Xterra Trail Race at Hickory Run State Park

I spent this weekend in the Poconos, and at the last moment I noticed there's an Xterra race next to where we're staying. Since Xterra is quite a famous organization, I couldn't miss this. So on Saturday, June 4th, we went to the Hickory Run State Park for this seemingly tough race.


I was expecting to see a big crowd to identify the starting place, but there were just a handful of cars and a few dozen people there. Almost everyone seemed to be some hardcore, ultra-running mountain expert. And there I was, the "city boy", used to running roads and very rarely on trails (at the Jersey Shore, so not really mountain trails). They didn't even have bib numbers for us, just some sticky tags to put on the shirts. We were warned about the difficult sections, about black bears and rattle snakes, about injuries, etc. We were also counted (45 runners), just to make sure everybody comes back alive. The race was advertised as 10k+, actually 6.5mi on the website, but the RD said it's probably more like 6.8...

Anyway, we started through a campsite, then down a paved road, then into the woods, and to a stream, just we had to cross on big boulders (though most locals took the easy way through the water). And then up for about a mile, and a narrow single track through thick brush. Hard to pass, although I did pass someone (not without some elbow contact, sorry...). There were people on my heels all the time, but I think I'm pretty good at defending my position on open roads, so there's no way I'd let anyone through on singletrack. At one point I hear a loud thud and groaning behind... I look back and saw a girl went down. So I'm thinking... 1 down, 44 to go. The worst part was the mud section, maybe a quarter mile of hopping to avoid to wet slush. Here I lost contact with the people ahead (but the guys behind refused to pass me, saying they prefer to follow my line). Eventually, I caught up with the people ahead, who were walking. It's because we were at a section with fallen trees that we had to carefully climb over.


Finally, at the top of the hill we found a wide grass road and here the race opened up. I passed a few people, and I was passed, but at least everybody got a rhythm. It all ended with a steep climb, almost straight up. Normally, I'd walk up such a hill, but since the two girls ahead were "running", I pretended to run too. And from there, we started a steep descent on rocks. Yes, if there's anything worse than a steep ascent, it's a steep rocky descent. One of the two girls dropped back, so it was just me, with a muscular older girl and an orange-shirted guy. They were right in front of me, but I started losing ground, since the terrain was way too rough. My feet started slipping, and my ankles were hurting like hell. I was afraid I'd fall at every step, and soon, every step became very painful. At the bottom of the hill, there was a section just with rocks, with no trail in sight (but with a volunteer to direct us). From there it continued with many roots and rocks, but at least I wasn't losing ground any more to the 2 runners in front.

I remember hiking in this park, and it was a hard trail even for hiking, so running was quite hard for me. We were again on singletrack through thick fern. The orange guy tumbled, rolled over, and continued running with no problems. Minutes later, I hear a loud groan and an avalanche of cussing words. I looked around me, but there was absolutely noone behind (and I had a good view now). I was right at a huge fallen tree, so I had to go around through the ferns to find a place to cross it, and as soon as I went over I saw the muscular woman getting up. She sprained her ankle and said she'll try to walk it out. So as we hit around the mid-point at some railroad tracks, I was all alone. Noone behind, and almost noone in front. Well, I could see an orange spot through the trees from time to time. The trail was just a bit easier now as I was going up past a trout stream. At times I'd hear sounds or voices around, but must've been animals, or maybe hikers.

You might think I was struggling with this course, but even as I'm not a big fan of trail races, I was really loving this event! The change in landscape, difficulty, challenges, they were suddenly appealing to me. I loved every moment of it. And the best part of the course was just starting now: About a mile on a comfy wide path through rhododendron tunnels. Huge plants arched over the trail, creating an awesome effect. From time to time, the trail would sink down, to a rocky stream crossing, where the rhododendrons were so thick it looked like a green cave. I was enjoying this so much that I had the feeling I was cutting into the orange guy's lead. And when we hit the big climb on a grass road, for the final mile of the race, he was right ahead of me. Actually he was reeling in the yellow guy, one of the tough dudes who I noticed at the start, believing he's the coolest person in the race. Warming up, stretching, sprinting, grunting like a pro. This final climb was a relentless ascent, with very steep portions. Orange guy passed the yellow one, and with a strong push I passed the "expert" myself.


Too bad my GPS was losing signal for most of the course, so I had no idea how much I had left. But I kept climbing quite strongly, with only a few steps of walking breaks on the steepest sections. Then the path flattened out a bit, and I decided to save some energy for a final spring to pass the orange runner, but all of a sudden the big stream from the start was on our left, and with a few leaps on the rocks, that was the finish line!




Anyway, it was an awesome race. I did 1:02, so there's no way this course was 6.8mi... maybe the 6.5mi advertised on the website. And even as I thought I raced very well, I only ranked 33 out of 45 (probably my worst ever percentile ranking), but still had a blast.

Hazlet and Eatontown, two 5K's, same results

The off-season is over! Like I said before, I'd been in "vacation" made, waiting for the stork to come, and planning to go back to racing once the baby agrees to it. Colin was born on Aug 19th, and everything was good. After a few days, I was working out again, and since the baby didn't mind it at all, I decided to do my first race as a father on Aug 28th.

During my break, I thought it would be a good idea that the few, shorter workouts that I was still doing should have a purpose, so I found my heart rate monitor and started using it again. Actually, I never did any serious HR training. I'd use it sporadically, and actually haven't worn it this year at all. So my HR targets were very vague, and based on measurements taken more than a year ago (RHR at 48, MHR at 192).

As soon as I started using the HRM I realized I wasn't working out anywhere close to where I should be. All my training runs were way too slow. At least that explained my lack of improvement in sprint races. I had a few decent 5K's in the spring (mid 30's, with a season's best of 22:21), but then I hit a big slump, over the summer finishing all my races close to 24 minutes.

And since I still didn't know how my heart works in a race (never in my racing years have I used the HRM in a race!), I decided to wear it for the first time at the Hazlet 5K. This was a first-time event, right in my neighborhood, starting at the nice Hazlet Swim & Tennis Club, and going up and down the busy Main St which was completely closed to traffic! Racing conditions were perfect.. lower 60's, no wind, no humidity. It was a great turnout for a first-time race, 245 people! And after they gave me the race number, I noticed there were timing mats at the start and finish. But where's my chip?? Well... it was attached on the inside of the bib number! First time I see this technology, so no more need to strap it to the ankle, or on the shoelaces.


So the plan was to go as hard as I can, and try not to look at my watch to check out the HR, so I'd race like usual. Then, at home, I'd download the data and analyze it. I was more excited about my experiment than by the race itself, and I really didn't care about my pace or finish time.



My splits followed the usual pattern. I fast 1st mile (cause by running way too fast from the start) - 6:53, a slowing 2nd mile - 7:28, hanging on for the 3rd - 7:32, and an all-out spring on the final .1 - 6:05 pace. Finish time was 22:38, which is my fastest since early April! Still far from where I'd like to be, but at least I'm back in the game! I was very satisfied with this. I finished 27 out of 245, 7/20 in the age group.



Now getting to the HRM data, I stayed around 175 in the first half mile (although that's where I was sprinting hard), then went up to 180 for the next mile or so. The rest of the race was in the 181-184 range, even as my pace was slightly decreasing. The big surprise for me is that at the end, it spiked up to an unbelievable 196! This is way over what I had calculated as my MHR. And it's not a glitch from the Garmin, since it gradually rose to that value. The first thing I thought is that I'm not as old as I thought I am (based on the basic 220-age formula, this makes me 24 years old).

Five Romanian runners in this race!

The following weekend, on the Labor Day Monday, I did another short race, the Eatontown 5K. My first time here, and was pleasantly surprised with the organization. The race was hosted at the Sheraton, and they put out a nice spread, with fruits, bagels, coffee and more. At least after the race we could sit down on the patio and have a normal breakfast, all included in the $25 race fee. They also had tons of raffle prizes, some nice ones like $50 gift cards to local stores and restaurants. I didn't win anything, although the drawing ceremony took almost 45 minutes after the race and it seemed like everyone else was winning!

Now back to the race... It was a very chilly morning, but by the time the race started (a late start, at 9:30) it was getting sunny and much warmer. Still very good race conditions. The roads were familiar to me since I used to work right there on the course. The middle section through neighborhoods was very nice and quiet, a very enjoyable race.

And at the end I got the EXACT same time as last week: 22:38! So at least I'm very consistent now. My mile splits were also a bit more consistent: 7:05, 7:14, 7:31 with 6:06 over the last .1. Same decreasing pattern, but I'm happy to see them stay together. If I wouldn't drop so much over the last mile, I'd be even happier. I finished 20th out of 189, 5/12 in my age group.

The two races got me confident that my speed is back on track, and if I work on it I might see more improvements this fall.

Belmar Duathlon for Autism

This Sunday was the 2nd annual Tri/Du for Autism in Belmar. I liked a lot the inaugural race last year, so I went back this year. The course is along the beach in Belmar, Lake Como and a bit of Spring Lake, and it is completely closed to traffic (because otherwise the beach traffic would make competing impossible). There were about 500 people at the start, most of them doing the triathlon. Me and about 100 other people did the duathlon: 2mi run, 11mi bike, 5k run.



The duathlon was also my last scheduled race for this season. Now the stork may come at any moment, so I don't have anything else on my calendar. Doesn't mean it was the last race of the year, since I might do smaller races in the fall, but it will be last-minute decisions, depending on the baby's cooperation.

I'm not as well trained as last year, so I had no hopes of a PR, but I wanted to do my best, give it all on the course, especially since I'll have plenty of time to rest after this. I went hard on the first run, and especially on the last half mile I forgot there's a bike ride coming up. I finished in 15:31 (7:46 pace) which is slower than last year by 8 seconds, but I'm happy with the time.



There was a malfunctioning mat when exiting T1, so I don't have T1 and bike times... Organizers said the mat signal interfered with police radios, so whenever a cop was near a timing mat, people missed results. Luckily, there were no cops at the finish line, so everyone got an accurate total time. But T1 was quick for me and then I went on the 3-loop bike course. I went as hard as my current fitness level would allow, averaging 19.2mph. Over two minutes slower than last year, when I was in great cycling shape, but it's still my fastest bike average of the year! The course got very crowded after the 1st loop, with many beginners zig-zagging on the street or riding alongside each other, so I had to be very cautious. At times, I didn't even stay aero, because I wanted to be close to the brakes. There was also a lot of drafting. Three bike lengths apart?? I don't think I ever had room for three bikes between me and the closest competitor.



But there were no incidents, except for a bad crash, a rider ending up in the hospital, but it was a mechanical problem, not a collision. The turn around point after each loop, despite the chaotic setup, went pretty well too. Just to give you an idea, it was a 2 lane road, with a bit over a lane used for the 180 degrees turn around, and two more lanes coned off: one for exiting towards T2, and one for the oncoming runners.



I had a pretty fast T2 (1:32, exactly like last year), and then went on to the final run, first around a lake, and then an out-and-back along the beach. I went really hard here and caught up with a lot of people. I passed more than I was passed, and ended up with a huge improvement over last year, by more than a minute: 25:18 (8:10 pace)




Final time was 1:18:35 (last year it was 1:17:08). I'm happy with that, I made up a lot of the time lost on the bike during that final run which really felt great. I placed 29 out of 104, but only 4th in my age group, so I didn't get the hardware that I got last year when I was 2nd.

NJ State Triathlon

I've been doing the NJ State Triathlon (Olympic distance), for 4 years, practically from my first year as a triathlete. I have improved a lot over the years (from 3:24 in the first year to 3:03 in 2009), but I still have get under that elusive 3 hours mark. If you want a PR, the NJ State course is the best place, given the flat bike and run course. This year I haven't trained as hard as in past years, but I had some strong running and swimming PR's, so I was really hoping I'll go under-3. The main hurdle seemed to be the fact that the bike course was almost 2 miles longer this year (it was short before, and the new one is 25.5mi, so longer than the standard distance). Another problem was the heat. We're in the middle of a heat wave, and the day before we hit 102 degrees in the afternoon. It was expected to be scorching hot this day too.

SWIM
In my first Oly, I had a dismal 1h+ time for my 1,500m swim, but that went down to 51 minutes in the 2nd year, and 42 minutes in the third. All these were without a wetsuit (since the Mercer Lake is usually very hot in July). Then, last month at Black Bear (with a wetsuit) I hit an unexpected 36 minutes, even though that was the second day after a sprint triathlon. Honestly, I was secretly hoping to get to 30 minutes, But it was the swim where I was hoping to make up for the 2 extra miles on the bike. The lake was unbelievably hot. 88 degrees, and as I went in to warm up, I had to accommodate to the heat.





In the water, it felt like the Cayman Islands or Honduras waters that I visited this spring. There was no questions about wetsuits, and I knew this might slow me down a bit. The swim itself felt good. Was getting into a rhythm, never felt too tired, the only problem is that I kept swimming of course so I was pretty much zig-zagging, at least in the first half. I passed some people, and hundreds of other passed me. But however, my time was an extremely super-disappointing 51:29. I'm trying to figure out what went that much wrong, and can't find any explanation. This is slower than 2 years ago. Fifteen minutes slower than the tired race last month. Could the extra distance I swam account for all of this? I'd rather not even think about this anymore... I didn't feel dizzy as I used to be after a long swim. I went through T1 in 4:31, which is pretty good for me (I'm a slow transitioner)... among my better times.



BIKE
The NJ State course is almost completely flat. The roads are good, and this year the course seemed almost completely closed (most of the busy roads were closed to traffic, or we had at least one lane coned-off for us). Normally there's no wind, but this time the breeze was quite welcome. Last year I averaged 19.8mph, but this year I knew I wasn't in such a good shape on the bike, and I hoped I can get around 19mph (although it felt like quite a stretch). I felt strong on the bike, I went quite consistent, and tried to think that there's a run afterwards (sometimes I tend to go all-out on the bike, and then crash on the run). I finished the course in 1:22:15, which averages (officially) to 18.6mph. But there's a very long section in and out of transition, over a grassy hill, so that result can't be always accurate. My bike computer showed exactly 19mph for the actual bike ride, so I have to be very happy. My T2 was great. At 2:51 it's my best ever Oly transition, so at least I got one PR on the day!




RUN
I felt pretty good at the beginning of the run. I used to have my legs fried from pushing too hard on the bike, but this time it was all good. But also, it was very hot. It was almost 11:00 and the heat index was supposed to be around 96 at that time. I've done long runs in the heat, or short fast workouts, but never a longer, tempo effort in this kind of heat. I started quite fast, but soon the heat hit me hard. I couldn't breathe (the air was very thick), and while I didn't actually cramp, a lot of muscles seemed to be hurting. Since I knew my time goals are all gone, I had one more goal left. I was doing this race with my friend FLorin, who was at his first ever Olympic tri, and since he's a very good swimmer, he built a huge lead, so he was almost 10 minutes ahead of me when we started the run. But I couldn't let him beat me, after all I've been working at this for 4 years :) So I started in pursuit of him. after about a mile, he was 6 minutes ahead of me. One mile later, the gap was just 4 minutes. So I kept my hopes up. Already, lots of people were walking. Others were stretching on the side of the road. Some were doubled over and throwing up. The only reason I had to stop was to take a piss, since it had bothered me since one minute after getting out of the water (couldn't it have happened just a couple of minutes earlier??).

After the first 5k section, we went by the start/finish area and started the second section, and here's where it started getting worse for most competitors, because the second half was all exposed to the sun, with no more tree cover. It was scorching hot, and I'd say 60% of the people were just slowly walking. I'm happy to say I never had to stop (except at the water stops, since I can't really drink while running). I used all the 3 Gu gels on the run. At each water stop, I drank one water, poured another one on my head, and drank 1 or 2 energy drinks (they have Heed... quite bad, but there's carbs and electrolytes in there). Except for the first faster mile, I kept my pace quite consistent (even in its slowness). At the final turn-around, around Mile 4.5, I caught up with Florin, so my objective was accomplished :-) They also had ice cold towels at that point, so I put one on my head, under the hat, and that gave me a final wind to push through the rest of the course. I don't remember ever passing so many people in a Oly tri run. My run time was an abysmal 1:03:28 (10:15 pace - my slowest for an Oly), but I'm happy with it in these very hot conditions.





As for the final race time, it was a PW (personal worst): 3:24:32. Barely slower than my first one, when the swim took an hour, and I couldn't run at all. Minutes slower than Black Bear, which was the day after a sprint, and it had all those steep hills. But if you ask me, I'm not as disappointed as I should be. I felt like I gave one my best efforts ever. The conditions were grueling, so just finishing seems to be a victory. It's only the swim that bothers me, but I'm sure it was just a glitch. And well, now I need another one to get under that elusive 3 hours mark.

There's some better news when I'm looking at the relative ranking. On the bike I was about in the top half... had been much better ranked, but for my current training level, I'm more than happy! And also, top 51% on the run, which I've only been able to do once before in an Olympic race, and I was 7 minutes faster then! So apparently the hot run was hard for everybody, and I didn't just suck. Overall, I was in the top 73%, which pretty much ties my best ranking for this distance. 3:24 now puts me in the same percentile as 3:04 in much cooler weather.

The race was again flawlessly organized by Larry and Michele from CGI Racing. Their races are always the best, and they're getting better. And by the way, another nice touch was the misting tunnel at the end, where you could get in and get sprayed with cold water from all the sides, the perfect finish to such a hot race. After eating 4 hotdogs at the Jersey Shore Tri Club tent, we stopped at the Tavern on the Lake in Hightstown, where I had the perfect recovery meal: a huge bacon cheeseburger with fries, and a full pitcher of Sam Adams. And now it's time to put triathlon to the side, and get ready for our first baby!

Sheehan Classic 5M in Red Bank

The 5 mile race through Red Bank, celebrating the memory of local runner George Sheehan, is still one of my favorite runs. While I do it for the fun of running with 2,000 of people through the familiar streets of Red Bank, Fair Haven and Little Silver, I never go to a race without a goal. This time, my goal was a new 5-mi PR, which according to me recent training times, was very tangible. My previous PR, from last July, was 39:39 (7:56 pace)


Since I did the race with a few other friends, I got to the downtown in time (unlike last year, when I got to the start line right when the gun went off). I warmed up and was ready to go, but I placed myself too far back from the front of the pack, and I had some trouble moving up on the narrow streets. On the other hand, this held back my usually explosive starting speed, so I didn't get too tired too soon. Still, the first mile was 7:42. Second mile was 7:45, and I was well below my PR pace. And what was even better, I wasn't going very hard. It felt like I was coasting to a PR, I didn't have to go all out. I got relaxed, maybe too relaxed, as we turn around in Fair Haven, and the 3rd mile dropped to 7:55, right at PR pace, but I was still counting my time reserve that I could afford to lose on the second half.

The 4th mile was a disappointing 8:08 as it was getting quite hot. I went through each water splash that people were making with their hoses, and I also got a cup of water from each water stop. Then, on the last mile, I got to the infamous hill, not a very big one, but short and quite steep, and placed right where you're beginning to get ready to finish. I slowed to a crawl and on top of the hill I realized my timing was quite tight!


I sprinted down the hill, headed towards the turn on Broad street, and with a quarter mile to go I was running as fast as I could. Only when I could see the finish clock did I relax a bit, but I still crossed the line at maximum speed. Last mile was 7:34 (fastest of the race), and more importantly, I got my PR, 39:09, a 30 seconds improvement!

After the race, a Sheehan tradition, having a cold beer by the river, the perfect drink at 9:15am! And I'm relieved by knowing that I didn't use all my resources in this race. If I'm doing the Belmar 5 in July, I can still hope for a new PR.

Black Bear, Part II: The Olympic (aka Groundhog Day)

Yesterday, after the Black Bear Sprint, I just stayed at the house and chillaxed. Got a fistful of vitamins and amino-acids, kept eating and drinking, and tried not to move too much around.

In the evening, I set up my race numbers, packed my bag, had a beer, ate some pasta, and tried to go to sleep earlier. After all, I had to wake up at 5:45... And probably because of the stress I woke up on my own a few minutes before that. We drove to the park (about 20 minutes away), took my time setting up the transition, then started the struggle of getting into the wetsuit. In the meantime, the announcer was making jokes about how all wetsuits shrink over the winter, and it has nothing to do with our bodies. Since the swim start was on a different beach, I walked over there, and went in to warm up. Being around mid-May, the water was probably colder than I've ever swam in for a prolonged length of time (around 62 degrees). I took a few strokes around, trying to get used to the polar water, and was happy to notice that the lake was very clear.

I was, like so often, in the first wave (elite and 40 and under), so we were the first to get to the starting line (an in water start). The GO signal came and I started, like usual, at the back. I'm still not very comfortable in open waters (or, well, in swimming in general), so I prefer to stay out of the washing machine...



OK, I have to admit I cheated here and just copied the previous two paragraphs from yesterday's race report. Everything between 8pm and about 8:15am was almost exactly similar. I felt like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day... The only difference was that the weather had completely changed. It was rainy and chilly, and right until arriving at the park there was a thick fog over the mountains. But at least it wasn't raining at the start.

I've always been scared by any swimming distance over 1,500m, so I was cautious about this one too, although I was so pumped up after my fantastic time the day before. And everything was going well, until the turn around when my shoulders and upper arms were feeling the fatigue... I'm sure I lost at least 2 minutes while going very relaxed (maybe the equivalent of walking breaks on the run). But I got out of the water in 36:55, which is by far an olympic distance record for me, after doing 42 minutes last year. A 6 minutes PR!

I was glad to be out of the water, and knew there won't be any more PR's from now on. And I had no real time goals, since it was obvious it would be my slowest Oly ever (all the other ones I did were on flat roads, and without racing the day before). Maybe I was hoping to get under 3:30, but time was not important at all. I hoped to survive the super hilly bike course, and really hoped that the weather will cooperate. With all those long fast downhills, rain could be a major factor. And it started drizzling as soon as I got on the course, but light enough so the roads didn't get wet on the first rollers. I was going very easy, like a training ride, and my only plan was to be able to run well afterwards, and not to have to get off the bike on any big hill.

People were mostly passing me on the first section. At one point, a girl came very fast from behind on a steep hill, and as she went by I realized she wasn't really a girl, and admired her athleticism. After she passed, before getting away, I managed to notice her age - 62. The rain stopped soon enough, and I survived the first big climb - Sheller Hill - pretty well. Then, we had the only flat-ish section of the course, and finally I could get in a good rhythm and started passing back some people. But I had to stop and get off the bike for two reasons: peeing, and wiping off my sunglasses, because I could barely see through them, and I knew the big downhill is right ahead. Oh, and it started raining again, which got me really worried, knowing very well there's a steep, twisting downhill for the next mile. I decided to make it as safe as possible, maybe even control the speed by breaking. But once I started flying down, I remembered the joy of fast downhills. But I didn't get aero, I kept my hands near the breaks, and I stood up to create some wind resistance. I didn't go faster than 35mph, and didn't use the breaks, until the bottom, where the descent ends with a sharp left turn. They had volunteers lined up 100 yards up to warn people about the turn, and I finally squeezed the breaks, and guess what? All that happened was a hissing sound, no slowing down. I was really planning to go past the turn, slow down, and come back, but eventually the bike slowed down enough for me to turn. Oh, and I had my left foot unclipped, in case I needed to put it down.

But everything was OK and I got back to the main road, but it was really pouring now. There were a few annoying rollers, and then a short steep climb. We got there in a small group, and we managed to stay together all the way to the top, there were maybe a couple of riders who dropped back. And I also noticed I couldn't grip the handlebars anymore! My palms were cramped! I didn't even realize how hard I was squeezing the bars on that long downhill, this never happened to me to have my palms in such pain! We rejoined the sprint course right at the Lovitt Hill climb, and on the wet road it seemed longer than ever. I started to zig-zag across the road, and I was just hoping I won't have to do the walk of shame (which a few others were doing).

And now, that final long descent, 3 miles in pouring rain. This must be my favorite part of the course, I eventually defeated my fears, and went aero, flying down the road! The worst thing is I could barely see, because of all that heavy rain hitting my shades. That final evil wall at the bottom was really a killer. I saw two cyclists coming down the wrong way, to get some momentum to be able to get over it. My legs were dead by the time I was over the top, and I did all my best to slow down, spin easily, and relax my muscles before the run. My bike time was 1:37:28, for a 14.8mph average, really pathetic in normal conditions, but I was very happy with it today. And I can't even imagine how did I do this bike course twice, during my first Half-Iron...

Finally, the last leg of the race - the two-loop out-and-back run course. With maybe one exception, I always struggled on the Oly run, maybe because I tend to go all-out on the bike. So my plan was to go really easy, thinking of this, maybe, as a HIM run, and hoped to be able to run the whole way, no walking breaks. So I took my time along the lake, into the woods, and the first mile was 9:39. Not bad at all. Going through the woods, on the dam, turning around, I slowed down a bit, to 9:53, but it was still better than the 10 minutes mile I was expecting. A lot of people were walking by now, so I was passing many of them, which kept my morale up. Coming back to the finish area, I managed a 9:43 mile. As I started the second loop, the crowds thinned, since many of my "competitors" were actually finishing the second loop, and the race. I was feeling great, and clocked a 9:38 mile.





The course now looked like a death march, which reminded me of the HIM. At least it wasn't raining anymore, and it was nice and cool, but people were really struggling. Once on top of the dam, I realized I don't have to fear a break-down anymore, and put down the hammer, clocking 9:28 on the 5th mile. The point of mentioning each mile split is that, to my surprise, from the 2nd mile on each and every mile was faster than the previous one, and it went like this till the finish! It's the opposite of what's usually happening to me, gradually slowing down towards the end. On the final, 6th mile, there was nothing left to hold back, and I went under-9, to 8:52! The finish area was great, with lots of spectators lining up the chute, making a lot of noise, so I broke out into a sprint (8:30 pace on the final .2mi).




It was an awesome Olympic run! I did 58:40, way better than I was expecting at the end of such, a long race weekend. It's my 2nd fastest Oly run time, and even the finish time, 3:22:01, was not my worst ever (my first Oly was slower... but what I lost here on the bike, I more than made up on the swim - that first Oly swim was over an hour for me).

And so ended my hardest race weekend of the season. And it wasn't even that hard. I made two speed races into an endurance one, and I tried to treat it as one single long race. At times, it felt harder to cover that distance in 2 separate days, as muscle fatigue hit me on the swim and bike this 2nd day, but after the fact, I found it easier than I expected it to be.



I have to thank Larry and Michele Redrow again for organizing such a flawless event. I'm looking forward to doing another one of their races in July, the New Jersey State triathlon. This time, the Olympic event will be a speed test for me, as I'll definitely try to PR. And very curious how the swim will be, if I'm rested and I train for 2 more months.

Black Bear, Part I: The Sprint

Black Bear... a place hard to forget, so many milestones happened there: my first ever triathlon 3 years ago, then my first Half Iron 2 years ago. Both quite painful experiences, but they say "pain is temporary, pride lasts forever". So although I vowed never to return here, this year I signed up for Black Bear again, not once, but twice! This year, they replaced the HIM with an Oly, and they put the races on two different days, so I signed up for both the Sprint and the Oly. It was supposed to be the main challenge of the year for me, because it's not your usual Sprint, as the races are on one of the toughest bike course on the East Coast. So would I be able to get a decent performance out of both races?

I got to Beltsville State Park in Lehighton PA on Friday night, and somehow I was only remembering the good things about those memorable triathlons I've done here. I tall looked so familiar, although they changed a bit the transition area. And looking at the lake, for the first time ever in my triathlon career, I looked at the buoy-lined course and thought it's not that long (I'm usually terrified by looking at the water).

Back at the house, I set up my race numbers, packed my bag, had a beer, ate some paste, and tried to go to sleep earlier. After all, I had to wake up at 5:45... And probably because of the stress I woke up on my own a few minutes before that. We drove to the park (about 20 minutes away), took my time setting up the transition, then started the struggle of getting into the wetsuit. In the meantime, the announcer was making jokes about how all wetsuits shrink over the winter, and it has nothing to do with our bodies. Since the swim start was on a different beach, I walked over there, and went in to warm up. Being around mid-May, the water was probably colder than I've ever swam in for a prolonged length of time (around 62 degrees). I took a few strokes around, trying to get used to the polar water, and was happy to notice that the lake was very clear.

I was, like so often, in the first wave (elite and 40 and under), so we were the first to get to the starting line (an in water start). The GO signal came and I started, like usual, at the back. I'm still not very comfortable in open waters (or, well, in swimming in general), so I prefer to stay out of the washing machine...

I'm the one in black with a silver cap

Being a sprint, there are a lot of beginners in the race, so I was passing more people than I'm used to. Almost unusually many people, I was passing right, and left, and in between. The turn buoy came way earlier than I was expecting, so I went on sprinting towards the exit beach. I don't remember ever swimming that fast in a race, I had to go to breathing every stroke over the last 200-250 meters.

The big surprise came later in the day when I was able to check my swimming time. My fastest mile pace ever had been 43:54, last fall. Well, today, I swam the 650 meters in an astounding 12:09, which translates to a 30:33 min/mile pace!! It was not just faster than I'd ever swum, it really crushed my previous best time. Not to mention that I've never come out of the water this fast, and I'd done some much shorter races.

Next, T1. It may not sound like a lot to you, but my transitions are quite slow, especially T1 when I'm still confused out of the water ordeal. So my 4:02 transition was actually my fastest T1 ever. The race had just started, and I set two personal records. But that was about it.



The bike course was just 11 miles, but extremely hilly, and my plan was to hold back from going too hard, so I save my legs for Sunday. I tend to go really hard on the bike, so I had to fight my instincts and hold back. I still passed a lot of people, but I also got passed a lot. On the last hill before getting off the main road, a kid on a fat-tire mountain bike passed me! I was so surprised, but I knew the biggest hill on the course was coming up and I could already see him hitting the wall and dropping back. The Lovitt Hill is a monster, steep and neverending. And that kid wasn't going anywhere. He led the way as we passed two full pelotons of riders, and then he took off and I didn't see him again. But I made it in one piece to the top (while many others were walking their bikes up). From the top we began a long easy descent for about 3 miles. This was probably the best part of the race. I went down in aero and started spinning the pedals on the downhill road. I got up to almost 40mph, as I was going down almost head first, it was an amazing feeling!

Right at the bottom of that descent, the sadistic organizers put up a sharp right turn, and after the turn an evil extremely steep hill, almost like a wall. In past years, I've seen people scrambling to downshift here, dropping their chain, and falling down. I have the advantage of having ridden this course plenty of times, so I knew to get ready, but getting over the top was still a struggle. Then it was easy cruising into T2. Not a very good average (15.8mph), but considering the very hilly course and the fact that I was holding back a lot, I was content with it. Plus, it's the fastest I'd ever gone at Black Bear.




T2 was 2:06, seconds from my fastest triathlon T2 ever. Then I headed out on the scenic Black Bear run course. It goes along the lake for a half a mile, then into the woods, all on trails. I wasn't pushing at all, and I felt like I could go much faster, but I knew this is just the beginning of the weekend. People were going past me easily, but I just enjoyed the scenery. Out of the woods, we went up on the Beltsville dam, and we crossed it half way to the turn-around point. Coming back, towards the finish, I was easily cruising, despite encouragements from volunteers and other runners to go hard, cause the race is almost over. It was an unusual easy finish, since I tend to go all out towards the line. Running time was 26:13 for 5K, or 8:28/mile, my 2nd fastest triathlon run ever, only seconds from my best one.





So, a very successful first stage of my race weekend, that I completed in 1:26:17. Time is irrelevant in a non-standard sprint, but my final ranking, 140th out of 324 is the first time that I finish in the top half of the racers. Even more, I had the 178th swimming time, almost at the halfway mark, but so different from my usual "among the last ones" placements. Even my bike placement, 99/324, was my best ever in a triathlon!

The organization was top notch, as it's always with the Redrows and CGI Racing. They told me there's about 4 crazies that signed up for both races, so I felt like part of an elite few. I was a bit scared about next day, not sure how I can handle an Oly after a hard triathlon, especially terrified of the swim distance! But well, it was just an Oly, right?

Pier Village Duathlon

The day after my 10k PR in Colts Neck, I went to Long Branch for this very fun duathlon staged near Pier Village. It's a short, fun event, where I can always see many familiar faces, because it's close to home and my tri club (Sandy Hookers) is organizing it. New for this year was the prize money, not bad for a local race, which attracted a lot more people than usual, including fast ones who normally wouldn't waste their time on just a sprint duathlon.



The distances were 2mi run, 9.5mi bike (which was actually 10 miles), and 3mi run. Well, as soon as I started doing some strides for warm up, my legs remembered the hard effort from yesterday... But the first run along the Long Branch boardwalk was good, 15:23, which is actually a one second improvement over the last (and only) time I did this race, in 2008.




As soon as I got on the bike, I had the feeling that nobody else was racing. People were so slow that I was passing 4-5 at a time. And it went like this for miles. Must've passed at least 30-40 people. Probably those fast runners who didn't plan for the bike part... I was jumping from rider to rider, and I guess I got a lot of drafting as I was moving wheel to wheel. It was fun, even with the very twisted course, with many sharp turns. Nobody passed me until about the final mile, when two guys went past. The bike average was 19.1mph.



The second run was a bit harder, but never felt very tired, I just kept a constant pace, with a faster final mile. I did 23:36, so at 7:52/mi it's not bad, considering they were part of a 5-mile run, the day after a 6.2 race. And it actually got quite exciting at the finish... A fast girl came up right behind me, and I accelerated, she did too, I went faster, people were cheering for her, yelling at her to push and get me, which only made me angrier so as I heard her footsteps right behind I was forced to break into one of my fastest sprints ever to the finish line (Garmin shows a 6:00 pace for the last .2 miles). Oh, and she didn't get me.



Final time was 1:13:37, ranked 86 out of 273. I also have to mention T2 which at 1:23 was my fastest ever transition in any kind of multisport race.

Black Bear weekend coming up next weekend, sprint on Saturday and olympic on Sunday.