Race Report: Rev3 Half Full Triathlon

Every race that goes onto the schedule is there for a reason. Some are those old favorites that you do every year and others are destination races, or an excuse to go somewhere cool but still race. Others are "A" races, or the race you put on the schedule as your one or two big efforts of the year. These are the races you (should) choose based on how they work into your training plan, but also are likely to provide you with the best conditions for your personal success.

On Sunday October 6, 2013 me and a group of friends towed the line at the Rev3 Half Full Triathlon in Columbia, MD. For me this was looking to be an "A" race with a great opportunity to test my fitness. The timing was good, the course was on challenging terrain (close to 3k ft of climb on the bike), and the weather is usually cool. 

And one week out, everything felt like it was falling into place. I was coming off a few good race efforts, the body was feeling, good, and we were talking about arm warmers, gloves and taking time to dry off before the bike. Fresh legs, a hilly race, and cool weather suits me fine. Looked like I would get my day.

Yeah ... about that weather forecast ... A few days later the last blast of heat was heading up the coast ahead of a tropical something or another. So much for the best laid plans ...

Getting transition set up pre-dawn.

Pre-race was fairly uneventful. Me, Em, and The Mayor drove down and met Phil, Becky, and Cassie at packet pickup. After stopping for some food we got our stuff, racked our bikes and checked out the lake. From there we drove the bike course and checked into the hotel. Em's friend Emily was also racing and we ended up eating dinner at her parent's house.

Race morning brought surprisingly cool temperatures and fog. There were three races going on - a college championship, an Olympic distance, and an almost 1/2 Ironman distance, with the rolling swim start going in that order. Except for Phil we were all racing the half.

I was in the third wave of the half, all men 40+, behind the survivors and those racing for The Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. With the rolling swim start I chose to start toward the back of my group. The rolling start was spreading things out, keeping me from catching a draft, but fighting little traffic. The only place that jammed up was the swim exit as I caught the back of the Olympic race. 1500M Swim time: 23:32

Transition 1 was a fairly long uphill run but otherwise uneventful. T1 in 2:55

The bike was a lollypop-shaped, two loop course. The course was rolling terrain with a few climbs thrown in for fun. Areas of flat terrain were few and far between and my Garmin registered almost 3k feet of verticle. The weather was temperate to start ... until the fog burned off. With the expected heat my plan for the ride changed. Instead of attacking I held back and stayed well within myself. Most of the ride I was alone, passing a few and getting past by a few younger guys who started in the wave behind me. Letting them go was no problem. I entered T2 in the top 10. The ride was a few miles short of a traditional 1/2 Ironman distance. Bike 53 miles: 2:30:01

Change shoes and grab what I need for the run. In and out of T2 in 0:55.

The run. Yes, yes, the run. By the time I hit the trail out along the lake the temperature was north of 80 degrees, the sun was out, the humidity high. The course was two loops of hilly paved trails and roads. My goal was simply keep my heart rate in a sustainable range so I didn't blow up early. Energy-wise I was fine and I felt hydrated. I left transition at what felt like a sustainable pace ... for about five minutes  ... and then I hit the first hill. My HR spiked and I had to choose between blowing up or walking a bit. I power walked it. At the top I grabbed as much ice and water as I could and started the process of keeping my body as cool and hydrated as I could. This process continued on for the next 12 miles. Run 13.1 Miles: 1:57:26 

Overall: 4:58:50 6th in AG40-44 22nd overall (266 finishers)

If you add up the times listed you may notice my final time includes an additional 4 minutes, which I can only assume was some sort of penalty on the bike. Somewhere around the 12 mile mark I did see the USAT officials as they came by me, with the non-driver writing down what must have been my number. There were no bikes within a quarter mile of me at the time (or most of the day) so I couldn't have been blocking or drafting. I was riding the best tangent that I could ... but I never crossed over the double yellow line. Whatever. It was apparent at the pre-race meeting that the officials were looking to give out penalties so congrats to them. Again, whatever. I lost one place in the overall standings.

I also want to give a big shout out to the crew. Emily, Cassie, and Becky had great days at the Half distance, all placing in their respective age groups, while Phil took 2nd in his AG racing in the Olympic Distance race.

Overall I really enjoyed this race and would consider doing it again. The organization was good, the roads had volunteers all over the place for both the bike and the run, and the course was a nice challenge. And instead of the traditional t-shirt, everyone received a technical long sleeve jacket. There were, however, three issues, two minor and one larger, that need to be resolved to make this race top notch.

The major issue was one of safety. There were a lot of high school kids working the bike course, which I'm fine with, as long as they are paying attention. A large majority of them, however, were consumed with their smartphones, paying little attention to the traffic at the cross streets that they were responsible for. After the race I spoke with the race director who reacted in exactly the correct manner - he thanked me for the feedback, apologized, and said he would work on correcting the situation for next year.

One minor issue was the limited post-race food spread. Normally there is an area set up specifically for the athletes. Here, there was food available, but it was not clearly marked, and it was the same food they were selling to spectators. The choices, other than the free beer, were limited and not all that appealing. I do like me a bratwurst, just not 20 minutes after a 5 hour race. To be fair, I compare every post-race spread to the one at Timberman 70.3, which is simply awesome.

The other issue that I must mention is the race distance. The traditional distance for a Half Ironman is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and a half marathon. They bill this race as a 70.0 for the 70k young adults diagnosed with cancer every year, which is cool ... but the distances didn't match. They were very public about the swim being 0.9 miles, but the bike was only 53 miles and the run course a bit short, neither of which were well publicized. If I'm racing for almost 5 hours, I want to know before hand exactly what I'm racing.

Next up: A week of recovery and then prep for the Philadelphia Marathon on November 17.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Rev3 Quassy Race Report

At the beginning of every year I will sit down and figure out which races I plan on doing over the next twelve months. Some, like the xMas City 5 Miler, are always on the schedule.  Others are new or occasional events. Rev3 Quassy is a race I did in 2011 as a test of my fitness in my buildup to Ironman Lake Placid. When I signed up for 2013, it was an "A-ish" race for the first half of the year. And what I mean by that is I wanted to well, meet my goals, etc., but I had another race that was more important. With a bum calf,  the original game plan changed.

Earlier in the week I contacted the race director and explained that I couldn't run due to injury and wanted to switch to the AquaBike division. The very quick reply was, no problem, just let us know at packet pickup and we will change it for you. Because this is a Rev3 event, it really was that easy. So just like that I was able to compete without worry.

The expo was uneventful ... a few vendors, a pro forum, then the athlete's meeting. From there we found our hotel, ate some dinner, had some ice cream, tried to get some sleep.The only real issue we had was the bachelorette party that was starting/finishing directly across the hall from our room. (Side Note: Who the heck decides to get a room at the Holiday Inn Express for your friend's bachlorette party? Seriously, try this instead.) Fortunately they left rather quickly and the noise was limited over night.

Does it get any better than free soda? Who does that?

Jeff, Emily and I woke up around 4:30 am, grabbed some food at the Duncan Donuts and were in the transition area just after 6 am. Nick and Barb were already there getting set for the 7am start.

Swimming was a much different experience than I am used to with a wave start. Typically,the strong swimmers move aggressively to the front with the weaker swimmers to he back. The first few hundred meters can get rough, but it usually sorts itself out quickly. Here, there were a lot of weaker swimmers who seated themselves at the front, making it difficult to find space or a set of feet to draft off of. It only got worse at the first turn into a blinding sun. I was so not swimming straight until finally finding the final turn and heading into the swim finish. Honestly I was expecting to see a 35:xx on my watch and, all things considered, was happy with a 30:58 swim.

Transition was standard, with the exception that I walked it (due to my strained calf). My 3:04 was slow but expected.

Onto the bike and the real race in my eyes. The ride in Quassy is really like no other. With 4000+ ft. of climb, you need to be strong and fit. The pure amount of climbing is what everyone talks about, but there are other challenges to be conquered - a long, never-ending 7 mile climb from mile 23 to 30, technical descents, blind descents, portions of rough road, and sand/gravel sitting in the S-turn around mile 5. You need to bring your A-game, you need to stay focused, and you need to have proper bike gearing to keep from expending too much energy. 

The plan was to ride hard and fast to mile 23, take the middle section from 23 to the turnaround at mile 39.5 in control, then open it back up to the finish. Coming out of transition I was next to Emily long enough to say hello and I was gone. Starting in the 7th wave of swimmer I had a crowd of cyclists in front of me, but with more than enough room to ride without worry. For the first hour I put my head down focusing on pushing the pedals and hydrating. 

I hit the 7 mile climb just after the 1 hour mark with a steady rhythm and an eye on my effort. By the time I hit the top it was heating up and the water station was a needed commodity. I continued to manage the course to the turnaround and then I started to hammer it home. The final few miles feature steady climbing back into transition. Knowing my day would be over at transition, I continued to push right to the line. Official bike time was 2:42:09. Total race time was 3:16:11, good enough for second place in the AquaBike division. Full race results here.

After turning in my timing chip I walked over to the finish line to pick up my metal, get some Gatorade, and watch the end of the pro race. I was also able to see my race results and check up on where everyone was out on the course. See, Rev3 has computers setup to give you a chance to see results in real time. So not only did I know Emily and Jeff were out on the run, but I also knew how I placed. I spent the next few hours spectating and cheering for those still out on course.

Emily, Me, and "The Mayor" post-race

Overall Rev3 Quassy was a great experience. Changing my registration from the 1/2 Ironman to the AquaBike was simple and easy; the course a great challenge. The race was well organization, the people were friendly, and the venue was a nice change of pace. Quassy, if you don't know, is a small amusement park. The swim is in the lake the park is situated on, the transition area is right next to a roller coaster, the finish area is located in the pavilion area. I sure I will be back.

Next up: Trirock Philadelphia on June 23.

Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Dealing With Injury

Almost four weeks ago I strained my left calf at the end of a 5 mile transition run. While it appeared to come from nowhere, inevitably there was something not right that caused the muscle strain injury. Over the years of training for first marathons then Ironman events, I have remained relatively injury-free. Like everyone who trains for long distance endurance events, I have beat my body up and had small issues from time-to-time. But for the most part, I am dealing with something I am not used to dealing with - an interruption of my training and my routine.

A former colleague of mine became famous around the office for using the phrase "I love my routine" on a fairly routine basis. I always found the humor in how it would get under some people's skin, but also appreciated the thought. Because truth be told, I do love my routine. I know that when I wake early in the day I have a workout on the agenda before heading into the office. Sometimes a bike ... sometimes a run ... on a rare occasion a swim ... but always something. For the past month there has not necessarily been the case.

See, I haven't been able to run since that transition run. I tried last weekend and failed.This posed a much larger problem as I am scheduled to do the Rev3 Quassy 70.3 this weekend in Middlebury, CT. Being that I can't run, I had a change of plans. Still racing, but a change of plans. Here's how I'm dealing with this injury:

1. Aggressive Rehab - I am very fortunate in having a great massage therapist in Joe as well as an incredibly knowledgeable chiropractor in Greg Huron who understands and works with athletes on a regular basis. As soon as I had the issue I  scheduled to meet with both Joe and Greg asap to get a game plan together for fixing me.

2. Change in Training Focus - The great thing about doing triathlons is if you an injury keeps you from one form of exercise you can change focus and work on other areas. I had the same exact injury two years ago and put in a big block of swim training. And a funny thing happened - my swim noticeably improved. 

3. Remain Positive - This can be a challenge, especially when race season comes around. But bigger picture, I get that I'm healthy and fit, which is really what matters, not a few weeks away from the run.

4. Change in Race Plans - One must be realistic about what can and cannot be done. As this injury occurred right in the middle of by buildup for Quassy, I immediately understood that my best-case would be to go into the race able to make the distance, but not with the run fitness to make my original time goal. Once I decided that I couldn't run at all, I changed my registration to the AquaVelo division so I could still compete. I am scheduled to do the Philly Olympic Triathlon on June 23. Unlikely that my goal of winning the 40-44 Age Group title is going to happen. 

And such is life. 

So come Sunday I will be able to toe the line in an event that I have never raced before. Because of the bum calf I will compete in a totally different way than I had originally planned and it's kinda exciting. If you are familiar with the Quassy course - or Middlebury, CT in general - you know that it is challenging. To say there are a lot of hills is a vast understatement. That, of course, makes me happy. As we like to say : "we train for hills, we love hills!!!" 

Train hard. Stay focused.

Jon