Turkey Trot 10 & 5K

Ran 10k Turkey Trot 42:29(6:50 pace)

Then ran 5k with my cousin and R. 49:50 (16:02 pace)

Marshman 2015

Another year of triathlon's done.  I ended my year with my usual race of Marshman

This year I hit a PR of 1:00:54 which was good enough for 1st in my AG(43 total) and 17th out of 540.  By far my best showing.  Both my run and bike improved from last year while I was a minute slower on the swim.  After looking at other times  I think a portion of that swim drop was due to the course.

Swim:7:47
T1: 1:03
Bike: 38:13
T2: 1:00
Run: 12:49

Results 

If I want to have a chance next year I need to shave 2 more minutes off my bike time.

Stride 5k

Ran the STRIDE 5k with R.  He did great and finished in just under 40 min:

http://www.mapmyfitness.com/workout/1006633797

Columbia Triathlon

Swim:

Swim was great, very comfortable with my pace and pleased with the result.

Bike

Good course, rolling hills. Chester County is great prep for a hilly course. Pleased with 19.25 mph pace.

Run

Again my weakest area, I was please I stuck out the run for the full 10k although it was tempting to walk one or two of the hills. I was hoping to keep the pace under 7:30 so I need to keep up my run miles up. The humidity  was definitely a factor on the run.

Pleased with my overall time of 2:33:49.  With the exception of the run I felt like I had plenty in the tank to swim further and to keep riding at the same pace. This was a full 2 minutes better than my Red Bank Oly a few years ago and that was with a tidal swim and flatter bike.  I shaved time off each area.

Turkey Trot 10k

Ran the Wilmington MS 10k in 42:58 (6:55 pace)

Very pleased with the result, mile 3 was rough and brought down my time.  I took 6th in my age group and 46th overall(676).

Ironman Princeton 70.3

Swim:

Swim was great

T1:

Took my time in T1 and made sure I was all set. I didn't want to leave anything behind.

Bike:

First 35 Miles were great, then the suffering and lack of training kicked in.

T2:

Coming off the bike I could barely walk, so I took my time once I got back to my rack.

Run:

Run was what I expected - lots of walking.  Glad I was prepared with a hat, keeping my head cold with ice was key in finishing for me.

Marshman Triathlon 2014

I completed the Marshman for the 5th time this year - can't believe I have been doing triathlons for this long!  I finished 24th overall and 3rd in my age group.

Swim:
Very please with my swim of 6:40 - fastest I have done the Marshman swim.  It was also the most aggressive swim I have been in. I know I was bumping into other swimmer quite a bit in the first 100 yards.  My only regret is I didn't sight very well and probably lost 10 or more seconds  from taking the buoys too wide.

T1:
Wetsuit was much easier than Top of the Delaware.

Bike:
New bike course this year but still had some good hills.  I really need to work on the bike, this is where I lost all of my time.

T2:
Quick, I should have made sure my fingers weren't numb before coming in though, it slowed me down a little.

Run:
I did ok on the run, while faster than previous years, I felt I really slowed for the hill.  At the turn around I could see there was a pack behind me so it forced me to keep my pace high.

Full Results

My Results

Top of the Delaware - 12 Seconds

Well in my first test back from my accident I figure I wouldn't push it and just the race as a warm up for Marshman and if healing goes well it would be good  for Princeton 70.3.   Well when all was said and done I finished in 2nd for my age group and 24th over all.  Great results but I missed first place by 12 seconds and it is all I have been able to focus on since the race. Replaying little mistakes and second guessing if I could have pushed harder on the run.  Losing by a minute or even half a minute is tough but I can move on from those. Losing by 12 seconds - 5 seconds/mile faster on the run or 1 second faster on the bike, or correcting 2 transition mistakes. Those opportunities are few and far between, will have to dig deeper next time.

Swim
The swim was a triangle swim in the Newark Reservoir, which is elevated from the area around it. I debated my wet suit as it was warm but I went with it.  Glad I did, I had a great swim and felt good in the water.  The exit was narrow and only one person at a time could get out. I pushed the last 50 yards to make sure I had a clear exit.

Due to the nature of how the reservoir was built it was a third of a mile run to the first transition. Most racers - including myself left a pair of shoes at the swim exit to make the run to the transition area. Here is were my first mistake cost me time. When stripping out of my wet suit, it caught on my ankle and after struggling for a few moments I realized when trying to pull it off I had caught my fingers in the timing chip strap. Once I only had the wet suit grabbed it came right off.

The run to transition was easy and fast, It was downhill so I pushed the pace hard and passed several people.

Bike
The transition to the bike was quick, no issues except as I exited transition I made my second mistake.  I didn't have my bike in a straight line as I mounted and missed the turn onto the road.  I had to break hard to avoid a barrier and then remount - losing a few as it turned out costly seconds.

The bike course was good, rolling hills and I was only passed by a hand full of racers and caught a few myself. This remains my weakest area and if I want to really get ready for Lake Placid I need to spend a lot of time on the bike.

Run
Transition to run was also smooth and coming out of the transition you immediately had to run up to third of a mile to the reservoir.  I paced the uphill climb, both to make sure I had a strong run at the top and to help my legs transition from the bike. I paced a few people on the way up and then as I crested the top I accelerated to my race pace - or what felt like it.  The run became a trail run shortly after reaching the top and I was catching some other runners. I couldn't see many people so mentally I don't think I pushed as hard as if I had somebody in sight. I did get stuck behind someone for a moment in the woods but they stepped aside once they realized I was there.

Coming out of the woods I could see others running around the top of the reservoir and I mistakenly thought the finish was half way around the top(I was thinking a 2 mile run not 2.6)  I saw one racer out in front and began to close the distance.  When I realized the course was longer I thought to my self I would try and catch them by the finish and I continued to close the gap.  When I got close enough I could see he was my age group and I thought I had to catch him. But with a  half mile to go the course had a switch back and as he turned he could see me and upped his pace.  I stayed with him the rest of the run but couldn't get any closer.   The uphill 100 yard climb to the finish was challenge but a great way to end the race.

Ironman Lake Placid 2015

Well after sitting on the fence for awhile, I bit the bullet and signed up for Ironman Lake Placid next year. Actually I need to give my wife credit for forcing me to do it instead of just talking about it :-)

Now I just need to start training . . .

Boilermaker 2014

I ran the Boilermaker this weekend for the first time.  After living near Utica for 14 years, it took me going back for a reunion to finally run it.  Weather was ok, overcast +, breezy +, humid -, mid 70's -. I had hoped to run it at a 7:20 pace but finished with a 7:26 (1:09:24 chip, 1:09:54 gun).  Mile 8 is the one that killed my time.

I am not sure I will run it again unless with friends, it revalidated why I don't run races in July.

The race it self was a lot of fun, and the crowd/community support was probably the best I have seen. The post race beer was good too!

STRIDE 5k Challenge

After coaching R the last 3 months at STRIDE race day was finally here.  A had been joining us for all of the practices and he asked to run along with us. I was a new course from when A and I did two years ago.  After the first mile R ran ahead with some friend and finished in 37:57.  A and I continued at our own pace and finished in 41:48.  I was great to see both boys out on the course.

Race Results

Boilermaker

I officially signed up for the Utica Boilermaker.  After living nearby during my childhood, I am going back for a high school reunion the same weekend.  Lets hope for a really cold July!

Pump It Up 5 and Dime

Ran a 5 mile road race this morning in support of diabetes.  Finished in 33:26(6:44 pace), which was good enough for first place.  Run was good, my right hip is still an issue and last half mile my left ITB was irritated - most likely due to my hip.  Day was foggy and cold but great for running.  Course was a nice rolling course through a corporate campus.  I thought I was in second for most of the race, turns out the guy just in front of me was a pacer from the timing company.

2012 Garnet Valley Fun Run

Ran in the annual Garnet Valley Fun Run.  My two year win streak is over but I did manage to still claim my age bracket. I finished the 2.9 mile course in 18:20, 2 minutes behind the winner.  I am pleased with the 6:22 pace considering the course was a mix of wet and soggy fields, roads, and track.  My oldest son A did the walk and my dad took second in his age bracket.

Marshman Triathlon 2012

I completed my third Marshman yesterday and was pleased with the results 1:03:24, 6th/49 in my age and 31st/389 overall.  Podium has to be a goal for next year.  My dad also did great in his first tri, 1:14:17 and 11th in his age group.  He is now hooked and looking to do more next year.

My Results
Dad's Results

My Race Report on Beginner Triathlete.

Lums Pond Youth Triathlon

C and R finished their first Tri and I couldn't be prouder.  They did fantastic and both are interested in doing another which is a good sign :-).

Results here

Lake Placid Mini Tri

Well I was back in Lake Placid this week for vacation and High Peaks Cyclery is still running their mini-tri series.  So naturally I wanted to give it a go to see if things have improved since I last did it.  The short answer is yes but by exactly how much I don't know.  For the first time I DNF which I will go into below.

Swim 8:06 / Bike ~36:30 / Run didn't start

Swim was good, I went at about 90% and still 2:30 faster than when I did this before.  For me this was a good test of doing an open water swim without a wet suit.  Given my result I will be skipping the wet suit for the Marshman.

Bike was good and bad.  Bad because I had a flat - my first on the road, ever.  It took me 15 min to change 5 of which was due to figuring out the CO2 cartridge. My actual bike time was the ~36:30 which was good because I was averaging well over 20mph.

Run by the time I got back to transition I was mentally out of it and decided to call it a day and get back to dinner with my family.

I was pleased with how I did, when looking at the final results I was disappointed the race didn't go better because I think I would have won the 30-39 age group.

Link to when I did this 4 years ago.

Ironman Syracuse 70.3 - My Results

My results

Will link to my race report later.  In summary:  Great swim, Good bike, Bad run.

Swim: 34:59
T1: 3:40
Bike: 2:58:06
T2: 2:01
Run: 2:22:25

My Race Report at Beginner Triathlete

Red Bank Olympic Triathlon

I completed my first Olympic distance triathlon and my longest open water swim.  I finished in 2:35:28

Swim: 24:50.9
T1: 2:22.3
Bike: 1:19:11.9
T2: 1:20.8
Run: 47:42.1

Full Results

Very please with my swim, I need to continue to work on my bike time.  I feel if I can get stronger on the bike it will improve my bike and run times.  Also, nutrition wise I felt good.  I drank a Gatorade Perform 1 just before race time, I forgot to my nutrition for the bike, ate Cliff shots at the start of the run. I can't make the nutrition mistake for the bike on my 70.3 in June.  

This was a great race, very relaxed and a nice community.  There weren't enough bike racks so my bike was in a grassy part of the transition area but that was my only complaint and not a big one.  I would definitely recommend this race to others.

Kennett Square 5k

This Saturday I was able to run the Kennett Square 5k with my oldest son A.  He did great and we finished the surprisingly hilly course in 39:28.

It was a beautiful day for a race and it was nice to see so many kids running in the STRIDE and Girls on the Run programs.