of Charlotte.

Day 2 started off at Lake Norman for an open water swim.



While most of the athletes and volunteers were heading straight out from the beach toward the yellow race buoy far off in the distance, my new friend John was a bit worried about his stamina, and wanted to stay closer to the shore. Since the only swim I know is slow and steady, that’s what we worked on. After a few hundred yards, he mastered regular breathing and learned not to go full sprint all the time. Slowing down his stroke got him all the way along the shoreline without stopping. Thanks to Thomas’ tips, we also worked on a recovery stroke for when you are out of breath: just roll onto your back, backstroke slowly, watch the clouds go by, and recover. After a few long practice laps, John declared that he wasn’t wrapping up the day without making it out to the yellow buoy. So off we went. Much to my surprise, fellow athletes Thomas, David, Mario and their handlers joined us for one more lap to cheer John on as he swam across the lake.

Every thrill seeker knows that asking forgiveness is better than asking permission. With this in mind, John swam off anther 100 yards to the giant inflatable water slide. As we got there and I looked back, there wasn’t a camper, coach or volunteer that wasn’t in our wake and headed toward the slide. It turned out to be a highlight of the day for everyone. Memorable quotes were “Sure, we have permission”…“I bounced like a skipped stone” … and “Quadriplegics gone wild.” Even if it’s on the schedule for future camps, it will be hard to recreate the electricity of this spontaneous half-hour.

After lunch and classes on bike and handcycle maintenance, the ambulatory group went back to the rec center for another run and mobility clinic hosted by the brutal Lindsey Justice while the wheelies worked on racing chair technique and speed. After the heat of the afternoon and the intensity of the workouts, the afternoon ice cream social was well deserved.

Triathlon
Sunday was a beautiful day for a race. Even though John felt he could do the race all on his own, his wife, Blondie, wanted a handler to be with him mostly to make herself more comfortable, so I volunteered. Since John wanted to finish the race without his crutches, and the transition area was a bit far from the pool, we decided to set up a mini transition area poolside where his leg, towel, shoes and stuff would be waiting. Dobe’s advice on what accommodations a race director would make for paratriathletes was really helpful. We then went to the official transition area to set up our bikes and helmet where we had our first race day glitch...John’s front tire was flat and the gun was going off in 5 minutes.

Not many PhDs, university professors, or ex pro cyclists would change a flat for someone else. Lee Childers is all three, and fixed up John’s bike with a smile while we got set-up poolside. Thanks Lee!

Swim

The pool was so warm that wetsuits weren’t legal, but John cut a dashing figure in his tri shorts and NYC Tri top. Never having worn lycra before, John was pleased at the Spanx-like effect. So was Blondie. Second race day glitch, I forgot to charge my Tri watch, so we couldn’t keep track of John’s time or spits. I'm so dumb. I've made this mistake more than once, but it's worse when someone else's time is on the line.

After a super fast first couple of laps, John realized that the loss of buoyancy and speed from the wetsuit made the pool swim harder than what we were doing yesterday. A little help from the recovery stroke settled him down. He finished strong and was the second swimmer out of the pool. Great job, John.

Out of the pool on his own, across the deck to T1a with my shoulder to lean on, then on with his leg. If I thought there was a lot of gear for triathletes, the extra stuff needed for paratri makes transition into a sport of its own.

Then off to the official T1 where we run into our third race day glitch…I had forgotten to set up my own transition area. No helmet. No bike shoes. And I had lent my bike seat to Mario. Uggh. Lee to the rescue again installing another seat in the nick of time. And thanks to Brad for cluing me in to the rules; failure to observe any USAT rule by either the racer or the handler would have DQ’d John. So while John got himself sorted out and Dr. Lee went back to mechanic duty, I sprinted to my car to retrieve my helmet.

Lesson learned. I can’t do a good job of being a handler for John if I’m spending my time taking care of my own problems. A rookie mistake cost us a long T1 time.

Bike

John’s first time on a bike since his accident was not even 24 hours ago, but off we went in his usual style – all out. A quick lesson on shifting got our speed on the downhills to nearly 25mph. There was a long incline back to the rec center that had us both huffing and puffing. Then we made “Richard’s Turn” only to find that the hill continued. Uggh again. Once at the top, it was around the rec center and out for a second loop. Knowing the course and the gears, John rode the bike hard and killed it on the second loop. It was great fun to see runners, bikers, handcyclists, and racing chairs all on the course at the same time.




Even though we were averaging 15-16mph, Mario, the Army Special Forces vet, blew past us like we were standing still. Must have been the seat.

Run
T2 was uneventful and super quick. Drop the bike and go. Not having a racing leg was a bit of a speed disadvantage for John, but we went off at a good pace and kept it steady the entire time. John, never at a loss for words, gave me a full lesson on prosthetic leg mechanics as we made our way out to the turnaround and back.



This is where the wheelchair racers came into their own, David and Jess whipping past us at light speed.

Around the last bend was the finish line, which was set up with jamming music, finish line banners, photographers, and a full cheering squad. With my rookie mistake, we don’t know John’s time, but one thing we do know is he set a Personal Record. And he inspired me and everyone else at the G2T camp with his performance, outlook, and smile. I have crossed lots of finish lines since I started my athletic endeavors, but this is one I will never forget.



Final Thoughts

Here are some of the big things I learned:

• Every athlete’s abilities are different, and so is their desire for assistance. As a handler, be sure to ask what they want you to do. It’s better to be direct and sure, than not know what to do. Thomas is fully capable of doing everything himself, but his race time is much better if he can save the energy of taking off the wetsuit by using his handlers. Other racers would rather do it themselves. It’s our job to ask and know.
• Be sure to take care of your own needs in advance. I was prepared to go in the pool with John, but didn’t need to. And I totally failed at prepping for the bike leg. My mistakes cost John time.
• Every athlete has a different outlook on talking about his or her disability. If you get to know them just a bit, you’ll figure it out. John was happy to jump right into the details about his accident and recovery, and was pretty funny telling us his stories. Other people weren’t too interested in talking about it, and let me know with response of just a few words. That’s totally cool, too. I learned not to be afraid to ask, though.
•  It’s better to come out and volunteer than to sit home and wonder if you should have! This weekend was a wonderful experience for me, and I’ll never forget the training, the inspiration, and the new friends.

 

Over the weekend, John was interviewed by the Charlotte news and was quoted about his accident: “It can make you better or it can make you bitter.” I didn’t know John before the accident, so I can’t be sure if he is better, but one thing is plain for all to see, he is not bitter. And I am the better for getting to know him. Same goes for David, Thomas, Jess, Francesca, Eileen, Deanna, Dobe, Brad, and Mario. And for Mike Lenhart who is inspiring himself in organizing G2T and this camp.

Woodstock Triathlon Festival (Half iron and Olympic distance) - Bethel, NY - May 4, 2013

Not much other to say than Holy Hills. This course gets straight 10's when it comes to being aesthetically pleasing and vertically challenging:  A cool crisp lake swim, about 2100 feet of climbing during the 56 mile bike (this included plenty of woods, waterfalls, and roads sans traffic), and a run course that offered some lighter hills…with the exception of that rather unkind one Doug snuck in at the end of the run loops.
Packet pick-up, located at T1 the night before, was pretty simple. It made life much easier since they offered night before bike drop off (with guards, of course) especially considering this was a point to point race.  It’s just once thing less to worry about morning of with regard to time spent setting up and planning where you needed to be and at what time to use the provided shuttles from T2 to the start.

Race morning we still had to hustle.  While Job Johns were plentiful at T2, the last shuttle bus showed up late to take us remaining folks to the start.  We had a few short minutes to work our way into our wetsuits and I may have had a 30 second warm-up in the water – not exactly ideal when the water temp was mid 50’s at best.  Thankfully, the lake water was nowhere as cold as I had been anticipating from the surface temp reads during the preceding weeks.  We had a single swim wave for the long course participants since there were only ~35 of us (29 finished).  The swim went very well – I pulled off a 36:25 swim split that I was both surprised by and pleased with (maybe I can chalk up part of that to the full wetsuit that I borrowed from Maureen).  Either way, the heated changing tent provided by Split Second Racing was awesome.  It was warm and provided a great place to change so that we could get onto the bike partially dry.  The only downfall for me is that the wonderful comfort it offered pushed my T1 time just over 5 minutes….oops!

Group from the pre-ride.

Getting on the bike I was chilly but generally comfortable due to being pretty dry.  I had loaded my water bottles with a Perpetuem and carb mix, and had some shot blocks, a Honey Stinger waffle, and some cookies (with a little protein in them) in my rear jacket pocket.  Since I had come up to pre-ride the course a few weeks prior, I knew what kind of hills to expect and went at the course with a bit of caution (well sort-of…that was the intention at least). At the end of the 1^st loop I was having shooting pains through my stomach and I am pretty sure that my body was rejecting the amount of Perpetuem I had put in my bottles.  I was very thankful for the water bottle hand off where I took plain water.  My only gripe with the water bottle was that it was a bottle similar to what you would buy in a convenience store and it was too small for my cage.  I had to keep catching from falling out a few times when I took a funny bump or turn.  During, the second lap I backed off a little on the hills and skipped the cookies with protein to let my stomach settle going into the run.  Overall, the bike was pretty lonely with the exception of a female I had passed early on during my ride, or the few men that had caught me as I went into the 2^nd loop.  I managed a 3:25:35 bike split that I was relative happy with (plus I had achieved my goal of “relieving myself” on my bike – TMI, I know, but I am still pretty proud of it).

Post race & the finishers medal.

Coming in off the bike, I was greeted by the fellow I had started dating and who had volunteered to work the bike dismount area.  I’m sure I looked and smelled great...NOT.  My legs were jello and I may or may not have let an obscenity fly when describing the bike course.  T2 lasted just over a minute but it felt like forever.  As soon as I got out on the run course I realized that as long as I could keep it together and put in a decent run I could break 6 hours, which was my goal for the day…or for the year I guess.  The run course was also nice – some shaded roads and a great view of the Woodstock Amphitheater…not to mention some quad crushing down hills and obviously the up hills to compliment them.  I will admit the run was tough, mostly because it followed that dang bike course, but very much do-able.  Aid on the run was water and water only.  I had prepared well and brought my own carb sources, but if I hadn’t I would have been in trouble, as were some fellow racers who had expected the advertised Gatorade and bananas.  (Hopefully this support was only missing due to over consumption by the Olympic distance race group, but it was something I still found disappointing for this race distance.) With minimal cramping and an evenly paced run in 1:48:25, I finished as the 3^rd female (of 7 that finished) in 5:56:52.  Whoop whoop!  3 minutes to spare until my goal time.   

Overall, for an inaugural race I think it was decently done and I enjoyed the challenge the Catskill Mountains had to offer.  For anyone considering racing Timberman in mid-August, I would highly recommend this early season race if you have the time to be prepared for the ride (or the balls to risk a potentially very cold swim).  On paper, this course displays similar elevation gain to that of Timberman and can be a great (cheap-ish) practice race as part of training for other tough courses such as IM Lake Placid.