All new posts for Jason are at cttriguy.blogspot.com. 

Read more...

Shamrock Duathlon Race Report

One week after Queens, I raced the Shamrock Duathlon in Glastonbury, CT.  The races are advertised as almost identical 3/17/3 duathlons.  However, the second run was longer than advertised at Shamrock, by almost a 1/3 of a mile – more on that later.  The major difference between the races was the course profile.  While Queens has a very hilly run and mostly flat bike, Shamrock was a more rolling run and hilly bike.  The idea is this would be a good prep race for Rev3’s challenging course in 2 weeks.  Shamrock is also a bigger event with 3 times the number of competitors that raced in Queens.

 

Run 1 – 3.1 miles - 24:19 - 7:48/mile

I lined up on the inside a few rows back at the start.

The start was downhill so I got up to speed quickly and had to dial back the pace to get into a more sustainable pace.  I was targeting a 8:00 flat pace and was holding that pace pretty easily on the flats.  On the rollers I had to work a bit harder to stay on pace, but with the large field it was easy to pick pacers to work off.

 

Approaching T1.  The red numbers were running a 5K, green numbers were in the duathlon.

 

Love this picture:

 

I wrapped up the first run just under my target pace, but well back in my age group – 14/18.  I was expecting to be well back in my age group as the prior year results showed some very fast times.  I was about midpack overall, 158/342.

 

T1 – 1:05

Had a pretty good transition.  It was a long run thru with only 1 rack in each row.  I made up 20 spots overall and 1 in my age group.

 

Bike – 17 miles – 51:58 – 19.63 mph

I was familiar with the bike course, as these are roads I ride frequently.  Lots of uphill in the first half, with a steep downhill then mostly flat to the finish.

The legs did not feel good coming out of transition.  I was really struggling to get up to speed.  The heart rate was high and the speed was low.  I think it was the false flats and the wind that was making it feel like I was stuck in molasses.  I figured once I got on the long hill at the 3 mile mark I would start to pass the riders around me.  However, I didn’t really pass anyone on the hill and even got passed by several more riders.  I just kept spinning my gears at a high cadence, as I knew there was a lot more uphill all the way to the 8 mile mark and I didn’t want to go over red line.

 

Sure enough, after a brief respite, I started to make some headway at the 5 mile mark.  We made a right turn there and I think it was enough of a change in direction to get me out of the wind.  I started to really get moving and my mood improved with every rider I passed.  Being familiar with the downhill I bombed down it, touching over 40mph.

 

Now on the flats, all my aero gear was taking over and I got into a good rhythm and was able to push hard.  I was holding a steady of speed of 24mph on the flats and was flying toward T2.

 

Based on my training rides, I thought 19mph would be a good target and I was slightly ahead of that.  I passed 9 guys in my age group and 68 overall on the bike which gave me the 3rd best bike in my age group and 43rd overall.

 

Approaching T2:

The support crew is taking some amazing photos this year:

 

T2 – 0:57

Another fast transition – top 6% overall - saw me make up 6 spots overall, but none in my age group.  The other guys in my age group were well up the road.

 

Run 2 – 3.33 miles – 25:14 – 7:35/mile

My goal for the second run was to run as fast as possible and try to make it inside 1:45:00 overall.  Based on my first run and bike I knew it was possible. 

 

Again I took off quickly down the first hill.  The downhill helped me get a nice stable heart rate quickly off the bike.  I felt pretty comfortable.

I started to get passed by a few runners, but I identified someone running a similar pace up the road.  I then just set off to catch this person but they were holding a very even pace.  It took me 1.5 miles to catch them but it provided a good carrot for me to use.  I was now at the 2 mile mark, and supposedly 1 mile from the finish line. 

 

I was running behind another guy with no one else really behind me.  Mentally I keyed on this guy as it seemed like it was the only person I could pass before the finish.  I ran off his shoulder for a little bit then put a surge on him for 10 strides.  I heard him groan and felt pretty good about actually racing someone on the run.  It was now a steady downhill to the left turn for the finish.  I just focused on keeping this guy behind me for the next half mile – 3.5 minutes or so.

 

What I didn’t know was that I didn’t have a half mile to the finish, I had 3/4 of a mile.  Somehow I was able to keep up my pace – I think it was the anger of the course being measured so incorrectly.  After the final riser (at the 3 mile mark), I held well under 7:00/mile pace all the way to the finish.

 

In the end I was reeling in this guy, who had passed me early in the run (if you look at the first photo for run #2 you can see him 2 runners behind me):

Final sprint across the park:

I was pretty happy with the second run.  Not only did I run it at a faster pace then the first run, but I accelerated thru each mile.  My run was 7/18 in my age group and 105/342 overall.  I lost 1 spot in my age group and 8 overall – not bad for me!

 

After the race my support crew was dying to try the race sponsor’s beer – Ten Penny Ale.  She reports it was very tasty.  Although these 2 ladies didn’t look impressed with 9am drinking. 

 

Overall I was pretty happy with the results.  I got the fast bike I was looking for and my runs were good for me.  I beat my goal time and stacked up pretty well in a big field.

	Time	Distance	Pace	AG Place	%	Overall Place	%
# Entries				18		342
Run 1	24:19	3.1 miles	7:48/mile	14	78%	158	46%
T1	1:05			4	11%	37	11%
Bike	51:58	17 miles	20.6 mph	3	16%	43	13%
T2	0:57			3	16%	22	6%
Run 2	25:14	3.33 miles	7:35/mile	7	39%	105	31%
Total	1:43:30			5	28%	72	21%

 

Here is the cumulative times thru each checkpoint for the final top 10 in my age group.  I am the red line.  Although I was the slowest on run 1, I moved ahead of 6 guys by the end of the bike, and was re-passed by 1 guy on the second run.

Read more...

Queens Biathlon Race Report

On May 15th, I headed down to NYC to race the Queens Biathlon.  This was one of my favorite races from the prior year as it gives me a chance not only to catch up with my brother who lives in Astoria – but also because the race is good preparation for Rev3.  The run is very hilly – featuring 2 sharp climbs per 5k run lap plus a long climb on each of the 2 bike laps on the Cross Island Parkway.  I had a good performance the prior year and was looking to improve my times in each discipline.

 

The day dawned with a lovely 50 degree rain and foggy conditions.  With my 2 person support crew we made the short drive to the race from my brothers’ place.  Luckily the worst of the rain stayed away from where the support crew was stationed.

 

Run #1 – 24:43, 7:57/mile (2010 – 26:40, 8:35/mile)

The run starts with a quick twisty downhill and I went out pretty fast.  I was averaging a sub 6 minute mile pace for the first 1/3 of a mile before I was able to get my pace under control. 

 

Here is a shot just after the start:

I had to really run pretty easy to get my pace down to my target speed.  With the tough course I knew I couldn’t be at my limit before I approached the first uphill.  The uphill was longer than I remembered, almost a full half mile but the first run up actually went well.  I was able to keep the heart rate under control and the pace below 8:30.  On the way back I was really trying to just cruise down the big hill and keep my feet under me.  On the shorter but steeper climb up to transition my pace dropped a bit, but I was still ahead of my target. 

 

Approaching T1:

I was pretty satisfied with the first run, as I had managed the hills well and was ready to put in a big effort on the bike.  I finished about midfield, 11/22 in my age group and 56/134 overall.

 

Run #1 splits:

 

T1 – 0:59 (2010 – 1:00)

T1 was not exceptional, another mid-pack effort.  I felt slow because I was putting my shoes in and out of a plastic bag to try to keep them dry from the rain we saw on the radar before the start.  I am amazed that with the fiddling around I was faster than last year.  Perhaps it was the placement of my bike in the racks.  It was a free for all, so I put my bike in the rack closest to bike in/out which meant I didn’t need to run the bike thru much of the transition area.

 

Bike – 51:28, 20.6 mph (2010 – 52:29, 20.1 mph)

Last year I had the fastest bike in my age group and I had no intention of going slower this year.  Although there was less consistent wind this year, it was much gustier and at the northern end of the course it was very wet.

 

Heading out of T1:

I went out pretty quickly and was holding a fast pace out to the first turnaround at the 4.5 mile mark.  After the turn around I was passed by a guy holding a pace just faster than I had been riding at.  I decided to try to use him to push my pace a little harder.  I kept him in sight and just focused on trying to keep as aero as possible.

 

Approaching the second turnaround at the 9 mile mark there is a 200 foot climb over a half mile which is a place I use to make up ground on the slower climbers. 

 

Heading up the hill with my pacer at the extreme left:

Rounding the flare and heading out for another lap:

Stalking my pacer right after the turnaround.  Notice the 2 different photo angles.  Both support crew members made the trek down to the turnaround from the transition area.

Lap 2 was much the same as Lap 1 although it was about 1:15 slower.  With Lap 2 completed it was time to take the Grand Central Parkway service road back to transition.  This is another steady uphill:

Brother snapping a few photos on the way by:

I nearly caught up to my pacer by the top of this hill.  I was just over a minute faster than last years time and managed to have the fastest split in my age group again, this time by more than 2:15 over second place.  I was also 12/134 overall.

 

T2  - 0:42 (2010 - 0:43)

My T2 time was much better relative to the field, with both overall and age group rankings around top 20%.

 

Run #2 – 25:51, 8:19/mile (2010 – 27:46, 8:46/mile)

As always, the overall result would be decided by my performance on the second run.  I tried to coast down the first steep downhill but was beset by cramps in my calf.  I was able to prevent a total lock-up with some ginger strides and it felt better once I got off the downhill.  I recovered a bit on the flat before the uphill and then tried to push on the climb to limit my losses.  I was working hard but my pace just wasn’t there and I was much slower up the climb.  Once on top I focused on regaining a quick cadence and getting back on target pace. 

 

Just before the turnaround some guy was pointing at everyone and telling them what place they were in.  He pointed at me and said 25.  I was surprised but it didn’t seem incorrect.  I saw a guy ahead running about the same pace so I tried to work up to him.  I reached him just before the downhill and moved by him.  At the same time a few racers came by me.  I was still holding on to top 30.

 

As I climbed the final hill to transition, I was passed one more time.  There was no body marking at this race, and at that point I couldn’t respond to the pass.  Once it leveled out I tried to accelerate but couldn’t quite reach this late passer.  This would prove unfortunate as this was actually 3rd place in my age group passing me with just 1/10 mile to go!

 

Approaching the finish chute:

It seems like the guy couldn’t count to 25 though, because I thought I finished 32nd, but in the end it was 29th.  This was a big improvement from 58th the prior year.  I was disappointed to miss out on the podium by such a narrow margin (7 seconds).  My second run was slightly more competitive, right around top 1/3 of the field in both my age group and overall.

 

Run splits

 

 

Final stats:

	Time	Distance	Pace	AG Place	%	Overall Place	%
# Entries				22		134
Run 1	24:43	3.1 miles	7:57/mile	11	50%	56	42%
T1	0:59			9	41%	46	34%
Bike	51:28	17.5 miles	20.6 mph	1	0%	12	9%
T2	0:42			5	23%	26	19%
Run 2	25:51	3.1 miles	8:19/mile	8	36%	45	34%
Total	1:43:44			4	11%	29	22%

 

2011 performance vs 2010 performance.  As you can see I was almost 2 minutes faster on each run and 1 min faster on the bike.  (Blue line is how much further behind I was then 2011’s time):

 

Here is the top 10 competitors cumulative times versus the winner.  I am the red line.  Notice how I went from 10th to 2nd after bike and then gave up 2 spots on run.  You can see the 3rd and 4th place lines crossing right at the finish, that was the age group guy pass.

 

Overall I was happy with the improvement from 2010 and felt like I got in a high quality training race that will serve me well in the upcoming weeks.  Thanks to my 2 member support crew for braving the miserable conditions.

Read more...

Sheriff Sprint Triathlon Race Report

May 1st I was originally planning on racing at the Greenwich Biathlon.  However, after the other 2 Tri Guys could not make it, the 7am start time way down South in Greenwich became a lot less appealing.  Instead I made the decision to try something new and head North to Ludlow, MA for a pool triathlon.  Since I registered the day of, the entire pack of pre-registered people went first since they had submitted swim time estimates with their registration.  The day of registration group went after.  While waiting, the 15 of us spoke to each other and got ourselves into order so we wouldn’t have to pass each other once underway.  We did a great job with the seeding and I actually probably had an easier, less congested swim by starting with this smaller group.

Getting underway, heading toward the first wall.

I forecasted a time of 5min flat for the 300 yard swim (1:40/100), as I had the intention of trying to put in a good bike and run split.  I could have swum faster but I wanted to stay nice and controlled, well under the red zone.

 

The best part of the pool swim is the opportunity for close-up swim pictures!

Exiting the pool, I was right on track with my estimated time – hitting 4:56 for the swim.  This was 33/135 (top 24%) overall and 4/9 (top 44%) in my age group. 

  

The race did not do time splits for transition, including T1 with the bike and T2 with the run so the following times are from my Garmin.  T1 was literally right outside the door of the pool.  Although nice and sunny the temperatures were only in the low 60’s so I took the time to dry off quickly and add some arm warmers before heading out on the bike.  That surely cost me a bit of time, but I was out of T1 in 1:50.

The bike course was advertised as 9 miles, but I knew it was about 0.4 mile shorter based on prerace reconnaissance on Google.  The course also featured nearly 300 feet of climbing, working its way up and then a short steep downhill with flatter roads at the start and finish.

With the short course, I was really able to push hard on the bike.  I was pretty pleased, and since we started after the slower preregistered  swimmers I was passing a lot of riders.

 

Here are some shots approaching T2:

I finished the 8.61 mile bike in 25:19 which works out to an average speed of 20.6mph.  This put me 34/135 (top 25%) overall and 5/9 (top 56%) in my age group.

 

T2 was a lot faster, in about 42 seconds.  It was getting warmer on the run, so I threw my arm warmers off to my support crew as I ran out.

Unlike the bike course, the run was actually slightly long – advertised for 3 miles but clocking in at 3.25 miles.  The course was flat, with the exception of a short hill at the 2 mile mark.  I wasn’t feeling great starting the run and had to slow down to bring the heart rate under control.  Once I accomplished that about 3 minutes in I tried to settle into a good pace and pick off some runners ahead. 

 

My effort level was pretty consistent, with the first mile in 7:57 then a little slower to the top of the hill and the two mile mark, crossing in 8:25.  The third mile was 8:11 and the push to the finish was at 7:23 pace for the last quarter mile.  Final run time was 26:07 which was 50/135 (top 37%) overall and 5/9 (top 56%) in my age group.

 

Just before the finish:

 

I crossed the line in 58:51 which was ahead of my goal of 1 hour flat.  I was pretty happy with the race, although clearly I need to see some more sun to work on my pasty arms and legs.

 

After looking at the results, I was only 11 seconds out of 4th place.  So on one hand I got in a smooth swim starting after the main group of competitors, but I lost the ability to see if I was close to someone in my age group out on the road.  This was a fun race, and hopefully it will fit into the schedule for next year.

 

	Time	Distance	Pace	AG Place	%	Overall Place	%
# Entries				9		135
Swim	4:56	300 yards	1:39/100 yd	4	44%	33	24%
T1	1:50
Bike	25:19	8.61 miles	20.6 mph	5	56%	34	25%
T2	0:42
Run	26:07	3.25 miles	8:08/mile	5	56%	50	37%
Total	58:51			5	56%	40	30%

 

Also here is another chart that I am shamelessly stealing from a blog I read.  The idea is to show where I gained or lost time.  Since the field was small, here are all my fellow M30-34.  The baseline is the winner, and the chart represents how far behind everyone was after each discipline.  I am the red dashed line – notice how similar my splits are to 4th place – the lines are almost on top of each other.  This also tells me that I lost a lot of time on the run against the green line, but passed the orange line during the run.  Relative to 1st and 2nd, I still am losing the most time on the run (as expected). 

 

Thanks to my support crew for keeping me company on the long wait to start, and for the awesome pictures!

Read more...