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.

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.

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 . . .

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.

No 90

Well, the 90 is out for us.  Due to the captains of our boat being out and not being able to transfer the registration from them to us we are out of the 90.  My dad and I are now shifting focus to the the Marshman Triathlon - his first.  Should be a lot of fun and only 3 weeks away.

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.

Ironman 70.3 Syracuse

I signed up for next year's Ironman 70.3 Syracuse before reviewing this year's Poconos race so I can't reconsider.  Only 9 months to go!

Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains - My results

My results are below, keep in mind the bike was only 55 miles so the speed was ~17.8 mph not 18.2.  

my Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains - Overall results

Swim - Canceled
Bike: 3:04:41
T2: 4:54
Run: 2:06:45(9:40 split)

Total: 5:16:20

I will log a full race report later.

(I was mid-chew on a Cliff bar in this photo)

Ironman Poconos Athlete Guide

They released the athlete guide and when reading it last night I noticed they listed the following item under the running section:

"1. No form of locomotion other than running, walking or crawling is allowed. "

I love how crawling is listed as an approved method of traveling the course - here is hoping I don't need that one.

Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains - Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains results

Place holder link to my entry.

my Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains - Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains results

my Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains - Overall results

Rumpass in Bumpass Signup

Signed up for my next sprint triathlon:

Rumpass in Bumpass

750M Swim
12 Mile Bike
5k Run

Ironman 70.3 Pocono Mountains

Yesterday I bit the bullet and signed up for next year's inaugural Ironman Poconos Mountains 70.3 on 10/2.  Now begins a year of serious training.

Marshman Review

Finished the Marshman Triathlon in 1:07:57 and overall it was a good race.

After all of my swimming I only trimmed 10 seconds off my swim time (9:15).  I felt good about the swim until about 50 yards in. Between jostling for position and the typical nervousness I started to lose confidence and that impacted my ability to swim smooth.  I ended up doing the majority of the swim using the breast stroke. I feel like I have the endurance part down for the swim, but I need to work on confidence in the water.

My first transition(1:46) was better this year but still too slow, I made two mental mistakes when trying to rush and make up time lost in the swim.  The first was putting on my helmet before my shirt, the second was putting one of my socks on wrong and it wouldn't go over my heel.

The bike (42:12) overall was good, I felt good and the ride was smooth.  The only trouble was going over the last hill my bike bag came loose and started rubbing on the tire so I had to dismount to fix it.

The third transition(:33) was great, not much to say. and the run was also good.  I felt comfortable through the whole run and I felt my running recently helped with that.

I will also say it was great completing the race with my neighbor Jim, it always helps to have extra motivation. My biggest disappointment is that last year I stayed focused on Crossfit and did a few tri specific work outs.  This year I focused on tri workouts and only gained minimal time but lost muscle.  I will have to work on finding a good balance this winter.

Notes for my next triathlon:

• Wet suit is officially on the wish list before my next triathlon which will most likely be an Olympic distance one in the spring.
• Need a better bike bag, can't afford to lose 15-20 seconds over something dumb like that.
• Need to work on my first transition, so that I don't think so much
• Need to really focus on the bike.

Compare to last year 2009 Results

Marshman - Done!

I finished the Marshman Triathlon in 1:09:10. It was a good race and overall I am glad I did it. I think this one finally has me hooked on triathlons or at least sprint triathlons.

I had hoped to break 1:05:00 for my time and I didn't even come close which was disappointing. If I am going to do more of these I need to get to a pool. my 9:27 in the water was a big hindrance. I did the race with 3 other people from my neighborhood and actually came out of the water with one of the guys in my swim wave. My first transition was horrible. It was cold that morning so I decided at the last minute to leave a long sleeved shirt to wear for the bike - that was a mistake. It was a bear to get on and instead of my transition being 1 min it was 2 min. The bike was good (42:48), a little slower than I had hoped. I wasn't able to keep my cadence up on the rolling hills along Creek Road which affected my overall time. The second transition went great, I was in and out in 38 seconds and I don't think I could get it down much more. As for the run I had hoped to complete it in 13:00 but the first half mile killed me and I completed it in 14:17 - much slower than I wanted.

The race was well organized and my thanks to the organizers for increasing the field to 750 as I only got in the race as a part of the extended registration. I will definitely have to put this race on my calendar again next year.