Toughman Half Ironman Race Weekend Prep

Sunday was the Toughman Half Ironman triathlon.  I would have been racing yesterday - my second time racing Toughman - save for the broken ankle earlier this year that has derailed my racing this season.  As my good friend Rich is the race organizer and founder I worked as a member of the race staff and, as I did last year found it to be incredibly rewarding.  Lots of hard work and lots of hours spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the race site.  But just a great weekend overall.

This was a half iron distance race.  Just for reference that's a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run.  I was involved in getting the aid stations for both the bike and run course setup, supplied with product, and ready for the athletes.  It was amazing to see how much product is required for a half iron distance race with close to 900 athletes racing:

500 cases of water
3,000 bottles of PowerBar Perform
75 cans of PowerBar Perform mix
4 cases of Enduralytes
80 cases of gel packs
80 cases of canned Coke
30 boxes of extra large trash bags
14,000+ cups

All of our product was stored in a shipping container at the race site.  Determining how much product should go where was something I worked out in the weeks building up to the event - yet getting the product out to the aid stations was going to be quite the undertaking.  Three bike aid stations, and 17 run aid stations (athletes would pass 8 of the aid stations twice) were on the map and needed to be stocked with supplies.

This past Friday I inventoried all of the above mentioned product.  Aside from aid station inventory, there were tents that needed to be erected, hurricane fencing to be placed, and a transition area to be set up.  I wasn't involved in all of it, but I arrived that morning and departed for home around 800p.  I know there were others that worked much later into the evening ensuring that site was not only ready for the race on Sunday, but that we were ready for the kids racing scheduled for Saturday as well.

We loaded the trucks with the aid station product late Saturday afternoon, but arrival at the race site for me was around 630a to start working on logistics.  After numerous other tasks, phone calls, and meetings, I had three box trucks backed up to the storage container.  Team members lined up to start the off-loading process and getting the required amount of product into each truck.  We finalized product counts per aid station, compared these counts to spreadsheets that I put together, and locked the trucks down for the night.  We then drove the course (three teams - one for the bike course and two for the run course) and dropped off tables.

I then had some time to watch the athletes check-in as the day came to a close.  The transition area was abuzz with activity with bikes being racked.  It was great fun to feel the vibe.  I walked the expo a bit - saying hello to a few folks I knew in some of the vendor tents - and finally left to get some sleep.  While I arrived home later than the previous night, I again left with an army of people still working to ensure that everything was in tip-top shape for race day.

Sunday is such a blur at the moment.  I couldn't sleep much on Saturday night, as I kept thinking of all the things I had to do and wanted to double check.  So I was up at 230a on race day, and with coffee in hand drove off to buy ice for some of the aid stations. While we did have ice delivered on race day in refrigerated trucks for finish line and post race purposes, getting ice onto the course was going to be handled separately.  (Love 24 hour gas stations...."Hi, I'd like to buy every bag of ice that you have, please....oh, and can I get an extra large coffee?")  After dropping off ice at a couple spots on the course, I arrived at the race site at 330a.  By 430a all the trucks left with teams of three to four people to hit the course and drop off product at the aid stations.  With running headlamps blazing, we left each aid station with all the cases of water, gel, PowerBar Perform, Coke, etc that they needed.  Thankfully, all the volunteers - can't do a race without them - setup the aid stations when they arrived not long after.  They really did an amazing job.

The first bike aid station - at mile 18 and 36 (the athletes would pass by this location twice) - would have 60 cases of water, and 1,500 bottles of PowerBar Perform endurance drink.  The second bike aid station - closer to mile 25 - would have 20 cases of water.  All the other product was split up at all the aid stations on the run course.  We also put 70 cases of water at the finish line, and had three 7 gallon jugs being filled with PowerBar Perform (continually refilled as necessary as racers finished.)  Of course there were bananas, pizza, and bagels for the athletes as they finished and a BBQ at the finish line for all the athletes and families as well.

I left the race site last night absolutely beat.  Again, there were crews still tearing down all the infrastructure while I was showering at home and subsequently falling asleep on the couch around 1000p.  I woke up this morning to stiff fingers, sore hands, tired arms, an aching back, and sore legs.  Oh, and an achilles tendon that's yelling at me for all the twisting and turning done while moving / tossing / placing hundreds of cases of water.  Thankfully I'm taking today off of work from my real job so I can recover a bit.

I have some photos from during the race.  I'll hopefully get a post with a race recap out later this week.

Weekend Group Training Wrap-up

I wrapped up a great weekend of group training yesterday.  I spent some time with the B-Athletics triathlon club, helping out my friend and fellow triathlon coach, Jeff B.  We both have athletes gearing up for upcoming triathlons, with the majority targeting Olympic distance events.  But between the two of us we also have a couple of athletes racing the Toughman Half Ironman triathlon next weekend.  Our athletes racing Toughman were in taper mode, and had their own rides and workouts arranged.  This let us take the opportunity to get our other athletes together, and focus our time with our novice and beginner athletes.

Saturday was the long-ish ride.  Approximately 45 miles.  The pace wasn't too tough, and we had a couple different pace groups going throughout the ride.  We did challenge a couple of the athletes with the climbs of Route 22 in Bedford NY.  Those of you who might be familiar with that stretch of road know that there are some good climbs on Route 22 between Rte's 172 and 433 - some sections top out at 10-11% grade (I think!)  The climbs aren't long, but they do test you now and again. 

It was a great ride from Purchase NY - through Chappaqua, Mt. Kisco, Bedford, Armonk, Valhalla....basically a nice tour of southern Westchester County.

Sunday was brick day.  We met a handful of our athletes who are targeting upcoming Olympic distance races for a loop of a local triathlon bike course - approximately 25 miles on the bike followed up with a 3.5 mile run.  The athletes were pushed here and there and it was good to see them actually enjoy the run.....well, at least sort of.

I have to admit that the most satisfying thing of being a coach is helping the athletes that are targeting their first big race.  Call them novice triathletes, call them first-timers.  Doesn't matter.  In a group setting, the peer motivation is such a great benefit.  Hearing an individual say that they can't go on, or can't do a climb, or "...I just can't do this" isn't uncommon.  But as you talk them through their challenge, and with the help of their fellow athletes supporting them, they discover that they actually can accomplish things that were once insurmountable.  The look on their face is priceless.  The realization that they actually can do something that they previously felt impossible is worth all the time and effort that goes into coaching.

Race Report: Mossman Olympic Tri (Okay, Aquabike)

Truth be told, I'd never done an Aquabike event before.  So when the race director of an upcoming triathlon sent an email stating that the Aquabike division was being offered, It peaked my interest.  This would be my first race this year since breaking my ankle back in February.  I'd missed five races (that I'd already registered and paid for) so when this option came along - for a race I'd paid for 8 months ago - I really couldn't pass it up.  A chance to race, in some fashion or another, was quite exciting.

So, a 1.5K swim and a 40K bike.  I was psyched.  I'd been swimming and cycling quite a bit, but I wasn't doing a whole lot of speed-work.  I was mainly getting out to keep my fitness from going in the crapper while I dealt with physical therapy.  But I felt that I could do pretty well - and I really thought that I'd be able to drop the hammer on the bike since I didn't have to run.  I thought back to the relay I did last summer and while I was annoyed, at the time, watching everyone head out on the run while I stood there feeling out of place, I remembered how fun it was to just red-line the bike leg.  So off I went.

I had a good swim.  I was out of the water in just over 20 minutes and across the chip mat at the entrance to T1 in just over 21 minutes.  A relatively quick transition and I was out on the bike.  Side note:  The tide was heading out, so the water was quite shallow at the start.  When the officials state that it's an "in-water start", shouldn't people be penalized for running down the beach instead of running in the water?   Have a look at the swim course and you'll see what I mean.  Nice advantage in running down the beach towards the first buoy.  But I digress....

Anyway, on to the bike.  The bike course at this race is a little odd.  Five laps of an 8K course.  Very flat and very fast.  But it gets congested - quickly.   I won't go into all the gory details, but I don't think I want to race on this course again.  Very tough to get around groups of people.  Again, I digress.....

All was good and going to plan.  I was averaging around 24 mph for the first few laps.  A slight change in the wind provided a little extra resistance here and there on lap four.  But as this was going to impact everyone, I didn't worry about it too much.  With one lap to go, my plan was to drop the hammer and leave nothing in the tank when I was done.  My ankle felt pretty good, so why not?!

Well, this is where things started to fall apart.  My fitness - while fine for longer weekend rides and weekday morning rides with a few tempo bursts thrown in - failed me at this intensity.  On top of that I'm a bit heavier than I would have been had I been racing all season, and.....well.....I watched my speed drop.  Drop.  Drop some more.  I pedaled harder.  Focused on my pedal stroke.  Hell, I got out of the saddle once or twice.  Nada.  I watched my average speed fall like a boat anchor over the last 8K and came into T2 sounding like a sherpa climbing Mt. Everest. 

Okay, I threw on my shoes and jogged over to the finish line to hand in my chip.  2nd place in the division - to a guy who admittedly ran on the beach at the start of the swim (grumble, grumble)  But I'll take it.  It was great to get out there and race.  I did have a lot of angst while I hung around and watched everyone head out to the run course (a flat, two loop course along the Long Island Sound).  I went for a little jog, but my ankle was stiffening up so I bagged it and went to the massage tent after snarfing down a bagel. 

The comedic part of this day was during the awards ceremonies.  When we were called up to accept the awards for our division, it's the first time I've stood on a podium where the athletes didn't congratulate one another, but instead asked: "...so, what's your ailment?"  Needless to say I'm looking forward to being able to do a full-fledged triathlon again.

And speaking of that, what's up next?  Well, I'm contemplating doing a sprint triathlon in early October.  However, it's the same weekend as my wedding anniversary and I'm not sure it's the best thing to try to squeeze into the plans.  My wife has said it's cool, but I may pass in lieu of getting out of town for a couple days. 

Got The Green Light!

I had my final follow-up visit to my sports medicine / orthopedist this past Friday.  I didn't know it was going to be the final visit until I got there, really.  He asked about physical therapy, and how my cycling / swimming / running was going.  More importantly, he dug into the details of how long I'm able to run and at what intensity.   The good news is, I got the green light from my doc to "go do whatever the hell you want".  Well, not exactly.  He did say to make sure I listen to my ankle, but he said I could race.

Here's where our conversation became a little comedic thanks to my Type-A kicking in:

Doc:   So, go do a triathlon.  You have one scheduled?
Me:   I do, actually.  Paid for it about 6 months ago before I broke my ankle.  It's on the 20th of August.  Was going to race the Aquabike category, though.
Doc:   Really?  Just the swim and the bike?  Why not do the run?
Me:   Well.....(pause)
Doc:   Wait, you're not doing the run because you know it won't be as fast as you want and you won't be competitive?
Me:   Well.....(another pause).....Yeah.
Doc:   (Laughing)....You sound like my wife.  If she gets a flat in an Olympic distance or shorter triathlon, she's done.  Won't even bother with it.  You're telling me you're the same way.
Me:   Well.....
Doc:   (Shaking head and laughing, still)  Okay, okay.  Do the Aqua Bike thing.  Then just go run 5K.  It'll be good for you.  Then find a race, a sprint or something, down the road. 
Me:   Right on.

With that, I was told that I was done with physical therapy as well.  I'm Mr. Happy Guy.  

Now, truth be told, I've never done an Aquabike race.  Yeah, yeah, not being as competitive as I'd like to be is a lame reason to not do the run.  Part of me doesn't want to have a slow run split.  The other part of me wants to make sure that I'm smart, take things slowly, and not aggravate my ankle.  Anyway, I was signed up for the Olympic distance tri at the Park City Mossman triathlon.  But as I know the race director, he was kind enough to move me to the other category (with all the folks with bad knees and ankles that can't run!)

So, while my running still won't be up to the intensity that I would want for a sprint race, I'm eyeballing a sprint tri in early October.  One of the last of the season here in the NYC area.  I'm psyched.  In my excitement, I did a 35 mile ride this morning with a 5K brick run tacked onto the end.  Averaged 7:40 min/mile pace on the run.  Felt pretty good.

It's exciting to actually have an event or two on the horizon.  It's been a long 6 months.  Even though I won't be up to full fitness it'll still be nice to go race.

Athlete Race Recap From The Clark Lake Triathlon

Podium Training Systems athlete Kari Waddington was in attendance at the Clark Lake triathlon in Brooklyn, Michigan this past weekend.  She's getting her final shake-out races under her belt as she gears up for Steelhead 70.3 in August.  Kari was kind enough to write up a race report for us......


The 27th Annual Clark Lake Triathlon.  A very generous 1/2 mile swim, 13.5 mile bike, 4.25 mile run around Clark Lake.  Love, love, love this event!  It's has had many incarnations over the last, nearly 3 decades:  anywhere from a 19-26 mile bike, 4-6 mile run with various start and finish points and a couple of sponsor changes before arriving at the current distances and its affiliation with Elite Endeavors Event Production Company.  With about 400 tri/duathletes and multiple wave start, 2011's version was, as usual, an enjoyable race for both veterans and first timers.  Jim and Joyce Donaldson of Elite Endeavors always put on a great, well-organized, well-supported, efficient race.  And hey, I certainly can't blame them for the mid-July heat greeting us on race morning last Sunday.  Boy was it steamy.

Needless to say, with a string of days in the 80s and 90s, the swim was a "no wetsuit" affair.  Not something this inefficient kicker likes to hear!  But when you've been tri-ing for awhile, you learn to go with the flow.  A good strategy, because as it turned out, the 1/2 mile swim turned out to be a bit longer.  As I was slogging through the last 200 yards, I thought of my brother, an avowed "non-swimmer" doing his longest open-water swim to date.  Fortunately he, and everyone else, got out of the water unscathed and on to the fun, gently rolling bike loop.

From my perspective, the bike was my favorite part.  My wave of "older" women, 35+, was the 4th wave of the morning, with two waves of males and another of duathletes starting before us.  This made for a steady stream of bodies on the course and provided ample motivation to keep the big ring churning.  As the tri-gods have been kind to me over the years, I tried to make sure I had an encouraging word for my fellow athletes as I passed them on the bike (did I mention the bike was my favorite part?).  I believe in Karma, and if I hold true to form, more often than not, I will see a few of them again on the run….

This year, for a change, I made a vow NOT to crash and burn on the run.  Since I invested in a Garmin Forerunner in the off season, I thought wearing that for the run would keep me honest.  My awesome coach Dave Burgess (shameless plug!) thought I should be running 7:30s for a race like this, so I needed a little accountability out there to keep me on track.  It was pretty hot out there by run time, but a relatively flat course and the many wonderful Clark Lake summer residents out with their hoses made it tolerable.  I managed to run pretty even splits of 7:31 over the 4.25 mile course (well, okay, it took a mad sprint to the finish to make that happen, but still…).

My only small gripe about the whole event was that the results posted called it a 4 mile run, not 4.25 as advertised on the website or verified by my GPS.  Yes, it was the same for everybody, which is to say, everyone was equally disappointed at their slow run splits!  So here's a little shout out to the Donaldsons:  Could ya' please fix that one little detail to satisfy our fragile little egos?!

But I digress….  All in all, it was a great day!  I was happy to meet my goals and managed to take home the title of first women's master triathlete, and was second overall woman (by 15 seconds....wish I'd have known that a mile sooner).  

Thanks, Dave, for the vote of confidence, and training plan.  Hoping to keep building on my fitness level over the next month toward a peak in August….  Happy racing everyone!


Congrats, Kari.  That's the 6th triathlon in a row (by my count) that she's finished on the podium.  Nicely done.  Speedwork at the track is Thursday, right?