As you may or may not know, I raced in Providence this past weekend at Ironman Providence 70.3. Just to clear it up, this was a HALF Ironman, which consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and then a half marathon run (13.1 miles). This and the full Ironman distance are considered "long course" triathlon. It was put on by the Ironman organization.
I arrived at my parents' beach house at about 10 AM Saturday morning and quickly left for Providence, where I had to check-in, get weighed in, pick up my race packet, and also drop off my run bag with all my run gear in it. The registration took a long time, as there were almost 2000 competitors so you can imagine the lines. Finally, after about two hours, I met with one of the officials, and he checked me in, gave me my race packet, put on my athlete wrist band, and then I had to go to medical to get weighed in. They do this because if you lose a certain amount of body weight by the end of the race, you are required to go to the medical tent for an IV drip following the race. When that was finished, I walked about a half mile to where transition two was to drop off my run gear. I did that, and then I was off to the swim start, which was in Narragannsett, about 50-60 miles southeast. I got to the swim start and checked my bike in at my designated spot in the transition area, and I was finally all set and ready for the following day. At that point, I headed back to the beach house and tested out a long sleeved wetsuit and went for a practice swim at the beach near my parents' house. At that point, it was time to start fueling up for the race, and I threw down about 3000 calories, mostly through pasta and pretzels (for sodium). And I should mention I was excitedly nervous, never have been in a race this long before.
I got up at 3:45 AM, and headed to Narragansett to where the swim start was. I got there, made last minute adjustments on my bike, made sure my tire pressure was perfect, and double checked all my nutrition. It's not an understatement to say if you mess up on your nutrition in long course, your race might as well be over by midway through the bike leg. At that point I checked when my swim wave would go out, and my start was at 7:05, more than hour after the first wave went out. This meant I had some time to really gather myself, listen to my music, and watch 40 minutes of the race before I became a part of it. Finally, 7:00 rolled around and I headed to the water. 3...2...1....and the cannon (yes, cannon) blew and I was off. It was underway, i was really doing this. Seeing how far 1.2 miles looks like in the open ocean is extremely intimidating, but I actually felt great. In the past, it's taken me a good quarter to half mile to get settled into my stroke, but this day, I just felt that I was doing everything I should be doing, all the while pretending nobody was around me (even though it was a human washing machine in there). About halfway through, I knew this swim was special. I exited the water, saw my mother, said 'How am I doing?" and she said "awesome, you're ahead of more than half of the wave." I checked my watch: 36 minutes. 1.2 miles in 36 minutes. To put this in perspective, at Griskus Olympic, I swam 1 mile in 37 minutes. It was great. So then I ditched the original plan of walking at the transition areas and I ran up the beach to the race officials that help you get your wetsuit off. If you've never put on a long sleeve wetsuit, it's not easy to get off by yourself. Found the biggest, strongest volunteer I could find. Ran up to him and he yelled "Down!" I sat down, and he literally peeled the wetsuit off of me in 3 seconds. They need that at all my races! Just like that I was running to my bike. Dumped my bike gear back out, threw on socks, my cycling shoes, helmet and sunglasses. I also packed three extra tubes and extra CO2 cartridges. Finally, put 3 PowerBars in my back pocket, a gel flask, and 25 electrolyte pills. And I was off on my 56 mile trek to Providence....
During the first 5 miles, it was pretty flat along the coast line and I'm thinking "do I push it now, or save a lot of gas for the run?" I decided on pushing it a bit, but not to overly extend myself. I started passing people in the waves that started before me, which meant I was making up a good amount of time, and I just felt on. I was down in my aero bars for 90% of the time, and the hills that were thrown at me were nothing I couldn't handle comfortably. Nutritionally, I tried to drink 3-4 ounces of Accelerade every 15 minutes, eat half a PowerBar every 30 minutes, and 3 electrolyte pills every half hour. I took gel sporadically and didn't seem to really need it since I was easily handling solid food. There were 3 aid stations on the course, and the volunteers were amazing. I guess that's part of the Ironman experience. I really thought that if I ran out of any nutrition that I brought myself, I could easily replace it at the next aid station. We finally rolled into Providence, and I was pretty ready to get off that bike. My lower back and hamstrings were feeling it a bit. I rolled into T2, dismounted the bike and ran with it to my transition spot to put on my run gear. It was seamless. All of a sudden, it hits me.....I have a 13.1 mile run ahead of me in this heat and humidity.
I was off on the run, and my legs were there. I did not feel like I rode 56 miles at all, maybe felt as if I rode 15. Then all of a sudden, I hit the first aid station. I felt good at that point and only took water, and three sponges soaked in ice water. That cooled my core right down. Then I turn a corner on the first mile and my god, I see a hill like i've never seen before. If you're from Southington, and you know Southington Mountain, or Winding Ridge, that area....this hill made Southington Mountain look like a bump. It was more like San Francisco. I had no idea how long it was, but I decided to run up it, while everyone else was walking. Finally after about a half mile, the hill leveled out, and then I saw the reality of this run. With so many waves going out before me, there was a ton of people already on the course. To put it lightly, it looked like hundreds of living dead people: people down on the ground puking, saw one lady crying, others just wanting to finish and choosing to walk. And I'm thinking at this point "wow, I still feel half way decent, I'm gonna pick as many people off as I can right now." So I pushed the pace. It was a two lap course, and running down that huge hill at mile 6 was rough on my knees and quads! Hurt like hell, but I pressed on. At that point, I had switched to gatorade for me, ice and water for throwing over my head, and sponges for inside my shirt. I circled at the turnaround, and I look up and there's my mother, my brother, Tyler and Melissa cheering me on, screaming like they were in the race themselves. Seeing them brightened my outlook like I never would have thought, all of a sudden I had some extra energy. About 100 yards later, I saw another guy in my age group, we chatted while we ran, and I told him this was my first half Ironman, and he said he couldnt' believe I was doing so well, and he told me to get right behind him to draft him, so that I could "hide" under him from any wind that would slow me down. I couldn't believe he did that; here's a guy that's competing against me in my age group, and he's telling me to draft him so that I could be faster and save more energy. I guess that just explains a lot of people in this sport. After about 3 miles of doing that, he told me to "just go" he couldn't hold my pace anymore, he wished me luck and I took off, probably going about 7:30 pace per mile at that point. Then I started to break down a little bit, and that's when I made the decision to switch from Gatorade to Coca-Cola. This is a big move and you're only supposed to do it when you're desparate for more energy because it's a huge sugar high and if you don't keep drinking it, you'll crash fast. But aid stations were every mile and I figured if i stuck with Coke, then I could just take more in at the next aid station. My god, I never tasted anything so good in my life. The elixir of the gods. About 30 seconds after my first Coke, I felt fresh again! Now....where can I get another Coke??? Next aid station I go! Then I saw mile 11 marker, and I knew I had to push it. I had enough energy to push it. Down the hill I went, bam, bam, bam....could feel every step in every bone in my body down that hill. Pain is not the right word for that. Finally got to the bottom, hit the final aid station, got two more cups of coke to fuel me for the last mile. At that point, i saw the state capitol building and I knew I was almost there. And then I heard the roar of the thousands of people at the finish line....I was so close, but my legs hurt like hell. At that point, I just talked to Jared out loud for about 15 seconds, just asked him to help me out for this last stretch if he could. I started down the finish line chute with people screaming....somehow saw my "fans," threw up a fist pump and headed for the finish! I didn't cross the finish line, I jumped up in the air and threw up a haymaker fist pump. I cannot describe that feeling. I had just crossed the finish line at a half Ironman in 5 hours and 9 minutes, 21 minutes faster than my goal. I then was still on cloud 9, and saw my buddy Rob. He's the guy that just did Ironman New Zealand in under 12 hours, and he's an absolute animal. He only beat me by 2 minutes. He was going crazier for me than I was, he was so glad for me. Huge hug from him and then I turn to my left, and I couldn't believe it, but it was Jon Blais' father. Jon Blais is a household name in triathlon. Sadly he passed away last May from ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease. His final goal in life, after he was handed this death sentence, was to complete Ironman. He was featured on NBC during the Ironman Hawaii coverage, and if you ever get the chance, look up his story on YouTube, it's very sad, but very inspiring. I took that chance to introduce myself to Jon's dad and said "Your son is one of the most inspiring people ever" and he appreciated it and gave me a congrats high five. Then about 30 seconds later, who's there to meet me but one of my best friends Tyler. Seeing him was amazing, this was such a great day in my life and he was there to witness it. Then the pain kicked in and I considered heading to medical to get an IV, but thought maybe a massage would do ok instead. Stood in line to get a massage and it felt outstanding. Also gave me some time to reflect on what just transpired. Unbelievable. I later found out that I missed qualifying for the Half Ironman World Championships in Clearwater, FL by a bit more than 5 minutes, but I didn't care. Just to say that in my first Half Ironman, I did better than most guys that have been doing this distance for years. I came in #29 in my age group out of a field of about #200 and came in #250 overall out of almost 2000 competitors. Very respectable. I now have a few days off from training, and it's time to start thinking about the BIG ONE - Ironman Louisville, double the distance, double the pain, but double the glory - if and when I finish. Just 6 weeks away.......
Thank you all.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Ironman Providence 70.3 is here....
So it's here, my first long course triathlon. I'm writing this in Southington, and I will leave for Providence tomorrow, with the race starting at 6 AM on Sunday morning. I'm a bit nervous, this is the longest triathlon I've attempted and it's an Ironman-branded race, which are the biggest triathlons. There will be close to 2,000 competitors and thousands of spectators. The distances are as follows (exactly one half of what I will attempt in Louisville on August 31st): 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and then a half marathon.
Tomorrow, I plan on leaving at 7 AM. The day is packed with different mandatory and voluntary events for the athletes. Mandatory things: bike check-in, fill all my transition bags, pick up my race packet, and go to the race briefing(s). I will also go to the Ironman Expo and drive the bike course. In terms of the course, the swim is in Narragansett Bay, ocean water obviously, the bike is from Narragansett to Providence, and it's somewhat hilly, but rolling hills. The half marathon is supposed to be borderline-brutal, but I think I can handle it considering I ran a 1:31 at Fairfield and that course was extremely tough. Of course I have no plans of running that fast after swimming 1.2 miles and biking 56, but hopefully I'll have my nutrition spot on and I'll be ready to go.
I'm pretty nervous at this point. I'm about to start packing and I'm sure I'll be thinking about the task at hand. I've been looking forward to this race for a long time now, and this is a true test for Ironman. If you'd like to track my progress on Sunday, you can visit http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/rhodeisland70.3 and click on the Athlete Tracker link. I don't know my bib number until tomorrow, so you'll have to search by name. Time to get it done!
Tomorrow, I plan on leaving at 7 AM. The day is packed with different mandatory and voluntary events for the athletes. Mandatory things: bike check-in, fill all my transition bags, pick up my race packet, and go to the race briefing(s). I will also go to the Ironman Expo and drive the bike course. In terms of the course, the swim is in Narragansett Bay, ocean water obviously, the bike is from Narragansett to Providence, and it's somewhat hilly, but rolling hills. The half marathon is supposed to be borderline-brutal, but I think I can handle it considering I ran a 1:31 at Fairfield and that course was extremely tough. Of course I have no plans of running that fast after swimming 1.2 miles and biking 56, but hopefully I'll have my nutrition spot on and I'll be ready to go.
I'm pretty nervous at this point. I'm about to start packing and I'm sure I'll be thinking about the task at hand. I've been looking forward to this race for a long time now, and this is a true test for Ironman. If you'd like to track my progress on Sunday, you can visit http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/rhodeisland70.3 and click on the Athlete Tracker link. I don't know my bib number until tomorrow, so you'll have to search by name. Time to get it done!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Countdown's on to "Long Course"
This week I have two races, the first is Wednesday. It's a sprint, in Middlebury. It's one of the best races in CT, and that's one of the reasons why I'm doing it. Additionally, one of my good friends, Kristin Paradis, is also doing it, and this is her first race, so I wanted to be there to support her. I wouldn't be able to stand on the sidelines and cheer, so I registered last week. On Sunday, the real test is on, Ironman Providence 70.3. This is exactly half the distance of Louisville, although it is a very long and grueling race. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and then a half marathon run. To make this even better, a lot of my friends are coming to watch the race, and that makes the whole effort so much sweeter. My time goal is 5 hours and 30 minutes, but my real goal is to be comfortable the whole time.
Training wise, did an 11 mile run in the heat today, and it's not exactly effortless, but it's much less difficult than it used to be. 11 miles now feels like 3 miles used to feel to me. A half marathon feels like a 5k now. Also, this past Thursday, July 3rd, I did my first 100 mile bicycle ride with my friend Rohan, who recently climbed Mt. Everest. We started in Rocky Hill, went through Middletown, and took the back roads to the beach, Hammonasset State Park in Madison. From there, we went past the Clinton Crossings shopping outlets, and then through Killingworth, Haddam, Chester, and then back through Middletown, Cromwell, and then a full loop around Rocky Hill. It took us just over 6 hours, and I feel like I could have done it faster. Rohan had some hard workouts the day before, and he was struggling a bit to keep up with me, but I'm so glad I didn't do it alone. Nutritionally, I was spot on, I took in a total of 6 Powerbars, 4 bottles of Accelerade, a flask of Hammer gel, and one bottle of Gatorade Endurance formula. I made it a point to eat and drink every 20 minutes, and my body felt sufficiently fueled the whole time. We finished up around 12:30 PM, and I literally felt fine. This ride was easier than some of my 50 mile rides, and we averaged over 18 mph. I have to say, before the ride, I was a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect, but I'm not afraid of that distance anymore, and I do think I can run/walk the marathon after the ride in Ironman. If I can do the 112 miles in less than 7 hours, that will give me at least 8 hours to finish the marathon, and I can do that, I know I can. I've run a straight marathon before, and did that in 3:42, so even if I run a 16 minute per mile pace, I will finish the Marathon in Ironman. I feel like I'm on track and I'm not slacking. Mentally, there have been days when I dont' feel like training, but they're few and far between.
We've still been getting random donations in the mail, and it's crazy to me. The director of the soccer league I used to play in, The Hartford Industrial and Insurance League sent out a mass communication to all its players and coaches with our story. It's incredible people that don't know me or anything about Jared are caring so much. I even got an email from someone that went to prom with Jared's cousin like 10 years ago, saying that he wanted to donate, and he actually even met Jared once, about 8 years ago! What a small world. We will be sending out a communication via email and US Mail very soon, so be on the look out for that, and if you'd like to be added to the distribution list, please send us an email at jpgscholarship@gmail.com. Thanks again everyone!
Training wise, did an 11 mile run in the heat today, and it's not exactly effortless, but it's much less difficult than it used to be. 11 miles now feels like 3 miles used to feel to me. A half marathon feels like a 5k now. Also, this past Thursday, July 3rd, I did my first 100 mile bicycle ride with my friend Rohan, who recently climbed Mt. Everest. We started in Rocky Hill, went through Middletown, and took the back roads to the beach, Hammonasset State Park in Madison. From there, we went past the Clinton Crossings shopping outlets, and then through Killingworth, Haddam, Chester, and then back through Middletown, Cromwell, and then a full loop around Rocky Hill. It took us just over 6 hours, and I feel like I could have done it faster. Rohan had some hard workouts the day before, and he was struggling a bit to keep up with me, but I'm so glad I didn't do it alone. Nutritionally, I was spot on, I took in a total of 6 Powerbars, 4 bottles of Accelerade, a flask of Hammer gel, and one bottle of Gatorade Endurance formula. I made it a point to eat and drink every 20 minutes, and my body felt sufficiently fueled the whole time. We finished up around 12:30 PM, and I literally felt fine. This ride was easier than some of my 50 mile rides, and we averaged over 18 mph. I have to say, before the ride, I was a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect, but I'm not afraid of that distance anymore, and I do think I can run/walk the marathon after the ride in Ironman. If I can do the 112 miles in less than 7 hours, that will give me at least 8 hours to finish the marathon, and I can do that, I know I can. I've run a straight marathon before, and did that in 3:42, so even if I run a 16 minute per mile pace, I will finish the Marathon in Ironman. I feel like I'm on track and I'm not slacking. Mentally, there have been days when I dont' feel like training, but they're few and far between.
We've still been getting random donations in the mail, and it's crazy to me. The director of the soccer league I used to play in, The Hartford Industrial and Insurance League sent out a mass communication to all its players and coaches with our story. It's incredible people that don't know me or anything about Jared are caring so much. I even got an email from someone that went to prom with Jared's cousin like 10 years ago, saying that he wanted to donate, and he actually even met Jared once, about 8 years ago! What a small world. We will be sending out a communication via email and US Mail very soon, so be on the look out for that, and if you'd like to be added to the distribution list, please send us an email at jpgscholarship@gmail.com. Thanks again everyone!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Great Response
First and foremost, I'd like to congratulate Matt Riccio once again for receiving this year's Friendship Scholarship award. He's a top-notch guy. He really portrayed the qualities we look for and the qualities I personally hold dear: honesty, humor, generosity, loyalty and kindness. If you can model yourself after those qualities, you've really got something. It's not easy to do that, but people that are able to live their life in that way, at least I can say, I'd like to surround myself with them. Please check out the blurb in the June 27th edition of The Southington Citizen, which can be viewed online by clicking here.
The past week has been great and we've received a good deal of support due to last week's article about the scholarship in The Citizen. I got a card in the mail, along with a donation, from a local resident and her words were extremely nice and made us realize that we are doing something that really matters. She said that she was touched by the article and our effort, and that friendship should never be taken for granted. I was literally taken aback by her words, so much so that I personally called her to thank her for her donation. This was the first time that we've received a "random" donation and it was not only groundbreaking, but also a bit special, just to know that people can relate to our cause.
This past weekend, I was in New Jersey, on Long Beach Island. I met the producer of the movie, Kenny Kohler, and his girlfriend there. The island was beautiful. Nothing against New Jersey, but I didn't ever expect to see such nice places in Jersey. I got there on Thursday night, slept well, and got up around 8 AM on Friday to start filming. I guess this is an appropriate point to give a shout out to Kenny. The guy is extremely talented and knows how to throw an artistic spin on something so bland as riding a bike. Furthermore, his girlfriend, and my friend, Barb helped us out also. I cannot say enough about her either, such a selfless, happy person. Kenny and Barb are just great people, the type of people you just want to surround yourself with because they literally just overflow with positivity. But back to the task at hand, did some riding, got some great shots around the island, and then went for a 9 mile run in the heat. Tough....it's like a different ballgame in the heat and humidity.
Saturday morning, Kenny and I got up at 5 AM to get some shots while the sun came up. It's so nice to be up before anyone else and to be on the beach before anyone. I did some running and Kenny did his thing, never failing to impress. I'm telling ya, you're going to want to see this movie, it's going to be special. Later in the day, we got some more running shots in the hottest part of the day, and it sure was tough, but (knock on wood), I think I'm getting more accustomed to training in otherwise dangerous heat, and I'm learning different things that work in order to keep my core temperature down. Lots of salt, electrolytes, and water.
It was a great weekend, and it really got me thinking about all of these great places I've gone to in order to train. I've trained in Connecticut (obviously), Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Florida. I've seen so many great things already, and I'm still two months away from the big race! This journey so far has been the best experience of my life, on so many different levels.
This week will be tough in terms of training. I will stay true to the pool, and also try to get some good rides in during the first few days of the week. On Thursday, I will be going on my first "Century ride", which is 100 miles. I've never gone that long and i'm curious to see how I do. To make matters tougher, I'll be going with my buddy Rohan, who just got back from climbing Mount Everest (yes, Mount Everest!) a month ago. He did that with no help of oxygen tanks, so needless to say, his lung capacity is insane and his fitness level probably makes me seem like a little leaguer. I'm glad to be going with him though, because I know it'll be tougher than if I went with anyone else. I'm really looking forward to that, especially since I have Ironman Providence 70.3 in less than two weeks.
I can't say thank you enough. I really can't. Thank you all for wanting to be a part of my journey, it's super special.
The past week has been great and we've received a good deal of support due to last week's article about the scholarship in The Citizen. I got a card in the mail, along with a donation, from a local resident and her words were extremely nice and made us realize that we are doing something that really matters. She said that she was touched by the article and our effort, and that friendship should never be taken for granted. I was literally taken aback by her words, so much so that I personally called her to thank her for her donation. This was the first time that we've received a "random" donation and it was not only groundbreaking, but also a bit special, just to know that people can relate to our cause.
This past weekend, I was in New Jersey, on Long Beach Island. I met the producer of the movie, Kenny Kohler, and his girlfriend there. The island was beautiful. Nothing against New Jersey, but I didn't ever expect to see such nice places in Jersey. I got there on Thursday night, slept well, and got up around 8 AM on Friday to start filming. I guess this is an appropriate point to give a shout out to Kenny. The guy is extremely talented and knows how to throw an artistic spin on something so bland as riding a bike. Furthermore, his girlfriend, and my friend, Barb helped us out also. I cannot say enough about her either, such a selfless, happy person. Kenny and Barb are just great people, the type of people you just want to surround yourself with because they literally just overflow with positivity. But back to the task at hand, did some riding, got some great shots around the island, and then went for a 9 mile run in the heat. Tough....it's like a different ballgame in the heat and humidity.
Saturday morning, Kenny and I got up at 5 AM to get some shots while the sun came up. It's so nice to be up before anyone else and to be on the beach before anyone. I did some running and Kenny did his thing, never failing to impress. I'm telling ya, you're going to want to see this movie, it's going to be special. Later in the day, we got some more running shots in the hottest part of the day, and it sure was tough, but (knock on wood), I think I'm getting more accustomed to training in otherwise dangerous heat, and I'm learning different things that work in order to keep my core temperature down. Lots of salt, electrolytes, and water.
It was a great weekend, and it really got me thinking about all of these great places I've gone to in order to train. I've trained in Connecticut (obviously), Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Florida. I've seen so many great things already, and I'm still two months away from the big race! This journey so far has been the best experience of my life, on so many different levels.
This week will be tough in terms of training. I will stay true to the pool, and also try to get some good rides in during the first few days of the week. On Thursday, I will be going on my first "Century ride", which is 100 miles. I've never gone that long and i'm curious to see how I do. To make matters tougher, I'll be going with my buddy Rohan, who just got back from climbing Mount Everest (yes, Mount Everest!) a month ago. He did that with no help of oxygen tanks, so needless to say, his lung capacity is insane and his fitness level probably makes me seem like a little leaguer. I'm glad to be going with him though, because I know it'll be tougher than if I went with anyone else. I'm really looking forward to that, especially since I have Ironman Providence 70.3 in less than two weeks.
I can't say thank you enough. I really can't. Thank you all for wanting to be a part of my journey, it's super special.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Two Races in 24 hours
I hope you all got a chance to read the article, and if not, it can be found here (page 1) and here (page 2). Thank you for all the kind words and support, it's much appreciated.
This weekend I did something I've never done before, attempted to do two races in one day. Saturday I competed in the USAT CT Club Championship triathlon in Shelton and Sunday I did the Fairfield Half Marathon. The weekend's now over, both races completed, and no injuries to speak of, so I'd say it was a great weekend.
Saturday morning, I got up around 4:30 AM and got all my gear packed and headed to the race. As soon as I got there, I could tell it was going to be a battle and on the drive, I was noticing all the hills. I got to Indian Well State Park and set up in the transition area, got my race packet, got my number, and then headed to the Heat tent. There was a good bunch of us, about 12 or so. At around 6:45, I headed down to the lake, and it was a little chilly, probably around the high 60's. The horn blew and the frenzy began. Again, I felt awful during the first half of the swim, was mentally not right, and was overall just struggling to stay in the middle of the pack. Luckily, this weekend, i didn't get punched in the face and didn't have to scramble for my goggles in the water. And once again, about halfway through the swim, i finally got comfortable and started thinking about my form. I don't know why it takes me a half mile to start thinking about my form, but even so, I finally got into a decent groove. I exited on the beach at 31 minutes, 6 minutes faster than last weekend, probably due to the swim stroke tweaks I worked on in the pool this past week. I got to T1 and was fumbling around trying to get my cycling shoes on. My transition time was over a minute which is not good, but I knew I could make up that time. The bike course surprisingly had only two hills that were painful, but otherwise was pretty flat, with only some inclination. The woman that was leading the woman's race was side by side with me the whole time, and she was pushing pretty hard, but nothing I couldn't handle, so i decided to stick with her to keep a good pace. I did so and had a great bike time, averaging 20.5 mph the entire bike. I got into T2 with my legs feeling fairly fresh, put on my running shoes and I was off on the 6.2 mile run course. I decided early to try and push it, and I did that. My breathing was spot on and had no problems, other than the steep inclines and declines. Not that they were problematic, but they were painful. Luckily, most of the run course was shaded so staying cool was pretty easy, grabbing two cups of cold water at every aid station, one for pouring over my head and one to drink. To make matters a bit harder, it was a two loop course, and so I'd see the hills twice. But all and all, it was a good run, averaged a 6:47 pace. When the day was done, Team Heat won the championship, and the third place finisher overall was Bill Schuman who is a longtime Heat member, so it was a great day. Not to mention Outback Steakhouse and Massage Envy at the finish line waiting for us! It was a lot of fun, and a bit bittersweet, knowing that would be the last Olympic distance (aka "short course") triathlon I would be doing this season.
Saturday night, I got some good rest, knowing the next morning a half marathon would lie ahead. I was a bit on the fence on whether or not I wanted to try and set a personal record at that distance or not, doing an triathlon the day before, and I really wasn't decided until this morning. I got up at 4:30 AM again, and my legs felt good, so I knew right then that I'd try and go for it. The time I had to beat was 1:34, or 7:07 mile pace for 13.1 miles. I was meeting up with Kristin Paradis and Mike Stasiuk for this race, and we met up and drove down together. It's just great to be able to do a race with some good friends, and it makes it that much more fun. We got to the beach at 6:45 AM, with plenty of time to spare. We used the bathroom, stretched, talked, ate. And then all of a sudden, it was race time, 8:30. There were over 3000 runners there, so it was tough to get comfortable for the first mile or so, elbow to elbow. I finally broke free at about the half mile mark, and running being my go-to event, started passing people. I did the first mile in just over 6 minutes and my legs felt great, although my breathing wasn't perfect. I had made the decision to push the pace hard, and did so throughout. There were plenty of aid stations, and the fire department was on the course, opening fire hydrants for the runners to stay cool. That was great, i had no heat issues at all, even though it was extremely humid out. It seemed like at no point during the race was my jersey not soaked with water. Nutritionally, I only took one gel at mile 8, and drank mostly water, taking GU2o (comparable to Gatorade Endurance Formula) twice, just to get some salt in me. For the second day in a row, I was pacing myself with another female runner, and we battled the entire time - I'd surge a bit, she'd surge head right with me, I'd drop back a bit, she'd drop back and get her breathing right also. From mile 8 until the finish line, we were shoulder to shoulder. We didn't talk much other than when I said to her "You rock girl" and she said back "No, you rock." That was great knowing that we were in this together. The last two miles were tough, and it seemed never ending, but I finally crossed the finish line at 1:13:31, and gave my pacing partner a big hug. It worked out to 6:57 per mile for 13.2 miles, which was a personal best. I was satisfied with that, especially knowing I wasn't full strength due to the race the day before. I think that after today, I could run an 8 - 8:30 pace at Ironman Providence 70.3, having to run that half marathon after a 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike. I believe that I'm ready for that race, and that's next up on the list. That's on July 13th, so I have some time to put in some training time. Although i will be doing the full Ironman just to finish, I'm going to try and compete and be a factor in Providence. I think that's a great distance to me, because it seems like at the Olympic distance, I always run out of race, and I get faster as the race goes on. So I'm really excited to take the next step to "long course" triathlon.
Again, thank you all so much for all the support, there's nothing like coming home from a race and having someone say "Good job today." Thank you.
This weekend I did something I've never done before, attempted to do two races in one day. Saturday I competed in the USAT CT Club Championship triathlon in Shelton and Sunday I did the Fairfield Half Marathon. The weekend's now over, both races completed, and no injuries to speak of, so I'd say it was a great weekend.
Saturday morning, I got up around 4:30 AM and got all my gear packed and headed to the race. As soon as I got there, I could tell it was going to be a battle and on the drive, I was noticing all the hills. I got to Indian Well State Park and set up in the transition area, got my race packet, got my number, and then headed to the Heat tent. There was a good bunch of us, about 12 or so. At around 6:45, I headed down to the lake, and it was a little chilly, probably around the high 60's. The horn blew and the frenzy began. Again, I felt awful during the first half of the swim, was mentally not right, and was overall just struggling to stay in the middle of the pack. Luckily, this weekend, i didn't get punched in the face and didn't have to scramble for my goggles in the water. And once again, about halfway through the swim, i finally got comfortable and started thinking about my form. I don't know why it takes me a half mile to start thinking about my form, but even so, I finally got into a decent groove. I exited on the beach at 31 minutes, 6 minutes faster than last weekend, probably due to the swim stroke tweaks I worked on in the pool this past week. I got to T1 and was fumbling around trying to get my cycling shoes on. My transition time was over a minute which is not good, but I knew I could make up that time. The bike course surprisingly had only two hills that were painful, but otherwise was pretty flat, with only some inclination. The woman that was leading the woman's race was side by side with me the whole time, and she was pushing pretty hard, but nothing I couldn't handle, so i decided to stick with her to keep a good pace. I did so and had a great bike time, averaging 20.5 mph the entire bike. I got into T2 with my legs feeling fairly fresh, put on my running shoes and I was off on the 6.2 mile run course. I decided early to try and push it, and I did that. My breathing was spot on and had no problems, other than the steep inclines and declines. Not that they were problematic, but they were painful. Luckily, most of the run course was shaded so staying cool was pretty easy, grabbing two cups of cold water at every aid station, one for pouring over my head and one to drink. To make matters a bit harder, it was a two loop course, and so I'd see the hills twice. But all and all, it was a good run, averaged a 6:47 pace. When the day was done, Team Heat won the championship, and the third place finisher overall was Bill Schuman who is a longtime Heat member, so it was a great day. Not to mention Outback Steakhouse and Massage Envy at the finish line waiting for us! It was a lot of fun, and a bit bittersweet, knowing that would be the last Olympic distance (aka "short course") triathlon I would be doing this season.
Saturday night, I got some good rest, knowing the next morning a half marathon would lie ahead. I was a bit on the fence on whether or not I wanted to try and set a personal record at that distance or not, doing an triathlon the day before, and I really wasn't decided until this morning. I got up at 4:30 AM again, and my legs felt good, so I knew right then that I'd try and go for it. The time I had to beat was 1:34, or 7:07 mile pace for 13.1 miles. I was meeting up with Kristin Paradis and Mike Stasiuk for this race, and we met up and drove down together. It's just great to be able to do a race with some good friends, and it makes it that much more fun. We got to the beach at 6:45 AM, with plenty of time to spare. We used the bathroom, stretched, talked, ate. And then all of a sudden, it was race time, 8:30. There were over 3000 runners there, so it was tough to get comfortable for the first mile or so, elbow to elbow. I finally broke free at about the half mile mark, and running being my go-to event, started passing people. I did the first mile in just over 6 minutes and my legs felt great, although my breathing wasn't perfect. I had made the decision to push the pace hard, and did so throughout. There were plenty of aid stations, and the fire department was on the course, opening fire hydrants for the runners to stay cool. That was great, i had no heat issues at all, even though it was extremely humid out. It seemed like at no point during the race was my jersey not soaked with water. Nutritionally, I only took one gel at mile 8, and drank mostly water, taking GU2o (comparable to Gatorade Endurance Formula) twice, just to get some salt in me. For the second day in a row, I was pacing myself with another female runner, and we battled the entire time - I'd surge a bit, she'd surge head right with me, I'd drop back a bit, she'd drop back and get her breathing right also. From mile 8 until the finish line, we were shoulder to shoulder. We didn't talk much other than when I said to her "You rock girl" and she said back "No, you rock." That was great knowing that we were in this together. The last two miles were tough, and it seemed never ending, but I finally crossed the finish line at 1:13:31, and gave my pacing partner a big hug. It worked out to 6:57 per mile for 13.2 miles, which was a personal best. I was satisfied with that, especially knowing I wasn't full strength due to the race the day before. I think that after today, I could run an 8 - 8:30 pace at Ironman Providence 70.3, having to run that half marathon after a 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike. I believe that I'm ready for that race, and that's next up on the list. That's on July 13th, so I have some time to put in some training time. Although i will be doing the full Ironman just to finish, I'm going to try and compete and be a factor in Providence. I think that's a great distance to me, because it seems like at the Olympic distance, I always run out of race, and I get faster as the race goes on. So I'm really excited to take the next step to "long course" triathlon.
Again, thank you all so much for all the support, there's nothing like coming home from a race and having someone say "Good job today." Thank you.
Friday, June 20, 2008
The Southington Citizen Article - June 20, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Pat Griskus Olympic Triathlon Race Report
If you're reading this, you've most likely seen the article on our effort in the Friday, June 20th edition of The Southington Citizen, so first and foremost, thanks for visiting. Please sign my guestbook. I will be updating this blog on a regular basis. Jared's parents asked that I document this whole process: race reports, training days, Ironman preparations....the whole gamut, and I am happy to do that. You can scroll down and read about how this idea was born in my first post.
This past Saturday, I competed in my first triathlon of the season, the Pat Griskus Olympic Triathlon in Middlebury, at Lake Quassapaug. It was at Quassy Amusement park. The swim was one mile, the bike was 25 miles and the run was a 10k (6.2 miles). I got up at about 5 AM, and my father picked me up soon after. I put my ipod on and got my bike and gear to the transition area, set up all my stuff, ate, and pretty much just focused on the task at hand. The water was a warm 75 degrees, but the race was wetsuit legal, and I wore a sleeveless wetsuit. Seeing how far a mile is in open water is quite intimidating and I had never swam that long a distance in a race, but the horn went off and off I went. I tried to settle into my stroke early, but I was getting kicked, punched and overall, just annoyed with the hundred or so other swimmers in my wave. I finally got halfway through and got dialed in and comfortable. It was a bit disheartening to take about 15 minutes to finally get comfortable, but when I did, it felt good. 37 minutes and change after the horn blew, I was out of the water, peeling my wetsuit off and running to the transition. I sat down, put on socks, and my cycling shoes, put my sunglasses on, and finally my helmet. I was wearing my tri suit under my wetsuit so that was convenient. I took off like a bat out of hell, and strapped on my gloves during the first mile, and then settled into the aero position. The first 7 miles or so were fast, lots of flats and downhills. I must have been averaging well over 21 mph when the hills hit. The rest of the bike course was a lot of climbing and not many flats or downhills. With about 5 miles left on the bike, I caught up to one of my teammates, and when i saw him, I knew I was killin' it on the bike. Come to find out, Rob was 4th overall out of the water, and over 10 minutes ahead of me, which meant I had made up over 10 minutes on the bike. He saw me and pulled away, but not a big deal, he's in the age group under me. This was a great thing though, because Rob is an absolute animal, and he's already done Ironman New Zealand and a half ironman in New Hampshire. He's a serious athlete and to know I was right there with him was satisfying. I finished up on the bike, and had a fast transition into my running shoes, and also put on my visor. Then I was out for a 6.2 mile run and my legs felt fresh. I took off again, planning to negatively split the run, in other words, run faster as I got further into the run. Turned out nobody passed me on the run, and i was seeing people going the other way, on their way back and I was picking them off, one by one. The one hill on the course was quite brutal, but I knew I could make up time on it, so I pushed hard up that hill. I really was negative splitting, and before I knew it, i was crossing the finish line. I did the run at a 6:37 per mile pace, which is 7 seconds slower than what I wanted, but that's ok. I simply ran out of race. Had that run been 10 miles, it would have been a different story, but I ended up placing fourth, with a time of 2 hours and 37 minutes. A very respectable effort for the longest triathlon I've done thus far.
This weekend I will be racing with my team at the HealthNet Connecticut Club Championships in Shelton, CT. It's the same distance, but not as hilly of a course. It's a sure bet that all of the best in CT will be there and I'll be ready. On Sunday, I am running in the Fairfield Half Marathon, and I'm not sure if I want to take that easy or try and set a personal record for that distance. The only reason why I'm even thinking about blasting that race is because of how flat that course is, I think it'll make for some fast times. All and all, I'm extremely happy that it's officially race season. I can now see the results of the past year of training. Have a great week and weekend everyone. Thanks for stoppin by!
This past Saturday, I competed in my first triathlon of the season, the Pat Griskus Olympic Triathlon in Middlebury, at Lake Quassapaug. It was at Quassy Amusement park. The swim was one mile, the bike was 25 miles and the run was a 10k (6.2 miles). I got up at about 5 AM, and my father picked me up soon after. I put my ipod on and got my bike and gear to the transition area, set up all my stuff, ate, and pretty much just focused on the task at hand. The water was a warm 75 degrees, but the race was wetsuit legal, and I wore a sleeveless wetsuit. Seeing how far a mile is in open water is quite intimidating and I had never swam that long a distance in a race, but the horn went off and off I went. I tried to settle into my stroke early, but I was getting kicked, punched and overall, just annoyed with the hundred or so other swimmers in my wave. I finally got halfway through and got dialed in and comfortable. It was a bit disheartening to take about 15 minutes to finally get comfortable, but when I did, it felt good. 37 minutes and change after the horn blew, I was out of the water, peeling my wetsuit off and running to the transition. I sat down, put on socks, and my cycling shoes, put my sunglasses on, and finally my helmet. I was wearing my tri suit under my wetsuit so that was convenient. I took off like a bat out of hell, and strapped on my gloves during the first mile, and then settled into the aero position. The first 7 miles or so were fast, lots of flats and downhills. I must have been averaging well over 21 mph when the hills hit. The rest of the bike course was a lot of climbing and not many flats or downhills. With about 5 miles left on the bike, I caught up to one of my teammates, and when i saw him, I knew I was killin' it on the bike. Come to find out, Rob was 4th overall out of the water, and over 10 minutes ahead of me, which meant I had made up over 10 minutes on the bike. He saw me and pulled away, but not a big deal, he's in the age group under me. This was a great thing though, because Rob is an absolute animal, and he's already done Ironman New Zealand and a half ironman in New Hampshire. He's a serious athlete and to know I was right there with him was satisfying. I finished up on the bike, and had a fast transition into my running shoes, and also put on my visor. Then I was out for a 6.2 mile run and my legs felt fresh. I took off again, planning to negatively split the run, in other words, run faster as I got further into the run. Turned out nobody passed me on the run, and i was seeing people going the other way, on their way back and I was picking them off, one by one. The one hill on the course was quite brutal, but I knew I could make up time on it, so I pushed hard up that hill. I really was negative splitting, and before I knew it, i was crossing the finish line. I did the run at a 6:37 per mile pace, which is 7 seconds slower than what I wanted, but that's ok. I simply ran out of race. Had that run been 10 miles, it would have been a different story, but I ended up placing fourth, with a time of 2 hours and 37 minutes. A very respectable effort for the longest triathlon I've done thus far.
This weekend I will be racing with my team at the HealthNet Connecticut Club Championships in Shelton, CT. It's the same distance, but not as hilly of a course. It's a sure bet that all of the best in CT will be there and I'll be ready. On Sunday, I am running in the Fairfield Half Marathon, and I'm not sure if I want to take that easy or try and set a personal record for that distance. The only reason why I'm even thinking about blasting that race is because of how flat that course is, I think it'll make for some fast times. All and all, I'm extremely happy that it's officially race season. I can now see the results of the past year of training. Have a great week and weekend everyone. Thanks for stoppin by!
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